Breakfast Topic: Two Years In
by David Nelson 
Nov 1st 2006 at 8:00AM
World of Warcraft is turning 2 years old this month. Blizzard is celebrating, as they should. Hey, millions around the world play and they redefined the standard of success for a MMORPG...Blizzard deserves a little pat on the back.The topic this morning brings us to your involvement in the past two years, and your plans for the next year or two. I personally have been playing WoW since the release, and have never let my sub lapse. I have enjoyed my time in Azeroth, and honestly, I would not be shocked if I were still playing two years from now, provided they start popping out these expansions a little quicker. At the same time, I could certainly see the viewpoint of someone who might just be biding their time until the next big MMORPG, or Halo 3 or whatever. The game has to get old eventually, right?
What about you guys? Have you been around since day one, or are you a new WoW addict? Or somewhere in between? Do you think you will be around for WoW's 3rd anniversary? Or 4th? Why or why not?
Filed under: Breakfast Topics
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Kinless Nov 1st 2006 8:12AM
I've been around since Nov 2004 and I love every minute of it still. Dinged my first 60 (a Shaman) last fall, dinged a 2nd (a Warrior) a couple months ago, and am working on my 3rd (a Hunter) now. I have 4 more in line waiting for the same. A Rogue, a Druid, a 2nd Warrior, and a Priest, and then there's two new races to start, and then 10 more levels for the 60's.
I'm still seeing new content, doing quests I'd never done, and there's even more to be added on the near horizon.
Not sure anything will pull me away from this.
Adam Nov 1st 2006 9:24AM
2 years and no expansion yet. Only blizzard could get away with this.
Shat Nov 1st 2006 9:26AM
Good point Adam. But Blizz always makes it worth the wait.
Jim Nov 1st 2006 9:32AM
No, I've played the game for over 2 years now and just recently quit and sold my account. The game takes up too much time for little reward. If it rewarded skill rather than time invested, perhaps the game would be more entertaining. I've raided for over a year too, so it's not like I'm a casual part-time gamer. Now with the expansion out, it seems to make sense for everyone thats not in full tier 3 to go ahead and sell their account, reroll and start from scratch because gear doesn't matter once the expansion comes out because the first few quests and recipes replace tier 2. I figure by the time my character would be level 65 he'd be out of all raiding gear. :) All in all, I had fun, but I took a step back recently and realized a simple fact. It doesn't really matter.
There is never going to be an end to this game. There will never be a "perfect" set of gear. You may be a lucky one and get the best gear you can possibly get and be the king/queen e-peen stroker for a week or two until the next patch comes and makes you old hat. At least in other computer games that are not MMORPGs you can finish it, master it, and be done with it.
And it's not only gear, but its the social aspect that goes with it. The max amount of people I tolerate playing with is 5...maybe 10. Get any more than that and it's high school all over again. I'm too old for that. If I have to suffer a headache to see any progression for my character then something is wrong.
But this is my opinion, and its only an opinion. I'm just glad I got some real life cash to repay my time I've put into this game that I'll never get back :)
Swiftlydead Nov 1st 2006 10:14AM
I've had an ud rogue at level 60 for a year and a half or so. The end-game content has been WICKEDLY fun. Bravo, Blizzard.
The leveling process kinda sucks, but the end-game makes it very worth it.
Chalkline Nov 1st 2006 10:41AM
Well put Jim.
I too recently sold my account although I plan on playing at LEAST one more year. With the xpac coming I wanted to reroll horde and knew I wouldn't really commit to it if I had an epic 60. Figured when the xpac hit, the value of my gear was gonna drop drastically, so I sold it while it's hot. I used some of the cash to xfer an alt off the account (gotta have something to do till BC) and put the rest in the bank.
IMO all Naxx players should sell their accounts now. Eventually, we will all quit, and you will hate yourself if you have nothing to show for it.
Valamir Nov 1st 2006 10:52AM
Two years "and no expansion" is not entirely accurate. If this was EQ1, then they would have sold you about 3 in what Blizzard gave you in patches (AQ20-40, BWL, and Naxx).
That said, I have had my time and (for now) put WoW on low priority in my free time. WoW is a bit impersonal, that is to say, playing hard-core (which is my own personal style) generally means you hang out with people that are just there to gather loot on the WoW tredmill. In plain terms, it lacks the longterm ties that earlier games I played had, like Acherons Call 1, or EQ1.
I think success is WoW's greatest enemy.
The community is too diluted and that is why I am not compelled to play it as I once was. But it shall forever rank in my all-time hall of fame of games that marked where I was and what I was doing for a few years of my life.
Trout Nov 1st 2006 11:23AM
I started Playing in December of 2004. I still enjoy my play and I am still finding new things to do and explore. Too many people judge thier success by the gear they have accumulated, but I think many of them miss the point that WoW has always tried to make.
WoW wants you to expereince the game. The trip is the reward not the collectible items. Every new content patch and expansion will bring newer and better collectibles, but your memories of the fun times and new friends will never be erased.
WoW thanks for 2 years! It has been a great trip and my son and I have shared memories that all the purple gear in the game combined will never replace.
I hope that Blizzard never forgets that focus and that 3 years from now we are celebrating the 5th anniversary.
Great Game & Great Memories!
Trout
Feathermoon Server
Order of the White Tower
Jason Nov 1st 2006 11:27AM
"The community is too diluted and that is why I am not compelled to play it as I once was. But it shall forever rank in my all-time hall of fame of games that marked where I was and what I was doing for a few years of my life."
I disagree with this wholeheartedly. Simply because the community is outrageously large doesn't make it any less personal. I've played EQ, FFXI and DAoC before WoW, and find WoW to be just as personal as any of those were. Server size is roughly comparable to how it was in FFXI at it's peak. I think your issue may be with your association, or perhaps even lack thereof. I run with an outstanding guild, with a core of 40-50 players, maybe a few more than that. Apart from them, I associate mainly with folks I've met in game and gotten to know, and people I know IRL. So, the issue isn't WoW, it's your playstyle.
As to myself, I started playing in beta shortly after hunters went into the game. Yea, back when you couldn't tame pets. I look back at it then, and now, and I'm nothing but impressed with the amount of progress that Blizz has made with the game. I look at everything coming up in the expansion, and am nothing but amazed. Along the way, I've rolled and deleted a few characters on PvP realms, taken a Shaman to 60, cleared MC, BWL, AQ20, and part of AQ40. I've taken a Rogue to 60, ranked up in PvP when I get bored with everything else. I've solo farmed alch recipes in UBRS, tested my skills of stealth and evasion picking the pockets of Ogres in Eldre'Thelas (I refuse to acknowledge it as Dire Maul). My pair of hunters are into their 40s. The Nelf has found a steadfast companion in a Broken Toothed cat, the Troll a Worg with a slight drool issue. I've travled Azeroth north to south and east to west, with stops in all places in between.
All in all, the journey has been wonderful, and I'm definitely looking to more of the same and even better in The Outlands.
Mat Nov 1st 2006 11:30AM
I've been in it since the start, albeit a little off and on.
I figure I'll get a year out of BC and will enjoy playing some of the current end game stuff with smaller groups.
I have to say though, with no BC before Christmas and a whole bunch of pretty new systems coming out, I'm pretty tempted to buy one.
blkmasta Nov 14th 2006 2:04PM
I played a 10-day demo on the american server Tanaris in late august to early september this year, then when I bought the european WoW in mid-september and realised I couldnt connect to my old character anymore, made a charcater on Darkspear. So I'm fairly new.
crsh Nov 1st 2006 12:35PM
I'm at my one-year anniversary.. I stayed away from WoW when it came out, I was busy playing EVE and CoH at the time anyway.. A year on, I gave in, and I'm still as addicted to it as I was a year ago, nothing I even came close to (in terms of duration) with EVE and CoH.
Happy birthday! Now get me my BC!
Fornjotr Nov 1st 2006 1:15PM
Hi, I started with WoW watching my son play when the gane first came out. I soon followed with my own copy Christmas of 2004. Started a NE Druid on Alleria until end of January then rolled a Troll Hunter on Daggerspine as both my sons and their friends were playing Horde. Have been in a guild with them, and after two mergers belong to an end-game raiding guild where I really don't participate much in raids as I am not at the same level.
My interest in the game fluctuates as I have a heavy work load and several other RL activities besides computer gaming.
However, I love the game and now that I am level 60 (Took 19 months) will still try and progress in rep and explore areas I have not yet been.
As you might guess I don't play evry day, and am not a person who spends 7 or 8 hours on line. I still enjoy meeting new "Friends" and finding new tasks to do.
We all, (My sons, daughter in law and their friends) plan to roll new toons on a new server when the expansion arrives so we can play together . Might even form a family guild of sorts.
I appreciate the artwork and also like that there is something always happening.
I've been playing computer ganes since they were text based and you had to follow the "Twisty little passages" on a 14 k modem connection.
When my kids were young we always had the Dungeons and Dragon games like Pool of Radiance, so by comparison WoW is wonderful.
Pi'Lam 60 Hunter Sacred
Daggerspine
vushia Nov 3rd 2006 7:41AM
I really have loved playing WoW, but the endgame content is really only entertaining for people who have large blocks of time to commit. I don't, unfortunately I tend to play Wow in spurts of an hour at a time as life allows (and it allows less and less) and not at predictable intervals. So the endgame for me isn't cutting it.
Not Blizzard's fault in the least. Blizzard has put together a great thing here... unfortunately for those of us who largely solo, it loses something in the end.
With the expansion coming out, I'd wager that us soloers will have another blast of fresh air to breathe before it becomes stale again.
Before someone flames me about it being a MMORPG, it is a solo game as well as a multiplayer game. You can make it to 60 without having a guild or every joining a party. It just ends there unfortunately.
I'm just about near my one year anniversary, and at this point I'd say I'm losing interest. I still like it a lot, but not with the intensity like when i first started. We'll see what happens, in the meantime:
Thanks Blizzard for another quality product.
Gamerz22 Nov 1st 2006 2:47PM
The amount placed in the patches released over the two years is close to 1-2 expansion packs worth! I mean, 12 patches, around 8 of them dungeons (more?), many class balancing improvements, battlegrounds, better features, more features (like the lovable cross-realm BGs), etc. Many games would make you pay for an expansion with some new features, items and maybe 2 dungeons...
Since Battlegrounds, I can live without new content for awhile longer. I love pwning it up!
I'm in BETA and even with the expansion not 100% accessable (the 68-70 content is not added yet) it is GREAT by what I see. The new zones are quite unique and fun, while Outland gives a new feeling to WoW. A feeling of a torned outland (wow, like the name :P ) where chaos is met at a higher level than Azeroth. Because of Wiorld PvP bein gprime in outland, things are fun. REALLY fun. The PvE is also superb, so much land and great dungeons.
Really, a tier 3 or better will do what you need when you step in. Heck the first monsters (aside from those fighting NPCs by the dark portal) at lvl 58+, giving a good jump on things. Heck, you could possibly just skip one whole zone to lvl in the other one.
Blizzard has been keeping up with their motto/goal of which is to think about the player more than the $$$. Anyone that denies that is denying reality.
Deenasa Nov 2nd 2006 7:21PM
I am new to WoW, since September, but loving it. My brother has been on since the beging and now has me hooked. I noticed that they are running a contest for the Anniversary, with players from all around the world why is it limited to US citizens only?
Lori Nov 1st 2006 5:05PM
@12 Fornjotr. 'You are at Witts End'. I got to play on an acoustically coupled, thermal printer terminal and ppl wondered why my phone was busy all evening.
Anyway, I have been playing since November, 2005 and expect to still be playing at this time 2007, considering the expansion. I get the most enjoyment from leveling characters and find endgame raiding to be too demanding but do it anyway because there is no other choice. Perhaps a different guild whose focus was more on fun with less drama would change that but changeing guilds is not something I like to do.
So being able to start leveling my 60 again, continued leveling of three level 40 alts and a desire to play a couple of Horde characters, to see how the other side lives, should keep me playing for a long time, yet. In fact, it seems I may not be able to keep up with new content.