Video contains spoilers of dungeons in Cataclysm.
The video you see here is Heroic Blackrock Caverns, as described/discussed by TotalBiscuit from http://www.cynicalbrit.com/. As you can see, it looks fairly difficult, as do many of the heroic versions of instances that we have seen so far from beta testers. But is this a bad thing?
Granted, once people start attempting to hit up heroics in Cataclysm, there will be waves upon waves of complaints about the difficulty of the instances (I've heard the complaints have already begun from beta testers but hey). I pray that Blizzard refrains from nerfing the fights too harshly, because it's stuff like that that helps players find out where exactly they stand skill-wise, and what they should do to improve themselves so that they are playing at the level of the game rather than depending on gear to play for them.
But what does this all have to do with the social aspect of WoW?
Well, I don't know about you, but I began playing WoW in the middle of the BC expansion. It was my first MMO after Guild Wars (and I'll admit, I played with the NPC party members most of the time), so it took me a while to get used to the game as a whole. I reached the level cap fairly late in the expansion, and had no idea what 'end game content' exactly was.
Most of what I can remember is pretty fuzzy, since it's been a while, but I vaguely remember trying to help get my fiancee's warrior to 16k health, doing Shadow Labyrinth, attempting regular MGT (and failing, because I kept getting harassed by the other warlock in the group and proceeded to bitch her out), and ultimately our guild being unable to even touch upon Heroic Ramparts. It was tragic.
Wrath was another story, though. I reached the level cap, did a few level 80 dungeons, and suddenly found myself in heroics. I was getting gear left and right, bam, bam, bam. Endgame content was flying at me faster than a paladin on a 310% mount in Crusader Aura. Before I knew it, I was getting invited to Naxx 10s and 25s, killing huge dragons, slaying giants in VoA, occasionally killing Anub'arak, and ultimately running around crazily in ICC. I never did finish Ulduar, I have to say, and to this day the Lich King eludes me, but I have no problem with that to be honest.
There is a problem though. With fast end-game content came faster ways to get to it.
Recruit-a-friend allows you and a friend (sometimes completely new to the game) to level to 60 extremely fast. Sure, you might have done this before, but do you remember what it was like when you started playing? Imagine that version of yourself being rushed through 60 levels. Does that give you enough time to learn your class or role in a group? Does it give you time to soak in all the harder-to-notice things in the game that make it what it is?
BoA gear is somewhat similar to RAF, in that it rushes you through the levels to cap. While it doesn't go nearly as fast as RAF does, it still gets you out of zones faster, which could be either a blessing or a curse, depending on who you ask.
The Dungeon Finder Tool is another thing that gets you through to end-game content faster. While it's extremely helpful in that you no longer have to advertise in trade for a group, it also has proven to be adept at introducing people to the darker side of WOW's social life.
I remember spending lots of time with groups, getting to know them as we discussed the best CC options for mobs we were pulling, talking about why we wiped and working to fix it. When Wrath and the DF tool came, all of that changed. As you very well may know, you can now go through an entire instance without a single word being said between the five of you.
Some may argue that that's a good thing for some people who don't play for the social aspect of WoW (which, I might add, is kind of strange since the idea of a MMO is to be massively multiplayer, i.e., you get to interact with lots of people). However, I believe all it does is plant social landmines for future interactions.
At any moment, something can be screwed up. Whether it's the healer, the tank, or the DPS, the moment that somebody messes up is when the opportunity for a landmine to detonate comes. And I have to say, it often does. You scrub! You're bad! You fail! Blah blah, insult insult, eventually that negativity passes on to another person, and then another, and another, and then all of the sudden you have people telling other people how to play their class the way THEY play it, whispering them and asking them why they specced into (random ability), etc, etc.
If you step back and look at it, I'm sure you can see the thick haze that has been cast over our Azeroth. Heroics in Wrath are easy. They're easy to out-gear, and so you will often get grouped with people who have gear scores (cringe) 1 to even 3,000 'points' higher than yours. People in ICC 25 gear can end up in a group with people just beginning Heroics. This pushes people into end-game raiding even faster, because now Mr. ICC-25-Hunter will be expecting you to be able to keep threat off his 10k DPS while you're wearing blues--and then he'll mock you when you ask for him to misdirect!
In comes Cataclysm. From what I can see in the videos I have watched so far, heroics are being bumped up in difficulty. Not only that, but gear seems to be a bit more difficult to get. Getting epic gear will once again be difficult, something to be proud of, or so I hope.
With this increase in the challenge to get geared, I can definitely see guilds doing dungeons together again, rather than pugging it in the random dungeon finder. I've noticed that they've cut down on the "More than 3, AOE" thing on trash mobs, and are now hoping for people to use crowd control once more (they even added a fancy new way to utilize fear). I can see these changed aspects to combat encouraging communication between party members, even if it is just "Mage, sheep this, Warlock, banish that".
While it may end up leaving the lesser skilled players in the dust, it also may encourage them to work harder on improving their skills. For me, I will definitely be alt-hopping much less, and focusing on fixing my DPS (which, I will admit, is lacking considerably despite my gearscore. Wrath has made me extremely lazy).
However, I can also see something horrible happening. Maybe I've underestimated the general populace of Azeroth. Maybe the vast majority of players are incredibly skilled, and the best that Cata has to offer will be dominated quickly and easily. If that's the case, then we may end up seeing a horrible clash of the skill levels, much like we see currently in Wrath.
Except it will be much, much worse. Yes, it could be cataclysmic. Just imagine all of the worst pugs you have ever done in Wrath heroics, and mash them together with fights where DPS have to actually stand in specific places, and generally be aware of their surroundings. Imagine how chaotic it will be when players who haven't played since Ulduar came out suddenly jump into Cata, not bothering to read about their class changes. Imagine the bickering we will see in party chat.
Just thinking about it gives me a headache.
So among several possible outcomes, two stand out to me the most:
Either people will be more willing to admit their mistakes and be willing to make changes and help others with theirs, thereby making the social aspect of this game much more bearable and less stressful; or
People will continue along the path they are currently on, and the game will continue to be filled by poisonous people who spread their negativity like a plague, simply because of the anonymity the internet offers them.
I would like to now point you towards the blog post that inspired this, from Tree Bark Jacket.
What are your opinions on WOW as it stands socially right now, and how it may stand in the future when Cataclysm drops?
¤´¨)
¸.·´¸.·*´¨) ¸.·*¨)
(¸.·´ (¸.·`¤Mandaconda¤
0 comments:
Post a Comment