Played Lately: World of Warcraft

• And now, I beat the hell out of World of Warcraft.


• Well, you know, sort of. It's still World of Warcraft, so any criticism I make now has to filtered through the lens of "I've played and enjoyed this game so long that it actually counts the amount of time played in total days because the number of hours and minutes won't fit in the little chat box". But anyone who has played for that long also knows exactly what it is that pisses them off. Here, then, is the picking of the nits.


• If there is one thing that WoW is renowned for (and maybe reviled in certain camps) is that they gave it a solo option. You can literally raise a character from level 1 to level 70 without ever relying on the assistance of another player. Sure, you'll miss out on the group quests and their nice rewards (though going back at a higher level to solo them is an option). You will miss out on all of the instances as none of them are turned for a solitary player. And you'll never see the inside of a raid encounter. But there is never a time on the trip to the level cap when you lack for options.


• So why does Blizzard hide solo content behind a barrier that requires a group to unlock? Really, what is the point? Are they saying, "We'll give you this fun new stuff to do with great rewards, but only if you choke down this bundle of crap that we know you hate?" Is that it?


• Specifically what I'm talking about is the daily quests in Outland. One of the quest chains, the Sha'tari Skyguard, is accessible just as soon as you hit level 70 and buy a flying mount. But for some effing reason, the Orgi'la and the Netherwing factions are unavailable unless you complete a long series of group quests. And these aren't the kind that you can wait until you get more powerful, then go back to solo later. These are hardcore, 5-man level 70 bosses you have to fight. While the Netherwing only force you to complete one of these quests, you have to down five of these idiotic quests to get into Ogri'la. That may not sound too bad for the Netherwing, they also require you to have a 300 Riding skill at a cost of 5000 gold. If I play every day, I'll probably make that much in about half a year.


• Someone please explain to me why this is fun?


• Look, I like people just fine. However I want to do my own thing in my own time. Making friends and interacting with a guild will give you a different online experience. But at the same time, the game goes from fun to an obligation just as soon as I have to subvert my goals at the behest of others.


• Plus I'm really tired of that one guy asking me to help him out every time I log in.


• Maybe I won't ever see the inside of Karazhan, the noobist of the noob raids. I won't ever get a purple that I didn't craft myself. But I don't really care that much. If you're going to give me an anti-social option, expect me to want to see all of it.