Wrath delayed in China

Earlier today Blizzard posted a preview of Ulduar, the tier 8 raid coming up in patch 3.1 (which they promise will be on the PTRs "very soon"). Most of it looks really cool - 14 bosses, massive rooms, hard modes. However, there is one topic that Blizzard enthused about that really worries me: vehicle combat.

We've already seen some vehicle-based boss fights in Eregos (the final boss of the Oculus) and on the third phase of the Malygos fight. But Ulduar is, apparently, going to take it one step farther: there will be a vehicle-combat gauntlet leading up to the first boss, Flame Leviathan, and that boss itself will also be a vehicle fight, with players picking among three vehicles (Chopper, Demolisher, and Siege Engine) to command.

I know some people will disagree, but I also know I'm not alone here: I hate vehicle combat and would like to see it used as little as possible in the future. I play my character to play my character, not to use the clunky and boring abilities of a dragon, or a motorcycle, or whatever they shoe-horn me into next. I hate the Eregos fight so much that Oculus is the one heroic I flat-out refuse to do. Phase 3 of Malygos is better, but still definitely the least fun phase of the fight, in my opinion.

The good news, I guess, is that Daelo promises that after the Flame Leviathan fight there is "very little use of vehicles by players." I guess that's something. Blizzard, I know you guys are really excited about this cool new vehicle technology, and it was fun for quests, but for raids, I really think it's the wrong way to go. Please let us continue to play our characters; I didn't sign up to drive seige vehicles, and I don't appreciate being forced to do so in order to do Ulduar.