Tough Decisions
March 10th, 2011 by Samodean
So, I’ve been thinking about this for a while now. I thought I had made up my mind a couple days ago. Now, I’m reasonably sure I’ve made it up AGAIN.
It’s become obvious to me that I can’t justify carrying two subscription-based games at the same time. There’s simply not enough time in the week to work, provide content for this site, play normal games, spend time with those close to me AND get my money’s worth out of both WoW and DCUO.
The decision I reached Monday was to suspend my DCUO account temporarily until I could at least SEE some of the freaking Cataclysm content. I started fresh when the expansion came out, and through a combination of taking my sweet time and leveling professions (seriously, Bliz, do something about this), my main has reached level 61. While I was pumped to see all the new 1-60 content, now I’m faced with the gauntlet of 20 levels worth of crap I’ve already seen and done a half-dozen times.
Tuesday night, while half-assedly working through Hellfire Peninsula and looking for ANY reason to stop, I came to a realization. I wasn’t playing a game, I was working. For the better part of a year leading up to Cataclysm, I took an extended hiatus from WoW. While the new content and story motivated me to come back, one thing didn’t: the gameplay.
While playing through the revamped old world, I was happy to see the new stuff, but I was still doing the same damn thing I have been for years. It’s the same issue I had with RIFT. While it was a new world and a new experience, it’s still the same bloody game. I think I can safely say I’m sick of action bars, hotkeys, cooldowns, autoattacks, the whole system.
For the past year or so, I’ve been looking for the “next generation” MMO. Aion sure as hell wasn’t it; RIFT isn’t either. FFXIV was in design, but was so functionally broken, it almost set the genre back ten years. There’s several possibilities on the horizon, but I currently have one sitting in front of me: DCUO.
Sure, the game isn’t perfect. The questing mechanics and content can get repetitive, but the game itself, the way it plays, the way it tells its story and integrates the player into the game world really is “next generation” to me. Why should I set aside a fun, fresh game that I really WANT to play out of a sense of obligation to finish what I started with Cataclysm. Sure, if I never get to the level 80+ content, I’ll have “wasted” my $40, but I’m okay with that, because right not I’m definitely wasting money paying for games I’m not playing.
2011 could be the biggest year ever for MMOs, both from a business standpoint and a development one. There’s some truly original games on the horizon, but all the innovation in the world won’t matter if nobody buys it. So, starting now, I’m only looking ahead, not back.
It’s a tough decision, but I’m glad I made it.
Tags: DC Universe Online, MMO, PC, World of Warcraft
I’m way, WAY happier playing DCUO right now. There’ll come a point where I miss WoW, for sure… however there were so many things at 85 which I found fundamentally broken… or just not fun.
And as always, I found myself grinding for gear… as with most MMOs.
Sure the same is true of DCUO to a certain degree once you hit 30. Well, to a large degree. However you’ve still got so many quests to do all over the place. Plus there are the alerts and duos and whatnot.
I’ve not yet felt as though I’m grinding, though I can already see it on the horizon. I’ve got a second lvl 30 coming up the pipes who will be my healer. That way I’ll be able to fill a tank or healer role when needed.
I’ve got a mid-teens villain as well, though have been very disappointed in the fact that most content till then is damn near identical to the heroes.
Still, for now, it’s fantastic. But come SWTOR, GW2 and TERA, I’m not so certain I’ll keep my subscription active… regardless of the $10/month deal.