No matter if you’ve just joined the World of Warcraft Classic journey with Season of Discovery or you’re a long-term fan, you must have noticed layering is a problem. Players have found a perfect solution, but Blizzard probably won’t listen.
On Dec. 21, Reddit user McGreeb proposed that Season of Discovery should use the instances system from Guild Wars 2, namely the bit that allows you to change to your party members’ layers through the default interface and choose whether you want to stay in an underpopulated instance or not. In Guild Wars 2, instances are just like layers in WoW Classic but more polished, and instead of being automatically phased to an entirely new instance, you have control over which layer your character is. Instead of using addons and solutions like asking players for a party invite to change layers, WoW Classic should fully embrace the layering system and have it as a part of the basic UI. That would mean you could select which layer you want to join or leave the current one, even if there aren’t many players around.
The biggest problem in WoW Classic with layering is that you suddenly get shifted into a different one or lose your friends even though you’re in the same party. The first scenario usually ends with deaths and ghost walks, while the second problem doesn’t have a clear solution. As a result, players resort to addons and invite each other to parties to change layers.
This solution would put changing layers into players’ hands, making it more transparent and consistent. Currently, the system is clunky, with players getting suddenly phased to a different layer. The other day, my raid and I waited for our tank for Blackfathom Deeps to arrive so that we could run together. Unfortunately, the tank wasn’t on the same layer, and they died a couple of times before the raid entrance. If Blizzard were to take inspiration from Guild Wars 2, our tank would have been able to easily switch to our layer with the press of a few buttons, rather than needlessly struggling alone.
This idea is great, and Blizzard should take inspiration from other MMOs more often. WoW isn’t the only game on the market—there are still lessons to be learned.
