what is it that makes WoW so good?

[Deleted]

the core gameplay

[Deleted]

community.

[JonnyBeoulve]

Gameplay. I've played so many MMORPGs and none of them feel as good to play as WoW, no matter how old it may be.

[Tempguy]

The rich story, and the passion the devs and voice actors used to put into the game.

[PrairieChicken]

For me because it moved away from all these hardcore super grindy RNG slot machine RPGs of the past. Wow was much more lenient and had shorter predictable gearing model.

Unfortunately devs are trying to turn back the wheels...

[Riistov]

Past. Log on on your lvl 100 and all those enyojable things what you mentioned will be gone in few sec.

For you perhaps? I am still having fun after all these years.

No other MMO comes close

[Jademist]

A very well fleshed out world with great stories and characters. Honestly, I have been playing this game longer than any game I know and I started as but a wee lad. I took breaks from WoW for school and other things but I kept coming back because I just love the world and the lore and the stories. It's really fun too. Not my first MMORPG but the longest I've been playing (played good ol' Runescape and Ragnarok Online way back in the day) and I've played a ton of MMORPGs but this game just feels....right.

- - - Updated - - -

Past. Log on on your lvl 100 and all those enyojable things what you mentioned will be gone in few sec.

Uh...I am logged into my level 100. Still having fun going back and doing things I've never really done...like fishing and trying to get those goat mounts from the Tillers. I'm actually getting into pet battling now too just because I want to get Chi-Chi.

[Bigbamboozal]

Most of why I still play and love it revolves around familiarity and fond memories.
Another big part of the reason I love wow over other mmo's is that when you use your abilities, you can sort of 'feel them connect' in which i mean that the sound, the timing of the animations, the effects, their health pool reaction, and some other intangible shit I can't put my finger on; all happen in a way that makes it feel solid and makes sense to me in a way that other mmo's don't do currently.

I know that sounds all pie in the sky, and I suppose it is to a degree, but it's something I've noticed and appreciate about wow.
It just really checks that box for me...
I DO wish that the animations for tanks were a little...more. I'm certainly one of the crowd who'd like to see tanks look like they are taking those mega boss impacts when they block, that whole 'the ground fractures a bit where you are standing' shit, and I never liked the block sound...very thin and sheet metal sounding, almost like something rolling across the hood of a car lol. Should sound a little more solid and impactful on top of that hallow sound me thinks... You know, like getting hit by a BOSS with a tonne of hammer...on your 1/2" thick plate armor shield.
I couldn't stand to see the old block noise go completely though, if you wonder why, reread my first sentence

[SoulSoBreezy]

My guild, as dysfunctional as it tends to be (especiallly after just finishing a night of mostly wipes on heroic arch ><).

[wholol]

Actually what made wow good was neither fluidity nor "engine" ( although both were good enough and well balanced to not feel clunky), there are other mmos out there that blow wow out of water in terms of graphics and "fluidity", just check black desert online to see what I mean by graphical fluidity, but I would still rate wow higher than black desert simply because blizzard sold us an idea not a game, what made wow good was the imagination and immersion with the environment and I don't mean just graphically, you felt it while lvling for the first time, it felt alive.

And that was not because of the game engine or anything, the idea itself was genuine, most other games failed to replicate this because they could not sell us the genuine dream of an adventure regardless of how good and flashy the graphics are (although some games came close I must admit).

[Berethos08]

The game has 'good bones'. It has solid backstory, good environments, and very snappy control / movement.

Agreed...

Which is probably why the things that annoy me when I do play really, really annoy me - that contrast between something so solid and something that is inexplicably a thing that shouldn't be a thing.

Stuff like the annoying yellow text and alert sound that pop up in the middle of the screen when doing various quests and other such things that is meant to bring your attention to something that (last I played) you couldn't turn off, which is such a weird thing to be annoyed at but gets under my skin like nothing else.

Things like wanting to play a female troll Shaman that wears robes but can't unsee how the feet are detached when running.

The way mount leg movement speed when running isn't really properly tuned for the various speeds on most races human sized or smaller, nor is the bouncing, so you get mounts that I'd love to use on the ground but are really, really distracting (and in some cases, actually hurt my eyes believe it or not).

When there's so much that is solid, things like the above really end up standing out.

[Nerevar]

Compared to other MMOs WoWs gameplay is incredibly smooth, I have tried a fair share by now and not a single one has matched how well WoW runs in terms of responsiveness and fluidness.

This. WoW is the most "smooth" MMO out there. Every other feels either too clunky or too... Liquid? I don't know how to describe this feeling.

[Pony Soldier]

For me I think it's because of how comfy it feels. I've been with this game for almost 10 years now and I can't even remember a time where the game crashed or had a game breaking bug. The only problem I had was when I had a shitty computer and internet connection and was barely able to play it but that was on me not the game. The aesthetics of the game is just pleasing to the eye especially today with the new models and updated textures, looks gorgeous now. The sounds of the game is also weirdly satisfying from the footsteps to the slashing of swords and blasting of spells. The animations too especially now with the new models and the updated animations coming with Legion will make it even better. The effects from spells and abilities are just pleasing to the eye as well. I don't know, it just has this feeling of comfortness to it I don't know how to say it. Maybe it's because I'm just so familiar with it and it's been a part of my life for a long time so there's lots of memories? Whatever it is WoW is doing a good job at it.

I also find that I can't play any other MMO for a long period of time like I can with WoW. I once tried Rift which wasn't bad but it was just missing something that WoW had. I tried Skyforge for a time which was also a good game but again it just wasn't on levels with WoW. I also played Wildstar, Guild Wars 2, and SWtOR and all were fairly good games but they all just didn't feel as comfy as WoW did (although Wildstar was probably the best out of them, plan to go back someday). Each game had something that I didn't like for example GW 2's controls felt way too stiff compared to WoW and Wildstar's movement wasn't as solid as WoW's. It felt almost like running on ice. SWtOR's combat was good but it felt too light or lacking. Say what you want about WoW but it's definitely the best feeling MMO out there with the most quality put into it.

[Deleted]

I took a break from the game for like 5 months and just recently came back. The first thing I did was randomly log on my level 70 druid to fly around in Feralas to pick up some herbs and moonfire some mobs. I was instantly absorbed, hooked, spellbound again by this game. WHAT IS IT that makes it so great? Just what is IT?? I can't explain it. Is it the incredible responsiveness? The fact that everything is so fluent? I really don't think that it's solely nostalgia. There is something else but what is it? Simply jumping around on my undead mage feels great. haha it's crazy, I know, but there is something with this game...so unique.

can anyone explain?

The best UI I've ever seen. A lot of convenience that most MMO's lack in part or lack completely. Massive amounts of polish. Established lore that I feel I can give a shit about, unlike every other MMO's story that's so forgettable and banal that I couldn't care even if I tried. SEAMLESS WORLD with minimal loading times!
I've played WoW, Wildstar, FF, Tera, ESO and Guild Wars 2. Nothing compares to the polish of WoW.

[Raetary]

the blizzard spark.

[Tuesdays]

Play a F2P mmo and see it for yourself.

Movement, animation, models, drops, currency, content, classes, specs, the world, atmosphere, colors, low system spec's, familiarity, ui, features. +++

Sure it's missing a few things here and there, but where 1 game gets 1 thing right, the rest of the game falls short, or is half-assed WoW clone that gets nothing right. WoW does a lot right, with some missing features we can easily live without for the time being.

[Kazgrel]

The game engine, for all it's shortcomings in recent years, has been nothing short of phenomenal. The fluidity in which animations behave for character abilities and such still isn't matched by any other game; Wildstar and GW2 come close, in my experience, but they aren't the same. Even my preferred MMO of choice at this time, FF14, doesn't match it.

Furthermore, a seamless world, where you simply walk into one zone from another with no loading screen nonsense.

[Jerichofr]

The fact that it has content for players of all skill levels.

[Zaqwert]

what is it that makes WoW so good?

When WoW ussed to be good it was the world, the lore, and the highly polished gameplay.

WoW stopped being a great game at least 4-5 years ago.

It's only going now because of the "investment" people have in it and the commitment they feel to it. Basically just inertia from their glory days.

[orca2425]

I tried those same games and your completely correct..