Potential Raid setup for 4.0?
So anyone who frequents the forums will have noticed that Creator Savage has been getting a lot of rather binary feedback.
The more hardcore players say its too easy and that the desired to get better gear to face a new challenge is gone since we can clear it with i250.
However the more casual players seem to be a bit more interested in it since it appears tangible. Its difficult, but imperfect play will be remedied by better gear. So for the casual who simply does not execute every mechanic flawlessly while outputting maximum dps like the hardcores, they can still beat Creator Savage as they gear up to blunt the effects of mechanics and dps checks.
So on the one hand, your super hardcores are pissed, and perhaps rightly so since they have no real reason to raid now besides gear to make the stuff they beat easier (grinding).
On the other hand you've made content more accessible to the other 99% of your playerbase. The net result is probably good.
Now looking towards 4.0, if we keep this kind of difficulty striation but add a "true" Savage mode more like Gordias 3 and 4, how could we please everyone?
Lets suppose that for 4.0, we add a new slot and item type, lets call it an "Aura" slot.
The item in your Aura slot gives you a % stat boost with a cap (like food). And you will have different Aura items for major roles, so dps may have a +5% outgoing damage and +5% Int/Str/Dex (capped), healers get +5% outgoing heals and +5% Mind/Pie (capped), tanks get -5% incoming damage and +5% Str/Vit (capped).
In addition to being quite useful, Aura slot items project an actual aura around you... Go figure. Now this part will rely on the devs and coders. Ideally, the auras should determine where your armor ends (to avoid rampant clipping) and attach to it, adding ornaments, chains, horns, wings, etc, etc, to your armor and weapon.
So why is this idea relevant to the raiding?
When we had BCoB Savage, it was a challenge, with the only unique rewards being titles, and lets face it we have tons of those. So this is where Auras can come in.
Have the "true Savage" version of the 4.0 raids drop unique Aura items which are significantly more ornate and "luxurious" than the regular ones. Maybe even add item-based buffs to them, such as reduced gear wear, increased food duration, and so forth. Maybe even raise the capped stats on the Savage Auras by 20%, so there is a slight combat advantage for having them.
Now you'll have everyone standing around town with Auras, typically small details, an insignia here, a necklace there, some small flames on your weapon maybe... And then there's that guy who cleared Savage, sporting ornate emblems, a flaming weapon, and a dyeable flowing cape... That guy stands out.
So yeah, its raid exclusive glamour with a minor stat boost, but it really stands out.
Perhaps then the "End-All-Be-All" of Auras in general would be the ability to customize which components are active, like the current glamour system. So when you equip an Aura, you gain knowledge of its components, and can choose what to project from all the ones you've collected.