Why must they gate literally everything?

Community General Discussion
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Yes, working on progression for bosses. Outside of that, there was nothing to do other than grind herbs for repairs (contrary to popular belief, pots weren’t really used that much in prog raiding and this is coming from someone who cleared naxx during vanilla).

The game model shifted. Today, many people play at least one alt, on top of their main, if not two. I’d say 80% of people play at least two characters at any given point. Back in the day, you mained ONE character usually, two if you were a nolifer that had a fully geared main and were bored enough to play an alt.

Stop looking through nostalgia glasses at the past. Those days are done and gone.

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Sharing my experience is ‘nostalgia goggles’ huh?

Yeah sure, meanwhile i’ve not been able to enjoy alts since legion because of the excessive amount of time locked chores I have to deal with week after week, meanwhile if I just want to focus on my main I also have nothing to do.

Again, WOW used to have a steady progression curve, and that I feel allowed for better alting then the massive spreadsheet of ‘activities’ I need to do now just so I can get a group or else I am stuck in LFD/LFR hell, or getting carried by friends, which let me tell you doesn’t feel fun.

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And it used to take 6+ months to get a tier’s worth of gear, if you ever fully obtained it before the next raid…

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And now if you get a full BIS set, its obsolete by M+ gear in a few weeks after you get it

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It’s quite clear that the current culture of those in control, not necessarily the people making the game, is not terribly concerned with making the best entertainment experience, something Blizzard was renowned and loved for. I recall the Activision guy saying he wanted to remove fun from game making?

Well this is the result, people who have the capacity to make great content but are forced into time and financial/ personnel limitations, can no longer give full vent to their creative passions and love for the game. Perhaps given this context we can understand, not necessarily condone and not like, the time gates - it being an effective means of increasing engagement when they are unable to provide the same amount of content.

I think that this entire situation is, to some extent, indicative of the corporate takeover of gaming from those immensely dedicated, relatively small teams that made a game from the heart basically. Sure, game development has always had a profit motive, after all how else to pay the bills, but one could see the love that the makers had for their craft. Corporate types don’t care about that, it is cliche to refer to them as soulless and certainly we wouldn’t do that to them as human individuals but as a collective they really are. Money is king but we all know this I suppose.

I guess I see both sides of this one, I do sympathize with those frustrated with time gating as and let us be honest here, it is not ideal for those whose excitement at a new expansion is stifled and frustrated by artificial pauses, but there is the commercial and time realities of the current game development environment. A very different one that 16 years ago.

Come to think of it, a lot has changed in 16 years in the world hasn’t it, sure we can pick out a business practice we don’t like or how time has changed something we used to love but overall life is in a state of flux at the moment. I try to enjoy what I can, get out of it what I can and accept what I cannot change and don’t fully understand about this current era where corporations seem to be playing an increasingly influential, intrusive place in life. Some corporations, not Blizzard or Activision I should add, appear to see themselves as governments, but that is another tangent.

Both sides have valid arguments here so it is unfortunate to see such intransigence and discord, then again I don’t come to these forums much at all so perhaps that is normal ! Anyhow, goodwill to all and stay safe :heart:

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