Should WoW stay at Endgame?
Since it was announced at Blizzcon, player response to Wrath of the Lich King has been mixed. What surprised me most was the large number of players that have balked that the new expansion may be coming too soon.
Too soon?
More content is always needed and Blizzard thus far has been poor at keeping up with the rate players churn through the existing content.
So what's too soon about it? I started asking some in-game friends and it's become clear: They still haven't fully settled into the Endgame of Burning Crusade and it's too soon to start the process of leveling all over again. Even with the expansion coming in a year or more, they're not comfortable with the reset switch it will come with, following Blizzards formula with Burning Crusade.
That "reset switch" sucks
Blizzard is still rebalancing classes for level 70. Arena PvP is just hitting its stride now. Most raiders still haven't killed Vashj, let alone done much in Black Temple. Zul'aman is on the horizon. But meanwhile, there's a lack of small team content and areas to satisfy the explorers among us. Wouldn't it be great if Northrend could be added while Outland is still content at the same level?
Do we really want to level to 80? Do we need that as an excuse to add new gear, new progression, new professions and a new class? Are we really lacking in powers / abilities that we need more of them and additional talents as well? I understand the idea of progression, but we all know we have that with gear. Why couldn't Northrend just have higher quality gear?
Blizz needs a new paradigm
The real problem here is Blizzard's leveling system, how it's designed to work best as solo content. When Burning Crusade was released, it tore apart many guilds and raiding groups as they had to put their teamwork on hold and it went back to everyman for himself for awhile. Some of them pushed to 70 as fast as possible, but this divided friends as others (myself included) took time to explore the Outland quests at the levels they were designed for.
I really think Blizzard should take another look at whether they need to push the level cap up to 80 at all. Is level 80 just a way to force players to buy the expansion to be able to catch up to the new Endgame?
Sep 5, 2007 8:50am
"Is level 80 just a way to force players to buy the expansion to be able to catch up to the new Endgame?"
I think you nailed it. Blizzard, after all, is a business. Without profit, there is no business.
Sep 5, 2007 7:50pm
Yes, but this is a business to entertain, so it's treading a fine line to push people into doing something they don't want to do. It assumes people are so happy (or motivated) that they can be lead in a direction they don't want.
This is always the difficulty in game design, because what players want isn't always a good game. There are rules and limitations, but it's a balancing act. Different players want different things. MMOs more than any other game type strive to please as many players as possible. And then keep those players, that's part of what "The Vision" was for Everquest and World of Warcraft follows a similar design. I don't know if it's bad really, but there are some decisions that I think are poor and continuing the level advancement for each expansion is one of them.
WoW's population is stable enough that the same formula will continue working for some time. I think the majority of players would rather stay in Endgame though.
Sep 6, 2007 8:29am
"It assumes people are so happy (or motivated) that they can be lead in a direction they don't want."
You nailed it again, lol. People as a mob are easily lead, like cattle. Think of ancient Rome. The people were starving, poverty and disease running rampant. However, there were the games at the Coliseum that took their mind off their troubles.
Not a direct comparison, but my point is that if there is a shred of enjoyment in each expansion, then players will always put the little amount of good over a larger amount of bad. I'm not saying everyone, but players as a whole.
Post new comment