WoW Just Keeps Getting Better and Better…

I’m kinda torn here.  I did say over, and over, and over again that I thought that Cataclysm would be the high water mark for World of Warcraft.  That it would jump the shark there and be on its way out.  And, by all accounts,  I was right about that.   Subscriptions have  been on the decline, and the grumbling has gotten louder.

One of the current concerns is the “dumbing down” of WoW.  I know, a month or two ago I would have been laughing too – how do you dumb down the dumbest and simplest mainstream MMO on the market?  But awhile back, I got in on the unlimited free trial, ostensibly to see how some of the areas had changed, and found that all the abilities had been overhauled as well.  I went digging for information and found that this was indeed the dumbing down that had been referenced.  And it is true in a literal sense – Warlocks no longer need Soul Shards to summon pets for instance.  But I was stunned at how much more I enjoyed the classes, and found myself nodding in positive directions at the changes I had seen.  I liked the streamlining of the abilities, and the new starter areas are well done for the most part – will special kudos to the new Troll and Undead starting areas.

And that’s why I’m torn.  As WoW continues down the backside of its career, the moves it is making seem to be, to me, all the right ones.  I know I am in the minority in that, by the way.  No argument there.  But I can’t help it, I approve of what they are doing…

Which is why I almost felt better today when I read that they were doing away with Talent Trees.  Or at least, the traditional version of them.  I read the article, and agreed, that’s a terrible idea.  The talent tress are fun and allow someone to invest in personalizing their character, a great move.  To get only one talent point and three choices every 15 levels?  You must be joking, that’s a terrible idea!

But then in the comments someone gave a link and a simple suggestion.  Did you bother looking at how the new talent system actually works?  I hadn’t, so to be fair,  I jumped right on over to see the fail up close and personal.

A pox on you Blizzard.  That’s actually rather brilliant.  I *like* the new Talent System.  I like the streamlining, I like the “dumbing down”.  What is wrong with me?  What is to keep me from subscribing to WoW and starting all over again in the grand golden standard of MMO gaming!

 

 

Oh, right.  That.

The Day the Whole World Went…splat.

Apologies to Trent Reznor.  But it was so appropriate.  As followers of the blog know, I recently did my ten free days of WoW (since I never upgraded to Wrath of the Liche King), but despite enjoying a brief return to Azeroth,  I couldn’t actually bring myself to spend money on the game.  Which, to date, makes WoW the only MMO that I have not resubbed to once I left.  That should tell me something, but I’m not sure what yet.  Perhaps that class imbalances are more than just a pet peeve to me.  Perhaps that immature gamers can permanently ruin a game for me.

So I find myself in the contrarian position on this day.  As millions of fans crash the WoW servers and celebrate giddily the release of glorious new content and hope (foolishly) for a new generation of customers, I stand soundly on my prediction:  this is the high water mark for WoW.  From here, it is all downhill – both in terms of subscription numbers and in terms of quality and polish.  Why?

Veterans will eventually want the old areas back. 

Yes, even WoW gamers get nostalgic, especially as those young gamers who grew up on it start climbing through their twenties and into their thirties.  The logical step is to offer such rollback servers.  I think we all know what that would mean.

The lore has been altered…pray I do not alter it further. 

From personal accounts from friends, the Horde is not longer the “not bad, just misunderstood” other white meat.  Its truly *bad* now.  Evil.  If you think that won’t affect new players, alts, perception of characters, etc.  think again.  Those subscribers who left at Burning Crusade left by and large for one reason – they couldn’t stomache the perceived changes to the lore – the backstory – of the world.  Same at Wrath of the Liche King.

And the number one reason…

[insert drum roll]

Because Blizzard Can’t Go Wrong!

Or at least they (and many other people) think they can’t go wrong.  Which is usually the moment, corporately speaking, when the floor falls out from underneath you.  See also:  Enron, US Automakers, Indianapolis Colts…

Blizzard almost went there with their RealID fiasco this year, but pulled back right at the brink.  Its only a matter of time before they reach that brink again, and this time, they will have drunk so much of their own Kool-Aid, that they will plow right on ahead.  The funny thing about this is that is may not even be all that important a matter, but it will become one in the course of the steamrolling. 

It seemed like a good idea at the time...

Cataclysm release date “may ultimately prove to be incorrect.”

At least, according to Blizzard’s Small Print (tm):

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements: Information in this press release that involves Blizzard Entertainment’s expectations, plans, intentions or strategies regarding the future are forward-looking statements that are not facts and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Blizzard Entertainment generally uses words such as “outlook,” “will,” “could,” “would,” “might,” “remains,” “to be,” “plans,” “believes,” “may,” “expects,” “intends,” “anticipates,” “estimate,” future,” “plan,” “positioned,” “potential,” “project,” “remain,” “scheduled,” “set to,” “subject to,” “upcoming” and similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause Blizzard Entertainment’s actual future results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements set forth in this release include, but are not limited to, sales levels of Blizzard Entertainment’s titles, shifts in consumer spending trends, the impact of the current macroeconomic environment, the seasonal and cyclical nature of the interactive game market, declines in software pricing, product returns and price protection, product delays, retail acceptance of Blizzard Entertainment’s products, competition from the used game market, industry competition and competition from other forms of entertainment, rapid changes in technology, industry standards and consumer preferences, including interest in specific genres such as real-time strategy, action–role-playing and massively multiplayer online games, protection of proprietary rights, litigation against Blizzard Entertainment, maintenance of relationships with key personnel, customers, licensees, licensors, vendors and third-party developers, including the ability to attract, retain and develop key personnel and developers who can create high quality “hit” titles, counterparty risks relating to customers, licensees, licensors and manufacturers, domestic and international economic, financial and political conditions and policies, foreign exchange rates and tax rates, and the identification of suitable future acquisition opportunities, and the other factors identified in the risk factors section of Activision Blizzard’s most recent annual report on Form 10-K and any subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. The forward-looking statements in this release are based upon information available to Blizzard Entertainment and Activision Blizzard as of the date of this release, and neither Blizzard Entertainment nor Activision Blizzard assumes any obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements believed to be true when made may ultimately prove to be incorrect. These statements are not guarantees of the future performance of Blizzard Entertainment or Activision Blizzard and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond its control and may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations.

Also, small print h/t to Tuesday Morning Quarterback, my favorite football column.

My Visit to Azeroth

My ten days are almost up, which leaves the dreaded eternal question.  But I will chew on that later, for now, I have to confess something.

I actually enjoyed the return to Azeroth.  I found some  things I expected, and alot of things I didn’t.

The first of those was that when I joined a PvP server to play with two friends, who are both teenagers,  I expected to be in a world of hurt.  That I would have to wash my eyeballs with soap after each login session.  That I wouldn’t be able to level from all the griefers.  That a guild of teenages each with multiple level 80 toons would be unable to create any semblance of “community.”   And I was wrong on most all counts.  The guild, for all its CAPS LOCK SMACK TALKING was actually pretty helpful.  And I even managed to find a guild that didn’t use CAPS LOCK SMACK TALKING when that got old.  I chatted with other players in game, and even found a decent pick up group or two.  The one time a griefer showed up in my questing area, they stayed all of five minutes before moving on, and it was good that they did, because I had a  group of 80′s from our guild ready to come rock her world if she hadn’t.   Gold pieces were freely given in advance so that when I dinged 20, I would be Mount ready.   Speaking of – that was such a good move on Blizzard’s part, though irritating as a Shammy player that Ghost Wolf is now good for only 4 levels.  Why not back that up to say, 10 or 12 instead of 16?

Somebody said something in game the other day about the Barrens – I told them it hadn’t bothered me a bit since I had learned to quit General chat.  This was followed by much “Aweomse!!1!!0!  how to do that?”  How does one hit 80, especially more than once, without learning these little tricks of the trade?  Anyway, I was glad to pass that little tidbit on to others.

Secondly, I have to admit, though Blizzard still plays favorites on classes, often boosting one above the others for long periods of time to play with class distribution, I believe that all of the classes have improved from my last time around.   It also leads me to believe that those power boosts are in fact, unintentional results from trying to tweak PvE/PvP power levels in a game where the community is so large, it can find exploits your builds almost before you get them out the door.  I enjoyed the Paladin again, but the Shaman is still my favorite.  I have watched a number of PvP battlegrounds fights and it seems to me, for those who are counting – that builds don’t play nearly the factor that they supposedly do.  I saw a level 80 troll rogue spec’ed for PvE do just fine in a PvP setting.  Not first place, to be sure, but not the bottom of the pack either.

Lastly, I’ve actually kept up with those fast levelers, oddly enough.  I guess having 80′s weighs you down a bit, because I’m still ahead of them on the leveling curve, even with their extra xp bonus gear.    The Tauren starting area is still maddening – it took me nearly 3 hours to level to 10, something  Ican normally do in an hour with other races.  I but the number of quests and the rest bonuses insure that you can usually move out of any given area sooner than you should, if you don’t like it.

So…will I be staying in Azeroth for the long haul?  No.  World of Warcraft lacks too many of the things that I have come to know and love from my MMO’s – vanilla is all well and good, but now that I’d added some chocolate chip cookie dough, its hard to go back.   And its starting to show its age graphically, as you can see from above.  But am I enjoying it for the moment?  Of course.  I have friends to play with and a class I enjoy using.  That’s good enough for me for now.