The loss of box sales for MoP are more an indictment against Cata than it is about the content of MoP. Blizzard really screwed up with the first months of Cata. the 1-60 revamp too way to many resources away from content for level 85 characters. Also, the ramp up in heroic difficulty also had a lot to do with it. Not arguing about it, but the fact is a large number of players who do not raid got to 85 and had nothing to do but heroic dungeons that were significantly harder than what they had been doing the past year. With nothing else to do, it was frustrating.
The other issue of course was the 9 months of no content at the end of MoP. In Wotlk, almost the same thing happened, but it was a new bad experience... in Cata... it felt like ´ok, the devs really do want us to unsubscribe for the last 6 months of an expansion´. The problem with this is, of course, other games come along and grab people´s attention. I am not saying GW2 stole a lot of WOW players, but I will say that the dev´s arrogance in not releasing content for 9 months gave people reason to look to other games.
I think the 1-60 revamp was just a judgement mistake, the devs probably thought more players would be content playing through it and not notice the thin content at 85. But I do think the 9-month DS issue is the devs taking us for granted.... arrogance.
That is stupid. the vast majority of the things they talk about they actually add to the game. You named a few exceptions. Yeah, it sucks when that happens, but at the same time the 99% of the other things they talk about keep the game moving, and keeps us looking forward to the next stuff. The devs never promise us anything (even ponies), anyone with half a brain knows that until stuff starts showing up in beta or PTR that it is only in development and can be scrapped at any moment. They almost never use ´definitive´terms when talking about future stuff, it is always we plan, or we want to, or something like that. The problem isn´t with the devs talking about things on the drawing board, the problems are with players like yourself who treat every mention of something as a promise that it will be added. I think most people would agree that it is better to hear about what the devs are planning and deal with a few disappointments rather than know nothing about what is in the works until the last minute when it appears in the game.
I think the 1-60 revamp just got away from them. They have a tendency to make fine adjustments with a sledgehammer... Something that started as "Let's add flying to the old world and clean up some of the messy zones," turned to them devoting so many resources on developing a new vanilla that development slowed on the rest.
I'm not all the way thru MoP yet, but what I have seen of it is very tight. I hate leveling but I'm actually not having a bad time. If I liked quest content I'd be thrilled. It's so far been the best story experience to date in game. I just wish I could snap my fingers and be 90, geared, and ready for raiding, but that is just because I could be arsed to level any more... I've played these games for way to long to actually enjoy that part of the experience like I used to. Give me back my endgame =P.
Yes yes, I know, the sky just bonked you on the head, casuals are taking over the government, and some baddie just got a raid drop... I think you'll live.
http://darisdroppings.wordpress.com
So because of Cataclysm having a long cycle time without much content, you know that they've failed to deliver faster content in Mists of Pandaria as well? We won't get faster patches until next expansion because you already know how MoP turned out?
They've said they're already working on 5.2, which would suggest 5.1 is decently along. I liked GC's comment of aiming for faster patches alternating 1 with raid/1 without raid, but we'll see what each patch offers.
There's no reason to be so heatedly negative towards MoP and Blizzard's development of future content for it before it's even been previewed, much less released. :/
Heck, how many have even started release content raiding at this point? I'd wager an extremely small percentage.
And ironically, look at the main page....5.1 on PTR soon. Hehe
Last edited by Faroth; 2012-10-05 at 04:12 PM.
I see that just over a week into this expansion that pieces of 5.1 will be on the PTR very soon. Got anything to say about that in light of the quote and many others that you've made in the last 24 hours?
You can get hostile and bellow all you like about my notion that 5.1 will be out sometime this year and that this was planned all along. It will be out well before Christmas I would imagine. I guess we'll see.
"...money's most powerful ability is to allow bad people to continue doing bad things at the expense of those who don't have it."
Or right close to Christmas to generate renewed interest in those MoP for Christmas gift types
I don't know that, In fact I hope they do release it sooner than that. The amount of gating so far suggests not but hey who knows. I remain as always the open minded skeptic.
edit
after reading the front page one particular thing stuck out
ugghNew daily quest hubs and faction reputations will be available to adventurers eager to do their part in the brewing conflict.
Last edited by Glorious Leader; 2012-10-05 at 04:30 PM.
I was posting about exactly this yesterday with the usual derision and questioning of my IQ from the usual suspects. There are never any guarantees with Blizzard though. And one patch doesn't prove anything. Patch release is more a function of planning than anything and it's easy enough to believe that someone at Blizzard finally figured that out, particularly since Rift has really been doing a great job of providing smaller patches at regular intervals and now SW:TOR is promising the same.
Competition is good.
EDIT: The fight club thing looks good. Any opportunity for PVE players to raise the level of their play by squaring off one-on-one with more difficult mobs and elites cannot be a bad thing.
"...money's most powerful ability is to allow bad people to continue doing bad things at the expense of those who don't have it."
I like how you cut the quote in half.
And then you miss the rest.Players who have quested through Pandaria will see forces of both factions arrive in force on the shores of the unspoiled continent, bringing the tensions between the Horde and the Alliance into sharp focus. New daily quest hubs and faction reputations will be available to adventurers eager to do their part in the brewing conflict.
Brawler’s Guild
Underground fighting rings have sprung up in Stormwind and Orgrimmar that will give brawlers a chance to earn bragging rights by testing their solo PvE mettle against some of the toughest creatures found in World of Warcraft. The first rule of brawls is you don’t talk about brawls. The second rule…
Pet Battles Improvements
Several UI and other improvements will be added to the Pet Battles system, including a way to upgrade the rarity of pets that you’ve captured.
Item Upgrades
You will be able to spend Valor Points to improve the item level and quality of gear you already own.
The Quest Continues
Wrathion is keenly interested in the conflict exploding between the factions on Pandaria’s southern shore. He’s sure to have additional tasks for players to complete as they continue their quest for Legendary gear.
Keep in mind this is only a taste of what’s to come, and that there’s even more in store. Stay tuned for additional details as we prepare release Patch 5.1 for testing!
MMO-Champ the place where calling out trolls get you into more trouble than trolling.
For most people releasing more dungeons and raids this soon would be be too soon. And no, Blizzard actually making steps toward figuring out how to release smaller content patches faster is very much a big deal. Especially if they can sustain a more-or-less regular pace over the expansion. Imagine how happy people would have been if we had been given one or two small or trivial content patches after DS with new things to do.
Last edited by MoanaLisa; 2012-10-05 at 04:41 PM.
"...money's most powerful ability is to allow bad people to continue doing bad things at the expense of those who don't have it."