4 ms·

To be clear - I support LFR but here's why I think some people don't like it: There was a "golden age" of WoW where things were new, and hard. It was a perfec

To be clear - I support LFR but here's why I think some people don't like it: There was a "golden age" of WoW where things were new, and hard. It was a perfect balance of difficulty and grind made bearable by the newness and marvel of it all. I liken it to finding a new programming project which you are stoked on. The effort/reward loop is finely tuned. LFR was part of a bunch of changes, spanning years, that evolved WoW but moved further and further away from that initial magic. The gripe many have/had is that LFG/LFR removes the community building element of having to find a group, or find a guild. You had to really work to get a group, and work even harder to get (and stay in) a guild. I remember when I first stepped into SSC. I had spent months working for that. To then work with that guild to clear SSC and move on to Hyjal was thoroughly amazing. Yes, you can still "do" that (get a guild, hardcore raid) but there was something about knowing that other people hadn't even seen what you were seeing, that was thrilling. I think some people also don't like that the same gear (or nearly the same) models are available to LFR groups. Back in the day, if you saw someone walking around with a full T3 set it was something magical. Nowadays, everyone kinda looks the same. I remember that I first started feeling that way when LFR was introduced.

ethbr0 5y ago
That's the curse of all long-running MMOs, though. You have to have power inflation, for any of the common content models to work. And you have to also provide a fast lane for new players, otherwise no one is going to join, only to be a decade behind where everyone else is now. It's unfortunate because it screws existing players. But ultimately, that's only because they believe the myth that MMO stats / levels / gear actually have value.
- serverholic 5y ago
  I actually think their current model works pretty well. You have a fast track to the current content but the current content has levels of difficulty that you can work on.
- rubicon33 5y ago
  Totally. I don’t fault Blizzard really at all for the evolution of WoW over the years. It had to evolve, and so it did. It just meant that for me, a lot of the magic was gone. But I had also grown up a lot, and had dramatically less free time, so I don’t even think I could ever support that “golden age” of WoW gaming even if it had never changed. All in all, they grew up with their player base and I don’t fault them for it in the slightest. Sure, minor gripes here and there but generally speaking, they have made the right calls.
amyjess 5y ago
My experience as a Final Fantasy XIV player is that Duty Finder (the equivalent of LFR) is such a massive necessity for quality-of-life that I'd never ever be able to go back to an MMO without it. I used to play EverQuest back in 1999-2000, and I ultimately left after a year or so because everything about that game was an exercise in frustration despite the cool concept. I didn't get back into MMOs until I discovered an MMO that actually respected the player's time and didn't require everyone to jump through hoops and sit around and wait for people to bite just so they can play the game. And, mind you, Duty Finder in XIV isn't just a raid thing: every single piece of instanced content uses it, even levelling dungeons, and that applies whether you're queueing solo, queueing with a partial party, or entering content with a fully premade party (even right-clicking on a dungeon entrance just opens up Duty Finder). XIV doesn't just respect the player's time: the entire design of the game is built around respecting the player's time at a fundamental level.
- rubicon33 5y ago
  Yea I fully appreciate this. In fact, when I do pop back to WoW I am always grateful that LFG and LFR exist. That system is a godsend for casual gamers (like myself). I just used to be a hard core gamer so I share the sentiment that some may feel which is that the glory days of WoW are long passed. What we have now is objectively “better” in every way, and yet, you can’t help but miss the past.

ethbr0 5y ago

That's the curse of all long-running MMOs, though. You have to have power inflation, for any of the common content models to work. And you have to also provide a fast lane for new players, otherwise no one is going to join, only to be a decade behind where everyone else is now. It's unfortunate because it screws existing players. But ultimately, that's only because they believe the myth that MMO stats / levels / gear actually have value.

serverholic 5y ago
I actually think their current model works pretty well. You have a fast track to the current content but the current content has levels of difficulty that you can work on.
rubicon33 5y ago
Totally. I don’t fault Blizzard really at all for the evolution of WoW over the years. It had to evolve, and so it did. It just meant that for me, a lot of the magic was gone. But I had also grown up a lot, and had dramatically less free time, so I don’t even think I could ever support that “golden age” of WoW gaming even if it had never changed. All in all, they grew up with their player base and I don’t fault them for it in the slightest. Sure, minor gripes here and there but generally speaking, they have made the right calls.

amyjess 5y ago

My experience as a Final Fantasy XIV player is that Duty Finder (the equivalent of LFR) is such a massive necessity for quality-of-life that I'd never ever be able to go back to an MMO without it. I used to play EverQuest back in 1999-2000, and I ultimately left after a year or so because everything about that game was an exercise in frustration despite the cool concept. I didn't get back into MMOs until I discovered an MMO that actually respected the player's time and didn't require everyone to jump through hoops and sit around and wait for people to bite just so they can play the game. And, mind you, Duty Finder in XIV isn't just a raid thing: every single piece of instanced content uses it, even levelling dungeons, and that applies whether you're queueing solo, queueing with a partial party, or entering content with a fully premade party (even right-clicking on a dungeon entrance just opens up Duty Finder). XIV doesn't just respect the player's time: the entire design of the game is built around respecting the player's time at a fundamental level.

rubicon33 5y ago
Yea I fully appreciate this. In fact, when I do pop back to WoW I am always grateful that LFG and LFR exist. That system is a godsend for casual gamers (like myself). I just used to be a hard core gamer so I share the sentiment that some may feel which is that the glory days of WoW are long passed. What we have now is objectively “better” in every way, and yet, you can’t help but miss the past.