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Mythic+ vs PvP vs Raid Gearing Systems in Shadowlands
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Опубликовано
01.01.2021 в 14:49
Squishei
With the removal of Warforging and Titanforging in Shadowlands, we've seen some changes to loot rewards from Mythic+, PvP and Raiding. We go over Shadowlands gearing through all 3 systems and discuss why Mythic+ gearing feels lackluster and why PvP gearing seems to be the best in Season 1 of Shadowlands!
Gearing Through Mythic+
In Shadowlands, Mythic+ has taken a hit to the number of drops in the end-of-dungeon chest with the loss of Warforging and Titanforging, but it also lost some of its power due to the decrease in its Item Level.
In Battle for Azeroth, the reward from completing a +15 keystone was 5 Item levels
higher
than Heroic raid. In Shadowlands, the reward from completing a +15 keystone is now 3 item levels
lower
than Heroic raid. This is a massive swing that probably was done to prevent players from trading Heroic Castle Nathria loot, but the exact reason was never clarified.
In addition, Shadowlands reduced the amount of base loot from Mythic+ from 2 to 1, while still offering +1 loot for timing the key and additional loot for keystones above +15 keystones. This means that when going for loot, timing the key is even more important as you get 100% more loot from timing the key in Shadowlands, versus only 50% more loot in BFA.
As Mythic+ has no lockout, Mythic+ is an excellent source of item level 210 gear (which I'm calling "Intermediate Gear"). Players naturally want to gear up the best they can, which is 226 in every slot (233 in specific ones) but 210 gear is a decent item level boost from 171s from Heroic Dungeons which is the highest item level source of loot which doesn't have a lockout. It's also still an upgrade from 184s from M0s and 200s from Normal Castle Nathria. There are also high value trinkets from Mythic+ that can be farmed such as
Непостижимое квантовое устройство
or
Небесный снаряд
. With no lockout, Mythic+ is a decent way to catch-up later in the Season, especially since players will be able to trade pieces around with bonus points for stacking the group with an armor, trinket or weapon funnel for what the catch-up player needs.
Despite all this, there are quite a few downsides to Mythic+ in Shadowlnads. While Mythic+ is an excellent source of Intermediate Gear, Mythic+ players don't have any way to get 226 gear outside of the Great Vault. The Great Vault's loot pool is quite large and trying to get the
exact
item that you want, say a trinket, will have a very low chance of dropping.
For a Vengeance DH with 65 possible Items from dungeons, you have:
A ~1.53% to get the item you want with 1 option for a Vengeance DH
A ~4.62% to get the item you want with 3 options for a Vengeance DH
This is compounded by the fact that you can't upgrade Mythic+ gear like you can PvP Gear -- if you get an Item Level 210
Непостижимое квантовое устройство
in a run, the only way to get a 226 version is to get a brand new one from the Weekly Great Vault. Mythic+ lacks a targeting factor for the Great Vault with such a massive loot pool. You could argue that Mythic+ lacks the ability to target something specific in the end-of-loot rewards as well, but that's offset by the fact that Mythic+ has no lockout and is spammable but even when stacking the group with funnelers, there's no guarantee that you'll get what you want. Lastly, Mythic+ is the only system of the three to not offer a path to a 233 weapon.
While Raiders and PvPers can show dedication and skill in their activity from the Item Level of the gear that they get, Mythic+ players don't currently have an avenue to do so, solely relying on the pure RNG of the Great Vault to get specific items at 226, and also not even offering a way to get a 233 weapon to achieve parity with the other systems. Not even players that achieved
Мастер ключей Shadowlands 1-го сезона
or even push keystones above +15 have an avenue to pursue 226 rewards outside of the Great Vault.
Strengths
Weaknesses
• Gear drops do not have a lockout.
• Drops Intermediate Gear (Up to Item Level 210).
• Decent as a pseudo catch-up mechanic as spammable Item Level 210 gear.
• Loot Chance can be altered by funneling and trading.
• Only one opportunity to get a 226 piece per week.
• No opportunity to get 233 weapons or other gear slots.
• Intermediate Gear cannot be upgraded.
• Loot chances are still random, even while stacking the group.
Gearing Through PvP
In Shadowlands, PvP gearing has gotten a massive overhaul from Battle for Azeroth. PvP Vendors have made their return with
Очки завоевания
and
Честь
being made into spendable currencies that can be used to purchase and upgrade Gear.
Очки завоевания
is a gated currency in Shadowlands and each character can earn an amount of
Очки завоевания
equal to the cap. Each week during the Season, the
Очки завоевания
cap increases by 550 -- as we are now on Week 4 of Shadowlands, the Conquest cap is 2200. This Conquest cap allows for an almost complete catch-up on alts with regards to PvP gear, which will become more useful later in the Season. Right now, at a Conquest Cap of 2200, players will have bought some items from the PvP vendor but a portion of their PvP gear will have come from the Great Vault as well. However, once we're at Week 10 or even Week 15 in the Season, the Conquest cap will have increased to 5,500 (Week 10) or 8,250 (Week 15) allowing players, who are willing to put in the effort, the ability to get a large amount of PvP Gear right away which can be upgraded to match their rating!
The PvP Vendors are also the only way to guarantee a high Item Level piece in a slot that you want. Mythic+ players are at the mercy of the Great Vault and Raiders are still at the mercy of loot RNG with no guarantee that what they want will drop. PvP players can choose an item that they want from their Great Vault but also fill in the gaps in their gear by purchasing items from the Conquest Vendor, around every week to two weeks. PvP Gear also has the unique property of being upgradable, with the requirements to upgrade your gear being locked behind rating and the farmable currency
Честь
. This means that once you improve and hit a new rating bracket, you're able to upgrade all your gear to a higher Item Level across the board, even items that you picked from your Great Vault. When you improve from +10s to +15s in Mythic+ or go from Heroic to Mythic raids, the other systems don't allow you to upgrade to the new item level using a farmable currency, you need to get a brand new item. For the Season as well, PvP Weapons now also have a new bracket, scaling to the highest Item Level in the game, 233, once you reach 2400 matching the highest Item Level of raid -- and these can be obtained at the start of Week 2 if you're lucky enough with the Great Vault.
One downside to PvP gearing is the system doesn't offer Intermediate Gear like Raiding and Mythic+ since gear is locked between Weekly Resets. This means that if you only do PvP, even if you're competing at the highest level, you're going to be stuck with some low item level pieces without dabbling into some of the other systems.
Strengths
Weaknesses
• Purchase Gear for the exact slot that you want.
• More than one opportunity to get a 226 piece per week.
• Deterministic access to a 233 weapon, which can be RNG'ed into at the start of Week 2.
• The ability to upgrade gear pieces as you improve.
• A full catch-up system for Conquest.
• Gear drops are fully gated by Conquest.
• No Intermediate Gear
• No opportunity to get 233 pieces in other gear slots.
Gearing Through Raid
In Shadowlands, Raiding has had two major changes to Loot rewards.
Loot rewards have been reduced from 5 pieces to 3 pieces of loot per 20 players.
Bonus Rolls were removed, which allowed for additional chances at specific pieces of loot.
While the number of pieces of loot was reduced from 5 pieces to 3 pieces in WoW, loot was reduced across the entire game as well. However, Bonus Rolls did add an aspect of targeting that was never really replaced in Shadowlands. Raiders could get an extra chance at the loot they wanted with bonus rolls, and while it wasn't deterministic, it was an increased chance at the item that they wanted.
Otherwise, Raiding hasn't really changed much going into Shadowlands. Loot from Raid bosses is still on a weekly lockout, allowing each character to loot each boss once on each difficulty. This allows for decent Intermediate Gear to drop, though your success may vary depending on the RNG of the loot. Raiding is also a way to get multiple 226 pieces in a week, though the more 226 pieces that you get, the less that your raid members will get since the number of drops is limited. Mythic Raiding is a source of Item Level 233 weapons but also the only source of 233 gear in other slots including trinkets, rings, cloaks and more! With loot distribution set to Personal Loot, this also means that you can alter your drop chances on Raid bosses by stacking and funneling characters tailored to what you're looking for. As time goes on and characters get more geared, there is a pseudo-catch up from trading loot that other players don't need, but you're still limited by the weekly lockout.
However, even when you stack the raid and try to funnel gear, you're still at the mercy of RNG. You could get 3 cloaks, or you could get 3 different pieces and it could be exactly what you're looking for. If you aren't able to stack the raid and are mostly playing solo, the reduced loot rewards may feel frustrating to you, on average having to kill ~6.67 bosses before seeing a piece of loot and that loot being one of 2 or 3 items that drop off that boss. Also, just like Mythic+ gear, when you're going from Heroic to Mythic, there's no way to upgrade your gear once you're improved your skill -- you just need to get a brand new drop. This point feels less relevant for raid due to the Mythic difficulty existing whereas Mythic+ literally has no way to get 226 gear outside of the Great Vault.
Strengths
Weaknesses
• Drops Intermediate Gear (Item Level 213 and 200) from different difficulties.
• Offers Item Level 233 weapons.
• Only source of Item Level 233 in certain other slots which includes trinkets, ring, cloak and more.
• Loot Chance can be altered by funneling and trading.
• Multiple opportunities to get 226 pieces per week.
• Intermediate Gear cannot be upgraded.
• Loot chances are still random, even while stacking the group.
• Loot rewards are gated by the weekly lockout, leading to little personal catch-up opportunities.
Conclusion: Best Way to Gear in Shadowlands
The best way to gear in Shadowlands is probably to do all the content -- which was the goal that Blizzard has said out in multiple interviews.
Raiders
want to do Mythic+ to get Intermediate Gear and then PvP to get deterministic gear to fill in gaps.
Mythic+ers
want to do Raid and PvP since they can't get 226 gear outside of their weekly vault.
PvPers
want to do Raid and Mythic+ because PvP loot is gated behind weekly resets.
Each system has its own strengths and weaknesses but the one that seems to stand out the most right now is gearing through PvP.
PvP offers a full catch-up on Conquest for the entire season for players who are starting late, and with the way the PvP vendors work, you're guaranteed an upgrade in a slot of your choice as long as you can hit the required rating. This is the only system that allows you to determine the exact slot that you wish to get a piece from when you buy it. With the lack of bonus rolls moving Raiding further away from 226 deterministic loot and Mythic+ loot being unable to have any choice in what 226 options they get, a deterministic choice stands out. If that wasn't all, players who slowly work their way up the ladder can upgrade their gear to higher item levels through a farmable currency, instead of having to farm brand new pieces! The combination of deterministic loot with no RNG and upgradable gear likely puts PvP as the best way to gear in Shadowlands Season 1. If that wasn't all, by hitting Elite rating in Week 1 of the expansion, if you get a weapon in your Great Vault, you'd be able to instantly upgrade it to 233!
Opinion on Gearing in Shadowlands
Is PvP Gearing over the top? In my opinion, probably but not by much. Deterministic gearing at the highest Item Level is not really something that Blizzard has not done for a long time, but the combination of less loot from the game and the option of getting an item in the exact slot that you want has many PvE players feeling the pressure of doing PvP. However, PvPers have been feeling the pressure to PvE for quite a long time, especially with overpowered trinkets like
Извивающийся сегмент Дест'агат
dropping from Mythic raid in the past.
I think when you compare PvP gearing to Mythic+ gearing there's a clear difference, with Mythic+ gearing missing many of the features that make it feel "worth it". There's no end goal, no requirement or any way to strive to push higher keys to get additional 226 pieces of gear a week, you get your one Mythic+ 226 piece a week from the Great Vault and that's it. Mythic Raiders strive to kill Mythic Sire Denathrius and Mythic Stone Legion Generals for 233 weapons and loot, PvPers strive to hit Elite rating for 233 weapons and Mythic+ers... hope for a 226 weapon from their Vault and loot more 210 Gear from their dungeon runs? Mythic+ loot definitely feels lackluster at the moment and I think the main factors are the lack of high-end gear rewards from high-end goals and the lack of targeting certain items due to the increased size of dungeon loot tables when compared to raid bosses and picking an item off a vendor. PvP gearing likely feels too strong for PvE players at the moment because it awards deterministic gear, but you do have to consider that the PvP only player is weekly locked behind Conquest.
The main thing that Mythic+ is missing might just be Titanforging as Mythic+'ers end goal. More pieces of loot from higher keys equals more chance for a high Titanforge to match the high end gear. However, it's clear that Blizzard is trying some new things with gearing in Shadowlands with the removal of Warforging and Titanforging from the Great Vault, to PvP vendors and less loot. We'll have to see what Blizzard thinks of the systems now that they have some data on them and how these gearing systems change further in Shadowlands based on the feedback that the community has provided so far.
What do you think of Shadowlands gearing? Let us know in the comments below.
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