Will World of Warcraft's newest expansion be all that the casual player has ever dreamed of?

Love it or hate it Mists of Pandaria is the next World of Warcraft expansion and considering the depth of information Blizzard managed to provide at this years BlizzCon, work on the expansion is in full swing and has been for awhile. So we can all expect sometime in the near (or not so near) future that adorable Kung Fu Pandas will be invading our WoW games along with a ton of other changes aimed at breathing new life into the game. However, unlike many other players I know, I’m not nerd raging at the new expansion and the changes it will bring, but I’m also not planning on sending them any Edible Arrangements anytime soon either.

My plan is to simply sit and wait and make my final determination when the expansion is finally released, no matter how hard that might be. But one group of players at least should be extra excited for this newest chapter in Azeroth; the casual player. If your scratching your head at this point and wondering what in the world I‘m talking about, you apparently weren’t paying close attention to the information provided at BlizzCon.

With the details given by Blizzard so far, Mists of Pandaria has the potential to shape up to be the ultimate casual players paradise. And  while its easy for those not so casual players to get upset at the direction the game is taking who can really  blame Blizzard for trying to appeal to their biggest fan base as subscriptions are dwindling? Still unsure of what I’m talking about? Here are some of the things the casual player has to look forward to in Mists of Pandaria:

Simplified Talent Trees

If things go as planned and the Talents 2.0 system pans out as Blizzard intends it should make the casual player very happy. No longer will a player be forced to agonize over a talent, spend hours running numbers to decide which talent is best, or be forced to choose a talent simply because some Joe Smoe with a little two much time on their hands decided that a certain talent was better. Instead the casual player (and all players for that matter) will find that talent choices will be made based on their personal preferences and since there should technically be no wrong answer never again will a player be laughed out of a raid or group based on their talent choices.

Valor Points for Questing

That’s right ladies and gentlemen, Valor Points aren’t just for raiders anymore. According to information given at BlizzCon, high level quests will now award players Valor Points. Which is to say the least an excellent development for the casual player who has no time to raid but still wishes they could get some awesome gear. With that being said Blizzard has stated that Valor Points will be earned much slower thorugh this method than if you earned them while raiding. So you won’t be getting uber gear overnight while questing, but at long last the casual player will have a chance to earn gear that they would have never been able to obtain in expansions past.

Pet Battle System

Ok I know that not all casual players collect pets, but lets face it, a lot of them do. Why? Simply because its an easy, fun, and rewarding thing to do in a very limited amount of time, which is the epitome of the casual player. So how awesome is it that now all those pets you have managed to collect from all over the game will finally have some other use than following cutely behind you and making other pet collectors jealous?  While details are pretty vague about how this system will actually work, think Pokemon, except in World of Warcraft. If you’re like me though, pitting my pets against other pets sound like a pretty fun time, not to mention a decent way to pass the time if I only have a few minutes to devote to the game. I choose you Disgusting Oozeling!

I think that the casual player most definitely has a ton to look forward to in this newest expansion, and should give these players some new hope towards a game where they have as many exciting options as any other play. And since Mists of Pandaria is far from fully fleshed out, lets hope that  the hardcore players will end up being just as happy and with just as many perks. But as in all things Blizzard, we won’t know until the game is released, and maybe not even then. Do you think Mists of Pandaria caters to the casual and how do you feel about it? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!