AS i have mentioned before buying more WoW will not satisfy your hunger! (see Macdonald anology)...
As some one has suggested time to find or discuss new games.
My advice is try out free games like Guildwars or Dungeon Runners (which looks the same as WoW and has random instanced dungeons - next big thing) as you dont have much to loose except the purchase of the game itself - variety is the spice of life.
Further more paying games like DDO, which has the best combat system out there, is well worth a look. City of Villains/Heros is also interesting for a month or 2.
Any skills based games should give hard core WoW (level 60s) some thing to sink their teeth into as then there is no max level ...you just get better and better...Project Entropia is free to play and skills based...but note that you need real money to buy weapons and ammo! Eve is still top of the mmorg.com list and again is skills based.
If you see a game you like always check the hyper meter as the fans tell you how it is.
I made the mistake of ordering Archlord ( i liked its pay structure...only usp) without doing so and my god it is awful....so now I always read what the consumer has to say...
I tend to agree with this editorial, it certainly looks to be more of the same. There is still no way to enhance your character other than gear.... There remains no Guild/Personal house, no way to customize your characters looks and tradeskills are still pretty simplistic (even tho the top end patterns require raids to obtain and gather materials for (something with which I strongly disagree)).
Blizzard missed out on a big chance to start added depth to the game here, instead it just feels like a corporate grab for more money, improved PvP heh well that tells you the effect of WAR on WoW Blizzard obviously feels it is a contenter in that they seem to be trying to be all things to all men instead of just trying to fill the niche they originally intended i.e. PvE.
Negativity aside i'll still probably buy the expansion if only to have somehwere NEW to go, the landmass in WoW is pitifully small and anymore landmass to explore is welcome. Hopefully the exp will keep me going until WAR launches.
The sad thing is Blizzard execs will look at box sales and claim a success, but unless they really start looking at the trand in comments from seasoned players they are doomed to keep turning out the same old tired content without any innnovation. Finally one of the most irritating things about 'Blizzard Fixes' to issues is to use a sledghammer to fix the problem when a tiny screwdriver would be the best solution and BC is just that PvP is totally revamped in it I can't wait to seen the expoits and problems that arrive with the expansion, the original description of PvP in the game manual (Without Battlegrouds) was the best one IMO any thing else has just been one mess after another.
Anyway straying too far off subject, liked the editorial and agree with it
Does this guy even play World of Warcraft? If so, I feel sorry for him.
What that article told me was that the expansion is bringing in new and exciting content that will make WoW fun, but, you know, it's a shame they didn't REDESIGN THE WHOLE FREAKIN CONCEPT OF THE GAME ITSELF........
/sigh
NEXT!
- Do not hate it, but instead embrace the diversity.
Its interesting reading through all the comments because its clear the only thing everyone agrees on is that they want something else.
I read about people who want more grouping, different raids, more content, more pvp, etc. I personally want the mutually exclusively - more solo, more group. I like soloing when I have only a half hour to play. When I have an hour I want a group that can get a really cool item at the end. But if you can get a really cool item in an hour, what will keep the people who have 5 hours a day do?
I like the diablo 2 solution before item duping took hold. Boss raids that took 5 to 20 minutes that would always drop something, but would very, very rarely drop that one extremely cool item. You could beat the boss solo when your character got high enough, but you needed to be in a group to raise the chances of the best loot.
It was highly repetitive but still fun. Give me some chance to get cool stuff without having to play 5 hours while simultaneously bending over for every whim of a guild leader.
It all started with a lantern, a sword, and a trap door...
I guess Blizzard is betting it can wait for drastic changes till another expansion cycle Hell having 7 million subscribers can make one believe that maybe expansions aren't needed at all.
You see, when you are a jaggernaut like WoW, sure you lose players, but being the top dog, and considering there is no other game close to you in the western markets, all the new players have only one place to go.
Basically even the people who leave, come back after a while because there is no real competition out there. Meanwhile it is the first thing anyone sees when they are looking for a game to play being a new mmorpg gamer.
All you doomsayers should wait till Warcraft actually starts actually losing subscribers before casting judgments about the future of the game. Just because you left(2times) doesnt mean there wasnt a new player filling your shoes.
It's better be hated for who you are, than loved for who you aren't.
Originally posted by LSDMiraculix nice, people like to talk without knowing a thing. "Garrett Fuller looks at The Burning Crusade expansion" ...but I think he hasn't played it. There is no beta NDA so plz tell me who of you has a beta account and is talking about facts?edit: btw WoW is easy? who has beaten C'Thun here or who has been to Naxx? You don't like big raids? -has you killed a world dragon with 20 men? or has you beaten Jin'Do in ZG? and has you been to ZG with 10-15 men? ... WoW is easy to learn but hard to master!
WoW is a joke, its a friggen repetitive joke. Seriously who wants to raid for 5 hours a day? Get a life man. Thats not hard thats a waste of time.
Originally posted by Zylaxx And 6.5 million says other wise, Mr. Fuller. Theres a reason why in almost anything you do in life and in games one only needs to look at the age old motto K.I.S.S. "Keep it simple stupid" and why it allowed Blizzard to captivate and motivate millions of people to play MMO's. Unlike your precious DAoC.
Did you ever think that WoW was so successful because those without uber systems could actually play it? WoW plays to the lowest common denominator -- in all cases. Be it your system, their design, or their story.
I don't think anyone was arguing with success -- merely the substance of the game. Which is like saying The Day After Tomorrow made a lot of money, but it wasn't a very good movie.
If you were a businessman who had millions of other peoples money at stake, would you use the formula for success or scrap it and start new? They had been rewarded with a lot of money for their current design, making major changes might sound good on paper, but doesn't fit with the formula. How many times have we heard people bitch about devs changing the existing design? SWG anyone?
As said repeatedly before in this discussion, who is forcing you to raid? I was level 60 for about 3 months before I took my break (I didn't quit, but I took a break ) and I was never bored. I never did a raid, nor did I ever get any good gear, but I had fun.
yes, and supposedly...... not sure.... but they are taking out the grind for pvp items. so you could spend your 30min to 1hr getting your butt handed to you and your face melted in pvp to get better items, raiding isnt a req practice heh.
all i want to know, stated b4, is will they finally make hybrid classes? they made the talents hybrid, but tell me how successful a enhance shammy or feral druid are when all they get is int mp5 and +healing gear..... they are the semi master of one trade and a joke for the rest.
Those who understand the beauty in the dynamics underlying WoW know how much goodness they are adding WITHOUT TAKING AWAY THE CURRENT SYSTEM which works.
If you think leveling your char from 1-59 was the most fun part of WoW, you are missing A LOT of what the game is about.
oh well - this site has always been pretty anti-wow ... Most hard-core players of any other game are. EQ2 .... /shudder
------ Played - UO, FFXI, WAR, WoW, EVE Currently - Bored.
Mediocre review, good thread discussion... fans vs the haters... all keeps it interestings. My thoughts:
New Classes: Who cares? I don't have a level 60 of each of the current classes yet. Unless you do, why would you want even more classes to level. (unless, they were over-powered compared to the existing classes, which is the trap most games fall into). And with 10 new levels coming, I'm going to be busy getting my 5 current 60's to the top. (and properly outfitted)
Better PvP: I agree, the PvP needs work. But keep in mind, this isn't DAOC/Mythic, it wasn't designed around PvP...its a PvE game at heart and many people are really happy with that. Lets hope the BC changes make it a bit more fun..but don't expect ground breaking achievements in this area from this game.
Grinding and Leveling: Well of course there's more of this. What else do you expect them to give you? Its the very nature of an MMO to work this way. They normally are not virtual worlds where you just sort of hang out and see what happens.... they give us artificial goals and we chase after them. Even if you join a new game (were such a thing to actually exist) you'd just start the leveling treadmill again. You don't want leveling, Guild Wars is probably the closest you'll find to keep off of the treadmill.
I play games for fun, I'm thinking BC is going to be fun, at least for a little while. Someday I'm sure I'll tire of it and either buy another expansion or play an altogether different game. WOW doesn't have to become my permanent gaming home... different can be fun....
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
Wow, I would expect an editorial like that from a magazine like People or the New York Times weekend magazine, but from a site that purportedly IS an MMO specialized site, its pretty obvious that you haven't really dug into this topic very much. Most of these things are clearly specified in all the literature and posting or general info freely available about the Burning Crusade beta, which is NOT covered by any NDA and therefore freely available to all.
Clearly you have spent a lot more time writing about WoW than playing it. I think that any reasonable person who's reading the BC beta info can see that BC is going to be very different than the current client. And DEFINITELY anyone that has played before the honor system even went in will be happy as a clam with the new game. I was one of those that mourned the loss of world pvp with the Honor rank system that went in a year ago.
New: No more Honor ranks at all. Whole honor system replaced by a new system where you spend your honor points to 'buy' gear.
An entirely new PvP arena system, which works a bit like smaller versions of Guild Wars guilds.
New battlegrounds with new objectives.
30% More land area.
No more 40-man dungeons, ever again (MC, BWL, and AQ40 will remain the last of them). 5- and 10-man instances are de rigeur now, and 25-man being the new cap. Some of the 5- and 10-man instances can take a week for a team of players to complete, playing nightly.
Redesigned world itemization, with new resist and damage types.
Improved combat mechanics, with the idea being to make PvP fighting last longer (more health / level, better itemization and resists, etc).
World PvP goals and new battle grounds designed actually to modify the world and game play for the faction holding landmarks.
Shaman and Pallies on both sides, which will change the way both factions play (glad they changed this back, it was a good idea, but didn't work).
Obviously 2 new races, with new starter areas (a whole zone each, with a bit less than 3 dozen quests each), not to mention that the whole world has been updated with new and modified quests to accomodate the new races in the lore.
I don't think it takes much imagination to see that WoW version 2.0 is not just going to be more of the same, because the same endgame and the same pvp are what we're all tired of. Blizzard has tried at least to address these major issues, and I for one, believe they've done a great job with this expansion.
I am a casual player with a job and lmited time who playes on a PvP server. It took what seemed like forver to hit level 60 because the time I can devote to playing. But I kept thinking that once I hit level 60, I would be able to compete in PvP. But I soon found out that the game is extremely gear based. Just being level 60 isnt enough. The best gear wins.
So I start looking into how to get better gear. I soon learn that the best gear is obtained from Raiding. And 40 man raids that can take long hours with no guarentee that the gear you want will drop. Ands that assuming that nobody else wants it too.
So for me the expansion looks pretty good. More instances, levels, talents, gear, races, and spells. But it just isnt for me. All it offers for me is 10 more higher levels that I really dont want to grind out. More Raids that I wont be able to participate in. More gear, items and weapons that I wont be able to get unless they make it to the Auction House. And it will cost me 50 bucks or so to get it.
Although the new PvP system looks decent. No more decay of rank, and you can still get gear by using tokens (?) you gain from BG's to buy your PvP gear. Wich is so far the only reason I am even considering keeping my sub active, much less even buying the expansion.
I would like to say though, that I think WoW is actually a good game. Its just not a game for casual players like myself.. Especially Casual PvP players who will be depending on thier Gear to even the odds for them.
Just my 2 (maybe 3) cents. Enjoy the game, and have fun. Its what its all about after all
Have you played SWG? Change is *not* what you should do in an MMORPG. You (the original author of the editorial, and some of the others commenting) seem to want to change the fundemental design of WoW. A few people at LA or Sony had the same idea for SWG... it cost them 90% of their customers. It wasn't because the changes were buggy (though they were), but because the game after the changes wasn't the game their customers paid to play. Changing WoW would do the same thing.
Also, you have to look at what an expansion is. It isn't a sequel, where you change things. It's adding to it. As in, more stuff to do, more stuff to see, more stuff generally. And Burning Crusade seems to offer this in abundance. Does it have everything I'd like to see? No, but it has enough to be worth the money. There's always future expansions for the rest.
Look, if you're going to write rubbish about World of Warcraft, atleast don't write like a 12 year old.
To everyone else "wahhwahh I quit wow because it lacked content" if you're still here posting a ridiculous amount of text about a game you "hate" you might as well keep playing, because you're just in love with world of warcraft but too ashamed to admit it.
it he wasnt playing the beta, how can he possibly write a friggin review about what the expansion offers??
When you have people who are playing the beta saying the expansion will be worthwhile, then that really shows a contrast.
Usually the "warning signs" are when you see rave and cherry reviews from OUTSIDE the game, while people INSIDE the beta come out and say "the game sucks!"
Here we have the opposite occurring here; someone outside the window is saying its unimpressive, while those in the beta are saying otherwise.
This leads me to believe the expansion is well worth checking out.
We are the Founding Fathers in this virtual world in which we create. As such it seems we must do what our Founding Fathers had to do.. in order to let our fellow gamers have a fair shake.
Originally posted by Wolfmeister it he wasnt playing the beta, how can he possibly write a friggin review about what the expansion offers?? When you have people who are playing the beta saying the expansion will be worthwhile, then that really shows a contrast. Usually the "warning signs" are when you see rave and cherry reviews from OUTSIDE the game, while people INSIDE the beta come out and say "the game sucks!" Here we have the opposite occurring here; someone outside the window is saying its unimpressive, while those in the beta are saying otherwise. This leads me to believe the expansion is well worth checking out.
I couldn't agree more.
I will be the first (or 500th, whatever) to say that TBC is great.
The fact is that most people here who are whining about how bad WoW is, and how bad TBC is, are not playing an MMORPG right now, because nothing meets their "standards".
Once again, the debate comes of whether or not WoW is a good MMORPG. The fact is that WoW is polished, and unbuggy. It delivers good solo and grouping content, and why people enjoy grinding for levels so much, I will never know.
As someone stated, if you are so obsessed about bashing the game, you are just an addict refusing to admit it. I am sorry, but there is no more entertaining MMORPG out right now. Period. There are many MMOs that can hold your mind for little bits at a time, but the fact is that WoW sucks the players in because it is actually FINISHED, POLISHED, and FUN, unlike the other 1000 MMORPGs released in the last year.
Do not bash Blizzard for what they do. Look at every MMO that has been beta'ed this year, and tell me, did anything else deserve to be recognized? Last time I checked Seed, ArchLord, and everything else that promised to be "amazing" have/are slowly falling under the radar, and will soon be the next Ryzom.
My point is exactly this: If it ain't broken, don't fit it!
How can so many people enjoy playing this "horrible excuse for an MMORPG" if there are so many others out there they could be playing? Simple. WoW isn't as bad as you would like to make it out to be.
TBC is an amazing extension of the Warcraft franchise, and TBC really encourages group play, even in world quests, which is really great. Instead of solo grinding from 60 - 70, now you can use that guild influence to have a lot of fun in outworld (and abuse the new Druid flight form ).
I advise anyone who enjoys WoW to buy the expansion, and see what it has to offer. The new world is gorgeous, and the world PvP and outposts is like Sillithus on steroids, it is really fun.
Best of luck to you all, and see you in Azeroth!!!
Personally I don't mind "easy"...if by easy you mean less timesinks and less penalties.
Now I do believe levels 1-50 should have required nore exp...there were plenty of quests to fill in the time and still avoid the feeling of grinding....and this way the long leveling time of 51 to 60 wouldn't seem so long, and put off 60 for a while....and level 60 is still WoWs weakness and looks like level 70 will be the same, you have to depend on lots of other people to do anything once you hit max level.
I would have definitly liked a new ruleset for PvE where PvP issues were removed in the figuring of abilities and PvP play that would take much longe (make players take much longer to kill)r..PvP is over too fast and PvE needs ways for players to feel heroic which they can't be if you have PvP balance concerns. Also pure PvE servers could use Alternate abilies to permantly improve youe charactor instead of everything being based on gear.
Well, since I can't release any names for reasons... we will just say that a certain "electronics" store has recieved e-mails about a december 19th release, which would technically not be a "christmas" release, since it won't be for the holiday season, but it will not be pushed past then.
I have known about this for almost a month now, since we got the e-mail a while ago about the shipment. Surprised it's taken this long to get out to the news sites.
Well I read through most of the thread, but finally gave up and didn't read the last few. But from what I did read, a few people see why TBC won't last if it's really just more of the same. The biggest problem with WoW is, it starts out fun, interesting, and dynamic. Then you get to level 60, and all of a sudden, all those wonderful broad choices get stripped away from you, faster than you can type the first three letters of your character name. Three different talent specs for all classes - but if you want to raid, there's really just one choice. So many different 'things' to do at end-game.. but if you really want to progress, there's really just one choice. Where Blizzard really got it wrong was in gear options at level 60. Tier 1 armor should have been your all-purpose raiding armor, and everything thereafter should have been *different*, not *more powerful*. It's not as if T1 isn't already plenty powerful enough. So now we have "lots of gear available".. it's just that none of it really changes anything, except your primary pigeon-hole role in raiding becomes even easier. Where are the Druid sets for Ballance and Feral specs? Where are the Priest sets for Shadow? Where are the Warrior sets for anything but tanking? (No, 5-piece sets from ZG and the paltry few odd non-set pieces scattered around don't count. And besides that, even most of the ZG sets just fill the same pigeon-holed roles as other instance sets.) There's no need for yet another +healing weapon from Naxx that adds +184 to healing instead of +65 (no, I know those numbers aren't the actual stats, but they serve the point here). You don't have to rachet up Boss hit points and damage, and then rachet up gear power to keep the game progressing. What you do need is new and different challenges that keep adding exciting new twists. (Yeah, having the boss run around doing 'unusual' things instead of just sticking on the tank is new and exciting for 1 or 2 bosses, but after that it's again just more of the same crap.)
They don't need to make broad sweeping game changes. They just need to use what's already there, and add in new, different content one small bit at a time.
All i can say about the wow expansion is THANK GOD Saga of Heroes will be out soon. i'm not wasting another penny on wow. in fact, if they want me to play, they'll have to pay me. ROFL.
Comments
AS i have mentioned before buying more WoW will not satisfy your hunger! (see Macdonald anology)...
As some one has suggested time to find or discuss new games.
My advice is try out free games like Guildwars or Dungeon Runners (which looks the same as WoW and has random instanced dungeons - next big thing) as you dont have much to loose except the purchase of the game itself - variety is the spice of life.
Further more paying games like DDO, which has the best combat system out there, is well worth a look. City of Villains/Heros is also interesting for a month or 2.
Any skills based games should give hard core WoW (level 60s) some thing to sink their teeth into as then there is no max level ...you just get better and better...Project Entropia is free to play and skills based...but note that you need real money to buy weapons and ammo! Eve is still top of the mmorg.com list and again is skills based.
If you see a game you like always check the hyper meter as the fans tell you how it is.
I made the mistake of ordering Archlord ( i liked its pay structure...only usp) without doing so and my god it is awful....so now I always read what the consumer has to say...
I tend to agree with this editorial, it certainly looks to be more of the same. There is still no way to enhance your character other than gear.... There remains no Guild/Personal house, no way to customize your characters looks and tradeskills are still pretty simplistic (even tho the top end patterns require raids to obtain and gather materials for (something with which I strongly disagree)).
Blizzard missed out on a big chance to start added depth to the game here, instead it just feels like a corporate grab for more money, improved PvP heh well that tells you the effect of WAR on WoW Blizzard obviously feels it is a contenter in that they seem to be trying to be all things to all men instead of just trying to fill the niche they originally intended i.e. PvE.
Negativity aside i'll still probably buy the expansion if only to have somehwere NEW to go, the landmass in WoW is pitifully small and anymore landmass to explore is welcome. Hopefully the exp will keep me going until WAR launches.
The sad thing is Blizzard execs will look at box sales and claim a success, but unless they really start looking at the trand in comments from seasoned players they are doomed to keep turning out the same old tired content without any innnovation. Finally one of the most irritating things about 'Blizzard Fixes' to issues is to use a sledghammer to fix the problem when a tiny screwdriver would be the best solution and BC is just that PvP is totally revamped in it I can't wait to seen the expoits and problems that arrive with the expansion, the original description of PvP in the game manual (Without Battlegrouds) was the best one IMO any thing else has just been one mess after another.
Anyway straying too far off subject, liked the editorial and agree with it
WoW what a poor article.
Does this guy even play World of Warcraft? If so, I feel sorry for him.
What that article told me was that the expansion is bringing in new and exciting content that will make WoW fun, but, you know, it's a shame they didn't REDESIGN THE WHOLE FREAKIN CONCEPT OF THE GAME ITSELF........
/sigh
NEXT!
-
Do not hate it, but instead embrace the diversity.
Its interesting reading through all the comments because its clear the only thing everyone agrees on is that they want something else.
I read about people who want more grouping, different raids, more content, more pvp, etc. I personally want the mutually exclusively - more solo, more group. I like soloing when I have only a half hour to play. When I have an hour I want a group that can get a really cool item at the end. But if you can get a really cool item in an hour, what will keep the people who have 5 hours a day do?
I like the diablo 2 solution before item duping took hold. Boss raids that took 5 to 20 minutes that would always drop something, but would very, very rarely drop that one extremely cool item. You could beat the boss solo when your character got high enough, but you needed to be in a group to raise the chances of the best loot.
It was highly repetitive but still fun. Give me some chance to get cool stuff without having to play 5 hours while simultaneously bending over for every whim of a guild leader.
It all started with a lantern, a sword, and a trap door...
You see, when you are a jaggernaut like WoW, sure you lose players, but being the top dog, and considering there is no other game close to you in the western markets, all the new players have only one place to go.
Basically even the people who leave, come back after a while because there is no real competition out there. Meanwhile it is the first thing anyone sees when they are looking for a game to play being a new mmorpg gamer.
All you doomsayers should wait till Warcraft actually starts actually losing subscribers before casting judgments about the future of the game. Just because you left(2times) doesnt mean there wasnt a new player filling your shoes.
It's better be hated for who you are, than loved for who you aren't.
Did you ever think that WoW was so successful because those without uber systems could actually play it? WoW plays to the lowest common denominator -- in all cases. Be it your system, their design, or their story.
I don't think anyone was arguing with success -- merely the substance of the game. Which is like saying The Day After Tomorrow made a lot of money, but it wasn't a very good movie.
If you were a businessman who had millions of other peoples money at stake, would you use the formula for success or scrap it and start new? They had been rewarded with a lot of money for their current design, making major changes might sound good on paper, but doesn't fit with the formula. How many times have we heard people bitch about devs changing the existing design? SWG anyone?
grind for pvp items. so you could spend your 30min to 1hr getting your
butt handed to you and your face melted in pvp to get better items,
raiding isnt a req practice heh.
all i want to know, stated b4, is will they finally make hybrid
classes? they made the talents hybrid, but tell me how successful a
enhance shammy or feral druid are when all they get is int mp5 and
+healing gear..... they are the semi master of one trade and a joke for
the rest.
Bias Bias Bias...
Those who understand the beauty in the dynamics underlying WoW know how much goodness they are adding WITHOUT TAKING AWAY THE CURRENT SYSTEM which works.
If you think leveling your char from 1-59 was the most fun part of WoW, you are missing A LOT of what the game is about.
oh well - this site has always been pretty anti-wow ... Most hard-core players of any other game are. EQ2 .... /shudder
------
Played - UO, FFXI, WAR, WoW, EVE
Currently - Bored.
Mediocre review, good thread discussion... fans vs the haters... all keeps it interestings. My thoughts:
New Classes: Who cares? I don't have a level 60 of each of the current classes yet. Unless you do, why would you want even more classes to level. (unless, they were over-powered compared to the existing classes, which is the trap most games fall into). And with 10 new levels coming, I'm going to be busy getting my 5 current 60's to the top. (and properly outfitted)
Better PvP: I agree, the PvP needs work. But keep in mind, this isn't DAOC/Mythic, it wasn't designed around PvP...its a PvE game at heart and many people are really happy with that. Lets hope the BC changes make it a bit more fun..but don't expect ground breaking achievements in this area from this game.
Grinding and Leveling: Well of course there's more of this. What else do you expect them to give you? Its the very nature of an MMO to work this way. They normally are not virtual worlds where you just sort of hang out and see what happens.... they give us artificial goals and we chase after them. Even if you join a new game (were such a thing to actually exist) you'd just start the leveling treadmill again. You don't want leveling, Guild Wars is probably the closest you'll find to keep off of the treadmill.
I play games for fun, I'm thinking BC is going to be fun, at least for a little while. Someday I'm sure I'll tire of it and either buy another expansion or play an altogether different game. WOW doesn't have to become my permanent gaming home... different can be fun....
"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
Wow, I would expect an editorial like that from a magazine like People or the New York Times weekend magazine, but from a site that purportedly IS an MMO specialized site, its pretty obvious that you haven't really dug into this topic very much. Most of these things are clearly specified in all the literature and posting or general info freely available about the Burning Crusade beta, which is NOT covered by any NDA and therefore freely available to all.
Clearly you have spent a lot more time writing about WoW than playing it. I think that any reasonable person who's reading the BC beta info can see that BC is going to be very different than the current client. And DEFINITELY anyone that has played before the honor system even went in will be happy as a clam with the new game. I was one of those that mourned the loss of world pvp with the Honor rank system that went in a year ago.
New:
No more Honor ranks at all. Whole honor system replaced by a new system where you spend your honor points to 'buy' gear.
An entirely new PvP arena system, which works a bit like smaller versions of Guild Wars guilds.
New battlegrounds with new objectives.
30% More land area.
No more 40-man dungeons, ever again (MC, BWL, and AQ40 will remain the last of them). 5- and 10-man instances are de rigeur now, and 25-man being the new cap. Some of the 5- and 10-man instances can take a week for a team of players to complete, playing nightly.
Redesigned world itemization, with new resist and damage types.
Improved combat mechanics, with the idea being to make PvP fighting last longer (more health / level, better itemization and resists, etc).
World PvP goals and new battle grounds designed actually to modify the world and game play for the faction holding landmarks.
Shaman and Pallies on both sides, which will change the way both factions play (glad they changed this back, it was a good idea, but didn't work).
Obviously 2 new races, with new starter areas (a whole zone each, with a bit less than 3 dozen quests each), not to mention that the whole world has been updated with new and modified quests to accomodate the new races in the lore.
I don't think it takes much imagination to see that WoW version 2.0 is not just going to be more of the same, because the same endgame and the same pvp are what we're all tired of. Blizzard has tried at least to address these major issues, and I for one, believe they've done a great job with this expansion.
Earley
Just my 2 cents on the BC..
I am a casual player with a job and lmited time who playes on a PvP server. It took what seemed like forver to hit level 60 because the time I can devote to playing. But I kept thinking that once I hit level 60, I would be able to compete in PvP. But I soon found out that the game is extremely gear based. Just being level 60 isnt enough. The best gear wins.
So I start looking into how to get better gear. I soon learn that the best gear is obtained from Raiding. And 40 man raids that can take long hours with no guarentee that the gear you want will drop. Ands that assuming that nobody else wants it too.
So for me the expansion looks pretty good. More instances, levels, talents, gear, races, and spells. But it just isnt for me. All it offers for me is 10 more higher levels that I really dont want to grind out. More Raids that I wont be able to participate in. More gear, items and weapons that I wont be able to get unless they make it to the Auction House. And it will cost me 50 bucks or so to get it.
Although the new PvP system looks decent. No more decay of rank, and you can still get gear by using tokens (?) you gain from BG's to buy your PvP gear. Wich is so far the only reason I am even considering keeping my sub active, much less even buying the expansion.
I would like to say though, that I think WoW is actually a good game. Its just not a game for casual players like myself.. Especially Casual PvP players who will be depending on thier Gear to even the odds for them.
Just my 2 (maybe 3) cents. Enjoy the game, and have fun. Its what its all about after all
Also, you have to look at what an expansion is. It isn't a sequel, where you change things. It's adding to it. As in, more stuff to do, more stuff to see, more stuff generally. And Burning Crusade seems to offer this in abundance. Does it have everything I'd like to see? No, but it has enough to be worth the money. There's always future expansions for the rest.
To everyone else "wahhwahh I quit wow because it lacked content" if you're still here posting a ridiculous amount of text about a game you "hate" you might as well keep playing, because you're just in love with world of warcraft but too ashamed to admit it.
Just play the bloody game if you're so obsessed.
it he wasnt playing the beta, how can he possibly write a friggin review about what the expansion offers??
When you have people who are playing the beta saying the expansion will be worthwhile, then that really shows a contrast.
Usually the "warning signs" are when you see rave and cherry reviews from OUTSIDE the game, while people INSIDE the beta come out and say "the game sucks!"
Here we have the opposite occurring here; someone outside the window is saying its unimpressive, while those in the beta are saying otherwise.
This leads me to believe the expansion is well worth checking out.
We are the Founding Fathers in this virtual world in which we create. As such it seems we must do what our Founding Fathers had to do.. in order to let our fellow gamers have a fair shake.
I couldn't agree more.
I will be the first (or 500th, whatever) to say that TBC is great.
The fact is that most people here who are whining about how bad WoW is, and how bad TBC is, are not playing an MMORPG right now, because nothing meets their "standards".
Once again, the debate comes of whether or not WoW is a good MMORPG. The fact is that WoW is polished, and unbuggy. It delivers good solo and grouping content, and why people enjoy grinding for levels so much, I will never know.
As someone stated, if you are so obsessed about bashing the game, you are just an addict refusing to admit it. I am sorry, but there is no more entertaining MMORPG out right now. Period. There are many MMOs that can hold your mind for little bits at a time, but the fact is that WoW sucks the players in because it is actually FINISHED, POLISHED, and FUN, unlike the other 1000 MMORPGs released in the last year.
Do not bash Blizzard for what they do. Look at every MMO that has been beta'ed this year, and tell me, did anything else deserve to be recognized? Last time I checked Seed, ArchLord, and everything else that promised to be "amazing" have/are slowly falling under the radar, and will soon be the next Ryzom.
My point is exactly this: If it ain't broken, don't fit it!
How can so many people enjoy playing this "horrible excuse for an MMORPG" if there are so many others out there they could be playing? Simple. WoW isn't as bad as you would like to make it out to be.
TBC is an amazing extension of the Warcraft franchise, and TBC really encourages group play, even in world quests, which is really great. Instead of solo grinding from 60 - 70, now you can use that guild influence to have a lot of fun in outworld (and abuse the new Druid flight form
).
I advise anyone who enjoys WoW to buy the expansion, and see what it has to offer. The new world is gorgeous, and the world PvP and outposts is like Sillithus on steroids, it is really fun.
Best of luck to you all, and see you in Azeroth!!!
Field Marshall Loftless, Dark Iron
Personally I don't mind "easy"...if by easy you mean less timesinks and less penalties.
Now I do believe levels 1-50 should have required nore exp...there were plenty of quests to fill in the time and still avoid the feeling of grinding....and this way the long leveling time of 51 to 60 wouldn't seem so long, and put off 60 for a while....and level 60 is still WoWs weakness and looks like level 70 will be the same, you have to depend on lots of other people to do anything once you hit max level.
I would have definitly liked a new ruleset for PvE where PvP issues were removed in the figuring of abilities and PvP play that would take much longe (make players take much longer to kill)r..PvP is over too fast and PvE needs ways for players to feel heroic which they can't be if you have PvP balance concerns. Also pure PvE servers could use Alternate abilies to permantly improve youe charactor instead of everything being based on gear.
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=20559
Well, since I can't release any names for reasons... we will just say that a certain "electronics" store has recieved e-mails about a december 19th release, which would technically not be a "christmas" release, since it won't be for the holiday season, but it will not be pushed past then.
I have known about this for almost a month now, since we got the e-mail a while ago about the shipment. Surprised it's taken this long to get out to the news sites.
so i don't think you'll have it at Christmas either
(Yeah, having the boss run around doing 'unusual' things instead of just sticking on the tank is new and exciting for 1 or 2 bosses, but after that it's again just more of the same crap.)
They don't need to make broad sweeping game changes. They just need to use what's already there, and add in new, different content one small bit at a time.
Take the Magic: The Gathering 'What Color Are You?' Quiz.
be out soon. i'm not wasting another penny on wow. in fact, if they
want me to play, they'll have to pay me. ROFL.