WoW Down to 5.6 Million Subscribers

Originally Posted by Tractor

I believe that the whole notion that people are “entitled” to see content is just wrong.
There should be some difference between the people who put in all the time and effort needed to be able to raid and those who don’t.
While it doesn’t have to go to the extremes of let’s say vanilla Naxx where only a very small percent saw the content, there should still be some things available only to the people willing to put in the effort.
It’s important to make sure there’s a variety of content available, but if you always aim to please everyone you’re quite likely to end up not pleasing anyone.

Without getting to nostalgic, I do truly miss a couple of things from vanilla:
I think it was cool the way certain pieces of loot and boss kills felt a bit exclusive back in vanilla, which has obviously been removed now due to the vast amount of difficulties per instance.
Another noticeable thing is the size of the servers, I basically knew most guilds on my server back in vanilla and there was some direct competition which was fun.
Not really sure how to fix the latter, but it’s something I do miss.


Another large issue the way I see it, is that the world doesn’t feel lived in.
Here are some ideas on how you could attempt to fix this:

• Removing the whole “click a button to find a group and get ported to the dungeon”
• Making gathering professions relevant again
• Dailies and reputation grinds spread out over the world with some really good rewards.
• Try to get some world PvP back.
• Definitely remove flying from the game

Some of these suggestions are bound to not be that popular, but even if it would be an inconvenience on a personal level they would put some life back into the world.

What you describe right there, would cost another 2 million + subs.

Originally Posted by Tractor

Here are some ideas on how you could attempt to fix this:

• Removing the whole “click a button to find a group and get ported to the dungeon”
• Making gathering professions relevant again
• Dailies and reputation grinds spread out over the world with some really good rewards.
• Try to get some world PvP back.
• Definitely remove flying from the game

Some of these suggestions are bound to not be that popular, but even if it would be an inconvenience on a personal level they would put some life back into the world.

That's your opinion but lets see it.
1. You can level outside of the dungeons and get better gear than in dungeons, people dont do them ( or rarely do them ) when thay are max level and geared. So what would be the point in doing them? They introduced weekly dungeons and rewards but thats not enough. Do you really think people would do them if they need to spend 30min going to the entrance and trying to form a group?
2. Yes, that would be amazing, new profession system is retarded and degrading. I can't complain, I still made 4+ mill just on inscription this expalnsion alone.
3. Grinds are boring, doing same quests for 20+ days isnt fun not it has ever been fun. Thay need t change reputation and how you get it ( farm )
4. Some people hate PvP and they dont do it. I havent done a single battleground in 3 years, why do you think WPvP would bring 100k players back or any at all? Players that play on PvE realms forced to do do WPvP is insane. And as for PvP realms, fix it by merging more realms into one and making equal number of horde vs alliance players. I have been on realms where you have 10:1 ration. Why do you think player in a such disadvantage would find fun in being farmed 24/7? What would be more fun is to add level brackets in WPvP. As in you kill player that has more than 9 level less than you, you gain some stacks where you receive more dmg and it stacks. it would remove bashing players and bring more fun into WPvP
5. No, removing flying would put a final nail in the coffin. With flying I was actually playing the game, doing archaeology and explored. Now i just sit in garrison and i do nothing. Hell I even geared my alt to 693 without ever leaving him and doing dungeons/lfr

Originally Posted by tankbug

They removed Inquisition, and holy wrath for ret, which is basically it. I made my pally in cata, and I can't remember any big changes at all. The spells are all the same and the rotation similar. It would be fun if they attempted to make a Gladiator stance for pallies as well, where they can dps with prot attacks and sword&board.

They had there rework from BC and during Wrath, alot of things where baked into your New seals hence why inquisition is gone, i remeber Wrath pallies dude and you missed out it was fun 2 shotting almost anything.

Originally Posted by fxtech

I am not surprise at all and I am pretty sure Blizzard is not also

-Wow is 10 years old , it will only go down and down , I am even surprise they have more then 100k sub after 10 years

-Blizzard is still printing money and they dont depend on Wow they made lots of money last quarter

-Blizzard knew this will append with a 10 years old game and nothing they can do will stop the bleeding, anyone in this business know nothing last so all this is already projected.

If you have Blizzard stock you are kinda happy right now they had an impressive quarter

My theories
My guess they have another MMO project arround for when Wow get under 1 million subs ( only my guess) I think they even cancel Titan / put on hold because WoW was doing better then they expected after 7 years.

All in all if you still like Wow play it ( I still do ) 5 millions sub.

You have no idea what you're talking about. If they are preparing to seal the deal with WoW soon, then why hire more devs? Right from the front page: "More developers are working on World of Warcraft than ever before.". All of Blizzard's bets are on the Warcraft universe. Nothing has been more successful for them than WC/WoW and Hearthstone so far. With the movie coming next year, they HOPE that a lot of new people will hop on either WoW or HS.

Also, forget about Titan "being put on hold". Titan, as an MMO project, is gone. The only thing that remained is Overwatch.

"More developers are working on World of Warcraft than ever before".

Hah, that's what they said going into WoD. If 6.2 is all these "new" devs were about to create in 6+ months, then they have a far more serious problem on their hands. This is all just more bullshit rhetoric, in an attempt to downplay the gravity of the situation they've put themselves in.

Wow, I never expected Warcraft was doing this badly .. though, somehow, with the announcement that less than a year in, WOD, the expac their future hinged on .. was effectively scrapped .. it isn't that big of a shock.

It's funny seeing some of the comment here, like people dismissing WotLK as successful or hardly mattering.
Or seeing Cata as a bad expac .. yes, at the end but not during .. Cata held WotLK's numbers until the nerfing sprees began .. at that point, it was a bad expac. Not prior.

Cata was the most brilliant and successful Expac in the beginning when you consider that the content was made purposely much more difficult and servers had more guilds raiding than ever before. When you have the most casual of guilds killing raid bosses, then you're doing something right .. and nerfing the crap out of it was hardly called for. Heroic PUGs also got so much worse after the nerfs. I began actually seeing groups fail them post-nerfs .. which is really funny in the end ..

MOP's theme I think, did alot of the damage .. it was way, way too late for a Chinese expac. That time had long since passed. BLIZ was at the docks, ticket in hand and all excited to go and didn't understand why we weren't right there with them and the reason was because we'd been to China already and were bored of it .. (those of us who went there .. metaphorically, of course).

WOD to spite all the hate .. was offering gorgeous zones, better questing, well recieved raids .. the addition of cross-realm tools, Mythic Dungeons .. all of it was good .. until they said "Hey guys, we know it hasn't been a year yet but we're kinda done, sorry. But hey, new expac announcement in a few weeks." And it shows they're worried to step outside of BLIZCON to announce it .. too concerned to wait.

Then laughably expac people to not leave? Or be excited about a new expac they've had 1/3rd the time to develope? Sadly, as much as I love this game, the reasons to leave finally are mounting .. I'm lookin' at FF:ARR where all my friends went after they quit WoW .. hell, FFARR is up to 5m subs. With BLIZ down this much .. FFARR may dethrone them (even if only temporarily). That'll be a first in 10 years.

Originally Posted by markos82

That's your opinion but lets see it.
1. You can level outside of the dungeons and get better gear than in dungeons, people dont do them ( or rarely do them ) when thay are max level and geared. So what would be the point in doing them? They introduced weekly dungeons and rewards but thats not enough. Do you really think people would do them if they need to spend 30min going to the entrance and trying to form a group?
2. Yes, that would be amazing, new profession system is retarded and degrading. I can't complain, I still made 4+ mill just on inscription this expalnsion alone.
3. Grinds are boring, doing same quests for 20+ days isnt fun not it has ever been fun. Thay need t change reputation and how you get it ( farm )
4. Some people hate PvP and they dont do it. I havent done a single battleground in 3 years, why do you think WPvP would bring 100k players back or any at all? Players that play on PvE realms forced to do do WPvP is insane. And as for PvP realms, fix it by merging more realms into one and making equal number of horde vs alliance players. I have been on realms where you have 10:1 ration. Why do you think player in a such disadvantage would find fun in being farmed 24/7? What would be more fun is to add level brackets in WPvP. As in you kill player that has more than 9 level less than you, you gain some stacks where you receive more dmg and it stacks. it would remove bashing players and bring more fun into WPvP
5. No, removing flying would put a final nail in the coffin. With flying I was actually playing the game, doing archaeology and explored. Now i just sit in garrison and i do nothing. Hell I even geared my alt to 693 without ever leaving him and doing dungeons/lfr

1. Noone gona do that, beacuse looms, its just hit 10, play some bg's till you reach 15, then go lfr all the way to 90. Makeing tank or healer, speed up this process even more.
2. Agree, proffesions in wod are just... wtf.
3. There was always grinding since tbc, ppl wasnt complaining on this, so I doubt that is issue here.
4. Some people hate PvP, some don't. I like PvP but atm, its one side only, horde eaither using too many bots, or cant play as team, neaither in random bg's nor ashran.
5. I would say, flying or not flying is 50/50, and it's not that big issue that would drop or bring back more subs.

Like some1 before said, balance is issue, me myslef, was changing main so often... since start (early tbc) shadow priest, in early MoP, mw monk, in SoO, resto shaman (could heal hc Garosh as 1 healer) now, shamans are totally usless, worst healing class, and they arent working on it, switched to warlock, caught up legendary lane, but hey, noone want more dpsers, not to mention how hunters are op compared to other classes.

Originally Posted by Arachna

How about community stop acting shitty?

There is a HUGE reason for it.
Look at the Half-Life series. Do you see whining kids about those? Nope, only for HL3.

I think after the flying was removed from the game the WoW had lost half of the female players. We lost 5 girls because of that in my guild.

Anyone know if there will be any worthwhile questions allowed at tomorrow nights announcement? or will they make the announcement and run for their lives?

Yes, this is what everyone should talk about here. Subscriber numbers. Very important.

Originally Posted by Dhru

There is a HUGE reason for it.
Look at the Half-Life series. Do you see whining kids about those? Nope, only for HL3.

I don't play HL, sorry.
I do play LoL, and i can guarantee that community is biggest issue for this game.

Originally Posted by Hordok

Time to go back to Vanilla and BC DO IT BLIZZARD

So - much - THIS !!!

Originally Posted by Madelein

From my personal perspective and as someone who had canceled my subscription and returned a few weeks ago to burn up some gold and some time for a few weeks:

-snip-

Those are just some of the reasons off the top of my head.

A lot of people keep harking back to Vanilla wow and how much fun that was. One of the main reasons vanilla was fun was because it forced people to get out and about in the game. You had to farm, fish to be able to raid. We had to actually interact with the game itself and with other people. Our professions meant something. They actually did something. We didn't hang out in private little instances like garrisons. We hung out in capital cities and tried to find groups to do stuff. That is what has completely gone from this game.

You pretty much said all that needs to be said on the matter. Kudos.

Originally Posted by Airwaves

"More developers are working on World of Warcraft than ever before."

THEN WHY THE FUCK IS THERE SUCH LARGE GAPS BETWEEN CONTENT!

Because with LFR raid content lasts for a a month or two at most compared to pre LFR where raid content could last up to a year. And there were usually grindy type content for non raiders in the form of valor points/badges/dailies/dungeons/crafting that often took even longer or at least more time than gearing through raiding.

Originally Posted by tithian

You pretty much said all that needs to be said on the matter. Kudos.

No. We don't need Vanilla and BC. We need them to select best working features of each expansion, and combine it into one.

Originally Posted by Gilian

More likely you and many others underestimated how many players actually quit playing. WoD is really THAT bad even if the die hard addicted fans don't believe it. Even 6.2, tokens and Blizzard giving away free gametime didn't help to offset all these players quitting. Normally with a big patch we would see sub numbers becoming steady or maybe even increase a little... Imagine next quarter... there is really no way to save this expansion anymore.

Yeah, I think Blizzard overestimated how much garbage the fans would be willing to take. The "different time and different universe"-thing was risky(just like cataclysm and cuddly/clumsy pandaren). It could have worked with a "cool" Iron Horde...but they failed completely there. First the characters got hyped comic style...and then they had no stories for them(even worse...one becomes an easy loot pinata right as first boss in first raid...an other as instance boss). I don't know who wrote that WoD story, but he clearly should get fired. You let the main antagonist of the last addon break free from jail, travel back in time to visit his dad...and then he gets killed by an NPC like a fly during a questline right at the beginning...like it doesn't matter at all. WTF??? Then we got Grom where nobody really knows what he is about(good/bad?)...and Gul'dan as the evil dude that pops up everywhere and that we can never stop from running. There is nobody(aside from maybe Gul'dan) that I could dislike(let alone hate)...nobody I really like...hell...nobody I actually care about. There is no Horde vs. Alliance....but no Horde WITH Alliance either. At least for me as a horde player I got no emotions when it comes to anything in this expansion and I don't feel any type of progression or achievement either....and that is sad.
Blizzard once said that they can now write a story in World of Warcraft instead of having to follow and cope with old already written storylines. Frankly, it was better back in the days...

The only things they really did right in this addon is Tanaan(add in some world pvp incentives and you got a perfect zone)...and the questlines in most zones(aside from Talador). If there wouldn't have been those bugs during the first day then levelling would likely have been the best experience ever.

Originally Posted by scubistacy

No. We don't need Vanilla and BC. We need them to select best working features of each expansion, and combine it into one.

Here's the thing - you go ahead and list those things, and I'll bet you you'll have a fairly even split of people arguing agains't you or agreeing with you.

Besides, what is in the game right now ARE iterations of what was in vanilla and tbc.

No surprise. They did everything they could to keep people from playing the game this time around. The gating is so over the top that people have nothing to do even if they are subbed.

-> pointing at those who claimed that WoD is ok and 6.2 will bring back people

ha ha ha ha ha ha ha

fully expecting wow way below 3 mln by end of year proving how shit WoD is for everyone exept mythic raiders

- - - Updated - - -

at least now all white knight know why announcment of expansion is at gamescon - they simply cannot wait till blizzcon - and they fucking deserve it for what they did to this game.

IMHO, one of the biggest mistakes was removing the 5 man grind for currency. when there was nothing else to do, you could always grind a few 5 mans on an alt for an upgrade. Just seems like a big hole was left where 5 man content was a fixture ...