World of Warcraft Patch 2.3 Coming Next Week

Blizzard has officially announced that World of Warcraft Patch 2.3 will be dropped onto live servers next Tuesday. It's a huge update to the behemoth of Massively Mutiplayer games, including elements like a new raid zone called Zul'Aman, significant class changes, new questing content in the Dustwallow Marsh zone, and an increase in leveling speeds between 20-60. The full patch notes are available on the official site. "Elsewhere Guild Banks let you keep track of and organize your stocks much more efficiently, the Auction House has been revamped so it is easier to use, and you will be able to pick up daily quests so you have something to keep you from falling asleep as you go back to the same dungeons or battlegrounds again and again. The old 40-man Alterac Valley battleground has been fiddled with, too, so it should now have extra added fun, and those of you around the mid-level mark should head to Dustwallow Marsh for new quests and speedy leveling."

Comments

Re:WOW - It's So Cute!

[e1618978]

You won't make it to the very top - the very top is already occupied by the guy who inherited the business from his dad after playing WoW non-stop for 20 years. And I for one welcome our new rich kid, WoW playing overlords. Seriously, if you work so hard that you have no time at all for a little computer game here and there, then you probably will never live long enough to enjoy your hard won earnings. Your WoW playing kids will spend it right up after you die, though.

Was WoW simply the least bad MMORPG?

[SmallFurryCreature]

I got a pet little theory about MMORPG's and that is that most players play them, because there is nothing else. WoW was king not because of its excellence, but because of its one eye in the land of the mole people.

Currently my drug is LOTRO, and I can see once again just how bad the game is. Not bad in a conventional "crash and burn" type way, but bad as in, I can't believe I am playing this, kinda way.

But I need my MMORPG fix, and for now LOTRO provides it. But I am looking constantly for something new.

I get the same feeling from other players, we know the likes of Blizzard and Turbine and SOE are yanking our chain but we need that fix and we are forever hopefull that the next supplier of our drug will get a clue and provide a FUN game.

You know what I find hardest to understand? The insistence of companies to add a tedious grind for miniscule advancements. Oh but you got to keep the player intrested, else he will quit playing after one month and then were will we get our money?

One simple answer, THE SIMS

A fun game, that easily spins as much money most MMORPG's, yet it provides player with FUN so they keep coming back for more (Sims expansion packs are not quiet as regular as once a month, but they cost more AND the company doesn't need to provide servers and customer support).

There are countless more games that get endless replay simply by being FUN! I played Bioware RPG's several times for the HELL of it. So why do MMORPG companies feel they got to add endless grinds to keep players hooked? It doesn't really work on myself, I prefer the middle game and once that is done, I move on. Considering that most MMORPG slowly die I can't think it really appeals to that many people, just most keep playing until they find somethingbetter.

Is it just LOTRO that right now is a bit deserted after the EU launch of Tabula Rasa?

Would I recommend trying LOTRO at the moment? No not really, the game is rapidly dying in for the early levels. Everyone is either working on their end game OR leaving for greener pastures. Oh that still leaves a lot of people playing, but if you want to logon during the week, be prepared for some very lonely areas. Same thing happened to EQ SWG WoW and probably countless other MMORPG's I never bothered with.

Sometimes I think the most innovative element a new MMORPG could introduce was permanent death upon achieving the top level. Reach say 100 and you got time for a few epic quests that end your characters heroic journey, before fading away and forcing you to start a new character. Gone would be the mad rush to end game, the constant demand for insanely high level extra content, the need for increased levels AND you would have a constant stream of people in all levels of the game to make newcomers feel less lonely.

Ah well, spend to long in here, need my fix. damnit, load faster I am going into withdrawal here!

Re:Was WoW simply the least bad MMORPG?

[bigstrat2003]

The designers don't have a clue stick about "dead time." Spending half of your time traveling back and forth across zones before you get your mount at 40 is B-O-R-I-N-G. Flying takes far too long. The first point I'll give you. The second, not so much. Flying takes as long as it should, unless you're talking the Darnassus->Theramore flight, or something else that cuts across all of Kalimdor. Those take forever. Apart from that, flying takes barely any time at all, and is a good chance for me to view and appreciate the scenery. 2 years, and that hasn't gotten old for me, so don't lay the "It gets boring after the nth time" line on me.

The ONLY way to level up is to kill things. For those that only interested in creating/crafting things, you're screwed. This isn't bad design, this is just a design choice. If you're only interested in crafting, this isn't the game for you. Can't please everyone.

Quests are very limited. There 10 basic times, but only about 5 account for 95% of them: "Kill", "Random Drop", "Delivery", "Item", "Boss" Every quest in every RPG ever made can be boiled down to this if you strip away the fluff. It's the fluff which differentiates things, and makes them interesting.

Very limited world interaction. The world is static -- much like a ride through Disney Land. Your actions don't change the world. This is a GREAT design choice. It ensures that everyone is having the same experience in the world, and limits the ability of douchebags to have an impact on other people's play time. I'd like WoW quite a bit less if the world weren't static, because I know what maturity level WoW players tend to have, and how it would affect my game experience.

Crafting is not thought out. i.e. Smiths can make armor, but not repair their own?? On the contrary, this is thought out, and your claim to the contrary shows your lack of education on Blizzard's thought processes in the game's design. They've said that this is a deliberate decision to allow them to take gold out of the economy. Disagree if you wish, that's your right, but it most certainly was "thought out".

Wow is NOT a great game -- but is "good enough", and certainly is "better" then anything else out there. The UI mods alone show where the real innovation in MMORPGs are these days --> Making the game more accessible. On the contrary, WoW is a great game, precisely for the reason you mentioned: it's accessible. There are precious few games (of all types), let alone MMORPGs, that I've tried that had the accessibility level of WoW. Sure, there are always improvements to be made, but nothing is perfect. WoW is far and away the best out there at the moment, and while it may not fit your needs for an MMORPG, claiming that it's poorly designed is nothing short of asinine.

I always love that line, players leaving in droves

[Shivetya]

The churn numbers in WOW is probably greater than many games have total. Yet if every troll post I read about WOW losing players in huge numbers were true what does it say about other games who are obviously NOT getting those players? Blizzard doesn't always do the best job at class balance but they do a far better job than other companies, their numbers attest to this. While I am taking a break from WOW I do plan on getting back in, changes in this patch may be enough for me as I can bring up some other classes and see how the game plays out for them.

Part of the magic of WOW is that it really does have separate classes where the differences are enough to grant four to six different ways to play the game. The hybrids blend obviously, but melee, magic, and ranged melee (bow), all work well and in many cases require different play styles. Magic is the most diversified where playing a priest is very different from a mage just as its different from a warlock.

I have a warrior and to claim that only classes the lead design or high placed developers are being buffed is to ignore the fact that many people with these classes have been waiting for their day in the sun. If what you implied were true the largest number of players would have long focused on Warrior - which is not the case. Shaman get some tweaks now to enhance two of their trees. Yeah warriors get some bennies here but each class received buffs as well as some tuning which tones down overpowering areas.

My beef has been that PvP/Arena gets way too much focus but obviously I am not in a majority as it appeals to large number of players. The problem of course is that these are the most competitive players and as such will be the most vocal. If they didn't bitch then Blizzard would have a problem, that would be a more clear indicator that people were leaving.

Re:Quit Warcraft

[Omestes]

Actually I took 2 years off playing (it was WoW vs. College, college won), and started playing again about 2 months ago when a bunch of old friends started playing. I still find it fun. It has the most polish of any MMO I've played, I like the story, it ties in well with the amount of time I killed when I was younger with the Warcraft games. Also it has been saving me money, I generally buy a game a month for various consoles, and now I don't bother (Until the new Smash Bros comes out, or I get the Guitar Hero for Wii). Its a pretty good time killer, and gives me an excuse to chit-chat with friends I wouldn't talk to near as much without WoW.

I do find it funny how serious some kids take it though, to some kids it is a life-style unto itself. Which I guess is understandable, since I managed to waste most of the 90's staring at various MUDs.

On the other hand, I find it equally amusing how much some slashbots hate it.

Its a damn game, not worth forming strong opinions over.

Other big news...

[Cyno01]

For us with engineers, Craftable Flying Mounts! Regular and epic!

Engineering: Flying Machine
Reagents:
Adamantite Frame (2)
Fel Iron Bar (30)
Handful of Fel Iron Bolts (8)
Star Wood (8)
Fel Iron Toolbox
Elemental Seaforium Charge (4)
BoP, Req Level 70, Engineering 350+ to make and at least Expert riding skill to use.

Engineering: Turbo-Charged Flying Machine
Reagents:
Flying Machine Control
Khorium Power Core (8)
Felsteel Stabilizer (8)
Hula Girl Doll
BoP, Req Level 70, Engineering 375+ to make and at least Artisan riding skill to use.