Is WoW becoming too much like Diablo?

Legion has taken a lot of cues from Diablo — WoW’s World Quest system is an amped up version of Diablo’s Bounties, and WoW’s Legendary items have taken a decidedly Diablo-esque turn. The World Quest/Bounty system is just as fun in both games: they promise rewards to give you a reason to keep logging in. (Though, in my opinion, even the wide range of World Quests and the random nature of Bounties feel grindy after a while.) But the Legendary system I’m less sure about.

Legendaries in WoW used to be unique items that took serious effort to obtain — from Thunderfury to Dragonwrath — but now you get them through RNG rather than any particular effort on your part. The fun is that Legendaries are now available to everyone rather than just the top-tier raiders. Heck, even my leveling stream Shaman has a Legendary.

This loot piñata philosophy works great for the hack-n-slash world of Diablo where the entire game is really in loot acquisition. But in WoW, these random drop Legendaries present some challenges. While players have always been at the mercy of the RNG to get best in slot gear, Legendary items are so above and beyond other gear they’re now the must-haves for end game content. Getting a Legendary alone isn’t enough: you need to get the right Legendary that gives your character the biggest boost. Depending on the Legendary you get, your gameplay may change to make the best use of it.

And that brings me back to Diablo, where strategy guides are rarely about stat priority or ideal rotation — instead, they’re all about gear. If you have this item, use this ability. If you have that item, use that ability. The game is about grinding until you get the perfect item set and then changing your build and play to make the most of it. While gear has always improved your abilities in WoW, it’s never completely upended your playstyle like it does in Diablo — but this Legendary system pushes WoW in that direction.

So what do you think, readers? Is WoW becoming too much like Diablo or do you like how the game has borrowed from its hack-n-slash cousin?