Posts tagged blizzard
Five years of World of Warcraft – What have I learned?
Nov 25th
Here we are then, five years down the line (or 15 years for Warcraft) since World of Warcraft was launched by Blizzard. And I’m STILL playing. Why? What is it about WoW that keeps me coming back? What have I learned?
When I rolled my first character in 2004, a Night Elf Warrior whose name now escapes me, I didn’t know what I was doing. I’ve covered this before but that failed attempt sent me running from WoW for a couple of months. I didn’t get it. Something brought me back, however, and my second character and still my main, Inoperante the Undead Warlock, has kept me going for almost that full five years.
I’ve tried to work out why. When I first started I as very much a solo player, levelling and speccing randomly, still not knowing what I was doing, really, but nevertheless progressing. And that is key to World of Warcraft’s success over the years.
Blizzard have cleverly expanded the game to make players strive to better themselves. Whether it was improving gear, clearing raids – and vanilla raiding was infinitely harder than it is today, believe me – or exploring new areas, Blizzard have introduced just enough at all the right times to keep people coming back.
Of course, I’m not an idiot – Blizzard create things that basically become time sinks, forcing you to spend hours and hours doing very silly things to achieve, in reality, very little. It’s the secret behind their revenue stream. You WILL continue to pay your subscription while you have things to do. Knowing that it is a waste of time doesn’t change the fact that the game is designed to goad you on.
It is an addictive game. For some, dangerously so. We’ve all heard stories of people who have ruined their lives by spending far too much time on the game. Thankfully, those people are few and far between and, I believe, had much deeper issues than the game itself.
I have spent such a significant amount of time on the game that to give up now would feel like quitting. And therein lies Blizzard’s other secret. If they can get you to do enough, you will not want to give up.
With the Burning Crusade they introduced a whole new way of keeping you hooked. Raising reputation for greater rewards wasn’t new, but boy, did they take it to a new level with BC. New raids, especially Karazhan, that were accessible by the many, not the few, were genius introductions. They didn’t forget their hardcore though, and introduced the Sunwell, Serpentshrine Cavern, Mount Hyjal and the like.
It was hard to ‘finish’ Burning Crusade – I still haven’t. But each player did eventually reach their personal limit with it. Some took a break, myself included. And just in time, Blizzard rolled out Wrath of the Lich King and subsequent patches. It drew us all back. Ulduar then Onyxia and the Trial of the Crusade. It has been non-stop and continues soon with Icecrown. Wrath of the Lich King has maintained interest at unprecedented levels.
The Achievements system was a GENIUS stroke. It allows even the solo player to strive for more and more. Truly genius.
They have, however, made mistakes. Ulduar was by far the hardest raid introduced since Karazhan but when they introduced Trial of the Crusade few but the hardcore had cleared it. ToC, so much easier, drew people away from Ulduar and it lies, even for my Guild, not quite complete. Yogg-Saron survives for GANK Inc and it has proved frustrating for me and my raid leaders. Onyxia had much the same effect.
The ability to get T9 gear from daily Heroics was a bitter blow for the hardcore player too, who felt that they had spent far too much time chasing it to allow just anyone to access it. They had a point.
These, though, are minor errors and have not damaged Blizzard’s income or reputation enough for them to worry about.
It is ironic that on the 5th anniversary of WoW I find myself burned out. I have had enough, there is little left for me to do that I can do and not enough for me to do that I can’t do as a semi-casual player. But Blizzard are set to do it again. Icecrown will launch before Christmas and I will be drawn back to new dungeons, new achievements and new loot.
I’m not sure how long that appeal will last. Right the way up to Cataclysm? It seems doubtful, but then I don’t know what patch 3.3 entails fully, so you never know. But it does ensure I will be playing for a few more months at least. Cataclysm WILL draw me back and for a year at least I would think.
But will I be playing in another five years? That depends on Blizzard and what they can do with the game over that time. Every dog has its day, even WoW, but when that day will be I don’t know.
One thing is for sure – Blizzard deserve all the credit in the world for producing such an enthralling, delightful and long running game as World of Warcraft and long may it continue. In the meantime, enjoy the anniversary site they have produced. It contains (or will contain) interviews with the creators, video features and the Battlecry Mosaic (go look for yourself!).
For the Horde!
Sex me (and my demon) up!
Jul 30th
Now if she looked like THIS...
Blizzard’s recent Q&A regarding Warlocks (back at the start of July) raised some interesting questions about aesthetics. I haven’t gotten round to addressing this particular subject until now, but here we go. First, a bit of background…
Most discussion surrounding Warlocks as we approach a patch revolves around DPS, nerfs and “what are they going to do to hurt us now?”. However, the news of new skins for Druids, I’m sure celebrated by our tree/bear/cat/freaky hairy caster friends, has raised the question of a much needed overhaul to us ‘locks and, more importantly, our demons.
Here’s what Ghostwalker had to say when the question of our own looks was raised:
Q. Are there any plans to allow warlocks to slightly customize or change the appearance of their pets?
A.This is something we are discussing. There are several voidwalker and imp models we could use pretty easily and it might be nice to add more felhounds and succubi. This isn’t a high priority, but something we would like to eventually get around to improving. We are discussing whether this is simply just random variation (like the names) or whether it becomes an even bigger feature.
Alright, it’s not a high priority but it is nice to know they are discussing it (if you believe what is said in these Q&As). It won’t be Patch 3.2 – we don’t know when it will be. But…there’s hope. So what do we want to see?
Here’s my thoughts.
Imp
I like the imp as he is. He is meant to be small with big ears. But what about a different colour? If it were up to me I’d have a black one or maybe a purple one. Green is so dull. Also, if they do change our fire spells to green, he’ll get a little lost in the action. More than he does now! No major changes required here by me, just give me the option to customise his colour – say he was summoned from a different realm or something, whatever it takes!
Voidwalker
The blueberry has much potential. Colour, armour, facial features, size. For me a change to his armour would suffice, much like the voidwalkers in Hellfire Peninsula. They are shadow mobs, so blue or black are your only real colour options to my mind. So let’s “buff” them up. More muscular, some shadowy plate shoulders…nice.
Succubus
Oh, what fun we could have with the Warlock’s girlfriend! The current model could do with an overhaul anyway, just to make her a little sexier, a little less slapdash. She honestly looks like she probably did when a Blizzard artworker first drew her. So that would be a start. However, and as suggested over at WoW.com, what about a sexy Succubus based on the summoning race?
A green-breasted Orc Succubus or a short, frumpy Gnome one anyone? The potential is fantastic here. Hair styles, armour and choice of whips could all be altered too. In fact, give me the job, Blizzard, I’ll do you proud!
Fel Hunter
I’m one of those annoying Warlocks that has never, ever used the fel puppy to its potential. I see it as a PvP pet and I do precious little PvP. Always thought he was an ugly little bastard though and I suppose that is how he is meant to be. My thoughts on what you could do with this particular model are limited to complete overhauls, a choice of three distinctly models. If you’re a fel puppy fan I’m sure you have more detailed wishes – let me know what they are.
Felguard
Here I have an affinity – the Felguard was a constant companion as I ground my way from 60 to 70. The sudden ability to take down the Elite bugs in Silithus (yes, we go back THAT far) with almost no effort was amazing to me. Everyone kept telling me “Affliction for levelling, Drain Tank those mobs!” – but where’s the fun in that? I wanted my axe-swinging, bad-tempered, rebellious destruction machine alongside me. I even PvP’d with him for a while.
But I digress. The point is I like the way he looks and I wouldn’t want him changed too much. A different weapon, different coloured armour – that would be enough for me.
Infernal
What? He’s a big block of stone spewing green fel fire. He is what he is. Leave him be.
Doomguard
Love this guy. Make him bigger! Make him look meaner! Give him a weapon! Considering summoning him nearly kills me or one of my party I do believe he should be much, much bigger. Maybe half end game boss size. Seriously. His flappy little prance as he enters battle needs fixing too. He should either stomp or swoop, not tiptoe and flap. He is our ultimate, time-limited death dealer – let’s have him look that way, please Blizzard.
Finally, remember that epic quest chain to get your Dreadsteed? Remember how proud you were when you cast that spell for the first time and sat astride your flaming equine? Well, HELLO, BLIZZARD! TIME FOR A FLAMING WARLOCK EPIC FLIER! Here’s what Ghostwalker had to say about that…
Q. Would we consider adding a warlock-specific flying mount? Warlocks have promised to never complain again should such a feature be added. Okay, not really…
A.I think it fits the warlock kit pretty well to have some kind of crazy flying demon. We don’t have any art for such a creature yet, but we’ll keep it in mind. You’d have to go back to Dire Maul to get it. Okay, not really…
Yeah, right…
WoW Armory iPhone app – and it’s brilliant!
Jul 16th
World of Warcraft Mobile Armory
Blizzard has launched its WoW Armory iPhone app and I have to say…outstanding.
Called the World of Warcraft Mobile Armory, this thing gives you access to the Armory (whether Americas, EU or Oceanic) in full and in six languages.
Log in using your Blizzard account details and you’re good to go. Here are the features you get with this app:
Characters
From this tab you can access your own characters or your bookmarked characters from the Armory. Yes, you can browse the full Armory and bookmark those you find interesting. Maybe they are potential Guild recruits, out-of-Guild PvP partners, whatever you need.
When you click through to a single toon you get the basic Armory detail – name, class, level, server and Guild. In addition you can see the current spec (or specs if the toon has Dual Spec), current Achievement progress, health, mana and stats (all available by a dropdown menu).
What is really clever though, is the gear section. Like the online Armory the currently equipped gear is displayed around the stats. By tapping on an item you can view its stats. Tap the “View Item Details” button and you can view the item in its entirety – including where you can get it. Nice.
And, of course, you can bookmark the character from this page.
Guild
If you’re in a Guild, there is a handy tab immediately on the app’s homepage, titled with your Guild title, which gives immediate access to all the characters in the Guild, ordered by rank. Very useful for Guild Masters and Officers.
Calendar
Now…having direct access to your Guild calender from anywhere at any time is damn useful, don’t you think? Now you’ll never miss a raid, the start of a Holiday or World Event or any other date your Officers or GM wants you to be aware of.
You can also accept and decline invites to raids as well – that is truly innovative and makes you wonder why…
…you can’t add a new event through the app and have it show up in-game. Would be nice though, eh, Blizzard?
Leaderboards
This is purely for a bit of fun. Based on Achievement points earned, you can see where you rank amongst your Guild and your bookmarked characters, as well as view the achievement points earned by all your characters. Useful? Only if you’re in a race with a fellow Guild member or player to achieve the most. Fun? For sure!
Browse Items
Brilliant! Like AtlasLoot on your iPhone! Every item in the Armory searchable by type, (ie, weapons, armor etc) and by dungeon and raid, so you can find out who drops what where. All the item stats are included, as well as cost, vendors if appropriate. The best item search I have come across either on or offline.
Talent Calculator
Does what it says on the tin. Just like the online version, you can tweak your talent spec to your heart’s content. Doesn’t quite fit on the screen so a bit of dragging around is required, making it less useful than the online version – but only marginally.
News
I assume this will hold the latest news from wow.com or wow-europe.com at some point. At the moment it holds a welcome message and a full list of Realm firsts – which I like. Now I know who to tap up for that glyph or craftable gear item!
Settings
Sound, vibration and event alert on and offs. The app does seem to ding and vibrate a lot – but I’m damned if I know why. What those alerts are meant to mean is not clear so unless you can work it out, you may be better off setting the sound and vibrate to off. And if you DO find out what they are for – let me know!
Help & Logout
Provides…erm…help…and…erm…a logout.
Extras
Across the bottom is an always accessible menu list which contains a home button (nicely done with a Hearthstone icon), a search function – this is what will make this app most useful, especially when looking for items and specific characters, a character link just like the one described above and a direct link to your own characters so you can set which one you one to view the rest of the Armory against.
In summary, for the casual or hardcore WoW player, whether you are a GM, Officer, twink or solo player, this app has something for you. Get it. And get it now.
