Does WoW Dragonflight Season 2 resolve the Mythic Plus Problem?

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So, I mentioned before that one of Dragonflight’s biggest problems is the lack of ability for anything in the rest of the expansion to compete with the speed, efficiency, and accessibility of Mythic+ in terms of power-gaining loot. Season 1 was completely dominated by Mythic Plus, to the point of making even the raid almost not worth doing entirely. Well, we’re now almost two weeks into Season 2, and while I think Blizzard’s fundamental changes to the Upgrade System are universally positive, I’m not entirely convinced that the Mythic Plus Problem has been resolved. Allow me to explain.

WoW Dragonflight, The Upgrade System, and Mythic Plus

Season 2’s Upgrade System dramatically changes how gear works when it comes down to improving item level. The idea is that we have a new currency called Crests that is designed to be used during the upgrading process. Depending on the level of difficulty of the content you’re doing, you’ll obtain better Crests for better upgrades. So far, the system has largely been a huge success in my eyes, as it has completely eliminated the need for any sort of arbitrary rating, and, instead, organically pushes players to complete harder content for bigger upgrades. On top of that, the system has made almost all gear upgradable, a major pain point on Season 1’s system, so that is a major win for Blizzard.

However, because of this free-flowing system, one major gripe I have with it is how it interacts with Mythic Plus as a whole. You see, Mythic Plus dungeons don’t have any sort of lock-out to prevent players from running them endlessly. In all of these runs, loot can be obtained, and without the rating, there is no longer any sort of limitation. This allows Mythic Plus to, once again, be the ideal place to get high-item level loot. Even with the changes and additions of the new system, the fact that Raids still have week-long lock-outs makes Mythic Plus superior by most metrics. I don’t necessarily see this as a problem with Mythic Plus but more with Raid content.

Related: WoW Dragonflight – Fyrakk Assault Event, explained

In general, you’ll get far less loot from a raid, historically the hardest content in WoW, because of two major factors. First, the amount of people present in a raid affects how much loot drops from every boss. So, stacking your raid with 30 people will allow for more loot. However, the increased loot does not factor in that 30 people will be rolling for it. The loot gain isn’t massive, usually one or two extra pieces at best. The odds of you rolling on an item and getting it is incredibly low. Second, for the time investment and coordination required to raid, it is pretty ridiculous that you’re more likely to get loot from Raiding through the Great Vault than from the raid itself.

This leads us back to the importance of the new Upgrade System. It is true that all raid gear can be upgraded, which does wonders for those who are only interested in raiding. The raid even drops a ton of crest fragments from every boss, making it a great place to get upgrade materials. Still, with Mythic Plus so free to run and pretty much offering the best gear you can get in the game, one has to wonder what the real point of raiding is now in WoW’s life cycle.

WoW Dragonflight, Raiding, and Incentives

Recently, Blizzard has been using specialized loot to incentive players to participate in raid content. These are things like specific weapons or trinkets that cannot be obtained in Mythic Plus no matter the level of the key. I do think this is a good thing, as it counterpoints the mention I just made about raiding’s purpose in WoW. However, I think there needs to be even more incentive to raid over Mythic Plus. Now that the gear upgrading disparity has been abolished, loot should be the primary driving force to run Raids over, or in addition to, Mythic Plus.

Right now, it still feels like Mythic Plus is an absolute must for competitive item-level progression. If you’re just a raider, odds are, you aren’t getting enough gear upgrades to even remotely compete. As such, I think that loot from raids needs to get even more specialized in terms of the item itself and accessibility. For example, if Blizzard only allowed players to obtain Tier Gear from Raiding, and not from the Great Vault, I think that would be a significant step forward. Tier Gear originated in Raiding, and I think it should stay there.

Related: How to open the Molten Hoard chest in WoW Dragonflight

To add to this, I think there needs to be more loot in raids to make them worth the time investment. Mythic Plus can endlessly be run, so it has an endless amount of gear that can drop. I’m not saying raids should necessarily be endless to run, though I am not opposed to that considering the time investment and required coordination. However, the amount of loot that drops from a boss should be comparable to breaking open a huge pinata.

Raiders should be absolutely showered in loot akin to playing Borderlands. This is an exaggeration, of course, but you get what I mean. To counteract the increase in loot, raid loot tables should be stuffed full of items so that each boss kill is rewarding to many more players. Right now, killing a boss is exciting primarily due to progression and nothing more. This suggestion would go a long way to changing that.

In conclusion, while I do think that the Mythic Plus Problem has been reduced in overall intensity, primarily thanks to the new upgrade system, I still think it is a problem due to the Mythic Plus perk of endless loot gain. Though not as huge, there is still a disparity between Raiding and Mythic Plus, one that I hope continues to shrink over time. I realize this is not an issue that is easily solved without screwing over Mythic Plus players, but if Blizzard wants people to continue to raid, they need to do something about the loot above all else. raid participation has been down, these last few expansions, and the Mythic Plus Problem remains one of the main reasons why.

Find this read interesting, or just looking for more quality content relating to WoW Dragonflight? Check out the WoW Patch Notes Today (Hotfix May 15, 2023), right here on Pro Game Guides.

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