World of Warcraft: So easy, a caveman can do it

by Seraphina Brennan Feb 17th 2009 at 10:00AM

Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, Culture, Expansions, Game mechanics, Endgame, Opinion

If it feels like World of Warcraft may be losing its luster for your, then chances are that you feel the game has become too easy. Since the launch of Wrath of the Lich King, a large chunk of the game population has hit 80, done the heroic dungeons, and even entered into the raids with ease. Has the game become too easy?

GameSpy editor Gerald Villoria has dedicated one of his columns to just some of the ways that Warcraft might have become too easy for everyone. While he points his finger at both the player community and the developers, his main point comes from the newly introduced heirloom items that come from the endgame emblem vendors. With enough emblems lying around to fill a bathtub, Gerald was able to equip a new rogue with three heirloom items and effectively outclass almost everything in the lower levels including blue item drops.

At this point, it seems that any higher class player, or any player who enters the game through the recruit-a-friend program, can develop a character that can completely skip through low-end content without giving it a thought. You don't need to get excited about rare drops in early dungeons, or even really pay attention to the item drop system anymore. Has the game become so easy that it's no longer fun?

Tags: blizzard, difficulty, dungeons, heirloom, heirloom-items, raids, too-easy, woltk, world-of-warcraft, wrath-of-the-lich-king

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

xenothaulus said on 10:21AM 2-17-2009

It has become easier, which is a boon to most players I think; WoW definitely draws in a larger crowd than a game like FFXI or whatever that focuses on really hard end-game content. It is losing its luster for me because it seems to be moving toward a pvp/esport game with some pve stuff to do, rather than the other way around. I do not participate in pvp, frankly I hate it, and one of the main reasons I started playing WoW was because it didn't focus on it. But over the past 4 years or so it has become more and more important in the game, to the point that it seems like PvP totally dominates all class-balancing decisions.

JP said on 10:27AM 2-17-2009

eh... I'm certainly no WoW fanboi, but I'm pretty sure there's lots of fun in the game, regardless of ease.

Blizzard may not be focusing their attention on retaining the hardest of hardcore players. But, what they have done is pretty genius in capturing the hearts of the masses.

The game has never personally interested me, but I wouldn't deny its ability to draw in many many people of varying social and financial statuses.

So, while a few (hundred thousand) people that play MMOs or WoW on an extremely hardcore basis might find the game "easy", they're shadowed by the swarms (of millions) that play casually, and feel like they're limited time is rewarded. I think Blizzard pushing for more casual rewards will pay off for them.

But they can. Newer games have to attract the more hardcore player first. These are the guild leaders. The raid leaders. The forum posters. The number crunchers, and generally more inept players that will lead social structures that allow the casuals and semi-hardcore players to jump in, understand, and have fun.

Blizzard is so far past that, that they can almost laugh off the rants and raves of the extreme hardcore, claiming the game is to easy. They've served their purpose, and now allow Blizz to cater to the more casual player. Which is b/c their social structure and community is so very established. Those who cry for more risk or effort aren’t heard, as the millions and millions of more casual players continue to pay the subscription and log in far less then the hardcore, and don’t particularly need their help.

Eventually, this will peter out, and the next unofficial choice of the hardcore will go through the same motions, IMO. I just think we’re a few generations of PCs away from that. Technology and a mainstream acceptance of better PCs will be what forces WoW to lose momentum. And that’s when the newly-knighted choice of the masses will rise in the wake of WoW.

… at least that’s what I think, as far as the next juggernaut MMO. So, ya… to easy for some, but just easy enough for a whole lot more.

droid said on 10:39AM 2-17-2009

There is nothing hard about MMOs, just time investments, some are long, some are short. Blizzards stance on making content take less time and less people is in my opinion a great thing. The reason being is that the designers/artists/developers put a lot of work into these things. Now if I'm either one of these listed talents I would want people to experience and fully take in what I've put my sweat and blood into, not just a few basement athletes that spend 16 hours a day on the game.

That's just one way to look at it.

bassmodel said on 11:16AM 2-17-2009

i think that's true now, but now always. it took more than time to be successful in EQ back in the day. gear was not always a substitute for truly knowing your class. blizz has taken a lot of the uncertainty out of the process through clear and class homogenization (i.e. virtually every class in a related archetype has similar CC, AoE, rezzing, etc.) and the result, as you mention, is a much broader player base. i'm still playing for the time being, but mostly because i have good friends in-game that keep things fun...

...but i've already re-upped on my WAR subscription and am fairly excited to see Mythic roll out the first wave of major content patches (a.k.a. "live expansion" whatever that means). i've already had more epic fun in Tor Anroc and other scenarios in the last couple of days than i can remember having in WoW for the past several months.

Kwambus said on 11:04AM 2-17-2009

I raided for almost three years in WoW, around 4 days a week. The content at some levels was extremely hard, frustrating and time consuming. Now I can dip in for a couple of hours at a time and have a real life too!

Also- I often wonder how many people does 'hard' mode really appeal to? 5% of the subscribers? 10%? I don't think really much more than that to be honest.

Servers are often busy now and vibrant with activity. Personally I think the changes were a great idea. I will keep my account open now for a long while. If end game in WotLK was going to be the same grind investment of hundred of hours, I would have cancelled by now.

Good on you Blizzard.

Plastic Rat said on 11:06AM 2-17-2009

Totally agree with the above poster. And yes, for myself, when I don't need to think during dungeons anymore, when I just have to mash one button over and over, no need to crowd control, no need to follow strategies, just AOE tank and AOE heal through it. Your DPS can AOE dps through everything too.

Yeah, the PvE all the way through has gotten miserably easy and it's spawning players that are even more useless at the game when they get to high level, who then complain when they occasionally get beaten by a mob because they've never learned how to play the game.

I ran Ulduman the other day and it was like.. wow, remember when this was scary? When you had to think? Tried to explain to a new player what was cool about it. About the teamwork and the challenge. They just couldn't get it.

Faceroll through so you can collect your free epix now.

Slacker said on 11:12AM 2-17-2009

Im part of the masses. I have a real life, I work 50-60 hours a week and can not put in the time to raid over and over.

But with things being the way they are now, I can see the end game content and move my gear up without insane time investments.

Of course with game focus moving ever more to PvP... I don't think I will be staying with WoW for much longer.

James Taylor said on 11:31AM 2-17-2009

I completely disagree about the low level stuff. I think the low level stuff just shows it's age and takes way too long.

Having no account with a 70+ anymore, the only thing keeping me from playing WoW again is having to tread through the boring 1-60 game.

crsh said on 11:37AM 2-17-2009

I don't mind easier entry-level raids, we know Blizzard is preparing more of them with an increased level of difficulty. The current raids are intended to have people all geared for future content, rather than falling behind.

What really bothers me with WoW right now is the cheap filler content (achievements); it is so mind-numbing to know a good chunk of the game population enjoys this poor excuse for content.

Yes they're completely optional, but so is everything else (including keeping an active subscription).

snowleopard233 said on 12:01PM 2-17-2009

I’m another player who is in agreement with the direction Blizzard is taking as far as difficulty goes. PVE on the whole has become easier and more accessible which is ultimately a good thing for the player base. By decreasing the time it takes to level to 60, they’ve allowed more new players to join in and play with veteran players sooner. They’ve also given greater incentive for veteran players to return back to older zones and level new characters in areas that were starting to become under-populated. End game hasn’t become “easy”. It’s simply become accessible and non-punishing to the majority of the player base, allowing for players with less than flexible schedules to enjoy end game content and get their subscriptions worth. Overall, these changes have allowed for a more cohesive and active community that has reasons to go back and enjoy old content as well as the ability to experience the new. It is this replayability and flexibility of the game that has allowed it to grow into the phenomenon it is today. Those who are complaining about a watered down experience are most likely of the minority of players who poured hard work into and excelled in the extremely difficult raid content of years past. The still have every bit the potential and opportunity to find challenges in this game, yet they most look a little harder than before.

Nadril said on 12:10PM 2-17-2009

Before I start, a little background on myself. I used to be a semi-hardcore raider (in a guild that wasn't on the top of progress by any means, but we put some pretty good time into raiding) back in TBC, raiding up to the end of Hyjal before quitting the game.

When I came back to WoTLK I came back with the hope that I would be able to play without a raider mentality. Essentially, I didn't want to have to deal with a raiding guild and all of the loot drama, schedules, ect. that came with it.

Well, I've been pleasantly surprised so far. While some may disagree with me, being able to PUG most of the raids (to me) is great. While I've dealt with much harder content it's nice to be able to just see content, and be done with it. I really do dislike raiding in general, it's just not my forte anymore and I would rather spend my time in PvP. (another story all together). The only reason I raid is, quite simply, to get gear such as a suitable weapon to PvP with.

What I do see blizzard doing is making many more "hard modes" for encounters. They already showed they could make a good, entry level difficult mode with Sarth 3D. I see them doing something like this for most of the bosses in Ulduar. Maybe not so much of achievements such as "kill xx in

Nadril said on 12:11PM 2-17-2009

"kill xx in

Nadril said on 12:12PM 2-17-2009

Esentially with this blizzard can cater to the "casuals" who will slowly go through content, but also cater to the hardcore raiders who would be able to tout beating a boss on it's hard difficulty. It also means that blizzard can, very easily, make VERY CHALLENGING "hard modes" for bosses that can simply cater to their smaller, hardcore fanbase. If you look at it too creating a "hard mode" version of a boss, with extra stuff going on (like Sarath 3D with all these extra things to watch out for) is very cheap and easy to do and ultimately can keep players in your game longer.

It also gives raids more vitality and longevity to them. Being able to first work through a "normal" 10 man or 25 man Ulduar run, and then a "hard" 10 man or 25 man Ulduar run gives players a lot more content to conquer. And even better, with the way blizzard does their "hard modes" a guild could easily do a few bosses on their harder mode, while farming normal bosses. Even better is that, as gear gets better, lesser guilds who couldn't beat encounters such as "Sarth 3D" back in the day may have a bigger advantage once they are decked out in higher up gear.

(Comments getting screwed up)

danarchy said on 12:15PM 2-17-2009

I have played every MMO that came out since asherons call, I remember the days of the 11 hour plane raid in eq. I sure as hell don't miss it now, but I dont begrudge younger players the experience either. The thing is the "hardcore" guilds are usually the ones that also burn out the fastest and move on to other challenges. I know once we hit sleeper in eq those of us that didnt get banned tended to wander off to other games. We had been there and done that. Hell I sold my enchanter and bought two computers to play daoc with my girly on =P
WoW has done the smart business move. The hardcores, lets face it, will never be happy. Their expensive just to keep around, they are the big forums grinders, the gm abusers, the exploit finders. Oh and they also suck up about ten times as much server time as the majority and don't pay a cent more for it. Why grease the squeeky wheel if its just going to squeek again ten seconds later? You shot yourselves in the foot, you cried wolf far too many times and now they have turned a deaf ear to you. The silent majority now have their focus for the most part (arena toads still have too much say for their numbers...) and they will make the game change to suite their preferred market. Move along now, you have pwnd wow.

Wjowski said on 12:49PM 2-17-2009

MMOs have never been hard. Only tedious and time consuming.

Kaiallard said on 12:57PM 2-17-2009

I've recently restarted on wow (everytime I leave...people keep dragging me back in ARGH!!!)

My main suggestion/complaint to blizzard is that they ignore their old content too much. Really I think it would be smart to make heroic modes out of the vanilla WOW endgame instances, especially things like Stratholme and Scholomance, which in my honest opinion are some of Blizzards best work AND fit with the current expansion. This would add a lot of endgame content, for supposedly less work then creating an entirely new dungeon.

danarchy said on 1:33PM 2-17-2009

Kai they do have the culling of stratholme now as a heroic, its actually a load of fun too! :)

Mr. Smite said on 2:08PM 2-17-2009

I quit WoW for this very reason and kind of wished I had done sooner.

It's not just that it's too easy now, I think that's one of many problems (lack of depth and content being the main one). Frankly I agree with what people are saying here to a degree and if it's what they like then i'm really glad they enjoy it. I am no hardcore player, however my philosophy is this:

If I'm paying £9 a month for a game, it better have everything or enough to keep me interested. If not, and if I only log in when I can (evenings as I am full time) then I'd be better off playing a game that doesn't cost me for sitting there doing nothing.

DeathMutant said on 2:36PM 2-17-2009

I like the fact that WoW is easy-mode. That in conjunction with quality content and low hardware requirements means it will continue to attract new players to MMOGs. More people playing MMOGs means more niche games can survive so "Long live WoW!"

ps. I haven't played WoW in several years and have no intentions in going back so am hardly what one would consider a fanboi.