Did forum chatter ever cause you to leave or play wow?

[Echocho]

After the introduction of mythic+ and the rise of ingame toxicity forum toxicity has pushed me over the edge a couple of times but I wouldn't really call it the cause.

After a couple of months of pleasant dungeon experiences in FFXIV I often returned to WoW but quickly unsubscribed again due to the toxicity and "go go go" mentality of their dungeon experience. In Shadowlands I haven't even bothered trying, I know it's a shit fest.

[T-34]

If my in-game experience in any way resembled what people describe here or on reddit then it would probably influence my desire to play or not to play.
But thank God that it doesn't!

In my opinion forums disproportionally attracts:
1. ex-players that just can't let go of their first and big love and move on
2. The wilfully unwilling to put in an effort that want the same rewards as people who want to put in an effort
3. Those that feel entitled to that other people should play like they want and help them

But if I should rate forums going from worst to least bad then I would rate them:
Official forums
Reddit
MMO-Champion.

[bmjclark]

Honestly, quit because the game was incredibly boring this expansion and all of my friends quit and I haven't returned because blizzard as a company is a disaster (the lawsuits) and the devs can't put content out in a timely manner. I don't think any amount of forum positivity could fix that right now nor could any amount of the forum's bitching about legendaries or artifacts or titanforging in legion have made me quit.

[crakerjack]

Nope. I honestly don’t care how others perceive WoW, seems like a waste of time to do so.

[MoanaLisa]

Well I suppose if you are open to having YouTube personalities or forum personalities decide your opinions for you that might happen.

My only lament about forums is that it's very difficult to find a friendly conversation on them unless there is agreement. I'd like to see that happen again on things where people see each things differently and can discuss it like normal human beings. But as we now know the bigger asshole you can be on the internet the more attention—oh, so sorry, engagement—you receive so here we are.

Take here for example: It's nearly 100% a seeking-attention economy instead of anything that might be useful. As that goes so goes loyalty to the site.

Fact is that no one enjoys being insulted or bellowed at for very long.

For my own part, no. Nothing much on forums affects my opinion one way or the other. There are a few (a very few) people that I read their posts and think about them but that's about it.

[Athorha]

Forum chatter regarding a fear of a disease which only kills the weak, old and those with little regard for their personal wellbeing / health has affected how much I irl. Forum chatter has never turned me away from a online game though, since even if there's a majority opinion I disagree with i can easily just turn a blind eye. Its not like when I'm playing wow I hear people complaining / creating negative headspace, but certain subject matter nowadays seems to have transitioned into being toxically acceptable both on forums and in day to day conversation despite never seeking a positive end for anything. For video games maybe its unwarranted criticism, from a person who should just move on. The odd thing is; look at any game, say chess, and realize why it can be mind numbing boring and both exciting to different minds. For that reason alone understand there's polarities to enjoyment that can and should waver throughout your life. If anything id say forum chatter has influenced me to do other things or try news games, and therefore I've changed my mind on wow in a way as a result of forum chatter influencing the openness of my mind. But I've never read someone hating on something and been like 'yeah me to, but I never thought of it that way before'. Even the sexual lawsuits relating to bliZ... idgaf what sue Jane and Cole think about what that says I'm buying a product not voting for a leader

[WowIsDead64]

Curious if this has been your experience.

Forum whining has put me off wow before, and sometimes prevented/delayed returning to play or just not renewing, however the opposite has been far more the case.

Coming on forums and discussing wow has far more often pulled me back into the game too, but then I was drawn into discussions about night elves and things I like, rather than caught up in how terrible the new resource system is etc. Those lore and race discussions or customisation discussions, exciting new news from blizzard, have been far bigger drawers than nagging retractions.. however, forum complaining has often enough darkened my view on wow where I would not have initially minded as much

Leaving Wow? No. I always have my own reasons to leave it. I don't care about someone else's opinion. But coming back is different. Positive feedback about xpack or patch can make me pay one month of sub fee to test things myself. It usually happens, when reading patch notes isn't enough to determine quality of xpack/patch, because some things are subjective. Like difficulty for example. SL was like this. It was again "all problems are fixed and game is good now". Problem is - it was too early to judge at that moment, because honeymoon period hadn't ended by then.

[MoanaLisa]

I love the intensely defiant response of people here, all champions of Independence would never dare be influenced by anything!

Of course that's not how our minds work, our lizard brains have all been warped by billion dollar advertising industries whether we want to admit it or not. Every time John Q Independent here stands athwart the bridge screaming "you shall not pass!" at an influencer, they fail to comprehend now their opinions and world view has already been molded by the content they consume like so much digital clay in the hands of an algorithm.

It helps a lot to loathe the people that consistently have nothing to say, are attention-whoring or mostly interested in telling you what to think and how to spend your money. We all have our own lists of who those are.

I preach a lot—too much perhaps—about letting others think for you. If they describe something as garbage that you are enjoying then, for you, they are wrong and that's the end of it. Go ahead and enjoy what you like.

[Airlick]

I came back for MoP for a while because I read plenty of positive opinions about it. Not sure I can 100% say it "caused" me to come back, since I was thinking about it for a while before jumping in. It was more like a final straw.

[sunxsera]

Nah. It's just the way it is: Many people use forums just to rant. I did it too.

It's just like in politics nowadays ... people choose a side or perspective and are not open for any discussion to find a solution that fits everyone.
A compromise is seen as a loss, when it should be seen as a small win for both parties.

Players also have an attitude where everything has to be done immediately. "If i dont enjoy x no one else should enjoy y"
Best example would be D2 resurrected: Game got released and in the first week people allready cried for changes "or i'll refund" ... but forget that there are other players that just want to re-play the original experience in HD. Let these players have their fun for 2-3 months and then we can talk about changes.

What i hate most though, be it on mmochamp or official forums, are people that "speak for the whole community".

[KOUNTERPARTS]

I'm genuinely surprised that people actually stopped playing WoW because of other people's opinions on forums/videos. 14 people from this website specifically... interesting and sad at the same time.

[DeltrusDisc]

Other - maybe.

I'm honestly not 100% sure. I've played on and off for 13 years. Though I think I am finally done.

[Aeluron Lightsong]

Yes it affects me. I haven't made any decisions but it does get draining.

[Soon-TM]

Funny how OP seems to imply that it's only forum chatter what could drive people away from WoW, and not the overall state of the game and the company behind it.

[Maljinwo]

As I have a fully developed brain, no

How can someone else decide for you, lol

[Hotmail]

No because most people who hang around gaming forums to spew negativity have self-esteem issues, and there's no point in listening to people who hate themselves.

[Soon-TM]

No because most people who hang around gaming forums to spew negativity have self-esteem issues, and there's no point in listening to people who hate themselves.

The positivity is really strong on this one...

[darklogrus]

As I have a fully developed brain, no

How can someone else decide for you, lol

You must not have been following the yr+ of Covid lol..

[Super Kami Dende]

No, the game being trash is what caused me to leave WoW.

[Azerox]

Never, im arround long enough to understand that forums/chats are full of whining lil bitches.