Gareth Harmer

Sooo…. #WarcraftMidnight

Managed to get to 90 without even finishing Zul’Aman.

“finally, I can get started on level cap content”

Nope. It’s all gated behind finishing the main story.

Prey system? Gated

Level 4 and up delves? Gated

Heroics? Gated

Considering that I (like many people) didn’t even finish the War Within campaign, this is such a terrible idea.

Mar 14 at 2:18pmWeb
Show threadOberstKruegerMar 14

@Gazimoff I was a bit further, but feel the same way. Way too much is gated behind the campaign. I ended up just burning through the last zone to unlock everything, which wasn’t great as I now need to go back with another character to take it all in.

It feels like doing anything besides just mainlining the campaign from the beginning leaves you falling behind. Which is fine for people who just do that content, but I did need to get later stuff unlocked to get ready for raiding.

Show threadPixel OneMar 14
@OberstKrueger @Gazimoff same. I hit 90 at around either the start of the last zone or somewhere in Harandar.
It gives such weird signals too cause you have to be a certain level to do parts of the MSQ so then people have to go and do side stuff so you assume level 90 will unlock endgame stuff. Like come on Blizz either you want us at max level or you want us to quest.
It's pretty clear there are two very different design philosophies at play here.
Show threadFJ BrodieMar 14

@Gazimoff I've never played WoW, but level-cap content and endgame raids in FFXIV have always been "gated" by completing the main story. Though usually there's a story thread that only makes sense if you have finished the MSQ.

The same goes for other endgame content like special weapons.

Has that not been the case for WoW in the past?

That said, if I JUST do the MSQ and side-quests, usually I hit level cap in the final zone anyway in FFXIV.

Show threadGareth HarmerMar 14
@FibroJedi indeed WoW has never done this before, so it’s very unusual.
Show threadBearmineMar 14
@Gazimoff me when I played wow years ago: “WoW has a story?”
Show threadGareth HarmerMar 14
@bearmine They’ve taken a *ton* of inspiration from FFXIV since about 2018. Not all of it has been well implemented.
Show threadBearmineMar 14
@Gazimoff well I’m seeing enough of our cycle complain about it being required that it seems to be a culture clash. Since WoW was always targeted at end game people and not more casual story peeps like me.
Show threadGareth HarmerMar 14
@bearmine historically, I’d agree with you. But if Blizzard’s latest marketing campaigns and feature focuses (housing, delves) are anything to go by, I think they’re switching away from the hardcore.
Show threadPixel OneMar 14
@Gazimoff @bearmine and honestly I think that's the disconnect. They are marketing for casual but still requiring hardcore to some degree.
And yes, it has story, a bit of a disconnected and often retconned one but it's there.
They are also taking a ton of stuff from GW2 to be honest lol.
Show threadGareth HarmerMar 14
@pixelone @bearmine oh absolutely! There was a zone in GW2 that I absolutely hated that had a ton of huge vines and plants and stuff that was very vertical, and Harandar feels almost exactly like it :(
Show threadPixel OneMar 14
@Gazimoff @bearmine I know exactly the zone you are talking about. It is the only GW2 expansion I could not stand.
Show threadJoarMar 14
@Gazimoff @bearmine @pixelone Heart of Thorns. Super vertical with no flying and hero points that were impossible.
Show threadNogamaraMar 14
@Gazimoff Curious, what did you do then? I managed to finish the main story on my main at +/- 1h of dinging 90. Did some dungeons, some Delves, quite some side quests, no professions. Felt perfectly paced for me.
Show threadGareth HarmerMar 14
@Nogamara Did all the quests in Eversong, some delves, then repeated the process in Zul’Aman. Dinged 90 at 10/17 chapters complete on the campaign.
Show threadNogamaraMar 14
@Gazimoff Ah, wow. Guess I've never been a zone completionist at the very start :P Actually this time I deliberately did all the missing side quests on my 2nd char to get the achievements - but I can see how people would not want to break up the flow.
Show threadJayMar 14

@Gazimoff Thankfully it's just the first character. Later can easily skip at level cap when you hit it. Plus this is early days. It gets progressively easier with alts.

Even for a single player it's not that much more. The campaign in voidstorm goes quick.