What changes would you make to the Catalyst mechanic in World of Warcraft?

It’s hard to believe but it’s already almost three years since we got the first iteration of the Catalyst mechanic in Shadowlands patch 9.2. Since then both raiders and transmog collectors alike have taken advantage of the system to get tier sets or collect the full outfit. While there have been some minor improvements along the way there are still a few things wonky about it that could be addressed.

One of the oddities of the Catalyst now is the fact that you can’t know how many charges you currently have available until you try to change something in the current season to tier gear. It used to be a currency, but changes to how it’s acquired and distributed got it removed as such and while we’re thankful we no longer have to maintain it — and the fact that previous seasons by default have unlimited charges — it’s inconvenient in practice when you’re trying to decide between your Great Vault choices. I actually think that the Great Vault interface would be a great place to store the value for players to check.

Another aspect I’d like to see is some sort of refund system. With new charges only available every other reset there’s nothing more heartbreaking than converting something to tier and then immediately getting it to drop for you. To be honest I don’t know how such a system would work that would allow it to be fair, but I do think it’s something the development team should consider.

The final change that I think they should make is one that would make transmog collectors overjoyed, and that is non-tier pieces shouldn’t require a charge to convert. The reason for this is simple: short of the outside possibility of a secondary stat benefit, there’s no real impact in allowing players to transform their bracers or belts to the current tier appearance. The encounter designers are already benefiting from the Catalyst’s existence as they don’t have to ensure every piece drops for every class in the current raid; however, that results in the weird possibility that a character could have Mythic difficulty on active farm after a month but not be able to transmog to the full appearance because of the charge system. Since charges no longer have to be “earned”, there’s no harm in giving us the chance to complete appearances in a more timely manner.

What do you think? Are you happy with the current Catalyst system? What changes would you make? And how would you design a refund system?