Wow.. OP is overreacting. No, it's no big deal. The purple healing ring is barely an upgrade over a BLUE ring I have at 68. They are equal to HEROIC epics.. not T5 epics, get real. And each class probably will use ONE item, tops. Paladins might get use out of two. It's just not a big deal. And what does it matter to YOU if someonne slightly upgrades one piece of gear? If you end up grouping with the, that's just a bit better they will be in your group.

Stop complaining about trivial things that many players get enjoyment out of.

Personally, I think if seeing one or two ilvl 110 epics on random people bothers you so much, your "raiding guild" should focus a little harder on getting past Attumen.

casuals get good gear.
people who play all the time get gear a little better.

If you enjoy playing casually this is cool. If you like to play all the time and want to be the best possible, you can do that too, and you get rewarded for it (but not godly powered).
This sounds fair to me.

Besides its just a game, play as much as you feel like. Complaining doesn't make it more fun.

---

Q u o t e:


Well kind of depends. If you are a person spending 20 hours a week to get something, then Blizz decides to just give it away to anyone for free, I think you have a right to be a little pissed.

I actually support the event, and think it is cool they are letting people get nice purples. However, you seriously can't understand why other people that have similar items but worked 10x harder to get them are upset?

It seems to be a reoccuring theme with Blizzard. Someone spends 100 hours getting keyed for SSC and TK, and Blizz removes the keys. People spend 25 badges on a ring, and Blizz gives it away. It is like they are trying to run 2 games at once....one for people that like to put in work and reap the benefits of organized raiding, and another where people can hop on for an hour here and there and get the same gear. So it's not really surprising to see so many raiding guilds collapsing these days.

---

It comes down to a differance in priorities.

If someone views having phat lootz as their goal then yes, they would be upset. The gear is the payoff for their efforts and the proof of their achievements. to ther minds, the idea that others would be able to aquire similer items at less effort is in essence an undermining and invalidation of everything they've worked for. Yes, I can understand why these players would be upset, and I can empathise with their frustration, but that doesn't mean I share their goals.

I view gear as nothing more than a means to an end. Items are things that improve my efficency and survivability, allowing me to better better fufill my role as a hunter. They're desireable as a means to an end, but not an end in and of themselves.The validation of my effort comes not in the form of loot, which is merely a sideeffect and stepping stone of the persuit of my goals.

Killing the headless horseman is a goal. The items are a side benefit.
Clearing a raid instance is a goal. The items are a side benefit and a steppingstone to the next instance.
Roleplaying is and end unto itself, and gear is nothing more than costuming for the current act.
PVP is a fun way t o pass time. The pvp gear allows a player to kill more effectively and survive longer. It is simply a means to an end.

---

Q u o t e:


You are aware that what you described is the game that most people signed up to play. In the old days you didn't get loot handed out for arenas or PVP. There was none.

I think this is what irks people that have played awhile. All the people that want to play an hour every other day saying "no one forces you to raid and do this and that". Ummm...well when I bought the game, that is what the game was about...raiding. UBRS raiding, MC raiding, BWL raiding. You pvp'd for fun.

Now you have the pvp people saying if you don't have fun raiding, you shouldn't, meanwhile they rack up purples sitting afk in AV and doing an hour of arenas per week.

---

Well put. The game is trending away from what it was.

If there was a problem perceived in what it was, then there were options as to where the trend could go. My last post pointed out a few, including more instances and even pausable solo designed instances.

But it seems the majority posting in this thread may truly want the game to simply be that for for paying their subscription they get everything they want mailed to them each month, and there is no need to play the game at all.

---

Q u o t e:
But yes, I do see a trend in the game to make the hardcore go through all the hoops to get rewards, that are then later handed out like candy, and while some of that is probably good for the game, what we are seeing in the form of welfare epics for 15 minutes a week play time in Arena, and now truly epic quality rings and a helm, for something easy mode to do, seems to me to have gone far enough to undermine the motivation of the game that to this point has been its real underlying engine.

---

Well for one I think it's important to realize that anything you are spending a great deal of time to obtain now is going to be easily obtained in the future. If not that specific item then something of equal value/stat. That is the nature of these games. I truly do not feel you are necessarily wrong to want it to seem special but I think if you're going to play these type games you have to be mindful of the reality.

---

Q u o t e:
There are two sides to this issue as a couple pointed out well. The real issue is where is the proper place to draw the line. If Blizzard makes it too hard to gear up, casuals suffer and leave. But if it makes it too easy, especially after many already paid the higher price, hardcore players suffer and leave. And, in my view more importantly, it undermines the basic underlying motivation of the game.

---

I just can't agree that either situation makes any party involved "suffer". You do not have to suffer through anything. You are completely making a voluntary decision to make the game.

From there, it is very much about where to draw the line. Let me ask your opinion though on which is more likely to happen. The players with more limited schedules and less dedication to the game leaving when Blizz doesn't throw them a bone once in a while or the players who put in the time and effort because they want to accomplish goals in game leaving over those other players getting some equivalent rewards. Those dedicated, raiding players likely to just say forget this point of raid progression my guild is working on, I'm out the door over this headless horseman event.

Your very argument for why you deserve the unique rewards is what works again you. You want to accomplish things in game. You put time and effort into them. And to walk away over something somewhat trivial is not likely. Whereas the player with the style of play opposite yours will quite easily just drop it and leave if they feel they never get anything anyway.

---

Q u o t e:
What was a challenging game of chess becomes a game of Go Fishing.

---

I think that comparison is off. The game is still every bit as challenging as before. What's happening here is chess used to reward you with something really nice and now people can get the same thing for playing Go Fish. And please correct me if I'm wrong, but it comes across to me that you're saying you don't want to bother playing chess any more because knowing those Go Fish players are getting that nice reward somehow makes you not enjoy chess any more.

Snipped from OP:

---

Q u o t e:

I sense Blizzard has decided to just give away epic gear now, and it seems to me this greatly devalues the work and time and effort of a large part of its most loyal and dedicated customer base in order to reward casual players for little time and effort.

Is the game going to continue to attract hardcore and dedicated players, or will they move on now that hard work and effort in this game have become cheapened to the point of being meaningless?

---

This is your problem, right here, and this is the core issue with all the "Casuals/Non-raiders/low-ranked pvpers shouldnt get epix!" threads.

This game is not work. Nor is it (I hope) your life. It is entertainment... a mere distraction to make dealing with the turmoils of life easier.

Your so-called "work" has no bearing in the discussion. People pay $15.00 a month to have fun. A casual player pays the same as a pvper who pays the same as a hardcore raider. Getting epics is fun, so Blizzard finds a way for players of all play-styles to get them, albiet in different manners.

The casual may craft items and do heroics, the pvp'er can grind Battleground and Arenas, and the Raider can grind 25 man instances. The gear that can be achieved through these paths are different, but not enough to completely break game balance in favor of one playstyle over another. This is how the game should be.

You chose your path. Others chose theres. Enjoy the game for the experience, stop worrying about who has what gear, and for the love of god please stop thinking of a video game as your job.

---

Q u o t e:

You are aware that what you described is the game that most people signed up to play. In the old days you didn't get loot handed out for arenas or PVP. There was none.

---

I helped beta test the game that you signed up to play.

---

Q u o t e:
I think this is what irks people that have played awhile. All the people that want to play an hour every other day saying "no one forces you to raid and do this and that". Ummm...well when I bought the game, that is what the game was about...raiding. UBRS raiding, MC raiding, BWL raiding. You pvp'd for fun.

---

You're conveniently overlooking the 1-60 content. Raiding was an EQ import grafted onto WoW endgame. I remember the pre beta dev discussions went from "We're going to emphasize small group interaction and questing" to "Yes, we have a dragon now." I'm not saying there wasn't room for both, but raiding clearly hijacked the game that some of us signed up to play. It was a classic bait 'n switch. You either raided or....you rolled an alt.
Since then Blizzard has taken great strides in providing us casuals/PvPers with content while still still be able to cater to a more "hardcore" raiding segment. There's something here to satisfy everybody.

---

Q u o t e:
Now you have the pvp people saying if you don't have fun raiding, you shouldn't, meanwhile they rack up purples sitting afk in AV and doing an hour of arenas per week.

---

Well, if the only "fun" you get from raiding is getting purples, then yeah, you shouldn't raid.
The epics obtained from BGs and arena aren't of much use outside of PvP, so I'm not sure what your point is here.
Is it the items' appearance or the color of the tooltip text that's got you riled up?

---

Q u o t e:

But it seems the majority posting in this thread may truly want the game to simply be that for for paying their subscription they get everything they want mailed to them each month, and there is no need to play the game at all.

---

Another problem seems to be that many people often make the assumption everyone playing the game is of the same skill level as them. While the horseman encounter is as simple as tying your shoes to you, for many people it is the hardest thing they've done in game.

So no, it's not the same as having epics mailed to them.

This topic is interesting and new.

---

Q u o t e:
Players have a chance to participate in a fun holiday event and get a nice ring (or helmet) two weeks out of the entire year. The drops are great items, and upgrades for many, but they are certainly far from the best in-game. I'm sorry but this event doesn't undermine anything you've accomplished. Are you sure your complaint doesn't stem from the fact that your epic raid loot makes you feel like you're better than others who have lesser gear?

I'm not accusing, just asking.

---

nicely done.

---

Q u o t e:
Players have a chance to participate in a fun holiday event and get a nice ring (or helmet) two weeks out of the entire year. The drops are great items, and upgrades for many, but they are certainly far from the best in-game. I'm sorry but this event doesn't undermine anything you've accomplished. Are you sure your complaint doesn't stem from the fact that your epic raid loot makes you feel like you're better than others who have lesser gear?

I'm not accusing, just asking.

---

Could you please copy and paste this response into every thread on every forum please? Thanks.

NOt all epics are created equally. Casuals can get thier epics and the Hardcore can still get better epics.

This whole debate is moot.

---

Q u o t e:


Could you please copy and paste this response into every thread on every forum please? Thanks.

---

/signed

---

Q u o t e:
Are you sure your complaint doesn't stem from the fact that your epic raid loot makes you feel like you're better than others who have lesser gear?

---

Okay, I take back what I said the other day about you.
You sir quite simply rock.

Well I guess this thread is over for our fun. Darn you Eyonix. :P

Eyonix I love you.