Improving WoW for the Future

There’s been much made that with the level cap raised to 70 and soon to be 80, the process of creating a new character and leveling them up is becoming more and more tedious. But some of the suggestions I’m reading on the WoW forums are not well thought out.

Blizzard has been making some minor adjustments to help the journey – giving more XP for completing quests, lowering the XP requirements per level, making some quests no longer elite, allowing mounts to be used at level 30 instead of 40, and in some zones like Dushwallow Marsh, adding new quests and flight paths to travel. All good, but the toll of leveling to reach the end game will continue to be a problem as each new expansion increases the cap another 10 levels.  I heard during the first BlizzCon in 2005 that 110 is projected to be the final level in a few years.  If you’re starting out at level 1 that is a mighty high hill to climb.

I’ve seen sugggestions that in the future when you create a character they should just automatically be level 60 and start off in Outland and skip Old Azeroth. This is the worst idea ever. Blizzard didn’t spend 6 years and millions of dollars in developing a complete world just to throw it all aside. Journeying through Azeroth is the lynchpin of playing the game. You learn about the world you are inhabiting, you gradually learn your classes’ abilities and you learn if you like playing it.

Another suggestion is to get rid of flight paths and just have characters teleport to each zone. I don’t like this either, atleast not in total. I agree that the time spent flying is too long. The point is to watch the flight and see all the wonderful sights and landmarks along the way, but after your 20th flight it gets old. I think that if it’s a long flight, then do what the boats and zepplins do and just show a red dot-dot-dot from X to X. If it’s a flight to the zone next door or another flight point in the same zone just show the flight.   Also I would still require that you must discover the flightmaster first before allowing this kind of travel.  I don’t think giving everyone teleport capabilities is the way to go. Besides that’s part of the fun of being a Shaman or a Mage, if everyone can just teleport anywhere in a blink do you get a good sense of the world you’re in?

I think a good suggestion to implement is to allow accounts that already have a level 55 or 60 character to create additional characters that will have an exceptionally high XP bonus throughout the journey.

As for brand new players who hear about the 10 million online playing WoW and want to join in the fun, but would get dissatisfied with grinding up to 80 and may quit a few weeks or months into the game – I would also drastically cut the XP requirements for each level.   Blizzard’s done it once, I would do it again.

I think it should take as long to get from 1 to 40 as it took to get from 1 to 25.  Make the new players feel like they are accomplishing a lot and make them feel that they will soon be able to meet up with the rest of the server population soon, but don’t just give it to them freely.    In WotLK the level cap is 80, I would say at level 55, maybe 65, slowly begin to widen the gap between levels.   The grind should have some challenge to it, if it’s too easy that could lead players to think “This game doesn’t have much for me, I’m going to play something a little more challenging.”  And as the game expands into the future and we have level 90s and 100s, then adjust those figures accordingly.

I don’t agree with cutting huge chunks of content, zones and material out of WoW by giving people level 60 characters out of the box.   I think everyone should start off in their race’s starting zone at level 1 with one bag and a set of grey gear.   Let them feel satisfaction as they build up their armory.

As for the old instances that no one goes to anymore — You can’t fix everything.  Maybe it’s good to have some content for those players who wish to take it slow and take the scenic route.   Maybe you could adjust some of them so that the bosses are Elites but not the mobs inside.  Maybe allow 3 or 4-man instances.  But something would be wrong if these places were just to be forgotten about and we have a whole generation of players who say “Maraudon? What’s that?”   Maybe adjust them so that multiple levels could try out the same dungeon with mobs equal to the group’s highest player with loot worthy of your time and effort.

~ by korrk on July 16, 2008.