Wow, this is probably one of the most pathetic whiny elitist cry baby threads I have ever seen. And it's very sad to see how passionate you actually are about this. [quote]People still play WoW, people still play Diablo. Do you think it's because Blizzard ignored their player base and just kept pushing a flawed system that benefitted the weakest links?[/quote] I played WoW for 5 years, and yes this is exactly what they did! Catered to the casuals so everyone could have access to the same gear. It didn't bother me at all though, if I ever get to the point where I value my life based in my accomplishment in a video game it will a sad sad life. [quote]Do you think it's because they looked past the suggestions of their stronger players? No, they listened, they responded, and they delivered. Something I still hope that Bungie can do, but am not hopeful for anymore.[/quote] You are just repeating yourself hear, but again no they did not listen to their strongest players. They would have been stupid to do that. There was such a small number of people playing that high level of WoW that it didn't matter if they got what they wanted. They were such an inconsequential minority, their opinion didn't matter. WOW grew because it listened to the majority, any smart company would. You know what happens to games that cater to "hardcore"? EVE, 200,000 players and a advancement system that makes it impossible for new players to EVER catch up to older players. IMPOSSIBLE. You want hard core, go to EVE. They actually encourage taking advantage of people. It's more real life than any MMO to date.