I’m kind of scratching my head as to why Blizzard keeps gating absolutely everything behind something else.  Ok, not really, I know it’s to keep people in the game longer.  But typically it’s not even remotely fun AND it didn’t use to be that way. Normally games start off pretty grindy and get easier, this is going the other way. Here’s my examples.

New races or classes:

Classic: Just pick them and play

BC: Just pick them and play (Blood Elf, Dranaei)

Wrath: Just pick it, do a very interesting starting area, and play (Death Knight)

Cata: Just pick it, do a very interesting starting area, and play (Goblin, Worgen)

MoP: Just pick it, do a very interesting starting area, and play (Pandaren)

WoD: None

Legion: Just pick it, do a very interesting starting area, and play (Demon Hunter)

BFA: Get A BUNCH of reps to EXALTED, do a TON of quests, and then play (several hours to even get to that point mind you, applies to lightforged draenei, dark iron dwarves, night borne, etc etc)

 

Flying:

Classic: No flying

BC: Flying was very expensive, nether drakes requiring grind

Wrath: Purchase Northrend flying for gold.  A lot of it.

Cata: Purchase old world flying for gold.

MoP:  Get to max level and purchase panda flying for gold.

WoD: Get to max level and grind out a very long, and 2 part series of quests and achievements to get flying.

Legion: Get to max level and grind out a very long, and 2 part series of quests and achievements to get flying. Then promptly lose it in the next zone shortly after earning it.

BFA: No flying again, do a very long 1 part to grind out rep and quests to get flying.  Expansion has been out 8 months and there isn’t even a part 2 yet.  Sigh.

 

Flight points:

I’m a little fuzzy on the specifics between expansions on this one, but before BFA you just got to the flight point, learned it, and could use it.  If I recall correctly your alts would also have it.  At some point that became no longer the case.  It was like that, as far as I know, from Classic until Legion (10+ years).

But hey, in BFA there are flight points you have to grind rep for and BUY before you can learn them, and some even locked behind QUESTS.  What the actual shit Blizzard?  NO flying AND you have to grind or buy flight points to get around in a timely fashion?  It’s especially egregious in some zones where the flight points are only on the coasts of the land and none anywhere near the center.   Why not just remove the X on the game when we log in and remove the log out option?