5.3 Makes Me Wonder

Has blizzard went overboard?  5.2 is barely starting.  The vast majority of players have not even touched base on everything that 5.2 offers.  I know I haven't and I play a lot, or at least I used to believe so.  Now looking at all there is to do and not having enough time to even do half of it, I am starting to think I don't play enough to keep pace.   When you are a completest like me that can be rather unsettling at times.

Now we have announcements of a 5.3 PTR and data is coming out about what is being added there.  Don't get me wrong, I love things being added, but I am feeling a bit overwhelmed.

There are new pets out that I have not even gotten yet.  My alts have just started their gearing process because I had not done them earlier thanks to that, beyond retarded, reputation wall.  So I was so far behind to begin with.  I still have my paladin, warrior, monk and warlock to get to 90 on my main server not to mention a few other 85s on other servers and my slew of hunters all over the place.  Not to mention an inactive second account with some 85s I would love to start up again one day but don't see me ever having the time to do that when blizzard is releasing content at a break neck pace.

My guild, and it seems all but two guilds on my server, have barely even stepped into the new raid and downed a boss.  Never the less made any progress in it yet.  The two guilds that are further than one boss in aren't really on any earth shattering pace either to be finishing it on normal any time soon so what about a lesser guild like mine? With the 5.3 stuff pouring out it makes me have a feeling we are so behind when we really aren't.  For arguments sake, most guilds that had not done heroics last tier have not even started this tier yet.  They have had no time.

Too many other things to do and they want to shove more out?

I think they are pushing too hard and too fast and they are going to burn themselves out.  Or burn me out trying to keep up with everything.  That is where the problem lies.

Their self imposed burn out will come from pushing things too fast.  Like adding the new raiding with leashes II achievement for raid pet drops in BC raids.  Why so soon?  Sure I will get them, sure I can solo all of them, but is it really needed.  Why not make that content for next expansion?  Why rush it out now?  Why burn out all the possible additions of the new pet battle system to the game so soon?  They could extend the content and make it last.  Make BC raid pets next expansion, wrath raid pets the one after, you get the idea.  No need to throw everything under the sun at us as soon as possible.  They are going to burn themselves out and leave no room for more to be added later.

If tri-spec is coming I will be one happy camper.  But I feel for the druids of the world.  They will be the only class that will actually still have a need for respec.  Otherwise there is no need to ever visit a trainer again for all other classes.  Makes me wonder what classes I would really like tri-spec on and what others I would not even bother buying it with. 

For my hunter I would get it of course.  Besides the fact he is my main I have often switched back and forth, even in the days when MM seemed all but useless, because despite what people said, MM did have its places sometimes and I like the spec.  At least now I can go MM and survival and still have beast mastery for pet purposes.

For some other classes I do not think a tri-spec will even be used by me.  My DK, while it did dabble in unholy for a tiny bit in wrath, has been blood and blood only and that is all it ever wanted to be.  I only just played with frost because I did not want to tank the LFR and blood, as much as I love it, is not the DPS spec it used to be back when it could be one.  So would I need three for my DK?  Nope.  I need one, blood.  I only need a second to "fake" DPS for the LFR.  Even when I DPS with my DK, I am still a tank.  I am just a tank that won't tank for strangers so I do my best DPSing in mostly tank gear.  Sad part is that is still better than half the people in there can do.  Sad, isn't it?

Same goes for other classes.  I never needed a third spec for my mage.  I only play two.  But I could see me making a third just for the sake of having it.  My rogue would be the one I think I need it on the least, outside of my DK.  I've never played subtlety, never even had the desire to attempt it.  Not sure why.

For some classes I think it would be a huge addition.  Think priests.  They need shadow to quest now, so if they are like me, they have it even if it is not their main spec.  I play shadow in my healing gear, which is why I actually like it sometimes, no need to change gear.  But that ruins a lot of people that used to be disc/holy and changed based on the fight in raids.  Now that they had to have a shadow spec they could only be one or have to respec before each raid and then again before they went out to quest.  So a third spec is a dream for them and long over due.

This tri-spec thing is a nice addition, something that will be welcomed by everyone.  Can't really see anyone complaining, except druids of course.  But it makes you think, will they add new specs for some other classes now that there is a tri-spec, so we would all be like druids and have something we would choose to not take?  Like I said, without a forth spec, trainers are basically useless in game.  Some classes need a forth spec.  Mages need a healing spec and rogues, locks and hunters need a tanking spec.  No more pure DPS specs.

I have yet to ever do even one PvP pet battle.  I knew I would, if I could ever find time with all the content they are throwing at us at discount prices like it were a going out of business sale.  So I never had the time to get into the PvP achievements for pet battles and that turns out to be a good thing, a very good thing, from the achievement standpoint at least. 

They are adding achievements for doing them with a full level 25 team.  So now I can do them with all 25s and get double credit for achievements, the level 25 ones and the any level ones, both at the same time.  But that leaves me feeling bad for the people that worked their butts off to grind out the 5000 win achievement from PvP sooner, now they need to do it all over again?  Bad move blizzard. 

If I were one of those people that worked my ass off and then you added an achievement I basically already did but now I need to do it again I would be really pissed and I completely and 100% back up anyone who has the 5000 PvP battle achievements if they are pissed they have to do another 5000 because undoubtedly blizzard did not keep records of your previous ones to see if they were with all level 25 teams.  I feel your pain and I share your rage even if it not my rage.

In the end it makes me wonder if 5.3 coming, or at least the information coming, is way to soon.  Could this be a huge mistake pushing things too quickly?  Even if them pressing is not a bad idea and 5.3 being moved along is not a big deal as it is not a raid patch, it sure has shown some bad decisions already.  The pet battle achievement thing for one, the adding BC raid pets when they are not needed and could serve as content for next expansion being another, things like that are just bad ideas.  All because they are trying to push as much content as fast as possible. 

The way I look at it is this.  I play a lot, a lot more then I should even, and if I am not completely up to date on everything, it is too soon.  I play more than almost everyone I know, and if I can't get it all done, what makes them think others are?  They went from leaving us with complete boredom in cataclysm to overload in mists.  Someone at blizzard really needs to balance things.  Not push everything too fast or too slow.

5.3 makes me wonder, is this blizzards last hooray?  I love all this new content and I do think it is a fantastic and bold move that is great for the game, but they can not keep up this pace or they will crash and burn really fast.  They need to pick and choose what they add, not just add for the sake of adding and it is starting to feel as if that is what they are doing.

So do you think that 5.3 is adding stuff just for the sake of adding it or do you think that blizzard can really keep up this break the speed of light pace of patch releases?