World of Warcraft needs to feel more like an RPG

Back when World of Warcraft first launched, it felt a lot like an RPG. Nowadays, it feels more like a sport, competition, race, or social game, rather than an RPG. Maybe that's a byproduct of having played the game for years - the mystery is gone. World of Warcraft has made the game too friendly to newcomers. You couldn't track quests in the beginning. You had to explore the world or go to thottbot.com to figure out which mobs to kill. You had to actually read the quest-text.

Burning Crusade started the slow decline into making WoW the shell of the great game it once was. Daily quests, introduced in BC, should not be a thing in an RPG. Grinding reputation should be possible, and not gated by a daily timer.

There was a time when leveling-up was an anticipated event, and not just a hurdle on the roadmap to the maximum level. "Ding!" we would exclaim in guild-chat. We could assign talent-points on our talent-trees. Developers claim that there were only a few optimal paths, but at least we had the illusion of choice. That's all gamers want, and they took that from us. Now we have less choice in what talents we select. As a ret-pally, I can choose the talents for PvP, PvE, or something wacky. As a solo World Quester, I have no choice but to choose the PvE talents.

Given how the max level is now 110, it is understandable that early levels should be easy to obtain, but early levels come too easily and quickly. It used to take months to get to the max level of 60. It used to mean something to be level 60. Now you can even buy a boost to level 100.

All these quality-of-life features are understandable from a business-standpoint, but it takes away from the game, and the overall effect is that it makes WoW feel less like a game, an RPG, or an MMORPG, and more like a service - something you pay money to be entertained by. WoW used to be immersive and a way-of-life.

I'm not saying I have the answers or that the developers have been wrong up to this point. I am just lamenting how much the game has changed, and in my opinion, for the worse, since the halcyon days of Classic.

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