TL;DR - I just want to play the game, and that option is essentially being removed from me by an active decision that should have never been an option.
I enjoy WoW. It’s a fine game. I REALLY enjoy WoW classic. It’s both a great game and a nostalgia hit for me. The underlying issue is, due to a conscious mistake made by Blizzard, I was UNABLE TO PLAY THE GAME. I could play the game, just not on the character I wanted, or the way I wanted, both options that I should have, and both options the game was designed to allow.
I had a single player on the opposite faction decide to grief me and my party. Then, when they couldn’t, they called in a higher level. When they still couldn’t keep us from questing - this is all we were doing, defending their stealth attempts while just running quests in an area, and not engaging with them first - they called in MORE players just to better grief us. They didn’t get anything, they just wasted time spawn camping us. Couldn’t hand in quests, couldn’t graveyard res. So I had three options.
1- literally just waste time as a ghost waiting for them to leave.
2- play a different character - not the character I wanted to play.
3- just stop playing WoW - which is what I did after 20 minutes.
If you read this and it doesn’t sound like your experience, then congrats, it’s not about your experience. Not sarcasm or snide, I am genuinely happy you don’t have to experience this.
For those who will tell me to play on an American server: I live a little rural and I rent, I don’t have the best internet and I don’t have the option to change that. My best ping on the aAmerican servers is around the 300 mark. If it’s a bad internet day, that can hit 4 figures. Also, the other 3 servers for Anniversary are full. That doesn’t mean you can’t play, it just means there may be a queue. I have experienced this queue. Again, if you haven’t, fantastic. I am genuinely elated that people can enjoy this game when and how they want. But it’s not always the case. I know I’m not the only one who’s had to wait time, not matter how small, to get into those servers. If I’ve got 30 minutes to play in a day, because that’s all the free time I have that day, and I open WoW to a 5-10 minute wait timer, I’m not playing WoW that day. Which sucks, because I’m paying for the ability to play the game, and that ability is being taken away from me.
For those telling me not to play PvP: I have not other option of AU Anniversary to play.
For those telling me to suck it up: I’m not on here telling you your fun is wrong, so don’t do the same to me. I’m paying a subscription, and the game was designed to be played multiple ways, both including and excluding PvP. I don’t enjoy PvP, I’m far more casual and social online. Also, I’m fine with honest PvP, but getting outnumbered and ganked by a bunch of skulls is just wasting my time and, honestly, theirs.
And for those saying Blizzard can’t control players: This is the 4th time they’ve released this game, and all 4 times the exact same behaviour has existed. They knew it would happen, and then allowed it to happen with a conscious decision to only release one AU server and making that server PvP.
The solution: One. More. Server. Just one, and not PvP. Release that server with a free character transfer so I can actually play and enjoy the game I’m paying for.
But with each passing day Blizzard reinforce the fact that they couldn’t care less about their customers, especially in Australia.