Should the expansion add levels to the game?
While I think it's pretty certain that the next game expansion will add additional levels to the game, there's a reasonably sized petition making the rounds on the forums asking Blizzard not to add more levels. The argument, of course, is that we could see a repeat of the Burning Crusade -- all raid content is abandoned as the first quest rewards from new zones equal it while the reputations you spent so much time grinding up now only offers useless, low level rewards. But though I understand the concerns of players railing against new levels, I think they're going to come, anyway -- Blizzard has to give the players who have already burned through Burning Crusade content something new and interesting to do. However, perhaps they've learned a bit from the last expansion... only time will tell.
But what do you think? Does the game need new levels, or does that just destroy the things we've worked so hard to achieve?
But what do you think? Does the game need new levels, or does that just destroy the things we've worked so hard to achieve?
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Expansions, Leveling







Reader Comments (Page 1 of 6)
Rex Aug 2nd 2007 1:51PM
Honestly, I don't want another level grind. Just new content. :(
Duncan Watson Aug 2nd 2007 1:54PM
I like the idea of new levels. It also is good for raid guilds as it allows relatively easy introduction of new blood.
Additionally the gear you have today will not be thrown away at level 81. Heck some of the naxx gear is still competitive with the available gear at 70. Spell Damage trinkets for instance.
brendan Aug 2nd 2007 2:00PM
@Rex TBC was hardly a level grind, it had easily enough quests and zones and instances, or 'new content' if you like to get you to level 70. I don't see how raising the level cap = a level grind?
Levi Aug 2nd 2007 1:59PM
What about the good part of an expansion that adds levels? Switching mains for raiders!
Chad Aug 2nd 2007 3:53PM
Assuming the expansion is coming out within the next 8 months, then no new levels please. The raiders who have come close to beating all the current content are the minority. The rest of us want to eventually get to the BC raiding content but need more time. Don't make the BC content obsolete before most people get to it.
Zor Aug 2nd 2007 2:02PM
more levels please.
side note - if theres no new levels, and 1/2 present content is very hard to attempt(Eye, Black Temple)
with the additions of new levels one of 'less then end game raiding status could form said groups now.
if no new level additions, would these just add more to the equation to do (redundant)?
ala daily quests?
what would be the payouts of quest?
more then Kara raiding?
1/2 the game is rewarding through leveling, 1/2 rewarding through gear upgrades
what would be the lure to this with no level rewards?
and how can they up rewards presently given without scaling the rewards presently offered in low-mid level raids (Kara-Gruuls, etc)
kill a few more crocs for an epic?
hardly.....and if they offer blues higher then purps, with no level upgrades is not wise.
throws out the mechanics of game
Urthona Aug 2nd 2007 2:03PM
I dont see why the gear had to be SUCH an improvement in Outland. Tier gear should have sustained use. A natural progression of stats would have made more sense, with gems providing the expected enormous oomph.
I'm definitely for a level increase, as 13 more zones of 70-71 mobs is lame.
I'm definitely for an old world review as well though. With as much manpower and money as Blizzard is making, Azeroth and Kalimdor could benefit from a re-coding.
robot rock Aug 2nd 2007 2:05PM
I don't care if a new level cap is introduced...I just want to see more 20-70 content!
hybridremix Aug 2nd 2007 5:23PM
Raising a level cap and drastically scaling itemization are two mutually exclusive issues. You can raise the level cap and keep the itemization on the same scale, so lv71 quest greens are actually still worse than T5/T6. That was [IMO] that mistake Blizzard made. The leveling from 60-70 was so easy no one need complain. It was the drastic itemization scale that really frustrated veterans.
Tridus Aug 2nd 2007 2:09PM
For a large number of players, levelling IS the game. To them, "endgame" is just that: the end of the game. These people don't want to run the same raid over and over and over again. They just go play an alt, or stop playing until the next expansion.
If the goal is to maximize sales, Blizzard has to cater to those people too.
There's also an argument to be made that if raid content was actually fun compared to levelling, people would keep doing it. I can't tell you how many people I know who will never set foot in Molten Core again. It became a grind for them, only it was a grind for loot needed to do higher up raids rather then a grind for levels.
The fact that all raid content is abandoned en-masse as soon as an alternative appears speaks volumes about what the player base actually prefers to do.
HalcyonGT Aug 2nd 2007 2:12PM
PLEASE NO MORE LVLS. (At least not in THIS Expansion)
Adding another lvl cap means more instances/gear/content is now obsolete. So if you've never been to Mount Hyal...why would anyone go now? I've never been to AQ40 or Naxx, and be damned if anyone will go these days. So what would be the point of going to Black Temple anymore?
If you're new to the game...like quite a few people were following the release of BC...they too will never experience BWL or AQ cause its been made trivial and obsolete.
For God's sake. Stop making content obsolete. Give better challenges, give the option for ALL instances to run on Heroic mode. Give quests that asks for raiders to re-visit instances. But stop the lvl race madness.
Bart Aug 2nd 2007 2:12PM
I for one wish that most of the next expansion is mid level content, with only one zone with an endgame raid dungeon, to kill the big bad boss. Oh yes please I hope this happens. I will then visit the warcraft general forums every day, and have the QQ tears or hardcore players and loot whores sustain me, mmmmmm yes, I can almost taste it now... But seriosuly, if we get to see more mid level content and only pay 20 bucks for the next expansion i'm all for it. Otherwise, I'm going to just play SC2 or do something else
Ariakhas Aug 2nd 2007 2:13PM
Blizzard also has to consider that changes in the lore should be implemented in the game. For example, isn't it about time that Gnomeregan gets cleaned up, making it a city, similar to IF or SW? Or how about Edwin Van Cleef gets captured or killed, closing the Dead Mines and opening Grim Batol with a new challenge to low level characters?
If Blizzard wants to make change, they have to think not just up and down (adding new content and level cap), but sideways as well (fix broken content on the lower levels and modifying existing instances).
ropax Aug 2nd 2007 2:21PM
New levels are most likely going to be part of any expansion. Most of us want our classes to be able to gain new a better abilities.
khaynu Aug 2nd 2007 2:14PM
No new levels pls... I still have a ton of the end game yet to explore. Its bad enough I never got to go to Nax or AQ 40 let alone fully complete BWL (we were on the 2nd to last boss, before BC).
So would really like to get into The Eye and Mt Hyjal this time around before a level increase makes them irrelevant.
Varus Aug 2nd 2007 2:17PM
Well I've been playing since January when TBC came out and I just hit 70 (you might be able to call me a "casual player", I play max 2 hours per night - a bit longer in the weekends - due to RL stuff), so I'm not that very interested in 10 new levels just right now :-)
Still got plenty of TBC content left, haven't even been to all zones yet, not to mention all the quests, normal + heroic instances. Raiding is not possible for me anymore (I used to raid pre-TBC) so that content is something I'll never see.
Having said all that.. Perhaps 10 new levels isn't so bad, I've had a lot of fun climbing through 60 to 70 after all.
Each to their own, but I know many who've just skipped massive amount of TBC content (like many of the pre-70 instances) to "get attuned, get to kara, get to 25 mans etc." and now they're idling in Shatt because they don't have anything to do and the game is so boring.
Well +10 new levels or not, I just wish they'd put a small team working on filing lvls 20-60 with new content. That would really make my day.
OrionPaxt Aug 2nd 2007 2:19PM
Add New levels please
For the casual gamer who does not do a lot of raiding new content is a must. Also the content for levels 10 thru 70 could be expanded (new BRD quests anyone ?)
Durane Aug 2nd 2007 2:22PM
If they add levels what they need to do is not make it so that the greens and blues you get in the first few levels (or even up to 5, 6, and 7 levels in) are replacements for your hard-earned epics you spent night after night acquiring. Sure, the gear will be replaced, but don't make us feel like we wasted our time raiding at 70 like we did at 60. And give us a reason to keep going to places like the Eye, Serpentshrine, Hyjal, and the Black Temple. Maybe Icecrown attunement requires a Black Temple run.
TV Genius is a Dumb ass Aug 2nd 2007 2:22PM
New Levels FTW!
I say quit being chicken shit and go all the way.
LEVEL 100 cap.
anthony Aug 2nd 2007 2:23PM
Please add more levels Blizzard. Why? BECAUSE THE EXPANSION WON'T BE OUT FOR ANOTHER YEAR. By then everyone will be tired and want new levels, but alas the new expansion is just new mid-level content, so it's another 2 years until you get 70-80 content. Oh wait, you just got owned by Blizzard.
Howabout they spend the 100 million dollars they make a month ON BOTH NEW MID-LEVEL CONTENT and NEW 70-80 CONTENT. Whoa, that's deep man.
And Raiders stop complaining that you spent 2 years of your life trying to get the best gear and got usurped by people who stepped into Outland with lowergear. It's leveling the playing field, it's what Blizzard should do.