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What Wow really is!
eccoton
Member UncommonPosts: 1,340
I have not posted here in a long time. I still come and look at the site and forums almost everyday (still my favorite mmo site) but I got tired of posting with the often hateful and mean spirited relies. However as an almost 12 year WoW player (started in beta) I have a few feelings about the state of WoW and the state of players negative comments about how Blizzard screwed up WoW.
With legions approaching it seems the WoW forums on many sights are more active. There is also a lot of talk about the legacy or progressions severs because of Nostalrius shutting down. All I see is how people want a Vanilla server. The supporters of this idea use Nostalrius as an example. I doubt most of those players even played Vanilla WoW. They were playing on Nostalrius because it was free more then it was vanilla! Blizzard would not have to revert WoW to vanilla to get back over 10 million players again they would just have to make WoW free to play with no item mall totally free. After all was that not what Nostalrius was, totally free?
I have heard it a 1000s time Vanilla WoW was so great and Blizzard got greedy and screwed the game up and "Oh my god Garrisons totally ruined WoW!" Everyday there is someone crying about Garrisons and Blizzards greed. I know I am not the only one who thinks Garrisons are a fun addition. Got news for some of you, you do not have to stay in your garrisons all day, I don't. If you anchor yourself there it is your fault not the game mechanics. Then again I want housing! I do get tired of living on the streets and at least garrisons gave me a place to call my own in Azeroth. As far as Blizzards greed they are a business. I have never met any of the employees of Blizzard but I have seen them talk in documentaries, stream, interviews, etc and I see a bunch of excited committed people who love WoW and making games not the greedy bastards I read about. Blizzard is one talented group of artists who created an amazing work of art in World of Warcraft. Yes I consider it art. I am an artist but that does not make me an expert in art but I do feel Azeroth is a living work of art. I am opening myself up for a thrashing but here is what I do if you are inclined to, take a look. http://eccoarts.deviantart.com
Vanilla WoW was fun, it was fresh and new. I loved the open world pvp and unfortunately that is gone. However the changes over the years to pvp has made it more fun for me and I do a lot more of it. Many are right to say it was harder to level and the challenge was fun, it was. For me the sheer amount to explore and the time it takes to see most of it now is far more exciting then spending a month in one zone like in Vanilla. I wonder how many players actually explore all they can and read all the wonderful lore anymore. Mostly I see people power leveling to end game. Those types of players miss the point of Azeroth. Then again I am the type of player who does not use heirlooms to level alts because each alt I create has a different story to tell and to experience.
Raiding was a much more elite activity in Vanilla WoW. So making raiding more accessible to more players who also pay a monthly fee was such a horrible thing and killed WoW? What many are really complaining about is they are not so elite anymore. Many players have to engage in the showoff factor to enjoy their time in an mmo. That does not matter to me I do not care if others have the rarest mount I took months to get because I had fun getting it and riding it. Many of my feelings about mmos I am sure are somewhat due to my age 56 and the fact I have been playing them since 1996 with Meridian 59. I do not play an mmo as a game to win, it is a living world to explore and interact in to me. So the more I can experience the more enjoyment I get for my time and money. I can honestly say after nearly 12 years in WoW I am having more fun then ever. You can troll me, tear me up, and insult my reasoning but the fact is it is true and I hope am not alone.
Let's not forget if you have played WoW since release you are 12 years older. You changed, your life has changed and mmos have changed. That is how life works! Of course I am not happy with all the changes to WoW over the years but it is in my opinion still the best show in town for the price of the ticket. The amount of enjoyment it has provided me in the last 12 years has been amazing. Even with some of the crappy changes Blizzard made.
Blizzard did not screw up WoW for most of you. You simply changed. I also can understand, how for many, 12 years of a game can get boring no matter what the developer decides. So some feel they have to blame someone for leaving something they put so much time and effort into. This helps justify the feeling of loss. (I am not saying this is true for everyone, some of you just hate the direction Blizzard took, I get that) Many of the comments people make about WoW seem like they are talking about it like a console game to be won not lived it. I have an Xbox One and a Ps4 for those games. I guess I am the only player in WoW who thinks it is better and more fun then ever. I have fond memories of my time in vanilla. I also have fond memories of try my first Mythic raid in WLOD and getting my ass kicked. WoW is much more then a game to me. I will end with this story.
For a few week before Thanksgiving 2012 I was not feeling well. I even went to the doctor but nothing seemed to be amiss. The Saturday before Thanksgiving I was at a Food Lion and started getting a very heavy feeling in my chest. I cut my shopping short and went home. A few hours later the elephant sat on my chest. I knew something was really bad. Yup I had a nasty heart attack. I did not play any games for a few weeks. I was scared and felt alone. I was scared to do much of anything. After a few weeks I decided to log in to WoW. My main character was in Stormwind, when I heard the music playing I cried. I cried because I was home and somehow I knew I would be ok. Many of my guild mates asked where I had been for so long so I told them what happened. The kindness I received from them and the WoW community was fantastic and meant so much to me. I did not feel so scared or alone anymore. I realized WoW was not just a game it was a way of life to some extent. It is home.
I am 56 and when I walk around I am recognized by my World of Warcraft hat I wear everyday. I loved it so much I bought 8 of them. I get stopped all the time by kids, adults, men, and women asking if I really play WoW and I say the same thing "I am a proud 11+ year veteran" and I still play. So despite all the change some not so good but most very good I log in everyday to find one consistency in my life Azeroth not the mechanics of the game but the place and the people! I am sure I will be exploring Azeroth until Blizzard turns the lights. Now that will be a sad and glorious day I am looking forward to the 20th anniversary!
P.S. - Please excuse any typos or grammatical errors after all like I said I am a visual artist not a writer.
With legions approaching it seems the WoW forums on many sights are more active. There is also a lot of talk about the legacy or progressions severs because of Nostalrius shutting down. All I see is how people want a Vanilla server. The supporters of this idea use Nostalrius as an example. I doubt most of those players even played Vanilla WoW. They were playing on Nostalrius because it was free more then it was vanilla! Blizzard would not have to revert WoW to vanilla to get back over 10 million players again they would just have to make WoW free to play with no item mall totally free. After all was that not what Nostalrius was, totally free?
I have heard it a 1000s time Vanilla WoW was so great and Blizzard got greedy and screwed the game up and "Oh my god Garrisons totally ruined WoW!" Everyday there is someone crying about Garrisons and Blizzards greed. I know I am not the only one who thinks Garrisons are a fun addition. Got news for some of you, you do not have to stay in your garrisons all day, I don't. If you anchor yourself there it is your fault not the game mechanics. Then again I want housing! I do get tired of living on the streets and at least garrisons gave me a place to call my own in Azeroth. As far as Blizzards greed they are a business. I have never met any of the employees of Blizzard but I have seen them talk in documentaries, stream, interviews, etc and I see a bunch of excited committed people who love WoW and making games not the greedy bastards I read about. Blizzard is one talented group of artists who created an amazing work of art in World of Warcraft. Yes I consider it art. I am an artist but that does not make me an expert in art but I do feel Azeroth is a living work of art. I am opening myself up for a thrashing but here is what I do if you are inclined to, take a look. http://eccoarts.deviantart.com
Vanilla WoW was fun, it was fresh and new. I loved the open world pvp and unfortunately that is gone. However the changes over the years to pvp has made it more fun for me and I do a lot more of it. Many are right to say it was harder to level and the challenge was fun, it was. For me the sheer amount to explore and the time it takes to see most of it now is far more exciting then spending a month in one zone like in Vanilla. I wonder how many players actually explore all they can and read all the wonderful lore anymore. Mostly I see people power leveling to end game. Those types of players miss the point of Azeroth. Then again I am the type of player who does not use heirlooms to level alts because each alt I create has a different story to tell and to experience.
Raiding was a much more elite activity in Vanilla WoW. So making raiding more accessible to more players who also pay a monthly fee was such a horrible thing and killed WoW? What many are really complaining about is they are not so elite anymore. Many players have to engage in the showoff factor to enjoy their time in an mmo. That does not matter to me I do not care if others have the rarest mount I took months to get because I had fun getting it and riding it. Many of my feelings about mmos I am sure are somewhat due to my age 56 and the fact I have been playing them since 1996 with Meridian 59. I do not play an mmo as a game to win, it is a living world to explore and interact in to me. So the more I can experience the more enjoyment I get for my time and money. I can honestly say after nearly 12 years in WoW I am having more fun then ever. You can troll me, tear me up, and insult my reasoning but the fact is it is true and I hope am not alone.
Let's not forget if you have played WoW since release you are 12 years older. You changed, your life has changed and mmos have changed. That is how life works! Of course I am not happy with all the changes to WoW over the years but it is in my opinion still the best show in town for the price of the ticket. The amount of enjoyment it has provided me in the last 12 years has been amazing. Even with some of the crappy changes Blizzard made.
Blizzard did not screw up WoW for most of you. You simply changed. I also can understand, how for many, 12 years of a game can get boring no matter what the developer decides. So some feel they have to blame someone for leaving something they put so much time and effort into. This helps justify the feeling of loss. (I am not saying this is true for everyone, some of you just hate the direction Blizzard took, I get that) Many of the comments people make about WoW seem like they are talking about it like a console game to be won not lived it. I have an Xbox One and a Ps4 for those games. I guess I am the only player in WoW who thinks it is better and more fun then ever. I have fond memories of my time in vanilla. I also have fond memories of try my first Mythic raid in WLOD and getting my ass kicked. WoW is much more then a game to me. I will end with this story.
For a few week before Thanksgiving 2012 I was not feeling well. I even went to the doctor but nothing seemed to be amiss. The Saturday before Thanksgiving I was at a Food Lion and started getting a very heavy feeling in my chest. I cut my shopping short and went home. A few hours later the elephant sat on my chest. I knew something was really bad. Yup I had a nasty heart attack. I did not play any games for a few weeks. I was scared and felt alone. I was scared to do much of anything. After a few weeks I decided to log in to WoW. My main character was in Stormwind, when I heard the music playing I cried. I cried because I was home and somehow I knew I would be ok. Many of my guild mates asked where I had been for so long so I told them what happened. The kindness I received from them and the WoW community was fantastic and meant so much to me. I did not feel so scared or alone anymore. I realized WoW was not just a game it was a way of life to some extent. It is home.
I am 56 and when I walk around I am recognized by my World of Warcraft hat I wear everyday. I loved it so much I bought 8 of them. I get stopped all the time by kids, adults, men, and women asking if I really play WoW and I say the same thing "I am a proud 11+ year veteran" and I still play. So despite all the change some not so good but most very good I log in everyday to find one consistency in my life Azeroth not the mechanics of the game but the place and the people! I am sure I will be exploring Azeroth until Blizzard turns the lights. Now that will be a sad and glorious day I am looking forward to the 20th anniversary!
P.S. - Please excuse any typos or grammatical errors after all like I said I am a visual artist not a writer.
Comments
i stopped reading after i read this part.
I played on Nos because it had vanilla maybe you are not aware of this but there is private servers with other expansions on them.
Almost everyone i played with on Nos played in vanilla
here is a conversation with my pal
That was just my opinion. I also know about the meeting with Blizzard I also know about other private servers. I also think some people would pay to play on a legacy server if Blizzard was in charge, other companies have done this. However I still believe the server being free was the bigger draw. Even though your post was not as long as mine I did read it all.
Seriously, at some point, people are going to have to stop crying about WoW. Whether you think it was awesome before and sucks now or if you believe that it ruined MMO's, it's just a game in a sea of games, build a bridge and get over it already. I'm all for complaining about stuff, FFS, do we need to hear this for another decade?
I wrote this because I get tired of the complaining, just move on. I have left other games I felt went to far. What I do not do is complain about I game I left. Why bother I do not play it anymore. While WoW is just a game in a sea of games, mmos in particular tend to be more then the sum of their game parts and do evoke emotions and loyalties unlike other genres. I may voice my opinion on a games forum for developers to rethink something I disagree with but I do not attack those who like a change or a game I dislike. Wow seems to evoke this kind of anger often. If a developers goes to far I simply take my money somewhere else.
There are many different takes on the vanilla argument, reasons why we enjoyed it as individuals. I think trying to shove everybody into one box can be a tricky proposition, and Blizzard's going to have to weigh that box. Post Overwatch and Legions launch might be a good time to shift some resources toward a vanilla beta server, just to see what happens. In any case, I don't think true vanilla fans are looking to derail the future of wow, as much as they are looking for an mmo experience that's become increasingly rare.
And as WoW had the biggest pop you see most rage/hate posts about blizzard/WoW.
Personally I still want to play wow, but compared to the secret world its not so great anymore. For me mmorps need deep character development and in wow all my mages feel like all the other mages, in the secret world my mage feel's like a special snowflake.
Herald of innovation, Vanquisher of the old! - Awake a few hours almost everyday!
Also, just because a streamer started with WoW and moved on doesn't mean they dislike the game. There are quite a few reasons that somebody, especially a streamer, would stop playing. Furthermore, WoW streams still make up a substantial amount of Twitch's content, more so than any other MMO. A few 'famous' streamers dropping the game isn't the least bit indicative of a large number of players clamoring for vanilla.
I hope they do open a vanilla server though. That way those of us who know better can laugh as it crashes and burns when people have the rose tinted glasses snatched from their faces, and they see just how utterly simplistic, grindy, unbalanced, and devoid of content it was.
@eccoton Your post is spot on. A shame most probably won't take the time to read it.
AN' DERE AIN'T NO SUCH FING AS ENUFF DAKKA, YA GROT! Enuff'z more than ya got an' less than too much an' there ain't no such fing as too much dakka. Say dere is, and me Squiggoff'z eatin' tonight!
We are born of the blood. Made men by the blood. Undone by the blood. Our eyes are yet to open. FEAR THE OLD BLOOD.
#IStandWithVic
Twelve years old.
That's eighty-four, in gamer years.
This isn't a signature, you just think it is.
Eccoton@ I also wanted to add that I find your art incredible and want to give you big cred for it being so epic, imaginative ,and utterly inspiriting.
Herald of innovation, Vanquisher of the old! - Awake a few hours almost everyday!
I do love the world of Warcraft though I just have not been doing what you suggest though and I should actually be doing that. So if I just travel and go from zone to zone doing and quests and exploring the world although my gear will be woefully under par as I would be avoiding doing the dungeon queue can I actually manage without the gear? I mean forget the auction house the gear will be too expensive and from what I recall the crafting was always levels behind what I can wear so do you think I can enjoy myself like this. I am truly grateful you have opened my eyes a bit and made me think about the reasons for why I have left the game each time.
Although I must admit that I absolutely loved grouping in the game when I first started in 2005 but that is no longer possible. The dungeon groups are toxic and often make you regret playing. I am truly sad that this will be a lonely playthrough but tell me did you find yourself enjoying the game although you were soloing. I am scared to hope that exploring the world with a class you enjoy like this will bring some of that magic back. I had forgotten how beautiful and open the world of WoW was and I am hoping to recapture that. I think a hunter would be the best no do you have a better character that does not require better gear and money to survive harder content.
I will eschew the dungeon finder and stay exploring the world this time. Advice me on the class that will help me do this best. In the past I have always played priests,shamans and druids for the healing in groups. This time I must look towards a class that can take on harder content for the better gear rewards from quests and also allow me the ability to explore.
[mod edit]
And some will defend it.
Me I just play what feels right atm..
I respect your well thought out opinion but if you would take the time of day to watch one of the popular twitch streamers that was once famous for their WoW footage talk about his views and his thoughts on the matter. maybe you'll understand mine too
And there is nothing forcing people to actually pay for it after they sign that they will.
Epic Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAigCvelkhQ&list=PLo9FRw1AkDuQLEz7Gvvaz3ideB2NpFtT1
https://archive.org/details/softwarelibrary_msdos?&sort=-downloads&page=1
Kyleran: "Now there's the real trick, learning to accept and enjoy a game for what it offers rather than pass on what might be a great playing experience because it lacks a few features you prefer."
John Henry Newman: "A man would do nothing if he waited until he could do it so well that no one could find fault."
FreddyNoNose: "A good game needs no defense; a bad game has no defense." "Easily digested content is just as easily forgotten."
LacedOpium: "So the question that begs to be asked is, if you are not interested in the game mechanics that define the MMORPG genre, then why are you playing an MMORPG?"