What you need to know
- World of Warcraft is among the game industry’s most successful titles, entering its 20th year of profitable operation.
- Microsoft acquired the game when it purchased Activision-Blizzard, which was finalized last year.
- Over the summer, World of Warcraft gained its latest expansion, The War Within, and it has been largely well-received.
- However, an influx of new players have noticed that World of Warcraft’s aging levelling experience has become easier and more simplistic than ever — because you can no longer actually die.
As a tech enthusiast with over two decades of gaming under my belt, I can confidently say that World of Warcraft has been a staple in the MMORPG genre since its inception. Having played it through various expansions and iterations, I’ve witnessed firsthand its growth and evolution – for better and sometimes, for worse.
One significant achievement in the gaming industry is World of Warcraft, which has been thriving since its debut nearly two decades ago. Despite experiencing some challenging expansion periods, it consistently offers a top-tier MMORPG experience. After Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision-Blizzard, World of Warcraft became one of their standout PC games for Windows, continuing to captivate players worldwide.
In the latest expansion, “World of Warcraft: The War Within,” the gaming experience has significantly enhanced for both casual players and individuals playing alone. A fresh kind of dungeon has been introduced, specifically designed for solo play, while still preserving the challenging endgame difficulty gradient that hardcore gamers crave.
In my reviews for “WoW: The War Within” and “Should you play World of Warcraft in 2024?”, I’ve consistently pointed out issues with the game’s leveling process. To put it simply, the newcomer experience in World of Warcraft is often lackluster. This is due to several factors: overlapping storylines, outdated content, and a focus on rushing players towards the endgame without enough attention given to narrative or immersion. In my opinion, this neglect of the leveling process contributes to some extent to the appeal of WoW: Classic, which was significantly more engaging.
In the ongoing battle known as The War Within, Blizzard has been swiftly making updates, fixes, and improvements to the game at an incredible speed. Last week, I discussed how the latest Delve dungeon system in World of Warcraft has fallen short of its full potential due to balance problems, with certain classes significantly outperforming others when it comes to soloing the content.
Over time, the level of challenge in World of Warcraft has been adjusted in several ways. For instance, 25-player Mythic raids provide an extremely tough test for highly skilled players who meticulously optimize their characters, while the difficulty level of Mythic+ 5-man dungeons adjusts according to your decisions. Additionally, Delves have a tier system that goes up to Tier 13 and includes a unique solo boss. Many of the game’s endgame systems recognize player skill and commitment, gradually introducing players to the experience through Story mode dungeons with AI companions, progressing to mid-core Heroic raids, and culminating in Mythic difficulties that even host esports events centered around them.
The carefully designed level of challenge in the game is what leaves me a little puzzled by this recent update to the beginner’s journey. My gaming group has pointed out this change, and from what I gather, it doesn’t seem like Blizzard has made it explicitly clear in their documentation.
In the video, you’ll notice my level 47 dwarf Paladin being overwhelmed by powerful monsters, but surprisingly, he becomes invulnerable instead. It appears that in World of Warcraft now, new players are unable to die, which removes all potential danger from gameplay, making it risk-free.
I’m unsure what this “Obsidian Blessing” buff, which protects you from death essentially from levels 1 through to 70 aims to achieve. For new players, it creates a completely inconsistent experience between 1 to 70 and levels 71 to 80, since as far as I can tell, it isn’t really explained anywhere why exactly you’re unable to die in the Dragon Isles. The levelling experience for new customers directs players straight to the previous Dragonflight expansion, which offers at least some basic context for the wider World of Warcraft universe. I’ve argued previously that Blizzard should remake the old WoW levelling experience with a focus on small-stakes evergreen content that builds immersion and flavor, much like the old experience that made the game a huge hit in the first place.
WoW’s levelling experience was far less forgiving than today’s modern experience, making you feel as though danger lurked in every corner, adding intrigue and mystique. I’ve tried many times to get friends and family into the game, only for them to bow out owing to the simplistic, and un-immersive gameplay that is at total odds with the current expansion experience. Now, Blizzard has taken that ease to a whole new level. Removing all the danger from World of Warcraft is akin to making it feel completely arbitrary. Why not just remove levelling all together, if Blizzard has started to think that all types of friction are the problem?
Not all players are the same, but no player wants to be bored
I have no qualms with Blizzard’s aim to make the game more accommodating for a wider range of players. Back in my early twenties, I was raiding nearly every day, chasing after server-first boss kills. But now, I find it hard to picture ever having that much free time again. It’s great that Delves have made it easier for those with less time or who prefer not to group with others to progress gear. Additionally, I appreciate the addition of a story mode raid experience in World of Warcraft: The War Within, which allows solo players to encounter storylines usually reserved for guilds and groups. frankly, I believe that the story mode should extend beyond just the final boss, encompassing the entire raid.
It’s challenging for me to support the idea of making World of Warcraft less engaging or dynamic, as my level 47 Protection Paladin, designed for low damage and defense, currently has the ability to instantly kill monsters with critical hits. Moreover, it seems that progression can be achieved without active gameplay, which I believe is counterproductive. This approach could potentially undermine the intended effects Blizzard aims for; for instance, teaching players to disregard danger signals like standing in area-effect spells or over-pulling monsters. If we normalize no repercussions for reaching 0% health, we risk setting an expectation that endgame is similarly consequence-free. I believe MMORPGs should maintain a balance of depth, challenge, and risks to warrant their attractive rewards.
I strongly support enhancing the game’s accessibility, but I believe Blizzard has taken things too far in this instance, and they should re-evaluate their decision, in my opinion. It’s possible there could be a logical explanation behind it that I’m unaware of. Maybe the Obsidian Blessing is not intended to make players invincible due to a bug. Perhaps they have information about player preferences that suggests immortality is essential for attracting new gamers. However, I would contend that a tailored leveling experience featuring localized, timeless stories, engaging gameplay mechanics with risk and reward dynamics would be more effective in capturing new players. But remember, I’m just an enthusiastic fan, not a game developer myself.
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2024-09-23 22:09