So, with the recent news that Blizzard is rushing out Dire Maul to accommodate a small handful of players I’ve decided to quit Classic.
I came into this project with two main criteria Blizzard needed to stick to in order for me to play this game. For reasons I’m not going to go into I’ve grown a bit untrusting of Blizzard over the years and what I’ll tolerate is at a bare minimum. So my two main criteria were 1. Authenticity and 2. Principle of the experience. I’m big on principle. Even game design decisions that might not impact me I’ll concentrate more on the reasoning behind it.
Anyway, from an authenticity standpoint I’m very impressed with Classic. The devs have gone above and beyond to even duplicate things like spell batching just in an effort to recreate the Vanilla experience. From a gameplay standpoint I don’t really have any complaints. Even the choices I think were wrong (dishonorable kills, cross-realm bgs, neutered AV), are still authentic choices.
Which brings me to my second criteria. This is how I viewed Classic, what it’s about, the experience it’s trying to capture, the environment it seeks to create, and the community that would come about as a result. Essentially I thought of Classic as a place for players to enjoy the journey, soak in the experience, have adventures, slow down, and just take their time and enjoy every step of the way without any pressure to rush through it all. And I really thought Blizzard held this view as well. As far as content release schedule, I was actually hopeful they would release things even slower than they were in Vanilla. But it’s hard to argue against a release schedule commensurate with that of Vanilla. And then Dire Maul gets rushed out in half the time it was in Vanilla.
So I ask myself why do they do this? Well, in Ion’s little video he says players are asking for it. I’m sure they are…a tiny fraction of the playerbase. Players who essentially disregarded what I wrote I think Classic should be about (the journey, the experience, taking their time and basking in the glory of the world). I’m not criticizing their gameplay behavior, by the way. People are free to rush through whatever content they want. Some people prefer that. But that behavior should not dictate content releases. And the fact that it does sets a very dangerous precedent. This decision caught me off-guard. I honestly believed Blizzard was putting the journey first and foremost. If you read the ‘Unarmored Mounts’ thread you’d know they even made the argument for excluding that because they don’t want players to feel pressure to not fall behind or miss out. And then they do this. It’s baffling. Are they afraid Asmongold and other streamers need some new dungeon to do? I’ve avoided the anti-streamer threads for years, but who knows. For whatever reason Blizzard is hastily pushing out this content.
In any event, it’s really not about this decision to rush out Dire Maul. It’s the reasoning for it. It’s the philosophy behind it. Once again Blizzard is catering to a very small percentage of the playerbase. So now I look towards the future. And what do I see? I’m going to have to rush through MC so I don’t get too far behind when BWL gets pushed out because the top 1% are bored. And then speed through BWL to keep up for when ZG gets rushed out because the most hardcore of the hardcore need a new raid. The same with AQ and Naxx. And even beyond that, in whatever form Classic takes in the future. Be it Classic+ or more likely TBC and Wrath. Knowing that Classic is governed by this go-go-go mentality for whatever foreseeable future I’ll have in Classic I know I’ll perpetually be playing catch-up.
Now, I know people will say what does it matter to me? All the content will be released eventually anyway so what difference does it make? It’s a valid argument. I’m in a very casual guild who feel no pressure to steamroll through the content. So really it doesn’t affect me in that regard. But as I said earlier I’m big on principle. And think of the message that Blizzard is sending. To me they’re saying that Classic isn’t about the journey, it’s not about taking our time and enjoying the trip. Again, I thought they were intending Classic to appeal to that mindset. Instead they’re appeasing those who set those ideals aside and rush through the content. I really wanted to stop and smell the roses. I thought Blizzard wanted us to stop and smell the roses. But now they’re catering to those who trampled through the roses to get that shiny purple on the other side of the garden.
I’m disappointed. I’m disappointed that after 15 years Blizzard still have no clue why most people play an mmo. What keeps them invested and interested. They’re running Classic as if it was BfA. Players can’t possibly be expected to actually take their time and enjoy the experience. Gotta push out that new content! This has a subconscious effect on the playerbase, as well. Players pick up on stuff like that. When Blizzard sends the message to hurry up and speed through the content, that’s going to impact the way players view what matters most in an mmo. It’s why fun has been shoved to the backburner. Players obsess over things that don’t matter. Blizzard just creates this environment of chasing the never-ending carrot on a stick. We’ve seen the kind of community created by this philosophy. And for some reason Blizzard is taking Classic down this very same path yet again.
People will say I’m overreacting, and in terms of my reaction to a single decision by Blizzard they’re almost certainly right. But as I said long ago in this novel I went into Classic with clearly defined criteria. My history with WoW the first time around was watching a game I loved turned into something radically different, in part due to this overall game philosophy that leads to decisions like rushing out Dire Maul barely a month into Classic. I can see where this is headed. I’ve been through this once before. It’s better I cut ties now before I get too invested and spend another 15 years occasionally leaving and coming back because a game I loved went down a path I don’t enjoy trying to turn me into the type of gamer I’m not.
In closing, I’m not trying to convince anyone of anything. Do what you want to do. And trolls are gonna troll, so I expect that. I just needed to clear my head and this is what spewed forth. I’m bummed that Classic is being governed by the same mentality that, in my mind, sent WoW down the wrong path the first time around. But it’s Blizzard’s game to do what they want. And silly as it sounds I swore to myself when Classic was first announced and I got lured back to WoW, that if Blizzard abandoned the principles I set forth, I’d walk away. So that’s what I’m doing. Cheers all.
Mogar.
a.