As a leveling enthusiast, I am dreading a possible level squish...

[Zyrinx]

I'm not optimisitc (like... at all....) they'd get this right at launch. History pretty much confirms they won't.

That said they usually get it fixed in short(ish) order. Also this would be a HUGE emphasis of the Beta (yeah, I know....), so they'd have to be prepared to actually fix the million scaling bugs that would be introduced.

[arkanon]

I dunno... they have just slapped band aids on stuff and called it fixed before.

I definitely don't see a cataclycm level revamp of leveling content happening, so then the next most logical thing is to just scale stuff up and down even more than they already do and maybe add some adventuring mode where you get even more freedom of which zone you want to do. party sync lines up with this nicely too.

slap on a level divided by two and a new thing every level or every other level, and you got a bandaid that's gonna last another expansion or two.

the best thing i'd hope for is something like "hero starts" where you get options to start (at lvl 1-20 orso maybe) in a expansion of your choice rather than durotar/elwyn.

This to me was the biggest strength of the party sync system - allowing people of various levels to quest / dungeon together. The system would need further tweaking to make it meaningful, but it should be doable i would think.

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I'm not optimisitc (like... at all....) they'd get this right at launch. History pretty much confirms they won't.

That said they usually get it fixed in short(ish) order. Also this would be a HUGE emphasis of the Beta (yeah, I know....), so they'd have to be prepared to actually fix the million scaling bugs that would be introduced.

I remember them claiming the scaling tech was at a point that they could adjust it very quickly now, and that future iterations would be much smoother. My experience was that the timewalking raids suffered the most, with BT in particular being an absolute nightmare and taking many groups 5+ hours to complete, which for timewalking, is pretty unreasonable imo. Unless the system was expanded and more user friendly.

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Dead against the level squish. Just another reason to never go back to wow.

Out of interest, Why? what about it turns you off so much? I mean if you have already quit (which your post implies), i just dont see this as a factor for not returning.

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Having really a lot of capped characters I doubt that it can get any worse than it is atm. At least it will bring some change to the dead system.

Im with you - i have everything at max and a shitload over 100, so for me it would have little impact unless it comes along with additional systems giving a reason to go to those old zones. I do find the huge numbers a bit silly, so i would welcome a return to smaller numbers. No major reason, i just prefer it that way. For whatever reason, 2,000 dps just seems more natural than 85,000 dps. personal preference as i said.

[Unlimited Power]

Idk, I'm currently leveling a Kul Tiran druid for the heritage armor and I just finished leveling a Dark Iron Dwarf paladin. On both characters I've been able to solo any group quests bar Ring of Blood type of quests and can frequently pull 5-10 mobs without fear of death. I can only imagine pet classes would have an even easier time. And for the record my druid has only been balance and the paladin only ever retribution, so it's not a matter of cheesing with a tank spec either.

Also leveled a Zandalari Troll enhancement shaman previous to this which also had no problem with large pulls or group quests. Frankly I don't recall encountering (non 5man) quests I haven't been able to solo, so I can't quite sympathize with you in regards to our current situation.

That said, I do recall some quests being wonky when I leveled my Nightborne, Highmountain, Lightforged and Void Elf in 7.3.5. That said, I still do find a level squish to be utterly necessary at this point, so regardless of potential buggy quests I'll still take the level squish any day.

[rhorle]

I am excited for a level squish if that means Draenor becomes a larger level range and the bonus objectives and treasures are still just as good of an XP gain. It is a fun diversion to the normal quest grind for leveling.

There are a few quests they will hopefully look at though. Like Redridge mountains. The way the buff scales if you do it at a higher level you'll have a hard time killing the final quest guys.

[JaneDove]

How many did you do on your warrior?

none as I didnt have a war till Cata but thanks for ignoring the point ELITE != Group quests. Btw "group quests" in BFA are 100% solo quests.

[SL1200]

This to me was the biggest strength of the party sync system - allowing people of various levels to quest / dungeon together. The system would need further tweaking to make it meaningful, but it should be doable i would think.

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I remember them claiming the scaling tech was at a point that they could adjust it very quickly now, and that future iterations would be much smoother. My experience was that the timewalking raids suffered the most, with BT in particular being an absolute nightmare and taking many groups 5+ hours to complete, which for timewalking, is pretty unreasonable imo. Unless the system was expanded and more user friendly.

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Out of interest, Why? what about it turns you off so much? I mean if you have already quit (which your post implies), i just dont see this as a factor for not returning.

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Im with you - i have everything at max and a shitload over 100, so for me it would have little impact unless it comes along with additional systems giving a reason to go to those old zones. I do find the huge numbers a bit silly, so i would welcome a return to smaller numbers. No major reason, i just prefer it that way. For whatever reason, 2,000 dps just seems more natural than 85,000 dps. personal preference as i said.

You're talking to someone who feels that the first squish, the power squish ruined the game. To me, they literally destroyed the foundation of the game. It's a progression game. Everything is about progression, and suddenly now your character isn't powerful like it was. Some people don't care, I do. It broke the game and it can't ever be repaired now. Soon they're going to do it again. The level squish. I mean, what reason is there for it? A number like 120 or whatever the cap is now isn't to big for anyone to read. It's just change to make a change. That's ok, I don't play anymore, and I'm not coming back. So whatever.

[MrKnubbles]

Maybe they got it right this time.

[Zyrinx]

You're talking to someone who feels that the first squish, the power squish ruined the game. To me, they literally destroyed the foundation of the game. It's a progression game. Everything is about progression, and suddenly now your character isn't powerful like it was. Some people don't care, I do. It broke the game and it can't ever be repaired now. Soon they're going to do it again. The level squish. I mean, what reason is there for it? A number like 120 or whatever the cap is now isn't to big for anyone to read. It's just change to make a change. That's ok, I don't play anymore, and I'm not coming back. So whatever.

I think you are conflating the "scaling" change with the stat squish.

[Mirishka]

This is definitely more keenly felt on some classes/specs than others, but I’m in general agreement that any work on the leveling game needs to be friendly to all specs. I generally don’t comment on class balance because I tend to play “overworld friendly” specs, but the difference between an elemental shaman and a beastmaster hunter in the open world is just ridiculous.

No quest should ever make me ask “how the hell does a mage do this” while playing my affliction main, and yet that happens all the time.

Yep. The disparity is insane between tanks and non-tanks, pet classes and non-pet, etc.

[roboscorcher]

I dread it for the superficial reasons. Unless the squish to half the numbers means it will also only take half the time to level, it is just wool over your eyes.

3-4 days to 120 or 3-4 days to 60 because "120 levels scare new players off". Really?

Or are there actual (better) reasons?

Blizz would likely reduce the total xp needed.

I think they should remove the linear expansion progression as well. Most players have done the grind numerous times, and a lot of old content is never seen because the XP gains are better in the next zone. Now that mob scaling is implemented, we should be able to stay in an unlocked zone until we hit new content. If I'm playing a Monk, I want to explore every nook of Pandaria. My DH is interested in Outland and Broken Isles. My Shaman really like Deepholm. We should have the freedom to level where we want, now that there is an abundance of zones.

[SL1200]

I think you are conflating the "scaling" change with the stat squish.

No, I just articulate my points poorly. I think logging in one day to be level 60 again is even worse than the stat squish. On the other hand they already destroyed the immersion of the power curve, so they might as well it makes no difference at this point.

[Zyrinx]

No, I just articulate my points poorly. I think logging in one day to be level 60 again is even worse than the stat squish. On the other hand they already destroyed the immersion of the power curve, so they might as well it makes no difference at this point.

I actually agree with you on the power curve thing (at max level, anyways). For leveling zones.... I have to say that having many available paths has made doing some Allied Races sort of bearable and something to do ingame.

As far as being 60 again, thats obv. just a personal thing as you know, nothing has actually changed save a number.

[TheHodedOne]

The leveling system remains broken because you have to go throught the content of at least 5 expansions, the level scalling in zones helped a lot but the main problem remains there, a level squish was nothing but necessary at this point, I hope now you can fully go from 1 to 50 or 60, whatever the new top level is, in only one continent, with the past content being only optional for farming mounts and cosmetics.

This will make the leveling a bit more linear and easy but in long terms is going to help the experience of leveling alts and mostly new players.

[MoanaLisa]

Personally I would like for them to look at the "world game" including leveling as a piece and separate it somewhat from the "Dungeons/Raid" game.

Both should be accessible to everyone. The group that much prefers dungeons/raids should be able to do what they like best and progress their gear in a way that doesn't require a massive effort in the world game.

Same with the world game. You should be able to progress in a viable way without necessarily having to be in dungeons/raids to get anywhere.

There could be group and solo content for both sides although one would imagine that dungeons/raids would weigh much more heavily toward group. It seems to me that soloing old raids could be a bit more difficult than it is.

I'm not going to get into the "WoW isn't a solo game" argument. A lot of it clearly is and has a large audience. That's not going to change and yelling at people like that doesn't exist is pointless.

Developers could do a better job, especially with leveling, to make that more interesting and rewarding to play.

[JaneDove]

I think they should remove the linear expansion progression as well.

gotta love when people talk pro squish and have no clue how leveling is these days
after vanilla you chose to do tbc or wotlk, cata or mop to level only from wod forward its linear and a level squish would do nothing to change that.

If I'm playing a Monk, I want to explore every nook of Pandaria. My DH is interested in Outland and Broken Isles. My Shaman really like Deepholm. We should have the freedom to level where we want, now that there is an abundance of zones.

what you talk about is scaling and that is horrible in wow....

[arkanon]

none as I didnt have a war till Cata but thanks for ignoring the point ELITE != Group quests. Btw "group quests" in BFA are 100% solo quests.

What does bfa have to do with a potential squish? And no, group quests are absolutely not 100% solo. Many are, but not 100% many of the naz group quests are not solo material, either because of raw numbers, or mc style mechanics.

[Somewhatconcerned]

"Leveling enthusiasts" need to get over themselves and realize leveling will NEVER be anything more than a means to an end.

[arkanon]

You're talking to someone who feels that the first squish, the power squish ruined the game. To me, they literally destroyed the foundation of the game. It's a progression game. Everything is about progression, and suddenly now your character isn't powerful like it was. Some people don't care, I do. It broke the game and it can't ever be repaired now. Soon they're going to do it again. The level squish. I mean, what reason is there for it? A number like 120 or whatever the cap is now isn't to big for anyone to read. It's just change to make a change. That's ok, I don't play anymore, and I'm not coming back. So whatever.

Compared to the world it exists in, they still were. In theory at least.

[JaneDove]

The leveling system remains broken because you have to go throught the content of at least 5 expansions, the level scalling in zones helped a lot but the main problem remains there, a level squish was nothing but necessary at this point, I hope now you can fully go from 1 to 50 or 60, whatever the new top level is, in only one continent, with the past content being only optional for farming mounts and cosmetics.

its actually 6 xpacs you level through (vanilla, tbc or wotlk, cata or mop, wod, legion and bfa) and a level squish is NOT the solution to that.

[Irian]

OP, these are exactly the kind of issues that make me dread how everyone's clamouring for a level squish. Knowing Blizzard it will break half the game and we'll get another way the game is going to take out, fuck up or ruin some long-existing mechanic.
The damage squishes irrevocably ruined any sort of interesting aspects to old content scaling, what'll be sacrificed with level scaling I wonder? Will we be dealing crushing blows to anything 5 levels below us now? 3, maybe?

Unless Blizzard decreases the time it takes to level I fail to see what a level squish accomplishes other than increasing time in between dings.

I dont find the concept of getting an ability every other level that compelling if the time to reach tangible progression is drastically increased simply to assuage someone's neurosis about triple digit levels

This has been what I've been saying on these forums since it was first brought up.

The game stands to get totally jarringly fucked up by a level squish and stands to gain absolutely nothing. Worse yet, it'll set a precedent for the same thing being repeated again once the number gets too high again. What the hell is the point? Why waste development time and why fixate on such a pointless detail when the game has so many actual glaring issues?