Confessions of a casual gamer
by Amanda Rivera 
May 4th 2007 at 12:00PM
I admit it, I am never going to raid Naxxramas. C'Thun? Broodlord? These are fights I doubt I will ever see. That's not to say that I don't play a lot, I do. I have 10 characters, ranging from 70 to 1, and I admit an addiction to character creation. But I am not a raider. My mage has average gear. When she stepped through the portal in January she had 4 pieces of Arcanist, all of which I have replaced with green or blue items. My entire goal with the expansion hasn't been to defeat Illidan, and I've had no burning desire to send Vashj back into that hole created by the destruction of the Well of Eternity. I just wanted to go to the Caverns of Time. It was a simple wish, but I somehow feel less of a gamer because I don't have the opportunity or the drive to push through to the raid content.
I have the desire, I do, I just live in a small world, with a small guild of friends. I would love to experience all the game has to offer, that's why I've created as many characters as I have. If there were 20 character slots, I would still have them all filled. In addition to my desire, though, I also have a lot of unease. Am I too a gamer if I don't get the "uberest" of gear sets? Is it enough to play for the love of the game, or do I need to have 6 characters at 70 by the time the next expansion comes out? A lot of the content in the game requires 25-man or 40-man raids, and I don't know how likely it is I will be able to get into Kharazan, despite finishing the key. I am grateful for the 5-man content in Outland, but I wonder, is there room in Blizzard's heart for the casual gamer?
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 5)
Xanthar May 4th 2007 12:05PM
It certainly seems that Blizzard is looking out more for the casual gamer. The 2.1 patch incorporates a lot more solo/small group content, and with the new once-a-day rep quests, it seems like they've finally thought of a good way to even the playing field for casual vs. hardcore gamers.
As a casual gamer myself, it's definitely keeping me interested.
Mats May 4th 2007 12:14PM
Makes me wonder, as a raider, I have a bit of content to plow. However, BC gives all the "casual" gamers a lot of stuff to do. After all, Heroics are 5man, and they require about the same level of skill as Raids do. They are finished faster, and if you know the right people you can do one or two each night.
Now I ask you: As a raider, all the "exstra" stuff I get is raiding instances, and getting better loot then non-raiders. Yet Heroics gives loot that is equal to most Karazhan Loot.
What does your average "Casual" gamer want, that I have? And what should I be able to get, for my "dedication" to raiding, that casuals should not have?
Xixikoozu May 4th 2007 12:16PM
l2play
Kovalt May 4th 2007 12:18PM
@ #2 This is a very good question. I would also like to know the answer. Soon I will be running SSC and the people that can Tailor and run 5 mans are going to be wearing gear that is level with that which we will be picking up. How does this reward the raider?
Niekon May 4th 2007 12:19PM
casual is going on my first 5-man dungeon at level 69... was pretty much a solo druid who would team up occasionally with a sibling for certain quests or to run through some of the lower level dungeons for greens to DE. But never did any serious grouping with people for dungeon runs or raids.
And with NHL playoffs in full swing I wouldn't even be able to dedicate certain times or days to doing more hardcore runs.
Rudi May 4th 2007 12:22PM
Well Amanda, you're in luck! Excluding main hand items for the most part non-raiding mages have it made gear-wise in the BC. It's quite easy to get +900 spell damage (unbuffed and without an arcane spec) without ever setting foot in a raided instance.
Theserene May 4th 2007 12:22PM
I am sincerely grateful to Blizzard for the amount of casual gamer stuff they have put into BC. Prior to the expansion I had pretty much done all I could do with the 5-man and solo stuff and was getting bored.
I like that they have balanced it out a lot more - it looks like casual gamers will be able (eventually) to get a netherwing mount without having to do 40-man dungeons and the hardcore raiders get the Black Temple and the possible end-game of Mount Hyjal to look forward to.
A good balance is key, make the game all for the casual gamers and you lose the raiders, make it all for the raiders and you lose the casual gamers.
I for one would love to be in an end-game raiding guild but what with my job involving long commutes to and from London each day I simply do not have the time. What attracted me to WoW in the first place was how easily accessible it was and the fact that you didn't have to be in a large guild and spend 8 hours a day playing to get anywhere.
Jeff May 4th 2007 12:22PM
IMO, and I'm a casual gamer/farmer lol, Blizzard did a great job for the solo content.
If you compare it to other available MMO. What's nice about WoW is that the fights are very real time, each .5 second count (à la Diablo). Im my experience, other MMO are slow, more RPG oriented.. and tend to involve 15-20 member focusing on one Big giant for about 10 minute, with no real "Arcade action" (From what I've saw in Everquest)...
It's that "Arcade factor" that set the mood for the solo gamer, sometime i think the game mechanics are more like Mortal Kombat than the generic MMO... :) Well, we have green bar, we fight intensive in duel by example... WoW is a RPG/Fight game, check two warrior duel and its entertaining to watch lol. I didnt find the combat as entertaining in others MMO.
Well... if WoW was too casual, it would be a solo game lol :)
Matt Rossi May 4th 2007 12:26PM
Here's another question: why should raiders be rewarded over casuals? I've been in a raid guild and I've played casually, and frankly, raiding can be awful: is that awfulness reason enough to establish clear superiority? Should raid gear be vastly better than crafted, considering that you can get your raid gear in a few nights or you can struggle over the course of weeks to craft something?
As an example, back in the day there was a hunter in my guild who got full Tier 2 in two weeks of raiding. What, exactly, did he do worth that gear aside from showing up to a raid? Is *showing up* that much harder than running heroics for Primal Nethers for weeks on end? Why isn't having access to The Eye, Gruul, and the soon to come Black Temple, which most casuals will never even get to see, not good enough? You'll get to play the hardest, most complicated encounters in the game and get the best loot far faster than any crafter could, and you want more?
Why?
C.A. May 4th 2007 12:28PM
@2 and 4,
It isn't so much the gear that I miss, being casual, it's the chance to go through the cool boss fights and storylines. As a non-raider I get to hear about all these cool dungeons and things like the wizard of oz theatre in Karazhan, but don't ever see them first hand.
I could of course try to join a guild and become a raider, but I play a warrior and a fury one at that. I don't really think I should have to respec for other people so my chance of being useful in a raid are slim to none. Also, most guilds that I have seen that are halfway competent at raiding make WoW into more of a job and less of a game. I don't want to be yelled at in game for ANY reason. Whether I am good or bad. If it isn't me being yelled at, which it usually isn't, it is someone who isn't as competent at playing they're character and that makes me just as upset.
That became kind of ranty, but it's my 2 cents. A lot of the causal players are worried about loot too much. The fact that this solo content is coming out now and not at BC launch shows that they are more focused on raiders and the fact of the matter is that the solo content just doesn't match up to the depth put into raid content. There aren't any epic quests that don't end needing a large group or raid, so even if you do have a cool story line you may not be able to complete it without going outside the "solo" box.
Kaziel May 4th 2007 12:29PM
If anything, almost every content patch after 2.1 that will be released will be one aimed at the Casuals or the PvP player. With 2.1 they will be releasing the last of the 25 man raid instances for The Burning Crusade. Eventually after that they will release Zul'Aman which is supposed to be a 10 man (could be justified as casual content depending on the person), and beyond that it's all new solo/5-man content or new PvP zones.
Ugkul May 4th 2007 12:31PM
if you're enjoying the game, you're playing it right.
John May 4th 2007 12:33PM
but every game rewards you for playing more/longer, in some way. extra levels, phat gear, achievements, even 100% - you can always go as deep as you want, so of course, a game on this scale needs objectives that are way way way out there for those that want to go deep.
Kovalt May 4th 2007 12:37PM
@9
Raid gear is not established in a couple nights. It takes lots of time / resources and the collective effort of an entire guild to deal with the new content and learn the fights / wipe until perfected. Should that not be rewarded more than the mind numbing farming of Heroic Mech / Stemvaults / Underbog? Should you have better gear than the 25 people that worked for 3 weeks maybe more depending on the guild, to down Magtheridon and had to learn the fight to progress? Just because you ran a 5 man and killed some ogres and elementals to craft you should have better gear? Where is the reward for the raiders?
Jeff May 4th 2007 12:37PM
Let's face it, us Casual aren't top gamer ; if you rough-compare : The richest player on servers are often the biggest raiders --> So we need the hardcore raider to provide mats,BoE, other stuffs that casual will not find, to provide pattern or enchant that the casual wouldnt be able to get etc... those that raid the biggest boss are the elite (PVE), we cannot really argue. IMO those big raider are inspirating, when you see one full well geared, with glow on all the gear... lol... Casual are sometime jealous, but in the end we're saying to ourselve ; This one looks strong, and its encouraging in some way... Its like when your on the road in real life, and you get passed by 2-3 black Cadillac Escalade lol... We cant all have that kind of gear, but the world revolve around the higher spheres... not around the lowest common denominator.
X May 4th 2007 12:47PM
@14
Why do you need a special reward? You don't have fun raiding?
Oraculum May 4th 2007 12:47PM
It's funny when I read all the responses about the casual gamer from raiders and all of them talk about loot and none of them talk about content and lore.
There is no room for casual gamers in blizzards World of Warcraft. Unless you choose to venture with huge groups of people at scheduled times for 3+ hours at a stretch you will never experience the real lore of this game. Illidan, Vasj, Kael, and Mt. Hyjal are the pinnacle of lore and no one but the very best of the raiders will ever see them.
I've played since Warcraft I, and occasionally I still go back to replay all of the Warcraft games and expansions on hard mode. There is so much exciting lore through all of these games (and books which i've also read) and that is why I choose to play WoW. However It's become quite painfully clear that after two years Blizzard will not change their game to make difficult casual content. Content that requires skill and time (spread over a long time, not in large scheduled chunks) to experience the major lore.
I Play with my girlfriend and best friend along with many other people I've met in my two and a half years of playing this game. I know all these peoples real life names and stories, and I enjoy playing with them all. I easily have enough people that I know by RL name on my friends list at any time to do a 10man instance, but I'll never get past that because finding that many more friends is not feasible.
I was once a raider, and now I prefer having my game revolve around my life rather than the other way around. Because of this change in my play style, my favorite game series since 1994 has finally come to an end. Why an end? Because it has been decided that only hardcore raiders will be anything other than just a minor character whose duty is to participate in minor story arcs that have been created solely for us to give us the illusion that we are actually doing something of importance in this gaming world...
World of Warcraft is one amazing game (and that is why I still play it), but from the way things have gone in the past and seem to be going in the future, the game will never be for the casual player...
Flit May 4th 2007 12:51PM
I think blizz does an excellent job of balance in casual/hardcore players. If you raid 6 nights a week, there is still stuff there for you to aspire to and to do every night.
If you play once a week, there is still stuff that is there for you to see.
I think if they release another expansion, they should turn the current raids into 5 man dungeons, so that everyone can experience these old raids that others had experienced before, so that people like me can see this content eventually, without the 6 night a week committment. By that time, no one will QQ that i can get the stuff, because the Hardcore will be off raiding new dungeons.
My 2c.
Kovalt May 4th 2007 12:54PM
@ 16
Raiding is definately the fun part of the game for alot of us and the lore is amazing. However with that said if the time and effort is put in to do content that only 25% of the WOW population is willing to do should we not have a greater reward from the effort? Im am all for the casual gamer but leave raiding the way it was before BC it worked well then and should be the same now. WOW had 8 million people before BC and is continuing down the same path. Must not be alot of people that are that so worried about the solo content they leave the game...
James May 4th 2007 12:55PM
I was a raider in pre-BC. Wanted to see the dungeons, fight the bosses and have nice gear. Dawned on me that putting up with all of the guild BS was not worth any of it. It would be nice to see Illidan and some of the other cool things in BC, but at the end of the day, I had to decide whether I wanted to be tied to the computer for 3-4 hours a night several nights a week, deal with guild drama and all of that fun stuff. The loot and the exploration was not worth it. I'm thrilled that Blizzard is paying more attention to the casual gamer, because in the end, that class of gamer is in the majority, and keeping them happy is as important as keeping the raiders happy. I feel like that pre-BC, most of the endgame stuff was aimed solely at raiding, and in that sense, alot of people who didn't have the time, patience or commitment to raid were stuck with re-rolling or PvP; there was no truly new things to work on.
And honestly, having done raiding, the raiding groups deserve better gear. That is NOT to say they are more important to the game. Casual gamers deserve content and gear just like raiders do--casuals are not some inferior group. Without them, WoW would be just another MMO and not the huge phenomenon that it is now. Gear only concerns me in PvP, and frankly, most BG's aren't usually going to see many people with Tier 5/Tier 6 level armor. All of the people that would have that gear...are raiding and trying to get that gear.