Why I hate World of Warcraft

[UltimatheChosen]

WoW certainly isn't for everyone.

The one statement I take exception to is your claim that it doesn't "take skill". While it's true that your build heavily influences performance, intelligence is also very important. Try running a dungeon with an inattentive tank sometime. No matter how well geared they are, if they don't pay close attention to monster aggro and switch targets whenever they're close to losing one, the dungeon is gonna go very roughly. DPS needs to know to attack the tank's primary target, otherwise the monster will charge them and rip them to shreds. The healer needs to be hyper-aware of the party's health and debuffs at all times.

 

[GameGoddess101]

I usually only play with my IRL friends, and only the friends that are casual players like myself. And when you are playing by yourself, there is some aspect of strategy involved if you're playing it right.

The thing about the arrow pointing you in the right direction, btw, is Questhelper and has been recently taken off of WoW with a recent patch.

I think WoW is fun and, while you make good points, some people just find that kind of thing fun.

 

[Woodsey]

You played it for a YEAR before you could make up your mind?

You can't have found it that bad then.

 

[IrrelevantTangent]

Well, everyone has a right to their opinion, but the number one thing you have to remember is this: if you don't like MMORPGs or MMOs in general, it's likely you won't like WoW. It's just something you'll end up liking or you won't. Some love the communities that spring up in MMOs, others would prefer one 10-hour-long videogame rollercoaster ride as opposed to a rather slow, steady, and unending pace.

MMOs aren't for everyone, and WoW is the archetypal MMO. Love it or hate it, it's here to stay.

 

[Marowit]

I'll bite.

I still play, and I still enjoy it when I'm in a group of people I know. That being said, I can't agree with you more about the lack of customization available in the talent builds. Now you might say that's the fault of designers, but I personally think it's human nature to find the path of least resistance.

When the game began, how I found specs was by playing around with the trees, chatting with people I knew who were "good". Now people run freakin' spreadsheets with 10,000,000 points of dmg done to figure out which is best. Then Raid leaders/Guild leaders/Class leaders go read those posts, and then ask why you don't have said-spec. So now, designers are forced to design knowing that players will be crunching numbers in order to figure out how to maximize dps/hps/tps.

I think that is my least favorite part of WoW, but given how nerds function and how popular the game is it totally makes sense. But, any MMO that comes out that reaches such popularity will suffer the same problems.

Why do I fork over $15 a month? It's cheaper than keeping up with new games (seriously I spend way less money playing an MMO than I do playing console games), and I enjoy the pseudo-social experience it provides.

 

[PxDn Ninja]

My biggest problems with WoW are:

1. Graphics - Blizzard has a semi-unique art style, but I have always hated the Warcraft look and feel.

2. Challenge - As the original poster stated, it took him just two months to reach max level. What kind of MMO takes just two months to reach end game? I know in FFXI, people take months and months to reach max level. In EVE Online, it can take a couple of years to get into the biggest baddest ship (a Titan), and just to perfect simple frigate sized hulls will take a year+, but provide constant upgrades. Hell, It takes a good 6 months in LOTRO to get max level.

3. "Play like this or L2P" - It is expected that a certain class have certain gear and a certain build. Don't like that, too bad. This is caused by the classes being TOO specialized with no counter for each setup.

All in all, it is an Ok game for a short period, but holds no long term appeal for me.

 

[Saul B]

Glad to say I grew out of MMOs about a year ago. No more fees for me, no more time sink.

 

[Boneasse]

Well, the fun parts can also be doing something completely different. Recentrly, a couple of friends, including myself, have started characters on an RPPVP-server. We are only going to play them when we are online, sitting and talking on skype. As such, we will not be ignoring all the RP rules blizzard have set up, but actually interact with other people by saying stuff like; "You there, good sir. Might I enquire as to whether or not you are a blacksmith?" and stuff like that.

Why, you ask? Because it's fun, in a very geeky kind of way.

 

[GothmogII]

Well, the fun parts can also be doing something completely different. Recentrly, a couple of friends, including myself, have started characters on an RPPVP-server. We are only going to play them when we are online, sitting and talking on skype. As such, we will not be ignoring all the RP rules blizzard have set up, but actually interact with other people by saying stuff like; "You there, good sir. Might I enquire as to whether or not you are a blacksmith?" and stuff like that.

Why, you ask? Because it's fun, in a very geeky kind of way.

Geeky is right -_^ There's barely a chance in hell you'll catch a Roleplayer harping on with that might I inquire crap. Well, maybe a newbie, or if your character is -supposed- to talk like that I guess. Mainly, Roleplayers make use of a wide variety of 'speech' styles and vernaculars as are already present in the WoW universe anyway. And generally, few people RP with NPC's unless there are other players present. Though, I've seen people do it on the off chance that someone may be listening, but, it's not all that dignified talking to the equivalent of a talking manikin

The main thing is that you -act- out the character. When you play on an RP realm, you're typing as you've imagined your character to speak or act, this can be whatever you like, be a blood thirsty warrior a drunken mage or a worrisome waif. The only real rule is that you refrain from talking about things that don't relate to the game-world, or talk out of character. I only mention this because it's surprising how many people go on to an RP realm (in any MMO) and fail to take these things into account, and this is just talking of the new RP'ers. But, at least they can -learn-, unlike the muppets who come on with no intention of Roleplaying at all, or worse, actively disrupting other's play.

On-topic though: WoW, like Marmite, is either loved or hated in spades.

 

[deus-ex-machina]

I was introduced to WoW about 4 years if not more now by my best friend at the time. Her brother and father played it as well as her and I have to admit, I enjoyed playing it. It was addictive, but it got to the point where I went to her house to play WoW and she didn't have the access for both of us to play it at the same time.

She ended up buying me WoW and her boyfriend of the time bought me the first expansion (since she got him into it too) and I was really happy with the gifts. Initially.

It is the ultimate time waster. You spend hours waiting for very little and when you next look at the clock, several hours have gone on by. Not to mention you have to pay for it every month. Granted, I did the same thing with uni housemates with City of Heroes, but we got to level 50 pretty quickly and we had a lot of fun doing it. Shouting through a five bedroom semi detached was pretty funny.

I've got a seven month old baby now and she's amazing, but if any of you have watched the Guild, you'll know WoW and children don't mix. In fact, WoW and real friends, or uni, or work don't mix.

I really enjoyed playing it but I know what a curse it is. I didn't have the same problem with other players and I always found teaming to be fun. But the time wastage alone is too much. In comparison, in City of Heroes, even though I would say it was simple and an inferior game... Heck, we all levelled up together and we didn't need to spend hours doing other things alone to have fun from the game.

As for claiming it is an addiction, I didn't get that far really. But I did spend time thinking when I could play it next at one point. However! I think that applies to any game you really enjoy playing. Nevertheless, I think most people get addicted to the community involved, rather than the game itself. There's no point maxing out your levels if you have no one to show off to. Playing it alone is very unrewarding. I'm not saying that's sad. But I imagine some people don't have the social skills to make it out there in the real world... with sports... and jobs... and poor parents.