Should last tier raiding gear last far into a new expansion?

[Matt0193]

This tier's HC gear should last up until say 97-98, maybe replacing the cloak with level 100 intro blues from 99-100 normal dungeons, the equivalent of 450 blues atm.

As long as the NPC damage output is scaled to SoO LFR level, if not less like JF scaled down to 372 (Firelands noral was 378, HoT heroics were 378) rather than 384 of DS LFR. I'm all for challenge while leveling, I'm all for challenge in general, but leveling is just a monotonous task. If leveling was interesting, something we'll be able to see in the beta, then sure; add more challenges.

[arcaneshot]

The real answer is Yes. Anyone that says No doesn't realize how difficult the jump from Wrath to Cata was when you weren't geared in ICC gear.

[ACES]

Yes, you'll be replacing some gear probably in the middle of your questing and then more so when you get close to max level and then fully when you are up to Heroics.

[Deleted]

It should be and has been in the past a foot up in the new expansion.

[Lumineus]

Unfortunately with regards to how I feel on this issue, Blizzard has already indicated their intent, so the question is largely academic in nature. SoO gear will be obsolete by the end of FFR/SMV. Otherwise there would be no point to the Garrosh heirlooms.

[nekobaka]

No. Should be replaced as soon as possible. This way the new expansion would actually be somewhat challenging for the 1st time running through it.

Well I am one to say more engaging, but overall if you make gear faster to replace then the experience is more consistent for everyone. WotLK was just silly. It was nice for the developers to admit their mistake, but it still gets spoken by players as purposeful especially as a method to bash Cata.

The real answer is Yes. Anyone that says No doesn't realize how difficult the jump from Wrath to Cata was when you weren't geared in ICC gear.

I did it with a toon in greens and it was a similar experience. The Cata quest greens had a lot more stm which vastly increased character survival. If you had ICC gear then you was still squishy. MoP went the route of ramping up mob health which in turn meant that players who wasnt used to getting hit got hit and got hit a lot. In the end pull too much and both methods are deadly. Now Cata especially hyjal had a far more densely populated mob population than usual and mix that with lots of players leading to fast respawns and it doesnt mater. Then there is the demo warlock that doesnt give a fuck.

Not saying Blizzard cant make it a bit more smooth and less punishing or lopsided at the start. It is somewhat silly to start out punishing and then become a breeze at the end.

[Mormolyce]

Generally replaced in the first 1-3 zones of leveling, which IMO is about right.

[Krazzorx]

If it was up to me, I'd nerf all the raid gear down to 483 ilvl (except heirloom Garrosh weapons). Would make balancing mobs, gear 20x easier. A new xpac launch is where everything is reset and everyone is at the same level in regards to gear.

A normal mode raider in MoP shouldn't have an advantage over a returning heroic raider who last played in Wrath.

[Durandro]

There just needs to be gear vendors at the start of an expansion for people who don't have 'good gear' going into a new expansion. The difference between even dungeon blues with Heroic Warforged is just obscene - even with the item squish its going to be noticable.

Doesn't have to be amazing gear, but I think the vendors in Jade Forest who sold green gear for gold was a good move - they just need to be placed much earlier in the zone so you can instantly ditch what you have if you want to sink a few hundred gold. And that'll be gone the moment you set foot into the second zone or a dungeon so its not a bad notion - so long as the quest rewards are worthwhile too.

[MoanaLisa]

I don't think so but I have to admit that throwing away epic gear awarded from some of the most difficult bosses while you're still doing leveling quests to put on lesser green items is strange and unlikable.

It's probably a different game but I'd like to have a more seamless game, one with less quality labels on gear, not divided up by color, and where the actual character progressed, not the gear.

On the other hand, if you didn't need to gear up from leveling many would never bother and I don't think that's right either. Very difficult question given the way it is.

[Captainn]

I think it's good how it is really. Lasts around two zones and then you say good bye. Anymore and it would just make progression feel... blah like.

[Daetur]

I think it should last until the first form of max-level gearing in the new expansions.

[yjmark]

I think it should last until heroic 5-mans. Getting new gear while leveling is no longer "exciting" for me. I usually just want to enjoy quest lines, then start raiding. Getting new gear, figuring out what "could be a upgrade", etc... is not what I find fun. /shrug

For me, progression is not about gear. It is about experiencing new content. IMHO - the more I can focus on content, and the less on gear, the happier I'll be.

[Anguished]

Max tier gear should be replaced by the time you start running dungeons in the new expansion, otherwise we miss out on the excitement of actually getting new gear while we level.

Pretty much this. Allowing players to keep gear from previous tiers would not only cut out the huge part of gearing up for a new raid tier, making it so players don't feel the need to do new content, except just to see what it's like. It also would mean that, if the gear was on par, or better with new expac raiding gear, the only reasons for people to raid the new raids would be for the challenge and progression.

As well as all of that, it could also slow down character progression, so you wouldn't see your character getting stronger as it progresses through new content, and picking up new pieces, which would be a horrible design choice.

[TheWindWalker]

Fairly certain they'll implement a level restriction on the legendary cape proc at least.

That's more than likely the plan since they assured the cloaks will not be viable. Any tank that, for whatever reason, likes the tanking cloak for its proc would still be using it three raid tiers from now if it still worked.

[Yousend]

The real answer is Yes. Anyone that says No doesn't realize how difficult the jump from Wrath to Cata was when you weren't geared in ICC gear.

Having gear being relevant until max level doesn't mean the content has to be hard for the rest of the people. All it means is that 91 green and blues should be about current LFR item level, 95 have normal gear ilevel and 98-99 blues have heroic gear ilevel. That way level 100 dungeon blues (not dungeon heroics) are better than the previous expansion gear, except that people are rewarded for their heroic SoO progression and have an advantage that lasts more than just a level or getting lucky drops.

[Skroe]

Fuck no. New expac = new game. Clean slate.

[Erolian]

Nope. No reason whatsoever to make much of the leveling process useless unless you're hoping for some sort of broken shit to make it through and have some BiS trinket for lvl 100 players dropping in SoO

[Zechs-cenarius]

Honestly the progression from Vanilla through max level TBC was best. It didn't render the T2+ stuff useless within the first couple of quests which honestly made it feel like the work put into those raids was worth it. Since TBC->MoP the gear reset within the first 20 or so quests feels as if you just wasted all that time raiding since your raid gear was pretty much rendered useless within that time frame. I have had numerous friends leave the game because of the notorious gear reset from the numerous expansions since WoTLK. I sure am no longer interested in raiding in MoP since going off of the past experience its all going to be replaced before I even hit 91.

[roahn the warlock]

With the slow scale of 10 levels, it will last pretty long, I remember my TBC shoulders lasting till Naxx