The depths of World of Warcraft have created a new problem. Of all people, dungeon fans are now suffering from it.
World of Warcraft is currently in a crisis when looking at the “Mythic+” area. The dungeon system is one of the major endgame pillars of Blizzard’s MMORPGs and has served well for many years. But currently, players are frustrated. Tanks and healers are becoming increasingly scarce, and reports of people who have no idea about M+ are becoming more frequent.
The reasons for this situation are multiple, and one of them is the depths. They were supposed to satisfy solo gamers but have, in some cases, had the opposite effect. For those who have exhausted the depths, they have to enter a system that they do not want to play.
The problem of the depths: too poor loot
The depths (“Delves”) have solved many problems in World of Warcraft. Finally, solo adventurers can dive into small mini-dungeons, play through them at their own pace, and take breaks when real life knocks on the door. They are rewarded with quite solid equipment up to item level 616 from the weekly chest.
However, the depths have also created a problem. Because once you reach item level 616, many feel that there should be more to achieve. And that’s true, as it can go up to item level 626 or even 639 – but not in the depths.
The logical conclusion: after the depths, you move on to “Mythic+”. With an item level of 616, you are roughly at the level of “M+6” to “M+8” – at least regarding your own equipment.
However, many who switch from depths to M+ have little or no experience with the system at all. They do not know the affixes, nor do they know the bosses or the different enemy groups. This is knowledge that “M+” players acquire relatively early in a season, often already at lower levels. “Working your way up slowly” is part of the principle of Mythic+. This is the only way to learn the dungeons, understand the affixes, and grasp what is actually happening.
Depth fans don’t want M+ – but they have to
Another problem is that many of these characters coming from the depths really have no desire to spend hours or days dealing with Mythic+. They want better equipment after their desired game mode – namely the depths – is just not providing it anymore.
The YouTuber and streamer Bellular made a rather interesting video where he goes into many of these points in more detail:
Many tend to condemn their fellow players in the WoW subreddit or even the official forums. However, this is not very productive. Because no matter how much you complain about the so-called “bad players” – it doesn’t change their behavior or playstyle. Most of them probably don’t want to be in Mythic+ at all, but it’s the only reasonable alternative somewhat open to them.
If you compare the depths and M+ directly, it is also obvious that depth fans will have little joy in M+. After all, it is almost the complete opposite gameplay:
- You depend on a group.
- There is a time limit.
- Single mistakes can be devastating and ruin the entire run.
- Breaks are not possible.
- You need a lot of prior knowledge about each individual dungeon.
Or in short: All that a depth player actually doesn’t want.
Solutions are clear
There are several approaches to solve this. One of them would be a system of “unlocking” in the area of Mythic+. Each season, you have to complete a “Mythic+2” first before you can enter a “Mythic+3”. So you must unlock each level individually and work your way up at least once per season and account. You could also do this for each dungeon individually. This would extend the system a bit at the beginning of a season, but it ensures: Everyone has seen the dungeon at least once and has worked their way up to the current difficulty.
This way, there would be no one starting in M+6 or M+7 without any clue about what is actually happening.
However, the most obvious solution seems to be: Give depth fans what they want. Better equipment by scaling the depths further and increasing the difficulty. Why shouldn’t depths at levels 9, 10, and 11 provide even better gear? Why is there a limit for the system already?
World of Warcraft has placed a particularly large focus on being able to achieve a lot solo – at least in the beginning – with The War Within. The developers even published guides on how to never have to interact with other people.
I know some of you are thinking and are already typing in the comments: Why should I still raid or do Mythic+ if I can ultimately get good gear from the depths?
The answer to that is clear: Because it’s fun. Think of your most successful, entertaining visits in dungeons. Think of raids with friends and your guild. When everyone is at the same level, when everyone enjoys the same content, it just creates a good mood and is a great time.
Mythic+ is a great system – for everyone who enjoys such content. Then it can be incredibly fun to collect the best gear in the game here and continuously improve together with a tight-knit group of friends (or strangers).
But anyone who doesn’t care about that and has no fun with it should not be indirectly “forced” into it by only providing item improvements there. Give solo fans an equivalent access to strong items. Because then hardly anyone runs into these people in Mythic+ and has to complain afterwards about “what an idiot they had again.”
The guy is probably not an idiot. The game’s item system just leads him to play content he actually has no interest in and for which he is not prepared. And that shouldn’t be the case.
If this whole topic annoys you: Just listen to the song from Elwynn 133 times. Another WoW fan did that too.
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