Does the theme of an expansion matter in terms of success?

[Chickat]

Yes. But not for the reason you might think.

Players don't care, aesthetically, about where they're leveling. The only continent they would truly hate would be one all underwater.

What matters is the enemies. One of the reasons Cata fell so flat was players felt Deathwing was a step down from the likes of Arthas. Hell, a large part of why we're at 7.7m subs instead of 12.1m subs is because players feel no boss beyond Sargeras can top Arthas.

To start raising subs, Blizz needs to find (and build up) a villain who can top Arthas.

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As an Alliance player, that did nothing to make me hate him more than I already did.

Alliance don't need another reason o want to kill him. This whole expansion has been about selling Garrosh as a villain to the horde. No one else. Sucks for alliance but its true.

[Wazooty]

Yes. There's a reason that we aint playing kids games, regardless of how well designed they are.

And until 5.1 and beyond, the game seriously felt like...not warcraft. It was as if someone took the WoW engine and made a completely unrelated story that happened to feature our characters from azeroth.

[Lazy Gecko]

I stopped playing shortly after the expansion. My main issues were other things, but I admit the continent of Pandaria was not something I found very exciting.

[Deleted]

How much does the theme of an expansion contribute to the success or failure of the expansion? Lets say that MoP would have been about a fan favorite area like Argus or the emerald dream. Every thing else was the same. Would it have turned out any differently?

I'm sorry but if you are educated on the game and its history you do not need to ask this.

When the theme for this expansion was announced, before we even knew what Pandaria was about, many, me included, said subs were going to go into freefall. And it happened. Pandas, Pandaria etc has no place in the universe they created and now, they know it. I hate to say it, but it's what is called 'tough love' - I don't want Blizzard to fail, I love the game they have made but when that was announced I could not believe it, I was gutted as we say in UK. Still am but have very high hopes for next expansion. Damage is done but let's hope they pull something amazing out.

What I have to add though is this: They know most ppl did not like Mop or Cata. They cannot make people level through something they do not want to, only to get to their new content. So something will have to be introduced.. That's the fun part, what will they do..

[LTCrystallite]

Yes, and it's the reason why game developers would forsake proper themes. Some of my favorite games including Earthbound, Donkey Kong Country 2, Mario RPG, Megaman X, Perfect Dark (N64), Snowboard kids, Age of Empires, etc have the proper color palettes, sounds, story (if there) and gameplay to create an immersive experience.

The past couple WoW expansions seems to be more focused on the 'epic! epic! it's so epic!" feel that many game companies are falling prey to these days. I'd like to see some genuine story advancement, some questions asked, some leaders being curious about let's say Wrathion and his intentions, etc. I understand that the gameplay in a game should be the most important thing, but Blizzard's storytelling has been quite bad these past few years. Look at Diablo 3.

As far as themes go, I felt like Mists was far off from a Warcraft feel. Wrath and BC had some serious Warcraft feel, and so did Cataclysm, if it wasn't for the hasty design jobs and Dragonball Z homages.

[GhostPanini]

Themes are really important because it will give you a general idea of what its about. If you don't like Y themes then more then likely it will be a drag to play Y expansion.

[Itisamuh]

I would say not much, if at all. Most players tend to care more about features and mechanics than lore, but I suppose there are some exceptions.

[Jokubas]

Content is important for keeping players. Theme is important for grabbing their attention in the first place.

[frumper]

The theme has a role, but I found Pandaria's story to be what was lacking the most. It isn't that there was a lack of story telling, I just didn't get pulled in by it. I think WotLK did the best even if the saying was you couldnt open a closet in northrend without the LK popping out. It was a good interaction. I don't know who to root for as a Horde player. I guess Vol'jin? Thrall? It just felt blah. The enemy needs to be identifiable and relatable, and I found neither really in MoP.

[Stormspellz]

Yes. But not for the reason you might think.

Players don't care, aesthetically, about where they're leveling. The only continent they would truly hate would be one all underwater.

What matters is the enemies. One of the reasons Cata fell so flat was players felt Deathwing was a step down from the likes of Arthas. Hell, a large part of why we're at 7.7m subs instead of 12.1m subs is because players feel no boss beyond Sargeras can top Arthas.

To start raising subs, Blizz needs to find (and build up) a villain who can top Arthas.

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As an Alliance player, that did nothing to make me hate him more than I already did.

what? subs were lost because boring raids, boring content, horrible balance, and everything on repeat.

[Slowpoke is a Gamer]

what? subs were lost because boring raids, boring content, horrible balance, and everything on repeat.

That's part of it as well. But if the bosses we farm felt like bosses we wanted to kill, rather than just loot pinatas, it'd get boring much less quickly.

People were fine with farming Arthas forever, because they just liked to kill him. They hated farming deathwing because they felt it was just a loot pinata.

[Shuttle]

To be honest, they didn't miss anything at all. At least raiding wise. Even Cata was better.
Overall it is a good expansion, but they could've not chosen something as ridiculous as Asian themes and pandas.

Someone clearly only raids in LFR.

[Masser]

Of course it does. That's why Mists of Pandaria is the best expansion.

[Deleted]

Whats wrong with the asian theme? Can someone explain this to me why people are ok with norse, egyptian, african etc but asian doesnt cut it? Why?

[Stormspellz]

That's part of it as well. But if the bosses we farm felt like bosses we wanted to kill, rather than just loot pinatas, it'd get boring much less quickly.

People were fine with farming Arthas forever, because they just liked to kill him. They hated farming deathwing because they felt it was just a loot pinata.

or the fact that arthas fight was horrible for all the hype and DS was just atrocious in every regard. It had nothing to do with the "characters" but they were both handled horribly like typical sat morning cartoon villains

[Dreyen]

Theme matters. What do you think sells most for someone who dropped the game? A panda theme. a legion theme?

[Chickat]

or the fact that arthas fight was horrible for all the hype and DS was just atrocious in every regard. It had nothing to do with the "characters" but they were both handled horribly like typical sat morning cartoon villains

Wtf are you even talking about? Arthas is considered by many to be one of the best fights in game. Thunder King is considered to be up there with the Lich king as well. MoP may not have the best boss in all of wow, but it has been the most solid raiding xpac to date. A lot of good encounters, and few bad ones.

[Thelxi]

Of course. Even if it has no immediate effects, after the expansion is over with the theme is in important part of what people remember. It helps or hurts the game as a whole.

Even though I am no fan of pandas, I think MoP did a decent job with theme and feel. Cataclysm on the other hand barely had a theme to begin with and I think that hurt the game when it was current, and is still hurting the game to this day.

[Kaleredar]

or the fact that arthas fight was horrible for all the hype and DS was just atrocious in every regard. It had nothing to do with the "characters" but they were both handled horribly like typical sat morning cartoon villains

You're of a small minority that thought the Arthas fight was done "poorly." The flow of it, the mechanics... THAT'S the way that a final boss should be. Deathwing was just "rinse and repeat" the entire fight. The entire time you were fighting Arthas, shit was getting progressively out of hand until he straight up owns you with a snap of his fingers.

MoP may not have the best boss in all of wow, but it has been the most solid raiding xpac to date. A lot of good encounters, and few bad ones.

"I'M HIDING TILL YOU LEAVE!"

[frumper]

Whats wrong with the asian theme? Can someone explain this to me why people are ok with norse, egyptian, african etc but asian doesnt cut it? Why?

Nothing wrong with an Asian theme, but it would have been a different game if it had been Asian theme demon Pandas instead of "bouncy" ones. I think Cataclysm suffered from the same problem, but it wasn't as overt upon the initial look.