Looking for Raid in Warlords of Draenor was absolutely and totally broken. While it still remains one of the most popular raiding difficulties in game, it suffered substantially in this most recent expansion. While many players would rejoice to see this raiding tier eliminated from the game, LFR is essential to the continued success of World of Warcraft; at least for the moment. With this in mind, we take a look at the problems that plagued LFR in Warlords and how they can be addressed to make LFR a triumph in Legion and beyond.

Warlords LFR Problems

As mentioned above, LFR is one of the most popular raiding difficulties in game but you wouldn't have guessed that from the experience found here in Warlords of Draenor. Without a doubt, it faced some serious issues from the start that only got worse as the expansion aged. These problems helped to perpetuate a lack of participation that resulted in long queue times and an overall sense of dissatisfaction among the fan base.

As usual, it wasn't just element that lead to the breakdown of LFR in Warlords. A combination of seemingly small problems combined together to create the perfect storm that left this raiding tier in its current unhappy state. Here are three of the major perpetrators:

Tanaan Jungle

While a combination of problems affected LFR in this expansion, Tanaan Jungle was easily the largest culprit in causing the most damage to this raiding tier. Gear in Tanaan Jungle was easy to get, with a full set of gear obtained in just a few days. This is a stark contrast to LFR where there was just a slim chance of gear dropping from a boss and an even slimmer chance of it being gear you needed.

Even worse, gear obtained here was just as good as or better than the gear obtained in the raid instance. Why do all the work of raiding when you can obtain awesome gear with a fraction of the effort. While Tanaan Jungle is and was an excellent idea, instead of working in harmony with LFR it worked completing opposed to it. Players flocked to Tanaan and away from LFR the second it was released and with good cause.

Lackluster Storyline

Warlords had the potential to have an amazing storyline, yet it managed to fall almost totally flat. For a variety of reasons, the story did not resonate with players and failed to engage the heart of the community. We were supposed to be taking on the Iron Horde, defeating these major bad Warlords and saving the universe and other cool stuff.

However, somehow it never caught hold and this lack of passion translated itself into the raids. No matter how many times it never felt very interesting. The fights were decent, but defeating major players like Blackhand and Kilrogg didn't feel that intense. Then Archimonde showed up and things just got weird. Players have to feel like killing these bosses is important and that feeling somehow fell short in this expansion.

Underwhelming Tier Sets

Tier sets in Warlords were weak. Arguably some of the worst we have seen in quite some time. While this was a problem that plagued almost all raid tiers in this expansion, it really stood out in LFR. Unlike other more challenging tiers, LFR players are mostly looking to gear out their characters. This raid tier isn't about the thrill you feel after spending weeks to defeat a difficult boss, it is about getting gear quickly and without much fuss.

Except that there really wasn't much point in doing LFR or getting this gear. Tier sets are usually the major draw of raid instances. Players love set bonuses and the look of the completed sets. However, the bonuses were a joke and most thought the look of the full set lacked zest. Thus, players turned to other methods to gear out their characters.

Legion and Beyond

So how do we fix these problems? The solution is fairly easy. If developers want LFR to be a functional raid tier they simply need to make it appealing again. That is it. No smoke and mirrors, just this simple and straightforward idea that players need to want to use LFR as their primary method to see end game content and collect gear.

This will mean offering up other methods to earn gear that will compliment this raid tier rather than take away from it. It also will require the gear found within to be desirable, even when compared to other gear. While LFR gear should never be on par with other raid difficulties, it certainly should be equatable to gear earned outside of raids. It will mean creating a storyline that entices players to get inside the raid and feel a real thrill when they take out the bosses found there. It will mean making LFR much, much more than it was in Warlords and if that can indeed be done, then perhaps this essential game feature will find a new place in the sun.


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Last Updated: Mar 29, 2016

About The Author

Amunet, also fondly known as Memtron, is an organic life form best known for its ongoing obsession with Blizzard Entertainment's numerous properties. To that end, Amu has authored hundreds (thousands?) of the most popular World of Warcraft guides, editorials, and Top 10 lists on the planet. When not gaming and writing, Amu is busy chasing after her three children in a perpetual loop of ongoing disaster.

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