10 Reasons to be Excited about 4.3

10) More than 2 Heroics:

There have been a lot of things I disliked over the years but none more then being stuck doing ZA and ZG 100s of times over and over on my characters.  It almost pushed me to the point of quitting the game.  Putting the top way to gain valor, outside of raiding, into just two dungeons was about as horrible a choice as anything they have ever done in game.

This time we get three new, as in actual new and not stuff we had already done dozens of times before they where dungeons, heroics.  Those three new heroics are grouped with every other heroic and they all give the same valor points.  So we are not forced into doing only those three if we want to max out quickly.

It will keep the heroics fresh longer and will give an actual random element to the random dungeon finder.   Not to mention, getting something like VP will now feel like we hit the random dungeon finder lottery.  Maximum valor points for minimum time investment.

9) New Darkmoon:

Some might love it, some might hate it, some might have no opinion about it.  Either way, it is a nice new little quest hub that does not actively require anyone to do it.  Don't like it?  Don't do it.  Do like it? Then go have some fun with it.  Unlike the molten front where it almost felt like you had to do it this won't.  It is a completely optional questing area.

The new darkmoon stuff seems like it has the potential to be like the argent quest hub.  The type of thing where you will do it because you want to do it and not because you have to do it.  That is much better design then making content people feel they have to do.  People doing things because they want to do them means they are happy to do them.  Happy people are good for business.

8) Mount & Pet Collectors:

For the mount collectors out there it is time to rejoice.  There are new raid mounts if you roll that way.  There are some new darkmoon mounts if you don't mind doing the dailies.  There is the annual pass mount if you signed up for it.  Some new trading card mounts if you are willing to spend some green.  There is also a nice little list of datamined mounts that no one knows where they come from yet.

Could one be a new engineer pattern that has not been datamined yet?  Anything is possible.  One might be a new holiday event mount.  If you happen to be alliance and going for the mount achievement, you will also have two new worgen mounts to add to your collection.

With the petemon coming next expansion I expect to see a lot more pets coming out soon.  Soon is now it seems.  Darkmoon comes with a nice small selection of pets, like the argent quest hub did, so the collectors have something to aim for.

Fishing enthusiasts also get the chance to get lucky and fish up a pet too.  Perhaps you will be one of the people that get it on the first cast or perhaps you will be like a friend of mine that has been trying to catch the turtle for three years and still does not have it even with over 20,000 fish caught in northrend pools.  May the random number generator bless you if you are going for it, but at least while you are fishing you have some new pets to keep you company.

7) Transmogrification:

While it surely is not my style because I mostly don't care this is something that can be a lot of fun for a wide variety of players.  Even someone like myself can get some use out of it.  I will surely go looking for the least obnoxious shoulders I can find to mog into them just to not have to look at the horrible shoulders that seem to get bigger and bigger each tier set.

I also do like the fact that I can now tank while using a big stick.  I might even gather myself up the stromwind guard look for fun if I am bored some day but I won't count on it.

If I can find something to do with it and I really do not care about it can you imagine what people that actually do care must be feeling?  It is like christmas came on November 29th for them this year.

Role players are beside themselves now too with this addition and if there were ever a reason to get into role playing this is it.  Now you can look the part you are supposed to look while still being geared for raiding or PvPing.  For role players this is a quality of life addition.  Something that just makes life easier.

This is also a crafters dream if they can get on the bandwagon soon enough and start making those sets that you know people will want.  Those old greens you use to vendor or disenchant when leveling could fetch 50-100 or maybe even 1000 gold now for the right one from a person that wants to mog into it.

6) Extra Bag Space:

Void storage is something people are connecting with mogging but they do not see that it is actually more, so much more.  It is extra bag space.  There are many of us that collect things and hold on to them.  Not because we want to mog them later, we just kept them because we liked them or because of the memories or because it is something that is not attainable any more.

No more eating up my bank space, all those old removed from the game items I have cluttering up the place can now go somewhere more fitting.  Void storage.  I am not about to throw away my thunderfury, who am I kidding?  But I am also not going to use it and I can not mog a legendary based on the rules.  So instead of it taking up one vital space in my bank it can now collect dust in the closet, also known as void storage.

Holiday clothing?  In the closet. Sentimental item?  In the closet.  Silly trinket with silly effect you might have a use for some day?  In the closet.  Legendary that is no longer useful?  In the closet.  Hunter epic bow?  In the closet.  Scepter of the shifting sands reward weapon?  In the closet.  So many things, will 80 slots be enough?

Some will put all their tier sets there.  Some will put the stuff they collect for fun there.  Some will use it to put things they can not bring themselves to throw away.  All will now have a special place that will no longer eat up their bank space.  A+.  Maybe this will show them that we will gladly pay for extra bag space.  Actually, I am sure a lot of us would have paid much more then the 100 gold they set it at.

5) Bag Search:

Please do not tell me I am the only person that has lost things in their bags.  It might seem like a simple addition but it is a good one.  It is what I would call a quality of life addition.  It adds nothing to game play and it really is not something that was needed.  It is however, something that will be quite nice to have around.  Even more so when you lose something in your bags.

4) Achievements:

With new raids come new achievements.  With new dungeons come new achievements.  With new questing areas come new achievements.  We have all three.  We have more achievements for each one.  Achievement whores rejoice.  Not to mention the pets and mounts, which count toward more achievements.  And don't forget that if you have not achieved 9000 achievement points yet, each achievement you get will get you closer to getting an achievement for getting achievements.  I think using the word achievement that many times in one paragraph should get me an achievement too.

3) Dungeon/Raid Design:

Some might hate it, but I love it.  The idea that battles take place in our world and not in some hole in the side of a mountain all the time is a great step forward in group content design.  I would love to see more dungeons and raids take part "in" the world instead of in some secluded place in the middle of nowheresville.

Maybe this will be a step in the right direction for blizzard when they realize that they can continue to use the world for more then just a wasteland of questing that only low levels go to.  No need to design all new areas all the time.  Spend the time making encounters and just put those encounters in already designed areas. 

2) Looking for Raid

I can write my first post about my first experience in the LFR system without even stepping into it.  Here goes, short version.  Lots of DCs, lots of afkers, lots of bad players, lots of good players, lots of wipes, lots of people dropping after wipes, lots of different opinions, lots of insults, lots of rage quits, lots of nerd rages, lots of everything except bosses going down.

Why is that a reason to be excited?  I am the grumpy elf, this is going to be food for writing for a long time to come.  I am going to have to pace myself with all the things I will be left wanting to be grumpy about or I might end up having more posts on it then I have bosses down.

I also believe (or should I say hope) that in time they will balance it better around the below average players so it can become the perfect way to gear up an alt or to waste 30 or 40 minutes when I have nothing to do.  Perhaps in time it might actually get to the point where you will start downing things in a reasonable amount of effort.

I figure it will be like the zuls when they first came out.  Most groups will wipe over and over and suck and after a few weeks it will get to the point that about 70% of the groups will down everything with little or no problem.

Being there are 25 people however I don't think the odds will ever reach zul level but I can see a 50% chance of success rate and that just very will might mean the LFR can be a success.  If it can attain a 50% success rate on bosses after a month or so I will crown it a huge success.  A huge success because I do not believe, my own opinion of course, that there will ever be even as high as a 10% success rate.

There is one other little thing I've heard no one mention about the looking for raid that I am sure someone in the head office at blizzard had to say in a meeting once.  This is going to be one hell of a gold sink.  I agree, expect 25 people to be playing hundreds per day in repairs.  Gold sink?  This could bleed many players dry, and fast.

And now for the number one reason to be excited about 4.3...

Drum roll please...

1) Cataclysm is Over:

The release of 4.3 means that cataclysm is over.

Love it or hate it, 4.3 tells us that new is coming soon.  New is good no matter what your opinion of cataclysm is.  We all like new, we all wish we had new more often.

Deathwing took bigger chunks out of the subscriber base than he did out of azeroth and this patch will be his death.   After that they will release a new expansion to "mop" up the mess left behind by the jay leno of warcraft villains and I am sure we will all find things to complain about then too but for today, we have a reason to be happy.  4.3 is out and deathwing will soon be dead.

We can just enjoy knowing that this expansion is over.  That is the #1 reason to be excited about this patch.