Now that I’ve had some time to process and reflect upon all of the information that Blizzard shared with us over the past weekend, here are a few of my thoughts, wishes, questions, concerns, etc…
First off, I am really excited about this new expansion. Probably the most excited I’ve been about a WoW expansion… ever. I really like that they’re putting a priority on fun, rather than progression. The fun factor is something that’s been lacking for some time, in my opinion. Don’t get me wrong… the game has always been enjoyable and always will be, I’m sure, but it hasn’t been as much fun as it once was.
When I first started playing WoW there was a sense of awe and wonderment that went along with exploring the world of Azeroth. There was a lot less content back then, yet it seemed like there were far more options available, as far as ‘fun’ game play was concerned.
The Burning Crusade, I thought, was a fantastic expansion. It ushered in one of my favorite elements of WoW – the PvP arena, it gave our mounts wings, we got a new profession, and it also introduced us to what is, and perhaps forever shall be, the greatest WoW dungeon ever… Karazhan.
Wrath of the Lich King was also a great expansion. Northrend is an amazing zone – both thematically and visually. A lot of the stuff that was added in WotLK were things that really enriched the game. We got the achievement system, a scheduled world PvP zone, some great raid content, and of course… Spirit Beasts! 😉
Cataclysm has been fun, but I feel it’s been the least exciting expansion to date. Sure, there have been a lot of world-shattering changes to the game, with loads of new content that’s been added, etc… but at the end of the day, it’s just a lot of the same ol’ crap. Blizz has been putting a new paint job on a lot of existing themes, which is nice for awhile, but I feel they’ve been losing the momentum required to fuel this beast. The game needs some innovative change to give it the kick in the ass that it so sorely needs.
Each major content patch and expansion has been a nice ‘fix’, but the high they provide has lessened over time. Blizz needs to give players back the rush they felt when they ventured through Azeroth for the first time back before the portal opened… before we ventured to Northrend, and before the world was torn asunder by Deathwing.
Mists of Pandaria I think will be a nice reset.
It brings back the Alliance vs Horde rivalry that was so ever-present and enjoyable during the early days, and it’s going to get players back out into the world. I love that they’re focusing on that. Azeroth is a beautiful place, but unless you’re an alt-o-holic, there isn’t a whole heck of a lot to do out in the world at present. At least that’s how I see it, anyway.
Once I hit 85, and even before 85… Cataclsym has mostly just been a few instances, a handful of arenas, and a bunch of BGs… all surrounded by one big queue time. Obviously, that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but hopefully you see what I’m getting at. A lot of what’s been added is just a stale rehash of existing content, built upon an aging model.
Sure, there’s more content, but not a lot of it is truly fun – it’s just more. In other words… something to do. I’m sure a majority of players would agree, which would probably account for the increased irritability, hostility, disrespect and general malaise that’s been exhibited by players over the past several months.
The game needs an enema, and I think Mists of Pandaria will get things flushed and flowing harmoniously again. Great analogy, right..? 😉 I also think it’s going to reset the player base – leaving us with a much more pleasant social gaming experience overall. All of the haters that are opposed to Blizz adding Kung Fu Pandas to the game and Pokemon pet battles can GTFO, as far as I’m concerned. This game is meant to be light, humorous and fun… if you want a darker, more serious, gear and bragging-rights based game, then go play Diablo 3 (which I will most definitely be playing as well) or whatever… point is, I think the players that shall remain are those that want to enjoy the game and have fun.
I for one, am very much looking forward to having some fun in this game once again.
Alright… so enough of the rant… here’s my two cents worth…
Pandaria
Awesome. Love it. The look and feel of the landscape is simply breathtaking. It will be nice to explore a region that’s, for the most part, filled with positivity. I can’t wait to dive in.
Pandaren
I think they’re great. The concept may seem silly to some, but seeing them in action… it just works. The vibe and character of the Pandaren is wonderful. I will definitely roll one.
Monks
They look pretty fun to play. Based upon what I saw in the game play footage, I think it will be another popular support class. 😉
Talent System Overhaul
This has been long overdue. Blizzard is exactly right when they say that WoW has far outgrown the game’s original talent system. It’s undergone many changes over the years, culminating in the much watered down iteration of the talent trees we have today, yet a full rebuild from the ground-up is what has been long needed. I’m glad they’re delivering on this.
Players will be spending less time researching builds or playing with sub-optimal ones, and spend more time actually playing – learning to become more proficient with their class. Cataclysm took a few nice steps in this direction, but this specialization system we have now still feels a bit broken – especially for us hunters.
Although I do like the idea of perfecting a particular build with multiple choices available, I do not like having to make pre-requisite or ‘filler’ choices just to move down the tree towards a better talent. From what I’ve seen so far, all 18 of our proposed talents are worthy of taking. I also like that they are all primarily based upon utility and survival, allowing for maximum customization, without greatly affecting our primary role… MSQoRDPS.
Being able to select only 6 talents by max level may seem a bit too basic or ‘dumbed down’, but it’s actually brilliant and wonderful in its simplicity. By themselves, the talents may seem to not offer all that much, but when paired with the different abilities unique to each tree, those 6 talent choices can really affect the outcome of a build. In this next expansion, I am looking forward to seeing a lot of varied builds and parity amongst the three specs – for all aspects of play… something that hasn’t been commonplace for a long, long time.
In my opinion, this new talent system is going to be a godsend for both new and veteran players alike.
PvE Scenarios
I liked what was said at BlizzCon concerning the new PvE Scenarios. For those of you that maybe haven’t heard… PvE Scenarios are world events that are more challenging than a group quest, yet require less time and fewer party members than a dungeon. They’re an instance-based form of game play that’s more accesible to casuals who are up for a challenge. At least, that’s what I gleaned.
Anyhow… Options… I love ’em.
Challenge Mode Dungeons
Just as PvE scenarios act as somewhat of a bridge between group questing and 5-mans – Challenge Mode Dungeons are kind of like a step between 5-mans and raids. They offer the sense of accomplishment and challenge of a raid, as well as a feeling of progression, but without the time-sink and coordination required to schedule and manage a 10 or 25 man run.
What’s so nice about all of these Challenge Mode Dungeons is that they will be available to pretty much everyone. You won’t necessarily have to be in a progressive raid guild, or have to schedule hours and hours of designated play time each week. All you’ll need is a decent group and enough time to run a 5 man. Part of the mechanic of the Challenge Mode Dungeons is normalized gear, meaning players entering the ‘challenge mode’ of an instance will be donning appropriate gear for that instance, rather than the sub-par or overkill gear that you might otherwise be wearing.
What this means is, players cannot have gear advantages when it comes to challenge modes… it’s all skill, coordination and communication baby.
Challenge Mode Dungeons will feature a three-tiered reward system based on how quickly you finish the instance. The rewards will be gear with no stats (WTF?!), but… it will be amazing looking, and available for Transmogrification. In essence, the challenge mode gear rewards will be trophies more or less, allowing players to display their true PvE awesomeness based solely upon ability… not gear.
I think this idea kicks ass.
New Battlegrounds, Arena and Other PvP Bits
I love both of the proposed BG concepts they revealed at BlizzCon. The STV Diamond Mines looks amazing. The map and terrain look fantastic, and the game play objective seems like it will offer some hot Alliance on Horde action. I also really like what they’re intending for Valley of Power. That looks like an unrelenting-PvP-adrenaline-rush-arena-style-slugfest.
The Tol’vir Proving Grounds looks like fun. It’s too soon to predict the state of Hunter PvP in MoP, so I won’t offer too much opinion on this arena. The four pillars could be a nightmare for us, but we’ll just have to wait and see.
For more on the new BGs, including maps and concept art, please see my earlier post.
Resilience
The proposed resilience change seems like a nice idea – allowing PvE’ers to get in on the action without feeling the need to ‘have to’ farm for PvP gear in order to be competitive.
For those that aren’t privy… Blizz intends to make resilience a base stat just like stamina, agility, etc… but players will only have a certain amount of it. Resilience will also be on gear, for those who want to stack it for competitive PvP — it just won’t be ‘as necessary’ as it is now as far as PvE’ers are concerned. The idea here is to get away from players getting burned down within a few global cooldowns just because they weren’t wearing any PvP gear. This is a good change.
World PvP
Blizz mentioned a hopeful return to world PvP, reminiscent of the old Southshore/Tarren Mill, Crossroads and Astranaar standoffs. I really, really hope this comes to pass. Those spontaneous events were so much fun. If anything, I’d love to see another contested zone like Halaa. That was another bit of PvP content that I truly enjoyed. A zone like Halaa, located in Pandaria, is definitely on my expansion wish list.
Pet Battle System
I think this is going to be a blast. I’ll stop at that, and just refer you to this site if you want to know more.
Hunter-Specific Changes (i.e., the important stuff)
Minimum range gone
Considering the fact that they’re taking melee weapons away from us, this is obviously a welcome change.
Melee Weapons… Gone
This along with the minimum range removal are the two most significant changes in the Hunter department. This change is something I’m not entirely crazy about, but I see it as a necessary sacrifice for the good of the game. There will be less arguing during loot rolls and many of the raiders will be able to stop whining about their DPS dropping when they have to stack on a boss.
I believe this move was telegraphed long ago when Blizzard began pigeon-holing us into using 2h weapons, then eventually polearms. I mean really… polearms for hunters..?! WTF. Hunters should be packing hatchets or daggers, in my opinion. Melee is a last-resort, survival mechanism for us… we don’t go out into the wilds, or enter a battle carrying a big-ass polearm. Anyway… enough of the RP take on this…
Having melee abilities made us interesting. We didn’t have to utilize them all that often, but I felt they added more uniqueness to our class. However, our melee has been pretty weaksauce since before WotLK. In TBC we could actually use it to finish someone off in PvP, if needed. Nowadays it’s a joke.
I would have rather they buffed our melee abilities than take them away, but that’s just me.
Quivers and Ammo Pouches
Quivers and ammo pouches will likely return, but be merely cosmetic. I preferred when our quivers and pouches actually buffed us in some way, but it will be nice to at least see them on our toons again – if only for aesthetic reasons. Also, I think it would be really cool if these items were obtained via some reward system, with amazing looks available on them to signify the varying feats that were associated with obtaining them. Maybe some hunter-specific solo quests or something…
Back when I was heavily into twinking, those of us who knew about and had obtained the Quiver of the Night Watch by level 19 were considered somewhat pro-style. The quiver stood apart from all other quivers at that level, and offered only a minute boost to DPSÂ (used to offer a slight boost to attack speed back in vanilla), but still… it was better, and it signified that you knew how to hunter.
The same can be said for that Rock Dollar quest that some of you raiding hunters completed back in the day. I wasn’t raiding back then, nor was my guild even remotely close to entering MC, but I’ve been told that bow was only attainable by hunters who were worth their salt. 😉
At any rate… I’d like to see them add some epic-style hunter quests that would reward these items. That would be a fun diversion for hunters.
Pets will not be tied to a tree
I remember Blizz mentioning this two years ago, but it looks like they finally plan to do it. Hunters will choose a ‘family specialization’ for their pets. This means that turtles will be able to DPS, cats will be able to tank, wolves maybe will have Roar of Sacrifice and be viable PvP pets, etc… This sounds pretty cool as long as they don’t standardize the family specializations as they’re doing with us. I’d still like to be able to build my pets. It’s not a huge necessity, but to me, being able to talent our pets how we want them is another of the things that makes hunters special and unique – further setting us apart from other pet classes.
Random thoughts and concerns
I’m happy that they’re moving towards account-wide achievements and items. I think that is a terrific move, and one that will minimize the ‘work’ portion of the game, thus maximizing the ‘fun’ factor. I’ve not been one to want to grind out the same old achievements or gather the same items for multiple alts, but I know players that do. That just seems like a lot of wasted time to me. I see my characters as a vessel to enjoy the game as a player — the play-style and feel of each one can be unique, sure… but I don’t necessarily want to treat each one as a new instance of ‘me’. I like that my in-game achievements can be reflected across my fleet of toons, and that they’ll all have access to my collective of pets, mounts, etc…
I sincerely hope that Blizzard fixes our pet issues once and for all. I’m almost certain they will, but it is something that’s definitely on my mind. This new invisible pet bar thing is upsetting and the 2 second pet-one-shot window while their health is trying to scale after a dismount, has me going batty.
All in all, I think that Mists of Pandaria is going to bring some welcome change to the game, and WoW will be all the better for it. I have complete faith in the Blizzard team and I think they are going to reinvigorate us as players by presnting us with the best x-pac we’ve ever seen.
I am glad to see that Blizzard is finally doing away with the useless Melee. I am a Lv 85 Hunter and I cannot tell you how many times I have died in PvP battleground because an enemy closes the distance. Hunter Melee Attacks are sadly pathetic in comparison to the other melee classes.
BUT The fact that they are doing away with melee weapons brings a few questions to mind:
1) Will The Hunter Class be able to equip Melee weapons at all OR will they not be able to utilize them?
2) IF a Player already has an account with a Lv 85 Hunter, will they be able to have their Melee Weapons utilized as Stat Boost in the game or will they be completely useless?
3) Since The Hunter Class is no longer using Melee Weapons, Will Ranged Weapons Provide Higher Stats i.e. Higher Agility and Stamina?
4) With MoP Coming out, Will Ranged Weapons (Bows, Guns, and Crossbows) now be Exclusive to The Hunter Class OR will The Warrior and Rouge Classes be allowed to utilize them as they did in Cataclysm???
P.S. Personally Since MoP is doing away with Hunter’s Melee Weapons which provide a Significant Agility and Stamina Boost, I say They should Dramatically Increase the Agility and Stamina Boost in All Ranged Weapons available to The Hunter Class. PLUS If they are doing away with our Melee Weapons, Then All Bows, Guns, AND Crossbows should be EXCLUSIVE to the Hunter Class and No longer available to The Warrior or Rogue Classes. It would not be fair to take away The Hunter Class’ Melee Weapons, but still make us fight with a Warrior and/or Rouge just to get a Ranged Weapon.
my only concern IF blizzard take away melee weaponry from hunters is that in all theory and logical possibility is the hunter will now ABSOLUTELY useless in any pvp situation DKs can simply pull us and we’re done, rogues haha rogues will see as a free warm-up session (need I say more) etc etc etc if Blizzard would improve the bloody hunter situation and actually make the character useful instead of crippled it would be re-assuring, however why don’t they just do a mercy killing and eradicate the class entirely perhaps that would be an improvement seeing how melee looks like it is being eradicated we literally have no line of defense (be it ever so slight) and that equals a hunter pate`
I am also really excited about MoP. I’m more of a roleplayer and explorer than a raider (though I do raid casually), so it kind of seems like they’re heading more in that direction. I’m also really excited about getting a new healing class, and PVE scenarios. I also play LOTRO, and the skirmishes are one of my favorite features in that game.
To add in beta shots were doing damage that never went live. But after things went live the djinni was out of the bottle. Camo- nerfed, traps-nerfed, scatter shot- new pathing behavior (nerf). Megatf made videos showing hunters not putting out pressure. Only viable comps were based on the hunter a pure DPS being carried by classes till they were nerfed. How could we give feedback on a false reality on beta. That was disingenuous.
I wanted to clarify why cata became my Alamo.
PS I love all the hunter community and the various hunter sites. You and others made me a better hunter
I think cata was about a lot of technical stuff: grouping, distribution of wealth and travel and appearance. I felt the game has turned into one of disposable relationships. I loved Vanilla and BC (felt PvP nerfed inBC), felt totally nerfed inWotLk till last few months, saw Cata and focus as a huge opportunity. I felt that beta in Cata was unfair. I advocated for changes but it was hard to do when Aimed Shots were hitting for Redonculous damage. But as a PVP player I KNEW focus regen was beyond stupid. I made Cata my Alamo.
I felt basically we were the only class with a Vanilla toolbox and that with the changes in resources we as a class deserved a lot more effort. I played but was less and less happy. I think that some MoP changes would help. BUT HUNTERS HAVE BEEN PROMISED HELP EVERY EXPANSION AND IT HAS NOT BEEN DELIVERED. My trust is gone. If months after Panda Express is out it seems good I will come back but my sub is up 11/7. I am preordering SWToR because another company deserves a chance at having my money.
IMO the main “problem” with Cataclysm is not that it’s not fun, especially the quest lines are the best of all expansions so far IMO, but that there’s not enough of it.
Another “problem” is that with all the phasing going on, group questing is getting exceedingly hard (you MUST be at the exact same point in the entire quest line for an area or you can’t team up there in many situations, can’t even see each other). This is great on pvp realms where a lvl82 player will be somewhat immune from being set upon constantly by lvl85 gankers looking for easy honour points (I’d call them dishonour points tbh), but in general it is detrimental for the community aspect of mmos.
People also level through cata content so quickly, you’re 85 within 2-3 days of turning 80 (real time, not game time), even playing at a casual pace.
Compare that to WotlK, where you’d take several weeks (real time) to get from 70 to 80 and it feels like there’s no content there, when in fact there’s almost as much, you just go through it at a far faster pace.
And then at 85, there’s only 3 dungeons to repeat ad nauseum until you open up 5 or so more heroic ones where almost all you’ll find (unless you do guild runs exclusively) are rude, obnoxious, people with no patience and no intent to have a fun run, they’re only there to farm valour they need to get the gear needed to be deemed worthy by raid leaders to get invited into raids where that same gear drops.
‘Pets will not be tied to a tree’. As a non-hunter, I had an immediate vision of pets performing the ‘sit/stay’ obedience routine 😛 Excellent write-up though, summarising my own thoughts about the expansion, particularly regarding the possible exodus of ‘fun-suckers’ 🙂
This might be of interest for you… 🙂
Q: Any plans to fix pet stats being too low for a few seconds after spawning?
A: We are fixing pets so stats won’t lag several seconds after logging in or dismounting in 5.0.
Hi.
When I first heard/read of kuddely Kung Fu Pandas in WoW I went like “WTF!?” Peacenik furballs dancing through the ravaged wastes of post-Deathwing Azeroth, hugging dragons and daemonologists and offering them scented cherryblossom-tea to get them to meditate on their past crimes???
No f*king way!
Then I leaned back, got offered some scented cherryblossom tea from a mysterious stranger and thought about all of this.
To my own continuing surprise I LIKE the Pandas. I really look forward to actually playing my new pandaren-monk, traveling, in the footsteps of ol´ Caine, the post-Deathwing Azeroth with my pack of scented cherryblossoms.
Well, you get the idea.
Now, Pandaria. I didn´t start with WoW until WotLK, but still one thing I really liked was exploring the world and enjoing the beatyful places to be found ther. I especially like the jungle-themes (Feralas, Sholazar, Un´Goro), and the “alien” areas (“verwüstete Lande”[what´s that in english?], the Mythos-Isles, Zangar-marshes).
So Pandaria really looks like a place I´m totally, totally gonna enjoi exploring. I only wish I could do this with my new brewmaster, but of cause I will race up to lvl 90 with my main, before hefting the barrel and starting it all over again.
Did I mention that I really hope that there will be barrel-animations with the brewmaster-tank? Like “Barrel Smash” or something?
Pet fights?
Well, ´nuff said ´bout THAT topic for my taste…
I believe you are talking about Zangarmarsh, Netherstorm, Tempest Keep, and the exodar when you say “Alien Areas”. i like those places as well
Lozaiah (an IRL friend of mine who also comments here in the blog) and I had a lengthy discussion at one point about Cataclysm.
On the one hand, there is much good I can say about Cataclysm. The revamping of many world zones, the simplification of the talent trees and the return of challenging dungeons and raids made Cataclysm fresh, as compared to Wrath of the Lich King. But on the other hand, reading thoughtful commentaries from Kazador, Bandet and a few other hunters at the official forums, it was becoming clear that not all was well with the current expansion are there were broken and half-implemented mechanics with certain classes. Also, not all was right with how world areas worked as Blizzard’s zone phasing method was somewhat over-implemented. You couldn’t merely party up on the world map anymore, since some members would suddenly disappear if they weren’t on a certain quest chain. This is pretty evident with fresh 81+ toons in Hyjal.
The negativists–and I myself at one point–thought that Blizzard was wrapping up World of Warcraft in favor of Diablo III or Project Titan. That they were, in business terms, cannibalizing WoW and funneling the resources and knowledge they have gained from it into other projects, ultimately killing it off after a while. Cannibalization in business often occurs near the end of a product’s life cycle to ensure that the competition doesn’t get around to doing it first. Maybe that’s why, it seemed, Blizzard wasn’t listening to player complaints about their classes or the game’s mechanics–case in point, Hunters, Warriors and certain builds of Warlocks, Shaman and Paladins.
But on the other hand, there was still a glimmer of hope. Pardon if the following statement will be a bit controversial, especially to the naysayers. But what if Cataclysm was actually a telegraphed testbed for future changes to WoW? An extended beta of things to come, so to speak? Maybe Blizzard isn’t merely ignoring players’ complaints? Maybe–just MAYBE–they themselves knew that WoW had to undergo a drastic innovation and were actually noting all the complaints and QQ down so they could know better what changes to make? Think about it. They broke the world and changed many of the maps. They made sweeping changes to the talent trees. They even brought back some of the types of content that made Vanilla and TBC so much fun for those who experienced them firsthand.
Remember that Blizzard is NOT the type of company to just ignore public opinion, unlike some rather stubborn ones out there (*cough* modern Nintendo *cough*). I know full well the story about what originally happened to Starcraft when it was first shown. Audiences boo’ed the “Warcraft in Space” demo off the stage and Blizzard had to go back to the drawing board for a full year. After the year expired, the new product became the Starcraft we all know and love today.
I really think that Cataclysm was just a testbed for Mists of Pandaria, they probably had MoP on the radar during Wrath of the Lich King but in order to avoid repeating mistakes they made before decided to do a “soft” launch of MoP. In other words, introducing some drastic changes, “resets”, bringing back old mechanics, etc. Then see what works with the players and what doesn’t.
Gaming is growing, it’s changing. Ever since Wii and DS ushered in the “Gaming Revolution” of our time, the game industry has taken a drastic turn. And only those who let the players prosper will pull out as the winner. Blizzard is going the smart route, actually listening to their playerbase rather than shoving stuff down their throat like some other companies and certain game developers.. *ahem* Shi *cough* ge *cough* ru *ahem*.
It’s not new at all to do “released test runs”, software companies have been doing this for years. Microsoft is the most obvious to this strategy, why else do you think Windows releases tend to have an SP2, or even SP3? The initial release isn’t the finished product, it’s the latest Service Pack that is. In fact, I think Vista was just a testbed for 7. Why else did they release 7 so fast, with a lot of Vista-to-7 upgrade options?
Anyway, enough of the ranting. Substance20/Gryzor and I should probably learn to keep this on the coffee table. We tend to get carried away, lol XD
Nice writeup! I agree about the expansion taking the game in a welcome new direction. Really excited for this one!
As the self-proclaimed champion of fun around here, I couldn’t agree with you more. I am ESPECIALLY hopeful about the account wide sharing of achievements/items and I hope that they include mounts in this, as well. Although I have not won the roll on it yet (/fingerscrossedthatithapenssomeday), twice now I have been in TK on alts farming gear for transmogrification and the Ashes dropped. The thought of having one of my least-played toons win the roll on something so grand just sickens me.
I love the idea of the scenarios and challenge dungeons, as well. I love that I have another support class to level so that I can tell others who mistakenly play it as their main class how they can best play it to lend maximum support to my hunter. XD
My ultimate wish for this expansion, though, remains Blizz allowing Gnomes to be Hunters. PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEASE BLIZZARD, LET GNOMES BE HUNTERS!!!!
Please.
Yeah, if they can be warlocks and summon things 5 times larger than them, why not use the guns that their engineers build?
However, i kinda wish that they chose to add ethereals instead of pandarens, simply because ethereals look freaken awesome, and have an awesome warp-run.
I remember when i first entered the lvl 80-84 bracket with my lvl 70 pvp gear, i could die in one hit from avenger’s shield, which isn’t even a damage based attack. however, the fact that i died so easily taught me that disengage is actually a useful ability, so it was a good experience in the long run
I couldn’t have said it all better myself. Such an excellent write-up, Gar!
The only exception I have is about melee weapons and abilities. I am glad to see them go. I want more interesting and powerful ranged abilities, I don’t want to even consider anything melee related. Hunter may appear naked without a big old stick strapped to our backs, but hopefully Blizzard makes up for this visual loss by displaying our ranged weapons on our backs along with a quiver or ammo pouch. That would just be awesome.
All in all, you hit on all the points I’ve thought about a lot too. Spot on with your analysis of account-wide achievements. I love the idea immensely!
I’m not sure I agree with the Resilience changes. Right now their is a gearing path for PvP just as there is for PvE. You get crafted PvP gear to do regular random BGs and event PvP (Tol Barad) for Honor, get Honor gear for Rated Arenas and Battlegrounds, and then those events give you Conquest for the highest tier of gear, allowing you to be more competitive as your rating increases.
I like that there is a bit of a “pledging” process to PvP to sort out the casuals from the competitive, and appreciated it even when I was a casual myself. It also provides incentive for players to participate, gear, and learn how to use their class abilities for survival rather than the additional baseline survivability provided by gear.
Believe me, I learned where my Deterrence and Disengage buttons were pretty quick when I first stepped foot into a Battleground at the level cap!
I agree about the expansion, at first I was pretty upset about the happy go lucky Pandarians, but the more I thought about it, I realized that we would be getting away from raid, IL, elitist stuff. I like the occasional raid, but I think people are getting too wrapped up into it. I think getting back to exploring the continents, AND raids, is a great approach.