There are tons of impermanent choices to make in WoW already once you have decided on what class to play - you select spec, gear, talents...Now there's one (1) thing that Devs would like players to choose and have that choice be a liiiittle more sticky (not really permanent tho, because we still can switch if we feel we made a mistake).......and the result is sheer blind outrage. And even players who would *actually* prefer these choices to have meaning are so afraid of other players, basically toxic players who want to force *everyone* to subscribe to their mindset of minmaxing and optimizing every nuance of their game (never mind those who think following the meta and copypasting MDI builds will help them more at playing better than actually acquiring some skill) that even they side with those who want this game to be little more than "follow the meta, follow the theorycraft, do EXACTLY as the meta says or you're garbage" -- what kind of "choice" is that supposed to be, actually? What kind of fLeXiBiLiTy are we talking about here?Covenants not being "ideal" for content means you'll be doing a fraction less dps or healing. It will not be relevant, not in dungeons and certainly not in raids, unless you regularly aim for 25+ keystones or World First Mythic kills.It won't matter. It won't put you at some grave disadvantage. Relax.Play the game. Explore. Be decent at what you do. Or hell, theorycraft and create spreadsheets ad nauseam if you like doing that but damn, relax a little, and don't drag the whole playerbase into you "I have to play optimally at all times or I'm absolute garbage" bull#$%^.
It has already been stated that changing covenants will be easy, it's just that coming back to a covenant you left will incur some form of penalty for your untrustworthiness - most likely regarding renown and maybe access to some sanctum features.To those who complain about being locked into a covenant, you won't be. They said they want covenants to be a meaningful choice (at least in regards to RP and experience of the game) and they'll stick to it, and I defend that position.You don't expect to be able to change class, race or faction (all of which come with their own RP and non-power-related packages) on a whim right ?
Ok here's what I dont understand ..we have our main tree then we have our covenants then we have our conduit tree how do they balance all three ?..I dont know?
I do agree having a choice that matters will add depth and flavor to the game.However, feels like they took what would have been a new talent row for each class, then attached them behind a covenant choice. Would a compromise be to allow players to choose and decide what active covenant class spell to use (like a special talent row) but you need to decide which covenant to 'upgrade' or unlock a more advanced and powerful version of that spell? Similar to the ranks system of essences. This way no one is being benched for not having a class spell to perform their role in the given context (pvp, raids, m+ etc) yet they will understand THEIR kyrian covenant class ability will function 75%? efficiency compared to someone who devoted their allegiance to the kyrian. Yes, there will still be a 'right' choice but at least the right choice can be tuned closer between someone with rank 1 vs rank x compared to not having that ability completely and balancing 4 separate class abilities. In terms of 'RPG', it could be imagined that each covenant has granted you the 'base' spell as a reward or to help them during the questing experience /story. Then when the time comes, a choice to be made to which covenant for the cosmetic, lore, and potentially an upgraded class ability reasons.
Honestly, both sides want it one way or the other that there should be an impactful choice behind what covenant you choose right?Now there's this BIG divide of the player base of those who support Ion's choice (the single-player aspect who views the MMO aspect as a social thing) and those who support Preacher's idea (the competitive players or those will prefer the strong covenant).There should be some kind of moment where players can temporarily be a covenant ghost where they can change the covenant ability temporarily while still leaving impactful choice mechanic. Soulbinds don't transfer over, you just swap out the ability for another and it only occurs within that instance (Dungeon, Raid, Battleground, Arena). After you leave said instance you return to your original designated covenant all strings attached. The only part of the player base that wouldn't be affected by this is those in World PvP. But...hey whatever... WoW is a collection of different tastes
Preach just said in this video that any spec from any covenant will be able to raid and do M+. The people at the top end will play around the restrictions, no prob, cause that's what they do. "Everyone will probably be fine."He said it's the PUG world that suffers because of human nature. People perceiving that you 'have to be this to succeed' when he knows that you don't have to. It's just one more thing people will skip over your name in the group finder for.My advice?Get ready, cause it's gonna sound nuts...Make friends. Get you a mythic plus team, get into a nice mythic raiding guild, if that's your jam anyways.I'd go ahead and start lookin now since we're just for months away from the expansion.
I hope Shadowlands is good. Everything I've read so far, however, does not fill me with confidence. Maybe I should be like the people in these comments and just plug my ears and ignore the genuine concerns people have. :^)
What I don’t understand is how everyone is so laser-focused on the ability you get from your Covenant. Yeah, I know it was all people could test until very recently in the beta, but in the end, do you think this ability is really going to make that big a difference in raiding, or arena, or mythic+?I think that the soulbinds will have far more influence on player power in the end than the Covenant ability, and the soulbinds have everything the min-maxers want! The ability to change between three different ones on the fly, optimizing yourself for different situations! Empty spots to slot in conduits for even more customization! Everything about soulbinds is designed for people to mindlessly look up builds at Icy Veins and copy and paste them onto their character!
was semi perma azarite traits good? no! legion artifact was good? no! for the same reason perma covenant abilities will not be good. they are all the same %$#! . and i yes i compare them talents that how they should be to give the players the chance to experience all of them and be able to choose them accordingly. its just like blizzard giving people summer clothes and having people use them for good while dude winter is coming and its not coming every 6 month . every pvp situation is winter . how do u i walk into a "blizzard" with winter clothes? i you just freeze and die.aside from that more customization is always good. if some one wants to go for a walk in a snowy day with summer clothes he can do it . if some one wants to stick to 1 ability he is free to do so. why do you want to ruin other's experience of gameplay who just want to have fun with all the things the game has to offer? covenants are nothing like classes. not at all. they are something that add power to a class the same as talent . and they r gonna last only for 2-3 years. why you shouldnt change them accordingly? i know this covenants will eventually become way more flexible. just like corruption vendor and semi account wide essences . but those thing came out way too late. they came out when i already quit the BECAUSE OF THEM. blizzard and admits that azerite traits and not being able to change them easily is bad. ian litterally said it and its just the same! even when they know somethng is wrong they still dont change it ! just change it NOW. 4-6 month left from bfa fix the damn thing. Blizzard knows in the bottom of their heart they know its gonna fail. they already know. they just want people start complaining about it and then they fix it in 9.2 - 9.3 . that is $&*!ing tooo late. its beta fix it before release. do not prevent people from having fun. let them to what ever they wanna do. give them freedom. minimize the grind. let them have fun.