Blizzard have decided that a better way of making content easier is to remove mechanics rather than dilute them, and I agree wholeheartedly!
I don't agree that it should be done mid-tier when everyone has already learned the original fights but for future raids, I definitely think this is the way to go.
When the reasons for the changes were explained, one word rang out to me... Clarity!
Almost all of the issues with the design of LFR can be drawn down to this one word and the latest nerfs could be showing that Blizzard agree.
Prior to the nerfs...
Blizzard start at Heroic mode, add mechanics and numbers for Mythic, reduce numbers for Normal then reduce them further for LFR.
This led to LFR being exactly the same fight as Heroic with exactly the same mechanics, but those mechanics could often just be completely ignored.
Iron Reaver is a prime example... On Heroic, Artillery will one-shot any player that is too close. On LFR, it is completely ignored. Same could be said for Barrage and Blitz. Important in Heroic, ignored in LFR.
What's wrong with that? LFR is supposed to be more forgiving, right?
Indeed it is.
The issue is one of Clarity...
LFR teaches people that mechanics can be ignored but, if the majority of mechanics can be ignored, what happens when there is a mechanic which needs dealing with properly?
People ignore it.
"It's only LFR!" is the stock response to anyone even trying to suggest tactics.
LFR doesn't fail because people can't follow simple mechanics, it fails because people think they don't need to!
But the issue of clarity continues into Normal mode and is possibly even worse...
While LFR teaches people that mechanics don't matter, Normal teaches people that some matter and some don't.
Heroic then finally teaches you that all these mechanics that you have been ignoring are important now.
This is why so many people are finding it hard to make the step up to the next difficulty, and it has nothing to do with numbers, DPS or HPS.
Breaking old habits is always harder than creating new ones!
A Bright New World...
By removing the mechanics that don't matter, only the important ones are left and everyone will know that they have to deal with them.
By necessity, the mechanics kept in LFR would have to be the simplest to handle.
It is designed for a random group of strangers with little or no coordination and a low skill floor. Participative rather than challenging.
But every player at level-cap can deal with one or two simple mechanics, this is a fact!
The levelling experience in WoD, particularly the rares and 'bosses' of the quest storylines, was fantastic at introducing simple mechanics and we all dealt with them.
The perception of LFR would change. Yes, people would still think it was easy but the number of people thinking it is so easy that they don't even need to be present would drastically reduce.
Word gets around fast... the new LFR is easy but you have to do it right.
Soon, people start queueing for LFR expecting mechanics and accepting that they need to deal with them to succeed, but also knowing that they can.
Normal mode (for those that want it) then builds on the foundations learned in LFR rather than trying to tear them down and rebuild them differently.
Have you done this in LFR?
Excellent! It's the same but we have to do this extra thing too.
The same applies when moving from Normal to Heroic.
Everything you did in Normal still applies... but you also need to do this and this.
LFR becomes a learning tool for those that want it and the difficulty curve from LFR through normal, heroic and on to mythic is much smoother.
Blizzard... your timing is terrible but I think you have started something here that could be fantastic for the future of LFR and raiding as a whole.
Please follow it through.
p.s. stay tuned next week for a post on another topic that everyone else on the internet has done to death.
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