You Still Play That?

Why WoW Still?

I've been asked on numerous occasions over the last nine years, "You're still playing WoW? Why? That game was OK at best, before expansion x" Where Expansion X is whichever expansion gave that player the impetus to leave the fold.  I've heard all the reasons NOT to still play. "They dumbed it down," "too many casual gamers ruined raiding/pvp," "Pandas? Really?," etc.  Quite honestly, I've been part of the problem myself in the past. I am enough of an old school gamer to consider the current incarnation of WoW "dumbed" down at times.  Looking For Raid certainly feels like it.  And the way dungeons are run today, its essentially a race to the loot and time to get onto the next one before some cataclysmic anomaly rips the fabric of time and space.... err or... we get bored.  However, there are many solid reasons to play the game still. It is after all, still the number one MMO in terms of users, and contrary to the Pay to Win trend, still subscription based.  Clearly, Blizzard knows something the haters do not.  Let's take a look at some of my personal favorites.

Population:  First off, even the "dead" servers are more alive than many of the other MMOs I've played.  There is something to be said for and against a larger population. The against of course is that "that so and so stole my kill/mat/loot/fill in the blank." Sure, there is more competition for resources and you might have to wait for a quest mob to spawn after being killed by the last three people ahead of you.  But, for as many times as I have grumbled about those very same things, I have grumbled far more in other games for having nobody around to do anything with.  One of the biggest complaints I have heard from people about games that I personally enjoy is "I feel like this is a solo game, nobody ever around to tackle the content."  Let's take The Secret World as an example.  It's a challenging game, with the lack of resources and clear cut classes, it's not for the faint of heart.  However, for those with the fortitude to play the game, it is a thrill ride with rich story and a variety of game play styles.  But without resources online (that are up to date, not outdated because the person maintaining stopped playing after launch), the only way to learn how to make a character is from either a mentor or trial and error.  The latter can be painful, as you can spend a ton of time working on a character that "looks and feels" cool, only to find out they are so weak they can't kill time, much less the mobs you have to kill to move to the next area.    I know at least five people in my gaming circle that tried it, loved it, but couldn't handle the loneliness of the game. It was next to impossible to get all five online at the same time, so groups could never get put together.  

World of Warcraft offers you a lot of tools here.  Not only do you have stable servers (and to be fair a few less stable ones), but you also have cross-realm content. While Cross Realm Zones have not been the success story Blizzard hoped (ie, nearly universally reviled by many players) Looking For Group, Looking for Raid, and the new Raid Finder for other content give players even on the deadest server access to other players who are looking for the same content they are.  This allows your character to not remain stagnant indefinitely. If it is, the fault is likely user error, not the game.  This is something I know a bit of something about.  I took a fair bit of time off the last two expansions to play other games.  The idea behind this blog originally came out of my disillusionment with WoW.  When I had to upgrade my main because the raid group I was still raiding with was out-gearing me, I had to grind hard core through content everyone else had already done. A few were willing to help (thanks Greyfield, Likka, Miketsu, et al), but for the most part it was LFR and solo work.  Without the tools at my disposal, I never would have caught up.  I went from being undergeared to being in the top ten in the guild in a matter of weeks, thanks to WoW's massive player base. Try that in a game with barely a million players over however many servers they have...

Content:  "There's nothing to do, I'm bored..." I hear that all the time in pretty much any MMO I've played, including WoW.    Guess what Sparky, if you're bored, either you need to go outside and see what that wierd glowing orb in the sky is (no, it's not going to land you a guest spot on Ancient Aliens, it's called the Sun, and it's supposed to be there) or you have skipped a whole lot of stuff to do.  Now, not all content will appeal to everyone.  I don't like PVP much (read at all really), but it's less about the content than the attitude of many of the current crop of  players.  I am not a trash talker by nature (despite my snarky comments, it's true).  But in PVP trash talking is a must it seems. And then there are the endless yo mamma jokes... Having buried my mom at 68 from Alzheimer's and having her lost to me at the age of 62 due to her dementia and institutionalization, this strikes a bit of a nerve.   Be that as it may, there is a ton of content in that department, and let's face it, PVP pays the bills.  It's where a lot of games, WoW included, get a large part of the membership base.  However, many other games stop there, or make minor efforts in other areas.  

However, in Azeroth, one can also do end game content of various raid tiers.  This content requires other bodies of course, but it's challenging and rewarding for those who want to do it. And they wrap up the stories that you've run through while questing/leveling.  And don't count the questing/story line out. Sure it's not Star Wars or The Secret World with talking NPC scenes and flowing immersive questing experience, but let's face, everyone space bars through that at some point or another anyways.   Don't get me wrong, I would love to see that in WoW, but I realize that the cost/benefit analysis at the end of the day says no, as it allows them to spend that time and money on more content for people who will stick around and provide that population I desire. 

How many people heard the one about how "Pokemon" ruined WoW? Right? Pet battles are evil soul sucking and a rip off of Pokemon to make the game more enticing to kiddies, right? Right? Guess what, no.  While it may be something that appeals to the dreaded casual gamer, most raiders I know are hooked as well.  They may be evil and soul sucking, but not because they are a rip off.  They are engrossing.  Collectors strive to collect every rare pet imaginable, but they did that anyways.  Who doesn't remember when a Hyacinth Macaw drop was a windfall of tremendous wealth?   But now, you have multiple reasons to collect. Not just the completion aspect of getting all of them, but they have breeds, rarities, and even slightly different models for the rarities.  And then there is the strategy aspect of it.  As a formerly avid board gamer, this aspect really appeals to me. Trying to put together the teams that will beat other teams, both other players and those pesky masters at the Celestial Tournament. And the rewards are good.  For those who care only about currency, the prize I got for defeating all the Masters needed to get the dailies unlocked paid a tidy 3000 gold.  Not a bad purse for something you do while waiting in queue anyways.

The Truth About Grinding:  One of the biggest complaints I've heard is that WoW is the World of Dailycraft (Guilty as charged for using that one myself at times).  Sure there have always been daily repeatable quests for you to do.  Every expansion has had a hub or three of dailies to do to grind reputation with some faction you will need to do end game content with, be it PVE or PVP.  However, that is how MMO's work. If there was no grinding in the game, you'd be completely geared in no time, and move on to the next game.  Without the grind, a game would have the same shelf life as your average console game, beat it in a week and sell it at Gamestop.  MMOs need you playing/paying to survive. Even the "Free to Play" games have that built in, they just offer you a way to save grinding time by opening up your wallet and using that piece of plastic that's on life support.  I actually knew a guy who took a second job for a couple of months to pay off his bill to one "Free to Play" game he had run up a bill higher than most people's mortgage and second mortgage combined all in the name of saving time in the grind.    Grinding is the nature of the beast.  It's a necessity of MMOs.   That being said, it comes down to personal choice in where you want to grind. For me, in the words of a wise old druid of dubious reputation, "Better the Grind I Know."  There is wisdom in that. Why grind away at something you know in six months you are going to move on from?  If I am going spend countless hours killing "mob x" to get "drop y" for "quest giver z" why not do it on the character I have nine years of my life invested in already?  Where I have friends who are doing the very same thing?  

When I started playing Procyon, my hunter main, my godson Charlie was in third grade.  He's in college this year as a frosh, and has grown into a rather smart young man.  Over the years, as he grew older and learned that I gamed, we grew closer.  No, he didn't play WoW (his mom would likely have disowned me as a relative had I tried to get him to), but we talked about it.  It was his question several years ago that I used as this article's post.  In many ways, my stubborn refusal to move away from WoW helped build a fantastic friendship with a tremendous young man that I am honored to be a godparent to.  So Charlie, this article is dedicated to you. :)