Should You Get Wrath Of The Lich King?

Like many World of Warcraft players I wrestled with the idea of diving into another expansion. I figured I'd made it to level 70, done some damage in the Battlegrounds and Arena, been around for a lot of the well known happenings like Leroy Jenkins and "More DOTS!", and heard more Chuck Norris and Murloc jokes than one man ever should be subjected to. Maybe it was time to hang up the Druid and do something else? Try a different game?

I'd told myself that once Burning Crusade came out I'd max out a character, run a bunch of end game content, and be done with it. I mean, for the love of Pete, is there ever going to be an end? Will we see expansion number 23 where the level cap is increased to 1400, everyone gets a bazooka and our pets will have families and pets of their own? Is there ever going to be an end? I'm guessing the answer to this is as long as Blizz is making money it will keep going and going and going. Is it a bad thing? A good thing? Does it matter?

A common gripe about the World of Warcraft is the whole spending too much time thing. For those that don't play most of the stuff they hear about WoW is in the media. Most of that coverage is about addicts who sit at the keyboard for 100 hours a week and a few horrible examples of actual violence in the real world related to something that happened in game (which is simply insane).

These examples, while they may make good television, are by far the exception rather than the norm. I know several people that play and among them the average hours per week played is roughly 10 hours. Do you know how many hours of TV does the average American watch a week? About 30. The average American watches over 4 hours of television a day (seriously, look it up!). Not interacting or thinking or trying to solve puzzle problems or doing anything but sitting and starting at a screen for 1/6th of every day. Its stunning.

Back to the Wrath of the Lich King expansion and the decision. I really get a kick out of playing WoW as a casual player. Its fun. You get to blow stuff up and beat up bad guys. There is a decent amount of thought and problem solving thats needed when playing at the higher levels, especially when you get into raid situations. There is a very odd online subculture within the game that can, at times, be really amusing. Its a hobby that I happen to share with 11 million others and overall, compared to lots of hobbies, its pretty cheap. Try and find a hobby that can keep you enthralled for hours and that you can do as much as you want of for less than a dollar a day. Its not easy.

So, as you've probably guessed by now, I've recently purchased the expansion. Is it the best thing ever? I'm not sure yet. Is it the coolest expansion ever to be produced by any online game ever? Not sure. Is it worth it? Look at it from a purely financial angle...

This expansion is meant to last at least a year and a half, if not longer, before the next one. So spreading the cost of that expansion out over 18 months comes to $2.22 a month. Adding in the monthly WoW membership cost of $15 a month youre looking at a cost of less than $18 a month, or 60 cents a day. A coke costs well over a dollar and cup of coffee over $2. A movie ticket for one is around $10, add in popcorn, a candy bar and a drink and you're very close to $18 for just a couple of hours.

So is it worth it? I'd say, without a doubt, yes. You'll get to check out some new content, run around with your friends, and stay out of trouble for a bit. And don't forget all the free Chuck Norris jokes and those hilarious movie name discussions where everyone replaces a word with Murloc. (Saving Private Murloc <--see what I did there?). Does it make any sense? Not really. And you just can't put a price on amusing nonsensical entertainment. Thanks!