Close to Unsubscribing

I haven't played Warhammer Online in 2 to 3 weeks, except to pop on once to reset my talents after the 1.0.6 patch.  Scenarios were still fun but slugging it out solo doing the PVE content, took the wind out of my sails.  Grinding Influence by killing through the mobs for Stage I over and over got old, even for a solo player that is used to grinding.

I've done grinding in other games with no issue so why did it bother me in WAR?  Because I know that it's not supposed to work that way.  I know that there are other stages in the PQ that are more fun and challenging.  I know that there's a chest that drops at stage III and the chest has items in it hat I need, but don't have a chance of triggering.  I'm out in Pragg and the PVE zones are very empty - few players here and there but none doing the chapters I need.  There are probably a  more players in the High Elf zone, which for whatever reason is more popular, but I really REALLY wanted to do the Empire, which is my racial zone. 

So there I was grinding it out one night all the while feeling very blah about it.  Guild chat was quiet.  Ventrillo chat was quiet.  I logged off and didn't bother logging in again for a couple of weeks.  When I came back we were all settled on to the new more populated server.  Guild chat was quiet.  Ventrillo chat was quiet.  I reallocated my talent points post patch and tried it out in a couple of Scenarios.  As usual, the Scenarios were fun but when I needed a break from that and wanted to do something else, the thought of chasing down oRVR or going back to grinding INF were not appealing.  I signed off and haven't been back.

I've read about the boosted XP and rest bonus taking place over the holiday.  I think about logging on and trying to bust out the last few levels on my main or move the alt more quickly into T3 but getting on W101 is more appealing.  I have to say that I have mixed feelings about the XP boost. 

This strikes me as odd and something feels broken.  After all, WAR has only been out a few short months and there's a need to already start boosting players past content?  WTH are people going to be doing at level 40 for months and months and months???  I'm in Tier 4 and there's not a whole lot of depth to attacking and defending keeps.  It's fun when there's a lot of action but after you've done a couple hundred then what?

There's really great PVE content in WAR but even on densely populated servers there's too much of it and players are still spread too thin.  *sigh*  I'm not sure what to think.  Some people will say that this is a PVP/RVR game so they're helping to usher people more quickly to it.  To that I'll say, why is there so much PVE content then?  Why did they build it if it's so meaningless that we need to just run by it?  Is this solution easier than finding a way to scale it so it works without the large, critical mass population they didn't realize was required to make it work??

If it really is just Scenarios and race to end game oRVR then I'm not sure that's enough for me.  I enjoy PVE - the adventuring, leveling and experiences that come from doing PVE content.  PVP/RVR is the icing on the cake.  Yes, I knew this was a game focused on PVP/RVR but they built all that PVE content.  They implemented the Open Groups that made questing easier.  You don't actually need groups for the zerg RVR I've done and the grouping is mostly at the guild or alliance level anyway.  They put in all the PQs, Influence rewards that go with them and rare crafting drops in those PQ chests, not me.  Why is all of that content out there if we're going to be boosted by it?

Hmm, maybe I just need a longer break which is fine.  I don't have that itch to log in and play, so I don't.  I like WAR.  I enjoyed the questing more than any other fantasy MMO I've played, save one.  WOW's content from Goldshire to STV has always been my favorite content run.  I've done it several times and it was always fun.  I feel like that about the Empire content in WAR from T1 up until the beginning of T4.  In T4 I hit a wall where it was more work and perseverance, than actual fun. 

Perhaps in a month I can go back with fresh eyes and slam through the final 5.5 levels left to 40.  In a month, finishing out T3 and T4 on the alt will feel less of a chore too.  Or maybe it won't and I'm just done.

It's possible that my time in traditional fantasy MMOs has come to an end.  Yet fantasy is why I play MMOs.  I dont have the slightest interest in WoTLK.  I've faced the fact that as much as I enjoy EQ2 housing and crafting, I just can't tolerate leveling in that game.  EQ2's questing system and PVE content are too much of what I can't stand.  As a result, I can't make it to the finish line and become a full-time crafter and merchant.  I'm borderline tired of WAR and there aren't any other MMOs that I'm watching or waiting on to be released.  In my head it's starting to sound like I need a long break from MMOs until something - no idea what, comes along.  Geez.

Comments

[darren]

have you tried lotro since Moria came out?

[Julie Whitefeather]

Hi there..well it seems that your feeling is more common these days. It's something that we are going to discuss briefly on the next show. When I first hit tier 4 it was like hitting a brick wall. Scenarios became next to impossible to participate in and I rapidly ran out of pve content to do. Public quests were a great idea but the population density just isn't there.

Where eq2 is concerned I must say I feel exactly the way you do. I was close to unsubscribing when I found I had to for financial reasons anyway.

Where we differe is with Wrath of the Lich King. So far much of what made end game unbearable for me is gone...but the jury, as they say, is still out on that one. There are some incredibly interesting new game mechanics like quests that have a permanent affect on the world as you experience it in the game.

You blog is always a good read. Keep up the good work.

Julie Whitefeather

[Alysianah aka Saylah]

@Darren - "LOTRO was too quest heavy for me," is what I thought at the time. I've since learned that it's not so much that I don't like questing as it is the quest and content design. If I took the time to really analyze it I'm sure I could be clearer about why I liked the quests in AOC, WAR, early WOW and W101 but not other games like EQ2 and LOTRO.

Post AOC combat, killing has to be pretty darned entertaining when you're stuck killing things one at a time. WAR has two of the best classes I've played like EVER - Bright Wizard and Warrior Priest, which come just in front of AOC's Bear Shaman and then WOW's Warlock, Shadow Priest and Shaman. I don't think the early game in LOTRO has changed enough for me to make it to the newer content.

@Julie - it's weird that WAR isn't working for me as a whole. It's like I love the dress, shoes and handbag but when you put it together as an outfit, it doesn't quite work. The most glaring part of the missing pieces is as you said, player density.

[Sente]

It does sound like it would be a waste of effort with all that PvE content you describe. I don't think Mythic intended to make the game PvP/RvR-focused, but rather do a better job than many other games has on the PvP side, without losing the PvE.

I think any efforts now to boost people and allow to "skip" PvE content is maybe to please the audience that are mainly PvP-focused and do not care so much for PvE, which is perhaps the group of players they have had most success in keeping.

If you are thinking of trying out some existing fantasy titles again, you could have a look at Guild Wars. I don't know which campaigns you have played before, but if it is only Prophecies (which is good) you also have Nightfall and Factions, plus Eye of the North later. Especially Nightfall is a good place to start new characters and going to max level there will take about the same amount of time as doing the newbie 1-20 part in AoC - and it is pretty much an extended newbie experience. And there is lots of content then after that.

[Pete S]

RE: EQ2. I'm not trying to persuade you, but if you like crafting and housing in EQ2, why don't you play it and just ignore the adventuring side? You can be a pure crafter in the game, and the latest expansion even added crafting quests (I know quests aren't really your thing..) that require no killing at all.

I just re-upped to Warhammer yesterday and found that despite all I've read, it really hasn't improved very much for me. I kind of feel like I've thrown away the money I spent to rejoin. What's the saying? Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me.

[Jason]

While everyone is busy recommending different MMO's to try, I'll go the other route...

Take a break from the genre. Period. If you're not having fun there, then you probably won't have fun somewhere else.

I mean, yeah...you could play LOTRO or WoW, but from the sound of things you'll just end up in the same rut as you are right now in a few weeks.

Jason (resident drunken idiot of Channel Massive)

[Beau]

It's called boredom, or burnout: a sure sign that the player has been playing too much.

That's why I play as many games as possible...I explore every game I can. I never get bored! :)

[Saylah]

The double-edge sword of EQ2 crafting is that while you can level it doing orders for the vendors, you can't really be a merchant unless you can farm your own mats to make items to sell. Without leveling, I can't harvest in the appropriate zones.

I think I am burned out but not from playing so much. I don't play nearly as much as I used to when WOW was my MMO love kitten. I think I'm burned out on having tried several games none of which ever stuck like AC2 or WOW. Maybe something won't ever stick like either of those and I'm not the jump around to different games kind of player. I like a more intimate gaming experience. But I am tired of trying different games that for different reasons haven't worked out for me.

[Lars]

Well, I would agree with Pete that you could play EQ2 and ignore the leveling grind. Other than that, it sounds like what you want is more of a sandbox fantasy game, without the quest and leveling treadmill, sort of like Ultima Online maybe?