With the current patch 10.2, Blizzard has not only introduced a new raid for World of Warcraft, but also made several changes. Many of the most important addons have lost their strongest mechanics. MeinMMO editor Benedict Grothaus was initially skeptical whether this was the right step. Now he has completed the raid and is thrilled.
Since November 8th, Patch 10.2 “Guardian of Dreams” has been active in Dragonflight and Season 3 started on November 15th. With this came new M+-dungeons and especially the new raid Amirdrassil with the Dragonflight final boss Fyrakk.
Right before the patch, I had trouble getting excited about WoW again. After 18 years of continuous play, I simply felt a sense of fatigue.
Nevertheless, I am of course interested in the game that has accompanied me for so long, especially after BlizzCon. So I was looking forward to the new raid and tried it out immediately.
However, one thing was completely different this time: many addons have lost their strongest functions. Due to a tiny change, things like WeakAuras suddenly cannot calculate everything anymore. And that is an astonishingly good innovation.
Playing WoW as it should be
So what is actually different? Not much really. Blizzard has only changed the combat log. Until patch 10.2, it was written “live” in an external file. Addons read this file and also calculated their functions live in the game.
The result was that reactions to boss abilities were calculated – to the extent that you sometimes only had to stand on a number on the screen. It didn’t have much to do with “playing” anymore. Raiding was more about directly analyzing a data table with a prettier interface.
Already with patch 10.1, “private auras” were introduced, which Blizzard used to restrict the functionalities of the most powerful addons. Now, additionally, the combat log is only saved after the fight, so the file cannot be read directly anymore. As a result, many addons lose their greatest strengths, because they can no longer provide live information.
And that’s a good thing: I didn’t have to exert myself significantly more because I manage my class quite well. Instead, I saw much more of the raid. Effects, emotes from bosses, and simply the design of the raid, which had previously been hidden behind overlays and addons.
Addons have been part of WoW for years, and I have forgotten what it’s like without them
Until now, I have maintained the position that addons have generally improved World of Warcraft. And while I still agree that it was only through addons that boss encounters could improve, I now see that playing the game without (too much) help is more fun.
Basically, Blizzard has taken away my ability in the new patch to trivialize even difficult abilities that require a lot of coordination. I have to communicate again with my guild, which is very pleasant in Amirdrassil.
Because the bosses here are fabulously designed. Not a single fight in the entire raid annoyed me; all had at least one mechanic I found cool, and most consistently thrilled me.
In addition, several new mechanics are played completely differently, like directly with Knorrenwurzel or later with Tindral. But even “simple” mechanics like with the DPS-check boss Volcoross excited me more – simply because I AM playing them and not my addon.
The new system and I still have a tough test to pass
So far, we or I have only seen the normal and heroic mode. Mythic is still pending, and here there are always the toughest mechanics and abilities. The ones where addons became really “necessary”.
I really hope that Amirdrassil can maintain the course and doesn’t become too annoying when played without addons and WeakAuras. And that there are no “mandatory” auras that make coordinating the fight impossible to achieve, as was sometimes the case in the past.
Overall, I am quite excited about the patch, much more than I expected. I am even grinding mythical keystone dungeons again, with some old favorites from Legion returning as well.
It is possible that I am still caught up in the initial hype of the new. Nevertheless, I already see the restriction of addons as a good step, which may not be the last one, but has definitely improved things.
