#1 - June 15, 2011, 12:59 a.m.
This game isn't the same anymore. The luster has worn off. When WoW launched, it was familiar yet utterly different than any MMO I had ever tried. It had lore characters I knew, a conflict I felt a part of and classes that were so unique I felt that I had years of gameplay in front of me.
Well, those years have gone by and I am left feeling directionless. I don't raid, so why bother playing at this point? My raid experience has always been "WoW-Light": Strath and a few disastrous adventures into MC in vanilla. Kara a few times in BC. Some late-expansion ToC/ICC in Lich.
Throughout all those years, I was content with what the game provided me as a non-raider. I had a blast logging in, knocking out some dungeons, searching for some rare beast for my hunter, working some tradeskills, making a new character to goof around on. My best memories of WoW are from non-raid content.
If you ask "why don't you raid?", the answer is simple. I don't want to sign up for something and commit myself to a night on the computer in advance. If "raid night" ends up falling on a night that is 80 degrees and beautiful, believe me: I am gonna be outside knocking back a few beers and grilling burgers instead of planted in front of the computer.
We are now left with a game that's had the same formula since BC: Dungeons -> Heroic Dungeons -> Raids. We've been given the same exact game with different wrapping for years. Two expansions ago it was fresh and fun. At this point? It's the same old, same old.
The magic is gone for me. We are now in an era of iLevel, omnipresent mods and a complete lack of server community. You don't do 20k in a heroic? You're awful! You don't have X, Y and Z mod? You're awful! You don't raid? Why are you here? Feel like being a jerk in a random dungeon? Go ahead, because you'll never see that person again.
WoW is still an amazing game. It just doesn't offer much for folks like me or my friends anymore.
You can save your psychoanalysis of anything I said; I truly don't care. Chances are I've been playing this game a lot longer than you. This post is for the people that manage this game and them alone. Any pseudo-witty replies to me mean nothing because they HAVE your $15/mo.
Good luck, and thank you for the memories.
