Summary
Since its inception,World of Warcrafthas grown considerably with so much for players to explore. Over these past 20 years, the game has not only been treated to nine different expansions, but it has also seen dozens of updates with exciting new content, including the most recent Mists of Pandaria Remix mode. NowWorld of Warcraftis looking to the future with The War Within later this year. But while all of this has been great to see, it also seems like Blizzard might have to make a major decision regarding the game’s leveling system soon.
BecauseWorld of Warcraftis an MMORPG, players spend a lot of time leveling up different characters. With each expansion, that level cap tends to grow by 10, giving players even more content to engage with. That has been the trend for years, but eventually, that level cap grew way too large for newcomers and veterans alike.Blizzard attempted to rectify that with Shadowlandsvia a simple level squish. However, two expansions later, the game seems to be facing the same issue, which means it might be time to take another look at the entire process.
World of Warcraft Seems to Be Falling Back Into the Same Leveling Habits
Shadowlands Fixed a Growing Issue With WoW
Before the launch of Shadowlands,World of Warcraft’s leveling system had not really been touched. There may have been new leveling mechanics introduced, and the talent tree was revamped to make it more approachable, but the core process remained largely the same over the years. Each expansion would add around 10 levels, which meant thatby the time Battle for Azeroth hit store shelves, players had 120 levels to earn if they wanted to experience the latest endgame content.
Veteran players likely had no problems hitting that number, and Blizzard did offer level boosts for anyone willing to spend extra money, but the entire process was becoming a bit daunting. If it had continued this way, then the game’s max level would have been 150 in The War Within. Instead of sticking with that, Blizzard chose to flatten those levels considerably beforethe launch of Shadowlands, which brought the game back down to 50 levels. Although it meant players would not experience each expansion in the same way anymore, it made reaching max level far more obtainable overall.
The War Within is Bringing That Same Issue Back to the Forefront
WhileWorld of Warcraft’s leveling system may have been squished down, Blizzard’s approach to expansions has not.Both Shadowlands and Dragonflightincreased that level cap by 10, which has brought the max level to 70. Now, The War Within will be doing the same and bring that cap to 80. Even though the studio has not really talked about the two expansions after much, there is a strong chance they will also follow suit. So, the end of the Worldsoul Saga could very well put the level cap at 100 once more, which means leveling may become daunting again.
Because of this, Blizzard will be faced with another major decision when it comes to the leveling process. Since it will probably continue raising the level cap by 10, it may want to consider another massive level squish before it gets way too overwhelming. BecauseWoWshows know signs of slowing down, that cap could get extremely high before players even realize it. But since the last level squish proved a bit controversial, especially because it is often cited as the reason many ofWorld of Warcraft’s old zonesare abandoned, Blizzard may also want to avoid doing the same thing again.
It remains to be seen just what Blizzard has planned for the increasingly large level cap. Since the studio has reduced it before, there is a strong chance it has plans to just do that again. However, that may come at the expense of some of the best zones the game has introduced in years. And as more and more players seem to yearn for those older zones, it might want to consider tackling leveling in a completely new and unexpected way instead.
World of Warcraft: Dragonflight
WHERE TO PLAY
World of Warcraft: Dragonflight was developed by Blizzard Entertainment and is the ninth expansion pack for the iconic massively multiplayer online role-playing game World of Warcraft.Dragonflight features an overhauled user interface, raises the level cap to 70, and introduces a new race and class.
