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All of the latest Mists of Pandaria newsA plea against vehicle combat
by Eliah Hecht 
Feb 17th 2009 at 6:00PM
Earlier today Blizzard posted a preview of Ulduar, the tier 8 raid coming up in patch 3.1 (which they promise will be on the PTRs "very soon"). Most of it looks really cool - 14 bosses, massive rooms, hard modes. However, there is one topic that Blizzard enthused about that really worries me: vehicle combat.
We've already seen some vehicle-based boss fights in Eregos (the final boss of the Oculus) and on the third phase of the Malygos fight. But Ulduar is, apparently, going to take it one step farther: there will be a vehicle-combat gauntlet leading up to the first boss, Flame Leviathan, and that boss itself will also be a vehicle fight, with players picking among three vehicles (Chopper, Demolisher, and Siege Engine) to command.
I know some people will disagree, but I also know I'm not alone here: I hate vehicle combat and would like to see it used as little as possible in the future. I play my character to play my character, not to use the clunky and boring abilities of a dragon, or a motorcycle, or whatever they shoe-horn me into next. I hate the Eregos fight so much that Oculus is the one heroic I flat-out refuse to do. Phase 3 of Malygos is better, but still definitely the least fun phase of the fight, in my opinion.
The good news, I guess, is that Daelo promises that after the Flame Leviathan fight there is "very little use of vehicles by players." I guess that's something. Blizzard, I know you guys are really excited about this cool new vehicle technology, and it was fun for quests, but for raids, I really think it's the wrong way to go. Please let us continue to play our characters; I didn't sign up to drive seige vehicles, and I don't appreciate being forced to do so in order to do Ulduar.
Filed under: Patches, Analysis / Opinion, Raiding
Reader Comments (Page 13 of 13)
Gordal Feb 18th 2009 2:23PM
No vehicles. Paladin tanks only. Final Destination.
Fany123 Feb 18th 2009 5:53PM
Such hate this topic has created!
Vehicles *can* be a fun change of pace, particularly for small quest chains/sections. I think the real issue here is people feeling *forced* to use them.
An running vehicular entrace into Uldy might look cool on the cinematic, but this controversial mechanic is probably not wise to use as the mandatory first step into the next raid.
Why not make the vehicle section an optional/bonus boss and just award an achievement?
Goochman Feb 18th 2009 4:22PM
I am all for NO vehicles in raids, I like them in Wintergrasp and during the leveling quests, but in Malygos they are just annoying. I like to use my own character and use the skills I have gathered over time and set up a strategy to down a boss (for example, what we had to do with High King M. Lady Vashj and Illidari Council)....
personally I don't like the idea of vehicles in raids (they are cool in Wintergrasp and Strand of the Ancients)
Dean Feb 19th 2009 11:40AM
There's was never this much complaining about the Kara chess event.
Spidder Feb 19th 2009 12:31PM
People who don't like vehicles are stupid and have learning disabilities. OH MAN IT'S SO HARD TO LEARN 3 NEW VEHICLE ABILITIES WHY DOESN'T BLIZZARD JUST LET ME PRESS BOSS-KILL BUTTAN???///
Also they are completely self obsessed nerds to boot.:MY CAREFULLY MICRO-MANAGED GEMS THAT ARE ALL IN VAIN! I SPENT 100 HOURS OVER AN EXCEL SPREADSHEET FOR NOTHING! BLIZZARD STO CATERING TO CASUALS AND PAY ATTENTION TO ELITE PLAYERS LIKE ME AND MY GEMS!!!111
Amusingly enough, it's these same people who bitch about Blizzard rehashing old content and never try anything new. And when they DO try something new they throw fits like spastic children.
Brendel Feb 19th 2009 3:02PM
I like the vehicle mechanics - in fact, it is my favorite part of the quests in Wrath, but I'm woefully inadequate when it comes to flying a dragon. My challenge is getting my bearings above and below me. One second I'm with the group during phase 3 of Malygos and the next I'm 100 yards above or below - OY!
I do, however, love land-based vehicles. My favorite quest was in Dragonblight where you rode around the Carrion Fields blowing the be-jesus out of undead.
When it comes to vehicles, please leave me on the ground so I don't lose my cookies.
Draele Feb 21st 2009 5:36PM
In my case I'm very picky about how I'll even play the game. I really don't like playing alts because most classes aren't fun. I don't respec from Affliction because the other specs aren't fun. The whole vehicle system is the same thing- as the author of this article stated- it divorces me from playing the character I've customized to play in the manner I see fit (customizability of playstyle is a huge draw of RPGs) on to playing as some dragon with a very boring ability rotation that doesn't come close to being as interactive/enjoyable as Affliction is.
I play WoW to be an Affliction Warlock. Nothing else. That being said- props to Blizzard for trying to mix things up. A good portion of the playerbase probably loves vehicles, but I personally can't get into them because they are simply not fun.
Rozdoyle Feb 24th 2009 3:44PM
I absolutely hate vehicle combat. I hate Maly's third phase, I totally despise it. I mean, we're used to our toons, abilities we've used for a while ..and we like 'em, we feel comfortable using them. But then they ask us to, not only control a character, but make the character control a vehicle? and a buggy one, I might add; if they worked correctly, maybe it wouldn't feel so weird when operating them.
I don't know, I don't feel certain of my skills/control over the situation when I'm on one of those vehicles/dragons/whatever.
Bad call in my opinion.
Barnabas Feb 24th 2009 8:02AM
@OP
How do you suppose you'd be able to heal or whatever your priest does when Malygos shatters the floor? How would you shield yourself if Malygos focused you? How would you evade the orbs in oculus if you didn't have a mount? Now imagine that there is a huge purpose for using vehicles in 1 fight in Ulduar and not being able to survive without the use of them otherwise. I think these vehicles make sense for the encounters and keep raiding from being stale. I'm glad Blizzard is at least moving on from 3 year old content now.
maxpowr90 Feb 26th 2009 2:32PM
The author needs to L2P badly.
The only thing that is hard about phase 3 Maly is moving in 3d. How hard is it to smash buttons and move at the same time? You do it anyways on your character. It is just blizz telling you what buttons to smash and in what order, which IMO, is easier. I will admit the targeting system for drakes is a bit tough but phase 3 should be the 'We-win' phase. It's the same idiots dieing in the circle of deaths that die on phase 3 Maly.
FYI, 'vehicles' are not a new concept just implemented in LK. Teron Gorefiend anyone?
Acantais Feb 26th 2009 6:19PM
Personally I like the idea of a vehicle encounter. Though they could have been a little more creative on the vehicles in use, I think that it's a great idea (for at least one fight) to try something so new like this. I really can't stand the fact the game play is so centered around the need for a Tank, and a Healer. DPS, who cares? Without a Tank and Healer, you can't do anything. I love the idea that for this first boss, raid composition in terms of class has no place. I can't wait to see how everything works out, but I'm sure it'll be brilliant.
ryan Mar 11th 2009 11:02AM
L2Ride!
I kid. I don't like Vehicle combat only for the simple fact that my UI mod (CTmod) doesn't properly work with vehicle controls. If I try and change the hotkeys to "1", "2", "3" and so forth they disable my main mapped hotkeys. I can use an alternative CTRL + F1, CTRL + F2 and so forth but it's very clunky and hard to do. So I've had to manually mouse click my way through Occulus and Malygos, and I personally hate it. Maybe this is a call to all UI authors to fix their mods so that they work with vehicle controls.
RosewatersMage Mar 17th 2009 8:12PM
Everyone absolutely hates Occulus. You'd think they'd take a hint.
No vehicles. It's not epic/dramatic/"an interesting change"... it's just stupid.
Drahliana Mar 23rd 2009 7:27AM
A stunning insight by....
blkmasta55555 said...
Those of you on the pro-vehicle side misunderstand. It's not "ZOMG CHANGE AND/OR SKILL, FLEEEEE", we want to play our characters because of the level of investment we have in them. If you've worked hard to get your gear (a laughable notion in the current content, but bear with me), yet some randomer wearing quest greens can perform just as well as you, it cheapens the gear.
On the other hand maybe it just means that they're just as skilled as you are in the encounter, that it's one where what phat gear you're carrying isn't going to make up for a difference in skill and strategy.
Or is your epeen so delicate that you can't bear that in these few fights your gear isn't going to be the reason you dominate over someone else?
Bear Mar 21st 2009 6:38PM
H Oculus is the most hated content simply because it moves away from the roleplay I have come to love. All my carefully built abilities and skilling up simply gone at the whim of Blizz, 80 lvl's of gearing up now useless. I have to learn a new skillset for a single fight just to get a meaningless achievement. Disappointment set in as I learned that Blizz wanted to repeat a somewhat similar fight in Ulduar, this is not the game I love to play and if this is the direction in which Blizz want to take WoW then it is time to say: Goodbye WoW and thanks for the past 4 years of fun but I wont be renewing the subscription on either of my three accounts.