In WoW I have to kill my followers and that is pretty stupid

To maximize efficiency in WoW, one must send their units to death. It’s a bit ridiculous and quite unnecessary – at least that’s what Cortyn thinks.

World of Warcraft has a number of mechanics that are under scrutiny. The follower missions have been around since Warlords of Draenor. They are quite controversial among players. Some players hate them because the mechanic strongly resembles mobile games, while others like them because they generate income or resources for the character “on the side”.

The concept is basically quite simple. You have a “mission table” where various missions are offered. As a hero, you send strong subordinates along with troops on the respective missions and try to counter the challenges of the missions. If I want to complete several missions simultaneously with the greatest possible success, then I need to plan my available troops a bit or focus on 2-3 missions.

However, the problem is that my available troops are random. That’s already pretty annoying, but with Patch 8.3 Visions of N’Zoth it has become even worse. Starting from a respectful reputation, new troops can be unlocked in Uldum and the Valley of Eternal Blossoms, which are also randomly recruited.

These new troops have the additional bonus of being able to bring “Corrupted Relics” from missions. I need these to unlock new abilities in the visions, which in turn provides better loot.

WoW Wanted Units — Units with this bonus are what I need – all others must be sent to death.

I’m therefore wise to possess as many of these new troops as possible, so I can obtain as many Corrupted Relics as possible.

Or in other words: If I want to play as effectively as possible, I must eliminate all hired troops that do not belong to the new type as quickly as possible. So I should send them on missions that guarantee their death.

This is not only totally ridiculous from a story perspective, but also just annoying.

Recruitment is Slapstick Comedy

It’s also pretty absurd that when you go to the corresponding NPC, you just recruit all kinds of troops. In Legion, you could still specifically request different troop types; in Battle for Azeroth, it’s done randomly. The character trains troops, and which ones they are is then decided by luck.

I always picture such scenes because they beautifully highlight the absurdity.

I then see in my mind’s eye how my Draenei talks to Matthias Shaw:

My character:“So we need specialists for this mission … ideally a squad of gnomish snipers.”

Matthias Shaw: “All right, boss. We’ll take care of it! They’re already on their way!”

– 10 minutes later –

My new squad: “The unit of profit-diving worgen warriors reporting for duty!”

I’d let Matthias Shaw get away with it once. Maybe twice. But then my patience would wear thin, and I’d find another recruiting officer who would actually provide me with the troops I need.

Of course, this is just a single aspect from Battle for Azeroth and Patch 8.3. Overall, I have quite a lot of fun with the game and belong to the few percent who still enjoy the addon.

Nevertheless, the follower system in this expansion is a RNG system with an integrated RNG system. I wish for an improvement with Patch 8.3 and not a deterioration.