BlizzCon '09: Blizzard Announces WoW: Cataclysm

[AliMck]

*snip*

TBC refined some of the clunkier game mechanics, made PvP less about who raided and had Ashkandi to go beat some helpless faces in, had much better quests and some awesome dungeons, and made specs for hybrids other than "lol heal/cleanse" actually viable. If this were still Classic, my Druid would be specced 31 Resto just so I would have Innervate to give to the real healers, the Priests. That's nuts.

TBC and WotLK gave players options that they never had before.

Hey. You wouldn't be there just for Innervate. You had battle res too!

Don't forget that some Paladins had to spec 31 points into Retri to get Blessing of Kings and still were Heal/Buff/Cleansebots.

Yay for individual blessings on a 40 man raid with a five minute duration. Because having to constantly be rebuffing is my idea of a good way to spend an evening.

/Shudder 5min buffs make the memories go away!!!

 

[Zenn3k]

In other news, StarCraft 2 and Diablo 3 are being delayed for another 1-5 years.

I'm really surprised people still play, I quit when the first expansion came out and ruined the game the first time.

Nah. Current WoW is so much better than Classic *ever* was. Nostalgia is a powerful thing.

I disagree.

When Blizzard basically gave the middle finger to all guilds who managed to organize and build themselves up by making all their raid equipment replaced by green drops, I gave it right back to them.

For reference, I was in a Horde Naxx guild and had acquired 4/9 of my Tier 3. I EARNED my gear. Not to say you haven't earned yours in your raids, but the expansion spat in my face and told me loud and clear "We aren't interested in players who play often, only those with open accounts".

Here is hoping SW:OR lives up to its hype.

My Tier 2 lasted until mid-60s when I started replacing it with dungeon blues. I know guilds that started Kara still in their Naxx gear, so... not sure what you're on about.

The fact of the matter is that their previous plan of action - spending a vast majority of their resources on content only the tiniest fraction of players would ever see - was, frankly, idiotic. Can you imagine if, instead of WoW, they'd done WC4, where there weren't any cheat codes and you had to be a pro-level RTS player to see the last levels and finish the story? Sounds kind of dumb, no? Well, that's what happened with later raids.

TBC refined some of the clunkier game mechanics, made PvP less about who raided and had Ashkandi to go beat some helpless faces in, had much better quests and some awesome dungeons, and made specs for hybrids other than "lol heal/cleanse" actually viable. If this were still Classic, my Druid would be specced 31 Resto just so I would have Innervate to give to the real healers, the Priests. That's nuts.

TBC and WotLK gave players options that they never had before.

The only reason it was the tiniest fraction was because the majority put no effort into their characters and felt Blizzard should reward them for doing so, Blizzard apparently agreed. I was part of that tiniest fraction and the expansion made me feel the time I had put into my character (who I very much enjoyed playing) was completely trivialized. Honestly, whats the point of playing if the Devs are going to constantly reward the laziest % of the population?

You're analogy is amusing in that you mention cheat codes. If the game is that difficult, and you put forth the effort to see it without cheating, do you feel someone who simply puts on god mode should be considered just as good of a player? You both saw the ending of the game, so you are both equal right? Who cares if he used God Mode, you both saw it, you're completely on equal footing. Sounds pretty dumb to me.

I leveled to 65 (after first quitting, then coming back, before quitting again) and I replaced two of my Tier 2 items with green drops. I found that pretty disgusting that someone who had (with his friends) cleared out BWL, AQ, and half of Naxx was put on par with people who simply single pulled mobs all day by themselves. If you think thats fair, fine, but I certainly did not.

You're right, PvP became less about who was able to raid and more about who was able to /dance until Blizzard gave them a free item for being lazy. Thats great game design. Reward the loser, genius!

I won't argue the extended spec trees, as those were (mostly) all good, it was really the gear alone that pissed me off. My extended spec trees were pretty lackluster however.

For reference, I played a Troll Hunter since launch. I was VERY good at my class in both Raiding and PvP (even before I geared out). When the expansion came out, I was the 2nd most geared Horde Hunter on my server, 2nd only to a guild-mate.

 

[Amnestic]

The only reason it was the tiniest fraction was because the majority put no effort into their characters and felt Blizzard should reward them for doing so, Blizzard apparently agreed. I was part of that tiniest fraction and the expansion made me feel the time I had put into my character (who I very much enjoyed playing) was completely trivialized. Honestly, whats the point of playing if the Devs are going to constantly reward the laziest % of the population?

Fun? Maybe I'm one of those crazy raiders who raids for (a combination of) fun and epix in equal parts.

And really, did it matter if they were getting Greens equivalent to your Purples? You still put in the effort and you still accomplished those challenges. Them having easy mode greens from quests doesn't diminish how long you spent grinding Shadow Protection Potions just so you could kill Loatheb or how long you had to spend teaching your dipshit Priests how to properly Mind Control on Razuvious (with which my guild still has problems on some alt-Naxx run days. Sigh.)

Your effort was still there and no one can take that away. So why do you care? Let them have their easy mode greens.

You're analogy is amusing in that you mention cheat codes. If the game is that difficult, and you put forth the effort to see it without cheating, do you feel someone who simply puts on god mode should be considered just as good of a player? You both saw the ending of the game, so you are both equal right? Who cares if he used God Mode, you both saw it, you're completely on equal footing. Sounds pretty dumb to me.

If people wanted to just see encounters they can head over to Ensidia, Tankspot, Premonition or Stars websites and watch the videos there, with Ciderhelms sexy, sexy voice in the case of Tankspot. God that man could serenade me to sleep any day...*coughs* Anyway, killing the boss with God Mode on isn't the same experience as wiping on it. Just ask the people who roflstomp Kael'thas at level 80 for the first time in comparison to those who wiped for months on the pre-nerf version before finally executing that perfect kill.

The feeling just isn't the same. You know it. I know it. That rush of exhultation as you slaughter a boss which has been cockblocking you for months is incredible and people with a God Mode cheat will never have that.

I leveled to 65 (after first quitting, then coming back, before quitting again) and I replaced two of my Tier 2 items with green drops. I found that pretty disgusting that someone who had (with his friends) cleared out BWL, AQ, and half of Naxx was put on par with people who simply single pulled mobs all day by themselves. If you think thats fair, fine, but I certainly did not.

You'd have to replace your gear eventually. It shouldn't matter if it's now or later. You could level to 70 in full Tier 2 if you were that anal about keeping your old gear, but I don't really see why you would beyond appearance's sake. Better Stats>Worse stats. That's how the game has always been. Did you also feel disgusted at replacing the Cruel Barb that dropped off VanCleef with a level 30 green? Gear will get replaced. It's inevitable.

You're right, PvP became less about who was able to raid and more about who was able to /dance until Blizzard gave them a free item for being lazy. Thats great game design. Reward the loser, genius!

You know as well as I do there's nothing casual or lazy about the high-end arena. Just go watch some of the SK-Gaming videos. They pull off things even my experienced, 4-5 year raider self couldn't pull off. It's a whole level above in regards to skill.

 

[Nils]

I've been wanting to play Worgen since this began, then they go and put 'em on the fucking alliance. Goddamn it.

 

[Shraggler]

Sorry, but even after this weekend it still screams "COP OUT!" to me.

The Worgen are unjustified and off-putting. To put a race in there that doesn't belong in the first place... it appears so random it's desperate. It's the metaphorical equivalent of going to a bar, spending $90+ chatting up a lady, and then, at the peak of drunken euphoria, spying the glimmer on her ring finger.

Hoping that the rest of the game/content makes up for it is going to be an absolute leap of faith.