So when will Blizzard stop giving players rental powers?

[Harbour]

Artifacts, Azerite, Essences, Corruption.

All these powers came for an expansion and then got taken away with a few "player-favorite" traits implemented into the classes' core, and leaving us with the feeling of bland class depth.

They replace one another, buy the feeling of "class complexity" but sometimes (especially in BFA and 8.2/8.3) they are so powerful, that it makes me feel like im playing not my class, but the rental power Blizzard gave me for two years.

Can we just get, i dont know, the big pool of talents, PvE/PvP/Legendary/Essences/Corruptions combined, like, 80+ talents for each class that could be unlocked 1 per level?

Then the player can choose the set of ~10 talents they pick from the unlocked pool. On the cap they will get full variety of PvP/PvE combinations they can use for PvE and PvP content.

Someone would mention the balance, but its essentially the same pool we have now, but combined, without split on PvP and PvE. Tune the numbers and we will be fine. Class balance isnt perfect anyway.

Just stop giving us toys and then taking them from us and replacing with another (as practice tells - way worse) toys.

[Alvito]

This is something they have always done. Be it tier gear, trinkets or any other power modifier or unique thing. The legendary rings, capes and neck are just more drawn out versions of this. With some upsides of things mattering longer and the down side of magnifying balance or grinding issues. As annoying as it might be to work on something for a long time hamstringing alts, new or returning players, getting gear you toss away with each tier isn't all that much better.

[Jonnusthegreat]

It's easier to stabilize the game and make the game feel different each expansion. Plus, if we had a new power every expansion, the game would be so hard to learn for new players. Overall it's a good thing.

[Aliven]

This is something they have always done. Be it tier gear, trinkets or any other power modifier or unique thing. The legendary rings, capes and neck are just more drawn out versions of this. With some upsides of things mattering longer and the down side of magnifying balance or grinding issues. As annoying as it might be to work on something for a long time hamstringing alts, new or returning players, getting gear you toss away with each tier isn't all that much better.

Obtaining gear and unlocking skills (either passive and active) are TWO separate things.

Wow team is quite infamous in creating system for one expansion and them completly abandoning them in the next.

Its lazy design.

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It's easier to stabilize the game and make the game feel different each expansion. Plus, if we had a new power every expansion, the game would be so hard to learn for new players. Overall it's a good thing.

Two separate issues. Lol characters got 4 abilities active and one passive, still it is a hellhole for a new player to play.

In the meantime, learning how to play in both FF14 and Swtor (infamous number of abilities) is very, very easy and new user friendly.

Those are alternate character progressions, instead of actualy evolving classes, refining them with past experiences they just slam new progress system that will be abandoned in new expansion.

[Nobleshield]

It won't until they can figure out how to properly to Alternate Advancement. That's what all this garbage really is, just half-assed attempts at doing AA which is implemented poorly.

[Alvito]

Obtaining gear and unlocking skills (either passive and active) are TWO separate things.

Wow team is quite infamous in creating system for one expansion and them completly abandoning them in the next.

Its lazy design.

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Two separate issues. Lol characters got 4 abilities active and one passive, still it is a hellhole for a new player to play.

In the meantime, learning how to play in both FF14 and Swtor (infamous number of abilities) is very, very easy and new user friendly.

Those are alternate character progressions, instead of actualy evolving classes, refining them with past experiences they just slam new progress system that will be abandoned in new expansion.

It is the exact same as the gear cycle. Saying it is lazy for them to keep coming up with new things, good or bad, doesn't really fit either.

[Aliven]

It is the exact same as the gear cycle. Saying it is lazy for them to keep coming up with new things, good or bad, doesn't really fit either.

They create THE SAME SYSTEM over and over. Just different flavour and since Legion they just change name - artifact power/azerite shit/ and now anima in shadowlands. Oh and luck, we can get random dude in new expansion that will unlock yet another tree with passive and active or two But it is totaly new and not just reskin of past systems like crucible :P

[kaminaris]

They replace one another, buy the feeling of "class complexity" but sometimes (especially in BFA and 8.2/8.3) they are so powerful, that it makes me feel like im playing not my class, but the rental power Blizzard gave me for two years.

I generally agree with the exception that most power rental gear was in legion. Without artifact you were literally a peasant not a champion.

[Doffen]

I generally agree with the exception that most power rental gear was in legion. Without artifact you were literally a peasant not a champion.

So what are you without azerite armor, essences, corrupted gear and legendary cloak now then? A peon?

Maybe stop with the nonsense that Legion was worse then BfA when it comes to this. It's objectively worse in BfA because there are more rental gear and powers now than Legion.

[Azolluh]

https://www.google.com/search?q=when...hrome&ie=UTF-8

[kaminaris]

So what are you without azerite armor, essences, corrupted gear and legendary cloak now then? A peon?

Maybe stop with the nonsense that Legion was worse then BfA when it comes to this. It's objectively worse in BfA because there are more rental gear and powers now than Legion.

Azerite gear and neck doesn't make up to 70% of your power like artifact + leggos did in legion. It was objectively worse in legion. Legion WAS worse about rental power gear and this is a fact that has been proven mathematically so stop spreading lies. Not to mention when you took of artifact your HP was 1/3 of what it was.

Right now when you sim your character with ilvl equivalent of normal gear replacing neck, chest, shoulders and head you will have 40% less dps.



In legion it was around 60-70% depending on spec. Not to mention tier sets which contributed another 10%.

[Cosmic Janitor]

Never. Gear was pretty much rental power already, but the current direction of extending it to player ability won't change either. Character progression is one of the major parts of mmoRPGs, Blizzard has found a way that let's them somewhat get away with resetting that progression once every expansion; rental powers. A diablo3 like interface is the absolute maximum Blizzard will settle for when it comes to button count on average, having a spellbook full of.. spells, not part of the ARPG Blizzrd would rather have. Since the goal of lasting character progression and shovelware design are antithesis to one another, we will most likely never see the return to permanent progression.

[Stickiler]

All these powers came for an expansion and then got taken away with a few "player-favorite" traits implemented into the classes' core.

This is why I love the "rental power" system, because it allows them the room to explore different styles of interactions and abilities for a given class/spec, without forcing every player of that spec into a changed system, then at the end of the expac they take the abilities that worked the best and make them baseline/talents. I love the new stuff that was brought over from the artifacts to being a permanent change to my characters.

[Kithelle]

Artifacts, Azerite, Essences, Corruption.

All these powers came for an expansion and then got taken away with a few "player-favorite" traits implemented into the classes' core, and leaving us with the feeling of bland class depth.

They replace one another, buy the feeling of "class complexity" but sometimes (especially in BFA and 8.2/8.3) they are so powerful, that it makes me feel like im playing not my class, but the rental power Blizzard gave me for two years.

Can we just get, i dont know, the big pool of talents, PvE/PvP/Legendary/Essences/Corruptions combined, like, 80+ talents for each class that could be unlocked 1 per level?

Then the player can choose the set of ~10 talents they pick from the unlocked pool. On the cap they will get full variety of PvP/PvE combinations they can use for PvE and PvP content.

Someone would mention the balance, but its essentially the same pool we have now, but combined, without split on PvP and PvE. Tune the numbers and we will be fine. Class balance isnt perfect anyway.

Just stop giving us toys and then taking them from us and replacing with another (as practice tells - way worse) toys.

Hoping these powers we get in SL stick with us...since they're not linked to gear like the Legion and BfA.

[Cosmic Janitor]

Hoping these powers we get in SL stick with us...since they're not linked to gear like the Legion and BfA.

They are linked to the covenant and most likely only work in the shadowlands. The extreme disparity between the ones we've seen already would also just cause issues down the line, meaning you'd have to go back do SL contentn in 10.x because some other changes caused another one to be better. There is not a snowball's chance in hell that we will keep them.

[MoanaLisa]

They are currencies basically. All are just alike and easily replaced with new currencies.

You're not wrong about them being expansion-specific bonus abilities but that's how you should look at them. A temporary but long-lasting buff or bonus.

Really the same stuff happens with all of your gear on the launch of a new expansion. You trade "gear currency" in epics and legendary items for a new currency of green items as you level. It's a great circle of life <yawn>.

[Kithelle]

They are linked to the covenant and most likely only work in the shadowlands. The extreme disparity between the ones we've seen already would also just cause issues down the line, meaning you'd have to go back do SL contentn in 10.x because some other changes caused another one to be better. There is not a snowball's chance in hell that we will keep them.

Nothing that says you have to change them, just one of the many problems with the player base...a lot talk like they're Mythic Raiders but very very few actually are. A slight DPS change wont affect them at all really. Either way it would be the same as it would actually be in SL...they want something different because it sims better in a situation...well it's their choice to grind it or not.

If that is the case then the entire game gets punished because some people are fickle...

[Cosmic Janitor]

Nothing that says you have to change them, just one of the many problems with the player base...a lot talk like they're Mythic Raiders but very very few actually are. A slight DPS change wont affect them at all really. Either way it would be the same as it would actually be in SL...they want something different because it sims better in a situation...well it's their choice to grind it or not.

If that is the case then the entire game gets punished because some people are fickle...

If you can't comprehend the vast difference in power in the examples we've been shown, then I can't help you either, sorry. This is not being fickle, this is a massive boost dependng on the type of content you do. These abilities will have significant impact at least on the level of a high tier talent. At best you could hope that some of them become talents after SL.

[Mirishka]

Obtaining gear and unlocking skills (either passive and active) are TWO separate things.

Wow team is quite infamous in creating system for one expansion and them completly abandoning them in the next.

Its lazy design.

It takes some impressively ass-backwards logic to label the creation of completely new, complex gameplay/progression systems every expansion as lazy.

As unsatisfying as things like Azerite armor have been at times, I'd still rather them come up with new stuff rather than 'now u grind even more levels of powr 4 ur warlurdz ring!!1'

[schwarzkopf]

The difference with Legion and BfA - and why Legion and BfA are the first to do rental gear is simple.

In LK I got to keep and use my gear into the next expansion until I chose to stop using it.

In Legion and I guess in BfA - the thing gets ripped from our hands, and the hands of any alts playing that content later.