EXACTLY THIS!
This is why most Roguelike games do stuff like that, create optional areas that have small challenges, be it endurance, speed, whatever that reward a player for choosing to put themselves in a tougher situation off the beaten path.
In one of the other threads on this topic I commented on a few of my favorite Roguelike games and mention how none of them have timers in the general game but a few have special events/optional events that can be timed and reward you for doing something quickly, precisely, or even surviving for a certain amount of time.
To give on example here, in the Roguelike platformer game “20XX” there are challenge rooms that if you successfully clear them within their parameters you get rewarded with a bonus piece of loot. These rooms come in many different types ranging from “Avoid getting hit” “Race the clock” and “Obstacle Courses”. Beating these OPTIONAL rooms grant you an extra piece of loot for overcoming the challenge and nothing if failed. They are entirely optional side challenges for those willing to take the risk to attempt them.
Obviously WoW was not built as a Roguelike and it has its own obstacles to tackle but I can not agree with the Blizzard proposed changes. They can say that its not a negative aspect, that its not a timer, but if it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, and feels like a duck then its a duck.
I really, strongly, disagree with the idea they are pushing forward and really think that they should look to other Roguelike games for inspiration on these things. As I said before, just as Garrisons were Blizzards version of “Player Housing” and fell flat I really do not want to see Torghast suffer that same fate as Torghast by their ideas of giving a Roguelike the “Blizzard Touch”. Torghast is a refreshing breath of fresh air in the game and has the potential to be amazing but I worry that Blizzard is far too cautious for their own good with this idea of falling back on what they know.
The primary portion of Torghast should have an imposed “timer” mechanic on it, no matter how its packaged and masked and pitched as something else. There are ways to create content inside the tower that could use a timer to incentivize challenging yourself like with other rogue games.
Right now, in the Tower, there are several segments of “dead end” rooms that reward you for making it through traps or enemies you do not have to go through. I think that those could easily be repurposed into challenge wings. Put a door that can be opened there and upon interacting with it pop up a dialogue box that informs the player “By opening this door you will begin a challenge event, do you wish to proceed?” and if the player chooses to they can and if they successfully make it through the event they are rewarded and if they don’t they are not.
Creating an optional challenge incentivizes you to try and push yourself in small bursts without making the entire run feel punishing.
I am not saying that every side passage or wing should be that way but they could add features like that. Trap rooms you need to navigate quickly, combat rooms/gauntlets you need to survive/make it through, heck they could even re-purpose the Mechagon Dungeon sneaking section to create a room you need to sneak through to the end without getting caught.
There is so much potential that could go into making this tower absolutely amazing on top of how fun and fresh it already is.
I really hope that Blizzard honestly reconsiders their decision here and considers other paths with Torghast and how to handle it.