Announcements during Blizzcon are designed to fuel the fires of the masses, and the folks at Blizzard are masters of the art. The throngs went wild over the news that a huge Cataclysm would rock the world of Azeroth and with it would come some slick items, two new races and enough quests to keep us all busy for another couple of years.
I'm probably most excited about the Worgen class. Playing a werewolf looks like a wild way to spend an afternoon or so. The starting load looks decidedly medieval in its architecture. A bit of old-world Germany is an excellent setting for an ancient, secretive wolfen clan. Gilneas should turn into an intriguing haunt for those a bit disgruntled with the Alliance like King Greymane is.
I got some insight from a couple of guys who were at Blizzcon on the Goblin race. This clan of vendors extraordinaire seem to have their roots in some serious Engineer gear. They can sport some seriously tricked out boots that make movement in a blink of an eye.
Blizzard's mastered the art of phasing in Cataclysm. This time around the entire world of Azeroth is remade when the cataclysm strikes. I've been waiting for this for a long time. Warcraft has all this environment that is lost when you get past level 55. The only reason anyone returns to the capital cities is for the auction house. It was a phenomenal waste of space when there were so many golden opportunities to lure the higher level characters back to the original lands and the dead zone known as the Outlands.
Lucky Blizzcon attendees had the awesome chance to play Cataclysm for twenty minutes a pop. I hear it absolutely rocks. Not everything was usable during the promo, but there was enough content there to make hardcore WoW players salivate in anticipation.
Guilds are going to get some interesting features. Most of the hardcore raiding guilds ought to like the "do it as a group" feature while some of the RP and social guilds might not dig it. I'm hoping Warcraft offers up some interesting achievements that blend raiding and social styles together so those Black Ops style raiders aren't the only ones cleaning up on the achievements and epic gear.
As awesome as Cataclysm looks, I have my own list of what I'd like Blizzard to implement in the next round of upgrades:
It seems to me the slant of Warcraft has become raiding in the last few upgrades and expansions. I have nothing against raiding. It can be a helluva lot of fun. But I'm not a dyed in the wool, plan my Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursday nights for five hours kind of raider.
Don't get me wrong. I've got nothing against uber Raiders. Nothing at all. Good for them that they can assault Ulduar on a nightly basis. Blowing through OS 25 man in 10 minutes is an outrageous feat. I get it. I dig the bragging rights and the economic opportunity involved. But, I also think that the players into PVP or just questing ought to be offered the same or equivalent rewards.
Just because a player doesn't specialize is instances or full blown raids, they're play shouldn't be penalized. There ought to be some sort of reasonable alternative.
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PvP players get the short end when it comes to gear. You can build up a ton of honor points to get epic pieces but it isn't close to the arena gear or the stuff you can earn with emblems. Obviously, the gear needs to be different, but it should be comparable. I don't think there needs to be a penalty attached to players that don't choose to raid.
Yeah, I know, there's going to a boat load of serious raiders screaming at me. They deserve better gear, they do harder content. Let's take those raiders, pull them into a round of Wintergrasp, and see what happens against the purist PvP players. Same with the elite arena teams and run a few rounds of Arathi Basin and find out the end result.
My point is, it doesn't matter what you're specialty is, you should be able to have the same options to get decent and extreme gear. That seems like a reasonable request when it comes to an MMO. Make it fun for all of the players not just one faction.
I'd also like to see some wild dailies. Show me some epic drops on these things periodically. Why not throw in a purple every once in a while? What would it hurt? It would definitely make the players working it for all possible on the dailies.
Speaking of dailies, can we please have more than six or seven of them? My God, I could seriously die of boredom if I have to make another friggin' meatloaf in Dalaran. I mean, just the Cooking skill alone deserves an easy 20 quests in the rotation.
Give me a Rum Runner daily out off the coast of Booty Bay where players have to raid one of the pirate ships for cases of rum to deliver in Booty Bay. With the rum, we could make some Scorpid shish kabobs. Give us a few chests containing some interesting loot and recipes and let us battle against the elements. A good storm washing gigantic waves over the bow might slow a warlock down or some good old-fashioned lightning strikes could halt a warrior's progress.
How about collecting some forlorn spirits in Duskwood or Darkshire? Make that worth some emblems or an even trade for items in Dalaran or the capital cities. I think a little ghost hunting might be fun. Maybe a few enchants or trinkets that enhance Spirit would be worth a play or two. With the essence from the spirits, players could make Mind Boggling Hot Chocolate or Wicked Silverleaf Tea.
You get the idea. I love recipes. I've got a Blacksmith that would kill for some highly unique recipes. The only things available are the standard "if you're Exalted with" or if you've killed some high level boss business. C'mon Blizzard, open up the realms. Have us stumble upon something bizarre in the Barrens or Ratchet. Let us bribe a vendor to reveal a new recipe or two.
Hey there's an idea. Instead of the standard options on the vendors, add a bribe button. If the bribe works, we get something hot. If it doesn't, the vendor takes the cash and "see ya, sucker."
I could go on and on. Inscribers need more glyph recipes. Each continent on the map should have glyphs specific to the region. Since Warcraft kind of gave up on the whole Alder/Scryer thing maybe faction specific isn't good, but it might be cool to see Horde based/Alliance based glyphs up for sale in Booty Bay.
I don't think I'm asking for a lot in Cataclysm, just better usage of already existing environments and more innovation when it comes to quests and gear. Make it reasonable for everyone and you will not only pull in a whole new legion of players but you'll maintain the loyalty of the crowd you have.
