Disappointed with new X-pac

#1 - Nov. 11, 2013, 12:55 p.m.

I consider myself a very average WoW player over the last 10 years. I have had a subscription for almost the entire decade. I now sub on and off as the content pulls me in. I have never been turned off by the humor or cartoony-ness of the graphics...

That said, I have never NOT purchased an expansion for WoW the day it came out. The last one was the closest I came to not purchasing, as many of the new features did not appeal to me (Battle pets being at the top of that, even above pandas!). But I wanted to play a monk and the landscape looked awesome...

Now that the dust has settled on Blizzcon, I see that the new X-pac will not contain any new races. Or classes. But it will contain a story that heavily involves time travel.

Not good.

Time travel is a concept that in every TV, game or movie I have seen it in means your product has jumped the shark and run out of ideas. The only thing worse in storytelling is the "It was all just a dream!" device. Not sure how they are going to implement it, but I would assume instance-style ala Caverns of Time or phasing. Fine for a patch. But didn't Blizzard just say in Cataclysm that creating a disjointed world was part of the reason it failed? Same with the Garrison concept. It's almost player housing...with phasing...which nobody likes and will be exploited in PVP...

I don't know. I hate bashing a game I have enjoyed for so long. Maybe this is the first expansion that we see the effect of hemorrhaging of thousand (millions?)of subscriptions. I don't know.

What I do know is that this the first time I have ever leaned heavily towards not buying the Xpack. As an average player, that makes me feel like I am not alone, and that there needs to be more of the things I would expect in a patch. What I see right now does NOT make me want for fork over $50. (New character models!!! Really?)

Cmon Blizzard, give me a better reason to stay! What is missing that you need to see from this Xpack? For me, the minimum needs to be a new race/new zone. Otherwise, what am I paying for?

Nethaera

Community Manager

#68 - Nov. 11, 2013, 4:13 p.m.

I consider myself a very average WoW player over the last 10 years. I have had a subscription for almost the entire decade. I now sub on and off as the content pulls me in. I have never been turned off by the humor or cartoony-ness of the graphics...

That said, I have never NOT purchased an expansion for WoW the day it came out. The last one was the closest I came to not purchasing, as many of the new features did not appeal to me (Battle pets being at the top of that, even above pandas!). But I wanted to play a monk and the landscape looked awesome...

Now that the dust has settled on Blizzcon, I see that the new X-pac will not contain any new races. Or classes. But it will contain a story that heavily involves time travel.

Not good.

Time travel is a concept that in every TV, game or movie I have seen it in means your product has jumped the shark and run out of ideas. The only thing worse in storytelling is the "It was all just a dream!" device. Not sure how they are going to implement it, but I would assume instance-style ala Caverns of Time or phasing. Fine for a patch. But didn't Blizzard just say in Cataclysm that creating a disjointed world was part of the reason it failed? Same with the Garrison concept. It's almost player housing...with phasing...which nobody likes and will be exploited in PVP...

I don't know. I hate bashing a game I have enjoyed for so long. Maybe this is the first expansion that we see the effect of hemorrhaging of thousand (millions?)of subscriptions. I don't know.

What I do know is that this the first time I have ever leaned heavily towards not buying the Xpack. As an average player, that makes me feel like I am not alone, and that there needs to be more of the things I would expect in a patch. What I see right now does NOT make me want for fork over $50. (New character models!!! Really?)

Cmon Blizzard, give me a better reason to stay! What is missing that you need to see from this Xpack? For me, the minimum needs to be a new race/new zone. Otherwise, what am I paying for?

First, it's not a story of time travel. It's a story of Draenor. There's not moment where you've disrupted the space/time continuum. There's no moment when you will worry about running into your double. It's an opportunity to experience it in it's (savage) glory. Nothing more.

Second, while you may feel disappointed right now, (though from what I've seen you might be one of the few), you may just change your mind. Have you watched the Live-Stream at all? There is an awful lot to get excited about.

That said, I respect that you may feel the way you do, but I think you need to really look at it all again and then keep an eye on our updates we'll be providing along the way.

I think you may just feel you've gotten a new race just by the character updates. We're not just talking about a re-skin, but talking about more bones, more movement in hair, facial expressions that bring characters even more to life, animation, and even improvements to how they SOUND when they walk. (Sound Panel for those that missed it.) We also have to ask ourselves if a new race and class is necessary or even makes sense. There are so many to choose from already and a lot of work that's gone into each existing one as it is. Do we really have room for more? Maybe someday in the future. Is now the time for it? Perhaps not.

If you want new zones, there are plenty of those see here. There are seven of them all being built from the ground up.

If you're hinging your total enjoyment on whether or not there's a new class or race though, then yes, you're probably going to be a bit disappointed.

Nethaera

Community Manager

#145 - Nov. 11, 2013, 5:24 p.m.

Have you watched the Live-Stream at all?

See that's is the largest problem with this expansion so far. I watch all the news on livestream and Direct TV and I'm very excited. Every one who hasn't and only watch the trailer can't make heads or toes of it. Please make another trailer to really show off the glory of this Expansion!

We'll be trying to collect all of the fansite coverage as well as continue putting out our own previews and content as we go along. I agree that for some, the information may not have reached them the way it did for others. We'll work on helping them get that as much as possible.

Glad to hear Draenor is SAVAGE

It's positively savage indeed. (Not Fred Savage though.)

Nethaera

Community Manager

#181 - Nov. 11, 2013, 5:46 p.m.

11/11/2013 09:24 AMPosted by Mishotem

Sorry, but that WOULD make it a revamped Outlands.

A new zone wouldn't need to be based on anything, that's what NEW implies.

Blizzard's definition of new and the actual dictionary definition of new are apparently two different things. See Neth's comments on how the new character models will be like getting all-new races.

My words taken out of context are just that. Don't make it sound as if it was a pithy remark to dismiss a concern someone had. There was more to the answer there. My point was that it may well feel (to some) like a new character with the enhancements/updates.

Outland is not being revamped. Draenor is a completely new world. Outland is the shadow of what Draenor was before it was shattered. We're not putting the pieces back together though. We're creating Draenor for you to experience as it was prior to it being shattered. It's being built (literally built) from the ground up.

Nethaera

Community Manager

#198 - Nov. 11, 2013, 5:57 p.m.

Quick question Neth, at Blizzcon it was said we'll see some paladin lore in the xpac. I think Draenei and Blood Elves were mentioned

Does that specifically mean we'll only see Draenei and Blood Elf paladin lore? Or will there be some Human/Dwarf paladin lore thrown in as well?

I'm not sure the extent myself and I'm also not sure if we want to reveal a lot on that as of yet either. I'll make sure I ask though even if I can't share the answer now.