I’d be down with getting involved with a renewed LFRP.
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Keep an eye out for a new thread soon, then!
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Whatever happened to the weekend markets in Stormwind? Those were fun.
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Oh, I’ll absolutely come back if the next expac is good. Or even if it’s just… better than what we’re currently dealing with. But people coming back doesn’t necessarily mean things will turn around.
I already know a few people who have transferred to MG because they couldn’t find what they were looking for on WrA anymore, and some of them seem content to stay there. And right now there are no doubt even more people mulling over the idea.
And that’s not even considering how many people may have left WoW for good due to the one-two punch that’s been BfA and SL. Or the people who have gradually lost interest in RP as it has dried up. Or the new people who may have created a character on WrA because it’s supposed to be one of the big RP servers only to find it half-empty and went somewhere else as a result.
If things are allowed to diminish to a certain point they may never fully recover. Will WrA go the way of ThoBro? Unlikely. But the longer it remains as it currently is, the less and less likely it will be that it will ever go back to being what it once was.
And that’s why this sort of attitude doesn’t help. Some people don’t want to leaf through whatever events may be on offer in hopes of finding something that appeals to them.
Some people will look at the current, very much diminished crop of active guilds and decide that none of them are a good fit for either themselves or their character.
Some people will ask themselves why they’re expected to dig around for something that they may or may not enjoy when they could just hop over MG and not only have a much wider selection of things to choose from, but also a walk-up scene that they can immediately immerse themselves in.
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Hot take, you have to be polite and respectful to people you disagree with in order to expect politeness in return. Sometimes people aren’t going to hand you civility on a silver platter, when you’ve recently been condescending to them.
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Or the new people who may have created a character on WrA because it’s supposed to be one of the big RP servers only to find it half-empty and went somewhere else as a result.The thing, if things are allowed to diminish to a certain point they may never fully recover.
It doesn’t help that WoW isn’t getting any younger in terms of how many features it has to support roleplayers. It was mentioned in another post, but that stuff matters. I would argue that WoW has one of the smoothes gameplay loops on the market. Keep in mind I’m not talking about how you interact with the systems, but the feedback and feel of moving your character and being in combat. Whatever you don’t like about it, this part is undeniable. It is ahead of its competition there.
But combat isn’t the only thing that matters to new roleplayers.
What creative systems does WoW offer for me as a roleplayer?
How much cosmetic freedom does the game have? How many different styles of armor/clothes/weapons are there?
What systems does WoW offer to shape the world around me (e.g housing/forts/bases/terraforming)?
Is the story engaging and offers enough points for me to jump in and do interesting things?
WoW’s competition on the market in terms of quantity (and sometimes quality) of raids and the smoothness of combat is undeniable, but when I am roleplaying, I am not spending time in either of those. With how stagnant these creative systems have become, how hard the story is to get engaged with, and with how lore is being retconned on a whim, it makes it harder and harder to recommend WoW from a roleplaying point of view.
It’s a long tangent to say something simple: WoW has an issue in replacing the long-term players who leave with new roleplayers because it isn’t as accessible in that department as other games. If someone approached me right now and asked for the best MMORPG for roleplayers, I doubt my answer would be WoW. Other games such as SWTOR and FFXIV with expansive housing, dye systems and so many cosmetic clothing options seem to provide a better avenue.
No other game can match WoW with it’s PvE, but since other games solely survive on cosmetics and micro-transactions, they can match them on roleplay. And if that is the case, the draw of new players to the franchise sinks. I love Azeroth because I played the games since 2001, but that draw doesn’t exist for people getting into the franchise now.
The small “bleed” of roleplayers is most likely due to the fact that WoW isn’t the uncontested king of “roleplay” in the MMO sphere. And with that, sadly, comes a long and slow decline as they can’t fill out the players who are leaving fast enough.
It’s sad, but it all ties back again to the fact WoW’s features haven’t arrived in the 2021 MMO market.
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I think the hardest part is you have a sizable portion of the fanbase who don’t want things to change. No customizations, no new races, just pure dungeons and raids. You can take a quick look at GD and see it. Anytime someone suggests something you have 10+ people swarm in snarling how it’ll take resources away from their precious content.
Kotick made a post on LinkedIn the other day announcing “better than expected” first quarter results. So long as they’re profiting and enough players are beating the drums for the status quo I don’t see how things can get better.
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“better than expected”
jfc they know this spaghetti western train is heading for a cliff
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Don’t get me started. People constantly say that WoW is growing or doing well because profits are growing.
Profits and subscriber numbers are not linked 1:1. The game has more monetization than it had five years ago on average, so Blizzard can make more money while losing MAUs. Their overall reach on the market is declining, hence the 30% in three years.
In terms of popularity on the market, Blizzard seems to be declining. And if how much profit something makes is the only indication of how good a game is as a game, which is something the “profit is up so WoW is good!” argument seems to imply, then we all have to admit Genshin Impact is a killer game that beats Blizzard. They made a billion in revenue within six months. That’s not multiple games. That’s one game in six months. It took Blizzard two financial quarters to make that much across all their games.
So…do we now have to officially concede that Genshin Impact, which is a heavily monetized gatcha game, is a better game? How well would that go over in GD?
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If one were to go to Duskwood…hypothetically…what kind of premise is the RP, exactly? Or is that more of a surprise? I only ask because I have some Alliance characters who are floundering with no RP to speak of - and Kirsy of course, if you do cross-faction.
(And I’ll admit Duskwood RP has been on my list of things I want to do, but I always forget by the time I get home.)
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Red Thomas’s post and I couldn’t help but imagine the character constantly slipping and stumbling while desperately clinging to all those fliers. The thought of him gasping for air as he was trying to greet us just hooked me in xD
As for FF XIV I do miss playing it myself but back when I played the RP community was still growing and it was far more cliquish than WoW was at the time which was a huge turn off. If you didn’t RP a certain way people wanted you to they ignored you. Not sure what it’s like now.
If it wasn’t for the fact you have to buy every expansion for both console and PC I’d be playing that again. Sadly I can’t justify spending all that money just to play it on PC right now. I’m only missing everything past Heavensward. I miss my Dragoon with his awesome motorbike ._.
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There’s a few different guilds and unaffiliated rpers that hang out across Duskwood, each with their own flavors. The general theme is it’s played as the misfits/ shadier individuals that live on the outskirts of Alliance territory, but there’s also other themes too, from silly to serious and dark, depends on what you want and what you bring to the table.
Cross rp can be a little more complicated since Darkshire is the main role hub, but there’s also plenty that goes on at Ravel Hill and on the roads, which is more Horde friendly. Most people carry elixirs of Tongues on them though, so we’re ready for Horde visitors!
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Ohhh, I thought you were all at Raven Hill. Hmm…well, Duskwood would be a bit more difficult for Kirsy. I might swing by on Larisi or Scheane this weekend.
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Bit late, but I just want to chime in about the monetization thing;
The amount of “micro-transations” I’ve seen some of my friends doing for various reasons over the last year alone has been absolutely insane.
“I’m not spending any real money!”
Ya’ll - not any of you - are constantly purchasing faction changes to go back and forth to sell PvP boosts, character boosts, and people are buying tokens in the worth of millions (gold) to get these carries. Hell, a friend of mine sold a bunch of RBG carries for gold, then turned around and bought a heroic clear for a couple million gold a few months ago. This is mostly all WoW token money. The average BG enjoyer isn’t the kind of guy that’ll run instances and do professions all day to get 4 million gold for 1800.
My entire guild? It’s going Horde.
That’s $30 a head for just a single character.
And there have been more guilds than I can count swapping since Shadowlands started.
And that doesn’t even factor in PvPers who gave up on Alliance and also went Horde.
Does it matter to Blizz if they’re losing subs when they’re absolutely making bank on tokens?
Sub loss? Lol, who cares?
This isn’t tin-foil hat.
This is something that you can actually see happening, and see on their financial reports, and it’s horrifying.
And it sucks because they could be making these profits catering to everybody - not even just roleplayers, our stuff actually has a huge reach - by just doing what every other MMORPG does with their cash shop, and chilling out with the limited time stuff in game.
You’re telling me people wouldn’t spend $20 to have Tyrande’s outfit?
You’re telling me people wouldn’t drop gold on WoW tokens to get a housing plot? Penthouse in Silvermoon costs a milion gold? People will token that (sadly.)
Missed a PvP season? Don’t like to PvP? Well, you can build the elite set off the BMAH like T3 or grab any of the rewards 5+ years later - when nobody cares - off it as well.
People wouldn’t pay extra to change their character voice and animations? Unlock class skins?
Like, I’m not huge on micro transactions, but we’re at a point that asking for this is better than what’s actually happening in game now. Final Fantasy’s approach to their non-promotional seasonal stuff is actually a relief. If I want a little witch broom all year, I can have it. Missed the event and couldn’t earn it in game? Well, it’s there, at least. And I’d rather that than this toxic cess-pit of hyper-exclusivity leading to credit card use because Jimmy the Paladin wants the pretty set.
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The rp is spread out all across the zone, which is really fun! Darkshire is where you go for the tavern style rp, then you can have random encounters on the roads cause people do walk in real time between Raven Hill and Darkshire, then there’s Raven Hill itself where you’ll find people huddled around the little campfire at the Gilnean camp, and sometimes in the cemetery too. Then there’s the worgen guild, they hang out in the Brightwood Grove in that little spot with tents where the worgen mobs spawn. You’ll even sometimes find people using the Moonwell in the Twilight Grove. It’s really all over the zone!
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The game is bad and unfun.
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Sadly, the Alliance population has just dwindled on WrA. Most Alliance RPers migrated over to MG.
Like there was a mass exodus recently or has been happening over time?
Sad to hear, but damn, “the grass is greener” hits for some people.
Things like this usually happen over time because it’s a snowball effect. The first few big guilds leave and it leaves a vacuum to fill. Then the next group leaves because of said vacuum and leave their own. Rince and repeat. If people don’t step up quickly enough or the server/game doesn’t get enough new roleplayers to replace the old ones, this effect becomes even worse.
It’s a vicious cycle.
I don’t think it was the decision by specific guilds. I remember- and this is from someone who’s tried to be involved in RP since WoD launch- that the expansion hype brought a lot of people back, new guilds were formed, ED migrated over, everything was lively, then when the expansion hit reality set in. Guilds died due to drama, others dwindled, people realized they couldn’t sustain it and stopped playing, there’s always a noticeable community shrink about 2-3 months after an expac launch.
Things dwindled down, quietly, until about 8.2. This is the first time I noticed several bigger community names, like artists or “how to get into RP” guides, would always tell people to go WRA for Horde, or MG for Alliance. It seemed like sensible advice- MG had a larger and more connected Alliance community since forever, so of course it should be recommended, right?
Well, it caused the well to dry up. Less and less new people started to come in to replace the ones that left, either due to RP drama or burnout with the game. Less people coming in means more guilds struggled to get new people, walk up RP started to suffer, city became less and less lively.
Now, there could have been a course correction, but BFA wasn’t the expac for it. I’ve said that on WRA every guild that’s over 3 years old hates each other. Few community events, few interactions. This is where people start to jump ship, the first of them. They didn’t really care about WRA, they just go where they get roleplay the easiest- oblivious to the cascade they‘re about to cause.
Now individuals are jumping ship, more follow. Now you have to go to Moonguard because your RP partner did. And because you did 3-4 people that were counting on you for RP do too. And now figures that come back see their entire friends list is MG, so they swap too.
This process was entirely preventable, and honestly I say over and over again the two biggest ways to fight this is to advertise WRA-A as a valid server for people. New blood is most important. After that comes revitalizing a sense of community and cooperation- forget all the talk about independence that WRA has waved around like a flag for years. Guilds need to work together, talk to each other, build a sense of community in the capital and open world, and give these new players something to bite on.
It’s never too late to change all this.
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