What happened to Blizzard?

[Schattenlied]

Not sure why you try to sneak insults in your post by saying disillusioned, but i am barely trying to project anything onto something. That something is called having an opinion my friend.

Disillusioned is not an insult, go find a dictionary because you clearly don't know what that word means.

[Dr Assbandit]

On this forum full of people that do nothing but praise Blizzard even for their mistakes, I'm sure he actually is alone. you guys are delusional, it's sad, i hope you all get better eventually.

Still better than the incessant bitching and moaning of a prebuscent teen who seems to have a personal chip on his shoulder regarding Blizzard yet can't seem to stop posting about them .

[Steelangel]

Why? They litteraly took every part that makes up WoW and made it worse.

Dozens of required daily quests? - Fixed. Do the ones you want to, and no flying around to turn in? Yes please.
Dungeons that become superfluous past the patch they are introduced? Mythic+ made dungeons great again.
Disjointed storylines with no overarching meaning? Gone are the zone specific stories that don't link to anything else.
End game content? Much better than Warlords and Pandaria.

I can't see how any of this is "worse".

[CSINada]

Disillusioned is not an insult, go find a dictionary because you clearly don't know what that word means.

Every word can be meant as insult, it depends on context and you sure meant it to be but i wont argue with you about such trivial thing.

[Schattenlied]

Every word can be meant as insult, it depends on context and you sure meant it to be but i wont argue with you about such trivial thing.

"you sure meant it to be"

I'm not the one who said it, smartass, don't accuse me of shit I didn't do.

I also love how you claim to be able to know the context it was meant to be used in, when you have no way of knowing other than your own bias and clear wanting to create conflict... You saw it in that context because you were looking for a conflict, you saw what you wanted to see, not what was really there.

Feeling Disillusioned is not an insult, it means "disappointed in someone or something that one discovers to be less good than one had believed.". That literally can't be an insult, and it perfectly describes your situation, you are by your own description of your feeling towards Blizzard in the OP, by definition, feeling disillusioned.

[chiddie]

This also applies to the older generation. People are accustomed to being instantly gratified now-a-days. Our lives are shaped by the environments we live in, therefore, everyone is constantly in a hustle. Look at raids, dungeons, PvP, etc. People are constantly pissed if something takes them too long. They want it now, damnit.

So, MMORPGS are mostly failing, because of this mindset. No one wants to put in serious hours of meticulous grinding or hard work to get a reward. They want it now.

It's not that older gen wants not to grind.

It CAN'T grind because it has not the time it had 15 years ago anymore.

I would love to spend 3-4 hours a day + 6-7 on saturdays AND sundays on WoW like i did from day one until Lich King came out, but i simply don't have that free time anymore.

Games are shorter and easier nowadays because the audience grew with the years and people 40+ (hopeless nerds with no family excluded) have less time so, simply, they won't buy a game that lasts centuries AND it's difficult.

[Deleted]

I feel like Blizzard is doing good.

WoW isn't doing as good as it used to be and it continues to be mediocre, but they're doing good with everything else imo.

Diablo 3 had a bit of a tough launch but came back strong with the expansion.
Starcaft is still good ol starcraft, but it's not for the casual gamer and is pretty niche.
Overwatch is still very populare and jeff kaplan is doing an amazing job.
Hearthstone continues to dominate the digital tcg market and rake in tons of money for blizzard.
HotS continues to improve patch after patch with more focus on community and still keeping the game seperated from Dota / LoL and not just being a clone.

It's like they have taken their focus away from WoW and applied it to everything else and with a much bigger focus now on producing new games/ip's and not just wow expansions.

[Auzerais]

I don't think that the issue is with the games that Blizzard is putting out, I think it is more about the type of gamer that exists today over the gamer of yesteryear. The market is highly saturated in every genre, so you are going to have issues where games are going to pull market share, even if it is just for a short amount of time. I don't find WoW to be dead, on the contrary, I see more people playing now than I can remember at the end of any expansion. Vanilla had a lot of great things, but it was far from perfect. It is just nostalgic for those who lived it from the beginning. It was the newest thing, it was different, and it was somewhat difficult. Wildstar tried to emulate the vanilla WoW experience, and they pretty much failed. Like I said, gamers don't want what they wanted 15 years ago. I play a ton of different games, some are good, some are bad, and the one thing I have found, is that Blizzard just seems to do it better than almost any other company. RTS is a dying genre, it's sad, but that is the way it is. It has been dying since Broodwars had run its course. The story in SC2 is awesome, and they could make a movie out of it no problem, but the idea of getting really good at micromanaging things, and learning skills is not at the forefront of what people want to do in a video game. Hence why Pay 2 win is so successful. Gamers have gotten lazier, Candy Crush and other games of pretty much zero skill have taken over, and if you can't have it right now, you don't want it at all. It is why achievements are such a disease...I will keep playing as long as I can have something happen that strokes my ego every once in awhile to keep me interested.

In my opinion Blizzard is walking a tightrope. They are trying to make the best games possible without caving to the instant gratification generation too much. Not to say that there aren't things I don't agree with, but their approach has been about as politically correct as possible. I understand your frustration, but to say they haven't made anything good lately, is a bit hyperbolic. It just isn't what you remember as being great.

[Aggrophobic]

Dozens of required daily quests? - Fixed. Do the ones you want to, and no flying around to turn in? Yes please.
Dungeons that become superfluous past the patch they are introduced? Mythic+ made dungeons great again.
Disjointed storylines with no overarching meaning? Gone are the zone specific stories that don't link to anything else.
End game content? Much better than Warlords and Pandaria.

I can't see how any of this is "worse".

You still do the same daily quests only now you have to run around to pick them up but they are turned in via cell phone (not that that makes any sense but still). You also could not fly anywhere becuase it took them a year to get that sorted.
Dungeos are now an endless grind when they become boring just as fast as they always did. Having to do the same content over and over is not new or great content, thats just lazy design
Zones are disjointed and the stories do not tie to anything. There is even more of that in Legion than we have had since vanilla, what the heck are you talking about here?
"End game content"? Raiding? No, that is by far the worst it's ever been with horrible reward systems, very, very poor balancing and all around boring or annoying mechanics. PvP? It's a bloody joke. No, it's not better than WoD and it's very, very, very far behind MoP - MoP was the best WoW has ever been both in terms of end game and class design.

On top of that there the extreme RNG and class design (though the later was poor in WoD as well).

So yeah, it's all much worse.

[dapperedodo]

Such a simple question? Simple answer:

Activision Blizzard happened, which funnily enough happened before WoTLK ended, at which point they couldn't screw up wotlk cause It was already pre-planned ahead by blizz themselves.

As a giant blizz fan myself since Warcraft 3 I'd play WoW and later on starcraft quite alot.. mostly WoW. And since Cataclysm their expansions have been worse and worse, more and more did I notice things that just waste our time outright and give little to nothing In return, not to mention Cataclysm Introducing the store to buy freakin mounts Instead of... you know, EARNING THEM INGAME like I earned my Paladin Charger mount In Vanilla, now that's how you earn a mount.

So yeah, basically Activision Blizzard happened, which = Shareholders which = more concentration on money rather than a good game.

I mean look at Legion, It's the worst example of an expansion to date, yes worse than WoD In my opinion, It shows you how bloody desparate Blizzard are to waste your time, make you keep spending time doing boring "World quests" that are hilariously easy and meaningless, the lore that has gone to shite quite frankly and makes no damn sense anymore, make you spend that sub money and ontop of that spend money for transfers, race changes, server transfers, name changes, buying freakin level boosts? I mean just the level boost tells you they were like "Oh our leveling is bad since cataclysm... lets monetize on that rather than fixing It now, fix it later, monetize now while we can"

It's really that simple, since joining a giant corporation with shareholders they became corporate sods. When they were just Blizzard It was fine, they had only themselves to satisfie, now It's all about dem shareholders, shareholders. Once they leave Activision and are just Blizzard they'll become greater again.

Just remember, they are not Blizzard since 2008, 10 years, they are now ACTIVISION BLIZZARD. Never forget that.

Shareholders where dictating the fate of WoW and other Blizzard games since Early TBC if not longer cause thats when Blizzard became part of Vivendi. Blizzard/Activision became a thing the moment when the same Vivendi decided to merger their own game division with Blizzard and Activision.Vivendi had some money problems later cause of that funny financial crisis. I believe this is a reason of the mess in Cataclysm and Diablo 3 but I can be wrong. A lil bit later Blizzard/Activision bought their freedom before Vivendi could completly destoy it.

Oh yeah and the 1st store mount was released in WotlK. WotlK the expansion of the Lich King, Gearscore and The Retarded Horse(the store sparkle pony).
Oke thats that.

The fact you are saying Legion is the worst(even worse then WoD) makes me really think you have some rose tinted glases on. Sure the Lore isnt that good but the lore never was that good. Sure you have to grind world quests for certain stuf but daily quests have been part of the game since TBC. And these server transfers and other microtansactions have been part of the game since well Vanilla WoW.

I would say Legion is a damn good expanion that had a lot of stuff to do and thats what people wanted. I've been playing since late Vanilla and well MoP and Legion are my favs.

Yes Blizzard isnt the Blizzard of 15 years ago anymore. And most Blizzard veterans simply dont have the time they had 15 years ago. So Blizzard adjusted to that and started to attract new audience with different games and content. And to be fair they are doing a damn good job at that. They have a game that will turn 14 this year and still has more players then any other MMORPG out there. And they have a few games that are also pretty big in their genres.

Yes SC2 isnt that alive but then again the RTS genre is pretty dead overall
Yes D3 also has a breathing problem but its still doing fine in the genre it belongs to
But OW is going strong and believe is still growing
And HS well I dont really care but I believe its doing just fine.

Oh and Blizzard was never good at innovating. Blizzard always picked a genre and a few games as example and give it the Blizzard treatment. And then the game they made for that genre blew up.

[Deleted]

I really was hesistant to read your post after the start, while again failed attempt to insult

I didnt insult you.

all i wrote they were not up to Blizzard standard in my opinion

no, you left the bolded part out of your startpost!

secondly yes i actually except everything good to be topped with even something better

And that is NOT gonna happen.

, thats exacly point of this topic thats how it works in the world and thirdly if you compare Everquest to WoW, well sure you can have your opinion but im pretty sure you might be very lonley in it.

well you CLAIMED with your "lonely" opinion that when wow came there was nothing alike. wow was created becuase the devs all came from eq and liked it but wanted something more average joe friendly.

fact is YOU are not satisfied with todays games wich makes it a YOU problem and now you qq about it claiming everything is bad.

[cparle87]

Dungeons are now an endless grind when they become boring just as fast as they always did. Having to do the same content over and over is not new or great content, thats just lazy design

Are you seriously, actually, complaining that dungeons are no longer 'get what you need from them and never visit them again save for the random heroic for some needed currency?'

[Deleted]

I think judging from your post it should be under "Generally dont post stupid shit irrevelant to topic"
but to answer your question, WoW is still one of the biggest names in Blizzard so its very much good place for topic

as this topic is about YOU dissatisfaction with blizzard it belongs under the computer games forum and NOT into wow general which is discussing wow in general....

[Dystemper]

World of Warcraft is at its best stage ever since TBC and somehow WotLK...

Legion has been an outstanding expansion and you finally have to work hard again to get rewards... let aside the whole legendary crap, legendary items are no longer legendary, but that since MoP.

I mean... unlocking flying takes so much work.. it is hours... and the new allied races take a while as well, it is a lot of grind but this time around with a nice chunk of lore behind it, you are never let alone grinding mobs or something similar, the detail level is at its best.

Sure you can be ilvl 940 in a couple of resets... but that´s no end game.. to have end game you need time and dedication, so casuals can no longer do this. Proof is that you are happily roaming, destroying invasion points by your own, solo it and killing the 200 mil HP elites, takes you such a while but it feels so good.. only to step outside and being 3 shoted by some random 7 mil HP DPS who probably has an ilvl around 985.. So there you go, even equipment is not that easy to obtain, as real end game is reserved to people who can actually raid (which us with a job, a GF and studies can not do anymore, and yet we can achieve quite a lot!)

You know, people´s tastes grow or change.. WoW is back at its best with this xpack and yet people keep moaning.. well, maybe it is no longer for you?

What do you mean work hard to get rewards? ROFLMAo they were handing out gear like it was candy. You didnt even have to raid to get raid gear. Legion took so much away from players. The Excessive RNg made the "endgame" pointless and devalued. The reward system sucked. I dont know what game you were playing but it was not Legion

[Viikkis]

Hots is not a copy paste game lol. All mobas look a like but so do FPS games etc. However it is different under the hood.

[Jastall]

Pay no attention to the blizzdrones teeming in these boards, I am sure that Mike Morhaime could storm into their houses, shit on their plates and rape their wives/gf's (provided that they have, lul) and they would find some way to justify it. And yes, the game has been spiraling down (quality-wise) from the second half of WotLK onwards. Actually, they have taken lots of decisions that severely compromise the game's integrity, just for the sake of raking more money in. Truth be told, that did pay off in WoW's case, not so much with D3 for instance, where Blizz's greed brought them to establish the infamous RMAH and balance the whole game around it.

Blizzard is no longer a company willing to take risks, shareholders prefer predictable and steady earnings... Can you imagine today's Blizz undertaking a project akin to WoW in 2004? Or even D2? No, they will stay within their comfort zone, with "tried and true" formulae. The Blizz that gave us Brood War, D2, WC3 or Vanilla/BC... is no more.

Anyone trying to make a new sub-based MMO in 2018 is delusional at best.

Overwatch was Blizzard's gamble in recent years, originally it was pretty much born because Metzen wanted a game with a talking gorilla coming from the moon and tried to salvage the scraps of Titan. It could have crashed like D3 did yet ended up working very, very well for them, it set the trend for much of the industry, for better (loads of team-based shooters came hot on its heels) and for worse (it democratized microtransactions).

[Checkt]

On this forum full of people that do nothing but praise Blizzard even for their mistakes, I'm sure he actually is alone. you guys are delusional, it's sad, i hope you all get better eventually.

I couldn't imagine reading this forum and thinking that the majority of the base is pro-blizzard.

Forums are havens for people to cry (and put delusional (see what I did there?) pictures of how well they think classic is gonna do in their sigs. It's just a fact that the vast majority of people don't take the time, and most of those who do are doing so to complain.

[Deleted]

WoW is not as great as it used to be

You do realize it would be completely impossible for it to be that, right? Not least for the fact that people grow up, their lives change, their minds change, and they get fed up with something they used to love.

[Aoyi]

You don't enjoy the content anymore and claim its Blizzard that has changed. WoW is still doing the WoW thing. Its pretty much been a new class or a new race each expansion. We had a new class last expansion and now 6 more playable races are being added for the next. We just got 4 of them early. Hearthstone has an enormous user-base and its expected of a CCG to put out expansions constantly. That's not a money grab. That's keeping the game fresh. I'd expect the same from any CCG. Overwatch is becoming its own damn sport. HotS isn't the top MOBA, but its up there. Diablo and Starcraft are admittedly lacking, but I'd expect something new on the Diablo front soon. Maybe you've just changed OP.

[tankbug]

1. You have grown and is not as easily impressed by things.
2. Blizzard has made good games lately, and especially Overwatch is just a masterpiece.
3. There is more competition in the market. The best companies aren't years ahead anymore, and so they can't hold on to their legendary status.