A late addition was added to the 7.2.5 PTR. With the patch set to release next week, this pet really seems more like an afterthought than a well-thought out and planned reward.
The pet, Micronax, is earned by completing the meta-achievement Glory of the Tomb Raider. This achievement can only be done in Normal mode or higher. The pet is BoP and not cageable.
Needless to say, some pet collectors are not all that enthusiastic about this. Myself included; it really saddens me to see the community divided and/or feeling upset over how a pet is implemented.
This has been a long-time coming, but I think it's time to address the seeming trend in Legion. Activity-exclusive battle pets.
The direction of pets becoming more and more exclusive to a specific activity, with no other recourse other than to do said activity, is becoming exhausting and discouraging. It feels as if a certain balance between multiple gameplay factors has been lost or abandoned, and things are becoming too extreme.
Why is Micronax and the achievement it's tied to so disliked by some in the pet collecting community? What makes this situation any different from other achievement pets?
Micronax pushes the boundary of what collectors need to do to fulfill their style of gameplay. It's the FIRST pet reward from a raid meta-achievement. The closest exclusive pet from a group-achievement is Lagan. Even that pet was somewhat crossing the line for a few collectors, as it required the help of 4 other players in a Mythic dungeon. Many see Pet Battles and pet collecting as more of a "solo" and "casual" style of play. And Lagan put collectors in a position where they had to travel outside of that preferred style.
However, other achievement pets fit more inline with solo-gameplay. Zoom, for example, is a from a quirky achievement that can be completed alone OR with others.
The upcoming Micronax cannot be earned alone, at least for a few expansions. There's no option but to either wait that long or do the achievement yourself.
More and more collectors are feeling pushed out/away from their preferred gameplay because of the extreme and exclusive direction Blizzard is taking with pets. Pets seem to be treated more like any other reward in Legion, rather than a mini-game localized to itself.
It's understandable that the developers want to encourage everyone to try new aspects of the game, but for a collector, Legion is starting to feel more like mandatory participation and not so much like encouragement.
I've heard multiple times throughout the community a growing sentiment that Blizzard would much rather push players into activities they may not wanted to participate in, instead of maintaining pet collecting. They feel coerced and forced into parts of the game when all they would like to do is collect pets/play solo.
For collectors, the pet IS the game, the goal, the activity. To gate this gameplay behind another activity that's completely unrelated...it's only a matter of time before it's just too demoralizing to continue. As Liopleurodonic once said, "...it's a lot easier to stay motivated when completion is an attainable goal."
I was really hoping that Micronax would be tied to the Glory achievement, but not directly like the title. My hope was that it would be similar to the MoP and WoD Challenge Mode pets, and collectors would be able to find a pet-friendly guild should they be unable to or unwilling to complete the achievement themselves. This would give collectors options, something that seems to be missing these days.
I think this is one of the reasons why collectors are starting to feel more alienated. The options are disappearing, and the number of pets in Legion where there's only one way to collect a pet is growing.
It's getting overwhelming. The carrot being so far away has left some collectors feeling like there's no point, no hope, not doable, why bother.
Do I think it's ok to have some exclusive pets? Sure. Some variation is nice and probably healthy for the game.
But I think there needs to be a balance with exclusive pets. Maybe make them tradeable or cageable in the future. Maybe add them to a number of different exclusive sources. Even better yet, keep the number of exclusive pets to a minimum, while providing an abundant number of pets readily available for all collectors.
Balance. Options. These would make situations like Micronax, the class exclusive pets, the PVP pets, feel better for many collectors. Sometimes that's what people need - even if it's all in their head, you can't understate how important it is to FEEL positive/hopeful about something.
Balance the RNG better with other factors. Requirements should be reasonable (as subjective as that is). Give collectors different ways to collect pets. Keep the number of exclusive pets small, allowing collectors to feel that there's much more they can actually accomplish rather than not.
I recognize that much of this post is entirely subjective. How one person views pet collecting in Legion may not be the same as how someone else sees it. My thoughts may not accurately reflect that of the entire community. I am merely pointing out my observations and thoughts on this matter.
My personal feelings about Micronax and similar activity-exclusive pets are more ambivalent. Part of me is not happy but is willing to accept it. Part of me is hopeful that there will be changes made along the way to help out collectors (pets changed to BoE and/or cageable). And part of me is deeply invested in the community and wants to see collectors happy and excited about a new pet, not upset and disappointed.
We, as pet collectors, need to admit and accept that the pet collecting environment is probably changing. Perhaps exclusive pets are just how things will be from here on out. Pets may not be just for Pet Battles anymore, and we may see more pets added as mere rewards for various activities.
We must consider that developers might be looking at a bigger picture, and these exclusive pets are intended as long-term gameplay. Content that doesn't have to be completed right away, and it's something that's perfect when there's not much else going on later down the line. It's also possible that they have plans for the future to make exclusive pets less exclusive and more inclusive.
However, I still hope that developers will acknowledge that some pet collectors are feeling very discouraged and alienated. That there's ongoing sentiment that pets are being used to force players into different aspects of the game, rather than in an already established mini-game. And that Blizzard will take all of this into consideration and possibly address these issues going forward with pets that are implemented in a more thoughtful and collector-friendly way.
Perks N Peeves by Quintessence is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
This... is pretty much why I'm no longer subscribed to WoW. I never minded a pet where I had to try a part of the game I didn't normally participate in to get the pet. But when I had to seriously commit to it, then it wasn't much fun. When I realized I wasn't have fun, I moved on to other games.
ReplyDeleteStuff like that makes it look like they are very desperate to get players more involved doing more things in the game, which leads to more game time paid for and subs active. I could easily do this achievement in the future but I'm not gonna. Used to be top 5 on my server for collections but I am just so over blizz doing stuff like this. I'm mad at myself for resubbing, even more so now. 10 year player here and I just cant anymore with the decisions they make for this game.
ReplyDeleteI agree Quint. Blizz needs to rethink this. At least make them cageable. Folks who get this and have no interest would benefit as well as the pet collecting community.
ReplyDeleteIf it is a way to just force players to put in more time it won't work. Being tied to such an aggressive achievement is unfair to a lot of us. I'd rather level up another few weapons to concordance than to attempt this.
I think you hit the nail on the head on pretty much all counts. I'm going to go through and respond to the posts by the by if you don't mind. Let's hope this doesn't get too long....
ReplyDelete"A late addition was added to the 7.2.5 PTR. With the patch set to release next week, this pet really seems more like an afterthought than a well-thought out and planned reward."
It really does seem like an afterthought. I mean, if it weren't for you and Wowhead posting about it being a reward for the achievement, I wouldn't even know that it exists. Blizzard certainly isn't posting about it, which is oddly suspicious. Are they afraid people are going to find out that the reward isn't the usual mount, but a battle pet which a lot of raiders (from what I've heard) couldn't care less about and vent their frustration? I hate to break it to them, but that same thing just happened but with a different group of players (one which they shouldn't be alienating at all with this reward considering hardcore pet battlers/collectors know far more and care far more about pets and pet battles than hardcore raiders ever will). I just don't understand the leap of logic here.
"The pet, Micronax, is earned by completing the meta-achievement Glory of the Tomb Raider. This achievement can only be done in Normal mode or higher. The pet is BoP and not cageable."
As much as I hate to say it, I think the pet is kind of a crappy reward for completing an achievement such as this. More players care about mounts, so the idea of receiving one for it isn't so bad. Especially since the precedent for completing the "Glory of the [insert raid here]" achievements have historically been mounts. I know that if I were a hardcore raider (and I'm most certainly not), I would be very upset at earning a substandard reward for my hard work. Again, I LOVE pets and pet battles, but that's how I would feel. I don't know why pets have to be added into all of these divergent activities rather than staying within the confines of the pet battle game. Yes, pets could (and should, in my opinion) be added to raids. However, they should drop off bosses or be earned in other ways (such as the Dream Whelpling in EN which was brilliant by the way), not by completing a rather tedious and very hard-earned achievement. To me, the ends do not justify the reward.
"Needless to say, some pet collectors are not all that enthusiastic about this. Myself included; it really saddens me to see the community divided and/or feeling upset over how a pet is implemented."
It seems like every pet battle-related decision that's come with Legion has been met with a lot of division and it's not a good sign. I suppose you could make the argument that it's good that so many people are this passionate about pet battles, but that's only going to take you so far. What we need are compromise and understanding with pet battles and pet battle-related decisions. We've seen some (with the DK/Monk pet situation), but other than that, we haven't gotten much. Just decisions made without any substantial explanations put behind them. It's getting really old, really fast. Any explanation whatsoever would be better than dead silence.
Apparently, I'm going to need like 5 posts for this. lol
"The direction of pets becoming more and more exclusive to a specific activity, with no other recourse other than to do said activity, is becoming exhausting and discouraging. It feels as if a certain balance between multiple gameplay factors has been lost or abandoned, and things are becoming too extreme."
ReplyDeleteIt really is becoming exhausting and discouraging. I don't want to have to not only complete a Normal raid, but perform in very specific and unforgiving ways just to earn a pet. It's not simply not worth it. If they are absolutely deadset on adding the pet into an achievement for Tomb of Sargeras, then perhaps they could use one of those specific achievements as the requirement for earning the pet instead of all of them. (Example: If you successfully completed the Safety Dance in Naxx, then it would give you a pet instead of having to complete all of the achievements under the Fall of Naxxramas achievement.) At least in this instance, you wouldn't feel as overwhelmed by what's being asked of you for the pet.
"Micronax pushes the boundary of what collectors need to do to fulfill their style of gameplay. It's the FIRST pet reward from a raid meta-achievement. The closest exclusive pet from a group-achievement is Lagan. Even that pet was somewhat crossing the line for a few collectors, as it required the help of 4 other players in a Mythic dungeon."
To me, even Lagan was crossing the line. I can understand doing something specific in a Mythic dungeon to earn a pet, but only if what is being required of you is personal. You shouldn't have to depend on others to complete something specific for a pet. Especially in these days of dying guilds and Group Finder being more popular, getting in a group that's willing to do something specific for a pet is abysmally low. Even if you are in a group that's specifically going after the pet, it's no guarantee of success. Just one person not performing at 110% and it could all go down the drain. Not cool. Not cool at all.
"Many see Pet Battles and pet collecting as more of a "solo" and "casual" style of play. And Lagan put collectors in a position where they had to travel outside of that preferred style."
That's me. I'm of the opinion that pet battles and pet collecting is solo and casual content. Until they add pet dungeons/raids (or even pet tamers) that require groups of people to complete, that's my stance. By not completing tamers now, it's not hindering my progress on my character, so it's definitely casual. I can also do all of the pet battle-related activities (tamers, leveling, Celestial Tournament, etc.) alone, so it's solo as well. If they plan on changing that, even a little, then that's great, but they should at least tell us and give us an explanation why they decided a casual activity (which Blizzard even admits is what they think Pet Battles are) needs to suddenly become group content.
"The upcoming Micronax cannot be earned alone, at least for a few expansions. There's no option but to either wait that long or do the achievement yourself."
By then, if I'm still playing WoW, I'm not entirely sure I'll care about that pet. I'll have written it off as something that's beyond my reach and it will be forgotten about, doomed to fall into the "Unobtainable" category. Not sure if that's a new design philosophy behind the placing of new pets or not, but it's how I feel about it.
"More and more collectors are feeling pushed out/away from their preferred gameplay because of the extreme and exclusive direction Blizzard is taking with pets. Pets seem to be treated more like any other reward in Legion, rather than a mini-game localized to itself."
ReplyDeleteExactly my sentiments. I feel like I'm being forced into raiding to earn this pet, which is an activity that I don't really care for. I realize that I don't *have* to have the pet, but it's nice to be able to collect as many pets as I can. That's what a collector does. They collect. I would much rather spend a few hours trying to get a specific breed of pet or a certain skin of a pet than a few hours trying to get achievements so I can get the pet to begin with.
"It's understandable that the developers want to encourage everyone to try new aspects of the game, but for a collector, Legion is starting to feel more like mandatory participation and not so much like encouragement."
It's almost like Blizzard is enjoying brow-beating the player base into different activities just for the sake of "content". I guess they feel that not enough content is being generated in each area, so they have to push us into other activities, ones that we may not care to participate in. If that's true, then I don't know how they got to that point. I think plenty of content has been generated in each area. With the addition of the pet battle dungeons, new pet tamers, and Family Familiar, there is quite a bit that pet battlers can do. We shouldn't need to go do a raid to earn a pet that could (and should) be earned doing pet battle-related content. I can't speak for anyone but myself, however as I said, I would rather spend my time trying to get specifics regarding pets than doing a raid, especially when the reward is a battle pet.
"For collectors, the pet IS the game, the goal, the activity. To gate this gameplay behind another activity that's completely unrelated...it's only a matter of time before it's just too demoralizing to continue. As Liopleurodonic once said, "...it's a lot easier to stay motivated when completion is an attainable goal.""
That's pretty much how I feel right now. I'm taking a small break from WoW just to relax a bit. It's all becoming a bit overwhelming. I mean, after everything that's being asked of us for some of the class pets, adding this on top of that is like rubbing salt in the wound. When is enough, enough? Are we ever going to get to a place where we can feel like we completed something without having to spend endless hours attempting to get just 1 pet? It seems like completion isn't a goal that can be attained in Legion. It's all about getting to the next pet, the next reward. When do we get to breathe? I'm all for tons of content, but that content should come to a reasonable conclusion at some point before we move on to the next thing. It's all becoming a little too much to handle.
"I was really hoping that Micronax would be tied to the Glory achievement, but not directly like the title. My hope was that it would be similar to the MoP and WoD Challenge Mode pets, and collectors would be able to find a pet-friendly guild should they be unable to or unwilling to complete the achievement themselves. This would give collectors options, something that seems to be missing these days."
ReplyDeleteThis would be a nice alternative. Those that want to go out and earn the achievement could share the fruit of their labors with others. I've noticed that kindness and compassion are two traits that are quickly fading from the majority of the WoW player base and with everything going on in Legion, it's not hard to see why. With everything, it's challenge and competition and if you don't have what the Joneses have, then you're a noob and you're bad. Ridiculous sentiments, of course, but a lot of players are like that. Challenge and competition are nice, but not at the expense of people being attacked for not having X pet or Y achievement. Make people feel like they're part of the group rather than the outcast who has no friends.
"I think this is one of the reasons why collectors are starting to feel more alienated. The options are disappearing, and the number of pets in Legion where there's only one way to collect a pet is growing."
It really is a growing concern among pet battlers. All you have to do is read the pet battle forum and it's complaint after complaint. Again, if pet battles are supposed to be casual, complete-at-your-own-pace content, why are they asking for so much for pets now? What changed? I know it's not the core group of pet battlers. We've all been here from the beginning and we'll still be here a long time from now. So what is it? Why try to fix something that isn't broken?
"It's getting overwhelming. The carrot being so far away has left some collectors feeling like there's no point, no hope, not doable, why bother."
That's how I feel now, especially regarding Micronax. Why should I bother or even care when it's something that I (potentially) may never get around to? Why get excited over a pet that I know I may never get to obtain? There's no excitement for me there. Sorry, but I'm not going to get excited that X person got their pet, knowing that I may never get it. Dangling the carrot in front of my face knowing I can't bite it, is cruel. The carrot is getting further and further away. Soon, I won't even be able to see it. The horse may as well lay down, die, and be sent to the glue factory for all that I'll be able to do about it.
"Do I think it's ok to have some exclusive pets? Sure. Some variation is nice and probably healthy for the game.
But I think there needs to be a balance with exclusive pets. Maybe make them tradeable or cageable in the future. Maybe add them to a number of different exclusive sources. Even better yet, keep the number of exclusive pets to a minimum, while providing an abundant number of pets readily available for all collectors."
Exclusive pets are perfectly fine in my opinion. There are pets out there that I know that I'll never be able to get. Some because I wasn't playing when they were obtainable, others because I didn't attend X convention or play during X time to get it. That's perfectly fine to me. They were in the game before pet battles existed, so collecting them wasn't as big of a issue then as it would be now. I guess the problem I have with pets that are considered exclusive now, is that they cater to a very specific group of people (raiders, pvpers, etc.) without any consideration for the pet battling community. Exclusive pets should require you to perform pet battle-related activities to obtain them, just like you have to do the top tier of PvP for the best PvP gear or Mythic raids for Mythic raid gear. This should be no different.
"Balance the RNG better with other factors. Requirements should be reasonable (as subjective as that is). Give collectors different ways to collect pets. Keep the number of exclusive pets small, allowing collectors to feel that there's much more they can actually accomplish rather than not."
ReplyDeleteI can't say how much I hate the RNG of this entire expansion. It seems like everything you do is gated behind RNG. What I would like to know is why? Who decided that RNG was the best way of implementing these things? RNG does nothing for me except allow me to get my hopes up. As an example, I've completed the Wailing Caverns pet dungeon every week since it opened and I haven't gotten a single pet from the bag (with the exception of the Son of Skum). How exactly is that fair? I've done my fair share of work with nothing to show for it while others do it once and get a pet. RNG has its place, but there comes a point in time when it gets to be ridiculous. Thank God that the Deadmines dungeon will have pets that you can buy with currency or I would be tempted to just skip it altogether. Some RNG is ok, RNG on top of RNG on top of RNG is getting to be too much.
"I recognize that much of this post is entirely subjective. How one person views pet collecting in Legion may not be the same as how someone else sees it. My thoughts may not accurately reflect that of the entire community. I am merely pointing out my observations and thoughts on this matter."
Same. I realize that my point of view is not universally shared by the community. I speak only for myself, but I think that as a pet battler, my opinions should matter just as much as anyone else's. Perhaps even more so than, say, a hardcore raider's, since I'm sure I spend more time with and know more about pet battles than they would. It would just be nice to know that my concerns are heard by the devs and are considered as valid as everyone else's - whether they agree with them or not.
"My personal feelings about Micronax and similar activity-exclusive pets are more ambivalent. Part of me is not happy but is willing to accept it. Part of me is hopeful that there will be changes made along the way to help out collectors (pets changed to BoE and/or cageable). And part of me is deeply invested in the community and wants to see collectors happy and excited about a new pet, not upset and disappointed."
I definitely want to see collectors (and indeed as many people as possible) get excited about new pets and not upset, disappointed, or ambivalent. Unfortunately, I think that's the way things are right now and I don't see an end in sight. I can hope that things will change for the better in the future, even with things as bleak as they are. Although hopes do not a future make, it's better than the alternative - accepting that things won't get better and that pet battles will be this way forever.
"We, as pet collectors, need to admit and accept that the pet collecting environment is probably changing. Perhaps exclusive pets are just how things will be from here on out. Pets may not be just for Pet Battles anymore, and we may see more pets added as mere rewards for various activities."
ReplyDeleteI agree that the pet collecting environment is changing, and I don't mind doing other activities for pets. I think my biggest problem is that currently, it seems like that's the main way of earning the big ticket pets. I don't mind diversifying my playstyle a little in order to maintain my collection. It's when we have to constantly go out of pet battle-related content in order to maintain a level of completion that I have a problem with. Granted, any type of player can dabble in pet battles when it tickles their fancy, but people who exclusively do pet battles should have something for them as well.
It's basically the equivalent of telling a Mythic raider that in order to be competitive, they need to go do 3v3 arenas for a month to earn the best gear. To me, it's counter-intuitive and it's something that needs to slow down. Doing a level of PvP prestige for a pet? Sure. Doing multiple prestige levels for a pet? Not so much. It's time we get back to basics and leave pets with pet battles and PvP rewards with PvP (same goes for the other methods of acquisition).
"We must consider that developers might be looking at a bigger picture, and these exclusive pets are intended as long-term gameplay. Content that doesn't have to be completed right away, and it's something that's perfect when there's not much else going on later down the line. It's also possible that they have plans for the future to make exclusive pets less exclusive and more inclusive."
I hope that the devs are looking at a bigger picture. It would be scary to think if they weren't. I'm all for long-term gameplay. I thought the Celestial Tournament was lovely. It wasn't something that could be completed soon and it required a certain dedication to pet battles. It was perfect. I just hope they don't swing the pendulum in the other direction too much. It's a Goldilocks conundrum. Things can't be too far either way, they need to be just right. I hope they can find that sweet spot before it's too late and a lot of pet collectors stop collecting. I'd hate to think that they quit because it all just got to be too much. That's not right and it's not something that should ever happen.
"However, I still hope that developers will acknowledge that some pet collectors are feeling very discouraged and alienated. That there's ongoing sentiment that pets are being used to force players into different aspects of the game, rather than in an already established mini-game. And that Blizzard will take all of this into consideration and possibly address these issues going forward with pets that are implemented in a more thoughtful and collector-friendly way."
ReplyDeleteI'll end this by saying that I echo this sentiment completely. For a good long while now, some pet collectors have been really unhappy and I hope they see those complaints and take them to heart before they start making more decisions. Just because we don't agree with all of the design decisions doesn't mean that our opinions should be invalid. We matter too.