4.2 really any different?

#1 - June 7, 2011, 5:23 p.m.

So other than a new raid and new raid gear, and other than the new daily grindfest, is there anything really to look foward to with this patch? I see alot more nerfing but not much in the way of improvement for "casual" players. The new raid contnet will obviously NOT be experienced for at least 3-6 months after the patch release by the main stream players. Alot of us bearly have touched on the present raid content let alone completed our tier gear.
Basically we are recycling our game behavior we just did since Cataclysm was released. Another 3 months of grinding to be raid ready just to be passed over by elitists because our dps isnt over 30k this time instead of 20k. Im sorry but if I have to just grind out another 3 months for that I am pretty much done with this game at that point.
Im sick of running trivial dungeons and wiping because someone is working on their 5th level 85 toon. That seems to be all there is for people that have experienced everything in the game thus far. Which is another problem all together. I was in a pug raid the other day and people were bringing their 3rd or 4th toon in to get gear , meanwhile some of us have yet to get one toon all of theirs. This game ends for non raiders and "casuals" whenever the quests stop unfortunately.
Because this game is not fully accessible by all it is ultimately going to lose more subscribers.
There are some obvious have to's by the developers to make the game last but they have done it in such a way to dangle a carrot to all but only really cater to the hardcore. The rest of us who sit and grind everyday for basically nothing ,come away at the end of 4 months of grinding with basically a half assed tier set and utter boredom.
So other than responses from the typical elitist trolls who will tell me to go ahead and quit the game, is there anything to be really excited about in this patch? I mean i really want to be excited but the thought of grinding 60+ daily quests just makes me want to throw my pc in a river. Not to mention any gear i have to get means having to aquire new valor points which is another grind all in itself and most of the time a costly one. And then there is the look of my toon, always in transition never a completed set and always looks like crap especially with the Blizzard artists making the newer tier gear look like its belongs in an alien carnival.

Lylirra

Community Manager

#6 - June 7, 2011, 7:14 p.m.

06/07/2011 10:23 AMPosted by Kroto
is there anything to be really excited about in this patch?

I'd say the new daily quest areas are pretty darn exciting. Ditto for the upcoming Firelands raid. They both have that sexy fire theme and introduce quite a bit of new content for players to experience.

I mean, on the one end, you've the daily quests. There's over 60 of them spread between the Regrowth and the Molten Front, and the hubs are designed to offer as much questing variety as possible (a lot of the quests are randomized, which means you won't get the same ones every day). You also get to unlock new vendors with cool items to buy, watch the world change right before your eyes, and kick some hot Druid of the Flame boo-tay. A lot of the quests are loads of fun to play through, too, so I wouldn't write anything off as "a grind" just yet.

On the other, you've got the Firelands featuring seven brand new bosses with some epic mechanics and a whole new tier of gear. Currently available raids are also having their overall difficulty reduced, which we hope will open up the content to players who've not yet had the chance to experience it (http://us.battle.net/wow/en/forum/topic/2580598159). And if you're a collector, there's a variety of new pets, mounts, and vanity items being introduced with the patch to hunt down and hoard.

So, while I wouldn't say "there's something for everyone," because that's a bit of a broad sweep, there's definitely a lot of different things to do -- and, for a large portion of players, that in and of itself is exciting.

06/07/2011 10:23 AMPosted by Kroto
I mean i really want to be excited but the thought of grinding 60+ daily quests just makes me want to throw my pc in a river.

Now, I get that the content I listed above may not appeal to your particular playstyle, and that's cool. Knowing what you don't like or aren't interested in is important -- not only to you as a gamer (so you can focus your time and energy on things that are fun), but also to us as a development company (so we can better understand our audience). That's only one side of the coin, though. In your post, you never really stated what kind of new content you would actually consider "exciting." Could you be more specific on that front? Maybe provide some examples of the things you'd be eager to play through?

Lylirra

Community Manager

#124 - June 7, 2011, 9:34 p.m.

06/07/2011 01:26 PMPosted by Draalei
Over 60 daily quests, plus the current daily quests that players may still be working on, and there is a limit of 25 per day?

Over 60 new quests were created for the Regrowth and Molten Front daily questing areas, but they won't all be available at once. Instead, a lot of quests will be randomized into smaller groups. So, while there might be 10 possible quests available from one cluster of NPCs, only 2 to 3 of those quests would be available on any given day.

Similarly, there's some linearity to the way certain quests are set up. Take the Druid of the Talon and the Shadow Warden dailies, for example:

(blue text spam inc!)

http://us.battle.net/wow/en/blog/2685001

Within the Regrowth and Molten Front daily quest areas, players will have numerous options, both in terms of the content they unlock and what quests they might play through on a daily basis. One of the first places players will get to experience this type of "modular" gameplay is near the entrance to the Molten Front, in the forward base known as Malfurion's Breach.

In addition to your normal duties at this outpost, you'll also be asked to secure the aid of two benevolent orders stationed in Mount Hyjal: the Druids of the Talon, led by Skylord Omnuron, and the Shadow Wardens, a fierce group of night elves under the guidance of Captain Saynna Stormrunner. This will be a pivotal point in your progression within the Molten Front and represents the first big unlock of new content for the area.

To secure the allegiance of the druids and wardens, you'll need to collect Marks of the World Tree to present to each order's leader. Once you've gained the appropriate amount of marks and turn them in, you'll unlock a unique set of daily quests tailored to either the Druids of the Talon or the Shadow Wardens. If you unlock the Druids of the Talon dailies, your journeys will take you into the shadow of the Furnace, an area wreathed in constant flame; the Molten Flow, a river of lava inhabited by flamewakers for as far as the eye can see; and Fireplume Peak, a floating island protected by hot-tempered fire hawks. If you opt to unlock the Shadow Warden dailies, you'll lay siege to the Forlorn Spire, wresting it from the enemy's grasp and establishing a new forward outpost. From there, you’ll be poised to attack the Widow’s Clutch, the breeding grounds for hordes of fire spiders, and Wildflame Point, a base of operations for the nefarious Druids of the Flame.

Once you've recruited both the Druids of the Talon and the Shadow Wardens, you'll have the option to choose which set of daily quests you complete each day. You'll only able to be complete one set of daily quests per reset (either the Druid of the Talon dailies or the Shadow Warden dailies), but the choice of which path you take is up to you.

You can unlock both sets of dailies -- the Druid of the Talon dailies and the Shadow Warden dailies -- with a little time and effort. After you have both sets unlocked, though, you can only complete one per day.

While both sets are positively epic (OMGFIRESPIDERS, FLAMEWAKERSPEWPEW), we like the idea of players getting to choose which group of allies they're going to assist each day. It feels strategic, and -- perhaps more on point with your concern -- will help keep your daily quest load to a much more manageable level.

(Just FYI, once everything is unlocked, you'll be able to pick up 17-18 quests in total from the new daily hubs.)