At least the new WoW patch is casual-friendly
Odd perhaps it is, to equate “casual” with World of Warcraft. The Blizzard MMO has long been known for the endless hours of the grind, of guild raids one after the other, just to get the best piece of equipment in the game (not to mention the bragging rights). For one who cannot devote a full third of his 24-hour day to the game, for one whose commitments to real life override commitments to the game, a “casual” day in World of Warcraft sounds very odd indeed – unless one wishes to remain at the dregs of the player pecking order.
The new patch with the new honor system might have changed that, however. Observed by MMORPG’s Steve Wilson, “casual” WoW players, also-rans by the hardcore, end-game player standards, now stand a chance to earn for themselves the same kind of uberloot as their third-a-day hardcore brethren are entitled to. The new honor rewards allow casual players to earn themselves epic level items over the course of a few weeks of “casual” gameplay. Of course, the hardcore could still earn epic loot almost immediately, thanks to their long hours and tireless dedication (e.g., That Which Has No Life), but the new system does give the also-rans a chance at some excellent PvP stuff, Wilson observes.
Moves like these could make The Burning Crusade more appealing to other potential MMO players whose only concern is the time they need to lose to the game. It isn’t instant gratification, but it gets the job done. Even more importantly, there are other things in life besides WoW to concern one’s self about.
Odd perhaps it is, to equate “casual” with World of Warcraft. The Blizzard MMO has long been known for the endless hours of the grind, of guild raids one after the other, just to get the best piece of equipment in the game (not to mention the bragging rights). For one who cannot devote a full third of his 24-hour day to the game, for one whose commitments to real life override commitments to the game, a “casual” day in World of Warcraft sounds very odd indeed – unless one wishes to remain at the dregs of the player pecking order.
The new patch with the new honor system might have changed that, however. Observed by MMORPG’s Steve Wilson, “casual” WoW players, also-rans by the hardcore, end-game player standards, now stand a chance to earn for themselves the same kind of uberloot as their third-a-day hardcore brethren are entitled to. The new honor rewards allow casual players to earn themselves epic level items over the course of a few weeks of “casual” gameplay. Of course, the hardcore could still earn epic loot almost immediately, thanks to their long hours and tireless dedication (e.g., That Which Has No Life), but the new system does give the also-rans a chance at some excellent PvP stuff, Wilson observes.
Moves like these could make The Burning Crusade more appealing to other potential MMO players whose only concern is the time they need to lose to the game. It isn’t instant gratification, but it gets the job done. Even more importantly, there are other things in life besides WoW to concern one’s self about.
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