Blizzcon is over, and a lot of information about changes has been released.
Duh, I know!
One of the most common statements I’ve heard, is “Wow, I’ve been wishing for a lot of this to happen for some time. I can’t wait! This is gonna be awesome!”
This post constitutes my traditional “Take a deep breath and relax” reality check.
The only things we should really be excited over and freaking about RIGHT NOW are the things they’ve told us about Patch 3.3 coming soon, the Icecrown Citadel content patch.
Why?
Because I’d like to see how many folks can hold their breath until Cataclysm is released. Go ahead, I’ll wait.
Yes, the announcements are exciting. Or daunting.
But please remember that you need to have patience. Do not let these announcements discourage you to the actual game you are holding in your hands right now.
“But why should I level an alt now, when they are going to revamp all of Azeroth with totally new wicked races and quests?”
Because it’s fun to play NOW, and not in a year and a half. What are you going to do, cancel your account because all seems drab and boring in light of the bright new dawn we have glimpsed at Blizzcon? Some will. I speak from experience, I remember the reactions to the last big info release before Wrath came out only too well.
“Why should I do Achievements NOW, when there will be more coming soon?”
Maybe because your Explorer Achievement will be unavailable in it’s current form when all of Azeroth is destroyed. Maybe. Who knows? But seriously, you should do Achievement because you like to do them are are a completist, or like the rewards offered.
“Why should I raid and seek out gear now, or strive for upgrades, when we have no idea how current items will change when all these stats are removed outright?”
Because, again… you’ve got a game now. You should be playing it, the way it is now, because it’s fun to play. It’s not a job, and you aren’t supposed to be logging in feeling like it’s time to punch your time card for another three or four hours, and hoping to improve you character that little bit. So what if your current gear may be changed in the future, have fun NOW with what you know.
For those of you out there that play because it actually IS a job you get paid for, such as some WoW bloggers that are paid to write about their experiences… well, don’t know what to tell you. Except, I hope you still enjoy the dream gig. 🙂
Look, Cataclysm sounds great to me. I like a lot of what they discussed. I don’t want to be the one that’s a sourpuss, or the wet blanket.
But if I took anything away from watching the live panels from the Internet Feed, it’s this.
They know some of what they plan to do, but they have NOT progressed much farther than a design doc with first principles and general intentions when it comes to the gameplay changes and theorycrafting.
They intend to remove some stats and enhance the functionality of others, to simplify itemization a little, return the focus on core stats.
What they have not done is implemented it or gotten into the nuts and bolts of it.
They are at the brainstorming stage, discussing things around a table, working out what they’d like to do, and what effect they think it would have. Seeing the experssions on their faces to some of the questions asked after the Class Q&A was pretty illuminating. For a lot of the questions, it wasn’t ‘What can we share”, it was “Well gee, we hadn’t discussed that yet.”
So relax, worry not.
The dungeon and raid design, the world redesign, the quests, the races, the art… yes, I believe that those things are pretty far along.
But in terms of core gameplay, they are still at the “That’s something we can discuss in the future” stage.
This is not to discourage you.
This is to remind you of the cold, hard truth, that the next expansion might not be out until July of next year. Or even later.
Think about how much playing time there is in 11 months. Think about how far you reached, how high you climbed from the time you first picked up the game, to when 11 months had passed.
I know people that are raiding Ulduar, extremely well I might add, that had not even picked up the game yet 11 months ago.
Things are subject to change. Always. The further away something is, the better the chance that you might not even still be playing WoW when it finally comes out. Thinking about and dwelling on the proposed changes now, setting your vision on what could be and getting your hopes up will just cause disappointment when you log in and see the game we still have. And that’s silly.
What will come, will come. It should be enough to know that, rather than creating another new continent to push us farther from the world in which we began, they are instead bring the old world back to life, and completing the circle.
Think about the fun of new races, think of the fun that you will someday have…
But please, remember that there will be a new raid very soon, as we face off against Arthas himself. Rejoice in the knowledge that the Dungeons and Raids panel promised us that the final defeat of Arthas would feel…. EPIC. (And possibly contain some sweet cinematics).
Think about new 5 person instances in 3.3, with new fun to be had. Won’t that be cool? Just as we get tired of Emblems and Trials, we’ll be moving on into new territory to master.
The big picture is great, I’m very glad Blizzard chose to share it with us. As always, however, they share this massive amount of dreaming and imagination…
and we must remind ourselves, that when we sleep this evening and wake up, Cataclysm will not be lying under the tree in the morning.
Please. Don’t lose interest in your toys now, just because you know Christmas is coming someday.
 