World of Warcraft will ensure that no one has to grind too much in Patch 9.2. The new rule: You don’t need to kill a single rare mob.
Players will soon be able to finally dive into the Patch 9.2 Eternity’s End of World of Warcraft. The long content drought is nearing its end and the storyline of Shadowlands is coming to its climax. However, since Patch 9.2 has been active on the test server, there has been a major point of contention: the reputation grinding with the new faction in the area of Zereth Mortis.
What is the problem? Even in Patch 9.2, reputation is a relatively important aspect. After all, it requires a respected reputation in Zereth Mortis to unlock the “second Legendary.” Many players are now worried that they have to complete as many activities as possible every day to ensure they can access the second Legendary as early as possible.
The fear is real: You have to complete all quests every day and kill all rare enemies. This means waiting for respawns and a massive time investment.
How Blizzard alleviates the concern: In the official WoW forum, Blizzard has now presented changes that have also been implemented on the PTR. The reputation gain values from quests and rare enemies (Rare Mobs) have been adjusted.
- Rare enemies now only give 10 to 15 reputation points (instead of 15 to 30 previously).
- World quests give 125 reputation points (instead of 100 previously).
- The world boss Antros gives 500 reputation points (instead of 250 previously).
- The half-week quest “Patterns Within Patterns” gives 500 reputation (instead of 250 previously).
What does this bring? Overall, the maximum reputation gain per day has increased slightly. Anyone who completes all activities each day now receives a bit more reputation per day than before.
At the same time, Blizzard also makes a promise: Anyone who wants to have the necessary reputation by week 5 – the unlocking opportunity for the 2nd Legendary – does not have to hunt a single rare enemy by then.
Those who only complete the available quests can comfortably achieve a respected reputation by that date.
Since rare enemies now grant less reputation, no one should feel forced to farm every single day – the benefit is simply too low. However, those who still want to take on this grind will not unlock the 2nd Legendary any earlier than other players – but they will be a bit closer to the revered goal, especially if they want the cosmetic rewards that Zereth Mortis has to offer.
[The change] allows players to be “done” earlier in the day without having to endure significant long-term consequences, while also ensuring that those who want to do a little more still have incentives to do so.
WoW Developer Chimes
Blizzard seems to be serious about slowly but surely eradicating the unpleasant, “forced” grind from World of Warcraft.
By the way: The current version of the PTR already has the label “Release Candidate.” This means that the patch, as it is found on the PTR, is very likely to be released. After all, Blizzard just yesterday revealed a fixed date for the update.
What do you think of Blizzard’s solution to the reputation grind? Is it more pleasant? Or should the developers adjust the reputation from all sources again?
