Fate of the AT? [Designing Obsolescence]

General	Fate of the AT? [Designing Obsolescence]
08/28/09 09:38:43 AM Patch 3.2.0a Zomber	I hit 70 on my main about a month or so before Lich King launched. I spent a lot of that time on the Isle of Quel'Danas making money. Of course, as soon as I got Wrath, I never went back. When Cataclysm hits, will the Argent Tournament suffer the same fate? Are they any plans to keep it relevant with new quests for more money at max level, or is it going to be another Quel'Danas, completely forgotten by the devs and players, just taking up space? I figure that lore-wise, the Argent Tournament will 'end' with ICC, given that it's whole purpose is to prepare us for that challenge. If Blizz has no intentions of doing more with the Tournament, what are the chances it will actually END, instead of just falling into disuse? Take Onyxia for example. People would still run her regular, but she wasn't relevant content - she was a relic. So Blizz is giving her a facelift. Is all the old content bound to end up the same way? Since WoW is such a huge game, there are bound to be pockets of 'lost' content formed every time a new expansion hits. Cataclysm seems to be concerned with eliminating that in old world Azeroth, bringing all the old content up to par with the current expansion. But it seems like it's an endless kind of thing - because with Northrend and New Azeroth, Outland is going to seem like outdated crap (and it kind of already does). Should they then redo Outland? Should they every actually make content like that obsolete, by offering a way to get to 70 in New Azeroth? Sorry, it appears my thoughts got away with me.
08/28/09 10:36:38 AM Patch 3.2.0a Bornakk	Q u o t e: I hit 70 on my main about a month or so before Lich King launched. I spent a lot of that time on the Isle of Quel'Danas making money. Of course, as soon as I got Wrath, I never went back. When Cataclysm hits, will the Argent Tournament suffer the same fate? Are they any plans to keep it relevant with new quests for more money at max level, or is it going to be another Quel'Danas, completely forgotten by the devs and players, just taking up space? I figure that lore-wise, the Argent Tournament will 'end' with ICC, given that it's whole purpose is to prepare us for that challenge. If Blizz has no intentions of doing more with the Tournament, what are the chances it will actually END, instead of just falling into disuse? Take Onyxia for example. People would still run her regular, but she wasn't relevant content - she was a relic. So Blizz is giving her a facelift. Is all the old content bound to end up the same way? Since WoW is such a huge game, there are bound to be pockets of 'lost' content formed every time a new expansion hits. Cataclysm seems to be concerned with eliminating that in old world Azeroth, bringing all the old content up to par with the current expansion. But it seems like it's an endless kind of thing - because with Northrend and New Azeroth, Outland is going to seem like outdated **** (and it kind of already does). Should they then redo Outland? Should they every actually make content like that obsolete, by offering a way to get to 70 in New Azeroth? Sorry, it appears my thoughts got away with me. One thing to keep in mind is that not everybody will be purchasing Cataclysm on day zero, so the content and stories for the previous expansion(s) needs to be there for those players as well as be there for any characters leveling up. Because of how well the Argent Tournament allows you to gain reputation with city factions, I think it will continue to be relevant. I know some people who still head to Netherwing Ledge and get their repuation/drakes because they want to do it on a new character. Generally speaking - spending a lot of time on new content and then making it end and disappear is not something we like to do and have to be very careful on when and how often we do it. We are changing some of the classic continent because they have been there for 5 years so we feel it's okay to change it around after all this time. The Onyxia example is a special circumstance for the 5 year anniversary. This isn't something we plan to do for every instance.
08/28/09 11:21:17 AM Patch 3.2.0a Bornakk	Q u o t e: Fair enough, and I guess that answers the question of whether or not there will be more/any content designed to expire outside special events. I guess sometimes I can get hung up on the difference between 'persistent world' and 'static environment'. Still, I think the freshening of old content is a good thing that helps mediate the difference. It is a fine line to walk as there are a lot of things we would love to update but we have to heavily consider how much it adds to the game at the same time. Most of the time brand new content is something everybody can sink their teeth into better. [ Post edited by Bornakk ]
08/28/09 01:27:52 PM Patch 3.2.0a Bornakk	Q u o t e: wut? whistles

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