Why I'll be playing through the Cataclysm.

If you wish to follow the discussion that this post is centred around, then you can do so here.

However, I'll copy the text for easier reference. This one is from Ghostcrawler:

"You are correct that a lot of players moan about things being too easy without having seen the content personally. We definitely place less emphasis on their feedback than on people who have actually tried those encounters.

The hardest encounters of LK were harder than anything we've offered before. And honestly, that point isn't often in contention. I think what surprised players is say how far they got in Naxxramas on their very first night, without a lot of planning or gearing, or how they managed to kill 2-3 heroic bosses on their first night of a new heroic wing being opened in Icecrown (though to be honest, fighting a boss for weeks on normal mode first definitely exacerbates that phenomenon).

We'll continue to offer some content for the cutting-edge progression raider. There is an encounter in Bastion of Twilight for them. But we also think true pugs shouldn't be stumbling their way through encounters they've never seen before, at least without a very strong or experienced leader.

To use my own guild as an example, in say the Serpentshrine days, we'd take a few weeks to master a new boss. I could probably count the number of time we got two new bosses on one night. I think a progression rate like that feels better to a lot of players. You spend time in between raid nights discussing what you could do differently on a tough boss, but then celebrate each victory.

A heroic dungeon doesn't need to be quite so brutal, but it still doesn't seem bad if you wipe on a new boss 2-3 times before you figure out a solid stragegy and everything falls into place. A lot of players love that puzzle-solving aspect of the encounters. It lets them exercise their mind, creativity and knowledge of game mechanics. When you can just overpower the boss and ignore the encounter mechanics, then a lot of that is lost."

In one post, Ghostcrawler has summed up why I'm going to be playing Cataclysm and why most of the people I like, respect and enjoy playing with will be doing likewise.

Amid all the number crunching, buttonology and theorycrafting that swings to and fro with alarming regularity (and frequently based on incorrect assumptions), we've just been treated to an honest appraisal of where the lead systems designer thinks the game should be from a philosophical standpoint. In many ways, this is worth more than all of the mathematical equations surrounding the Beta combined; it's an opinion.

For the vast majority of Wrath of the Lich King, the PvE community have been bemused by the lack of enjoyable, challenging and engaging content offered at the level cap. A lot of that enjoyment comes from being able to use your head, not just push your buttons. Boss fights should be meaningful, something that requires all of the group to contribute to success instead of just getting stuck in and hoping that your tank uses a cooldown for some of the most horrible damage, and the healer manages to keep everyone up.

Here's the scores on the doors:

1) PvE content is being made more challenging across the board, while still containing the Algalon style fights for those who have the stomach for them.
2) Dungeon difficulty will be scaling properly - this will facilitate the introduction of a scaling level of encounter difficulty that creates better players.
3) The gameplay itself is changing, meaning that decision making is more important than button-mashing.
4) Gear is going to be harder to obtain, with raids being the only meaningful source of epic quality loot.
5) The entire lore content of the game, through quests, is being utterly dismantled and seeing replacement with an experience that is 1000% times more enjoyable.
6) So many quality of life issues, cross-class and UI wise, are being addressed intelligently and seeing thoughtful and innovative solutions.
7) Level cap character progression will be returned with Archaeology, something that is far larger in scope than was originally thought.

People are looking at Cataclysm through lenses that are tinted by what they want to see. For me, there were many things I hoped would make a return - mainly from the Golden Age of PvE content, The Burning Crusade. But while not everything I hoped for is going to see the light of day, I can accept that what the developers are trying to do is recreate the world we play in to be up to date and engaging, while not demanding ridiculous amounts of time to be viable. I want to see reputation grinds, specialized crafting and intelligent raid grouping. The fact that I won't see those three things shan't cloud what I am getting from Cataclysm (see the list above).

World of Warcraft: Cataclysm is Blizzard redesigning their game from the ground up, with the lessons of six years learned and safely in tow. I had so many reservations about it throughout some of the early discussions and whilst looking back on how the admittedly abysmal Wrath of the Lich King turned out.

But I'm excited now. I genuinely believe that the upcoming expansion is going to be some of the most fun we've ever had in Azeroth, with a personal gameplay and communal strategic demand that will be compelling and fun for all.

This isn't today's topic, I'm about to write that. But this post is for anyone who's not "down with the Cataclysm" and is being waylaid by the fog of confusion and QQ that is blighting the Beta forums.

It's looking awesome and is going to be fun.

Don't miss it.