With patch 5.2 around the corner, one major retraction Blizzard has incorporated is removing the upgrade system. The way Blizzard discussed this situation is that it’s more or less a temporary removal so there’s a chance we’ll be seeing them in the future. I think that the upgrade system is an interesting one, but the big problem is that the numbers involved in the upgrade system are wrong. In fact, Valor Points in general are handed out at a stingy rate. It’s so bad that a few instances will now reward bonus Valor Points for completing them.
The problem in general is that the amounts handed out are incorrect. Blizzard’s whole “slow down” approach for Mist of Pandaria has been enforcing grinding on too many levels. The reward system in place is so miniscule compared to the effort placed into the game that when you do actually win an item or purchase something, the psychological effect of obtaining that item is lost. The issue is that the time and effort to reward in place at the moment is completely skewed and must be fixed.
One earlier proposal I had was to change dailies into weeklies and providing a larger flat bonus for a faction. In that manner, the amount of work to complete each hub is reduced so that a player does not feel overwhelmed and can manage their time more effectively.
Another suggestion that I am proposing here is to increase the Valor Point reward for dailies from 5 to 15. The problem with dailies is that there are essentially two primary reasons to do them: faction reputation and valor. Gold is a consequence of the dailies and only factor in as an effect of doing large quantities. However, gold is something that is easily obtainable, therefore I believe that not everyone would be motivated in doing dailies just for this aspect.
Valor works like gold in this respect but is more important as it offers people the ability to purchase better gear that is exclusive. However, the key about Valor Points is that it caps and is limited in the methods by which you can obtain it. Therefore, it is a motivating point in terms of doing dailies. Yet the current amount is pretty tiny compared to the amount of time certain dailies require.
Reputation is pretty much a must have for all intents and purposes. So people will do dailies to get the reputation to push into higher content levels. Once you hit the max reputation though, I feel that the reasons to do dailies drastically is reduced, leaving only Valor Points as the key aspect to do them.
However, with the current model, the Valor Points of 5 is just too low to do quite a few of them. If the 15/daily sounds high, my suggestion to Blizzard is to raise the point total upon reaching exalted with a faction. That way the grind isn’t as horrible and provides more motivation to continue running dailies once you hit your reputation cap.
The other aspect for Valor Points I want to discuss is the upgrade system. As of now, the upgrade system provides another way to spend Valor Points. It feels as though the system was primarily aimed at high end raiders who manage to obtain gear from raiding and end up with an excess of Valor Points. Despite the intent, this system pretty much took the carrot-on-a-stick concept way too far. The biggest issue is that even if you raid, there’s no guarantee that an item you truly need will drop. So your Valor Points end up becoming a compensation device to purchasing slightly worse statistic gear.
As a result, someone who wishes to really push their toons out never can reach this lofty goal since they won’t be able to accumulate enough points to maximize each slot. Secondly, the other problem is that the gear ends up going to waste if say you obtain one item one week, you upgrade it then find an upgrade the following week. This system might work for heroic gear since Justice Points pretty much are worthless. But again the cost-to-work ratio on higher end gear operates on skewed level.
The proper value point level for Valor Points upgrades is 150 per upgrade. The thing is that gearing will take a considerable amount of time no matter what. With RNG at work, it can take longer than one may like. You can easily go several weeks without a single drop, even with bonus rolls. But your compensation point is being able to purchase Valor gear.
That makes your Valor Points critical in terms of usage. Everything must be pre-planned far in advance before you can use them. That 750 point upgrade won’t get you as far as a 1250 ring, for instance. Getting 500 more points for a piece of gear psychologically is far easier than blowing the current 750 points you have. So then the actual usage might not be as significant for this feature (hence why they are going to hiding).
150 points though does make upgrading gear seem worth while. If you’re currently walled behind reputation but somehow obtained a few or two of epics, then 150 points would be worth spending if it means that you can get into the next LFR content if you’re missing a few ilvls.
For myself, I find obtaining Valor Points quite difficult overall when you’re starting out. And it can be difficult in sustaining that pace because of everything you have to run to really maximize your amount. The only way to make this more feasible if by not being cheap.
One last thing regarding the whole notion/myth of epic equipment. A lot of people complain about how epics have lost their meaning over time. Most of the people who do the complaining are vanilla players. The truth is that epic gear has no meaning symbolically because there’s a clear function behind it, which is the relevancy towards progress. When Vanilla came out initially, I don’t think Blizzard had a clear understanding of what it could evolve into and as a result created an extremely stingy system that over time is gradually improving. I feel that Blizzard acted conservative in the early days in fear over subscription loss. But because of the game quality, Blizzard saw an increase in subscribers.
Because of this increase, Blizzard really should stop fearing loss of subscribers due to quick content consumption. Part of that fear is handing out epics in greater quantity. If epics had merely a symbolic significance, I would agree with their viewpoint. That’s why Legendaries exist. But epics themselves are pretty much a requirement for doing game content as they aid in expediting what one can do within the game.
I feel that these Vanilla players ended up getting brain washed on how MMORPGs should behave. The problem is that games are just games and are there for entertainment. However, games should not impose extreme time dedication to perform at an adequate level. In short, those people really just need to get out more often and find a real job then come back and see how the game feels. Same with Blizzard employees.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.