#0 - Oct. 25, 2008, 1:58 a.m.
On the virtually mandatory gameplay aspects of the infestation, I am relatively neutral. For some it is enjoyable, for others not. I personally have not been negatively affected by its presence yet (except for some extra time waiting on a guild member to make it to an instance because the flightmaster in Shatt was dead).
What I am NOT neutral on is the concept that those of us meant to be fighting AGAINST Arthas and his legion of evil undead are instead reveling in the chance to BECOME a part of the legion of evil undead. Blizzard is ostensibly writing a story with us, the players via our characters, as protaganists in a greater struggle to save Azeroth (and by extension, Outland). Instead, they have created a scenario where that line has become blurred, and players across all realms are now willfully handing their characters over to the wickedness inherent in Arthas' plan.
It takes away the heroic, epic feel of superiority over evil when our friends are ambling around Shatt killing the flightmaster, or griefing lowbie areas to prevent our faction's compatriots from rising up along side us.
No, I'm not an RPer, but Blizzard has taken enough license with the storyline to give me consistent pause, and I play to eliminate my enemies, not to become what I set out to destroy.
Surely there's a happy medium, if the goal is to infuse us with the evil that spreads from Arthas and Northrend, that doesn't alienate half your playerbase. Perhaps a mock-up of the previous invasion: Random locations with hordes of scourge that must be killed in a certain time lest your party succumb to the rot - and that rot prevents you from leaving that area and griefing lowbies or PvEers who really want no part in the "kill everything whether they like it or not" manifesto.
Ideally, though, we would simply let this zombie infestation die out and have a REAL Scourge Invasion again.