Gnomeregan Forever

I'm back for a month. Just a bit of time to sort out my belongings, get some stuff to Coppertop, my new shortie hunter, since F2P can't use mail, and generally look around. I ~might~ consider subbing back long-term, but that's definately just later on. If i do, i'm just taking what a flat sub gets me - no buying expansions. I'll get them anyways, just... one expansion late. Not like endgame interests me any more in anyway.

So what did i learn while gone?

1. Pretty well all game companies are poorly connected to their player base. Some are better than others, but all of them just... cannot or will not (hard to tell which it is) grasp what their player base is on about.
2. All MMOs have a stupid catch of some sort to... well i have yet to figure what for, but what it does is generally ticks people off, and it's there for no other reason than "because that's how we do it here". Be it really crappy crafting system, horrid auction house implementation, inefficient coding causing undue lag and slow ability response, what else did i see... well there's all sorts of things in all sorts of games. AH! Yes, over-the-top monetizing everything. If anyone thinks it's bad here... ho ho, play World of Tanks. Pay to win is an accusation that flies about in every game i've played so far. It's silly, really. But most games can get quite expensive if you let them.
3. most games we do hear of actually are fun, minus the crappy parts. At least for me. I liked the stories in Star Wars, Guild Wars 2 held my attention for some time, Elder Scrolls Online was really good story-wise, Blade and Soul has a story that's keeping me interested, basic game-play is enjoyable in all of those (questing and combat), but once story runs out... there's very little left for me. That's when the flaws get more and more apparent.

And that's why games ebb and flow when new stuff comes out. Many players are not "into" everything a given game has to offer. So when "our stuff" has run its course, some players get all uppity about game flaws, and eventually its all they see. I think more players should check out other games when they get to that point, instead of sticking it out because they feel they should support Blizzard, and... look: never forget that we don't owe any company any loyalty of any sort. They'll manage while we're out vagabonding, and in the meantime, we help support other companies that offer interesting games - even if they aren't necessarily as huge and multi-inclusive as WoW. Sub to a new game for 3 months, 2, even just 1 month - try it out! When the fun is gone, unsub, re-sub to WoW if there's new stuff, or find another game, and do the same. If any of those game companies truly doesn't like that, they'll do something to make it interesting to stay for those people. But i don't think that'll happen anytime soon, because there's just too many different interests to cater to. They're doing fine anyways. So, this big paragraph to say: i should've taken a better look at myself and quit earlier, instead of burning myself out.

Of course, there's still the matter of me not thinking very highly of the develpment managers at Blizzard, but.... development teams are all a bit prickly about their work pretty well everywhere. And they aren't going to change.

So, anyways, i'm back for a bit here and there, and there's a fair chance i'll be back a bit more solidly further on down the road, maybe around next expansion, maybe earlier. The future has yet to be written...

Yay! ^.^

SO i started WoD with Tikky last night. Got throught Tanaan Jungle - well, the dark portal part, and put the walls of my garrison up. It was fun, and the biggest part of that, when i think back: it wasn't crowded. I saw... what, one other player? maybe 2. Wonderful. No competition for mobs, no pressure to keep ahead of the player wave coming up (because in brand new zones, players are like street traffic - they tend to come in waves), i could take the time to read the text without feeling i'll have to wait the wave out to get my X number of kills...

I'm quite enjoying being over 1 expansion behind! I think this will be how i do it from now on. I just may have found my recipe for no-pressure gaming.

PS: i got my Argent Dawn tabard via collections now! That was one thing i really liked, because i got that from the zombipocalypse before Wrath, and they took it out after that, so i couldn't get it anymore. Plaus, the one charater i did get it on is on the Azuremyst server, my oldest charater, a Draenei huntress called Shayn.

I did love the serenety of not having anyone really being around when I went through. No complications was just so nice. I eventually started adding in dungeons, but only after I was halfway through leveling my second character in the content.

Got my Loremaster of Dreanor yesterday. One notch done on the flight requirement, 4 left to go. That treasure hunter one looks to be a doozie... and exploring areas full of lvl 100 elites... yikes. Might have to call in a tougher character to do that. Astella is lvl 100, but needs to gear up a follower (and herself a bit - gotta make some armor).

Just a few days left before my month is up. Gonna decide whether to pay up another month, or just keep what i want to do for later, and just poke around with Coppertop at lvl 20, like i have planned.