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Author Topic: Thoughts on Mists of Pandaria  (Read 6466 times)

Offline Archdemon Stu

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Thoughts on Mists of Pandaria
« on: October 08, 2012, 05:07:01 PM »
Naturally people are scared off by World of Warcraft because of its cult-like following and addictive nature, so I understand if nobody even dares try it out, but I do think Blizzard did something right with this expansion.

First off, they've already completed the necessary evil for this expansion: Cataclysm.  Cataclysm solved a lot of the problems with quests they had created at launch, and allowed them to apply what they have learned into something more palatable for players.  It also allowed for flying mounts in that section of the world, and they found the pros and cons to being able to randomly search for raid dungeons.  They also further experimented with "vehicle" quests and expanded on them, though they still felt entirely clunky, and didn't improve much on those that came from Wrath of the Lich King.

Mists of Pandaria learns from many of the mistakes of past expansions.  Dungeons are fun and engaging, without being overly challenging for the general populous (I do miss Cata's challenge in heroics in the initial launch) and does so without making everything a simple "tank and spank."  For example, there is an entire dungeon that takes place in a brewery where you fight "alementals" and get to fight a boss that allows for a double jump function to avoid his attacks, and get to beat up partying monkeys and an infestation of small rabbit men.

Exploration is heavily encouraged.  I've gone into three different areas where I said to myself, "What's over there?" to be rewarded with lots of gold just waiting for me, and even a rare mob (that jumped out of the shadows and rolled my shit, but had mechanics where I could return and pull out a win) which dropped rare loot and materials.  The landscapes are beautifully crafted, and it seems they've truly found their style with well-painted textures.

For me, I decided to create a monk, which started out a bit slow, but since Cataclysm was over, allowed for me to explore a whole new world.  With the newly crafted quests, and a new class to play, it was a perfect storm, and I'm already lvl87.

To sum it up, I had LOW expectations, and I had initially regretted my purchase, thinking, "Well, I'm just going to quit after two weeks anyway." I stand corrected.  It has a proper mix of humor and seriousness (I've actually been caught laughing out loud to some of these quests), and they've really cleaned up on "vehicle" quests (I particularly enjoyed one where I played a sniper guarding a monkey) as well as small - but necessary and helpful - interface enhancements that make me feel like I'm playing a more polished game.

Not trying to advertise or convince anybody, just putting my thoughts down.  I was pleasantly surprised.

Offline Shadow Chorus

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Re: Thoughts on Mists of Pandaria
« Reply #1 on: October 08, 2012, 05:41:13 PM »
I would love to play the game. But there's this damn 15 dollar a month subscription fee out of my already low and almost nil income, considering I go to school.

Offline Archdemon Stu

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Re: Thoughts on Mists of Pandaria
« Reply #2 on: October 08, 2012, 10:20:05 PM »
I did the math, and I actually save money by not jumping from game to game. @_@  Without WoW, I suddenly need 1-4 new games a month, not including indie games.  So I'm paying a small fee to avoid larger fees at this point. x_X

Offline Kitharsis

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Re: Thoughts on Mists of Pandaria
« Reply #3 on: October 09, 2012, 02:47:27 PM »
The SWTOR folks on this board may disown me, but I've been playing WoW for a while lately.

I started a new char some time after Cata and really enjoyed the new content in the old world.  I made a Monk but decided Pandas make better Shaman so rerolled as a Shaman. 

I'll make another Monk soon.  And a handful of other alts.  I've never had a max lvl character in WoW, but I'm sticking with my Hunter for the long haul this time.  I promise!!!!

How does cross realm partying work?  I've seen a button to invite people from the friends list into your party, even across realms.


Oh, I guess I should add my thoughts on the game.  See, I've been playing a lot of free MMOs lately.  LOTRO, EQ, Vanguard, Free Realms, Perfect World, Allods...  I just couldn't get into them.  LOTRO is actually really good, but there was no one to play with.  I kept thinking that I wanted a nice, polished game that is fun.  I jumped back into WoW again and just started enjoying myself.  Diablo 3 and Torchlight 2 were fun distractions, but I just kept logging into WoW, and I kept having fun.

So I'm getting my Hunter to 90, then seeing if I still feel like logging in.  If not, there are other games to play.  If so, then I'll keep having fun.
« Last Edit: October 09, 2012, 02:52:28 PM by Kitharsis »

Offline Shadow Chorus

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Re: Thoughts on Mists of Pandaria
« Reply #4 on: October 09, 2012, 05:42:16 PM »
You people and your income. My income is 20 bucks for mowing the lawn every now and then. Even less frequent now that it's hitting winter.

Offline Veldanya Venalla

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Re: Thoughts on Mists of Pandaria
« Reply #5 on: October 13, 2012, 04:38:20 AM »
The SWTOR folks on this board may disown me, but I've been playing WoW for a while lately.


Um....what SWTOR folks?  Im the only one that still plays (well as far as I know at least).  Pretty much everyone up and jumped ship ~1-2 weeks after launch and Fei recently cancelled his sub due to money issues. *shrug*  Amusingly enough Officio Administorum is still around and was recently carried over to the new server im on after they did the server consolidations.

Edit: Also, after having left WoW for almost a year I decided (at the behest of a RL friend) to come back and try out MoP.  Gotta say it is quite a bit of fun.  Still havent fully decided which MMO I will go with, I do enjoy a lot of things about SWTOR but not having anyone else to play with kinda sucks a bit.
« Last Edit: October 13, 2012, 04:40:02 AM by Jharm »
Religion and greed, cause millions to bleed.

Offline Shadow Chorus

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Re: Thoughts on Mists of Pandaria
« Reply #6 on: October 13, 2012, 10:37:38 AM »
I'm playing it, but I'm currently on free trial and waiting for the free-to-50 thing.

Offline Veldanya Venalla

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Re: Thoughts on Mists of Pandaria
« Reply #7 on: October 13, 2012, 11:40:21 AM »
Yeah ive been told by a few people that used to play they are waiting on the F2P option....though honestly im not holding my breath...people come back we are on Jedi Covenant (Republic Side) Officio Administorum.
Religion and greed, cause millions to bleed.

Offline Cameron

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Re: Thoughts on Mists of Pandaria
« Reply #8 on: October 16, 2012, 10:00:38 AM »
I just started playing EVE Online again, and I'm waiting on the new World of Darkness MMO. Beyond that, I plan on sticking to single player games for now.

Offline Kitharsis

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Re: Thoughts on Mists of Pandaria
« Reply #9 on: October 16, 2012, 11:48:46 AM »
Welcome back Cameron.  Good to see you on the boards again.

I've never EVE'd.  How do you like EVEing?

Offline Cameron

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Re: Thoughts on Mists of Pandaria
« Reply #10 on: October 16, 2012, 11:53:39 AM »
EVEing is pretty fun, but pretty freaking confusing. I've never seen an MMO where the tutorials are such a required part of the game. It's also not a fun game to try and solo. Space is very empty and lonely and having backup is a huge bonus. That's why hopefully this time around I can keep some dependable people with me and we can watch each other's backs so that we don't get spaced.  :P

It is very good to be back. Thanks.