Should LFR be removed from WoW? Replaced or gone forever?

[High Function]

Sounds like a lot of people play WoW for LFR.

[ufta]

WoW is a better game with LFR in it.

[Koward]

I think removing LFR would please me, because I believe cheap modes and instant TP is something important to avoid in an MMO, but I do not claim to represent the majority of players and many would dislike such a change. A lot of people just want a multiplayer menu and play a quick game, I perfectly understand that. I guess it would feel like a betrayal from Blizzard for all players who are attracted by this part of World of Warcraft.

[YouWillAllAnswerToSithis]

Ignore it or use it, no real response is necessary.

[Kantoro]

The horse is dead, leave it alone.

[clevin]

Thanks for the reply, but could you explain why? Why is WoW a better game with LFR in it? How is it enhancing the game?
( Not saying that your point is wrong, but I am curious to why you feel that way)

use the fucking search function. This argument has been done to death here and there are literally thousands of pages about it. If you were really curious, you'd find those...

[Tommi]

Oh look! It's this thread again.

If we were going to remove any mode, it should be Mythic. Only a tiny amount of people do it, so why waste resources on it?

[Jimson]

I'm confused by your third poll choice. You want to remove LFR and replace it with something easier than normal, but not queue-able?

Actually, I'm confused by the entire OP. How many threads do we need, well-intentioned or not, that call for the removal of LFR? It's not going anywhere and the "solutions" put forth just complicate things.

[WurstKaeseSzenario]

Stopped reading when you said that "seeing content" equals "executing boss mechanics".

[Eleccybubb]

Oh look the 1000th fucking thread of "I'm a Mythic raider and LFR somehow affects me by being in the game or some random statistic I pull out of my ass is the reason LFR is bad"

I swear this dead horse has been beaten so much that it's just a pile of bone dust.

[Mirishka]

I want to first say try keep the thread clean and try to reduce the response to the trolls that will come out to comment, more than likely they don't even play the game or they are part of the LFR problem. I want your honest answers to these questions, but really think about it and not just a knee jerk reaction.

To start, I want to acknowledge 5 major points/questions that I realize come up when talking about removing LFR, but I will present why I think the benefits of eliminating LFR would outweigh concerns or possible harm. Please remember that these questions are not just based off of Legion, this is dating back many expansions and going into BFA. I will list the points then rebut them each below.
*snip blah blah wall of text*

Because the forums totally needed ANOTHER topic about removing LFR, right?

Which is never going to happen, btw. Ever. For reasons that Blizzard, themselves, have given.

- - - Updated - - -

Oh look the 1000th fucking thread of "I'm a Mythic raider and LFR somehow affects me by being in the game or some random statistic I pull out of my ass is the reason LFR is bad"

I swear this dead horse has been beaten so much that it's just a pile of bone dust.

Right? Its amazing how butthurt and angry LFR makes some people.

[A Chozo]

Your mistake is to think that people that only does LFR wants to do any other form of Raiding. At all.

They mostly don't.

Remove LFR, those players will say "there is no good content" - Majority of the playerbase avoids Raiding like a plague. Hell, Raiding is so avoided, that the devs had to create LFR to inflate participation ratios.

--

LFR needs to be reworked - they need a way to punish AFK'ers and freeloaders, and to reward participation. But such automated system would have to be very intricate.

[Cathfaern]

LFR is like flying. WoW would be better if they were never introduced to the game. But after they introduced them they can't remove them anymore, because of the too big playerbase loss.

[Bathory]

Removing LFR after all this time wouldn't do anything but harm the game and shrink the player base.

[DSRilk]

1). The most classic response to the removing LFR question: "This is how casual players see the content"
2). How will casual players or PVP players get better gear to make their game play easier?
3). This is just a complaint/want from your semi, hardcore PVE players and they don't need LFR to see the content or gear.
4). LFR has been in the game for so long why take it out now?
5). If you take out LFR, what is going to replace the void left for the casual player?

I would say dismissing people who disagree with you as "part of the LFR problem" is part of the actual problem. Now, on to your actual questions... as someone who does not care for raiding, and who does LFR. I usually rank a little above middle of the pack when I run on Tuesday or near top of the pack by the end of the week.

1) Your definition of "seeing the content" is different than mine. I enjoy seeing the bosses, and feeling a part of the story that leads to the cinematics. I enjoy some mechanics, but I don't enjoy hours of fighting the same boss. I usually only run each LFR boss once. Ever. In this context, I would say your rebuttal is invalid (at least for me) as I feel like I'm seeing the content as I would like to see it.

2) I don't care about this. I don't LFR for gear, other than perhaps the occasional transmog, mount, or prof recipe that is stuck behind raiding. I'd be far happier if those were all moved outside of raiding.

3) It IS just a complaint. LFR is not here to make players better, at least as far as I see it. Also, you cannot force people to join guilds to raid. If LFR was removed, I'd do what I used to do - not raid and just miss out on the rest of the story. It was annoying, but not as annoying as raiding.

4) I think this argument is irrelevant.

5) Again, irrelevant. LFR, as far as I'm concerned, isn't end game content for "casual" players.

Honestly, I think you're arguing points that - at least I as a user of LFR - am not making. Here's my position on LFR: either move the story (and optimally transmog and recipes at the very least) to additional places outside of raiding or leave LFR as it is so I can experience the story that is currently stuck behind raids (as I define experience - which has nothing to do with game mechanics).

[Calfredd]

Because all games have end game material, and like all games they have different difficulties of end game. My only question is how is LFR helping or enchanting the game? Mythic gives guilds something to strive for.

LFR allows Mythic to exist.

[Cathfaern]

My only question is how is LFR helping or enchanting the game? Mythic gives guilds something to strive for.

There are many casuals who don't have much more time for WoW per day than doing a wing of LFR. So they farm that until no gear drops anymore. They would just unsub if they could not do it. So it's progress and content for them.

[Varvara Spiros Gelashvili]

Thanks for the reply, but could you explain why? Why is WoW a better game with LFR in it? How is it enhancing the game?
( Not saying that your point is wrong, but I am curious to why you feel that way)

It lets people who won't raid higher difficulties raid which helps them justify subscribing.

[Varvara Spiros Gelashvili]

"I think removing LFR would please me, because I believe cheap modes and instant TP is something important to avoid in an MMO, but I do not claim to represent the majority of players and many would dislike such a change. A lot of people just want a multiplayer menu and play a quick game, I perfectly understand that. I guess it would feel like a betrayal from Blizzard for all players who are attracted by this part of World of Warcraft."

I agree with your points, in my post I talk about what you are saying. I am sure that many players of WoW just want something 'easy'. I just have the view that people play this game for a reason, why is it enjoyable to just fight a LFR boss when you could spend the same amount of time getting better gear and a better experience with a raid team (normal, heroic or mythic) or mythic plus?

Because raiding guilds can be filled with drama and not everyone plays at responsible times.

[Kubaal]

The most classic response.... NO

This is purely optional, noone is forced to run the content so in no way does it effect anyone. How ever, since the addition to LFR raids have received more attention from the devs, and everyone who raids benefits for this.

My question is, Why would you want it removed?