I have been fortunate to be able to listen and watch the Live Stream of Blizzcon for most of the day, between naps with my son, and chores. I have watched the Developer Panel, Dungeon and Raid encounter Panel, and of course the Talent Panel. A lot of news and information. I have been scanning the web and I have noticed that the responses to Mists of Pandaria are very polarizing. Some love this idea, and some people absolutely hate it.
Where does Snarl land?
I LOVE THIS EXPANSION.
I am not saying this to suck up to Blizzard. I am genuinely very excited about this expansion. Why? Because, this expansion seems to be changing the game for the better. I will admit that perhaps the ‘story’ is not as strong as say Wrath of the Lich King, but the inherent changes and new additions are very strong.
PANDARANS: Eh, go look at my last post on the Pandas. I like them.
MONKS: Absolutely brilliant. The game play vids are just fantastic looking. This class feels very unique and different, and I for one really enjoy the concept of a hand to hand combatant who uses weapons for finishing. Such a new way to look at a class for WOW.
But I see how the Pandarans are controversial to ‘hard core’ players who don’t like this idea that WoW is getting Disney-fied. To those people, I site… oh… I don’t know… the current Hallows Eve events? Maybe the Valentine’s Day event where you have to hug players for an achievement. Give me a break. WoW isn’t just about Killing and Fighting, and I like how the Pandarans give us a different approach to how we see a Playable Race in world of warcraft. Also, let’s be honest, we don’t deserve a new RACE anyway.
The pattern has been alternating a new race with a new class. We were due for a class and we got a great one, and we get this bonus race. I think it’s great. Don’t complain, you probably didn’t think you were getting a new race anyway. So, if you get free fries with your burger do you say, “Oh, These are shoestring and I like steak cut!” No, you say, “Thanks for the free fries.
PET BATTLES: I love the idea of mini-games in WoW. I have told Tak many times how much I want fishing to be revamped into a mini-game. Here we have a very detailed mini-game that I actually want to play!
SHORTER DUNGEONS: Um, thank you. Tak and I chatted today that we thought that they were attempting to capture some of the solid parts of Wrath and accessibility that they completely botched in Cataclysm. This is a good step.
PVE Encounters: Another solid way to do dungeons and get valor points without having to do dungeons? Um… sign me up. PUGS on my server have been terrible since day one of Cataclysm. Having a new way to get Valor without having to rely on the D-Bags on your server is a good thing.
NEW TALENT TREES: This new simplified tree that gives you finally the ability to make your class unique. You don’t have to worry about passing up on a talent in favor of another because of performance. That is truly amazing. Blizzard finally took the bold step they should have taken in Cataclysm. This is a great new change, because it fundamentally changes how we play. This is less about story and more about gameplay, and for those of us who were feeling the talent and skill structure was stale, we finally get a true change.
ANNUAL PASS with D3: This blew my mind. Sorry to hyperbolize, but Jesse and I watched this together and when he said that we were both blown away. A year pass gets you Diablo 3 for FREE an in-game Mount and an instant invite to the Mists of Pandaria BETA? Yes, please. Not only do I appreciate this move from a player stand point, I appreciate it from a strategic business stand point. Your move SWOTR.
All in all, I am excited about this expansion, and if you disagree with me, fine. Let me know about it.