WoW: Could 11 Million People be Wrong?

[Scarecrow38]

I got to level 70 before I threw in the towel. What stopped me was the realisation that level 70 was so similar to level 7 that it wasn't funny. I still killed boars and collected boar meat. All that changed was the name ( it could be dragons, snakes, eels, mythical spirits, seamonsters) and the amount of times I'd press the numbers 1 - 5.

Being my first character, I could never stand toe to toe with enemy players out in the wilderness and being level 70 I couldn't properly devote time to raiding/ instancing and profession'ing.

Despite what some people say, if you start now you really really are behind the crowd. Your levels may be the same but combat and strategy is second hand to the experienced ones.

I think someone up said that it was addicting and to many people I'd say that was true. With me though, it was talked up way more than what it turned out to be. It should be called a MMOFPS, I played on a RP PVP server and while there was a lack of 'leet' speak, there was perhaps 0.1% of the players who'd actually role play.

 

[Kazturkey]

You, sir, just won the internet. WoW is pretty bad. Hopefully SW:TOR will be better.

 

[Arkhangelsk]

I quit WoW cause I came to the realization that I wasn't leveling for the fun, but cause it felt like the game was challenging me to it, so I quit after I couldn't reach higher level. And they demanded too much money, those greedy bastards.

 

[Ghostkai]

I find a great deal of newer players grow to hate the game because they don't truly play it. It's a sad fact that majority of the player base is of a higher level, so for a social game many players see it as pure grind, which the game really isn't. There is so much to do in WoW, so many ways to play, that no one person can ever fully explore the full range of options. Between the professions, the many different battlegrounds and arenas for PvP and the utter ocean of PvE content, any person who is given the right opportunities is bound to find something they enjoy. It's a shame, and a problem Blizzard needs to address, that the current low-density population in the starting areas is giving so many players the wrong impression.

So many MMO's offer a ton of ways to play the game, but will force you to gain good old xp through Wild Boar Genocide in order to progress your character. Is WoW any different?

For the early levels, fair enough. But look at some of the TBC or Wrath questlines.

-Dogfighting with dragons in Icecrown

-Running bombing missions on hordes of undead

-Riding a storm giant king's back into battle

-Commanding a Frost Wyrm and annilating an army

-Hijacking a ship and turning it's cannons against it's owners

-Infiltrating the Scourge operations in Zul'Drak, only to bring it down from within

-Killing a messenger and taking his clothes in order to disguise yourself and find out some critical information from a General

-Defending the Argent Crusade's Vanguard in it's mighty fortress using a turret against thousands of undead,

-Defending Wyrmrest Temple from the Blue dragonflight while atop your own Red Wyrm,

-Attempting and failing to stop Arthas in the Black Cathedral (fucking epic)

-The Battle for Light's Hope Chapel

-The Battle for Undercity

-The Wrathgate

-Gathering meat from a mammoth in a way only a goblin would think of (throw a huge bomb at it, it explodes everywhere, you pick up the pieces), the same Goblins who decide the best way for you to traverse a mountain range is via a Missile, which explodes.

-Killing a Proto-Drake with your bare hands in mid air. (About 2k meter up, Yes really)

-Tank Battles in Wintergrasp, sieging a fortress defending by an untold amount of your rivals.

-A jousting tournement, where your rise up through the ranks, earning the right to represent your own city within the competition, and the storyline to unveil the identity of the mysterious "Black Knight".

The list could easily fill a page or two to be honest. These are just some that spring to mind.

Honestly, the days of grindy "kill XX mob XX times" are over in WoW, they only ones that really exist are within the very early content (vanilla WoW), and those that do exist in later content, will be a part of something else, i.e "kill 10 of XX, and steal XX battle plans" or something along those lines. Seeing as you'd kill that many anyway stealing said plans, it's no biggy.

Considering that WoW will soon offer exp for Battlegrounds, some players will never have to kill a boar again past level 10.

Honestly, Joe's right, players judge the game before they've gotten out of their starting area (newsflash, pretty much every single mmo starting area is a tad dull, to show you the baby steps), once your seeing the latest content, and not hung up over content made over 4 years ago, you'll start to understand why it's crushing all competition in the MMO market.

FYI, I'm not a playing WoW anymore, heck I haven't played in months.

 

[joe182]

Well there is so many people that "all your friends are playing". Which is usually what you guild can be made up of.
However, even with my friends playing, and playing on a free account, I lost interest extremely quickly. I found it mind-numbing, and I didn't have the patience to wait until "the game began" at level 60.

I'm the same, I don't have the patience to grind through up to lvl 60 JUST to start actually playing the 'real' game, no amount of raids and bosses could make the endless fed-ex quests that lead up to that point worth it, imo.

 

[Grayl]

I agree with your post, OP. After playing WoW for about 2 years, I realised that I wasn't enjoying the mediocre game in which it was, and that I was just addicted and enjoyed the socialization.

But there are many, better social groups out there. And paying for a game I only mildly enjoyed, but that I was addicted to, was something I will never go back to. I actually look down on WoW players, and as stubborn as that may sound, I do that because I know that the game isn't really the best thing ever. And I would only pay monthly for the best thing ever.

WoW is a good game, but not nearly as much fun as any other RPG out there. The only thing keeping you going is the "epic l00tz" and the leveling up. I remember when I re-joined after quitting for that first year, and they'd introduced items that did as little as improve your critical hit chance by 0.2% or something. And people were spending hours saving up and buying them... it just made me look down on the community in general, for spending so much time buying something that would give you a possible extra 0.2% chance to win in a battle.

There's so many better ways to spend your leisure time. Those people that say "I need an MMORPG" make me feel depressed, because it's like an addiction, really. But I play games like Oblivion, Left 4 Dead and Team Fortress 2, and that doesn't cost me anything anymore. And I bought them when they were on sale! And gaming depends on, to some extent, how much money you are willing to put into it, just like most other hobbies. And I'd rather buy games that'll last me years with one single cost, and enjoy the HELL out of them, rather than pay for a game monthly and only enjoy the addictiveness of them.

But that's just my opinion. I'll never play WoW again, just the same as I'll never pay for a game monthly unless it really is "the shit". And if you play WoW and honestly enjoy it, well, good for you, especially if you think it's worth the money. I just don't enjoy the same old battles after battles, PvP after PvP, raid after raid, ultimately leading to pretty much nothing.

 

[Jast]

I just refuse to play it because I don't want to pay money every month to play a game I bought. I think it's absolutely ridiculous and a rip off. I also hate playing with people. (being totally anti-social.)

 

[LimeJester]

Wow I am just surprised about how few supporters the MMO-drug of choice has on here. Sure I played it for two weeks when it first came out, got to level 16 alone and then quit because I knew no one in a social game. Ever since then I haven't really gotten into an MMO. Last one I was actually into was UO, which I only bought because my friends played, and they quit a month after I got it. Only reason I kept playing is because I ended up finding a good guild in that one month span. Wow am I ever off-topic. But yes, 11 million can be "wrong" but it's all up to personal taste.

 

[freakonaleash]

People hate WoW for its popularity and the fact that everyone plays it. I think its probably one of the best games ever made and if you played it when everyone else had low lvls it was the most insanely fun thing ever.

 

[wordsmith]

Yes, 11 million people could be wrong.

Likewise, 11 million people may just disagree with you. Once you start saying someone is "wrong" for having an alternative viewpoint, we start to see the underlying cause of war.

 

[draxious]

i couldnt agree more the only reason i play WoW is that my bro is paying for it, i have some friends who play, and i got the red ring of death on the 360

 

[draxious]

I just refuse to play it because I don't want to pay money every month to play a game I bought. I think it's absolutely ridiculous and a rip off. I also hate playing with people. (being totally anti-social.)

i can agree with the monthly fee but i usualy only play for social not that there is anything wrong with being anti-social either way good point no one wants to pay monthly

 

[Anacortian]

It is a demographic rule of thumb that, if you want to know which system (national, group, game, anything) is the best to its adherents, follow the people (immigration and emigration). That being said, WoW clearly is the best to offer at this time. Yes, problems can be had, but it is still the best to be had. This works as well for WoW as it does for the USA. While either have there problems, which may be large, both ultimately give their citizens/players what they want so much that millions are willing to risk life and limb to live/play there.

In short: if you do not like it in Azeroth, quit whining and leave. We can get along just fine without you.

 

[DObs]

WOW may not be the best game but its the best at what it does. No other Mmorpg even comes close to it and Blizzard have done a great job making it. I played it from day of release up until about 3 months ago and the reason I stopped playing it had nothing really to do with the game, all my irl friends with whom I played it with stopped for various reasons (jobs, travel, marriage, kids - to name a few) and this is where I ran into WOW biggest problem and is something that is a curse to all popular online games, the communtiy. 95% of ppl that play WOW are complete retards. I made a guild from scratch and succeded in getting good 25 man action going but even the reward of good progression did not outweigh that I was playing with a bunch of mental and social freaks. In the end it got too much dealing with the brainless, slack-jawed mouth breathers that are the majority of WOW players and I had to leave to maintain my own sanity.

WOW - great game when you can pick your company, f'kin sucks when you can't

 

[Frankydee]

I played WoW for maybe a few weeks, and even on a free account with epic gear and level 80 characters, I just couldn't get into it.

 

[draxious]

you know i think we should start a rebellion against the empire that calls itself WoW if someone can bring it down the economy would sky rocket other games get cash some people actually do things and we all get rich

 

[WhyteBoy]

duh everyones going to complain about leveling, its rarely fun. In WoW is stupid till lvl 58+ , but it has the best end game content out of any game ive ever played.

I still like going back and doing lvl 60 instances because they are fun.

All you are saying is "i dont like MMO's". Name 1 mmo that makes leveling super fun and has a utopian community of boring people.

 

[Yubadias]

I have to agree. I played this last year, when I was 11. I'm 12 now and I have to agree with you. It was way too expensive. Sure, it was fun for a while, up until about level 40. Then it really goes down the toilet. Unfortunately, around the time you get a mount (level 30) more and more people in your level range get really snobby and rude. Also, the areas at that level get increasingly boring. Eversong Woods was fun, as was Durotar and Thousand Needles, but when you're level 46 like I was, then the quests are either too hard, too long or too boring.

Nice post, I think you're right in saying that 11 1/2 million people are wrong. I'd much rather play Portal, The Sims 3 or Guitar Hero.

 

[cobra_ky]

i'm guessing the OP has never played another MMO, since all the arguments he made have been pretty much true of every MMO ever made.

I've noticed this, and in fact a friend of mine and myself predicted this might happen in the early stages of BC, that vanilla WoW and its areas would become something like those gold-rush ghost towns. I'm not sure we should bring the 80's back to Azeroth anyway, isn't Hillsbrad and Stranglegank bad enough?

no. Hillsbrad back in the day was the best battleground blizzard ever made.

The problem is that level 80 is the "fun" stage, Blizzard had put so much energy into making the highest levels the most fun, while letting lower levels wallow in a bland purgatory of grinding. It feels just like the inventive innovative "game" we thought we were buying is completly locked until we reach level 80. That being said Blizzard has proven themselves capable of doing innovative things, they have a whole boss battle that you do on vehicles for instance, they just didn't give the middle levels any reason to play besides get to level 80.

it's because players only experience the lower level very briefly, while they'll be at the level cap for much, much longer. it doesn't make sense to waste development resources on content most players will only see once or not at all.

Unless you're a filthy Alliance.

For the Horde! I hate most of the Ally's on my server, bunch of opportunistic gank-bags the lot of 'em. Then again - I'm leveling a DK. At least I'm not a 3-button Pally! Hate those guys.

Don't you have some healer plate to be rolling on?

I kid, I kid.

And it's totally five buttons.

he forgot "bubble" and "hearth".