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Re-subbing to WoW and Cataclysm Plans

The Problem

I’ve been torn these past couple of days on which direction I should take my MMOing. I’ve been having a lot of fun in LotRO recently so I don’t plan on leaving it out to dry. Still, for some reason I go through periods of drought in that game. If my fun level could be graphed, it would be filled with more peaks and valleys than Thousand Needles. I don’t know why, I just accept it.

But that leaves me Barren (get it? Barren? Tee-hee.) during those lows. Recently, I’ve taken to recording new guitar tracks or spending some time with my PS3, but, as I’ve long known, without an MMO to actively progress in, I feel a certain void in my gaming life.

The Solution

So, today I’m biting the bullet and re-upping my subscription to WoW for a month.

When I last left off, I was having fun with my 75 Death Knight tank leveling up and running random dungeons. I didn’t leave because I got bored playing him, it was more a matter of magnetism. I got pulled away by another game and eventually, my attraction to WoW wore off and I was free.

Like many of you though, I’ve given up on this idea of “quitting” WoW. One does not simply “quit” WoW. WoW will pick you up, throw you through the grinder until you’re salting your meat in your own tears, but you do not “quit” WoW. You break; leave, say some things you’ll later regret (when you come back), and eventually look back at it like the love that got away.

The Future

I’m not under any disillusions that I’ll be staying for the long term (until Cataclysm). To be quite honest, I don’t know how long this run will go period, since most of my friends play LotRO these days.

I’m also not leveling any unreasonable expectations. Let me tell you a little story. I got into WoW after a certain friend gushed to me about it a little under four years ago. This friend was a chronic sufferer of altaholism, however, and only recently made it to the level cap. He ran dungeons, geared up, and even got into a pick-up raid or two.

Except, then he started to see the side of the game only level 80’s get to see. The dungeon farming, gearscore rejection in PuRs (my cat loves that expression), and, unfortunately, he also got to see how truly limiting a low pop. server can be. The only guilds he could find that wanted to raid wouldn’t take him because he didn’t have the requisite experience.

So, he left and went to LotRO, where he could begin again… until he hits that upper wall again. We were talking yesterday and he surprised me when he said, “WoW has really gone downhill.”

It really hasn’t. WoW is the same game it always was. Once you get to the level cap, you start the “other” game. The “real” game, if you will. And it’s not without it’s own limitations and rewards.

I understand that WoW will still be the same game it has always been. Arcade-y gameplay, little RPG in the MMORPG, and one of the most polished and well done MMOs ever conceived. But, like all things, I know it won’t satisfy me forever.

So I go in with this goal: get my DK to 80 and get him geared enough for Cataclysm. I love tanking (I never thought I’d say that) and I want to do it when the expansion launches. Since we only have another six months or so, now is the time to go in and finish what I started.

Plans for Cataclysm

As you can probably tell from the goals I’ve set and my timing, I’m not planning on being active until Cataclysm launches. I’ll probably be done far beforehand. And I’m okay with that because, when we do finally get it, I plan on taking in every square inch of the new Azeroth.

I’m leveling up a goblin hunter. I wanted to roll a druid but, unfortunately, I can’t. At some point, I’m sure I’ll roll a Worgen anyways, so that will give me my opportunity. For now though, I’m tired of playing Alliance. All of my characters for the last two years have been alliance and it’s all gotten to be a little bit old hat.

It’s funny though. The reason I’m playing Alliance in the first place is because it was the answer to my first period of burnout. Switching factions showed me one thing, if nothing else: changing sides breathes new life into a dying game.

And it’s all by virtue of faction exclusivity. There are things you can see on the trip 1-60 for both factions that are far removed from what the other faction gets to see. So, for that reason alone, I hope they don’t apply their neutralist quest philosophy to the Cataclysm expansion; it would be like taking a jackhammer to half of the game’s lifespan.

Anyways, this was a long and rambly post to get to the core point that I’m coming home for a visit. You know though, I’ve always found it difficult to be original when it comes to writing about WoW, so maybe it’s an ill advised decision. What do you think, dear reader, ready to join me back in Azeroth?

See you there.

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