#0 - June 25, 2009, 12:40 p.m.
This game has 10, well-done and fun classes, with the balance adjective as close as one could ever hope for it to be outside a perfect world. This game is always changing, and if it weren't for the patch system, we would be standing on sifting sands, and with each patch every player devoted to this game instead takes a leap. Some times its a blind leap, others a leap of faith--as a personal example, guild troubles caused me to take a break from the game earlier this year (not to say anything of the PvE content; I actually really like the way the game and community have evolved). And, as it probably did many others, I jumped back in with 3.1, with the aftertaste of Naxxramas and the other early content of Wrath still sour in my mouth: I, like many others in the upper 'tier' of raiding, was dissatisfied by the raid difficulty and things to do once Nightfall/Twilight Vanquisher were gone and out. What I did not, jump back into WoW with, was thoughts of my class or others, even taking many changes in 3.1, I was confident that the game would be if not the same, for the better, not worse.
I think that, especially since Wrath, class balance and the developmental way of going about things, has only gone in a great direction that may or may not have been present in this game before, and I, like many others, pin this down to the personality that is Greg "Ghostcrawler" Street. Change is good, and is the only thing that makes life worth living. We may not be in hell nor heaven, but, like a perfect life, you have struck a balance between them that not only makes this game fun, but a real living world and almost a life.
Understanding this isn't hard: people make a connection to this game and its depth, and you have recognized that many times. People get upset, and people get ecstatic: it is human nature. This post is an attempt at something, sadly, a bit less natively human--reaction through feeling and understanding.
I stepped into Ulduar, instantly enraptured. This was an old titan construction, whether a city or citadel,
workshop or throne. Its occupants driven a little mad, by madness itself, better known as Yogg-Saron. We saw Flame Leviathan: the essential gate-keeper of the raid. We go in guns a-blazin' and hit a giant truck. In its most basic form, kite him until you're able to overload, repeat until dead. As the towers stand tall, the real beauty of the fight emerges: watch where you're moving, be good at manuevering your vehicle, and stay on top of things--don't let yourself get in a position to be smashed, staying alive is a must; he must be overloaded, and fast--the damage from his ever-increasing charge speed and the turrets themselves are nothing to blink at, with your tanks wearing down more quickly rather than not if not contended with--making having skilled, geared players take on a responsibility that the fight hinges on; his flame vents needing to be interrupted by siege engines that must also contend with the adds flying around the area: both of the plant-based and pyrite-flying variety; and rock-solid health that not only requires you to perform well until its over, but also requires your demolishers to push out damage and for your raid to make sure that happens. Each of these factors is more than just an aspect of the fight: it is the tuning behind a well-designed encounter. It makes a really enjoyable, fun entrance to Ulduar--and is only the tip of the iceberg. This reflection is getting pretty long at this point, so, I'm going to jump to an encounter I see most fit: Yogg-Saron.
