What lies ahead?

For a long time I felt my interest in WoW waning. For months now (maybe even a year?) I have only logged in to raid a few selected nights a week. Pretty much the only thing that had kept me subscribed at all was the guild I was in and the relationships I had there. I still do kinda feel that way. But then L2R hit and I find myself enjoying another aspect of WoW. Not playing it for my own enjoyment, but rather discovering things and sharing ideas with others, helping players understand parts of the game and being part of the “business” side of WoW I suppose you could say.

BlizzCon was this weekend and while I wasn’t able to attend I did watch the event via the DirectTv stream. Lots of interesting changes. I have to admit that when I heard about MoP I thought we were being teased. But as the day progressed it became clear that MoP was indeed real. I am.. uncertain about the next expansion. I am choosing to remain optimistic but my I can’t help feeling displeased with how MoP is looking so far. I know that people will say, “We already have space goats and gnomes, what’s so different?”. It’s hard to put a finger on, but the Pandaren look just too.. cutesy. Like they were made to appeal to children. Add that to the new Pat Battle system and.. yeah. They’re definitely trying to broaden their audience there. Should they be faulted for that? Not necessarily. 

I was glad to hear that they are working on updating character models. I am surprised that they haven’t gotten to it sooner. It’s something that players universally want (I have never heard someone say they’d rather keep the old orc or troll models, for example) and even if someone did want to keep them, they could simply have it as a toggle option. Low quality character models and animations is the #1 inhibitor for me that keeps me from enjoying alts. 

I am very interested to see where the new talent changes go, and while I’m not thrilled about Panderans the zone of Panderia does look rather pretty. And I do love the concept of having a “rest” between Big Bad Guys with a focus more on faction war. Maybe after that we can have a Big Bad Girl?

Currently I am in the middle of working on my next UI Workshop for L2R. It’s for Tidy Plates and this one is a bit different because I’ve incorporated an interview and someone else’s footage for their PoV. I’m always trying to think of what would make my videos better, more watchable, more teachable, and more fun. I’m still a bit stoked about being part of L2R and I really hope I am able to contribute something positive to the gaming community.