Breakfast Topic: The way we was
by Allison Robert 
Nov 23rd 2008 at 8:00AM
Well, WoW -- happy birthday! I don't think anyone, least of all Blizzard, expected the game to be anywhere near as popular as it's become, and it's just getting stronger. The game has changed a lot in the past four years, both for better (if you're me) and for worse (if you're a forum troll commenting on every change that has ever been made or ever will be made, unless it results in their character being absurdly overpowered, in which case any effort to fix this will be termed "a slap in the face"). Classes have also drastically changed in the process, with far less attention being paid to their traditional roles in previous MMORPG's and more attention paid to soloability, adaptability, and just plain fun. The character you rolled when you first began playing may bear no resemblance to the character you expected to be playing now, even if it's the same toon. And for some of you, that you're playing an MMORPG at all would have been a laughable notion before WoW debuted.
If your main's been the same from the start, how have you seen it changed by the game's advancement? What was the single biggest change for your character's playstyle, and did you agree with it? If you didn't, did you switch mains? Personally, I've had the same main, a Tauren Druid, since my first day, and I think most longterm Druid players would point to the meteoric rise of feral (and more recently, balance) in early Burning Crusade as being a sea change for the class. Most early Druid players would have scoffed at the notion of a Druid doing anything for a group that wasn't healing -- or, for that matter, being a good PvP class.
And did you remember to log in and get your baby Blizzard bear?
Filed under: Events, Blizzard, Breakfast Topics, Features
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
khimicha Nov 23rd 2008 8:17AM
Well WoW Is Gr8 Bec Every1 Has A Reason To Play..
Some For RP, Some For Plain Fun, Some For Addiction,
& PvP 2 Kick @$$ & Show Off..I Love WoW..
It Gets Better With Time..Like Every Game Based On Bliz Stuff: AKA DOTA-allstars..
We Love Bliz & Wish Thm The Best [' ']
Dulock Nov 23rd 2008 9:32AM
I'm Still Trying To Figure Out Why All Your Words Start With A Cap
crsh Nov 23rd 2008 10:52AM
That's pretty representative of what WoW has "evolved" into, unfortunately.
Murphy Nov 23rd 2008 4:09PM
I have become significantly dumber than before reading this comment.
khimicha Nov 24th 2008 4:08AM
1st: It's None Of Ur Business How Or What I Write..
2nd: U Have 4 Years Of WoW 2 Blame For Being An Idiot..
3rd That Is Just Not True.. Playing Games Don't Make U An Idiot.. U Whr Already An Idiot 2 Begin With.. & A Troll..
nokturnus Nov 24th 2008 7:04AM
You are absolutely correct, it is your right to write any sort of crap... but it is also everyone else's right to comment on it or prevent it from hurting our eyes. That is why you will soon see your post turn gray :). And by the way please NEVER try to explain to anyone on any internet forum that playing computer games doesn't make people dumb, it may be contradicted directly by your writing and grammar skills and make it harder for others to explain it...
Will Nov 23rd 2008 8:19AM
Almost every change I've wanted for Mage have come over the years... I didn't start playing an end-game mage until after TBC was released, but the changes to conjuring food/water was a big change and blizzard listened, I almost rerolled a warlock because I felt their damage in raids were far superior to mages no matter how much I outgeared them and changed talents.
On the PvP front, I've always been into MMORPG's only for PvP, and since adding BG's (which unfortunately took away from world pvp... ahh Tauren Mills...) it was blizzards first step to at least mainstream pvp, then Arena was a huge step and success for blizzard on the pvp front, I haven't had that much excitement over pvp ina long time. Also adding a world pvp zone in wotlk is no different than in TBC but it seems a lot more exciting and giving "incentive" to participate in Wintergrasp will ensure it is always very competitive, fun and rewarding.
Not to mention the achievements system now, I want to attain the best pvp titles to show that "status" and pride I take over being a top pvp competitor. Love this game now more than ever.
http://www.wowconfidential.com
Michael Nov 23rd 2008 8:53AM
Tarren Mill, not Tauren Mills.
KenMo Nov 23rd 2008 8:19AM
I created a toon on an Oceanic Realm yesterday to see the bear. I'll make sure I log into all of my alts today.
My main has been my Undead Lock for over 2 years now (since I started just before BC came out). I've since got 3 others to 70, but my Lock had to be the first out of the gate in Northrend. He probably won't be the first to 80 though, I'm having too much fun with my Death Knight who just hit 70.
Rylka Nov 23rd 2008 8:21AM
I've played a gnome warlock as my main since I first started. I've loved it constantly, though I am an alt-zilla with two accounts so I can have one of every class both Allie and Horde on the same server. (Took a while to get all my toons signed in this morning for the achievement.)
As a casual player in a tiny friends and family guild, the best change I've experienced has been the gradual greater accommodation of solo and casual players. The whole "bring the person not the class thing" fits me perfectly.
As for warlocks, the changes have seemed to mesh with my advancing exploration of the class, so new things, be they from changes or from leveling, have been absorbed at about an equal pace. I do appreciate being able to buff my entire raid, though I've only ever been in two :)
smcn Nov 23rd 2008 1:01PM
Alt-zilla, I like that one! Much better than altoholic... What exactly is "altohol", anyways?
Bromnir Nov 23rd 2008 4:31PM
You know all those old alts you've had over the years that went nowhere? The gnome warrior that sounded hilarious, but you eventually deleted? The blood elf rogue that you only took through the new starting zones before getting tired of? Well, when you delete them, Blizz doesn't just throw them away. No, like the Soylent company, Blizz lets nothing go to waste.
They mash the unwanted alts up and mix them with water, yeast, and a few select flavorants (I hear hops and wormwood are big, this time of year) and let them ferment. Strain off the bloody pulp and polygons and what you're left with is a highly addictive, purple-orange liquor known as "altohol" that they distribute in the newbie zones in an attempt to make people's future toons even more addictive.
Given the frequent use of the word "altoholic," I assumed this was common knowledge.
Jin Nov 23rd 2008 8:31AM
I've played a Troll Rouge since the first open Beta and for me there were 2 big changes:
1) fixing dmg calculations that include speed to 1.80. Back when that happened i wasn't much about theorycraft but thinking back, it was huge change
2) Buff of the Troll-racial Berserking. Man, the day I read those patchnotes about how Berserking basically turned into a "free" haste buff I was DELIGHTED!
a more personal change was switching from daggers to swords. I've played combat daggers since my first Molten Core raid, but around Naxx i wasn't able to stay on top of dmg meters anymore, so after I came back from skipping the first 1.5 years of TBC i was lucky enough to loot latros shifting blade, went to the AH, spent 800g on a Blinkstrike and respecd to swords. Though it looks like, with the new assasination tree, Daggers found their way back into raiding.
Angry Joe Nov 23rd 2008 10:18AM
Yet you still call the class "rouge".
Anti-coprolalia Nov 23rd 2008 8:40AM
U desperately need greying out....heck ...grey this post out to...
Relppats Nov 23rd 2008 8:52AM
I got into WoW about a year after my brother and some of his friends started playing. My first roll was a priest named Aremac. My brother loaned me some gold and I set out on what has now become a 2 year long adventure for me. I took me the longest time to build up enough courage to start group for dungeons and after a few rocky starts I became quite the solid healer.
Upon hitting 70 in the BC I continued to heal and finish up quests but at some point I grew tired of healing and the raiding scene was just filled with too much drama at the time. Additionally I was sick of the game becoming so gear oriented.
So I then rolled a warrior, with the sole intention of being a tank. During this period my internet service at home was MIA so I was playing at my local library on the weekend on my crappy laptop. I hit 70 2 weeks before Wrath and managed to complete the Loremaster of Outland Achievement. In doing so I came to really enjoy the lore and history of the game and understanding why I was "risking" my life going into these dangerous situations the game was throwing me into makes things so much more fun. I also have WoW to thank for the leadership skills I've picked up by leading 5-man dungeon groups as some of the management aspects actually help me in work!
I still remain guild-less on my server and intend to keep it this way. I really enjoy rp-ing as a kind of mercenary for hire sort of thing (I never ask for gold though, usually I'll only go if it serves my own purposes or I know someone personally).
Thanks for an awesome 4 years Blizz! Here's to many more!
Asswipe Johnson Nov 23rd 2008 9:28AM
"Additionally I was sick of the game becoming so gear oriented.
So I then rolled a warrior, with the sole intention of being a tank."
benicrystal Nov 23rd 2008 10:56AM
That would be counterproductive!
Relppats Nov 23rd 2008 11:46AM
In case you haven't even been playing in the last few weeks you might not have noticed how much easier it is to aquire the gear needed to progress in this game.
I'm in solid tanking gear and able to handle content without having to have had repeatedly run the same instance over and over hoping for the drop I needed. WoW has changed, for the better.
Sean Nov 23rd 2008 8:56AM
I just came back to wow about a week ago, and in the meantime I've been expireminting with all sorts of MMO's. I've got to say, WoW tops them all, I haven't found one MMO close to beating WoW's creative, easy and most of all fun style of gameplay. I first subscribed to wow about 3 and a half years ago when I thought WoW was at the top of its game, but it seems like WoW just keeps getting better and better.