Why I Blog
Posted by Tipa in EverQuest 2, Lord of the Rings, MMOs, Pirates of the Burning Sea, Vanguard, Warhammer: Age of Reckoning, World of WarcraftFrom a comment on Tobold’s excellent post about the tank shortage in the World of Warcraft (or more accurately, the Protection-spec’d Warrior shortage):
I’ve been playing WOW for 2+ years now and everytime I see pvp hurt pve, it makes me wish there was a viable pve alternative to WOW.
I happen to think there are plenty of viable PvE alternatives to WoW. Not least among them EQ2, but also LotRO (the breakout MMO of 2007, by anyone’s definition viable), Pirates of the Burning Sea, FFXI Online and literally hundreds of smaller MMOs, most of them free to play, most of them with very dedicated and helpful player bases. I’ve been hearing a lot of good things about Vanguard these days.
It’s not that there aren’t viable alternatives to WoW. It’s that WoW has become a game so unusual and disconnected from normal gameplay that the MMOs that have proceeded among more normal paths seem bizarre to those who have played no other games.
Reading Tobold’s blog is like glimpsing an alien world (and I have played WoW). Grinding badges? Vending-machine epics? Honor as a currency? Doing highly repetitive activities for vague reasons? In essence and as far as I can see, removing the entire adventure component of the game?
WoW started as a very normal game — like EQ and DAoC with all the boring bits removed, and lots of help, no choices to make, very easy and casual and cartoony and really, nothing but fun. I really, really enjoyed my time in WoW, and I met a lot of really good people and a few jerks. So don’t call me a WoW-hater because I am not.
But somehow, somewhere, it got twisted. The fun bits were replaced with a race to the grind. Maybe because I haven’t played since before BC came out (I left when AQ was opening), that I just am not hearing about the fun, but I have several WoW blogs in my feed and am just distressed at what I read. People do this — voluntarily? The only ones who seem to be having fun are the ones that are going counter to the current direction of the game — the ones who are leveling slowly and hitting all the old content, as outdated as it may be.
What will they do when they finally hit the level cap?
It was these cries from WoW players for a viable alternative in the face of MANY real, viable alternatives that they blithely dismiss that was the basis for the post I made wondering if WAR would finally be the game that could wean people from their unhealthy obsession with WoW — a game that was supposed to be a haven for casual players who just wanted to have some quick fun, but has become exactly the sort of behemoth for which it was once the best alternative.
If there’s any overriding purpose to my blog, it’s to show that the other alternatives are damn fun in their own rights.
You CAN leave WoW. But you can’t go blindly into a game, kill ten rats and declare it boring. That won’t work. You can’t do any MMO truly alone. Seek out the community, join a guild and ask questions and get an idea of what the game means to those who love it. Then you’ll get a real sense for it. And then, maybe, you’ll find there are viable alternatives to WoW.
Related posts:
- EQ: Do you PLAY EverQuest and also BLOG about it? If I type “EverQuest Blog” into Google, I get pages...
- How to start an EverQuest blog. 1) Be an EverQuest player of any level, experience, anything....
- Shards of Dalaya blog: Dalayan Diary I’d heard wonderful things about Shards of Dalaya, a game...
- The MMO Nostalgia Challenge While discussing the possibility of “classic” servers in World of...
- Great Expectations: 2008 2007 opened with me splitting my time between EQ1 and...
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
Entries (RSS)
My friends are all hooked on the cartoony character models of World of Warcraft. They like the exaggerated and dangerous looking weapons and the unique feel the artwork has when compared to other fantasy MMOs. I’ve gotten them to try LOTR and EQ2 but both times nothing stood out enough from other MMOs we’ve played to make them want to switch. I think I would have had more luck getting them into EQ2 if they got a trial for the new Kunark expansion instead of the Play the Fae one.
I know for sure they will all switch to Warhammer because of it being PvP oriented and having the same type of models. Champions Online with its cell shaded art also might pick up their interest.
You should make them try Dungeon Runners :)
They’re pretty much not moving until Warhammer comes out now. I’m playing Tabula Rasa with one of them but we’re afraid the servers might go the way of Auto Assault soon.
Also why no blogroll love? Think I’ve had you listed since you sold me on trying the ruins of kunark expansion.
An oversight! Feel free to poke me if I forget anyone. I have everyone’s blogs in my feed and I forget to put the ones I like in my blogroll.
Tip/Relmstein: Forget dungeon runners, I’ve tried that, Mythos is 10 times better.
I have both installed, and DR looks way more like WoW :)
Both games are a little too casual for me.
Talk about coming late to this conversation……ouch…
This has probably been the most comments in one post since I have been coming here…Guess talking about WoW or WAR or AoC (all heavily commented) brings them in for sure…
What is odd is I have tried to go back to many games…Guild Wars, WoW, LOTRO…but, they just never feel right anymore..
My background story all revolves around almost quitting MMO’s after being such an addict…I could easily get 6-12 hours of my day into a game..Guild Wars and then WoW..
LOTRO finally became my last straw. I know it is a hit and all that, but this game is beyond repetitive and boring.
But…myself and my wife had just had it…it all felt the same..and LOTRO drove that home..
So, I switched to console, and single player games…yet, I did not feel committed to these…and just left gaming…
I watched TV…became a zombie…
Then one day I looked at my very expensive computer…gathering dust…then saw that Guild Wars icon…
Hey “It’s Free” I thought…won’t hurt to load it up..
Ooo..yea, I still got it I thought…having fun just killing stuff…
But, I got the been there done that feel..
I got a free trial for WoW TBC in email form…so, lets do this..
After hours of downloads and patches, I logged in…5 minutes after collecting 5 of this…I gave up…
WoW was still the same…
So…maybe I need new…so, I started many trials…and even went back to LOTRO to see all the changes…changes that still did not fix a less than satisfactory game..
Then there it was…EQ2…A free trial. I always remembered trying this game, and knowing how it sucked the life from my system…slow and clunky…bringing my old PC to it’s knee’s…
But, my new PC just ate it up…
I hate that clay look I thought…but, whats this…SOGA? Looks like Final Fantasy X style…which I liked (hated the MMO…lost 3 bucks on that trial)
So much to do, alts are worth a darn…guilds actually mean something here than just a big personal chat room…quests are interesting…and what is that? Voice overs? Unbelievable..Crafting that is cool to do…AA’s, HQ’s, Deities…
It has all the MMO conventions and mechanics…but has a little polish over those items…and additional little goodies you normally do not see…
And I can be casual, as I really want to keep my life….no major raids if I don’t want them…
I know this is wordy…but, it all boils down to what I saw with LOTRO, and what I see for future MMO’s…WoW has killed all creative thought in the MMO world…and everyone wants to be WoW..
Until one of these new MMO’s tries something new, I think this market will stagnate..
Hopefully someone will come up with the next big thing, that will make people feel that they will not have to use “leet” speak to describe what they are doing in the game…and can adventure once more…
Later
Well, they could make the Chuck Norris MMO. Everyone could be Chuck Norris, and round kick stuff to the Moon. Or round kick the Moon into STUFF.
That would empty WoW in a heartbeat.
After 18 mths of EQ2 I decided to put it to bed and try some other stuff. Tabula Rasa was disappointing, Pirates of the Burning Sea was boring. I picked up Vanguard nice and cheap and I have to say I’m having a ball. Great world, great classes, great community. Lots of grouping opportunities. Still plenty of crashes but nothing game breaking. Definately worth a try IMO.