Boss Videos: How early is too early? - Page 3

Kytrarewn · 09/15/06, 4:00 PM

The more fun any given fight is, the less fun I glean from the videos (With the exception of Sartura, I still enjoy her videos).
C'thun
Twin Emperors
Patchwerk
Noth
...
Watch a video, and what happens? You're bored to tears. Same story with Ragnaros, Domo, Nef.

What videos are exciting? The videos of stupid fights like Skeram, Golemagg, Maexxna. Fights where, while you're doing them, it's just a "grind it out guys, if you don't fuck up big time, and we have enough numbers, we'll win" (though PW would fit there too).

Broodlord makes a fun video because, while it's boring as hell in reality, every once in a while he'll run over and rape some poor warlock, and that makes it "oh my god, they're going to wipe, exciting". Firemaw makes a good video. Luci makes a pretty decent video. Hell, even Ebonroc and Flamegor make good videos (big dragon, cool animations, attacks tank).

As far as when the video is too soon: I'd say that release of a video is too soon before a "concensus" has been reached about the mechanics of a given fight (ie. Probably ~8-10 kills). Horsemen struck me as having their video released too early, KT definitely had his video released too soon.

I still haven't watched the KT video, though (I plan to at some point), and, to be entirely honest, the BR horsemen video bored me to tears (though I haven't done the fight, so I might be missing something really "cool" that's going on in the background).`

Lachy · 09/15/06, 7:50 PM

Just found a thread in WoW RnD (http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/th...12749&pageNo=1) which is pretty much discussing the same thing, albeit in a less civilised manner. Here are Gurgthock's thoughts, I hope he doesn't mind me reposting them:

One of the most fun facets of the game for me, and a lot of other raiders, is approaching an encounter for the first time where you genuinely have no clue whatsoever what the boss is going to do. Engaging C'Thun for the first time in Feb. 2006 knowing nothing beyond "uh he's a big eyeball that shoots beams" was exciting. The original such moment came back in beta, in 2004: "Holy ****, Onyxia took off and she's flying!"

The fights are fun. Learning the execution is fun. But there's something to be said for being surprised and really putting together your understanding of a fight from scratch. At this point, that experience is the real tangible prize, e-peen aside, for "world firsts" or for being right up there with the world firsts. In WoW at this point it is a given that within 2 weeks of anything being defeated, a video will be out there. Thus, if you want to get that element of surprise, you need to get your kill within that window.

At this point I think people are long past really being surprised by video releases -- they are inevitable, and it's just a matter of who happens to do it first. Doesn't mean it isn't still a bit disappointing, because once a video is out, it means we took too long to do it ourselves, basically.

Igniter · 09/16/06, 2:33 AM

I agree, videos do spoil some of the fun. Having never watched a sapphiron video, running into his room, getting near raped by a blizzard then having a giant ice ball hit the ground and melt my face was pretty exciting :)

Then again, we play with an online community based around kill lists, and what guilds are on them release videos to gain more popularity. I can remember days when I walked around our server with my chest puffed out about getting a top 15 rag kill.(and beating the opposing Nz horde guilds to it) It's just sad when you see top guilds threatend by videos because it will help other guilds progress in some way. Is it honestly that important to see your name with less below it for that boss?

Amera · 09/16/06, 3:11 AM

Is it honestly that important to see your name with less below it for that boss?

Well, honestly ask yourself, would you raid as much as you do and work as hard as you do for it if there was no prestige attached to your accomplishments? And if there is prestige, there is competition. If there is competition, "winning" is the driving motivation, and videos are just a tool to that end. So to expect the majority of guild members to just close their eyes and go blind at fights instead of learning everything they can about it is, in my estimation, silly. Gurgthock said it best - if hitting fights blind is important to you, you had better be on the very top to beat the vids (which you guys are generally).