Fires of Heaven Guild Message Board - View Single Post - [WOW] The effect of BG/Arena Queuing on Retention

Ravensign · 02-08-2008, 01:18 PM

In all of the WoW vs X, threads one thing I never see mentioned is how powerful the effect of BG and Arena queuing is on retention and keeping casual, max level characters busy and engaged.

It's not about the PvP itself, its about being matched up nearly instantly and placed into a game situation that allows for gameplay and character progression. The large population and lack of server lines in a WoW Battlegroup only further the ease of assembly.

No other MMO allows you to so quickly begin playing at max level (if you are in shat or sw, literaly w/in 30 seconds) in a way that allows for some kind of progression.

WoW BG's are alot of things, and you can rag on them for pug vs. premade wipeouts, or for "welfare" progression, but for the most part, being pvp, they are challenging, rewarding and (until grinded into oblivion) a source of fun. Most importantly they can be instantly entered with no time or social barriers.

Other pretenders to the throne are never going to approach WoW's numbers until they integrate ways for instant play like this. It surprises me that other games have yet to see this and haven't introduced matching mechanisms for play, PvP or even PvE. If you designed content to be played by people this way, it could be a powerful thing.

I am not talking about the play itself being "easy mode", I am talking about removing the barriers of forming a group, or coordinating a raid. There's nothing intrinsically wrong with the old way, but you can't do that in 30 minutes before work after your shower. WoW BG's already provide this and I think its an under appreciated part of its success.

I have thought of going to EQ2 or another game, but I am hooked on the ability, no matter what else is going on, to be able to queue up and get instant play even though I am max level, and it's something that a game would need to take me from WoW full time. Brad, for example, thought that people would tire of TBC once they hit 70, but that's just when you can start arena's and BG's, and you can play in them 24x7 with little or no wait.

02-08-2008, 01:18 PM	#1 (permalink)
Ravensign misses Sand Giants and shit like that Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Derv 2 Posts: 752 -1 Internets	[WOW] The effect of BG/Arena Queuing on Retention In all of the WoW vs X, threads one thing I never see mentioned is how powerful the effect of BG and Arena queuing is on retention and keeping casual, max level characters busy and engaged. It's not about the PvP itself, its about being matched up nearly instantly and placed into a game situation that allows for gameplay and character progression. The large population and lack of server lines in a WoW Battlegroup only further the ease of assembly. No other MMO allows you to so quickly begin playing at max level (if you are in shat or sw, literaly w/in 30 seconds) in a way that allows for some kind of progression. WoW BG's are alot of things, and you can rag on them for pug vs. premade wipeouts, or for "welfare" progression, but for the most part, being pvp, they are challenging, rewarding and (until grinded into oblivion) a source of fun. Most importantly they can be instantly entered with no time or social barriers. Other pretenders to the throne are never going to approach WoW's numbers until they integrate ways for instant play like this. It surprises me that other games have yet to see this and haven't introduced matching mechanisms for play, PvP or even PvE. If you designed content to be played by people this way, it could be a powerful thing. I am not talking about the play itself being "easy mode", I am talking about removing the barriers of forming a group, or coordinating a raid. There's nothing intrinsically wrong with the old way, but you can't do that in 30 minutes before work after your shower. WoW BG's already provide this and I think its an under appreciated part of its success. I have thought of going to EQ2 or another game, but I am hooked on the ability, no matter what else is going on, to be able to queue up and get instant play even though I am max level, and it's something that a game would need to take me from WoW full time. Brad, for example, thought that people would tire of TBC once they hit 70, but that's just when you can start arena's and BG's, and you can play in them 24x7 with little or no wait.