NotAddicted.com

isobelle · #1 10-19-2006, 04:25 AM

The Crusade is coming! The Crusade is coming! ...and 'end-game' raiding has become pointless.

As the expansion for WoW looms over the horizon, a few lucky individuals have managed to become involved in the beta test. I am one of those individuals, and I can say with utter confidence that your PH4T NAXX LOOTZ will amount to a steaming pile of nexus crystals come expansion. Don't even get excited about that either, because Nexus Crystals are so last month... the hot new enchants use Arcane Dust and Small Prismatic Shards.

Not in a Naxx guild? Never felt the hard floor of Nef's throneroom pressing up against your cold, dead cheek as you wait for a rez? Good news! Nobody will care, as none of that really even matters anymore!

The most important thing to have when the expansion comes out are going to be the numbers Six and Zero on your character screen. Anybody wearing garbage greens can join one of the five man groups and run it five or six times to completely replace all their gear. Here's a tip to get you started: When those Super Blue Pants of Ridiculous Stats and Sockets drop off that first boss, immediately link your Twill Pants of the Monkey in party chat, and click the little 'dice' icon. The guy wearing Legplates of Wrath will be hesitant to let his own silly pants go after he farmed Rag for 3 months hoping they'd drop. He doesn't want to 'upgrade' them off some silly boss that summons snake critters to defend himself (hint: critters don't aggro unless you attack them first!). He wants to be a macho warrior and swim naked to the bottom of a lake of lava, while whirlwinding thirty-seven elite alligators. THAT would make a worthy upgrade! He won't mind if you take those.

I mean, Look. The Wrath set still makes for a nice pair of pants, but the 3 sockets in those blue pants can go any direction... +DEF, +HIT (as i've done), +CRIT, +MANA/5sec... those green pants DROPPED OFF A FUCKING PIG, about 15 min after stepping through the dark portal. Would you rather kill a pig, or spend 3 months farming Ragnaros, God of Fire and Destroyer of 40-man Noob Raids, all while dealing with Endless Guild Bitching and DKP Drama? The blue ones dropped off some miniboss in a 5-man that makes Rend Blackhand in UBRS look like some kind of superhero. Imagine the fire guy in the beginning of UBRS, and you're on the right track.

Another Example: The Amulet of the Darkmoon.

People sequester themselves in their rooms for weeks on end farming 'Darkmoon Faire' mats to purchase tickets to redeem for 'fortunes', epic trinkets, and other useless crap. A quick scan on the item's Allakhazam page reveals the kind of pain and suffering people go through for 'teh purpels' that grace us with their presence one a month. One poor soul writes:

I was farming in Burning Steppes for a whole week for approximately 5hours per day, looting 'n skinning everything, then selling whole loot to vendor and buying additional rugged leather on AH /caused inflation of rugged leather prices btw :-)/, collected some random rare + epic drops for my alts as a bonus and finally yesterday I exchanged all those armor kits for tickets and bought this nice neck:-) Would I do it again? .... not sure:-)

Another guy puts it more simply:

2400 Rugged Leather -> 480 Rugged Armorkits -> 1200 Darkmoon Faire Prize Ticket

I can put it another way, even simpler: DON'T FUCKING BOTHER. I got something ridiculously better off another fight in a different 5-man that felt like I was battling a grilled cheese sandwich. I actually got 5 sunders on him, then went and got a soda during the fight. I came back from the fridge and we finished him, and he drops this:

This was a PUG that formed on the fly. I'm talking total commitment from "yeah i'll tank" to "i'M rolling Need for Fury" of maybe 1 hour.

Not good enough? Here's a little taste of what I've been disenchanting or passing on... this pic shows a good sample of what I've picked to wear, and other stuff that I've just seen from quest rewards or whatever:

So yeah... I basically played the expansion to 63, and then stopped after realizing two things:

1) playing the beta is a waste of time, since nothing i earn in there 'counts'. All these toons will be wiped once it hits retail, and I've learned what I need to know. That brings me to point number

B) I should be grinding that 48 rogue I shelved awhile back, but just until that little yellow explosion we all know and love signaling 60 happens. Then I'll log him out right where she stands, and start that druid I always told myself I wanted to try.

Don't get me wrong... I'm not a powerleveler, or a grinder by any means (...and denial is the first step!). I abhor the current PVP and rep systems, and choose to completely ignore that whole aspect of the game. Thank god, or I'd probably be viewing the world through a pair of kitchen knives come December. If I spent the last year dragging myself through BWL, AQ40, and Naxx, only to see the new gear you get for 'delivering this envelope to the guy standing 3 feet away' my head would probably just explode. The official forums are going to catch fire and millions of voices are going to cry out in pain... it's going to be awesome.

The point is this: if your guild loves to complain that you guys aren't raiding enough, or they would rather take a druid than you on the next run, happily surrender your raid slot and go level an alt. Having any class that you want to play in the future already at sixty when the expansion drops is going to be the Big Deciding Factor in getting on these 5-man runs... and trust me, there will be about 800,000 running at any given second once the expansion goes live. Obviously no one will want to waste time leveling you in RFC or WC when they can be running around in Outland. Do it now while everyone is so bored standing around Ogrimmar that a twink run through Wailing Caverns seems like the best idea they've heard of all week.

Rested XP in the Outland will net you 1000XP per boar killed, and any class can easily solo grind out there, picking up nice greens, and run 5 man groups for blues. Get on that alt! Time is running out!

The Crusade is coming! The Crusade is coming!

Mordiceius · #2 10-19-2006, 05:38 AM

good post.

SeiferTim · #3 10-19-2006, 11:14 AM

I wonder if Blizz cranked up the drop rates for the Beta, to give people a chance to see some of the better stuff in the (hopefully) short length of time that the Beta is going on in...?

Jynxe · #4 10-19-2006, 11:20 AM

you've just set me at ease like a bottle of rum.
Sweet post.

Alihja · #5 10-19-2006, 01:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SeiferTim

I wonder if Blizz cranked up the drop rates for the Beta, to give people a chance to see some of the better stuff in the (hopefully) short length of time that the Beta is going on in...?

I doubt it. The point of beta testing is to test all of the content, and that includes the weapons. That doesn't necessarily mean that they will keep everything (after all it's beta testing!) but it doesn't tell the devs anything if they give the testers overly jacked weapons that they don't intend people to use when it goes live.

SeiferTim · #6 10-19-2006, 02:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alihja

I doubt it. The point of beta testing is to test all of the content, and that includes the weapons. That doesn't necessarily mean that they will keep everything (after all it's beta testing!) but it doesn't tell the devs anything if they give the testers overly jacked weapons that they don't intend people to use when it goes live.

Then, perhaps Christmas really will come early in Azeroth!

Lesson25 · #7 10-19-2006, 03:57 PM

I don't know whether to feel relieved, disappointed,or indifferent.

Zoh nos--no time to decide; I'm late for my guild's Molten Core raid!

#8 10-19-2006, 04:32 PM

Wow I am so glad I quit, all those months in MC just to get our guild's 3rd NS pants in it's history would have been a total waste. How do you play this game anyone? Any 5 idiots can get together and get gear that skilled players labored for, it's like playing with cheats on.

isobelle · #9 10-19-2006, 04:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Wow I am so glad I quit, all those months in MC just to get our guild's 3rd NS pants in it's history would have been a total waste. How do you play this game anyone? Any 5 idiots can get together and get gear that skilled players labored for, it's like playing with cheats on.

well yeah, but when the level cap is 60, you have no choice (from blizzard's perspective, i mean... the player always has the choice to stop playing).

with a tangiable level cap, the only thing left to do is keep putting 'level 60' gear out there, but just make it harder to earn. nobody spent a year stuck at 40, grinding sideways... from the viewpoint of someone brand new to the game, they will hit 59, get 59 drops, hit 60, get 60 drops, and move right past to 61 (and get 'better than 60' drops). it needs to push forward to 70, where it will move sideways again until the cap is raised again in a year or so.

as for running MC and seeing no nightslayer, i feel your pain. it seems like once every 12 times in there we'd have a streak of warrior drops, but invariably i was on a run with 8 other warriors. the new tier systems are token based, so that token can go to a rogue, warrior, paladin, whatever. it will still be farming, but not so much 'wasted' drops.

as for 'inflated drops' in beta... i really don't think so. there is a LOT of gold to be made just grinding mobs, and good drops to be had. i think blizz is just loosening the noose a bit... rep grinds are no longer so harsh... i get 7 rep per mob out in zangarmarsh, and tons of mobs have a chance to drop 'unidentified plant parts' (think twilight texts). as i said, i abhor the rep and pvp grind, but i think i might actually be able to get rep without really struggling, so that's good for me... they just turned the knob down on a few things from 11 to 9 or so...

Duladin · #10 10-20-2006, 12:01 AM

It was possible to dumb this game down even more?

colekutz · #11 10-20-2006, 06:38 AM

there will be sweets

isobelle · #12 10-20-2006, 07:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Duladin

It was possible to dumb this game down even more?

haven't you heard? horde gets pallies

Mordiceius · #13 10-20-2006, 10:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by isobelle

haven't you heard? horde gets pallies

Alliance gets MORE fear ward though. :-(

AcidCat · #14 10-20-2006, 11:59 AM

Hehe, you know, I've never had anything against Raiders, so I feel *slightly* bad for them ... for a few seconds maybe. But I can't help laughing inside and feeling this is almost a vindication of my playstyle. I've played the game since release but I don't raid - with a wife and two kids I just can't schedule my life around a game or be stuck ingame for 3+ hours at a time. Nor really would I want to if I could, I just don't like the repetition or overall attitude of everything that goes along with raiding.

So I'd get a character to 60, mess around for a while, get bored, then start another. So now I have a Priest, Shaman, and Druid all at 60 and just ready and waiting to get out there and get some new shiny. The cries of the hardcore of "wasted effort" are just background noise as I whistle a happy tune. They should know already that in the game, just like life - you can't take it with you. Ultimately all your "efforts" ingame are wasted in the end. Focus on having fun and you'll have no regrets.

Muskulls · #15 10-22-2006, 04:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AcidCat

Hehe, you know, I've never had anything against Raiders, so I feel *slightly* bad for them ... for a few seconds maybe. But I can't help laughing inside and feeling this is almost a vindication of my playstyle. I've played the game since release but I don't raid - with a wife and two kids I just can't schedule my life around a game or be stuck ingame for 3+ hours at a time. Nor really would I want to if I could, I just don't like the repetition or overall attitude of everything that goes along with raiding.

So I'd get a character to 60, mess around for a while, get bored, then start another. So now I have a Priest, Shaman, and Druid all at 60 and just ready and waiting to get out there and get some new shiny. The cries of the hardcore of "wasted effort" are just background noise as I whistle a happy tune. They should know already that in the game, just like life - you can't take it with you. Ultimately all your "efforts" ingame are wasted in the end. Focus on having fun and you'll have no regrets.

Pretty much what the whole design was originally about. I doubt that any of the gameing companies sat down and said "Hey, lets build a game that ties people to thier computers and cause them to ignore real life."

The sad reality is that people choose thier addictions and loose control of themselves to the addiction.

If you ain't in it for the fun then what's the point?

Jynxe · #16 10-23-2006, 08:29 AM

Is it just me, or does this new news of phat lootz, plus the pvp 'fix' equal 'wtf'?

Reygar · #17 10-24-2006, 11:48 PM

well i got one more wtf for ya'll.
Burning Crusade has been pushed back to January 2007...
*cries*
i know they don't want to release an unfinished product, but if they did that with WoW in the first place, it would probably still be in beta.
i am in the closed beta, it's fun and all. i get to learn all about the expansion so i can help my friends out when it comes out, but i have to leave said friends behind on live servers to actually play in the beta. and by the time the expansion comes out, i'm afraid that they will have moved on. well thats according to my guild track record.... every single guild i've been in has disbanded to either create a new guild or merge with another. And these huge 200+ player guilds are too big for me, always someone that gets lost in the crowd.

Apecito · #18 10-25-2006, 06:18 PM

January 2007 might mean a chance for me to get into a Beta push

Mordiceius · #19 10-26-2006, 11:26 AM

WTB beta invite PST

Mageyoulook · #20 10-27-2006, 11:52 AM

The rumors of epic flying mount skill costing 5000g are not making me happy about the expansion at all! But other things are, like being able to play for a week and have gear better than all my epic'd out guildies. I think for now, I'll finish up my tier 0 set (maybe tier 0.5), then shelve my mage and get my twink up to revered and level him to 60. Raiding just doesn't seem like a worthy expenditure of time anymore.

#21 12-21-2006, 02:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mageyoulook

The rumors of epic flying mount skill costing 5000g are not making me happy about the expansion at all!

Actually, unless something's changed again, it's 4.5k gold. You haven't heard the rumors about how easy it is to get money in Outlands, I guess, but grinding up 4.5k gold in Outlands for an epic flying mount is comparable to, if not easier than, grinding up 1k gold in Azeroth for an epic land mount.

#22 12-21-2006, 10:36 AM

Got linked to this from the Beta forums...

Guess what? I'm a raider and don't care about my leet gear. I have killed Kel'Thuzad before easy mode 70 or new talents came into play. I have experienced more from WoW and dare I say, had more fun with WoW than you ever had. My gear is good, but is not the reason I play. I play to progress and clear everything this game has to offer before serious nerfs come in (nerfs being 70 in this case).

Sorry that I have experienced things in this game that you never have/will. Once we're all 70 for a month, I'll be progressing through 25 man raids while you stuggle to clear upper teir 5-10 mans.

We don't all play for gear, and I'm having a blast raiding and clearing everything this game has to offer.

Runned · #23 12-21-2006, 10:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Guest

Sorry that I have experienced things in this game that you never have/will. Once we're all 70 for a month, I'll be progressing through 25 man raids while you stuggle to clear upper teir 5-10 mans.

No need to apologize for being a bigger nerd than Iso, I'm sure he'll understand.

(Un)conscious · #24 12-21-2006, 10:50 AM

Naolin · #25 12-21-2006, 11:29 AM

and another great addition to an already epic post by GUEST, I sure love him, maybe I should send guest a card for the holiday season and all

#26 12-21-2006, 11:35 AM

Yeah, it seems like this guest guy posts here more than anyone else combined. We should get him a present. (mordiceius again)

mven · #27 12-26-2006, 12:29 PM

I want to be l33t in WoW but I am just not cool enough. Maybe after the expansion has been out 3-4 months and I have finally grinded a character to 70... On second thought hopefully another game will be out by then...