"Stranglethorn Hole" and the doom of casual WoW?
by David Bowers 
Jun 14th 2007 at 3:01PM
One of the main problems our readers cited was leveling boredom. The game before Outland is a bottleneck for casual players who want to explore other classes and playstyles but find that getting where they want to be with their new favorite alt would take more tedium and repetition than they're willing to tolerate. Some have the patience and dedication for it, but for others it feels like an impassible jungle.
Stranglethorn Vale, sometimes called the "Stranglethorn Hole" (coined by Tobold in reference to black holes, I think), has been the prime example of 1-60 leveling boredom, because at some point between levels 30 and 45, quests in most other areas just dry up, and you're left with little choice other than to help out the goblins in Booty Bay. The Gaming Fascist complains that he couldn't get any characters through the Vale without it feeling like "an affliction or a chore, something I don't really enjoy and fall back to when times get too boring." This was especially infuriating for him since he apparently chose a PvP server and he got ganked a lot there. Anyone tends to feel frustrated and hopeless when your goal is so far away that you have no reasonable means to achieve it.
We took a light-hearted look into the future a couple weeks ago, to see what solutions might present themselves in a few years as this problem gets increasingly severe. The fact is that has to be done for casuals who can't or don't want to go raiding, and if trying out new classes and isn't really a feasible option, then what's to prevent them from feeling stuck with nothing to do? More reputations to grind?
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Leveling, Alts
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
jake Dec 28th 2008 6:44AM
i dont like stranglethorn, i was tyering to level up when i was a lvl 35 hunter but i got really board doing it where is sm
Byron Jun 14th 2007 3:46PM
I guess I'm one of the few that actually likes questing in STV. I find that even though it's a big area, it's quest-dense, meaning you can get a lot of quests done simultaneously either by killing the same mobs (trolls) or by killing mobs near each other (tigers, panthers, raptors). I also just like the lush jungle environment. But yeah, on a pvp realm it's gank city, which definitely slows you up a bit.
Sylythn Jun 14th 2007 3:19PM
I managed to slog my way through the 40's up to 50 wihtout setting foot in STV. It was almost as much agony as having to do it all in STV. When leveling my alt, I was determined to hit new content zones - places I hadn't seen...and let me tell you, it was a nightmare finding enough level-appropriate quests that didn't have anything to do with STV. Not to mention the ones I did find took me zone/continent hopping like crazy!
If Blizzard isn't going to do much more than maintain 1-60 content, then they need to drop the leveling curve to allow you to get through it just a bit quicker. You reach this massive plateau approaching 60 in both leveling and professions (which makes sense pre-TBC), only to finally have it drop down to easy-mode once you hit Outlands, and slowly build itself back up. Even still, I think the curve in Outlands was too shallow...I was able to hit 70 before I ever set foot in Blade's Edge, Shadowmoon, Netherstorm, or spent more than 30 minutes in Nagrand.
Pingmeister Jun 14th 2007 3:19PM
I was quite shocked when I realized that BC did not have any 20-60 new content.
Even if they had just added a ton of quests to the old areas I would have been happy.
You can only fist-fight that dude in Menethil Harbor so many times.
Nelson Jun 14th 2007 3:20PM
my GF quit @ 35. She was a victim of STH (hole)
picanteboy Jun 14th 2007 3:21PM
I think people are reading the census numbers incorrectly. The chart shows that the number of concurrent players has decreased over the last 2 months, but the level for May is still approximately 80,000 more than it was in December just before TBC came out. What this signals to me is this: In January, lots of people who had leveled to 60, finished the game, and more or less quit came back to buy TBC and level to 70. Those people ahve finished, and are quitting the game again.
Given that the player numbers are still higher than they were pre-TBC, the most accurate interpretation of the data is that WoW has still *net added* players since before the expansion. Approximately 80,000 actually. The people who have left since the peak in January and February were never going to be long-term players, they were the ones only interested in seeing the new content once, playing through the next 10 levels, and the moving on to a new game.
If/when player numbers drop below the pre-TBC numbers, that is a totally different story which would signal general player malaise and disinterest in the game. What we're seeing right now is an artificial bump typical of any new, well-publicized product launch - people buy in increased numbers because of the novelty factor, but then sales regress to the standard. Blizzard should be happy that they have essentially increased their consistent player base by more than 10% (from 700,000 to 780,000) with the release. They aren't sweating the decreasing numbers and neither should you.
shiplore Jun 14th 2007 3:27PM
@5. That's how I interpreted the data. The trend is still positive from pre TBC. They're probably thrilled you can't please everyone but they're pleasing more than they're not from those numbers.
Beo Fraser Jun 14th 2007 3:28PM
I hate Stranglethorn Vale - so much so I've levelled to 61 so far and I've set foot into the zone maybe twice, both of those by boat from Ratchet.
So you can actually get from 30-45 without Strangelthorn Strangling Syndrome..
Hank Jun 14th 2007 3:43PM
Clearcut the vale. End of story.
Sylvina Jun 14th 2007 3:32PM
30-40 = TONS OF SCARLET MONASTERY!
Brian Jun 14th 2007 3:35PM
Is it gaming or is the gamers? I think this aspect of gaming needs to be seriously addressed. Like it or not the reality is that our society is quickly filling with fast twitch "I want it all NOW" workers and gamers. Who wants to spend weeks and months grinding up through the levels - fewer and fewer gamers I would suspect. I work in IT and none of our wonder kid recent grads understands why they have don't move right into the corner office with the Porsche in the reserved spot in the garage. I think the up and coming gamers suffer the same affliction - "I want it all NOW!"
Games which allow for the fastest ramp to the top will draw the biggest following and those which require effort, patience, and dedication will continue to decline.
There are many of us who cut our teeth behind DM screens with a cherished bag of well worn dice, and little more than dungeons sketched on graph paper and battles in our heads for our gaming experience - do any kids do this now? I can't imagine many still do; and without that the pool of gamers who want wow style play will continue to diminish, replaced by wii cheap thrills and guitar player trills.
Nails Jun 14th 2007 3:35PM
i didnt mind STV at all, i liked it a lot actually
but maybe that's because i've only done it once, with my main (61)
my alt is at 30 now, and im planning on doing Desolace, Badlands (which i completely skipped on my main) and Dustwallow Marsh (which i also completely skipped on my main) to get me from 30-40.
so i guess well see if i need to go to STV much the 2nd time around or not. if i do, id be fine with that
i also skipped many parts of Tanaris, so 40+ should be new and fun as well
erk Jun 14th 2007 3:39PM
as one who has 7+ lvl 60 characters, I can say the WORST part about leveling a new toon is travel time, you wastes SO MUCH time on travel.... if they gave mounts from the start or say level 10, this would be leaps and bounds better than what we have now, and cut leveling time in half..
Tiforix Jun 14th 2007 3:47PM
I never really liked STV. To prove a point, I leveled up my Druid without every stepping foot in the zone (except one trip to Booty Bay via Ratchet to buy some cooking recipes). Granted, I leveled almost entirely on rested bonus, but I found enough in the other zones to carry me through without grinding
Now I'm doing the same with my Draenei Shaman. I finished Ashenvale around level 31, then went to Southshore for about 2 levels, then a few quests in Arathi Highlands. By then I was 35, and headed to Shimmering Flats. I'm now 37 and doing Desolace, which I think could carry me all the way to 40.
Having said all that, I really would like to see some new 20-60 content. I enjoy questing, but I'm on my 4th character now and it's getting a bit repetitive. :P
Rich Jun 14th 2007 3:50PM
We think it's bad with our 4th alt, imagine how some of the new players feel, who never have done it before and can't get help from existing players because they are in the outlands.
The Barrens and STV = SUCK
Anon Jun 14th 2007 3:53PM
If blizzard keeps upping the level cap it's going to be pretty hard for new players to want to play if their friends are all at level 90. So what I'm going to suggest is for every new expansion blizzard speeds up the experience gained in the old content 300-400%, now this will definitely mean that you wont do every quest like you HAD to do before, but weighing not doing some quests with playing with your friends you will want to play with your friends, sure practically no instances will be run in the old zones but no one runs MC anymore either, just forget about old instances and embrace the new quick and painless 300-400% experience boost.
Quoi Jun 14th 2007 3:54PM
@9
I don't know about you, but I like to have fun when I play games, and I'd appreciate not being berated by some old fogey about it. I'm not advocating instant leveling, but to say that today's kids just want rewards without work and "in my day, we worked for our fun" is just retarded.
Zbeebs Jun 14th 2007 3:57PM
I actually really liked STV - when I first got there. But when you're still there 15-20 levels later, it just starts to wear on you. Ten levels is definitely the ideal amount of time you should have to spend in one zone.
YukonDawg Jun 14th 2007 4:01PM
Like Byron I actually kinda like STV. Just started playing there with my druid at lvl 31 a few weeks ago. Being on a PVP realm, there's constant danger and a real sense of adventure for me. Not to mention I seem to be leveling quicker than ever due to so many quests being all in one area.
As with most of WoW though, I can't see myself ever leveling another character through the same content over and over. I have one alt who I try to run through quests that the other hasn't done so that I get a chance to see everything--once.
Dracula Jones Jun 14th 2007 4:05PM
There's a really easy solution to fixing Alliance STV in PVE (sorry Horde/PVPers, you're f'd!): add an Alliance flight path to Nesingwary's Camp. There's a sweet spot there, right between Booty Bay and Darkshire. It's a big enough zone, I think. The Barrens had TWO flight paths added to it, and Felwood and Ashenvale each were big enough to warrant additional FPs. Why not Stranglethorn?