Why I’m Not Playing The War Within Beta 😬

I said this when the Dragonflight beta came out way back when and I’ll say it again—Don’t play the beta, you’ll thank me later.

Now, this is very much a personal preference. Don’t take this as me making some grand statement about the nature of human existence or anything by saying “Hey, don’t play vidyagarme.” This ain’t that.

HOWEVER….

I’m of the mindset that one of the things that has hurt World of Warcraft the most over its lifespan is leaks, data mining, spoilers, and a general inability from the audience to savor the so-called flavor.

And, hey: I’m not immune. Obviously. I was a video game journalist for almost 15 years for a reason. All the same, I think some of the magic that WoW creates is lost in this pursuit of the newest information and getting in before things are ready.

It’s the same reason that so many of the WoW content launches have been raked over the coals by fans for not working immediately out of the gate on day one. This isn’t to say that the developers aren’t also at fault. But the hype is the mind-killer, and nothing rots our brains more than thinking we’re owed or deserving of a thing before it’s ready.

See: The launch of No Man’s Sky. Remember that? Remember the absolute shitshow that went down because that game had the temerity to not be the most mind-bending, amazing experience ever out of the gate?

It would be easy to forget that now, given we’re eight years removed from the launch of that game. It’s also pretty good now. But back then?

Ooh, boy, those hype pitchforks were sharp.

In many ways, I feel like World of Warcraft has always existed in this nether region of its fanbase only caring most about the game when they’re being spoiled for content or story events.

I’m not immune, either. I still remember being in the playtest alpha for Wrath of the Lich King. Something is intoxicating about seeing all this new content in the early stages—sometimes even seeing it grow and progress over time. That’s neat.

But I also remember being so tired of the Death Knight starting area by the time Wrath came out that I almost didn’t want to start a DK. Which, is funny, given that for about a decade I was a Death Knight main.

I’m just saying: We’re going to living in the World Soul Saga for a long-ass time. Maybe take your time, don’t jump into the beta, ignore some spoilers, and enjoy the ride.

Mrgle.