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The Firelands is coming but 4.2 needs more than just an endgame raid.

It’s a bit odd, isn’t it? Less than twenty four hours after their first big content patch of World of Warcraft: Cataclysm and Blizzard has already released not one but two video previews. Yes, with Rise of the Zandalari now live, we know Blizzard really is keen to redeem itself in 4.2 but how are they going to do it?

The first problem with 4.2 - and indeed with Rise of the Zandalari for that matter - is the inevitable focus on high-level endgame content which will require you to not only be level 85, but also good at raiding and possessing plenty of epic gear. If you don’t fit these requirements then there’s a good chance you’re going to be a tad disappointed. Take a glance at the 4.1 patch notes; do you see much content aimed at lower level player? I certainly don’t.

So what do we know about Firelands? Well we’ll be fighting Ragnaros (again), we’ll probably be revisiting Hyjal, finally getting to see it in its glory. If reports of the original 4.1 content hold true, then we can expect new dailies and, of course, there will be that gorgeous new legendary caster staff to build and wield.

All this continues to give the impression that newbie and casual players are going to be left out, their noses pressed to the metaphorical glass as they peer in at the likes of Paragon and Ensidia. Earlier this week, I mentioned how Blizzard had used Black Temple as a point of reference and slowly moved, over the course of another expansion, away from endgame raiding being the territory of hardcore guilds like Paragon and Ensidia. Now I wonder if they’re moving back.

If they are, I don’t think we’re ever going to be at the point where all the endgame is only accessible to the elite, that just wouldn’t wash with the other 98% of subscribers but it does sometimes feel like Blizzard are neglecting people who don’t have the time or don’t want to raid. Yes Cataclysm brought us a new world full of awesome new content that is perfect for new players or just folks leveling characters but why have content connected to updates that only level 85 toons can participate in?

It’s all very well recycling classic dungeons but if I didn’t have a maxed out character with semi-passable gear then I’d be pretty indifferent about 4.1 and even more so about 4.2. Even worse, we’re looking at a couple of months between the two patches and most gamers - having done both Zuls to death when they were originally released - are likely to be bored stupid and burned out by say, next Tuesday. It’s never fun when that easy content you did fifteen levels ago suddenly gets impossibly hard again.

The Firelands itself seems to be a mix of epic (mostly druid/night elf) lore and the standard raid encounters muddled together with a dailies system. That suggests you might not need to be 85 to go in there but, well I wouldn’t recommend it. That was like saying you could go into Wintergrasp from level 76 or so … it didn’t mean you should, at least not alone.

I know the focal point of this next content patch will be the final fight against Ragnaros but there needs to be more for everyone. We know Ragnaros himself is too epic to fight alone, even for the Champions of Azeroth, so we’ll be assisted - as we were at the conclusion to Mount Hyjal - by the most powerful NPCs found in-game. But it would be fantastic, for example, if during the Firelord’s last huzzah, fire elementals would spawn all over Azeroth and killing them would also weaken him. World events are always great, regardless of your player level, and such things harken back to the days of yore when they made WoW something more than other fledgling MMOs as well as uniting the community against something in real time.

It didn’t help Blizzard one bit when they announced 4.1’s big draw was becoming 4.2’s. As someone up to their neck in the industry, I understand their reasons but as a gamer I was gutted. Yes, this means it will ultimately be ten times more awesome - it needs to be or Blizzard will have to be content with an even more pissed off player-base - but it means we’re having to put up with content that is, by any definition mediocre in comparison. Now they’re gonna have to work extra hard to keep players interested and I really hope they implement something between now and then, they need to and not just for endgamers or WoW’s loyal fanbase is going to get bored/burnt out again and they will start looking at other MMOs. This time they might not just stop at looking and this could really spell bad news for Blizzard Entertainment.


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Last Updated: Mar 29, 2016

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