Yeh, I’ve noticed this too. I barely have to heal Thancred when I go into trusts with him. Unfortunately I have exactly one DPS class that I play, and that’s already 90 now (I’m more of a healer/hand/land person), so I can’t take too much advantage of that.
Honestly, the Trust NPCs in general are pretty good at not being hurt. Tanks just are super beefy, and the DPS play everything safe. It’s kinda boring being the healer in a Trust group, honestly. 
LFR and dungeon finder.
Its obvious you don’t want a system like this in the game, thats fine and dandy. But If there’s even the smallest chance that this could help us feel like we have more of a personal connection to NPC’s in the game then they should do that
For example, this isn’t word for word what Towelliee said but when he was going through endwalker and doing these trust systems he said that he felt more connected to the NPCs that were kept around him because you were actually able to go through these things with them instead of some random group of people you’d probably never see again after the dungeon was over.
Bellular even says the same thing. We’ve been through how much with Jaina/Thrall/Anduin/etc. and it feels like theres very little there at all.
and just to appease you this could be an optional thing, would you like to do it with lore characters? sure go right on ahead. Want to wait 5-10 minutes for a random group, go right on ahead.
Why do people want every game to behave like ever other game?
NPC AI in WoW has been a meme for quite some time now.
So… I vote yes. I wanna see the forum tears.
The internet: “Grow a thick skin and get over it. The internet is a terrible place hahahahlulz”.
People: "Can we please do the dungeon for quests, pets/mogs, lore solo?
The internet: “No you should be encouraged to be around those toxic people!”.
My post really covers it in the Community Council forum. While the game is an MMO…it is an MMORPG. It is an online role play game where you see other players. The RPG part matters. The idea of forcing them into groups has been tried. For a variety of reasons, it fails. I do go over a lot of the very valid reasons players avoid groups at times here Dungeon and Raid Solo Accessibility for Old & Current Content
Let people have fun. If they want to solo dungeons and raids for current content to see the story and do quests, let them. Nobody is asking for free Heroic or Mythic loot.
I dont think they really understand that sadly
I hope not… The AI that Blizzard uses is abyssmal. And I use AI very loosely.
While I’ve heard this is this case many times I’ve never really experienced it myself due to not really doing any tank/healer proving grounds/MT. Though blizzard could always find a way to improve them in some form of way
Artificial Incompetence.
sounds like you’ve had some bad experiences, sorry to hear that.
but that doesn’t mean you should want to close yourself off, especially in a game that’s main selling point is that it’s multiplayer.
If your solution to toxic players is to avoid them instead of trying to fix the toxicity itself then you’re just putting a bandaid on the problem.
go and fight almost any mob, and marvel at how intelligent its ai is. Go look at any pet classes forum, and see how much praise there is.
Having healers that actually cast healing spells would be a nice start.
During the level scaling PTR I leveled a character through Silverpine Forest. At the end of the storyline my level 12 or so came to an Important Storyline End Quest™ where my healer npc was doing 1 hps, while I was supposed to deal with a caster who was constantly casting on me, even though I had no interrupts. I took a spirit rez, abandoned the quest, and left the zone. I then moved to Hillsbrad Foothills, where my character came to the next Important Storyline End Quest™, which had previously been doable, but now had many more adds. To make it feel more important, I guess. And to test the mastery of aoe of a character who did not yet have aoe.
I abandoned the PTR at that point.
I have been playing for 17 years. Including as acting guild lead and officer. I did raid current content at the server competitive level in Vanilla and BC. I did all the dungeons that came with farming resist gar and mats too. I had some great experiences with people who have become life long friends.
BUT - I really ask you to maybe read my post. I have a lot of reasons I don’t do well in group content. Panic attacks, getting lost all the time, being terrified of screwing up, etc. Dexterity issues and now that I am old, vision issues. I had a fantastic team back in the day who accommodated me and helped me. I don’t expect that out of strangers.
If anyone read the recent reddit (and Twitter) story about Jean and Jorts the cats and the HR issues. I am Jean on the forums and Jorts in game.
Forcing people to do group content is not fun for them.
I have been a forum MVP for almost 10 years. Mostly CS/TS. One of the things I do is help folks learn to use the reporting systems, explain the account penalties, etc. That is where I take most of my fight, along with advocating for more/better tools for players to use. I use those tools in game quite happily when required. I don’t have to put up with jerks though - I avoid them IRL and in game. See, one of the biggest social consequences for bad behavior is being shunned. It works pretty well, for most societies.
However, I am not going to make myself do something that causes me physical (and sometimes mental) anguish just to see the story or do a profession quest. I should not have to. The RPG aspect should matter at least equally to the multiplayer part. It is still multiplayer when you see folks run by or sell them things in the AH.
Now, on the topic of AI, yes the AI needs work for Blizzard to make this successful. They have it built into so many quests and scenarios now though that I see no reason why they can’t do it. Again, not asking for heroic or mythic gear.
Players are in no position to change the behavior of other players.
I like the Trust system in FF.
It let’s me run a dungeon solo to see all the mechanics and layout before grouping with real players. It’s something I’d love to see in WOW for the same reason.
I think having some way to run a Dungeon to plan routes using NPC’s would be great and might bring more players into Tanking.
THIS! Knowing the route, bosses, mechanics, and being able to practice can be a huge factor in people being comfortable grouping up with strangers. Nobody likes messing up. Having a way to prevent that and practice is helpful. While it certainly satisfies the lore/quest folks, it also can be a bridge to group content be resolving some of the new/anxious player issues.
I did not like the Trials we had, although they were a good experiment. I think Solo raid and dungeon content would be more effective because it teaches the specific encounters that players will have to do.
I think a lot of the more recent elaborate core quests already incorporate this sort of thing into a quest scenario. I would like to see that expanded.
no, but council members are.
They’re in the position to suggest changes (and in theory blizzard will listen) that could help curb toxicity and encourage positive player interactions. Harsher punishments for leavers, an endorsement system that offers rewards, and plenty more (Ideas aren’t my thing ok?)
hell the council members don’t even need to interface with the devs, they could do something as simple as post threads in GD asking for community feedback - that alone could greatly help improve general player morale because they feel like their voices are being heard.
by becoming a council member you’ve become a public pillar of the community, if you’re meant to represent players interact with them! find issues and help brainstorm solutions!
Toxicity isn’t something blizzard can squish on their own.
If interacting with other players isn’t fun in game, then look at why it isn’t fun, don’t just remove the interaction as a kneejerk reaction.
I think you vastly over estimate our powers!
The gaming (and internet as a whole) community has been battling what I think of as sort of “feral humans” for a long time. Anonymous environment lets some people think it is ok to dispense with basic social norms, manners, respect for others. More, some people double down on that as though it should become the norm. Fighting that overall is hard. There is always a lot of push back from those who enjoy the “freedom” to be jerks. They don’t like being booted out the airlock or silenced in social channels.
Progress is slow, but hopefully as more games tackle this, it will be steady progress.
probably more that I overestimate blizzards interactions with y’all.
and I get this, stuff like trade chat will probably never be fine.
but I still don’t think nuking player interaction - even for a story mode - is the right idea.
anyway, I’m probably done derailing this thread, people should be allowed to decide for themselves if a story/bot mode is something they actually want or not and I should stop acting like I know what’s right. Social interaction aside I’m a bit skeptical it would work with wows current AI.
EDIT: actually, I just remembered! they actually did try this with the finale of the new leveling zone! so I suppose there’s at least proof that the concept could work.