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A Bold Prediction
Zorgo
Member UncommonPosts: 2,254
Purely speculative:
With the recent news about sub losses in WoW, I predict the next expansion will:
1. implement a more complex talent system
2. implement something new for 'difficulty'.
and would be smart to:
3. implement some sort of 'non-linear' aspect to character progression
Why do I think this?
1. Although I believe the latest talent system removed complexity but added actual choice - it isn't enough choice to truly differentiate your playstyle from another class with the same spec. I believe if this is recognized, and they add back some complexity and add a few 'more' choices, it may satisfy the masses.
2. Cata released with difficult heroics due to a backlash from the WotLK easy heroics. There was a backlash to this easiness. They implemented 'challenge' mode to give people, well, something challenging. But it falls flat, we want the challenge to be in battle - not in beating a timer. So I think it would be smart to tweak the system so people who want easy mode can have it, but difficult mode actually means it is hard to complete.
3. It may be too late for this since the whole game has been put on linear rails - but their 'over-perfection' of questing and progression has created a completely different atmosphere to the game. It isn't a world to explore - it is a world to be lead through without deviating from the path. They obviously cannot change this simply, so perhaps they will be wise enough to add a 'layer' to the existing game which makes you feel a part of the world again rather than a tourist visiting. I kind of doubt this will happen.
Anyway, I can hope.
What do you think Blizzard needs to do to re-capture the magic?
Is it even possible in this mmo climate for anyone to corner the market so completely ever again?
Is it possible to have a game which can appeal to the whole spectrum of players, from casual to hardcore and everything in between?
Do you think Blizzard will bounce back? Do you think they can? What would get you to play again? Is this even an issue to wonder about?
Comments
WoW is only down to 7.7 million subs, which is still way more than anything else out there. Can we get off the hate train? It's so petty, why have people started to forget why we play games in the first place.... Immersion/escape from the outside world and above all else, FUN.
This is coming from someone who hasn't touched WoW in over a year but tbh there isnt much else out there.
Waiting for Wildstar and ArcheAge.
I don't give a rats ass about WoW, the game engine WoW uses can't do anything more and the game will never change or have anything to bring me back to it.
Played: MCO - EQ/EQ2 - WoW - VG - WAR - AoC - LoTRO - DDO - GW/GW2 - Eve - Rift - FE - TSW - TSO - WS - ESO - AA - BD
Playing: Sims 3 & 4, Diablo3 and PoE
Waiting on: Lost Ark
Who's going to make a Cyberpunk MMO?
If those were changes for the better I'd agree with you. But you are right, I am tired of talent tree changes. I can stand one more though - if it is the right one.
I'm not sure you read my post.....
Let me be clear.
I don't hate WoW. I don't dispute that 7.7 million subs is top dog.
I don't think it is overly wreckless to assume that losing 4+ million paying customers in a relatively short time is an 'indicator' however. And I find it fun to speculate.
There could be many reasons for this, and I ask a series of objective questions at the end to ask others to speculate what happened with those 4+ million customers and if or should they strive to get them back.
And for the exact reasons you state. We play to have fun and escape from reality. If people are leaving WoW at this rate, it is simply not providing that FUN anymore.
It's still fun....but it is 8 million subs of fun as opposed to 12 million subs of fun - what happened? And can it recover?
So you could add your two cents, ignore this thread, observe or resort to calling me a petty hater of WoW for assumed reasons.
gameplay > graphics
gameplay > graphics
wanna bet? i'd appreciate some free money :>
"I'll never grow up, never grow up, never grow up! Not me!"
well actually in 5.4 they are adding Open World Events.. I.E: Dynamic events...and I am excited for it! even though this is taken from countless games...Rift/gw2...and any other "Event" system type game..they are fun and I'm glad they are adding new things to the game. You can whine and cry all you want about how the game is bad..but to tell you the truth..its the only game I've had the best social experiences in..sure it was a couple years ago..but in todays age of MMO's..everyone mmo hops..they just can't stick with one mmo because they think mmos should have "That" feature..or "this" Feature..why do we have to hate on games..the whole point of gaming is to enjoy ourselves..and the only way to do that is to improve on the games we have..I thank the OP for this thread..because this is someone who really wants games to improve.
WoW will allways adapt..
Its easier to copy something good then to build something better, copy and improve is what makes the best strategy.
Best MMO experiences : EQ(PvE), DAoC(PvP), WoW(total package) LOTRO (worldfeel) GW2 (Artstyle and animations and worlddesign) SWTOR (Story immersion) TSW (story) ESO (character advancement)
i wanna bet too. they WILL add pay2win items in cash shop. i am more than sure of it. i am WoW fanboy, but even i can't agree the way the game is headed considering cash shop.
on the topic of class changes every expansion : i don't understand what is the big deal. aren't we gamers? why can't we take the simple challenge of relearning class every 1 and half year? and you people want more hardcore content in mmo. pitiful.
Boobs are LIFE, Boobs are LOVE, Boobs are JUSTICE, Boobs are mankind's HOPES and DREAMS. People who complain about boobs have lost their humanity.
I don't agree: more complexity is more niche = less subscriptions.
But help is on the way:
Patch 5.4 brings in a small revolution in mmorpg play: Virtual Realms.
With VR (combined with internal cross server play) WOW can be played by only 300 K subscribers and still feel "massive" as players from all individual realms are regrouped as if they play on one realm, even in the open world zones.
It is CRZ but with trading and guild play included now over all regrouped realms. The Original realm is only used for the log in as of patch 5.4 and so Blizzard can regroup realms endlessly. They can even balance them in faction play.
If you visit towns like Goldshire today, it is as if WOW was launched yesterday: the acitivity is overwhelming within those open world zones. But with Virtual Realms in patch 5.4 these gamers will be able to trade and guild play too.
Blizzard will - no doubt - add new world group content - with this new VR mechanism as world zones will mostly be filled with players all the time.
It will bring a new dynamic to Azeroth. Certainly not enough the let it grow, but enough to make players feel WOW is still played by "millions", which most servers today don't give this feeling.
My "bold prediction" is that WOW will level out at 4-5 million players with the above mechanic AND new expansions every 1.5 years AND combo subscription deals with new Blizzard games.
At least I think that's Blizzard policy. I expect also the WOW movie to have "some" impact on subscriptions OR players with extensive free to play options for new players.
But OP: touching upon new complex mechanics is out of the question
I had to rofl at that one since I was there.
On a side note, I just wish they'd stop adding tracts of land. Sucks to see people racing through empty zones so they can be uber once more at end game. The more levels and land, the more separation and the less social value the game has. But I suppose the concept of social value died a long while ago.
RIP fun.
Your remark is redundant, as Blizzard launches Virtual Realms in patch 5.4.
VR = regrouping of all players in regrouped realms, even in the open world zones (seamlessly) and who will play together (trading, guild play etc...) as if they are on ONE realm. The Original realm is only used to log in.
With this mechanic all your world zones are always populated since you can have 100K players instead of 10K on one server (account wise).
That's why the dude above said Goldshire "survived" as even now already, Goldshire has +49 players 24/7 due to this technique (but VR will add trading and guild play for all these players now).
I see WoW's bottom out to be about 2-3 million players and free to play, and that probably wont be for 5-6 more years. Plenty of time for them to come out with something else.
They will of course try to copy anything popular in the mean time, to prolong the time to bottom out.
The VR is no copy and with its seamless loading of players of different realms into one VR realm is quite unique in MMORPG land.
No loading screens. So players don't even realise it, but they will see populated world zones everywhere all of the time.
It will have a huge impact on the population of Azeroth and so will Blizzard be able to inject world public quests that are spread from level 5 to level 100 without having to worry you lack the players in those zones.
But that's after patch 5.4 - intro of VR - and probably be announced at the next BlizzCon in November with the new expansion.
I didn't say this was, but they have a history of copying what is out, or coming out, to try to head off the competition...Not critisizing it, its smart to do it.
I don't know how original that is, as I have not read up on it, but I have played games with the same type of thing, where they run instances of zones, and things are on like 1 server, but like I said, no idea how original it is or isn't.
The originality is coming from the fact it is seamless and across realms.
It goes like this: the player logs into his realm (just like now), the moment he enters he joins the virtual realm which regroups players of other realms within the virtual realm.
When he goes in the world he sees all these other players and can seamless go from Elwyn Forest to say Westfall and Duskwood. The player's experience is the same as if he plays on his own realm, but in fact he is regrouped with all players within all realms of the VR.
All seamless - so without loading screens or instances.
This technique is a unique combination of the known background loading of old WOW, phasing and CRZ (cross server play).
VR adds trading to it and guild play, so it is just like all these players are on one realm in the open world play.
Actually it is the end of dying populations in mmorpg's, as you can add realms to the group almost endlessly.
Very few people realise its importance. And most players won't even realise the change, they just will see a filled world with all advantages of a filled realm.
Given China's population there's probably 7 million+ playing Minesweeper at any given moment, that doesn't mean it's actually a good game. Zerging MMO's with Chinese paying 15ct a week at a coffee shop doesn't really count, especially given the lengths they've went to in driving off the NA/EU playerbases who actually pays their bills.
It'll probably never have any improvements in game complexity, talent trees, questing depth or otherwise. It's went from the easiest MMO ever, to even easier simply to give the casual retards access to "raid" content as a timesink in an effort to slow the progression of content and character churn.