wow The Good/Great Side of the Icecrown Rares System

[Starym 3,800]

 

We've heard many players and seen many posts saying how annoying/bad/terrible/end of the world/Activision is evil the pre-patch event rare spawn timers are (and if you haven't, just head on over to... well anywhere WoW-related). But there's a really interesting thing happening with these rare spawn camp-sites... some of them are becoming ACTUAL camp sites. With people sitting around, talking and, well, interacting! You know, like in an MMO!

While the 20 minute wait may be somewhat annoying, and there certainly are issues with the system, what it has brought back for some players is something incredibly rare and difficult to accomplish by devlopers: an (albeit small) sense of community and that the world is actually alive. There have been several reddit threads talking about this, but the one that really inspired me personally is this one from Hermes94, who played guide to many players asking for the next rare spawn and coordinates, even receiving an honorary rank of "Tour Guide" from the general chat:

I cannot over-emphasize enough how important stories like the above are, as these little moments bring SO much life to the game. Not to even mention their meaning to a new player, which there are a lot of in the pre-patch, who experience this type of community feeling for the first time. This is what creates that ineffable feeling Vanilla was so good at, this is why so many people are nostalgic for it, and (for some) Classic isn't quite scratching that itch.

There's also the tons and tons of themed mounts waiting for a rare images popping up we've covered, which are cool in their own right, but this particular joy parade doesn't end there, as plenty more players had similar great experiences:

Even as I recently flew in to a giant group of Alliance camping a rare spot, as I just waned to take a picture for an article, and they instantly destroyed me, it definitely felt a little more old-school than usual - something was actually happening. And perhaps the low-end nature of the rewards (minus the bag, which is as high-end as it gets in WoW) also adds to the more wholesome nature of some of these encounters, as most players there are either new or just gearing up alts in a more chill way.

And so if the cost for moments like these is a general irritation from the more jaded of Veterans (which I am one of, definitely), that's a price worth paying.

[Starym 3,800]

Total side-note: yes, I did write this article only to show off my T3 shoulders in the header image.

[Steveson 193]

I am actually perfectly okay with 20 minutes wait time between each rare spawn. I've met a few real good chaps. We've talked about many things and had a few good laughs. Then we drop like 500 nukes on a boss and go to the next one. This is the most fun chat room i've been in.

[Calysia 229]

I think 20 minute spawn times are perfectly reasonable. It seems everyone...well most everyone...wants stuff handed to them on a platter.

[Jenetikitty 2]

I agree!  Folks are being friendly, people are helping eachother out, we're chatting and hanging out.  it's really nice!  The loot....  eh, I could take it or leave it, but these are good times.  

[durdyenglish 298]

This is more evidence to the case that we, the players, decide how the experience will be.

Decide to make it a good one.

[Valhalen 1,484]

The Pre-Patch Event feels more underwhelming compared to other expansions, but it is not something to sink hours and hours of gameplay, honestly. Do some dailies, hunt a few Rares, and call it a day. If anything the event is a fun throwback to one of the best expansions ever.

Edited November 13, 2020 by Valhalen

[D3monaz 3]

I personally really enjoyed this event. Never seen this many active people in the chat ? Finally not only the boosting and bot spams. instead some funny stories and gossip

[Stan 5,239]

I hate how the Icecrown spawns are handled. I would prefer if this was done like Arathi rares that you can kill all in 30 mins once per day and they have a 1-min respawn time.

[solitha 84]

It's fantastic for me as an altoholic. Bring in a character, do dailies bracketed by a couple of rares, and on to the next. Even if I lose track of the time, the zone announcements give enough warning to get there.

The only downside IMO is the intense lag because of the sheer number of players and spell effects.

[Lavelm 4]

Honestly when I was a kid, I would enjoy the MMO feel of the game; nowadays adulting takes a pretty big chunk of the day. The only people that do not complain about timers or enjoy these "camping" feels are people that have a lot of time to begin with and/or do not have any other people to interact with in RL. I remember other expansions they let u kill the rares pretty fast since they spawned faster but it was only lootable once a day.  I wonder why this was discontinued.  Now its like I kill one-two rare, maaaaybe three and I gotta sign off which makes the game a little dull. Good news is: its only 2 weeks until shadowlands is released so theres always that ^^

[denial 0]

Last night after some rounds for rares time passed so we left only 6-7 ppl and started to chat and laugh about rares and things in the game ,we killed some more rares  and when we all got tired we said goodnight to each other and logged out .I dont know but it was one of the good moments in the game after many years at least for me :)

[Arcling 898]

10 hours ago, Stan said:

I hate how the Icecrown spawns are handled. I would prefer if this was done like Arathi rares that you can kill all in 30 mins once per day and they have a 1-min respawn time.

Exactly, for that reason I decided to not bother with those rares. Anyway, there is nothing really new or interesting.