replacing gear is great but replacing it with crappy greens you find as world loot is quite sad when your talking about an item you may have raided for a hundred times for a month, replacing it with another raid item that you worked for is perfectly normal
But not giving out greens causes another problem. If they did not give the uber greens then people would say the content was too hard and that the game is just catering to the 30% or so that has the uber gear. Try doing the expansions in just blues or greens from the content before. Now if they just lowered the monsters to the level of the old blues then that 30% would whine that there is no new content for them because it is too easy. So instead they make mobs to the level of the first teir of raid armor from before and give out greens to bring up those that did not raid the previous content. So the raiders have content that is not too too easy and those that did not raid can still compete in the beginning areas.
I@Greymann: WoW is far from dead. They have barely touched upon the lore available in the Warcraft franchise and they still have at least 4 expansion packs worth of content available to make. And like I said to Babylon9000, they are continually updating the graphics. Also, if you ask any raider from either end of the spectrum, they would say that the raids are at a point where they are getting to be challenging for those who want it and accessible for those who don't. Also, in terms of game balance, they are closer to parity between the classes in terms of PvE than they have even been at any other point in the game, and they continue to work towards closing the gap in PvP. The game is constantly improving, and if you would try to take an impartial, fresh, and nonjudgmental view towards it, you would see that. Of course, if you are just here to advertise Aion, which appears to be a more than decent game, then please continue.
I know the franchise isn't dead for crying out loud. Warcraft Forever, etc. I'm talking about wow 1.0 or whatever it goes down in history as. Next gen wow which includes blizzards next gen mmo gameplay, much better graphics--a new game, not exp.--is what people are demanding. They are not upgrading graphics. Adding shadows is hardly an upgrade and I don't see much upgrading for future expansions based on that engine. Advertise aion... please, your comment was half way intelligent before that.
Blizzard has been slapping bandages on this game mechanic that's a holdover from old school MMORPGs for how many years? And spent how much money on it because Kaplan and Chilton are old school radiers? And as the article points out they still haven't gotten it right.
Plus this is Blizzard, arguably one of the best game developers in the industry, and they can't make it work. They'll keep trying to fix raiding forever and they won't be able to make something that actually functions in the modern MMORPG market.
Dinosaurs died out for a reason. Raiding need to make fundamental changes and evolve into something new, something that old raiders probably would not even recognize as raids.
The 3.3 patch won't fix raids. Blizzard has been slapping bandages on this game mechanic that's a holdover from old school MMORPGs for how many years? And spent how much money on it because Kaplan and Chilton are old school radiers? And as the article points out they still haven't gotten it right. Plus this is Blizzard, arguably one of the best game developers in the industry, and they can't make it work. They'll keep trying to fix raiding forever and they won't be able to make something that actually functions in the modern MMORPG market. Dinosaurs died out for a reason. Raiding need to make fundamental changes and evolve into something new, something that old raiders probably would not even recognize as raids.
I agree that there needs to be something new.
Raiding is always fun at first, but as others said, it really does suck to have to run the same instance over and over for months. Problem with WoW in my opinion is, once you get 80, gear up for few weeks, and then your character has absolutely nothing to work for outside of raids.
WoW is pretty much a raiding game - that's it. That's what all the content is focused on. I hate the fact that my main char has nothing worthwhile to do unless there is a raid - therefore the only time I even log in, is when there is a raid. As soon as its over, I log out. This makes it feel more like a job, and less like a game, which ruins the fun for me. Especially once it sinks in that the only reason you are "working", is so that you can "work" some more.
Before anyone mentions it... Sure you "can PvP", but their PvP has declined (and is still declining) because its made for PvE with PvP added, not the opposite - and to make both PvP and PvE work, you need to balance the characters around PvP and then balance the NPC's around the characters.
Also, sure they added 5-man content in the patch, but take 5man ToC - if you were raiding before they added ToC, you didnt need any of that gear anyway. So any character that is not a new character will still not need to run any 5mans. The 5-man content is not "endgame" content, and thats the problem.
All the "endgame" content is raids, and that kills the game for me... no variety. WoW is awesome while you have the variety of multiple things to do, but once its all raids... boooring.
sijmisterWorld of Warcraft CorrespondentMemberUncommonPosts: 47
There are lots of things to do in the games besides raids. I hope I don't get flamed for making suggestions as to what people could do for fun. Like one guy said earlier, you could actually do some RP in an RPG. You could make a twink with some friends. You can raid capital cities. You can go around taking screenshots of some of the better looking areas of the game. You can look for all of the many easter eggs that Blizzard has placed in the game. You can do the fishing contest in Booty Bay, and soon the one in Kal'uak that they are adding in the next patch. The game doesn't have to boil down to raids, there is lot's more than that available to do. As soon as you make the game all about gear and raids, then there really is nothing you can do to have fun if you are ever disappointed at one point. As I pointed out, there are flaws in the system, but no one can please everyone, and if you have a problem, you can make suggestions as to what can be done better.
There are lots of things to do in the games besides raids. I hope I don't get flamed for making suggestions as to what people could do for fun. Like one guy said earlier, you could actually do some RP in an RPG. You could make a twink with some friends. You can raid capital cities. You can go around taking screenshots of some of the better looking areas of the game. You can look for all of the many easter eggs that Blizzard has placed in the game. You can do the fishing contest in Booty Bay, and soon the one in Kal'uak that they are adding in the next patch. The game doesn't have to boil down to raids, there is lot's more than that available to do. As soon as you make the game all about gear and raids, then there really is nothing you can do to have fun if you are ever disappointed at one point. As I pointed out, there are flaws in the system, but no one can please everyone, and if you have a problem, you can make suggestions as to what can be done better.
Those are fun things for some, not so much for myself. I have friends slaving away daily trying to get their 100th mount...just so they can get a free 101st mount even though you can only ride one at a time. If those type of activities actually progressed my character I wouldnt mind doing them, but I dont enjoy spending days or weeks collecting vanity items. If WoW would ever come out with alternate abilities, that might actually give me a valid reason to continue playing my toon between instance lockouts.
There are lots of things to do in the games besides raids. I hope I don't get flamed for making suggestions as to what people could do for fun. Like one guy said earlier, you could actually do some RP in an RPG. You could make a twink with some friends. You can raid capital cities. You can go around taking screenshots of some of the better looking areas of the game. You can look for all of the many easter eggs that Blizzard has placed in the game. You can do the fishing contest in Booty Bay, and soon the one in Kal'uak that they are adding in the next patch. The game doesn't have to boil down to raids, there is lot's more than that available to do. As soon as you make the game all about gear and raids, then there really is nothing you can do to have fun if you are ever disappointed at one point. As I pointed out, there are flaws in the system, but no one can please everyone, and if you have a problem, you can make suggestions as to what can be done better.
Note that I said theres nothing to do "to work for" besides raids. That means there is no reward or anything to gain from it make it worth doing.
The fun for me (and many others) in RPG's is progression, and if you are doing random things that you dont get any sort of reward or progression from, it's just not fun to do. If I was playing a console RPG, I'd be doing it for teh story the first time, and the 2nd time I would do it to make sure I dont miss any secrets, and possibly play thru different story paths if it is a non-linear game. But once you found all those secrets and have nothing else to do to progress anymore, it's time to move on to a new game.
What you are suggesting is similar to saying, I could just run heroics for fun. The first few times I ran each heroic they were fun, but eventually the only reason to keep doing them was for progression. Once people dont need anything from heriocs anymore, you rarely (if ever) see them running a heroic anymore - the only people I know who still run heroics only do the daily heroic once a day for the triumph badges. But at this point I get more triumph badges then trophies anyway, so I dont even bother doing them anymore.
Character skills dont have any form of progression outside raid, gear has no progression outside of raid, and money well... just isnt neccessary. All the money you need is to buy consumables for the next raid... Once you get to raids there is no other form of progression past it, and that's the problem.
I know some people may have "fun" doing things just for the hell of it, but in RPG games, I do it for the progression (I know many others feel the same way as well - as I mentioned earlier, that's why probably 90% of the people who have gear dont bother doing heroics anymore). If I want fun without progression, the thing I like to do in RPG's is PvP (if available) - but the PvP in WoW is so dissapointing at this point that it's not fun for me anymore either.
For game development in RPG's, the rule to live by has always been "risk vs reward". But if there are no worthy rewards outside of raid, that is the sign of a problem. At this point, 5man content not only does not have rewards, but does not have the "risk" either, which signifies another problem.
sijmisterWorld of Warcraft CorrespondentMemberUncommonPosts: 47
Originally posted by SpyridonZ
Originally posted by sijmister
There are lots of things to do in the games besides raids. I hope I don't get flamed for making suggestions as to what people could do for fun. Like one guy said earlier, you could actually do some RP in an RPG. You could make a twink with some friends. You can raid capital cities. You can go around taking screenshots of some of the better looking areas of the game. You can look for all of the many easter eggs that Blizzard has placed in the game. You can do the fishing contest in Booty Bay, and soon the one in Kal'uak that they are adding in the next patch. The game doesn't have to boil down to raids, there is lot's more than that available to do. As soon as you make the game all about gear and raids, then there really is nothing you can do to have fun if you are ever disappointed at one point. As I pointed out, there are flaws in the system, but no one can please everyone, and if you have a problem, you can make suggestions as to what can be done better.
Note that I said theres nothing to do "to work for" besides raids. That means there is no reward or anything to gain from it make it worth doing.
The fun for me (and many others) in RPG's is progression, and if you are doing random things that you dont get any sort of reward or progression from, it's just not fun to do. If I was playing a console RPG, I'd be doing it for teh story the first time, and the 2nd time I would do it to make sure I dont miss any secrets, and possibly play thru different story paths if it is a non-linear game. But once you found all those secrets and have nothing else to do to progress anymore, it's time to move on to a new game.
What you are suggesting is similar to saying, I could just run heroics for fun. The first few times I ran each heroic they were fun, but eventually the only reason to keep doing them was for progression. Once people dont need anything from heriocs anymore, you rarely (if ever) see them running a heroic anymore - the only people I know who still run heroics only do the daily heroic once a day for the triumph badges. But at this point I get more triumph badges then trophies anyway, so I dont even bother doing them anymore.
Character skills dont have any form of progression outside raid, gear has no progression outside of raid, and money well... just isnt neccessary. All the money you need is to buy consumables for the next raid... Once you get to raids there is no other form of progression past it, and that's the problem.
I know some people may have "fun" doing things just for the hell of it, but in RPG games, I do it for the progression (I know many others feel the same way as well - as I mentioned earlier, that's why probably 90% of the people who have gear dont bother doing heroics anymore). If I want fun without progression, the thing I like to do in RPG's is PvP (if available) - but the PvP in WoW is so dissapointing at this point that it's not fun for me anymore either.
For game development in RPG's, the rule to live by has always been "risk vs reward". But if there are no worthy rewards outside of raid, that is the sign of a problem. At this point, 5man content not only does not have rewards, but does not have the "risk" either, which signifies another problem.
I agree with you on all points here, which is why I left my first guild for one that was more raiding oriented, but I was just pointing those things out for people who said there was absolutely nothing to do for fun once you're done with raids. I only have 6 mounts, because I really could care less about them, and most of the time I have spent logged was either doing raids or something to prepare for a raid, because that's what I think is fun, too. I play console RPGs the exact same way that you do, I remember aiming for every single rare weapon in Final Fantasy Tactics, all the bonuses in Zelda games, and doing similar things in games like Fire Emblem and Wild Arms.
But I was just trying to point out the fact that while the raids can get old, Blizzard works hard each expansion and patch to try to create a raiding format that is enjoyable for everyone, and they will continue to change it and tweak it until they do. The fact that people are still unhappy with it proves that they need to continue working at it, and the fact that they keep changing it proves that they listen to your problems. As for the lack of different modes of advancement, tey can only make so much PvE content that is high in quality, progressive, and challenging on different levels. I have to admit that the heroics in TBC were more challenging and fun because of it, but I can't remember how many times I had a heroic called because it was to hard for people to beat in less than 3 hours. Now that you don't need raid gear to do Heroics, they are too easy. The PvP could use some work, but I am not a PvP person so I don't do it too often, and I have complained about the state of PvP in the game many times on the official forums.
I had a super strong PvE Raid Priest when TBC came out. My guild was above average and we cleared the first few new raids before I got so bored. It's the same thing over and over. The 40 man raids were awesome! Beating Molten Core then Blackwing Lair. It took skill and coordination on a large effort. Not to mention the pride when you got one of those epic items. It meant something, now it just seems like everyone can attain such high quality gear with half the effort.
raystantzFinal Fantasy XI CorrespondentMemberUncommonPosts: 1,237
WoW is a very good game...
or actually.. "was" a very good game.
Vanilla WoW overtook me like no other game has ever done since EQ/EQOA. I was hooked..
but the more popular it got.. the more I hated it. It stopped being an MMO and started to become the "MTV of MMOs"
They made everything easier, took out things that were challenging, and because it was so popular... the community was terrible. They always claimed that it was a game for "casual players". But, the truth is.. You need to play nearly every day for several hours to keep up with the Jones'. If you stop for a week.. you fall behind. And, by the time you DO actually make some ground in raiding and gear.. they up and change it or make you upgrade.
FFXI had it right in this dept. You could turn on the game at release.. or at present.. and almost all of the content is still just as viable.
I don't get that fuzzy feeling of amazement and exploration that I used to get when I played EQ.. I'm gonna attribute the crappy community to that.. it literally kills all immersion there could have been, It eventually drove me back to EQ2. I wish mmos were a niche genre again. Call me selfish.. but it was alot better when everyone didn't play.
www.facebook.com/themarksmovierules
Currently playing:
FFXIV on Behemoth, FFXI on Eden, and Gloria Victis on NA.
WoW is a great game. Yes there is much room to improve and grow for years to come. The trick is keeping you base fans around as this happens. People get bored quick it seems some quicker than others.
I know some that have left the game to go try the new kid on the block "Aion". Some will be back some won't. Aion becomes PvP after a certain level. It is not a choice it is a fact. For those that like open PvP then they will stick with it if they like the game. I understand it has a drawing effect like EQ and WoW from the start. WoW has become boring for many of its base and long term fans. Outside of raiding there is the dailies that many get tired of and farming; which many get tired of as well.
As for WoW's graphics. No they may not be as real as some may be used to. But if it was required for everyone to have costly graphic cards to play the game then I am sure the player base would diminish. Not everyone can afford those top gaming computers. Thus you can set settings to fit your system. Nice touch I think since I recently had issues with my graphic card and if I had not been able to lower all those setting I would not have been able to play until I could get a new card. It may have been a drag but I could still play. This is much different than EQ was when I played it. EQ required and update to your graphic card and computer pretty much with each expansion they released or you couldn't even play. Then there was the problem of having one that was compatable with the game. It would not run well or at all with many cards out there. This made the game just far too costly to continue with for many.
My big fear with WoW is the PvP it seems to be aiming at. I am not a big PvP fan. Don't get me wrong I don't mind PvPing from time to time, my choice of course. If I wanted to PvP all the time then I would play on a PVP server not a PVE one. I want that choice to be mine. However, since the need for arena points as well as other BG points I have not been so inclined to PvP much. It was my soul means of gearing my hunter when I was unable to raid and to get better gear I did BG's and very little arena.. I have not even cared to PvP since I have to have arena points to get the better gear. I hate arena and find it more of a stress factor than fun. Even back then when I did do it some the matches were not balanced with people around the same gear level and score. Many times were faced toons with superior gear to ours. That was a lost battle from the beginning. Like I said I have not ventured there since the changes. Not worth my time nor my nerves. The game should be fun not stressful.
There is no way Bliz is going to make everyone happy. That is a fact. Changes can cost them accounts or it can win them accounts. Either way there is never going to be a time when everyone is going to be happy. It seems so far Bliz has found something that keeps both sides happy or unhappy. Even some that are bored and tired of the same rinse and repeat. Just like the stupid drops on the World Events bosses. I am sure there is a mount out there somewhere from the HH and the Brew guy but rare is not the correct use of the drop rate. It should say supper/extremely rare. Just like many of the other drops within the game.
Comments
But not giving out greens causes another problem. If they did not give the uber greens then people would say the content was too hard and that the game is just catering to the 30% or so that has the uber gear. Try doing the expansions in just blues or greens from the content before. Now if they just lowered the monsters to the level of the old blues then that 30% would whine that there is no new content for them because it is too easy. So instead they make mobs to the level of the first teir of raid armor from before and give out greens to bring up those that did not raid the previous content. So the raiders have content that is not too too easy and those that did not raid can still compete in the beginning areas.
I think my idea of content and yours is quite different
I know the franchise isn't dead for crying out loud. Warcraft Forever, etc. I'm talking about wow 1.0 or whatever it goes down in history as. Next gen wow which includes blizzards next gen mmo gameplay, much better graphics--a new game, not exp.--is what people are demanding. They are not upgrading graphics. Adding shadows is hardly an upgrade and I don't see much upgrading for future expansions based on that engine. Advertise aion... please, your comment was half way intelligent before that.
The 3.3 patch won't fix raids.
Blizzard has been slapping bandages on this game mechanic that's a holdover from old school MMORPGs for how many years? And spent how much money on it because Kaplan and Chilton are old school radiers? And as the article points out they still haven't gotten it right.
Plus this is Blizzard, arguably one of the best game developers in the industry, and they can't make it work. They'll keep trying to fix raiding forever and they won't be able to make something that actually functions in the modern MMORPG market.
Dinosaurs died out for a reason. Raiding need to make fundamental changes and evolve into something new, something that old raiders probably would not even recognize as raids.
I agree that there needs to be something new.
Raiding is always fun at first, but as others said, it really does suck to have to run the same instance over and over for months. Problem with WoW in my opinion is, once you get 80, gear up for few weeks, and then your character has absolutely nothing to work for outside of raids.
WoW is pretty much a raiding game - that's it. That's what all the content is focused on. I hate the fact that my main char has nothing worthwhile to do unless there is a raid - therefore the only time I even log in, is when there is a raid. As soon as its over, I log out. This makes it feel more like a job, and less like a game, which ruins the fun for me. Especially once it sinks in that the only reason you are "working", is so that you can "work" some more.
Before anyone mentions it... Sure you "can PvP", but their PvP has declined (and is still declining) because its made for PvE with PvP added, not the opposite - and to make both PvP and PvE work, you need to balance the characters around PvP and then balance the NPC's around the characters.
Also, sure they added 5-man content in the patch, but take 5man ToC - if you were raiding before they added ToC, you didnt need any of that gear anyway. So any character that is not a new character will still not need to run any 5mans. The 5-man content is not "endgame" content, and thats the problem.
All the "endgame" content is raids, and that kills the game for me... no variety. WoW is awesome while you have the variety of multiple things to do, but once its all raids... boooring.
There are lots of things to do in the games besides raids. I hope I don't get flamed for making suggestions as to what people could do for fun. Like one guy said earlier, you could actually do some RP in an RPG. You could make a twink with some friends. You can raid capital cities. You can go around taking screenshots of some of the better looking areas of the game. You can look for all of the many easter eggs that Blizzard has placed in the game. You can do the fishing contest in Booty Bay, and soon the one in Kal'uak that they are adding in the next patch. The game doesn't have to boil down to raids, there is lot's more than that available to do. As soon as you make the game all about gear and raids, then there really is nothing you can do to have fun if you are ever disappointed at one point. As I pointed out, there are flaws in the system, but no one can please everyone, and if you have a problem, you can make suggestions as to what can be done better.
Those are fun things for some, not so much for myself. I have friends slaving away daily trying to get their 100th mount...just so they can get a free 101st mount even though you can only ride one at a time. If those type of activities actually progressed my character I wouldnt mind doing them, but I dont enjoy spending days or weeks collecting vanity items. If WoW would ever come out with alternate abilities, that might actually give me a valid reason to continue playing my toon between instance lockouts.
Note that I said theres nothing to do "to work for" besides raids. That means there is no reward or anything to gain from it make it worth doing.
The fun for me (and many others) in RPG's is progression, and if you are doing random things that you dont get any sort of reward or progression from, it's just not fun to do. If I was playing a console RPG, I'd be doing it for teh story the first time, and the 2nd time I would do it to make sure I dont miss any secrets, and possibly play thru different story paths if it is a non-linear game. But once you found all those secrets and have nothing else to do to progress anymore, it's time to move on to a new game.
What you are suggesting is similar to saying, I could just run heroics for fun. The first few times I ran each heroic they were fun, but eventually the only reason to keep doing them was for progression. Once people dont need anything from heriocs anymore, you rarely (if ever) see them running a heroic anymore - the only people I know who still run heroics only do the daily heroic once a day for the triumph badges. But at this point I get more triumph badges then trophies anyway, so I dont even bother doing them anymore.
Character skills dont have any form of progression outside raid, gear has no progression outside of raid, and money well... just isnt neccessary. All the money you need is to buy consumables for the next raid... Once you get to raids there is no other form of progression past it, and that's the problem.
I know some people may have "fun" doing things just for the hell of it, but in RPG games, I do it for the progression (I know many others feel the same way as well - as I mentioned earlier, that's why probably 90% of the people who have gear dont bother doing heroics anymore). If I want fun without progression, the thing I like to do in RPG's is PvP (if available) - but the PvP in WoW is so dissapointing at this point that it's not fun for me anymore either.
For game development in RPG's, the rule to live by has always been "risk vs reward". But if there are no worthy rewards outside of raid, that is the sign of a problem. At this point, 5man content not only does not have rewards, but does not have the "risk" either, which signifies another problem.
Note that I said theres nothing to do "to work for" besides raids. That means there is no reward or anything to gain from it make it worth doing.
The fun for me (and many others) in RPG's is progression, and if you are doing random things that you dont get any sort of reward or progression from, it's just not fun to do. If I was playing a console RPG, I'd be doing it for teh story the first time, and the 2nd time I would do it to make sure I dont miss any secrets, and possibly play thru different story paths if it is a non-linear game. But once you found all those secrets and have nothing else to do to progress anymore, it's time to move on to a new game.
What you are suggesting is similar to saying, I could just run heroics for fun. The first few times I ran each heroic they were fun, but eventually the only reason to keep doing them was for progression. Once people dont need anything from heriocs anymore, you rarely (if ever) see them running a heroic anymore - the only people I know who still run heroics only do the daily heroic once a day for the triumph badges. But at this point I get more triumph badges then trophies anyway, so I dont even bother doing them anymore.
Character skills dont have any form of progression outside raid, gear has no progression outside of raid, and money well... just isnt neccessary. All the money you need is to buy consumables for the next raid... Once you get to raids there is no other form of progression past it, and that's the problem.
I know some people may have "fun" doing things just for the hell of it, but in RPG games, I do it for the progression (I know many others feel the same way as well - as I mentioned earlier, that's why probably 90% of the people who have gear dont bother doing heroics anymore). If I want fun without progression, the thing I like to do in RPG's is PvP (if available) - but the PvP in WoW is so dissapointing at this point that it's not fun for me anymore either.
For game development in RPG's, the rule to live by has always been "risk vs reward". But if there are no worthy rewards outside of raid, that is the sign of a problem. At this point, 5man content not only does not have rewards, but does not have the "risk" either, which signifies another problem.
I agree with you on all points here, which is why I left my first guild for one that was more raiding oriented, but I was just pointing those things out for people who said there was absolutely nothing to do for fun once you're done with raids. I only have 6 mounts, because I really could care less about them, and most of the time I have spent logged was either doing raids or something to prepare for a raid, because that's what I think is fun, too. I play console RPGs the exact same way that you do, I remember aiming for every single rare weapon in Final Fantasy Tactics, all the bonuses in Zelda games, and doing similar things in games like Fire Emblem and Wild Arms.
But I was just trying to point out the fact that while the raids can get old, Blizzard works hard each expansion and patch to try to create a raiding format that is enjoyable for everyone, and they will continue to change it and tweak it until they do. The fact that people are still unhappy with it proves that they need to continue working at it, and the fact that they keep changing it proves that they listen to your problems. As for the lack of different modes of advancement, tey can only make so much PvE content that is high in quality, progressive, and challenging on different levels. I have to admit that the heroics in TBC were more challenging and fun because of it, but I can't remember how many times I had a heroic called because it was to hard for people to beat in less than 3 hours. Now that you don't need raid gear to do Heroics, they are too easy. The PvP could use some work, but I am not a PvP person so I don't do it too often, and I have complained about the state of PvP in the game many times on the official forums.
I had a super strong PvE Raid Priest when TBC came out. My guild was above average and we cleared the first few new raids before I got so bored. It's the same thing over and over. The 40 man raids were awesome! Beating Molten Core then Blackwing Lair. It took skill and coordination on a large effort. Not to mention the pride when you got one of those epic items. It meant something, now it just seems like everyone can attain such high quality gear with half the effort.
WoW is a very good game...
or actually.. "was" a very good game.
Vanilla WoW overtook me like no other game has ever done since EQ/EQOA. I was hooked..
but the more popular it got.. the more I hated it. It stopped being an MMO and started to become the "MTV of MMOs"
They made everything easier, took out things that were challenging, and because it was so popular... the community was terrible. They always claimed that it was a game for "casual players". But, the truth is.. You need to play nearly every day for several hours to keep up with the Jones'. If you stop for a week.. you fall behind. And, by the time you DO actually make some ground in raiding and gear.. they up and change it or make you upgrade.
FFXI had it right in this dept. You could turn on the game at release.. or at present.. and almost all of the content is still just as viable.
I don't get that fuzzy feeling of amazement and exploration that I used to get when I played EQ.. I'm gonna attribute the crappy community to that.. it literally kills all immersion there could have been, It eventually drove me back to EQ2. I wish mmos were a niche genre again. Call me selfish.. but it was alot better when everyone didn't play.
www.facebook.com/themarksmovierules
Currently playing:
FFXIV on Behemoth, FFXI on Eden, and Gloria Victis on NA.
WoW is a great game. Yes there is much room to improve and grow for years to come. The trick is keeping you base fans around as this happens. People get bored quick it seems some quicker than others.
I know some that have left the game to go try the new kid on the block "Aion". Some will be back some won't. Aion becomes PvP after a certain level. It is not a choice it is a fact. For those that like open PvP then they will stick with it if they like the game. I understand it has a drawing effect like EQ and WoW from the start. WoW has become boring for many of its base and long term fans. Outside of raiding there is the dailies that many get tired of and farming; which many get tired of as well.
As for WoW's graphics. No they may not be as real as some may be used to. But if it was required for everyone to have costly graphic cards to play the game then I am sure the player base would diminish. Not everyone can afford those top gaming computers. Thus you can set settings to fit your system. Nice touch I think since I recently had issues with my graphic card and if I had not been able to lower all those setting I would not have been able to play until I could get a new card. It may have been a drag but I could still play. This is much different than EQ was when I played it. EQ required and update to your graphic card and computer pretty much with each expansion they released or you couldn't even play. Then there was the problem of having one that was compatable with the game. It would not run well or at all with many cards out there. This made the game just far too costly to continue with for many.
My big fear with WoW is the PvP it seems to be aiming at. I am not a big PvP fan. Don't get me wrong I don't mind PvPing from time to time, my choice of course. If I wanted to PvP all the time then I would play on a PVP server not a PVE one. I want that choice to be mine. However, since the need for arena points as well as other BG points I have not been so inclined to PvP much. It was my soul means of gearing my hunter when I was unable to raid and to get better gear I did BG's and very little arena.. I have not even cared to PvP since I have to have arena points to get the better gear. I hate arena and find it more of a stress factor than fun. Even back then when I did do it some the matches were not balanced with people around the same gear level and score. Many times were faced toons with superior gear to ours. That was a lost battle from the beginning. Like I said I have not ventured there since the changes. Not worth my time nor my nerves. The game should be fun not stressful.
There is no way Bliz is going to make everyone happy. That is a fact. Changes can cost them accounts or it can win them accounts. Either way there is never going to be a time when everyone is going to be happy. It seems so far Bliz has found something that keeps both sides happy or unhappy. Even some that are bored and tired of the same rinse and repeat. Just like the stupid drops on the World Events bosses. I am sure there is a mount out there somewhere from the HH and the Brew guy but rare is not the correct use of the drop rate. It should say supper/extremely rare. Just like many of the other drops within the game.
Gikku