call me crazy, but I'd rather put my effort into activities that are *fun* rather than having to spend an hour hitting a mob that won't die.

I don't want them to take away progression things like hard raids, getting people together, learning the fight, and executing on strategy. All that? Totally fun and challenging.

Logging in on my lunchbreak to swing on a mob that will never die for an hour cause I've never used a 2h axe before? Totally lame.

Are you serious? This is a game. It's not supposed to be a part-time job. I don't want to have to stand still in the Blasted Lands swinging at a mob for half an hour to raise a number up. THAT'S NOT FUN.

You sound like an elitist whose self-worth relies on videogame accomplishments. It's just a cartoon RPG.

Taking a green 2H axe back to blasted lands as a lvl 70 warrior is not "progression." I agree that not everything should be handed to you in the game, but this is just a poor mechanic that should be changed in some way. I don't have the answer, but I don't think it would hurt the game in any way whatsoever if they just removed the individual weapon type skills. The only time these have any effect is when you get a new weapon then realize "oh crap I haven't used one of these since lvl 45!" Suddenly the drop or quest reward you just worked for is actually a nerf rather than a buff. Other than that, you never even think about your weapon skill.

Like I said, the current system doesn't add anything but frustration and a time sink. It's not progression to go back to noob zones and watch your weapon skill crawl painfully slowly up.

Spending hours being afk while autoattacking mobs in blasted lands or dr.boom is something you want to encourage? Nobody ever passes up a drop because they haven't skilled up that ability, instead they get it and then spend three or four hours after the raid wasting time leveling up that skill, when they could be doing something more interesting.

You play a caster don't you?

Just thought I'd note. To make matters worse the enemies in blasted lands no longer give weapon skill ups in the beta.

The last time I had to level weapon skill (I mostly play casters), it was on a prot warrior.

So I did what anybody sane does: I found a servant in the Blasted Lands, turned on auto-attack, and walked away for 20 minutes.

Came back, broke combat, bandaged, and repeated two more times.

I'm not sure how exactly you can call this "work", or how doing it requires any sort of "skill", or why doing it should be necessary before I can use the shiny new tanking sword I just earned in a raid.

To me, it was just an hour of playing the game where I wasn't really playing the game (in fact I was playing on my Xbox while this was going on).

Attunments and heroic keys at least provided a sense of accomplishment to people who get them done. For newer players, they make sure you're somewhat experienced in starter instances before charging into harder ones.

Hitting unkillable mobs to skill up weapons provides no such benefit to the game. I don't feel like i've accomplished something. I feel like I've wasted my time. And it doesn't teach you anything or make you a better player. Other than to tab out and check your toon every couple of minutes. The weapon skilling up mechanics could be done away with and reworked and the only negative effect on the game is it would give people who complain about anything another reason to complain.

Not ruling out the possibility you're a subtle troll.

I HATE the fact that if you get a new weapon of a different type, then you have to swing and miss for hours just to train the skill up.

Whilst its more realistic that way than just abandoning Weapon Skill altogether, in this case how is this example of realism any fun?

Is constantly swinging your weapon and seeing "Miss" all the time for upto 2 hours anyone's idea of fun? Probably not. I don't find it fun and I think it would be great if Weapon Skill was removed.

I have to say, I agree with Stylewalker here... although for different reasons.

One of the reasons that WOW is successful is that it is constantly reinforcing a persons ego by having them reach milestones every time they turn around. You may not like training that weapon up, but you feel a sense of accomplishment when you do. You might not like attunements, but you felt like you accomplished something when you got it. WOW is successful, because like in life, there are a vast number of opportunities to feel as if you overcame a difficult challenge. Many of them are big and easily recognizable, but a large number of them are small, hardly noticable by themselves, but the little ego boosts add up.

Agent Smith in the Matrix had one thing right. We define ourselves by the obstacles that we overcome... the challenges that we struggle though. Opposition in all things, right? You can't know joy unless you know sadness, etc. People that play video games in GOD mode will bore quickly. It might be fun to be unstoppable for a little while, but soon it is mundane because there is no challenge, no struggle, no work, and no appreciation. Isn't that the whole point of them putting in accomplishments? A large number of lists of things for you to grind through? People talk about how fun or cool that will be. Why? How is grinding up a weapon skill any different. They are both time sinks, and can become mundane. I just know that I feel good about myself when I finally max out a skill or trade. Even if the grind pissed me off... and sometimes especially if it pissed me off. And this translates into real life activities too.

WOW is successful, not in spite of the annoying little things we have to work through, but because of them.