To those who aren't playing WoW, what would have to change to resub?

[justandulas]

- Housing
- Scale every single dungeon/raid ever put into the game to max level, including their gear. Separate them by difficulty tiers and slap a LFR on it (not lfr difficulty, just a way to find groups for the dozens of raids). I don't care how much of a nightmare it is to balance, this is about FUN and it would be FUN and provide near limitless options to min/max with rather than just 1-2 generic builds per tier. We'd have infinite options.
- necromancer class. How we didn't get it during the DEATH expac of SL is beyond me
- bring back meta lock, while keeping DH untouched.
- professions. remember when they were good? As ippollite suggested, make the old dungeons/raids drop HOUSING stuff for housing. Maybe skinners/LW can make head trophies out of the final bosses, or BS/Tailors can "mimic" the outfits of NPC's in dungeons to copy/paste their outfits into a collection, etc.
- NO MORE SEASONAL SYSTEMS.
- Talent trees, bring them back for real and not this D3 rip off we have now.
- Speaking of talent tree's, while you're adding them back in, add in the missing talent abilities we SHOULD have got the last few years. We should have 2-3 more abilities than we do right now at the minimum.
- Fire the writing team, or at least put someone talented in charge of oversight because the story right now is the equivalent of a 10 year old playing with dolls in the bathtub. It's pathetic, and that's being KIND about it. It is, by a large margin, the worst story in any major MMORPG. FF14, ESO, even SWTOR do story telling better. WoW has amazing setting and characters, and has incompetent writers who have NO IDEA what to do with them.
- Speaking of better writing.... add villainous options for BOTH factions. For the horde, especially. I didn't roll zombie evil wizard (undead lock) to be the hero of azeroth, or champion of light. I would rather be Sylvanas or Garrosh than Thrall, and i'm NOT alone. There's quite a few of us old WC2 horde survivors out there who want a darker side of azeroth.

[OldPerson]

The problem is people don't want to redo the same content. They want the modern upgrades and new content with the old school philosophies.

Mostly this. Appreciate the classic servers are there and think it was a great idea. The direction Blizz went overt the years dropped the things I enjoyed about the game and embraced the things I wish they would drop. Similar shift occurred in the community (not for the worse per se, just not in a direction I want to go).

[Phuongvi]

At this point they should restart from scratch with the story on Azereroth, not in an interstellar galaxy or other dimension

Back to basic, and please fucking stop with the bling bling vanity bullshit

[ippollite]

Agreed, that's what made them so terrible. At least Order Halls had some sense of companionship with the rest of your class, even though that was entirely superficial and never really turned into more than that. Room for improvement I'd say.

I don't see how you're planning to make non-instanced player houses work though. Too many players, too little real estate.

Ive only played it in two other mmos (eso and ff14), i think the eso system would work much better in wow (though i do love visiting other peoples houses in ff14, but it clearly is a huge problem to procure one). I figure phasing is just more in keeping with wow. My general idea is 30 or so plots in the world, a SUPER rare drop (0.000001%) for title deeds (whether in current raids or just RNG world drops, kinda like legion legos), BoE so you can sell them on the AH and make bank. The advantages is that it restores RNG into the world game that isnt impactful to power progression. It encourages exploration in the world game. It gives players who want to farm something, a super valuable reward. And if you dont wanna do it, but have millions of gold, you can still buy it if its the plot that really interests you.

All i want is a nice little cottage by faldir's cove in arathi highlands i can call my own (and then decorate up with all the stuff ive collected in game).

[justandulas]

It would require sale of the Warcraft franchise and IP to another company.

Be careful what you wish for. A company like Tencent would be the end of WoW forever

- - - Updated - - -

We had that in WoD. People hated it. Order Halls were far more popular.

Garrisons were not housing and if they were, they were the worst housing I’ve ever seen in a game. There are MUDs with better housing than garrisons

[Ivarr]

Ive only played it in two other mmos (eso and ff14), i think the eso system would work much better in wow (though i do love visiting other peoples houses in ff14, but it clearly is a huge problem to procure one). I figure phasing is just more in keeping with wow. My general idea is 30 or so plots in the world, a SUPER rare drop (0.000001%) for title deeds (whether in current raids or just RNG world drops, kinda like legion legos), BoE so you can sell them on the AH and make bank. The advantages is that it restores RNG into the world game that isnt impactful to power progression. It encourages exploration in the world game. It gives players who want to farm something, a super valuable reward. And if you dont wanna do it, but have millions of gold, you can still buy it if its the plot that really interests you.

All i want is a nice little cottage by faldir's cove in arathi highlands i can call my own (and then decorate up with all the stuff ive collected in game).

This model would drastically increase the token sale so you might be onto something here.

[Glorious Leader]

Replace the current development staff or at least the senior leads.

[Nerovar]

It would require sale of the Warcraft franchise and IP to another company.

I think it's more likely that we'll get a MMORPG with similar design philosophies to old school WoW in the next 15 years than current WoW changing its course. Of course it will never be as good as WoW which was able to build upon memories of playing older Warcraft titles etc. but that's just how it goes.

[emilpor]

Just a general curiosity of what would have to change to make you resubscribe to WoW

Looking at the state of the game (how it's been for the past years), I would need it to become "pay once" to access & let WoW appear on STEAM, not only Battlenet.

The only reason that I would return to WoW is if I could bring my friends to it. That will never happen when there are so many free to play games out there.

Given the fact that it's full of paid cosmetics already, why not adopt a monetization technique similar to Path of Exile?

[chiddie]

Shif Diablo 3 endgame rewards and recraft systems into here, including randomized rifts, and then I would give it a chance again.

I would also like a D3 like system where specific drops or crafts plus skills-runes-passives combos completely change the class gameplay.

Oh, and stop gating best gear to grouped content only. It was fun 15 years ago, now it’s only annoying.

[Ivarr]

I think it's more likely that we'll get a MMORPG with similar design philosophies to old school WoW in the next 15 years than current WoW changing its course. Of course it will never be as good as WoW which was able to build upon memories of playing older Warcraft titles etc. but that's just how it goes.

World of Crash Bandicoot

[jcf190]

I don't think there's anything fundamentally wrong, it's just that I get bored with the game after playing it since release. I take frequent breaks to play other things and there's nothing wrong with that. I think the better question is why do people feel the need to endlessly complain about a game instead of turning it off? Seriously, take a break.

I think most people are burnt out and just too afraid to admit it because they feel like they've invested so much into the game. If you say you've quit the game, but you're talking about it constantly and visiting forums dedicated to it, well...that's what video game addiction looks like.

[justandulas]

Shif Diablo 3 endgame rewards and recraft systems into here, including randomized rifts, and then I would give it a chance again.

I would also like a D3 like system where specific drops or crafts plus skills-runes-passives combos completely change the class gameplay.

Oh, and stop gating best gear to grouped content only. It was fun 15 years ago, now it’s only annoying.

I’d argue the game is already too much like d3. It’s seasonal, multiple ilvls of every item in the game so everyone can play, m+ is a play on rifts, and the talent “trees” now are way more d3 than they are old WoW

We need far less d3, more old school mmorpg. Hiring the d3 team in legion onto WoW is one reason why WoW has devolved into a seasonal mmo arpg and less an mmorpg

[Gugabuga]

If i could progress on my own pace
Aka
Stop the valor upgrade item lvl cap linked to key+ achievments or things like that

Like do all +15 to be able to upgrade ur gear to ilvl 666

[ippollite]

This model would drastically increase the token sale so you might be onto something here.

It never even ocured to me! Please use this as your pitch to get a job in atvi!

[loras]

Just a general curiosity of what would have to change to make you resubscribe to WoW

Alter the way ilvl influences pvp combat.
No point in playing on an uneven battlefield.

Also as it stands rated pvp has the strictest teambuilding requirements due to the nature of the game, so either circumvent that via solo queue or think of something else that works to mitigate that.
(or alternatively: ditch the ratings threshold system and make conquest/whatever-points gain dependant on rating, that way rated becomes somewhat more optional for those who do not wish to bother with it, as there'd at least be a path forward for them in pvp).

Also stop forcing people into pve / grinding for wanting the conduits / memories they desire.

And finally: Crack down on boosters, harshly.



Positive suggestion: Add aesthetical / minor perks to legendaries, make them more than glorified stat sticks with a somewhat choosable effect.

Hell, make it sparkle-ify some spells or something, grant me 1 min of water walking/breathing/slow fall /whatever.
And annihilate its overhead costs, mandatory goldsinks stink very badly. Repairs are bad enough in their bothersome semi-irrelevant existence, if i spend i want it be my genuine choice.

[tru]

I mean pretty much the opposite of everything they done since they put a paragon system in with legion. We'll see if they hold true to wanting to change things but I doubt it.

[Nerovar]

World of Crash Bandicoot

There are still a few untapped/untainted older fantasy settings that could be salvaged for MMORPGs like Dragon Age or wacky stuff like Legacy of Kain.

[Mistaztreek]

They have to release WoW 2, i got to overwhelmed in both Legion and BFA.. there were to many things to do at the same time, it felt more like work than a game.. i want to play games to stop thinking about work, not the other way around.

Questing in BFA was so awful i didnt even finish to max lvl. all questhubs were kill X and loot Y from the ground, do that 4 times and kill an elite.. NOW DO IT x10 more times in the zone before you go do the exact thing in the next zone.

Back when i played the most (bc-cata) getting a new mount was something extremely awesome.. this lastest patch had like 30-40 mounts(?) thats to much...
Dunno if im getting old but i cant even remember any quest in MoP,WoD, Legion, BFA..

I did play Classic from start to finish, i dont have time to play BC though.

[Dazmalak]

It would require a straight up reboot for me. I liked Warcraft when it was Warhammer Lite. Now it is Marvel Cinematic Multiverse Lite. I have a long list of what I would change and it amounts to bring an entirely separate game.

1) Goodbye cross-server and LFG tool. Keep communities on server tied to one another. Develop ways to keep it generally balanced. But balance won't be quite as big of a deal because...

2) Cross-faction PvE content. Adventurers have always existed on Azeroth and some threats are mutually beneficial to go after. The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

3) Four Factions + "Mercenary Races"
-Guardians of Kalimdor (Night Elves and Tauren)
-Horde (Orcs, Trolls, Ogres)
-Forsaken (Undead, Worgen, Blood Elves)
-Alliance (Humans, Dwarves, Gnomes)
-Others: (Pandaren and goblins for example)

Blood Elves stay in their evil, Kael'thas version and never turn back to the Light or Sunwell. Instead they are basically mana vampires. The worgen are cursed, mad monsters with violent tendencies. These 3 are a twist on Classic Horde: misfit races that the rest of the world would rather see dead. They also serve as a "dark alliance" between Gilneas, lordaeron, and silver moon. Dual natures struggling between their desire for survival and their humanity against their cursed existences that make them violent, addicts, and morally vacant. They cover the northern half of the eastern kingdoms.

The Horde never goes full self-loathing. Trolls still eat people. Ogres are still big doofuses. Orcs still like to fight and make war. WC2 version of the Horde. They cover the southern half of Kalimdor.

The Tauren leave the Horde. They'd rather grow trees and work with night elves, so they do. The night elves go back to hating pretty much everyone as the xenophobic isolationists they originally were, Tauren being the exception. They cover northern Kalimdor.

The Alliance is the same as always. Fighting for peace and preservation of the order and law of the world. They'd get a fair bit of court intrigue. A young puppet ruler (Anduin) being manipulated by various advisors. I'd bring some of the older human nations back or form new ones aside from Stormwind. Dwarven clan politics are also fair game. They cover the mid and southern half of the EK.

4) World Content. Some zones are just full PvP zones. Conquerable settlements by both players and NPCs. AI raids that form and attack (centaurs, quillboar, demons, etc) all across Azeroth. Defend your shit or lose it. Or form a counter army and take it back later. Effectively neverending conflict. If you are high level, you get scaled down to the zones level to participate.

5) Less gear disparity. I agree that the most challenging content should award the best gear. I don't agree that it needs to be 20 ilvls higher than "average" players. If the content is about skill, then the gear doesn't need to matter. Shrink that gap to a 5-10 ilvl difference. Give other cosmetics, titles, etc for completing harder content, but the gap in itemization doesn't need to be as wide. Also helps out in pvp.

6) Stop explaining everything. The more you learn, the more you wished you didn't. The cosmos should be a mystery. Void, light, fel, death etc. All of these things should not be quantified. They work best as nebulous forces we don't understand. Instead put the focus on the world and its conflicts. Sure, you can have the occasional encroachment of these weird, otherworldly forces, but it doesn't need to be "Thanos is invading Azeroth again!"

That's about all I feel like posting atm. Feedback welcome.