Joe's World... of Warcraft - Waiting for Lich King? What to Do?
In Joe Iuliani's World of Warcraft column this week, he discusses the feeling of futility that he is feeling in waiting for the new WoW expansion, and offers some suggestions to players of things to do in the meantime.
There is no doubt that WoW will always be looked at as one of the defining MMOs to ever hit the gaming world. Love it or hate it, there is no denying its impact on both computer games, and main stream culture. As great as a game WoW has been, I can’t help but think “Now what?”
With the announcement of Wrath of Lich King expansion the game feels like it has come to a bit of a stand still. In my opinion the announcement came far too soon. I understand it was Blizzcon, and Blizzard wanted to make a splash, but I do think it was a bit unfair to the players.
Expansion announcements always have a way of slowing the drive of many game players. It’s hard to motivate yourself to work toward items that will be rendered obsolete by future quest items and random drops. This was made evident when the Burning Crusade expansion was announced. Game advancement came to a halt. Remember Naxx? Count yourself lucky if you do. How many folks even stepped foot there, let alone progressed through it. Both The Black Temple and Hyjal Summit face the same danger as Naxxamaras, two great well thought out and designed instances that most players will never see.
Guild “progression” sites such as ww.Wowjutsu.com keep track of instance statistics. Take a look there or your preferred site of choice to see the current percentile of instances conquered.
Does this mean that your average WoW player will linger in limbo while waiting for the expansion to be released? What is a player to do while waiting. Here are some thoughts:
- Raids: Raids still yield the highest level gear in the game. Unfortunately as the statistics show only a small amount of players will ever see this gear. I suppose that is the reward for being one of the elite players, it’s just a shame that the vast majority of players will never see it. Gratz to all those out there that have rallied to the cause, and to the guilds that made it through the higher end instances.
- Daily Quests: With luck some new daily quests will come along. The current ones are a great source of income for repairs and grinding out those 300 riding skills. (Once you go swift flight you’ll wonder how you played without it) Although the daily quests are beginning to feel more like a job, than an enjoyment.
- PVP: With the third season Arena gear available and first season Arena gear available for purchase with honor and badges, it’s a nice way to gear yourself up if you aren’t lucky enough to be in a higher end raiding guild. Of course there is always just the fun of beating down the opposition, which is always good wholesome fun.
- Seasonal Quests: Always a good time, fortunately for us there are enough seasonal quests throughout year to keep things entertaining. Especially with Winter Veil upon us, keep an eye out for my special eggnog recipe guess the secret ingredient and win….well nothing.
All of these are nice diversions and a way to get your WoW fix in for a day, but is it enough? Over the past three years I never gave as much thought as to the next MMO to jump to as I have over the past three months. WoW, for me, has just turned to “Ehhh”
