Originally Posted by
SirCowdog
ah, and there you have the EXACT reason why Blizzard did it. They don't want people to actually know what's going on under the hood, to prevent accurate criticism. They'd much rather be able to only show just the things which make them look good. That, in and of itself, should be causing people concern. I get that there's marketing and image to maintain, but Blizzard used to be a company known for its integrity. These days they're hiding things. If they were really confident of their product, why are they so afraid to just say: "Yeah, we know subs are down. But our business model has changed to reflect cyclical players, and that's ok. The quality of WoW won't change, just the business model."
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It's a case by case basis. For one encounter, Blizzard says: "We want players to have to tackle this tower from the ground floor up, til they finally fight the boss at the top." In that case they'd use any of the mechanics suggested in this thread to stop players from just landing on the top and skipping their intended approach.
In another case, such as more open-ended content like archaeology, pet battles, or standard cut/paste kill quests, they don't use anti-air mechanics.
In yet a third case, such as suramar, you lay down almost an entire zone worth of anti-air stuff, such as the suggested remnants of the shield causing unstable airspace that wouldn't be safe to fly in.
Would examples like these spread across all zones take more work? Obviously. Would they also result in more interesting gameplay, as players had to switch between air mounts, ground mounts, gliding, or whatever other travel tools they have at their disposal? Also yes. The problem here is that you, Blizzard, and other fans seem to be completely unwilling to even consider the possibility that anything in the air could add to the game instead of detract from it.
OH NO! Blizzard has to work a little harder to create a game that actually appeals to the people who enjoyed flying for nearly 8 years. What a fucking tragedy that would be! OH NO! Zones might have to be bigger! God forbid we have a large, expansive world filled with adventure to explore instead of the projects crammed so close together than you can barely move without tripping over something. OH NO! Some ground-pounding RP player might be offended that a flying player didn't swoop down to have a /hug and /wave session with them. OH NO! Players might actually enjoy the freedom to approach content how they want!
The entire no-flying thing is just downright shameful.