The recent announcement of the 2nd expansion pack for World of Warcraft, Wrath of the Lich King, has (understandably) sent the massive online world's community into a stir. While the hardcore raiders ruin their keyboards even further from their anticipation and excitement drool, casual players aren't all that happy.
Blizzard is planning to release the expansion only 12 months after the first expansion, The Burning Crusade, was unleashed to over 8 million players worldwide. While the 12-hour-a-day raider steamed through the expansion's content as quickly as possible, many (if not most) casual players are just beginning to experience the end-game content. Unfortunately, once Wrath of the Lich King is released, all content in The Burning Crusade will effectively become obsolete (as was demonstrated with the original end-game instances immediately after The Burning Crusade's release). Casual players will once again be left behind.
I wouldn't have an issue with Blizzard's speedy expansion pack development if the game wasn't so dependent on how much you play. I suppose it is the nature of MMORPG's, but a game just isn't fun when your dominance in the game is based on whether you're able to play 12 hours a day and keep up with new releases and competing players.
It's unfortunate that, since WoW is unlikely to die out any time soon, the average new casual player will never be able to experience current end-game instances. If you're only able to play an hour or so a day, it's highly unlikely that you'll reach level 80 in 12 months - which of course, by then, Blizzard will have already shelved the next expansion pack.
| Liam Schembri is a professional writer and blogger. Having a passion for online gaming, he is the sole owner of World of Warcraft Guides - a popular resource for World of Warcraft guides, news and more. |
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