Those who want to experience the whole story of Nazjatar in the new patch of World of Warcraft (WoW) must farm reputation diligently.
Currently, in World of Warcraft, the upcoming Patch 8.2 Rise of Azshara is being tested on the Public Test Realms (PTR). Nazjatar will be the next major area where the story will progress.
However, even though Blizzard wanted to implement less “time-gating” this time, there will again be reputation barriers. We explain what that means.
Chapters of Nazjatar require reputation: Nazjatar and Mechagon will both be accessible from “Day 1” of Patch 8.2, but the story will unfold gradually. The main chapters of the story will not be unlocked weekly but will be tied to a specific reputation (similar to the War Campaign).
Those who want to experience “everything” about the story as quickly as possible should complete every available world quest to fill their reputation bar with the new factions as quickly as possible. Otherwise, experiencing the story quests may take longer.
Why are there reputation limitations? In an interview with Forbes, Game Director Ion Hazzikostas emphasizes that a certain form of “gating” is necessary to adjust the speed of gameplay to the narrative as well. Hazzikostas stated:
[The reputation requirements] are not something huge like a wall, just a small regulation to make it feel like time is actually passing between “All right, we just crashed here and arrived” and “We have established a base and are taking further steps”.
We have concluded that reputation limitations are the better way to unlock [new quests] instead of fixed intervals where you say: “You have to wait until Tuesday.” This provides opportunities to speed things up.
Less time-gating than before: Basically, Blizzard wants to hide very few contents behind barriers with Patch 8.2. Only the raid and the mega dungeon Mechagon will be released slightly later, allowing players enough time to experience the story and prepare for the raid. It is, however, completely normal that raids are not available immediately upon patch release.
The entire other content, meaning essentially the complete areas of Mechagon and Nazjatar, will be directly available. There is enough to do, and especially collectors should enjoy themselves.
Nonetheless, reputation is still important: However, reputation will likely not be a big issue for most players, as there is another reason to farm it. Besides unlocking further story quests, reputation is also necessary for the meta achievement, which unlocks flying in Kul Tiras and Zandalar. This also includes the two new areas Mechagon and Nazjatar.
There is still no release date for Patch 8.2.
Do you find such reputation limits sensible and understand the arguments of the Game Director? Or is this just another form of “time-gating” that also requires ongoing gameplay performance?
