When You Realize the Sad Truth: WoW Players Don't Care About The World in WoW

[Edward Wu]

I think there's a huge problem facing the MMORPG genre, and that is that it exploded into popularity so hard with WoW's over-success that it attracted so many types of players who's fun is entirely compartmentalized and couldn't care less about the overarching game world. They either raid, do some dungeons, or PvP, or collect things. Roleplaying and socialization aspects have been taking a backseat for years now, it's nothing new and I won't bore you with more talk on this.

I had a thought, though, and it's pretty sad because I'm probably completely on the mark here. I think if someone came out with a new type of sub-MMO genre that completely eschewed the world out of it, it would be really successful and suck up a lot of these types.

Imagine logging into a game where all that's offered is a chat lobby with chat channels, a friends list, and the ability to queue up for different types of content. Raids are there, dungeons are there, PvP arenas are there, Battlegrounds are there, they have all their usual bells and whistles with the multiple difficulties for some and achievement hunting etc. You could literally relegate old world mog farming to a gacha type of game and people wouldn't notice a difference. When you queue up for a raid with other people, of course you zone into the actual 3D instance of the raid and do that as you normally would. Same with dungeons, arenas, battlegrounds, etc.

Leveling and professions could be entirely removed and the beginning of the game starts you out with some basic gear and a training mode scenario to learn the class. The game is just about farming loot so you can farm harder difficulties and get achievements, pets, mounts, and mogs etc.

People wouldn't hardly notice a difference and would play this kind of game possibly even more than they would WoW.

[Sorrowseer]

I think you are totally wrong but each to their own opinion, I tried a lobby mmo and hated it, upto you though.

[Edward Wu]

I think you are totally wrong but each to their own opinion, I tried a lobby mmo and hated it, upto you though.

WoW IS a lobby MMO, my dude.

[Lochton]

Ugh, an MMORPG without a world to explore doesn't really have much of a soul to me.

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WoW IS a lobby MMO, my dude.

WoW is NOT a lobby MMO, it is treated like such, doesn't make it such.

[RemasteredClassic]

What you said is only true because of the overall efficiency of said methods in comparison. PSO2 NGS closed beta just completed its run over this weekend and I have to say being out in the world doing things in groups without being grouped where you stand no chance at world mini bosses alone is very refreshing to say the least. The difference between this and WoW is that mini bosses are everywhere with at least two encounters for every 5 levels between level 1 and cap with decent rewards.

Wow badly needs that and also needs bonus world quests to start at level 5, not cap.

[Osmeric]

What you are saying is true in the sense that those players who cared about the world are likely to be ex-players now.

Pointing to the present player population as justification for the state of the game is self serving nonsense.

[RemasteredClassic]

What you are saying is true in the sense that those players who cared about the world are likely to be ex-players now.

Pointing to the present player population as justification for the state of the game is self serving nonsense.

Pretty much it. Most of us are currently playing ESO, FFX14, PSO2 NGS starting next month when it releases then New World the month after.

Last time I did a 5 man dungeon, I was kicked out because I got feared into a pack of mobs and aggroed them as if it was intentional. This behavior kept happening for a while that it made me question why I was with such people on such a game. After all devs do as they like and the customers decide whether it’s for them or not, right?...

[Villager720]

I have to disagree. One of the chief complaints during WoD was that once you completed leveling there was zero world content what so ever.
World Quests introduction in Legion was a very popular addition when announced.

I’d say the larger issue stems from Blizzard failing to make world content both engaging but not feel mandatory. Anima rewards in Legion would have been a good ‘attempt’ if the world quests were even remotely ‘fun’ or ‘meaningful’.
Alas, their design team from Raids/Dungeons is clearly not the same team generating PvE world content.

[RemasteredClassic]

I have to disagree. One of the chief complaints during WoD was that once you completed leveling there was zero world content what so ever.
World Quests introduction in Legion was a very popular addition when announced.

I’d say the larger issue stems from Blizzard failing to make world content both engaging but not feel mandatory. Anima rewards in Legion would have been a good ‘attempt’ if the world quests were even remotely ‘fun’ or ‘meaningful’.
Alas, their design team from Raids/Dungeons is clearly not the same team generating PvE world content.

I never understood this mandatory vs optional feeling thing ..are raids to you mandatory? What is mandatory in the game at the moment?
Having to do Torghast for ash? THAT is mandatory because you only have ONE way of doing something specific. But what if I tell you I completely ignored that part of SL?

[Low Hanging Fruit]

I kind of agree with the OP sadly. All WoW is about is a paper doll dresser upper now. Que to spots around the world, fly direct to spots, get things for your paper doll to up stats and/or look. Nothing between that matters anymore to a lot of people it seems.

[justandulas]

I think you are totally wrong but each to their own opinion, I tried a lobby mmo and hated it, upto you though.

Wow is literally a lobby mmorpg. It’s the very definition of a lobby theme park mmo arpg

[dope_danny]

The devs don't show any passion for the skinner box anymore, why should the audience they started calling "consumers" like they are hive drones years ago? the hamster wheel doesn't have any setting but dispassionate.

[Crimson Spears]

WoW IS a lobby MMO, my dude.

Always has been... Outside of maybe leveling its been a lobby game from the start. It became more so once they gutted profession farming in MoP to combat bots.

[VinceVega]

I don't know what people want to do in the open world. Dailies were hated, WQ were good at the start then hated. Story of each zone is finished. You cannot have unending story. That does not work.

You have the open world everytime a new expansion drops and then the new zones. It is current for a few months and then what? Should everyone force themsleves to still be amazed by the zones he has seen for weeks?

Also with flying there is no point in the open world. Fly up look at stuff from a new persepctive, never see other players again.

Ports to dungeons don't take anything from the world or are people in front of the raid doing something amazing i alaways missed instead of just standing there?

[Nalam the Venom]

snip.

Don't use year 2005-2008 MMORPG mindset towards 2021 WoW.

The way people made or played games back in 2006-2008 is long dead.

Time to move on

[Ermelloth]

What you are saying is true in the sense that those players who cared about the world are likely to be ex-players now.

These players are in Classic now

[cparle87]

Always has been... Outside of maybe leveling its been a lobby game from the start. It became more so once they gutted profession farming in MoP to combat bots.

You mean before they broke down under the weight of "Someone beat me to a node so it despawned!!!" so they made nodes last for several loots which just incentivized multi boxing botters?

[Loveliest]

Well, ppl are very entitled in general. And this because the game gas become too old and too big to be seen as just a game. Everyone will try to push their own needs on it, whether they make sense or not. If you say you're gonna play basketball and need a team for it, here's what you're gonna get:
- ppl saying you should provide teammates for them
- ppl refusing to practice because they just want to have fun because it's just a game
- ppl who want to play solo either because they used to have a team and now that they are older they don't want to invest as much time or because they have some form of social anxiety and decided THIS team game should be for them
- ppl in crutches asking that there should be rules specifically designed for them
- ppl who are so intent on winning they curse and spit at anyone making a mistake or blame their own mistakes on others
- ppl asking that not just tall players should be chosen first because, despite the nature of the game, it is somehow discriminatory
- ppl who are gonna buy themselves a team to get carried to one win because they want some reward or they think they'll get invited by others if they do or they just need a win to feel better abput themselves and will use money for that
- ppl who hate basketball but will demand some other game be created for them so they have things to do, instead of finding an existing game that does what they need
- ppl who arent interested in basketball but like to bitch about it a lot (maybe they used to play it in highscool)
- ppl who want to make money off it at all costs, whether it's by selling teammates, wins, making a show or a farce of it on the internet, manipulating masses to change the game rules so they can win faster instead of spending whole year round practicing to be no 1 etc
- and yeah, sure, ppl who will gather some friends and play and have fun

Overall, game is big, ppl are super different and they all gathered here to make demands and not try to enjoy what this type of game offers over others they might enjoy more. Oh and make money off it, which changes things in a lot of ways.

[Clone]

Blizzard doesn't even care about the world in WoW, their players won't care any more than they do. This has been a problem with WoW since the beginning. Once you finish a zone there is no reason to go back.

[Crimson Spears]

You mean before they broke down under the weight of "Someone beat me to a node so it despawned!!!" so they made nodes last for several loots which just incentivized multi boxing botters?

No it was before that when they slowly removed mobs specific for crafting from spiders dropping silk to elemental mobs dropping certain materials. The node thing I honestly forgot about.