OK we all know the arguments for and against Bravery Bonus!
We all know that XP is easy to get even without it!
We all know that that doesn't mean a thing because XP is God to many!
Now before BB an LFM that read:
Tempest Spine Elite Lvl 11-14
would fill in no time flat!
Same goes for an LFM that read:
Proof is in the Poison Elite Lvl 6-9
or for one that read:
Coal Chamber Elite Lvl 17-20
Today NONE of those LFMs will fill unless you get really lucky!
They won't fill because the majority of Players who actually wanted to run those quests will have already done so at Lvls: 12, 6 and 18 respectively
All levels within the range but without BB those players at those levels who haven't run those quests yet will take one look and go do something else - Or worse...Stick up their own E-BB LFM making the first LFM's chances of filling even more miniscule!
Now you might be saying:
"But DDO is so easy that you should be able to solo those quests at Lvl 14, 9 and 20 respectively"
Well to that I say:
"Just because you can doesn't mean everyone can!"
Back when I came to DDO in mid 2010 I was quite happy to run quests up to 6 levels over and take what XP was available - I soloed many yes but if I put up a group there was a good chance that at least one other person would join me and an OK chance at getting a full group.
Favour Farming massively over-level was highly prevalent - Yes you still see this type of LFM but once per day if you're lucky while back then you'd see a couple every hour!
Today Newbies are rushed into running Elite at level* long before they're ready!
Today we have myriad complaints about Elite being too easy BUT too few of the people making those complaints are willing to compromise in any way and provide the newbie or casual player with a route to the top.
Instead they actually would prefer a Glass Ceiling to be created!
*Oh yes: At Level
Even this has changed it's meaning since BB!
Pre BB At Level meant at Elite +1 so Lvl 13 for Tempest Spine, 7 for Proof and 19 for Coal!
Post BB At Level means BB Level!
The problem isn't just that People who can't cope with Elites are running Elites BUT that the goalposts have been moved so that people who were perfectly OK running Elites 3 or 4 levels over are now running them at BB level!
It's blatantly obvious how much of a difficulty ramp up that was for many and yes we did get better because of it {WE HAD TO!}.
Now the Devs have basically moved the Goalposts yet again with Champions - And in a year or so many of the people who complained initially about Champions and are still playing will wonder why they ever complained.
Let me remind those who can't recall why they ever complained about BB back when it came out - It's because of the moving of the goalposts and the massive difficulty ramp up that forced you to become better!
Now some of you might say:
"But that's a good thing...We should all strive to become better"
to which I say:
"Do you really think any of us WEREN'T striving to become better pre BB or pre Champions?"
Of course we were!
Only now the goalposts have moved and we may have become better but so have you and the gap between us and you is still there!
The problem is that now we're running the same content as you at the same time as you!
Difficulty levels themselves are only part of the equation of working out what a player is capable of:
A Player who can solo Elite Tempest Spine at Lvl 7 is demonstrably better than a Player who can solo that same raid at Lvl 12!
Now we still can CHOOSE to run Elite heroic quests at a level of our choosing {it's a little more difficult with Epics} but that choice is now a bad one if we're choosing to run over-level BECAUSE BB has made it so!
Now yes: We can still run Normal or Hard at level and favour farm Elites overlevel you're saying to yourselves.
But: That only works for Heroics!
There's EIGHT Levels where Elite is simply out of reach to many without past lives, Maxed EDs, Fate Slots etc.!
High level Heroics pre MotU couldn't be favour farmed over-level but the sheer amount of content that matches that description now is off the scale!
Why the worry about favour farming you ask yourselves.
Well how else are we supposed to catch up if we can't favour farm our way to even a single +5 tome {heck +7s are available now!}?
So more and more I'm seeing E-BB becoming the norm in Epics too as more players become able to cope with Elites at Level {BB in Epics having a wider level range certainly helps!}.
Well...Again we'll get better {slowly} and in a year or so the goalposts will get moved again and we'll hear the same complaints again!
Remember that it's the moving of the goalposts that's the issue NOT how the goalposts were moved!
You want an Uber Elite difficulty for those who find EEs too easy?
Well you can have that difficulty if you compromise and accept that everyone else needs to be able to run at their level!
So:
That difficulty can't have extra Favour {a new type of favour that gives special non-power related rewards may be in order}
That difficulty shouldn't give more XP {there's more than enough XP available already!}
That difficulty can't give better loot - Otherwise you get the loot then complain it's too easy again!
That difficulty must be for the "Challenge" and "Bragging Rights" alone!