by David Piner on Dec 29, 2011
Ten Ton Hammer takes a look back at 2011 in World of Warcraft as our team dissects their most and least favorite moments of the year. Join us as we detail our experiences in the last year and come share your own in the comments section below.
2011 was a strange year for World of Warcraft, there was a lot that went on, yet for some reason it felt that almost nothing went on, at least for me. Cataclysm launched near the end of 2010 on December 7th, which meant it was still fairly new for 2011. The only problem was, with only 5 levels to play through, pretty much everything was done by New Year. The last major patch of the year came on November 29th with patch 4.3 and released a whole ton of new content.
What Messiah Hated in 2011
The main thing that I really disliked in 2011 was waiting. Waiting for new content, waiting for something to do, waiting for everything. While Cataclysm was an awesome expansion that had many different things to do, it seemed way to short. With only five levels to complete, it was easy to play through quickly. It was then a long time coming for get any new content. Sure there was some good content, but it seemed like we had to wait forever for it.
Most of the year we waited for new raid content, and then because it wasn’t ready we got redone troll instances Sure they are fun, but it wasn’t raid content. We had to wait longer and longer and then finally Firelands to come out, and then it hardly took any time at all to complete. It was fun and different, but it was come and gone so fast that if you blinked you missed it.
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While each patch was good, it didn’t add up to a while lot. We only saw 3 major patches in the year. Blizzard step up the pace and give us more than 3 patches in a year, we should get at least 6, one every other month. With the amount of money coming in from WoW Blizzard should easily be able to produce at least 3-4 times the content they do, never mind only the double that would keep most players happy.
What Messiah Liked in 2011
It is strange, the thing that I liked most about 2011 is something that I was prepared to absolutely despise. I felt that the whole idea was ludicrous and would never work, yet for some reason it turned out ok. The feature that beyond all reason works is the Raid Finder.
I was prepared to write it off before I even tried it, yet I gave it a shot anyway. Sure there are occasional problems with people not having a clue, but for the most part if someone steps up and leads, it can be a quick, fun, raiding experience. Sure the social aspect isn’t there, and you cant really make any friends in it since it is cross server, but if you have some time to kill and it is not your raiding night, you can jump into it beat a few bosses, have some fun, and jump out.
Best of all it allows you to gear up all your alts so that they are all ready for that guild raid night was someone doesn’t show up and they need something different than your main.
While I had huge reservations about it, for me now, it is the go to feature of the year. Good job Blizzard.
My favorite thing in the past year is, above all else, the changes to open the game up to more players. Gone are the times where the elitist rule above all others and the “fun” in the game is reserved for the upper echelon. No, now the players have retaken their game and can enjoy the game for its worth a way to pass the time vs. a game of endless street cred. Changes like giving Valor for Battlegrounds, the Raid Finder, and gradually reducing the difficulty while keeping the hardcore heroics still, well, hardcore.
I applaud the move and hope as games move forward we continue to move in the direction of openness and accessibility instead of focusing on making content difficult and forming a game culture around the elitist and “everyone else.”
Some things I didn’t care for were, to put it lightly, the lack of updates. In vanilla we had constant updates to the game, in BC we got less but they were still massive content updates. In WotLK they decreased the updates even more, but what we got were, again, massive updates. In Cataclysm I haven’t found the updates to provide enough content to sate my thirst. Sure, there are a lot of raid instances added, but the non-raid content seems to be so little. ZG/ZA and the Molten Front along with the three new instances in 4.3 were nice, but where is some more cosmetic updates? Updates just for the fun of it? Darkmoon Faire is nice and all, but how about updating the weather effects or just other ease of life updates?
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Another thing I haven’t enjoyed is the push by the community for mass hysteria and negativity. Humans are static creatures. Change something drastically and we freak out. Try it, move something in your room somewhere drastically different and then see if you feel comfortable or not. Just because the game was changed doesn’t mean that it’s now horrible though I wish they never messed with the healing / tanking dynamic. Let us just spam our buttons and heal like mad. I don’t want healing to be a chess game but I also don’t want my comrades to whine endlessly about why the game sucks now.
One of the things I actually liked was the yearlong contract (annual pass). Yeah, you can’t cancel out of it, but since I’m going to buy Diablo III anyway then I’m fine with it. My subscription is $179.88. Take out $64.18 (D3 + tax) and I get a year of WoW for $115.70. Take out the $25 mount you would have paid for and you’re at 90.7 or $7.50 a month for WoW. I’ll gladly take that deal over paying $179.88 plus $64.18($244.06) vs. just the $179.88.
Of course, the downside is that I don’t like how they didn’t impart the seriousness of the contract on players. I’m someone who is on top of my finances and I take the time to read the cell phone contracts so that I know my rights. The contract is serious business with very few outs and gives Blizzard a lot of methods of recouping their year worth of subscription fees.
Here is a hint for those of you who did join up with the annual pass. To save yourself some cash in the long run go ahead and switch to the six month subscription. You’ll have to pay $77.94, but that year will cost $155.88. Take out D3 ($64.18) and that leaves $91.70 or $7.64 a month if you’re going to buy D3 anyway. You’ll also have to eat a big upfront price, but won’t have to budget WoW for the rest of the months.
In just a few short days the year 2012 will be upon us, and when the New Year hits we will either find ourselves fighting off hoards of zombies or fighting off a hangover while squinting at that familiar World of Warcraft loading screen. Looking back at 2011 in typical New Year fashion I think that we can all agree that this year has been a wild ride. With the launch of Cataclysm happening just a few weeks before the start of 2011, it promised to be a year full of changes for World of Warcraft and we weren’t disappointed. Changes both good and bad dotted the WoW landscape, and while these changes are to abundant to list in their entirety I will share with you a few of my most loved and hated moments of 2011. Enjoy!
Loved - Thrall Lovin’
I’ll admit that Thrall is one of my favorite Orcs so I may be a little prejudiced here, but I loved every single Thrall appearance in 2011. When Garrosh (blech) took over the Horde I was a little concerned that Blizzard would allow Thrall to fall onto the wayside to slowly become a memory. Thankfully this did not come to pass and I watched in wonder as Thrall held open the rift created by Deathwing and the Thrall goodness didn‘t stop there. To add icing to my cake Thrall also got his very own quest line, giving us an up close and personal look at the ex leader of the Horde that we had never really experienced before. This focus on Thrall satisfied my need to know that his story was not yet at an end and made a bright spot for me in 2011.
Hated - Rift vs. WoW
What does Rift have to do with my WoW experience in 2011 you ask? Let me explain Rift was released in 2011 and as with all new MMOs speculation ran rampant as players wondered if Rift could take on WoW. While I personally prefer WoW over Rift (as expressed in a past article) I have not enjoyed the incessant and often childish bashing that has arisen from the conflict. Of course I could ignore this fighting, but if you’ve been on any social network or even in game chat you will find that it is literally everywhere. Filled with name calling, and other typical third grade bullying tactics players from both games insist upon proving their game is “better” by insulting the other game and its players. To say the least I’m a tad bit tired of it and wish everybody would just go play the game of their choice and STFU. To say the least, the Rift vs. WoW conflict has caused a black spot on my WoW experience in 2011.
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Loved - Raid Finder
Blowing in at the end of the year the Raid Finder has taken the game literally by storm. Everybody is using it and almost most of those people seem to really enjoy it, including myself. I love the Raid Finder because it is a super casual raiding alternative that is allowing more players than ever to experience end game content. While some may rebel against this notion I simply cannot. Everybody deserves to experience the full potential of the game, and should not be penalized because of their own personal time restraints. The Raid Finder is literally the answer to the causal player’s prayers and deserves some mad recognition because of it.
Hated - Easy Content
While I’m all for making the game appealing to the casual player, everything about 2011 screamed way to easy to me. Leveling is easy, instances are easy, getting gear is easy. Everything is easy. Part of the thrill of the game (at least for me) is working for the things I’ve earned and when they are just handed to me on a silver platter it seems not as worthwhile somehow. Thanks to this WoW in 2011 wasn’t has satisfying as it has been in years past. Blizzard needs to find a balance between too easy and too hard and they need to do it fast before players from both sides of the fence become frustrated with the game.
Get in the New Year’s spirit and be sure to share with us your favorite and least favorite 2011 World of Warcraft happenings in the comments section below!
The other week I did the new heroic five-man dungeons for the first time with my guildies. I needed the gear and as we killed Mannaroth and the Achievements bar flashed up telling me that we’d completed the dungeon, killed the demon and that I was finally exalted, I realized that things aren’t actually so bad. I loved the lore of the dungeons, the difficulty of the encounters and the chance to experience really interesting new fights, as well as tasting a dark, depressing future. I can’t wait to get stuck into Dragon Soul.
Yes 4.1 was a letdown which will be forever stricken from memory but the other two patches haven’t been so bad. When I started doing the Molten Front in 4.2, I actually found myself enjoying WoW for the first time in ages and as the year has worn on, this feeling has improved. Blizzard has realized that the players were unhappy and have slowly started to turn things around.
My favorite feature, though, has been the lore. I love how the secret to Deathwing’s defeat lay in the past, going to Azshara’s palace capped it all for me. To be there, as Illidan and Tyrande kicked arse and meet the Queen of the Night Elves. I use the term loosely but my inner RPer was elated. The fact we don’t technically fight her was beside the point; that time will come eventually.
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My only problem with WoW over the last twelve months has been the sense of doom which comes with a free-falling MMO hemorrhaging subscribers. Cataclysm could of - and should of - been awesome. After all, we got all those things we wanted from flying mounts in Azeroth to the chance to kick Deathwing’s arse. The problem was the expansion felt rushed and this diluted its epicness. Even now, as the dust around Deathwing’s corpse settles and the Age of Mortals begins, this all feels cheapened because of how we were rushed through the storyline. Oh look, this isn’t ready but do these Troll dungeons. Ahh now it’s time for 4.2 and 4.3. You’ve not killed Raggy yet, no problem! Here’s the nerfbat. I love the endgame content but the speed at which these three patches have come feels unnaturally fast, especially as they weren’t actually as awesome as those in previous expansions.
I do also feel that Blizzard went half-measures when it came to features like Void Storage - which, in my mind, screams a central bank that can be used by all your toons - and transmogrification, which should have been about dyes and proper customization.
But, at the end of the way, Blizzard has weathered their annus horribilis quite well. We can but hope they’ve learned a bitter lesson about not cutting corners, releasing stuff when it’s done rather than to a ship date and attempting to put their subscribers before the almighty dollar, even if Cataclysm will be The Expansion We Do Not Name in a year or so.