This article was not done by a blizzard representative. Blizzard does not acknowledge anything in that post. The author of that post is "MMORPG.com's World of Warcraft Correspondent" He is not a Blizz Developer. He does not even know what inscripting will be about as it will add no new spells whatsoever.

I quote: "the addition of inscriptions is certainly a new and extremely innovative idea. Not only does it mean bringing in tons of new spells which make the old spells redundant, but it means having sets of new spells along with increased old ones, giving spell casters a huge arsenal of potential spells to look forward to."

Inscripting will be a method of augmenting spells - not creating new spells in the examples I have heard you will be able to add a knockback to your fireball for instance or additional slowing to your frost bolt or additional bleeding to your cleave

It isn't clear exactly what will be available with inscripting but it's clear that this guy has little idea what he's talking about.

Originally posted by damian7

what is odd, is that blizzard is STILL acknowledging that 1% (or possibly less and it was rounded up?) of the playerbase engages in raids.  yet, they still are adding larger (25man) raids...

why?

Darren Bridle isn't a Blizzard Developer.

Originally posted by Majestico

I don't think that the dev meant that TBC was a failure.  Merely that the developement team had taken a long, hard look at what was popular, and 'seemed to work for the WoW players' with its first expansion, and use that info as a starting place for developing Wrath.

Darren Bridle isn't a Blizzard developer.

Just so we're all clear this is a report by a private author it's not a release from a Blizzard representative. Blizzard may not acknowledge any of these things as failures and in fact I have read elsewhere that the developers had fun changing the setting away from the main story and going a sci-fi route with TBC.

Stradden should have called the article exit interview for a dead grind fest

1% of the population raids -and managed to kill Illidan-.  The whole concept of 10-Mans bugs me though.  Unless they help classes substantially, they will always have a problem with group construction requirements.  There will be classes and talent builds that will continue to be pidgeonholed into oblivion and specifically be suitable only for precise situations.  Play that class and build?  Well, good luck finding help for a dungeon that you are not part of the "proper build" for. 

"This 10-man requires precisely three priests (Need to have the shields, Tree or Shaman or Pally won't do), one Prot pally (for AOE Tanking), one bear (Off-tank of special mobs), one prot warrior (Main tank, Pally or Bear won't work for this part), one rogue for 'real DPS', one mage for DPS and sheeping, one 'lock for adds, and one hunter to trap-dance with that annoying thing that can't be sheeped.  Can't use any other combo otherwise it gets harder, and we don't want things to be an actual challenge."

The real downsite to WOTLK expanison is that actually doesn't bring out anything new.  Ok - 1 new class that is more likely to create problems that have positive effects on class blances.  Flying mounts were HUGE factor in TBC and gave the game new drive.  Sadly there doesn't look to be any that lvl of New in this WOTLK.

---

Originally posted by Vatigu
this guy has little idea what he's talking about.

---

(Very simple example, but I don't have any other stanza screenshots handy.)

I think the Outlands and the Draenei are the best part of WoW, but I'm a science-fiction and science-fantasy fan. Plus I have a soft spot for Draenor and the lore surrounding it since reading and enjoying the "Rise of the Horde" novel.

Originally posted by Charix

1% of the population raids -and managed to kill Illidan-.  The whole concept of 10-Mans bugs me though.  Unless they help classes substantially, they will always have a problem with group construction requirements.  There will be classes and talent builds that will continue to be pidgeonholed into oblivion and specifically be suitable only for precise situations.  Play that class and build?  Well, good luck finding help for a dungeon that you are not part of the "proper build" for. 

 

"This 10-man requires precisely three priests (Need to have the shields, Tree or Shaman or Pally won't do), one Prot pally (for AOE Tanking), one bear (Off-tank of special mobs), one prot warrior (Main tank, Pally or Bear won't work for this part), one rogue for 'real DPS', one mage for DPS and sheeping, one 'lock for adds, and one hunter to trap-dance with that annoying thing that can't be sheeped.  Can't use any other combo otherwise it gets harder, and we don't want things to be an actual challenge."

First off, let me say that Wow has tons of great features, and I've enjoyed it enough that I've played it for about 3 years.

However, this quote above is quite correct in that it points out a major flaw in Wow.    Depending on the server, you can easily spend 30-60 minutes (or more!) trying to find a healer or a tank, and entering most instances without both of these is almost guaranteed to wind up in multiple wipes.

To me, there is one other factor that bugs me so much that I have put the game on hold (again).    At max level, you have one of two options for any real gear progression:  pvp or raid.    It is virtually impossible to make any significant gear upgrades once you've been max level for a bit thru solo efforts.      

PvP - I simply do not enjoy pvp in this game.   Gear imbalance, not to mention exploits for rating, underskilled or afk'd teammates are just some of the reasons.   Blizzard's increasing focus on something that was never originally intended to be much more than a diversion has gotten to the point where it seems more than half it's efforts are spent on this part of the game.

Raiding - Raiding can be fun.  However, the strict adherence to schedules, elixir and other buff costs, and frequent lack of inclusion due to guild hierarchy detracts severely from that fun.    Also, often we have the same 'needed class' problems mentioned above.    Only so many of each class type are needed for a given raid; no ones going to take 5 healers or 9 dpsers on a ten man raid.

Simply put, when I log onto an MMO, I want to play.    I do not want to wait around for an hour trying to convince others of specific classes to do what I want to do.    

Will I play the expansion when it comes out?   Probably.   And I'll wind up levelling my 5 70s to level 80, and then hit the same wall, and once again Wow will go on hold.

Originally posted by Thradar

"But what about arriving there on day one, along with 9 million other people"

/sigh  9 million people do not actively play this game.  It boggles my mind that informed people, even those writing for mmorpg.com, don't know the difference between "accounts" and "active players."

That being said, the only real positive thing I see in WotLK is the 10 man progression path.  Other than that it will be the same game.  Grind terribly written quests until you hit 80.  Raid, battleground, or arena until your fricken eyes bleed and the next expansion arrives in 2112.

You know what amazes me is people like you who talk about things they have no understanding of. Not only do you do that, but you also try to tell your opinion as the truth. I feel sorry that I have to explain this as it has been explained many times over in the past but here I go....

If you read the fine print on Blizzards statements about their playerbase it clearly states they count only ACTIVE accounts. This includes by the hour,day or w/e they use in china. This is also based on all subscriptions around the world and not just North america. Next time, please don't try to call mmorpg staff writers liars because you failed to comprehend basic english.

And no, I quit WoW awhile ago, I play Age of Conan.

They talk about release day blues but they don't mention what they are going to do about the 10 million death knights you will see for months.

If it were up to me, i would have designed two hero classes to be released. Would add a bit of variety.

Originally posted by noodlesan

You can't fault WoW.  You can only outgrow it...then again, there's not much greener grass anywhere else.

This. WoW is great. I took a break from it for a long time and just decided to go back and try a class I've never played - Paladin. I'm loving it.

Played AoC and after I got out of Tortage, I had absolutely NO fun. Tortage is also only fun the first out of 50 times anyways...

Originally posted by Myrathi

Originally posted by damian7

what is odd, is that blizzard is STILL acknowledging that 1% (or possibly less and it was rounded up?) of the playerbase engages in raids.  yet, they still are adding larger (25man) raids...

why?

...because they're tailoring the raids for 10- and 25-man groups, in the same dungeon. That opens up "raiding" to the unwashed, non-hardcore masses, much like Karazhan and (arguably) Zul'Aman did, and dumps that prior 1% in with an even larger proportion of generic players.

I can see why Bliz are doing it this way but, personally, I liked being in a guild that was able to 1-shot Nefarian and frequently even C'thun (pre-TBC obviously), putting us that much higher up the food chain than the folks with a lack of skill or lack of co-ordination and leadership; back when wearing certain guild-tags was a badge of accomplishment and even pride, of sorts, and the equipment was visibly different - not this pathetic new excuse of "set B and set C are just set A re-coloured" rubbish.

Now any muppet can wander into Zul'Aman and Black Temple with a pre-written guide and some arguably competent buddies or grind themselves to oblivion (using one of the various exploits, if they care to) for the latest broken-resilience-stat arena gear and be right on par with the skilled PvE folk who could actually kill Vashj and Kael'thas for their vials before Bliz removed the attunement requirement (they were called the Guild-Breaker Bosses for a reason).

Sure, the last couple of paragraphs may sound elitist but I had more alts in non-hardcore guilds than I did mains and just see it as Bliz removing some peoples' ability to shine and prove that they are, in fact, capable of out-performing your normal, everyday player; I had almost as much fun searching out quality players in those alt guilds as I did taking down the end-game bosses.

For me, the more Bliz dumb the game down, the less fun the game becomes. If there's nothing challenging left to do, then what's the point?

The downside of being the minority, I suppose.

...and so much for me not ranting. Heh.

Yes that is the elitist view and at least you can admit it. And at least you can admit it to being the minority. Gotta say grats on seeing it from that side and realizing the minority always looses in the end. That said 10 mans may be the awnser and may not be. Depends on how blizzard adds it in. I know there will be no more keying ect but thats not all that needs fixed in there raiding system.

Originally posted by laresloci

I think all these gaming companies are feeling the AoC "pinch". And further trying to make excuses. Not the some of them are valid. However, it's trying to diver to a class of customer with too high expectations. So, what do you do...but try to lower them a bit. I bet marketing just hates doing that.

LOL your Joking right ? lol Conan has not pinched anybody yet it is barely a million subscriber game if that many. It could barely scratch warcrafts numbers. Conan is a overhyped console game with pretty graphics.

Nice post but I won't be playing the next expansion. Too much of the same ole same ole.  The one thing they still haven't learned is to not try to please everyone but then again, maybe they have learned that based on their numbers... BG's ruined WoW for me but I know I'm in the minority. I miss the days when epic gear was earned and not the norm.

Originally posted by Perko

"Wrath of the Lick King" ? LOL!  Maybe they can get Gene Simmons to do his voice?

That would be too cool.

Good luck with Wrath of the TIME SINK... I will not farm and grind over and over again... I want a fun game and certainly, WotTS will never give me that... So, I PASS...

Cya in W.A.R.

I think Hero classes will ruin the game further and really unbalance the game like say them adding the medic patch to TF2 and everyone went medic, the current classes are fine and no need to add more.

People who say WoW is boring generally have failed to use their imagination in playing the game.  there are so many different ways to approach the same thing.  If that's dumbing down, I'll take it.  I have taken about six or seven different tacks on the game over these last fw years, and enjoyed all of them in different ways.  Crafting/money.  Solo adventuring (roleplaying in my own head). Social/guild/relationship focus.  Clothing - not worrying about how tough I am, accepting slower "progress" in favor of a cool look.  Dueling. PvP. Dungeons. it was only at the beginning that I felt any pressure to level, now I just have fun. 

I wonder if the need to hate WoW is related to the way music fans hate bands that become successful, because it challenges their sense of ownership of something that was never theirs in the first place.  Like, what... Eve is not a business? 

Yeah "failing" is an odd word to use for the most successful ex pack ever.  I can understand saying that you personally felt detached from the mainland but I really don't think most people noticed.  I kinda didn't like the whole draenai space-age theme but it didn't really effect how I felt about the game as a whole.

I guess I should expect writers on a general mmo site to put a hyper-critical eye on wow since they're the big guys who some feel should be knocked down a few notches.  I just wish every game was reviewed with the same critique.  Problem is I guess no one would even go near them. 

Originally posted by Myrathi

Originally posted by damian7

what is odd, is that blizzard is STILL acknowledging that 1% (or possibly less and it was rounded up?) of the playerbase engages in raids.  yet, they still are adding larger (25man) raids...

why?

...because they're tailoring the raids for 10- and 25-man groups, in the same dungeon. That opens up "raiding" to the unwashed, non-hardcore masses, much like Karazhan and (arguably) Zul'Aman did, and dumps that prior 1% in with an even larger proportion of generic players.

I can see why Bliz are doing it this way but, personally, I liked being in a guild that was able to 1-shot Nefarian and frequently even C'thun (pre-TBC obviously), putting us that much higher up the food chain than the folks with a lack of skill or lack of co-ordination and leadership; back when wearing certain guild-tags was a badge of accomplishment and even pride, of sorts, and the equipment was visibly different - not this pathetic new excuse of "set B and set C are just set A re-coloured" rubbish.

Now any muppet can wander into Zul'Aman and Black Temple with a pre-written guide and some arguably competent buddies or grind themselves to oblivion (using one of the various exploits, if they care to) for the latest broken-resilience-stat arena gear and be right on par with the skilled PvE folk who could actually kill Vashj and Kael'thas for their vials before Bliz removed the attunement requirement (they were called the Guild-Breaker Bosses for a reason).

Sure, the last couple of paragraphs may sound elitist but I had more alts in non-hardcore guilds than I did mains and just see it as Bliz removing some peoples' ability to shine and prove that they are, in fact, capable of out-performing your normal, everyday player; I had almost as much fun searching out quality players in those alt guilds as I did taking down the end-game bosses.

For me, the more Bliz dumb the game down, the less fun the game becomes. If there's nothing challenging left to do, then what's the point?

The downside of being the minority, I suppose.

...and so much for me not ranting. Heh.

You got that damn right QFT
 

Originally posted by damian7

what is odd, is that blizzard is STILL acknowledging that 1% (or possibly less and it was rounded up?) of the playerbase engages in raids.

They said that? Where? Link?

Not going to copy the whine above, I did my share of raiding and if the absurdity of such raiding did not get to you, then you most certainly are not normal.   Spending 2 or 3 days collecting the cash so you could afford all the reagents and potions for the 3 day weekend raids, where you ran the same instance and same fights over and over until you beat them....

That does not even take into account all the grinding to get the faction points needed to enter such.

To whine about losing that portion of the game just makes me want to gag.  At least Blizzard is far wiser than you are and fixed the problem.