WoW: Battle For Azeroth's Launch Issues are Plaguing PvP and the new Uldir Raid

Just one month into the release of Battle for Azeroth, World of Warcraft's user forums are being flooded with complaints and threats to unsubscribe. Players have had their fill of the new Allied Races and Island Expeditions, and the cracks are starting to show. Many say that the full title still feels like a beta, and that issues need to be fixed quickly. Others say that the problems in Battle for Azeroth cannot be fixed — that the systems that are core to the expansion will never be fun or balanced, or that the damage has already been done. So what exactly is happening? Could this be the beginning of the end for WoW?

To answer these questions, we'll have to take a look at some of the biggest issues facing Battle for Azeroth's end-game.

The Azerite System

In a pre-launch interview with Twin Galaxies, World of Warcraft producer Daniel Stahl described the Azerite system, saying:

"Azerite armor is a new feature in Battle for Azeroth. Think of something slightly different than the artifact weapons we had in the previous expansion. This is a new way that we are adding an ability for you to make more choices around how you want to power your gear. This Azerite armor is going to be imbued with this Azerite that is pouring out of your neck piece. As you collect Azerite and power up your neck piece, that is going to provide options for you to customize the abilities of the different pieces of gear that you find in the world."

This system is intended to provide players with simple choices that make characters unique. The problem is, with dozens of possible traits in each slot, and unique traits across all twelve classes, the system is nearly impossible to balance. And the playerbase has been quick to notice that.

On September 5th, Reddit user /u/Sclythe created a post showing how Rogues could abuse the Azerite system to effectively one-shot other players in ranked PvP. One of the Rogue Azerite traits boosts the damage of their Shuriken Toss, and the effect stacks across multiple pieces of gear. Savvy players took advantage of this effect to rapidly climb ranked listings and earn in-game rewards.

The trait has since been nerfed, but Blizzard isn't in a position to remove the permanent benefits players received because the poor balancing was a failure on their part.

Item Levels

Item levels (or ilvl) aren't new to WoW, but Blizzard has created major problems in the way that players access high ilvl gear. Normally, as was the case at the launch of the expansion, players get progressively better gear by going through dungeons of increasing difficulty and then raids.

In this system, guilds have competed to be the first to complete any given raid, which means members of those guilds would spend hours preparing by completing high level dungeons to get the best available gear. Then, when a raid was finally released, they would be equipped to take down all of the bosses quickly. Since the release of Battle for Azeroth, experienced raiders were making plans to be the first to take on Uldir, the home of the blood god, G'huun. Blizzard threw a wrench into this plan when they released Warfronts.

Warfronts are one-sided scenarios that take the player to the heart of the conflict between the Alliance and the Horde. They're short and simple scenarios that are only available to one faction at a time, beginning with the Horde. The trouble is that completing a Warfront for the first time would give players a random piece of gear with an equivalent ilvl to the gear that would be found inside the raid. This meant that before Uldir released, the half of the playerbase that were members of the Horde could equip better gear than players on the Alliance. Not only that, but members of the Alliance would have to wait three weeks to have the same luxury — well after both the Heroic and Mythic difficulties of Uldir would be available. Unsurprisingly, it was a Horde guild by the name of Wildcard Gaming that took the world first Heroic Uldir clear.

Can it be fixed?

To top these issues off, the WoW Reddit page has been filled with fans complaining the new Warfront system and additional bugs, like falling through floors in certain locations. Even Youtube content creators who usually embrace the game are comparing the current expansion to the beta of the previous expansion, Legion.

All of this puts Blizzard in a difficult position going forward. The devs Blizzard can fix the bugs, they can keep tuning the Azerite system, and they can work on new content, but they can't undo what's already happened. If classes and Azerite gear see balance changes, people will still keep their seasonal ranks in PvP, and guilds will keep their records and commendations for finishing Uldir early.

It's unclear at this point how Blizzard will cope. Outside of regular bug fixes and minor balance changes, the company has been quiet on the game's issues. Perhaps they will unveil some broader fixes with their announcements at Blizzcon.