So, I’m using this post as a chance to spark some discussion with the current state of WoW as a whole. I know for a fact that I’m not the only one that feels this way, and would like to see what ideas or feedback the community has.
Let me start off by saying that I started in WoW when I made a character on my sister’s account way back in The Burning Crusade, I was 8 or 9 years old, and when I started playing I had this overwhelming sense of wonder and adventure while playing. Each and every action I took felt like some grand quest, flying was a brand new mechanic for players and boy, was it exclusive (on the higher end).
And when I first started playing, pick-up groups were still a thing! I had TONS of players stop to help me along the way and I was immediately pulled in by the community aspect of the game. Guilds were in full force, and being in a top guild MEANT something. I miss all of that.
I miss the community aspect of this game, because it has died over the years. Blizzard decided that instead of allowing players to ask each other questions and learn the game from one another, they’ll just simplify the talent system so that no one has any deviation anymore. There’s a cookie cutter build for PvE and a cookie cutter build for PvP, barely any class customization anymore. No secondary stat customization anymore.
I’ve spent all morning looking through different MMO’s class system and I stumbled on Rift (old but gold IMO) once again. Their class system is VERSATILE, it’s customizable! For those that don’t know - in Rift you choose from 5 arch classes and as soon as you enter the game you then get to pick three sub spec’s (or souls as they’re called) to play all at once, and a Wrath/BC/Vanilla style skill tree that goes with each. How cool is that?! And yet WoW will barely even let you customize your stats anymore.
There are no more unique or “cool” gear pieces anymore. Every weapon and piece of armor that’s worth a damn is just a stat stick. Professions used to FEEL useful by giving you REAL boosts, even in PvP! Why shouldn’t you be rewarded for spending countless hours honing your craft and gathering mats? I miss the days of WoW feeling like an actual MMO.
Now it seems like all they wanna do lately is spit out more crummy world quests, reused mechanics or ideas from old expansions, or take away things that are “difficult” for people to understand or whatever. Full disclosure - a complicated game increases player to player education.
Let me repeat myself, in laymans terms - A complex game will make people ask others questions. More interaction = more friends while playing. More pickup groups etc.
I don’t know about other veteran players but I miss the days of newbies walking up to me and saying “Wow your gear is so cool how do I do stuff like that?” and then if I was free I’d tell them what I knew about the game etc. Sometimes I’d even use it as an excuse to level up a new alt and play with someone to help them out.
Nowadays this game is so watered down and simplified a monkey could play it, there are no cool mechanics anymore, no gear interactions, no exclusivity for someone farming some legendary weapon (Thunderfury type things). The only thing in the game still fun and engaging for me is the PvP, which I’ve never exactly mastered - but Bliz as a whole seems to barely care about balancing PvP over PvE because of playerbases involved in each. Is it really so hard to see that Feral Druids suck right now? Or that Affliction Locks are playes in 2% of arenas?
And if by some miracle a dev reads this, stop buffing and nerfing by 12% intervals on this crap! Small buffs and small nerfs, then watch and see how the community reacts. If after you buff Affliction warlock they have a 28% representation in PvP, Destro with a 36%, and Demo with a 36% then they’re probably pretty balanced. But Affliction is played TWO PERCENT of the time in PvP above 2.2k!!
I mean come on people, these other MMO’s have an excuse for being imbalanced but as far as I’m concerned WoW should NOT still have these issues. You’re the biggest MMO ever. You’ve been around for well over a decade now, you should have figured this out a loooonnnnggggg time ago.
And I’ll end this by saying that if the CONTENT you released was actually good, this could all be forgiven. But it’s not. At all. What happened to dungeons like Blackrock, Deadmines, Gnomerengan, etc? Dungeons with multiple pathways and hidden rooms with side bosses and keys to doors. Why is the best dungeon you’ve ever made Blackrock? Shouldn’t something have beaten that by now? Instead you make each dungeon simpler and simpler, with less and less mechanics because you’re too terrified of scaring new players. That’s how people learn the game and THAT’S why a lot of the BEST people you see playing this game are the people that played Vanilla-Wrath. Because there was a challenge. Raids WEREN’T meant for everyone. That’s kinda the point, it’s supposed to be the arch enemies of that expansion stop making my favorite game so mind numbingly boring please.
If anyone has any other things they miss/ would like to see change please post below! I for one am looking forward to Classic (although I’m very disappointed in Bliz for doing Classic, the fact it has as much traction as it does should tell them just how bad retail has become), but would love to hear any and all opinions on these things! Please stay civil and let’s have a good talk!
![:rofl:](https://d38bqls1q93fod.cloudfront.net/en/wow/images/emoji/twitter/rofl.png?v=6" ":rofl:")
![:black_heart:](https://d38bqls1q93fod.cloudfront.net/en/wow/images/emoji/twitter/black_heart.png?v=6" ":black_heart:")
) and gave us the ability to punch things in the butt as a Monk. Plus Pandaren are the cutest playable race ever. They have such smooshy faces! Smooshy smooshy smooshy!