gaming World of Warcraft

[Notachangeling 101]

Okay so as I was MIA during most of Warlords, can someone elaborate on what went wrong? 

[Steel Accord 6,660]

Honestly I'd calm down on the hype a bit. It's going to be a year before it comes out. If you have hyped your expectations for that long you WILL get disappointed. 

Blizzard is good at making hype. They did this for WoD and look how that turned out for us.

 

 

Uh-huh. Blizzard is still on thin ice. If Legion fails, then WoW's done. at 5.6M subs, if this next xpac goes up in flames and Blizzard pulls the same shit, they'll lose more than just half their subscribers. I sure won't continue playing if Legion is more of the same as WoD.

Though part of me thinks they're damage controlling because they knew WoD was terrible, and are pulling all the stops now. But, I'd rather them do that then not give a shit, and say something like,

"Hey, guys, remember how much you hate Apexis dailies? Well, we made something no different for end game content. Also, the two raids we showed at Gamescon were the only ones and we're not adding more dungeons."

 

Oh look, the detraction squad is here. Honestly, if you have that many problems with it, why are you even playing?

 

I was not disappointed by anything from Cata and especially not Mists. This expansion promises me something I've been waiting for since Vanilla. As far as I'm concerned, my expectations have already been met.

 

So yes, I WILL continue to be hyped until launch, thank you very much.

[Mr F 1,522]

Okay so as I was MIA during most of Warlords, can someone elaborate on what went wrong?

There is very little to do outside of raiding. Apexis dailies are lame and so are the rewards. Dungeons are irrelevant and very few.

The garrison is separating everyone. Little group content and they have done nothing to remotely improve pvp AND NOT EVEN US A SINGLE BG OR ARENA.

Its easier to say what went right at this point. XD

Edited August 14, 2015 by A Cat

[Akari of Duskshire 581]

I bet Legion will be awesome!  Sure, it's probably going to have some flaws, but what expansion didn't?

 

Btw, if you picked the demon hunter class, which race would you choose?  Night elf or blood elf?

[Lateon 589]

Okay so as I was MIA during most of Warlords, can someone elaborate on what went wrong? 

 

From the viewpoint of a casual mythic progression raider (i.e. pushing mythic but at no incredible clip, I'm 12/13 Heroic right now) and a guy who liked to PvP on the side with friends, here is what I believe went wrong:

 

• Garrisons. A facebook desktop game made its way into an MMORPG, rife with RNG, gating, and other infuriating annoyances. Instanced areas that isolate players more than ever before with rewards that actively discourage players from leaving.
• Lack of end-game content. As a PvE raider, I can speak on this quite well: the raids are great, but that is all. Once you reach maximum level, there is nothing to do but raid, and that is unacceptable. This is evidenced by not feeling the need to log in other than to raid. While I do not mind this, it is surely not the way things should have gone for the majority of players that do not raid on the level that I do.
• PvP imbalance and the approach to PvP in WoD. Essentially, Blizzard tried to shoehorn people into doing the PvP content that they wanted the players to do, which was met with overwhelming outrcry. Ashran, aka Trashran, aka Assran, was forced upon PvP players for no less than eight months - a broken excuse for a zone that was advertised as the evolution of Wintergrasp and Tol Barad but ended up being a design nightmare because of a distinct lack of focus for what players were supposed to strive for within the zone. In addition, at this moment in time, faction imbalance is the worst I, as a nine year veteran of this game, have ever seen. Alliance win nearly every battleground seventy percent of the time. While people are reluctant to admit it, or are too ignorant to see it, racial imbalance has led up to this eventuality because of the trickle down effect of top players faction changing, then the step below, continuing ad infinium. They're starting to turn things around, but it's too little too late. Did I mention that no new battleground was added? Long story short, I have felt no desire to PvP this expansion because of the sham it has become. I eagerly await the new systems being put in place for Legion - perhaps PvE and PvP imbalance will at long last be rectified.
• Value for money. For ten dollars more for the expansion, we as a playerbase received effectively a quarter of the content total, most of which that was promised being cut. What remains are horribly implemented currency and reputation grinds and raiding. Dungeons are irrelevant to a degree I didn't think was possible.

WoD was slated to be one of the best expansions from a gameplay standpoint when it was announced. But, after experiencing it first hand...it is one of the worst. I remain quite hopeful for Legion, as one of the main selling points, class identity, is something I would greatly appreciate as a Death Knight.

[Celli 4,336]

Oh look, the detraction squad is here. Honestly, if you have that many problems with it, why are you even playing?

 

I was not disappointed by anything from Cata and especially not Mists. This expansion promises me something I've been waiting for since Vanilla. As far as I'm concerned, my expectations have already been met.

 

So yes, I WILL continue to be hyped until launch, thank you very much.

Because I love the game and I want it to succeed. WoD is the worst, imo. I'm not an RPer, and the lack of content is unacceptable. I wasn't around for Cata and Mists, so I can't judge those.

[Mr F 1,522]

Alright, I am now preparing myself for the upcoming expansion and I thought it would be wise to share a few tips here.

 

Now, as the economy in WoW is faster than ever because of the garrisons, farming gold is a dream and I would reccomend everyone to take advantage of it.

I have not bought game time in two months and still have 70 000 gold on my alt. I am saving up gold for buying game time tokens during the next expansion as they will fall in price as gold will be harder to earn.

If you want to maximize your gold production, you should make sure to give all your followers the Treasure Hunter ability as they will make you a crap ton of gold, without any effort at all. The barn is also highly reccomended, as you will produce a fortune on the AH by selling furs and Savage bloods. This whole process takes about 30 seconds a day, excluding farming beasts to put into your barn (But that is optional).

Feeling exstra gold hungry? Do all the raids from older expansions and see your character drowning in easy made money.

 

Leveling proffessions is also a really good idea. If you are raiding crafted gear will last you a long time and you can REROLL secondary stats on them, the gear may not be the strongest but you can tailor it perfectly for your build. Therefore you should always have a high proffesion level. Cooking is also freaking gold if you are raiding or doing timewalking dungeons as they will be a godlike gift for your group.

 

Ok, now as we are ready for a new expansion. LET THE HYPE CONTINUE! LOK'TAR OGAR!

 

 

Edited August 17, 2015 by A Cat

[Steel Accord 6,660]

I remain quite hopeful for Legion, as one of the main selling points, class identity, is something I would greatly appreciate as a Death Knight.

 

There you have hit upon why Legion has already convinced me to get back into the game. From the very beginning, the classes are why I fell in love with World of Warcraft. If I might elaborate . . . .

 

I am what's called an immersive and self expressive player type. The games I play are those I wish to completely envelope myself in, forget about stats, points, etc. and let that world come alive. At the same time, if the game can do that and allow me to express aspects of my identity through gameplay, character creation, choices, etc. then I enjoy that game immensely. 

 

Way back in Vanilla, I created a Night Elf Druid because I love animals and the idea of battling evil by shapeshifting into them I found very appealing. As I played through my first few levels, I loved returning to my trainer and beginning my class quests. When I first got the bear form, it wasn't just "here you go" it was a journey. I had to travel to Moonglade, a neutral ground where no war, politics, or "sides" existed, we came together for something that we had in common in heart rather than what made us different in faction. I had to talk with the bear spirit, ask it's permission to wield it's power. When I finally obtained the ability to transform into a bear, it felt like I had earned that power.

 

The quests I would do, I would always role play. Asking myself why I would do them before accepting and how I would feel during their events. Most quests, it didn't feel like they specifically needed a Druid's help but rather a hero's. Any hero's irregardless of skill set just the will to do right. I liked that, but when I had done enough heroics and could return to the Cenarion Circle, the way the quest giver talked and the events of the quest itself made it feel like a meaningful step for my character. To put it another way, playing most quests felt like an adventure, but advancing in class felt like MY adventure.

 

The same for when Burning Crusade rolled around. The Draenei quickly became the best thing since tummy rubs for me and I became enraptured with them. (They still hold appeal to me as a holy, spacefaring, people with magitek, but I no longer feel as natural slipping into their hooves. More because I've changed than them loosing appeal.) Rolling both a Vindicator (their term for Paladin) and a Shaman, I galavanted off on branching paths for two people who took two directions. The conservative inheritor of his people's centuries old office and the trailblazer studying a spiritual practice new to his people. Again, speaking with the different elements, bridging the Hand of Argus with the terrestrial Knights of the Silver Hand, these felt like personal milestones in the story of a person not just level counts on a data sheet.

 

Legion, has already shown me it plans to revitalize that aspect and make it better than it was. Not just the Class Halls but "Class Orders." Here's how Blizzard puts it.

 

With the Horde and the Alliance in disarray, players must seek out and bring together other like-minded champions to stand against the demonic hordes. In Legion, each player will take charge of an Order Hall—a site of great power linked closely to a character’s class and cause. The Order Hall will serve as each hero’s base of operations—and a bastion of hope—during their journey to the Broken Isles. From there, players will send NPC followers on missions to help defend Azeroth from the demonic incursion . . . and forge their Artifact into a Legion-felling force to be reckoned with.

 

So your character will come to be defined more by who they are, their skills, their ideology; as an individual rather than what banner they are under. As I have grown as a person in real life, this could not have come at a better time. In Mists, the face of my idealized self began to take shape, and now in Legion, I can express the crystallization of my ideal inner self.

 

An idealist who seeks to bring enemies together in peace, who can fight and vanquish raw manifestations of evil with Kung Fu. 

 

@,

 

Thank you. Being strapped for cash when I needed better armor was something of a problem when I was playing. 

Edited August 15, 2015 by Steel Accord

[Mr F 1,522]

@,

 

Thank you. Being strapped for cash when I needed better armor was something of a problem when I was playing. 

Pft, buying armour has never been a problem in WoD. Timewalking dungeons made sure of that.

I am not kidding I played 3 timewalking dungeons a short while ago and jumped 25 Itemlevels on my priest. XD

But still goblin, gotta get his gold dawg.

Edited August 15, 2015 by A Cat

[Steel Accord 6,660]

But still goblin, gotta get his gold dawg.

 

Though not exactly my main or even a secondary, I found RPing as a Goblin Shaman to be all kinds of fun. As a real life Libertarian, that whole free market to the extreme (as in X-TREME \m/) I found easy and fun to both play up for comedy but "humanize" as well. Making my character comedic but not a satirical caricature. It was also fun to play as a, more or less modern thinking, business minded individual in a fantasy setting especially the parts that were more traditional.

 

For instance, as a Shaman, my bond with the elements was less spiritual and more mercenary. He wasn't exploitative, mind you! He just preferred to keep his relations with the Powers that Be . . . "healthily professional." 

Edited August 15, 2015 by Steel Accord

[Mr F 1,522]

Though not exactly my main or even a secondary, I found RPing as a Goblin Shaman to be all kinds of fun. As a real life Libertarian, that whole free market to the extreme (as in X-TREME \m/) I found easy and fun to both play up for comedy but "humanize" as well. Making my character comedic but not a satirical caricature. It was also fun to play as a, more or less modern thinking, business minded individual in a fantasy setting especially the parts that were more traditional.

 

For instance, as a Shaman, my bond with the elements was less spiritual and more mercenary. He wasn't exploitative, mind you! He just preferred to keep his relations with the Powers that Be . . . "healthily professional." 

Goblin shamans are quite rare but also one of the more unique classes. The goblins depend on technology and power, so could there possibly be any better energy sources than the elements? Their freaking totems drill for oil without consuming any energy. THAT IS WHAT I CALL EFFICENCY! Goblin shammys FTW!

[Steel Accord 6,660]

Goblin shamans are quite rare but also one of the more unique classes. The goblins depend on technology and power, so could there possibly be any better energy sources than the elements? Their freaking totems drill for oil without consuming any energy. THAT IS WHAT I CALL EFFICENCY! Goblin shammys FTW!

 

Actually, that's another thing I loved about the classes, how each race interpreted them and where they fit into their respective societies. For the Orcs, Shaman are pillars of their community, their holy men and reclaimants of their pre-Demon Rage heritage. For Gnomes, mages are just one other kind of scientist and experimenter except with arcane energies instead of machinery or chemicals. So on and so forth.

[Akari of Duskshire 581]

@@Steel Accord,

 

That's pretty much my motive for picking up WoW in the first place, aside from all the lore and the environments.  I could never resist the urge to take an idea for RP and make a character out of it.  With that said...

 

*shows up at a WoW support group*  Hello, I'm Akari and I have alt-itis.  

Edited August 15, 2015 by Akari of Duskshire

[Steel Accord 6,660]

@@Steel Accord,

 

That's pretty much my motive for picking up WoW in the first place, aside from all the lore and the environments.  I could never resist the urge to take an idea for RP and make a character out of it.  With that said...

 

*shows up at a WoW support group*  Hello, I'm Akari and I have alt-itis.  

 

Oh you poor thing. "Hi Akari."

 

If it helps, I'm a recovering alt-aholic as well. 

[Akari of Duskshire 581]

 

 

I'm a recovering alt-aholic as well.

 

Oh really?  How many characters?

[Steel Accord 6,660]

Oh really?  How many characters?

 

Let me see . . . . seven . . . no eight . . . . no nine in total!  I really DID have a problem!

[Akari of Duskshire 581]

@@Steel Accord,

 

Uh...

 

Let's just say I managed to reach the max total of characters you could have on a single realm.  Times two. 

[Steel Accord 6,660]

@@Akari of Duskshire, 

 

Okay, your problem was a tad steeper than mine. Here's something that might help. Pick three, JUST . . . three characters off the top of your head that you thought were interesting and give them a short description here.

 

If you would like. 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 

Guys! Apparently the Order Halls will have different sections. Just from the Templar Sanctum for paladins, there will be one for both the Sunwalkers AND the Blood Knights! Yeah not just Alliance/Horde "stay on your side of the line" bullshit but actually differentiating between the sects that some of the classes are observed through!

 

The lore is being integrated! This is SO BADASS!   

Edited August 15, 2015 by Steel Accord

[Akari of Duskshire 581]

@@Steel Accord,

 

Let's see...

 

 

 

 

I had a blood elf mage who was one of the few who wasn't around to see the whole Scourge invasion and stuff.  She ran away after killing her mentor in self-defense around a decade prior to that.  She had been traveling ever since then and finally settled in Gadgetzan, being a mercenary and what-have-you (yeah, not the most original concept, but I was kinda new at the time).  In terms of personality, she could be summed up as a hitman with a heart of gold.

 

I also had a pandaren warrior (Horde) who is a blacksmith.  She came from Kun Lai Summit, mostly specializing in blades for the Shado-Pan and the monks at the Temple of the White Tiger.  In order to make her weapons better, she taught herself how to use them, but most of what she understands is,"Hold the part of the sword that isn't pointy and stick them with part that IS pointy," not all that spiritual monk crap (runs from the angry hordes).

 

Last but not least, there was my tauren druid.  She LOOKS Grimtotem, but she and both her parents are Mistrunner, a fact that she constantly has to point out to prevent being speared in the gut (which would be ironic, since her weapon of choice is a spear).  She was a huntress before she decided to take up the druid's path.

 

 

 

 

By the Earthmother, SERIOUSLY?!

 

[Steel Accord 6,660]

 

 

I had a blood elf mage who was one of the few who wasn't around to see the whole Scourge invasion and stuff.  She ran away after killing her mentor in self-defense around a decade prior to that.  She had been traveling ever since then and finally settled in Gadgetzan, being a mercenary and what-have-you (yeah, not the most original concept, but I was kinda new at the time).  In terms of personality, she could be summed up as a hitman with a heart of gold.

 

Well given that she was a mage who was a mercenary, that's not totally an unoriginal idea. The powers of an Ivory (or brass) tower mystic but the demeanor of Han Solo/Malcolm Reynolds. Plus her interaction with her people as being largely unaffected by their catalyst tragedy is an interesting theme. We see various reactions to things like natural disasters or terrorist attacks, but what about the ONE person who wasn't there? How are they effected/treated?

 

 

 

I also had a pandaren warrior (Horde) who is a blacksmith.  She came from Kun Lai Summit, mostly specializing in blades for the Shado-Pan and the monks at the Temple of the White Tiger.

 

You know sometimes it feels like I am the ONLY Pandaren who actually came from Shen-Zin Su.  

 

 

 

In order to make her weapons better, she taught herself how to use them, but most of what she understands is,"Hold the part of the sword that isn't pointy and stick them with part that IS pointy," not all that spiritual monk crap (runs from the angry hordes).

 

I hope that is the character talking and not you. :okiedokielokie: (Is actually dolan monk.) 

 

I really like the idea actually, the self-taught fighter more defined by their day job than their skills in battle.

 

 

 

Last but not least, there was my tauren druid.  She LOOKS Grimtotem, but she and both her parents are Mistrunner, a fact that she constantly has to point out to prevent being speared in the gut (which would be ironic, since her weapon of choice is a spear).  She was a huntress before she decided to take up the druid's path.

 

Oh I really like the idea of "was one class but became another." There was one idea I had toyed with a human monk who was a warrior, a Stormwind soldier, but suffered from terrible PTSD so he forsook all weapons and dedicated himself to the Pandaren's teachings.

 

 

 

By the Earthmother, SERIOUSLY?!

 

By Elune, seriously. 

[Stardust* 3,302]

I am seriously disliking the fact that survival hunters are going melee. I get that they are going to let only the beast master is going to be the only one who has pets, because of the whole you can have one or you don't have to in this last patch. But... come on... how is that even going to work. It frustrates me, I know they had melee weapons before and they did have attacks but it was mainly a range class. 

 

idk if this was posted about earlier, but it is my rant lol.

[Steel Accord 6,660]

@@Akari of Duskshire,

 

Well I asked you so it is only fair that I recite three as well.

 

-Chulorn, Dranei Vindicator: My first real main after vanilla was my "RP dry run." Unlike most of his people, Chulorn was born during the interdimensional exodus of the Dranei, his mother already pregnant when the Naaru "beamed up" Velen's disciples. As such, he never knew Argus but loved all of the worlds he got to see, the different races, cultures, magics, and terrain. His love of the many worlds they visited leading him to act as a defender to both the Draenei and their hosts. It was clear to the Naaru and the Prophet that the path of the Vindicator was right for him.

 

By the time they had reached Draenor, Chulorn had walked and fought upon many worlds. The idea of stopping on this one was something he had trouble grasping. They were the "exiled ones" but Chulorn found that to be a blessing in disguise. The Light wasn't the only gift of the Naaru but the freedom to travel the planes, unbound by the shackles of gravity and physical space.

 

After the final Exodus to Azeroth, Chulorn's biggest motivation was repairing the Exodar so they it may soar the Twisting Nether again. The Prophet tells of an "Army of Light" that will stand against the Legion. It's Chulorn's belief that this army should not be of but one world, however many times it's fought the Burning Legion, but many worlds all gathered together.

 

 

-Warthick, Worgen Druid: Warthick Kinsman was just an ordinary man living in Glineas, approaching adulthood, he neither had a wife nor a steady trade to call his own. The civil war had largely shifted him around from place to place, relying on other's charity with no way to repay them apart from sincere thanks. When the Worgen curse broke out though, Warthick heard something whispering his name, calling him. Through a series of events that don't need recapping, Warthick became a Worgen. Even before the potion restored his mind though, he was far more docile than the other victims. The wind whispered calming melodies to ease the beast he had become. The beast rested, and Warthick entered a dream realm of unparalleled natural beauty. With his newfound lupine strength, Warthick finally had a way to repay all of those who helped him, and he took advantage of that. Literally tearing into the Forsaken.

 

Still, the wind called him. It called him off the beaten path and into a grove that he had seen in his dream. When first contact was made with the Night Elves, Warthick was enthralled. He was not unaffected by the ghost stories and propaganda of "the outside world" but seeing the Kal-dorei before him filled him not with fear, but wonder. Like the fairy tales of his youth now stood before him. After helping him regain his human form and fighting the Horde, Warthick possessed an uncanny aptitude with shapeshifting between his forms and told the Night Elves of the wind and his dream.

 

They knew what this meant as Warthick was not unique, the Worgen Curse had brought out the latent Druidic calling in many Gilneans and Warthick was one of them. Thus, he and others were trained by the Cenarion Circle and became the new Druids of the Pack . . . reborn from the dead Circle's near extinction.

 

Now Warthick repays where once he only took, from a vagrant, the newly minted Druid feels a calling and a purpose in life he never knew before.

 

-Wei Yu Summerstep, Pandaren Monk: Wei Yu grew up on the back of Shen-Zin Su with his brother Lu Kwei. They both trained under Master Shang Xi but in the separate schools of Tushui and Huojin. This worked out well though. Where Lu where would blindly rush forward, Wei would point out the trip wire he almost stumbled into. Where Wei would try to calm two arguing children struggling to free themselves from a finger trap, Lu would just cut it in half and tell them not to be foolish next time. 

 

When the Alliance and Horde first made contact, both volunteered to represent their respective disciplines to their new friends. Before departing, they made a vow before the spirits of the elements, their teacher, and their ancestor Liu Lang, that they would one day meet again.

 

When Master Cloudsinger told her disciples of King Varian's command, it broke Wei Yu's heart.

 

Now what once filled him with hope and anticipation, the vow to see his brother again, instead replaces his hope with dread. For what would happen when they finally meet again?

 

To hopefully avert his dire fears, Wei Yu works tirelessly to foster peace between the Alliance and Horde, this puts him in an odd position as he has defended the people and interests of the Alliance many a time but champions a decidedly unpopular political notion. So his reception amongst Alliance officials is very mixed.

 

Wei Yu's other major motivation is the perfection of his discipline in the Tushui way, through both his philosophy and physical skills for they are one in the same. (My main.)

Edited September 16, 2015 by Steel Accord

[Akari of Duskshire 581]

@@Steel Accord,

 

(Ah crap, I got ninja'd)

 

Well thanks for all of that!  And the "spiritual monk crap" line is my character talking, so please don't throw beer at me, heal the guy you hired to kill me, or pummel me to death.  XD  I do have a monk and it's my favorite class to heal as (and I'm a martial artist in real life).  

 

And oh my goodness, it means my wish of a not-too-night-elvish Order Hall is coming true!  

Edited August 15, 2015 by Akari of Duskshire

[Steel Accord 6,660]

 

 

Well thanks for all of that!  And the "spiritual monk crap" line is my character talking, so please don't throw beer at me, heal the guy you hired to kill me, or pummel me to death.  XD  I do have a monk and it's my favorite class to heal as (and I'm a martial artist in real life).

 

Wait, you are too?! Awesome! So am I!  That's why the monk is now my main. What style(s) do you study?

 

 

 

Now, it's YOUR turn to share three characters!

 

Working on it, see above.

 

 

 

And oh my goodness, it means my wish of a not-too-night-elvish Order Hall is coming true!  

 

See? What did I tell you. Blizzard, you came through for us. Take THAT WoD critics! 

[Akari of Duskshire 581]

@@Steel Accord,

 

I study mistweaving tae kwon do, which is a Korean martial art.  You?

 

And I must say, that's not something I saw commonly with a lot of draenei RPers.  A lot of them were either content to remain on Azeroth or so desperately wish to see Outland restored to the home they had settled on.  A lot of them were also weary from all that traveling and so glad they have some place permanent.  Of course, I've seen draenei RPers with that wanderlust, but not like that.