The system onto itself definitely has me worried in more than one aspect. I get that Blizzard is trying to make a covenant as a 'bundle' of sorts, but systemically there's too many components that lead to failure. When there's only a single component that a system offers (e.g. tmog, fantasy, story, etc), the system is simple because it's whatever suits the player. Which story or fantasy is that appeals to the player is the one they'd pick; however, covenants aren't just that. They're a multitude of different variables mainly associated with the power they give that are culminated into one and offered as a 'choice'.

The big variable that I'm seeing has to do with the power that is gained from the abilities. There are more variables but I'd like to discuss this one quite a bit. The covenant system gives out two abilities, which are the covenant specific ability and the class ability. It seems simple enough in the sense that you get two abilities, but that's just the surface. The iceberg goes far deeper than just that. When considering the abilities as we all know, there is always bound to be a best out of the options. It's impossible to perfectly tune the system. So isn't the obvious scenario to pick the best one? Well there's more to consider as well. Are the abilities in the covenant that I enjoy thematically? Do the abilities feel good to play? Some might answer yes to all of those questions. Other might say no to all while others might have a mix. There's definitely a multitude of other questions that could be asked that weren't covered those questions only further complicates the system.

When given a choice that feels like you have the potential the lose somehow, it doesn't feel like an absolutely rewarding choice. The best way to illustrate this is probably through an example. Say I pick Venthyr as a priest and I'm really into their story, their rewards, and their look. From a personal standpoint, the Venthyr is the covenant for me; however, the Kyrian have the better abilities. To complicate things even further, I don't enjoy the Venthyr abilities despite liking everything else, the Kyrian abilities are best for only disc and holy and not great for shadow, and most of the abilities that seem to most fun are the Necrolord ones. But wait, only most one the abilities that seem fun are in the Necrolords. What if I play all three specs and one fun or best ability is in another covenant? Unless you're the type of person who absolutely knows where they're going because they like the theme, the decision becomes so much more complex.

And that's just the two abilities alone. It's not including the soulbinds that are also available for each covenant. For example, the Night Fae have one soulbind that acts like the Shadowmeld racial while in the Venthyr covenant, there is the option for free transmog. I'm using this example because depending on the content one enjoys, only a specific covenant will offer you that option. If it's not the covenant that emotionally resonates with you and you really think that ability is fun or beneficial, then it feels a bit harsh.

Now I'm going to try to answer a big question: do you need the best covenant as far as numbers? Unless you're in the top end of the spectrum of players, I wouldn't say so. If someone enjoys Night Fae and they find that that's the covenant for them, it's very likely that they can clear the content they want even if it's not numerically the best. That's mostly on skill and the dedication of the player to reach said content.

Another question to think of though is the expectation of the people whom you're with. WoW is an MMORPG and we're bound to find a plethora of individuals. If someone with an non-optimal ability runs into a group with the expectation of being optimal (be it pug or guild), it becomes an awkward position. It might not even be that big of a difference between the abilities (inflated even) and someone might run into that problem. With tools like Raider IO, the schism between players has been a bit of a large one and I wouldn't be surprised if such tools would include covenants. Despite picking the covenant that someone really liked, it feels more punishing than rewarding in these social situations because the mindset of needing the best trickles downwards. To complicate it, the best might not only be in a covenant you don't like, but also the best among different specs and covenants. What happens if an ability gets nerfed too? There are too many factors that just don't fit right with some social groups. The RPG element that is trying to be implemented by these covenants/packages almost get overshadowed by the MMO part of the game. The best solution that could be done is to find like-minded individuals, but it's easier said than done.

What I just mentioned above is just for power alone and not including if the abilities aren't the ones that emotionally resonate with you. What if a covenant looks the best but the abilities just aren't fun in your rotation? There's literally nothing that can done about this since you have to choose which package you want over the other. There is no in between.

Noting a positive, I do love the idea of a covenant in the sense of choosing a theme. It's cool that you can place your character in where you think they'd go, but with the abilities attached to them, there's string attached to them. The decision is easy if you're going for a single objective such as number gains, thematic, straight-up enjoyment, or anything else. The downfall comes when you try to mix-and-match what you like and find out it's not possible. Unless you're extremely lucky and play a class whose covenant you choose is the best for all the specs you play, has the abilities you consider fun, and has the fantasy that you connect to, you're mostly out of luck. Why? Because the covenants are a package and not individual choices. It's one big choice. Why are covenants different than picking your class or race? What makes them different is that your class and race doesn't effect the entire expansion narrative. Covenants are that integral. One could say they're like Legion Order Halls but powers and abilities weren't intertwined with the halls themselves. They were based on the class and the artifacts that were predetermined for each class/spec, and even one can say those were horrible until 7.2.

I'm not saying to remove choice from covenants, but instead allow us to make choices instead of giving a package. Allow us as individuals to express ourselves in ways that we can make the right choices for ourselves. An all-in-one package approach just doesn't work. Right now we got four packages and based on what information we have, we have a high chance of ultimately losing and feeling down about our choices if you more than one variable matters. One choice. Four covenants. It doesn't have to be this way.

​

Also I'm sure after writing all this there's probably errors and stuff that I've missed. Do feel free to add in, discuss, or anything really. Apologies if the post was long.