This is extremely insightful and I'm glad to hear that the senior leaders on the WoW team aren't simply following metrics, despite what the comments on popular sites would lead one to believe.
I cant buy what he is selling simply because across years from Vanilla to Wrath of the Lich King the game has improved , overall , on alot of things and from Cataclysm to Warlords of Draenor aswell. Legion was introduced and because alot of people loved the fantasy , loved the fact that Illidan is in it and we finally get to deal with the superior ranks and not just the usual "Captain" or in a flashback (Battle for Mount Hyjal , Archimonde) and loved because there was alot of nostalgia behind it and it had alot of content that came with it especially after Warlords of Draenor content got gutted by a raid and , presumebly , alot of other planned content around the Shattrath raid. Paladins got to wield the Ashbringer , one of the most iconic weapon in Warcraft universe. Hunters got their Windrunner bow. However , with all this fantasies 3 systems and one that came from Warlords of Draenor(table missions+followers) were introduced: -> Borrowed Power system that continues to persist all the way to Shadowlands. -> We've got RNG legendaries that were VERY impactful on our DPS/HPS/Survavility and because it was RNG that was a very big problem. What is worse is that you didnt have a specific area of content or raid to target to get these legendaries , it was completely random. You could get them from Paragon reputation chests , Emissary chests , Weekly M+ chest , Raid Boss and Dungeon Boss. -> Netherlight Crucible - which in Shadowlands you know it as........Soul Conduits. More complex than what the crucible was but that is the same system.All 3 of these systems was doing alot of good and bad things but overall the introduction of borrowed power systems made specializations a class in of itself. I know it sounds good and exciting but when the specialization you pick is badly tuned or has fundamental design issues or just isnt fit for the current raid design thinking that you have to start ALL OVER again which is , basically , a character progress reset it doesnt sound good anymore , does it?Pre-Legion if you wanted to gear for all 3 or 4 specs you could do so while gearing your current specialization , your "main" and while it wouldnt be as good performance as your main specialization you could perform well enough to pull your weight. In Legion and it systems introduction made that gap between main spec and off spec very large because of the Artifact Weapons progression and how impactful legendaries were and this got carried in BFA with Azerite Armor with the added issue that only certain traits were required to be effective which that in of itself added another problem which complicated and added to the gap between your main spec and off-spec.Everything that Legion came with divided classes into specializations which before was not so divided because there were no individual systems that enhanced each specialization and made the game even more complicated and made character progression to be reseted if you wanted to play another specialization. Before you had the choice and freedom to play the full class with less impact on your dps and time spent in-game. In WoD , my main was Feral Druid and I paired it with Guardian and while doing my dungeon runs , my raid runs I didnt have to worry that I have to grind for Feral or Guardian. I had a target , an item to grind for and the only RNG behind it was the loot system. Legion and BFA my main was Warlock and these systems felt very bad and I imagine if I were to invest roughly the same amount of time I did to gear my Feral & Guardian I could barely gear ONE specialization of my Warlock. I can't buy what he is saying because they artificially created issues that require you to invest ALOT MORE amount of time than before Legion and then they come and say that it isnt what they intend........give me a break.
Well that was chilling. Glad he touched the subject, SL looking good!
i think ion makes a fair point in this one... i have made several other comments today ripping him for his out of touch attitude, but this is definitely a understandable response and i am glad that they are working towards making the game fun. Even if my idea of fun is different from the game designers.
"but just because people ran Island Expeditions to grind AP for weeks doesn't tell us that Island Expeditions were a success. We know that there's a lot to improve there."imagine island expeditions but if it had th thorghat system except instead of floor to floor its island to island gaining diff azerite card style abilities like torghast abilities
I liked the idea of Island Expeditions but I rarely was able to participate. Most PUG's, there were a few lucky exceptions, was just push through as quick as possible and to hell with the side quests and exploration. It was mostly just an AP grind. I wanted to explore and play around. I wish there had been a solo option like the later Horrific Visions.