If you’ve been playing World of Warcraft at all consistently over the last two years, you’ve seen the way the game has been moving toward more casual play. By this, I mean that there are interesting and fun things for players of all levels to do, without the need to spend many hours or days to achieve anything. The idea seems to be to add more casual players to the game, people who can’t or won’t put in the amount of time and energy a hard-core player will. Considering how many people now play the game, this strategy has definitely succeeded in getting players. But some people are wondering if having lots of casual players is good for the game itself, as well as for the hard-core players. Here’s a breakdown of the situation.
The Pros of the Casual Trend
Probably the best thing about the more casual style of play is that it causes Blizzard to make sure to add lots of fun things to the game that might otherwise be left out. Changes like Achievements, reduced requirements for getting mounts, lower XP requirements to get to the higher level content and a slew of events held throughout the year all add a lot of depth and detail to the WoW universe. For hardcore players who end up playing through the same content over and over trying to get a new epic shield, pair of spaulder, it keeps you from getting stuck in a rut and a great way to add depth to their current play style. After all, life isn’t one dimensional. Why should your game be?
The Negative Side of Casual Style Play
The downside is that all the time and energy Blizzard puts into stuff like Achievements, non-combat pets, and lower level instances has drawn away from resources Blizzard previously poured into raiding content and things for more devoted players. Raiding sizes have been reduced to 10 and 25 men and the highest level raid at Level 80 is considerably easier than anything atop the Level 70 ladder. The top-end Players who reached Level 80 in the first few days of the expansion have been reduced to waiting around for the higher end raids that are eventually coming. In the meantime, these players are stuck grinding Achievement or spending all their time in PvP while they wait..
What Casual Means for the Game
In the end, casual gamers coming to WoW is good for everyone. The additional money they bring should allow Blizzard to maintain a steady flow of new content for all level of players. If you are one of the hard-core faithful, you might at times feel shortchanged, but if you want Blizzard to keep developing new content now and in the future, it’s the price we need to pay to keep the game alive and healthy.
Are you interested in staying up with the current trends in World of Warcraft, whether toward casual gaming or anything else? If that sounds like you, you should find out more about the Warcraft Formula, a continuously updated guide to all things WoW. This Warcraft Formula review gives you all the details.