Maaaaan imagine if WoW Forever can really capture the horizontal progression, on par with GW2. A forever MMO... Here's to hoping!
I think their focus on horizontal progression is the right path, but they have already said that as raids progress gear will as well. I think they're just trying to avoid later gear from dwarfing earlier gear so badly that it makes it redundant.
The question becomes when they start to kick in whatever monetization program they have for Forever what's that going to look like. Will they paygate new races/classes? Will they release mini-expansions with new zones on Azeroth?
It's not the most fun thing to think of, but the reality is this is Blizzard/Microsoft and there's going to be some strategy for the long-term besides just subscriptions. Whatever that solidifies into after the initial hype wears off is going to determine if this thing truly is for Forever.
Idealistically, I just think of how GW2 does it. Yes, there's a WoW token (yuck), Traders Post-like thing for TMOG, and "expansions" more than likely. In today's gaming landscape I don't see a realistic way these WON'T be implemented.Shadostruct wrote: ↑1 day agoI think their focus on horizontal progression is the right path, but they have already said that as raids progress gear will as well. I think they're just trying to avoid later gear from dwarfing earlier gear so badly that it makes it redundant.
The question becomes when they start to kick in whatever monetization program they have for Forever what's that going to look like. Will they paygate new races/classes? Will they release mini-expansions with new zones on Azeroth?
It's not the most fun thing to think of, but the reality is this is Blizzard/Microsoft and there's going to be some strategy for the long-term besides just subscriptions. Whatever that solidifies into after the initial hype wears off is going to determine if this thing truly is for Forever.
Do I want this? Helllll nah, but the reality of it.
One way they could do itemization but preserve horizontal progression is with some of the new item effects they've added. For example there are items that only provide the effects in certain areas or only vs certain types of mobs (vs Undead being a notable example). They could lean into that.
Same with the move speed items.Furious wrote: ↑1 day agoOne way they could do itemization but preserve horizontal progression is with some of the new item effects they've added. For example there are items that only provide the effects in certain areas or only vs certain types of mobs (vs Undead being a notable example). They could lean into that.
I really hope so! I got a late start into my WoW Journey with Cataclysm BUT before that I did play TBC a little after it launched at my friends house, I'd go over every weekend and we would have Halo LAN parties and play WoW across 3 different laptops. My nostalgia comes from Undead and Tirisfal Glades..I played off and on obviously and I played a Warrior, got to level 32 or 33 and then we started playing other games as we grew older. I just can't wait to jump back into it and not have to worry as much about Gear. I really like what Blizzard is doing. I hope the gear progression stays somewhat horizontal and relevant but maybe with upgrades or slightly different stats.
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For ex, if I took a 10 year hiatus and came back, all my BIS gear I farmed would still be usable. Of course I'd need to change a few things and my overall build, but everything is still fine.
They release expansions like WoW, but they don't change the base game, they just add new content, maybe a new spec for each class. There's a cosmetics shop. Obv I'd prefer if they didn't do this and just focused on the horizontal progression, but let's see.
I might give it a try.
