Early Feedback Had Several Different Targets
The December 2023 AoZ debate covered entry difficulty, the cost of failed attempts, party-wide failure and separate Glyph progression for alternate characters. Those were related pressures, but changing one did not automatically resolve the others.
In a December 10, 2023 roundup, Wowhead writer silec discussed both appreciation for a difficult endgame challenge and criticism of its progression loop. The post combined selected reactions with the writer’s own assessment.
What Made the Criticisms Different?
| Concern raised in the roundup | Practical issue behind it |
|---|---|
| Entry difficulty and sudden deaths | A character could reach the content yet struggle to complete even its opening tier. |
| Sigil Powder costs | Repeated failed attempts consumed entry materials, making reliable clears relevant to maintaining a stock. |
| Party-wide failure | One party member’s death ended the run for everyone, increasing the risk of helping a less-prepared friend. |
| Alternate-character progression | The writer reported that Tears of Blood needed separate leveling on each character, so an established main’s Glyph did not remove that work for an alt. |
The party rule created a coordination penalty; it did not prevent friends from entering together. The reported Season 2 guest-entry route even described an eligible Sigil user hosting friends who had not completed their own Journey.
The Roundup Came After the First Difficulty Changes
Blizzard’s December 8 Hotfix 2 had already lowered early difficulty, reduced incoming damage by up to approximately 20%, removed Vampiric and Suppressor affixes from Bloodseekers and raised higher-tier Glyph XP.
The December 10 writer still criticized group failure and alt Glyph progression after those adjustments. A larger completion reward and a more forgiving first tier addressed different problems from a party death ending everyone’s attempt.
Material Costs Were Also a Dated Discussion
A December 10 forum thread included a player who found the entry cost punishing and another who found crafting affordable. Later replies discussed repeatable clears and material stocks. Those differing accounts help explain why the same entry fee could feel very different to different characters.
A December 14 follow-up published updated crafting and completion figures. Its Tier 1 example changed the Sigil cost from 800 to 150 Powder, while completion Powder fell from 1,300 to 270–330. Both sides changed; this was not simply an unchanged reward attached to a cheaper attempt.
The follow-up also explained that a backend hotfix could take effect before the displayed crafting tooltip caught up. Its publication date provides a later reference point, rather than an exact timestamp for when every player first saw the change.
For the activity itself, use the original Season 2 AoZ reference. The separate Tier 25 showcase history follows early attempts and later clear reports.
