People are choosing what's optimal perhaps instead of what's more aesthetically pleasing. So? They are enjoying the game as they see fit, if they chose a covenant that they don't think looks cool to perform better then that's their decision and it has nothing to do with you. Why are others affecting you? Make your choice and be happy with it, play the game how you want to play. I guarantee you that most players will be fine with your decision.
It's funny how you guys always argue with druids and paladins, which are the massive outliers where the aligning covenant also happens to be top tier and never with the ones where the aligning ones are significantly outclassed, like warlocks. The only thing you can tell by numbers like 90% - especially in comparisons to other covenants - is that not only did the theme fit great, the performance did as well.
You are welcome, Metzen. I hope you won't fuck up my underground expansion idea.
This.
If people who can't even utilize their class to 80% won't be able to utilize their covenant either. After that it will be balance, luck, gear.. make an excuse! Ofc the balance is crapped up, but I don't think it's that bad. It's like most rogues being one spec more than the other type of issue rather than something critical.
I said multiple times now that you are right. People randomly ended up with the best performing cov. All had their own multitude of reasons for why they pick their cov and they all ended up with their choice that randomly was also the best performing one. This just happened. How do you not make any sense?
As much as I disagree with the "follow the guide" decision-making, it's clearly what most people do.
I think they should have expensive "ways" of obtain each covenants abilities, something like: use soul ash to enchant your weapon with the Kyrian enchant. When equipped, this weapon will allow you to use the Kyrian abilities. If they did this, people could actual choose based on lore/looks/fun.
I posted this idea in a few placed over the past few months, but the idea didn't get much traction. oh well.
other way around everyone just goes on icyveins/wowhead or similar and go with what they say. I've gone kyrian for the totem as i found it more fun, feel like I'm the only shaman in the covenant.
If you were fortunate enough to have your preferred gameplay and/or "Bis" covenant align with your preferred Aesthetic then great... your "meaningful choice" wasn't really a choice and there's nothing wrong with Covenants, everyone else are just crybabies.
If however, you were unfortunate, and your preferred Aesthetic did not align with your preferred gameplay and/or "BiS" ability, then your "meaningful choice" actually is a choice, but one of compromise.
For me, it's been a mixed bag so far.
RDruid (main) is Night Fae. Aesthetics suit, good healing souldbinds, and Convoke is a great healing CD. Win/Win
RShaman also originally went NF, but I hated Fae Transfusion in group content and changed to Venthyr. Don't like the covenant Aesthetics, can't even recall what my Soulbinds do, but Chain Harvest is better gameplay and Shaman is an alt.
HPaladin has gone Kyrian... fortunately the Aesthetic matches as Divine Toll is borderline mandatory for HPally in higher Prideful keys. I did want the NF Plate Mog however so I might swap late in the expansion to get the Mog for future use.
Mage will be next... not sure where they'll go, but I do need a Necro to round out the 4.
There is already a thread covering this exact discussion: https://www.mmo-champion.com/threads...will-get-worse