Do You Like Change?

When this expansion was first announced we all knew we would be in for a fair deal of changes.  The stat squish meaning different numbers, ability pruning meaning less abilities, stats like hit, expertise, dodge and parry being removed, stats like multistrike, versatility, and tertiary being added, there were a lot of changes happening and the ones I mentioned were only the tip of the iceburg.

Some people hated it, some people welcomed it, most people had a "lets wait and see" feeling about it.  But that is a lot of change to throw down our throats at one time.  There is no doubt about that.  Even if you were the type of person that was open and welcoming to change you would be willing to say it was going to be a lot to take in.

As people got to experience things they noticed a lot of other changes.  Changes in professions were huge and sweeping.  Changes in what we have to do at level 100 where huge as the focus switched.  Changes to the end game raiding system from flex for all except for a single sized max difficulty.  No matter where you went or where you looked there was something about the game that changed and did not change just a little, did not update like what we knew from change in previous expansions, it was full on change, everywhere.

Some people look at it, in part, as warcraft reborn and I guess you could think of it that way.  We had fewer stats, fewer abilities, smaller numbers and craftable items that only needed a skill level of 1 to make.  Almost as if we really were starting over.  That is a pretty big change.

Personally I will be the first to admit I am not a huge fan of change, even more so change that I do not personally feel needed.  But that of course is based on personal opinion.  I would have been fine with larger numbers, I liked that I was only able to craft things with my professions because I put in the work to level them, and I sure as hell would love to have scatter shot back.

However I would also like to believe I am somewhat reasonable when I believe there is reason to be so.  While I would have been fine with larger numbers I can surely see why the game needed a squish.  Things like that.  So even if I am against change normally I am open to it when I feel it is being done for the greater good.

It was easy, even when they were unwelcome, to accept the changes that were going on with the game because they were all on beta.  We had advanced knowledge of them.  They were all part of a game that wasn't yet out.  It was a large chunk of information to take in, sure, but it was one big book of changes we had to read.

But now that warlords is out we are still seeing changes left and right.  Seemingly more each week.  Some within reason, some that leave you scratching your head.  And no I am not talking about balancing the classes, but some of those changes too might have you wondering what blizzard is thinking, but that is another story.

Someone posted a comment here last week I believe it was that I must say I agree with 100%.  They said that we are effectively playing an open beta.  Warlords was released in a beta state and blizzard is using the full force of ten million players to beta test it.

He / She made that comment well before this recent influx of changes and I agreed with them then.  Now, after a series of changes seemingly daily, I believe it more strongly.  We really are playing an open beta.

Even if I am the type that generally dislikes changes I was able to accept them before the game was released but this recent influx of changes almost every day to what is supposed to be a basically finished release and things I think did not need changing is really starting to get to me.  No, not bothering me in the sense that I would quit or rage or what have you about it.  But bother me to the point of, "if it is not broke don't fix it".  It is getting frustrating to keep seeing a live game changed in ways that are rather hard to understand.  What is even more frustrating is the fact that all these things they are changing should have been changed on beta.

Funny part is, if they were changed on beta it would have not bothered me at all, not even in the slightest.   But once you have a game go live you expect that game to be what that game is.  If I have been farming talbuk meat for potions, or stockpiling it, it is wrong for it to be removed from the materials needed for the potions.  If they wanted it changed it should have been changed on the beta.  Mind you, I was not stockpiling, just asking, if I were, it is wrong for blizzard to make changes just for the sake of making changes on a live game.

I can accept some changes, mostly with a game in development because that is when changes are supposed to be happening.  But I am really starting to get tired of blizzard changing a live game for absolutely no reason what so ever.

Was the fact people actually needed to go out in the world and fish and kill animals for fish and meat really such a huge game breaking issue that they needed those items to be removed from things?  I would think blizzard would be more open to the idea, in this extremely content light expansion, of having something that made people want to go out in the world.  Farming fish and meat would serve that purpose wouldn't it?

In the end, when myself, and I am sure hundreds or maybe even thousands of others, mentioned on beta "shouldn't alchemy use more herbs and not meat and fish and ore" they should have done something about it then.  Not now.  Now it is live and there is no reason to change it.  People have notice what they need and they will go get it if they want it.  As I said, and if this gets them out in the world playing instead of sitting in their garrison, isn't that a good thing?

Changing it in beta I could accept, changing it now is change for changes sake.

So do I like all these changes coming down the pipes almost daily?