Why wow is fun

The memories of being young, curious and not knowing the world ahead. The feeling of endless possibilities. A lot has changed in this time, obviously. And the thing is, if you have played WoW for any period of time, you really do. I was tempted to write a review of Shadowlands, but on thinking about it there is simply no need. Despite it being a very popular expansion that has brought millions back to the game, and despite it having many interesting mechanics and features to go through, that is not the point of WoW Shadowlands.

The fact is; nobody who bought Shadowlands bought it for the game. They bought it for the membership. I had phases to WoW life. I got good, was hardcore for a short while, raid lead for a bit, started my own incredibly short lived guild, in between guild jumping either due to being a little git or the guild exploding as many used to.

I used to think that this pattern was relatively unique to me. A little upstart who matured a bit and realised that a chill group of players was no bad thing. There are two types of WoW player who bought Shadowlands. The veterans like me, who have amassed s of days of played time, and IRL friends of the veterans, who were introduced latterly after months or years of nagging to give WoW a go.

When I look around my guild today with nearly players on at any one time, most all of them have been in the guild for years. The point is, nobody in this guild is new. Not, saw it on an advert and thought they would give it a try new at least. These are all players with an attachment to the game, usually because of the people already in it. Unfortunately as I get older and rounder my destiny is only getting closer to this image, rather than further. The players who stick around the longest and spend the most time online do inevitably seem to resemble a stereotype.

Shy, introverted types who perhaps feel more comfortable socialising online, or due to their situations find it hard to meet people IRL. The dedicated few tend to have better personal flexibility to allow for more game time, which ultimately benefits the casuals who take for granted a guild bank full of raid material and 3 organised raids a week. Increasingly these casual players are counting for a higher percentage of the overall player base.

My partner, who barely played games before she met me is now an avid player, who unlike me commits to a 6 monthly sub, whereas I still lie to myself that I could quit any time with my monthly membership.

Ok that is an over simplification. A lot of things have been done better, content is more accessible and the weekly releases make the experience last a little longer between patches.

These are all good things, and you have to commend Blizzard for continuing to improve a game that is 16 years old, even if they spent plenty of time ruining it in the past. In truth; the gameplay is and has for some time, been pretty poor in WoW. There is only so much you can do with this kind of system which is fundamentally the same as it was in To add that being in a very casual guild that takes anyone who wants to raid, progress is pretty slow.

The stuff outside raiding is fine, but like most time sinks it quickly becomes a list of chores rather than any intriguing tasks. So the fact remains, whatever the latest gimmick, raid structure or feature you will end up doing the same things that you have been doing since probably Wrath of the Lich King 10 years ago:.

Is this a bad thing? No not particularly. Many players appreciate the familiarity — I remember the dread of logging onto Elder Scrolls Online only to find I had gone from defeating the Lich King to some noob with a stick. Not long after wanting to try something new, I found myself back on WoW. There was a part of me that took for granted buying Shadowlands when it came out. Battle for Azeroth started well for me, but fizzled out hard. After some alt levelling in the genuinely fun Chromie time, all eyes were forward to Shadowlands, a fresh start where I could be back on an even footing.

At the end of the day I am killing 10 boars for a currency that unlocks Renown which unlocks more powers to kill more boars. Bloated, confusing, repetitive, and in reality the WoW story finished with Arthas, or the Legion at a push. I literally have no idea what is happening or the consequences of anything.

But I will kill 10 afterlife plagued boars for a new sword. Well of course I came back for the people. Which feels bizarre to say really.

On a Saturday afternoon a bunch of people just sit in voice chat hanging out whilst they hack away at their dailies. I could go on voice chat without playing… but that would be… odd. You will miss the time Tim died on the first boss, or how Anne keeps getting all the loot. All the in jokes, the banter, the feeling of inclusivity. Content can be good or bad, but either way you will praise or criticise it with them.

Is this relationship with a game a bad thing? On balance no. How Shadowlands endgame feels probably depends a lot on a given player's reception to the Great Vault mechanic, but it's got some strong characteristics going for it. The Great Vault essentially provides a hub for endgame players that helps them sort out which content they're "meant" to be doing in a given week, giving players loot based on the content they did in the week prior.

The Great Vault also gives players choices - the more content they complete in a given week, the more options they'll have with regards to the loot they acquire from the system, removing some of the frustration of reward gear not being a good fit for a player's needs. The Great Vault also helpfully keeps track of what a character has accomplished that week, further reducing the frustration of missing out on one of WoW's endgame loot cycles.

There are still some concerns over the Great Vault - like whether or not it's enough of a reward for those sinking in the most time - but by and large, the system is a new idea from Blizzard that's helped make the Shadowlands endgame more accessible without making it feel too simplified or mundane. There's also Torghast, the World of Warcraft answer to rougelike dungeon exploration.

Torghast mixes up the way endgame progression usually goes, randomizing more than just loot drops while also offering Torghast-specific character builds that grow more powerful the deeper a player gets in a run. Torghast hasn't been for everyone , and it can still be a vexing element of the game whenever runs go awry, but it's yet another addition to World of Warcraft's endgame content that has improved and diversified its experience. Since Shadowlands launched last year, WoW has gotten bug fixes and balancing updates, including the most recent fixes to the Sanctum of Domination on September Of course, the recent lawsuits and controversies surrounding Activision-Blizzard have likely diminished some of the goodwill players felt after Shadowlands ' release, but looking at the game solely as an MMO, WoW still holds up incredibly well.

Most people go about with a few or dozen gold coins in their backpacks, and they are okay with it. Gold farming is hard. Except for a few players who still have thousands on them after purchasing the fast-speed flying mount.

That is unless you buy WoW Classic gold. The list can go on and on. For me personally, there are at least 30 reasons to play TBC instead of retail or any other game. This account is being used to post news by myself, and a few members of our team. I run my own business along with 2 other sites, one for holidays and the other for music.

This year I hope to grow my business more and maybe find my one true love. It felt good just to play the game… nothing need be added to it.

Then it was leveling up, taming a pet, getting that mount upgrade. Still very fun amidst all the challenge. Trying out new things. Then it was mainly dungeons until max level. So interesting to unlock a new dungeon! It felt great doing them again and again. PvP was fun up until Legion. Killing shot, killing blows on the scoreboard, fighting in middle of warsong was really fun. I found it at the end of Warlords of Draenor and into Legion I had some of the most interesting and funny feelings playing the game.

Like tripping on World of Warcraft drug. I wish it still felt that good to play WoW but now it sort of feels like a job.

If you know of anything other to do than the WoW token thing and everything in-between please reply. I think one of the things that makes it fun for me is the replay value.