Evolve or Die

Ok, a little ranting here.

I see in the blogging community a lot of disenchantment and readiness to leave the game. Couple this with the recent loss of subscriptions and a game that is now an elder in the industry, we see a lot of discontent. I understand it, people will always have issues with game changes. I know I get irritated from time to time as well.

BUT! Evolve or die. The game as it is now, is very different from when it first came out 9 years ago. It had to in order to survive. Player bases change, the MMO culture has changed. Developers understand this and evolve the game in accordance with it's paying customers. That's business. I left other games with no hard feelings because I didn't like the direction the game took. Those games still have a following and still get profits without me. I am not offended. It is a business in the end no matter how individuals feel.

Recently we have seen changes in the pvp realms, and in the near future the raiding realms. The changes are not always easy to take, but they can be workable. How many old veterans remember when there was no cross server tech and had to wait for hours just to get into a single instance? I remember pre BC how hard it was leveling in greens and rarely seeing an instance, missing out on a lot of content. It's a lot easier now. The Flex system may give more people the opportunity to raid in a meaningful way. It does require a little work (god forbid that 4 letter word) of the player base to make acquaintances to build teams that meet when possible, but so what? Before he went to college, my son had created such a network of friends that he could fill any raid spot necessary to get a raid formed. This was due to his work. He knew that not everyone could be at a raid every time. Real life is real life. So he made his successes by doing a little leg work. In doing so he was a valued member of his guild and never had a raid canceled. That was because he felt that the game owed him nothing other than the opportunity of enjoyment. He did the work to make the game more enjoyable. This by the way while holding a 4.0 GPA in school, doing his chores and being productive. He wasn't lazy. No one told him to do this, he just did it.

What I'm getting at here is that by and large the game is there, but players need to work within the rule set or walk away. It's ok to walk away, but there are still so many opportunities out there to enjoy WoW.

It's time to evolve with the game. Run with the flow and see where it takes you. Keep an open mind, don't be stubborn. Give things a chance, you might be surprised. Yes there are times I bitch about mechanics. It's not that I'm opposed the the changes but just wish things would be tweaked to make them work better beyond theory.

This is my 2 cents for what it's worth.

Have fun out there!

Patch 5.3 PvP role check BULLSHIT!!!

Ok,
My rant for the day. The idea behind a role check in Battlegrounds seems like a sound idea...theoretically. In practice though...EPIC FAIL! Ya I said it. People have gamed the system and while they check in as healers...they don't bother dropping heals approximately 60% of the BG's I've been on both horde and alliance. But worse still, the mechanic is supposed to ensure a balanced number of classes are represented on both sides so one side doesn't have unfair advantage over the other. again...FAIL! After playing approximately 30 BG's, more than a few times I would walk in:

My side: 1 healer, 2 Tanks, X DPS
Opposing side: 2 tanks, X DPS, 3+ Healers

Mathmatics anyone? I would hope my luck wasn't that terrible but it seems of late it is. Anyone else seeing this as an issue?

Normally I try to give things a chance but really, this is irritating. I'd rather the old system was back where I knew how I was gonna be screwed in advance. But more importantly, I really wish that if players are gonna role check as healers, they actually drop heals instead of going on dps rampages then bitch about how they aren't being supported in the BG's. My answer, HEAL YOU SORRY LAME ASS BASTARD !!! I promise if you do, I'll do everything I can to keep you alive.

Nuff Said

5.3 PvP Rage

Well,
5.3 is up and running folks. It's largest selling point (the pvp changes) has also been it's most contentious one. There is a lot of debate on the effects of the baseline 65% resiliency, the capping of gear and the PvE gear in end game BG's.

The bickering seems to rage on as furious as Vol'jin's and Garrosh's attempts at each other's throats. Speaking of which, interesting storyline changes out there as well. Drop back down to some of the beginning zones in Durotan, seems Garrosh has put his uber elite Ko'Kran guards in place to keep things "peaceful". Rebellion is in the air folks. Wouldn't it be a hoot to see the Darkspear drop from the Horde roles and run a little with the Alliance? Holy crap that would have me rolling. The Tauren from what I've heard ain't too happy bout the situation either.

But back to my original thoughts. With all the extreme rage going on about mechanics changes, I gotta laugh at some of the inflexibility of folks. In the end, I think it's more important to play out the mechanics, do a little theory crafting, test said theories...then make recommendations. Taking a black and white stance withing 24 hours of live game play seems pretty stupid to me without some extensive testing the waters. I myself am still neutral about the 5.3 pvp changes.

The one thing I am a little disappointed in is homogenizing gear. Look, Raiders work hard in their skill areas. PvPers do as well. There should in my opinion be specific differences between endgame pvp and pve gear. Allowing them to blur seems pointless to me. PvE folks don't spend hours grinding through battle grounds earning points to gain gear. To me, I think it's not fair to see them gain any sort of meaningful edge in a BG. Yes, I am partial to PvP even though I suck at it lol. I just think that the gear should be different because the skill focus is different.

As to the rest of 5.3, well time will tell. I am looking forward to yet another BG choice. I have always really liked seeing different battlegrounds. I know many of them seem to overlap in objective styles, but seeing new terrain and new mechanics is always a joy.

So folks, what are your thoughts on the mechanics changes and gear changes? Good or bad, be specific if you can as I am always up for a spirited debate. I'd be interested especially if factual numbers can be employed..not just this sucks mentality.

On a last personal opinion point:
For every change there is a way to counter and defeat it. Yes it takes time to figure out...but no system is completely one sided or another. It takes time to figure out how to beat a nerf or a boon to one side or another. Keep that in mind the next time you hit the BG's.

Till next time, may your pockets be lined with gold and Glory be showered upon you!