What Makes A Good Patch?
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[caption id="attachment_9020" align="alignright" width="317" caption="Obviously You Need Droves Of Bugs. Large Bugs."]
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This week saw the not-so-surprising launch of the Fall of the Lich King. Coinciding with its release was the not-so-surprising downtime of my main's archaic server, Magtheridon-US. The one upside to the lengthy instability was that I managed to tackle most of my patch day goals. Solidsamm is in a new guild, my AH alt has already made hundreds of gold (surprisingly, Rhino Meat was in huge demand and became my best seller), I touched up on some lore during the patching process, and only one of my add-ons was outright broken. Even though I managed to get the basics done, I was still meet with plenty of personal downtime. During these uninteresting stretches of time I began to wonder what makes a patch memorable.
Surely, Patch 3.0 was an entertaining patch. Even though it had some people at odds with the zombiefication of the Azerothian nation and broke damn near every add-on, it reinvigorated the community. It brought people to World of Warcraft in droves, new and old players. It reintroduced people to long forgotten lore and rekindled our interest with the fallen Lordaeron. Most importantly, it introduced us to something different, the new zombie gameplay mechanic, even if it was only for a short time.
So what is it that makes a patch "good?" Is it being able to play on launch day? Not having to upgrade our add-ons? The ability to bring in new players, while tempting the old? Does a good patch extend beyond the direct mode of digital interaction? Will it lead us to expand our knowledge of Azeroth, or just introduce us to new dungeons, raids and experiences?
For me, nothing has come close to touching Patch v1.9, The Gates of Ahn'Qiraj, that just so happened to answer all of the above questions with emphatic "yes." It fascinated players months before its release thanks to the lengthy quest that preceded it. It redesigned an entire zone, introduced the Old Gods to the world for the first time, opened two new raids, featured numerous factions and had the most epic serverwide event to grace World of Warcraft. The Gates of Ahn'Qiraj had me go to sleep at 2:00AM, only to wake up at 7:00 AM to be a part of the gate ceremony, scripted event and celebration. That is something I'll never forget.
Fall of the Lich King certainly has a lot going for it right now, but I don't know if Arthas' death will be able to overcome the unforgettable server event that had players, and factions, working together on for months. What's your favorite patch so far, and why?
[/caption]
This week saw the not-so-surprising launch of the Fall of the Lich King. Coinciding with its release was the not-so-surprising downtime of my main's archaic server, Magtheridon-US. The one upside to the lengthy instability was that I managed to tackle most of my patch day goals. Solidsamm is in a new guild, my AH alt has already made hundreds of gold (surprisingly, Rhino Meat was in huge demand and became my best seller), I touched up on some lore during the patching process, and only one of my add-ons was outright broken. Even though I managed to get the basics done, I was still meet with plenty of personal downtime. During these uninteresting stretches of time I began to wonder what makes a patch memorable.
Surely, Patch 3.0 was an entertaining patch. Even though it had some people at odds with the zombiefication of the Azerothian nation and broke damn near every add-on, it reinvigorated the community. It brought people to World of Warcraft in droves, new and old players. It reintroduced people to long forgotten lore and rekindled our interest with the fallen Lordaeron. Most importantly, it introduced us to something different, the new zombie gameplay mechanic, even if it was only for a short time.
So what is it that makes a patch "good?" Is it being able to play on launch day? Not having to upgrade our add-ons? The ability to bring in new players, while tempting the old? Does a good patch extend beyond the direct mode of digital interaction? Will it lead us to expand our knowledge of Azeroth, or just introduce us to new dungeons, raids and experiences?
For me, nothing has come close to touching Patch v1.9, The Gates of Ahn'Qiraj, that just so happened to answer all of the above questions with emphatic "yes." It fascinated players months before its release thanks to the lengthy quest that preceded it. It redesigned an entire zone, introduced the Old Gods to the world for the first time, opened two new raids, featured numerous factions and had the most epic serverwide event to grace World of Warcraft. The Gates of Ahn'Qiraj had me go to sleep at 2:00AM, only to wake up at 7:00 AM to be a part of the gate ceremony, scripted event and celebration. That is something I'll never forget.
Fall of the Lich King certainly has a lot going for it right now, but I don't know if Arthas' death will be able to overcome the unforgettable server event that had players, and factions, working together on for months. What's your favorite patch so far, and why?
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