So is this all we can expect from WOW from here on?

[Valeron]

Why is Throne of thunder a great example of that?

[Reyzzz]

Pet battles werent new?
A single-player arena in an underground 'scene' is not new?

I guess I'm just not seeing what you're seeing.

I think he means that those features have been seen in other games before they were introduced in WoW.

[Supahfraai]

I think Cataclysm had the biggest revolution we're ever gonna see in WoW until there's a sequel. There's a saying that goes something like "Evolution, not revolution". Maybe it's just my Toyota "Lean" thinking that's playing tricks on me. Small steps are better than totally changing everything. People get confused, angry, gets their curls in uproar, and leave. That's probably not what Blizz wants right now.

[Pua]

I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but I can get what Trassk’s trying to say; the game has essentially invested in content rather than systems, which means the community waits until Blizzard delivers the next patch. Yes, it’s always been that way; yes, it’s unlikely to change; yes, it’s what we expect.

But there is now more to the game than there ever was, yet it still feels… Disjointed.

Questing is totally different to dungeons.
Dungeons are totally different to raids.
Raids are totally different to battlegrounds.
Battlegrounds are totally different to arena.
Arena is totally different to scenarios.
Scenarios are totally different to the Brawler’s Guild.
The Brawler’s Guild is totally different to pet battles.
Pet battles are totally different to professions.

For me, I liked the introduction of the achievement point system because it was a cool way of tracking how much investment had gone into a character. In fact, it was a really handy tool for looking at raiding applicants prior to MoP because you could tell whether or not you were looking at an alt. But the down side, for me, is that it’s introduced something of a “completionist” culture to the character investment I’m talking about. People do things to get them ticked off, rather than because they enjoy them, and I’m not sure that’s the design intent.

But moving back to content over systems for a second; content is consumed by players who then discard it. Systems are supposed to be self-generating. Imagine a profession system that had an impact on how you played the game rather than merely providing statistic boosts. Imagine “scenario gear” with set bonuses that allowed DK’s to heal others or shamans to tank rather than merely removing the need for such things. Imagine a PvP system that progressed into a campaign rather than stand-alone pitched battles. Imagine a game with multiple paths to power rather than there being only one.

Imagine WoW linked all of these disparate queues into one single experience.

I’m not sure such things will happen in WoW. I’m not sure such things will happen at all. Taking risks is difficult in the current space because design studios are focussed more on revenue than they’ve ever been; the Bobby Kotick’s of this world are taking their toll. And WoW, for all its successes, is potentially the worst thing to ever happen to the MMORPG genre because it single-handedly gutted innovation from other studios. Neither the game nor Blizzard are responsible for that, but it’s happened nonetheless (and explains why games like Rift and SW:TOR are essentially more of the same).

[Deleted]

Such a perfect example of today's society. Instead of being content that you have a great game with all the positives it has, you chose to think about what else you should get. Self-entitlement at its finest. I know this might come across as inflammatory, but c'mon.

You don't know what self-entitlement really is, do you? If you think like that, then why should Blizz add anything new? People are content, so why bother adding anything? Patches? Forget em, people are content! No new content is needed cause people are content! Genius!

[Xavaran]

Why is Throne of thunder a great example of that?

Because Throne of thunder is one of the best raids since ulduar. Most of the boss fights have interesting mechanics and are quite challenging, 12 bosses with 1 extra only heroic mode boss, thoroughly crafted instance and really fun to progress in. If that is not a great example why WoW is going strong and the devs are putting great effort to this game, then I dont know what is.

[Pua]

Because Throne of thunder is one of the best raids since ulduar. Most of the boss fights have interesting mechanics and are quite challenging, 12 bosses with 1 extra only heroic mode boss, thoroughly crafted instance and really fun to progress in. If that is not a great example why WoW is going strong and the devs are putting great effort to this game, then I dont know what is.

Whether or not you can say "Throne of Thunder is one of the best raids since Ulduar" is up for debate; what's not up for debate is the obvious amount of care, attention, time, money and effort that's gone into designing the Throne of Thunder. I think that nicely aligns with what you're trying to say.

[Crashdummy]

After Wrath the game went downhill.

Blizzard tried to cater the game to the hardcore special snowflake in Cata and now in MoP they are doing the same, but people tasted the good stuff in Wrath and wont accept this crap.

Blizzard had the perfect game in Wrath, they just needed to do a few tweaks to make raiding heroic modes harder in the early bosses and add LFR and they had the perfect game.

But they decided to cater to the special snowflakes. Cata tuning was a mess, and now they make raids hard tuned again.

Normal raid participation is dropping more than ever because of raid difficulty, not new dungeons gives no alternatives to people but to do raiding as the only group oriented activity and they make raiding hard, leaving a lot of people with no real options.

They are making so many mistakes...

---------- Post added 2013-04-04 at 09:06 AM ----------

Because Throne of thunder is one of the best raids since ulduar. Most of the boss fights have interesting mechanics and are quite challenging, 12 bosses with 1 extra only heroic mode boss, thoroughly crafted instance and really fun to progress in. If that is not a great example why WoW is going strong and the devs are putting great effort to this game, then I dont know what is.

Not even close.

Ulduar was great not because it was super hard, but because the difficulty was very well tuned. It started with some easy bosses, with the difficulty ramping up very sloghtly.

Razroscale wasnt really that much harder than Flame Leviathan, and Ignis after nerf (which came pretty quicly) wasnt either.

Throne of Thunder ramping up difficulty is a mess. Jin'rokh is fine as an entry boss, but Horridon is several times harder than Jin'rokh, and Council even more. The ramping up in difficulty is plain stupid.

Throne of Thunder is not even close to being like Ulduar.

[Valeron]

Because Throne of thunder is one of the best raids since ulduar. Most of the boss fights have interesting mechanics and are quite challenging, 12 bosses with 1 extra only heroic mode boss, thoroughly crafted instance and really fun to progress in. If that is not a great example why WoW is going strong and the devs are putting great effort to this game, then I dont know what is.

and if you don't raid?

[Orange Joe]

That's being incredibly lazy.

The only thing that is lazy is your reply.


Care to elaborate? What more do you want from a RPG?

---------- Post added 2013-04-04 at 12:42 PM ----------

and if you don't raid?

pvp
Dungeons
Scenarios
pet battels


To list some.

[Berri]

You're right, this isn't a WoW is dying thread! No, this is just another 'Titan is going to destroy WoW thread.'

All the elements in WoW are the exact same as you will see in Titan, and blizzard has stated several times that Titan is meant to be a game that does not compete with WoW, but simply caters to another audience. I don't understand why we need threads to discuss these things.

[Slowpoke is a Gamer]

Expansion formula going forward is clear, looming at MoP and Cata.

Blizzcon - Expansion revealed, hyped, and many promises are made. Including faster content updates.

Beta - Everyone gushes at how fresh and new the content is compared to the old expansion.

x.0 - Everyone says WoW is saved, game sells millions of copies, subs jump overnight.

x.1 - No tier, but plenty of new features. The sparkle starts to fade as people realize it's still the same old WoW.

first quarter conference call - Subs back down. Players start panicking, devs sweat.

x.2 - Perfection of the expansion idea. Players start questioning how Blizz can top it. Crazy ideas run rampant.

second quarter conference call - subs steady or down, devs start panicking as expectations rise and subs fall.

x.3 - full panic patch. Tons of niche features added, Blizz starts hyping next expansion.

x.4 - Final raid. Smaller than before, easier, more bland. Lasts 7+ months, players leave in droves.

Return to the top.

[Valium104]

I'll never understand why people expect WoW to suddenly be different every expansion.

When I picked up Twilight Princess, I expected it to follow the same formula as its predecessor, Wind Waker, and it did.
When I picked up Metroid Prime 2, I expected it to play the same as Metroid Prime 1, and it did.
When I picked up Pokemon White, I expected it to be an upgraded version of Pokemon Platinum, and it was.
When I picked up Mists of Pandaria, I expected it to be like Cataclysm, and Wrath of the Lich King, and The Burning Crusade, and it was.

Why do people expect something that's not WoW when they play WoW?

For some, WoW is life. When life doesn't change, it's boring.

[yjmark]

Ulduar was great not because it was super hard, but because the difficulty was very well tuned. It started with some easy bosses, with the difficulty ramping up very sloghtly.

Your subjective opinion is just as valid as the one you quoted.

[Ehrenpanzer]

1. The playerbase will complain so much that those things will all likely end up in the guild housing/hall. You know thats what will happen. And it's not WoWPokemon, it's Pet Battles. Degrading the name just needlessly degrades the feature simply because you don't like it. And quite honestly, a great many players enjoy pet battles. Some that even disliked the idea. A player house would be instanced and only the player would ever see it. You'd not get to show it off really. Unless you got some mates round to your house to look at your monitor. I'd much rather have pet battles tbh.

2. Do you honestly sit there zooming in on your toons and doing emotes at all to watch the models? I highly doubt it.

3. Honestly? It doesn't bother me either way really. We've known that Garrosh is going to be an expansion end boss since before we got MoP so most people have seen him as the main villain. And rightfully so I think considering what he's been up to.

1. Its WoWPokemon...any attempt to dissuade yourself from that fact is self-indulgent twaddle...I find it fun, dont get me wrong, but its virtually a copy/paste of Pokemon. Im mixed on player housing, it would be neat...but then your guilds housing would become the new camp spot waiting for instances etc...
2. Models would be nice..my vid card can support a tad more then it did in 2005.....
3. A main themed boss gives the story/expansion an overarc tying the stories together. WE knew why we were going into Cata and Wrath dungeons..we knew who the bosses were, they made appearances to try and stop us. Now its "these people we just met and barely know are in trouble, so lets assume they are the good guys and go help them..."

[Valeron]

pvp
Dungeons
Scenarios
pet battels


To list some.

Those were added with the thunder patch?

[Deleted]

pretty much.

All the really good ideas and innovative designs are getting funneled straight into their new MMO project and that is obviously the smart thing to do. It's irrefutable and you don't have to have insight into their company to understand that is true.

[mvaliz]

For some, WoW is life. When life doesn't change, it's boring.

You can go from having a mansion, a loving wife on top of the world - and then loose everything, down to rags living in a sewer - no doubt you'll say "Good thing I'm living in this sewer, my life would be BORING otherwise!"

...that's kinda how I feel about Wrath of the Lich King going into Cataclysm. My solution? Find a different path. ^_^

[Rivin]

For some, WoW is life. When life doesn't change, it's boring.

If you dedicate your entire life to one activity, it will get boring. Doesn't matter if it's a game or a job or anything else. Breaks/diversions are necessary to maintain interest.

[Kantoro]

Smashing success? I played for 2 months, got bored and tired of 25% of the game just flat out not working. GW was a distraction at best.