Appreciation thread - level designers at Bliz

As a decent raider who saw much of the game's content so far (no I'm not the best by FAR, but I'm a very solid tank nonetheless and a not-so-shabby raid leader too!), I had the opportunity to witness many different boss fights and go through dungeons all across Azeroth and the Outlands. Being in level design study atm, I really want to show my appreciation to Blizzard on the skills displayed in their games and the boundlessinspiration you guys are to me as I learn more of my craft.

As silly as this might seem to some people, making a game's areas designed to help people who only have chat and voice to discuss strats and coordinate is a pretty amazing feat, especially with the complexity of encounters, the positionning, etc.

You guys definitely took the time to design the area based on the encounters, giving most experienced raiders a very good grasp of how a fight will go even if one doesn't know the strats. You can wipe a time or two, pay attention and come up with pretty decent strategies in no time, provided you have enough experience with the game.

It's truly sad a lot of games take gamers for dummies who cannot pay attention to their environment, most gamers I know are VERY sharp for observing their surroundings and learning how to use them to their advantages.

Subtly hinting at cues, giving visuals to help coordinate, following patterns... this is what makes success in encounters in Wow so gratifying! Imagine fighting a mindless mob in a big room you don't need, bleh, no challenge. After all, loot only gives so much satisfaction, I'd rather overcome tactical challenges!

Once again, THANK YOU Blizzard for making great games and feeding us new and exciting content, can't wait to see what you got planned for us in Icecrown and beyond!