"You and every other X class."

[Wewlad]

I'm trying to grasp the point of focusing the story of Warcraft on one individual player. Is it supposed to make new players feel important or something? AFAIK the allure of WoW was immersing oneself in the world as one of many adventurers. The narrative focused more on group effort.

I'm not sure what players are supposed to get from receiving the Ashbringer/Doomhammer/etc.. Since it won't take significant effort and every other player of the same class/spec will have it, then won't any sort of ego-serving illusion be broken? The reason why these lore weapons felt significant was how they were outside of the boundaries of perception regarding item levels, and their unobtainable status. Doomhammer remained a respectable weapon even as we acquired more-and-more powerful weapons. After Legion should it and other lore artifacts be dumped, then these mythical properties were ruined for naught.

If people are just going to transmog over these weapons after realizing that even with customization the looks will be seen too often, then it looks to be a waste of artistic effort.

Going back to old legendary weapons (Sulfuras, Thunderfury, Shadowmourne), it wasn't just how difficult they were to procure, but how the narrative depicts the acquirement. The player is creating their own weapon (even with inspiration) rather than just being handed one. It's a legendary journey. I do like Dragonwrath a good deal because of how well the journey and resulting destination is executed.

I do prefer the artifact weapons that have only been invented for Legion over lore-established ones, as they carry a hint of the old magic of creating one's own weapon even though they will be received at the start. I'd have went with a build-up of these weapons throughout the 100-110 experience rather than just receiving the whole deal at the start. Now it just feels cheap, and symptomatic of the problem with this idea that the journey doesn't matter at all; only the destination is of concern.

Back to the whole issue of story focus on the individual versus the group, I am feeling the SWTOR vibe but not to the same extent. SWTOR has a single-player experience which is completely disjointed from the multiplayer aspect. While WoW has been headed in this route for some time, I do wonder how a new player is supposed to be prepared for the fact endgame content requires teamwork, and that they're not the center of everything. These new leveling experiences will only serve to promote this thought that "I'm kind of a big deal" which is more suited for certain single-player RPGs than an MMORPG.

Of course it's too late, and feedback was always useless irregardless. I'm also speaking from a particular point of observation. If anyone gets what I am discussing here, then that's alright. Either way, I just wanted to get this off my chest.

[Al Gorefiend]

I respect your opinion OP, very well written.

I however must add that this is all just a story within your own head, you are paying the $15 a month for your adventure, and after 5 expansions of kicking ass and taking names, you've become a greater hero than Thrall and Tirion. You surpass them in strength and Blizzard needed an in-game way to show that other than a little dialog box that said "hey XxMilkdruid, you're really powerful and a commander".

So these weapons signify that from here on out, we aren't the lone adventurer, the mercenaries and randoms, were the hero of legend. Sure, your immersion breaks when you and everyone else is the hero of legend, but it's time for some suspension of disbelief from you, the player. You're going to have to pretend you're the only hero worth his salt on the entire island, everyone you group with and play with aside from the guildies and friends you've established in your Headcanon are nothing but cannon fodder and random soldiers.

And honestly, you've been doing that already this entire time, everytime you kill a boss and complete a quest

[Deleted]

People aren't aware of everything. Blizzard is hoping they won't notice entirely that everyone has the item. In a sense it works because until it sinks in after many weeks that you are nothing special for it, you already had a vanity fix.

[Wewlad]

I respect your opinion OP, very well written.

I however must add that this is all just a story within your own head, you are paying the $15 a month for your adventure, and after 5 expansions of kicking ass and taking names, you've become a greater hero than Thrall and Tirion. You surpass them in strength and Blizzard needed an in-game way to show that other than a little dialog box that said "hey XxMilkdruid, you're really powerful and a commander".

So these weapons signify that from here on out, we aren't the lone adventurer, the mercenaries and randoms, were the hero of legend. Sure, your immersion breaks when you and everyone else is the hero of legend, but it's time for some suspension of disbelief from you, the player. You're going to have to pretend you're the only hero worth his salt on the entire island, everyone you group with and play with aside from the guildies and friends you've established in your Headcanon are nothing but cannon fodder and random soldiers.

This doesn't address the fact most endgame content revolves around a group and resulting teamwork. Hence why I prefer the simplistic yet effective narrative that old raids presented. It was the raid group that conquered Nefarion, Kael'thas, and other such dastardly threats. Not just one person.

When you beat up a bunch of fools in an arena or a battleground, it isn't just because of your effort. It is the collective output from your team.

Granted, the team effort shines through irregardless, but I do miss group quests. Such should not be necessary, but added touches to emphasize team effort, laced throughout the leveling experience would be a fine addition along with bonus objectives and such (I am aware of the handful of elite quests in WoD, but they could be soloed).

On the weapons and the narratives surrounding them:

Not the best example, but when Luke Skywalker constructs his own lightsaber in RotJ, the audience has experienced his arc throughout the prior two films. From a homebody to a jedi, a viewer watches him grow throughout his journey. Sure, he received a lightsaber from his father prior, but it wasn't his. In RotJ we see him truly own up to what it means to be a jedi, and to wield a lightsaber. While the actual process of his lightsaber's construction was overlooked for good or ill, it is acknowledged by the likes of Darth Vader as an accomplishment that he completed his training.

When my paladin receives the Ashbringer, it won't be his. Not like how Shadowmourne was the player's weapon. Even the old epic crafted weapons provide journeys in the acquisition of their plans, the materials, and finally watching the construction. Sulfuron Hammer required an actual journey to the heart of the Dark Iron kingdom where only the epic anvil and forge may serve in its construction along with other weapons created there.

Shadowmourne and Dragonwrath start as mere shells, but they develop into legendary weapons with the player's input. I don't think the stringent requirements are needed for the artifacts (obviously), but if they took multiple stages throughout the 100-110 leveling experience, and weren't hand-me-downs from other characters, then our characters could shine on their own, and burn bright as a team.

- - - Updated - - -

The thing is, this is a concept in all RPGs. You start killing rats, you end killing gods. By the time you kill gods, you are no longer just an adventurer.

That is a long-debated topic in the tabletop community, and (optional IIRC) measures have been added in D&D 5E to prevent this form of power creep to an extent.