Frills aside, what makes or breaks an expansion for you?

[Beck]

It's easy to get excited or disappointed about announcements for shiny new features (or the lack there of) but when it comes time to pop open the box (figuratively speaking) and get to playing, what makes the game enjoyable for you?

The Leveling experience?
If Warlords of Draenor exceeds expectations with it's leveling experience from 90 to 100 (which would not be difficult to do given the already very low expectation for leveling in WoW in general) then this xpac would be off to a very good start. With the lack of new classes or races to captivate us through to the endgame, will a poor leveling experience put you off the game before you even get started? Will a great experience have you logging/boosting alts?

Glorious dungeon design?
It has been a while since dungeon grouping has been a draw in WoW. I, for one, enjoy the dynamic of 5 man instances and the immersion that great dungeons can add to a zone/story line. Would a spectacular dungeon encounter fire up your WoD lust and give you high hopes for what the end game will hold? Are relevant dungeon runs a thing of the past for you and nothing more than achieve hubs nowadays?

PvP?
It seems that much attention has been paid to PvP in this upcoming expansion. An entire island will exist full of unending combat between horde and alliance with staging areas, combat hubs and all the shiney vendors and portals PvPers could want. New ways of getting and interacting with PvP gear also promise to address many issues players have complained about for quite some time. Would a spot on brilliant PvP experience send you off hailing Warlords as the greatest xpac Blizzard ever released? Would a complete fail send you raging on the forums?

Raid content?
'Get me to the endgame' has been the mantra of WoW players for the better part of a decade. New faces, new stories, new toys are always a big part of an expansion, but when the hours have been logged, the grinding has been done, and the blinders come on, are you all about boss machanics, raid movement and epic loot drops? Would terribly designed boss encounters put you off of your WoW sub until Naga in Space is released in 7.0? Would a truly epic raid tier keep you and your friends glued to your keybinds for the duration?

Game play/Class play?
Lost in the shuffle of output from most hype machines are the basics of any rpg... is the game or character fun to play? Whether you spend your time counting down at the arena gate, icing your skull from banging your head against a raid tier, or get your kicks inhaling the fog of war in every corner of the world, the way your character functions is a huge part of all of it. Would a negative change to your main spec have you rerolling Wild Star with Ghostcrawler? Could a small tweek to your class have you falling in love with your abilities again and carry you through every aspect of the Warcraft experience?

What floats your boat MMO-Forums?

[This would have been a poll, but I spilled some newb sauce on myself and just can't seem to get it to come out...]

[Deleted]

Used to be game and class play over most things. Then raids, then story. I can't be dealing with playing an expansion that has a bullshit story that either makes no sense or plays out asif its been written by a bunch of teens.

Unfortunately I don't play anymore but class changes would've been my make or break in WoD.

[Deleted]

It was always raiding content for me, if there would be no new raiding tiers at all, i wouldnt bother to play the game. But i'd probably play if my friends would still do, tho.

[Firebert]

Accessible content. I don't like paying for what I can't play. LF Skirmishes is a start. Waiting for LFR Normal and Heroic difficulty, and LFRatedBGs, but I can wait a few more expansions.

[Beck]

Give me some great raid bosses and I'll keep coming back. 20 man raiding in WoD could be the start of something amazing with class specific mechanics and the like.

[Bosen]

The Leveling experience
Glorious dungeon design

My main draw is the feeling of exploring a new world in a new adventure. I love the 5-man dungeons. We're all leveling up and facing the same challenge and there's less stress for me,personally. I can just enjoy the game and enjoy other's company. Make some new adventuring friends.

Game play/Class play

I may fall in love with the way a class plays, so I'll give things a shot I may have not tried before. I started out as DPS and then gave Healing a try and then tanking. Who knows what a new expansion will bring and what cool details I'll discover? When I feel confident in my abilities, I get the courage together to raid.

[Chain Chungus]

The amount/quality of 5 man dungeons.

They keep trying to make raiding a replacement for that. So far they have only got part way there.

[ro9ue]

Dungeons, story and a new class or race to explore

[Vaerys]

Makes: Points of pain or inadequacy are eliminated such as Feral druid becoming a viable tank spec in BC, and a feral dps spec in WotLK
Makes: Gorgeous art (MoP, and please please let us restore the Vale)
Breaks: When what I have become accustomed to enjoying is taken away or transformed too dramatically (Feral broken into guardian/feral in MoP, changing secondary stats around AGAIN???)
Breaks: Daily rep grind making cherished alts a sad, neglected afterthought (early MoP)

[want my Slimjim]

no flying brakes it for me not gonna be playing wod

[yogzula]

It's always dependent on PvP. This time it will be Ashran specifically.

I'm already really happy about the restriction of flying (because that helps world PvP tremendously) but players still need to have a reason to be out in the world doing things for PvP to naturally occur. Ashran will surely have people in it, but will it be a giant mindless zerg or might there actually be smaller scale and meaningful encounters?

[Captainn]

Makes: carrot on the stick.
Balance: I don't like being the lowest DPS or the worst tank by far just because I failed on the character selection screen.

Breaks: Length of time between content patches (which every expansion they seem to come closer and closer to the line)

[wych]

Storyline and max level content outside raiding.

[Itisamuh]

How torturous the leveling and gear grinds are, and how bad the class balance is.

[StationaryHawk]

Is it fun or not?

[Traveler Voltin]

*points to no flying and no tier in LFR*

[Wildstaff]

The mid way point. wht does the expansion look like 1 or two patches down the line? endless dailies like mists and cata? no thank you.

[exochaft]

I find myself enjoying new expansions that introduce new things and improve/expand on existing designs/concepts... but I have to still recognize the game.

One of the reasons I've been straying from organized PvP is that it's a constant nightmare of changes over time, especially when it comes to resilience (I've lost count of how many times they've changed what it actually does over the years) or other factors to adjust the balance of PvP/PvE gear... on top of all the other adjustments made for it. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad they're making an effort to get it right, I just don't find much enjoyment in it with how often it changes. Perhaps I'll enjoy PvP again when the changes calm down a bit... btw, I'm happy for no flying when it comes to world PvP, as I still enjoy that aspect.

Also, I'm one that love story lines, especially those that are immersive and expand beyond 2-3 quests. I don't find much enjoyment if I can't into the story, and I prefer if it continues across the entire expansion versus X.0 release patch. I'd be happy if there was max level content with massive storyline potential, since most of it tends to occur during the leveling process.

I'd say class/spec balance, but Blizz is honestly getting much better in that respect after all these years, so I don't worry about it too much unless there's a glaring problem. Same goes for PvE dungeon/raid content.

While there are many other minor things that add to my enjoyment or approval of an expansion, the summation would be if there's always something for me to do. I don't mind the occasional boring grinds (like the Insane achievement), but that shouldn't be a major focal point of end-game content if you finish the current tier's raid or if you want to take some time off from PvPing.

[ablib]

Breaks:

No flying for me. Isle of Quel'Danas, the Molten Front, Isle of Thunder, and Timeless Isle, are without a doubt my least favorite areas of the game.

Looking at Spires of Arak from the ground? No thanks. That would be tantamount to torture.

[Khorm]

Accessible content. I don't like paying for what I can't play. LF Skirmishes is a start. Waiting for LFR Normal and Heroic difficulty, and LFRatedBGs, but I can wait a few more expansions.

Keep waiting buddy.