Theory: Players dont know why they dislike or like an expansion anymore

[Aeula]

You're wrong, most players can feel when they're burnt out from playing the same game for so long.

I despise legion. I think it's the worst expansion we've had thus far, topping even WoD. And yet I find enjoyment in the game still, by farming transmog and doing old content. Content which, by all rights, I should be bored silly of by now.

Ironically Legion is great for farming old content, artifacts and legenderies (Aggramar's and Sephuz are the best thing that ever happened to old content) make doing such content an enjoyable breeze.

[Armourboy]

I can tell you excatly what I liked and didn't like, and in some cases what I liked in one I may have hated in another.

For example, I like dailies in TBC, hated them in Wrath, Cata, and MoP, but haven't minded them in Legion. They changed their approach to them so I found some enjoyment there. I'm perfectly ok if it's the same but a different look makes it more enjoyable.

Cata on the other hand I hated, and will always hate, and I will always hate Blizzard for it. The completely destroyed the 10 man raiding and pugging scene that had flourished in Wrath and eventually led to the demise of many guilds out there. That expac pushed out more people from raiding than anything they ever did and it's the reason LFR had to be created. Cata is directly responsible for the 4 levels of raiding we have now.

WoD I hated because it was just flat out boring. The leveling was boring outside of SMV, the 5 mans were decent but had little to no use. Apexis was basically worthless until TJ, at which point most people had already written the expansion off anyways. Crafting was a mess, gathering was a mess, hell even Archeology was a mess. WoD may have had some of the same content that previous expansions did, but the execution and how it flowed with the rest of the game was a complete mess.

MoP was something I wasn't sure about for a while, but about halfway through that expansion I figured out I liked it, and I figured out why. Everything had a function, it worked well together, and there was plenty of stuff to blow time on. Legion has the exact same feel, and it why I rate both expansions just about the same. If you played both extensively, there are lots of similarities there, well other than the massive content drought at the end.

[Taeldorian]

Because im talking about the people who complained about MoP.
Not the people who liked it.

There is always people who like an expansion. Hell some (i imagine a lot of) people enjoyed WoD.

My theory says "everyone who hated an expansion is because they are tired of the same old game" and not exactly for the reasons they tell you.
Because every expansion had the same core elements to it.
Dungeons, raids, bgs, arenas, transmogs, dailies, catchup mechanics etc

Im saying that the people who hated MoP are hating on it for the wrong reasons...when the true reason is...they are just tired. Burnout.

I can see now how i am insulting everyone....but is just a theory. Maybe a crazy theory but thats what i believe. Maybe because im also crazy

I think that first part is wrong, the basics that are offered every expansion can actually be pretty different.

While yes, we get the basics of the game in every expansion (dungeons, Bgs, etc) a lot of the time they’re actually different even though they’re included in every expac.

For example, mop had a fair amount of dungeons but also included Challenge Mode dungeons, the first of its kind. This changed the dungeon scene a bit and allowed dungeons to stay almost completely relevant. This makes the basic dungeon system different from its predecessor.

Now we go to WoD, which had the CM system but the amount of dungeons WoD had was very little compared to past expansions. This changed the basics as we got less of what we had more of in the past, leading to some negative views.

Then go to legion and we have a completely new type of dungeon mode that keeps dungeons relevant for the entire expansion AND we have more dungeons than WoD. This changed the basics of dungeons from WoD in a good way.

So, while you’re implying no expansion is “bad” because the basics are the same every expansion I believe that implication is wrong as those basics actually change quite a bit expansion to expansion. Same thing with classes. Classes are a basic system we get every expansion but they drastically change expansion to expansion which can be good or bad.

TLDR: just because an expansion has the “basics” that every expansion has had doesn’t mean it automatically isn’t bad especially because those basics are usually altered in some way.

[SoulSoBreezy]

Generalizations and speaking for others

I remember the days when there were fewer threads telling me what I'm supposed to think.

[Deleted]

I think that first part is wrong, the basics that are offered every expansion can actually be pretty different.

While yes, we get the basics of the game in every expansion (dungeons, Bgs, etc) a lot of the time they’re actually different even though they’re included in every expac.

For example, mop had a fair amount of dungeons but also included Challenge Mode dungeons, the first of its kind. This changed the dungeon scene a bit and allowed dungeons to stay almost completely relevant. This makes the basic dungeon system different from its predecessor.

Now we go to WoD, which had the CM system but the amount of dungeons WoD had was very little compared to past expansions. This changed the basics as we got less of what we had more of in the past, leading to some negative views.

Then go to legion and we have a completely new type of dungeon mode that keeps dungeons relevant for the entire expansion AND we have more dungeons than WoD. This changed the basics of dungeons from WoD in a good way.

So, while you’re implying no expansion is “bad” because the basics are the same every expansion I believe that implication is wrong as those basics actually change quite a bit expansion to expansion. Same thing with classes. Classes are a basic system we get every expansion but they drastically change expansion to expansion which can be good or bad.

TLDR: just because an expansion has the “basics” that every expansion has had doesn’t mean it automatically isn’t bad especially because those basics are usually altered in some way.

Thats a very good point.
But i still believe when people jump on the bandwagon of hate for an expansion is because they are just tired of the same old game.
Its just a theory

- - - Updated - - -

I remember the days when there were fewer threads telling me what I'm supposed to think.

Its just a theory. A Game theory. Just like the youtube channel

Yes i am generalizing. Im not saying this is the case for literally everyone.

Just when you see a bandwagon of hate towards an expansion

[Aphrel]

snip.

Sounds to me, players know very well why they dislike an expansion by your own admission. They dislike expansions that doesnt deliver new content and features and like the ones that do.

[Byleth]

What ended up happening is that i insulted everyone else...because i told them "its just the mind playing you tricks and you dont actually know the reason why you dislike an expansion"

Heads up buddy, it's never a good idea to tell someone that what they think is wrong.

I know exactly why I prefer certain expansions over others. Case in point, I've been Horde since MoP, but I like the look and feel of Alliance zones more next Xpac, so I faction changed.

Everyone has their own reasons reasons for things. Personally, I like all wow expansions in different ways. You're point about Legion offering a bounty of new things was pretty solid though, I'll give you that.

Personally, I'm hyped for BfA.

[Nutrition]

Players have never really know what they liked or are not honest about. Loot drives the majority of players no so long as they pixels numbers go up they dont care much about content

[Pimzy]

I like different expansions generally because I like their stories. Gameplay can impact that but not a ton. I don't consider myself burned out though

[SoulSoBreezy]

Its just a theory. A Game theory. Just like the youtube channel

Yes i am generalizing. Im not saying this is the case for literally everyone.

Just when you see a bandwagon of hate towards an expansion

Both are painfully difficult to digest - it's a lot of the same talking points and unoriginal thoughts. It's why Blizzard says time and time again that when it comes to feedback they put more weight on opinions where the OP speaks for themselves.
That said (I think) I get you're doing this as a sort of macro study into different minorities within the WoW community. I just find the more personal stories much more interesting and genuine.

[Mister Cheese]

There were never "bad expansions" of WoW.

Whatever the fuck you're smoking get off of it. WoD proves you wrong.

BC was a great expansion.
WotLK was a great expansion.
Cata was fine in the beginning but was bogged down by cut content. Dragon soul and the dungeons it came with were awful and had no world content in the final patch.
MoP was fine but was cut down by poor questing systems and dailies.
WoD was dogshit. Do I even need to explain why?
Legion would probably be WoWs best expansion to date if not for the way legendaries and artifact power work. Some classes need specific legendaries to be viable even.

There are bad expansions. There is a complete shit one. But there are also average ones. And there are 2 good ones. Stop telling other people what their opinions should be. There's nothing worse than when a PR rep of a company says "players don't know what they want".

[Zandalarian Paladin]

Theory: The world does not know why they dislike or like anything unless explicitely told so by a third party.

Streamers, Medias, Governments. Doesn't matter. It just reflect society as a whole.

[Deleted]

Whatever the fuck you're smoking get off of it. WoD proves you wrong.

BC was a great expansion.
WotLK was a great expansion.
Cata was fine in the beginning but was bogged down by cut content. Dragon soul and the dungeons it came with were awful and had no world content in the final patch.
MoP was fine but was cut down by poor questing systems and dailies.
WoD was dogshit. Do I even need to explain why?
Legion would probably be WoWs best expansion to date if not for the way legendaries and artifact power work. Some classes need specific legendaries to be viable even.

There are bad expansions. There is a complete shit one. But there are also average ones. And there are 2 good ones. Stop telling other people what their opinions should be. There's nothing worse than when a PR rep of a company says "players don't know what they want".

Then stop making generalization and just say "I didn't like WoD" instead "WoD was dogshit". Because i did like WoD.

[Armourboy]

Then stop making generalization and just say "I didn't like WoD" instead "WoD was dogshit". Because i did like WoD.

You are one of the few. I think there are people that like certain aspects of WoD, like not needing to do anything but log in and raid, or the leveling, etc. but overall you are going to find pretty much anywhere you go that a majority are going to rank Warlords the worst expansion. Heck even Blizzards own actions is pretty telling. The didn't even try and save it, they just washed their hands of it and moved on to Legion.

[korijenkins]

Was Legion really well-received? Subs are at an all-time low. Titanforging/legiondaries ruined PvE and templates ruined PvP.

[Volardelis]

I know why I disliked WoD more than other expansions i've played (which is from wrath onwards).

And it wasn't because I've played the game for a "long time". There was some aspects of WoD that I enjoyed, the main one being Gladiator Stance for protection. However the rest of the expansion was a big bore after doing the leveling content. There was hardly any end-game content other than raiding. Prior to 6.2, you only had 1 "daily" and that was go to X and fill up bar. I enjoyed the garrison invasions, but hardly anyone wanted to do them, mainly the garrison bosses even though they rewarded some good things.

Blizzard cutting interesting content was another example. The shattrah raid was scrapped, so was Faralon and that lovely fungal whale shark world boss. In addition to other content getting affected because a minority cried "meh orc fatigue". Gorgrond, which was going to be a lore heavy zone for the Iron Horde became a mess between the breakers and the primals. With a forced IH presence, mainly if you chose the lumber mill building for your outpost since the IH only shows up in the gladiator building outside of the finale.

Spires was my favorite zone. I just wish that Viryx got more screentime and interactions with Ishkar. Considering the short story that came out about those two. Would've liked to see the relationship between Cho'gall and Mar'gok get some development / backstory. WoD was just a disappointment. Good ideas, poor execution.

[MoanaLisa]

If I have stuff to do and it's stuff I enjoy doing and they keep adding stuff I like to do then it's a pretty good expansion.

If the things I like to do are suddenly terrible to do or aren't there at all then I will like it less. If the story lines are completely uninteresting that will sink an expansion for me. The only really 'immersive' part of the game for me--in the sense that you can forget for a while that it's a game--are the stories.

I think mostly people very much understand why they like or dislike something. They don't need anyone telling them what they're thinking. There's already too much of that here. Practically every post that poses opinion as some sort of fact is in some way insulting on the face of it because it's trying to do exactly that: tell you why you don't care for something or tell you that you're wrong for enjoying something they don't like. It's like a plague.

[Armourboy]

Was Legion really well-received? Subs are at an all-time low. Titanforging/legiondaries ruined PvE and templates ruined PvP.

Unless you work for Blizzard, you actually have zero clue where the subs sit at this time. Anything you could come up with as proof, well wouldn't be proof at all.

[Volardelis]

Unless you work for Blizzard, you actually have zero clue where the subs sit at this time. Anything you could come up with as proof, well wouldn't be proof at all.

And considering that you can play WoW through tokens, which can be brought with gold, sub numbers are no longer an accurate way to show how many people play WoW these days.

[Armourboy]

And considering that you can play WoW through tokens, which can be brought with gold, sub numbers are no longer an accurate way to show how many people play WoW these days.

That would count as a sub anyways, and in theory more because Blizzard is receiving $5 more per month more for you to use that token for " free ". It's why I giggle when someone thinks they are hurting Blizzard by using tokens. " They aren't getting money from me "