It was announced last week that players in World of Warcraft would get account-wide access to rank 3 Essences following repeated insistence that this would not happen. Now that we’re here, a new post on the official forums have details the actual currency acquisition rates and how fast you can expect to get those essences on alts. The short version is that each one requires 500 Echoes of Ny’alotha, Black Empire Assaults reward 125 Echoes, others reward 75, and Horrific Visions reward 50 as a base plus more as objectives are cleared. Other activities reward less as you go down the list, but it does include options like random battleground wins or raid finder clears of Ny’alotha.
The stated rationale for the currency rate is to ensure that players can get a rank 3 Essence roughly once per week, which should give players access to needed options after a couple weeks of play at max level on an alt. The post also explains why the developers were reluctant to make this change by citing (not for the first time) that power progression is meant to be per-character, while also noting that the conditions of play and the design of Essences have meant a rethink of how power rewards are evaluated in the game. This may not mollify players, but the fact that at least those account-wide essences are actually happening may do a lot in that department.
Two thoughts for players checking into Essences after maintenance:
1. Log into your main first, so that the system is primed for when you log into your alt.
2. Don't expect to see Echoes of Ny'alotha dropping for your main, unless you have at least one Rank 3 Essence on an alt. https://t.co/8bRGVPn7HY— WarcraftDevs (@WarcraftDevs) March 17, 2020