WoW Patch 2.4 from a Very Casual Perspective

All over the internet today, people are talking about a study that shows that people are MORE relaxed and LESS violent after playing World of Warcraft for a couple of hours. The study is quick to point out that each player’s personality is directly related to this, though, so it’s not being used as a blanket video-games-are-good-for-your-mental-health statement. That’s good. I think it’s important to understand that different personality types are going to react to different things in different ways. Personally, when I play WoW, it helps me relax when I’m stressed out or pissed off. And I’ve been having a hell of a week lately, so my stress and anger levels have been through the roof. That being said, I’ve been escaping a bit more than usual into the world of Azeroth, primarily checking out all the new stuff that Blizzard somewhat haphazardly threw into the game.

Okay, maybe I’m being a little harsh with the “haphazardly,” but there was more than the usual amount of downtime after the patch went live. They have a TEST SERVER. You’d think they would figure out the major problems before releasing it to the public, but then I’m one of those people who actually expects people to do their jobs. I know how unrealistic that can be in ANY company. (Can you tell that one of the things that’s been adding to my stress level is work? lol)

Anyway, let me give you a little background on my WoW play-style. I play primarily on a PvE server, although if I’m feeling particularly masochistic, I’ll log onto PvP server and get ganked for awhile. Although I have a few Alliance characters, I hate the Alliance with a passion. I’ve walked by people wearing Alliance t-shirts and shouted, “For the Horde!” at them (with a smile). I play a 70 Undead Priest, a 70 Undead Warlock (no we’re NOT overpowered), and/or a 70 Tauren Druid. I have never gone on a raid. I do 5-man dungeons VERY occasionally. When I’m not tackling solo content, I’m usually doing group quests with my husband (70 Undead Warlock, 70 Blood Elf Paladin, or 70 Troll Hunter) and my son (70 Undead Rogue). We have other friends online to fill in party gaps when necessary, but I’m mostly a solo/small-group player. I have no issues with tedious rep grinding for things that I want. I know it’s going to take longer than someone who goes to dungeons all the time and does heroics, but I don’t mind. I play at MY OWN PACE. I figure I pay money to play however I want.

As a super casual player, I’m REALLY enjoying the new content. Naturally, as with any other faction, the Shattered Sun Offensive has some really cool stuff that, as a super-casual player, I will NEVER EVER get. That’s fine with me, as I don’t need that kind of gear to play the way I play. The daily quests available are doable solo and they’re a good source of money and high level green gear. There’s even a chance of getting a Badge of Justice here and there! That’s something I could NEVER have gotten before. The interesting thing about increasing your reputation with the Shattered Sun Offensive is that instead of opening up new daily quests as you increase your rep, new quests are only opened if a certain goal is achieved server-wide. For example, yesterday, we finally opened up the one-way portal between Shattrath and the Isle of Quel’Danas. Players had to complete a daily quest repeatedly until enough people “unlocked” it. Now instead of having a daily quest to unlock the portal, we now have a daily quest to MAINTAIN it. In addition, there opened up a new daily quest that has a reward that is a one-time use teleport BACK to Shattrath. From what I’ve read at different sites, as we complete more goals as a server, other things like vendors, facilities, and quests will open up, making it a much more dynamic environment.

I haven’t messed around too much with the new User Interface enhancements. Personally, I don’t find WoW to be challenging enough to require all the add-ons that people spend so much time with. I play completely add-on free. Not even coordinates. So when they announced that they added more ways to customize the UI, I thought, “Meh, who cares…”

I’m glad that Blizzard seems to be focusing more on the casual players. All you freaky raiding people, just be quiet…lol j/k. There are more of us than there are of you, you know… I’m never going to get that crazy uber raiding gear and I don’t need it. If I ever decide that I really want that stuff, I’ll have to change my play style. But for right now, I think that Blizzard is on the right track, allowing casual players to have slightly more access to the good stuff, while still keeping the super-uber stuff out of our grasp.