"Brew of the Year" needs to go

We're still comfortable with the length of time it takes to achieve the Violet Proto-Drake with Brew of the Year included -- and, yes, we're taking into account Death Knights, new characters, and people who missed last Brewfest or did not join the club. You'll be able to complete the meta achievement in time if you choose to concentrate on those achievements.

There is a perception out there that the Violet Proto-Drake is the drake for "casual" players, but that isn't strictly true, in all honesty (and can devolve into a debate on what the definition of casual happens to be, which is subjective and not something I wish to get into.) It's the reward for participating in a great deal of the holiday content, and Brew of the Year factors into that content as it is achievable through participating a single instance of the Brewfest holiday and following through for one year. This is in contrast to Veteran Nanny, which required you to participate in Children's Week thrice, and achievements like A Mask For All Occasions, where the probability involved was too low to be reasonably included in the meta achievement. The Brew of the Month club is easily acquired during Brewfest, there's no game of chance involved, and it doesn't require revisiting the holiday provided you check your mail every month.

Some achievements require skill, and some require time and a bit of dedication. This is one of the latter, and we've no plans currently to change it.

Q u o t e:

I think that part is why people have a problem with it. None of the other achievements have to be completed outside the timeframe of its respective holiday, except this one for some reason.

No other holiday has something like this that spans the year, either. It's inconsistent with other holidays but it is consistent with Brewfest's content, and the achievements are based around each given holiday.

I'm aware of the arguments; I've read many of these threads here, in Achievements, and in Suggestions. I understand that some people consider it incongruous. We're still of the mind that the timeframe is reasonable enough to fit within the meta achievement.

Q u o t e:
Are you really taking Death Knights into account here? Because I'm not sure you are.

Yes, we certainly are.

Death Knights, new players, rerolls, and people who missed out on Brew of the Month last year all have the exact same chance to get the achievement this time around. If you chose to make your Death Knight an "achievement main," that was certainly your choice. Anyone who decided to start getting achievements at some point after Brewfest will have to go through the full year of Brew of the Year; Death Knights are included but are no more special than any other new character in this regard.

We consider it reasonable even if someone began right after Brewfest ended.

I assure you, we've seen the suggestion for the achievement to be simply joining the club many a time. I disagree that it entails the same amount of dedication and effort, however, and we've no plans to change it to that, nor will we be removing the progress of those who already have the Brew of the Month Club.

I'll close out my active participation in this thread by stating this: achievements are optional. They are not mandatory to enjoy the content of the world events. There are relatively few achievements with rewards of some sort; most of them require dedication of one sort or other. Some require skill, some require a bit of luck, and some require time. What a Long, Strange Trip It's Been is not an achievement necessarily meant for casual play considering its many myriad requirements. It requires a bit of luck, a bit of skill, and yes, in some cases, a bit of patience.

There are proto-drakes available through achievements that do not take a year's worth of time. If you do choose to go for the Violet Proto-Drake, however, patience will factor into it to an extent.

I will still be reading as usual, of course.