Less is more, why WoW isn't what it used to be.

[Nerraw]

virtualrealms and np

I dare you to try before Virtual Realms. I've had a couple of friends try and make alts here. They've all abandoned it. The auction house alone drives them insane.

[Deleted]

I think the biggest problem in WoW is that by massively catering to complainers over the years, Blizzard has pushed away people who actually LIKE the game (aka loyal customers) in favor of people who dislike it. Pampering the complainers and haters and validating their approach at every turn - no wonder the community is in shambles. These kind of people don't make a great community.

As far as I'm concerned, the community as a whole, hasn't changed since the game was released back in 2004.

People are still complaining about everything, stating that their solutions to whichever topic of the week it is, is the best and will make the game a million times better. If not, the game will surely die. Nowadays though, they use "that's why it's loosing so many subs" instead of "the game will die".

It's fairly funny actually. Everyone has an opinion as to why the game looses subs, it's always just one thing that's to blame, and it's always what they think is wrong with the game.

[Aktavite]

This is simply silly. Why would you quest in Kalimdor or EK between 60 and 80? There is absolutely no reason to.

Logic is not allowed in this thread!

[Tekkommo]

Logic is not allowed in this thread!

Indeed!

OP complains about heroic modes and hasn't even cleared normal mode!

[namelessone]

As far as I'm concerned, the community as a whole, hasn't changed since the game was released back in 2004.

People are still complaining about everything, stating that their solutions to whichever topic of the week it is, is the best and will make the game a million times better. If not, the game will surely die. Nowadays though, they use "that's why it's loosing so many subs" instead of "the game will die".

It's fairly funny actually. Everyone has an opinion as to why the game looses subs, it's always just one thing that's to blame, and it's always what they think is wrong with the game.

That's exactly the problem. People complain because at this point they know it gets things changed to their liking. If Blizzard has ignored complainers since the beginning and focused on pleasing the people who actually like the game, the volume of complains would have dropped by now. But instead they made it obvious that they change their design goals based on which group complains loudest.

[Nerraw]

But instead they made it obvious that they change their design goals based on which group complains loudest.

The last couple of years it's actually been dependant on who quits the fastest.

[Thetruth1400]

I dare you to come play on my server for a month. Let's see how long you last without resorting to those two things.

That's a completely different issue. I assume you're on a low pop realm and that's why you're taking offense to those two items. There is a fix, it's called Blizzard needs to merge those servers. Having a server with a dead population helps out exactly no one. Merging those servers might inconvenience a few people, but that's it. The benefits far outweigh the only negative to merging.

[Tomana]

Logic is not allowed in this thread!

Looks like it.
This being said, I couldn't care less about flying between 80 and 85, but Deepholm is not doable w/o a flying mount, and Hyjal would be silly for classes without slowfalls.

[Nerraw]

That's a completely different issue. I assume you're on a low pop realm and that's why you're taking offense to those two items. There is a fix, it's called Blizzard needs to merge those servers. Having a server with a dead population helps out exactly no one. Merging those servers might inconvenience a few people, but that's it. The benefits far outweigh the only negative to merging.

Server merges don't help for when you wake up early one morning and feel like doing chain runs of dungeons. LFD and LFR ensures that there's something for me to do no matter what time of the day it is. Sure, it's slower at night. But it's not impossible.

[Deleted]

That's exactly the problem. People complain because at this point they know it gets things changed to their liking. If Blizzard has ignored complainers since the beginning and focused on pleasing the people who actually like the game, the volume of complains would have dropped by now. But instead they made it obvious that they change their design goals based on which group complains loudest.

Honestly, that wasn't the point I was trying to make

My point was that people has always complained and always will. I refuse to believe though, that just by complaining*, you can get things changed. I see them time and time again state that they take peoples concerns into account, but only if they are constructive in their criticism.

They may have made changes that you and I don't like, but it doesn't matter what they do there will always be someone who doesn't like where the game is going. And just because you and I don't agree with a certain change, doesn't necessarily make it a bad one.

In the end, one has to acknowledge the fact that this game grew in subs for a long period of time. Then it started to decline, but that has likely more to do with how old the game is, rather than some specific change or behavior on Blizzards part.

* By 'complaining', I mean whine without any constructive feedback or reasoning.

[Syran]

It's not an ability, it's a chore. It should have died in a fire long time ago.
.

Meeting and engaging with people in a MMO is a chore now, good to know! I'm sure the game would be better off with LFD, phasing and interaction minimization from the start, after all, the great server communities and guilds formed while questing in another phase, idling in the cities and running LFR with strangers from different realms.

[HeedmySpeed]

Meeting and engaging with people in a MMO is a chore now, good to know! I'm sure the game would be better off with LFD, phasing and interaction minimization from the start, after all, the great server communities and guilds formed while questing in another phase, idling in the cities and running LFR with strangers.

Right? People don't realize how this game offers things not well presented in other games.

Rivals.

When you get familiar with those few players that you HATE on the opposite faction. Seeing them makes you see red.
You now have to avoid them, stay hidden or attempt an assault on them yourself or with friends.

You could end up losing and more angry or you win and feel justified.

But no. At any sign of struggle and you'll see people complain they don't want it.

[RickJamesLich]

I think the problem with WoW now is that when it first came out, it was a game in which you'd go on epic and crazy journey's to get some sort of cool reward in the end - you'd probably fight the opposite faction along the way, and just getting to where ever you wanted could take time; and there was no guarantee you'd even get very far. Always a battle everywhere you want. In the end, if you were successful, you probably got some good loots.

Compare that to now, where WoW pretty much let's you skip those journey's entirely and just gives you the epic loot instead - to appease extremely casual players and guys that lack skill.

For some it's an awesome thing that WoW has done this, for other's, it's definitely a let down.

- - - Updated - - -

Right? People don't realize how this game offers things not well presented in other games.

Rivals.

When you get familiar with those few players that you HATE on the opposite faction. Seeing them makes you see red.
You now have to avoid them, stay hidden or attempt an assault on them yourself or with friends.

You could end up losing and more angry or you win and feel justified.

But no. At any sign of struggle and you'll see people complain they don't want it.

Hahaha, I tip my hat to you good sir. I remember back in the day a legendary mage on the ally side, dude had netherwind regalia and completely smoked my priest a few times in darkshire. I still remember the day when I got revenge by mind controlling him into the pit of lava in blackrock mountain even though it was ages ago. Stuff like that just doesn't happen in the game anymore IMO.

Nowadays if something like this happened, people would just go on the forums and complain about it.

[Syran]

Right? People don't realize how this game offers things not well presented in other games.

Rivals.

When you get familiar with those few players that you HATE on the opposite faction. Seeing them makes you see red.
You now have to avoid them, stay hidden or attempt an assault on them yourself or with friends.

You could end up losing and more angry or you win and feel justified.

But no. At any sign of struggle and you'll see people complain they don't want it.

The obliviousness of people to the importance of social interaction (rivalries, friendships, people you look up to, people you want to gank all day every day, ...) is astounding. It's like the fame, the very premise of this game wasn't built on it. The convenience took a lot of this away, it isn't good, it can't be good for a long term survival of the game where player bonding is one of the strongest aspects which keeps people playing and subscribed.

[Lime]

As far as I'm concerned, the community as a whole, hasn't changed since the game was released back in 2004.

People are still complaining about everything, stating that their solutions to whichever topic of the week it is, is the best and will make the game a million times better. If not, the game will surely die. Nowadays though, they use "that's why it's loosing so many subs" instead of "the game will die".

It's fairly funny actually. Everyone has an opinion as to why the game looses subs, it's always just one thing that's to blame, and it's always what they think is wrong with the game.

Haha, so true. I completely agree with everything you just said.

[Deleted]

I'll give all my gold to the first person who comes into this thread and contributes with a rational statement which hasn't already been said in the countless other threads discussing "where WoW lost it's way". Hell, I'll toss in my life savings in that event. Blah blah, flying mounts, blah blah, LFD, blah blah, LFR.
The funny thing about these "what if" conversations is people can't prove a thing either way; you can say the game lost it's way with LFD but that would imply we would all be living in a nice little community had it not been implemented. You could say flying mounts took away the "epicness of the world" but that would imply we would all be riding around on our ground mounts with our jaws dropped in awe. You could single a thousand reasons for the "calamitous" state of WoW now but you couldn't prove if anything was different that the game would be sitting on more than 7.7 millions subs right now; it's all just conjecture that can be found in a thousand other places.

[Tomana]

Meeting and engaging with people in a MMO is a chore now, good to know! I'm sure the game would be better off with LFD, phasing and interaction minimization from the start, after all, the great server communities and guilds formed while questing in another phase, idling in the cities and running LFR with strangers from different realms.

You clearly don't play on my realm.
Also, travelling to the damn stone is the issue. Only to have someone run away at the first wipe, HSing back to town, looking for another player, then have someone else quit in the meantime etc... etc...
I did that during all of BC, I'm not going back, sorry.

[RickJamesLich]

As far as I'm concerned, the community as a whole, hasn't changed since the game was released back in 2004.

People are still complaining about everything, stating that their solutions to whichever topic of the week it is, is the best and will make the game a million times better. If not, the game will surely die. Nowadays though, they use "that's why it's loosing so many subs" instead of "the game will die".

It's fairly funny actually. Everyone has an opinion as to why the game looses subs, it's always just one thing that's to blame, and it's always what they think is wrong with the game.

Gotta disagree.... I think the community just wants stuff.... easier, now lol. I remember in PvP people thought it was normal for stuff to having ratings requirements, and that you shouldn't be able to buy a full set of stuff with just honor... the argument was "well do you want guys that bot to get a full set of gear?" Now guys that bot can get a full set of regular gear as well as elite gear, nobody seems to mind lol.

Or if there's a boss that isn't one shottable - people will literally go on the forums and complain and threaten to quit, like Garalon or Lei Shen. I really can't remember seeing that stuff happen back in the day. Sure some of the stuff was the same, such as "nerf x class, and buff my class", I think the big difference now though is the community doesn't really want anything challenging in the game, at least a very large part of it.

[Deleted]

You can still do dungeons the old way. Spam trade, get a group, travel to the dungeon. No need to hit LFD with "strangers" if you don't like it.

[RickJamesLich]

I'll give all my gold to the first person who comes into this thread and contributes with a rational statement which hasn't already been said in the countless other threads discussing "where WoW lost it's way". Hell, I'll toss in my life savings in that event. Blah blah, flying mounts, blah blah, LFD, blah blah, LFR.
The funny thing about these "what if" conversations is people can't prove a thing either way; you can say the game lost it's way with LFD but that would imply we would all be living in a nice little community had it not been implemented. You could say flying mounts took away the "epicness of the world" but that would imply we would all be riding around on our ground mounts with our jaws dropped in awe. You could single a thousand reasons for the "calamitous" state of WoW now but you couldn't prove if anything was different that the game would be sitting on more than 7.7 millions subs right now; it's all just conjecture that can be found in a thousand other places.

lol, I can't prove it, but if you played back then, you'd realize the social atmosphere was WAY better. You'd make buddies while questing, join guilds to do dungeons and raid, the game was all about getting together to take on challenges. Now you can get to 90 and down all the bosses in raids without having to talk to anyone once ever, not only that, it requires little effort to do it. So in that way, yes, the community was much much better.