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A 5 year search for fulfillment that ends where it started! (My MMO Story)
hydrofox
Member UncommonPosts: 17
I remember back in 2004 when I was first introduced to World of Warcraft. I had already dabbled in some MMORPG's like Asheron's call, Ultima and Darkage of Camelot. Though each of those games had a certain magic to them, none of them had fully captured my desire for a second life, basked in medieval lore, and entrenched in epic gear. As stated, in 2002, I was made delightfully aware of this MMO called WoW and was immediately sucked in.
After feeling like I would never be into an RPG as much as I was in to FF7, I had disproved that sentiment very quickly. The vast wide open world, the flying gryphons, the boat terminals, the quest lines, the lore, the gear, the yearning for gold, the professions, the raids, the guilds, the communities, the instance system and the class options. The game just reached out and grabbed me, punching me in the face, and stealing my soul. I could not stop playing WoW. I struggled through college, lost a few jobs and pissed off a few girlfriends, but i didn't give a damn, because my level 55 paladin was laced in epics.
I remember my jaw dropping on the day Burning Crusade came out. The entire new planet added to an already huge player universe. The reputation quests, the story line, the new dungeons, the new raids. Once again, I was sucked in hook, line and sinker. Then finally, Wrath of the Lich King came out. Flying in Stormwind, raid ques, and arguably the best raid content ever made in MMO history. I was literally, in gaming heaven. until it all came crashing down.
In 2010, when Cataclysm was released, I was extremely disappointed. Several people were, in fact, many guilds disbanded, the communities began to shrink, and the game became run by casuals pretending to be elite hardcore players. The game begin to drastically lose its luster. The quests were stagnant, the raids were becoming watered down and the world changes, made those of us who played since vanilla, feel a bit queasy. I cancelled my subscription that year. I saw the game going nowhere and decided to call it a day.
Just before you thought it couldn't get any worse, Mists of Pandaria was released. What a joke. The game I have been in love with for 10 years, was now making me sick. It went from players slaying Illidan, to running around as pandas. It made me feel my decision to quit playing in 2010 was a good one. The problem for me was finding that new game that would give me the same extraordinary feeling that vanilla WoW, BC and WotLK, made me feel. I went on the MMO hunt.
First things first, I started playing Star Wars: The Old Republic. I played it for 3 months. It had some cool looking graphics and some awesome ideas, but at the end of the day, I wanted to make gold, not credits. I wanted to grab quests quickly, not sit through endless hours of cinematics. Well, one up, one down.
My next attempt at finding my MMO bliss was when I downloaded both second life and EVE. I thought, maybe what i need is a space game or a just a community game. Second life I discovered was merely an online adult friend finder with 3D models. Instantly uninstalled. EVE on the other hand, had a magnificent economy, but man was the game boring. I was essentially doing financial accounting while staring at a screen of blank space and stars. Uninstalled.
I began reading about some great games that were either coming out or already released. Wildstar, ESO, Archeage, Tera, Rift, and Guildwars 2. First came Guild Wars 2. What an exceptional game. I really can't complain, other than it is far too geared for PVP for my taste. I personally love PVE and so Guild Wars wasn't the game for me. I downloaded Rift. Rift was a better looking World of Warcraft rip off, with the exception of adding rifts. A very boring addition that failed to give the game its own identity. I played to level 18 and quit. I downloaded Tera. The game mechanics of that game felt so uncomfortable and the lore was so terrible that I couldn't even make it past level 10 before I uninstalled that game. Lucky for me, both Rift and Tera were free. No harm, no foul.
Finally, Elder Scrolls came out. Here it was, the game that would replace WoW as king and with it's huge brand recognition would have large communities and awesome in-game guilds. WRONG. The game lacked major community as the guild system was set up to completely keep players from ever forming communities. One player could be in 5 guilds at a time. Dungeon runs were terrible when healers couldn't heal tanks specifically because they had spell movements that refrained them from using other spells. Everything was set up so piss poor as an MMO, that it was essentially Skyrim online. Only Skyrim fans hated it. So it was one big gigantic mess. I've heard recently, that some of this was corrected, but it was too late. Remember, I'm looking for that magic. That magic that ropes me in and makes it so I don't want to be anywhere else.
Next up, Wildstar. Wow this game had potential. Excellent cartoony graphical elements with a space theme, added to a World of Warcraft style MMO? They're bringing back 40 man raids? This game was going to be epic! WRONG. Boy did NCSOFT and Carbine drop the ball on this one, or what? I'm paying for my abilities, paths are not at all different, and classes were designed poorly. I understand not making a Mordesh become an Esper when the lore would dictate why. But when there's no logical reasoning for this, aside from Carbine doesn't want you too, it's pretty bad. So finally, ready to almost give-up, I tried Archeage.
Archeage is amazing. I was astounded for the first 3 months. The look and feel of the game is incredible. The class system is phenomenal. The economy is perfect. The PVP and the PVE are just right. I played until level 50 (max level). First MMO I played until max level since WoW. Was I at home? Did I finally find my game? NO! I didn't!
The end game was terrible. It consisted of sitting in one area (Hasla) and killing trash mobs for weeks and weeks and weeks, to attain your tier 3 weapons. It consisted of way too much PVP and tradepack moving, that payed you almost nothing to make it worth it. No epic raids, no PVP incentives. Just trolling other guilds. Top it all off, I discover that the company has no plans to add anymore content EVER past level 55! So why the hell am I here? Why did I invest this time into this game?
So there it was. I had completely lost hope.
Then, my best friend calls me up and says, "Yo, did you try the new WoW expansion?"
"Hell no", I replied. "I'll never play that game again after how they bastardized it!" My freind goes on to tell me that I'm missing out. Okay, the hell with it. I'll do it. I'll download the damn game and see what the new expansion is all about, but I'm not making any promises to myself or anyone else that I'll like it. HOLY SHEET!!!!!!!!! That feeling! That feeling of the magic and being sucked in! It's back! 5 years I was away searching for a home away from WoW only for it to lead me nowhere, and eventually just make me come back? You've got to be kidding me!
$15 a month was credited from my debit this month. Everything feels normal again. The only game ever worth paying for. Still. Go figure.
Go figure.
Comments
A lot of us have the same story you have about a game that we once loved. Good to see you are back home again.
Story of my life, although my wow sub ran out a month ago and I dont plan on getting new one because I feel like I'l be able to just watch the story unveil via youtube, which was the (surprising) grabber for me - along with getting to play my beloved discipline priest.
But like said, I probably wont go back until theres enough LFR content to last me for atleast a month, I dont have time to play in raiding guilds.
All that just to say you returned to WoW?
BTW, you implied it was fun again... which means your search didn't end in disappointment.
I never played WoW but my story is same as yours. I was totally hooked on Warhammer Online. When it stopped I tried all the games you also mentioned but for me the just didn't 'had' it. So happy these days with the private server of Warhammer Online. I see more and more old players return to the game, and tonight we have a new patch coming up :-)
I had to snicker a little too at the whole writeup just to get to your point, but I get it..:)
So, would it be worth going back to WoW and start fresh? My wife and I dabbled for a few months in it years ago and having just quit ArcheAge, we're looking for something fun again. We're a little older now since last time and maybe our ideas on what's fun are changed. My wife enjoys PvE more than PvP and I just like playing a game that takes me away from RL a bit...
Is WoW that game now?
Either you were following it for two years, which I'll admit is feasible since I did the same...Or you're lying, WoW released in 2004. I know because I was there and the release was rocky as all hell, servers were constantly going down and people were whining.
Furthermore your level 55 Paladin had epics? I think I only ever got one epic pre-60 and it was the lame frost ring from Strat or some part of the Scarlet Monastery. So congratulations there!
There was also no flying in vanilla zones during WotLK, at least from what I remember. Flying in vanilla zones was made possible during Cata, then again I've never been in Stormwind and maybe it was the exception?
I'm glad that you found something that makes you happy, however.
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The game is nothing like original WoW and still has pandas. I don't entirely understand how you could leave WoW for the reasons you did and come back now. The game is even farther away from what it was originally. It's basically all instances. The open world has become completely segregated and elite mobs have been removed for the most part. I fail to see how the game is what you are looking for again. It's more likely because you are playing it with your friend that you are enjoying it.
I played through it recently and got bored fairly quickly. The solo content is to easy and driven by GPS. The group and PvP is all que and wait. It's like things are not connected together at all. You might as well be playing 3 or 4 different games instead of one.
I guess if you are enjoying it that's all that matters though.
op, I think your write up is very good, from the heart and similar to how SO many of us feel. I pretty much have done the exact same path as you, except... uh... lol... I just returned to ESO lately and I'm lov'n it! I know you will be gentle with me because your point is that we should find happiness and WoW is one, if not THE best ever, but I returned to ESO. I loved my couple of months back at WoW (WoD) and will probably do it again, but right now I am excited about how ESO has changed and the community is really ramping up getting ready for March 17th or whatever.
when I went back to WoD we just dungeoned after dungeon after dungeon. it was GREAT! my one complaint is that there is NOBODY running around out in the world of WoW... just LFG for dungeons... which was a blast lol.
in ESO I love seeing SO many peepz out in the world and getting to a dungeon is a little tough, kinda, guess WoW made me lazy, but I love the graphics and feel of ESO. the gear has that old world look and I love how the weapons hit and the spells cast... I also love changing weapons which completely changes my toon.
anyway, GREAT story... we ALL feel ya!!
Sz
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I guess I just can't empathize with these threads (I can sympathize but not empathize). I just never thought WoW was anything special. There has never been any feeling to recapture for me. I played Vanilla WoW left sometime after AQ was introduced. As an RPG WoW is not anything all that new or interesting or whatever.
Its perfectly fine but I just don't really agree with this perception that it is somehow anything special in the genre. That isn't to say its not well made or more polished than most.
I suppose it must have something to do with me being more concerned with interesting mechanics that let me build what I want. For example even though Titan Quest has various issues vs Diablo 2 I get more absorbed with Titan Quest or currently Grim Dawn than the Diablo stuff simply because they have a more freeform class system that lets me mix and match my character elements more freely. But beyond that the games are pretty similar to me, one is a bit faster or slower. One is a bit tighter on controls. Those differences don't bug me much.
WoW just follows a really quite old formula, a formula that's older than EQ so we are talking over 2 decades here. I guess some people get reabsorbed into the formula due to polish or newness or slight alterations etc. For me WoW never had the sort of character creation and development that could capture my imagination, it was just a good execution of an old formula. It was fine to play for a while. I could probably play it again I guess and get some enjoyment sure. But I could replay 100 other games as well and some of them wouldn't be a rehash of a rehash but would actually be something relatively unique in a standalone manner.
I'm also back where I started.
After playing pretty much every MMO out there the past 10 years I'm back with Asheron's Call and loving every min of it.
Granted, it's now in Maintenance mode, but I got 14 years of content to play thru and it's still better than 90% of the garbage out there currently.