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Checkpoint Charlie

In the World of Warcraft there are, or at least were, several checkpoints to reach before you advance further. Those points are fairly well known, and they're there for a reason. The checkpoint system is seen in many aspects of the game, limiting access by level, flying mount access, reputation, and by quest attunement. However, as time goes by, they seem to be disappearing

Patch 2.4 removed several of these checkpoints and has in many ways thrown the gates wide open to what would have been access-limited content. This concerns our World of Warcraft community manager, Byron "Messiah" Mudry. Read about his fears that the changing system is flawed in this week's WoW editorial.

The first, and probably biggest, reason to gate (or checkpoint) content in a game is to prevent frustration. If a player gets frustrated they eventually give up and stop playing. By putting in checkpoints they need to reach before moving on, the game developer prevents players from moving too fast for their own good.

• WoW Editorial: What About The Attunements?
• Comment in our WoW forum