In the current iteration, yes. Because Blizz want’s to make is incredibly time consuming to swap back once you leave a covenant.
So what in your opinion would qualify as a meaningful choice? Does it have to not infringe on you in any way? Because then it’s avoidable, and has no meaning.
To me? Class. It’s the only thing in this game you cannot change. It is the only truly meaningful choice. But it’s also the most fundamental choice as it determines literally how you play the game.
True, just like every expansion, this will be nothing more than a rental system. But, from 9.0 to 10.0 … we have to suffer from it. Even worse if they try and introduce Covenants 2.0 into 10.0 … because the majority of the FLAWS of Covenants 1.0 will go into Covenants 2.0 as well.
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And some classes get the nerf stick for some expansions, don’t they?
Not who you asked, but I’d really enjoy Covenants being hard-locked from a story standpoint. That choice would be meaningful to me.
New abilities, not so much. Just give us a talent row. My character wants to get intrinsically stronger, not pick up a magic sword that he loses in a couple of years or get a buff from some dead folks that wears off when he goes home.
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I think a more meaningful choice would be choosing which abilities you want for a specific progression boss. Like for instance, on M N’zoth the teleport could allow you to ignore some beams, but a damage absorb shield would allow you to easily survive the bad overlap of paranoia/mindgrasp with anguish right after. That would be a meaningful choice you could make.
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I think you’re confusing “meaningful” and “punishing”.
I fixed it for you.
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It is perspective on every thing you can call both.
They do, but classes don’t disappear between expansions. I may not play my warlock next expac, but I’ll be able to pick her up and play her again when I feel like it. When 10.0.1 drops… covenants are gone as if they never existed. So to that end… they have no meaning. The warlock mats for my original epic mount… those have meaning. Covenant choice, it has no meaning as I’ll move on.
Note: I will be leveling this character next expac, she’s my story main.
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What I would qualify as “meaningful” doesn’t really work in an MMO. You’d need a story with some sort of karma system where every choice you make can impact the story as a whole. Where the ending is determined by all the things you did along the way. KOTOR had some great “meaningful” choices. But they can’t really get away with anything of that magnitude in WoW where the ending has to be the same for everybody.
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Simple as that. Can we end the whole “meaningful choice” thing now?
I’m gonna take a maybe 5-10 minute break and then get back to replying these, brain overheated
That’s the kind of thing people were talking about when “meaningful choice” started getting tossed around. Wanting the choice to support Sylvanas to make a big difference in the story, wanting the N’Zoth eyeball to mean something and so on.
No one was ever asking to be further restricted in various types of content.
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If it was simply a matter of story, and maybe some cosmetic stuff … I’d be all for Covenants to be more a rigid decision. But … the second you bring power into it … balancing becomes an issue that must be addressed.
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Agree 100%
Not to mention you can get your arm twisted by the meta. At that point you’re not picking stuff based on what fits the story but based on what makes your numbers the highest in the land even if you don’t like the themes.
Like if I have to go Nightfae as a DK I am going to be livid.
For my DK it would be bastion, but she’s a nelf… so nightfae would be coming home for her.
Honestly, these people defending the covenant ability system, are from the Blizzard team. There’s no way it’s a real player.
Just fix it and stop trying to defend this crap. 
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True. I’m not going to look at power at launch. For one reason.
First month of any expansion there are typically a load of buffs and nerfs. Because the new systems haven’t been used in a live environment. A 12% damage reduction may sound find during testing, but may prove to be too high, or too low, once it goes live.
EDIT: Grammar
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