Many players are currently reaching level 120 in WoW. However, this brings some issues – overwhelm and a feeling of uselessness.
Thanks to the big XP boost currently available in World of Warcraft, many players have brought several characters to level 120. These include not only veterans who already have numerous characters at the max level, but also some new players. They are now reporting in the WoW subreddit about a problem. While they had quite a bit of fun during the leveling phase, this is different at max level. Many feel overwhelmed by the abundance of content and simultaneously irrelevant compared to other players.
What is going on? Due to the current corona situation and the XP boost in WoW, many players are reaching level 120 for the first time and thus officially hitting the “endgame” of Battle for Azeroth. However, for new players, the number of many systems and quests seems simply overwhelming. This quickly leads to frustration and a feeling of helplessness, which makes them less inclined to spend more time in WoW.
What are the issues? The user Ze_Germansss has revealed in a rather long post on Reddit what bothers him as a fresh character at level 120. He receives much support from other players. Some of his biggest complaints are:
- Way too many quests have popped up that seem like an endless task, so overwhelming that you don’t even want to start.
- The quests do not clearly communicate which quest line they belong to or what the reward at the end is. Without a clear, discernible goal at the end, the quests feel disruptive.
- The “supposedly epic war campaign” only involves 5-10 minute quests that require you to fly across the two continents, spending more time traveling than on the actual quest.
- In random dungeons, he is grouped only with players who have far too good gear and could actually solo the content. He doesn’t feel like a useful group member but struggles to keep up.
- World quests don’t feel like “real” quests anymore because there are too many players present, and it’s all about tagging “as many mobs as possible”.
In the subreddit, Ze_Germansss receives plenty of support from other players who share his experiences or can at least relate. Here are some excerpts:
Mandible00 writes:
I think this is one of the biggest problems with WoW, the hated expansion cycles that slowly turn the game into a bland, overloaded, and convoluted grind as the expansion approaches its end.
Or as NotVeryFamous describes it:
They have filled the game to bursting with stuff to keep you busy, and in doing so, it has lost all meaning. There is no clear focus or direction when you hit level 120, especially for new players who have to wade through all the irrelevant crap.
What do players wish for? The wish and demand are relatively clear: In the future, World of Warcraft should provide clearer indications of which quest lines belong to which goals and which mechanics and stories relate to current or outdated content. A clearer and more obvious structure would be helpful so that newcomers and latecomers don’t have to spend hours gathering information just to find “the right” content that will help them progress. Perhaps this will be implemented in the next expansion “Shadowlands”. Because that is exactly how Blizzard is buying itself time.
Are you also “new” at level 120 in World of Warcraft? How have your experiences been so far? Do you agree or can you not relate to the criticism?
