Blizzard have made the same fucking mistake in developing so much content for such a small percentage of the playerbase. It really boggles the mind. You would’ve thought they learned their lesson with BWL/AQ/Naxxramas. Kara was a stride in the right direction, though (but even that requires a key to get into).

I don’t doubt that Blizzard can make as much content as they want, but creating that content in a timely manner? Well, that’s a different story. From what I’ve observed, Blizzard take a long fucking time to implement anything. We’re lucky if we get a new dungeon in 4-5 months, and trivial tweaks/changes in 2-3 months.

I can’t really comment any further because I don’t know how they run internally or how many people are working on content. But surely, if they wanted to implement a new dungeon, they could have a rough prototype done in a week or two. If they can’t finish it off in a few months, it seems like their development practices need some refactoring.

Just out of curiosity, what are the content schedules like for other MMOs out there? How often would one see new content in say EQ2, LOTRO, Vanguard or EVE?

That shit was heinous and took weeks and weeks of work…

But they removed it, because it was the kind of grind that kept people from something, pissed them off, and wasnt’ any fun at all. It was a content consumption delay grind.

Besides, what percent of guilds are in Black Temple right now? Seriously, though. In fact, how many guilds will even see BT before the new expansion hits? So no, I don’t accept the content consumption excuse. Especially from Blizzard, who, let’s face facts here, can make as much fucking content as they want. It’ll just affect the bottom line, but they could release five dungeons a month and still turn a profit and we all know it.

PvP and et cetera are, and have been since the day they were designed, merciless and mindless “carrot on a stick” grinds designed to hook people into as many additional months of payment as possible. I think that’s an irresponsible way to toy with peoples lives — especially when the majority of your usebase is probably under 18.

I suppose you have to look at it from a business perspective. Content takes time to create, and time is money. Heck, Blizzard have even stated that creating new armor models is difficult because they have to be customized for every race and end up taking a long time to implement.

When players have reached the “end-game” (Level 70) they need something to do, otherwise they will get bored and quit. At this point, if new content isn’t ready to be released, developers need to implement some sort of filler to keep players occupied. A carrot on a stick if you will. (I’m sure we all know this already).

To me, this is exactly what the WoW PvP system currently feels like. Sure there’s crafting and raiding, but PvP is so easily accessible and that’s what gets people hooked.

It’s funny that the PvE focus of this game has been lost (because it was there for such a long time). And again, I couldn’t agree more with your thinking that this game has become schizophrenic.

Admittedly, I hadn’t played for a while, and when I logged on the other day, the trade channel was filled with people looking for arena teams and battleground premade groups. And this was on a PvE server.

A half decently ranked arena team rakes in around 300 points a week. But a piece of s3 gear costs near 2,000 points. Like, I’m just not at a point in my life where I’m interested, at all, in planning my life around MMO achievements over the next 6-10 months.

But there are plenty of kids who think life goes on forever that ARE willing to throw away that time, so good for Blizzard… I guess.

So, basically, where s1 gear is incredibly easy to obtain, the rest requries a very lengty grind. Effectively hooking every newb and his dog on season one, then locking them into a long term grind for the better shit. Sounds like they’re selling crack to kids, but who the fuck am I to comment. Either way, I’ve definitely decided that these games are targetted at and ultimately for 14 year olds.

They’ve totally destroyed the point of raiding with all of the free PvP gear. PvP also seems to be what most people are concerned with nowadays. Which isn’t surprising – it’s the easiest, fastest way to the best gear.

Fact is, their game got confused and schizophrenic while they attempted to hook as many people as they could into a grind.

As for AV, well, for the meager slap on the wrist players receive for being AFK, and the honor they can net while doing so, did we really expect anything less? It’s easy, and people are fucking lazy.

Anyway, I think it’s crystal clear that PvP in WoW is merely an afterthought in Blizzard’s eyes. With 9 million subs and rising, it’s a shame they haven’t focused on it more because there is definitely some potential there.

I have to say, in a primarily PvE and gear-focused game, balance would and has proven to be a fucking nightmare. We’ll have to sit tight and see what Patch 2.4 has to offer. Having said that, I wouldn’t hold my breath.