So Patch 3.0.8 has been a monumental disaster for Blizzard, as far as game patches go. This is the first time I can remember a major part of the game–in this case Wintergrasp–being removed indefinitely because it brings the whole game crashing down.
Since I logged on last night, after Wintergrasp was disabled, I didn’t experience the server crashes. However, the lag was abysmal, and supposedly that, too, has been the consequence of the patch.
For me, the lag is always horrendous in Dalaran. I actively avoid the place at peak hours. So I didn’t notice the lag all that much until I tried to do the Thrusting Hodir’s Spear daily for the Sons of Hodir. It’s a frustrating quest anyway, but trying to do it with lag is impossible.
The key to killing the dragon before it kills you or drops you (same difference) is that you have to hit a “Dodge” button at the precise moment you see the warning that the Dragon is tightening its grip. If your dodges are delayed due to lag, you will die.
So I died. Twice. Then I decided to give up and do the other daily quests. Then I remembered that one good thing about this patch is that I can now turn in all those Relics of Ulduar to the Sons for rep. I am about a quarter of the way from Revered…and thus a quarter of the way from getting my Reins of the Ice Mammoth.
Back on the issue of the huge Wintergrasp bug, at first I felt like it doesn’t affect me too much. I don’t PvP much. My first venture into Wintergrasp the other day was frustrating to say the least. I had no idea what I was doing. The Daily Quest to kill 20 Horde seemed bugged (I made it to First Lieutenant rank, which requires killing at least five players I think, but I only received credit for two kills the whole forty minutes).
However, the more I’ve thought about it, I’ve grown concerned for a couple reasons. First, I don’t recall Bliz ever screwing the pooch this badly before, although there was the issue of that dreadful patch just prior to Wrath. Is Blizzard getting sloppy?
Second, there are quite a few people for whom PvP is just about the whole game. Removing Wintergrasp, with no ETA on when it will return, is the PvP equivalent of taking down Naxx for an unknown length of time because it’s crashing the servers. You can bet there would be some rather intense dissatisfaction over that, and right now, I can imagine there are certain forums full of vituperation aimed at Bliz over this Wintergrasp situation. Will they lose subscribers? Will it matter if they do? Who knows.
Anyway, PvP-ers aren’t the only ones affected by removing Wintergrasp. Without the buff, raiders won’t get Stone Keeper’s Shards from Heroics. Additionally, raiders won’t be able to enter the Vault of Archavon, as long as Wintergrasp is down. And that means me, if the problem isn’t fixed by Saturday.
