The Tactical "Genius" in World of Warcraft

Purpose: at first glance, the flight path has two purposes; (1) to intoxicate the player with the grandiose design of the world and (2) to transit the player from one location to another.



Problem: from a more analytical standpoint on the latter (purpose #2), you'll find how bothersome and how ridiculous the flight paths really are. Simply put, although it is "nice" - I use the word 'nice' through gritted teeth - the beauty of the world does not balance equally with the time spent; waiting…



Experience: I remember my first time playing World of Warcraft. It was 'Beta 2' and even though I never participated in the first beta, I felt privileged and…"special"; I felt like a kid again, like when discovering a glitch in an Nintendo 64 game, and felt obligated to "iron" out the bugs. Even though I hardly made a contribution (if any at all), I felt like I was part of something bigger and it felt good. Anyways, I digress…

When I first played and encountered my first flight path (Teldrassil to Dark Shore), I had, what best as I can describe, a "mental orgasm" (or as one of my friends call it, a "geek-gasm"). Even though I was amazed at the detail – though I have my qualms while in first-person perspective to gaze at the ground – I was shocked again, when I thought not possible, at the sheer brilliance of Blizzard; the moonlight reflecting off the water…if a game could melt my heart it did so in that moment (I still love to gaze at the Dark Shore to this day). As always, as I thought then, Blizzard held its quality of gameplay up high. How wrong I was…

Sure, Blizzard looks at the WoW Community and tries their best to appease them while keeping everything "fair", but if you think about it, they're too busy worrying about the little things. To be crude (forgive me), Blizzard should focus on the problems "in front of their nose" and not "in it". I could make a huge list, but for this rant I'll stick to

Flight Paths.

A few months ago, last year, I started a Tauren Druid on Argent Dawn. I will say I still enjoy the gameplay of such a character, but the flight paths…! The first time I went to Moonglade I was ecstatic, due to that being the first time I went there and had a purpose (long story short, I was stupid once and went their as a level 15 Night Elf Rogue). After my long visit there, I had to take a flight path back to Thunder Bluff; I've learned my lesson.

Although the first time is usually never the worse, it was in this case. I actually sat through the whole flight path as it took me from Moonglade, to Dark Shore, southward along the beach, along the side of Stone Talon Mountains and eventually going through them, westward into the Barrens, and then a long curve around to Thunder Bluff. All I can say is, "Talk about a scenic route!" I only took that flight path once more, simply because I had to go the bathroom…and for your information it was "#2". You might wonder why I gave you that, as some would say, "TMI" (or "UMI"), but it was necessary; upon exiting the bathroom and returning to my computer, I still had approximately 5 minutes left! Other than providing a way to go the bathroom without having to type AFK, that is totally unnecessary…! I have now learned my lesson and now have Thunder Bluff (or wherever) Hearthstoned for my future pleasure of not using a flight path. Because of how long they take, I've often opted to run to my destination instead; at least I get herbs…



Logic: simply because Blizzard wishes to "show off" their landscapes doesn't excuse them for the agony they put their players through; the only reason for having it the way they do is for bragging rights (acting Blizzard staff: "Hey, I made the texture for that leaf! Isn't it cool?"); this is a war, not a beauty pageant - going from point A to point B in a straight line is the way to fly (assuming there aren't any obstacles). In war there is no time for "looking at the flowers".

Think to yourself for a moment, if you were in charge of a war (or in a high position for that matter), would you prefer to aid your comrades sooner or later? Unless you are a person that, I feel is safe to say, is insane to the world, you would’ve said, “I would have to go with sooner.” With that in mind, that provides more material to work with: Logic.

You would think that if one were at war you’d want reinforcements sent in as quickly a manner as possible. Please explain to me why the flight paths then send them (our characters) through the most scenic route possible. Why is it that instead of going from Rachet Town to Orgrammar in a direct line, it instead goes from Rachet Town to the Crossroads and then to Orgrammar. Simply put, it makes no sense. I do understand that they want to show you the detail, to show the hard work that Blizzard has gone through to produce such splendor, but really now, why didn’t they do something like the free MMORPG FlyFF.

In FlyFF, from what I understand from watching their trailers and other information I’ve gathered, at level 20 after completing a certain quest, you obtain your first flying vehicle. From my understanding, unless they have magical barriers or monsters that would simply destroy you if you came near, you have the ability to explore anywhere you want in the world. I heard a rumor (way back) that World of WarCraft was going to have something similar (I don’t know the details), but they probably trashed the idea due to how complex it made everything. Not only would they have to consider the free roam flight in their quests, but their layout of the environment, dungeons, etc.

To be harsh, they were either lazy or nearing the end of their Budget. I will say that I was hoping the flying mounts (in the upcoming Expansion: Burning Crusades) were accessible outside of the Outlands, but then again, they’d run into the problem of their already existing transit system and actually having to complete the whole of Azeroth and add the Swirling Vortex in the middle of the sea. If one could traverse all of Azeroth, what would make them use the already existing flight paths? From what I gather, nothing would. It would turn into a gimmick where people would say things like, “Look son, this is what I had to go through when I first played WoW. You’re so lucky to have your own flying mount, not having to rely on a 10min-ish ride.”




Improvement: albeit Blizzard may never change this, the current flight paths could still exist if the mentality of using them is changed-use them for a "pleasurable" ride; for instance, they could be part of a circus of trained animals or something... As for what needs to be implemented, they need to add a type of flying transit that allows for direct passage, for those that wish to battle (to get straight to business!).

There are a few ways that Blizzard could go about this to improve this, aside from scrapping it and giving players flying mounts to explore Azeroth freely.

Create mini-games while flying so it is more than the game developers saying, “Look at what I made!” with their faces beaming with glee.

Turn the existing paths into a “Tour of Azeroth” thing and perhaps include it with the existing carnival band somehow. Perhaps this could even link with the mini-games idea (above) and the player could get tickets or win prizes depending on what they did.

Make it so you can fight while mounted. One thing that has always bothered me is that I can’t buff another character, even if they are within casting distance. I think it would be so cool if you could have little fights, be it your the one being attacked or you attacking or aiding someone else. If Blizzard decides to not do this, at least they could make it so it is possible to do (some) professions while riding. I found it so aggravating (and silly) that I couldn’t make bandages because I was “mounted”, the same goes for using Buffs on myself. I can understand some Buffs and Spells not working because of hand movements (if you think of it from the aspect of D&D), but most of them that I tried were instant cast spells, thus wouldn’t require much of a hand movement.

Access to faster animals. Either different trained mounts or faster versions of the existing mounts. This would keep the image that Blizzard is currently going for. I’ve read some message boards and some of the members even claim that they’d pay double (or more) for a faster flight ride. They even suggested that such flight paths could be unlockable from quests and whatnot (I won’t go into detail, I’m sure it doesn’t take much imagination to come up with your own ideas here).

I do realize that by having flight paths so long that it creates revenue for mages (for example), that doesn’t matter. For one, mages would get over it and find another way to make money…but even if such changes to the flight system were changed, I don’t believe it would threaten the revenue. For instance, if you could have your own flying mounts to freely roam the lands of Azeroth, there would still be times you’d want to arrive at a destination as quick as possible, thus the mage.




Conclusion: Blizzard should either get rid of their current Flight Path system or recycle it into something else that would be beneficial, adding actual flying mounts in Azeroth. Who knows, if they didn’t change the flight paths and added the mounts, maybe, as I do, people would simply use the paths as bathroom breaks (or refreshment replenishment), providing a use for such “novelties”. Although it is short and sweet, I must reiterate:

"at least I get herbs…"