What Exactly Is Wrong With World Of Warcraft?

[Kurokami]

I did check the search bar a few times to find something like this, and it failed. So, here goes.

I just want to ask you Escapists, what exactly is wrong with World Of Warcraft?
Before you answer, there are a few rules I have to lay down.
'It's overrated' or 'It's a waste of time' are not legitimate arguments. I want to know what's wrong with the game itself, not the consequences of, or the hype surrounding, it.

See, now I play on a private server, so I get only a helpful community, and of course can avoid the irritating children and the gold farmers. This does not mean, however, the server is without its idiots. I will admit there are a few people I simply do not get on with. This does not take away from the game, in my opinion.
What good is a virtual alter ego, so to speak, if he doesn't have any enemies? Dealing with people we can't tolerate is part of our everyday lives, so why should our online lives be exempt from that? If we lack that fundamental part of our being, we start losing the ability to communicate altogether.
So long as you aren't filtering out all the bad people and the naughty men with opposing views, WoW doesn't actually detract from social skills. At all.
As for time wasting - that can be said about anything. I would say going to church was a waste of time, but a lot of people find it a rewarding experience. The argument genuinely goes for anything at all.

So I repeat my question. What exactly makes this MMO so hated?


EDIT: When I say THIS MMO, I mean this one in particular. Not the traits of all MMOs, just why everyone shouts about how bad WoW is compared to, say, Aion or Flyff.

I won't say WoW is bad compared to most other MMO's, it has a world that I understand is under almost constant change and development, the population seems stable and I'm sure it has many other advantages compared to other MMO's. However the reason I despise it is because its nothing but mediocre, it takes dedication, not skill. Its very simple as far as gameplay and everything goes, which isn't necessarily bad but it never rewards me with a sense of achievement. Playing it actually feels like work to me, except I get paid for work.

 

[Nfritzappa]

Theres nothing wrong with WoW as a game..

But its followers...phew thats another story.

 

[captaincabbage]

I'm not gonna overstep my mark here, since I've never properly played WoW or any other MMORPGs, I just wanna say that I see WoW as a waste of money. I feel that a game is only worth so much. Sure there are great games now and then, so I don't mind when those games that give you more bang for your buck are maybe 5 or 10 dollars more than the rest of the pack, but the thought of spending however much a month adding up to what could be a new tv, or something meaningful over time seems rediculous to me.
For me, no matter how much you get out of a game like WoW, you're still paying money for something you've already bought. No game is worth that much.

 

[Aisaka]

It's too addictive.

 

[Dott]

Four words:

It's like a second job.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

Four words:

It's like a second job.

Technically five, but IKWYM.

 

[Mr. In-between]

I like my RPGs to have a definitive beginning and end, thank you very much.

 

[MiracleOfSound]

I hate it because I never see my buddy anymore since he got it.

It is deliberately designed to be addictive and exploitative of peoples' obsessive, compulsive nature and it sucks peoples souls out through their eyeballs in a way no other game/MMO does.

people only get addicted if they want to

You're joking, right?

 

[Nazulu]

It's fine and I didn't find it addictive at all, but I did find it really really easy, nothing was stopping me from getting to the next levels and this was before all the patches.

I usually play MMOs because I look forward to upgrading and reaching the awesome skills at the end but in WOW it didn't really get that much better. I was hoping for something more flashy and cool but just found rather disappointing.

It's definitely a good game though, the amount of shit you can do in it will keep you busy for months and the pvp is really fun, it's just not what I'm looking for in a MMO.

 

[Audio]

It's fine till you reach max level; then everything is repetitive.
Questing at lower levels is interesting to a point, then it is a grind. It then becomes a chore or a job with little in the way of reward (imo).

Games should give you a great deal of satisfaction when you reach the end..but WoW doesn't really have an end.

 

[DefunctTheory]

Not true. If you pit someone who knows how to play a class, let's say priest, and they are at least awake, they will win.

(Replace priest with whatever class Blizzard has over powered at this time. Used to be Priest, before that Warlock, and my buddy at work claims death Knights are ridiculous at this time [which is why he plays them, of course])

WoW's PvP has been broken for ages. Some classes are good at it, some are great at it, and some just don't work anymore. It was true 3 years ago when I played, and its true now. Can you still have fun with it? Sure. But its not balanced, and its heavily based on gear and class.

The primary reason people hate WoW is that it can't just be picked up and played: it requires time and effort, and even than you'll be at the bottom of the pole when you reach the maxed out level. By the time you reach up to the top of the gear tree, Blizzard has just planted another. Some people like constantly squabling over equipment to become the best: some just want to beat each others faces in and have a faiir chance. For most, WoW just doesn't seem fair (Shit, I've played Eve and WoW still doesn't seem fair. At least Eve tells you you're going to get raped, a lot.)

EDIT: Basically, the same reasons you love WoW are the exact same reasons why people hate it.

 

[VulakAerr]

I like MMOs in general... or rather I give them a fighting chance, but everything about WoW just seems designed to appeal universally. It's like the Harry Potter of MMOs. It's bland, generic fantasy. The lore in it is particularly childish and unimaginative when compared to something like LotRO (to use an MMO as an example) or Mass Effect (to use a single-player RPG).

Coupled with that, the community is very grating. When the game first game out it was a bunch of battle.net kiddies and now it's the battle.net kiddies plus the hardcore fanboys still playing the game.

The graphics aren't to everybody's tastes. Not just the low quality but the cartoonish nature of them. I'm not saying that is bad, but it's enough that some people will just steer clear of it simply for that reason.

The game now has a reputation for kneejerk developers. Nerfs and upgrades all over the place. A lot of MMOs have this issue but I guess WoW is a victim of its own success here. The stories multiply in that game.

From my own point of view, my greatest issue is that it spawns a generation of MMO-players who have stuck with a particular class in a particular game, played it to death and then moved on without realising that frankly WoW isn't the most complicated or skillful MMO out there and knowing nothing about playing a CC class or anything that can't solo through an entire game.

That said, and I apologise if I'm wrong here, but the OP sounds very much like someone who has seen a large amount of hate for his favourite MMO and his defensiveness has led to the creation of this thread. The thread in which he deems that any opinion against WoW must be stated as fact and then happily refuted by himself so that he can resolve the situation in his head that yes, he is correct and all the people who don't care for WoW are wrong.

Trust me. It is a fact that hating WoW is good for you. Even if that's not true, it's still a fact.

 

[Danpascooch]

It's incredibly, incredibly boring.

I played it non-stop for 3 fucking weeks, and not a single thing in it, the community, the mechanics, the art design, or the backstory managed to engage me in the slightest. Rarely, if ever, does that happen.

I respect peoples differing opinions, but in this case, I cannot see why anyone would find that game 'fun' in the slightest. I certainly didn't. Waste of two trial subscriptions.

MMOs really can't compare with normal game experiences, it's all about the social aspect and the teamwork.

I play WoW myself, and while I like it, even I get something I have dubbed "WoW Burnout" where every 6 months or so I get bored with it and quit for a few months. It's a lot more fun with a friend.

Also, you should try the new dungeon matchmaking, it makes the best part of the game (dungeons) infinitely more accessible.

Anyway, I agree that the engaging aspects of any current MMO can't compare to traditional gaming, which is why I am waiting for "The Old Republic" like it is some holy game that will deliver us all unto some promised land.