World of Whorecraft: Battle for Asseroth

[Ninjerk]

In universe retcon...

 

[folgore]

At first I thought its stupid but its also genius move from business perspective! Blizzard could just keep making expansion about new time lines. No need to worry about lore any more.

I think it's safe to say Blizzard hasn't been too concerned about sensible, thematically coherent lore ever since the hooved spacemen crashed their starship into Azeroth and every other quest giver became a zero effort pop culture reference.

 

[Metro]

Why bother writing stuff when you can recycle it? Especially when most WoW players never played WC1 and 2. They're running out of pre-WoW villains and you can't pull an old god out of your ass every expansion. Not like it matters since the content itself has been steadily going down the crapper with fewer and fewer five mans and now Diablo-style randomized loot and player housing to add even more timesinks.

 

[Hobo Elf]

They are adding housing now? And randomized stats on loot? Oh lol.

 

[Excidium]

Randomized stats on endgame gear isn't exactly new, y'know. That said the system they have on WoD looks like it makes raiding even more tiring, now it isn't enough to beat the boss you've already beat but now with extra gimmicks for palette-swapped gear and an achievement, you'll have to do it until you get the modifier you wanted on normal and then on hard mode and then on legendary mode

It's just extra time sink to keep people occupied since they won't release as much content as in the past

 

[Hobo Elf]

Sounds pretty gay. And I was just thinking of subbing back since I'm unemployed and have nothing else to do.

 

[Excidium]

Play SWTOR lah

 

[Ninjerk]

Don't though

 

[Hobo Elf]

I tried SWTOR a year ago but it just didn't grab me at all.

 

[Metro]

Ex hit on the Diablo-style loot. The Garrisons are effectively player housing.

 

[Hobo Elf]

Well that all sounds well and good to be honest, but I'll be interested to see how it is executed. To me it's like Blizz is finally making the PC's into "real heroes" with their own entourage and all.

 

[Metro]

 

[Hobo Elf]

I'm not pulling down my pants and opening my wallet just yet. Like I said it sounds like they intend to make PC characters feel more like the heroes from the WC games, but it could still be complete shit (and it probably will be, but I'd like to give them the benefit of doubt).

 

[Metro]

Only way I'd get back into the game is if they made it F2P. At this point I'd have to buy Pandaria and WoD and then the $15/mo on top of that. Really not worth the entertainment in today's cheap-o game market. Even then I wouldn't invest the time in applying/finding a guild and dealing with all the e-social drama.

 

[Hobo Elf]

I'm in the exact same boat as you. Last time I played WoW was when Cata just came out. I just leveled to the cap and quit, haven't looked back since. I'd have to buy Pandaria and WoD and I don't think that kind of investment is worth it. But now that my studies are over and I have no job I think a MMO would be a perfect way to waste my days by doing menial shit for virtual material gain.

 

[J1M]

Pandaria will be free by the end of the year.

 

[Rivmusique]

you'll have to do it until you get the modifier you wanted on normal and then on hard mode and then on legendary mode

I very much doubt it will turn out this way. First, the new difficulties are: LFR < Normal < Heroic < Mythic. Heroic being the new-normal and Mythic being the new-Heroic. These two are the only ones that have ever needed to be cleared, normal (now Heroic) just because you have to to be let in to Heroic (now Mythic). Second, waiting for best in slot in the lesser difficulty was never really required, which would be the equivalent of waiting for your favourite modifier. I bet it will be the same as before: The top guilds spend a week doing normal (Heroic) then move on to Heroic (Mythic) which they bang their heads against for 1-3 weeks. Other guilds spend longer on each difficulty. The other 2 difficulties are for people that can't be bothered with voice chat or organising a team beforehand, "Pick up Groups".

I've never liked the difficulty system myself, once normal is done I have very little desire to go through again for heroic. I felt like I was doing the same thing but with slight modifications (the modifications admittedly making things much more interesting in most cases, not enough to make me really want to play the next encounter though).

 

[Blaine]

It's satisfying to see the subscription numbers for this abortion steadily declining... finally. It took until 2010 to see a noticeable trend. Wonder when they'll go free-to-play?

Not that it matters: Millennials represent the majority of gamers, and most of them seem to think World of Warcraft was the first and best MMO. I'm sure something equally shitty will come along to take its place near the end.

 

[Stargazer_]

I like what blizzard is trying to do with removing all the bloat from Warlords of Draenor, but at this point they're going to far. whats currenty shown in alpha seems like a assive downgrade from previous expansions, it's hubs are barren, the higher sysreq turns alienates the many third wrld gamer, the mmorpg popularity is already fading, and despite all of this blizzard can't seem to figure out why peple were hooked on WoW in the first place.

 

[Wilian]

Blizzard has always been terrible and doing the poor choices when it comes to ability pruning.

RIP, Swirly Ball of rogues, control pet of hunters and Divine Intervention of Paladins.

 

[Infinitron]

Rob Pardo quits Blizzard: http://us.battle.net/wow/en/forum/topic/13348514719

Every ending is a beginning and today marks a new beginning for me.

After 17 years at Blizzard, with long and careful contemplation, I have made a difficult and bittersweet but ultimately exciting decision to pursue the next chapter in my life and career.

Before I even joined Blizzard, I was already a huge fan of the company and its games. In particular, I was extremely passionate about the emerging genre of real-time strategy games. It was a dream come true when I was given the opportunity to work on StarCraft, which at the time was being created by a very small team by today’s standards. It was tremendously fulfilling to get to know everyone on the team personally and to contribute our energies toward a shared goal in such a creative and engaging environment.

Blizzard Entertainment has been simply the best place in the world to be a game designer. The best aspect of designing games at Blizzard is that the entire company is passionate about the gameplay within each and every product. From the executive team to customer service to our global offices, every single person is a player and contributes to making the best possible games. It’s for very good reason that the first credit on every Blizzard game is “Game Design by Blizzard Entertainment.”

I’m really proud of the contributions I was able to make to Blizzard’s accomplishments. From building lasting games, to supporting the growth of eSports, to extending the Warcraft world into a feature film, and of course to being able to celebrate our shared passions with the Blizzard community online and at BlizzCon.

The Blizzard community is ultimately the reason why we come to work every day and pour our souls into every world and experience we create. Blizzard’s players are the most passionate in the world and your commitment and dedication are truly awesome to behold. Creating entertainment for you has been an incredible opportunity, and I know that you will continue to grow and become even stronger as a community over the years to come. It has been so meaningful on a personal level to help create joy for all of you.

I’m looking forward to new challenges in my career, but I will always cherish the time I spent with you all and the amazing and collaborative teams at Blizzard. It was both satisfying and humbling, and it made me a better developer and a better person. I look forward to playing Blizzard games as a player for many years to come. Most important, now I have plenty of time to learn how to build a competitive Hearthstone deck.

As to what I will be doing next, I don’t have an answer for you yet . . . but I will “when it’s ready.” My priorities are to enjoy the summer with my family, play plenty of games, and think about what’s next. The game industry is such an exciting place right now with PC gaming thriving, the new consoles, mobile games, and virtual reality becoming an actual reality. It’s like having an empty quest log and going into a new zone for the first time.

In the past, I haven’t been the most avid Twitter user, but I’ll strive to do better and keep you updated there—@Rob_Pardo. Please stay in touch!

Rob

 

[Ninjerk]

Now Leonard Boyarsky please. Do the work you were born to do.

 

[Metro]

Pandaria will be free by the end of the year.

True, I got Cata for free as the last expansion I actually paid for was Wrath. Still, they've shifted the focus from what I found fun to mass tedium. Not just in the itemization but, in spirit, they've made the game into Diablo.

 

[Hobo Elf]

Better Diablo than a MMO MOBA like that tool Ghostcrawler wanted.

 

[Azrael the cat]

It's satisfying to see the subscription numbers for this abortion steadily declining... finally. It took until 2010 to see a noticeable trend. Wonder when they'll go free-to-play?

Not that it matters: Millennials represent the majority of gamers, and most of them seem to think World of Warcraft was the first and best MMO. I'm sure something equally shitty will come along to take its place near the end.

You know you're getting old when you switch from complaining about the next generation, to looking forward to the next generation encountering their midlife crisis so you can feel some shadenfreude.

Don't mind me, I'll just be crying to myself in the corner.