Can anyone explain this phenomenon?
I think as soon as I started doing 10+ keys all through BFA, voice was pretty much a requirement that all serious players used. Like, maybe you would risk not using it in a 15+ if everyone had already timed stuff well beyond that, but for any push? People used voice.
Then Shadowlands dropped. No one wanted to use it for sub 10 keys to learn the dungeons. No one wanted to use it on the journey to KSM. Now I’m pugging in the 17-18 range, with other folks of similar score who have also not timed any 18s and few 17s, and it’s the same deal.
I ask “Disc?” At the start of every pug I join. Because last expansion, that was the norm and i haven’t broken the habit. Now I get “no need” or “yes” from smartass priests.
What’s going on here? Did the entire M+ pug community decide disc is no longer useful or helpful and no one told me? Still seems as helpful as it’s always been, and I can point to many failed keys I’ve been in that may not have failed if we used it.
It never hurts. It only helps. Use Discord FFS.
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I wish more folks used voice. Maybe it would help with the toxicity in pugs instead of just typing “TANK!! TANK!! WTF???”
bro, I have no idea what your issue is. I offered voice chat and you refused.
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I am so freaking bad at watching the chat box during high keys. There’s a lot of important stuff I need to be looking at that’s not in the lower left corner of my screen, and people who think that’s the appropriate way to make important calls in difficult content are doing it wrong.
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There is an annoying way to adjust it.
Blizzard has an option where all party chat can be converted to speech bubbles like /say but it can be very cluttering.
Because nobody wants to sit in an awkward chat where nobody talks the entire dungeon. That’s why.
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Yeah, I’m using mostly default settings and never bothered futzing with them too much. I can appreciate a good /yell because there’s actually a bubble on screen, but I still maintain using Disc is the most efficient way to communicate.
There’s a reason guilds use it for raiding.
I just want to know why the change? It was extremely common to use in almost every single 15+ key throughout three years of BFA. I even used it for most of the 10-14 keys I did, as I did them early enough in each season that they were still new and challenging content for most of us.
I also just hate when people say “no need.” Really? You can’t think of one? I can give you half a dozen.
Yeah it’s annoying. And then those same people who say there’s no need for discord start typing essays in chat about routes etc. Well bruh, if we had voice chat we could continue killing stuff while we discussed that.
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I think a M+ run can turn extremely toxic very easily, so most people just avoid it altogether. I’ve done TONS of keys this expansion and sometimes I’m glad that there wasn’t any discord because some of the people you run into can be REALLY nasty when 1 simple mistake is made.
People who join discord are way less likely to be toxic and even people are toxic in chat are way less likely to behave the same way in voice chat.
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I’ve literally never had an interest in talking to random strangers on the internet on a regular basis; guildies or close friends is my limit. It’s bad enough sometimes getting people I know to use mics and stuff normally.
BFA never required me to get on voice communication with anyone 
.
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i just do dungeons to chill. it’s mostly static content, so everything is expected…pvp require callouts because it’s unpredictable. anyway that’s my take on it, i don’t like discord for dungeons unless it’s friends having a good time 
i don’t even join the pugs that require voice. music > voice
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Some of the comments in here surprise me. Be it with my M+ team, or PUG, I think Voice chat of some kind is very helpful. Call outs for interrupts, calling when you want people to burn certain cool downs, etc.
Also, if it’s a good group, there is always some good laughs to be had. Not to mention a great way to network with players for future keys.
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This. When I use my own key, discord is a must. If anyone even questions why, I don’t invite them. I even make it clear that they dont have to talk, just listen to calls.
If it’s someone elses key though, I let the key holder make the call.
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I will say the only time that Discord actually hurts in my opinion is when people will not stop off-topic chatter. I ran a key yesterday with two people that were having a conversation the entire time. Laughing. Chattering. And a third one complaining about the group’s performance the entire time. “Damage is low. We’re not gonna time. I don’t think we can time. We’re probably not gonna time.” Every 30s.
I played like absolute crap. I simply cannot focus with that kind of stuff coming into my ear nonstop when I’m trying hard to listen for pertinent information and pay attention to the game. We would’ve timed that key if I had done more damage and not died three times on the last boss. Which I absolutely would’ve done if people were quiet but for essential calls. It’s a timed key. I don’t have time to tab out and adjust your volume. Keep your damn mouth shut unless it’s important.
Again, there’s a reason raid guilds don’t have chit chats during raids. Keep discord on topic for the content.
It is just annoying, it is game, not a job
Even being hatd to warrior to get invites, I will avoid groups that requires discord
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Even more reason to use discord.
I get to level my key in 30 minutes instead of the 2 hours it takes when someone inevitably screws up due to lack of communication, something that doesn’t happen nearly as often with voice comms.
For me, it boils down to I’m an introvert. Me having a phone conversation even with family isn’t cool.
Often I’ve found in discord chats people are decently pleasant, but some are less then nice. While learning it you get eaten by a slime or something and now I’ve got some going “oh man! If you did that in xxx guild you’d be benched!!!”
I play Warcraft to enjoy my time. I do not enjoy being belittled. I do not enjoy hearing two people yak about gun rights and how he’s got 20 firearms and it’s his divine right for more. (I’m Canadian, our gun views are slightly different)
Discord makes sense for call outs. But having to suffer through peoples toxic behavior because they don’t see it as toxic is not what I signed up for.
I play Warcraft for personal enjoyment. Fun. If it means I ignore M+ because discord is needed. I ignore it.
Why risk having your day crapped on due to some individuals who can’t handle other peoples errors. Life is too short for that.
Voice chat has never been commonly used by pugs, and the reason seems fairly obvious:
You just can’t expect every random player or group leader you pickup off the streets to have access to voice chat and required equipment, or the desire to join. Discord is somewhat more accessible in recent times, but even then creating your own server is relatively daunting and not convenient.
And at the end of the day, it really isn’t required for most activities.
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You literally don’t need any equipment to join discord and listen, unless your PC doesn’t have speakers.
Neither do you need to create your own server to join someone else’s already existing server, nobody is asking you to create a discord server when you join a pug, let’s be real.
As for whether or not it’s required, that’s debateable. Communication is required in PUGs, and unless you’re some kind of freak who can type while playing then voice is the best way to communicate.
What actually happens in groups who don’t use discord is that whenever something unexpected happens, people stop playing and start typing in chat which is a massive waste of time in a format that has a timer.
There are all sorts of excuses why people don’t want to join discord, but let’s be honest, the real reason is always the same, that person thinks they know everything already, and joining discord is beneath them. And these are the people who scuff your keys. Every time.
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You’re literally asking people to have a discord server in the very sentence you say that people don’t need their own server. Someone has to have a server.
If you make it so that only people with a discord server can create pugs, you basically kill pugging entirely.