Dailies, the perfect solution?

[larseny316]

I am not opposed to AAs at all, I just think they need to be implemented so that they aren't a barrier to new players. The best solution I've heard is only to allow a limited number of active AAs.

Allow the player to earn a thousand AA skills if they like (through grinding, faction, loot rewards whatever). But only allow them to "turn on" say, 50 combat AA points, 25 profession AA points, and 25 noncombat utility AA points. As long as newer AAs make the older ones semi obsolete (an old character will have the new +5% to backstab, and can use the old +1% to backstab, for a total of 6%, a new player just does the 5% quest, then uses their spare points for the new +2% dodge). Put an hour cooldown on AA skill swapping, and it would work just fine.

[darksensei]

I had just typed up a few paragraphs regarding how dailies just feed the current feeling of being stuck. The game has gone stagnant, and to use the title of the thread, Wrath of the Lich King, the perfect solution? There is just no excuse for how the game currently offers no reason for players to log on. (Be it they've done BT/Hyjal, or if they can't raid have full badge gear + pvp stuff) Sunwell will give the top raiding crowd something to do, but it will give at best a weeks worth of content for everyone else.

And to tie this back in, AA's clearly would give incentive to log in. At what point should Blizzard stop carrying about new customers, and start considering their current ones?

[Wodin]

There's an easy exit to Hyjal - drown yourself in the water beneath the World Tree and ghost back in. Bam, good to go.

[Agraza]

It will never be in their interest to ignore new customers in favor of current customers. Everyone will eventually get bored, and most of those who do will cancel at some point. Only through the support of new customers do cancelled vets have an interest in returning as well. People who have consumed all the content are a very small minority in the grand scheme of things. That many of us at fohguild.org are a part of that minority doesn't mean Blizzard should change their ways.

We just need more successful MMOs. I get bored of any number of games within a genre, and consistently pick up another game in the same genre. I don't consider previous games flawed merely because I've become tired of their content. WoW is a great game. Wrath of the Lich King will address many concerns over the game being stale, for a little while.

[darksensei]

Originally Posted by Agraza

It will never be in their interest to ignore new customers in favor of current customers. Everyone will eventually get bored, and most of those who do will cancel at some point. Only through the support of new customers do cancelled vets have an interest in returning as well. People who have consumed all the content are a very small minority in the grand scheme of things. That many of us at fohguild.org are a part of that minority doesn't mean Blizzard should change their ways.

We just need more successful MMOs. I get bored of any number of games within a genre, and consistently pick up another game in the same genre. I don't consider previous games flawed merely because I've become tired of their content. WoW is a great game. Wrath of the Lich King will address many concerns over the game being stale, for a little while.

I'd agree that that is a fair assessment if the game wasn't charging on a monthly basis. With MMO's I believe it is fair to constantly ask, why should I keep paying you? I agree that WoW is a great game, when there is content, but that's why it's so frustrating. People seem to perpetuate the myth that it's just a small number of people who've seen all the content. I suspect a much greater number of people have seen all the content they're going to see. I suspect it's the minority of people who are still working on progressing through content they haven't done, and I really doubt the majority are still leveling and doing questing.

[l0z]

Originally Posted by darksensei

With MMO's I believe it is fair to constantly ask, why should I keep paying you?

The answer is, of course, 'You shouldn't, if you don't find content to enjoy.'

No company can sustain the content churn of a power-gamer. And in many instances, one might argue (correctly) that attempting to do so only results in both unhappy power gamers and casual gamers.

The solution is for you to understand when you're no longer having fun, and drop the game for a while, and come back later when there's more content for you to do.

[Pilsbane]

Originally Posted by larseny316

I am not opposed to AAs at all, I just think they need to be implemented so that they aren't a barrier to new players. The best solution I've heard is only to allow a limited number of active AAs.

Allow the player to earn a thousand AA skills if they like (through grinding, faction, loot rewards whatever). But only allow them to "turn on" say, 50 combat AA points, 25 profession AA points, and 25 noncombat utility AA points. As long as newer AAs make the older ones semi obsolete (an old character will have the new +5% to backstab, and can use the old +1% to backstab, for a total of 6%, a new player just does the 5% quest, then uses their spare points for the new +2% dodge). Put an hour cooldown on AA skill swapping, and it would work just fine.

This would be the ideal way to implement AAs. Newer AAs wouldn't necessarily have to make old AAs obsolete (although it's probably advisable in order to encourage new leveling each expansion). Even 10 expansions and 2000 AAs later, new players could earn the 50 "optimal" AAs and be on relatively even footing with veteran players (veterans would still have the advantage of flexibility). Add in the ability to save AA templates to ease AA skill swapping, and this could be fun as sort of a compromise between talents and EQ-style AAs.

[darksensei]

Tangent that relates to dailies from a warrior perspective:

While there is some flavour aspect (plate takes more effort/materials/time to repair than cloth, for example) associated with the difference in repair costs for each armor type, the primary reason for the difference relates to overall class upkeep.

Each class has an upkeep cost, which includes things like purchasing reagents, food & water, etc…

While a cloth wearer may spend less in repairs than a plate wearer, he’ll likely spend more money on things like reagents.

Note that it’s not important for all classes to have completely equal upkeep costs. The goal is simply for each class to be fun and burden free.

There is no excuse for durability, it's a terrible mechanic.

[Agraza]

There is definitely not equality in costs of operation. Warlocks and Mages are nearly exempt from reagent costs while soloing. All equipment should cost the same, except shields and throwing weapons. Both should be very cheap to repair given how they take durability damage.