The main flaw of flex is that it subjects players to the often absurd whims and expectations of other players in terms of joining the group. Arena and rated bg's suffer from the same issue, and there too, the alternative of random bg's exists and serves a worthwhile purpose.
I think one way to sum up LFR is:
"I can't be arsed sitting on vent and/or listening/knowing raid mechanics, so I do LFR to still get some decent gear and see the raid bosses/lore associated with them."
In this case the fact that "can't be arsed" is included here makes it certain for me, that the game does not need LFR nor this attitude.
This is only half the presented LFR though.
The other way to sum up LFR:
"I can't find a guild that will take my somewhat aged/less skilled play into account when recruiting/raiding with me, I'd prefer to raid without pressure(for whatever reason)."
In this case I can't see any way for it to be fair to take this opportunity at seeing raid content away from these people. Note that this can include anyone from people with actual real life anxiety/pressure issues, to people who are slightly older playing the game, and unable to perform to the full extent of their class because of it.
Note that this is all my personal opinion, but in my opinion, you can't take LFR away anymore. It's become a way to raid for people unable too before, and while some may look down upon the entire thing, your personal opinion against LFR has no power when put against people who for whatever reason find LFR the only reason they can raid.
What do you think you know and how do you think you know it?
Are you conscious in the sense of being aware of your own awareness?
I'd personally be extremely surprised if LFR was in fact the reason for subscriber drops. What would be the your reason for blaming LFR to stop playing then?
1: Other people get purples. (a reason to stop playing, really?)
2: Other people get purples, without effort. (see above)
All other gear-related reasons come down to those above, and I can't see a reason to stop playing in that.
3: Where once I was exclusive with my fellow raiders in seeing bosses lore etc, I find everyone can see them now. (seriously, you don't think people who have quested all the way to max level deserve what concludes the quest lines in various areas? egocentric much?)
4: Any ideas?
Just asking in general, not you specifically quote might give off the wrong impression here, not intended.
Last edited by malkara; 2013-10-31 at 03:05 AM.
What do you think you know and how do you think you know it?
Are you conscious in the sense of being aware of your own awareness?
I think it's just that people whom quit aren't being replaced, and as time went on from that drop of such, it's been more and more noticable, which is probably why Blizzard has changed it's course so much, a frantic attempt to try and keep the majority of the casual player base that's left, which, frankly, seems pretty futile.
- - - Updated - - -
and I imagine that's a huge part of why LFR had to be made in the first place
What endgame do you propose for the casual players?endgameSeriously? This shouldn't even be a thought that crosses someone's mind. If you aren't going to commit to it then you shouldn't even be able to get to the "endgame".casual
My own theory is that a good chunk of folks simply weren't enthusiastic about the overall vibe of the content, nor various changes made to player mechanics. Pandas and talent trees, for example, were both quite polarizing.
I'd be curious to see how many players dropped their sub before hitting 90.
The anti-LFR's want content restricted and to pretty much force 'casual' players to play the game the anti-LFR's want to play. That is their argument.
It isn't about whether people are entitled or not (personally I think if you are paying for access, you shouldn't be loosing access to content while paying the same price, aka not touching lfr.) It is about these people seeing raid content as this pillar of...whatever that everyone who wants to experience it has to fit into this niche. Now that the niche is gone, they are fretting over it. Hell, theyve been fretting since DS.
Odds are its just WoW fatigue; the game is old and will not hold everyone's attention forever. Many people have either gotten tired of the game or simply have gotten busy to the point where they aren't able to play it enough to justify the sub costs.
Sure some petulant morons could have quit as a protest to LFR, but they are very few and very far between; I feel very safe in my assertion that LFR has not contributed to the sub drop in any measurable way.
Why is that?
You can't run flex when you want to, except if you queue with a group of strangers.
Which is exactly what LFR is.
The only thing with flex is that you can have the RL exclude everyone under 540 ilevel, which means basically you can only do it if you've already done it. And so we're back to something that only 5% of players can do, not something anyone who dings 90 can do.
- - - Updated - - -
This is a viewpoint Blizzard wishes would just go away.