I’m still playing intermittently. I agree that this expansion feels like it’s kind of a series of treadmills that you’ve got to keep running on to grind out anima/soul ash/stygia/conduits/etc. The story’s OK, although it’s hard to not feel detached as we keep routinely encountering and stabbing to death beings representing the primal cosmological forces of the universe.
I’ve been letting my subscription burn out now, I went back to it the other day because I was bored. Got a bit of gear from the built up timewalking tokens so I don’t suffer the “die like a dog” thing you get when you hit max level with crap levelling gear. It was nice to do Mana Tombs again, but a different alt struggled to even remember the blood elf dungeon which probably appeared at the end of Cata.
I realise now another decision apart from the all-single-rail levelling was the removal of the garrisons/earn quests from the levelling, so I’ve missed out on that side of the game because I never ran the full story (stalled during the forest land area). Both, IMHO, wrong choices and probably the final nail on me not coming back next expansion (which is always something I speculate on, but have come back, so far). This one has been the worst.
Well, I think it’s time for me to hang up my spurs. This expansion just isn’t doing it for me, and I realize that I’ve stuck around this long more out of familiarity than any genuine enjoyment I’m getting out of the game. What I’ve seen of the next patch looks to be more of the same.
So time to move on. It’s been a fun ride with WOW, and it’s always possible I’ll be back, but the bloom is off the rose — either because the game has changed or I have (and after 15 years, of course it’s both).
Lok’Tar, mofos!
Actually, I’m getting more into this expansion than the last one. YMMV. Play what you like, as long as you like it, then move on. Peace.