The Woes of a Scaling World

I've waffled so many times on the concept of world scaling that I can't really remember how I originally felt. Back in January I posted about the scaling and noted immersion and other things.

I want to make particular note of calling out that I found, even back then, the idea of wading through mobs that I should have progressed beyond to be annoying.

I think my prophetic complaints came to pass.

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There's a great post on /r/wow talking about item scaling data.

In that post they highlight that putting particular items in the back and removing them from your character actually makes fights easier. Why? Because mobs are scaling disproportionately and making you feel weaker.

There's a certain item level at which you do eventually start to overcome the scaling algorithm where taking off gear doesn't help. I think it's around 330. Pre 300, take off your gear. 

We've talked ad nauseam the past few days about how the power curve was an epic failure, and now the scaling kind of slid in to keep it company.

My tank's time to kill is really, really high. I have to sit there and chip away at mobs forever. I have great survivability, but these mobs are still scaling really weird. I tried swapping to ret a few days ago at 315 iLvL and it didn't make a lot of difference. Now I'm 330 and it's a huge difference. I'm pressing 4 buttons and enemies die. I can't take on more than 2-3 of them safely, but they die faster than 30 seconds per fight.

Scaling in BFA has taught me one sure lesson: Scaling isn't for me, and I don't think it's for any MMO. I prefer to progress in MMOs, and that feeling is lost with scaling. Yes, it'll be a non-factor 3 weeks from now, but it made the early days of BFA leave a really nasty taste in my mouth.

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  • I have to admit I was wrong about this in your earlier post on leveling in BfA, and now I agree with you. Leveling 110-116 on my Balance Druid was fine and dandy, but at 120 I feel much, much weaker. Even with my item level at 315 I feel much weaker than I did questing at 110.

    I feel slow, weak, clunky… not fun. Then as a chronically indecisive player, I think “Well, perhaps it’s just my Druid? Maybe I should level my Monk… no, my Paladin… no, my Shaman”. Then when I do level them I start at 110 of course, and suddenly I feel strong again. “Is this an illusion? Will I be weak again at 120? Do I take the time to find out?”

    This has been my internal monologue for the past week. I’m not opposed to the idea of scaling in principle, but I can confidently say that I don’t like BfA’s current implementation of it.

    • Yes, you will feel stronger, at 110 than 120. Blizzard will say that this expansion gap has always been in place, but while this may have been true. This change of scaling is not comparable to previous expansions. The feeling of being strong won’t be till after 345 ilevel. Blizzard expects by then you s hi would be in mythic+ and raids.

      They might tweak scaling still… feral druids are still broken with their damage being gimped. I’d expect some slight tweaks to happen over the next week as players continue to complain and stop playing in the weeks to come.

      • I’ll just hope that they do tweak it. I’m really not into serious group content, so I will not be into Mythic+ and raiding despite what Blizzard expects. It’ll be quite some time before I approach 345 ilevel.

  • I play Windwalker, nothing else since launch, and the scaling was a bit off-putting at first. However, I’ve come around to appreciate the challenge. It makes content continue to feel challenging, and it makes attacking Horde/Alliance in Warmode a lot more interesting.

    I’m only iL310 right now, but I’m finding the difficulty a little refreshing.

    • I don’t find the content more challenging, just more time consuming. I think the point is just to slow players down more so they take longer to finish this content. They just want to keep people subbed for longer.

  • Blizzard has made an extensive reply on outdoor scaling. You can find it on mmo champion if you are interested.