Mop has been out now for quite a while, so I thought it would be a good time to reflect upon the various aspects that I have really enjoyed, as well as those few areas that I am none too pleased about. Going back to the Cata expansion, I was really thrilled to see that we would be going up against Deathwing himself! Having been introduced to the wonderful universe of Warcraft by way of the RTF Warcraft I, II and III, it was totally awesome to see this particular nefarious villain break forth to wreck destruction upon the world (of warcraft), only to be routed by a band of heroes! Unfortunately, after coming off the high of the Lich King expansion, Cata felt flat and disappointing. Preying Deathwings claws one by one off the rocks, so as to ensure that he would be disposed of into the vortex seemed too much like “this little piggy when to market” toe wiggling. Both he and the players deserved better in terms of this final encounter. I reckon that the time needed to revamp all of the old world content became such a massive, involved and time consuming endeavor that many of the end content aspects just never quite measured up.
Having said that, I can defiantly appreciate all of the long hours and work that went into Cata, as well every expansion thus far. MoP is the one that delivers for me! As a “hardcore” casual, I love the vibe and playing experience that the devs have created for us. The stylized and stylistic blend of the WoW universe with the asian motif is both engaging and charming. The landscapes are simply beautiful. So visually, the world certainly works it magic upon me, drawing me in and beckoning me to explore. As one who enjoys questing, there is a good mix of humor, purpose and lore. There is a lot going on within the world, as their should be. While there seems to be a sense of “fatigue” in terms of completing all of the daily quests available, to my way of thinking just take a break from doing them and partake of what else MoP has to offer.
Dare I suggest trying out Pet Battles? All I have to say is, “Hello, my name is Kernhoof and I am an addict.” My own guildies are calling me a “Pet Pusher!” The guild has pretty much for all intent and purpose has transformed itself into primarily a pet collecting/battling guild. Not that that is a bad thing, just really interesting to see how over the years it has altered and redefined itself in what the members like to do. It is all about the pets!!!
Now, in terms of one particular feature that I have come to loathe is that of cross server merging of players. I can understand the devs “liking” how it makes for a more populous world, whereby a player sees many other individuals out and about, thus giving the illusion of an active and lively world. Nevertheless, I truly detest how this has in fact had a negative impact upon the particular server community. Back in “Vanilla” WoW, I was able to get to know many of the players of both the Horde and Alliance who played upon my server. When battling within Av for example, there was a certain paladin who I would always go after, likewise he would go after me too. That was not only fun, but it also built up the community. You knew both your allies, as well as your foes! Unfortunately, the way it is currently, there are players who I see that are not even from an RP server. Not very immersive to see one named “BurritoKing” as much as I love burritos!
Now, as a simple example to better illustrate how this change has negatively impacted me, I flew into Felwood to look for a Miniferal, only to see it being camped by eight players, none of whom are from my server. What is worse, I finally saw one and went to go click upon him, so as to capture him, only to be out-clicked by another player from a different server. I am not one to be bitter or cry over split milk (spilt rum is a different story), but I can’t begin to express how frustrating an experience that is, of which my fellow guildies and friends have also had similar occurrences taking place.
Call it getting into the Christmas spirit, but unlike the one player that nicked my Miniferal from me, I actually helped a player get one. Over the course of several days, I saw Nab patiently waiting in order to obtain one as well. I struck up a conversation with her since she was one of the constant players camping the area for the pet and offered up some advice on how potentially get one. Basically, just go around the area and take out any critter that are there, which in turn would better trigger the rare Miniferal to spawn. So while I really don’t care for the whole cross server aspect, it has at least afforded me to meet a few nice players as in this distinct case.
Well, I logged in, and to my utter surprise, there was in fact before me one of them happy stomping around! I swiftly flew over, only to see another player approach as well. Heart literally pounding (funny but true), I went to quickly click him, of course thinking how cutthroat I had become since losing out on the previous spawn. I noticed that it was Nab, so I stopped and let her take it. Call me a sucker or one of those “nice guys” that doesn’t even enter the race to finish, but I just could not bring myself to steal it away, even if I might have been the one who spotted it first.
As can be expected, Nab was overjoyed! Somewhere out there is a merry player and an indentured Miniferal! I will get one eventually. I won’t even bring up how long it too me to get a Magical Crawdad! Ok, time to log in, since the weekly maintenance is over. See you in Felwood hunting for you-know-who!!!!
