Q2, q3...

[Mafic]

It is going to be a repeat of Saint Valentines Day unfortunately where the town was painted crimson red. The reason being is that they should be launching 6.1 this month but for some reason it doesn't seem likely so probably March/April. I will probably take a wild guess and say April.

[MoanaLisa]

It is going to be a repeat of Saint Valentines Day unfortunately where the town was painted crimson red. The reason being is that they should be launching 6.1 this month but for some reason it doesn't seem likely so probably March/April. I will probably take a wild guess and say April.

The PTR is a release candidate. It won't be April. It may not even be March.

[Louisa Bannon]

...but a bunch of people whose entire lives were absolutely ruined over no flight will come flocking back.

...but a bunch of people whose entire lives were absolutely ruined over no flight will come flocking back.

Misreading the signs...

WoW would seem to have an addicted player base of around 6 million that stays subbed come what may. The current development/spending of the game would seem to be predicated on retaining that player base. Its unfortunate because I think that sort of attitude on the part of the developers and the "dedicated" players is incredibly damaging to the game. It boils down to business as usual development, Blizzard is no longer doing anything even remotely innovative in WoW. Even the ways they tried to innovate have been wrong-headed and short-sighted: CRZ, destroying Azeroth in CATA, questing on rails, phasing, Timeless Isle, removal of flight, Garrison facebook game, etc.

Those of us that have stopped playing over time are simultaneously drawing our own lines in the sand. The return of flight is not enough. They should never have trifled with something so integral to the game because now the disgruntled player base sees that nothing is sacred, anything might be sacrificed to the developers caprice. That at any time something a player really likes might be removed. What that means is that players become much more careful on how they invest in the game.

And its not strictly money either, although that's a huge factor. Time is probably the biggest factor. Gating teaches a player that principle value.

I think many of us really enjoyed Wrath, Cata, and MoP. But somewhere along the line, we all find our limits. I didn't do dailies in MoP until it was way easier to do them. I pointedly disliked Timeless Isle and only did some very basic things there. I wanted to explore it and see it, but once done I never returned to it on alts. I PvP avidly, but that has been significantly ruined by botting. What has happened is that there are fewer and fewer areas of the game I, or a player like me, might find rewarding. There's less to do, but somehow even more obnoxious gating. I mean, really?

And when I look at benefits versus cost, its just not there.

I am not going to:
1. Buy the box for $40-50
2. Pay a monthly $15 sub fee
3. Pay for character services that are somehow not rolled into 1 or 2 already
4. Pay for level boosts
5. Pay for other misc crap in the store

This is totally a "fool me once" moment for Blizzard. And as others have said, they dropped the ball. A lot of us aren't coming back until they restructure many things, esp the money thing. Less to do means less value means ain't paying for it multiple ways.

Meanwhile I bought FFXIV for $13. One toon is all you need to do everything. Next expansion they will introduce flight into the game. I think they see the writing on the wall for WoW, an opportunity anyway.