2016

Is it Enough To Keep People Interested?

stargrace August 11, 2016 3Comments

I openly admit that I am having an absolute hoot with the new pre-legion events. I love seeing just how many people are around partaking, the talk in trade and general is as active as I’ve ever seen it, and people seem to have some fairly positive views on how things are going. I can’t help but wonder – will it last. Will people continue to play right up until Legion the amount that they’re already playing. Will more return with the actual launch of legion, and with so many people decked out in ilevel 700 gear, what will keep them playing until the 30th?

I was a bit surprised that demon hunters released early. Sure it gives people a chance to get to 100 and then to get some gear but offering early content could turn out to be a bad thing, too. People burn through it and then log off dejected because they have nothing to do. Not that I’ve ever encountered this, there’s SO many different things for me to partake in – but not everyone has my play style, so grinding battle pets or reputation or going profession recipe hunting may not be what they’re interested in.

With that being said, I’m still having tons of fun. Yesterday I decided to dust my horde hunter off and ran her through the introduction scenario and a few invasions. She’s not quite at ilevel 700 yet, but she’s getting there, sitting at a respectable 698. I also got one of the fel weapons, a longbow and upgraded it once (so far) to 705. Hopefully I’ll be able to collect a few more of those.

I still have not created a demon hunter yet. I don’t really have the desire to start another new character, and I’m having a good time focusing on the ones I already have. My new priest that I made yesterday is sitting at level 27, I’ve been taking a break from leveling her through dungeons because I find it pretty tedious. It’s still a 10 minute wait to queue as a healer, and at these low levels with only three heals (and one of them an emergency heal on a one minute timer) and everyone running off in their own direction makes it a stressful ordeal. Everyone thinks they’re the tank and then blames the healer when things go wrong.

What do you think, is there enough content to keep people playing as they have been right up until Legion, or are things bound to taper off and slow down once the initial rush is over? Let me know in comments and as always happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself.

Out with the Paladin – in With a Priest?

stargrace August 10, 2016 2Comments

Yesterday I was convinced paladin was the class I was going to play on the horde side of Area 52. Today, that has changed to priest. Turns out I just really enjoy the class, and so I created a new one yesterday evening in the hopes of making it to 100 before Legion releases. Can I do it? Well, it’s possible. Will I? That’s yet to be seen. I did manage to get to level 11 or so before finally calling it a night, but that had less to do with playing the priest and more to do with the fact that I spent all day on the paladin doing invasions and pre-legion fun stuff (which was amazing, might I add).

In the end it’s just better for me to play something that makes me happy, even if I already have a priest on another server. None of the other classes have ever ‘spoken’ to me as much as the priest.

Thanks to some help from friends on twitter (@LadyEllindris, @Ysharros, @xgeistatwork, @CoutureGaming) I was able to set up a horde guild on Area 52. Since I spend most of my time either solo or LFG/LFR or trying to convince people from bnet to invite me along for the ride, I decided that my own guild was in order. It’s also a place any of my friends can gather on the horde side, since we already have Zero Commitment over on the alliance side (on the Dalaran server). As much as I enjoy playing Alliance, my true self has always enjoyed the Horde side of things just a little bit more.

There were tons of people in game yesterday, and a lot of the comments I read about the pre-legion experience have been positive. The massive invasions are a sight to behold, even if you don’t feel like grinding out nethershards for upgrades (which isn’t really that bad, all truth be told). I picked up a set of gear for my paladin, a 715 weapon (700 that I upgraded a few times) and of course the Felbat Pup companion pet which was really important of course.

I’m feeling excited about leveling up a new priest, though I’m concerned about how long it will take me. Especially the slog through Pandaria and Warlords, as those are two of my least favourite expansions. Still, challenge is always good and keeps me interested.

As always, happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself!