2/24/2023 0 Comments Taloc mage drops![]() Classes had bloated ability lists, even after consolidating talent trees into the 3-choice tiers we’ve had ever since then, and the team was increasingly reaching for abilities in such a way that was near-impossible to balance (see especially in MoP: Void Shift for Priests and Symbiosis for Druids). It’s been no secret that Blizzard saw Mists of Pandaria as a point of reckoning in the game’s systems and combat design. Let’s start with the most impactful change felt by nearly everyone – moment-to-moment gameplay of classes. All of this served to take the thing I think WoW does very well – a constant, rewarding sense of progression – and buried it, removing crucial progression paths and a sense of completability. The game went in a lot of different directions, removing core moment-to-moment complexity through excessive pruning, gameplay overcomplication through layers of systems relating to Azerite, and overabundant grinding via the Heart of Azeroth and just about every other portion of the game. The gameplay of BfA is where I think the expansion really delivered a bit of a gut-punch compared to prior expansions. Today, we get to talk about the thing that really animates me with World of Warcraft: gameplay. In the first of my three-part Battle for Azeroth post-mortem, we talked about the story, and how it ultimately was a set of decent-to-good standalone stories that were made worse by the need to tie them together into a single, cohesive plot that also serves to pull us forward from Legion and push us into Shadowlands. ![]() ![]() Just, you know, maybe grab a glass of water and take a bathroom break first!) ![]() After an editing pass and little tightening up, it still sits at 9,329 words, including this preamble! While I could try and slice it up, I feel like the post builds to a conclusion based on component pieces, and following across multiple posts is not great, so rather than do that, I’m leaving it long and strong. (Editor’s Note: This post is a Proustian diversion into huge longform posting. ![]()
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