2011 – The Year of the War on Casuals
January 8, 2012 13 Comments
It wasn’t long after Cataclysm came out that the general attitude amongst WoW players was: the new stuff was hard, and tough shit if you found it that way. Even Ghostcrawler posted as much in his infamous blog post “Wow, Dungeons are Hard!” The feeling was: anyone complaining about the new stuff being difficult were simply Wrath babies who need to grow up, ‘cos BC-era dungeons were BACK yo!
I am coming to this as someone who began playing properly a year into WotLK. I had started playing a week after Burning Crusade landed, but I’d not approached the game with any real effort and basically made my own way slowly, and solo, with no notion of what the end-game was or even what 5-man dungeons were. It was a quiet, enjoyable time.
By the time Cataclysm was out, I’d raided, loved running end-game 5-mans, and considered myself a pretty grounded player who knew the basics. I was by no means a higher-tier player – or even medium-tier – but I didn’t mind things being difficult and wouldn’t consider myself a noob.
However, I do consider myself casual, and so the commentary – becoming increasingly poisonous over the following 12 months – of those early months of Cata bothered me. The continuous talk of Blizzard “catering to the casuals”.
A phrase so often used now that it’s used word-for-word, even by people who probably would never use the word “catering” in this context at any other time (you know: the idiots).
“Catering to the casuals” didn’t mean making hard modes easy. It didn’t refer to Blizzard re-making the first 60 levels of quests so those folks who just played the game to level alts would have fun doing so. And it doesn’t refer to giving people who don’t raid something to do.
No, “catering to the casuals” refers to Blizzard’s supposed “dumbing down of content” so that those who didn’t consider the game important enough to devote endless hours to wiping on digital dragons could still see the full range of content.
The argument continued as Blizzard nerfed T11, nerfed T12 (despite the majority of guilds not clearing it on Heroic mode before the nerfs), and introduced the Looking For Raid tool in T13.
I’m not going to go into the whole argument of what Blizzard is offering, why this is a good thing or not, and why those who argue against opening content in due course so it’s easier to participate makes so many sweaty little nerds angry.
(And yes, I’m getting into the namecalling zone! Woo!)
Don’t want me in your LFR, because I’m a casual, and I shouldn’t be given charity epics?
Then why are you running LFR instead of normal modes?
Oh, because you’re trying to fill out your gear?
So it’s ok for you to get the charity epics but it isn’t for me?
Non-raiders are treated with disdain by the vocal members of the community. Raiding is given such prominence in the community blogs, and even in Blizzard’s own coverage of the game, that it’s easy to fall into the trap of that old catchphrase “the game begins at <max level>”. Which, in case I haven’t driven my point home enough, is horse shit.
At the end of the day, part of why I’m looking forward to Mists of Pandaria is the hope that the idea of having playable Pandas will drive so many of these belly-beating angry nerds away from the game in disgust that the community will become stable, and no longer trying to eat itself over the idea of everyone in the game having something to enjoy.
And to finish off, some takeaway points which will probably make as much sense as the meandering paragraphs I’ve already subjected you to:
- Easier 5-mans don’t ruin your game; it makes the game fun
- Don’t like easier 5-mans? Don’t run them.
- LFR hasn’t destroyed your raid team; if people were really committed to your team, then why would they leave?
- Quality raiders are out there; some of them just don’t have the experience you’re expecting. Having easier access to end-game content will help push them closer to you.
- Don’t like the scrubs in LFR? Then stop running LFR.
- Hate the idea of WoW being overrun by casuals? Motherfucker, we’re the reason WoW is still going. Only 2% of active raiding guilds at the beginning of November had downed Heroic Ragnaros.
- I’m an angry nerdy man just like you, except I want everyone to enjoy the game I love.
I totally agree with everything you’ve said in this post and I would imagine 99% of people who fall into the “casual gamer” category – myself included – feel the same way as you do.
The only thing that we don’t maybe see eye to eye on is your “Easier 5-mans don’t ruin your game; it makes the game fun” statement. Personally I find that the more challenging 5-mans always felt me with a bigger smile on my face upon completion than the “easy” ones.
This. As a BC baby who ran 5mans, Wrath took a lot of the fun away from it. Making certain main aspects or the game that easy took a lot of the challenge and fun away from it. Wrath 5mans in almost Every pull in Every dungeon was “Tank Pull, AoE, Tank Pull, AoE”. I honestly don’t remember 1 cc in any wrath 5man. This video game was created for people to experience content but also master their class. In BC you needed at least 1 or 2 ccers in a 5man or you simply couldn’t go on unless you were very good at your collective classes. 5 mans should be a challenge and need to bring all 10 classes inot their foray and use their abilities as intended as opposed to letting the tank run in and then just facerolling. There’s no fun in that, no knowledge of class. It forced you to learn how to be your class. In Wrath, any class could do whatever they wanted with little to no reprocussions. Pointless.
Well said that man.
I have a semi-hardcore raiding background (4 nights a week and progression focused), but I completely agree with you. Any one that pays should be able to see the content.
There should be easy stuff (normal dungeons) and harder stuff (heroic dungeons) though.
The LFR tool gave me a chance to complete all the raids before I quit wow, and for that I am thankful to Blizzard. I do think the LFR mode was a little bit on the easy side. Completing content within hours of it’s release does not really supply any challenge. But from what I have heard the 25man and10man were not that much harder either.
I stopped raiding (twice) because I just didn’t have the time to dedicate to it, and to be honest.. never felt like I had missed out on anything.
Really enjoyed the article. I always can’t help but be wary of statements about WoW that involve any variant of “I ‘have’ to do X to be able to do Y.” So, for example, “I ‘have’ to run Raid Finder to be able to run normal Dragon Soul / fill out my 4 piece bonus / etc.”
The simple answer? No, you don’t “have” to do anything – you’re playing a game. Coming from a not entirely casual raiding background, I recognize that this is a somewhat simplistic way to view the problem, but it’s true. WoW is recreational and there is nothing in it that we are “forced” to do by other people, whether those people are our guildmates or the developers themselves. If your guild is telling you that you “have” to run Raid Finder to fill out your 4p and this isn’t something you want to do, then ask yourself why you chose to be a part of a guild that would ask this of you. Likewise, if you’re a part of a cutting edge progression guild and you don’t appreciate that running Raid Finder weekly is one way in which you should maximize your chances for upgrades in a week, ask yourself if you really have the same goals in mind as your guild.
I’ll hop off my soapbox for now. The point of the rant, though, was that I grow tired of hearing all the ways in which so-called casuals are ruining the experience of veteran or hardcore players by daring to be in places which are specifically designed for the casual player. When I go into Raid Finder, I could care less if I see someone who is doing less than optimal DPS or who has a few points out of whack in their talent spec. The boss will die anyway. What will ruin my day a lot faster is some pompous asshole whining about how bad everyone is and how they don’t deserve to see the content. Don’t like Raid Finder? DON’T USE IT.
I’m told I don’t get to call myself a casual anymore, but the “casual bashing” just aggravates me to no end. Enjoyed the article!
“Hate the idea of WoW being overrun by casuals? Motherfucker, we’re the reason WoW is still going. Only 2% of active raiding guilds at the beginning of November had downed Heroic Ragnaros.”
I feel like I should quote this on my MMO Champion signature with a link to this post.
I think you inadvertently hit the nail on the head with your comment:
“I’m an angry nerdy man just like you, except I want everyone to enjoy the game I love.”
The fundamental issue is that this is impossible, I would argue that most people enjoy having an acheivable challenge and a sense of progression within the game. The problem is the game seems to either satisfy that need for the hardcore but be too hard for the casual player (TBC), or satisfy the casual player but too easy for the hardcore (WoTLK). It is imporssible to allow everyone to see all the content and satisfy both groups. As you point out casuals make up the vast majority of the player base and Blizzard has realised this so they aim more towards this market. The hardcore need to accept the game no longer aims at them and stop attempting to blame casual players.
I say all of this as a fairly hardcore player, my primary focus is on heroic raiding and while it does provide a challenge it feels like an empty challenge compared to the excitment of getting to see a completely new boss after each kill in TBC. I have accepted the game isn’t aiming at just my demographic anymore and from a purely selfish point of view I obviously regret this but I do understand it.
However the whole LFR hate is beyond ridiculous and I promise you the majority of properly hardcore players couldn’t care less about LFR. The people whining about the difficulty of LFR are kids who get their entire sense of acheivement in life from WoW and just as I don’t automatically associate all casuals with the inevitabley obnoxious freeloading players that I occasionally come across I would ask you to avoid judging all hardcore players on the basis of the angry teenager who can feel their epeen shrinking.
Hallelujah and amen. You are my new favorite blogger. Gevlon’s past at GG today about how it’s OK to just need on all LFR gear whether you need it or not because nobody would really be there “for fun” just about made me spit fire.
LFR, like LFD, has again transformed the game for me. I often top the dps charts, and I get frustrated with wiping over and over, but I never see the raid leaders even offering strats anymore. But you sure see the vague raging because some foul mouthed idiot has to try again.
It’s a team you’ve joined in LFR, play like it.
The only problem I see with these mysterious “casuals” or rather the subgroup “bad casuals” is that I wish they’d realize that if you’re going to step into the LFR situation with some sort of grasp of what is going on. LIke a basic knowledge of the fight. Also, with important roles such as tanks or healers, a basic knowledge of stats and gemming.
All in all it is for fun and we all had to make mistakes and learn to get there. Hardcore or casual. I’m more open to a person doing something incorrect and responding nicely to my help than some douchewaffle that thinks he’s the end all of my freakin 5 man heroic.
I’ll just subtext that with, I was in a 5 man the other day with a tank that had all strength/expertise gear.. and a shield. And had no idea what “ground aoe” meant. Thats the crap that makes me upset and what probably has lead to the spewing of AMGCASUAL vitrol.
Couldn’t have stated this any better. Perfectly said.
Hallelujah!
I completely agree with your post, Reliq.
@Tzufit: Excellent point. I couldn’t understand why so many people were angry because blizz will implement Pet Battles in WoW, going as far as to say “I don’t want to play Pokemon, I want to play Warcraft”
So? If don’t want to play Pet Battles, you won’t have to!
They’ll be entirely optional.
They won’t reward epics or raiding gear.
How does it affect you?
The same happens with LFD, LFR, etc.
I’ve been playing WOW for 5 years and pretty much have only done raids in Kara and in Cataclysm. I had avoided PUGs because I did not like the verbal conflict in the PUGs, people being jerks. Because of LFD and LFR in 4.3, I have overcome this and learned to ignore the occasional theatrics in LFD, and just Ignore those in LFR. I have had a blast. Plus this has made it feasible to gear up so that I will be able to do regular raids. Good job, Blizzard.