The Flaw in World of Warcraft’s Leveling System
The latest World of Warcraft game mode, Mists of Pandaria Remix, is keeping plenty of players busy leveling chars in preparation for The War Within. But while some players are having the time of their lives, others agree Mists of Pandaria Remix highlights a glaring issue with WoW.
A player pointed out in a post on WoW’s subreddit on May 22 that the game mode “showcases the flaws with the current leveling system pretty well.” Essentially, your power level in WoW is dependent on your gear, and all that gear becomes irrelevant as soon as you level up. This means you don’t really want to level up, because it means you get weaker. This problem was solved in retail WoW with heirlooms, and, to an extent, with the cape in MoP Remix.
The Core Philosophy Behind Leveling Up
Players agree the core philosophy behind leveling up should be to grow stronger, not weaker. “Every zone ends up feeling the same because there’s never any sense of danger from accidentally (or intentionally) going somewhere you shouldn’t yet,” one player explains.
![Long-distance view of the Jade Forest](https://esn.gg/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/World_of_Warcraft_Remix_Mists_of_Pandaria_Zones_Jade_Forest_093.jpg)
The Monotonous Grind of Leveling
But that’s not the only sentiment players share. Many agree with the idea that Blizzard Entertainment is “milking” playtime from players, and that the devs are intentionally making the grind longer.
While I agree with the first point, I want to make a different argument. To me, leveling has felt boring and tedious for a couple of years now, and this is the case in MoP Remix too. It’s a monotonous grind where you go from one zone to another (or spam dungeons or farms) to hit max level as soon as possible. You naturally want to skip leveling, and you’re looking for easy farms because leveling feels like a chore. I’ve been asking for a leveling revamp for a while now, but Blizzard just won’t listen.
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