Notice how I didn't say Wrath of Lich King as the title? Because truth is I've picked up WoW again but haven't bought WoLK yet, but I've started the game again after a year and my, SO much have changed again it's almost like a brand new game! So here I'll quickly (noobly) review a few things that came as a surprise to me and why I've been slacking on my posts.
Now I am not sure when some of these changes got implemented so could be a while ago because it's been a year since I've logged on. The firs
t thing I realized is how "noobish" this game has become since day 1. All the memory and fighting skills requirements seem to have dimi
nished. By default now you could track a list of things such as Quests (by far the BEST, super handy and super no-brainer) and even Repairs and Bankers. Gone are the days where we are lost in Stormwind wondering which direction to turn to get to the bank? Gone are the days of trying to remember where that stupid Tauren is hiding so you can hand in the quest and get your ubber-l337 sword reward!
It will certain help new players a lot but to me, it takes a lot out of the MMO itself and a big part of the game. Why do we need the guards in the major cities any more? They were once useful and special to the world + players but now they just cry in the corner because no one cares about them any more. Part of the fun in these huge-world games is also getting lost I think, which makes you explore and get much more immersed into the experience. So why take that away? You can say "well just shut up and don't use it then" but why not if it's there? Especially when all your friends are going to use it and everyone will bitch at you for getting lost and having to wait for you, which is far worst than getting lost together and having a giggle about it.
Another change I've noticed is the new Calendars Tool which I welcome 100%. It should've been there in the first place. It gives a quick clear glance of the up coming events instead of having to open another browser at the same time (which all most of us do though anyway to constantly cheat with Wowhead, Thotbott, and Allakhazam).
I am not sure if you can implement raid schedules in there with your guild but I am guessing YES? Anyone want to confirm? If it can then it is indeed SUPER.
The last change I'll talk about is the interface options. The new visual is a nice change, no more fuck-you-in-the-face UI to block your whole screen. The profanity filter has also been renamed to Mature Language filter, so I guess I am not so mature after all =P. The important thing though is that now you can even see your aggro % and also the mob's exact HP #'s!
I remember the old days when we were in Maraudon trying to take down that druid boss, only to have him wipe us with what seemed to be 2 more hits of HP left. That really made us felt MAN, almost had him!! We'll do it this time for sure! But now the experience would be completely different once again, it would probably be more of like:
1> LOL fuck, 5500 left still man not even close it's too hard
2> HOLY SHIT, YOU COULD'VE GOT HIM MAN ONLY 250 HP LEFT ZOMFG U SUCK!!!!
Aside from the arguing it also takes the suspense factor out of the game and makes the bosses all seem less-ubber and more humane now since you can go "LAWL, Illidan only has 900K HP? only 800K more than the fat princess, what a noob." Which to me, is less fun as well. Of course it works to the actual player's favor though because you know what you would need to execute in order to get that last 2000 hp down before you die, you would know whether it's doable or not but that's just becoming more robotic than actually "playing" the game and being in the world of Warcraft.
Anyway agree or disagree, 11 million subscribers means something and if the game was like the Final FantasyXI boss I'm sure 10 million of the 11 people wouldn't be playing any more. So change is good, and money is good. I guess I should shut up.
Pwnage Rating: I think I am too noob to rate it, but okay, 9/10 based on the changes that helped me get back to the game again
