Quote Originally Posted by Jetstream_Fox View Post
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People don't raid for just one reason but a mix of reasons - gear, story, challenge, novelty, ect. Gear is only a small part of why a lot of people are unhappy, its just the easiest one to talk about when trying to explain the frustration with the interactions between Normal/Savage. Getting unique/powerful gear was part of the fun of raiding, and it takes a lot of time and effort to learn and clear the fights so wanting a reward that can be seen as valuable goes a long way. Even though the savage set is dye-able, when you upgrade from normal to savage gear, you still pretty much look the same.

While first learning the fights the novelty and the shiny newness helps a lot to keep people interested through the initial learning phases where you are wiping a lot. With that novelty, your still having fun despite the repeated wipes because the fight is like a puzzle to be solved. With normal in place, there is no novelty to the fights anymore, and although some of the mechanics have been tweaked a little, it largely feels like the same fight. The first time I went into A2S I groaned knowing what was in store, where as every single coil fight I was hyped the first time I saw the boss. Gearing up in Normal mode to help hit the strict dps checks made it so that I was sick of a lot of the savage fights before I even zoned into them for the first time. I'm not the only one who has been affected like this as people are burning out incredibly quickly.

I don't think Alex normal should be completely removed, but I do think it should either come out a few months after savage (Reverse 24-man and Normal releases) or not drop any gear. That way it is not part of the progression chain and you won't have to do it at all to gear up for savage.