Why does BfA feel like we're playing its last months and not its first?

[Nyel]

I have read several comments and opinions now on different platforms (YouTube, Reddit, here) that for many players BfA already feels like we're in the transitioning phase from an old expansion to the new one - with the only difference that BfA is in its first 4 months and not in its last.

I never, never had this feeling before. Not even in WoD. But right now, even after 8.1 (snooze fest), BfA just feels like it's going to be wrapped up soon and we'll get exciting new stuff - but we don't.

So what's the reason for this?

Bad story?
Boring gameplay?
Horrible class design?
Lame expansion features?
Terrible RNG?
Unrewarding reward structure?

What is it?

[Nyel]

If you feel like that, it doesn't mean we all feel like that. Stop generalizing, you do not represent every player.

What's the point of you posting here then? If you don't have this feeling just ignore this thread, I mean I appreciate that you're not sharing this sentiment but I'm interested in others that do - and why they experience BfA this way.

And I never talked about "every player". I am talking about many players that do.

[EternalBany]

If you feel like that, it doesn't mean we all feel like that. Stop generalizing, you do not represent every player.

he is right though
It seems like summer or Ruby Sanctum last vapors

[Deleted]

The hamster wheel formula got old (for you)
You dont enjoy PvP
You dont enjoy content if there is no reward at the end

One plus one is two, plus one is three...skkkkrata ta tata.
Now we are here.

[Tradu]

Classes aren't fun, the reward structure is a mess and those things caused most of my friends/guildies to either quit or raidlog, meaning there's not really much point in me doing anything other than raidlogging either. My WoW play time currently is probably the lowest it's been since I came back after my break in MoP, because at least during the long final tiers of expansions I could still play alts and have fun with that, because that's what everybody else was doing too.

[Syri79]

If you feel like that, it doesn't mean we all feel like that. Stop generalizing, you do not represent every player.

The OP doesn't actually claim to represent EVERY player, they state that they have "read several comments and opinions" and from doing so found "many players" feel the same as they do. That means that the use of "we" is fine, as it is referring to more than one person feeling that way. It's one thing to jump on people who say "everyone" but when it is actually specified, very clearly, that it's referring to a group of people, using "we" is perfectly fine.

[Sylvannah]

What really baffles me is the fact that I was really looking forward to BfA and I loved the first month. For the first time in a very long time, I really liked the questing experience, the look and feel, the flair, the complete package of surroundings, characters and stories.

But after getting to 120 and having seen all zones and quests, I just stopped. No drama, no willful decision, no real emotions at all - I just stopped. Without really noticing it, I stopped playing.

WoW was all about emotions for me. And suddenly it felt like the expansion was over and there was this dusky mood right before the new dawn of a new expansion.

I hated WoD with all my heart, right from the first teaser. But I played it for over a year. Despite liking it, I stopped playing BfA after a couple of weeks.

[Fiacla]

I am talking about many players that do.

How do you know that exactly? Do you have hard data to back up your claims? Or are you just basing your assumptions (because that's what they are) on what you read/hear on reddit/here/twitch etc etc?

I mean I understand your making claims based on your own experiences but to claim many others feel the same without hard data to support your claims rings hollow.

[Deleted]

IMO what you are experiencing is a design flaw in every theme park MMO.
If there is no new "rides" the content gets stale.

People dont enjoy content if there is no reward at the end.
Lack of "roleplay sandbox" content to play everyday.

[FAILoZOFF]

Bad story?
Boring gameplay?
Horrible class design?
Lame expansion features?
Terrible RNG?
Unrewarding reward structure?

What is it?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkAe6pg0UJo sorry, had too ;D

In all honesty, I mostly blame lame class design. Its just totally meh imo. Arguably story and reward points (at least as far as PvP goes) could very well apply to WoD, but in all honesty? I had quite a blast playing PvP in WoD, sure perhaps less so than in MoP but still...
I have seen many people call BfA a Legion 0.5... and I kind of agree, except where many people praise Legion, I didn't like it very much (still played out of habit and in hopes for better luck next time i guess).

[thesmall001]

The last few expansions have had a problem with anticipating what their players will want and demand on release. I've generally gotten into a pattern of playing at launch, unsubscribing for a few months, and playing again from there once some catch up mechanisms are in place for Tier 2. I'd recommend this if you're burnt out or not enjoying the game at the moment. It gives you a break, so the game feels fresher, and it gives Blizzard a chance to iterate on their design.

Legion was great... in the end.
WoD was... Well, Tanaan was cool.
Mists was great... in the end.
Cataclysm was... Well, Firelands was hot.

Big hype for Naz'jatar which I'm sure will be... Well, very wet.

[FAILoZOFF]

IMO what you are experiencing is a design flaw in every theme park MMO.
If there is no new "rides" the content gets stale.

Could be, this might be a reason why Vanilla/TBC/WotLK are played to this day on private servers, not that WoW has ever been a sandbox MMO but had more of such... flavor.

[DarkAmbient]

Because it's crap.

[Kokolums]

WoW gameplay from Wrath onward was built on good raids and then some gimmick grind to keep nonraiders interested. The good raids were usually enough to just keep the playerbase from going to zero immediately but the playerbase was still shrinking. BfA raids are the worst we've ever seen because no one likes azerite armor so we've probably accelerated the process of shedding players quite a bit.

They COULD fix raids by junking azerite armor but I don't see that bringing players back...at best it just slows down the sub loss again. But we're already at the breaking point where if subs drop much lower core systems like custom games finder or LFR probably start malfunctioning with long wait times and empty queues.

[Thrif]

Well, when the patches barely adds anything to actually do, there's no wonder people get a sense of drought.

Oh right it adds a 20 minute afk simulator. Just what everyone wanted.

I'm not gonna go into why it's bad because it's been done to death at this point, but everything boils down to Blizzard not being a company made up by gamers anymore, and it shows in their clueless design of literally everything.

[Tradu]

WoW gameplay from Wrath onward was built on good raids and then some gimmick grind to keep nonraiders interested. The good raids were usually enough to just keep the playerbase from going to zero immediately but the playerbase was still shrinking. BfA raids are the worst we've ever seen because no one likes azerite armor so we've probably accelerated the process of shedding players quite a bit.

They COULD fix raids by junking azerite armor but I don't see that bringing players back...at best it just slows down the sub loss again. But we're already at the breaking point where if subs drop much lower core systems like custom games finder or LFR probably start malfunctioning with long wait times and empty queues.

That wouldn't fix raids, it'd just make classes even worse, and classes being bad is honestly the main problem with BfA.

[Archibalde]

The Azerite system is the main culprit, for me. They have essentially admitted that the system works poorly and it is frustrating. They have made drastic fixes that usually only happen at the very end of the expansion as a way to collect everything in the final stretch, and they've already said they'd be scrapping some aspect of it in 8.2.

It also doesn't necessarily help that Battle for Dazar'Alor didn't get much hype. 8.1 has a decent amount of content but it feels hollow. Warfronts don't add much compelling gameplay, the incursions are literally just a Legion feature that they've repainted in blue and red, and they gave 3/4 of the war campaign's second chapter right away. Not having a time gate behind the campaign was pretty nice but with a 7 week gap between the 3rd chapter and the final one, it makes the story feel even more disjointed than it already is.

Plus most of the stuff they were excited to talk about at Blizzcon was related to 8.2. They talked about Dazar'alor a bit but it was mostly about the new mega dungeon, Nazjatar, the story with Sylvanas... It feels like they are ready to move on from BFA but they don't want to flat-out abandon it the way they did with Warlords of Draenor.

[xStevooo]

Try harder next time. Not even close.

Grow up.

OT: The game is in a sorry sorry state, an absolute shambles from beginning to end - you only need to go and play another MMO to see the strength in depth and vast amounts of variety that content has to offer. While each have strength and weaknesses, WoW's sheer scale and polish with the quality of life from addon's always appeals to me - the core game play itself is a joke.

Classes have been butchered, some specs are still broke (hello Legion? what happened to all the good things Legion brought to the table).
WQ's - Bland, boring, tasteless, uncreative.
Raid - Bland, boring, tasteless, uncreative.
Dungeons - Just dungeons.
Islands/Expeditions - LOL let's not even go there.
Azerite Gear - Buahahahhahaa
PVP - Trash
Gearing System - Awful
Story - Good
Theme - Good
Audio - Good

It's a combination of many things as to why the game is where it is, Legion was the first xpac to really bring me back to want to play - and the things it done well just got chucked aside. The systems they have introduced I would love to meet the drips that even bring them to the suggestion table, at least - with WoW's engine. If you're playing GW2 with 200 people in a dynamic event that can blow WoW away then yes feel free, but in WoW it is just embarrassing. The welfare gear is still a huge problem, the lack of content is laughable, WQ's just scrap them in BFA form. One thing that did surprise me mind is that WoW is typically known for being a smooth and polished game, BFA was released LIVE with bugs and glitches known since the start of BETA, shows just how the standards are dropping.

[Beerbill Society]

Yeah, looks like we all think like that, I thought I would be really excited about it all, looking at PTR and Beta but when I actually played, geez it was painful, I think it's the first expasion I just leveled one character and didn't feel like it leveling another, and I played every single one.

And it's the first that I don't feel like playing after the first weeks, WoD was the first time I actually quit for good because I knew it was bad before launch and after a year when I came back to it, at least it felt somewhat good. BFA got me fooled, it look good but it's so bad.

- - - Updated - - -

I grew up. I understand that something might not meet my expectations in life and it's okay to move on and live a life without constantly blaming and whining.

Flamming is bannable, please avoid doing that.

Don't come to a post without any desire to improve or contribute to the discussion, it's not helpful for us and for you.

[azkhane]

Game feels like legion 2.0 in a bad way, pointless AP farming, boring wq chores, no flying, really poor m+ design, worst raid tier since argent tournament in wotlk. And i can go on, this expac feels worse than WoD, at least WoD has good raids and no content is better than boring grinding and boring wq chores