Returning to the World of Warcraft

[Z of the Na'vi]

Yes, I understand that isn't a very creative thread title, nor is this a unique or creative thread idea, but I am merely looking for still-current players' opinions on the matter and to maybe spark up some discussion, if that's ok.

Anyway, I am an ex-World of Warcraft "veteran" one might say. I never raided, and hardly participated in a guild, but I did enjoy running the occasional dungeon, and was one of those rare breed of players who took my time to enjoy everything the game world had to offer as opposed to "running the gauntlet" to max level. Recently due to my birthday among other circumstances I have come into some money, and have seriously thought of returning back to Azeroth (IE, reactivating my long-abandoned Battle.net account).

Again, not like this thread hasn't been done before, amirite?

To get to the point, I was merely wanting to hear some other player opinions on how the game is going or has been going since early 2011, when I stopped playing (or whenever the end of Cataclysm occurred, I haven't really been keeping track). What keeps you playing the game? I've already read on their official website how the lore has continued without me and the major gameplay changes, so you need not elaborate on that.

Basically, tell me about your experience with Mists of Pandaria. Is it worth the investment to return?


**UPDATE**

I decided to jump back in only this time purchasing pre-paid game cards instead of assigning my credit card to my Battle.net account. It has really helped me pace myself and enjoy the game for what it is rather than speeding through the content hoping to reach the disappointing end-game (personal opinion, don't take that wrong).

I rolled a Pandaren Mage on a new server, and am having a blast.

 

[LetalisK]

I actually quit recently, but imo, MoP is the best expansion Blizzard has made yet. The quest lines are much more unique, varied, and epic with really good stories attached to them. They also have improved daily quests substantially, raiding is more accessible than ever(yet still just as difficult if you want to step it up to raiding proper), scenarios(basically just short instances) are really fun and they just changed Arenas to make it simpler to get into the fray. BGs are still kinda "meh", in my opinion. They also have competitive instance running if that's your thing, though I never got into it. There are pet battles, which are surprisingly fun too. There's a lot more and I would suggest getting it as there is a lot to do, especially for those that like to enjoy the journey and don't just want to raid. Just the questing was a blast and everything else was gravy.

This isn't to say "OMG everyone must play this game!" because even I unsubscribed as I started to have less fun compared to other non-MMO games I was playing and thought it was silly to keep paying for something I didn't play as often. I also don't think I'm much of an MMO gamer in the first place. Just saying that if you want to return, there is probably no better time than now.

 

[PPB]

I play WoW sporadically for periods ~2-4 months nowadays, but I usually enjoy these months to the max and pull the plug the moment I start getting a bit bored. I think this is what allows me to still enjoy the game very much after all these years.

Anyway, my latest foray into WoW was last winter/spring when I basically went through Pandaria up to 5.3's content. I personally feel like MoP is the most well-made expansion to date. Note that I didn't say "best" because that's frankly very subjective. I think MoP is well-made because it includes a bit of everything. On the solo side, Pandaria is very fun to explore, questing is highly polished (though still very themepark-ish) with a decent "main plot" and the pet battles system is arguably the biggest "side game" they ever made in WoW. On the group side, you get the usual dungeons but also scenarios, which are fun things to do when you have less time to commit to the game and still feel like you're getting rewards. Raiding with LFR (and now flex raiding) makes it extremely accessible. Over the patches they've also experimented with different takes on outdoor quest hubs (see Isle of Thunder and Timeless Isle).

Basically I feel like MoP has something for any kind of player out there, whether you want to play many hours each day or only log once in a while. I enjoyed it much more than I did Cataclysm. Taking off the nostalgia glasses, I think it's a better product that BC and WotLK too, at least in theory.

My only real peeve with the game is more the general direction that Blizzard has been taking, where every new expansion or patch feels like it's just an episodic romp through a new slice of content. It's hard to put it down in words, but WoW feels increasingly less like a true "world", what with the way they shepherd you through the content in a somewhat linear fashion, making past content trivial, while increasing class homogenisation. It's a fun ride to go through once or twice, but it's getting harder for me to really lose myself in the virtual world the game is supposed to be.

 

[schrodinger]

There's...ah, Pandas running around now? That's highly different I guess... There's also the new panda world to go around exploring in.

Ok i really don't know but i'm only a new player to WoW, as in just started 3 weeks ago. Yes it's really late to join in WoW, but a veteran friend of mine begged me to join since many of her WoW friends has deactivated their accounts. For me it has been years since I played a MMO(ala Runescape) and didn't think I would have any fun.

Apparently I was wrong.

I already managed to get close to level 90 with my blood elf paladin, and closing in with a shaman orc and a worgen hunter(all thanks to the recruit a friend bonus). Going through Dungeons are always fun, especially when you get the funny hardcore RPGers; god they are insane. Capture the Flag became fun once i knew what the hell I was doing. Exploring the entire world while flying above and staying away from those asshole PvP players that love to torment you.
There's one big problem though, it just seems almost dead half the time. I definitely missed the WoW population peak and it shows.

So OP, if you REALLY have the urge to go back into WoW go for it, or just wait for the new expansion coming out later to see if it peaks your interest.

 

[Baldr]

They are announcing the new expansion on November 8th(it may be leaked before then), but it may not be a year until it comes out.

 

[Smooth Operator]

Well it's the same game as always, although people are saying it's more casual then ever (can now practically raid on your own) and that current expansion is the best there ever was (but people also said that for every expansion that came out).

So bottom line, it's the same game as always.

 

[Sansha]

Mists of Pandaria is Blizzard's best work yet. I honestly believe that Cataclysm was an exercise in Blizzard experimenting in listening to the demands of the players with nostalgia goggles, and demonstrating why that should never, ever be done. Their work now is progressive and awesome - and thanks to the raids being split into LFR, Flexible, Normal and Heroic, as well as extremely tough rare spawns, the solo Legendary quest, battle pets, Challenge Mode dungeons, heroic Scenarios, lore and riches, everybody is having fun, and I think that's the very fucking spirit of World of Warcraft.

That, and three years ago, I accidentally purchased ten years of game time... so I'm kind of committed.

 

[Fireaxe]

I honestly believe that Cataclysm was an exercise in Blizzard experimenting in listening to the demands of the players with nostalgia goggles, and demonstrating why that should never, ever be done.

Doing heroics in the early period of Cataclysm was the most fun I had in WoW since the last time Blizzard produced remotely interesting 5man content (which was early classic WoW and early BC -- before raid gear and nerfing ruined the 5mans). Based on the fact subscribers now are lower than they've been since Classic, I don't think I'm alone in this view either.

 

[Sansha]

I honestly believe that Cataclysm was an exercise in Blizzard experimenting in listening to the demands of the players with nostalgia goggles, and demonstrating why that should never, ever be done.

Doing heroics in the early period of Cataclysm was the most fun I had in WoW since the last time Blizzard produced remotely interesting 5man content (which was early classic WoW and early BC -- before raid gear and nerfing ruined the 5mans). Based on the fact subscribers now are lower than they've been since Classic, I don't think I'm alone in this view either.

As someone who started in BC and loved the dungeoneering then, I hated Cataclysm's level of difficulty in heroics, being exclusionary and with a level of CC'ing that was beyond fun strategy, especially the awful ZA/ZG rehashes. I ended the expac with some heroic Dragon Soul gear, and apart from Rage of the Firelands, agree that it was a general failure of an expansion. I believe it's proof that people with nostalgia goggles aren't the right fans to listen to regarding new content. Everything in Mists is completely new and different, and we're rewarded with the best content Blizzard has ever come out with.

The thing about heroics is, they're a grind. They've been that way for a while; no longer the mere gateway to raiding, they're now as much as part of the grind as levelling. Maybe that was the fault of Wrath, or maybe it's just the game and community changing over time, but for Cata's heroic difficulty, the rewards were way too few and minor to be worth the time, which was often slow paced and frustrating.
Heroics nowdays are fun and whimsical - like Stormstout Brewery, or with breathtaking views and awesome magics, like Shado-Pan Monastary. They're fun. The raids themselves are scores better than anything in Cataclysm, the worst raid - Mogu'Shan Vaults - being on par with Cataclysm's best, Firelands.

 

[Evonisia]

Mists of Pandaria has been great so far (though in my opinion WotLK is still the best). However in my opinion the questing isn't as good as it used to be. Quests are more linear than in Cataclysm, and there are a lot more cutscene quests which go on for way too long. The dungeons are fun, but Blizzard has said that there'll be no more dungeons this expansion. The Monk class is fun to play and you level so fast that you don't even notice it.

The next expansion is being announced in a few days so if you're thinking about getting back into WoW do it now so you can adapt to the new style before the expansion smashes into you.

 

[Raioken18]

I honestly believe that Cataclysm was an exercise in Blizzard experimenting in listening to the demands of the players with nostalgia goggles, and demonstrating why that should never, ever be done.

Doing heroics in the early period of Cataclysm was the most fun I had in WoW since the last time Blizzard produced remotely interesting 5man content (which was early classic WoW and early BC -- before raid gear and nerfing ruined the 5mans). Based on the fact subscribers now are lower than they've been since Classic, I don't think I'm alone in this view either.

I actually loved that degree of difficulty too. However I'd only played since the start of WotLK, heroic raiding was far too intensive. It was like one extra boss a fortnight and continual 3 night a week 7pm-12pm. Whilst I was also working full time it was so intrusive.

The Cata dungeons on the other hand were quite well done, you had to position yourself properly and with a good group you could blaze through most in around 20-30 mins. The thing I feel people struggled with was guilds. Being in a big guild is awesome. The buffs support you and you can ask beforehand to get a group together for heroic dungeons. It's a big part of how it all worked together.

Like if your in Fairy Tail and you have a quest to undertake, your not gunna just randomize the people you go with, you are going to group up with peeps in your own guild and build an internal reputation.

 

[Lawnmooer]

What keeps you playing the game?

Honestly? The amount of friends that I have who play it. I'm fairly good friends with people in my guild (The fact that we have guild meets where we meet up in real life and have fun "Raiding" various pubs and tourist attractions in a variety of cities might indicate how well we know each other)

Outside of being able to talk to friends and such more easily, there's not much keeping me in the game.

The new "Daily" hub they've introduced is boring as hell due to it's one massive grind, PvP is pretty horrible (As it has been since it started becoming a "You need at least X gear to actually stand a chance" affair where if you didn't start PvPing the minute the expac was released you'd find yourself behind on gear and playing catch up for the most part) - Though, if you liked Cata PvP, then it's still quite similar with the exception of a few new BG's.

My experience of WoW currently is just logging in to do raids with my guild for the week and that's it (If I had a bit more time, I'd also run LFR once a week aswell) with little else to do.

Leveling new characters isn't fun as questing keeps being "Streamlined" into being a rush to max level, dungeons are so faceroll that for the first 60 levels they're easily soloable and then from then on you need either 1 half decent tank OR 1 half decent healer and they're still pretty easy. Then of course there's Pandaria quests... Which are so horrible that I've only managed to stomach them 2 and a half times, the quest hubs are really small, the quests are just 2-5 of the familiar "Kill X of Y" and "Gather X of Y" then they ship you off to the next hub, very little feeling of actually doing something and more of the feeling of "Get level 90 NOW, don't look at the rest of the game just get level 90!!!"

There's not much to explore, if you've explored everything in Cata then it'll only take like an hour or 2 to explore Pandaria.

So yeah... If I didn't have so many friends in my guild, I'd have quit months ago and spent the money I'd have saved on other things (For example, a lot of games on my Steam Wishlist are going on sale for about £5 each that I'd be able to afford had I not spend it on a few months of WoW subscription)

 

[Fireaxe]

As someone who started in BC and loved the dungeoneering then, I hated Cataclysm's level of difficulty in heroics, being exclusionary and with a level of CC'ing that was beyond fun strategy, especially the awful ZA/ZG rehashes. I ended the expac with some heroic Dragon Soul gear, and apart from Rage of the Firelands, agree that it was a general failure of an expansion. I believe it's proof that people with nostalgia goggles aren't the right fans to listen to regarding new content.

Cataclysm heroics weren't really exclusionary IMO -- I did all of the available ones at release with a party (geared just enough to queue) that was far from optimised in terms of CC. They did require players actually work together and use a little thinking. I think the main problem was people got way too used to just mowing things down without communication or teamwork in WoTLK cross server groups.

The ZA/ZG rehashes were terrible (they also came after release, so I don't really count them), I fully agree with that, though perhaps for different reasons (I just thought they were dumb, boring, and also plain lazy).


I don't see where you're going with the nostalgia thing, the nostalgia factor really only applied to the world setting, every new dungeon was the same WoTLK rubbish of a 30min linear progression, though the trash was actually more than just a bump in the road in the Heroics at the release of Cataclysm.

 

[Marowit]

I've just returned recently, after almost a year hiatus, and to be honest the game itself is really fantastic. Blizzard does know how to polish their games. The game feels more like an MMO, with little easter eggs everywhere, than Cata did (felt more like a theme park).

The problem though, is that the game, unless you search hard, is more of a single player game. The game has been streamlined so that you can do most things in the game that you want to, especially if you play a plate class or a warlock, by your lonesome.

On the surface this sounds fantastic, and is in the short term. The problem arises because the social component of the game is secondary. You used to be forced into finding a core group of people, and it made the game all the better for it. Now, yes the game so much more accessible as a solo player that most LFG/LFR/BGs people don't say a word. They fly through the encounter and all leave group without a word.

So, the game is better than ever, and if the social component was there the Juggernaut would still be gobbling up subs.

 

[Soundwave]

Remember how the plot in cataclysm was kind of sucking? Like, the bit where you needed a raid to kill that one level 10 guy in the troll area? Well now the plot sucks even more, and has this pseudo-eastern-philosophy crap thrown in to make it even more abhorrent. I can't account for what the filthsy human plot is though, as I didn't have an alliance character. But I imagine it's probably bad too.

While I grant that people probably don't play MMO's for the story, all the other things you'd play the MMO for are probably still there and about the same as you'd remember them.

 

[LetalisK]

There's one big problem though, it just seems almost dead half the time. I definitely missed the WoW population peak and it shows.

My alliance server had this same problem. I think the highest I ever clocked Stormwind in at was 20 people with next to no economy. Meanwhile on my Horde server Orgrimmar was always packed with a bustling economy. I think it ultimately comes down to server selection and hopefully their cross realms idea solves this.

 

[Muspelheim]

There's one big problem though, it just seems almost dead half the time. I definitely missed the WoW population peak and it shows.

My alliance server had this same problem. I think the highest I ever clocked Stormwind in at was 20 people with next to no economy. Meanwhile on my Horde server Orgrimmar was always packed with a bustling economy. I think it ultimately comes down to server selection and hopefully their cross realms idea solves this.

You could awlays try migrating to a large RP server. As silly as it sounds, it's rather marvellous how much more lively cities are when there is roleplaying going on in them.
Even if you aren't particularly interested in RP yourself, it might still just be fun to watch the crowd. Of course, last I visited Stormwind, everyone pretended it was Game of Thrones, being very angry and regurally shouting 'harlot'. But that's another source of entertainment, seeing people trying to portray the Warcraft universe as a dark, deconstructive place while you stand in the corner playing with your dancing baby Murloc.

 

[sneakypenguin]

Yourforced to do dailys to gain rep with factions to unlock valor point vendors. Thus artifially inflating play time. (I allready got my points, let me Spend them!!!!!)

Farmville and pokemon.

Fuck that game so hard.

But there are pandas, and transmogrification.


And if you didnt raid or do guild activities, you are not a "veteran player" to me.

I think they fixed the rep grind. I just pvp and i can buy the latest tier of gear.