Hey Jarulf,
I understand where you are coming from. I myself still enjoy the game post 60 - but that doesnt detract from the validity of your points.
What happened can be described as a 'Bait and Switch'.
You were exposed to a certain style of game pre-60. The pre-60 style lured or 'baited' you into loving the game. Then suddenly at 60 - with the levelling treadmill now ceased till the advent of the expansion - you are suddenly expected to 'switch' to a completely different aspect of the game.
The 'problem' I believe, stems from the very vision of the developers.
The problem is: The post 60 game that you hate - is always the game that the developers wanted to create. The pre-60 game that you loved - has always been seen by the developers as a levelling treadmill grind, that needed to be disguised from its grind status.
Let me explain further...
Legacy of Steel (LoS) was an Everquest Guild on The Nameless Server that had a very sizeable contingent of high-powered Blizzard Employees. LoS was also the uberguild of its Server. The Blizzard staff working there loved Everquest (EQ) - particularly its end game content, but at the same time noted certain flaws in its design - one of which was the very obvious and painful levelling grind. After putting up with a lot of crap in EQ for a long time (esp screwed up and buggy end game content, and horrible CS) - They must have finally had enough, and made the decision to make their own MMORPG World of Warcraft - keeping all the things they loved about Everquest, but attempting to change all the things they hated.
The problem for you, Jarulf, is that the Blizzard Employees were the ones who enjoyed the camaraderie formed by camping the Froglok in Lower Guk for the Flowing Black Silk Sash (killing the a certain mob for a certain rare drop item). They enjoyed large raiding zones. The Everquest End-Game didnt have much solo content to speak of - and they were fine with that. The post 60 game that you hate and find boring - is essentially the game that they love and always wanted to create.
The pre-60 game that they created - to them - is nothing but a very well disguised levelling treadmill. The treadmills primary function is to get you to the level cap - so you can start enjoying the post 60 game. (And also to teach you to play your character and get emotionally attached to your character along the way). The pre-60 game has always been considered to them a problem. Because in its most basic form - it is nothing but a grind. The problem for the developers has always been to find a way to disguise that grind. Ive read countless posts by the developers of WoW, when they were just EQ guildies throwing around ideas about what they disliked about EQ and MMORPGs, and what they would do to correct it. And what i have described above is their view on the pre-cap game.
The inadvertent problem they have created for people like you, is that they did such a gosh darn wonderful job on disguising the grind. The pre-40 game (in my eyes), has been polished to a degree that i haven't seen in any other MMORPG. This wonderful pre-level cap world they have created effectively did the 'Bait and Switch' on you. You weren't prepared for what was coming at the end of the tunnel.
The reason that I still enjoy the game post-60 is that I always was expecting this post-60 game. And I have always (until recently) viewed the levelling of 1-60 as the developers did. Nothing but a grind. A chore to fulfil till I capped. A well disguised chore, but a chore nonetheless.
I think I'm starting to ramble, and just repeat my points over and over. So I should probably stop there. (Also I'm at work, and should do some work).
Ill end by saying I sympathise with and understand your position Jarulf. One man's meat is another man's poison. Its unfortunate that from your point of view they baited you with some delicious smelling meat, then swapped it for some poison at the last minute. From my point of view, I had to wade through some heavily disguised poison, in order to get to the tasty meat at the end of the tunnel.
I understand where you are coming from. I myself still enjoy the game post 60 - but that doesnt detract from the validity of your points.
What happened can be described as a 'Bait and Switch'.
You were exposed to a certain style of game pre-60. The pre-60 style lured or 'baited' you into loving the game. Then suddenly at 60 - with the levelling treadmill now ceased till the advent of the expansion - you are suddenly expected to 'switch' to a completely different aspect of the game.
The 'problem' I believe, stems from the very vision of the developers.
The problem is: The post 60 game that you hate - is always the game that the developers wanted to create. The pre-60 game that you loved - has always been seen by the developers as a levelling treadmill grind, that needed to be disguised from its grind status.
Let me explain further...
Legacy of Steel (LoS) was an Everquest Guild on The Nameless Server that had a very sizeable contingent of high-powered Blizzard Employees. LoS was also the uberguild of its Server. The Blizzard staff working there loved Everquest (EQ) - particularly its end game content, but at the same time noted certain flaws in its design - one of which was the very obvious and painful levelling grind. After putting up with a lot of crap in EQ for a long time (esp screwed up and buggy end game content, and horrible CS) - They must have finally had enough, and made the decision to make their own MMORPG World of Warcraft - keeping all the things they loved about Everquest, but attempting to change all the things they hated.
The problem for you, Jarulf, is that the Blizzard Employees were the ones who enjoyed the camaraderie formed by camping the Froglok in Lower Guk for the Flowing Black Silk Sash (killing the a certain mob for a certain rare drop item). They enjoyed large raiding zones. The Everquest End-Game didnt have much solo content to speak of - and they were fine with that. The post 60 game that you hate and find boring - is essentially the game that they love and always wanted to create.
The pre-60 game that they created - to them - is nothing but a very well disguised levelling treadmill. The treadmills primary function is to get you to the level cap - so you can start enjoying the post 60 game. (And also to teach you to play your character and get emotionally attached to your character along the way). The pre-60 game has always been considered to them a problem. Because in its most basic form - it is nothing but a grind. The problem for the developers has always been to find a way to disguise that grind. Ive read countless posts by the developers of WoW, when they were just EQ guildies throwing around ideas about what they disliked about EQ and MMORPGs, and what they would do to correct it. And what i have described above is their view on the pre-cap game.
The inadvertent problem they have created for people like you, is that they did such a gosh darn wonderful job on disguising the grind. The pre-40 game (in my eyes), has been polished to a degree that i haven't seen in any other MMORPG. This wonderful pre-level cap world they have created effectively did the 'Bait and Switch' on you. You weren't prepared for what was coming at the end of the tunnel.
The reason that I still enjoy the game post-60 is that I always was expecting this post-60 game. And I have always (until recently) viewed the levelling of 1-60 as the developers did. Nothing but a grind. A chore to fulfil till I capped. A well disguised chore, but a chore nonetheless.
I think I'm starting to ramble, and just repeat my points over and over. So I should probably stop there. (Also I'm at work, and should do some work).
Ill end by saying I sympathise with and understand your position Jarulf. One man's meat is another man's poison. Its unfortunate that from your point of view they baited you with some delicious smelling meat, then swapped it for some poison at the last minute. From my point of view, I had to wade through some heavily disguised poison, in order to get to the tasty meat at the end of the tunnel.