I personally am fine with this. Having dealt with flying mobs that flat out murder you, a slow down makes me chuckle.
Removed
I feel like if they wanted to do this, they should also have made the worm a world boss (not aggroed by proximity, though). One that if people got together and killed, it would stay dead for some long duration and everyone involved in the kill would get either a flying speed buff OR an item (probably one-time use) they could use to make themselves immune to the Worm's debuff (for those days you just can't be bothered dealing with it). Add a carrot to the stick and people would be much less tetchy.
I also like the idea that this could be a test for future content. Imagine getting flying almost immediately in Shadowlands after reaching max level, but flying "souleaters" or something are flying around making it dangerous to fly. Part of Blizzards complaint with flying during WoD was the fact that their hands were tied with making world content interesting and engaging beyond the leveling experience because once people picked up flying, it made any and all sense of danger completely arbitrary. Now, if there was a danger in the sky, whether it be a short debuff like this, instant death, or a dismount mechanic, people may be more likely to stick to the ground in certain areas. Blizzard wins and the players win. I see this being a good compromise moving forward.
I won't know until I play for myself, but first impressions, this smells like bad faith on Blizzard's part. They already artificially delay the flying reward from Pathfinder by nearly a year, and now they're trying to turn off its usefulness nearly a year early too.If I didn't find flying more fun, I wouldn't fly. I already have choices. Removing my preferred choice is removing fun.
They really slow you at 100 yards away? That sucks. Thanks a lot for the annoyance, Blizzard.
As if BFA couldn't get more annoying with some things here and there, now we have this. Great. What exactly did we do to deserve this?
I'm glad to see that people are finally coming around to understanding how far 100 yards is in the game; as others have previously stated I'm not sure my draw distance is generating the mobs from that range and thereby I would be gaining stacks before I even knew what was causing it. Not a good decision and hopefully one that they reconsider as hamstringing your players isn't the best way to cause them to play the content.
I usually don't chime in when there are so many complainers, especially when they don't offer what they'd consider to be a better idea. I got really excited about this worm that ominously slows you if you get to close! I haven’t looked too deeply into the upcoming patch as I like to discover and experience stuff naturally but if there’s deadly, slowly moving giant worm floating around that projects negative effects if you fly to close, I absolutely love this idea! It got me thinking I’d love to see and experience areas with dangerous skies, with npc’s on their mounts jousting and dive bombing you as you attempt to navigate through! Or a stormy zone with lightning that could zap you - causing damage to attend to or inflict a drunk-like stun making it difficult to maneuver or even shock you off your mount! Or, skies thick with enemies that swarm or chase you - could feel like quidditch! Or, some zones that have changing weather may get harsh weather patterns, dark, heavy rumbling clouds with lighting that could electrify you off your mount, or forceful winds that make it treacherous and require some extra attention, or poisonous fog that you can't fly through for too long without having to touch ground to breath easier, and to calm your frightened mount! Maybe some flying monsters scare your mount, making control tricky. Let’s get some of our traveling buddies reacting to the surroundings! Perhaps they sense danger and move more slowly, cautiously, or even become frightened and get feared, allowing for immersion opportunities such as you assuring your friend that they are a brave companion and safe under your care, or commanding to plow through, perfect for forming that bond between your character and your traveling buddy. Maybe other flying npc’s are as large and slow as whales and one shot you as you’ve entered their domain, or territories belonging to others could have poisoned skies requiring you to touch ground every so often, or perhaps some flying opponents are small, quick and pesky and needing dodged as you plow through, like a rogue bludger. Maybe some npc’s can also net you form the ground, forcing you and your ensnared traveling buddy to be captured and reeled to the ground in a mighty net.Avoiding stuff as you fly for fear of damage, loss of control, stuns, dots, and other interactive, world-building situations sounds awesome and could be fun and immersive. I’m thrilled at what interactive flight could bring and what stories we’d get to tell of our survival through them!