@cneuhauser
 
Again, why so defensive about objective replies?  The only one I saw making personal attacks was you.  I went back and read the entire thread.  You just take criticism too personal and interpreted it as a personal attack and that would explain why you're being so defensive.  Offering an objective opinion is not a personal attack, and would be considered by most to be on-topic.  Everyone except one poster (guess who) gave calm rational responses.  I'm going to leave it at that and abandon the thread.  The only thing I want to respond to is this...

You "Landed" on citizen kane because your reference was really about another entertainment form, movies, and in that respect Citizen Kane is labeled as the best movie ever made by most, so you decided to use that, because you believe that WoW is the best MMO/Game ever made, therefore the analogy for you a righteous one....moving on... Since you feel that way and someone criticized it, thus your rhetorical responses to my posts and my review. Nothing in my review is derrogatory, nor does it lambast players of the game. Go back and read it again...

That's the most absurd thing I've ever seen.  No where did I ever put WoW on that large a pedestal.  And while I obviously play the game, it's nowhere near the top of my favorites.  Not sure where you got the idea that you had psychic powers and could read my mind, enough so you could explain to me how my mind "landed" on Citizen Kane.  I could have chosen anything to use in that analogy.  I can't even believe I have to explain that again.  Let me try the analogy in multiple forms so you might finally wrap your head around it...
A.) It's like saying you didn't like Pee-Wee's Big Adventure after seeing 5 minutes. (see what I did there?)
B.) It's like saying you didn't like my mom's apple pie after smelling it.
C.) It's like saying you didn't like For Whom the Bell Tolls after only listening to the intro solo.
D.) It's like saying you didn't like the "feel" of the Corvette after sitting in the seat in a parking lot.
 
I'm not trying to convince you that you're wrong or win some sort of geek debate here, and I'm not trying to sway your opinion.  I've been simply stating why I disagreed with your point-of-view on the aspects of the game.  You should have understood that we would need to agree to disagree a long time ago.  I can live with that without taking it personally, can you?

fredbsd And Phades kinda nailed it.  WoW did feel like a re-skinned EQ except for the instanced dungeons.  MMO's will burn you out.  Really...they will.  I think you're done with them as they will always follow a formula that sells...at least the ones that stay kicking for a while anyway.

Sad, but reality.

Even with newer MMO releases that actually try to do something different, I don't think any of them will really take off (relatively speaking) as long as WoW continues to exist. WoW is certainly a situations of "it is what it is". I have friends and family that still play it casually. They try to talk me into it, but i just can't do it since it is too much of a "been there done that" already for me (did i mention i was jaded?  ). I'll continue to try out newer game releases and hope for quality titles that expand beyond the generic fluff, fetch/kill/fed ex style quest game play, and bring up a more tactical style of play (lol @ that happening with this next gen of gamers growing up on consoles), while at the same time making the game world more malleable (AoC and Shadowbane both had aspects of this, but AoC forced one style of this aspect through specific zones and instances, while shadowbane failed completely and was not a fully fleshed out concept at launch). Having elements of more personal interaction via npcs is a bonus as well that would be well recieved, such as interactive dialogue found in games like oblivion (although TES series needs to work on that scripting and vary the options more) and EQ attempted this through key word guided dialogue (which people picked apart quickly opposed to having an awkward one way conversation with an npc).
 
Right now, i seem to be more fixated on moving the genre away from the auto attack driven by random number generators setup and move it into a more fast paced setup driven by player input to hold my interest. If i wanted to watch a movie of a character fighting a battle where my actual inputs mean less than my equipped gear/level, i'd throw in the LOTR series and have a beer. But again, everything i stated is rather wishful thinking until WoW finally runs its course and exits the main stage of online gaming.

It's beautiful but I still won't respect you in the morning...
 
:-)

Doubles I just hope the end game isn't crap. (grab all the mobs, aoe, win)

I thought it was strange that WoW took the instanced dungeon concept from FFXI, but didn't keep the level cap restrictions in place allowing for situations like you describe. Whenever the level cap was raised, i always recalled my friends talking about soloing lower level dungeons etc.

Kamarad Being a healer myself, I am annoyed how they pigeonholed healers into casting one or two spells while making any other spell horrendously expensive to cast mana wise.  The one thing I enjoyed about priest healing was the ammount of versatility I had to heal however I wanted, but they took that away.

EQ was exactly the same way with the clerics. The end game was entirely about getting the warrior (who was also pretty good DPS) to establish hate and then a complete heal chain casting of spells would begin. There would be one or two who would spot heal with a faster casting spell to bridge the gaps though. But basically clerics were pigeon holed into spammnig basically one spell for the duration of an hour+ fight and most "regular" party setups. FFXI had the healers with different options as well and they were viable before the later expansions of the game which forced too much specialization or damage avoidance entirely.
 
But yea, WoW is just an EQ clone more or less. They just succeded in capturing a more rabid fanbase than starwars and star trek combined.

fredbsd

Kamarad


They did bring back CC and mechanics with Cata.  Unfortunately, they spoiled people so much prior that people are complaining and having problems on the simplest of 5-mans, lol.  PUGs are difficult unless you got people who know what they are doing.  I see a nerf coming in the future to the WoW difficulty.

Being a healer myself, I am annoyed how they pigeonholed healers into casting one or two spells while making any other spell horrendously expensive to cast mana wise.  The one thing I enjoyed about priest healing was the ammount of versatility I had to heal however I wanted, but they took that away.  I'm looking at probably leveling my other toons just to see if I can salvage any of my WoW experience, but I doubt it.  Once that is done, I might be able to keep playing.  Only time will tell.  I mean, when you play with a character a certian way for so long and then it is changed, what do ya do when that character stops being fun?

Ok, enough ranting.  Cata stunk the big one but I'll wait it out a little and see if they patch things.  However, I won't wait for long.

I feel your pain about healing.  It's definitely a lot 'different' now. 

Having said that, I am really happy things are more challenging now.  WotLK was just boring.  Wasn't hard to kill just about anything with a 'half' competent group.  Now, fortunately, it does require a bit more thinking/executing (especially in PuGs). 

When I decided to play again, I was absolutely astonished how silly easy 'heroics' were in WotLK.  They really were just push a button, collect loot.  That got old very, very fast.  Now, in a PuG...at least there's somewhat of a challenge. 

My biggest gripe thus far (outside the bugs) is the relative dearth of quests.  Personally, I hate dailies and try to just find something else to do.  While the zones were well done in Cata, I found it to be far to 'short'.  Everything is focused getting people ready for raids and stuff so I guess it's understandable.  But still, as someone who plays very casually, it's frustrating running out of material at your level to engage in.

Honestly though, I hope Blizzard does not nerf the dungeon content.  I am enjoying having to manage mana, watch threat, play with stats, and just have to be aware of surroundings rather than just 'zerg and win'.  I can see why it would be frustrating as a healer though.  Lots of complaints right now about it. 

Now, the difficulty level on dungeons I really enjoy, and in fact I do enjoy having to manage my mana correctly.  My probelm with Blizzard is how much they change characters.  When I first made a priest in Vanilla WoW, I greatly enjoyed the versatility that I had with my Priest.  Even through BC and WotLK, I still enjoyed the versatility (although it got super easy).  In cata, they have just changed healing so much to where I have to bleed mana if I want to do ANYTHING other than use heal and renew.  I understand needing to manage mana, and I enjoy doing so, but I should be able to manage my mana and still be able to use all spells without killing myself in the process.  I know people who have stopped playing DKs with all the changes to them.  It boils down to your initial reasons for creating and playing your character versus what Blizzard changes it into to benefit "the game".  What rubbish.