Power and loss. An eternal vicious circle in World of Warcraft, frustrating players. How can the MMORPG escape this problem?
World of Warcraft is an online game that has evolved over more than 15 years. With each new expansion came smaller and larger systems in World of Warcraft that were meant to provide players with joy or frustration.
However, in recent expansions, a new vicious circle has crept in, from which there seems to be little escape.
The vicious circle of powerful systems
To explain which vicious circle is being referred to, here is a brief summary of the extremely powerful abilities and buffs that have been present in the latest expansion.
Here was the new system in Warlords of Draenor: The problem started in the Warlords of Draenor expansion. The garrison was a pretty cool feature that brought numerous small advantages to the players. Faster mounts, portals across the entire continent, more resources, and an army of followers that one could sometimes even take along as companions.
However, by the end of the expansion, the garrison had fallen out of favor with many players because the constant interaction with numerous servants reminded them of a mobile game.
So it was with Legion: With the launch of Legion, the garrison was forgotten, and players could obtain their cool artifact weapons. This was the big feature of the expansion: legendary weapons that got better over time, had an extensive story, and generated more power with each patch. In addition, there were legendary items, of which each character could only carry one or two at a time. These changed the playstyle or provided a significant performance boost.
That was good as long as it lasted. The artifact weapons gave players a sense of power. A strength they did not want to lose so quickly.
In BFA, players felt weaker with every level-up
So it was in recent years with BfA: But then came Battle for Azeroth. Even with the pre-patch, the artifact weapons lost a significant part of their strength, losing all talents and properties. Five levels later, players also had to say goodbye to the legendary items that no longer had any effect past level 115.
A feeling of emptiness arose among players. The strange feeling of losing a bit more power with every level-up, becoming not stronger but weaker.
This gap was supposed to be filled by Azerite abilities. Although the necklace “Heart of Azeroth” initially had no talents, shoulder, chest, and head gear had several properties each, from which players could choose.
A few patches later, an emergency system (that hadn’t been planned before) came in the form of Essences for the Heart of Azeroth. This at least soothed some players, as it gave one a sense of power level again similar to Legion.
Now, with Patch 8.3 Visions of N’Zoth, Blizzard has introduced another new system, namely the Corruption effects. These are so powerful that they can account for up to 30% (more for tanks) of damage for players. Aside from the criticism of the system, such as the currently high random factor, it is extremely powerful. It has given our characters a new layer of strong, devastating effects alongside a legendary cloak.
With Shadowlands, the cycle begins anew
This is how it might be in Shadowlands: With the next expansion Shadowlands, this vicious circle will continue. Azerite armors, Corruption effects, and the Heart of Azeroth will be deactivated over the leveling process. Currently, at level 55 (after the level squish), it will be over.
Then a new feeling of powerlessness arises. We will feel the loss of beloved, important effects that made the character more powerful.
The developers are already aware of this and want to make the transition not as “brutal” as it appeared in Battle for Azeroth. Therefore, players will already learn about the covenants and their special abilities while playing the leveling areas and will have some experiences with soul binding, which also promises further character power. A system that is supposed to be further developed throughout Shadowlands and will surely receive additional small perks and abilities.
Essentially, this is just another round in the vicious circle.
- Players gain new power through new systems.
- The next expansion wipes out this power.
- This creates the need for new systems to satisfy the hunger for more character power.
- A new system is implemented, which will again be replaced by the next addon.
4 possible solutions for the vicious circle in WoW
In the meantime, this vicious circle of “new, cool abilities” that are taken away again at the end of the expansion has been noticed by a large part of the players. At the start of an addon, the joy of a new world with cool content is always overshadowed by the bitter aftertaste that many old abilities disappear into oblivion.
Expand existing systems: That would be a step back to the “original” version of World of Warcraft. With a new expansion, there would then only be a new set of talents and perhaps one or two new abilities for each class. This would allow for continuous progress that evolves over time and has something new to offer with each addon without losing the old.
However, we have already experienced the disadvantages. Always introducing new abilities and talents led to every class eventually being able to do almost everything. And “more abilities” are only good if these abilities fulfill a real purpose. Because they don’t always do that, even in Shadowlands.
Effects in a closed environment: One possible solution would be to only allow special buffs and strengths in a closed environment and design them specifically for that. An example is the talents of the Tormented Visions. Here, there is a range of effects that can only be triggered during the visions. It will likely be similar in the Tower of Torghast in Shadowlands. There are numerous buffs and temporary “talents” that make each visit unique. Every player knows that these effects only work in Torghast. Therefore, losing these effects in a world without Torghast (so after Shadowlands) wouldn’t be so bad.
The problem here would be that buffs become increasingly granular and specific. If the character has different buffs and effects in each environment, it becomes hard to keep track of what one can actually do and what is simply an environmental effect that is only active in certain situations.
Permanent effects that last: At the end of Legion, many players wished that they could keep their artifact weapon and also use it in the new expansion. This would be a way to carry beloved effects into the next addon. One could simply carry powerful items like the artifact weapons or the Heart of Azeroth. Because why should the heart of the planet no longer be powerful and be replaced by a green quest reward? At least in terms of story, this explanation doesn’t make sense.
This would only work if the individual systems are not too complex so as not to scare off newcomers. At the same time, this also hinders the development of new systems. If more and more “artifacts” like the Heart of Azeroth or the Ashbringer are in the game, new gear becomes less significant, as there are fewer item slots available.
Abolition of new systems: Another possibility would be for World of Warcraft to simply not introduce any new systems that grant players more power. WoW would then revert to some fundamental principles of MMOs and RPGs, namely the item spiral. Even without additional systems, players could simply use new gear.
The disadvantage here would be that an expansion would have few “selling points” that could be effectively marketed. New features not related to the strength of the character may not be as interesting to players. That could also be a reason why there is still no housing.
There doesn’t seem to be an optimal, obvious solution to the problem. Every decision Blizzard makes would come with some disadvantage. Perhaps that’s exactly why the vicious circle continues to run. Because once everyone has become accustomed to it, it might not be that bad after all.
What do you think? Do you have a good, obvious solution to the problem? Or do you see no problem at all?
