There will always be new players entering the game - just a fact of life. I see some of my friends kids now playing the game along with younger crowds everywhere else, so I think if the amount of subscribers out there will never dwindle down to nothing. I've played WoW since it's release and it's always been a fun game. I could see myself playing it later on just because it is a fun game and offers much for both casual and hardcore players. With the releases in 2007, I don't see any real WoW Killer type of games now nor for a long time. I'm pretty fed up with over hyped game reviews and marketing campaigns over the last few years. I go with what I know and that is WoW is fun - period. All future games will have to prove their worth to me.
I wish it would decline some as during peak times on my server i am now getting queues in the 800 mark. To log in my server can sometimes take 30mins or more. Goodluck with your decline hopes your going to need it.
Seriously you WOW naysayers just don't have a clue, the only thing that will kill this game is old age and it is still going strong. The sad part is it will probably be Blizzard that actually starts the decline with thier next mmorpg.
Well I agree that there will be a decline when AoC and WAR hit the market, as WAR is very similar and is suppose to be better in some speculation. However, WoW will hold on through the storm and probably keep pretty high subscription numbers. Although it does seem like they are getting to the point where they are are gettting desperate and keep trying to change the game to save a loss of numbers. But this is probably not the best idea after seeing SWG crash and burn because they freaked out due to a small loss in numbers and then ruined the whole game in a frantic expansion.
WoW will be around for decades to come. But WAR is seriously going to hurt numbers.
its the same with the european servers .according to blizzard they are all at medium population but its pretty obvious that in some cases this is etiher simply not true and the servers are low or that bizzard have changed how they calculate populations .among longer term players the new faster leveling between 20-60 is nt popular and also i ve heard a number of players complaing that most people want to solo those levels now and its almost impossible to get a group for a quest or instance a lot of the time ,which defeats the object of an mmo. a drop off was always inevitable . the lich king will proberbly see a boost but like myself i would think a lot of players have or are about to give up . if one of the new mmos is any good i ll give it a try but lack of any decent competition is nt reason enough for me to stick with warcraft . most people i know have already given up so even the social aspect is nt there ingame for me anymore . the lich king will proberbly not be out till late 2008 or early 2009 inspite of rumours of an april 2008 release so i would think we ll see a sharp decline in the coming months .
My own opinion about video games and the lack of certain aspects of combat and gameplay made me quit WoW 1 month into the game, but i can still admit that blizzard did a hell of a job with advertising. If you think about it, no matter how big the decline is, get some Percentiles of the game, cause with 9+ million subscriptions of course any drop in number is going to be "huge" compared to most other games. If this game really flops it will kinda stop money flow and thats not exactly what this country (USA) needs right now. So i do kinda hope that WoW picks it up cause especially if we're siphoning from Europe and Asian countries thats better for us. WooHOo!
according to last graphic from february to september player activity on NA and EURO servers went down from 900.000 to 700.000 thats a 200k decline wich means more then 500k or even more players cancel their accounts. thats why the blizzard silence . www.warcraftrealms.com/temp/activity.htm
So? What's your point? There is no game out there to take the number one spot, no Tabula Rasa is not good or engaging enough for that.
There might be a point to a "WoW is dying" post after the release of AoC or WAR.
I think AoC and WAR are gonna be a let down. I hope not, I loved the 3d - version of WAR. Let's hope they do it right but, for now, I'm back to WoW AGAIN. I was trying to take a break but, a majority of my game playing friends play it so, I'm stuck!
There is one thing that has always baffled me about WoW. I played for a few months just because that's what everyone plays. I'm just tired of seeing the fantasy stuff.
Anyway....it amazes me how many people I run into that thinks WoW sucks. The weird part is they refuse to quit playing. All they do is complain and complain, but then they log in. I like to think of Wow as the thing that everyone does, kinda like posting stuff on youtube or using myspace. It's more of a social thing now than a game. Just my opinion.
You know when you have to start worrying about the fate of the game? When the credit farmers disappear....that's when. That's the true sign.
There is one thing that has always baffled me about WoW. I played for a few months just because that's what everyone plays. I'm just tired of seeing the fantasy stuff.
Anyway....it amazes me how many people I run into that thinks WoW sucks. The weird part is they refuse to quit playing. All they do is complain and complain, but then they log in. I like to think of Wow as the thing that everyone does, kinda like posting stuff on youtube or using myspace. It's more of a social thing now than a game. Just my opinion.
You know when you have to start worrying about the fate of the game? When the credit farmers disappear....that's when. That's the true sign.
This is a phenomnon that I've noticed myself. I've always felt that it is because the game is so gear based that people log in 100s of hours trying to get certain gear and when they finally get it they just can't stand to admit it was very silly to waste all the time for such a small reward and so they can't quit. Of course I would argue that the fun is in the journey getting the gear, but WoW is so repetitive that it becomes very boring after awhile and very frusterating when you don't get your drop you wanted. Sandbox games are more fun for this reason, but WoW has certainly retained the subs to argue that they have a great method to MMOs.
[quote]Well I agree that there will be a decline when AoC and WAR hit the market, as WAR is very similar and is suppose to be better in some speculation. However, WoW will hold on through the storm and probably keep pretty high subscription numbers. Although it does seem like they are getting to the point where they are are gettting desperate and keep trying to change the game to save a loss of numbers. But this is probably not the best idea after seeing SWG crash and burn because they freaked out due to a small loss in numbers and then ruined the whole game in a frantic expansion.
WoW will be around for decades to come. But WAR is seriously going to hurt numbers.[/quote]
WAR will be a minor dent in WoW's population, same goes for AOC and any other mmorpg. If we've learned anything from past mmorpgs, is that mmogs generally don't steal vast amounts of players from other games. Decline for all games comes because of age, bugs, poor implementation, etc... The new release of a mmorpg will only steal away the gamers that feel that they need to be on the forefront of any new game. These are also generally the folks who don't invest large amounts of time into any singular mmorpg.
WAR will attract Warhammer fans first and foremost, then it will attract those who enjoyed DAoC and are fans of Mythic. WAR will probably bring in a lot of new mmorpg players into the genre, specifically because the warhammer universe has never been offered as a massive online game community.
WoW has been a real oddity in the mmorpg genre, no other game has ever taken the genre by storm like this, and WoW was backed by the name of Blizzard. No one, not even Blizzard foresaw the success the game would have. I highly doubt it will ever be equaled, even by another Blizzard mmorpg.
There is one thing that has always baffled me about WoW. I played for a few months just because that's what everyone plays. I'm just tired of seeing the fantasy stuff.
Anyway....it amazes me how many people I run into that thinks WoW sucks. The weird part is they refuse to quit playing. All they do is complain and complain, but then they log in. I like to think of Wow as the thing that everyone does, kinda like posting stuff on youtube or using myspace. It's more of a social thing now than a game. Just my opinion.
You know when you have to start worrying about the fate of the game? When the credit farmers disappear....that's when. That's the true sign.
This is not unique to WoW. I played both Everquest games for years, and you encountered this kind of attitude all the time. As WoW gets older, we'll see less of this attitude, as the jaded move onto other games to love to hate, or as they realize that the game is actually pretty good, after all.
Still waiting for your Holy Grail MMORPG? Interesting...
Well you can't be suprised. MMORPGs cannot last forever, no matter how much you put into them. TBC was WoW's peak and now that it's over, the decline starts. I do not think that the Wrath of the Litch King can help it much.
If we've learned anything from past mmorpgs, is that mmogs generally don't steal vast amounts of players from other games. Decline for all games comes because of age, bugs, poor implementation, etc. ... WoW has been a real oddity in the mmorpg genre, no other game has ever taken the genre by storm like this, and WoW was backed by the name of Blizzard. No one, not even Blizzard foresaw the success the game would have. I highly doubt it will ever be equaled, even by another Blizzard mmorpg.
all I can think of when I read WoW is, WoW coming to retail in 3 mths with the first major expansion to follow just 6 months behind!!!! (this was said during/around open beta period)
all I can think of when I read WoW is, WoW coming to retail in 3 mths with the first major expansion to follow just 6 months behind!!!! (this was said during/around open beta period)
With the announcement that Bliz is opening up WoW in Russia, you'll see the numbers go up again. The next expansion will also bring the numbers back up, if only for a while.
But, all good things must come to an end. WoW can't stay on top forever.
"Just because you don't like it, doesn't mean it isn't any good"
Wow will always be a popular game because it is easy to play, and easy to understand. It takes very little to level at a good pace, and if you dedicate yourself to the game you can advance quite quickly, which makes you feel pretty powerful in comparison to other MMO's out there that can be quite frustrating. Do I like it? No. I beta'd the game and didn't care for the cartoony graphics, and even though it has progressed a ways since beta, I still don't like it because everyone of a particular class looks pretty much the same. But hey, I'm not a hater, to each their own. I don't care if WoW ever declines, I would just like to see a much more in depth MMO come along and gain about half of WoW's popularity.
Wow will always be a popular game because it is easy to play, and easy to understand. It takes very little to level at a good pace, and if you dedicate yourself to the game you can advance quite quickly, which makes you feel pretty powerful in comparison to other MMO's out there that can be quite frustrating. Do I like it? No. I beta'd the game and didn't care for the cartoony graphics, and even though it has progressed a ways since beta, I still don't like it because everyone of a particular class looks pretty much the same. But hey, I'm not a hater, to each their own. I don't care if WoW ever declines, I would just like to see a much more in depth MMO come along and gain about half of WoW's popularity.
This is largely a fallacy put forth by the non believers (non players). While it's possible that classes can wear the same equipment, in reality this doesn't happen nearly as often as people think. Sure if you have a full set of a specific tier of armor, then yes, you'll look like someone else of the same class wearing that same armor. At least the armor will look the same, different races/sexes obviously look differently in the armor since they are of different body types. And even if the armor is the same, weapons can vary greatly which again alters the look. On top of that, you can wear a guild tabard which will alter your look compared to others outside your guild. You can also choose to not show your helm or your cloak, further dileniating you from someone in the same armor. And since this really only happens once you reach lvl 60, the chances you'll be able to find even a single character that looks exactly like yours below lvl 60 are about zero. You *might* find one or 2 that look very similar to you at 70, but even that is not all that likely since most people have a mix of different tier armor, only a few wear a full set of any one particular tier.
While it's possible, the reality is it doesn't happen that often. And for those of you who disagree, lets see some screenshots of you standing next to someone with the exact same armor. And no level 1's looking exactly alike, that's just silly.
Wow will always be a popular game because it is easy to play, and easy to understand. It takes very little to level at a good pace, and if you dedicate yourself to the game you can advance quite quickly, which makes you feel pretty powerful in comparison to other MMO's out there that can be quite frustrating. Do I like it? No. I beta'd the game and didn't care for the cartoony graphics, and even though it has progressed a ways since beta, I still don't like it because everyone of a particular class looks pretty much the same. But hey, I'm not a hater, to each their own. I don't care if WoW ever declines, I would just like to see a much more in depth MMO come along and gain about half of WoW's popularity.
This is largely a fallacy put forth by the non believers (non players). While it's possible that classes can wear the same equipment, in reality this doesn't happen nearly as often as people think. Sure if you have a full set of a specific tier of armor, then yes, you'll look like someone else of the same class wearing that same armor. At least the armor will look the same, different races/sexes obviously look differently in the armor since they are of different body types. And even if the armor is the same, weapons can vary greatly which again alters the look. On top of that, you can wear a guild tabard which will alter your look compared to others outside your guild. You can also choose to not show your helm or your cloak, further dileniating you from someone in the same armor. And since this really only happens once you reach lvl 60, the chances you'll be able to find even a single character that looks exactly like yours below lvl 60 are about zero. You *might* find one or 2 that look very similar to you at 70, but even that is not all that likely since most people have a mix of different tier armor, only a few wear a full set of any one particular tier.
While it's possible, the reality is it doesn't happen that often. And for those of you who disagree, lets see some screenshots of you standing next to someone with the exact same armor. And no level 1's looking exactly alike, that's just silly.
That's just the thing. The only way to differentiate yourself is with armor. Twelve blood elves of any class can stand in a row and they will all move the same, shake their heads the same, attack the same, cast the same. They have the same body height, width, weight, etc. The only difference is hair style and color, most of which end up being the same because 2-3 styles are "popular".
I run around the game as a blood elf priest and see "twins" on a daily basis. Ever since Season 1 pvp gear can be bought with honor not a day passes when I see two or three characters ALL wearing it standing in front of the PvP Battlemasters.
Character advancement is based on items. Attaining items requires EXTENSIVE repetition of content.
The problem with people wanting "original" content is that it isn't economical. A game like Mass Effect (Great rpg that just came out) spent years in development for a 20 hour game. People buy it and get 20 hours of content.
In WoW they spend months developing a raid instance... and people play it for months trying to beat it and THEN farm it... since you can only kill bosses once a WEEK. Which one is smarter for the money-maker? The 20 hour return or the month-long return?
There are two kinds of game mentalities:
1. Work to get TO the fun part
2. Play the fun part.
1 allows a game to last MUCH longer, because people have that carrot on the end of the stick. "Oooh, shiny armor, we swear it'l be fun once you have it! You'll be like BEEFY over there!"
2 makes a game MUCH shorter, but more enjoyable. Everything is fresh and unique, and when everything is said and done you can put down the controller satisfied.
The problem then is the game model. People value the idea that with a subscription based game they are getting "more" content. Could be true. I could easily argue that some single-player games have the same amount if not more. However content repetition and most importantly "people" keep them going. My friends in raid guilds are only in those guilds still because they love the people. When guilds fall apart, people quit... feel nostalgic, and reform/reroll.
People wanting more from WoW are like people wanting more from a drug. They're looking for that high they got when they first logged in and felt "Wow, this is cool." They want to feel the way they did when they got their first epic, or beat their first instance or raid boss, but it will never happen. Therefore they will never be satisfied.
I for one will never feel as awe-inspired or excited as I did when I played Everquest for the first time. The music, the environment, and doing things with other players was just amazing.Other games are just replicating that experience, which is nice when it's in a new candy shell, but it doesn't last. I play WoW because I'm an MMO addict, just like most of the playerbase.
Oh.... darn... did I have a point with all of that?
Ummm... yea...
Everything in moderation. Most WoW players try to glut themselves since thats what most of the rewards require. Then when they find out that the food really doesn't taste that good they want their money back, but they're already stuffed.
Moral of the story is, don't glut yourself. The subscription based methodology makes people think "OMG MUST PLAY MORE TO GET MOST OUT OF MY MONTH" but in reality 15 dollars is about as much as going to the movies for 2 hours. It's not that expensive. Don't glut yourself, take it slow, play OTHER GAMES and do OTHER THINGS every day, and you won't get this empty feeling that you've wasted your life and time on a game that sucks.
Wow will always be a popular game because it is easy to play, and easy to understand. It takes very little to level at a good pace, and if you dedicate yourself to the game you can advance quite quickly, which makes you feel pretty powerful in comparison to other MMO's out there that can be quite frustrating. Do I like it? No. I beta'd the game and didn't care for the cartoony graphics, and even though it has progressed a ways since beta, I still don't like it because everyone of a particular class looks pretty much the same. But hey, I'm not a hater, to each their own. I don't care if WoW ever declines, I would just like to see a much more in depth MMO come along and gain about half of WoW's popularity.
This is largely a fallacy put forth by the non believers (non players). While it's possible that classes can wear the same equipment, in reality this doesn't happen nearly as often as people think. Sure if you have a full set of a specific tier of armor, then yes, you'll look like someone else of the same class wearing that same armor. At least the armor will look the same, different races/sexes obviously look differently in the armor since they are of different body types. And even if the armor is the same, weapons can vary greatly which again alters the look. On top of that, you can wear a guild tabard which will alter your look compared to others outside your guild. You can also choose to not show your helm or your cloak, further dileniating you from someone in the same armor. And since this really only happens once you reach lvl 60, the chances you'll be able to find even a single character that looks exactly like yours below lvl 60 are about zero. You *might* find one or 2 that look very similar to you at 70, but even that is not all that likely since most people have a mix of different tier armor, only a few wear a full set of any one particular tier.
While it's possible, the reality is it doesn't happen that often. And for those of you who disagree, lets see some screenshots of you standing next to someone with the exact same armor. And no level 1's looking exactly alike, that's just silly.
That's just the thing. The only way to differentiate yourself is with armor. Twelve blood elves of any class can stand in a row and they will all move the same, shake their heads the same, attack the same, cast the same. They have the same body height, width, weight, etc. The only difference is hair style and color, most of which end up being the same because 2-3 styles are "popular".
You're ignoring the fact that you can be male or female. That you can change your skin color. That you can change your hair style and color. That you can change your facial expression. That you can wear ear rings. That you can wear a tabard. That your weapons can be different. That you can have different enchants on weapons. That your cloak can be different. That your mounts can be different. That your shirt can be different. NONE of that has anything to do with the armor you wear. NONE OF IT!!!
Yeah, if you IGNORE ALL THIS, then you look the same IF YOU'RE WEARING THE EXACT SAME ARMOR!!!
You know, if you take the entire population of the world and you ignore race, sex, height, weight, hair style, hair color, facial appearance, clothes and jewelry...we all look pretty much the same.
I'm still waiting for that screenshot of any 2 characters above the level of 60 standing next to each other that look exactly identical.
I can'r say what is happening all over just that there are less and less people on my server
"Society in every state is a blessing, but government even in its best state is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one ..." - Thomas Paine
Comments
There will always be new players entering the game - just a fact of life. I see some of my friends kids now playing the game along with younger crowds everywhere else, so I think if the amount of subscribers out there will never dwindle down to nothing. I've played WoW since it's release and it's always been a fun game. I could see myself playing it later on just because it is a fun game and offers much for both casual and hardcore players. With the releases in 2007, I don't see any real WoW Killer type of games now nor for a long time. I'm pretty fed up with over hyped game reviews and marketing campaigns over the last few years. I go with what I know and that is WoW is fun - period. All future games will have to prove their worth to me.
Eve-Online, EQ2, DnL, SWG (Dead), Guild Wars, Anarchy Online, EQ, DAoC, Planet Side, WoW, LOTR, Tabula Rasa.
I wish it would decline some as during peak times on my server i am now getting queues in the 800 mark. To log in my server can sometimes take 30mins or more. Goodluck with your decline hopes your going to need it.
Seriously you WOW naysayers just don't have a clue, the only thing that will kill this game is old age and it is still going strong. The sad part is it will probably be Blizzard that actually starts the decline with thier next mmorpg.
Well I agree that there will be a decline when AoC and WAR hit the market, as WAR is very similar and is suppose to be better in some speculation. However, WoW will hold on through the storm and probably keep pretty high subscription numbers. Although it does seem like they are getting to the point where they are are gettting desperate and keep trying to change the game to save a loss of numbers. But this is probably not the best idea after seeing SWG crash and burn because they freaked out due to a small loss in numbers and then ruined the whole game in a frantic expansion.
WoW will be around for decades to come. But WAR is seriously going to hurt numbers.
its the same with the european servers .according to blizzard they are all at medium population but its pretty obvious that in some cases this is etiher simply not true and the servers are low or that bizzard have changed how they calculate populations .among longer term players the new faster leveling between 20-60 is nt popular and also i ve heard a number of players complaing that most people want to solo those levels now and its almost impossible to get a group for a quest or instance a lot of the time ,which defeats the object of an mmo. a drop off was always inevitable . the lich king will proberbly see a boost but like myself i would think a lot of players have or are about to give up . if one of the new mmos is any good i ll give it a try but lack of any decent competition is nt reason enough for me to stick with warcraft . most people i know have already given up so even the social aspect is nt there ingame for me anymore . the lich king will proberbly not be out till late 2008 or early 2009 inspite of rumours of an april 2008 release so i would think we ll see a sharp decline in the coming months .
My own opinion about video games and the lack of certain aspects of combat and gameplay made me quit WoW 1 month into the game, but i can still admit that blizzard did a hell of a job with advertising. If you think about it, no matter how big the decline is, get some Percentiles of the game, cause with 9+ million subscriptions of course any drop in number is going to be "huge" compared to most other games. If this game really flops it will kinda stop money flow and thats not exactly what this country (USA) needs right now. So i do kinda hope that WoW picks it up cause especially if we're siphoning from Europe and Asian countries thats better for us. WooHOo!
There might be a point to a "WoW is dying" post after the release of AoC or WAR.
I think AoC and WAR are gonna be a let down. I hope not, I loved the 3d - version of WAR. Let's hope they do it right but, for now, I'm back to WoW AGAIN. I was trying to take a break but, a majority of my game playing friends play it so, I'm stuck!
I guess we'll see...
I thought Vivendi was a french company.
It is.
There is one thing that has always baffled me about WoW. I played for a few months just because that's what everyone plays. I'm just tired of seeing the fantasy stuff.
Anyway....it amazes me how many people I run into that thinks WoW sucks. The weird part is they refuse to quit playing. All they do is complain and complain, but then they log in. I like to think of Wow as the thing that everyone does, kinda like posting stuff on youtube or using myspace. It's more of a social thing now than a game. Just my opinion.
You know when you have to start worrying about the fate of the game? When the credit farmers disappear....that's when. That's the true sign.
This is a phenomnon that I've noticed myself. I've always felt that it is because the game is so gear based that people log in 100s of hours trying to get certain gear and when they finally get it they just can't stand to admit it was very silly to waste all the time for such a small reward and so they can't quit. Of course I would argue that the fun is in the journey getting the gear, but WoW is so repetitive that it becomes very boring after awhile and very frusterating when you don't get your drop you wanted. Sandbox games are more fun for this reason, but WoW has certainly retained the subs to argue that they have a great method to MMOs.
[quote]Well I agree that there will be a decline when AoC and WAR hit the market, as WAR is very similar and is suppose to be better in some speculation. However, WoW will hold on through the storm and probably keep pretty high subscription numbers. Although it does seem like they are getting to the point where they are are gettting desperate and keep trying to change the game to save a loss of numbers. But this is probably not the best idea after seeing SWG crash and burn because they freaked out due to a small loss in numbers and then ruined the whole game in a frantic expansion.
WoW will be around for decades to come. But WAR is seriously going to hurt numbers.[/quote]
WAR will be a minor dent in WoW's population, same goes for AOC and any other mmorpg. If we've learned anything from past mmorpgs, is that mmogs generally don't steal vast amounts of players from other games. Decline for all games comes because of age, bugs, poor implementation, etc... The new release of a mmorpg will only steal away the gamers that feel that they need to be on the forefront of any new game. These are also generally the folks who don't invest large amounts of time into any singular mmorpg.
WAR will attract Warhammer fans first and foremost, then it will attract those who enjoyed DAoC and are fans of Mythic. WAR will probably bring in a lot of new mmorpg players into the genre, specifically because the warhammer universe has never been offered as a massive online game community.
WoW has been a real oddity in the mmorpg genre, no other game has ever taken the genre by storm like this, and WoW was backed by the name of Blizzard. No one, not even Blizzard foresaw the success the game would have. I highly doubt it will ever be equaled, even by another Blizzard mmorpg.
This is not unique to WoW. I played both Everquest games for years, and you encountered this kind of attitude all the time. As WoW gets older, we'll see less of this attitude, as the jaded move onto other games to love to hate, or as they realize that the game is actually pretty good, after all.
Still waiting for your Holy Grail MMORPG? Interesting...
Well you can't be suprised. MMORPGs cannot last forever, no matter how much you put into them. TBC was WoW's peak and now that it's over, the decline starts. I do not think that the Wrath of the Litch King can help it much.
- the new MMOs for 2008 wont touch WoW
EQ2 fan sites
all I can think of when I read WoW is, WoW coming to retail in 3 mths with the first major expansion to follow just 6 months behind!!!! (this was said during/around open beta period)
Screenshot or it didn't happen.
It will be around... Ultima Online still around
Old Skool Ultima Online Junky
Bring back the OLD UO so I can play again
With the announcement that Bliz is opening up WoW in Russia, you'll see the numbers go up again. The next expansion will also bring the numbers back up, if only for a while.
But, all good things must come to an end. WoW can't stay on top forever.
"Just because you don't like it, doesn't mean it isn't any good"
but it will probably be at least 3 more years before any new mmo gets 3+ million subs
EQ2 fan sites
Wow will always be a popular game because it is easy to play, and easy to understand. It takes very little to level at a good pace, and if you dedicate yourself to the game you can advance quite quickly, which makes you feel pretty powerful in comparison to other MMO's out there that can be quite frustrating. Do I like it? No. I beta'd the game and didn't care for the cartoony graphics, and even though it has progressed a ways since beta, I still don't like it because everyone of a particular class looks pretty much the same. But hey, I'm not a hater, to each their own. I don't care if WoW ever declines, I would just like to see a much more in depth MMO come along and gain about half of WoW's popularity.
While it's possible, the reality is it doesn't happen that often. And for those of you who disagree, lets see some screenshots of you standing next to someone with the exact same armor. And no level 1's looking exactly alike, that's just silly.
While it's possible, the reality is it doesn't happen that often. And for those of you who disagree, lets see some screenshots of you standing next to someone with the exact same armor. And no level 1's looking exactly alike, that's just silly.
That's just the thing. The only way to differentiate yourself is with armor. Twelve blood elves of any class can stand in a row and they will all move the same, shake their heads the same, attack the same, cast the same. They have the same body height, width, weight, etc. The only difference is hair style and color, most of which end up being the same because 2-3 styles are "popular".
I run around the game as a blood elf priest and see "twins" on a daily basis. Ever since Season 1 pvp gear can be bought with honor not a day passes when I see two or three characters ALL wearing it standing in front of the PvP Battlemasters.
Character advancement is based on items. Attaining items requires EXTENSIVE repetition of content.
The problem with people wanting "original" content is that it isn't economical. A game like Mass Effect (Great rpg that just came out) spent years in development for a 20 hour game. People buy it and get 20 hours of content.
In WoW they spend months developing a raid instance... and people play it for months trying to beat it and THEN farm it... since you can only kill bosses once a WEEK. Which one is smarter for the money-maker? The 20 hour return or the month-long return?
There are two kinds of game mentalities:
1. Work to get TO the fun part
2. Play the fun part.
1 allows a game to last MUCH longer, because people have that carrot on the end of the stick. "Oooh, shiny armor, we swear it'l be fun once you have it! You'll be like BEEFY over there!"
2 makes a game MUCH shorter, but more enjoyable. Everything is fresh and unique, and when everything is said and done you can put down the controller satisfied.
The problem then is the game model. People value the idea that with a subscription based game they are getting "more" content. Could be true. I could easily argue that some single-player games have the same amount if not more. However content repetition and most importantly "people" keep them going. My friends in raid guilds are only in those guilds still because they love the people. When guilds fall apart, people quit... feel nostalgic, and reform/reroll.
People wanting more from WoW are like people wanting more from a drug. They're looking for that high they got when they first logged in and felt "Wow, this is cool." They want to feel the way they did when they got their first epic, or beat their first instance or raid boss, but it will never happen. Therefore they will never be satisfied.
I for one will never feel as awe-inspired or excited as I did when I played Everquest for the first time. The music, the environment, and doing things with other players was just amazing.Other games are just replicating that experience, which is nice when it's in a new candy shell, but it doesn't last. I play WoW because I'm an MMO addict, just like most of the playerbase.
Oh.... darn... did I have a point with all of that?
Ummm... yea...
Everything in moderation. Most WoW players try to glut themselves since thats what most of the rewards require. Then when they find out that the food really doesn't taste that good they want their money back, but they're already stuffed.
Moral of the story is, don't glut yourself. The subscription based methodology makes people think "OMG MUST PLAY MORE TO GET MOST OUT OF MY MONTH" but in reality 15 dollars is about as much as going to the movies for 2 hours. It's not that expensive. Don't glut yourself, take it slow, play OTHER GAMES and do OTHER THINGS every day, and you won't get this empty feeling that you've wasted your life and time on a game that sucks.
This is largely a fallacy put forth by the non believers (non players). While it's possible that classes can wear the same equipment, in reality this doesn't happen nearly as often as people think. Sure if you have a full set of a specific tier of armor, then yes, you'll look like someone else of the same class wearing that same armor. At least the armor will look the same, different races/sexes obviously look differently in the armor since they are of different body types. And even if the armor is the same, weapons can vary greatly which again alters the look. On top of that, you can wear a guild tabard which will alter your look compared to others outside your guild. You can also choose to not show your helm or your cloak, further dileniating you from someone in the same armor. And since this really only happens once you reach lvl 60, the chances you'll be able to find even a single character that looks exactly like yours below lvl 60 are about zero. You *might* find one or 2 that look very similar to you at 70, but even that is not all that likely since most people have a mix of different tier armor, only a few wear a full set of any one particular tier.While it's possible, the reality is it doesn't happen that often. And for those of you who disagree, lets see some screenshots of you standing next to someone with the exact same armor. And no level 1's looking exactly alike, that's just silly.
That's just the thing. The only way to differentiate yourself is with armor. Twelve blood elves of any class can stand in a row and they will all move the same, shake their heads the same, attack the same, cast the same. They have the same body height, width, weight, etc. The only difference is hair style and color, most of which end up being the same because 2-3 styles are "popular".
You're ignoring the fact that you can be male or female. That you can change your skin color. That you can change your hair style and color. That you can change your facial expression. That you can wear ear rings. That you can wear a tabard. That your weapons can be different. That you can have different enchants on weapons. That your cloak can be different. That your mounts can be different. That your shirt can be different. NONE of that has anything to do with the armor you wear. NONE OF IT!!!
Yeah, if you IGNORE ALL THIS, then you look the same IF YOU'RE WEARING THE EXACT SAME ARMOR!!!
You know, if you take the entire population of the world and you ignore race, sex, height, weight, hair style, hair color, facial appearance, clothes and jewelry...we all look pretty much the same.
I'm still waiting for that screenshot of any 2 characters above the level of 60 standing next to each other that look exactly identical.
Walk to the battlemaster in shattrah on any server. You'll see 10 or 12 of them.
I can'r say what is happening all over just that there are less and less people on my server
"Society in every state is a blessing, but government even in its best state is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one ..." - Thomas Paine