^ This.

It's not that players are becoming "too entitled". It's just that stuff like Dungeon Finder, Dual Specs, Aesthetic slots etc. could be considered "Gifts from the Gods (devs)" in 2004, but in this new era of MMO's those things are just taken for granted.

Every new game has these stuff, and by not including it WoW would become even more dated, people would jump ship to the cool new games, WoW sales decrease.. you get the point.

The jaded veterans may complain, but if WoW existed today in it's 2004 incarnation, very few people would play it (probably only the few "true good gamers" who don't fall to the seduction of the "new casual crap MMO's").

My point is: It's only fair to take these things for granted, because that's how the market works. It's definitely not a false sense of "entitlement".

the game as a whole isn't too easy- it is that Blizz refuses to implement a gradual difficulty curve- in Wrath it was pretty much all about the same for the majority of the expansion and in Cata it jumps from the usual difficulty to much harder (certainly not impossible though). WoW needs a non-binary difficulty mode (like DDO has with solo, casual, normal, hard, elite) not necessarily labeled just like that, but the game needs to give people more than ample opportunities to progress (in difficulty) at their own pace.

Many of those features aren't really in question here, though.

Sorry, not referring to Sgtsquish. In fact, that's more of what I was thinking this topic was about.

Most of the "changes," though, originated in World of Warcraft. I'm an old school MMOer, and I can tell you that instances were a rather new invention- if you went into a dungeon in Ultima, Asheron's Call, Everquests, etc, there were other players not from your party in there. Capture the flag isn't anything new, but putting it into the world where there was a hard player cap without letting others from the outside "interfere" was. Other games have adapted this since it made WoW popular, not because it's "good" or "bad."

Blizz has banked on the idea that people want to achieve more and earn less. The wheel's still there, but it gives rewards much more easily. This brings a bigger pool of players, which also makes it hard to hit other MMOs that are more difficult, since people are used to the ease in which they are able to achieve something in WoW. Unhappy players are obviously free to leave, but often will have to leave behind many friends in the process =/

The changes are good for the majority of players, but those of us used to an epic journey to the mountain are being forced through the portal these days ;P

Most gamers seem to wildly overestimate the skillset of the average WoW player, or the average human for that matter. Outside of a few select sports-like players, most people are not seeking a competitive challenge in an online game, and they're not going to volunteer for public embarrassment (wiping due to learning the ropes) in an isolated environment.

Raiding is the problem. Raiding has ALWAYS been the problem, since EverQuest.

Is it entitlement to want to see something other than sports-like, competitive play in the world's biggest themepark MMO? Something substantial -- not more mini-pets or mini-games.

How can we have a sense of entitlement about the game, when the most 'important' aspect of the game is something we have no interest in doing?

The playerbase is realising its entitled.

The playerbase is a paying customer. The playerbase, which mainly does not raid, is wanting to see the content it pays for. The playerbase does not want to spend their playtime on the same grind day in day out, but want realy new content to be fun for its own sake, not feel like a job to stay current.

The playerbase, is the paying customer, and they want what they pay for. In my opinion they are entitled to it.

@Borick

I really like your points, and this starts tickling the question of who should change, the game or the players.

I enjoy football. I like watching it and I used to play in high school. I am mildly athletic, but not a physically near perfect specimen you see in the NFL. I am not demanding that the game of football be changed so that I can fully enjoy it's intricacies at the highest level.

Wow is a videogame. It's a choice. If the game is too hard, then you might want to just play a different game. I don't like first person shooters, or sports games, but love RPG's, fighting games, and WoW. So that's what I play.

Call of Duty is the most popular FPS franchise ever and lots of my friends play it, chat online while hanging out and eternally playing CoD, just like I do with other friends and WoW. I don't DEMAND that call of duty change so that I may socialize in that medium... that's just stupid. Why should WoW have to?

You are absolutely right. The content outside of raiding is fluffy and grindy at best. I only enjoy the game when I'm clearing challenging raiding content for the first time. I especially loved killing Yogg and Sinestra for the first time (we're still working on H rag).

This is not for everyone. Raiding just simply is not for everyone, be it the level of person to person interaction you desire, or the process of learning the many mechanics of an encounter,or simply mastering your role in the raid.

(Un)Fortunately WoW has become the most popular MMO of it's time, and because of this, Blizzard is making the (financially sound) decision to (attempt to) adapt the game to the market/playerbase. Blizzard has tried to add lots of content to appeal to non raiders, but to me, most of it is just not engaging.

The last sad truth is that there is just no other social medium like WoW, but I'm afraid to say, if you haven't liked raiding for this expansion or last (or ever) maybe it's time to find a new game / passtime.

Cheers.