BlizzCon 2011 is over and the hype is well a truly surrounding the (not too) surprising revelation of World of Warcraft’s fourth expansion pack – Mists of Pandaria. Despite the hopes of many World of Warcraft players that Blizzard may forgo the usual retooling of the WoW formula that has graced every expansion to date, Blizzard has once again chosen to throw a few curve balls into the mix, this time with the clear intent of reinvigorating a declining and desperate player base. It’s clear that with Mists of Pandaria Blizzard not only intends to add some spice to the mix (as they have with previous expansions) but also see off tough competition in the next year from perhaps the largest threats to their clear dominance of an ever evolving market since Rift. The question I find myself asking is this: Have Blizzard done enough to make me consider a return to Azeroth for Mists of Pandaria in 2012?
The answer is: I don’t know. And I’m going to reveal something that will perhaps annoy some of my readers looking for a less “fanboy”-ish rant about the announced features than you’re likely to get on other blogs: I’m not going to spend this post trying to figure out whether I’ll come back to World of Warcraft or not. I’m not even going to spend a great deal of time talking about the features they’ve confirmed.
The truth is that BlizzCon announcements pertaining to World of Warcraft should be taken with a pinch of salt. If I had a dollar for every feature or asset that has not made it into the game post-BlizzCon hype, I’d probably be able to afford a new copy of vanilla World of Warcraft. And although that little joke diminishes the point I’m trying to make it should still be regarded with some weight. These aren’t just the “bit part” content features that they’re showing us, but instead the very meat and bone that will give the expansion its substance. These are the features that will keep World of Warcraft players subscribing just to get a leg up on their fellow players come expansion release (and the fresh grind that accompanies it).
Back at BlizzCon 2010 Blizzard spoke about Cataclysm as if it were a fresh start for World of Warcraft but when the expansion came about much of what gave the continuation its depth had been dropped or changed or delayed. Path of Titans – for example – was a feature with much promise but was clearly going to be difficult to implement. Instead of mustering down and seeing through content that could have unalterably changed how players perceive end game progression in MMOs, Blizzard chose to drop the feature in favour of adding an extra Glyph. This annoyed me, and so when Cataclysm was released the only feature that I had actually been looking forward to had been dropped almost entirely from the game; I quit after the first tier of raid content, only completing two (gimmicky) heroic encounters. I realised that Cataclysm, despite the allusions of Blizzard, was simply more of the same.
If we assume that the content we have been fed this year will in fact make it into expansion four, there are a few things in Mists of Pandaria that really inspire me to return. The Monk class is an archetype that could prove quite interesting especially with it dismissing the notion of auto-attack dominated melee classes; what if Blizzard realises that balancing a class with no auto-attack, as well as making it compelling to play, is going to be too difficult? The Scenario system is also something that peaks my interest not least because of its shirking of the tank-healer-dps mechanics; again, what if Blizzard decides that creating compelling encounters is not going to be possible without those tried and tested group roles? The new talent system, whilst seeming simplistic and underwhelming, suggests that there will be more choice for the player in which abilities he chooses and uses for a successful build; and yet again, what if Blizzard decides that the “cookie cutter” approach to spec balance is something they should apply because the alternative is just too costly in development effort and time?
If The Burning Crusade, Wrath of the Lich King and Cataclysm have taught me anything it is this: expansion features announced at BlizzCon never turn out quite as we expect them, either through being dropped entirely or through the insidious process of patching and fixing. And with every BlizzCon that comes with a World of Warcraft announcement also comes the inevitable “are you going to play WoW again” question. I am choosing to defy that question. As it stands Blizzard have unveiled some interesting features for the new level set; whether they hold my interest or not will depend entirely on what they are like at release.
http://dotdotdashblog.blogspot.com/2011/10/balanced-look-at-mists-of-pandaria.html
I am also going to be taking the wait and see approach. I think if it releases in the time frame of March or April it will be good timing on Blizzard's part because by that point people will really be getting a good look at SWTOR's end game or lack thereof and will likely be before GW2.
I have wanted for years now for there to be some kind of advancement system at max level in WoW. For me it is the key thing missing from longevity especially at this point in the game's life cycle. If it's just a repeated gear grind then you really don't have a sense of accomplishment. The achievement system with LK was initially promised to be something akin to this, but it turned into a completely hollow feature.
Features that look interesting or even cause a loss of interest may be polarized or completely removed by the time they get to release.
Sat Oct 22 2011 10:52PM ReportMMORPG.com writes:
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