Even without a release date, we can all feel Wrath looming. Whether it's pouring over the new specs as soon as they become available, saving materials for future Death Knights, or leveling up an alt to send as a main character to Northrend, we're all prepping to take our adventures into Northrend. Many wonder how far their gear will carry them toward level 80.
Many players were frustrated that their hard-earned gear was quickly reduced to obsolescence in Burning Crusade, and fear that that will happen again. Manbearppig of Frostwolf wants to know if gearing up a character now will be a good way to spend time. Some point out that better gear earned now will translate into easier leveling in the future. In a similar thread, MVP Faizaniel of Dragonblight stated:
My scrubby non-purple gear is getting replaced pretty fast; high-end gear, not so much. While it's unlikely that you're keeping much from level 70 at level 80, it's really up to you whether the benefits of getting to use the nice gear now, and having it help you level more quickly once Wrath comes out, are worth earning the gear now.
Some people seem to be forgetting that WoW isn't strictly about gear, or even about the future. It's about having fun and enjoying the game now. The expansion has been in the works for quite some time, but it seems kind of strange to put things on hold in anticipation of the release. For all we knew when the Burning Crusade was released it could have been the end of World of Warcraft with nothing new in the future. The endgame would have truly been the endgame.
My plan between now and Wrath is to play Arenas with just my Shaman whenever possible and to work on my full set of classes. I have a Priest, Hunter, Paladin, and Druid at max level now. My Warrior is 43, Warlock 40, and Mage is 38, the Rogue is my last priority. I rather enjoy the leveling experience, and I think it will be great to have more choices when we see where the talents fall. With the exception of my Arena main, I'm not terribly concerned about gearing up, but it doesn't really bother me that her stuff will soon be replaced. I'm just playing the game.
What are you doing to gear up for the expansion?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
7-25-2008 @ 10:10AM
Seamus said...
I did not expect the gear reset in the Burning Crusade. This is my first MMO. I was angry then, quite frankly. I felt like all the gear that I had stayed up late nights for and worked so hard for was being tossed aside. A little wiser now, I'm focusing on my alts before Wrath comes out. Gear doesn't mean anything. Titles, alts, pets and mounts will last a long time.
And yes, I'm having fun.
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7-25-2008 @ 10:20AM
Chuddy said...
We're cut from the same cloth. Geared up my first character then realized the futility of it's process. Though, it was alot of fun doing so. The joy of getting a drop one night equaled that of leveling. So that one got put on the back burner and I leveled up 3 alts, geared them up a little with profession stuff which was quite fun. I just do my own thing now, but that kind of fun doesnt have the grip raiding or big time pvping does, sadly.
7-25-2008 @ 12:43PM
mrluohua said...
Wow, that is exactly my experience. My first MMO experience ever, I got my mage 8/8 netherwind gear from MC/BWL/Ony and was absolutely crushed at the gear reset of the BC expansion.
I've been playing alts, some casual raiding, doing my own thing, and having a blast, waiting for the next gear reset. My warlock just ding'd 70 last night, my 6th lvl 70.
7-25-2008 @ 12:56PM
dan said...
The gear reset is NOT going to be as harsh in LK as it was in BC. A lot of ilevel 141 and above stuff still has yet to be replaced by most players in the beta. The first item that seems genuinely reset worthy is a blue dagger from a level 78 dungeon that rivals the one from Kil'Jaden. This is more than likely because blizz is trying to push for more dagger builds.
7-25-2008 @ 10:15AM
shoemanchris said...
WOW splits into levellers and raiders I reckon. Personally I find levelling a bind but I love instances and am a total gear whore (I even have lists, handwritten, of where to find the next upgrade) WotLK will be a strange one for me since I am a post BC player...it will be strange to lose my hard earned purples for greens and blues but since I love stats too, I am sure I will cope
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7-25-2008 @ 10:32AM
wolfy said...
you missed the other 2..
* PvPers
* RPers
i think its a fair 4 way split myself.
7-25-2008 @ 10:43AM
shoemanchris said...
True Wolfy
I kind of included PvPers as end gamers, but you are correct. RP, hmmm, not my thing really, other than the fact that I enjoy fooling around as a happy go lucky gnome rogue, instead of managing a business with carrots and sticks like in real life. No funny voices, I promise!
What will happent to Arena now? Will 70's meet 71-80s? Will there be splits like in BGs but small I hope?
7-25-2008 @ 10:18AM
Wildbinx said...
personally i liked the gear reset. it put things into perspective. all the MC/BWL/AQ gear was replaced within a few quests but i didn't see that as a bad thing. new gear is fun no matter what color it is. it would be extremely boring for me if i were still running around in Tier 2 after finishing half of the outland quests.
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7-25-2008 @ 11:57PM
PimpyMicPimp said...
"new gear is fun no matter what color it is"
My feelings exactly. Gear is a means to making your character more powerful, no matter the colour. The main thing with TBC greens (and some blues and epics) was that it was so ugly. That was my fear with Wrath, until I looked at the models on WoWhead for some of the blues and greens. Leather Panties of The Bandit seem the be a thing of the past, thankfully. A lot of Wrath Greens look cooler (in my opinion) than a lot of TBC epics.
7-25-2008 @ 10:18AM
wolfy said...
i thought i'd read on here somewhere that the devs had seen the mistakes they made with the uber outland greens replacing previous WoW epics and that they wouldn't be making that same mistake again. That said who knows how they'll work the gear process for wrath but i truly believe it wont be a matter of replacing Arena gear with a lvl71 wrath green.
Aside from that, it doesn't make sense for them to have just released the S4 Brutal Arena gear to then release wrath a month later along with better gear.. i'm sure they'll be wanting to drag season 4 out for a little longer at least until after Xmas even.
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7-25-2008 @ 10:39AM
Hank said...
I recall reading that ranked arena will exist only at max level, which would mean there won't be a season 5 until a few months post-Wrath.
7-25-2008 @ 2:18PM
Clevins said...
The Northrend green quest reward haven't, so far, replaced my T4/badge epics. They're close though, and it certainly will not be worth running Kara for gear before hitting Northrend.
7-25-2008 @ 10:19AM
Naix said...
For me the game is not about the epics, those are nice but not the reason I play. I play with my friends, I play to see new content, I play for fun. The lack of people wanting to run anything right now is disturbing. I sit in LFG wanting to go to SSC or higher knowing I will only get picked up for a ZA/Kara run...again. ZA/Kara are fun, but I want to see SSC or higher BEFORE everyone stops running those all together.
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7-25-2008 @ 10:28AM
Naix said...
I think you were part of the group just hitting Kara when I quit the game for a few months. There was a huge push for Kara when I dropped out of the game for a few months. Now PUGs clear Kara like its Hellfire Ramparts. Now everyone is just doing dailies, badge runs, and raids on the opposing factions city. This time I will move along with the group instead of playing catch up.
7-25-2008 @ 10:20AM
MightyIdle said...
I've pretty much ran all of the heroics into the ground. I've raided all of the raids I can conceivably see, before the expansion, until I'm sick of them. I've beat my self to death in battlegrounds and arenas.
Add to this the fact I've quested until I can quest no more, especially with dailies. I've leveled four toons so leveling is a drudge. I've explored pretty much everything I care to see.
The game is about having fun. Unfortunately, the only fun left at this point is improving my character with new and better gear. I've reached a point where getting the gear isn't possible without hitting the higher level 25s. My guild isn't ready for that and I'm not leaving my friends just for gear.
My point is, there's not a lot left to do anymore that is fun. It's all old, boring, and worn out. I find that there's little to do when I log in. I don't even log in anymore to be social with the guild. I simply log into vent and chat with everyone while I'm playing something else.
Going after the top level gear is kinda pointless at this stage in the game. The effort required isn't worth it and really isn't possible to muster within the guild. A major push isn't seen as valuable with the looming expansion.
And, to beat it all, I think I even strayed a bit off topic with this post.
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7-25-2008 @ 10:36AM
Kieran said...
How is playing a different game better for your friends than joining a different guild or a raiding alliance? Would the latter stop you socialising with them?
7-25-2008 @ 11:03AM
MightyIdle said...
I still do play with them. Just not nearly as often. Add to that the politics and hurt feelings that always crop up, it's not worth it.
Leaving a group of people you're close to for people you could care less about for something as trivial as loot is a big deal. Feelings will be hurt, even though it is just a game.
Besides, when I'm playing another game, a single player game, I am free to converse. If I'm raiding with another guild, I'm on their vent talking to them. I'm not a big fan of people in general. Getting used to a whole new group at the expense of a nice set of relationships doesn't really appeal to me.
7-25-2008 @ 2:33PM
Ktok said...
Wow, someone that understands that a guild can be more than a place to get phat lewtz. :)
/salute MightyIdle
7-25-2008 @ 10:23AM
Fizzl said...
I have one character I care about, my only level 70 (mage). I hope to finish sunwell so I have 'completed' TBC. Apart from that I'm doing bear runs for people and getting 800g a go to ensure I have a nice pot of money for my death knight. I haven't really had high level alt's before because I burn out very quickly on the early content so this is my chance!
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7-25-2008 @ 10:24AM
bob said...
Why bother getting new gear? There is just going to be another expansion that makes all your Wrath gear obsolete. I'm going to stick to RPing my lvl 2 Paladin and wait for Emerald Dream greens, those are going to be really awesome and sure to make my epeen the envey of all the hardcore raiders who wasted their time grinding Wrath epics.
Also, Pokemon cards. Even when new ones come out I don't have to shard them because of no worries about bank space!
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