The Daily Grind: Is WoW changing due to WAR?

My opinion is that this is indeed a marketing plan to try and hold onto some of their subscriptions. I've played on a WoW PvE server for a year and a half, and on a PvP server for about a year. I stopped playing WoW about two months ago when I got into the WAR beta so I could focus on it, test it and see how it is.

After doing so I intend to move over to WAR and cancel my WoW subscription. Though I can't deny the offer Blizzard is trying to make is tempting... bring all my easy PvE toons over to PvP to avoid having to put the effort of making the same character on a PvP server? It is very tempting but at the same time I feel this is also a slap in my face for the year or so I've leveled and played on PvP. There is much more effort and work put into leveling on PvP servers... everyone knows it.

"Yup, I can't really see the WAR endgame having very much longevity at all."

*blink, blink*

Have you heard of Dark Age of Camelot? It's been around for a long time and it's endgame has proven to work.

"WAR is definitely geared more towards PvP fans, offering the ability to level up via PvP without having to touch regular "kill-x" type questing content."

Lawl. Wait until your 10th public quest, your 20th BG instance and your 100th hour of two groups zerging each other and tell us if the shine has started to come off that grindfest yet.

I have to admit I did level a bit in beta with strictly PvP. But that was only because of how horribly boring the PvE in Warhammer is.


"If you opted to leave WoW to head for Warhammer Online, does their PvE to PvP transfer announcement do anything at all to make you reconsider your decision?"

Everyone I know that is trying Warhammer is doing it until Wotlk ships. Warhammer's short term success is thanks to Blizzard taking forever to ship their next expansion. Just like some of DAOC's success was because they were the game between EQ1 and WoW for many people.


"In War, your actions will have consequences for the entire server in determining the balance of the realm war. Your losses and victories help determine if your ENTIRE FACTION will suffer defeat or victory.

Sure, it will reset even if you lose your capital city. But your actions DO matter to the rest of the server, if only a little bit."

Nothing you do in Warhammer will have an effect a day or so later. Don't forget because the flavor of your grind is different that it isn't grind.

"Have you heard of Dark Age of Camelot? It's been around for a long time and it's endgame has proven to work."

Did you see what happened to server populations not long after Trials of Atlantis? Did you know that EQ1 still has more players today and DAOC came out long after EQ1 did? Did you experience the joy of server merge after server merge like those who stayed behind after the first 1.5 years?

I guess where I get lost in this "oh, it doesn't matter thing" is that where in WoW do you have any effect on anything?

Illidan doesn't die when you kill him; as far as everyone outside the raid is concerned he's doing just fine. And he'll be back by midnight Tuesday for you too. So raids don't matter either, except that they are in theory FUN, and it matters to the people who do them. That's all you need for a successful endgame.

The only consequence that sticks with the game is that certain characters have fun rare titles. So arguing that WAR is just so futile and pointless vs. WoW is flat out stupid. Its all futile and pointless ultimately, but at least in WAR there is some impact on the entire world, if only for a few days.

Its a valid argument against ALL MMOS, and videogames as whole. But if the internet has proven anything, its that people will gladly do pointless things.

If I keep my WoW account, I might transfer over. But I doubt I will even stick with WoW.

I have been really enjoying WAR. More than I thought I would. So far, PvE quests are just as exciting/boring as WoW quests are. I actually appreciate the places being marked on the map. WoW gave good directions, but I like to map out my path. Other than that, quest grinding is about the same in both with WAR requiring no kill X monster to find Y drop that has only a 10% drop rate. I hate those quests in WoW

I also love public quests and open parties. I bet that WoW adopts something like that as well soon. PQs are just fun.

WAR is incredibly casual. I can log in for 30 min, hit some public quests, RvR or standard quest. And it is fun, and I advance. In WoW it seems so hard to get going. Of course, at level 70 all you have is raiding, that well...

Raiding, I am not sure what is going to happen with WAR and raids, but I hope that they somehow create a system that is fast and efficient to get into a raid. If they can solve the crap of waiting an hour to get a raid going and encourage PuGs over elite guilds, then raiding could be fun and truly casual. Mythic is almost there, PQs are a light form of raiding and they are working out so far.

I really like WAR. Can't want to start!

"Do you think that this is an attempt to keep their PvP players, as many believe?"

It is definitely an attempt to keep PVP players. Endgame PVP in WOW sucks, plain and simple. World PVP is dead. It is so bad that I run around on alts looking for a fight and leave my decked out 70s at home. Otherwise, nobody wants to fight. All of the BG/Arena glory boys and girls won't be caught dead in real world PVP because there is nobody to blame when they lose one on one.

Personally I think its the run from the Graveyard that really gets to them.. :)

"Is this simply Blizzard trying to offer more value to their current subscribers?"

I don't think so. I think it is a knee jerk reaction.

"If you opted to leave WoW to head for Warhammer Online, does their PvE to PvP transfer announcement do anything at all to make you reconsider your decision?"

Not at all. It is just another decision that Blizzard has made, too little, too late.

As to Warhammer, I have been in both Betas for some time now. I am enjoying the game and look forward to getting past the growing pains we all know will exist. I don't think anyone feels it is the end all of MMOs, but the game mechanics are what sets it apart to me. The biggest being collision detection. Nothing is more annoying that setting up a defense in WOW and watching an enemy player just run through you as if you weren't there. With enough armor and stamina they can just run without any concern that you can actually stop them. I think we have all run enough WSG to understand how much that one game mechanic would change that BG.

Anyways.. I did not play WOW for the tireless hours that many on here apparently did. If I had, I would have been burned out long ago. So far, I don't find WAR to be the grind that WOW is. We will see if my initial feelings hold true over time. In the end, nobody knows how it will turn out. Anyone who says different is selling you something or trying to blow smoke.

So with that.. I leave with a big.. We'll see..

Regarding the end-game, my outlook on WAR is similar to my outlook on, say, Counterstrike. End-game will be RvR for me. It's not so much about getting the uberleet items or maxing out my stats as it is the small feeling of accomplishment (or the angst of defeat) when PvPing with your guildies. The fun is the competitive & dynamic nature of PvP. Once your usual raid gets good at completing some elite boss in WoW, it's just more of the same each week. Whereas with PvP, every battle is different. Now, granted, WoW also has PvP end-game, but I very much like the idea of going from level 1 to 40 with almost exclusive PvP and having the game's infrastructure built around PvP from the get-go. That might not be everyone's cup of tea, but it's definitely mine.

In conclusion: WAR = Counterstrike with persistence. End-game is technically pointless in both, but it's competitive and fun.

Open PVP is not the only problem in WOW, the main problem lies in guild management in WOW. Let's just be frank : guild management really sucks in WOW. That's the main reason why I stopped WOW for WAR. In WAR, guilds have levels, achieve things, hold castles, ... They have a real impact on the world. In WOW, they're mostly a convenient way of forming a group an a list of your friends.

I really annoys me how much qq I see whenever a change for the better happens. I play wow and have toons on both PvE and PvP servers. I have had two toons "stuck" on a PvE server that I created and leveled most of the way on a PvP server. Now they can return home. It was a good move no matter why they did it.

WoW ruined their game about 1.5 years ago when they brought out that pos expansion that consolidated the game to one big island. Between destroying old world content completely and the e-sport craze the game has just floundered. I know people still play the hell out of it but not me. I refuse to log in a game that totally lost all direction from what it started out as. So far WAR has been a nice change of pace from all the bug infested crap AoC spewed at us. That is honestly the first game that I hope to see fail just due to the dishonesty of Funcom from day one.

WoW is done for me. I find it laughable that they say they are responding to their playerbase's demands when:

When they release very little but more top end content. Having been raiding in a guild religiously for 6-8 months, numerous nights a week of 6 hours a night and still getting no-where near '2nd tier' endgame content. Flame with 'my guild must be useless' if you like. But as much skill is required to defeat the endgame bosses, you cannot possibly do it unless you have the kit. In my opinion the love and care given to the endgame content was disproportionate to the number of people that would experience it.

No item customisation, or dying of items, changing your look. Face it, unless you're a female dwarf you look the same as 250,000+ other players.

Lame PVP. As a prot warrior pvp was an exercise in futility. Unless I was willing to rack up the gold retraining fees, pve and pvp in the same week, were never going to happen. So either take one for the guild and stay prot, or lv another 70. No thanks, WAR proved a class can be more than a one trick pony.

WoW reaction is clearly a marketting strategy. Fanbois by all means deny it, as if it is a new idea that has suddenly struck them. Or they are listening to players... see above. But it's a business, what more would you expect?