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The real reason people still play wow
klash2def
Member EpicPosts: 1,949
"I come back to WoW because I know so many people here, and the world feels so incredibly fleshed out and alive---and the biggest reason, for this server at least, is because random RP really does happen and I love that.
I don't have tons of time anymore. Back in Wrath and early Cataclysm on a tree and a priest, I had tons of time on my hands--I raided a few nights a week, I did arenas, I generally played the content of the game and RP'd for hours and hours every week when I wasn't doing content. But then I got married, and had a babbeh, and got a full-time job and generally adulthood happened. And then I turned into a filthy casual and I'm perfectly okay with that.
And as much as I hate to say it... WoW is easy for my life. I can log into Quinn (or most other toons, really) and find random RP. I can do the tea shop and meet random people. I can queue for raid finder. I can do scenarios. I don't have to dedicate my life to the game anymore, and yet still feel invested in it. I can't do that with most other games. :-/"
Taken from battle.net forum poster Quinneth on WRA server
There you go people. WOW has grown up with its user-base.. its become more of a casual mmo for people who used to play hardcore that just dont have the time anymore, you know grown-ups with actual commitments.. not to say the hardcore crowd or element isnt there anymore, but the game overall is becoming more casual to make sure they can keep pulling the "filthy casuals" back in over and over. I think that all the changes they made over the years, is to make sure that everyone between hardcore and casual has something to do.. the thing is, doing that, one side is going to be favored and in my opinion wow is becoming a casual mmo and as a married man, i dont have a issue with that either. I still log into my pally from time to time(when i have time) run a quick dungeon, maybe rp and its okay. Its weird because im 28 now but i made that toon when i was 17 or 18. So yea.. i think WOW grew up with me. How about you guys? How old were you when you started wow? did you grow up with it like me, has your time to play went down dramatically? are you a -gasp- FILTHY CASUAL???
EDIT : If you dont play the game anymore or hate the game for whatever reason or youre super hardcore raider dewd.. thats fine, please just dont start insulting people.
"The Society that separates its scholars from its warriors will have its thinking done by cowards and its fighting by fools."
Currently: Games Audio Engineer, you didn't hear what I heard, you heard what I wanted you to hear.
Comments
I haven't played in years not because of my lack of time commitment which a wife, son and full time job does that, but because I didn't like the direction the game took. I grew up with EQ but don't play it anymore for the same reason I don't play WoW. I think the game could have evolved without all the hand holding and "dumbing down" it has done but they did what they felt was best either for the gameplay or for the mighty dollar and I don't fault them for it.
Really the reason people still play WoW is because they find it fun. Either fun from the gameplay itself or fun they derive from interacting with friends they have made in game or those they get to keep in touch with that have moved large distances away.
I never really understood the whole "filthy casual" vs "elitist" attitude that some people spout. I did raid a lot in EQ back in the day but I never lorded it over people that I had better gear then them. I preferred to help them out with quests/camps/whatever and give them pointers if they wanted them so that someday down the road they could teach me things I didn't know were possible.
Yeha. Started to play 2005. Vanilla.. Hardcore.. end game 40 raids.. you know, all that...
But then life came and I quit playing. But then when all the expansions started to come it got me interested again and I played them all trough but they didn't get me to stay too long. Haven't tried this last one yet, maybe I'll do.
But what I feel is that they have made the game suit everyone too much so nothing is really too interesting anymore.
I enjoy for example leveling and doing quests, but that is not the same now with all this turbo super XP and whatnot, yes I guess you can turn all those off but its not the same when you know there's no challenge anymore.
And gearing is a piece of cake now as well, you can even raid with PUGs now, eh.. well it have to suit everyone, right?
Well, as you said the game in some way grew up with me, at least stayed in my life for some years. WOW made me get friends that I still today see and talk to. And I guess it'll never be what it was back than in 2005/06.. and maybe it shouldn't! Everything has to move on, I guess!
I'm happy I saved some of the old screenshots.. Its like watching old regular photos with friends, just more digital memories
Here is a photo back in 2006 when my guild FINALLY for the first time took down Thekal in Zul Gurub, I got the tiger.. second on the server, still have it today!
http://www.mmorpg.com/photo/23e7e067-a4ae-4de6-af54-b9d30b06c456
This isn't a signature, you just think it is.
Ten years is a pretty damn long time, yep.
People change, and I guess in this case the game changed along with them.
My SWTOR referral link for those wanting to give the game a try. (Newbies get a welcome package while returning players get a few account upgrades to help with their preferred status.)
https://www.ashesofcreation.com/ref/Callaron/
WoW didn't start out like that though. People got *emotionally invested* in WoW's game world over many years beforehand and they play casually in Wow now (rather than in any of the other newer games that provide the same thing) because they are invested in Wow.
Hence why new games trying to start where WoW ended doesn't work.
The question for WoW is why aren't the first wave of young hardcore players with lots of time who are now older casuals being replaced by new young hardcore players with lots of time who would one day become the next generation of older casuals?
edit: I don't know the answer to this although the assumption would be they did things to the game that reduced emotional investment from new players.
My son plays. He's got a couple level 100s. I can definitely see that there is a different mentality towards it now, though. He also plays SWTOR. He just started playing Wildstar as well and has played ESO, too. It does seem like he takes a more casual approach to it, though. Is it because he has so many options?
Crazkanuk
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Azarelos - 90 Hunter - Emerald
Durnzig - 90 Paladin - Emerald
Demonicron - 90 Death Knight - Emerald Dream - US
Tankinpain - 90 Monk - Azjol-Nerub - US
Brindell - 90 Warrior - Emerald Dream - US
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Unless the developers are standing behind the player with a loaded weapon, my guess is that people play a particular MMO, any MMO, because they are having fun, as soon as they are not having fun, i would imagine they stop playing, or try a different one.
On the other hand, the recent rumour that Blizzard had placed a 'Help Wanted' advert in the last edition of 'Soldier of Fortune' was just a misunderstanding over advertising space
One of the most specious arguments on these forums, people have grown up and don't have time to play anymore.
I started MMORPG's when I was 44, had a wife, 3 children, worked 10 hours a day, coached youth soccer and was a cub scout leader...and yet I found a way to play Lineage 1, DAOC, Shadowbane Lineage 2 and WOW at launch including raiding through AQ40.
Now, could I do everything each game had to offer? No, of course not, 6-12 hour raids/boss camps were out, (WOW's only took about 4 hours, and I managed to fit them in at the cost of losing some sleep)
So when people complain today about not having time I can only roll my eyes, they are no busier today than I was back then, and in fact, even today, working 12 hour days including many weekends restricts me from doing things like large fleet engagements in EVE, which I actually enjoy, but I don't let that hold me back, I do what I can, and not bemoan what I can't.
Last night I'm on TS with 2 guys who have 3 small children each, can hear the family in the background every time they key their mic's, yet they are playing EVE with us, running multiple accounts.
You can make the time, and the argument that you can't is entirely a figment of your imagination, you chose not to by wasting it on things such as sleep.
But its true, you can't do everything like perhaps you used to when you had more free time, you learn to adapt to the game, not expect the game to adapt to you.
Or...play different games of course.
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
Silly me I thought people played WoW because it was fun to them. I played wow and basically stopped when it stopped being fun to me, but I guess your argument that people play wow not because its fun but because its easy has some merit though possibly a bit insulting to its players.
Playing MMORPG's for "fun" is another specious argument on these forums, if you think of "fun" as something children do on a playground.
Many of us play for the sense of accomplishment, achievement, victory, for cool looking gear, or completing a huge list of achievements, or get to the top of a leaderboard, but definitely not for "fun".
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
A bit, most MMOs today are just as easy and they have far fewer players.
But being easy is fun to some people while for others (like me) it is challenging that is fun.
Wows true merit is that it was the first really professional MMO ever made, high budget by a competent team. How much it still lives on old merits and how many people liking the direction it taken the last few years is open to debate but people don't just play because it is easy.
If easy were the only reason then Rift would be as big as Wow. It is clear that most people still paying monthly fees are enjoying the game. But the subs are going down pretty fast for a while now so I think they will need to implement some large changes if they want it to turn.
Looking down on other MMOers because they don't like the exact same MMO is a mistake anyways, we really should get around better. If you want a common enemy, focus on FPS players or something instead. That doesn't mean all MMOs are or should be the same but we do have a lot of common ground.
You just listed all the things in WoW that I find incredibly fun.
Problem is we did spend all those hours ... And many younger players still game over 40 hours a week...
currently i play between 10 and 20 a week, most of the times closer to 10, which is more then enough to give me my dose of fun..
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)
You mistake enjoyment for fun, there is a difference. Look at it like this, you can enjoy climbing mountains, but you are definitely not having fun.
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
I still love WoW
1. Crafting is fun...no not the mechanics...but you can make all kinds of fun and random potions, bombs and other engineering stuff...or even flying carpets if you do tailoring. Most MMOs take crafting WAY too seriously...sure games like Vanguard (before it was shut down) or even FFXIV have better crafting mechanics...but they don't have fun items you can make
2. I can do LFR and see endgame without being in a military-like guild where I have to be on at a certain time, have a certain item level (where if I'm one point away I can't go lol, lame)...and with LFR finder I don't need to worry if my item level isn't optimal. I can still do LFR and have a great time seeing endgame.
NO MMORPG as far as I know lets casual players raid. WoW is the only raid-based MMO where raiding isn't for the elite hardcore
3. Tons of achievements, tons of pets/mounts to collect
4. The atmosphere of WoW is better than most MMOs.
5. One of the few MMOs to actually have non-humanoid races. Look at FFXIV, its human with cat ears (I laughed so hard at this race), big human, little human, tall slender human...FFXIV has the worst races of any MMO lol. But in WoW, you can play as the undead (very few games let you PLAY AS THE UNDEAD), tauren, trolls, orcs...or even be a werewolf-like character over on alliance or weird alien draenei. They all have their own models and Blizzard didn't skimp out at all about making real non-humanoid races.
6. The community on emerald dream is better than most MMOs. If it wasn't for ED I'd have stopped playing WoW a long time ago. Plus on ED, there is huge world pvp...so much fun
Number 2, 3, 6 and sort of 5...are the biggest reasons I still play WoW and no other MMO has won me over
My Skyrim, Fallout 4, Starbound and WoW + other game mods at MODDB:
https://www.moddb.com/mods/skyrim-anime-overhaul
LotR got a lot of votes in mmorpg.com's "poll". And for good reason. Crafting is both essential - the best gear in the game is crafted and trivial; not just potions but vases of flowers, chairs - huge list. "LFR" exists and is casual friendly. Achievements, festivals, pets and mounts it has in abundance - no flying though. You can play (and "level") a monster if you want in "PvP" - an orc, a warg etc.
Down sides: grind in abundance; gaining levels is not EQ slow but its not fast, the road to level 100 is long. And, as in WoW I suppose, getting some of the titles is a slow process. In some ways it is WoW as it used to be - probably no surprise considering when it launched and its history.
You would have to find a community you liked if you ever felt the need to leave ED of course but that is always an issue.
GW2 was okay. The events kinda ruined it for me though. People actually had events on a timer...it wasn't random at all.
I actually liked RIFT's rifts vastly better, but not the game so much (the world was too tiny and the cities were hovels not cities)...I just thought rift's dynamic events "felt" (maybe they weren't, but...felt...) a lot more dynamic and random.
I expected A LOT more out of GW2 events, which may have been the problem...but instead they weren't dynamic or random but on set timers. And when I saw players having timers set for big events, I logged off and never have wanted to play again lol.
Maybe that is only in the earlier zones, maybe it got better later...but...that is what I saw and it kinda ruined it for me.
LOTRO is definitely good. It has a lot of the gameplay aspects I like. But again, the world wasn't scaled properly. I could get out of the newbie zone and into Bree within a minute. WoW doesn't really have that problem. It takes a long time to run from Orc starter zone to Razor Hill and into Orgrimmar...that felt vastly better scaled than Bree and the starting zone.
Though for the human area...it just BARELY passes LOTRO Bree from northshire to stormwind.
The human starting zone to goldshire was a quite bit shorter than the Orc route, but still felt pretty right as far as human zones go. Then to stormwind. A bit closer to the Bree experience, but WoW's was almost not scaled enough but did barely passed it as far as how my opinion goes.
All the other races (excluding goblin/draenei/worgen/blood elf, not because they are or aren't scaled properly zone wise, I just don't ever play them to know enough or stay in their zones (like blood elf I leave right away for Tirisfal lol)) seemed to be scaled a lot better as far as the zones go, than the WoW human one. And tauren was 100% perfect as far as the zone scaling went. Horde was actually overall better than alliance as far as zone scaling went.
LOTRO though, the world felt VERY downscaled...it was too game breaking for me.
My Skyrim, Fallout 4, Starbound and WoW + other game mods at MODDB:
https://www.moddb.com/mods/skyrim-anime-overhaul
The real reason. It's the best product on the market.
You can find an adult playing any game, who doesn't have time to play like a 20 something anymore. Be it EvE Online, GW2, or World of Tanks. This is not a reflection on the game. It's the inevitability of growing older.
Boy: Why can't I talk to Him?
Mom: We don't talk to Priests.
As if it could exist, without being payed for.
F2P means you get what you paid for. Pay nothing, get nothing.
Even telemarketers wouldn't think that.
It costs money to play. Therefore P2W.
Upstairs at the Goldshire Inn
Thats why people still play WoW, for dat Night Elf BOOOTAYYYY
what it comes down to is because a lot of people still enjoy WoW for very different reasons. Wether it be the community, the friends you made, may it be the crafting or the "look and feel" - it really doesn't matter.
Haven't played for quite a while now and i'm still happy - blizzard kinda threw me off the train face first with their expansions. not saying they are bad, but just not for me.
With that being said, what does it matter anyways?
When blood elves were brand new. I stood on Orgrimmar mailbox by the AH/bank and danced with only my character's bra/underwear.
In less than an hour, I earned over 50k gold rofl.
Did get a lot of spam of "date me now"...but since I was a guy, I ignored it and eventually logged off after sending the winnings to my main :P The funniest was when females wanted to get with my character lol, like actual females xD
My Skyrim, Fallout 4, Starbound and WoW + other game mods at MODDB:
https://www.moddb.com/mods/skyrim-anime-overhaul
Totally agree with the quote you posted from Quinneth, but I'd also like to add that the game is still fun and killing Alliance players never gets old.