The great player divide
This was taken from a blog reffering to WoW issues with player problems... essentially the haves vs the have nots. Same problem EQ 1 had but on a much larger degree...
That ease of play has made the game fantastically successful, but it has also created what has become almost a blood feud in the game and on Web message boards between the game's casual users and more serious players. The issue is that once players reach Level 60, if they want to keep fighting bigger and badder monsters and if they want to get rarer and more powerful loot, they must start to work in teams, perhaps of 10 or 20 players. The most epic challenges, like conquering Blackwing Lair and its master, the black dragon Nefarian, require 40 players to work together with the coordination of synchronized swimmers.
But because the game from Level 1 to Level 59 is so easy, there are a ton of Level 60 users who don't know how to be team players and don't have the time or inclination to learn. And that is the root of the current conflict. Casual players complain that they can't get rewards comparable to those earned by hard-core raiders, like the Claw of Chromaggus or Mish'undare, Circlet of the Mind Flayer. Raiders like me often respond that casual players just want a handout.
Back when I was playing EQ1 periodically we would get people posting how they were getting ripped off because they could not get their epics without a guild. I tried to sympathise with them but point out that just because they played the game did not mean they were entitled to an Epic. It was a huge quest involving a lot of effort. I was fortunate at the time to have been able to complete my epic while not in a guild, so could explain that all it took was working with folks and making friends, not coming to the boards and whining.
Well now we have different problems in EQ2 and WoW. You have a player base in both games (WoW) more so that are lucky to have gotten to the level cap and been in more than twoor three groups, let alone a raid. This is the real reason why catering to the casual players is bad. At least in EQ2 the devs are up to speed and giving us new content, have a pretty good spread of content and are pushing forward at a much better pace than WoW. Now is only they could stay the course and not move further toward the WoW side of the fence, we'll continue to build a good player base of skilled folks.
The previous was just a personal rant and does not reflect any opinions of any officers or is pointed at our guild or anything like that :) just a through sparked by a post about another game.
That ease of play has made the game fantastically successful, but it has also created what has become almost a blood feud in the game and on Web message boards between the game's casual users and more serious players. The issue is that once players reach Level 60, if they want to keep fighting bigger and badder monsters and if they want to get rarer and more powerful loot, they must start to work in teams, perhaps of 10 or 20 players. The most epic challenges, like conquering Blackwing Lair and its master, the black dragon Nefarian, require 40 players to work together with the coordination of synchronized swimmers.
But because the game from Level 1 to Level 59 is so easy, there are a ton of Level 60 users who don't know how to be team players and don't have the time or inclination to learn. And that is the root of the current conflict. Casual players complain that they can't get rewards comparable to those earned by hard-core raiders, like the Claw of Chromaggus or Mish'undare, Circlet of the Mind Flayer. Raiders like me often respond that casual players just want a handout.
Back when I was playing EQ1 periodically we would get people posting how they were getting ripped off because they could not get their epics without a guild. I tried to sympathise with them but point out that just because they played the game did not mean they were entitled to an Epic. It was a huge quest involving a lot of effort. I was fortunate at the time to have been able to complete my epic while not in a guild, so could explain that all it took was working with folks and making friends, not coming to the boards and whining.
Well now we have different problems in EQ2 and WoW. You have a player base in both games (WoW) more so that are lucky to have gotten to the level cap and been in more than twoor three groups, let alone a raid. This is the real reason why catering to the casual players is bad. At least in EQ2 the devs are up to speed and giving us new content, have a pretty good spread of content and are pushing forward at a much better pace than WoW. Now is only they could stay the course and not move further toward the WoW side of the fence, we'll continue to build a good player base of skilled folks.
The previous was just a personal rant and does not reflect any opinions of any officers or is pointed at our guild or anything like that :) just a through sparked by a post about another game.
