EDIT: AS LATE AS APRIL 21, 2016 THE FORUM THREAD FOR LORDAERON'S REALM INFORMATION HAD NO MENTION THAT RAID DIFFICULTY WOULD BE INCREASED ON THE SERVER. OTHER THAN FEEDBACK FROM OTHER PLAYERS, THERE WAS NO WAY FOR PLAYERS TO KNOW THAT RAIDS DIFFICULTY WOULD INCREASE.
SOURCE: https://web.archive.org/web/20160421...lm-Information
By the way - Huge props to Warmane for allowing criticism like this. This thread is pretty critical of them so I thought it may get deleted. They did change the title, but I'm fine with that and it doesn't bother me.
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I honestly feel that Warmane has ruined much of the fun of raiding on this server. Now I can already hear a few of you keying away about how I'm just too noob, but that doesn't bother me.
Other than Naxxramus, I feel that Blizzard almost perfected WotLK raiding. It is the perfect combination to appeal to anyone and everyone.
Hardcore raiders were happy having a challenge in heroic versions
Casual raiders got to challenge themselves in normals and choice heroic bosses
Players short on time could slowly gear up through OS / VoA and attempt easy raids when they found time
I do not understand how anyone could not be happy with this set-up. If heroics were too easy for even the hardcore raiders, why could warmane not just tune those up so the rest of us could enjoy content since they seem so keen on appeasing hardcore players. The developers even had a poll if ONLY Naxx should have an increase in difficulty, here http://forum.warmane.com/showthread.php?t=304622. Only 14% of those polled said they wished for an increase in difficulty. The last post in the thread is a mod posting that "To clear any doubts, we will decide between the two first options, either leaving it the actual version or with some hp/dmg buffs for bosses".
Yet you completely threw out the results, went against 86% of the community, and buffed naxxramus. Not only did you buff it, but you buffed it by 200-300% in some instances. And not only did you buff naxxramus, but you decided it was a good idea to buff every other raid as well by huge margins.
I cannot understand the logic. Warmane administrators cannot tell me they are surprised that player are leaving for Icecrown or other servers. There is no reason for raids to be so difficult that the normal modes are barely possible unless you have gear better than that which drops. I also disagree with the massive buffs to VoA because I feel that those were made, and should be made, to be completely puggable. Raiding guilds should not have to spend their raiding time running these and they are a perfect way for players without as much time or too variable of a schedule to join a raiding guild to slowly gear up.
I realize many of you will read this as a bunch of QQ, but as a US player its frustrating to see what has been done to this server. I loved retail WotLK. And yes, I know people say this server is not made to be "blizzlike", but lets be honest, almost no one knew that leveling up. I sure as hell didn't, and when I hit 80 in my leveling guild I asked if anyone knew that raids had been buffed 200-300% and of the four or five people whom responded, all were in shock. I came here for as close to a blizzlike experience as possible and I know a large percent of Lordaeron players did the same. We came here for the huge populations and the good scripting. It's no shock that some are leaving after realizing it's not as blizzlike as they imagined.
I understand much of the fun comes from the difficulty. But I feel I stand for most retail players when I say I still found a ton of difficulty in normal modes in retail WotLK. The fun comes from the challenge, overcoming barriers, obtaining loot. I would apologize to hardcore players who find normal modes to be a breeze, except for the fact that there was already an answer to their problems, and that's heroic modes. As a normal, casual player I see no fun in Warmane's version of extremely slow progression for loot that is a side-grade at best, and disenchanted most of the time.
I'm sure part of the reason is monetary. In hopes that players find raiding too difficult so they turn to the store. But I cannot imagine that players leaving is leaving the server more profitable than if it had been blizzlike with more players.
The population during US time is already low and the excess difficulty has only made it decrease over the past month. Very few raiding guilds exist and many are having difficulty even recruiting players for 10 man. All of this combined has made raiding not fun.
I really hope you change your ways, Warmane.
Edit: I know people are going to see this as a rant and a bunch of complaining, but that's because that is is exactly what this is. I'm not going to pretend that's not what this is after typing out a few hundred words of complaints.
