Wednesday, July 15, 2015
Expansion and patch pace
The nature of how I play really puts me at odds with what many people want. This isn’t something to be proud or ashamed of; just something I’ve known for a long time and accept as my default. It cuts across a number of things: interest in PvP, raiding, gear, “burdens”, and so much more. One of the areas with the largest difference, though, may be in consuming content.
I think I’ve mentioned before that I am a slow player. I am in no rush to level and in fact enjoy the leveling process more than any “end game” content. I don’t like artificial slowness but just being able to go at my own pace, which appears to be slower than the mean. I can level quickly when I really need or want to but it isn’t my preference.
So when I’ve heard people talk about wanting shorter time between expansions, I am always a little repelled by the idea. Not saying that others should wait for me, just that I don’t want to be on the faster treadmill.
There’s nothing that says I have to stay current with the content and it would obviously save me money to not buy an expansion when it first comes out. But as we all know, anything that requires grouping (which is becoming much more common) means that if you come to an expansion late, you’ll miss out on a lot of stuff.
The best example right now is probably the Sha of Anger in Pandaria. If you aren’t geared or skilled enough to solo it and you never fought it before WoD came out, you probably won’t get it done. You might be able to use the group finder to assemble a group to fight it but I’m guessing it is going to take you a long time to find them. Now, it isn’t the end of the world if you can’t kill some world boss, but you are missing out on key aspects of the story or just general experiences.
Killing the whale shark in Cataclysm for the achievement or the one around Timeless isle are other ones that are going to be tough when no one else is there. I’m sure others can solo it, but I’m not that player.
As disappointing it might be to not get the gear from the above kills (or just the achievement), that gear was going to get replaced eventually, so the loss is minimized. With Tanaan, there is a whale shark that drops an important item for the shipyard. I haven’t tried to get in a group for it and if I don’t soon, it might be something I never get and it can’t be replaced. I am somewhat okay with that since I’m not really interested in my shipyard, but it just really drives home the need to be in content when it is current. I hate that forced feeling.
There is also the argument that by rushing expansions so much the quality will drop. At least if you want them to be bigger than a content patch. I think Warlords of Draenor is a pretty clear example of this. I would be hard pressed to find anyone who honestly thinks this expansion was 100% ready to go on open.
So what is my ideal amount of time between expansions? I honestly have no idea. Seems a bit odd to start the conversation (well, soliloquy more accurately) and not really have more to contribute. I guess part of this is just that I’m thinking out loud to some extent. What do you, gentle reader, think is a good amount of time between expansions?
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Ideally I'd like 18 months to 2 years between xpacs so there is time to experience the content fully, and also have time to enjoy past xpac content too.
ReplyDeleteThe two problems I have with WoD are that there isn't much content in it once you hit 100, and the content there is I largely abhore. Levelling up to 100 was fantastic. Full marks from me for that. Once I was at 100 I hated Garrisonville and Highmaul. The dungeons were okay but it wasn't enough, and I quit for 2 months.
Since I came back I've stuck to the parts of the game I like, and there is much in 6.2 that I genuinely enjoy. Tanaan and the BRF and HFC raids are challenging and reasonably rewarding. My only criticism is the totally pointless Galleonville whose missions could easily have been put into Garrisonville.
Now I have Pathfinder I'm only doing Tanaan for the Exhalted rep and the mounts from the Rares. There are plenty of people who already have these, and are nearing the end of HFC on whatever their chosen raid level is. Our guild is on 5/13 HFC normal, so we're well behind the curve and we'll be in there for several months before we move on to Heroic.
The game world is huge, but you only visit each part once as you level up. If Blizz can find a mechanism to allow characters of any level to find challenging things to do in every zone (like they have with Timewalking old dungeons) they could get much more from the existing content. If players feel they have something they want to do they'll stay subscribed.
Blizz need to provide new content, but do it in a way that supports genuine enjoyable repetition rather than endless grinding to pad out meager offerings.
That sounds like a pretty good amount of time to me. I would imagine it would be too long for most others. It makes me curious what the length of time between other expansions was. I'll have to look into that.
DeleteIt's interesting seeing the different experiences of players and how they see things. I'm kind of mixed on the journey to 100. On one hand, there are generally good stories, there are a fair number of options, and it doesn't feel weighed down by fluff and pointless timesinks.
On the other hand, and in some contradiction, it almost feels too fast. If you do everything in an area before you move on to the next, the main storylines, the side quest,the bonus objectives, and the treasures, you'll out level all of your areas. You'll be 100 before you are half way through Spires, if not before then. That pacing problem has been there for a while, but I would like it to be a little tighter.
The other thing that I like and dislike is that the story feels even more guided, more on rails than before. It allows for more in-depth, connected stories but it takes away some of the feeling of freedom.
I fully agree with your last points. Getting content for all players that isn't endless repetition, or at least doesn't FEEL like endless repetition is the key. I'm curious what lessons Blizzard will take away from this expansion.