MyMMO demon Cortyn has fallen in love with World of Warcraft again. Blizzard seems to be doing a lot of things right – you just have to get involved.
Patch 10.1 Embers of Neltharion has been live for almost 2 weeks now. I admit I was skeptical at first. There were some problems and with some ideas I thought beforehand: Is this really healthy for the game?
Little by little my opinion has changed since then and the more time I spend in Patch 10.1, the more pleasantly surprised I am at how well everything fits together.
The gearing system is the cornerstone for the future
While I still think the new gearing system is overwhelming and complex for newcomers and returnees, once you get used to it, it’s really good.
Gone are the days when you get a weapon from the raid, enchant it and then roll your eyes in annoyance in the next “Mythic+” because a weapon has just dropped that is 3 item levels better and thus replaces the previous one again .
Even if I only get one item from an entire run on Aberrus, Crucible of Shadows, every boss kill feels like progression. Because it rains coat of arms fragments that are needed for the upgrade.
Or to put it another way: Even if I don’t get any equipment directly during the whole raid, I can still upgrade my existing equipment 6-8 times and tickle one or the other item level out of my armor.
It doesn’t matter where I got the equipment from. Whether from the raid, from Mythic+, from a world quest or from rare mobs.
WoW: Patch 10.1 Embers from Neltharion is live – you can expect that from now on
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Sure – the system will lose appeal later in the season. When all worn gear is maxed out, the only thing left is to find higher tier gear again.
But the way there is much more pleasant and worthwhile.
Above all, this can now be the “new standard” on which World of Warcraft is built. Rarely has gear gathering felt so good and fulfilling. It’s hard for me to imagine that we’ll ever say goodbye to this system again. And Blizzard has already revealed that the system will probably also exist in Season 3 in a slightly modified form.
Mythic+ is more fun than it has been for a long time
I’m also amazed at how much fun I’m having with Mythic+ again. This is not only due to the completely “new” set of dungeons (and also one of my favorites with Freihafen).
The reduction, rework and wider distribution of affixes that now only become active at levels 7 and 14 just feels better.
Some might think that dungeons are a lot easier now – but that’s not the case. Visit Brackenfur Cavern on Mythic+19 (Bully) and see what’s going on with the first and last bosses.
The only thing that has become “simpler” is that you can now focus much more on the mechanics of the boss fight and the dungeon itself. At the end of Season 1, “Thunder” was really getting to me and, as a caster with particularly low mobility, I increasingly had the impression that WoW was trying to stop me from playing. This was intentionally made so annoying that I just shouldn’t come along with my shadow priestess.
That feeling is completely gone.
The whole world remains relevant
But something else is new in Patch 10.1. So far, in every expansion without exception, the “old world” has lost its importance with the introduction of a new area.
Say: With the introduction of Naz’jatar and Mechagon, nobody was out in Tiragarde Sound anymore. With the introduction of Korthia, there was no one left in the Ardenweald.
That’s not the case with Patch 10.1 – and for good reason. Because all the “old” content from Dragonflight has also been updated. The upgrade items, such as Flying Stones and Crest Fragments, can also be obtained in the original 10.0 areas. So if you don’t feel like going to the Zaralek caves at the moment, you can simply do world quests in the plains of Ohn’ahra and receive relevant currency for character progression.
I was really skeptical for the first few days, but in the meantime patch 10.1 Embers by Neltharion has completely convinced me. If you enjoy all forms of content, there’s really a lot to do – and at the same time none of it is mandatory because you could get pretty much anything you need from other sources.
It’s been a long time since World of Warcraft as a whole has felt this smooth. Even if I’m unhappy with the Shadow Priest.