Of course WoW has peaked. What's going to kill it is it's 11.5M subscribers... The in game community is currently terrible. You can't log in and read trade chat without some moronic chain of "anal this, anal that" spamming the entire time. Then, if you're a bit more casual (as I've gone in the last 4-5 months) you can't really get into a raid without a gear score check. Sure, a lot of the new content is strictly gear based, but it shouldn't be the deciding factor. Perhaps I'm just burned out on the game after 4 1/2 years of playing it but I think it's a still a great game. What's going to kill it imho though... are the players themselves.
The you of 4 years ago with bright eyes and and eager mind would not be saying what you have today. You are biased because you have played the game for so long that you are burned out. Now I ask you. In those 4 years, can you not say you enjoyed them? If you didn't that isn't Blizzard's fault. It is your own. Your own fault for not recognizing an addiction.
Of course WoW has peaked. What's going to kill it is it's 11.5M subscribers... The in game community is currently terrible. You can't log in and read trade chat without some moronic chain of "anal this, anal that" spamming the entire time. Then, if you're a bit more casual (as I've gone in the last 4-5 months) you can't really get into a raid without a gear score check. Sure, a lot of the new content is strictly gear based, but it shouldn't be the deciding factor. Perhaps I'm just burned out on the game after 4 1/2 years of playing it but I think it's a still a great game. What's going to kill it imho though... are the players themselves.
Trade chat is spam chat, use the Auction house, it is better anyhow. Try rolling on an RP server less idiots and children on them. Also whoever does a Gear Score before an instance doesn't know anything about the game. Stats mean something, but the add on for gear score is a joke and is not a proper indicator of anyones gear. Hence why I love the random dungeon feature. Never had any issues with using it except people not doing the instance right and causing a wipe, but that happens with other groups too.
Owner/Admin of GodlessGamer.com - Gaming news and reviews for the godless.
dude if any group have to ask you a prer-trip check to take you in their group just use a pug instead its random group and often they got sucky gear but teir game is top notch!
With the majority of MMO's struggling to retain 300K subscribers I can't see Blizzard weeping over numbers in the millions after all 11+ million subscribers is 110+ million Euro in the bank everymonth or 1.2+ Billion Euro a year, I'd love to *ahem* "fail" like that myself.
WoW isn't going anywhere, at least not anytime soon. Cataclysm will spike another surge of interest and I suspect that Blizz can push the envelope for a few more expansions to come.
The appeal is obvious, highly populated worlds (yes, you can actually play with friends and make them in WoW because people like playing it, conversely you also meet a greater number of ****wits due to the population density), it's easy to play, in parts it is strikingly beautiful (including the old world content - I ran some of the classic dungeons as a solo lvl 80 the other day and enjoyed them hugely they are gorgeous) and there's plenty of variety in the game play too.
Yes, it's not terribly challenging but that's part of the joy for many gamers. The only way WoW dies is for someone to do something better, not just for a hardcore MMO audience, but for the millions of casuals who just want to have fun.
Until dev's understand it is WoW they have to compete with, and not just the first release of WoW but WoW as it is now, then nothing will come close. I do have high hopes for the Bioware Star Wars game, but seeing is believing and playing more so.
I have considered going to a RP server, but didn't really feel like shelling out $25 not knowing whether I was just wasting my money or not. I will agree with you about the random dungeon feature though. I think it's a great addition to the game!
It is my opinion that people want WoW to peak because they feel that WoW is hurting the MMORPG market, but in reality it's setting the standard. Similar in a way that Starcraft and Warcraft set the standard for RTS. They may not have been the first, but they are the ones that people look to.
I guess what I'm saying is people want WoW to die so something new and exciting can take it's place. But with WoW leading the way for MMORPGs of the future, it seems like MMORPGs of today can only follow in it's shadow. Blizzard has always been known for setting the standard for just about every single Genre they've participated in. It's hard to compete with that kind of quality.
Blizzard is known for their dedication to the game's quality. They refuse to release a game until they are confident it will be ready. Companies these days now see the MMORPG market as a cash cow. By milking players of their hard earned money with cash shops on top of monthly fees and poorly released launches, the MMORPG has become something as a joke in itself.
No, I say let WoW live. Why? Because without it, we'll continue to see wave after wave of pointless muck that continues to destroy the very genre many people enjoy today.
When everyone compares your product to everything else, you know you're doing a good job. If someone can meet the needs of their players by selling a quality product and providing everything they promised and advertised, then maybe we'll see MMORPGs turn around, but I don't blame WoW, and neither should any of you. You should blame the companies that continue to produce these MMORPGs that nobody wants. Over-hyping and luring you in with "Headstart" events, then playing the bait-and-switch so many of us are used to seeing.
WoW doesn't have to be loved, but it should be respected. WoW is revolutionary. It may take 10 years or more, but one of these days, we'll have someone come along and produce something that we can all enjoy. And I honestly think that's what Blizzard wants. Making quality games has been Blizzard's priority since the days of Interplay and that won't change. If someone can do a better job, it means they have done their job.
Great post. It's too bad most people will take this as a fanboi post or something. Many valid points that people choose to ignore. It's NOT blizzards fault new games do so badly, it's the devs of those games themselves...
It is my opinion that people want WoW to peak because they feel that WoW is hurting the MMORPG market, but in reality it's setting the standard. Similar in a way that Starcraft and Warcraft set the standard for RTS. They may not have been the first, but they are the ones that people look to.
I guess what I'm saying is people want WoW to die so something new and exciting can take its place. But with WoW leading the way for MMORPGs of the future, it seems like MMORPGs of today can only follow in it's shadow. Blizzard has always been known for setting the standard for just about every single Genre they've participated in. It's hard to compete with that kind of quality.
Blizzard is known for their dedication to the game's quality. They refuse to release a game until they are confident it will be ready. Companies these days now see the MMORPG market as a cash cow. By milking players of their hard earned money with cash shops on top of monthly fees and poorly released launches, the MMORPG has become something as a joke in itself.
No, I say let WoW live. Why? Because without it, we'll continue to see wave after wave of pointless muck that continues to destroy the very genre many people enjoy today.
When everyone compares your product to everything else, you know you're doing a good job. If someone can meet the needs of their players by selling a quality product and providing everything they promised and advertised, then maybe we'll see MMORPGs turn around, but I don't blame WoW, and neither should any of you. You should blame the companies that continue to produce these MMORPGs that nobody wants. Over-hyping and luring you in with "Headstart" events, then playing the bait-and-switch so many of us are used to seeing.
WoW doesn't have to be loved, but it should be respected. WoW is revolutionary. It may take 10 years or more, but one of these days, we'll have someone come along and produce something that we can all enjoy. And I honestly think that's what Blizzard wants. Making quality games has been Blizzard's priority since the days of Interplay and that won't change. If someone can do a better job, it means they have done their job.
yes you are right ,its like a women once you go black you dont come back ,same for wow they play wow till they are burned then
those player polinate mmo like a busy never being satisfied by any mmo but not knowing why
they will make sure to flood the internet with HD stream,video etc
they ll make sure to do lot of interview on the net on their own website and all other place avail also in HD
in tv and all the place any can think of
thats where lot of company lack
lot of game cant even show their own face in HD on the web so interviwer dont even want to go there.it speak ton about the dedication .when you cant even do an event in HD lets say on ustream or xfire
player seing those very low quality image are like men that game graphic suck often gamer try to explain in game is
very nice!but the damage is done,if they cant see a stream online they ll steer clear of those game wich is a shame i think
To answer your question, yeah, i think it has peaked.
Why ? It's blizzard's fault. In their quest for cash they unleashed a series of features and allowed some stuff to happen that in the past would have been unthinkable.
1. IMHO the fact that nowadays everything is so easy to earn - gear, raiding etc etc etc is a major turnoff of the players. I heard so many people complaining that the game is too easy now.
2. Name/Race change. That's just stupid. A character is defined by name and race. Why would u allow it to change?
3. Faction change. This is by far the biggest fail blizzard implemented IMHO.
It peaked about 12 months after release so this is old news. Hopefully people realise they have OCD and move onto a new game as there are many release since WoW which are superior in every way. It's almost like WoW is the easiest to play and there are people there so everyone keeps playing.
I know they are all repetitive but lets face it, WoW is the king of repetition.
Heya, To answer your question, yeah, i think it has peaked. Why ? It's blizzard's fault. In their quest for cash they unleashed a series of features and allowed some stuff to happen that in the past would have been unthinkable. 1. IMHO the fact that nowadays everything is so easy to earn - gear, raiding etc etc etc is a major turnoff of the players. I heard so many people complaining that the game is too easy now. 2. Name/Race change. That's just stupid. A character is defined by name and race. Why would u allow it to change? 3. Faction change. This is by far the biggest fail blizzard implemented IMHO.
Lets look at each point separately, shall we?
Of course Blizzard is on a "quest for cash", thats one of the major purposes for their activities. But the fact that they have convinced millions upon millions of players to stay subscribed for more than 5 years now, demonstrates that they must be doing quite a number of things right. When all is said and done, WoW is a good game up to level cap. But now with the addition of the dungeon finder, that allows many more people access to all of that content.
Your first point that things are "too easy" is entirely subjective. Too easy compared to what? Its obvious that the majority of Blizzards player base doesn't agree. If you mean that good gear(that allows one to be more effective in both PvE and PvP) is easier to gain access to, I'd have to agree. But I do not consider that to be negative. In fact, with the addition of the dungeon finder and emblem gear, more people have access to higher level content, and can't be steam rolled quite so easily by high raid geared players. While that may annoy the raid types, they make up a smaller fraction of the player base, than those who are now benefiting.
Second, name/race change. Thats simply an option available for those who choose to use it. Yes, it can be abused(and no doubt is), but lacking a demand for that service, Blizzard would hardly have added it. Not to mention that it costs $25, so most people aren't going to use it that frequently.
Third, faction change. This one I can see more than name/race change. Each character takes a certain amount of time to level and gear up. If one has friends in the other faction, and wishes to play with them, why should one have to start all over?
When have we ever seen a report on another MMO peaking? If WoW does peak at over 11 million then how long will it take to loose 10 million?
It's fairly pointless to keep asking if it is peaking. Blizzard is already moving on (new MMO project), the industry is already starting to dabble in new MMO's to test the water (Global Agenda, Darkfall, Mortal Online). What else is there to gain from WoW slipping slightly?
MMO wish list:
-Changeable worlds -Solid non level based game -Sharks with lasers attached to their heads
<snip> Your first point that things are "too easy" is entirely subjective. Too easy compared to what? Its obvious that the majority of Blizzards player base doesn't agree. If you mean that good gear(that allows one to be more effective in both PvE and PvP) is easier to gain access to, I'd have to agree. But I do not consider that to be negative. In fact, with the addition of the dungeon finder and emblem gear, more people have access to higher level content, and can't be steam rolled quite so easily by high raid geared players. While that may annoy the raid types, they make up a smaller fraction of the player base, than those who are now benefiting. <snip>
It is not entirely subjective. Over the last year (or years) the game has been made easier than what it was. This is not subjective, the changes are apparent.
Some examples:
1. There are no longer aggressive monsters in the starting (level 1-5) areas.
2. All content before level 60 have had monster health reduced by 30%, many elite monsters are no longer elite. As a result group quests can now be solo done.
3. End bosses of low level dungeons have had their level reduced.
4. Experience needed to level is halved before level 60. It is much easier to reach that level now.
5. Mounts can now be used at level 20 and fast mounts at level 40. Instead of level 40 and 60. The price of mounts is now 1/10th of what it was. As a result it is much easier to gain faster travel and starting with flying at level 60 instead of 70, you will definately notice that completing quests has become trivial.
6. Good gear to start raiding is much easier to get.
7. Dungeon finder makes it very easy to farm heroics (wich they should not be called). Now this point is very positive, I love the dungeon finder, but I will not deny that it makes it easier.
I agree that none of this is neccesary negative, but it does make it easier than how it was.
Do I think that the game was better a few years ago? Overall no, there is much more to do in the game now. But it is obvious that everything has become easier. And the reason is most likely to cater to a larger audience.
With the Chinese servers being down how can WoW peak ? If anything it lost alot of subs because of what is happening in China not to mention the fact that the game is old, people leave for newer games and WoW is no exception.
No the server are running again, but Blizzard forgot to mention in this pure PR line and to ease the fanboys hearts, that arround 5M out of those 11,5M where F2P or like they called it "betatest" accounts. Went for a brief second in September to retail again gathering some new subscriber numbers without agreement and then went back into "betatest" F2P mode again within days when the GAPP noticed.
highpopulated server whenever anyone tackles WoWs "ongoing growth" with plain facts, ignoring again they are an result of migration from all those low and dead server outnumbering them in the meanwhile, not any kind of population growth.
Not likewe can complain, it keeps the majority of people who dislike what MMORPGs make out anyway and just complain, out of the real MMORPGs. Though the fanboys make up for that.
Let's see what the official press conference of last night stated (instead of a German Aion fan).
"At this point, I would like to provide an update on the current situation with respect to World of Warcraft in China. I want to emphasize that NetEase is operating World of Warcraft normally in China right now as they have been since the relaunch on September 19.
I mentioned on the last call that World of Warcraft in China hit an all-time peak concurrency after the re-launch. We are still seeing continued strength in the region, with the game as popular as ever.
In celebration of the upcoming Chinese New Year holiday, NetEase is running a spring festival give back campaign. As part of this campaign, NetEase has temporarily suspended new account creations for one week and is rewarding our existing players with 21 hours of free game time, three hours per day.
We continue to work hard with our local partner to bring new content to our Chinese players. Wrath of the Lich King is currently under review by the relevant Chinese government authorities and NetEase has been cooperating with the various requests so that we can launch Wrath of the Lich King as soon as possible."
Blizzard is diplomatic as always.
Want a real mmorpg? Play WOW with experience turned off mode and be Pve_Pvp King at any level without a rat race.
I think WoW has peaked and as a Ex-WoW player myself, I admit I was badly treated by most players in WoW while a rare few I met where nice but they don't play anymore and since then all I see are Internet trolls, I've never reached level cap by the way because I've always had problems with what class I picked. I wished I played WoW when it was first released but now it's the biggest online community mess in history, why would you want to play a game where every is anti-social? Whatever happened to guilds, teamwork and actual friendship?
I think getting Epic gear without any hard effort is the biggest mistake Blizzard ever done, do you know what the term "Epic" means? Back in Classic WoW, Epic gear actually meant something, it meant you beaten a powerful boss and your reward was one of the best rewards you ever gained. But nowhere days it doesn't mean anything, you can just collect tokens and exchange it for Epics, how can this be rewarding? The rewards should be Rare items, not Epics!!!
Of course WoW has peaked, otherwise there wouldnt be so many haters (hating because they find no more fun in it) not bash. Not even going to bother with this lack luster expansion. Its just meant to draw in more hype.
WOW has lost more subscribers probably by a factor of 10 times more than most MMORPS ever gain.
The fact that after all this time they are able to replace them at a steady rate over several years speaks volumes to the appeal of their advertising and the game it self, especially to those who've never played MMORPG's (who's numbers are legion compared to those of us who have)
Let's see, at this rate of (not) decline, the game will probably end.... never.
My grandchildren will be playing WOW one day and telling me about their level 142 Murloc Paladin.
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
Originally posted by RudyRaccoon The rewards should be Rare items, not Epics!!!
You are right. There should be rare rewards that people get but the problem with that is how does one get a rare item. Does that mean that only raiders should get them? Because I liked to raid just as much as the leet kiddies did but I couldn't stay up late because I have a job that I get up at 5:30 am each morning for. So how am I supposed to get a rare item if I can't if i can't stay up late on a week night to raid?
I paid my 15 a month to play and I played hard like everyone else did but because of my job I couldn't sign up for all the raids and because I couldn't sign up for all the raids I couldn't get in on the rare raid I could do because I wasn't considered "hard core" enough even though I was better at my class than their "class leader" was. Oh, then there were the assholes that would run pugs but do a Armory check before letting you raid with them. Well just because I don't have the best in slot gear doesn't mean I don't know how to play. That sort of mentality was one of the driving forces in my decision to quit playing WoW all together finally.
That is what Blizzard was trying to eliminate by making it easier to find groups for dungeons and why people are complaining that it is now too easy. Now just start dropping random rare item drops to roll on into the mix and you won't be able to please anyone cause the leet kiddies will cry that they deserve it more because they can stay up and play all night and raid hardcore but the lucky guildless nub now has a better dagger than they do and doesn't deserve it just from a lucky drop. Well hell, I can't raid for it, but i can pay for it, so why not start selling items like that in a in-game store? What, that's not fair either?
I kind of wonder if he's being ecconomical with the truth . With the problems Warcraft is having in China i doubt they have back the all the 5 million subscribers that they lost there when it was banned . Maybe he's just talking a good talk . After all in buisness everyone tells the truth all the time don't they ? I have doubts that WoW still has 11.5 million subscribers .Still if it does good luck to them . It goes to show whatever way you look at it that other developers just hav'nt understood the mechanics of what makes a popular mmorpg yet . In 5 years thats the really sad thing . When theres a viable and attractive alternative to Warcraft out there its subscriber rates will go into freefall . What I think will eventually happen is other developers will finally get it and start producing great mmos and you wont just get one decent one there will be several over a relativly short period of time (1-2 years maybe) . WoW like the anything wont last forever but by the time it dies it'll seam like it has .
Comments
The you of 4 years ago with bright eyes and and eager mind would not be saying what you have today. You are biased because you have played the game for so long that you are burned out. Now I ask you. In those 4 years, can you not say you enjoyed them? If you didn't that isn't Blizzard's fault. It is your own. Your own fault for not recognizing an addiction.
Trade chat is spam chat, use the Auction house, it is better anyhow. Try rolling on an RP server less idiots and children on them. Also whoever does a Gear Score before an instance doesn't know anything about the game. Stats mean something, but the add on for gear score is a joke and is not a proper indicator of anyones gear. Hence why I love the random dungeon feature. Never had any issues with using it except people not doing the instance right and causing a wipe, but that happens with other groups too.
Owner/Admin of GodlessGamer.com - Gaming news and reviews for the godless.
dude if any group have to ask you a prer-trip check to take you in their group just use a pug instead its random group and often they got sucky gear but teir game is top notch!
With the majority of MMO's struggling to retain 300K subscribers I can't see Blizzard weeping over numbers in the millions after all 11+ million subscribers is 110+ million Euro in the bank everymonth or 1.2+ Billion Euro a year, I'd love to *ahem* "fail" like that myself.
WoW isn't going anywhere, at least not anytime soon. Cataclysm will spike another surge of interest and I suspect that Blizz can push the envelope for a few more expansions to come.
The appeal is obvious, highly populated worlds (yes, you can actually play with friends and make them in WoW because people like playing it, conversely you also meet a greater number of ****wits due to the population density), it's easy to play, in parts it is strikingly beautiful (including the old world content - I ran some of the classic dungeons as a solo lvl 80 the other day and enjoyed them hugely they are gorgeous) and there's plenty of variety in the game play too.
Yes, it's not terribly challenging but that's part of the joy for many gamers. The only way WoW dies is for someone to do something better, not just for a hardcore MMO audience, but for the millions of casuals who just want to have fun.
Until dev's understand it is WoW they have to compete with, and not just the first release of WoW but WoW as it is now, then nothing will come close. I do have high hopes for the Bioware Star Wars game, but seeing is believing and playing more so.
I have considered going to a RP server, but didn't really feel like shelling out $25 not knowing whether I was just wasting my money or not. I will agree with you about the random dungeon feature though. I think it's a great addition to the game!
I'm a console gamer, as well. I was in no way trying to put down console gamers.
I was comparing most of WoW's audience to the likeness of most of Guitar Hero's audience.
Most of them had only had brief experiences with video games before taking a leap and jumping onto the casual bandwagon.
That's what I meant by "non-gamers."
Check out the MUD I'm making!
Great post. It's too bad most people will take this as a fanboi post or something. Many valid points that people choose to ignore. It's NOT blizzards fault new games do so badly, it's the devs of those games themselves...
So it's finally hapenning....
yes you are right ,its like a women once you go black you dont come back ,same for wow they play wow till they are burned then
those player polinate mmo like a busy never being satisfied by any mmo but not knowing why
you are right on that
they will make sure to flood the internet with HD stream,video etc
they ll make sure to do lot of interview on the net on their own website and all other place avail also in HD
in tv and all the place any can think of
thats where lot of company lack
lot of game cant even show their own face in HD on the web so interviwer dont even want to go there.it speak ton about the dedication .when you cant even do an event in HD lets say on ustream or xfire
player seing those very low quality image are like men that game graphic suck often gamer try to explain in game is
very nice!but the damage is done,if they cant see a stream online they ll steer clear of those game wich is a shame i think
Heya,
To answer your question, yeah, i think it has peaked.
Why ? It's blizzard's fault. In their quest for cash they unleashed a series of features and allowed some stuff to happen that in the past would have been unthinkable.
1. IMHO the fact that nowadays everything is so easy to earn - gear, raiding etc etc etc is a major turnoff of the players. I heard so many people complaining that the game is too easy now.
2. Name/Race change. That's just stupid. A character is defined by name and race. Why would u allow it to change?
3. Faction change. This is by far the biggest fail blizzard implemented IMHO.
Chani's Rants - http://chanichtau.wordpress.com
It peaked about 12 months after release so this is old news. Hopefully people realise they have OCD and move onto a new game as there are many release since WoW which are superior in every way. It's almost like WoW is the easiest to play and there are people there so everyone keeps playing.
I know they are all repetitive but lets face it, WoW is the king of repetition.
Lets look at each point separately, shall we?
Of course Blizzard is on a "quest for cash", thats one of the major purposes for their activities. But the fact that they have convinced millions upon millions of players to stay subscribed for more than 5 years now, demonstrates that they must be doing quite a number of things right. When all is said and done, WoW is a good game up to level cap. But now with the addition of the dungeon finder, that allows many more people access to all of that content.
Your first point that things are "too easy" is entirely subjective. Too easy compared to what? Its obvious that the majority of Blizzards player base doesn't agree. If you mean that good gear(that allows one to be more effective in both PvE and PvP) is easier to gain access to, I'd have to agree. But I do not consider that to be negative. In fact, with the addition of the dungeon finder and emblem gear, more people have access to higher level content, and can't be steam rolled quite so easily by high raid geared players. While that may annoy the raid types, they make up a smaller fraction of the player base, than those who are now benefiting.
Second, name/race change. Thats simply an option available for those who choose to use it. Yes, it can be abused(and no doubt is), but lacking a demand for that service, Blizzard would hardly have added it. Not to mention that it costs $25, so most people aren't going to use it that frequently.
Third, faction change. This one I can see more than name/race change. Each character takes a certain amount of time to level and gear up. If one has friends in the other faction, and wishes to play with them, why should one have to start all over?
All in all this must be a sad day for WOW haters.
11.5 million confirmed subs by Blizzard's CEO in 2010 and after the following releases over this period:
AoC, War, DF, Aion, CO, ST, a few dozen FTP 100% copies targetting its player base.
And a new Azeroth , sorry Cata, to release in a few months...
Remember you can't lie in a financial report about a stock rated company, so the defenders have their subs.
In recent weeks I read up on some of Blizzard's promised new features in Cata, it looks as if WOW will be there for the long haul.
Want a real mmorpg? Play WOW with experience turned off mode and be Pve_Pvp King at any level without a rat race.
who really cares?
When have we ever seen a report on another MMO peaking? If WoW does peak at over 11 million then how long will it take to loose 10 million?
It's fairly pointless to keep asking if it is peaking. Blizzard is already moving on (new MMO project), the industry is already starting to dabble in new MMO's to test the water (Global Agenda, Darkfall, Mortal Online). What else is there to gain from WoW slipping slightly?
MMO wish list:
-Changeable worlds
-Solid non level based game
-Sharks with lasers attached to their heads
WoW is old, it needs a new graphic engine a very new story from what we can begin... it's boooooring
Older players quitting, "ENDGAME!" etc. And newer players just starting out...
Peaked? maybe...
- Ross
It is not entirely subjective. Over the last year (or years) the game has been made easier than what it was. This is not subjective, the changes are apparent.
Some examples:
1. There are no longer aggressive monsters in the starting (level 1-5) areas.
2. All content before level 60 have had monster health reduced by 30%, many elite monsters are no longer elite. As a result group quests can now be solo done.
3. End bosses of low level dungeons have had their level reduced.
4. Experience needed to level is halved before level 60. It is much easier to reach that level now.
5. Mounts can now be used at level 20 and fast mounts at level 40. Instead of level 40 and 60. The price of mounts is now 1/10th of what it was. As a result it is much easier to gain faster travel and starting with flying at level 60 instead of 70, you will definately notice that completing quests has become trivial.
6. Good gear to start raiding is much easier to get.
7. Dungeon finder makes it very easy to farm heroics (wich they should not be called). Now this point is very positive, I love the dungeon finder, but I will not deny that it makes it easier.
I agree that none of this is neccesary negative, but it does make it easier than how it was.
Do I think that the game was better a few years ago? Overall no, there is much more to do in the game now. But it is obvious that everything has become easier. And the reason is most likely to cater to a larger audience.
No the server are running again, but Blizzard forgot to mention in this pure PR line and to ease the fanboys hearts, that arround 5M out of those 11,5M where F2P or like they called it "betatest" accounts. Went for a brief second in September to retail again gathering some new subscriber numbers without agreement and then went back into "betatest" F2P mode again within days when the GAPP noticed.
highpopulated server whenever anyone tackles WoWs "ongoing growth" with plain facts, ignoring again they are an result of migration from all those low and dead server outnumbering them in the meanwhile, not any kind of population growth.
Not likewe can complain, it keeps the majority of people who dislike what MMORPGs make out anyway and just complain, out of the real MMORPGs. Though the fanboys make up for that.
Let's see what the official press conference of last night stated (instead of a German Aion fan).
"At this point, I would like to provide an update on the current situation with respect to World of Warcraft in China. I want to emphasize that NetEase is operating World of Warcraft normally in China right now as they have been since the relaunch on September 19.
I mentioned on the last call that World of Warcraft in China hit an all-time peak concurrency after the re-launch. We are still seeing continued strength in the region, with the game as popular as ever.
In celebration of the upcoming Chinese New Year holiday, NetEase is running a spring festival give back campaign. As part of this campaign, NetEase has temporarily suspended new account creations for one week and is rewarding our existing players with 21 hours of free game time, three hours per day.
We continue to work hard with our local partner to bring new content to our Chinese players. Wrath of the Lich King is currently under review by the relevant Chinese government authorities and NetEase has been cooperating with the various requests so that we can launch Wrath of the Lich King as soon as possible."
Blizzard is diplomatic as always.
Want a real mmorpg? Play WOW with experience turned off mode and be Pve_Pvp King at any level without a rat race.
I think WoW has peaked and as a Ex-WoW player myself, I admit I was badly treated by most players in WoW while a rare few I met where nice but they don't play anymore and since then all I see are Internet trolls, I've never reached level cap by the way because I've always had problems with what class I picked. I wished I played WoW when it was first released but now it's the biggest online community mess in history, why would you want to play a game where every is anti-social? Whatever happened to guilds, teamwork and actual friendship?
I think getting Epic gear without any hard effort is the biggest mistake Blizzard ever done, do you know what the term "Epic" means? Back in Classic WoW, Epic gear actually meant something, it meant you beaten a powerful boss and your reward was one of the best rewards you ever gained. But nowhere days it doesn't mean anything, you can just collect tokens and exchange it for Epics, how can this be rewarding? The rewards should be Rare items, not Epics!!!
Of course WoW has peaked, otherwise there wouldnt be so many haters (hating because they find no more fun in it) not bash. Not even going to bother with this lack luster expansion. Its just meant to draw in more hype.
WOW has lost more subscribers probably by a factor of 10 times more than most MMORPS ever gain.
The fact that after all this time they are able to replace them at a steady rate over several years speaks volumes to the appeal of their advertising and the game it self, especially to those who've never played MMORPG's (who's numbers are legion compared to those of us who have)
Let's see, at this rate of (not) decline, the game will probably end.... never.
My grandchildren will be playing WOW one day and telling me about their level 142 Murloc Paladin.
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
You are right. There should be rare rewards that people get but the problem with that is how does one get a rare item. Does that mean that only raiders should get them? Because I liked to raid just as much as the leet kiddies did but I couldn't stay up late because I have a job that I get up at 5:30 am each morning for. So how am I supposed to get a rare item if I can't if i can't stay up late on a week night to raid?
I paid my 15 a month to play and I played hard like everyone else did but because of my job I couldn't sign up for all the raids and because I couldn't sign up for all the raids I couldn't get in on the rare raid I could do because I wasn't considered "hard core" enough even though I was better at my class than their "class leader" was. Oh, then there were the assholes that would run pugs but do a Armory check before letting you raid with them. Well just because I don't have the best in slot gear doesn't mean I don't know how to play. That sort of mentality was one of the driving forces in my decision to quit playing WoW all together finally.
That is what Blizzard was trying to eliminate by making it easier to find groups for dungeons and why people are complaining that it is now too easy. Now just start dropping random rare item drops to roll on into the mix and you won't be able to please anyone cause the leet kiddies will cry that they deserve it more because they can stay up and play all night and raid hardcore but the lucky guildless nub now has a better dagger than they do and doesn't deserve it just from a lucky drop. Well hell, I can't raid for it, but i can pay for it, so why not start selling items like that in a in-game store? What, that's not fair either?
I miss being able to just have fun in a game.
I kind of wonder if he's being ecconomical with the truth . With the problems Warcraft is having in China i doubt they have back the all the 5 million subscribers that they lost there when it was banned . Maybe he's just talking a good talk . After all in buisness everyone tells the truth all the time don't they ? I have doubts that WoW still has 11.5 million subscribers .Still if it does good luck to them . It goes to show whatever way you look at it that other developers just hav'nt understood the mechanics of what makes a popular mmorpg yet . In 5 years thats the really sad thing . When theres a viable and attractive alternative to Warcraft out there its subscriber rates will go into freefall . What I think will eventually happen is other developers will finally get it and start producing great mmos and you wont just get one decent one there will be several over a relativly short period of time (1-2 years maybe) . WoW like the anything wont last forever but by the time it dies it'll seam like it has .
WOW = YAWN