Next WoW Expansion announced
by Tachyon on Fri. 21. October 2011, 22:59
Filed under: wow, expansion, pandaren, blizzcon
Today, Blizzard announced the next WoW Expansion at Blizzcon 2011:
Mists of Pandaria
My interest playing WoW:MoP: Zero. Zilch. Sorry.
In the early years of WoW, I almost spent the equivalent of my in-game time outside of WoW, writing guides in the guild forum, exploring and discussing spell mechanics, starting this blog and writing countless analysis and simulation programs for myself to optimize my gameplay. That was a game of its own, and I loved it.
Over the years, I've seen many of a in-game friend getting tired of WoW, taking pauses of the game for a few months or permanently quitting altogether (*hugs* to Face, Wammer, Farbelila, Morello, Nemthros and all the rest, miss you!). But not once did I grew tired of the game (I think this is due to me playing rather moderately, the candle that burns half as fast lasts twice as long). Not once, until Cataclysm hit.
I still don't know why, but I lost more and more interest in theorycrafting and writing guides. There was nothing new to explore. Rotations, stat weights and mechanics became public domain, the just-do-what-EJ-tells type of mindset was good enough to beat the content, why bother do to more. Moreover, the mage class became a trivialized version of itself (I'm looking at you, Arcane spec!).
Here I am, stranded at a point where I don't expect anything new to come to the World of Warcraft. I won't blame the game, it was great for what it was, and trivializing it is the only reasonable approach to keep it playable. And somehow it becomes clear to me that this probably is the last WoW expansion I'd bother spending my time on.
Don't misunderstand me, I still love playing the game, but it's no longer that honeymoon feeling. Raiding still makes me want to play, and I look forward to the next patch because of Deathwing (I hope that's more than shooting at his metal scales standing on his back while he flies loops) and transmogrification. This, but nothing more.
But then there's that other game, one that I eagerly await, the one that has my soul since I started playing the series in 1996: Diablo III!
Can't wait to play monk and wizard in the world of Sanctuary!
I away thee, hordes of terror, for thou shalt face my martial and arcane arts, soon!
Blizzard announced today that Diablo III will be free for players that open up an annual subscription to WoW (which includes Yet-Another-Mount and the guaranteed opt-in for the next WoW expansions). Will this keep me subscribed? Probably not, but I couldn't say no now for sure. We'll see.
What about you? Still playing WoW, still planning to play the next expansion? Share your thoughts and enlighten me
Björn wrote:
posted on Mon. 24. October 2011, 07:45
I'm with you 100%. After 6 years of raiding and enjoying every bit of it, things have gotten increasingly boring. I also look forward to 4.3 and Deathwing, but that's it. My WoW career will end the day before 5.0 is released. Panda Monks, Kung-fu and Pokemon battles? No thank you. I'll find another game to play I think. Diablo III? Star Wars: The Old Republic? Not sure what else is on the horizon that will get me immersed the way I've been with WoW.Hikage wrote:
posted on Wed. 09. November 2011, 14:48
Keeka and I already ended our return to WoW with cataclysm in February when the 'same old, same old' feeling returned after our (brand new cataclysm) characters hit the level cap and gearing up was the thing to do.Raiding wasn't _really_ an option after Styx was disbanded anyway. Even though we found a guild, we also found it lacking in comparison. I suppose the massive lack of feeling needed was the main downturner for my wife, we both fondly remember the concerted drive to get us somewhat raid-viable in Styx.
I realize those were different times - no PUG raids, etc. - but i also feel those were better times.
So far every one of our WoW playing periods has been shorter than the one before. Chances are we won't bother with the next expansion.
Also, there will be SW:TOR, although i must admit that my enthusiasm diminished a LOT over the last months, realizing it may actually not be THAT different. Well, it's still Star Wars
and KOTOR was great, so I will most certainly check it out at some point unless reviews are abysmal.
alaka wrote:
posted on Sun. 04. December 2011, 14:06
Hi Tachyon,I'm following your blog with a big interest since more than One year and I exactly feel the same about Wow.
Let's see what the futur will be, maybe DIII or SWTOR ... let's see. But it is certain that will not be Mists of poképanda.
Baul wrote:
posted on Thu. 15. March 2012, 02:01
I'm really looking forward to it actually! Could just be that I haven't been around since Vanilla (started in BC and barely hit level cap by the end of that), but the idea of lots of new pets to collect and especially a new hybrid class really appeals to me. I deactivated after Firelands (which I liked a lot, but didn't want to deal with Disappointwing) but I'm almost 100% certain I'll grab the annual pass. Especially since it'll be up around the time Blizzard's Titan MMO is supposed to come out, in 2013. And since I'm eligible for the Scroll of Resurrection benefits
Cross-realm raids, heroic dungeon achievements/rewards for timed runs and such, combined with the increased attention Blizzard will be able to give to endgame since they don't have 2 new races AND an entire 1-60 revamp to do pretty much seals the deal for me! Healing the heroic 5-mans when they were quite hard at the very beginning of Cataclysm was some of my favorite WoW playing time EVER, and massively improved my ability as a holy paladin (what? I should actually USE hand of sacrifice?), so I'm looking forward to some compelling 5-man content in Pandaria. Bugged me that mages were so gear-dependent at the start but man it felt good to get geared up!
And of course, I'd really like the chance to play with you some time if you do decide to get the annual pass! I've been following your blog for years now =)