World of Warcraft is still going, and can still be called a monolith of a video game. The release date for World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade has been confirmed, which also confirms that the game will continue in both classic and modern form.
Many players have stuck with World of Warcraft through thick and thin, back from when it was an unprecedented phenomenon. One of those players is Asmongold, a Twitch streamer and long-time WoW fan. However, despite a continued love of the game, his outlook on its current and future state is not optimistic.
Asmongold posted a Twitlonger laying out his attitude towards WoW and it can be summed up as disappointment and frustration. This was prompted by the latest 9.1 patch for World of Warcraft: Shadowlands, which brings some quality of life changes. Asmongold's statement brings up frustration with the fact that these changes took so long and that they don't do enough for the game in its current state. Rather than laying into specific systems (for the most part), Asmongold expresses frustration with how the numerous problematic systems in place are allowed to continue.
There are a few points that are central to Asmongold's complaints about the current state of WoW. First among these is the ubiquity of systems that players don't like and the lack of response from Activision Blizzard on fixing them. Most egregious to Asmongold are the time extender mechanics, systems designed to make the game take longer to play without adding anything fun to do during that playtime. He points to systems like Soul Ash, a resource that must be farmed to craft Legendary Equipment. Systems like this, with multiple currencies that must be farmed to accomplish goals, are often used as time extenders in free to play games, and are not welcomed by most in an subscription-based MMORPG like WoW.
Asmongold further states that Blizzard's focus has clearly shifted away from developing new and interesting systems to recycling systems and making players push through them. He laments the focus on systems that must be farmed or bought through and the fact that players are resigned to these systems. He urges players to make themselves heard and to stop accepting what Blizzard is giving them.
Even with all of this, Asmongold reiterates that he still loves WoW, and that his love of the game is what motivates him to speak out. His critiques are not without merit, especially as Blizzard makes an important change to purchasing WoW game time. For anyone interested or invested in WoW or Blizzard's current state, the full statement is well worth a read.
World of Warcraft is available for PC.