I loved archaeology when it first came out. I love history in general, especially archaeology and paleontology, so combining that with fantasy is just great. I did it to death, of course (though the Dwarven staff artefact still eludes me), but I loved reading about the bits and pieces, I loved the idea of digging it up, without mess, and I also loved the excitement of seeing what it was worth. 1 gold, for the most part really, but there were a few 100g pieces and thensome. And, of course, the rare items - pets, clothing, mounts and so on - were what we all really did it for.
But then, in Pandaria, they messed up a good thing. I'd hoped they would have realised it in Warlords and changed it back, but, no, more of the same. Crates. All worth 1g. Which you turn in for more fragments - in my case, old-world fragments, even then.
Fine, there's still information behind each artefact, but even if I wasn't going to vendor things (I still have the first chest of tiny glass animals I found), not attaching some kind of monetary value to them did decrease their value.
In Warlords, I really feel like they gave up on it, as even the rare artefacts offered little excitement. I was especially disappointed in the Headdress of the First Shaman, literally the same model as the original, despite the HD version on one or two NPCs. Part of their model or not, I can't really see the excuse.
I admit I've not read anything about Legion - at all; I like to explore everything for myself, even if I would be better off knowing something from the off - but I doubt they're going to improve it back to what it was.
Am I wrong? Has archaeology lost part of its charm for anyone else? I still do it, but I only do old-world. Like I said, that damned staff keeps eluding me, and for completion's sake I must get it.
What about everyone else?
