11 May, 2007

VOIP There It Is!

I am aware of the irony of having a gigantic post declaring the blog to be back, and then suddenly keep things inactive. I think I picked a really bad time cause in two hours or so I'm going to be on my way for a 48 hour flight marathon over the Atlantic (somehow I am going to be stuck on Arlanda airport for 18 hours, fortunately they have wireless internet there).

In the meanwhile, while not Paladin related - chew on this by Tseric where he drops the hint of built-in VOIP and guild banks (from WoWInsider). Interesting indeed.

Consider this post to be an open thread.

8 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Tseric's posts are calculated, because he's quite aware of how everyone goes over Blue posts with a fine tooth comb.

However, I wouldn't read much into that. The emphasis of the post is that UI development for WoW is backlogged. Note also that he said "dealing with mass-appeal items", which doesn't sound very much like a direct to-do list, not to me anyway.

Lately Blizzard has been tweaking the tail when it comes to hinting at big news on the horizon. This fits with their overall 2 year marketing pattern which includes Blizzcon once again. There's also the upcoming game that they plan to unveil on the 19th.

They most certainly have their competitors on their mind this year, so expect some changes of direction that's usually unlike them.

12:53 AM  
Blogger Vaelin said...

With the impending nerf to healing efficiency (and the longstanding disappointment among Paladins who want to melee in endgame), a number of recent posters in the Paladin forums have noted how surprised they are that there isn't more outrage right now. Take this post, for example, by a Shaman stopping by:

http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=102784988&sid=1

Browsing through various other threads shows the same trends emerging - the rage and hate has died down, and the smug and cynical (usually Blood Elf) players happy with the endgame state of the class shoot down what little arguments manage to still pop up.

I'm going to call it: the Paladin class in WoW is drying up and dying out. Aside from those half-dozen or so people who've been living under a rock for the last 2 years, everyone now knows what fate awaits a Paladin who levels to 70 and wants to continue to progress in endgame. Outrage and frustration aren't filling the Paladin boards anymore, because A)it was about as useful as shouting at a brick wall and B)Paladin players upset with the direction of the class have either rerolled or quit the game altogether (like I did). The only ones still around are the many Horde rerolls who wanted to be healbots and knew what they were getting into, the few Alliance Paladins who enjoyed being healbots from the get-go, and a handful of die-hard tankadins (see: Edenite) who have managed to secure a MT role in their guilds.

Of all the classes in WoW, the least represented (overall, including Horde side) are healing classes. See for yourself:
http://www.warcraftrealms.com/census.php

Hunter 17%
Rogue 13%
Warrior 13%
Mage 12%
Warlock 11%
Paladin 10%
Priest 9%
Druid 8%
Shaman 7%


Do I think a game like Warhammer is going to be the complete death of WoW? Not really. Classes like Rogues and Warlocks have very little reason to leave WoW. I do think, however, that if EA/Mythic lives up to even half the hype and delivers fun-to-play healer classes, that you're going to start seeing very noticeable gaps in the Blizzard playerbase. It's not just healers either. People who hated how WoW turned out with respect to world PvP (something that is all but dead and rotting - lolsand) will be taking a long hard look at Warhammer.

Anyhow, that's my two cents for this "open thread." I'm blogging over at HammerofSigmar.com nowadays, eagerly awaiting the coming WAR in 2008.

7:06 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

i think at this point if there are those of us still playing who want a fun 'holy warrior' playstyle or who are, in general, just upset with the way blizzard CMs misdirect and dissemble, we should start a letter writing campaign to vivendi. the people who hated corporate control already left blizzard, so those who remain will probably cave to pressure from above. i can imagine how forceful corporate will be if they get even a few hundred letters detailing why they've lost both customers and reputation in what is, by design, a community-driven product.

7:55 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The biggest question now is whether it's worth the trouble to try yet again to get something fixed, or cross our collective fingers and hope that EA-Mythic can pull off what they've promised.

7:29 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

To vaelin:

Err you kinda missed out the small minority of Alliance paladins who stayed behind been ret, living a tough life but they still enjoy the game while been ret. I'm 1 of them here.
(Just a friendly note.)

7:35 PM  
Blogger Vaelin said...

Xgelis -

I'm happy you and a few others are sticking around and still enjoy playing as Ret in spite of the hostility from both Blizzard and the playerbase. My decision to quit was based on a personal conviction - I was paying Blizzard to continue screwing up my class, and this bothered me. I know my subscription was a drop in the ocean, but it sent a clearer message than just posting more flames on the Paladin forum.

I'll keep an eye on Warhammer and let you guys know if it's what it promises to be. If it's even half as good as they're saying (and you guys enjoy PvP), then I'll leave some slots open in my Regiment so you can come and beat on things without getting yelled at. In the meantime, good luck sticking it to the man.

5:31 PM  
Blogger Rog said...

Okay it's official now. Tom Chilton was interviewed in Games for Windows magazine on the topics of VoIP and Guild Banks: http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=102920289&sid=1

2:10 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

vaelin -

Yeah, speaking of Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning, I plan to continue my WoW 'life' till about 1-2 months before WAR arrives, and quit to go over FT to WAR and I love PvP too! The endgame of PvP is Capital assaults! LOL!

Anyway hopefully if I go over, let me join your Regiment there, I'll be happy to do so and yeah, thanks for the good luck :)

2:40 AM  

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