Easy, low maintenance fixes for the PvP system
I've been considering it for a while now, but to be realistic: Blizzard wants easy, low-maintenance, and cost-effective ways to fix PvP. Here's what I came up with:
- All PvP gear should be max ilvl (with different stat combinations) and free. Make it ugly. It could be like the exact same model/color and never change in appearance.
- Make Honor/Conquest/Elite gear transmog, and earned for participation exactly as it is currently (875/700/525 Honor/Conquest)
- Keep all other rewards/titles the same
- Set MMR/CR cap to 3k and leave it indefinitely. 2750 if players will complain about glad being too easy. This will make CRs consistent across seasons, and people won't say "oh you were a SL glad".
- Base MMR for new accounts should be set to 1600.
- These first five changes would make PvP accessible and significantly more enjoyable for PvE players, us PvPers could have higher participation and faster queues.
- All other MMR should be tier-based on your highest CR for the season, relative to role. Hit 2100 CR as a DPS, your DPS MMR sets to 2100 for the next season, even if you drop below in the current season. If you only hit 1800 in the next season, your MMR stays at 1800. If you want to try healing and are only an 1600 healer skill-wise, you shouldn't start at 2100 MMR. You'll just negatively impact games for others, and ruin your own confidence.
- Constantly balancing specs as players earn gear, since everyone starts out as powerful as they'll be (see point 1), save resources by balancing specs in the first few weeks of the season then fine tune to make every spec viable/fair. Once that's set up for the season, no PvE changes (unless a talent/ability is changed) should effect PvP for the remainder of the season. Literally a 'set and forget' for Blizzard, they can dedicate resources elsewhere (like fixing bugs). Repeat each season.
- PvP gear doesn't need to be 'okay' in PvE. That's what PvE gear is for. This would let people dedicate their time to game how they want, without people needing to play both types of content if they don't want to. I could be doing M+ with my friends instead of sitting in a 10+ minute PvP queue because I'm 1/4 the way conquest geared and I'd like to get the 1800 gear this season on X toon.
- If Blizzard is intent on us earning conquest gear throughout the season for the feeling of 'progression' (which is something most PvPers don't actually care about), once a piece is purchased unlock that slot account wide for free conquest gear purchases.
- Another option is, once you have one character fully in conquest gear, max ilvl gear is fully unlocked (free) for all other characters. This system already exists in PvE with a 'reduced price' for upgrading gear account-bound. Except there's literally no reason I should (on my 3rd DPS) have to play dozens of un-rated content matches before feeling okay about joining rated content because I finally have weapons unlocked. Or I can jump straight into SS with all honor gear on my 2nd Enhance, despite being 2200+ on my main Enhance, and stress out healers more.
- More rewards (but EASY). Since players are dragons (or goblins) with hoarding prior season elite transmog, recolor and make them earneable via token. If someone hits 2200 or Gladiator under the new CR/MMR system (any content type), earn a token or two that allows you to purchase a piece of recolored elite gear from prior seasons. Don't even change the gear, just create three or four different glow colors that look nice. Minimal effort for more rewards.
- I don't like this season's gear on Shaman, thus I have no interest in queuing up and pushing glad. Know what would get me to queue up (increase that participation metric)? A token for prior season elite gear. I'd be in that 3's queue every possible moment if I knew that was a reward. Goblins can pick your poison, either no one queues up or you can loosen up a bit on your transmog hoarding (that you never wear anyhow).
Anyhow, thank you for coming to my TED talk.
Posted Jul 13, 2026, 10:33 AM UTC
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