WoW-demon Cortyn is fed up. The latest areas are a torment and the heroic mode is a lot, but not fun.
I believe that I am quite fair in my assessment of new game content. The first impression counts for a lot, but I always take a little time to get a clearer picture. That’s why I didn’t want to write about Val and Naigtal during the first weeks, but rather wait. After all, there are often small hotfixes, and in the second week of a patch, it often looks quite different.
But that didn’t happen. For me, it is clear: The mini-area Val on heroic difficulty is the worst zone I have ever seen. Yes, worse than the Maw and Korthia from Shadowlands.
I really don’t know who this is meant for. As a cloth class, it is an absolute torment. Not only does each mob have a lot of health points, but they hit me so hard that I end up on the ground in just a few seconds if I’m not careful.
That would still be okay. I could still handle that.
But additionally, there are even more ridiculous mechanics. Because every few minutes, you are watched by an elite NPC that then strikes from the shadows. A bit like the Prey system, but extreme. Extremely stupid. Because depending on which elite you encounter, it can immediately kill you. The mobs also have a whopping 5,000,000 health points, which makes for a fight that can easily last over a minute.
One minute, during which other enemies join the fray. And that for the great price of 5 tokens, while a shabby treasure chest already gives 8 of them.
More than once, I just rode through the enemies and let myself get killed. Reviving is simply much easier than the stress of a minute-long fight.
Unless of course, the big elite spawns. Because he doesn’t go away when you die. He simply goes back into stealth and waits for your next resurrection.
But there are even more mechanics. Mobs that can silence and interrupt you spontaneously. Enemies that can see you from a distance of 40 meters. Intensifying debuffs that only disappear when you do the nearby world quest.
I haven’t felt the urge to “rage quit” a game in a long time, but Val managed it. More than once, I thought: “Press Alt+F4. Go to the PlayStation. Lie down in the bathtub. Eat a whole bag of chips.”
Now, of course, one could say: “Oh, Cortyn. This is just a heroic zone. Then you should do it as a group, just like back in the day.”
Yes, that is an option. The most efficient way is certainly to just go in with 5 people and treat it like a dungeon where you pull everything together.
But that is just as unenjoyable because then it becomes far too easy and monotonous.
I’m not sure what difficulty Blizzard was trying to achieve here – but I just don’t believe they hit the target. As a DPS character, it is agony. As a tank, it is easy, but takes forever.
Val broke me. There could have been great rewards, like cool transmogs, toys, and even housing items that I would love to have. But I don’t want that anymore. This area really brings me minus-fun. I will tackle it again at the earliest in two expansions when everything falls apart at once. Until then, I forego the rewards and prefer to dive back into roleplay or other content.
How did you feel about the two new mini-areas Val and Naigtal? Are you tackling them on heroic difficulty? Is the normal mode enough for you? Or do you only use the areas for leveling?
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