Getting what you paid for: Should the endgame be accessible to casuals?
by Amanda Dean 
Feb 15th 2008 at 1:00PM
Hardcore players are frustrated with game changes that benefit more casual players. Casuals are overwhelmed by the amount of play time required to be competitive in the endgame. This brings up the question of who deserves to see the complete story unfold.
Seraphina of Baelgun brought up the issue of accessibility to endgame content on the WoW official forums. Like all of the other Warcraft games, WoW has an interesting and compelling story line, with several sub-stories along the way. While all players pay for the same content, not all of them can experience it. In many role playing games, once you've played through certain story line elements you can access the endgame content. Relatively few players will be able to complete the Sunwell Plateau prior to the release of Wrath of the Lich King, just as relatively few players were able to down Naxxramas before Burning Crusade was launched.
In WoW, the PvE endgame is earned. Players work their way through attunements and gear upgrades. Raiding is exciting, time-consuming, rewarding, and frustrating. Those who have put the effort in the game clearly deserve exceptional rewards for their efforts. Seraphina suggested optional levels of difficulty for the raid instances with scaled rewards. This suggestion would undermine the efforts made by raiders, however, because there would really be no reason to gear up for the next challenge.
Certainly we all have different goals in the game. There is certainly a division between raiders and PvPers. Some players are compelled by advancement while others seek companionship. Seraphina stated that she is dedicated to loyalties to her in-game friends and guildies. Her unwillingness to abandon them in favor of a more accomplished guild has stunted her ability to experience the endgame content. I respect that. This player has chosen loyalty over progress, I respect that.
I can see both sides of this argument. Many players will have to be content with raid videos to see the raid content. Personally, I'm cool with that. I'm not a raider, and I don't want to be. Thanks for taping the battles for me, and congrats on your accomplishments. I can't wait to vicariously down Kil'jaeden in patch 2.4. Good hunting.
Whatever your game, just make sure you enjoy it along the way. What do you think, should the endgame be accessible to all players?
Filed under: Items, Analysis / Opinion, Quests, Raiding, Forums
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 7)
dotted Feb 15th 2008 1:08PM
This is quite possible the most useless article ever written.
Amaris Feb 15th 2008 1:11PM
I'm guessing you're a raider?
dotted Feb 15th 2008 1:17PM
I'm not a raider no.
infection Feb 15th 2008 1:45PM
This is actually the most useless troll post ever posted.
Instead of making a complete idiot out of yourself, post you opinion on what makes this "the most" useless article ever written.
For example: (relating to what you posted)
A: What a horrible first post for everyone to see. You would have been just as well to post "hey, i'm an idiot and i just got the first post!"
B: Your post should show an opinion of why this article was bad, otherwise you are just another troll with nothing to do.
C: The negativety showed by your post was in no way helpful, insightful, or useful to anyone that views this article.
Aaron Feb 15th 2008 4:29PM
Thottbot is a better place for you dotter.
dotted Feb 15th 2008 4:37PM
Is thottbot still in business?
Blaidwynn Feb 15th 2008 1:12PM
The age-old argument between casual and hardcore is never going to end. It just seems to me that people should play the game the way they want to. If you aren't enjoying the game how you play it, then play it a different way or don't play it at all. I am just getting tired of people yelling and screaming at each other on how other people should be playing the game they paid for, and I sick of both sides of the argument acting like little entitlement bitches.
It's a game... play the parts you like, and play in a way that you can play the parts you like. It's not like Zelda where there is only one way to play and only one goal.
Lucas Feb 15th 2008 1:59PM
Though, it is inferior to zelda in the sense that its a hell of alot more enjoyable than sitting down by yourself and quickly getting story in a more direct manner rather than getting it ploddingly through months of slow repetitive raiding.
Circ Feb 15th 2008 2:45PM
People should play they game they want to? The way I want to play the game is to finish AQ and Naxx before TBC and finish all 25 mans before Wrath. But oh, that's right, I can't play the way I want too because of how the end game is structured (20+ hours a week of play time adherent to your guild's raid schedule, no exceptions).
Right now there are normal and heroic 5 mans. Apply the same logic to 25 mans and add a third tier called Easy Mode, or Daddy Has a Job Mode and then drop zero epics in favor of quest blue level quality loot. That way I get to actually play thru the game I've bought and all of the elite raiders can have their glowing epeen shoulders (while I strut around my not glowing crappy blues, which I'm more than happy with if I've had the chance to see C'thun, the four horsemen or Illidan).
Courting casuals does not have to mean welfare epics. The reward/difficulty paradigm is already in the game, just extend it.
Pzychotix Feb 15th 2008 4:26PM
I suppose that every game gives you the best items, access to any level you choose, and supreme upgrades now.
OH WAIT THEY DON'T!
Rich Feb 15th 2008 1:12PM
It must be that time of the month where the bloggers run out of things to say, rehash dead horses and basically act like trolls.
Blaidwynn Feb 15th 2008 1:13PM
It doesn't matter. The person just made a pointless opinionated comment and gave nothing to support it... you know, the real definition of useless.
JPN Feb 15th 2008 1:16PM
I guess the question is, do you ever allow "end-game" content to be available in an easier way after a period of time, or do you never make it easier?
Philo Feb 15th 2008 3:15PM
I think you hit it on the head.
When changes are made to the game, people tend to think it means if Blizz had known, they would have made these changes from day one. I don't think so... We forget that WoW exists in time, and not as an absolute: and right now we're moving towards WotLK.
What Blizz seems to be doing is gradually make the current end-game more accessible, so that more and more people can experience it. The end result being when WotLK comes out, that we all level to 80, and suddenly people in WotLK blues go and kick Illidan in the teeth.
Personally, I'm all for this approach. This way hardcores can focus on the real end-game stuff, and go for world firsts, etc... And in the meantime, more casual players get to keep a fresh experience and finally seeing content they could only drool about a year before.
Yay for progressive content!
Erika Feb 15th 2008 1:17PM
If they would scale down the player size on the 10mans to 5 mans and 25 to 10 man and change the loot accordingly. And keep the ones they have i think it would help progression a bit.
Makros Feb 15th 2008 2:18PM
/agree.
If after each expansion the previous endgame content was scaled down it would allow people that never had the chance to at least experience it in some form.
Angael Feb 15th 2008 3:25PM
Illidan downed by 10 mere 70s?
Wow...
Erika Feb 15th 2008 4:21PM
Well Molten Core was done by 3 people...
Cap Feb 15th 2008 5:23PM
I agree on scaling of dungeons, however, I think it should be done almost automatically. If 10 guys walk into a 25-man dungeon, all mobs are dynamically changed (hitpoints/quantity/armor, w/e), as well as their loot tables. Any extra people added to raid after that would have no affect, so if you started with 10 and ended up with 25, you'd spank the instance with no problem, but your loot would be no where near what you'd get as if you'd started with 25.
This way, people could at least SEE the dang places and learn how the fight mechanics work.
Just my 2c.
ben Feb 15th 2008 1:18PM
@1, do you have some advice on how to write a better article, or are you simply posting quite possible (sic) the most useless comment ever written?