You killed your raid content mobs, you topped out your player versus player (PvP) rewards, you leveled to the cap only a month after the last expansion and, in only a few weeks (or days), the newest content addition to the game is coming out; the dreaded expansion.

Most MMOs that offer expansions which increase the level cap cause depreciation of old content. Let me explain. While features or content are not removed, and backwards compatibility is maintained, the content previous to the expansion often becomes obsolete or out of date. There is little reason for players to go through old content when there's obviously a new and better way of doing things.

Blizzard has prepared for Wrath of the Lich King (WotLK) by making previously challenging raid encounters significantly easier, forcing some folks to cry foul as their hard work becomes "cheapened". The drops now pull from the same loot tables as they did before the change, but with significantly less risk and challenge.

So my question to you is, do you care?

Some of the folks on our World of Warcraft board discussed this very thing last week, and the replies, barbed though they were, elicited strong responses on either side.

I think it's fair to say that, while everyone's kills and loot are valid, some people's accomplishments were harder to achieve. Just as the accomplishment of achieving level 60 now is not comparable to what reaching level 60 was before The Burning Crusades. It's just a fact that some folks had a harder time of it.

MMOs such as Dark Age of Camelot (DAoC), with their realm rank system and EverQuest (EQ), with its Alternative Advancement, often offer expansions that reward game play other than regular levels. If an expansion does not feature a level increase it becomes much easier to experience the same content without devaluing the experience of others who've played through the already available world, high end or not.

But what happens when MMOs consistently push players to achieve greater levels, and higher end content than the average player can push through in what we can only call "average user play time"? Players feel as if the world is evolving too fast for them. As if they do not belong because obviously it's being designed for someone other than themselves!

So many studios push content vertically (higher level caps, harder raid encounters) rather than horizontally (alternative levels, instances with shifting difficulties/goals), and I have to ask myself why!

Yes, expansions such as Lich King offer many great new additions to the game, and yes, Blizzard does seem to have tamed the usual 6 month expansion schedule set by MMO staple developer Sony Online Entertainment. But since Sunwell was added only months previous to the expansion launch yesterday, will Blizzard revisit that content and make it, once again, worthwhile? Seems a waste not to, especially with it being such a recent addition to the storyline and game.

The newest EQ expansion, Seeds of Destruction, added five levels and a chance to go back in time to battle in instances of classic zones solo, grouped, or with raids to unlock the entire storyline. This type of expansion helps high level characters experience not only raid content and features, but solo content with repeat experiences holding as much value as the first time. In MMOs, replay ability is important!

Lord of The Rings Online : Mines of Moria offers both options! Turbine will raise the level cap, and add weapons that are available at high levels that will increase in power as players use them in battle. In addition, two new classes are added and, finally, the expansion adds a new area of exploration which will more than likely devalue any previous content for the levels the area is aimed at.

There's no easy answer to all of these issues. If there's no new content, or games just keep getting harder or building upon old content, the game becomes too linear and the barrier to entry too high for new players.

If old content isn't revisited, to ensure it's still worthwhile for play both in rewards and experience, developers risk having areas of play which are unsatisfactory to players in reward vs. risk. However if old content is as valid as new, you spread out the areas where players can be found, making it harder than ever to get groups and risk an unhealthy (low) amount of action taking place in key areas.

In addition, if the old areas are as valid for game play as new areas, or old content is revisited and made viable as the majority of players reach end game levels, players can easily become disgusted as they challenge the same content at level 70 as they did at 30. No one wants to grow into a high level hero only to defeat the same rats they did when they first started the game.

The true answer is yes, old achievements and their difficulties will always be cheapened by adding new content and making it easier for those who come after. There are few others ways to truly build upon a persistent world. However with the expansion additions to our worlds should come the resources for players to move forward decisively, not repeating old content while giving the same value to those who complete areas one year into the game as one who completes it in year ten.

If it's possible, it hasn't been done reasonably well in any of the main stream titles we regularly see expansions or content additions for.

Becky "Tovin" Simpson
Senior Editor, ZAM Network