I was considerng starting to play wow but is it even plausible at this point? Mmos are tough to get into as they get older and wow has been out for a while. Anybody have any advice?
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Is WoW worth it at this point?
- Thread starter I'mAMac
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Worth it in what sense? Money? Time? WoW's a lot more taxing on both counts than most games, and if you've held off this long, you probably don't feel a particularly compelling need to get bogged down in it now. I'd recommend picking up a good single or multiplayer game that's not as involved as WoW to occupy your free time. If you can wait a few weeks, I'd say Starcraft 2. As a disclaimer, I've never played WoW myself, but I know people who do (and I don't see much of them anymore).
Torchlight's a lot cheaper, and IMO more fun, where as WoW is just a grind anymore. You'll probably enjoy WoW for a little, but unless you can keep yourself from getting addicted, just skip it.
All newcomers to 'matured' MMO's face the problem of being 'behind'. The game has to get larger for the existing players. If you want to get started you can't focus on how far it is to the end, you'll just get really disheartened because you won't catch up with the veteran players. Just play it casually, once you get to the max level, it won't be long before you'll be battling with the best of them.
Just enjoy it, there are a lot of aspects of the game you can pursue AFTER you get the hang of it and decide if it's worth the effort. Because this game is very vast. Also, Blizzard has been tuning down the game somewhat to accomodate new players.
Just enjoy it, there are a lot of aspects of the game you can pursue AFTER you get the hang of it and decide if it's worth the effort. Because this game is very vast. Also, Blizzard has been tuning down the game somewhat to accomodate new players.
I think a perfect alternative to WOW and MMORPGs with your concerns in mind are those DoTA-style games, which is like playing only the PvP portion of an MMORPG. For me, the there are 2 exceptionally strong stand outs: League of Legends (coming to Mac this summer) and Heroes of Newerth (on Windows/Mac/Linux). Legends is the one I'm most excited about. Gorgeous art direction and free (though there are micro-transactions that supposedly do not unbalance the game).
But if you need PvE and the fun of settling in, taking in a fictional world and hanging out a little bit, at least there's a free 10 day WOW trial. I'll surely try it myself as well soon.
But if you need PvE and the fun of settling in, taking in a fictional world and hanging out a little bit, at least there's a free 10 day WOW trial. I'll surely try it myself as well soon.
Isnt Cataclysm due sometime this year? There's usually an influx of new players (and characters when people reroll) when the expansions come out. I'd just wait.. It's getting a graphical upgrade and a load of new content.
A lot of people who abandoned WoW a while back get pulled back when the expansions launch too. I know I'll probably resub for a while to check things out.
But if you have the free time then yeah.. WoW is worth it whenever the expansion comes out. The graphics may be dated but it's really atmospheric and well designed.
It's a lot of fun once you have a fun party/guild etc. I'm sure you'd find a lot of other new players/casual ones anyway.. It does a really good job of channelling to low level players into the same areas so you're likely to meet up. Soloing around can be fun too. Can't see how anyone could say WoW is any more of a grind than Torchlight. They're equally grindy!
A lot of people who abandoned WoW a while back get pulled back when the expansions launch too. I know I'll probably resub for a while to check things out.
But if you have the free time then yeah.. WoW is worth it whenever the expansion comes out. The graphics may be dated but it's really atmospheric and well designed.
It's a lot of fun once you have a fun party/guild etc. I'm sure you'd find a lot of other new players/casual ones anyway.. It does a really good job of channelling to low level players into the same areas so you're likely to meet up. Soloing around can be fun too. Can't see how anyone could say WoW is any more of a grind than Torchlight. They're equally grindy!
Is the upgrade significant? And has WOW been graphically upgraded already before since it's initial launch?
If it's significant, I'll make sure to wait till I test the trial. I'm certainly in no rush with all the games I have at the moment.
It's pretty significant.. They've increased poly counts on many old areas, making them bigger and mixed things up to make them more interesting and dynamic.
In the other expansions they've done funny things where they add new, much more detailed/pretty areas that support new features (like flying mounts).. But you never really had to go to those areas if you didnt want to (unless you rolled one of the new races and it was based in one of them) The core graphics haven't been improved much though in any of those expansions. At the end of the day it'll still look weird, low poly and stylised. I like the style though.
http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/cataclysm/ - Rolling one of the new races when cataclysm launches could be fun as you'll be on a level playing field with everyone else for a while.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAaMaCleRok and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQ-uSzhrclg&feature=related - some of the changes.
I may return in the summer holidays (that'll be winter for your northerners), I still daunted with having to catch up with all the new content and changes to the classes (I've been sober for 2 years ). I've popped in every now and then to see the old guild and they've disbanded .
Being in a guild is what keeps you in the game. But seeing my old playing mates gone, it'll be tough to get back into it.
). I've popped in every now and then to see the old guild and they've disbanded .Being in a guild is what keeps you in the game. But seeing my old playing mates gone, it'll be tough to get back into it.
I think it's a great time as any to start playing. WoW has become very noob friendly. I only started a year ago and it was tough getting things going and understanding since it was my first MMO. But it was nice I started late because I didn't have to go through all the stuff 4 years ago that made wow so much playable up to this point. BG queuing and xp is nice, and now random dungeons. YOu can level up by doing quests and just queue up for dungeons. bam!
As an avid Wow player I'd suggest waiting until the expansion. They're completely redesigning the old world along with the leveling process. Leveling a character when the game first came out was... tedious at best. It'll be a lot easier to quest in the "old world" once the in-game quest tracker is set up for it.
Plus, right now you're at the tail end of an expansion. While you could theoretically level a character and gear it up quickly with the random dungeon finder (a tool that's been a godsend) you're going to have a rough time being accepted into Lich King raids. Every expansion the gear "resets" a bit. The best gear at 80 is easily eclipsed by average gear at 85 (the new level cap). No sense wasting time gearing up and then having to replace the gear in a few months anyway.
By all means, try a trial and enjoy creating a character or two. The story is still great. But I wouldn't suggest leveling until the cataclysm hits.
Plus, right now you're at the tail end of an expansion. While you could theoretically level a character and gear it up quickly with the random dungeon finder (a tool that's been a godsend) you're going to have a rough time being accepted into Lich King raids. Every expansion the gear "resets" a bit. The best gear at 80 is easily eclipsed by average gear at 85 (the new level cap). No sense wasting time gearing up and then having to replace the gear in a few months anyway.
By all means, try a trial and enjoy creating a character or two. The story is still great. But I wouldn't suggest leveling until the cataclysm hits.
If you are starting from scratch I'd say it's not a bad time. There will be a new expansion soon, and then everyone starts "on scratch" when it comes to gear (if you manage to get 80 before release, If you play 5-10 hrs a week, you should be able too, if not, no problem ).
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I have to disagree with many others. Now is as good a time as any to get in and dabble and perhaps level a character. I agree that it is not a good time to get into serious play; however, if you do want to get serious, by the time Cataclysm comes out you may want to have a toon already leveled. Moreover, when Cataclysm comes out, much of the old content will go away, so if you want to experience the original lands as they were, now is your last chance.
I would load up a trial account and give it a test run. Keep in mind you wont get the "geared level 80 10-man and 25-man raiding" experience for a while. I recommend finding someone who can show you their account with at least one geared toon..
Leveling a character is much, much faster than in the original game. Running a lot of dungeons will help level a toon. Blizz introduced a few new tricks such as the dungeon finder some time back and now it's ridiculously easy to find groups to grind dungeons. As the game matured Blizz also lowered level requirements on some key aspects such as riding and flying mounts. All in all, there are too many changes to list.
Leveling a character is much, much faster than in the original game. Running a lot of dungeons will help level a toon. Blizz introduced a few new tricks such as the dungeon finder some time back and now it's ridiculously easy to find groups to grind dungeons. As the game matured Blizz also lowered level requirements on some key aspects such as riding and flying mounts. All in all, there are too many changes to list.
I think it's worth it. I find that leveling new content is more enjoyable then the level 80 grind. Lower level battle grounds are also a lot of fun.
Please wait until Cataclysm. New player experience is severely outdated (except Draenei and Blood Elf) and all the quests from level 1-60 are from 2004 and offer retarded quest rewards and force you to run all the way across the world. It was okay few years ago but now I wouldn't recommend it.
I forgot about the new dungeon finder system. It helps a lot during leveling at least, because before that it was impossible to get a group for any dungeon and all players simply sit down and said "summon please" after 30 minutes.
I forgot about the new dungeon finder system. It helps a lot during leveling at least, because before that it was impossible to get a group for any dungeon and all players simply sit down and said "summon please" after 30 minutes.
I would agree if you have leveled some characters but if you haven't, you will enjoy leveling.
Note - Why wait till Cataclysm ? Cataclysm will be great for higher level characters but new characters will still be doing the level 1-60 quest from 2004 for the most part.
I agree with your recommendation, but level 1-60 lands will be totally changed in Cataclysm. Wouldn't the quests be changed as well?
I'll be honest, as a never-played-it this stuff you are saying about levels and stuff - right over my head.
But that aside I have a question (the SC2 Beta, as they no doubt intended, got me minorly intrigued by the notion of WoW). Is there any actually like roleplaying going on in WoW? Or is it an action game?
But that aside I have a question (the SC2 Beta, as they no doubt intended, got me minorly intrigued by the notion of WoW). Is there any actually like roleplaying going on in WoW? Or is it an action game?
Thanks a lot for the links. All the more certain I'll wait for the expansion to come out first.
Wait for the pricing model to change.
WoW is one of the last $15/month MMOs. Having played it for 4 years, I think $15/month is outrageously expensive, considering the initial cost of the games and expansions. Most other MMOs are transitioning to the micropayment approach pioneered in China and Korea.
Also, WoW's expansions have all over-promised and under-delivered, so I wouldn't have super-high expectations for Cataclysm. Blizz's army of artists may improve the look of the old areas, but as for flying in Elwynn and Durotar, I wouldn't hold my breath. Azshara and Silithus will probably still be the unfinished wastes they are today.
WoW is one of the last $15/month MMOs. Having played it for 4 years, I think $15/month is outrageously expensive, considering the initial cost of the games and expansions. Most other MMOs are transitioning to the micropayment approach pioneered in China and Korea.
Also, WoW's expansions have all over-promised and under-delivered, so I wouldn't have super-high expectations for Cataclysm. Blizz's army of artists may improve the look of the old areas, but as for flying in Elwynn and Durotar, I wouldn't hold my breath. Azshara and Silithus will probably still be the unfinished wastes they are today.
Getting in now before the new expansion should give you some time to crank up a couple few toons, while leveling in some areas might be tedious, it is a bit easier now than it was before.
Much easier now to level with all the Find Group/Random Dungeons than it was before ... easy to skip areas you find painful, or just do them when you've added a couple levels.
Just the addition of getting mounts much earlier and cheaper helps out quite a bit.
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As far as the quests that send you back and forth with meager rewards, using thottbot quite a bit for those chain quests that take you back and forth across the world can most times be skipped if they don't offer any rewards.
Really the only chain quests that go across the world that need to be done are the ones that get you a class reward/spell/etc. that still can't be bought from the class trainer these days (they changed that a ways back making leveling easier for some classes). Like for a druid, just go buy the travel form/cat/etc. instead of doing the quest.
Much easier now to level with all the Find Group/Random Dungeons than it was before ... easy to skip areas you find painful, or just do them when you've added a couple levels.
Just the addition of getting mounts much earlier and cheaper helps out quite a bit.
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As far as the quests that send you back and forth with meager rewards, using thottbot quite a bit for those chain quests that take you back and forth across the world can most times be skipped if they don't offer any rewards.
Really the only chain quests that go across the world that need to be done are the ones that get you a class reward/spell/etc. that still can't be bought from the class trainer these days (they changed that a ways back making leveling easier for some classes). Like for a druid, just go buy the travel form/cat/etc. instead of doing the quest.
Actually right now you can go 1-30ish and not a single quest is the same as before. Given the talent tree revamps and zone changes etc I would start in cataclysm.
WoW is great if you like an MMO that is basically on rails. Players can't affect the world or other players in any way. The game is also super gear dependent.
The Shadowbane emulator should be coming out soon - and it will be free! In the meantime, check out Darkfall Online or Eve Online.
The Shadowbane emulator should be coming out soon - and it will be free! In the meantime, check out Darkfall Online or Eve Online.