I got rather bored tonight and was reading through recent blue posts for shits and giggles when I saw this from Daxxarri :
Which leads me into a sort of personal point based off what I know of psychology. I personally believe that the old system of 'caps' used in BC and wrath was far better than their current implementation because the cap wasn't quite so obvious and clear cut. Because of such there wasn't a bright goalpost in sight causing people to want to rush to the finish. This is something easily observed by watching pretty much any race, people always try to go fastest and gain that extra sprint of motivation when they turn the curve and see the last straightaway. This really leads me to a couple questions for you guys:The problem with allowing players to earn as many points as they want over the course of a week is that there are external pressures which, unfortunately, cause players to feel 'forced' to do the content that way. Caps can help provide some needed structure. Still, this is something we struggle with a lot, where a player with a particular play style wants the game to be structured towards what's convenient for them, which is a reasonable request. But when we change the rules, what was merely convenient for them then becomes the way everyone has to play.
Capping Valor isn't something we actually expect many players to do, but because there is a cap at all, some will always feel like they must do it every week. If the cap was higher, there would be those who felt like they were being corralled into doing that much more.
When/if you played in BC/Wrath did you feel the need to do every heroic/etc every day to reach the maximum possible cap, or did you settle for what you were comfortable with, with maybe a bit more when you needed gear or were close to getting a piece? I personally only worried about badges when I was close to a piece, and did the raids and dungeons I felt like doing. Because the option was always there to get more though I never felt strapped for anything to do. (aside from one week where I had actually done everything, but then I was just glad it was over)
Do you feel a difficult to reach cap is better than one that is fairly easy to reach? For some people just making it in to work is their achievement, but I have always been a bit more competitive and never felt satisfied til I finished a hard day. I actually have casual spare jobs I go work at if I get off work early.
I guess my point is I think Daxx is making an argument for no apparent reason. It doesn't really address the problem in my eyes, which is that the fact there is a cap isn't a problem. I personally believe the problem lies in how it is implemented, and how easy it is to achieve. Taking content away from the game because you think your players might be playing too much isn't really good design. It's not their job to watch after our health, their job is to make a fun game that people can spend years playing and enjoying themselves without feeling held back.