AT World of Warcraft Thread (Cataclysm, Where do you play, General BS and all that)

[Gung-Ho]

I must admit though that I agree that we've lost a lot of the "feeling" you had back in vanilla by just being able to fly over everything and level at such a pace. You finish zones before you've fully explored them now and you don't get immersed at all. There's a huge difference between walking through a zone for 20 minutes and riding through it in 2 or flying completely above it. By the time you get to Hellfire you are flying and you never do anything on the ground again.

You're welcome to walk around in Hellfire and toodle around if you'd like. Personally, I fly through that hideous crap as fast as I can. Hell, I even angle the camera upwards and turn on autopilot so I don't have to look at it. I'll take the occasional humiliation of being beaten by an angry birdman or clefthoof when trying to mine fel iron/herb felweed in Terrokar or Nagarand while being underleveled for the zone rather than go through Hellfire ever again.

 

[lupi]

Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
World of Warcraft has evolved quite a bit since the day the Keyring bag slot was added in patch 1.11. When implemented, this Keyring provided players with a convenient way of storing dungeon, quest, and other keys automatically. Back when the largest bag was a mind bottling 18 slots - rumoured to be bottomless - the Keyring helped save precious bag space. But as things tend to do, time went on, bags got bigger, and designs for gating content (literally and figuratively) evolved through the years.

In today’s Azeroth, keys don’t really serve much of a purpose except to take up physical storage space from the game (which could be used for other awesome stuff), and visual interface space on yours. Because of this, we’ve decided to get rid of the Keyring in order to free up some user interface space for exciting new features. This change could also potentially allow us to play around with the amount of default storage space you’re allotted down the road. So, what does this mean for you and the keys you might not have looked at in the last couple expansions or so?

We’re currently working on the implementation of a system in patch 4.2 which will handle the removal of the Keyring, while causing you as little hassle with keys as possible. Some keys which no longer serve a purpose in the game will automatically be removed from your inventory. In return, you’ll be compensated for them with their respective vendor sell prices in gold. You might also have random leftover quest keys from outdated quests, or quests which were removed in Cataclysm. Keys that fall into this category have no use and no sell price, as they are labelled as quest items, and will be automatically removed from your inventory. Any remaining keys that might still potentially serve some use in the game will be transferred into your regular inventory. If there is not enough space in your inventory to hold any leftover keys once patch 4.2 hits live realms, the keys will be placed in a backlogged storage system. Once space is made for a backlogged key, the key will take that space after you log out or switch to a new zone (i.e. changing continents, entering a dungeon or Battleground, etc.).

We are continuing to work on new ways of allowing you to better manage the storage of various items in the game, and it is our goal to make sure the removal of the Keyring causes as little inconvenience to you as possible.

 

[polarmystery]

Un-subbed. It got too redundant for me and my friends who I'd play with haven't been on for a few weeks. WoW isn't fun without them. Probably my third account to buy and un-sub to. C'est la vie.

 

[lupi]

Originally Posted by Bashiok (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
So, just as a reference here are the keys we're currently seeing as ones that will not be converted to gold or removed upon release of the patch -- if you have them they'd be put back into your normal inventory. This isn't necessarily a final list, and it's possible we could cut the list down even further before 4.2 releases.


•Grim Guzzler Key (BRD)
•Secret Safe Key (BRD)
•Dark Keeper Key (BRD)
•Jump-a-Tron 4000 Key (Nagrand)
•Kolkar Booty Key (Barrens quest)
•Relic Coffer Key (Blackfathom Deeps)
•Ethereum Prison Key (Netherstorm – Blade’s Edge)
•Captain's Key (Tanaris)
•Any Blacksmith keys (e.g. Titanium Skeleton Key)

 

[polarmystery]

Originally Posted by Bashiok (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
So, just as a reference here are the keys we're currently seeing as ones that will not be converted to gold or removed upon release of the patch -- if you have them they'd be put back into your normal inventory. This isn't necessarily a final list, and it's possible we could cut the list down even further before 4.2 releases.


•Grim Guzzler Key (BRD)
•Secret Safe Key (BRD)
•Dark Keeper Key (BRD)
•Jump-a-Tron 4000 Key (Nagrand)
•Kolkar Booty Key (Barrens quest)
•Relic Coffer Key (Blackfathom Deeps)
•Ethereum Prison Key (Netherstorm – Blade’s Edge)
•Captain's Key (Tanaris)
•Any Blacksmith keys (e.g. Titanium Skeleton Key)

What about the keys required for the heroic versions of the Burning Crusade Dungeons?

 

[RatboyX]

WoW is in many ways a victim of it’s own success. The need for additional content to feed the ever ravenous masses of WoW players, and keep subscriptions high, made Blizzard implement compromises and changes to the game system. Look at most Blue responses to questions about the reason for a change and the answer is usually “We did it to make content development easier.”

Change is not necessarily a bad thing mind you but the need to “Simplify” the gaming experience in order to provide faster, more frequent game content, in my opinion, has been a mixed bag of good and bad. How good or how bad the changes are perceived depends on how an individual person plays the game.

Some people do (did?) indeed enjoy the immersive play of the old leveling structure, though I think it fair to say that after your first four or five max level toons leveling through the same content can be less than fun.

In the past Blizzard has striven to hit a balance between players who enjoy different parts of the game. It appears to me that with the massive expansions, BC, Wotlk, Cata, and all the other minor content expansions along the way Blizzard finds itself in the position where striking a balance and still being able to offer new content is impossible.

It’s obvious that Blizzard is focusing more on raiding, end game, and PvP with little to offer in terms of immersive leveling experience. Is that a bad thing? Not for me as I have seven level 85 toons, have run both of the new Cata race starting zones and don’t really feel inclined to level another toon right now.

Will the change make a difference to new players? I think the answer is yes and no. Some players looking for instant gratification or those who started playing WoW so they can run with friends who already have a high level toon will be happy for the ease of leveling and won’t miss what they don’t know is gone.

Other players who want to experience the game by questing and learning the lore and lay of the land may end up saying “I don’t see what all the fuss is about.”

The complexity and yes even the difficulty added spice and excitement to the game. There is no two ways about it, leveling has been dumbed down and relocated to a minor part of the game.

Do I still enjoy playing? Yes indeed I do, but I also see what the game has lost over time.

 

[Aikouka]

I only log in on raid nights anymore. I'd rather waste my time refreshing Anandtech to look for interesting threads to post in than do "worthwhile" WoW things like herb, or level Archaeology (that's a fun one). I could also do silly things like have a social life, but that's asking a lot 😛.

I still enjoy aspects of the game, but I'm kind of growing tired of it overall. 4.2 is going to introduce yet another time sink in regard to all of those daily quests, and I really don't want to do it. I've never even gotten Tol Barad to exalted on a single character... I just don't care to.

 

[montypythizzle]

With anything you get used to it overtime, that is what I see a lot of you guys speaking of. Ya, anything will get boring after a while. That grill? Ya you were excited to use it the first time, but where is it now? Sitting on the side, never to be used as much as when you bought it. That boat? Ya you used the shit out of it for a while, but then you just didn't go boating.

The same thing is for WoW, but I just find things to do in it. Some people only like the game for the auction house part, some only like the PvP part, and some only like the raiding or questing part.

It basically boils down to: Should I watch TV, should I go out somwhere, or should I read Anandtech, or should I just play WoW.
They are all the same.

Ya they did redo some stuff, but meh, it's something to do. I am sure every other game releases content on a regular basis that never copies any of their old content.

"hurr mario brothers, this is same crap u run around get mushroom and jump and hit stuff with ur head, im tired of this old content" You could say that for SMB2.

"hurr this is same lvl and same ghosts and same dots but pac man is pink this suks" You could say that for Ms. Pac-Man

 

[BassBomb]

I am renewing again (like always in the Summer)

I am rolling a class with my friends to start a fresh char.... I am previously always a melee person so I wanted some sort of casting role

I am narrowed down to Ele Shaman, Shadow Priest, Boomkin

Leaning towards Boomkin, because if I give up casting I have many ways out... any thoughts?

 

[Aikouka]

I am a bit biased toward Shamans, but I found my Boomkin to be fun as well. I found Shadow Priests kind of annoying to level, because I was constantly using mana cooldowns or drinking. The problem now is that I can't get "free water" from my mage, because he can only make level 85 water 🙁. Ele Shamans are more fun now that Lightning Shield and Earth Shock play a role in your damage priority.

EDIT:

Hmm it looks like the usual "nerf the old content" stuff has been announced. It looks fairly standard and as usual, it always means more depending on when you got your achievement.

 

[SaDiZTiKStyLeZ]

Un-subbed. It got too redundant for me and my friends who I'd play with haven't been on for a few weeks. WoW isn't fun without them.

Yep. Losing my friends and girlfriend, all whom I'd play with, had a huge impact on my losing interest in WOW. Every time I'd log on it'd remind me of the better times...

Have been unsubbed for about 6mo. I don't miss it whatsoever.
I do keep getting emails wanting me to come back though. Whatever. I'm not coming back. I have far more important shit to focus on.

 

[lupi]

With the upcoming content patch, 10- and 25-person Normal mode raid encounters will be receiving a comprehensive set of tuning adjustments to decrease their difficulty.

These changes will allow players, groups, and guilds who have yet to experience the content in Blackwing Descent, Bastion of Twilight, and Throne of the the Four Winds an opportunity to do so.

With the addition of a new tier of armor and weapons, we want to make the previous tier more accessible in ways other than just a shift of currency type, so we are making item level 359 gear purchasable for Justice points in the upcoming content patch.

Read the updated patch notes here http://us.battle.net/wow/en/blog/2723732#dungeons to see the current list of changes. Please note that all adjustments are subject to change based on the current 4.2 testing on the PTR.

 

[s1njin]

I didn't even make it through my trial membership before cancelling and uninstalling. They dumbed it down WAY to much for my tastes. Also they made it WAY to easy for my tastes. So many yellow mobs that used to be red. So many red mobs that used to take some effort to bring down. Griffons all over the place, heaven forbid you walk.

I feel they took away the sense of adventure and accomplishment. As others have said here apparently WoW is about the end game and raiding, but the journey there should be a challenge/fun/engaging/dangerous road.

Bah !

 

[Scotteq]

With the upcoming content patch, 10- and 25-person Normal mode raid encounters will be receiving a comprehensive set of tuning adjustments to decrease their difficulty....

<Snip>

Read the updated patch notes here http://us.battle.net/wow/en/blog/2723732#dungeons to see the current list of changes. Please note that all adjustments are subject to change based on the current 4.2 testing on the PTR.

That is a huge list of nerf's to all the current raid content. 😱


My alts are happy... My Main - Not so much.

 

[Powermoloch]

Tbc > cata

 

[Glayde]

The raid nerfs are only for normal modes anyway.

 

[xboxist]

WoW is an interesting thing for me to evaluate.

My first main that I leveled to cap (60) was a fun and very, very epic (well... ok, epic-less, actually) couple of months. Exploring everything for the first time was intense and thrilling to me. Virtually every aspect of the game had me enamored. Finding my first 6-slot bag (lol), walking into a capital city (Stormwind) for the first time, my first encounter with the opposite faction, first instance (Gnomer), etc. Many great memories.

Like most people, I've since played WoW off and on. Today the game caters to altoholics, no question. There is now a minimum of 17 flight paths per zone. Elite mobs/quests have all but vanished. You now get a mount at level 3 (or whatever). Leveling with any class/spec is a piece of cake now.

I realize that a lot of the changes that happened over time were practical ones. But there's something to be said for trials and accomplishments. Maybe a truly brand new WoW player who levels a character today for the first time that has no past experience to compare it to... would still feel extremely accomplished and have as many good memories as I had? No clue.

 

[Aikouka]

It's probably just us "old-timers" that have an issue with the easiness of it all. We didn't find too much fault with it the first time around, because it was new and the mentality was, "end game what?" I'm sure people that start playing now can still have quite a bit of fun experiencing the content for the first time, but we also have to consider that WoW is very raid-centric now.

Blizzard likes to push the content... even the old stuff... to allow people to actually do it. This is very much unlike what it was for anyone that's been playing since the beginning. You never hit 60 and thought, "Sweet, I'm going to go find a MC PUG!" Heh, maybe near the launch of TBC 😛.

Essentially, the first time you play the game, you're able to enjoy what it has to offer, because you haven't been "tainted" yet. Once you start hearing about these "raids" and seeing all the pretty gear, you want to give it a shot. Then you realize that the leveling process was all about getting to that one point.

 

[lupi]

I do love reading the whines about this. People crying that others will be able to get some title that they "earned" when it was "harder" to do so.

 

[AznAnarchy99]

I got full glad after cata came out and quit. Then they sent me a free 7 day for the ZA/ZG patch. Played for one night and got bored of flying around SW/Orgrim again.

 

[Phanuel]

It's probably just us "old-timers" that have an issue with the easiness of it all. We didn't find too much fault with it the first time around, because it was new and the mentality was, "end game what?" I'm sure people that start playing now can still have quite a bit of fun experiencing the content for the first time, but we also have to consider that WoW is very raid-centric now.

Blizzard likes to push the content... even the old stuff... to allow people to actually do it. This is very much unlike what it was for anyone that's been playing since the beginning. You never hit 60 and thought, "Sweet, I'm going to go find a MC PUG!" Heh, maybe near the launch of TBC 😛.

Essentially, the first time you play the game, you're able to enjoy what it has to offer, because you haven't been "tainted" yet. Once you start hearing about these "raids" and seeing all the pretty gear, you want to give it a shot. Then you realize that the leveling process was all about getting to that one point.

I started the game day 1 coming over with a group from EQ. Leveling wasn't 'fun' or an 'exciting new experience' for me. It was a series of 59 increasingly grind-y dings till I hit 60. Once there, I could get appropriately geared (of the Eagle and the Warlock cloth at that point since my mage set had dexterity on it) and then work on Molten Core and Onyxia. I knew from day 1 what the raids where and that was my end game goal. Hell, I participated in the world first legitimate kill of Onyxia and we were 5th or 6th on Ragnaros.

WoW was, in all actuality, even more 'Raid-centric' back then as it was the only path of progression once you hit 60. 5 man dungeon -> MC/(way later) ZG/AQ20 -> BWL -> AQ40 -> Naxx 40. You weren't able to do Naxx 40 unless you were in at least a healthy set of BWL level gear. And you didn't get BWL/AQ40 gear outside of raiding. Normal 5 man content ran out of usefulness nearly instantly.

Being an ex-hardcore raider and having been in that atmosphere, I enjoy having the ability to get gear a level or so behind the top tier without a huge wall preventing me because somebody who's raiding normal modes and thinking they're a badass is complaining that it's too easy for Joe Casual to get slightly lower level gear too easily. Having to replace burnt out raiders was very important and getting someone up to speed quickly was always welcomed. Unless you're Serious Casual or Vodka or one of the other top end guilds, you aren't recruiting people with the same level of gear you just lost.

 

[Aikouka]

I started the game day 1 coming over with a group from EQ. Leveling wasn't 'fun' or an 'exciting new experience' for me. It was a series of 59 increasingly grind-y dings till I hit 60. Once there, I could get appropriately geared (of the Eagle and the Warlock cloth at that point since my mage set had dexterity on it) and then work on Molten Core and Onyxia. I knew from day 1 what the raids where and that was my end game goal. Hell, I participated in the world first legitimate kill of Onyxia and we were 5th or 6th on Ragnaros.

The point was in reference to new players overall... those that "get lost" in a MMO's immersive world. They are the ones that usually enjoy the leveling experience, because the idea of what exists "at the end" is usually completely unknown.

WoW was, in all actuality, even more 'Raid-centric' back then as it was the only path of progression once you hit 60. 5 man dungeon -> MC/(way later) ZG/AQ20 -> BWL -> AQ40 -> Naxx 40. You weren't able to do Naxx 40 unless you were in at least a healthy set of BWL level gear. And you didn't get BWL/AQ40 gear outside of raiding. Normal 5 man content ran out of usefulness nearly instantly.

I think you may be misunderstanding what I mean by "raid-centric." The end-game actually hasn't changed much at all in terms of what's available... it's PVE or PVP. Although, now you get more than one way of doing the latter (BG, R-BG, Arena). The point was that since the middle of Wrath, Blizzard has been pushing raids much more fervently than they ever did before. Well, they actually kind of started at the end of TBC, but anyway.... The idea is that rather than only a minute amount of the player base ever touching the latest raid, players are given ways to make themselves capable of performing properly in the instance. Whether or not the player is capable of performing well enough is a completely different matter.

Maybe it would be better to say that Blizzard is more raid-centric rather than WoW.

Being an ex-hardcore raider and having been in that atmosphere, I enjoy having the ability to get gear a level or so behind the top tier without a huge wall preventing me because somebody who's raiding normal modes and thinking they're a badass is complaining that it's too easy for Joe Casual to get slightly lower level gear too easily. Having to replace burnt out raiders was very important and getting someone up to speed quickly was always welcomed. Unless you're Serious Casual or Vodka or one of the other top end guilds, you aren't recruiting people with the same level of gear you just lost.

I actually have no problem with making raid gear available like that. It also helps immensely with gearing alts, which can be a great bonus to even a seasoned guild. Having a secondary character available that is sufficiently geared can be good in case a character in a specific role may not be able to make it or is out for an extended period of time. Although, dual-spec helps with that as well and possibly better given how easy it can be to get off-spec gear.

 

[chalmers]

Anyone who has played this game for over...I don't know...3-4 years...I can't imagine why you'd find a reason to keep playing. New players sure I guess I can understand that.

 

[polarmystery]

Anyone who has played this game for over...I don't know...3-4 years...I can't imagine why you'd find a reason to keep playing. New players sure I guess I can understand that.

Older players foster friendships with those that they play with. My friends and I IRL would have playing WoW as a means of social gathering (since we no longer live in the same state and use WoW as a means of having fun and talking about what's been happening over the years). This is the reason I kept playing for as long as I did. It's a relatively easy game, we aren't that heavy into FPS's, and it was fun...can't beat that.

 

[Aikouka]

Has anyone ever had an issue with jumping on Magmaw and falling through him? It usually happens once or twice in a night, but my character will start the jump animation and just end up "inside" him. I have to then scurry to attempt to get on him again before he starts spewing. Had a good attempt last night screwed up because I couldn't get on him quick enough after that and the chains got out of sync.

Killed the bastard anyway and he dropped my pants (yay) and then Chimaeron finally put out and dropped my bracers (double-yay). But ugh... reforging is such a pain in the ass. It takes me about 30-40 minutes to solidify a reforge to ensure my hit and expertise are as close to the cap as I can get them without sacrificing stats. I spend quite awhile on www.chardev.org just trying different methods out. It was interesting, because one time I managed to get my hit and exp close to cap, but my other stats (mostly Mastery and Crit) were abysmal in comparison to my other configuration. Although, I got it so I'm only +3 rating over each cap, so that's good. I ended up having to finally cave in and drop Reverberation to do it though 😛.