Covenant Campaign Item Upgrades are Ridiculous

[frenzy16]

It's crazy to me how this week's covenant campaign upgrades are ilvl 197. I've been playing every day for the last month gearing up from campaign->normal->heroic->mythic->m+ and this week's covenant/PvP gear basically replaced everything except for a few pieces and now everyone is running around with the same gear and ilvl.

I used to start the week by running some low-mid mythic+ to raise my ilvl so I would have an easier time getting invited to higher m+ but this gear has put everyone on even footing and completely killed my motivation to do any m+. I feel like gearing up was a complete waste of time and I could have just bought the game a month later and been in the exact same spot I am now.

I signed up for an LFR today and was thinking what is the point of even doing this now? Why are the last 2 wings still time gated when the gear is completely worthless and replaced by doing a quest? There's also no point running mythics, low-mid mythic+, LFR, PvP for PvE, or World Quests for gear anymore.

Super disappointed.

[Relapses]

First time, eh?

These kind of short-term loot catch-up mechanisms have been in the game the last three expansions. If anything, you should be excited that more people will have higher item levels now as it means there will be more qualified players applying to the groups you're looking to push. But hey, you're free to have a cynical "dey tooked my loot" outlook too.

[Masternap]

Shouldn't have played the game then. Everything you do to get equip will always be invalidated when the catch-up mechanisms start working. The only permanent things are cosmetics and achievements.

[Beastiel]

I feel like gearing up was a complete waste of time and I could have just bought the game a month later and been in the exact same spot I am now.

Yeah I unsubbed 2 weeks back and left pretty much that exact sentence in my reasoning. Games not really enjoyable enough to stay subbed to chomp at the bit for what little new content as it comes, and it feels like any work I put in is undone. It's not really a complaint, as it's still a decent expansion and im sure I'll enjoy it when I come back. It just feels like there's nothing to be gained by playing right now, as a casual player. Which leaves me wondering who it's really supposed to be for.

[ClassicPeon]

Shouldn't have played the game then. Everything you do to get equip will always be invalidated when the catch-up mechanisms start working. The only permanent things are cosmetics and achievements.

Every single slot on my character is 200 ilvl +. I cant use a single one of the covenant items.

And i havent even cleared hc Nathria yet. We are on Denathrius now.

If you are a casual, the system is made for you, to catch up, because you are behind.

[Devilyaki]

Well you wouldn’t have the dead juice to upgrade them all if you started late.

[Matsumotto]

Well you wouldn’t have the dead juice to upgrade them all if you started late.

Exactly this. Upgrading those early pieces to max probably costs over 1k anime power...which is needed for upgrades on your covenant base, a thing that's more important in the long run.

[Masternap]

Every single slot on my character is 200 ilvl +. I cant use a single one of the covenant items.

And i havent even cleared hc Nathria yet. We are on Denathrius now.

If you are a casual, the system is made for you, to catch up, because you are behind.

Well, yeah, I haven't even been to the raid, highest M+ was 6, and I also didn't do any rated PvP and I'm at ilvl 202. I also have no use for the covenant items, but they are still just a few ilvl below the best equip you can get before hc raiding, kind of invalidating a lot of content.

[Mirishka]

It's crazy to me how this week's covenant campaign upgrades are ilvl 197. I've been playing every day for the last month gearing up from campaign->normal->heroic->mythic->m+ and this week's covenant/PvP gear basically replaced everything except for a few pieces and now everyone is running around with the same gear and ilvl.

I used to start the week by running some low-mid mythic+ to raise my ilvl so I would have an easier time getting invited to higher m+ but this gear has put everyone on even footing and completely killed my motivation to do any m+. I feel like gearing up was a complete waste of time and I could have just bought the game a month later and been in the exact same spot I am now.

I signed up for an LFR today and was thinking what is the point of even doing this now? Why are the last 2 wings still time gated when the gear is completely worthless and replaced by doing a quest? There's also no point running mythics, low-mid mythic+, LFR, PvP for PvE, or World Quests for gear anymore.

Super disappointed.

Yep, one more option for gearing totally ruins the whole system.

Imagine registering an account (or more likely, re-registering) on MMO for no other reason than to complain about something this trivial. Good lord.

[Syegfryed]

I've being playing for the month to farm anima and honor/conquest and upgrade my gear, don't think is thaaaat easy to farm this shit, in fact, it tedious and can take a lot of time, i have a friend who start playing weeks after me nd after spamming some mythcis and getting the great vault is almost ilv 200 without the covenant gear.

[Alubobz]

I worked out soon after i hit 60 that it would outdo dungeon gear, I played wow long enough to know farming dungeons is pointless long term so i not bothered to do any besides the weekly quest.. now i am 199 ilevel

Really with wow these days its only worth farming gear if you want to raid early on

[GnomeEU]

Mythic plus is pretty worthless now.
PvP is the much faster way to gear up.

The PvPers in our guild are sitting at 220 ilvl now.
They haven't even finish a +12

Everyone who spammed mythics is at 210 to 215

[ClassicPeon]

Mythic plus is pretty worthless now.
PvP is the much faster way to gear up.

The PvPers in our guild are sitting at 220 ilvl now.
They haven't even finish a +12

Everyone who spammed mythics is at 210 to 215

Yeah thats an actual problem.

The weapon thing is just pure bs.

I'm 212 equipped atm with no pvp done. I should probably upgrade my worst items(203 main hand and 207 offhand) to a 233 pvp weapon but i just dont like it.

Feels kinda crappy as someonewho otherwise try and do what i can to better myself.

[Kalontas]

You made one very good point. What's the point of even gating the LFR? Like seriously, what is the point beyond "this scrub may not look upon the real pro raiders"?

[Azerate]

I read this somewhere as a comment on real life, and I feel it applies here as well:

There are two kinds of people:
1. "It was hard for me, so I want it to be as hard for everyone else"
1. "It was hard for me, so I want to ensure everyone else has an easier time".

If you're the first type, then you are the problem, not the system.

On another note, ilvls in SL are much more meaningful, so the player power of a a casual player who only does world content and gears through the campaign and wqs is gonna be significantly weaker than one that does even a normal raid, despite 5 ilvls of overall difference

[blankfaced]

First time, eh?

These kind of short-term loot catch-up mechanisms have been in the game the last three expansions. If anything, you should be excited that more people will have higher item levels now as it means there will be more qualified players applying to the groups you're looking to push. But hey, you're free to have a cynical "dey tooked my loot" outlook too.

Except it's usually added in the next patch or near the end of the current patch.
It'll be interesting to see how this all plays out. Especially because a lot of players that may only do LFR/LFD this pretty much fills out their entire set, and unless you've been super unlucky, the other slots are already filled in with the best things you want in them. Some people that don't grind the highest Ilvl are already going to be in the best gear they'll probably get already. And without something like TF/WF there's no incentive to really keep playing as pretty much none of the content you do will ever give you an upgrade.

[chiddie]

Dudes have you noticed by chance how much Anima do upgrades to 197 cost?

The average joe will upgrade 1-2 pieces for week, by the time he’s “full” 197 the hardcore joes will be 230.

[rhorle]

I used to start the week by running some low-mid mythic+ to raise my ilvl so I would have an easier time getting invited to higher m+ but this gear has put everyone on even footing and completely killed my motivation to do any m+. I feel like gearing up was a complete waste of time and I could have just bought the game a month later and been in the exact same spot I am now.

So if you wanted to do higher level mythics what is the problem? You don't have to start your week with low-mid M+ now because you've been playing enough to have the Anima/PvP to upgrade gear. Doesn't that solve a problem you had? That you were down grading the M+ you wanted simply because you felt your gear was low enough. How is it a complete waste of time if your entire goal was to gear up for higher mythics? Why should it matter how you do it if that was the real goal?

I think it seems more likely your goal was to somehow be an elite which is what issues like yours usually boils down to. If you just want an easy time of doing stuff it has been the normal thing for a while to wait for X catch up mechanism to come out. There is still a point for LFR because you won't have the Anima to upgrade everything and still upgrade your gear and most won't be farming Anima each week from every WQ.

Since BfA LFR has had a minor role in things because in BfA you could out gear LFR with out ever stepping foot in a Normal raid. The same principle will eventually hold true in shadowlands since it is relatively easy to get better gear. But it is not bad that there are options for people to gear up or just do content if they want to. The problems with LFR isn't the loot but the slower release. It helps to keep the casual players interested longer but should really be sped up a bit faster.

[sylenna]

Shouldn't have played the game then. Everything you do to get equip will always be invalidated when the catch-up mechanisms start working. The only permanent things are cosmetics and achievements.

benthic and black empire gear was for underdeveloped twinks and didn't invalidate people with mythic gear. sure, benthic gear had some special effects and immensely upgraded with a lot of currency COULD fill a spot or even BiS for some classes. but visions of n'zoth awarded ~415 gear whilst mythic 2 already awarded 435.

i wouldn't go as far as saying that the covenant armor is catch-up. you still have to grind 1.050 anima per piece, so no fresh twink will have 9/9 ilvl 197 covenant armor as opposed to sendable tokens in BfA, legion.

[Asrialol]

Exactly this. Upgrading those early pieces to max probably costs over 1k anime power...which is needed for upgrades on your covenant base, a thing that's more important in the long run.

Is it, though? Isn't most of the upgrade stuff cosmetics?