I have played a lot of MMOs, and WoW most definitely had the most 'EZ Mode' end game. Up until I played Rift and spammed one button that is.
WoWs latest expansion made the dungeons 'slightly' harder than before, mostly due to limiting healers, and everyone jumped up and down saying it was too hard and that they were rage quitting.
The problem is that most games are dumbing down themselves to compete with WoW accessibility. Only two games at the moment that have a moderate challenge would be Age of Conan godslayer mode dungeons and T4 raids and Everquest 2 hard mode raids.
- the game is catered towards casuals and those who need "simplistic" combat and gameflow
- you have no risk of losing items when you die
- your hand is held throughout the game in regards to quests and skilling up
And on and on and on and on. I played WoW before Battlegrounds came out, and I will never go back to a game like WoW (read: most of the MMO genre) ever again.
I'll never leave the sandbox genre ever again. Themeparks almost completely destroyed this genre, thank god for the developers who still are willing to take chances.
Again, where is the EZ mode? In the leveling? Really? I've played games where leveling was "hardcore", EQ, FFXI, VG and frankly, I'd rather do it WoW's way then any other. Leveling should be fun not work. It should let your learn you class not make you scream in frustration and log off because you lost a level after dying. So for leveling, if that's EZ mode, than please, give me more. But other than the leveling game....what is really considered EZ mode?
Well the leveling is not just EZ mode, it is so easy that you level out of an area before you can experience all the quests and explore the game to its fullest.
If there would be an "/xp off" switch, I would use it half of the time.
If you wan't to do some instances inbetween leveling it gets even worse.
And I am not talking about the different areas for the same level, I talk about 1 area of a given level.
So rolling an alt does not really help here.
Leveling used to mean at least something, and you could do some instances, all of the quests and still fight yellow/green mobs. Now you get to grey in no time.
WoW leveling used to be not hard, now it really is easy mode, so easy that there is no challenge whatsoever.
I find this a real shame, because I really like what Blizzard has done with the questing after TBC ( WotLK and Cata ) : phasing, cutscenes, vehicles, humor, all in all it is a really nice package imho, add some instances to the mix and you have a really nice variaty and alot of content.
But like I said, when I am halfway an area I am fighting green or grey mobs, no challenge at all.
I guess you can blame me that I do not like to skip the content.
If you are interested in subscription or PCU numbers for MMORPG's, check out my site : http://mmodata.blogspot.be/ Favorite MMORPG's : DAoC pre ToA-NF, SWG Pre CU-NGE, EVE Online
i'm sure people usually mean the leveling in WoW is easy, "old school" mmo's it would take at least a year to get high level if that. Lineage 2 is a great example of that.
Anyways that's the only thing I can see being considered easy. Raids in WoW have varied in difficulty, I think only WOTLK had "easy" raids since you could pug most. I think only a handful of guilds actually downed C'thun when AQ40 was around. Competitive PVP in WoW is definitely not easy, in fact it's the most skillful part of the game or any mmo i've ever played.
Ranked bg's and Arenas, the people who are top on those ladders are very good and pvp.
It is also in the progression. The talent tree has been severely dumbed down and it is pretty straight forward which gear is the best rather than having a huge line of gear that is equally balanced.
Agreed, the talent tree was severely gutted, which is a shame, it really gave players choices, and I really tried to do various different builds, often off the beaten path.
If you are interested in subscription or PCU numbers for MMORPG's, check out my site : http://mmodata.blogspot.be/ Favorite MMORPG's : DAoC pre ToA-NF, SWG Pre CU-NGE, EVE Online
I agree with the OP. WoW is not an easy game, it must be the leveling, which is easy where people draw that conclusion because thats as far as they ever got.
I agree with the OP. WoW is not an easy game, it must be the leveling, which is easy where people draw that conclusion because thats as far as they ever got.
No, we mean end game, and yes its easy in comparison to other games.
Again, where is the EZ mode? In the leveling? Really? I've played games where leveling was "hardcore", EQ, FFXI, VG and frankly, I'd rather do it WoW's way then any other. Leveling should be fun not work. It should let your learn you class not make you scream in frustration and log off because you lost a level after dying. So for leveling, if that's EZ mode, than please, give me more. But other than the leveling game....what is really considered EZ mode?
Well the leveling is not just EZ mode, it is so easy that you level out of an area before you can experience all the quests and explore the game to its fullest.
There's simply an abundance of quests. Would you prefer if they removed 15 quests from each zone, making it so doing all the remaining quests would get you to just the right level to move on to the next zone?
If there would be an "/xp off" switch, I would use it half of the time.
There is. I believe it was implemented primarily for twinks.
If you wan't to do some instances inbetween leveling it gets even worse. And I am not talking about the different areas for the same level, I talk about 1 area of a given level. So rolling an alt does not really help here.
Overall, I definitely agree. I came back early in cata primarily to check out the new *old world,* and I constantly leveled much faster than I wanted to. This was especially saddening because the stories of the Human starting zones were superb (and that's coming from a night elf at heart).I wanted to (and did) finish the quest lines in Westfall and Redridge simply becuase they were so compelling, even though the quests were gray by the end. Of course I had to complete the obligatory Deadmines run because that dungeon ties in so well with the Westfall story. I could have skipped Duskwood, another zone I love, entirely.
But this doesn't have anything to do with "easy" versus "hard." It's just a fast leveling system. There is an abundance of quests. I think what I and the OP are trying to ask is is the term "EZ mode" simply synonymous with "fast?" As I've said in previous posts, leveling in an MMO is almost never *difficult* or *challenging.* It's always easy. Sometimes it's a long, slow process compared to games like WoW, but this definitely should not be confused with hard.
(The above applies to the below as well).
Leveling used to mean at least something, and you could do some instances, all of the quests and still fight yellow/green mobs. Now you get to grey in no time.
WoW leveling used to be not hard, now it really is easy mode, so easy that there is no challenge whatsoever.
I find this a real shame, because I really like what Blizzard has done with the questing after TBC ( WotLK and Cata ) : phasing, cutscenes, vehicles, humor, all in all it is a really nice package imho, add some instances to the mix and you have a really nice variaty and alot of content.
But like I said, when I am halfway an area I am fighting green or grey mobs, no challenge at all.
I guess you can blame me that I do not like to skip the content.
Overall I agree with your sentiments. In a given zone, I greatly prefer to complete all the content, especially given WoW's linear phasing story-telling model. Each zone tends to tell one continuous story from beginning to end. Leaving the zone halfway through because you've surpassed its level interval feels disruptive to the story. This isn't the case with all zones, but it is the cae with several.
I'd also greatly prefer the solo experience to be quite challenging. I feel the lower levels should introduce players to their basic class mechanics, but after, say, level 20, content should gradually encourage players to use advanced tactics to achieve their goals, whatever they may be. WoW's 1-60 leveling experience feels like it has the exact same difficulty. 60-70 the quests maintain the same difficulty, while the dungeons become slightly more difficult (Ie. you actually need to have a tank and healer, whereas you definitely do not in the current pre-BC dungeons). 70-80 the quests still retain the same exact difficulty (although it does sometimes seem a little more dangerous to AoE several mobs as certain classes). Dungeons get a little more healing/tanking intensive, but that's about it. Then the game finally starts to scale to the next level in the new 80-85 zones. Then heroics and raids etc...
But again, I return to my previous point. Almost no game has a challenging leveling experience. This isn't a WoW specific problem. A previous poster listed Darkfall as a game with a semi-challenging gameplay experience while leveling, but I cannot attest to that as I haven't played Darkfall. I've played several MMOs, but not all.
- the game is catered towards casuals and those who need "simplistic" combat and gameflow
- you have no risk of losing items when you die
- your hand is held throughout the game in regards to quests and skilling up
And on and on and on and on. I played WoW before Battlegrounds came out, and I will never go back to a game like WoW (read: most of the MMO genre) ever again.
I'll never leave the sandbox genre ever again. Themeparks almost completely destroyed this genre, thank god for the developers who still are willing to take chances.
You just turned the topic from EZ mode to sandbox/themepark. It's one or the other. Otherwise, you just have an issue with themeparks, which is fine, that's your opinion. Mine is for sandparks to be the leading style of MMORPGs, hopefully. But that still has nothing to do with the terminology "EZ Mode"
As a matter of fact, after reading the various posts here. NONE of you are in agreement on what EZ mode means, which proves to me that's it's just a handy catch phrase complainers use to define everything they think is wrong in the genre.
Coupled with other catch phrases like "casual", "dumbed down", "WoW clone", "carebear". I think I have seen maybe 1 instance where "casual" and "WoW clone" were used correctly. The others are just negative in every aspect and only come from antagonists who would rather spew trash than actual intelligent conversation.
I would just like to say I have been playing MMO's since UO and I find nothing that much more chalenging about the old games than I do the new games. A game being more of a timesink i.e. grinding and having a less intuitive interface does not make it more uber or hardcore. I think many long time MMO players just refuse to take off the rose colored glasses when it come to thier first MMO loves. Hey that's natural, that's human nature. I just think it shouldn't blind you and make you close minded about new games and experiences.
Look in the end we all have the right to like or dislike a game, that's just a matter of personal taste. I think what bothers me the most about posters on this forum and gamers on all forums in general is the need to impose youre opinions on others. Questioning some ones skill, maturity or intelligence based on what games they enjoy will never make sense to me and is one of the things I hate most about gamers. Just play what you like it's that simple.
It seems to me, elocke, that you are unwilling to accept anyone else's answer to your question. Your statement that "NONE of you are in agreement on what EZ mode means, which proves to me that's it's just a handy catch phrase complainers use to define everything they think is wrong in the genre." either says that you aren't even reading this thread or you are so focused on trying to seem smarter than anyone else that you aren't really listening.
There are plenty of posts in this thread that agree that the levelling in WoW is too fast. Which, to them, is "EZ Mode". So, to make it simple, I would assume most would believe that levelling too fast is "EZ Mode". And, as I said before, the majority of people using this phrase are MMO Vets, I assume. Coming from games that were more of a grind than a ride. People want to feel like they have earned their position. In WoW, it feels, to me, more like skipping down the yellow brick road.
To quote my dad and many others before and after him; "Anything worth having is worth working for!".
It seems to me, elocke, that you are unwilling to accept anyone else's answer to your question. Your statement that "NONE of you are in agreement on what EZ mode means, which proves to me that's it's just a handy catch phrase complainers use to define everything they think is wrong in the genre." either says that you aren't even reading this thread or you are so focused on trying to seem smarter than anyone else that you aren't really listening.
There are plenty of posts in this thread that agree that the levelling in WoW is too fast. Which, to them, is "EZ Mode". So, to make it simple, I would assume most would believe that levelling too fast is "EZ Mode". And, as I said before, the majority of people using this phrase are MMO Vets, I assume. Coming from games that were more of a grind than a ride. People want to feel like they have earned their position. In WoW, it feels, to me, more like skipping down the yellow brick road.
To quote my dad and many others before and after him; "Anything worth having is worth working for!".
You're right. I don't accept the EZ mode means leveling is easier excuse. I explained that in my OP. If everyone agreed that EZ mode meant easy leveling than why don't I see the catch phrase being used for games like LOTRO, EQ2, Aion, AoC, pretty much every game SINCE WoW launched as they all have the same leveling system of questhubs and zones per level ranges. You don't, therefore, it must be something else about WoW that causes the phrase to be thrown about.
It seems to me, elocke, that you are unwilling to accept anyone else's answer to your question. Your statement that "NONE of you are in agreement on what EZ mode means, which proves to me that's it's just a handy catch phrase complainers use to define everything they think is wrong in the genre." either says that you aren't even reading this thread or you are so focused on trying to seem smarter than anyone else that you aren't really listening.
There are plenty of posts in this thread that agree that the levelling in WoW is too fast. Which, to them, is "EZ Mode". So, to make it simple, I would assume most would believe that levelling too fast is "EZ Mode". And, as I said before, the majority of people using this phrase are MMO Vets, I assume. Coming from games that were more of a grind than a ride. People want to feel like they have earned their position. In WoW, it feels, to me, more like skipping down the yellow brick road.
To quote my dad and many others before and after him; "Anything worth having is worth working for!".
You're right. I don't accept the EZ mode means leveling is easier excuse. I explained that in my OP. If everyone agreed that EZ mode meant easy leveling than why don't I see the catch phrase being used for games like LOTRO, EQ2, Aion, AoC, pretty much every game SINCE WoW launched as they all have the same leveling system of questhubs and zones per level ranges. You don't, therefore, it must be something else about WoW that causes the phrase to be thrown about.
You don't really hear discussions comparing those games to more "hardcore" examples. Debates comparing WoW to others seem to start up anew every day. My theory on that one is that WoW is more often talked about than the other examples. Therefore, you would hear the phrase more often in reference to WoW. That's just a theory though. I know it's hard for you to understand, but levelling in WoW is even "easier" than the games you mentioned. It seems that the consensus is that "EZ Mode" means faster/easy levelling/combat. (Meaning it's the most popular answer in this thread) Whether or not you "accept" it, is irrelevant. You asked what "EZ Mode" is and the majority answer is your winner.
I don't mean to sound like a jerk. You asked for opinions on what "EZMode" meant. Yet, you claim that the majority of the answers are invalid. I understand you are trying to play semantics here. We should all understand, by now, that MMO speak doesn't actually take into account the true dictionary meaning of words.
I will agree that a lot of the people using words like this topic are doing so in an effort to insult and/or troll. Much the same as the "WoW Clone" phrase users.
Because you get epics and top tier gear by doing, heroics. And they make all other heroics expect ZG and Za obsolete(Why its obsolete? Well because you get more points by doing zazg than the others, so why would you do anything else? Its pointless) when they released patch 4.1. And they made all the raids obsolete expect firelands in 4.2. So frigging dumb and easy.
How will the playerbase ever learn? When they can just wait a few weeks or a month, then get the best gear handed on a platter without any effort. The attitude is sickening, and if people don't see that, I feel sorry for you.
What makes WOW not easy mode has nothing to do with the content. What makes it hard is finding at least 9 other people to show up regularly on time and prepared for the nights raiding.
Raiding is easy. What do you have to do but to memorize up to 3 mechanics per phase with anywhere from 2-4 phases per boss. Memorize your dps rotation/tank rotation/ and/or prioritize your heals and your golden.
Now find 9 other people can have the capacity to memorize what they need to memorize.. that's it
WOW is easy. Finding 9 other people that find it easy is hard.
Seriously, I want to know what makes people spew vitriol and call WoW an "EZ Mode" game. I've played it and loved it. Got burnt out on it, and have come back off and on because other MMOs just don't have the sheer amount of polish, quality and content that WoW does. So where is this EZ mode aspect? I've gotten to the endgame multiple times and have NEVER beaten high end raids without them being 2 years old and my level far above the intended level they were built for. Even Cata's heroics are a PITA and I rarely do them do to difficulty and the small fact it takes forever to queue for them.
PVP, I get my arse handed to me all the time, although I do enjoy PVP from time to time. I'm not the best PVPer, but I like the fast pace of it and the whole side game it offers next to the PVE game.
Again, where is the EZ mode? In the leveling? Really? I've played games where leveling was "hardcore", EQ, FFXI, VG and frankly, I'd rather do it WoW's way then any other. Leveling should be fun not work. It should let your learn you class not make you scream in frustration and log off because you lost a level after dying. So for leveling, if that's EZ mode, than please, give me more. But other than the leveling game....what is really considered EZ mode?
Now, I know WoW needs a heavy dose of DEPTH, especially with endgame and crafting, but this doesn't have anything to do with Hardcore or EZ mode. Depth to me is having so many options I can spend a night delving through character builds or professions or, like some games ALTERNATE ADVANCEMENT mechanics. But again, this is game depth, not this wierd "EZ mode" griping I'm hearing.
So is it just an issue, once again, of horrible english? Not using words correctly to define an issue with the game? Sitting up there with nomeclature such as "Dumbed Down" or "WoW Clone" or the even more vague "hardcore/casual" branding?
Please, enlighten me. Let's try to use proper English though, alright?
It's easy because there is no challenge in soloing X9 levels and farming the last one forever.
This game is about accumulating token, then loot, then achievments... as for raids being hard, it's all about the perfect execution of a designed strategy. Downing a boss is fun the first time and boring the 30th time, because there is no room for creativity and personnal feats.
My addiction History: >> EQ1 2000-2004 - Shaman/Bard/Wizard/Monk - nolife raid-whore >> WoW 2004-2009 + Cataclysm for 2 months - hardcore casual >> Current status : done with MMO, too old for that crap.
Comments
WALL OF TEXT>>>EYES>>>>MY EYES.....
Mouth-breather 1 : "Lawlz, I 2 shot joo!"
Mouth-breather 2: "Grrr"
Mouth-breather 1: "Umadbro? I am teh skillz!"
Except now it's more like:
"Lawlz, I 10 shot joo!"
"N3g. I feel fantastic and I'm still alive."
"Wate wat?"
"Rouge has healz n00b."
The fact that the latest add for Wow is specifically saying 'PUG Friendly Raids' sums up the situation rather well I would think.
"The knowledge of the theory of logic has no tendency whatever to make men good reasoners." - Thomas B. Macaulay
"The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge." - Daniel J. Boorstin
I have played a lot of MMOs, and WoW most definitely had the most 'EZ Mode' end game. Up until I played Rift and spammed one button that is.
WoWs latest expansion made the dungeons 'slightly' harder than before, mostly due to limiting healers, and everyone jumped up and down saying it was too hard and that they were rage quitting.
The problem is that most games are dumbing down themselves to compete with WoW accessibility. Only two games at the moment that have a moderate challenge would be Age of Conan godslayer mode dungeons and T4 raids and Everquest 2 hard mode raids.
It doesn't matter if its easy or hard, it is the loss of community that stopped me subscribing (before the latest expansion).
Chins
It's easy-mode because of a bunch of reason.
- the game is catered towards casuals and those who need "simplistic" combat and gameflow
- you have no risk of losing items when you die
- your hand is held throughout the game in regards to quests and skilling up
And on and on and on and on. I played WoW before Battlegrounds came out, and I will never go back to a game like WoW (read: most of the MMO genre) ever again.
I'll never leave the sandbox genre ever again. Themeparks almost completely destroyed this genre, thank god for the developers who still are willing to take chances.
Well the leveling is not just EZ mode, it is so easy that you level out of an area before you can experience all the quests and explore the game to its fullest.
If there would be an "/xp off" switch, I would use it half of the time.
If you wan't to do some instances inbetween leveling it gets even worse.
And I am not talking about the different areas for the same level, I talk about 1 area of a given level.
So rolling an alt does not really help here.
Leveling used to mean at least something, and you could do some instances, all of the quests and still fight yellow/green mobs. Now you get to grey in no time.
WoW leveling used to be not hard, now it really is easy mode, so easy that there is no challenge whatsoever.
I find this a real shame, because I really like what Blizzard has done with the questing after TBC ( WotLK and Cata ) : phasing, cutscenes, vehicles, humor, all in all it is a really nice package imho, add some instances to the mix and you have a really nice variaty and alot of content.
But like I said, when I am halfway an area I am fighting green or grey mobs, no challenge at all.
I guess you can blame me that I do not like to skip the content.
If you are interested in subscription or PCU numbers for MMORPG's, check out my site :
http://mmodata.blogspot.be/
Favorite MMORPG's : DAoC pre ToA-NF, SWG Pre CU-NGE, EVE Online
i'm sure people usually mean the leveling in WoW is easy, "old school" mmo's it would take at least a year to get high level if that. Lineage 2 is a great example of that.
Anyways that's the only thing I can see being considered easy. Raids in WoW have varied in difficulty, I think only WOTLK had "easy" raids since you could pug most. I think only a handful of guilds actually downed C'thun when AQ40 was around. Competitive PVP in WoW is definitely not easy, in fact it's the most skillful part of the game or any mmo i've ever played.
Ranked bg's and Arenas, the people who are top on those ladders are very good and pvp.
Agreed, the talent tree was severely gutted, which is a shame, it really gave players choices, and I really tried to do various different builds, often off the beaten path.
If you are interested in subscription or PCU numbers for MMORPG's, check out my site :
http://mmodata.blogspot.be/
Favorite MMORPG's : DAoC pre ToA-NF, SWG Pre CU-NGE, EVE Online
I agree, you level too fast. gear is meaningless until 85 cause you grow out of it so soon. ruins all content/ ecomomy etc for anything below cap.
Chins
I agree with the OP. WoW is not an easy game, it must be the leveling, which is easy where people draw that conclusion because thats as far as they ever got.
Remember Old School Ultima Online
but End- many ppl aren't playing just to hit endgame, they are playing to enjoy the journey.
Chins
No, we mean end game, and yes its easy in comparison to other games.
You just turned the topic from EZ mode to sandbox/themepark. It's one or the other. Otherwise, you just have an issue with themeparks, which is fine, that's your opinion. Mine is for sandparks to be the leading style of MMORPGs, hopefully. But that still has nothing to do with the terminology "EZ Mode"
As a matter of fact, after reading the various posts here. NONE of you are in agreement on what EZ mode means, which proves to me that's it's just a handy catch phrase complainers use to define everything they think is wrong in the genre.
Coupled with other catch phrases like "casual", "dumbed down", "WoW clone", "carebear". I think I have seen maybe 1 instance where "casual" and "WoW clone" were used correctly. The others are just negative in every aspect and only come from antagonists who would rather spew trash than actual intelligent conversation.
I would just like to say I have been playing MMO's since UO and I find nothing that much more chalenging about the old games than I do the new games. A game being more of a timesink i.e. grinding and having a less intuitive interface does not make it more uber or hardcore. I think many long time MMO players just refuse to take off the rose colored glasses when it come to thier first MMO loves. Hey that's natural, that's human nature. I just think it shouldn't blind you and make you close minded about new games and experiences.
Look in the end we all have the right to like or dislike a game, that's just a matter of personal taste. I think what bothers me the most about posters on this forum and gamers on all forums in general is the need to impose youre opinions on others. Questioning some ones skill, maturity or intelligence based on what games they enjoy will never make sense to me and is one of the things I hate most about gamers. Just play what you like it's that simple.
No signature, I don't have a pen
It seems to me, elocke, that you are unwilling to accept anyone else's answer to your question. Your statement that "NONE of you are in agreement on what EZ mode means, which proves to me that's it's just a handy catch phrase complainers use to define everything they think is wrong in the genre." either says that you aren't even reading this thread or you are so focused on trying to seem smarter than anyone else that you aren't really listening.
There are plenty of posts in this thread that agree that the levelling in WoW is too fast. Which, to them, is "EZ Mode". So, to make it simple, I would assume most would believe that levelling too fast is "EZ Mode". And, as I said before, the majority of people using this phrase are MMO Vets, I assume. Coming from games that were more of a grind than a ride. People want to feel like they have earned their position. In WoW, it feels, to me, more like skipping down the yellow brick road.
To quote my dad and many others before and after him; "Anything worth having is worth working for!".
three2six
http://www.soundcloud.com/three2six
You're right. I don't accept the EZ mode means leveling is easier excuse. I explained that in my OP. If everyone agreed that EZ mode meant easy leveling than why don't I see the catch phrase being used for games like LOTRO, EQ2, Aion, AoC, pretty much every game SINCE WoW launched as they all have the same leveling system of questhubs and zones per level ranges. You don't, therefore, it must be something else about WoW that causes the phrase to be thrown about.
You don't really hear discussions comparing those games to more "hardcore" examples. Debates comparing WoW to others seem to start up anew every day. My theory on that one is that WoW is more often talked about than the other examples. Therefore, you would hear the phrase more often in reference to WoW. That's just a theory though. I know it's hard for you to understand, but levelling in WoW is even "easier" than the games you mentioned. It seems that the consensus is that "EZ Mode" means faster/easy levelling/combat. (Meaning it's the most popular answer in this thread) Whether or not you "accept" it, is irrelevant. You asked what "EZ Mode" is and the majority answer is your winner.
I don't mean to sound like a jerk. You asked for opinions on what "EZMode" meant. Yet, you claim that the majority of the answers are invalid. I understand you are trying to play semantics here. We should all understand, by now, that MMO speak doesn't actually take into account the true dictionary meaning of words.
I will agree that a lot of the people using words like this topic are doing so in an effort to insult and/or troll. Much the same as the "WoW Clone" phrase users.
Again, I apologize if I sound abrasive.
three2six
http://www.soundcloud.com/three2six
Because you get epics and top tier gear by doing, heroics. And they make all other heroics expect ZG and Za obsolete(Why its obsolete? Well because you get more points by doing zazg than the others, so why would you do anything else? Its pointless) when they released patch 4.1. And they made all the raids obsolete expect firelands in 4.2. So frigging dumb and easy.
How will the playerbase ever learn? When they can just wait a few weeks or a month, then get the best gear handed on a platter without any effort. The attitude is sickening, and if people don't see that, I feel sorry for you.
I can answer your question very easily.
What makes WOW not easy mode has nothing to do with the content. What makes it hard is finding at least 9 other people to show up regularly on time and prepared for the nights raiding.
Raiding is easy. What do you have to do but to memorize up to 3 mechanics per phase with anywhere from 2-4 phases per boss. Memorize your dps rotation/tank rotation/ and/or prioritize your heals and your golden.
Now find 9 other people can have the capacity to memorize what they need to memorize.. that's it
WOW is easy. Finding 9 other people that find it easy is hard.
It's easy because there is no challenge in soloing X9 levels and farming the last one forever.
This game is about accumulating token, then loot, then achievments... as for raids being hard, it's all about the perfect execution of a designed strategy. Downing a boss is fun the first time and boring the 30th time, because there is no room for creativity and personnal feats.
My addiction History:
>> EQ1 2000-2004 - Shaman/Bard/Wizard/Monk - nolife raid-whore
>> WoW 2004-2009 + Cataclysm for 2 months - hardcore casual
>> Current status : done with MMO, too old for that crap.
There is no Z in the word easy.
WoW is no more easy or difficult than any other MMORPG.
No offense... but they're all RIDICULOUSLY EASY.
PvE wise.
PvP-- none are easy. If they were, I wouldn't be wiping the floor with pretty much any player I ever meet, in any game I ever PvP in.
PvE in EVERY MMORPG = Ridiculously Easy. Retard Easy.
PvP in EVERY MMORPG = Not Easy. Players have to fight OTHER PLAYERS who vary in difficulty from easy to impossible.