WoW Needs a "Defrag"

[Preheet]

Hello everyone,

I'v had this on my mind for a while now and thought this would be something interesting to discuss..

Right around the time Cataclysm ended.. I had been thinking about how many changes and altercations WoW has gone through. I used to be an avid player in both aspects of the game (PvE and PvP) but since MoP hit, I have become way less interested in playing. Now I know this is only my point of view, but I feel as though the game has just gone through so many changes that it makes many people miss how "simple" the game was. I say simple in the sense that PvP wasn't as intricate as it is now.. and Raiding was not so complicated. To be good at either aspect, you had to work hard, practice and be an all around active player. During Burning Crusade and WotLK.. although some things we're unfair and overpowered, the game was just better. plain and simple. Aside from a year long ICC-fest, and Death Knights in PVP obviously.

It's hard to explain the point I'm trying to make.. but hopefully some people can relate to what I mean..

The game has changed too much for it to be enjoyable.. I am not saying changes are always bad.. but I feel that the game just needs a giant review and needs to, in other words "defrag" .. (for those of you who don't know.. allocate it's priorities and get rid of the useless things that make the game boring and complicated)

Hope this makes sense.. I tried!

[Jaese]

Just because there are aspects that you, personally, do not find enjoyable doesn't mean that there isn't someone out there that does. The converse of this statement is also true; trying to mold the game into how YOU want it to be just isn't going to happen and is pointed out in every single rose-tinted nostalgia glasses thread, such as this, that is posted.

[nightfalls]

The game has changed too much for it to be enjoyable.. I am not saying changes are always bad.. but I feel that the game just needs a giant review and needs to, in other words "defrag" .. (for those of you who don't know.. allocate it's priorities and get rid of the useless things that make the game boring and complicated)

I'm not sure what you mean by a defrag, but I think some "defragging" has already been done.

* Cataclysm 1-60 revamp
* MOP talent + specialization revamp
* MOP professions revamp

I'm not sure where exactly you want this "defrag" to be done, but I can agree that some of the partial defragmentation done could be more complete. For instance, an entire 1-80 revamp, getting rid of a lot of old tradeskill items/junk/recipes (not all!), and further streamlining talents and removing some useless abilities (or consolidating other ones). I'd also like to see some partially completed work actually completed so the game feels less like a working beta.

[Taurenburger]

A game can't really please everyone. Now I find it boring as well, as many other people, but there's still a majority enjoying the game. Thus, Blizzard already has it's priorities (making as much money as they can).

[Seriss]

WoW has gone rid of many 'useless' things that were just there to make it all time-consuming but didn't add much to the game. Endless farming, quest lines whose sole purpose it seemed to be to put as much distance between the quest objectives as possible, to name some things.

[Preheet]

Like I said.. I'm not saying this because I want it to fit my personal needs.. I just feel aspects of the game (example: PvP) just don't have the same feel as they used too.

[Tharkkun]

Like I said.. I'm not saying this because I want it to fit my personal needs.. I just feel aspects of the game (example: PvP) just don't have the same feel as they used too.

There's nothing odd about that. If you've been playing since Vanilla the game will eventually become redundant. Sometimes it's up to you to figure out how to make it enjoyable again. I took a year off. Fixed it for me.

[Slowpoke is a Gamer]

70-80 needs an across the board 25% reduction in EXP needed. That's the defrag the game needs.

[Stede]

Just because there are aspects that you, personally, do not find enjoyable doesn't mean that there isn't someone out there that does. The converse of this statement is also true; trying to mold the game into how YOU want it to be just isn't going to happen and is pointed out in every single rose-tinted nostalgia glasses thread, such as this, that is posted.

I think the OP quite clearly accounted for that. I'm getting sick of people who post an honest opinion to share ideas being immediately met with posts from ITGs like you who feel compelled to remind them that everyone has a different opinion and theirs is no more valid than the rest of us.

Now I know this is only my point of view,

It's hard to explain the point I'm trying to make.. but hopefully some people can relate to what I mean..

What part of these statements in the OP did you fail to comprehend?

[Preheet]

Thank you Stede hahaha.. it's hard to get different opinions when you're getting shut down by kids like that :$

[Herecius]

I can't really imagine how going back to 'simpler' raiding could help much of anything. Complex and imaginative encounters are a good thing. Throne of Thunder has some seriously inventive fights... Dark Animus comes to mind especially.

Unless I misunderstood you entirely. Which is entirely possible, since WotLK not only had many complex and excellent fights (as did Burning Crusade, though the truly complex were almost 100% reserved for the endbosses of the raids, Sunwell notwithstanding). So what do you mean by 'simpler'?

[Exoblade]

I quit during heroic progression in mop just because lore wise it wasn't my tastes, but thats not to say its terrible. Something new can be cool but i prefer huge lore figures i already know.

And just due to the fact that i have been playing wow for years and i have gotten tired of the game, as a game wow has become so polished and amazing but my tastes in gaming have out grown wow. And this is true for many of my friends, so naturally being tired of wow and having nobody to play with and sitting in town waiting for ques just wasn't cutting it for me.

[Clampz]

Entered thread hoping to find some technical argument for file size decrease of the base client folder. Instead, found another nostalgia thread. I am disappoint.

[Deleted]

I know what OP means... or adleast I think I know what he means. I think his issue is too many core changes in game mechanics to the point of gaming losing its identity. Maybe it's just me and OP but sometimes it feels like the game literally changes entirely with every single patch. Class wise it feels like blizzard is redesigning them so much that you really have to re-learn them almost every patch, or at the very least every expansion.

Another example is constant improvements and shenanigans like for example LFR. It feels like blizzard is crossing the line when it comes to content accesability to the point of "no child left behind even if he wants to" sort of way. Nerfing and cutting out encounter defining mechanics is one thing but actual buffing for failing makes it feel like they are scared to throw "you lose, game over" even if those players refuse to improve.

Another thing is constant changes in raids format. First blizzard goes 10>20>40, then they go 10>25 then they go 10>10H>25>25H, then they go 10>10H equal to 25>25H. Then they go 10>10H but 25>25H has a bit better reward (thunderforged). Good freaking god... Cant they just pick one size and stay with it? Geez. It feels like they change the format as soon as current one gets any bad PR for lack of better word.

I think what OP problem is that the game changes just for the sake of changing.

[Gurbz]

I know what OP means... or adleast I think I know what he means. I think his issue is too many core changes in game mechanics to the point of gaming losing its identity. Maybe it's just me and OP but sometimes it feels like the game literally changes entirely with every single patch. Class wise it feels like blizzard is redesigning them so much that you really have to re-learn them almost every patch, or at the very least every expansion.

Classes do not change all that much from one patch to the next. Major changes when expansions drop has happened since the very first one, so at this point it should be expected. But even then, the basic mechanics of the class have more or less stayed the same with only a couple notable exceptions. Sure, rotations might be altered, but the core idea/playstyle of the class is not altered.

Another example is constant improvements and shenanigans like for example LFR. It feels like blizzard is crossing the line when it comes to content accesability to the point of "no child left behind even if he wants to" sort of way. Nerfing and cutting out encounter defining mechanics is one thing but actual buffing for failing makes it feel like they are scared to throw "you lose, game over" even if those players refuse to improve.

The idea of players improving to overcome a challenge is not suited well to a format where you are playing with 24 random strangers in an environment with little or no communication. An individual might improve, if they have the ability to determine where their own failings lie (which is actually pretty rare). But expecting the group to improve, especially over the course of a single LFR, is not really viable. The group would more likely fall apart after a couple wipes, if for no other reason than the individual raid members have no incentive to remain with that group. The buff provides that incentive. It artificially recreates the group-wide improvement generall seen in Normal/Heroic raids that simply does not exist in the LFR format.

Another thing is constant changes in raids format. First blizzard goes 10>20>40, then they go 10>25 then they go 10>10H>25>25H, then they go 10>10H equal to 25>25H. Then they go 10>10H but 25>25H has a bit better reward (thunderforged). Good freaking god... Cant they just pick one size and stay with it? Geez. It feels like they change the format as soon as current one gets any bad PR for lack of better word.

If they found one that worked to their satisfaction, I am sure they would. Or are you suggesting that the developers and the community simply accept a certain level of flaws within a system so that there is no need to change the format again in the future? All those changes happened to address specific flaws with the prior system. Someone may disagree with the reasoning used, or that the flaw existed in the first place. But there has always been a stated reason why the raid format was changed.

I think what OP problem is that the game changes just for the sake of changing.

This is a continuation of my previous point, but there is no instance you can point to where something was changed "just because". There is always a logical rationale for making any change, and just because you may not agree with that logic does not mean they are making changes arbitrarily. Most of them are obvious if you think about it. We are even lucky enough that the developers take the time to tell us exactly what they are thinking on the ones that are not as obvious. But implying that the developers change things for no other reason than because they can is shortsighted in the extreme. You are basically willfully ignoring the massive amounts of information provided to us by the developers explaining the logic behind each major change they do.