Perfect Ten: 10 Ways World of Warcraft Feels Like a Dead Mall

There was a time when I lived next door to a very small mall that was a bit out of the way in part of my state. It was sort of a low-rent location when I was there in middle school, but it became deadlier over time. When I returned shortly after college, it looked like a graveyard, full of empty shops and somehow still a radio shack. I don’t know why there was another Radio Shack there.

I wanted to write a column about 10 things I don’t really like World of Warcraftsince I’d easily done a series along these lines before, but the reality is that most of them boil down to that, at least for someone like me who’s been playing the game since launch, that’s where the problem lies World of Warcraft is a dead mall, to borrow Folding Ideas’ phrase. And that might seem a bit strange, but if you think about it for a while… you start to feel it.

1. Most of the place is empty

The thing about a dead mall is that there are only places in the mall that are…gone. There are no more shops there. Nobody goes into that wing of the building because for some reason America decided to build large indoor shopping areas that can’t serve any other purpose, and then when retail moved on, they were just…empty spaces. The lights are still on and it’s you permitted to go there, but there is nothing to see there except places where there is something needed be.

If you don’t think that’s the case Wow, stop in Dalaran. Which version? It does not matter. It’s the same either way. The lights are on. The providers are there. And the streets are lined with absolutely nobody, because why would anyone be there? You don’t need to hang around.

2. Even the populated places feel empty

“It’s hardly fair to compare an old expansion capital.” And to a degree, yes, it’s correct. But, you know what? I even feel it on the Dragon Isles. Valdrakken is clearly designed to be a capital and it is not empty. I see people walking around. But not many. The plural of “anecdote” might not be “data,” but I feel like I see fewer people there than in supposedly “dead” MMOs, and definitely fewer people than, say, Lion’s Arch.

Some of this is undoubtedly the result of server fragmentation and the whole cross-realm thing. Secure. I will accept that. But that’s another notch in the dead mall vibe. Even the places that people have don’t have them many People.

3. The people who are still here are in their own groups

Of course, part of the reason the room feels empty is that nobody’s talking much…because nobody has to. If you don’t already have a clique, you’re on your own, and it’s a lonely place. Many people misdiagnose the problem and blame it on things like party finder, but the reality is that the problem is much simpler: the game is structured in such a way that you need a dedicated group of friends to play most of it. and without a new influx of people playing people already these groups. You don’t need more people. Like in a dead mall, they will not meet people but spend time with their existing friends.

4. There is a general sense of anxiety

There’s a feeling that’s hard to describe when you know a particular retail space just isn’t working anymore, but you’re still enjoying it. But you know it’s dying, and there’s a general sense of temporary stays of execution in everything you do there. It will slip away, but you don’t know exactly when. Just… it happens.

5. Nostalgia plays a big role

You might think that’s about it WoW classic or something, but not only WoW classic a palimpsest for the past (which isn’t really nostalgia), that’s actually not what I’m talking about. The point is that nobody is arrive longer. New people just aren’t coming to the game in significant numbers at this point, which means if you’re playing now, that’s at least partly because of it You’ve played before and want to get that feeling back.

6. Nobody agrees what it should be now

Of course, it’s much more difficult to recapture a feeling if you can’t easily identify what that feeling is was first of all. Therein lies part of the problem. The people who still play have a hard time agreeing on the game should now be, apart from the fact that it’s not right either or that it’s doing everything right, but for some reason people don’t seem to be there that much anymore. There is a sense of competition, as if whatever one group gets takes something away from someone else, and there is no idea what shape the current thing should be.

7. Other places are doing what they used to do well

Malls are dying for one simple reason: what they used to offer people as a central shopping location is much better found today. If you want a shopping experience that isn’t great but is at least convenient, you have online shopping, and now if you want it in person, open squares and major department stores probably have it in a faster format than wandering through a giant mall. Similar, Wow suffers because many of the things it used to do well are now being done better by other games… and in some cases even stopped being good at these things.

8. It keeps losing inertia

So why does a dead mall stay open? Well because it is Only profitable enough leaving the lights on for a handful of retail stores compared to selling the property and destroying the complex. Same principle. You know it’s not really taken for anyone want it special. This no longer feels like anyone’s passion project, not least because passion at senior level is the closest thing to passion for spreading a single playstyle that MMO players, by and large, have largely rejected. But it’s raking in a lot more money than it would if it were to close, so it’s shuffling forward.

9. The leadership seems content to weather the collapse

I want to draw a fine line here because it’s often hard to really say anything may be done for these spaces that are obviously no longer full of life. The moment was here, but it’s gone, and now there may be nothing left but to roll downhill. But in these cases… something or not may be done is a secondary question because it seems quite obvious that nothing will be done. Those responsible will just let things slide slowly because they have no particular reason to do anything else and there is no real incentive to fundamentally change.

10. Even the music is blowing now

Okay, this might be a bit harsh, but you know there comes a point where it all turns into canned nonsense in an infinite loop. Yes, I’m talking about both Dead malls and way too much of it Wow at this point. I couldn’t even tell you how updating the main theme of this expansion sounds like.

Everyone likes a good list and we are no different! Perfect Ten takes an MMO theme and breaks it down into 10 delicious, fun, and often informative segments for your snacking pleasure. Have a good idea for a list? Email us at justin@massivelyop.com or eliot@massivelyop.com with “Perfect Ten” in the subject line.

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