It is amazing how serious people can become just because somebody they don't even know deletes his chars. I had to delete several comments on that quit-post that didn't contain anything else but insults. And you don't even want to know about the comments on the youtube video.
Of course, one reason one makes a rage-quit video is to get some attention. So, thanks for your attention, people ! :)
I want to elaborate a bit more why I quit WoW and what I am going to blog about next. First the fact that Pandas are childish may be true, but it is not the reason I quit. Hansel and Gretel is childish, yet I might absolutely play a game with this theme. I loved Buffy and still watch the series every now and then. I don't have a problem with childish themes per se.
Also, I did not quit because Blizzard uses an Asian theme. I don't have no problem with Asian themes. I loved Tiger and Dragon (Chinese), I'm absolutely in love with many Japanese themes. Neon Genesis Evangelion is one of the best series ever! Remove those Pandas from the screenshots and everything were fine. Actually, I am not so certain this is going to be any success in Asia. If an Asian MMO introduced some expansion about King Arthur, would you want to play that? Blizzard had almost used Japanese styles on those Pandas, which would have been a really, really stupid mistake.
I don't care whether there was some Panda some decade ago in some Blizzard game I might not even have played (can't remember). I am not a lore buff. WoW lore itself wasn't bad, but was conveyed by walls of text. Their story telling is at the level of mine twenty years ago. ”Arthas did this, then Demon did that, then the King did this ... “. You were perfectly able to play in the World of Warcraft without ever learning anything about the lore. And Blizzard probably even thought that this is a good thing. Well, I did learn very little lore while playing the last six years.
This is not about the lore! This is about the style of the world that my character lives in. And since I like to invest hundreds of hours into such a character, the general feeling is important to me. Pandas just don't cut it for me and they will be everywhere with the next expansion. I'd probably sit in some Panda-city-hub full of Panda-NPCs and teleport to my daily Panda-style dungeon and my Panda-style raids, wearing Panda-style items, reading Panda style quests ...
Moreover, 90% of the announcements at this Blizzcon were about moving WoW even more away from the game I would like to play. The devs apparently 'realized' that people love the dungeon finder and want to add more 15 minutes activities. More power to them! The next guy who tells me that it's just a burnout is going to be laughed at really loud by me!
Finally, it wasn't hard to delete these chars. The lvl85 druid was in a guild that consisted of players I don't know - everybody I did know in that guild had quit during WotLK or earlier this year. The lvl85 Priest had been played up to itemlvl 355 in less than two weeks. In all that time there wasn't a single occasion when I was tempted to join any guild or any community whatsoever. In fact, I didn't even encounter any communities!
What did I lose? Two lvl85 characters that I had stopped playing already, because the only things I could do was run troll heroics or collect pets and mounts and achievements *roll eyes*. I liked playing that lvl 40 rogue in BGs, but even without any heirlooms he leveled too fast.
What am I going to play now? First Rift. I already made a short video showing the much better graphics, but much worse animations.
In three weeks I am going to play Skyrim and even though I fear that I will start as a dragonborn hero, I might be able to ignore this part of the game and explore a true virtual world. Unfortunately it is single player.
Next year I will have lots of fun with exploring SW:TOR. While it is just as bad as WoW in many respects and certainly not a virtual world, it at least doesn't do pop references. Perhaps external IPs aren't so bad after all!
Later next year Guild Wars 2 comes out and then, who knows? In any case: WoW is dead for me. Pandas, my ass.
I can understand about Blizzcon. This is honestly the first WoW expansion they've announced that has done absolutely nothing to get me excited to resub.
ReplyDeleteIt's old, it's tired, Blizzard has alienated their core fans so many times they don't even know who their customers are anymore, and it's really, really obvious to everyone at this point that WoW just isn't a big priority for Blizzard anymore.
Hahah, oh god do I get pleasure reading the blogosphere this weekend.
ReplyDeleteIf you read the Q&A, one of the things that pops up is the "lack of resources" argument whenever players come up with some legit concerns about the gameplay of WoW.
Yet, things like the vanity pet combat system are being developed as a priority. The reasons are very obvious, especially with the existing pet store, etc.
Everything else in the presentation was also very vague and haphazardly put together.
I've heard good about RIFT... but the guys at the office that were fired up about it six months ago gave up on it pretty quickly. It's one I keep meaning to try out, too, but haven't made the time for it. Maybe if I can get it for $5 (with the 30 days) I'll jump in.
ReplyDelete@Nils: do also us a favor and stop posting about WoW. Otherwise you'll end up in the list of blog writers/WoW haters who spend their time talking about a game they don't play (and know almost nothing about).
ReplyDeleteBut it still sounds ridiculous to hear you complaining about simulation and immersion in a world which already had Werewolves in pink robes riding rockets together with goblins.
No worries Helistar, I won't post about a game I haven't played for more than two months or so. Until then I guess I'm still knowledgeable enough to post.
ReplyDeleteIf Blizzard had made an expansion where I had had to sit in a city full of werewolves with pink robes and do dungeons full of werewolves in pink robes and do quests for werewolves in pink robes, I had quit, too. Do you get the point ?
Tesh, I played Rift when it came out earlier this year and the endgame is even worse that WoW's. I made a few posts about it I think. For example, the essential macroing (Oh, also wanted to do a WoW post on that..)
ReplyDeleteBut the leveling game was a bit better, because you could actually die every now and then and the landscapes where more interesting.
I am not sure that I understand why you quit wow now.
ReplyDeleteAccording to your posts along the previous weeks, you were satisfied enough with some parts of the game to resubscribe.
I understand that you do not want to play the Pandaria expansion.
Are you quitting what you enjoy today because you will not enjoy what will be online in one or two years?
TBH, moonkin look way more ridiculous to me than pandas ever could. (And yes, I have one.)
ReplyDelete"Actually, I am not so certain this is going to be any success in Asia. If an Asian MMO introduced some expansion about King Arthur, would you want to play that?"
Small sample size is small sample size, but my Asian friends and I (also Asian) look forward to the expac with interest and fully intend to play.
Very good point Vinnz. The reason is a spike of emotions upon realizing that it is not a joke. This is (obviously) a rage-quit and like all rage-quits it happens quite spontanously.
ReplyDeleteI might still have gotten some enjoyment out of that lvl 40 rogue. But knowing the direction that Blizzard is about to go just cleared up any illusions I might have had. I could ignore an entire zone dedicated to Indiana Jones. But next year the entire expansion will be pop references - or feel like that.
Moreover, many of those design decisions, like revemping talents once again or speed runs with normalized gear are just so not appealing to me..
This is not a company that I want to give my money. I do have a personal antipathy towards Blizzard since last Friday, because they took one of my favourite games and turned it into a joke. Last Friday an emotional line way crossed.
Expansion announcements failed to excite me for first time, and talent changes show me either lack of understanding OR complete melee (and pvp) rework.
ReplyDeleteStill, i signed up for 1y plan. Because i fully intended to buy and play Diablo III to the max, and already had ~5m left on previous 6m renewal, so it comes out around 10-20 euro for half year of WoW... which, while getting less fun overall, is still fun enough to be worth that price.
I was with you until you mentioned Buffy, how is Buffy childish? It does have elements of fantasy and mirth, but the program tackled brilliant subject matter. OK so monsters, but that doesn't necessarily equate to childishness
ReplyDeleteHordemaster, I was more thinking about the romantic teenage content. But then we really don't have to argue about that. I am quite willing to accept that Buffy is for grown-ups :)
ReplyDelete