You know...

hong · Sep 14, 2007

Mearls said that he doesn't like WoW, but I just bet he's played Guild Wars.

Simia Saturnalia · Sep 14, 2007

Well now I'm excited.

If you know what I mean.

WhimsyTheFae · Sep 14, 2007

Hey, I have that game...but, I don't play too often, anymore.

RodneyThompson · Sep 14, 2007

It's funny, I was just starting here at Wizards when Mike started playing WoW. For about a month he was all into it, and then it was like someone flicked a switch and he stopped. :-D

Of course, at the time I was also way into WoW, but since then my interest has waned. Funny what having an abundance of people to play RPGs/board games at all times will do for your perspective.

F4NBOY · Sep 14, 2007

Moridin said:
It's funny, I was just starting here at Wizards when Mike started playing WoW. For about a month he was all into it, and then it was like someone flicked a switch and he stopped. :-D

Of course, at the time I was also way into WoW, but since then my interest has waned. Funny what having an abundance of people to play RPGs/board games at all times will do for your perspective.

Maybe because you guys are game designers and after some time you stop seeing monsters, elfs, dwarves, undead, purple items, dungeons, quests and plots, etc and start seeing the game behind it, how it works in the deepest level, what it is really all about, like seeing the code of the Matrix.

It happened to me when I played diablo 2, after some time (years) playing it, the game is just about pressing the random button to see if I can find that magic item. Like a jackpot machine.

To some extent WoW also falls into that Jackpot machine syndrome. They keep adding new content, but the players quickly consume the fluff sutff and the game turns again into a Jackpot machine, with better rewards.

Of course, it's also fun to play with other people, adventure together, complete objectves, and even a little role play, but in all that RPGs are just better and more efficient.

The jackpot thing doesn't happen with RPGs, so I think that's what will keep the hobby alive after World of Warcraft 2.

Li Shenron · Sep 14, 2007

No wonder how the interest in such a game wanes... to me it looked the same stuff at every level. Every now and then I pass by my cousins' house, two of them being fans of WoW. Every single time they look like they are doing the same thing: attacking with a sword or shooting magic missiles :\ They say they reached level 100 (or whatever) now, and they're at the top of the world, but they always look to me like they are in the same place :uhoh:

F4NBOY · Sep 14, 2007

Li Shenron said:
No wonder how the interest in such a game wanes... to me it looked the same stuff at every level. Every now and then I pass by my cousins' house, two of them being fans of WoW. Every single time they look like they are doing the same thing: attacking with a sword or shooting magic missiles :\ They say they reached level 100 (or whatever) now, and they're at the top of the world, but they always look to me like they are in the same place

Hell is repetition. -Stephen King

ZombieButch · Sep 14, 2007

F4NBOY said:
Hell is repetition. -Stephen King

If there'd ever been a time for the Forum Gods to grant the perfect double-post, this would've been it.

Brewhammer · Sep 14, 2007

hong said:
Mearls said that he doesn't like WoW, but I just bet he's played Guild Wars.

Which is funny cause on Noonan's blog he can't stop talking about WoW. So it's no surprise to see why we're getting a WoW-ified 4th Ed.

Honestly, at this point I wouldn't be surprised if WotC tried to put in a PvP instance for Pomarj or something in their D&D Insider client.

Stormtalon · Sep 14, 2007

WoW-ified 4th Ed? Funny, but as someone who's played WoW since its original beta test, I don't see it. Among other things -- but this is the most patently obvious difference -- their attitudes towards magic items are at polar opposites of the spectrum.

In WoW, gear is king. Gear is the primary way you advance a character, especially at high levels. With 4th Ed, we already know they're building it around the concept that characters won't need tons of magic items at high levels to be effective.

With that single divergent concept right there, we'll see a host of other areas growing off in 4E in the realm of character creation and development, all completely distinct from anything in WoW. Add in the vastly different mechanics of play, and I simply don't buy any of the "D&D is being turned into WoW" doomsaying.