So imagine if there was a scaling system in place for World of Warcraft. Such a system could make sure that old content remained challenging and fun, and that all of Azeroth became relevant again - not just the newest continent.
I've composed my suggestion in a sort of Q & A format where I ask myself questions and answer them, in order to give you my case.
Q: What do you mean by scaling content difficulty?
A: What I really mean is changing the player's relative power so that it is always on par with the content of any given zone.
So if a level 86 character is in the Jade Forest, she would be able to defeat its content - but if that same level 86 character was in Elwynn Forest, Hogger could still pose a threat to her. A level 10 should not be able to go through the Jade Forest though, and we'll get to that in a minute.Q: Why would you want scaling content implemented?
A: Mainly because there is a massive world at our disposal, but only about 10-15% of the content is ever relevant - save for when you breeze through the old world while levelling an alt over 2 hours. Simply put, I wish every zone; from Zul'Drak to Desolace, mattered. I wish Blizzard could put new content in any old zone, without having to reject all the old zones due to their content being for low level characters.Q: If it isn't broken, why fix it? Seems like a big waste of resources for Blizzard.
A: In my opinion, it is broken. WoW implies a world - not just one continent. The entire world should feel like a living and breathing place, where danger is around every corner. When danger is removed from most of the zones, their content is effectively invisible. Instead of this being a waste of resources, it would be a golden opportunity. With the entire world up-to-date, we suddenly get 500% more content to play around with.Q: I'm a veteran hero of the Horde or Alliance - I shouldn't have to worry about Hogger. My past triumphs should allow me to faceroll through old content.
A: While I see this point, it doesn't really make sense. Aragorn in the Lord of the Rings was just as vulnerable to goblin attacks as he was to Sauron's power. Saruman died at the hand of his own lowly servant, in a backwater like the Shire - and he was a demigod! My point is that effective experience or power is not an argument for why nothing in the game should ever be dangerous to you.
But, with that said, I do want veteran characters to stand out and be better than level 1 characters. Mainly through acquiring good gear, which should give them an edge.Q: How would you implement this system?
A: Personally, I would think about it a bit differently from what people usually do. In order to make the system as simple as possible to implement, I would go about it with these steps:
1. Create a new basic stat point for all classes called 'Heroism'.
- Each level gained gives you 1 more point in 'Heroism' - at level 100, you'll have 100 'Heroism'.
- 'Heroism' effectively nerfs content in a zone around you until a point where you can beat it.
- It only nerfs zones that are populated with enemies of your current Heroism. Higher level zones will remain difficult or impossible until you level up. But zones below or on your level will be able to stay on one consistent difficulty, regardless if they are 20 or 80 levels below you.
- This effectively means that you'll have the same progression through the game as now, with the major difference that all old content will remain challenging even after you've gone through it.
2. Make equipment be the edge veterans deserve.
- Because all content below or on your current Heroism (character level) will now be as hard for you as it is for someone 10 levels below you, there needs to be something to separate you from each other in effective power. Someone who defeated Garrosh on Heroic 25 man should be tougher than a level 5.
- This is down to tweaking how much power your stats give you over your enemies, as well as giving diminish returns the better your gear is and the lower the zone is.Vote and have your say!Q: What are the benefits of this system, at the end of the day?
A: In my view, they are many. Here's a list:
- There will be lots of more relevant content for us all.
- The world will feel bigger, more menacing, more alive.
- Blizzard can place content wherever they like - not just on the newest continent. New raids, dungeons, events, etc. could appear anywhere.
- Blizzard can utilize the old world in a number of ways, for instance by having old kinds of herbs and minerals be part of modern recipes, or by letting a quest chain take you all over the world.
- World PvP will be a thing again.
- Because players are back in the old world, there's more demand and possibility for large events and drastic effects to the world that players can participate in.