How much RNG is too much in World of Warcraft’s gearing system?

Ever since the concept of Corrupted items was introduced, I’ve been thinking about the sheer level of RNG it adds into gearing in World of Warcraft. Frankly I don’t know if we need this on top of Azerite gear and Benthic gear and so, so many ways we already have for the idea of how good gear is or isn’t to get overly complicated. Gear in World of Warcraft and indeed, in all MMOs has always been a big of a random luck factor — even when Badges of Justice were a big deal and you could essentially guarantee you’d eventually have enough to buy some gear, there were always slots you’d have to hope for a drop in and items that were always leaps and bounds better as best in slot than anything you can buy.

But it definitely feels like there’s a lot of complexity to Corrupted items. Now, CM Kaivax is out there telling us that what we’ve seen via datamining is still an early version of the feature, and that’s definitely worth considering. What we’ve seen isn’t what we’re going to end up with. But frankly, even if they execute this system brilliantly I have to wonder if it’s just too much on top of all the other systems introduced this expansion — if we wouldn’t just be better served by gear being an upgrade or not, without having to worry about gaming your Corruption score and balancing the negative aspects of it against the positives on the gear itself.

I’m willing to be convinced — Kaivax makes some very good points and I generally like to wait and see before I make a final decision. But I do think it’s worth putting it to y’all — have we seen enough RNG in our gearing this expansion? Does WoW thrive when the random loot chance is at its peak? What do you think about the random nature of loot and gearing in MMO spaces, and where should World of Warcraft fall on that scale?