So here we are, on the eve of another World of Warcraft expansion. Wrath of the Lich King hits stores tomorrow. Or tonight, if you have a midnight opening in your area. Or a couple days ago, if you have a 7-11 nearby.
For over 11 million gamers, this is a joyous occasion, but for me…
It was bad enough when I didn’t get to go to the Outlands, now I’m missing out on Northrend too?
Most of the time, I don’t think about WoW, but every now and then I get the urge to play, and the promise of new and exciting content doesn’t really make it any easier to push that urge aside. When I first quit, I told myself that I’d done everything I wanted to do. There were no new areas to explore, no new levels to achieve, just farming for items, and running the same instances over and over. WoW’s endgame content couldn’t keep my interest. Then Burning Crusade came out, and I was severely tempted to pick it up again. The only thing that stopped me was the fact that none of my friends were playing on my server anymore, and they’d all moved over to a PvP server to play Horde. No, thanks, PvP was a big part of the reason I left in the first place. I am further turned off by the new triple experience bonuses they’re giving for referrals. That seems kind of cheap, and unfair in my opinion. I’m all for bonus pets, or different coloured mounts or whatever, but all players should be created equal, and turning the game into a pyramid scheme leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
Plus, I feel that I’m so far removed from the game now that I wouldn’t be able to get back into it. In the 3 years since I quit, listening to people talk about WoW has become less and less comprehensible. Occasionally I can relate to it, but the game has changed so much since I played that I don’t even know if I’d like it anymore. I try to tell myself that I wouldn’t, and even though that’s likely an enormous lie, there’s enough doubt there to keep me from reactivating.
It’s not that I don’t WANT to play, believe me, i really really want to play, I just can’t. Ignoring the issues I have with the game itself, I already feel like I don’t have enough free time as it is. Even putting aside games for a minute (I know, it’s difficult), I have other hobbies and interests that I’d like to pursue. If I were to start playing WoW again, I would slowly slide into social obscurity, and when I finally came back to myself a year or so from now, I’d have nothing to show for my life but an array of level 80s. I’m not exactly famous for my ability to enjoy things in moderation.
Let me know when you guys get tired of PvP, maybe then we’ll talk. Oh, we’ll also have to find some kind of drug to dose Chris with that makes him want to play an MMO.
World of Warcraft: 30$
Burning Crusade expansion: 40$
Wrath of the Lich King expansion: 60$
Monthly fee: 15$
Yeah sure, great deal. ;)
I feel your pain. When WotLK was first announced I threw myself into WoW like never before. I rolled a new character ad made it all the way to level 61 and was just started to tour around Outland and run with the big dogs when I just got burnt out. It was shortly after they finalized the release date for the new expansion. I did the math in my head and realized I just wasn’t going to be ready when it came out so I went cold turkey. I still keep my client and add-ons updated just in case, but I don’t think I’ll be going back for a while. If ever. Unless you wanted a troll hunter to adventure with. ;)
Well, Blizzard has fixed alot of issues with previous content, and done a nice job of bringing the graphics a little more up to date. One thing I DISLIKE, though, is it seems they’ve toned down the difficulty. That was one of the things I enjoyed about the game was being a guild that could GET SHIT DONE. Now it seems everyone and their brother with 1/4 of a brain can do mostly everything which makes me sad, but I guess Blizzard enjoys their truckloads of money…
I agree on the refer a friend, but Blizz came up with a good way to recruit new people, and get them up to level 60 quickly to catch up to their friends. It’s also nice to not have to level all your additional characters from scratch, being the timesink that wow is. Almost 60% of the game comes from end-game challenges, so it’s nice to not have to spend all that time getting there on every character.
I could probably talk about WoW forever, but they’ve done some nice things with the expansion like vehicles (in the form of tanks, catapaults, rideable creatures around the map), and have added alot more interaction with in-game models.
To comment on NotSoMuch’s price analysis, the monthly cost pretty much equates to buying a new game every 3 months (avg price of 45$). Do you buy a new game every 3 months? ;p
Time to start Warhammer online!!! Talk to me to join the server hubert and I are on :P
Re: Rob
I sure do buy a new game that often. And I probably clock the same time gaming as you do. I just get to play a whole array of awesome games. Socom, Valkyria Chronicles, Fallout 3, uh … um … Socom ….
As for Wow, I will admit that I do miss playing with alot of my friends who still play but I just can’t bring myself to play again. Bad memories from last playing haunt me still. Heh ;p
j00lie, if you ever play WoW again, then you’ll NEVER play anything else. Then your website would get lonely.
Hmmmm valkyrie chronicles…need to try that.
I also need to put in those last few hours on Fallout so I can finish that up.
I can understand your bad memories, except *I* am the guild leader lol. I stomp drama in it’s tracks! Plus we have Joe, master of downtime containment lol
Haha! I can imagine that.
That’s why I can’t play again. I have no self control, and I would be consumed.
LET THE HUNGER EAAAAT YOU lol