How to Revive World of Warcraft

The first question is, does World of Warcraft actually need reviving?  In my opinion, no…not yet.  But there are increasing signs that the player populations are becoming increasingly frustrated with the current state of WoW gameplay.  So how does Blizzard go about creating new, exciting content, without changing the successful WoW formula too much?

I have been reading numerous articles of late, including interviews with players and Blizzard employees, as well as countless forums and blog comments about frustrations and praises alike.

As I sit down to write this post, which I will actually break into 4 separate posts, I realized at first I was going to just throw out my suggestions.  However, after much thought (and 2 days worth of notes later), I come back to you with a much more structured proposal.

These are my own opinions, and in no way intentionally reflect opinions of others, and any implementation of content stated in this post is purely coincidental.

The Mindset

The very first thoughts through my mind when I start thinking about the future of WoW is, “What is Blizzard’s intent behind each aspect of the game?”  While the obvious objective is to keep the player base happy with new armor, new content, and an enhanced gameplay experience, I try to dig a little deeper than what is stated on the surface.

Here is what I consider the formula of success for World of Warcraft: Create content that engages players for longer durations of time, and create reward based systems that require days, weeks, and months of progression in order to obtain desired rewards.

In following this model, we see that questing, dailies, dungeons, raids, professions, PvP, leveling, and other aspects of gameplay require some form of ‘grind’.  This means that players must perform any of the above in repetition (in some cases, strong repetition), in order to obtain the reward(s) they want.   Throw in an added factor of luck for some of these grinds, and you’ve got a bunch of players doing the same thing day in and day out, week in and week out, and in some cases, month in and month out.

Do this for 6 years like some players have, and you can see how things might be getting a little stale.  What I would like to see, and I have a strong feeling other players would too, is new content.  Not just more raids, more bosses, and more dungeons, but more unique aspects of the game.  Not everything has to be a grind to obtain rewards.

I realize that the agenda of keeping players actively grinding on content every day keeps the revenue flowing, which ultimately allows for funding of more WoW content, but I think it is time to start implementing new features of gameplay, and thinking outside the box.

Easy for me to say, right?  Sure.  Any fool with a blog or website can make statements like that.  But I am going to back up my statement with features and changes I would implement were I helping design future content.

The main objective:  Create content that is new, refreshing, and not only invigorates current players, but entices old players to come back.

The Good

Let’s first take a look at what Blizzard has done that deserves some praise.  From my experience, they have done so many things right, that it’s impossible to keep track of every little thing.  The proof is in the game, and the continued millions of subscribers playing WoW every month.

• Leveling experience is much smoother, more enjoyable (Up through 80)
• Leveling in instances (through 70) is fun and provides a nice change of pace from quest grindng.
• PvP leveling is fun and functions in the same role as dungeons above.
• Heirloom gear has been very successful in keeping players immersed in the game, allowing leveling of multiple alts.
• New content is continuously added in terms of dungeons and raids.
• Goblins and Worgen so far a success.
• Dungeon and Raid content are more challenging than previous expansions.

The Bad

I hesitate to say the ‘bad’, but let’s face it, some features just aren’t having the positive responses Blizzard probably hoped they would.  These are the areas that need an overhaul, or some severe attention in order to reverse some of the damaging perceptions that have arose from certain player populations.

• Leveling in current expansions is a painful grind.  Mass questing, very little experience help from battlegrounds and dungeons.
• 5-man dungeons are challenging, but take too long and are almost too ‘raid-like’ in terms of boss encounters.
• Raiding is much harder, and despite promised nerfs after certain periods of time have passed, there is a strong divide between capable and non-capable raiders, leaving many out of end-game content.
• PvP has become one-dimensional, and battlegrounds feel monotonous.
• Gear rewards are not much better/different in terms of tiers and item level, creating a lack of desire to obtain them.
• Social networking and interaction in-game has become nearly defunct as player grouping has become very selective, since players want to progress and not wipe repetitively.  Dungeon finder has also inadvertently contributed to this as well.
• 10 Classes with 3 very different specs feels like 30 classes at times…a ton to keep up with, and very time consuming in terms of managing dual specs (at times triple specs for some players).

The Proposals

So how does Blizzard go about implementing new, refreshing content, while maintaining their successful formulas?  How does Blizzard revitalize the game, and entice retired players to return?

My answer:  Blizzard has to branch off from it’s grind and time sink approach, and create additional content that allows for rewards through other, maybe more risky and unconventional methods.

In the next several days, I will post my suggestions for the crucial aspects of gameplay that I believe will help revitalize WoW and breathe a new, exciting life back into the game.

1. Leveling
2. Dungeon System
3. Raid System
4. Social Environment (G…H…no, I won’t go there…or will I?)

All of these are staples to WoW gameplay, and should remain so, but I believe they can be drastically enhanced to make gameplay smoother, and more enjoyable.  Stay tuned to hear more on each of these aspects as I go into in-depth detail on each.