Why always speed up leveling? Is a hard mode possible?

Community General Discussion
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Hello, I just got back from a Classic xp session, and it’s really great that it’s challenging!
We take our time, we use our brains to complete the quests.
Coming back to retail, it’s a bit of a shock. Leveling is extremely basic, we one-shot all the mobs… and it’s very fast. Once you’re level 10 and the expansion is chosen, you’ve completed half a zone in terms of quests and lore, and you’re maxed out with a few dungeons.
The worst part is the announcements of +20% XP, knowing that we already have a battalion XP buff. Are there really any players happy with this system? Why not get a pass?
Question: Are there any players who, like me and apparently all Classic players, would like a slightly longer and more difficult leveling process, and therefore more immersive?

Regarding feasibility, I thought that the possibility of removing XP buffs would be a good starting point, and why not offer an XP/stat debuff?
It should be very easy to implement and would temporarily meet many of our expectations while we wait for a more advanced and comprehensive feature like a hard mode.

Have a nice day :slight_smile:

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Because today’s playerbase considers leveling a hassle, and wants to jump into M+/raids asap, ignoring the entire story and leveling section.

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This post comes from the French forum : where a complete answer was given by Eliryana. I’ll share it with you:
Hi,

I agree with you, it would be good to separate the two pex modes.

Currently, pex poses several problems:

You start out overpowered and become a little less so as you scale. It’s… Weird.
You don’t meet anyone except in dungeons, where you generally don’t talk to anyone. Putting myself in the shoes of a new player, it’s not encouraging.
Everything moves so fast that you don’t have time to finish your zones and follow a coherent story.
These flaws aren’t necessarily problems when you have X rerolls and hate pexing. But I think they contribute to the fact that WoW struggles to renew its population.

The solution I would gladly suggest to the devs:

Choose your XP mode during character creation: hard & easy (and why not an intermediate one, depending on feedback, tests, etc.). I’d leave it to the devs to decide whether a rollback is possible.
Both modes would involve more damage and resistance from mobs.
Hard mode would have a much longer XP gain.
End the current phasing/layering (I don’t have the details of the terms anymore, but I think you’re following me) to group together as much as possible Hard mode players. Make it possible to meet people outside while leveling.

But keep horizontal leveling (i.e., allowing the level of each expansion to be scaled to its own level), which allows you to move towards what you prefer. Avoid putting too many rewards on the maximum difficulty so as not to populate this mode with Jean-Opti who would distort its spirit :slight_smile: A HF or a feat of strength would be more than enough in my opinion, but it’s a struggle.

Go further in grouping servers (mixing RP servers with others if necessary, for example).
Increase the character limit accordingly with the addition of a new mode.

Ha, and I anticipate the injunctions to go to Classic if we’re not happy… It’s almost the same games no longer. Playing on Classic means giving up TMOG, modern graphics and skins, and gameplay Post-LK dynamics, collection, recent areas/quests/stories/features… I don’t think it’s a relevant comment. We might want to have a more difficult, more social, and longer pex on retail.

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leveling in classic is not hard at all its just a chore just like retail so please spare me “classic is harder and more rewarding” when its just time consuming

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I understand your point of view, but the popularity of Classic and Hardcore modes clearly shows that many players don’t share this view and prefer a longer, more challenging experience.
And of course, when we say “difficult,” we’re not talking about the same difficulty as raids/MM+ or PvP, but rather something more subtle, as described in previous posts.

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its longer yes

but not a challenge at all in classic and its not really that hard in HM mode either

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I don’t fully agree with this.
Classic clearly had zones/areas that were far more dangerous to go through and would kill you if you pulled the wrong mobs, let alone the elites.

in retails, elites aren’t dangerous at all.
If anything they’re just damage sponges but post no threat.

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Danger does not equal difficulty when the only reason they’re dangerous is because you’re weak, lack abilities and the archaic combat system doesn’t exactly help.

And they have it? Everyone that cares is already theres. Retail does not need or want it.

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“Ha, and I anticipate the injunctions to go to Classic if we’re not happy… It’s almost the same games no longer. Playing on Classic means giving up TMOG, modern graphics and skins, and gameplay Post-LK dynamics, collection, recent areas/quests/stories/features… I don’t think it’s a relevant comment. We might want to have a more difficult, more social, and longer pex on retail.”

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Thus increasing the difficulty of getting passed them or killing them…

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This hard mode would be truly awesome and appreciated, I’m sure, and it could be very beneficial to the game and Blizzard as a company.
It would be a revival of pexing in WoW, which no longer makes much sense, and how many players loved this game for its leveling!

It would allow new players to gradually learn the game’s mechanics and for all players to relive those moments of completing a difficult quest, perhaps with the help of other players, with a character they’ve grown attached to—in short, the first MMO experience that’s so popular in Classic/Hardcore or even Elden Ring, and so on.

In hard mode, each talent/spell would be appreciated; the character would become increasingly powerful, and it would contribute to the feeling of progression and attachment to our character, in addition to being a great way to develop.

I also think that maintaining the ability to level up in the expansion of your choice is a very good idea. It would allow you to have a different experience each time and would offer an almost inexhaustible source of gaming experience while enhancing all the content.
It might also be good to ensure that the player reaches max level at the end of the chosen expansion, perhaps with a conclusion to the story they started! (I’m dreaming a little too much x)

Why not also a hardcore mode coupled with this hard mode?
It could create a wave of hype like there was with the classic hardcore mode, and therefore a gain in players and popularity for the game, and therefore money for Blizzard.

Finally, a very good idea that deserves to be studied!

Perhaps the success of classic/hardcore simply makes the devs realize that players like difficulty. And it’s present at retail but hidden deep within the game (MM+/raid/PvP). Why not offer a challenging experience from the character creation stage while leaving the option to choose easy/rush or sesame mode for those who don’t like leveling.

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I wouldn’t call it hard mode though.
I would just call it “classic leveling” vs “chromie time” or something.

Give people the choice:

  • Level the classic way, where you level up slowly and play through the game (disabling exp buffs)
  • Use Chromie time to level with the current systems/mechanics
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You people realize retail is a product of feedback right?

MOST people didn’t find leveling enjoyable so they made it faster
MOST people didnt find being weak enjoyable so they made us stronger

I can keep going on and on but it all comes down to this; this idea aint happening.

Blizzard already gave you classic and thats all you’re going to get.

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yes yes, change bad, having options bad, we get it.

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Very good idea, it’s more or less what we were proposing in some parts of the proposals, but maybe the texts are too long or my translations aren’t entirely accurate.

In any case, the fact that the battalion XP or season +20% buffs can’t be disabled is a shame; some people want to take their time and like that.
Perhaps also implementing an XP/stat debuff when talking to an NPC could be a simple idea and would meet many of our requests.

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yes yes, echo chamber only, don’t want people that do not agree, i get it.

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This is why I don’t get why Blizzard enforces systems, and doesn’t give us the option to choose. It’s really not that complicated to make things optional/a choice:

  • Warband exp buff? apply or not
  • new event exp buff? apply or not

Nobody is impacted by having it as a choice.
You want to level fast, you can.
You want to level slow, guess what, you also can!

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there is

retail
classic
classic cata
classic HM
classix SOD

how many choices do people want

and its called XP on retail not PEX keep that on classic were people understand it

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Neither of those are an “option”.
I want to play the latest things, not replay everything I’ve played already.
Nor am I just moving an entire guild to a different game mode, like come on…

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take off armor
do chromie time
go zones above your level
punch mobs to death
level by only picking herbs and mining

plenty of options

its stupid to split a small player base even more

make the game harder for u

its none of those are an option not niethet

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