The more I looked into it, the more my eyes bugged out. With the exception of Old Hillsbrad, so many dungeons coming available right at level 10 means that F2Ps might get access to BiS gear from TBC and Wrath via LFG without needing Chromie. In theory, walk-in level for heroics would start at 27 and would prevent F2Ps from getting gem drops, but if jewelcrafting allows multiple expansions capped at 100 skill, that opens up expansion JC recipes, and then it's up to enterprising F2Ps to find ways into other expansion lands without Chromie to get gem mats. And that's not even touching other professions like enchanting.
This could become a point of contention among F2Ps. If we need to have a lock summon us to an expansion area, or if an F2P account linked to a vet account opens up Chromie for the F2P account, does that count as a true F2P, or does that fall into the category of vet, since the F2P had no way of getting to other expansions without outside-the-game help or access?
I really see Blizzard capping F2Ps at level 10. With so much available at that level, even without access to Chromie, I just can't imagine Blizzard opening up even more of the game to F2Ps by taking F2Ps to level 20 in Shadowlands. However, Blizzard's smarter with metrics than people give them credit for. It's possible that even though Blizzard knows certain players simply won't pay for the game, Blizzard may want F2Ps to populate the lower end of the leveling world to give paying levelers more people to play with in dungeons.
I thought so too, but then consider that if we map all four shoulder buttons as modifier keys, that provides 16 options for each face button. Four face buttons, then, gives us 64 slots. Even if we only map 2 modifiers onto the shoulder buttons, that gives four options for each of the four face buttons, plus four options for the remaining 2 shoulder buttons, for a total of 24 options. The ergonomics of shoulder button modifiers are a helluva lot better than keyboard modifiers. But man oh man, I wouldn't want to try to use a console controller for mouseover healing.
If I played melee, I would bind two face buttons for abilities, one for targeting options, and one for item use. ...After a week, I'd throw my controller out a window, and plug in my keyboard and mouse.
Targeting is the real drawback of a console controller, and targeting remains WoW's best technical advantage over other MMOs. But let's be honest, most WoW players don't actually use much in the way of targeting.
