Emblem of Conquest (Ulduar 25 badge)

[genocyde]

I think blizzard could bring this whole game back to life if they took the same seriousness with 5 mans as they did with raids. Where are my hard modes?!? Where is my progression? Where are my gear checks? RAIDS!

No, to hell with raids. You want to make this game casual and elitist friendly make 5 man bosses with a hard mode option that can only be beat by people of intelligence or skill. Make these heroic 5 man hard modes drop Ulduar 10/25 quality gear. Give me solo content that is class specific designed and rewards legendary's for the one crazy fool that completed some ridiculous 2-hour event designed to be 99.9% impossible for his class. Put an achievement tracker on it so I can link my closest attempt was 3%

I have never understood why this "elite" mentality of wow is paired with raids. Yes, they are excellent designs and encounters. Yes, they should have their sets of best in slot gear. As should arena, and rated BG's, hell even the crafting recipes that are awarded for the Loremaster of Northrend achievement that give you awesome epics for completing achievements that you can sell in the AH and ruin their own value.

Why is the whole world rewarded BiS gear because they "brought more guns to the fight" (10/25 man instead of solo/5 man) I mean in all honesty i feel like the progression difficulty is based around getting 24 other complete failures at common sense and teamwork to stop standing in the god damn fire!

The only thing in this game that rewards skill is arena, and it is itself a poor example because proper team comps and gear are more important than player skill when considering the goal of getting the top arena gear. Yes you may not rank #1 with an idiot on your team, but you can achieve the rating required for best in slot PvP gear.

Lets all go to the suggestion forums and request something that requires player skill of the solo / 5 man quality.

They used to exist in the forms of lvl 60 epic quests for hunter / priest weapons with raid loot requirements and all kinds of legendary events. These are the things referred to as the glory days... They are currently only referred to in the World of Warcraft... no longer experienced.

[genocyde]

No, I did enjoy MT heroic a lot though. Now that you say it. Yes that kinds of thing. Only add hard modes like sartharion with multiple drakes, stuff that those in top content gear wouldn't have breezed through going so whats the big deal didn't we already kill that guy once this year?

Thanks for an example. I think I might actually hit up the suggestion forums later today with a thought out post. I want us hardcore 5-man only content people to have something else to do :P

[Tombs]

Group composition is the biggest hurdle to Sarth3D style hard-modes in 5-mans. For instance, any dps burn fight would be too easy because they'd have to balance the fight so that it could be done without bloodlust/heroism.

[Bigfish]

Why am I reminded of old school Strat, BRD, LBRS, and Scholo? Man I miss the glory days...

[jettzypher]

I don't need the top tier of loot, and I don't like to raid.

What I do need is progression, which is what I'm paying Blizzard for.

I'm confused. You want to do progression type things...but dont like raiding? Thats 90% of the game. Make lvl cap, gear through heroics, then do raids for story, gear, and achievements. Progression=Raids. 5-mans may give you some story and progression, but only so much. Most will and does come out of raids. I'm willing to go as far and say that youve wasted your time (and money) if you dont like doing what the game is built around.

[Bigfish]

I don't need the top tier of loot, and I don't like to raid.

What I do need is progression, which is what I'm paying Blizzard for.

I'm confused. You want to do progression type things...but dont like raiding? Thats 90% of the game. Make lvl cap, gear through heroics, then do raids for story, gear, and achievements. Progression=Raids. 5-mans may give you some story and progression, but only so much. Most will and does come out of raids. I'm willing to go as far and say that youve wasted your time (and money) if you dont like doing what the game is built around.

Hold on there, maybe 10% of the game is raid based. There is a TON of story and lore, a whole world to interact with outside of boss dancing, dps racing, and moving out of the fire. The game isn't built around raiding. Raiding is just the thing people inevitably end up doing at cap (that or PvP). Many players find themselves exploring and questing just to see what's out there, only to have so many story lines inevitably end at a door that says "No casual's allowed". Just because some people have tunnel vision and all they can see is how fast they can get to 80 and how fast they can get purples doesn't mean the rest of the game doesn't exist.

[mmcookies]

I pay 75 bucks a month to do the things I love to do in WoW.
Now that it's no longer satisfying my needs, I've opted not to play.
It's not that complicated.

[mmcookies]

Oh, well, in that case... here's the story of what's going on in my head.

A long time ago, I was young and used to play Asheron's Call (AC). It made me think that MMO's were the next big thing, virtual worlds where people could cast aside their real life differences and work towards common goals, maybe even for the betterment of mankind if the content was properly directed (read, government run MMO's, or in China's case, brain-washing grind fests for children). Now this was back in the 90's, when there were a lot less teenagers and trolls on the internet. That's not to say they weren't numerous, it just wasn't an ocean of piss. Impromptu fellowships (PUGs) in early AC were generally quite good. People were courteous and honest. Theft was low despite a lack of secure trading. There was even a distinct absence of elitism. But all of that came to pass as the internet grew increasingly mainstream, and the relentless pettiness began to pervade everything. I came to realize nothing technology has to offer (within acceptable ethics) can change mankind's evolutionary legacy, and the thought depresses me.

That's the main reason I avoid raids, PUGs, and running guilds. Every time I see the factionalism, drama, and loot whoring, it still leaves a bitter taste, which incidentally makes any game quite unenjoyable. While it's possible to assemble a group of great players who are also great people to play with, the failure of humanity is inevitable.

[Khatovar]

Hehe, I started with AC, too. LC. I actually went back for a while after I quit WoW the first time.

And I agree with you. The second things like greed, ego and drama start seeping in, the things you enjoy suddenly become a hassle.

[Kaelika]

I understand where the OP is coming from, and Khatovar has made some very valid points herself concerning some of the issues those of us who like to 5-box only have to currently contend with. For this reason, my friend and I are shelving our team for the time being and either going back to "solo" boxing or we're moving to another game.

You see, I used to dual-box just so that I could help my guild with quests and gain more gold while doing dailies/quests/grinding/etc. (I've been dual-boxing since pre-TBC, actually); however, I left my guild with the intention of multiboxing because I grew tired of the raid loot drama, social drama, etc., and decided to EXCLUSIVELY play with my real-life friends, with whom I actually enjoy playing in a stress-free/drama-free environment for the most part. But we never intended to raid with the exception of perhaps taking on VoA at some point, and while I PvP, I don't multibox in PvP, nor do I intend to at any point (WHY doesn't matter -- I just don't want to).

After seeing what we, as 5-man players, have to look forward to with 3.1, I'm now considering returning to dual-boxing or even soloing, as I said at the beginning of my post. Achievements? Yeah, but I sure as hell won't set out to obtain most of these on more than one character, thanks. PvP? See my above statement.

My point? Everyone's playstyle is different, but I can most certainly understand why those who exclusively play to progress through the 5-man content are becoming disheartened with the latest patch. Maybe the multi-tiered badge system is working "as intended," which is fine; nevertheless, unless you're an avid PvPer, there is little reason to 5-box once you've cleared the heroic content if you don't intend to raid (ahievements not included in my case for the reason stated above), and if I'm going back to raiding -- and this is where I differ from a number of you -- I'd rather go back to soloing and just dual-box for a few perks here and there as I used to do. I guess that I just made the false assumption that Blizzard would add more items that were purchasable with Emblems of Heroism -- not necessarily items of a higher "i-level," but at least give us some variety to spice up our selection to an extent.

I'm beginning to think that I jumped the gun when I decided to leave my old server and start taking multi-boxing seriously, but I'm inherently an impulsive person, so I'm no stranger to making rash decisions. Heh.

I don't think the OP is bitching, and ultimately, it's his/her decision as to why he/she wishes to quit multboxing. Some of you may not agree with it, or some of you may think that the OP needs to venture into other areas of the game/experiment with other playstyles, but that's your PREFERENCE and just might not be the OP's cup of tea, so there's no reason to condemn him/her for making the decision to quit, even if you don't agree with it.

In conclusion, if 5-man progression is the only reason the OP plays, then, yes, it might be time for an extended break from the game. I'm not going to digress by offering other suggestions for content; I'll just wish the OP good luck instead. I'm sure there's something out there that will suit the OP's playstyle in the end, and as WoW is always receiving updates, maybe there will be something to come back to in the future in relation to 5-man content.