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fireworksdesign

macrumors member
Original poster
Apr 8, 2011
93
0
Hi guys, I have a bunch of wow related questions for those who are wow veterans and also have the 13inch 2011 mba.


a. Im mostly interested in the human race , I chose the warrior a few hours ago but I felt it didn't have some special effects ( like fireballs, other skills (like in other specializations? I like to use heavy armor , is the paladin good too?

b. Recommended setting to run the game? The lowest setting runs fast but it doesn't show a lot of details or maybe im not configuring it right?

c. How much do you pay to buy the game ? I remember before people use to pay monthly ? Or maybe im wrong with this. And for example if I buy lets say wow cataclysm , and then mists of pandaria comes out , and another future update , if i dont upgrade? Will my game be outdated ( limited enemies, quests , etc ) >
 

orfeas0

macrumors 6502a
Aug 21, 2010
971
1
Athens, Greece
Hi guys, I have a bunch of wow related questions for those who are wow veterans and also have the 13inch 2011 mba.


a. Im mostly interested in the human race , I chose the warrior a few hours ago but I felt it didn't have some special effects ( like fireballs, other skills (like in other specializations? I like to use heavy armor , is the paladin good too?

b. Recommended setting to run the game? The lowest setting runs fast but it doesn't show a lot of details or maybe im not configuring it right?

c. How much do you pay to buy the game ? I remember before people use to pay monthly ? Or maybe im wrong with this. And for example if I buy lets say wow cataclysm , and then mists of pandaria comes out , and another future update , if i dont upgrade? Will my game be outdated ( limited enemies, quests , etc ) >

a) Choose whatever you like. You can try some first then choose.
If you like heavy armor, go for warrior/paladin/death knight (you need to have a level 55+ character to create a death knight).

b) I think WoW chooses automatically your settings in the best way. What you might wanna do to increase FPS without decreasing the graphics is :
1) completely remove the shadows.
2) adjust view distance in a way that doesn't make you lag and is also fun to play (view distance has a big impact on fps, like the shadows).
3) in Cataclysm they added some water effects that I think are like shadows, which means too graphic hungry. Remove/reduce them
All the other options can be bumped up like that, maybe up to high or highest.

c) You still pay each month. The free version is only for up to lvl 20, and with limited features.
When the Mists of Pandaria comes out and you don't buy it, you will be able to play like you did before, including all the features from the games and expansions you have bought, but you will NOT be able to:
Create a pandaren
Create a monk
Visit new zones/dungeons/raids
and in general all the new features will be disabled for you (almost all).
 

fireworksdesign

macrumors member
Original poster
Apr 8, 2011
93
0
So how much are we talking here if i buy up to the latest , mists of pandora + i subscribe monthly ?
 

soco

macrumors 68030
Dec 14, 2009
2,840
119
Yardley, PA
Ah, World of Warcraft. Oh how I miss that game dearly, yet purposefully avoid playing it like a plague made of cotton candy.

To touch upon (lol?) your MBA question, you'll find that lower settings work great, look ok; higher settings look great, run crap. It's the way of things in any game.

For WoW in particular, even on a beastly computer, you're going to want to run on lower settings anyway if you plan to do serious raiding. You want every bit of lag/latency reduced for further DPS/TPS/HPS. No matter what.

God I miss raid leading... lol :p

PS. Seriously now, what is the deal with turning English into math equations? I really don't understand it. :confused:
 

James_C

macrumors 68030
Sep 13, 2002
2,815
1,819
Bristol, UK
Costs for USA are

Battle Chest Pack which includes original game + first Expansion Burning Crusade $19.99 this will allow you to play up to Level 70

Next Expansion is Wrath of the Lich King and will take you from Lv70 to 80 $39.99

The latest available expansion is Cataclysm which takes you from 80 to 85 - cost is $39.99

On top of that you need to pay a monthly subscription which varies according to the plan

$14.99 a month if you renew monthly
$13.99 a month if you renew each quarter
$12.99 a month if you renew every six months

Mists of mists of pandaria is not out yet and is unlikely to be released until next summer at the earliest ( but only Blizzard knows when )
 

fireworksdesign

macrumors member
Original poster
Apr 8, 2011
93
0
So lets say im on a trial account and i reach the max of level 20, can i go to areas that are included in the cataclysm update? Does the update only concern leveling up , and skills of characters ? Lets say i buy the battle chest pack up to the burning crusade , can i still go to cataclysym areas?



Costs for USA are

Battle Chest Pack which includes original game + first Expansion Burning Crusade $19.99 this will allow you to play up to Level 70

Next Expansion is Wrath of the Lich King and will take you from Lv70 to 80 $39.99

The latest available expansion is Cataclysm which takes you from 80 to 85 - cost is $39.99

On top of that you need to pay a monthly subscription which varies according to the plan

$14.99 a month if you renew monthly
$13.99 a month if you renew each quarter
$12.99 a month if you renew every six months

Mists of mists of pandaria is not out yet and is unlikely to be released until next summer at the earliest ( but only Blizzard knows when )
 

orfeas0

macrumors 6502a
Aug 21, 2010
971
1
Athens, Greece
So lets say im on a trial account and i reach the max of level 20, can i go to areas that are included in the cataclysm update? Does the update only concern leveling up , and skills of characters ? Lets say i buy the battle chest pack up to the burning crusade , can i still go to cataclysym areas?

Actually the Cataclysm expansion didn't create new areas (maybe a few), but it changed the old ones. So you can still explore the new azeroth even on a trial account.
I say just buy the battle chest, and when you reach level 68 buy the wrath of the lich king, then when you're 78 buy the cataclysm (because you can go to the new areas at 68 and 78).
If you're level 65 for example you can't even go to the lich king areas, regardless of having the expansion or not. Same with cataclysm.
Same with burning crusade, but since there is a battle chest, you get the burning crusade from the start anyway.
 

scarred

macrumors 6502a
Jul 24, 2011
516
1
For WoW in particular, even on a beastly computer, you're going to want to run on lower settings anyway if you plan to do serious raiding. You want every bit of lag/latency reduced for further DPS/TPS/HPS. No matter what.

You are kidding, right? On a modest windows desktop I have maxed out settings and never drop below 60fps (I have vsync on) in raids. Core i5 750 (first gen), gtx 460. Nothing magical there.

With my macbook air, I had some settings at fair, some at low (shadows in particular), and was getting a decent 40fps in high populated areas.
 

thekev

macrumors 604
Aug 5, 2010
7,005
3,343
I'm not much of a gamer personally, but I did a quick search for system requirements. They're pasted below. Now what I noticed is that the recommendations under OSX are "significantly" greater on ram/gpu. If the game doesn't run well, you might consider boot camp. You are going to feel a little short on ram. It recommends 4GB under OSX, but your gpu shares ram with your system, so you really have less available.

Edit:I just noticed the person who posted above me seems to do fine with a macbook air. The system requirements are still below just in case you want to compare.

Minimum System Requirements for World of Warcraft

Minimum System Requirements

Windows® System XP/XP64/Vista/Vista64/7** OS (with the latest Service Packs or updates):

- Intel Pentium 4 1.3 GHz or AMD Athlon XP 1500+
- 1 GB or more of RAM
- NVIDIA® GeForce® FX or ATI Radeon™ 9500 video card or better
- 25.0 GB available HD space
- 4X DVD-ROM drive (Downloadable Installer also available)
- Broadband Internet connection
- Keyboard/mouse


Mac® OS X 10.5.8, 10.6.8, or 10.7.X (latest version):

- Intel processor
- 2 GB RAM or higher
- 25.0 GB available HD space
- 4X DVD-ROM Drive
- Broadband Internet connection

*Note: Due to potential programming changes, the Minimum System Requirements for this game may change over time.

Recommended Specifications

Windows® System Vista64/Windows 7 OS:

- Dual-core processor, such as the Intel Pentium D or AMD Athlon 64 X2
- 2 GB RAM
- 256 MB NVIDIA® GeForce® 8600 or ATI Radeon™ HD 2600 or better
- Multi-button mouse with scroll-wheel


Mac® OS X 10.7.X (latest version):

- Intel® Core™ 2 Duo processor - NVIDIA® GeForce® 9600M GT or ATI Radeon™ HD 4670 or better
- 4 GB system RAM
- Multi-button mouse with scroll wheel

For a complete list of supported 3D cards, please visit http://us.blizzard.com/support/article/wowsupportedvideo
 

James_C

macrumors 68030
Sep 13, 2002
2,815
1,819
Bristol, UK
To be honest I would get the trial and play up to level 20 to see if you like it. Then decide if you want to invest in the game itself. I will say however the main joy of the game for me is being part of a guild and interacting with other players and doing raids (large dungeon adventures with 10 /25 other people). It may take some time to find a suitable guild and for end game raiding you will need to get to level 85. Do be warned it can be pretty addictive once you get into it.
 

orfeas0

macrumors 6502a
Aug 21, 2010
971
1
Athens, Greece
To be honest I would get the trial and play up to level 20 to see if you like it. Then decide if you want to invest in the game itself. I will say however the main joy of the game for me is being part of a guild and interacting with other players and doing raids (large dungeon adventures with 10 /25 other people). It may take some time to find a suitable guild and for end game raiding you will need to get to level 85. Do be warned it can be pretty addictive once you get into it.

"pretty addictive" ?
It's a drug. I was hooked for 5 years, I say don't start it. It can/will ruin your life. And I'm not joking, seriously.
 

fireworksdesign

macrumors member
Original poster
Apr 8, 2011
93
0
To be honest I would get the trial and play up to level 20 to see if you like it. Then decide if you want to invest in the game itself. I will say however the main joy of the game for me is being part of a guild and interacting with other players and doing raids (large dungeon adventures with 10 /25 other people). It may take some time to find a suitable guild and for end game raiding you will need to get to level 85. Do be warned it can be pretty addictive once you get into it.



Im on level 13, and im beginning to feel my days are numbered, lol, level 20 is almost there, my paladin needs some new skills, etc. What I like about the game is that its so responsive, i get like 60fps ( low settings ) and its probably one of the few rpg games that work well on a mac. Aside from this game, what other games offer the same quality experience wow offers?
 
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