In World of Warcraft, your characters become more powerful than expected. Because Patch 12.1 drastically increases the item level.
The hunt for always newer and better items is a central part of the gaming experience in World of Warcraft. Each season there is essentially a small “reset,” where old equipment must be exchanged for new if you want to play at the top level. The scale of this increase is usually linear – at least most of the time. But with the start of Season 2, that is, the Patch 12.1, this increase is greater.
More power, because you’re already so strong
What is the increase normally like? For several years, World of Warcraft has usually aimed to increase the item level by 39 levels with each patch. So a fully upgraded Mythic item from Season 1 is generally 39 item levels weaker than a fully upgraded Mythic item from Season 2.
This is the normal curve of increase that WoW has always managed quite well. This allows for planning the entire expansion’s progression, and the next stat squish can already be well accounted for.
But for the second season of Midnight, that apparently isn’t enough.
What happens instead? In the upcoming second season of Midnight, the maximum item level will be increased by 46 instead of just 39 points. While that doesn’t sound too strong on paper, it is expected to result in about 10% more character strength, which should significantly raise the numbers for DPS characters as well as healers.
Why is Blizzard doing this? Blizzard already provided the reasoning in the official WoW forum. They state that the increase is due to how the item level was noticeably raised during Season 1 through various mechanics. They write:
If we look at players’ equipment throughout Midnight Season 1, improved through upgrades, Void Cores, and the powerful loot from Patch 12.0.7, we need to ensure that Season 2 offers meaningful upgrades for players as they begin their journey through the favored content.
Due to PTR feedback, it is clear that the increase of 39 item levels was not enough to achieve this goal, thus another increase of 7 item levels is being implemented so that Season 2 rewards grant 46 item levels stronger.
In other words: Blizzard was concerned that many characters would not be able to obtain meaningful upgrades in the first weeks of Season 2, making the season feel somewhat pointless. This issue should now be resolved when Patch 12.1 is released – although there is no specific release date yet, most estimates predict around 4 weeks, which would be early August.
What do you think about this increase in item levels? Is it a good thing to ensure that there are enough interesting goals in Season 2? Or is the item spiral turning too fast and the numbers are growing at too rapid a pace? Feel free to share your opinion in the comments.
For many Blizzard employees, a grim time has dawned. They have to worry about their jobs for up to a year.
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