WoW: Warlords of Draenor on the horizon
I was asked recently if I'll be getting back into WoW, as the latest expansion releases next month. While I don't want to get too negative or depressing, and I realize it can be a touchy subject in some quarters, the answer is really: I don't think so.
The game itself is still fundamentally solid and polished, but not revolutionary at this point. I haven't seen anything in the pre-expansion information to make me think my spending of time in the game would change notably from previous. There will surely be a bunch of quests to go through while leveling up to the new cap, with profession advancement on the side. Then daily quests, and dungeons, and maaaaaaybe some measure of raiding. The "mechanics" of the experience remain pretty much the same.
The garrison is new, but does not seem (from what I've seen) to live up to its potential as far as personalization, making it... well, not "meaningless," but it doesn't really capture my interest either. I could decide otherwise if I got into it, but the garrison stuff sounds to me just like one more thing to do without being one more thing I would want to do.
New character models are a good thing, but still wouldn't impact what I do. Little things can excite me, but not enough to buy/subscribe again.
I can see what Warlords of Draenor might be a big thing for lore buffs. It's a glimpse into expanded history, even if it's sort of a what-if/parallel history. But it doesn't score many points for me in that regard. I really liked getting into Northrend to confront the Lich King, following up story from Warcraft 3. I loved seeing the Gilneans finally making an appearance. There definitely is lore that I'm interested in. As I've touched on before (not a bad call for release time either there), however, this isnt really it. For someone who's wanted stronger Alliance-side stories and wants to follow existing loose ends (Jaina/Kirin Tor, Sylvanas, Gilneas, Turalyon, as a few examples). The time-travel-that-isn't-really-time-travel still feels to me like a can of worms that shouldn't have been opened and a sort of cheap way to milk existing lore rather than focusing on developing stories that go forward.
Ultimately, I like seeing lore-rich story, but Warlords isn't going the direction I want to see, personally.
So, where does that leave us? Well, the game and story as they stand do not warrant a "buy" from me. What would? I think the only thing that would bring me back would be word that the guild were going to be active again. That is the only thing I really strongly miss from my time in WoW. I felt a lot closer to my guildmates there than in any MMO before or since, that's for sure. It felt like family and, even with the rough patches, I found purpose in being there with and for them. I drove myself to attain what improvements in gear I could not just because it benefited me, but because it benefited them. I got into my role as protection paladin to be a shield for others.
Again - I don't want to be too fatalistic or negative here, but I just don't foresee very many of them getting back in for more than a short-term commitment. There are some that might try it out, but the sense I got was that most of our members were getting into other things (be it other games or real life concerns) as things were winding down for us as a group. And as much as I care for our guild leader (and he may be the only one really reading this), I'd probably have to smack him for committing the finances to play regularly unless he gets a regularly-paying job first.
If I hear the guild is rising again, yeah, I could totally get back in. Otherwise, I'm probably giving it a pass.
The game itself is still fundamentally solid and polished, but not revolutionary at this point. I haven't seen anything in the pre-expansion information to make me think my spending of time in the game would change notably from previous. There will surely be a bunch of quests to go through while leveling up to the new cap, with profession advancement on the side. Then daily quests, and dungeons, and maaaaaaybe some measure of raiding. The "mechanics" of the experience remain pretty much the same.
The garrison is new, but does not seem (from what I've seen) to live up to its potential as far as personalization, making it... well, not "meaningless," but it doesn't really capture my interest either. I could decide otherwise if I got into it, but the garrison stuff sounds to me just like one more thing to do without being one more thing I would want to do.
New character models are a good thing, but still wouldn't impact what I do. Little things can excite me, but not enough to buy/subscribe again.
I can see what Warlords of Draenor might be a big thing for lore buffs. It's a glimpse into expanded history, even if it's sort of a what-if/parallel history. But it doesn't score many points for me in that regard. I really liked getting into Northrend to confront the Lich King, following up story from Warcraft 3. I loved seeing the Gilneans finally making an appearance. There definitely is lore that I'm interested in. As I've touched on before (not a bad call for release time either there), however, this isnt really it. For someone who's wanted stronger Alliance-side stories and wants to follow existing loose ends (Jaina/Kirin Tor, Sylvanas, Gilneas, Turalyon, as a few examples). The time-travel-that-isn't-really-time-travel still feels to me like a can of worms that shouldn't have been opened and a sort of cheap way to milk existing lore rather than focusing on developing stories that go forward.
Ultimately, I like seeing lore-rich story, but Warlords isn't going the direction I want to see, personally.
So, where does that leave us? Well, the game and story as they stand do not warrant a "buy" from me. What would? I think the only thing that would bring me back would be word that the guild were going to be active again. That is the only thing I really strongly miss from my time in WoW. I felt a lot closer to my guildmates there than in any MMO before or since, that's for sure. It felt like family and, even with the rough patches, I found purpose in being there with and for them. I drove myself to attain what improvements in gear I could not just because it benefited me, but because it benefited them. I got into my role as protection paladin to be a shield for others.
Again - I don't want to be too fatalistic or negative here, but I just don't foresee very many of them getting back in for more than a short-term commitment. There are some that might try it out, but the sense I got was that most of our members were getting into other things (be it other games or real life concerns) as things were winding down for us as a group. And as much as I care for our guild leader (and he may be the only one really reading this), I'd probably have to smack him for committing the finances to play regularly unless he gets a regularly-paying job first.
If I hear the guild is rising again, yeah, I could totally get back in. Otherwise, I'm probably giving it a pass.
I am dismayed that WoW still runs on a sub model, it seems like the guild would be more likely to be around with out the commitment of $15/mo
ReplyDeleteAlmost assuredly. Without the subscription, someone could gift it to you and not feel like they were saddling you with an ongoing cost (just a potentially major time-sink). But I haven't seen any rumblings in that direction. Player base has declined from peak, but seems to be leveling off more or less. I'm sure there will be some spike with WoD release for a little while, at least. So far, there doesn't seem financial reason to change payment models. As long as that's the case, there really isn't any reason for them to go that way. Business is business, I fear.
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