The death of World of Warcraft has been predicted for years. What hardly anyone sees so far: the game is already dying, but the process is dragging on. Too long, says MeinMMO author Benedict Grothaus. And that is a problem – for players and for the game itself.
I don’t want WoW to die. It has accompanied me for too long, after all, I have been playing for 16 years now. Nevertheless, the current state is intolerable.
The game is slowly withering away, and if there are any improvements, they are only minor ones on the horizon.
The problem: Although WoW is not as good as it could be from the perspective of many players and myself, it is still ‘good enough.’ It still retains enough players that the community sees no reason to completely write it off.
The (former) WoW streamer Asmongold says: WoW needs to start winning back its players and fighting for them (via Twitch.com). And for that, drastic changes are needed. And yes, WoW needs changes, no matter what. But unfortunately, it doesn’t have to fight for its players yet.
Only 2 million players? Definitely too few
Is WoW really dying right now? Blizzard hasn’t released any numbers for a while now. However, expert Bellular has now calculated that WoW only has just under 2 million players left.
Whether this number is correct is hard to prove. However, it is clear that the dwindling player count is noticeable. At least on smaller realms like mine.
Moreover, more and more content creators are leaving the MMORPG. Asmongold has been playing Final Fantasy instead of WoW for a while now, large YouTubers and streamers have also stopped, and even Vanion has announced: “The passion for WoW is at an all-time low.”
How does this affect us? At the moment, the only content that I am really actively pursuing is the mythic raid Sanctum of Domination. I play on one of the smallest servers in Europe, which was already expanded to include several other realms with the merge in BfA.
Nevertheless, my guild repeatedly faces the problem of lacking players. On some evenings, we barely manage to gather the required 20 players, often only after raid start because someone arrives late. Skipping because the weather is nice and being able to replace players? Not an option.
Because players are missing. It is becoming increasingly difficult to find motivated and, above all, good members who want to take on the challenges in mythic mode. We have been facing this difficulty for a while, but it is becoming more and more frequent.
The problems of WoW are not severe enough
A look into the community brings little clarity to this question. Opinions vary widely – even here in the MeinMMO editorial team. What bothers me, Cortyn loves, and what Cortyn doesn’t like, I find okay.
It is nearly impossible to say what exactly WoW would need to change to keep ‘the players’ engaged. And that is probably the biggest problem:
- all areas are somehow just okay – but not outstanding
- many players only log in for fixed appointments with their guild or to complete ‘chores’
- the community demands changes in many areas – criticism and praise are nearly equally present everywhere
WoW is only average in many areas now and is unwilling to make some sacrifices to shine in others. Games like FFXIV with its dozens of smaller stories or New World with its refreshingly new gameplay provide alternatives for corresponding target groups.
This is why small groups continue to leave WoW. Never enough to make a noticeable difference, but always enough that the next group can’t find enough players for its plans. This is how WoW is slowly dying. Too slowly.
It would be better if more players left – and faster.
Stop complaining and do better!
Sure, I could be criticized for just whining. In a way, I am doing that, but I am not alone in my opinion that WoW could be better.
There are several ways WoW could improve – although it isn’t really important what is done. The main thing is that something is done. Once a major change is noticeable, only two paths are possible:
- WoW gets drastically better and slowly regains its players. That it can do this is shown by the strong numbers during the heyday of the MMORPG.
- WoW gets drastically worse and goes down the drain.
However, the latter would not necessarily mean the death of WoW. The developers are not stupid and understand their craft, as they have proven for years. But if they clearly see that the current path is not working, the likelihood is high that the direction will change. And that is exactly what I hope for.
What needs to change now? As mentioned above, it is difficult to pinpoint what exactly WoW’s problems are at the moment. Yes, it is stale, and no content remains fresh for long. Maybe it is simply due to the fatigue from 16 years of the same game.
Nevertheless, there are a few ideas that could improve WoW and have partially proven themselves before:
- A new class: Every generally regarded ‘good’ expansion has had a new class. Sure, this mixes up the balance and offers more options.
- Alternatively: Revamped classes. Make the Rogue a ‘Gunslinger’ or ‘Tinker,’ give the Mage a melee spec as a ‘Battlemage’ or provide the Demon Hunter with a third specialization as a ‘Fel-Mage’ for ranged combat.
- Revamping dungeons and raids: The new Mythic+ Score makes it rather undesirable for casuals to face the pressure. It can be done better.
However, the most important thing would be to finally have a tangible opponent. It is incredibly frustrating when the adversary is so much smarter and more powerful than oneself. Why should we fight Sylvanas when that is exactly her plan? What is the point of fighting the Jailer if he can chain three of the most powerful beings with a snap of his fingers?
Give me an opponent I can fight. Then I might not feel so damned useless or like a pawn in someone else’s chess game, forced to do daily chores. And if that isn’t possible: make me strong enough to fight again – keyword artifact weapons.
However, it is clear that small changes and improvements like the adjusted specs for specializations are at best only small band-aids for a gaping wound. They slow down the process, but that only makes things worse.
WoW needs to die faster to live
At the moment, WoW is in neither a good nor a bad state. It hangs in the balance and subsists while players slowly flow away and the remaining ones seek something to do.
In the long run, this cannot go well. Perhaps simply changing the leadership will help, after all, the new WoW head plays himself and even better than most. Perhaps WoW simply needs a bit of competition.
With New World on the horizon, there is at least a new MMO that could help accelerate WoW’s process of decline:
WoW could be losing its place on the MMORPG throne right now
In any case, I hope that WoW takes the curve – one way or another. It would certainly be nicer if it didn’t have to be created anew only when it is on the brink. But even that would be better than watching servers become emptier in the coming months.
