Dragonflight Alpha/Beta General Discussion

[Cherry123]

Hope for a good 9.2 Arthas trailer, this is the last chance to introduce him.

[Sondrelk]

I haven't bought Shadowlands yet. First WoW expansion that I haven't played for a single minute.

Admittedly though, I miss this game. I'm wondering if I should wait for 9.2 or for the next expansion, where basically Shadowlands will become free.

Depends on what you want out of WoW.
If it's a coherent narrative about characters and concepts you care about, then probably not.
If it's instanced dungeons and raids then it's not a noticeable downgrade from previous expansions despite the final bosses of raids being too long.

If what you want is to gather cosmetics, mounts and titles then congratulations, Shadowlands is the perfect expansion.


The main, ultimate drawback of SL are the droughts that have been choking the game slowly and painfully.
Story that is normally boring becomes a slog.
Annoying raid bosses become insufferable.
Boredom with the zones becomes all the more acute when you have spent way too much time there.

SL is an average if slightly divide expansion that got crippled by Covid. Even the best expansions WOw could offer would have suffered the same.

If you can avoid the drought though then I think anyone would have a decent enough time.

[Aeluron Lightsong]

I haven't bought Shadowlands yet. First WoW expansion that I haven't played for a single minute.

Admittedly though, I miss this game. I'm wondering if I should wait for 9.2 or for the next expansion, where basically Shadowlands will become free.

Its not as bad as people put it but make your own judgement(even if I disagree with it immensely).

[Fahrad Wagner]

I haven't bought Shadowlands yet. First WoW expansion that I haven't played for a single minute.

Admittedly though, I miss this game. I'm wondering if I should wait for 9.2 or for the next expansion, where basically Shadowlands will become free.

It's not as bad as people paint it to be, I came back to the game this week and I had a fair bit of fun with the story and Korthia. Is it all I wanted it to be? No. Is it all rotten? Certainly not.

[Makabreska]

I bought it, and I think I logged in once since the launch. That was to check last year's Winter's Veil gifts.

Money well spent!

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I haven't bought Shadowlands yet. First WoW expansion that I haven't played for a single minute.

Admittedly though, I miss this game. I'm wondering if I should wait for 9.2 or for the next expansion, where basically Shadowlands will become free.

It has it's fun. It's more of the same, new raids, new dungeons, new powers enabling new builds.

[Slowpoke is a Gamer]

Money well spent!

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It has it's fun. It's more of the same, new raids, new dungeons, new powers enabling new builds.

Way I look at it, there was a time prior to the beta where I was considering getting the Digital Deluxe.

Suffice to say I'm not preordering the next expansion no matter what they dangle in front of me until I see how fucked the Beta is.

[Archmage Xaxxas]

I haven't bought Shadowlands yet. First WoW expansion that I haven't played for a single minute.

Admittedly though, I miss this game. I'm wondering if I should wait for 9.2 or for the next expansion, where basically Shadowlands will become free.

The experience is worth the box price. However, this was the first time (as a ritual-expack-launch-player) I've even remotely felt it was a question worth asking.

SL was "Yea that's worth it I suppose, nice."

Other expacks I guess this is just all anecdotal/circumstantial of course, but it wasn't even framed that way in my head.
More just "Heck ya this is a blast" lol

But I'd still buy it again now and live the content through again gladly, it's not really bad, I just didn't find it beyond amazing or anything. Some nostalgia was seeded for later!

[Dracullus]

Money well spent!

If I remember correctly dude once said WoW is shit since like Cata or MoP. So much time passed since then that even my niece who wasn't even born back then is old enough to not spend her pocket money on things she hate.

How the hell WoW can die when even people hating WoW (cause how the hell you judge expansion after logging ONCE, it must be deep aversion to WoW in general at this point) are buying box for 50$. xD

I haven't bought Shadowlands yet. First WoW expansion that I haven't played for a single minute.

Admittedly though, I miss this game. I'm wondering if I should wait for 9.2 or for the next expansion, where basically Shadowlands will become free.

SL will be free when WoW enter 10.0 pre-patch (unless something change, which is always possible). You will able to check whole leveling, story and solo stuff, but probably no one will give a shit about any group content anymore, especially since FOMO rewards like achievs or special mount for heroic Jailer will be gone.

Imo it's worth box price for leveling alone, maybe check few gameplays if you dig this theme. Also I don't know if free trials for new expacs still exist, but it's worth a shot to ask support for it.

[Throren]

Shadowlands for me is the first expansion since ever that I actually unsubbed during and wont play to the final patch. Just between the 5 bajillion different currencies and resources, grinds and different systems and the nose dive that was the story and lore....on top of a 55+ hour work week and social life. I just couldnt do it anymore.

So Im hoping 10.0 is something that might make me interested in diving back in. Honestly what ZoS is doing with ESO's latest chapter is exactly what I want from wow. They recognized that each chapter and dlc focused too much on huge world ending plots. So this newest one is focusing on smaller local domestic problems and politics and such. No huge demonic invasions or comic level plots and threats. Thats what I hope we get from WoW, something smaller scale and grounded, though I know that will likely never happen.

[Dracullus]

Shadowlands for me is the first expansion since ever that I actually unsubbed during and wont play to the final patch. Just between the 5 bajillion different currencies and resources, grinds and different systems and the nose dive that was the story and lore....on top of a 55+ hour work week and social life. I just couldnt do it anymore.

I don't understand why people bother to put first sentence like SL was so special among previous expacs, yet they describe basically endgame of any patch. You no longer feel it, that's cool, but objectively SL has at max like 20-30% of grinds from BfA/Legion.

You won't have to grind in casual MMO focused on story, but you won't have same endgame raids/dungeons like in WoW either. And if you don't care about harder endgame, you didn't have to farm bajillion currencies anyway. But I understand that casual content in ESO could be more entertaining than casual content in WoW, that's definitely thing that should be main focus of 10.0. 'Hardcore'/progression side of WoW doesn't need big changes, just removal of some dead weight.

[Throren]

I don't understand why people bother to put first sentence like SL was so special among previous expacs, yet they describe basically endgame of any patch. You no longer feel it, that's cool, but objectively SL has at max like 20-30% of grinds from BfA/Legion.

Oh I know that bit isnt anything new to this expac. I guess its just sorta one of the straws that broke the camels back for me y'know? Like Im used to that stuff, but that mixed with everything else, and Ive always been a lore and story guy first so the way that was dumped on just put a bad light on everything. Nevermind all the stuff going on at Acti-blizz as a company. I guess IT was just a combination of everything that just sucked out the will to continue....if that makes sense. Idk, describing emotions and how stuff makes me feel is difficult xD

Im not the best at articulating my thoughts, I dont really know hwo to describe it, just something about Shadowlands just made me really feel apathetic towards the game, and Im not sure what specifically caused it. So I feel like its probably just everything thats been going on all compounded together.

[Dracullus]

Oh I know that bit isnt anything new to this expac. I guess its just sorta one of the straws that broke the camels back for me y'know? Like Im used to that stuff, but that mixed with everything else, and Ive always been a lore and story guy first so the way that was dumped on just put a bad light on everything. Nevermind all the stuff going on at Acti-blizz as a company. I guess IT was just a combination of everything that just sucked out the will to continue....if that makes sense. Idk, describing emotions and how stuff makes me feel is difficult xD

Im not the best at articulating my thoughts, I dont really know hwo to describe it, just something about Shadowlands just made me really feel apathetic towards the game, and Im not sure what specifically caused it. So I feel like its probably just everything thats been going on all compounded together.

Well, it's just a game after all. Break is always good for burnout, especially if current theme doesn't suit you.

[Pheraz]

I don't understand why people bother to put first sentence like SL was so special among previous expacs, yet they describe basically endgame of any patch. You no longer feel it, that's cool, but objectively SL has at max like 20-30% of grinds from BfA/Legion.

You won't have to grind in casual MMO focused on story, but you won't have same endgame raids/dungeons like in WoW either. And if you don't care about harder endgame, you didn't have to farm bajillion currencies anyway. But I understand that casual content in ESO could be more entertaining than casual content in WoW, that's definitely thing that should be main focus of 10.0. 'Hardcore'/progression side of WoW doesn't need big changes, just removal of some dead weight.

I think the difference is that people just don't want to be in the Shadowlands. It's a dump concept and even dumper execution. If the systems are bad but the raids and zones are good it's maybe still bearable.

I hope so much that we will be back on azeroth after sl I'm so done with those crap planes like draenor or SL.

[Aeluron Lightsong]

Draenor isn't a dumb concept nor is Shadowlands. Say what you want about them but they aren't inheritely bad ideas.

[ChairmanKaga]

Draenor isn't a dumb concept nor is Shadowlands. Say what you want about them but they aren't inheritely bad ideas.

I think it's more than fair to argue that Shadowlands as a concept of infinite potential afterlives, parsed down to four specific ones for game brevity where you double kill things to make them super dead is dumb.

[Aeluron Lightsong]

I think it's more than fair to argue that Shadowlands as a concept of infinite potential afterlives, parsed down to four specific ones for game brevity where you double kill things to make them super dead is dumb.

That doesn't really convince me at all.

[ChairmanKaga]

That doesn't really convince me at all.

All I'm saying is inherently the game is built around killing other things. To then set such a game in a place full of beings that are already dead from a previous life, killing them again to some form of permanent nonexistence/death, who would all otherwise "live" on eternally in a caste chosen for them by a robot is a dumb mess.

[Revamp Man]

The idea of killing stuff in the shadowlands makes sense to me simply because of how anima has been described as working. We know Odyn also saw living beings and we “double killed” stuff since vanilla.

I’m just ready for them to cover stuff with some form of background that is from the time when they knew how to tell a story. “We must stop the jailer from getting all the infinity stones which give us extreme power upgrades but we left the Venthyr sigil in a prison because we are dumb”.

And the whole “you ended garrosh like that?? Well Sylvanas just nuked the elves HAAA!!! Take that Steve.”

I get retcons will definitely come but I can’t wait for the announcement because my dragon boner is ready

[Ersula]

That is bad too.

The point is that the scourge architecture was based around the nerubians architecture, with all the whole kingdom of azjolnerub, then they make maldraxus scourge 2.0, and goes against established lore for a rule of cool temptative.

Who cares?

Nerubians cribing their aesthetic makes as much sense as Odyn cribing his from the Kyrians. The necromantic powers required to peer behind the veil clearly existed in some form before the Scourge. IE there were undead & necromancers in this franchise before WC3

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No, seriously, what kind of short-circuit your brain had to form in order to create the line of reasoning that the Frostmourne was ever hidden on Azeroth from the Jailer? By the minions of his ally, no less?

I literally posted the clip where the jailers explains exactly this. He learned Frostmorne's location from the Primus' memories. Did you post this before reading my entire point?

It seems like I'm in the middle of two camps, one saying (falsely) that this was all some grand design planned years ago, and the people who treat the recontextualization of old lore as a much bigger deal than it is.

[Teriz]

What was dumb about Shadowlands was not releasing a Necromancer or Dark Ranger class when people were more than ready for a new class. A new Dark Ranger class would have made having to deal with Sylvanas for another expansion a bit easier to bear.