Breakfast Topic: Are you dodging the Cataclysm beta?
by John Zakour 
Sep 7th 2010 at 8:00AM
I could have taken part in the Cataclysm beta, but I chose not too. Here are my Top 10 reasons why I decided to wait to play Cataclysm until it is released some time later this year:
- I only have so much time -- might as well put it toward making my toons stronger.
- I'll let other people work the kinks out.
- I get bored enough repeating quests as it is. Why do the quests when they don't really count?
- I don't want to get accustomed to playing a level 85 mage, only to have to go back to my level 80 mage.
- Why level (or for that matter, play) with a character you can't bring into the "real" non-beta world? I'm not that ambitious.
- I've done the beta before: fallen in love (well, strong "like") with certain spells or abilities, only to have them taken away. (Mirror Image so rocked when it first appeared in the Wrath beta ...) I don't want to experience that pain again.
- Most of my guildmates won't be there. I like having my guild around.
- I actually don't think I'm a skilled enough raider to be any help with my feedback. I really need to do a boss encounter four or five times before I start to get it down well.
- If I am going to risk wife aggro, I want to risk it for something that counts.
- I'm not a fan of spoilers. I'd rather experience it all when it goes live.
Filed under: Breakfast Topics, Cataclysm, Guest Posts
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 6)
Stoop Sep 7th 2010 8:04AM
I wouldn't be dodging it if I could get a darned invite :P
Anathemys Sep 7th 2010 8:35AM
Like my grandpappy always said:
"Ya' know son, it's really frickin' hard to dodge the damn bullet when they ain't shootin' at ya'."
Right after that the burly nurses came in with about forty shoots and a straight jacket and said visiting hour was over.
Soeroah_the_second Sep 7th 2010 8:05AM
If I ever got into the Beta, I'd just level as Alliance to see their lore, since I'll be Horde when it goes live.
But yeah, sometimes I can't help looking at spoilers, only to wish I could forget about it.
Trilynne Sep 7th 2010 8:19AM
^this. I was playing on my hubby's beta account when Blizz had the automagic 'you just completed this quest! could we have some feedback now?', and I loved doing that. Now that that doesn't seem to be happening anymore, I kinda got bored. So now I only play if the real realms are down. :P
Josin Sep 7th 2010 8:05AM
I'd love to do the Beta if I didn't have that pesky full-time job thing. If I could devote the proper time and effort to actually testing it, I'd love to participate.
Of course, I'd need an invite.
Arednel Sep 7th 2010 8:06AM
this is my first expansion and I've jumped at the chance to beta test as a *newer* player (i joined the day 3.1 dropped) it's interesting to help out in the changes going on but damn some players need to learn to group up for quests because it'll save so much time and it's just rude not to.
MusedMoose Sep 7th 2010 8:06AM
I decided not to try to get into the beta just because I want to experience it when it's done, and not have things yanked out from under me while Blizzard works out the kinks. Also, I'm an altaholic - I already have names reserved for at least six new characters once Cataclysm hits - so I'd rather not go through quests over and over on beta only to have to do them yet again on live. I plan to do Loremaster once it's tracked by zone anyway, so trust me, I'll be experiencing everything eventually. ^_^
Also, I'm not great with numbers when it comes to WoW, so I wouldn't be much help when it came to reporting on new abilities and giving feedback as to what needed to be changed. But I am thankful for those who are; it means we'll get a better and more balanced game when it's done.
eyeball2452 Sep 7th 2010 11:28AM
I agree. I'm excited to roll new toons for the 1-60 content in Cataclysm. Unfortunately, as has been discussed on the podcasts, much of that content is still a work in progress.
I have many other hobbies, so I don't mind waiting until November to play Cataclysm. I enjoy my time in game, but it's not the only focus of my life.
roellish Sep 7th 2010 12:32PM
I want to be a noob again. My very first character in WoW was a Tauren Hunter. After figuering out how to grab a quest then turning around to see all of Red Cloud Mesa sloping down from the village was just awesome. The way the plainstriders were pacing back and forth while the well turned methodically in the distance was hypnotic. That experiance was literally the reason I played WoW for so many years. I have done many things since then but none of them ever made me stop and stare the way Red Cloud Mesa did because, for that time only, I was a true WoW noob.
When I sign in to Cataclysm as a Worgen Rogue(neither of which I have been) I want to have as close to that same experience as possible. That is why I am avoiding the Beta.
jsin1276 Sep 7th 2010 8:08AM
I concur as I am in the Beta yet I am working more on the "Live" server than something that won't really count for anything. Granted I do know a bunch of what is going to come and lore wise though again it isn't counting towards anything that will carry over. It is fun though to play around in there and provide what feedback I can though. In fact my wife is playing the Beta more than I am actually.
Finnicks Sep 7th 2010 4:29PM
^this
I'm in the Beta, but I haven't done much. Mostly checking out the Goblin and Worgen starting zones (until they decapitated my Worgen, then I stopped), scoping out the changes on my 80 paladin w/ Crusader Aura.
I haven't done any 80+ questing at all. Feels like a waste of time when I'll just be doing it over again on my live server toons.
Jamie Sep 7th 2010 8:08AM
Dodging beta because I'm having too much fun RPing...
I played beta for a few days, but all in all I can wait.
wscotthinds Sep 7th 2010 8:11AM
I tend to agree with the author. I'm enjoying the game, sure, but to devote hours a week to a realm with frequent resets and then at the end it all just goes dark? I would rather level alts, work toward ridiculous achievements (Soon Feats of Strength) and ride around Dalaran on a sparkle pony.
Neyssa Sep 7th 2010 8:30AM
I would love to know what achievments will be Feats of Strength. I just know that the Zul Gurub tiger will be gone. Is there a list for this anywhere on the net? If not, it would make a very nice Wow.com article: Achievments that you will not able to do after Cata hits.
wscotthinds Sep 7th 2010 8:54AM
As far as I know a lot of them seem to be speculative. Sure there are a few knowns where dungeons are being overhauled, but things like Explorer and other similarly difficult quests that involve ... well exploring what Azeroth is now may be either completely changed or removed or both (new achievement?).
I am not in the beta so I cannot do much more than speculate but per the theme of this post I really don't regret or miss the beta. I (think) I am spending my time much more effectively on the live realms. I know level 81 quest greens will replace my ICC-25 gear, and that is why I am spending time doing other random things, learning the ins and outs of PVP again, and as a healer this time and not a mage... other fun stuff!
robbymack Sep 7th 2010 8:12AM
I wasn't invited to the beta, but I wasn't looking to be invited. Not only would I prefer to spend my play time raiding on my main and level alts in the "real world" but I don't think I would make a great beta tester. I'm sure there are plenty of people who would do a much better job of finding and reporting bugs and broken quests than me. I would rather play the finished product and enjoy the new abilities and lore at release. The only problem for me is keeping up with the big Cataclysm news and simultaneously attempting to remain relatively unspoiled.
Yeechang Lee Sep 7th 2010 1:05PM
I also have no interest whatsoever in participating in the Cataclysm beta. I don't want to deal with buggy quests, crashing clients, incomplete maps, or untuned bosses. More importantly, I don't see the point of seeing (incomplete, broken, unrefined) content in a beta then seeing it all over again once the expansion is out.
Don't get me wrong. I read the wow.com posts about new zones or races or talent trees. I also know beta-testing is important. I'm grateful so many people are able and willing to find bugs in such a ginormous software project so the experience for the rest of us will be that much smoother.
I doubt, though, that most of the people here and elsewhere who talk about getting a beta key as if it were a cure for cancer or the Holy Grail or the Weighted Companion Cube are interested in debugging nearly as much as seeing content early,[*] content that they'll be paying to see again since any leveling done during beta of course is impermanent. To me, being spoiled that way that would ruin much, if not most, of the fun. Again, I just don't get it.
[*] I'm sure some are members of bleeding-edge raiding guilds who want to get a head start on beating the new raid bosses, but how many such can there be?
Aaron Sep 7th 2010 8:16AM
I've been sinking so much time into leveling alts to have a full stable of classes/races/professions before Cata that I don't feel I would have the time for proper testing/report. What's crazy is that I will have TWO toons ding 80 by this weekend... I need help... and sleep. HA!
I'd love the be in the beta, but I think for me it would be more of a tourist visit than a proper testing/reporting situation.
oconn Sep 7th 2010 8:22AM
Dodging all the way.
i dont want to play an unfinished game and now i've killed the LK i have the chance to wipe loads on hc icc. why would i pass that up?
Kal Sep 7th 2010 8:25AM
If by dodging you mean holding up a big sign that says "Send Beta Key Here!" with a target on it, then yes, I'm totally dodging it.