Massively Speaking Episode 159

@(Unverified)

Cataclysm was weak? Now, I hate WoW as much as the next internet guy, but from what I understand it was a huge overhaul of a majority of the game... compare to the last few that are just some new areas and high level dungeons... seems like alot to me.

Then, all their expansions that don't add classes seem weak to me. Which is all of them. Hence why BC was my first and last WoW related purchase.

@(Unverified)

I'm not a "the sky is falling" person, nor am I a WoW hater at all. I love WoW and always will, but the game is definitely run it's course for most of us long time vets and it's totally stagnent and devoid of any inspiration or innovation.

And again, out of that 11 million subs, more than 6 million are in China, yet of all the recent subs lost, most of those are from the western markets. (US and Europe) So in reality a lot higher percentage of their main Cata-playing playerbase have unsubscribed and that's going to get exponentially higher when both SWTOR and GW2 are actually out for people to play.

So it's safe to say the game has plateaued and that Blizz lacks the imagination or interest to really try to bring any new life to the game. They seem content to milk it for as long as they can and then move on to their next title, which btw I don't think will replace WoW. Titan, in my estimation, is either going to be a casual MMOFPS and won't have to staying power to endure for a decade, or else it will be what I really think...

it's going to be Halo MMOFPS! Too many clues over the past couple years indicate that. I'm almost certain it will be. And I don't like tin-foil hat speculation, but there's a lot of signs if you google "Blizzard Titan Halo MMO".

@Vazzaroth

And in response the "Cata was weak" statement. From my own perspective it was. I've played loyally for 6 years and the direction they've taken and more importantly the lack of new content and also the total lack of creativity and innovation to gameplay are really what makes Cata seem pretty weak to me.

They seem to be content with "phoning in" all the new content and that doesn't seem good enough with some strong competition coming down the pipe.

@Nyghtsaber

Blizzard is a creatively dead company, there's no doubt about that. I was just under the impression that cataclysm was one of the largest changes to WoW since the first 5 or so patches. Not saying it was good, mind you, just expansive.

@Vazzaroth

Arguably the biggest thing about Cataclysm was the complete overhaul of the 1-60 experience, which was necessary to avoid scaring off any potential new players. Who will instead get frustrated when they get to Outland, but never mind that right now...

For old hands, though - yes the new 80+ zones are fun the first time through. They know how to polish the content to a high sheen so you don't think too much about the hoary old mechanics beneath the surface. But once you've completed that, it's back to the old standbys of rep grinding and dungeon running. The only really new thing that jumps out at you is Archeology - and man, is that ever a snooze.

@Bolongo

haha, yes. 1-60 is a kind of Easy Mode joke now; I was just playing a level 35 alt the other day, and she was taking out the 'new' Araj the Summoner and Grandmaster Gandling in Andorhal without breaking a sweat. I think I've died maybe 3 or 4 times since making this alt, and 2 of those were from AFK inattention.

Conversely, playing one of my old level 62 alts out in Outland, it is almost a totally different game. For a new player, this schizophrenic game has to be quite confusing. For an old player who remembers how everything used to be, it's just sad. I've seen maybe 3 real players outside SW and IF in all 35 levels of this new alt, and I'm on Shadowsong EU, which was always a *really* high pop server.

But, to be fair, I think Blizz are doing what they have to do to keep the game moving forwards and alive. It's a thankless task but it's better than leaving the base game to rot and just tweaking the graphics after 5 years like a lot of other older games have.