The introduction of Dinars has somewhat removed the carrot on a stick that players anticipated this season. World of Warcraft has evolved into a seasonal game were obtaining gear quickly is crucial due to its short lifespan. Acquiring good gear early facilitates easier progression through higher keys and content, contributing to faster scores in both raids and Mythic+. Falling behid in gear acquisition can make participating in groups difficult. The current loot system is engaging for the first few weeks, but without progression in mythic raids, interest wanes as the season continues. Poor vault rewards result in negligible progression, leading some players to abandon the season out of frustration. Someone is bound to feel unlucky and end up with nothing of value from the vault pretty quickly, leaving them behind. This is not a good feeling. Doing all your “homework” and still ending up with nothing one or two weeks in a row feels worse than ever, considering the game plays differently than before. It’s seasonal, and therefore learning and being able to perform at the start of the season is important.
The seasonal WoW needs to provide players with some sort of carrot on a stick. There are some, problems with the current gearing system. The current way of gearing revolves around one item a week from the vault.
Is this good or bad?
Positives:
• Smaller gap to the elite player group
• Everybody gets items
• Do your chores and get rewarded
• No elitism around item level (ILVL)
Negatives:
• Not fun except for that one loot box a week
• Doing the homework and still being unlucky
• No agency
• Time spent does not always equal reward
• Nothing special about your character
• Can be unlucky several weeks in a row
The negatives might sound like they come from a place of elitism, but they don’t. I wouldn’t care. if “Frank, age 47, who only shows up for raids on Friday for the normal alt run,” gets a mythic super item from doing a +7.
What I want is some sort of carrot on a stick that can drop from clearing content. There should be some sort of excitement and fun in opening the chest at the end of a run. Now it’s just a chore, and you just teleport out at the end of the run without checking. Opening the loot and checking the rewards of your efforts should be fun.
The current loot structure is based on the old idea of raiding. I only have my guild/friends as data sources, and of course logs. But raiding mythic is just not what we end up doing anymore. There is no time; people have real jobs. Looking at logs now, three months after release, there are still only 215 confirmed kills on the last boss on mythic Gally. This likely means that under 4000 players have killed the last boss. So, the new Dinar is just pointless for the rest of the player base.
My point here is not just about the Dinar. My point is that so much of this game moves at a seasonal pace, like most games do now. But the reward structure is still based on the old elitist raid mentality. Items do not have any value outside the season they are used in, which means being able to get items when they are in season is paramount. Getting best-in-slot (BiS) now is only BiS this season. Blizzard has made this clear; they end up nerfing all items that are overpowered from one season to the next, so players need to get new items in all slots. So why they stick to the mentality that only people who raid five hours three times a week should get items is beyond me. The players are different and older. I want to progress my character and do what I can to get stuff when I play.
Personal Rant (Skip if Needed): I have perhaps eight hours a week, sometimes more, to game. But I cannot book 15 hours total on locked dates. I have a real job and other responsibilities. But I can log on and join guild mates and play Mythic+. Sitting in a raid and not playing because someone needs a break or needs to get the door is not fun. I want to actually play and get my dopamine hit when I am logged in. I value my time, and sitting AFK for 40 minutes in a 120-minute play window for various reasons is just not my idea of fun. I have mythic raided before, and yes, I know it’s hard. But it’s not that hard; it’s just time-consuming. I have had people in the guild that I know would not be able to kill any mythic bosses if the guild was full of that player
type. So, the idea that people who clear mythic get the best gear is just wrong. Some of these players would not be able to clear a +10.
Ideas: Here are some suggestions that might make clearing dungeons more fun:
Idea 0: Mythic+Hub
Since Dragonflight, we have had the portal room. Make this a Mythic+ hub.
Expand on Mythic+. Have vendors there that sell cosmetics, perhaps the best trinket for that season. The possibilities are endless. Have a seasonal Mythic+ reputation. Perhaps a Mythic+set mog for the current season, like we do for PvP, with one color variant for 2500 score and one for 3000 score.
After the release of Mythic+ in Legion, the expansion on Mythic+ has been so minor that it is insane. You clearly have content that people like with Mythic+, but the reward structure around it is not there at all. Even delves have vendors and systems. Different mogs drop, cosmetic items that reward you for taking part in delve season. But Mythic+? “Nah, those players can fight for score.”
Idea 1: The Upgrade Token
I’m not elitist. I do not care if a casual player gets a max item level item; that’s fun for them. Introducing an RNG element to standard Mythic+ farming is somethinga game like WoW needs. Perhaps a small chance for a drop of an item that could add an upgrade stage to an item. Let’s say it drops, and you can make it so that a heroic item currently
maxing out at 665 can now use this token to upgrade it to 668. You can do this until the item caps at max item level for the season. You would still need crests, but you increase the ceiling of the item. You are giving agency to players again. The drop rate can be low, perhaps higher at higher key levels. The effect here is that you can still get this item in lower keys, giving you incentive to help some alts trying to gear or join a worse group than you perhaps would. It also makes finishing dungeons worth it because there might be value in that chest at the end.
Idea 2: Enhancing Minor Rewards Additionally, World of Warcraft stands out as a dungeon-
focused game where players often end runs with depleted resources. Adding valuable loot—such as items that can be sold on the auction house (AH) or used for crafting—in end chestswould make completing dungeons more rewarding.
Right now, the system is fairer than ever, but is it fun?
Increase the incentive for all players totake advantage of the system. All I want is some sort of fun back in the loot structure. Right now, it’s so homogenized and predictable.Do something, give us agency and the carrot on the stick Add rare gems that can proc damage or add some weird enchantments that can drop only from dungeons. Add legendary items. Does anybody have any ideas on how the loot system could befun again?