For Cortyn, World of Warcraft is becoming increasingly stressful. Is it due to the new game systems? Is WoW really no longer as “casual” as thought?

After the initial stress that always comes with the launch of a new World of Warcraft expansion, WoW was often a place of relaxation for me.

In contrast to action titles like Dead by Daylight or frantic matches in Heroes of the Storm, WoW always felt “calm” and cozy. Sure, during a “Mythic+” dungeon or a PvP battleground, it could get hectic, but that was always time-limited.

Otherwise, WoW has always been a “cozy” game for me. You log in, look around a bit, and just do whatever comes your way. Only a few things feel mandatory; most are optional or so hard to achieve that you tend to ignore them anyway.

However, that has changed. WoW has become stressful in recent weeks, and this opinion is also reflected in my circle of friends.

More pressure due to easy accessibility

In terms of gameplay, I am by no means “hardcore”. For instance, I do not raid mythically, and so far not even heroically – simply because I lack the time.

However, I am always enthusiastic about “Mythic+” dungeons and quite motivated to get the best out of my character and master higher keys. To achieve this, I naturally want to have my priest well-equipped.

PvP has never been a big deal for me. I occasionally liked to play a few rounds, but I was never really ambitious about it. I do not mind losing – at least that has been the case until now.

With Battle for Azeroth, however, you are well-advised to farm 500 conquest points each week, to snag an item of item level 355. While you do not miss out on it and can still earn the item in the coming weeks, this makes the task larger each time.

Recently, conquest points have become even more important. If you accumulate 500 points in a week, you get to open an additional PvP reward chest at the start of the next week. Regardless of whether you are playing rated PvP or not.

Since this bonus chest can also drop “really good stuff”, the 500 conquest points per week become a requirement. A further piece in the packed schedule within World of Warcraft.

The Hearthstone factor has disappeared

When I am in World of Warcraft, I mentally assign most things a “Hearthstone factor”. This is a mental scale from 0 to 10, indicating how well I can play Hearthstone “on the side” while playing WoW. A few examples?

• “Mythic+” dungeons: Hearthstone factor 0
• Healing in timewalking dungeons: Hearthstone factor 3
• Farming herbs/minerals: Hearthstone factor 7
• Pet battles: Hearthstone factor 8
• Fishing: Hearthstone factor 9
• Following guild chat: Hearthstone factor 10

The fact that I have not touched Hearthstone at all for almost three weeks also speaks for itself: What I do in World of Warcraft has become stressier and more consuming. Not necessarily more difficult or demanding – but the sheer volume of things has increased.

Everything is relevant, but nothing really matters

On one hand, it is, of course, great that World of Warcraft offers so many different contents, all with rewards. On the other hand, the game creates massive pressure to exploit all these potential sources of good loot.

But aside from conquest points, you never really know what you are actually working towards. Almost always, the reward is random, and thus there is a great chance that all the effort was “in vain” – if you disregard the fun of the game for a moment and only focus on character optimization.

It often happens that you struggle through a “Mythic+10” dungeon, only to open a chest on Wednesday containing an item for an equipment slot that already has something better in it.

Many things in WoW that consume a lot of time are only done because there is a very small chance that it might yield something. The ratio of “time/benefit” is currently completely skewed.

So many goals, so little time

If I summarize, my “week in World of Warcraft” is packed. Here’s a small list of all the things that my “gamer heart” says I should accomplish this week:

• Collect 500 conquest points in PvP
• Complete the 7 emissary quests
• Complete all world quests with equipment for potential upgrades
• Push the “Mythic+” key as high as possible
• Complete 5 timewalking dungeons for the weekly quest
• Finish island expeditions up to the weekly cap
• Take advantage of the warfront while it was active
• Farm war resources for the “bonus rolls”
• Visit the raid Uldir in LFR and normal mode

Just collecting “500 conquest points” can keep me busy for several evenings. You all know those days when you lose every battleground you enter, right?

If I add up all the things above, I am easily busy with them for 24 hours a week – nearly 4 hours a day. Of course, this varies depending on how well things go in PvP or what “nonsense group” one has once again encountered in LFR at the MOTHER.

Sure, none of the above things are mandatory. None of it is strictly necessary. But everything is just relevant enough that one considers it and feels a bit bad about skipping something.

How could it be better?

However, not wanting to just complain, I would like to present a few solutions on how a lot of “passive pressure” could be taken out of the system.

I wish that some things were “less achievable”. The best example is the PvP chest. That it can now be obtained without rated PvP makes it enticing. It does not have to be.

The PvP chest could have remained exclusive to PvP players who take PvP more seriously than I do and play rated.

Less RNG. Generally, I like RNG and feel randomness is just part of a loot system in an MMORPG. But randomness should stay within clear limits.

One idea for change could be the “Mythic+” chest. I would really like it if you could already see in the current week which item will be in the chest.

To illustrate this as an example: You could already see during the current week that a piece of jewelry is included in the chest, seeing the exact stats and the passive effect. The item level of the jewelry would depend on the hardest dungeon completed.

So if I only finish a “Mythic+2” dungeon, I would receive the jewelry at item level 350 on the coming Wednesday. However, if the dungeons get tougher (Mythic+10 as an example), then the item jumps to 380+.

This way, you would have a clear goal in sight and could also say sometimes: “Oh, this week there is only a cloak, and I already have three different ones at 370 – so I will not stress myself over it.”

Currently, World of Warcraft is more stressful for me than ever before. I can hardly imagine how it would feel if I wanted to raid again or level up a twink. I no longer get to “relaxing” activities like pet battles or transmog farm runs. Whether Patch 8.1 Tides of Vengeance will change anything remains to be seen.

Perhaps it is time for me to take it down a notch. Hanging out with friends in Dead by Daylight is somehow more relaxing.

How do you currently feel about World of Warcraft? Are you also a bit overwhelmed by the variety of potential loot sources? Are you among the “hardcore” players who do even more each week? Or do you find it much “chillier” and only do a few things?

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