#11 - May 1, 2008, 12:49 a.m.
No, I don't.
I think the focus definitely shifts from topic to topic though, and one of the hot topics right now is that Arena's are the sole focus for World of Warcraft, which simply isn't true. A lot of players are very serious about it though, which is good, it's a focused and competitive system so it is a bit more serious.
Not too long ago you may remember a new island opening up though, a new continent and land mass was actually added to the game, with new quests, including a fairly involved unlocking system to help take back the island and its resources, a bunch of new items, a new 25 person dungeon, a new 5 person dungeon, new bosses all around, new music, new art, new animations etc. all in the service of PvE content.
On the arena front there's been... well I think Tom and Jeff had interviews somewhat recently, Season 4 is going to have rating requirements on more items which hasn't started yet, and... yeah that's about it I think.
The truth is that anyone saying "arenas suck!" doesn't actually think they suck, they're either just trolling, or they have a specific and related issue/problem. I think we're able to break those reasons out though, filter everything down and get to what the issues actually are, see what may need to change or be fixed, and get down to it. If they're not the right kind of PvP for you, fine, hopefully we can address that by giving you more PvP in other places, if you don't like PvP at all and are afraid they're taking time away from the content you do enjoy - don't worry, they aren't, if you want to like the arenas but feel there are inherent issues with them, we hope to address those as well.
We are, and always will be, committed to providing a diverse and well rounded game. Hopefully sooner rather than later you'll all start seeing some information about where the game is going, where your favorite classes are going, and alleviate a lot of these concerns.
And yes, I know, some of you just want me to shut up until I have some of that new information to post instead of attempting to explain or placate in the meantime, but I can't help myself, I love the sound of my own keyboard...