Quote Originally Posted by Kinseykinz View Post
I meant it more along the lines you're discribing

Beat easy version. Work on new strategy/clear for normal version. Beat normal... start working on strategy and clear of hard...etc. sorry for the lack of clarity. My bigger point is that I'd prefer the battle to just be 'hardmode' from the beginning, no difficulity sliders needed. I'd rather they add a variety of content across all skill levels than fewer actual things to do, but more ways to basically beat the same content.
understood.

i think it depends a lot on the progression of endgame, and just how many options there are. another thing about WoW to consider is that there were 25 man raids, and it took a while to totally gear up everyone in your guild. as with any MMO, then, you were stuck farming the same stuff for quite a while until everyone was properly geared, but some players outgeared others.

what was to keep them from just getting sick of the grind and not logging in again until a new expansion?

hardmodes were the answer. they could revisit the content, effectively learn a new fight with a fresh challenge, and stay interested a bit longer while the rest of their guild caught up. and there were generally perks to go along with it (higher item level gear, new trinkets, etc)

it's a tough line to walk, sure. people get tired of the grind, the endless gear treadmill, and developers of new MMOs have tried to take some of the grind away and streamline the process. but as we can see, the games which are retaining subscribers are the ones that have kept to the treadmill tradition, and the new games trying to revolutionize this fade quickly.

(or in some instances they still have the traditional grind, but not enough stuff to grind for)

so on one hand, i don't want content to be recycled. i don't want to get sick of it. i don't want to feel like i'm running in place for ages. but on the other hand i don't want to suffer from "been there, done that" after just a few short months, either.