Hello everyone,
I have created this thread because I would like to discuss my thoughts on the state of PVP and the broad direction of the game regarding it. I’d like to begin by expressing my love for this game. I began all the way back in TBC. I have played and enjoyed all aspects of the game, from collecting, to raiding, pvping, and everything else. I have made great friends playing this game and created some of my fondest memories. Altogether I have clocked over a years game time on all of my characters. During my time playing this game I have had my criticisms regarding some of the directions the game has taken but never felt the need to express those opinions to the player-base. Unfortunately, due to reasons I will go on to explain I think it is my duty as a fan, a consumer and a blizzard loyalist to address these concerns. In doing so I would like to keep all criticisms constructive and I hope all fellow gamers do the same.
First and foremost I would like to discuss the biggest issue I have with pvp and that is something that underlays the core mechanics of all current content. The gearing system, and with it, the rewarding system. World Quests, World bosses, Crafting, Dungeons, Mythic +, Raiding, Warfronts, Arena, battlegrounds. Warforged, Titanforging, azerite. The gearing path can be a little confusing at times, but for PVE, the objective to gear is often straightforward. Capped, you begin world quests, then you can progress to other PVE content like Warfronts, Mythic +/LFR and continue to raiding difficulties. Pvp on the other-hand is more than difficult… and for these reasons… The progress to gear sufficiently as a pvp player consists of pve activities. Although many people might like dual content - dungeons / pvp etc (Including myself to an extent) there isn’t a equal playing field for pvp. For this I would like to give an example…
By the end of season 1 BFA I had sufficient gear to do RBG/Arena with. Nothing amazing, it did the job. Season 2 rolls around and people are starting to have higher ilvl from raiding. I couldn’t get into decent RBG teams even though I had desired rating experience. This was because of my ilvl. I try and get into Raids and are refused because A: Ivl (Which I can’t get because I’m not raiding in a pve guild as they are because I am a pvp player) and B: I do not have pve curve achievement to link. As for the PVP gear, as anyone who has pvp knows. You are locked to 1 guaranteed piece a week, which isn’t always as good as the piece you already have. Meaning it has a chance to go to waste. Secondly, any gear you may or not receive for playing pvp is completely random and not always guaranteed to drop at a consistent rate as your play time. In equivalent time spent, pvp players are at a distinct disadvantage from raiders and pve content players in gearing for pvp. On top of this because of the state of pvp, battleground participation is low, resulting in higher and higher queue times. This is frustrating and very time consuming to gear as a pvp player. If it is quicker and easier to get pve for pvp, and you are a pvp player, something is clearly wrong and this needs to be addressed.
Secondly, for the most part, as gear feels obtainable from all sources of the game. There is no set goal to work towards like there used to be. As a pvper there was an end goal, something to work towards. Obtain a full set of pvp gear. It was rewarding, it was fun. You could see that every win you achieved was building towards something. Something you needed. That you could choose. It is the equivalent end progression for a pvp player as there was for pve. This is not to say that pve players should be at a disadvantage. They should be allowed to play pvp. But Pvp gear should have a distinct advantage. Just like pvp will never outshine pve gear.
The desired outcome is a more simplified progression path for gear.
Max Level -> Professions/World Quests -
-> Mythic+ Dungeons -> Heroic/Mythic Raiding
-> Base Battleground/Skirmish -> Ranked Arena/RBG
Fixing the gearing system I believe is the first step towards fixing Warcraft PVP. Time is being invested in upgraded old battlegrounds like Warsong and Arathi. We got new arena maps and revamps consistently every expansion. A new battleground was added at the end of Legion. It makes me wonder who Blizzard are trying to satisfy with this content? The foundation to pvp is broken and until it is fixed and there has been enough incentive for participation, then content like this does not matter. I feel like this issue with the gearing system is underlying a lot of BFA’s problems. Azerite farming. Warfronts, World Quests. It’s all mixed progression. To me feels like content that has been designed to force participation and that is wrong. Let players play the content they like to play. Forcing players to participate in things they don’t want to is going to drive them away, and has done so already in my opinion.
For me personally, I would like for the following to be addressed to begin fixing the pvp problem.
1: Include pvp vendors into the game once more.
2: Assess the gearing methods. Bring back or improve on old pvp gearing stats like resilience.
3: As an alternative, have an obtainable PVP gear set. (Click a button in your bag to make a full pvp set of a base item level.) I don’t feel this is the right way to go but will provide an instant playing field for all participants, including an easier way to balance classes as all are built around a stat template.
This is just my general feedback and hope everyone has enjoyed the read.
I would like to know your guys feedback, let me know if you agree, disagree or if you have any thoughts on the subject.
Kind Regards