World of Warcraft

Alan · Post by **Alan** » Wed Dec 01, 2004 12:46 am

Got a really good review at Gamespot. 9.5

http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/worldofw ... eview.html

Post by **Jonathan** » Thu Dec 02, 2004 7:47 pm

The guy from Brunching Shuttlecocks likes it, too.

http://wired.com/news/games/0,2101,6588 ... _tophead_3

Alan · Post by **Alan** » Fri Dec 03, 2004 4:00 am

Dwindlehop wrote:The guy from Brunching Shuttlecocks likes it, too.

http://wired.com/news/games/0,2101,6588 ... _tophead_3

Hahahaha

"Do you want to die? Yes or no"

Alan · Post by **Alan** » Fri Dec 03, 2004 4:02 am

I'm becoming very much tempted to try this out.

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Fri Dec 03, 2004 2:20 pm

Heh, if you do start, let me know! WELCOME TO DEE DARK SEID!

Alan · Post by **Alan** » Sat Dec 04, 2004 6:20 am

I am a big loser who bought WoW.

It is fun though, very fast, not at all like FFXI. Easy to solo, almost no downtime. Constant quests to do, so you're always doing something and can accomplish stuff even if you play for just 30 minutes at a time. Very cool so far.

Post by **Jonathan** » Sun Dec 05, 2004 7:03 am

A. we need a day-in-the-life of your wow character.
B. on a pvp server or not?

Alan · Post by **Alan** » Mon Dec 06, 2004 4:12 am

I'm playing on Earthen Ring, which is the East RP server. I generally like playing on RP servers to avoid the rampant d00dism of the prototypical 13 year old kids. And right now there's no real disincentive for greifing on the PvP servers so unless you've got a sizeable guild playing together, it's not worth it.

So basically in a given play session I log in, and check my quest log and figure out what quests are in the same general location so I can plan out what I'm going to be doing. I check my equipment to see if I need repairs (it's D2 style, where you need to repair equipment). Then I head out into the wild blue yonder.

As I run out to do the quest I kill enemies along the way. As a Night Elf Rogue, I deal out tons of damage in short periods of time so battles (even with enemies at my level or higher...yes, higher) last around 15-20 seconds. Soloing is very, very viable; and I hear it's just as viable at higher levels. Right now I can take on 2 or 3 mobs around my level simultaneously and survive, though I my have to use up a healing potion depending on how well armored they are. Every class in the game can solo, even priests. Despite this, there's still lots of incentive to group, especially to do quests.

Questing is definitely where this game shines. Unlike FFXI's quests, WoW's quests are fun; it's almost like playing a single player RPG in terms of how fast combat is, how little downtime there is (every class in the game can self-heal by learning first-aid or consuming food, which you can fish for or cook). Money making is part of combat; I chose leatherworking/skinning as my trade, so after I kill a beast or animal I skin it for leather. Then I can craft it all WITH ONE BUTTON! No more sitting there clicking the same button over and over again, just make sure I have all the materials I need and click the "Create All" button and wait for it all to finish.

Most of my exp comes during the course of questing. Either from the exp reward itself or killing monsters to complete the quest or killing monsters on the way to completing the quest. I barely ever look at my exp bar, and I haven't ever gone out with the express purpose of killing mobs at a camp in order to gain a level. I roam around to explore, killing monsters for their hides in addition to getting exp. I hear that there aren't too many quests over level 30 yet, so once I get there I probably will have to start joining groups in order to get exp; but as of right now it definitely feels nothing like a grind. It feels much more like a single player RPG than a MMORPG, which of course is a great thing. There's so many quests that I'm sure I'm missing a couple but I still have no less than 5 active quests at any one time. There's a few "deliver this to that guy" quests but most are designed to let you explore all the "zones" (I use quotes because there are no loading times, everything's continuous) that they put in the game. There are also quests to introduce you to the other parts of the game like crafting or fishing and whatnot.

And the quests aren't used as barriers for you to access features. No quest that you have to do in order to ride a ship. No quest in order to get extra storage space. The quests are optional, but if you don't do the quests you're an idiot because you're missing out on the best part of this game. In FFXI I felt like I was being forced to do quests, and didn't really enjoy most of the quests because I could only rarely do them on my own. In WoW it's best to do quests in a group only because it makes it go faster, and of course things are more fun with other people anyway. But in a quest where you have to kill X number of a certain mob, you're not forced to make a full group in order to take down mobs one at a time, you can either do that and kill stuff within 5 seconds or else have everyone spread out in a large area and kill them 1 on 1 to finish the quest in minimal time.

The skill system is brilliant. First of all every class has tons of combat moves and/or spells, so unlike DAOC you've got a ton of tricks in your bag no matter what class you play. And you're not forced to use every one of those tricks in order to survive a 1 on 1 battle, you can hold them in reserve in case you get an unexpected add to turn it in your favor. I always feel like I'm in control of a battle and can do something to win. In DAOC, I usually felt like the battle was predetermined and I would just sit there until I won or died.

And death in WoW is nothing. It's a minor inconvenience. You just have to run back to your body. No exp penalty, no loss of gold. If you choose to get resurrected without returning to your corpse as a ghost, you incur damage to your equipment. So basically there is no penalty for dying besides losing time. Which is the way it should be; I don't feel like I'm scared to explore because I'll die and lose exp.

That's the main thing about WoW. You don't feel afraid to do things because you'll die and lose exp or items or gold or whatever. You can just have fun, LIKE YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO WHEN YOU PLAY A GAME!

My only complaint is that I'm know I'm wasting my life and my money by playing a MMORPG.

Edit: Oh, one more thing. Unlike FFXI or even DAOC, it's definitely possible to accomplish something within a 30-60 minute play session. You can finish one quest, killing enemies along the way (because battles last only a few seconds and recovery time isn't much longer unlike FFXI and DAOC where a battle lasts a minute or longer and downtime is 1-2 minutes), and killing more on the way back, and get an item/money and experience when you finish it. So there's not that feeling that you have to set aside a 4-8 hour block of time to be able to actually do anything in the game.

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Mon Dec 06, 2004 2:49 pm

While the system is all fun and good after going through AC2 and FFXI my main problem with mmorpgs atm is end-game. I shared most of the same gripes as everyone else in ffxi and ac2, but I still had enough fun going through the game until reaching the level cap. It's the end-game for ffxi and ac2 that got me starting to really hate certain aspects of the game and question why i still play it. End-game WoW seems to be like the normal massive raid style, with 60+ people going into a dungeon to kill some bad ass dragon that takes 4 hours for one run. At least in WoW they are instanced. Knowing Blizzard and my history with Diablo 2, I would spend way too much time trying to get the perfect "look" and items for my character. I was never a huge fan of MMORPG pvp even in organized "mobs" running around a battlefield. hGranted, I've only expierenced PvP in AC2, but I dont imagine WoW PvP being much fun unless it's organized like 4v4 or something in Guildwars.

But, I'll probably try WoW soon anyways. Unless I get a DS and play FF1&2!!!

Post by **Jonathan** » Mon Dec 06, 2004 4:59 pm

Yeah, especially with the release of Guild Wars imminent, one wonders why bother paying $15 per month for this type of content. GW seems to be more sanely priced. I wonder if the GW developers will out-Blizzard Blizzard in this respect, by making an even more mass-market game.

Now, if one of {Wish, Dark and Light, Saga of Ryzom Chapter 2 PVP, City of Villians} manages to be fun and bring something new and interesting to the table, I'll consider paying fat subscription fees again.

Post by **Jonathan** » Mon Dec 06, 2004 4:59 pm

oh, and can you pl people, alan?

Alan · Post by **Alan** » Tue Dec 07, 2004 1:20 am

Dwindlehop wrote:oh, and can you pl people, alan?

I have no idea. I suspect that you can, since I haven't heard anything about exp penalties for grouping with vastly different level players. And because any class can solo enemies that are higher level than they are. And there's really no need to do so since you really really want to be doing the quests.

Dave wrote:While the system is all fun and good after going through AC2 and FFXI my main problem with mmorpgs atm is end-game. I shared most of the same gripes as everyone else in ffxi and ac2, but I still had enough fun going through the game until reaching the level cap. It's the end-game for ffxi and ac2 that got me starting to really hate certain aspects of the game and question why i still play it. End-game WoW seems to be like the normal massive raid style, with 60+ people going into a dungeon to kill some bad ass dragon that takes 4 hours for one run. At least in WoW they are instanced. Knowing Blizzard and my history with Diablo 2, I would spend way too much time trying to get the perfect "look" and items for my character. I was never a huge fan of MMORPG pvp even in organized "mobs" running around a battlefield. hGranted, I've only expierenced PvP in AC2, but I dont imagine WoW PvP being much fun unless it's organized like 4v4 or something in Guildwars.

But, I'll probably try WoW soon anyways. Unless I get a DS and play FF1&2!!!

I doubt I'll stick around long enough for the endgame to be a big factor for me. And anyway I consider PvP to be the endgame, not raids. Raids will of course be necessary to get the best equipment for PvP-ing, but I didn't do many raids in DAOC and was perfectly happy with my player-made equipment. I kind of expect WoW PvP to be a faster-paced version of DAOC. I'll see how much fun I'm having in February (if I'm still playing) when Guild Wars comes out; I suspect that's around when Blizzard will release Battlegrounds to keep people from jumping over there and cancelling their accounts.

While I like Guild Wars' PvP I would prefer a Realm vs Realm system like DAOC but better. I really enjoyed scouting while stealthed as an Infiltrator in DAOC, killing stragglers when I had the chance. 3 things kept me from returning to DAOC: 1) Buffbots, 2) the assassin's uselessness in groups, and 3) the horribly slow grind, which wasn't even as bad as FFXI's grind. If Blizzard comes up with a good RvR system while avoiding 1, 2, and 3, I'll stick with WoW (provided I'm still having fun of course).

I guess the big test will be once I run out of quests around level 30 or whenever. If it turns into a horrible grind I'll just quit and wait for Guild Wars.

This is the best MMORPG out there, hands down. I don't think anything comes even remotely close. But it's still an MMORPG, so if you don't like those you probably won't like this.

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Tue Dec 07, 2004 2:05 pm

Hmm, I dont even know when it was that I lost interest in Diablo 2 and forgot to log in every 3 months to ave my accounts.

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Fri Dec 31, 2004 1:03 am

Started a character on Alan's RP server and my CS Clan's PVP server, playing a Human Paladin and Undead Mage. WoW is fun so far, almost seems too big a world. and too confusing occasionally. At least with Mage its less item based, since i think most of my EQ I made myself as a Tailor. I'm a Tailor / Skinner on both characters hehe. Main gripe is finding NPCs, which should be more clearly labed on the map when they are talk-to-able.

Alan · Post by **Alan** » Fri Dec 31, 2004 1:05 am

I forgot to tell you yesterday, but if you talk to a guard you can ask them to mark the locations of certain NPCs on your map. Like weapons trainers or griffin masters and such.

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Fri Dec 31, 2004 1:07 am

yea, I knew that, i mean the quest NPCs. Sometimes they show up as yellow dots like in small towns, but in the main cities, I don't see them labeled ever =/

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Mon Jan 03, 2005 2:38 pm

I finally have 1 gold!

I AM RICH BEYOND ALL OTHER DWARFS WITH A BEARD AND A BEAR. (I'm a hunter now since Paladin wasn't very fun.)

Building up the rest-state on my PvP mage, is there a limit to the amount of restxp?

Post by **Jonathan** » Thu Jan 20, 2005 4:45 pm

http://articles.filefront.com/No_More_P ... ticle.html

Not that I was going to, but no soup.

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Thu Jan 20, 2005 5:14 pm

Lol, that's kinda funny. Yea, the lag is pretty horrible when I play (evenings) but as long as you avoid the auction house, it's not bad. I do get annoyingly disconnected everytime I turn in a quest in a populated area, no clue what is up with that.

edit: funny thing I saw the other day, was the corpse of a player named "Roleplaying" in front of the auction house. (This is on a rp server)

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Wed Jan 26, 2005 9:44 pm

I think alan quit the game already! Yet another MMORPG alan got me to play then quits on me!