Shadowlands

I own it, but I'm not seeing enough of a difference between Shadowlands and Battle for Azeroth. The game still has all the systems that the player base has been asking Blizzard to remove for years now. Mission Board mobile style AFK mini-game that's still there since Garrisons in Warlords of Draenor that everyone hated. Farming Anima to buff yourself and gear a-la Artifact power from Legion that was universally reviled. Welfare Legendaries to make everyone, and thus no one, feel special. Turning Sylvanas into Garosh 2.0, which is the most hated character story arc in all of WoW. And these are just the ones I can remember off the top of my head.

It just feels like Blizzard refuses to listen to their player base and would rather just double down on all the mistakes they have made. I'm constantly reminded of a quote from J Allen Brack, Blizzards President, where he said "You think you do, but you don't" to a fan asking for Classic WoW Servers (Damn, that quote aged like a fine wine). And I just feel like this "we know what you want better than you do" mentality has pervaded the design philosophy at Blizzard where they ignore the cries of their fans because they're convinced that the fans have no idea what they want and only Blizzard is capable of seeing what the fans truly desire. I honestly believe it's gotten to the point where Blizzard believes they're not capable of making a mistake, and that anything the fans don't like isn't the fact that fans don't like it but that they just don't see how good it really is and the fans just can't understand Blizzard's genius. So they just keep cramming the same bad game design and mechanics down the communities throat until people grow tired of complaining and just accept the bad parts of the game or quit playing. Then they turn around and clap themselves on the back and say, "See?! We told you we knew what you wanted!"

I can understand a developer having a vision and pursuing that vision. But Blizzard has been doubling and tripling down on poor design choices and game mechanics for over 4 expansions now. Once the wow factor and the veneer wear off of Shadowlands, I think the player base will realize it's just more of the same and Shadowlands will tank like BfA did. And hopefully the reality of releasing two back to back "bad" expansions for the first time in WoW's history will be a big enough of a wake up call to Blizzard. Or who knows, maybe they'll quadruple down on their holier than thou attitude and convince themselves that the fans just don't know what it is they really want.

 

Blizzard had a vision and pursued it, then it started to make money, then it got taken over by the lawyers and suits, now the people that had the vision no longer work for Blizzard and all that's left is the skeletal remains grasping at the lingering remains of profit. Unfortunately as long as they can continue milking that cow, nothing will get better, much like EA without the mass murder of any other franchise they think might be able to turn them a quick buck.

 

Been playing in the late evenings.

Horde side on Tichondrius currently.

Have been enjoying it.

 

I am also playing, but on Wyrmrest Accord, horde side, playing some evenings after 9PM Eastern.

 

Transfered my main to Alliance to play with some coworkers and buddies.

Play regularly after 9 PM PST