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[Column] World of Warcraft: Wow Players Never Die. They Resurrect.
SBFord
Former Associate EditorMember LegendaryPosts: 33,129
It is no secret that any article about Blizzard's World of Warcraft will garner a lot of attention and, often, a long list of forum pages of debate. It is obvious then, that World of Warcraft has become a polarizing game over its decade of existence. Millions of players have streamed through its virtual doors during those ten years. Some have stayed for the duration. Others have left and returned with each expansion. Still others have waved goodbye to WoW and never returned. No matter what, however, anyone who has had the chance to play the game, arguably the MMO of this young century, are never the same and in a very real sense, will always be a WoW player.
Read more of Suzie Ford's World of Warcraft: Wow Players Never Die. They Resurrect.
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Currently Playing: Age of Conan
You, me and about 2 or 3 million other's
"Be water my friend" - Bruce Lee
rpg/mmorg history: Dun Darach>Bloodwych>Bards Tale 1-3>Eye of the beholder > Might and Magic 2,3,5 > FFVII> Baldur's Gate 1, 2 > Planescape Torment >Morrowind > WOW > oblivion > LOTR > Guild Wars (1900hrs elementalist) Vanguard. > GW2(1000 elementalist), Wildstar
Now playing GW2, AOW 3, ESO, LOTR, Elite D
I played for 8 years totaling 8900+ hours but out not long after buying MoP. I played an hour or two of the then new expac but it just wasn't grabbing me like it used.
I'm not one of these gamers who think it's cool to hate a game once you've moved on though. WoW was great and well worth the time spent imo
My favorite memory was being a Green Machine running Kara with a guild that would pick me up after the run for showing promise, despite not knowing what a DPS was, or an add-on, or even that they were legal to use. I stayed with them for what seemed like forever, until time finally took its toll. I played through the beginning of SoO, taking an occasional break, but never again found such a good group of people. Playing multiple expansions as part of a 'guild' but mostly alone made it a lot less fun.
Now it seems like Blizz has all these ideas of how the game 'should' be played, and I feel like the team making those decisions has been out of the game too long to get what it has become. Not interested anymore. I don't hate WoW, and I have some very good memories of it and always will...but it has gone it's way and I've gone mine. I won't be going back but I wish it and those playing it the best.
rpg/mmorg history: Dun Darach>Bloodwych>Bards Tale 1-3>Eye of the beholder > Might and Magic 2,3,5 > FFVII> Baldur's Gate 1, 2 > Planescape Torment >Morrowind > WOW > oblivion > LOTR > Guild Wars (1900hrs elementalist) Vanguard. > GW2(1000 elementalist), Wildstar
Now playing GW2, AOW 3, ESO, LOTR, Elite D
Very true.
+1.
WoW truly was/is a unique phenomena within the gaming world. It came along like a perfect storm and changed the face of the genre (for better and worse). Blizzard has done a very good job of attempting to keep the game fresh for those who still play it, and still seemingly attract new players all the time.
I played for about 8.5 years straight, but took a break after 3 months of MoP. Not because of anything MoP added, but because of having my personal gaming community falling apart. I do feel like MoP was the tipping point for many people and for a wide variety of reasons.
I do feel like WoD will be another tipping point for WoW, much like Cataclysm was. With so much focus being placed on Garrisons, I do feel like Blizzard will lose a number of players over that alone. Of course, they'll attract a number of folks back because of the Garrison system. Ashran PvP zone is something that has been needed for quite awhile as well. The wPvP folks needed something with actual objectives that's only active for short intervals between long periods of time (such as Wintergrasp and Tol Barad).
It'll be interesting to see how Blizzard further develops WoW in the coming years.
I'm waiting for deeper post launch reviews but I also am pretty past the whole subscription model to wait 2 years for new content. It's not a positive experience hasn't been and while I do have hope for the future (especially for fixing BM hunters the rest of the way and Engineering now that GC is gone) I'm just not all that interested in being rushed through the game because of a subscription. That's just as bad as being badgered by F2P/B2P games with temporary content.
i got a 2002 Ford Focus with 356k miles on it that I use for work, never had any problems with it except normal maintenance and it still has the original engine and transmission
Anywho, WoW does two things that most MMOs can't compete with. First is their potential playerbase. Most MMOs try to sugar coat their game with pretty graphics, but in the end all they do is push out a lot of the potential players because you have to have a decent computer to play it. WoW will play on just about computer made in the last 10 years fine. Second is polish. This kind of goes with the first, WoW uses such little resources that it just plays better than other MMOs. There's just a difference when you play WoW at 200-300 fps and ESO or AA at around 40-60 fps with the same machine. In WoW, you can lose a ton of fps and never even notice it. In other MMOs, if your fps drops it becomes very choppy.
People buy cars like the ford focus because they are affordable, and reliable.
For those who like to use the McDonalds analogy as well, McD does so well because they are fast and cheap (something the north american public in perticular gravitates to).
In regards to entertainment....none of those analogies fly....If the game is not good/you are not entertained, you will move on. WoW is entertianing, more so than most themeparks.
I love my 2004 Ford Focus. Do you even know how bad American compact cars used to be? They were designed to be terrible, to make people want to buy better cars. Ford came and changed that.
i left when they took away the decision making of the talent trees... i guess for me being able to "theorycraft" and customize my character is a function i can't live without. I will admit it's a great game though and if they did reinstate decision making and character building either through the resurrection of the talent trees or else through some other mechanic, i'd play again i'm sure.
the "level by dungeon finder" isnt my favourite thing in the world either, but that's a secondary concern to me.
RIP Ribbitribbitt you are missed, kid.
Currently Playing EVE, ESO
Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and not clothed.
Dwight D Eisenhower
My optimism wears heavy boots and is loud.
Henry Rollins
Very original analogy. Never heard this one before. What do you have to say about Mcdonald anology? another very rarely used analogy on these forums.
WoW is like a poo shoe.
You can walk in it, it may even be warm and comfy for a while, but eventually you realize that comes with a stench that just isn't worth paying for.