The LFR in World of Warcraft is getting tougher. Blizzard no longer wants to know anything about an easy “tourist mode” – is that good or bad?
The Raid Finder in World of Warcraft has always had a peculiar special status. It was intended to allow players, even without a coordinated raid group, to experience the toughest content of WoW.
But in reality, things usually look different: The tank charges ahead, the group follows. There are flashes and blinks everywhere as the boss uses its various abilities. But that doesn’t really scratch the players’ health bars, and even the healers happily DPS the boss because there is nothing else to do.
This means that all players can see the boss, but a true sense of achievement does not materialize.
Kil’Jaeden is the first step away from the tourist mode
With this, Blizzard wanted to make a change and has taken the first step in this direction with Kil’Jaeden, the final boss from the Tomb of Sargeras.
Kil’Jaeden (LFR) uses significantly fewer mechanics than his twins in normal, heroic, or even mythic mode, but they are still deadly – even for well-equipped players.
And this is also the general path Blizzard wants to take in the future: Reducing the number of boss mechanics in LFR but keeping them relevant, threatening, and interesting. Because only then would LFR players feel a real sense of challenge.
“In the past, we used the term tourist mode to describe the raid finder, but that is no longer our design philosophy. We want to ensure that players still have an interesting gameplay experience in LFR (even if it is not as intense as in higher difficulties).
Ornyx (Community Manager of Blizzard) added at the end: “It is important to note that we believe that the boss fight should be challenging and dramatic, regardless of the difficulty.”
And we can only wholeheartedly agree. It greatly enhances the LFR if there is at least a minimum level of communication and tactics present. Because if we are honest, almost nothing was more boring than the “forced” LFR brain-off visits to get loot, artifact power, or quest items.
However, the new plan is also not well received by all players. In the official forum, there were numerous outcries that Kil’Jaeden in LFR is far too difficult to defeat with an average group of the “idiot lottery”.
What do you think about it? Should LFR be more difficult than in the past? Or would you rather grab loot without problems and just get away quickly?
