I’ve been refining an idea for the past few days in slue of recent events. Complaints about gear progression, store mounts, patch updates and so on.
What if there were a solution. It isn’t perfect, but an improvement to your game play experience. Something you could keep track of across expansions that gave you performative bonuses as you play wow.
The War Band Buff.
Applicable to your War Band, located in your spell book, a death persistent buff that gives you stats based on your completion rate of World of Warcraft. Stats you can apply via UI window to specific requirements you deem necessary. How would it work?
Each collectible you receive is worth a single point. Be it common, rare or epic. The points are representative of your game completion, regardless of the content you choose to take part in.
Like spending time fishing for cosmetics? Points. M+ vault grinding? Points. Pet battles? Points. You could earn points in every aspect of the game. Points that you could put to use, improving your experience of WoW. Feel like you need more speed? Leech? What ever the stat, you can place a point into the stat of your choice to improve your performance while playing.
Finally, there would be a power that you the player earn, that isn’t borrowed, taken away or trivialized. It would be there for you to use as you deem fit.
With a system like this, nothing else would need to change. Gear progression would still provide more and better stats, in fact the value for receiving those items are permanent. As you would retain the stat point to apply.
Because of how the current system functions, a point in speed is not a percentage. These stat benefits would not be so over powered that you’d essentially play on creative mode. The value of a point is something that is malleable and changeable per expansion of WoW. The point total however, is unique to you.
Instantaneously, everything you have ever done or ever will do in WoW would have a performative benefit to your future experience in the game. How would this effect competitive game play? It doesn’t have to. The buff can be made ineligible for use in PVP ranked matches and timed M+ content. The competitive scene need not be effected.
The purpose of this change, while giving players a real sense of progression and investment into their War Bands, would also reduce the need for more casual players to achieve higher ilvl gear. While the gear would no doubt provide better stats, it would be unnecessary to obtain outside of competitive content. You can have your sense of getting stronger exactly like a competitive player. Simply by doing the content you enjoy.
So what incentive would Blizzard have for this small change?
The addition of such a mechanic would be simple to implement. As collectibles and achievements are already tracked and have numerical values, a simple tally count can be used to indicate the amount of points the player has to spend. The addition of a UI window where players can apply their points is a simple enough addition. The core game has everything required currently, to easily implement such a thing.
The revenue from WoW tokens and subscription time would increase and gain consistency. With such an addition, every BoE, mount, pet and toy would increase in value. The prospect of this would be perceived as pay to win. What people don’t realize, is it isn’t them that need to pay. The person selling that item on the auction house, now not only has performative value to another, but is more likely to sell in the 12 to 48 hour window they have the item posted. Meaning if a player decides to use tokens as they currently can, to purchase every collectible. The benefit of which would directly go to a player posting said items. This would increase the relevance of all activities in wow. While the prospect of someone buying their stats may seem unsavory, WoW already has a system that would counter this. The Bind on Pickup. Only select items can be sold on the auction house. This is an existing limitation preventing someone simply buying their stats. Despite them not being useful for competitive game play.
The subscription time consistency would be maintained as no longer towards the end of a season, would a player be unable to progress. As completing additional activities already available would provide more points for them to work with.
So to recap. We have a system in place that tracks progression across a players account. The ability use currently existing mechanics and restrictions to implement safe guards.
Why hasn’t Blizzard already done this?
I think they will. The stat increases wouldn’t require balancing since it would be dependent on the player. Adjustable via the requirement of points per percentage value. None disruptive, discrepancy of the developers can decide which competitive content they will allow it. If any. While also providing an incentive to play the game more to their liking rather than the obligation of partaking in content they do not enjoy.
A War Band buff, an amalgamation of the players experience and journey, pathing their way to victory in the world of warcraft. Stronger together, mighty by design. In this world of warcraft, this war band is mine.
(Marketing requires work)
Tweaks and suggestions appreciated.
Edits: After pitching the idea to two friends, while actively and clearly telling them this was just an idea had by me, they now play retail wow. This reinforces the thought that this idea will encourage new players to join as well as existing players to return.
In discussion, the thoughts about what skills would be eligible for increase came up. When they can be changed as well as application. Discussions included BA hons graduates for Interactive design, programming, game design, ludology and UX design.
The UI window made editable at appropriate times similar if not identical to the talent tree seems reasonable. Outside of combat and/or instance, exception of resting areas. Points applicable using standard keybindings paired with clicks. Example: (Mouse1 = 1) (Shift+Mouse1 =10) (Ctrl + Mouse1 = 100) (Alt+Mouse1 = 1000) (Ctrl + Shift + Mouse1 = 10,000)
For ease of application, simple feedback loop sounds and bevel animation on UI for quality of life. Could also include text box for typing of specific numbers with excess values defaulting to maximum available points being applied.
Suitable stat usage restricted to secondary stats holds the least issues and require no alteration between classes. Primary stats can be more problematic. Thoughts on core professions and secondary professions took place, still uncertain what detriment the effect could have on economics. Example, fishing skill: Could have unwanted results and/or render other aspects of the game unnecessary. Restriction to secondary stats is all at this time. The thoughts of new introductions such as jump height, interrupt cool down/ charges, mount speed, fall damage, aoe/cone radius and so on, while not feasible within current expansion, could be made as an addition in future patches as developers see fit. Testing needed.
Cascading, running out or low on collectibles as players progress. Deemed unlikely due to the release of regular content and current quantity of content. The restriction of buffs from competitive content was questioned due to gear being nonidentical between contending players. The buff may not need such restrictions since every player would have the same opportunity. Unsure what unseen effects this could take, suggest buff restriction until further testing.
Content tuning would have a larger error margin. As players have access to more stats, content will be easier, allowing for more mistakes to be made. Future content may need to be more difficult. An average should be acquired to use as a target for what content should be tuned for. The thought came about having a point per number of collectible. Reasons why this would lose interest is the cascade effect. Points being one to one is required to maintain player sense of accomplishment. Value of individual items across the board and maintaining an easy to understand and use concept for players to rely on as well as developers for consistency across past and future content. Talks on class balancing came up with this, while set value distribution would be a functional and reliable method of class balancing, it’s outside the scope of this idea. The War band buff however would alleviate upset with such things as casual player base will all be at different stat percentages based on their game completion rate. All is fair in love and warcraft.
Tab placement seems suitable for talent tree, instructing player to rebuff once making changes for changes to take effect. Could lead to postponed buffing for instances where the player might retain a buff for the start of an encounter to then buff with new stats for end of encounter. I see no reason why this wouldn’t be entertaining to see players come up with new reasons or ways to use this. Initial thought was maximum avoidance for unavoidable aoe, into maximum haste for burn + time warp. Note: The addition of preset saving for ease of switching point application, similar to gear sets required. Additional save/load drop down placement bottom left corner of window/tab. Additional note: The programmer said your website uses drop down menus for single options. She found this funny and unnecessary. At least it sets future options up to be implemented more easily.
Due to sheer number of collectibles, diminishing returns required as currently stands with secondary stats. An option or button to apply and display point cost per percentage would do well here. In tandem with shortcuts mentioned.
Buff name ideas: For the War Band. Blue’s dues. Collective consortium. This army. For azeroth. Power of the player, for the player (Idk he insisted.) Nepo nerf. With the power of me. Now this is ascension. Threads of mates. Alternate power (My favorite).
Disclaimer inclusion. I here by renounce any and all rights to the use of any ideas shared here. Allowing them to be used by Blizzard or anyone else for what ever use and/or project they deem suitable. Be it profitable or otherwise. Restricting any possible legal action that could be taken by myself or any disclosed/undisclosed affiliate included. We want to see this idea become reality, not money, we have our own projects for that.
Stat prediction, time scale and stat options.
Using my own character as an example I’ve built a prediction as to what the stat quantity would look like.
Achievement points: 15,275 (Included as acheivements are collectables in their own right, however in current state would be ill advised as all achievements would require warband tag)
Mounts: 135
Pets: 523
Toys: 202
Heirlooms: 41
Head: 451
Shoulder: 357
Back: 395
Chest: 508
Shirt: 64
Tabard: 32
wrist: 168
Hands: 184
Belt: 180
Legs: 194
feet: 197
Weapon/offhand: 1,232
Total: 20,138
Divided by 660 (Haste required per percentage according to wow head) =30.5132*%
Before diminishing returns. Meaning even with the inclusion of large values from pools such as achievements and weapon collections. Focusing all points into a single stat would only net a 30.5% buff. Which is an insane buff, however in the context of it taking years to achieve and having no effect on competitive game play. The buff can be seen as reasonable to allow the player to experience a direct and permanent benefit to their effort. In world and/or solo content.
As haste is one of the lower stat requirements per percentile, All secondary stats seem reasonable in this. With inclusions (along with implementations)
Jump height: integers variable as point cost equaling distance in meters. Pairing with fall damage threshold, however it would be entertaining to withhold the fall damage threshold.
Ability aoe/cone radius. Distance in meters a variable of point cost again. Example 100 points equaling 1 meter. Specs already make such changes to certain abilities, however it is uncertain if blizzard utilize simple radius values to make these changes.
Fishing speed. The only, as far as I can tell, skill that does not have a method of changing, with the channeling, uncertain if the speed increase will force failed fishing as it is unclear how this functions. Increase in channel speed may work if an interaction is guarantied, or an increase to the chance of interaction while channeling. NOT an increase to skill. Idea being you can fish faster, not better, junk is still junk. I love my rock.
Breath, duration in seconds for those that live under da’ sea. Or really dislike sink hole.
Base swim speed, for similar reasons. We all remember water temple.
Various none primary professions including archaeology, no knowledge points? No problem. However individual methods of this besides speed would require discussion.
Loot radius. A simple addition similar to aoe for those that don’t like running to harder to reach places
None melee range for similar reasons.
Suggest uncapped point adding, as each buff has consequences already in game. Speed - control and running off a cliff. Aoe - Pulling too much. Fishing speed-how fast can you reel in?
While soft caps can be placed in the form of stat requirement per point, realistically the point accumulation would need to be focused or game completion to engage in “silly” (fun) actions. All of which are achievable by everyone. It’s isn’t unfair if everyone can do it, it’s just fun.
More as more is produced.