I’m not even a new player but I decided to try retail again after spending some time in woltk. I jumped in on this character level 45 and was thrown into BFA.
Now the questing seems fine, but holy Sh*t the dungeon are absolutely ridiculous! So many mechanics, enemies hit super hard, classes don’t even have half their abilities yet!
How is this a thing!? If I was a new player and I touched bfa dungeons it would be enough for me to never do a dungeon again. Seriously, virtually any other expansions dungeons are just lol mode, which is how it should be during levelling. Run in, pull the room, dps it down, job done. BFA dungeons are like what I would expect from endgame heroics or even normal mode raids.
It’s not a problem for me since I can just switch timelines to dungeons that don’t require significant time researching mechanics and then hoping that you’re team of mostly new players has done the same (seriously as a new player why would you do this while still LEVELLING…). But new players don’t have this option right? They can’t switch timelines so they are forced to do BFA. Even the new dragonflight dungeons are easier, they are traditional levelling dungeons aka lol mode, pull everything don’t have to worry about any mechanics. Seriously BFA dungeons are full of so much annoying crap that you just wouldn’t know about if you hadn’t been there before and its not fun at all. I’m talking like little explosive mines on the ground that take 1/3 of your hp. It’s like playing dark souls- dying from things you literally couldn’t know about unless you’ve done it before. Again this is for NEW PLAYERS!? come on now… If BFA is the main levelling expansion then the dungeons should be toned down massively, it should be lol mode. Even in classic and wotlk the dungeons were always lolmode during levelling. I can’t understand why this is a thing, surely it will be losing potential new players who get bored questing and want to try something new… then get destroyed in dungeons that are basically like endgame raids. Can’t be good for player retention surely.
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There’s something that’s happening with scaling in bfa dungeons, they’re not that hard normally
So it’s a scaling bug? I thought something must be up
Well, I’ve done like 2 bfa dungeons since pre-patch and both seemed awfully overtuned compared to anything else and bfa dungeons before that patch. Honestly I can compare the damage taken of players to a +15 or higher :’)
I entered a dungeon at Level 17 and there was nobody around. I wondered down the first ramp and was instantly attacked and died in one hit. This was my first dungeon on the character. I noted three players at the base all struggling with mobs. As I approached I tried to help. A mob jumped at me and killed me again. I was at this for five minutes and I never got more than one shot off.
Time was you levelled the dungeons related to the old progression. And normally at 16 I would start and get a nice staff or chest piece from my first dungeons and steadily work up from there. I have tried the Exile route now twice and gotten thrust into BFA and doing the random I have hit a solid brick wall each time. The thing just all feels bonkers to me. I did the BFA dungeons doing the expansion when it was live and sorry they were not fun in truth. I did them hundreds of times though.
This is crazy stuff and I can see it putting off new players. Not the norm.
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Right? It’s exactly like you said, hitting a brick wall, for new players it must be very off putting. If I wanted to play dark souls I’d go and play it! Literally any other expansion’s dungeons are easy tank and spanks compared to BFA
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I do agree that even without the scaling they’re quite heavy on mechanics. Waycrest Manor has the three witches where you need to target the vulnerable one each time, you’d have to mark it with a skull for new players or they won’t catch on.
Shrine of Storms has the mind control boss where new players don’t know to attack the mind controlled person or run into the orbs if they’re controlled.
Problem with scaling. Blizzard has not solved it still. Just do quests if you run bfa.
I think that if the dungeons were scaled better and were more forgiving or at least there was a prompt to a player - Player X is mind controlled, attack them; Witch X is weak, attack her. That would teach new players how to interact with the game.
Basically, a bit of hand-holding, but then they are on their own.
Scaling is so off, I made a whole thread about being nuked to death in chromie leveling zones between 50-60
The ones I have tried is cataclysm and pandaria, but I’m sure they are all like this
Not just BFA dungeons, but mobs which affects questing badly
Scaling may be off, but even when scaling was right, these are terrible dungeons for new players. I’ve dealt with a few cases. There are FAR too many mechanics, especially for classes that haven’t got basic utility like interrupts at the levels people can enter them.
(And what genuinely new player even knows what an interrupt IS, anyhow?)
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Tol barad was one that was never really fixed from alpha to the end mobs still got pulled through walls and from lower floors.
To be honest that is the fault of the game for not teaching the player on the importance of abilities, and the fact that most old expansion dungeons do not have too much of this.
That is something they can change on, certainly. Make mechanics that prevent you from doing damage, and make the game highlight it to you at the end of combat that “X amount of casts of Y went through. Y disorients you and prevents you from casting. You can use your interrupt to prevent this.”
As to the OP: wasn’t it changed that players can level in any expansion of their choice? Are new players still restricted to BFA?
It was because the player learned to use their utility when those were current, from leveling alone.
Casters used to hit hard and taking on 3 (or even 2) mobs wsn’t easy without cd’s. On the other hand - dungeons were a zergfest indeed, if I were to tank them, all I’d need is a 1H and shield/pop bear form and I’d be nicely protected as is, even if I’m not a tank.
I’m not the OP I know, but the restriction is still on.
scaling is nothing but problems and frustration! Get weaker for every level you get yea really fun. Its so bad i sometimes dont bother to get upgrades because whats the point when you are never allowed to get stronger in the open world im telling you i cant even feel a difference at 380 item level and when i first got 70
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Wow so it’s even more a problem than I thought! I’ve been away from retail for some time I had no idea it was this bad. I agree with the points made about it would be fine if new players were at least made aware of what it happening but in the current state even I (not a new player and someone who has at least hit max level previously and done some raids etc) have no idea what’s going on unless I read up on it beforehand.
Blows my mind that blizzard don’t put more thought into the new player experience though. Surely it’s bad for business
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shrine of the storm is completely bonkers, the 3rd boss especially took some high m+ strats in order to kill because the normal way just didnt work due to scaling lol
It’s weird that that the dungeon finder defaults to BFA dungeons only unless you go chromie time. I think it should be Cata dungeons by default they’re generally a lot easier.
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I agree so much with this. Level scaling causes so many problems. I hate that I am a geared 70 yet mobs in the world are also ALL 70 and quite resilient. It’d be nice if there was some kind of buff you could get or obtain that made mobs in the world not aggro you as easily or something. I generally enjoy gathering but the level scaling puts me off from it; tired of having to fight a mob for every herb I want to pick.
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Was wondering too when leveling up my alt why everything hits like a truck