by: Michael Grey

Attunement an Outmoded Model for MMO Maneuverability?

Or, to put it another way; can anyone be bothered anymore? With regards to the pre-Burning Crusade raids, anyway. I think it’s a given on a lot of servers now that getting a raid together for the pre-BC 40 man, and maybe even the 20 man, raids is nigh on impossible. Why would anyone want to put in 5 evenings of 4 hours play to get rewards that are overshadowed by greens and blues that drop as a matter of course in The Outlands? But, here’s the thing – believe it or not there are people out there who have never reached Molten Core. Never seen Onyxia take on a raid. Never even got near Ahn’Qajn. I’m one of them. See, I can’t even get the spelling right.

One of the obstacles is, apart from the quality of the drops in the instances, is the attunement processes. It’s not possible to just waltz into an erstwhile end-game instance and start swiping what you need, oh no. There are quests and grinding aplenty before you can even think about finding another 39 like minded adventurers to take on the huge dragon at the end. Maybe if Bilbo knew this beforehand he would never have left Bag End?

Although it’s generally agreed by the small percentage of WoW players who have run these instances that the experience of seeing all this content was amazing, what’s nearly as unanimous is that they wouldn’t go through the lengthy process that grants a player entrance into them again. Well, why would they? They’re busy people, and Outland isn’t going to tame itself. But what about the up and comers who want to run these instances on their way to 70? But where does that leave everyone else who wants to see huge bosses? Maybe it’s the late comers who have yet to hit 60, or maybe it’s the casual, post-60 player who feels the need to see everything, but it’s seems perversely more apparent that your less likely to see all this now, with a load of level 70s running around, than you were when everyone had a lower level cap.

Bearing this in mind, is it time for Blizzard to cut some of the attunement requirements for these raids? Or maybe even…. Lower their difficulty *gasp*. That would allow a whole new generation of heroes to see all the hard work their devs put into these areas. And it wouldn’t matter that the rewards would be easier to get, as their first run through Outland would net them something even more efficient for Gnome killing (if that’s your thing).

Or would that be an insult the adventurers who’ve died a hundred deaths to get their before? The tanks who selflessly sacrificed themselves for the greater good…and the mages who weren’t as good at controlling their burst damage as they thought, what would they say? Or maybe it would be a badge of honour? “So, I see you have Onyxia’s Eye there, young ‘un? Well, in my day, it took 40 of us to take her down…..and of course in those days we had to make our own swords!”

It just seems a shame to me that no one else may see those dungeons. Will the cries of the lonely elites echo for eternity through the empty halls of Molten Core? Or will Blizzard see fit to allow a whole new age of heroes to rush the bosses?

That’s my take on things, what’s yours?