For one, it's been a quiet December. With the release of the DW tier, I was at first disappointed with how "easy" the first few bosses were but after considering Blessing of King's take on normal tuning, I dare say Rohan is right. We've gotten to 5 bosses down (6 on 10). It was really nice not to be stuck on the first boss for weeks. Having only one fight to work on isn't enough to sustain us and it just plain sucks.
But the last couple of weeks, we've had trouble filling raids. Last week was expected, with holiday parties and obligations. My planned "10 batches of cookies in 30 hours" took more like 80, so our calling the raids was a relief. I ran right back to the kitchen and haven't played much at all.
I think the question in a lot of people's minds is "Will Star Wars kill WoW?" and on one hand, WoW is not dying. I don't think it is, I don't think WoW is going away.
On the other... I do think SWTOR will kill some guilds. 25s have been in a precarious position all year. You know it's bad when the premiere hardmode guilds on your server are recruiting in trade and cancelling raids. Seems to me like 10-mans are the way to go, and in MoP 25s will finally die the big death. Players who prefer the larger format will have to choose to stay or try a new game. Like Star Wars.
But... Not because SWTOR is super-great or shiny or everything that WoW isn't. None of that. Remember when I qq'd that a Crab Stole My Kill? I haven't gotten my joy back in playing WoW since then. I've still raided, but something is missing. I wonder how many others like me are feeling the same way.
The only thing I've gotten excited about is transmog. For some reason I love collecting late Classic and BC green-quality plate. Can I just say one thing? I make plate look good.
I took one look at my own holiday schedule and cancelled four raids (came close to calling a fifth) way ahead of time. I'm on break and don't go back until the 3rd of January and I'm enjoying the time off.
ReplyDeleteI miss raiding, because we're poised to start hard modes, but I don't miss it as much as I thought I might. (Getting Skyrim for Christmas might have something to do with this...)
I fear that MoP will be the end of most 25s, as well. My guild is one of the last 25s on the server and we are server 1st (25m) by, well, default. I'll take the ranking, but I'm disappointed in the lack of competition. And it's a shame, because I LOVE 25-man raiding and I always have. (Heck, I loved 20-mans and 40-mans, too, but 10s leave me cold.)
I fear for the future of WoW and I wonder where my own passion has gone. You're certainly not the only one.
Thanks for stopping by, Kurn. It's both encouraging and depressing to know you feel the same way.
ReplyDeleteI don't mind 10s on my priest but healing as a paladin I have always felt like the odd man out. Paladins - even with holy radiance - are still too specialized to compare with the versatility of the other healers. Oh, even thinking about it reminds me I've been qqing about specializations since before Cataclysm. Anyways. Like you, my heart is in large group raids. There's something about 20+ people coming together to work towards a common goal.