Why I'm Leaving WoW: A Reflection on Healing, M+, and Toxicity

Community General Discussion
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I’ve finally decided to step away, and I wanted to share why. The current state of healing, Mythic+, and the community has pushed me away.

1. Healing Changes and Broken Promises
Blizzard’s recent changes to healing, coupled with their inability to address spikey damage mechanics, have made the experience downright miserable. Healing feels awful, stressful, and unrewarding. Blizzard promised better balance but never delivered. It feels like they’ve completely missed the mark on what makes healing fun.

2. Key Squish and M+ Toxicity
The Mythic+ key squish has introduced a host of problems:

  • Unprepared Players: The squish lets unskilled players push into keys they’re not ready for, creating chaos for everyone else.
  • Toxic Behavior Towards Healers: As a healer, you often get blamed for group failures. Players call you names, report you, and somehow you’re the one who gets warnings—even though they were the ones being toxic and calling you names! It’s absurd.
  • Key Downgrading Punishes Practice: Downgrading keys for failures discourages players from practicing and improving. It makes them seek easy carries instead of learning mechanics, which leads to more toxicity.

This system is broken. It encourages bad behavior and punishes those trying to improve or help the group succeed.

3. Automated Reporting System
The automated reporting system is another glaring issue. It feels like it’s designed to be exploited:

  • Players who hurl insults and slurs at you can turn around and report you, and the system sides with them.
  • Despite fewer active players, bots are rampant, and Blizzard seems unable (or unwilling) to address these issues.
    This kind of system drives good players away while empowering bad behavior.

4. M+ Gear Behind Raids and Boosting Culture
The loot system is another major frustration. Why should Mythic+ players be forced to raid to get the best gear? It feels like Blizzard is encouraging a boost economy to squeeze money from token sales. This approach alienates players who prefer Mythic+ over raiding and adds unnecessary hurdles.

5. Better Alternatives Exist
After deleting WoW a few weeks ago, I started playing Guild Wars 2 and Final Fantasy XIV. The difference is night and day:

  • The developers genuinely care about their games.
  • The communities are welcoming and far less toxic.

World of Warcraft has some of the most unique healing gameplay, but the toxic culture, broken Mythic+ systems, and lack of meaningful improvements make it hard to stick around. Unless Blizzard makes a serious overhaul of healing, Mythic+, and their automated systems, not banning toxic players, I see no reason to return.

Unfortunately, I expect this thread’s replies will prove my point about how toxic the community has become. Instead of engaging constructively, many will likely resort to insults and dismissive comments. This forum has become just another reflection of the game’s toxic culture.

To those still playing, I wish you luck. And for those considering other games, don’t hesitate to try them—you might find the experience far better elsewhere.

Good luck to everyone, and no, I’m not giving away my gold.

9 Likes
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Hurts me every time i see a healer leaving. But i understand it somehow. When i get in lfr raids, when i get into Chromie raid, or BRD, or some dungeons, the amount of people literally totally clueless about any mechanics, is very often higher, than the amount of players who did made at least some research.
Why do i mention this? Because of course this means these people take more damage, usually even dying. Which means forcing healers to heal more than they should be, and therefore stressing them more.
So i understand why you’re leaving. I wouldn’t be able to go through that every day. And i say that as a tank.

I hear this issue often, but never witnessed it. But i don’t spam dungeons or raids, so maybe that’s the reason.

As a tank, i can relate to this so much…
Sometimes i wanna take it a bit slowly, sometimes i get into dungeons i am unfamiliar with, so i approach carefully, which results in short breaks between pulls.
The amount of people screaming at me GO GO GO FASTER FASTER!!! is insane.
And ninja pullers man… I freakin hate ninja pullers.

But the worst part is, the moment I DARE to say something, all of the sudden I AM the bad guy here xd.
Very often ending up being kicked from dungeon lmao…
It’s ridiculous.
DPS community is ridiculous.

I agree.

It’s crazy how true this is. How often people yell slurs at me and it seems they get away with it without any punishment.

Bots are crazy how often i meet them outdoor, minning or gathering herbs. I wonder if Blizzard is even doing something about.
It’s been like that for months…
It’s crazy that we live in a time where we just have to accept the fact, that bots are running around, we see them every day, nobody is doing anything about it…

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A lot of fair points, some just tolerate it longer than others. Would say joining a community could solve at least the pugging/toxicity issue but otherwise not much to add. Best of luck in GW2/FF!

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That’s true.

Maybe he’s affraid to join one?
I myself am struggling with a thought of joining guild. Although i know it would be for my own good, because of raiding, m+ and that all high end game.
But as a solo player, i’m so not sure about joining one.
It’s a real struggle and i bet a lot of people experience that.

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Cool.

See you next week.

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They are actually making changes I believe to ease out mythic dungeons a bit, especially for players that are just getting into it.
I’d hold out a bit longer if I was you.
Have you tried another healer?
I can’t understand this “healing feels awful.”
Everytime I’m on my Rdruid or my Disc priest I’m having the time of my life.
I guess we just have completely different opinions on that aspect.

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I haven’t rly experienced a lot of toxicity, but there are exceptions sometimes ofc.

Like once in 80 runs this season I experienced it once, had a healer struggling in city of threads, a very healing intensive dungeon. He was not prepared for last boss and died to the orbs. Another group member urged everyone to report for random reason and whispered afterwards “everyone else did it” like put lots of effort into it and all.

I didn’t report tho because never gonna abuse the system, it is what it is. Just demove deplete let every other mechanic remain. Like the level of the key lowering if you skip a week or do not time a key of your current level of said week.

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Thats because most of the people know the plethora of alts you spread negativity and lies on. Don’t try to take the moral high ground now.

Don’t let the door hit ya where the good Lord split ya.

Eh, most of your score you got carried to by a bf / hubby who was 10 ilevels higher than you.
You have one kill on the final boss and thats a 1% parse which can only mean there was a gold exchange happening. Damn hypocritical of you to call out “unprepared players” and unskilled players and moan about boosting when you’re a beneficiary.

I do agree wow ain’t in a great shape though, I’ll be getting PoE early access for sure.

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I can very easily understand it. Here’s why:

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There are always trolls but I completely understand, at a similar junction myself as a DPS (MM or BM hunter, so, the rest should be obvious :laughing: ) and I’m fortunate enough to raid in a guild and do M+ with a relatively tight-knit group. But I’ve just reached my end with the game and something has snapped and I just can’t even make myself log on any more. The current structure of M+ and the huge “steps” has broken the constant progression for me, and seeing the frustration with my friends too is disheartening, and trying to push further on MM hunter is, well, a territory I don’t feel I want to go into.

So at this point I feel happier cutting my losses and quitting. Not saying I won’t return, I just don’t know. But yeah, something is rotten in Denmark and I’m not 100% sure what it is, perhaps I went too hard on this XP (was between jobs) and partially burnt myself out.

So good luck out there, I’m looking forward to Civ VII myself…no pesky pugs to deal with there :smiley: and also, are you sure you really want to keep that gold? Just saying :wink:

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What does raiding has to do with M+? I do not care about the raid and the system does make you raid, read point number 4. (My husband also has 1% HC raid logs, how he can boost me then by your logic?)
M+ has logs as well, use them if you want to be credible. What is wrong with playing with my husband in a M+ pug? Who is not even a tank… Can you buy a boost for M+ as a healer?? You are a very very good example of this community being toxic. You literally went out of your way and spent 15 minutes of your life stalking my profile to make the most absurd comment ignoring all the points I have made. I am happy that I left this game, the worst community, hopefully you and other toxic players will be banned so the game could recover.

This is my last message.

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Oh yeah bad players, they’ll always be there.
The good thing is, those players act as a reassurance that you are in fact doing what you’re suppose to, even when it feels like it’s not enough.
Try to have some understanding, I played Wow through Bc and Cataclysm so approximately 7 years give or take.
When I came back earlier this year in Dragonflight, things were not easy, some things were straight up HARD to learn.
I already had years of experience with this game, so believe me when I tell you that a new player is going to struggle with things that come completely natural to you.

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Ah, you invoked the spirit of Dejarous…be careful about doing that :wink:

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All the best for the future, it is just a game and if you are not having fun you should find something else that is more worth your time now.

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