The End of the Burning Crusade

"With their heads hung low, shambling in aimless droves across the sun-banked sand, the crusaders filed away in silence, down to the port at Jaffa. Repelled at Jerusalem by the defenders beneath the Moorish standard, and harried along their routed defeat by Nathrezim Dreadlords, the crusade was at an end; no sword of Christendom would rise again in thirsty conquest. The combined might of the Burning Legion and the nations of Islam had broken the resolve of the devout who, brooding and disconsolate, now returned home to fight Arthas."
Text taken from 'Views on the Third Crusade', Marnacleez, ca. 1191.

So that's that. The first World of Warcraft expansion has come to an end. In my opinion, it was the most successful expansion any MMORPG has ever seen, and though it seems that it will be shoved aside into obscurity by the looming Wrath of the Lich King release, I enjoyed the good times. Realistically, what previous expansions can even be compared? Trammel for Ultima Online? Trials of Atlantis for Dark Age of Camelot? Face it, most expansions in the realm of the MMORPG have been abysmal failures. The Burning Crusade went off without a hitch: staggering sales, positive player support, and a ****load of new content that set a precedent as it became more popular than the original game itself (see: rated Arena).

The new patch came about with the usual pomp and ceremony that Blizzard is well known for; they said it would be up by 2:00 PM PDT, and of course most realms weren't stable until 8:30 PM PDT. The entire day could be likened to slamming your dick in a shower door for hours on end, getting stuck at Retrieving Character List and then waylaid again upon login. I honestly had to stare at the new Eastern Kingdoms load screen for about an hour and a half. The Blood Elf Mage was incongruous, and looked terribly out of place when surrounded by some of the ugliest artwork I've ever seen: the monocle-wearing Undead, who I assume is a wealthy merchant of some sort, the Dwarf Paladin that looked remarkably like Rosie O'Donnell, the greasy Human Rogue with the gigolo pony-tail. It left an irrevocable mark on my refined sensibilities.

The amount of fluff in this patch was simply staggering. The Barber shop, for instance, offered a good 20 minutes of entertainment; I got my horns fitted with some bling. The amount of disgusting hairstyles is rampant, and it's quite obvious that most people chose the most visually offensive styles while suppressing high-pitched shrieks of nerdly delight. The same can be said for the entire Achievement system, the introduction of Inscription, and all the other crap that was heaped upon us. A well-planned diversion to distract the average player from the terrible state of most classes.

Warriors are really just weak now, especially when you compare flat damage output to Rogues, Frost Mages, Retribution Paladins, etc. I keep telling myself that these things are cyclical. After all, no class has seen the highs and lows like Warriors have - going from completely dominating the game to being an enormous joke, and then back again. From the end of classic WoW up until the second patch of the Burning Crusade, Warriors were awful. PvP wasn't a huge concern, considering everyone was leveling to 70 and gearing out in the new dungeons, but do you remember tanking back then? The name of the game was multi-mob aggro control, and even Protection Warriors were utterly unequipped to do it. Things changed, though, and by the time the first Arena season rolled around, Warriors rose to the top of the food chain.

The situation for Priests is much, much worse. Unlike Warriors, their roles have been relatively stable and well-defined throughout much of the game's history. Discipline for Survivability, Holy for Healing, Shadow for DPS/Damage Support. After the fundamentals of armor were changed in the Burning Crusade, Priests experienced a painful drop in survivability, only to gain back what they lost (and then some) with the prevalence of Resilience. I hope it's going to be the same in WotLK.

Word on the street is that Retribution Paladins are getting a nerf enema, and I can only hope that this rumor is authentic. Their raw damage output is obscene, and that's not even considering their burst potential. The range on Repentance? The removal of the shared cooldown for Divine Shield and Avenging Wrath? The fact that Ret. Paladins will never, ever run out of mana? Come on, that's just ridiculous. As for Rogues, they've never been stronger in my opinion; even the golden age of AR/Prep pales in comparison to these holocaust monstrosities that sweep Durotar clean of dueling opponents. Seriously, Dismantle? 10 seconds of disarm? An amazing ability, but not necessarily one that Rogues needed. Thankfully the combat that matters in this game (namely Arena) is based off of multiplayer synergy and complimentary class combinations rather than individual class strengths. Frost Mages are also quite sickening, but I have no problems on that front. Mages have needed a bit of a boost for a while now, even though the best ones have always adapted and excelled under any circumstance.

I didn't get to play Season 4 (since my Orc Warrior was stolen by some degenerate ******* Limey midway through S3), but it wrapped up as one of the most disappointing seasons yet. I believe the cut-off for Gladiator in every bracket was somewhere around 1750 rating. Win-trading took a back seat to people who made money through raising other people's team ratings. Some of the top players have been making decent cash on the side from this illegitimate practice. I don't have any moral problems with it - if you're good enough to earn some extra dough from playing a game you enjoy, more power to you. It's the same principle as playing in tournaments, though much less prestigious. On a competitive level, however, it's quite disheartening. The Arena is supposed to separate players based on their skills in PvP. Regardless of player activity, Blizzard itself stomped that idea to the curb by giving Gladiator to just about everyone. While I understand that the top title that defines excellence is Brutal Gladiator, but that's restricted to the #1 spot. What about the other 4 teams in the top 5? It certainly isn't easy for people who actively play to maintain those levels, as compared to people who reach a safe Gladiator rating early in the season and just sit on the team.

This patch has added a great deal of "fun" elements while simultaneously stripping the game of current balance in anticipation of the new Expansion. Like the Burning Crusade, everything will even out by the time people reach the new level cap. Until then, the game is all ****s and giggles, so enjoy the carefree atmosphere while it lasts. Hallow's End is coming, and you know what that means: brutal, non-stop Headless Horseman farming. Trick or treat, *****.