Time to revisit WoW?

[FerraraZ]

I have tried my MMO's Post WoW (Age of Conan, CHampions Online, Aion) and none really hit the spot like WoW once did. It may be my failure to integrate with the MMO community which really is essential to enjoying an MMO for awhile to come.

Now there's Dragon Age and COD MW2 and L4D2 to keep everyone content for a good bit but I was checking worldofwarcraft.com and saw the upcoming 3.3 patch notes. The thing that really caught my attention was the fact that there was going to be cross server dungeon grouping. I may be wrong but is this true!?!?! Seems too great to be true because I really hated waiting to get parties started just to go for 2 hours and have someone drop out or feel like your wasting time.

Basically I just wanted feedback from others who may be in the same situation. Not to mention the expansion is slated for release soon and the previous two were hits, I'm sure they'll strike gold again with this rendition.

 

[Chriscross3234]

Umm, isn't that what guilds are for? Guild members don't usually drop out and raids are always scheduled... I don't think I'll ever pick up WoW again, the game went downhill after BC.

 

[coloumb]

Cross server dungeon grouping - that can be a blessing and a royal pain in the ass [just as cross server PUG's in battlegrounds]. Interesting concept though - it should cut down on grouping, but I suspect it won't cut down on the problems a typical PUG encounters in dungeons.

I quit/resub'd a few times and it always ends up being the same - new content meant new things to do, new gear to obtain, new factions to grind. However, I would [quickly] finish the new content/get the gear/max the factions and then run out of fun things to do - at that point - the game becomes a 3d chat program. I've also tired of fantasy based type MMO's [and like a lot of other people - I'm putting my hopes on SWTOR]

Blizzard will always strike gold - they seem to have the magic formula of keeping people addicted.

 

[HybridSquirrel]

im about to cancel my account because the game hasnt moved anywhere in forever. I might pick it back up when the new expansion comes out, but not until then. there are plenty of other games that can take wow's place and are really fun.

 

[BD231]

I wish WoW would die already.

 

[lupi]

im about to cancel my account because the game hasnt moved anywhere in forever. I might pick it back up when the new expansion comes out, but not until then. there are plenty of other games that can take wow's place and are really fun.

what are you talking about. last paid expansion is only a year old.

 

[EarthwormJim]

Would be tough to get back into the game this late into the 2nd expansion. It's unlikely you'll get into any end game content guilds, and grinding instances gets boring.

I'd wait till the next expansion comes out, that way the playing field is level for awhile.

 

[CurseTheSky]

what are you talking about. last paid expansion is only a year old.

And it takes less than a year for the "content" they add to get old. Sure, they incrementally add new raids, new achievements, new items to craft, new mounts to acquire, new battlegrounds to PvP in, and new reputations to farm... the problem is, we've done all of that already.

Having played a different MMO for about 4-5 years before I got into WoW, I find WoW's progression very disappointing overall. The other MMO (Asheron's Call) was DRASTICALLY different when I quit from what it was when I started. The story-line changed completely, the entire world was redone more than once, and multitudes of new features were added. In WoW, you're always going to be working up to the same thing in the end - raid or PvP for the best gear, then work at climbing to the top of the server's guild / PvP list. When a new expansion comes out, guess what you get to do all over again...

 

[pwnagesarus]

I think the game world will change quite a bit with the new expansion.

 

[Qbah]

No.

 

[MStele]

Any day is a good day to revisit wow. Just do what I do. When I miss it, I got back for 30-60 days then cancel again for awhile. If you force yourself to play when your bored, you'll just turn yourself into one of the bitter masses who feels like wow stole their heart and ran away with the neighbor. Its just a game.

 

[RyanPaulShaffer]

Any day is a good day to revisit wow. Just do what I do. When I miss it, I got back for 30-60 days then cancel again for awhile. If you force yourself to play when your bored, you'll just turn yourself into one of the bitter masses who feels like wow stole their heart and ran away with the neighbor. Its just a game.

This. I usually play WOW for 2-3 month spurts, then when I get bored and frustrated, I quit for a while, and then come back later after a new major content patch gets my attention. Like right now, I just canceled my account during this past weekend, and I will probably resub again sometime during 3.3 because cross server LFG looks seriously sweet.

WOW is just a game, though most people who either love it or hate it take the game as SERIOUS BUSINESS!, as can be clearly evidenced by the raging from both ends of the spectrum.

 

[brandonb]

Cross server LFG? hahaha The game must be dying then.

 

[RyanPaulShaffer]

Cross server LFG? hahaha The game must be dying then.

Oh wow, someone actually said that cross server LFG means that WOW is "dying". Congrats, you are a unique snowflake?

I guess that cross server BGs way back in the day also meant WOW was "dying" back then too, amirite?

 

[Martimus]

I don't mean to derail any discussions here, but reading this thread really brought something up that I have been wondering for a long time. What is it that makes WoW so fun for so many people? I tried it once at a friends house, and thought it must have a great UI and fun gameplay, but it had one of the least intuitive UI's I have used in a computer RPG, and the game was anything but fun for the couple of hours I forced myself to play it. I just wonder what it is about the game that draws so many people in. Is it something simple that I didn't manage to figure out in my short (~2 hours) gameplay experience?

 

[AyashiKaibutsu]

I don't mean to derail any discussions here, but reading this thread really brought something up that I have been wondering for a long time. What is it that makes WoW so fun for so many people? I tried it once at a friends house, and thought it must have a great UI and fun gameplay, but it had one of the least intuitive UI's I have used in a computer RPG, and the game was anything but fun for the couple of hours I forced myself to play it. I just wonder what it is about the game that draws so many people in. Is it something simple that I didn't manage to figure out in my short (~2 hours) gameplay experience?

How is the UI unintuitive? Right click interact with objects/people 1-10 use skills (though anyone good will remap them/add more binds) mouse look (with right click) wasd move... It's about as intuititive as you can get.

 

[Bryf50]

I don't mean to derail any discussions here, but reading this thread really brought something up that I have been wondering for a long time. What is it that makes WoW so fun for so many people? I tried it once at a friends house, and thought it must have a great UI and fun gameplay, but it had one of the least intuitive UI's I have used in a computer RPG, and the game was anything but fun for the couple of hours I forced myself to play it. I just wonder what it is about the game that draws so many people in. Is it something simple that I didn't manage to figure out in my short (~2 hours) gameplay experience?

It's funny that you bring up UI because Wow has a pretty much completely customizable UI with the use of mods. You can literately find a mod to replace every part of the UI and add huge amounts of functionality. Everyone I know that plays uses an extremely modified UI and each person has there own layout and design that they like.

 

[MStele]

Different people have different expectations in what they consider entertainment. Why do some people prefer action games over rpgs? Why do I have fun spending hours flying around in an airliner in FSX even the the plane has no guns? Many people think thats boring. As far as wow goes, I think its so popular because people can get different things out of it. If your a casual gamer who just wants to kill a couple hours every now and then, you can do that. If you are competitive and want to just run BGs until your suicidal you can do that to. If you enjoy social gaming and like spending time building teams, you can raid. There is an inherient simplicity in wow. What's wierd is that most criticism that is thrown at wow is usually correct, but it misses the point. So to agree, yes : Quests can be boring as hell, grinding can suck, people can be asses, the game is simplistic, the graphics are not complex..etc etc etc... Where the point is usually missed is in how accomodating the game is the a multitude of lifestyles. Its about the sum of its parts. Take away the game mechanics and you have a world with excellent lore, a consistant player base, a developer who supports it religiously and a dedicated group of independant modders.

Bottom line : You either like it or you don't. But if you don't like it, it doesn't mean theres something wrong with it. Its just not your thing.

 

[damocles]

I really think the WoW designers have lost the plot. I can't see myself going back. I have basically lost faith in the designers (I got sick of fotm/massive nerf mentality that they have towards class design)

 

[MStele]

I really think the WoW designers have lost the plot. I can't see myself going back. I have basically lost faith in the designers (I got sick of fotm/massive nerf mentality that they have towards class design)

I won't argue that there have been changes over the years to class design, some of which were good and some were bad. What I do think is that the "nerf mentality" you speak of primarily exists within the wow forums and rarely has any profound affect on the vast majority of the game. Over the years, the most profound changes usually only affect top tier players, often times primarily dealing with raid encounters and pvp. I'm not writing to correct your opinion, which I believe is grounded in reality. Depending on which part of wow you spend the majority of your time, some of these changes can change certain aspects of classes you may or may not like.

I do believe there was a low point in game design during the period of time between BC and ROTLK, but in my opinion the design team as gone back to basics and has improved most aspects of the game since then.

 

[SunnyD]

There is never a good time to go back to WoW.

 

[CountZero]

I don't mean to derail any discussions here, but reading this thread really brought something up that I have been wondering for a long time. What is it that makes WoW so fun for so many people? I tried it once at a friends house, and thought it must have a great UI and fun gameplay, but it had one of the least intuitive UI's I have used in a computer RPG, and the game was anything but fun for the couple of hours I forced myself to play it. I just wonder what it is about the game that draws so many people in. Is it something simple that I didn't manage to figure out in my short (~2 hours) gameplay experience?

Lots of possible reasons. I play (or played really) with my fiancee. I do a lot of gaming, she doesn't do much gaming and MMOs have really been the only game we've been able to play together cooperatively. Having known a few other couples there were more often than not a guy that liked gaming in general and a woman that only played WoW. Its a lot of fun to play with her, try different things, see what we can get away with as various duos, etc. Which really is a part of the big social draw, you can get together with people and do stuff. Some people take the social stuff far enough that WoW is essentially a chat program with a game attached.

Other people like the battlegrounds or the arena system. Some folks like racing to take down the latest raids or dungeons. Others like to explore the fairly large world and see what hidden things they can find. Some like to work the auction house and make tons of money. Some like to craft and make stuff.

What it boils down to is that WoW is a by the numbers MMO. If you are the kind of person that likes to do a bit of everything in an MMO WoW is a good choice as you can do a bit of everything. If you are only interested in one narrow portion of what an MMO can offer WoW will probably have it but it may not be exactly what you are looking for. If you don't like MMO style gameplay then you just won't like WoW. It isn't revolutionary it is entirely evolutionary.

 

[Fallengod]

<stop playing WoW>

/end note

 

[DrunkenSano]

Haven't played WoW in a long time, use to play but then it just got so repetitive and boring. Each expansion is just the same game repackaged, probably fun for a month or two then it's the same old grind. Either raid for hours for some purples, or PvP for some purples. I had gotten bored the game a long time ago but stayed around to screw around with friends, it basically became a glorified graphical chat room for me.

As for the new cross server LFG system, worst idea ever. Ninja looter's paradise.

 

[fatpat268]

I don't mean to derail any discussions here, but reading this thread really brought something up that I have been wondering for a long time. What is it that makes WoW so fun for so many people? I tried it once at a friends house, and thought it must have a great UI and fun gameplay, but it had one of the least intuitive UI's I have used in a computer RPG, and the game was anything but fun for the couple of hours I forced myself to play it. I just wonder what it is about the game that draws so many people in. Is it something simple that I didn't manage to figure out in my short (~2 hours) gameplay experience?

To be honest, the first couple of hours after creating a new character will be seriously boring. It gets better as you progress in levels. A lot of the "fun" really comes from the leveling for me. I like leveling, getting new skills and new weapons. It's really the same reason why I keep playing COD4 and MW2 because I can keep leveling up and gain new things.

I would definitely resub for cross server LFG if I didn't already have a ton of games to play already. I was in a guild, and they raided and all, but I never went with them. I was friends with the people in the guild, but I always hated the idea of raiding on a schedule, so I never really did it. What I did like to do, was the small instances with a few friends or a PUG. Organizing a PUG was usually a pain in the ass, so cross server LFG would make that better.