[General Article] World of Warcraft: Pandaria Launch Day Thoughts

SBFord

The day has finally arrived for pandas to arrive in World of Warcraft with the official launch of the latest expansion, Mists of Pandaria. We've got some thoughts to share on today's momentous event. Read on and then let us know what you think in the comments.

I see it asked a lot on these forums: “Why would anyone still play World of Warcraft”? I can understand that sentiment enough, really. I mean, it’s almost eight years old and as the genre changes and shifts WoW’s mechanics and systems stay largely the same.  But if there’s any reason at all I’m looking to play Mists of Pandaria, outside of professional duty, it’s because this latest expansion actually seeks to change WoW up… at least on some level.  Mists of Pandaria is doing a lot to make Azeroth feel new, and I’m going to give it an honest shake down to see if Blizzard’s behemoth can captivate me the way it did with Wrath of the Lich King and those that came before it. 

Read more of Garrett Fuller's and Bill Murphy's World of Warcraft: Pandaria Launch Day Thoughts.

Rockniss

My thoughts are this is great, I was getting bored as heck in GW2, thanks for the little hold me over though now its tike for the real mmo.

botrytis

I played the bata of this and I thought - this is the best Blizzard can do? Sorry, now it feels just like other Asian grinders (has Pandas and Pokemon) - way to innovate!

JeroKane

Several of the new dungeons are rehashed Vanilla WoW dungeons! /facepalm

Scenarios -  Blizzard used to be faster at copying things from other games. Suprised it took them several years to copy LOTRO's skirmish system lol.  /shrug

Two of the battlegrounds look actually pretty nice and so does one of the Raids.

From the new zones, I liked actually one of them.

 

People keep saying it's a lot of content.... but yeah... they need 2 years to make it!

Rockniss

And now its here :-) enjoy !

Mueslinator

I have been experiencing "Launch days" of all of WoW's expansions until now. MoP will be the first expansion I don't bother with.

I still am active in the forum of a guild that plays WoW, and their reports until now are the usual: Servers crashing, login queues, the first max levels after a couple of hours.

MoP just din't hit my tastes. I don't care for Asian themes. Beating a rotting horse: And I find that this newest addition simply doesn't fit and belong. It feels somehow wrong. LIke adding gremlins to "A Song Of Ice And Fire". I don't hate gremlins, but they simply don't fit into the franchise. And thus, there really is no incentive for me to go back. Which is a shame, since WoW has been a part of my life for years. But that's a past WoW.

Harbinger1975

I really hope that World of Warcraft: Mists of Panderia can deliver on what  it promises.  I really do.  I hope it can be what everyone that plays it wants it to be.  I wish it the best of luck. 

 

WoW gave me seven good years.  But sadly, there won't be an 8th and beyond for me.  Au revouir, mon ami.

Akulas

Don't plan on play it because it's done and feel like I'd be going backwards with there not being any d/e's or a dodge button and it's just too old but I heard that there was circle to circle gyro copters running around a ship and no one could complete the quest because there were too many people. 

Ovum

Nothing to see here, move along.

Rockniss

As,wow goes so goes,the mmo world.

iamrta

i thought kung fu panda was a good movie.

Keushpuppy

I will play 1 char from 85 to 90 to see the content and a panda untill it leaves it starting area then stop. I have no desire to level another char from 1-end.

Karazul

Played the beta... not worth a payed box + subscription. A lot of things changed for the worst and I loved this game for almost 6 years. It's sad to see what it became.

orbitxo

The fact that you get a free game (Diablo 3) to subscribe to this franchise, and all the spam emails ive been getting to join- says it all...

 

Ill wait  for SC2...GW2 has all my mmo interest.

 

 

 

laserit

Originally posted by orbitxo
The fact that you get a free game (Diablo 3) to subscribe to this franchise, and all the spam emails ive been getting to join- says it all...

 

 

Ill wait  for SC2...GW2 has all my mmo interest.

 

 

Ya the Blizzard spam I get is pretty damn annoying.

Mors.Magne

I find WoW an interesting game... until I hit 'the grind' at level cap.

Then I gradually hate myself for using it as a time sink.

It's the exploring that's best.

flynn444

Blizzard's WoW expansions have always been a great investment for my "entertainment budget", providing hours of enjoyable play for months.  With its old-style Chinese theme, MoP is especially personally interesting - not because I'm Chinese, but because the culture appeals to me.  Still, lots of great games are vying for my attention currently, so I'll be "sipping" MoP, not guzzling it down.

nixium

I have now played the expansion and even rolled a Panda. 

This is my initial finding and conclusion:

 

It was like watching a Saturday morning cartoon show, with controls.

And I don't watch them anymore.

 

So I'm sticking with Lord of the Rings Online while I ponder my next move. Possibly to more mature MMORPG's.

 

End of WoW? No. But it's definitely moving towards a younger audience and those seeking a maturer game might want to consider other titles out there.

patsfan32

Originally posted by Mueslinator

I have been experiencing "Launch days" of all of WoW's expansions until now. MoP will be the first expansion I don't bother with.

I still am active in the forum of a guild that plays WoW, and their reports until now are the usual: Servers crashing, login queues, the first max levels after a couple of hours.

MoP just din't hit my tastes. I don't care for Asian themes. Beating a rotting horse: And I find that this newest addition simply doesn't fit and belong. It feels somehow wrong. LIke adding gremlins to "A Song Of Ice And Fire". I don't hate gremlins, but they simply don't fit into the franchise. And thus, there really is no incentive for me to go back. Which is a shame, since WoW has been a part of my life for years. But that's a past WoW.

You do know that the Pandaren have been a part of the lore since the very beginning right? Have you even ever touched a Warcraft game before wow?

Rockniss

Ready to work

jusomdude

So many haters. Guess it's to be expected from this site though. I've been playing since it whent live this morning. Lovin my pandaren monk! The pandaren starting area was pretty cool. Still have to try the scenarios, pet battles, new dailies, farming and all kinds of stuff!

Made 4 pandaren characters actually, so I got a lot of work to do... monk, rogue, mage, and warrior.

Reas43

I had no interest in MoP. I quit the game a few years back. But about a year ago the GW2 zealotry viral machine was let loose on any and every MMO release. And just because of that I'll be buying a box of MoP in a show of solidarity. Since it comes with a month included I'll likely experience the new starting zone and Monk class. Hey, who knows, it might hook me back by the end of the month.

Ozmodan

When they killed the skill trees, they killed any chance of many of us ever returning.

This will be the top of the list when it comes to worst expansions ever!

And if you use the word "hater" in your subject matter it just identifies you as an uneducated boob, the word is critic.

Kost

I bought MoP prior to GW2 launching, after spending a few months in the MoP closed beta.

However, after spending my time with GW2 from launch till present, I can safely say I will never login to Pandaria. I wasted 50 bucks or whatever it cost me for the digital upgrade, but I don't really care to be honest, that will be the last revenue Blizzard makes off of me during this lifetime.

I've found a far superior product, and will be investing my monthly subscription fee into there cash shop instead.

 

Kyleran

The one thought running through my head ...when will this darn game die?

As long as it stays wildly successful, other developers will be tempted to keep on copying it.

Hate to see good money thrown after bad, no one will be able to out WOW Blizzard.

 

Galadourn

Originally posted by Kyleran

The one thought running through my head ...when will this darn game die?

As long as it stays wildly successful, other developers will be tempted to keep on copying it.

Hate to see good money thrown after bad, no one will be able to out WOW Blizzard.

 

You don't want WoW to die; there will always be a need for mainstream games, just like mass culture has always existed. What you can hope is that, just like in society, small groups of similarly minded people will stray off from the path and explore different options.

What I'm trying to say is that you need a benchmark of 'mainstream-ness' against which you compare the different paths.More importantly, it's due to this comparison that the 'niche' community spirit is formed (where 'niche'=sandbox, in what regards MMO games), and new ideas sprout. If the MMO landscape was blurred, I'm sure it would be much harder to form groups and communities of similar interests.