Can a "standard" expansion enough to turn this game around?

[Kolvarg]

Quit writing off people that constructively point out what they feel was wrong with the game. You can't tell them theyre wrong because obviously the sheer number of people who left the game last quarter speaks for its freaking self. It doesn't matter if you agree with them, people leaving the game hurts the game. Period.

People have been leaving the game since Vanilla. We only know how many active subscribers exist at certain points in time, we don't know how many left and how many joined/rejoined in between those points.

Sub numbers don't speak for themselves, they never did and never will. There are far too many things affecting those numbers, and "quality" is only one of them.


Either way, he, and many others, are not writing off people that constructively point out what they feel is wrong with the game.
He/we write off people who "whine", many times about things they haven't even tried out yet. People who complain for the sake of complaining, usually being dismissive, acting rude, or like they are amazing game developers that know exactly how the game "should" be. Truth is most gamers don't "really" know what they want themselves, let alone what others want.

But there isn't right and wrong. Any decision Blizz makes, every mechanic they add, remove or alter, will have supporters and complainers. But the truth is most people don't give a crap. You have all these loud complainers and supporters in the forums, but the vast majority of people will play if they like, or not if they don't. They won't check forums, they won't even give much thought about how it could have been better or what went wrong.

In the end these are all opinions, but unfounded, crude and rude opinions don't do much to help and only further harm and set the community apart, from both sides.

[El DLo]

Here's the thing about WoW. It can't be saved, because there's nothing to "save".

World of Warcraft is 11 years old. 11 year old games don't have a renaissance. In fact, I can't think of any example of one that did.

Regardless of that, at 11 years old, it still has more active players than ANY other game in the segment, and I think we need to remember that. 8 million versus 11 million is still 8 million players. Maybe WoW will never boast 11 million players again... but so what? It's an aging game, and for it to be popular as it is is still incredible.

We need to lose this idea of WoW "turning around". It's a popular game with a fairly regular stream of new content. By its nature, it's nearly impossible for anything to be released that can fully revitalize the game, shy of rebuilding it from scratch.

I think the community in general needs to stop pretending that it's 2008. It isn't. It's 2015. WoW isn't "bad", it's stale. And that's to be expected. It's fine to want good content, and I'm sure that this new expansion will be full of good content, but we can't realistically sit around waiting for something earth-shattering to hit the game. Few people at this point are going to jump at the chance to play an 11 year old game. That's just how it is.

I've played Runescape nearly since the beginning, and nobody expects miracles out of a game that's nearly 15 years old. It's great for what it is. So is WoW, and it's silly to blame or even hate Blizzard for being unable to recreate the hype of early WoW.

[Deleted]

As long as there is enough raid content to keep me going I'll buy it, everything else is done better by other games at this point like PvP, combat etc.

[threads]

no they really need something new.

just the typical content cycles and a few QoL improvements aren't enough anymore.

class quests, hero classes, etc. i don't even know but it has to be something new.

[Ytlayol]

I don't think a standard expansion will get back the goodwill they lost. They probably need some type of new feature to make the game stand out from other MMOs. Since they are among the slowest developers at creating content/features, I don't think they'll be able to pull something off that is amazing for the next expansion considering how quick(according to their standards) they want it out.

They also should probably do something to give back to current subscribers, and not something like "Free level 90!1!1!, but expac is $10 more!!". Maybe free expac or cut prices of character/account services - something that isn't a benefit to them but to their playerbase.

[gooseuk]

I am happy if there is new bgs and decent pvp in the world like tolbarad was or winter-grasp. Loved TB and winter-grasp no end back in the day.

A new class id say is due something to level up again and use. Capital cities or one main city for both factions would be amazing, bring back some of that social aspect.

People can say all they want its an ageing game and so on, it maybe but WOD was a joke.

[El DLo]

I am happy if there is new bgs and decent pvp in the world like tolbarad was or winter-grasp. Loved TB and winter-grasp no end back in the day.

A new class id say is due something to level up again and use. Capital cities or one main city for both factions would be amazing, bring back some of that social aspect.

People can say all they want its an ageing game and so on, it maybe but WOD was a joke.

I have a very fresh perspective on WOD. I left WoW after Pandaria and only came back a few weeks ago, and while I can say that they definitely stretched the content thin, I really don't think that the content they did have was that lackluster. There wasn't enough of it, but I found the questing experience to be great, and I find the raids enjoyable. I don't think the issue with WOD is a lack of quality, but just a lack of content.

[ComputerNerd]

Poor argument bringing up the RPG part, when wow was NEVER that.
There was nothing that defined your character, decisions that mattered.
The only real decisions that had the effect of segregating you were the faction and server.
Now not even the server does that as much as it used to.

Some players will never be happy unless the game caters to their personal whims only, at the expense of everyone else.
Wow is never going to be everything for someone, instead being something for everyone.
Just some are not satisfied with that, and I would rather see them leave and the community being in a better state without them.

[Florena]

I am happy if there is new bgs and decent pvp in the world like tolbarad was or winter-grasp. Loved TB and winter-grasp no end back in the day.

A new class id say is due something to level up again and use. Capital cities or one main city for both factions would be amazing, bring back some of that social aspect.

People can say all they want its an ageing game and so on, it maybe but WOD was a joke.

New capitals won't have that effect unless there's reason to be in them, and that can be done without making nrw cities.

[Lord Havik]

No. While I don't subscribe to the 'doom-and-gloom' predictions of the folks who think WoW is dying; I do think that in its waning years, Bliz needs to make their content better and better in order to stay relevant in an increasingly crowded and technologically advanced videogame market.

They can't just release typical, paint-by-numbers expansions for a 10 year old IP and expect to retain their throne as king of MMOs. Especially not after an expansion as poorly received as WoD.

Making good Xpacs for such an old game is a lot like trying to fuck when you're 80.... It takes time, dedication, and far more effort and risk than it did when you were in your 20s.

(Hype is like game Viagra; It lets an impotent expansion sell for a while... but then sub numbers suddenly deflate, the devs lose their ability to hear, and the game dies slowly and pathetically of a stroke while those who once loved it call for someone to just pull the life-support plug and put it out of its misery.)

[Deleted]

You underestimate the ammount of content that can be put in a "standard expansion".

Mop delivered everything we can reasonably ask of an expansion

New continent
New dungeons
Revamped dungeons
New raids
New battlegrounds
New Arenas
New race
New class

And on top of that revamped the talent system, gave us pet battles, challenge mode dungeons, scemarios and farms.

A simliarly packed x-pack could turn the tide.

[Deleted]

You underestimate the ammount of content that can be put in a "standard expansion".

Mop delivered everything we can reasonably ask of an expansion

New continent
New dungeons
Revamped dungeons
New raids
New battlegrounds
New Arenas
New race
New class

And on top of that revamped the talent system, gave us pet battles, challenge mode dungeons, scemarios and farms.

A simliarly packed x-pack could turn the tide.

Almost but not quite IMO. Dungeons were useless and sidelined for shitty scenarios. otherwise it's mostly there.

[Xarama]

With the next expansion, I really want a new ranged class to play. I also want a revamped talent system. IMO, they didn't change much at all in WoD.

[Florena]

Almost but not quite IMO. Dungeons were useless and sidelined for shitty scenarios. otherwise it's mostly there.

Scenarios eventually eclipsed dungeons but they did have several at launch and I troduced chlenge modes.

[OneSent]

A "standard" expansion (although my preferred method for an expansion) has about as much a chance of turning this game around as the captain of the Titanic had of turning the ship around after it had struck the iceberg.

And Blizzard is that guy on the Titanic who was more interested in making headlines than actually seeing the ship through to it's destination.

WoW has seen the best it will ever see. It will never hold the interest it once had. The only thing it can hope for now is a slow decline, as oppose to a rapid descent.

EDIT: And based on the latest earnings call, it's leaning more towards the latter.

[Deleted]

Turn around to..what?

The Light Side of the Force.

[Self Inflicted Wounds]

I am happy if there is new bgs and decent pvp in the world like tolbarad was or winter-grasp. Loved TB and winter-grasp no end back in the day.

A new class id say is due something to level up again and use. Capital cities or one main city for both factions would be amazing, bring back some of that social aspect.

People can say all they want its an ageing game and so on, it maybe but WOD was a joke.

If you liked Wg and TB, shouldn't you like Ashran? They seem pretty similar imo.

[Blackmist]

If what they announce in 3 hours and 45 minutes does not reinvent the game, then WoW will not recover.

It will trail off until nobody is left, and a trickle can very quickly become a flood.