The Game Director of World of Warcraft, Ion Hazzikostas, spoke in a Q&A about a possible change to the level cap in WoW. There are apparently considerations to decrease the level cap instead of increasing it.
What is Blizzard planning? According to Hazzikostas, it has long been discussed at Blizzard that the current level cap of 120 is too high. They are considering whether it might not be more sensible to reduce it again, for example to 60.
This would mean that WoW would experience a “level squish” for the first time, similar to the previously occurred “stat squishes” or “item squishes” that reduced item levels.
However, they are still not quite sure whether and how to implement this. They want to first hear what the community has to say about it.
What does such a “squish” mean? Specifically, when adjusting the level cap, only the numbers are changed. What was previously level 120 will then simply be level 60. However, this raises several questions:
- At what level do I learn which skills?
- How many experience points do I need in total?
- Will leveling become more strenuous?
- How does the scaling on older content work?
- How does this affect future expansions?
If such a “level squish” is implemented, it will have a significant impact on the overall game feel, at least at first glance. However, this also makes the discussion about the “how” so controversial.
The community supports the “level squish”, but …
This is what fans are saying: Since Hazzikostas’ announcement, the consideration has been discussed both in the official forums and on reddit. There has even been months of discussions about it.
The majority of players supports lowering the level cap again. Currently, leveling feels unimportant and boring. A bigger problem is that everything becomes monotonous after a certain level:
After level 60, you just go through the motions. From 1 to 60, you get something every other level. There are just smaller gaps. But from 60 to 80? You get 3 to 4 skills and 2 talent points over 20 levels. 80 to 100 gives two talent points and nothing else. 100 to 110? Nothing.
Michelanvalo on reddit
Other players find the idea basically good but do not want to lose their levels. One user in the forums proposes “expansion levels”. You should level from 1 to 70 and then have 10 levels for each expansion separately. However, this idea is not yet fully developed either.
This speaks for a squish:
- New players have more clarity and are not deterred by 120+ levels
- Leveling feels significant again
- Some leveling areas do not drag on endlessly because nothing else happens there
This speaks against a squish:
- Players feel like they are “losing” levels that they have already earned
- If leveling takes twice as long, it quickly becomes tiring
There are also arguments that apply for both sides, like the fact that the numbers don’t really matter. Either you are at the endgame or on the way there. It’s all just psychology.
What do you think about such a level squish?
Level 60 as the level cap would be almost like Classic. But how was Classic actually?
