Friday, December 17, 2010

Changing Approaches To Cataclysm

When the last two WoW expansions came out, I logged into my main and worked on that one character until I had hit the new level caps (about a month both times) and cleared out the other obvious "to do" items like wrapping up quests, working on reputations, etc (about another month).  With Cataclysm, my approach has been different.  I spent the first few days on my main, but since then I've spent a bit of time on some alts and holiday events for other characters (my EQ2X character in Frostfell, and my Horde warrior in WoW). 

I don't know exactly why I'm taking this approach. 
  • Perhaps it's the knowledge that there is less high level content out there, and therefore even less reason to rush.  
  • Perhaps part of it is giving players time to learn the new 5-man dungeons; ironically, my first random PUGs have been on my Horde warrior, who needs a hat for Winter's Veil, and not on my mage.  
  • Perhaps part of it is the weekly guild reputation cap; if you're going to level two characters anyway, you'll end up with a better rep situation for each if you switch over once one character hits their weekly cap.  
  • Perhaps the more linear/cinematic zone stories are holding my attention in low level zones on alts, and/or making me more reluctant to jump onto my main's story if I'm not going to have a lot of time to advance the plot.  My warrior is currently working on Hyjal, which my mage has mostly avoided.
  • Perhaps it's simply my own personal preferences changing; I've taken a similar approach with EQ2, which I only started playing after Wrath.
Whatever the answer, the less main-centric approach seems to be working out in the world of the Cataclysm.  I suppose this could be viewed as a win for Blizzard, since it will probably mean that I ultimately clear more of the content before declaring personal victory over the expansion.  I wonder if they planned it that way? 

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