The Queue: I am not yet pumped ...
by Adam Holisky 
Oct 11th 2011 at 11:00AM
Welcome back to The Queue, the daily Q&A column in which the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Adam Holisky (@adamholisky), senior editor at WoW Insider, will be your host today.
For some odd reason, I'm not terribly pumped for BlizzCon this year. I mean, I'm excited that I get to go to LA and see a bunch of awesome people I know, and I am pumped about the Reader Meetup (seriously, one of the best nights of the whole year). But BlizzCon itself? I don't know ... there just something missing in it for me right now. Maybe because I've been to the last few, this one doesn't seem like it's going to rock my socks off, or maybe it's because last year's was pretty bland as far as WoW went.
Well, nonetheless, our Reader Meetup is going to rock. I really can't wait for that.
/excited
Sarla asked:
Is recount really that big of a resource hog?
No, it's not, especially when you factor in today's computers. While it's not uncommon for it to take up 20 to 50 megs of memory in a raid ... big deal. It's unlikely that you're raiding on a computer that can't handle that. And if you are, just turn it off, anyway.
Recount is a really great tool for self analysis and figuring out how you can play better. It's something that I've been using constantly for years, and I hope that everyone else does too.
Dajaxem asked:
Why isn't Blizzard announcing their next MMO at BlizzCon this year?
To be honest, we've heard every year for the past couple years that Blizzard wants to announce it. We're pretty shocked that Blizzard is keeping quiet about it now, too. That said, I think there are two main reasons Blizzard's not announcing it this year.
First, the next WoW expansion is going to take up a lot of the energy of BlizzCon 2011, and Blizzard probably don't want to go up against it.
Second, there are probably still some things Blizzard's not entirely set with. When Blizzard announces games, it likes to have a playable demo. That means the art assets have to be in place, storylines have to be solidified for the most part (otherwise you're just running around in a sandbox without any context, and that's not how Blizzard rolls), and the basic systems need to be set. If one of those things is not a go, then I wouldn't put it past Blizzard to hold off. It's not a company that pushes things out just because it wants to; its strength is releasing when things are ready. And in today's world ... that's a very good thing.
Loamdezga4 asked:
I'm thinking of getting a BlackWidow keyboard from Razer. What do you guys think of them? Good, bad, zomgterrible?
We love them. Mat McCurley has one and he has great things to say. I plan on picking one up soon (I just keep never getting around to it), and I know a lot of other people who have them. Mechanical keyboards have a very nice feel to them, and they make a great sound whenever you punch a key. Highly recommended for anyone.
Have questions about the World of Warcraft? The WoW Insider crew is here with The Queue, our daily Q&A column. Leave your questions in the comments, and we'll do our best to answer 'em!
Filed under: The Queue
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 14)
Peebers Oct 11th 2011 11:03AM
why are all these dudes gonna reply to this?
Peebers Oct 11th 2011 11:03AM
shout out to my boy Twitch!
Sinthar Oct 11th 2011 1:44PM
Going for quickest vote down ever? And you didnt even mention the key word to get voted down in this position.
Peebers Oct 11th 2011 2:20PM
heh =)
Burnaphatone Oct 11th 2011 11:07AM
Bacon Yogg Saron
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ITsGZJustI
Jamie Oct 11th 2011 11:05AM
I guess, whatever comes up from Mists of Panadaria will be cool. I think despite all the updates with Deathwing & Transmogrification, Cataclysm as a whole was a bit of a let down.
MattKrotzer Oct 11th 2011 11:30AM
That's partially because for a LOT of people, the expansion only covered a few new zones and a couple of levels. Cataclysm was IMMENSE for new characters/players... but for those at max level, it was definitely a short one.
The next expansion should provide more, as it will return the focus to leveling beyond Cataclysm. (Presumably.)
Noyou Oct 11th 2011 11:51AM
We got a lot of quality of life content (old world flying and guild leveling to name a couple) and a lot of 1-60 stuff. It does seem a little bland after Wrath. I would say the one thing I am a little disappointed in is the slower, larger patches after they said they wanted faster, smaller ones. We still have a huge patch coming with 4.3 so hopefully we are ending on a high note.
Amaxe Oct 11th 2011 11:56AM
I know it's ironic considering how I originally complained about having to go from revised vanilla to 20 levels of TBC and WOLK, but now they seem to be the refreshing content while 1-60 and 81-85 seem to be dreary.
Since you got the new 1-60 content regardless of whether you bought Cataclysm or not, I really can't consider it part of the expansion.
Sorro Oct 11th 2011 12:12PM
The problem wasn't the content that shipped with Cataclysm. The problem has been the fact that the updates have been meager. 2 troll heroics (revamps of existing locations) and one 7-boss dungeon are not that much to sustain us for the last several months.
It sounds like 4.3 will be better - a new 8-boss raid plus three new heroics is more than 4.2 had.
Maymer Oct 11th 2011 12:19PM
To me, Cataclysm was very much needed. As a quality of life expansion, it blew my socks off.
The end game/new zone content stuff though? Less than stellar. Granted the story lines were enjoyable, as well as the variety of quests, but I felt that each zone, dungeon, and raid didn't quite have that Blizzard sheen to it. They were just...well...there.
Does that make it a bad expansion? Hell to the no. It's just not the expansion we were quite wanting for end game.
I like to think that it was as if Blizzard was rebuilding the temple it had created. The foundation was getting weak, and couldn't hold up the other expansions built upon it. So, Blizzard ripped up the old foundation (Vanilla WoW), and repaved it with exceptional quality that is Cataclysm.
To us, it just looks like a floor, not a cool new room or amazing new patio (BC and WoTLK respectively). But, because of the strength it was made with, we can build even more complex and amazing additions to WoW.
Charlie Oct 11th 2011 12:23PM
I'm not going to be QQ guy but I think at one point or another everyone comes to a point where they just decide the games not for them any more. For me that's pandas.
It really depends though. I can only go by what i imagine at this point and that's not good. For all i know they can come up with something really cool and exciting, but right now, I can't imagine anyway they can introduce pandarians that would seem cool to me.
Cataclysm was very dark and dire in nature. I can understand panderian as a way to bring out the brighter side of wow. I just don't want them to Jar Jar Binks up the game.
Wowcoholic Oct 11th 2011 12:56PM
Bleh, I comment failed.
@Charlie
If you haven't, I highly recommend playing Warcraft 3 and the expansion. From a lore standpoint, it's very enlightening.
Plus, the extra story containing Chen was highly entertaining. Playing around as a Panderan Brewmaster was very fun.
Gungans just plain suck.
ZodiacDragons Oct 11th 2011 1:02PM
As some people have said, Cataclysm was a much needed upgrade. But in the words of the wise Wowcrendor, "They [Blizzard] took an old car and painted it a new color. You can either have the old car with the new coat of paint or you can have a brand new car. Obviously, you will want the brand new car. You can take the old car and it'll fun for a little while but it's gonna get older a lot faster than the new car would because the new car is new."
The real issue with Cataclysm I think is that Blizzard revamped all this old content for leveling, but leveling goes extremely fast. I had a friend who was level 40 in week and we are talking about a guy who thought putting your armor in your action bar was equipping that item (no joke...).
Personally, I think Blizzard should lower the experience gained from questing and dungeons because you have all these things to help increase your experience such as BOAs, RAF, Guild Perks, Event Buffs, Rested xp, etc. that after completing a couple quests in a new zone, you are ready to move to the next area meaning people aren't seeing this new content because you outlevel it so fast.
Hollow Leviathan Oct 11th 2011 1:06PM
@Amaxe No you DIDN'T just call Hellfire Peninsula 'refreshing content'. You take that back!
Amaxe Oct 11th 2011 1:11PM
Once you've done 1-60 several times (I think the only zone I've missed is Desolace), it is refreshing to get off the rails. Sorry.
Jamie Oct 11th 2011 1:31PM
58 -> 60 are pretty much over in 2 hours. But yep, for as dynamic as the new old world is, it's extreme hand holding. I don't have a clue about game design but surely in taking all the amazing stuff from Wrath and covering it all over The old world it's going to get old fast, because set pieces don't work if everything is a set piece.
Blizzard have to go back to the drawing bored and create a new wow factor (no puns!). But ya, the whole process will end up being cyclic if we're always looking ahead. So therefore perhaps integrating old zones into new content and using them in new ways is the way to go. Not all at once but.. Oh wait, it's cataclysm all over again. At least with a little by little approach there might be more content sooner and more of it!
Thomas Higgins Oct 11th 2011 2:14PM
For me, personally, Cataclysm was daylight robbery. A content patch masquerading as an expansion pack. I had no real interest in anything it brought other than the Worgen, the ability at long last to fly in the vanilla zones, though not in Silvermoon, or the Isle of Quel Danas, and some badly (overdue) needed updates to the aforesaid vanilla zones.
All of which should and I to this day still say could have been done in one of the games many content patches, like for example the one that brought almost everything in Cataclysm before the "expansion" went live. I used scare quotes for a reason. There was absolutely nothing new brought to the game as far as how I relate to it. The high end raids are meaningless to me as I am not in a guild that does them. The Goblins were already in the game, you just could not play as one of the Bronx stereotypes, and from my personal and no doubt unpopular stand point, you can keep them.
Worgen though? They were and are still the best thing the game has had in a long while, even though I resent the fact that if you want the last bit of the story of their battle for Gilneas you have to play on the Horde side. I did that once, and now I only play Alliance.
And the killer for me is the timeline. You travel backwards and forwards through time in a way that makes no logical sense whatsoever when you go through the process of starting a new toon from scratch.
Hopefully this will at some point get fixed in a content patch, not a so-called expansion pack that you pay good money for.
ElrithCC Oct 11th 2011 4:27PM
I don't understand how you can look at Samwise's pandaren art and think they are childish. If you enjoy Kurosawa and samurai,.... I think it's just the connection people make to Kung Fu Panda. Why one anthropomorphic race is equated with "bad" in the face of so many others seems nothing more than bandwagon jumping to me. The "joke race" thing is the stupidest excuse for why something is bad I've heard in a minute.
SamLowry Oct 11th 2011 5:48PM
Want to know the problem with introducing pandas as a new race in the game? For every noble race you're able to fight for and trade with, there's several tribes of evil-goatee versions you're required to slay.
So who's up to some panda-killing? Footage of that will look great on FoxNews.