[WoW] Patch 3.3
There is a lot of good to be had in patch 3.3, as detailed by Tabor on his latest faceblog post.
I agree with a great deal of what he says, and to restate it would be redundant. He laid out his observations far more eloquently than I could have, so I advise anyone who wants to see the other side of the argument to check it out. I am here to talk almost exclusively about my apprehensions.
In the several months since patch 3.2 came out, I have begun to come to grips with the fact that Blizzard has decided to ditch the idea of guild progression. They have decided it is more important to allow the new players and the casuals to experience endgame content immediately.
I don't agree with it, but I can accept it.
The random dungeon system is both a boon and a bane in my opinion. Yes, it allows you to partake in the current feeding frenzy of Triumph badges. Hell, in the last 3 days I have amassed more than 200 Emblems of Triumph. It allows a new 80 to get geared in a matter of weeks, instead of forcing the entire guild to stop and backtrack in order to accommodate new players.
However, it takes away a lot of the feel of community, and that is my primary concern.
Since The Burning Crusade, Blizzard has been gradually making it easier and easier to ignore the social aspect of the game, which is really a shame.
It started with Battlegroups. Yeah, it made queues a lot faster, but we didn't have that same feel of facing the same enemies and building comraderie with your allies. Originally, we fought alongside the same people with whom we would interact in Trade chat, and relationships would form on that basis. It was a community. Everyone knew everyone else. If someone asked you about the top guild on the server, or who was the current High Warlord, you would probably know... and even if you didn't, a quick question on Trade chat would answer it.
I took solace in the fact that only pvp, which was never my favorite aspect of the game, was affected. PvE was still very much a social exercise, unless you had enough guildies to always have a ready-made group.
I have met a great many interesting, high-quality players through dungeon runs. My friend list was fairly extensive because of how irritatingly difficult it was to find quality dungeon partners. There are members of my guild whom I would never have met had we not pugged dungeons together.
3.3 changed all of that.
Now the process is much more streamlined, much simpler, and requires no actual interaction. I punch in my role (Tank/Healing/DPS) and sit back and wait. The computer automatically sets me up with a group, and even zones me into the instance with no effort needed on my part. Sometimes I go through an entire dungeon never saying 2 words. Why would I? These are people I'm never going to see again. I'll never get to go on Trade chat and say what's up to the awesome pally tank I ran with just a moment ago. Or ask him if he's interested in running more Raids, or to join the guild.
...and if I end up finding myself in a fail group? No problem! Just jump out and try again. I may have to wait a up to 15 whole minutes before I can queue again, but it sure beats scouring LFG and Trade chat for that tank I need so bad, right?
Is that what an MMO is supposed to be about? I'm not sure I know anymore. All I know is that WoW is feeling more and more like a 1 player game with every patch released.
Yes, it is POSSIBLE to continue to put out effort and make connections with the other members of my realm. But will it really happen, when the alternative is so much easier? The new system even goes so far as actively (if unintentionally) encourage players to work alone, since queuing with a friend makes for a much longer wait time.
Yesterday I engaged in an entire conversation on Trade about how some people (apparently a fairly sizable number) don't even recognize the name of the top guild on the server. The one that got all the Realm Firsts. How is that even conceivable, to not know who the big boys on the block are?
It is possible, and indeed encouraged by the new system, to ignore everyone in your Realm except for your guild. Let's face it... it is HARD to sit on Trade chat for 20 minutes looking for a healer for the latest 5 man. It's BORING and doesn't cater at all to our ADD personalities.
So Blizzard has made it faster and easier than ever before to rack up all the gear you ever dreamed of.
I hope it's worth what we're losing.
I agree with a great deal of what he says, and to restate it would be redundant. He laid out his observations far more eloquently than I could have, so I advise anyone who wants to see the other side of the argument to check it out. I am here to talk almost exclusively about my apprehensions.
In the several months since patch 3.2 came out, I have begun to come to grips with the fact that Blizzard has decided to ditch the idea of guild progression. They have decided it is more important to allow the new players and the casuals to experience endgame content immediately.
I don't agree with it, but I can accept it.
The random dungeon system is both a boon and a bane in my opinion. Yes, it allows you to partake in the current feeding frenzy of Triumph badges. Hell, in the last 3 days I have amassed more than 200 Emblems of Triumph. It allows a new 80 to get geared in a matter of weeks, instead of forcing the entire guild to stop and backtrack in order to accommodate new players.
However, it takes away a lot of the feel of community, and that is my primary concern.
Since The Burning Crusade, Blizzard has been gradually making it easier and easier to ignore the social aspect of the game, which is really a shame.
It started with Battlegroups. Yeah, it made queues a lot faster, but we didn't have that same feel of facing the same enemies and building comraderie with your allies. Originally, we fought alongside the same people with whom we would interact in Trade chat, and relationships would form on that basis. It was a community. Everyone knew everyone else. If someone asked you about the top guild on the server, or who was the current High Warlord, you would probably know... and even if you didn't, a quick question on Trade chat would answer it.
I took solace in the fact that only pvp, which was never my favorite aspect of the game, was affected. PvE was still very much a social exercise, unless you had enough guildies to always have a ready-made group.
I have met a great many interesting, high-quality players through dungeon runs. My friend list was fairly extensive because of how irritatingly difficult it was to find quality dungeon partners. There are members of my guild whom I would never have met had we not pugged dungeons together.
3.3 changed all of that.
Now the process is much more streamlined, much simpler, and requires no actual interaction. I punch in my role (Tank/Healing/DPS) and sit back and wait. The computer automatically sets me up with a group, and even zones me into the instance with no effort needed on my part. Sometimes I go through an entire dungeon never saying 2 words. Why would I? These are people I'm never going to see again. I'll never get to go on Trade chat and say what's up to the awesome pally tank I ran with just a moment ago. Or ask him if he's interested in running more Raids, or to join the guild.
...and if I end up finding myself in a fail group? No problem! Just jump out and try again. I may have to wait a up to 15 whole minutes before I can queue again, but it sure beats scouring LFG and Trade chat for that tank I need so bad, right?
Is that what an MMO is supposed to be about? I'm not sure I know anymore. All I know is that WoW is feeling more and more like a 1 player game with every patch released.
Yes, it is POSSIBLE to continue to put out effort and make connections with the other members of my realm. But will it really happen, when the alternative is so much easier? The new system even goes so far as actively (if unintentionally) encourage players to work alone, since queuing with a friend makes for a much longer wait time.
Yesterday I engaged in an entire conversation on Trade about how some people (apparently a fairly sizable number) don't even recognize the name of the top guild on the server. The one that got all the Realm Firsts. How is that even conceivable, to not know who the big boys on the block are?
It is possible, and indeed encouraged by the new system, to ignore everyone in your Realm except for your guild. Let's face it... it is HARD to sit on Trade chat for 20 minutes looking for a healer for the latest 5 man. It's BORING and doesn't cater at all to our ADD personalities.
So Blizzard has made it faster and easier than ever before to rack up all the gear you ever dreamed of.
I hope it's worth what we're losing.