- I woke up this morning to a number of tweets announcing that Mists of Pandaria, the new expansion for World of Warcraft, will be released September 25, 2012.
- This is news, yes. But I'm wondering if people are really that excited for another WoW expansion. Do people want this because they can't wait for more WoW or is everyone buying out of habit?
- If you are genuinely excited about Mists, I want to hear from you. Leave a comment letting me know. I'd be happy to be wrong about this, even if it's just one person. But I suspect a lot of people will be buying the expansion just because they always buy the new expansion.
- Myself included, most likely.
© 2012 Marty Runyon. All rights reserved.
Mists of Pandaria will be the first WoW expansion I won't be purchasing. I lasted exactly 2 weeks in Cataclysm, which was about 2 weeks less than I did in Wrath. I simply can't justify the purchase.
ReplyDeleteI wish I still enjoyed WoW. It would make several of my friends (including my wife) pretty happy.
I'm always been aware that WoW doesn't have an unlimited shelf life. I guess that I wish that there was something with which to replace it. Haven't found that yet.
DeleteIn some ways, a new WoW expansion will always make me excited. I have lots of good memories associated with the game after all.
ReplyDeleteI go into MoP this time fully aware the excitement will be short term, though. I've given up on WoW endgame, but have always enjoyed leveling in that game.
I have plans to play my main until I hit the new level cap. I have a soft spot in my heart for my main, plus I like to keep up my stable of max level characters. That last bit is habit, I suppose. Or some sort of obsessive compulsive thing.
I feel pretty about that my main hasn't finished Cataclysm, even though I wasn't paying much attention to the game. And I will feel bad if she languished after the launch of MoP. Bleee.
DeleteStill on the fence about MoP myself, but I am going to bet those that consume group content as a guild... especially those who raid... are looking forward to some new dungeons to run.
ReplyDeleteI seem unexcited now, but like you, I suspect I will end up buying the expansion for myself and my daughter. Blizzard wins again.
Very true. Anyone with strong social ties to the game will be glad to have a new reason to come around. Good luck to you and your daughter. :)
DeleteI'm actually very invested in Pandaren lore, and my favorite iconic character has been Chen Stormstout since WC3. I've been eagerly anticipating monks (and pandaren) since World of Warcraft became a reality, and knew that it was a matter of time.
ReplyDeleteI'm not as jaded as most of the WoW population, I suppose, because I've had many similar experiences through EverQuest. In my opinion, it's not the content that gets you through the lags between expansions, but the people you're involved with; so long as you've got good friends and good guildmates with you for the ride (and cross-realm raiding and networking only expands your horizons).
I'm still enjoying WoW, and have been since the beta. I might rage about Arms changes now and again, or have a problem with slapdash policy being hamhandedly doled out by the Activision execs who expect to rule over Blizzard with an iron fist, but those are separate from the game. I still log on nearly every day, and I'm still having a good time. :)
I actually have a soft spot for Chen, but for a different reason. I played the WoW Minis game at Blizzcon the one year I went. Because I won the mini-tourney I played in, I got a bonus booster pack that had Chen as the rare figure. He was actually pretty cool in that game.
DeleteI've already preordered the expansion.
ReplyDelete"Excited" is not quite the right word for how I feel. Smug is perhaps a better description. I felt very disappointed by the turn they took with Cataclysm's initial design, and predicted it would fail. MoP looks like a big "ok, ok, you were right". Being told by crow-eating game designers that I was right is a bigger ego boost than downing any boss could ever be.
Okay, I can handle smug. I haven't looked at the beta (can't stand to spoil the experience for myself), so I'll be curious how it all turns out. A little less railroading would be quite nice.
DeleteI've been both subscribed and playing since Classic WoW, and with every expansion my excitement grows!
ReplyDeleteI might be lucky, but the simple fact is that the more time passes, the more the game goes towards a direction which I approve of and that makes the game all that more fun to me. :D
It's sounds like you are Blizzard's intended audience, then. Good for you! I rather hope that MoP grabs me even a little bit as much as it does you.
DeleteI really enjoyed the beta, so much so that I had to force myself to stop playing when my second character hit 90. I don't want to burn myself out on the endgame content. I sneak back in occasionally for a raid test or a scenario run. I'm really looking forward to the expansion, and my daughter is really looking forward to pet battles.
ReplyDeleteI was blown away by several of the environments. Mount Neverrest, the Valley of the 4 Winds, and the Vale of Eternal Blossoms are just wonderful hangout spots.
That's quite the endorsement. I hope you enjoy the live game just as much. I do like exploring, so I look forward to seeing some of these sights.
DeleteThis is the phase of the game that Blizzard definitely gets right. The visuals, the environments, the stories being told in each zone, our first encounters with dungeons and bosses.
ReplyDeleteThis doesn't last forever, of course, and soon enough we'll be grinding dungeons for tokens and fussing with raid composition. But the one thing that Blizzard does better than anybody is fantasy world building and I'm looking forward to zoning in for that first sweet, golden ride through all the content.
You are absolutely right. There is very little in gaming like that initial rush into the new expansion.
DeleteOf course when TBC hit, I was only about level 20, so that rush was away from me. :) But it was still great when I finally got there.
I can't wait for the expansion to come, im really looking forward to it :)
ReplyDeleteCan I admit something? I am in the beta, and I actually enjoyed the very little I've played! I know, right!
ReplyDelete