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What I like about World of Warcraft...
saint4God
Member Posts: 699
I'm going to go against the grain here and post something positive about World of Warcraft in the World of Warcraft forums. In fact, I have more positive things to say about World of Warcraft than any other game made.
It does get old, seeing all the 
and 
when it comes to a past-time that is as much art as is it entertainment.
This game is the leader in sales, and it is no surprise why: "Leadership is based on inspiration, not domination; on cooperation, not intimidation. " - William Arthur Wood
With that said, here are some reasons why I enjoy the game:
- It empowers players to successfully solo or group to complete quests.
- Roleplay lives in RP guilds and has designated RP servers.
- Finding quests is not difficult, completing them are reasonable.
- PvP rewards are worthwhile. Battlegrounds can be fun and challenging.
- Character creation is flexible.
- Mods are encouraged
- Graphics are good, lag is minimal.
- Tradeskills can be helpful
- There seems to always be something to do.
Feel free to add to the list. Anyone who is here to 
may do so on the million other threads that are designed to do so. Here it's 
and I'll /ignore.
Comments
On the positive:
- models are consistent. toons, items, environment all with the same level of detail.
- artwork is great. Multiple environments, all looking different. Different architectures, moods, background music, different feels.
- UI is perfect. The best UI is the UI you don't even notice.
- classes are great. They are different, they play different. A skill-based game would of course be better, but as far as a class-based game, WoW has done it better than any other MMO i've ever played (which has been around 5 others i think)
- animations are great. Compare a night elf riding the cat with a human riding a horse in eq2 (both released about the same time). The eq2 horse doesn't even grip the curvature of the landscape, while the wow ride is fluid motion, gripping the landscape, ... it's nice.
On the negative:
- blizz went the wrong direction with battlegrounds. They should have increased world-pvp, and incorporated more elements from warcraft. Have the horde tear down those statues in front of stormwinde, have the alliance build them back, etc. Maybe that's asking too much? But if wow couldn't do it with the easier graphic requirements, then it probably will never happen I guess. WAR is making promises... but experience has made me skeptical.
I *like* BG. They should keep the PvE world separate than the PvP world.
There ARE servers with world PvP. The tearing down of statues is asking a bit much, but you CAN raid any city you like.
My list of positives is very large, so I'll try and cut it down to the few that I think makes WoW really, really stand out from the pack-
1. Size: Huge landmass, incredible number of quests, dungeons, raids. Having 10+ million people helps because I have never seen a ghost town in all of WoW. No matter when I log in, there is always something to do. Battlegrounds, daily quests, crafting, resource gathering, dungeons, raids, farming solo... There is simply so much content. Sure, a lot of it is the "same" but as long as you keep doing different things instead of running the same battlegrounds over and over etc. it's not hard for the game to remain fresh.
2. Immersion: It looks like Warcraft. It sounds like Warcraft, it feels like Warcraft.. they nailed the IP 100% perfectly. I still love walking into buildings that in the old RTS games wear just an exterior. I still get that "so that's what the barracks looks like on the inside" kind of feeling.
3. Support: With so many people playing and hundreds of servers, it's absolutely amazing how stable and smooth everything (normally) runs. Customer support is great, very fast considering the sheer volume of work they must deal with every day. I've never had anything but positive experiences with any support I've gotten, from billing to characters moves/copies to account reactivations etc. etc.
Things I don't like-
1. Too gear dependant. It's great to finally get that uber piece of gear, to get that increase in power/survivability etc... but there is always something better. You really have to commit yourself to play for the experience of it, for the achievement rather then the pixels and stats, otherwise the gear grind really really gets to you after a while.
2. PvP is just another gear treadmill. It's fun, I enjoy battlegrounds and the Arena, but I wish PvP offered so much more. Territorial control, lasting world impact etc. Hopefully Warhammer will be a huge sucess and Blizzard will see this and reevalute the role of PvP in their world.
3. Obsolete content- I really wish they'd do something major to reinvigorate the old world content, then level 1-60 stuff besides just making it go faster. It's going to be the same thing with the new expansion, a total reset and now all the 60-70 content will be obsolete. I think they need to significantly change the content and "feel" of the old world with the release of the new expansion. It's the reason I can never stick with any alts I create, I've already seen and done everything in the old world.. spice it up a little!
Nraiusseldon: I 'like' BG. They should keep the PvE world separate than teh PvP world.
I couldn't disagree more. Words like should are too strong of course. It's all about what we want. I want a game where there is no difference between pve and pvp, and you don't. We just have different subjective desires is all.
Hexxity: There ARE servers with world PvP. The tearing down of statues is asking a bit much, but you CAN raid any city you like.
You can raid, but it means nothing and results in nothing. Also, I think they added something to make this happen less didn't they? dishonor points or something?
I'm just saying the same thing Heerobya is saying with his second point... perhaps I'm not saying it as well.... Here is Heerobya's #2....
2. PvP is just another gear treadmill. It's fun, I enjoy battlegrounds and the Arena, but I wish PvP offered so much more. Territorial control, lasting world impact etc. Hopefully Warhammer will be a huge sucess and Blizzard will see this and reevalute the role of PvP in their world.
Anyway, I don't want to hijack the OPs thread. This world-pvp topic has been discussed hundreds of times before; with no real ultimate solution. Just people expressing what they want.
But to the OP's point, there ARE lots of good things about WoW. And as much as people groan about it, their sales actually do indicate they have hit a nerve somewhere. There may be features that the more seasoned players would want that are not there, features that are good in themselves. But there is no denying that WoW kicks and has done a LOT of things right.
LOL. Sorry, I just had to laugh at that line. Yeah, I think you could say that.
Sure. I have no problem rephrasing to "I would like" them to keep the PvE world separate from the PvP world. And to some extent, I got my wish. I have a feeling that I am in the majority camp and that is why WOW is designed this way.
Well said about customer service, they really know what they're doing in that department.
It would be interesting to see more dramatic sieges (such as statues being torn down). I know I love riding into Stormwind and seeing a dragon heads on the archways then getting that sweet buff for the next hour. Maybe on the PvP servers allow factions to lay siege and maintain control of whole cities for a few days. After that, "reinforcements" come to wipe them out if they're still there.
Animations are really smooth and well thought-out.
Good comment about the UI, the best indeed is the one you don't know is there. The focus should be on the screen and not what buttons should I be pushing.
http://www.allaboutgod.com/
I think you just generalized all MMo's with your bullet list.
Not going to take the bait on this one. I know how easy it is to start bashing other mmorpg's by saying things like "Everquest I doesn't have this, GuildWars lacks this, EverQuest 2 doesn't do that, and what's really screwed up about Star Wars Galaxies is that..." but nope, not going to. It's a positive thread and will maintain such. I happily pay and play my monthly subscription to Blizzard. In others I felt a range of emotions from anger to regret. My bullet list, sadly, does not generalize all MMO's. If it did, I would have more than one monthly subscription.
http://www.allaboutgod.com/
Im not here to spam, just giving my honest opinion.
Now heres an extra list i'll add.
Thats it I guess.
___________________
Give me a good skill based sandbox game, and i'll give you a cookie!
But, then what do you do once when you get in? I'm not saying you MUST at any cost find BGs fun, but not fun at all? It's PVP, simple goals, easy to understand, go and do objectives or kill people, that's it. Why is that no fun to you?
Although I can only speak for myself, I think the problem is that there's no "mixing it up" as far as battlegrounds. The strategies are pretty much the same and understood after a few runs. Because getting the gear makes you go many times, it's kind'a putting your brain on autopilot. In fairness, battlegrounds are very, very confusing the first few times you go. It takes a number of runs to get into the groove. Balancing variety with familiarity is a difficult task. In raids/dungeons, the same effect. The first time you go it's like "Wow! Okay, what in the world am I suppose to do?!" then after the 40th time, it's *sigh* "Button sequence 5, 2, 3, 4, 8, 7, 5, repeat". The variety is expected from the players. We're charged with seeking out people who haven't been before and taking them through. In that way, the "new-ness" is reborn when we hear them go, "Cool! Look at this place!"
http://www.allaboutgod.com/
But, then what do you do once when you get in? I'm not saying you MUST at any cost find BGs fun, but not fun at all? It's PVP, simple goals, easy to understand, go and do objectives or kill people, that's it. Why is that no fun to you?
I imagine its because some people only PvP to get rewards. And since you can just sit in a BG and do very little for rewards, which isn't all that much fun, THESE people get very little out of the BGs. So they sit in the BGs doing nothing for rewards they'll basically never ever use. Brilliant!!!
Its like people who say life is boring. Who's fault is that? If you don't try to make something exciting it isn't going to be. BGs CAN be a lot of fun if you actually try to win, get organized and play together. They can also be dreadfully boring if you just sit there and do nothing, bitching and moaning about how this is unfair, that person is cheating, this sucks and that sucks. Unfortunately many people prefer to do nothing, get rewards, bitch and moan and wonder why they're not having any fun. You can just get by or you can attempt to actually, you know, PvP.
Many perfer the path of least resistance. For some, thats good enough. But when I hear these people complain how its boring, you have to scratch your head. You know you don't HAVE TO take the path of least resistance.
And this is why there are 9 classes to choose from. I have 9 different toons, one from each class. I have all 6 professions. When I get a little bored playing one toon, I switch to another and instantly it's all fresh again. I think people get bored and burned out on WoW because they don't take advantage of all that there is to offer. They raid for 7 days a week 4 hours a day with the same toon. Of course that's going to get stale after a while. All you have to do to make it fresh again though is try something different. Try the battlegrounds, try the arenas, try a different class, level up a different toon, work on crafting, etc. There's plenty to do, but people pigeon hole themselves into a certain activity and then say it get's boring. Um, duh!!!
From 1-30, you have different races/class combinations that can make playing 9 toons interesting, different, and fun. But from 30-60, everyone is doing the same things. Combine that with the fact that from 30-60 you are just getting more powerful versions of the same skills. So the gameplay doesn't change from 30-60.... i.e. if you got the hunter down at 30, you got it down. The changes at 30+ are not nil, but close to it. Finally, add in that 80% of a toon's life is spent in the higher 30-60 levels because xp required per level is more.... then you don't have that much variety by playing alts... u got a little, but not that much.
From 1-30, you have different races/class combinations that can make playing 9 toons interesting, different, and fun. But from 30-60, everyone is doing the same things. Combine that with the fact that from 30-60 you are just getting more powerful versions of the same skills. So the gameplay doesn't change from 30-60.... i.e. if you got the hunter down at 30, you got it down. The changes at 30+ are not nil, but close to it. Finally, add in that 80% of a toon's life is spent in the higher 30-60 levels because xp required per level is more.... then you don't have that much variety by playing alts... u got a little, but not that much.
You have a point, but you're also over simplifying it. No, you don't get a lot of new skills, but there are a few and usually they do change your tactics a bit. Like for a hunter, when I got snake trap, that really changed the way I played since I started using it a lot more and quit using frost trap and freezing trap so much. Also don't forget about your talents. At level 30, you have only spent 20 talent points and are barely 1/2 way thru a single tree. But at level 70, you have 40 more talent points to work with, probably an additional skill or 2 that are different depending on what tree you use and have gone about 1/2 thru a second tree.And with the recent changes to XP, it takes approximately the same time to get from 30-60 as it does from 1-30. A little longer just because the first 15 or so levels are so fast, but you'll level up approximately every 2-4 hours of playing time depending on how you play, it doesn't get exponentially longer anymore. If you know the quests to take and where and how to complete them to maximize your experience, you'll get a new level at pretty much a constant pace.
And I completely disagree that playing an alt doesn't offer a lot of variety. Granted that there may not be 9 totally different ways to play, but playing a caster is nothing like playing a melee toon which is nothing like playing a healing toon. So maybe there's only really like 3 or 4 different ways to play, but those 3 or 4 are completely different and require completely different sets of skills. Play one of each to 70, then go raid with them, PvP with them etc and tell me they aren't different. I have a tough time adjusting to my mage after I have played my Paladin for awhile or adjusting to my warrior after having played my mage etc. It doesn't take long to pick up again, but it's definately a whole new thought process that goes on.
Yep, this is true. I have more toons than Baskin Robbins has flavors. Whenever I feel the game is too easy, I try to solo a druid or rogue X-D. After 3 years, I'm still into the game. My main mission now is to outfit everyone in my guild with decent weapons. Maybe next will be armor. The prices are insane from a character's perspective, but gives more encouragement to go out and get it yourself. No surprise to Blizzard I'm sure, perhaps even engineered to be this way. That's cool, makes paying for talents easier when your greens sell for 2+ gold. I'd also like to go back and re-visit some dungeons I'd either missed or haven't gone through in some time. Seeking out new experiences, because they are there. Also want to at least see all the rare mobs. It was funny that Marticar in Zangarmarsh got reduced because two days before that, me and two others had quite the fight to bring him down. Two 70's and a 62 on that 62 elite and he won three times. I'm all wondering what good my epic gear was but dragging him closer to the graveyard gave us short respawn times to take him out. Hehe. I'm sure he can be solo'd by a 67 now...but the three of us all can sound like old dogs saying, "I remember when..."
Something else that makes the game new is upgrades. Got a nice Samsung LCD, ramped up the graphics card to 256mb, and turned the graphics details up. Everything is crisp, clear and beautiful. The better the computer, the less 'cartoony' that many tend to complain about.
http://www.allaboutgod.com/
I wrote an article on What Blizzard did Right and did Wrong with World of Warcraft. Read it HERE
Torrential
Torrential: DAOC (Pendragon)
Awned: World of Warcraft (Lothar)
Torren: Warhammer Online (Praag)
Thanks, I left my two cents. There's a problem with apostrophes though when you leave a comment.
Regarding 'what World of Warcraft did wrong', I'm not sure they did anything wrong. Wrong is stealing money, breaking promises, treating people poorly. Although I have played other MMO's that have done these things, I haven't found Blizzard enacting any of these malicious intents. Sure, there's things they can improve on, so if there's any charge that could be levied against them, it's not being as dynamic in improvements as some of their customers demand.
http://www.allaboutgod.com/
Another thing I like about World of Warcraft...
My rig was getting kinda old, running off of technology no longer around such as AGP 8x, ATA100 hard drive, Socket A processor, etc. Just recently gutted the bugger and put in a new widescreen flat panel Samsung monitor, MoBo, Video card 512mb AGP x16, 2gig mem, AMD2 processor and WOW! Ramped up the video settings, and can I say how beautiful the game looks? To those who say "too cartoony", I wonder if the problem is they're running the game on an out-dated computer.
<Removed Etch-A-Sketch picture since apparently Etch-A-Sketch is offensive to someone to the point where they will not believe in God because of the joke>
http://www.allaboutgod.com/
To the people who say the game is too cartoony. Have you ever played WC3? or any of the Warcraft Games? Because if you have then you would know that Blizzard has never went with the BS "realism" that too many games now try to emulate. Blizzard has time and time again gone for artistic quality rather than the other way. Which in many MMO's make the games look like poor claymation models or over rendered cut sceens from a CG movie. Both of which would not fit in the Warcraft Universe what so ever.
I like how someone with the name "saint4god" and having a generally "goody goody" sort of posting habit posts a picture of an Etch-A-Sketch goatse. Thanks for reminding me why I don't believe in god!
Anyone, on to the reason of the thread, you posted:
"With that said, here are some reasons why I enjoy the game:
1. Yes, I'll agree here. Being able to solo quests is empowering. Until you hit about 62ish though, grouping is a pain in the ass.
2. Agreed, again. However, the RP servers don't mean a damn thing. I'm on Steamwheedle Cartel and if there's any RP left there, I can't see it.
3. Finding quests isn't hard at all. Completing them is another story. More often than not, you get the same vanilla crap over and over. "Kill X of Y." "Bring me Z (thing)s." With the overabundance of daily quests now, the game is just saturated with repetition.
4. I've got something like 60k honor sitting on my character and nothing to buy, because it's all junk. BGs and Arena are now a contest of "Who's got the better gear?" rather than "Who can play their class better?" Resilience and such ruined PvP, and having only four types of BGs is pathetic. Blizzard's got plenty of time on their hands, and we all know plenty of money, so they should be using it.
5. Character creation is mediocre, at best. I'm not going any farther with that.
6. Agreed to disagree.
7. Graphics are sad, in this day and age. Agreed on lag.
8. Tradeskills CAN be helpful. Emphasis on the "can". Har har. Most of the time my Alch/Herb just collects dust.
9. The biggest disagreement I have. Endgame has three options. Reroll, raid, or PvP. Rerolling is boring as hell, raiding is pointless when the guild is catering to the founders, and PvP is so stupid in WoW now that it's hardly even worth mentioning as part of the game.
Now, even though I seem to hate WoW, I actually respect it. It wasn't my first MMO like it was for many, but it did set the bar on a lot of things. Lots of current and future MMOs look at WoW as the framework for their game, and that has its ups and downs. The future of MMOs will be a very interesting sight to see, and I anticipate it.
Firstly, the Etch-A-Sketch was a joke (EGHADS! Christians cannot make jokes!) . Yes, I do think people jump the gun on slamming the graphics without the effort of ramping them up.
Secondly, are you saying had I not made the Etch-A-Sketch joke you'd believe in God? Not that -I- have a hard time believing but feel free to show me otherwise. Thirdly, the example of Christianity is Christ. If you're convinced there's a God because of another person, what does that say about a your own critical thinking and truth seeking?
You're allowed to come here to a WoW Forum and post that you seemingly hate WoW, but I can't make a jibe about those of us who are quick to slam the game? Double-Standards Land must be a fun place to live. What religion are you? Should I not believe it because of your opinions on the game?
Though I made one jest towards gamers, of negative opinions, you have plenty:
Yes, you do seem to hate the game. So, before you decide to swing that judgement hammer, pause for a minute to recognize it has two heads.
Another reason why I like this game is those who make these kinds of negative comments aren't playing it. Hopefully they'll pass right along to Age of Conan or Warhammer Online.
Finally, please re-read (assuming you had before) the last line of the initial post regarding the purpose of this thread.
http://www.allaboutgod.com/
I did read your initial post, and no, I still wouldn't believe in god. Personal choice.
You misunderstand. I don't hate WoW at all. I can simply see that there are a ton of problems with it. I still have an active account until my gamecard expires (since hacking is such a problem, I'd rather not put my CC info up).
Now, even though the game has its fair share of problems, most of which came with BC, I still played and enjoyed the game up until recently. I've just gotten so tired of the endless grind. WoW is just that; a massive grind.
I'm not here to troll, I'm here to make a point. If you don't want to/can't discuss, then simply say so and we can move on.