The item spiral is a lasting motivation in World of Warcraft – but not for everyone. The number of players who do not enjoy it is steadily increasing.
Due to the many issues with World of Warcraft, the mood on social media is currently quite tense. The launch of Season 2 brought much joy due to the cool cinematics, but soon problems and complaints overshadow the initial joy.
But today I want to talk about some systems that have become increasingly prominent in recent expansions, are taking on a more obvious role in World of Warcraft, and are becoming more disturbing for me: the catch-up systems.
What are catch-up systems? In MMORPGs, a “catch-up” system or “catch-up mechanic” refers to various features that are intended to make it easier for players to reach the level of those who have been playing for a longer time.
They are meant to give newcomers or former players a chance to experience the current content of a game. This usually happens through easily obtainable, strong equipment, which months ago required completing particularly difficult content.
Catch-up systems have run their course
“In the past,” there were one or two catch-up systems. For example, one could visit dungeons to earn tokens, which could then be used to purchase decent equipment – at least for some gear slots. Those who wanted to fill every slot still had to engage in specific activities to be truly well-equipped.
But today there is no longer “a catch-up system” – everything is a catch-up system. Regardless of whether the player is tackling world quests, completing emissary quests, visiting dungeons at all conceivable difficulty levels, tackling warfronts, defeating world bosses, or engaging in PvP. All content brings the player “up to speed”.
Everything has become just a chase to keep up with the current raid.
And that is exactly what is frustrating. On one hand, it is great that everyone can play only the kind of content they enjoy. This means no one is forced to participate in raids or engage in PvP. On the other hand, the incentive for individual content is low. If I can get a complete set of gear from every activity in the game that is roughly at the current level, the motivation to improve is lacking.
Why should I try to complete a “Mythic+10” dungeon next week and improve with my group when it offers rewards that I can also obtain from many other activities?
The uniqueness of the rewards has disappeared. Sure, there are certain mounts from raids or specific toys from the warfronts that players can only obtain there. But this is typically “small stuff” that does not directly relate to character development. This may motivate some, but by no means all.
Additionally, the item spiral kicks in and certain points where all earned equipment becomes useless. When this happens at the beginning of an expansion, at the start in a new world, it feels okay. But when it happens with every raid tier and every minor patch, it becomes a problem. Even more so when the difficulty of old content increases. If I could complete a “Mythic +10” dungeon effortlessly two weeks ago and now it is almost impossible, then that feels bad.
All these factors lead to a feeling that much in the current World of Warcraft is arbitrary. It leads to logging in, running around in circles with the character (which does not exist), and not knowing what to do with my time in the game. The anticipation for the next day, that I will finally tackle a specific type of content to earn a very special reward only there, has disappeared.
Currently, it seems to be primarily friendships that keep players together in World of Warcraft, along with a few die-hard fans who actually enjoy the content.
How could it be better?
I must be honest and say that I have few ideas on how to improve these systems. I think I would prefer if “Mythic+” would scale even higher (such as to +20 or +30), without raising the difficulty at the start of a new season. It is frustrating to fail at a number that was easily achievable just a few weeks ago. It is disheartening when equipment from two weeks ago is still more than sufficient, and now it is no longer enough in the same content.
Furthermore, the devaluation of items gnaws at me more each time. I don’t spend as much time in WoW as many others, but I was quite proud of my item level of nearly 380. That item level 400 is now thrown at me through a trivial PvP quest bothers me more than it did a few expansions ago. This is also because, subjectively, the gaps between these catch-up mechanics are getting shorter, and there are hardly any phases in which you can truly enjoy what you’ve earned.
I wish to be able to earn things of lasting significance again. Things that won’t be devalued in a few weeks. Things that can simply last until the next expansion. It doesn’t have to be much, as catch-up systems are sensible – but the extent has become too great.
How do you feel about this? Do you share my opinion or do you find the item spiral with the catch-up mechanics sensible and good? Should it stay this way because that’s how it has “always been”?
