World of Warcraft

[Broomstick]

My Other Half just bought World of Warcraft.

We're going to try it out for a bit, but I'd like to know if anyone here has something to say about it.

I think the rationale here was that it would make happy both his PvP battle urges (he's heavily into things like Unreal Tournament online play) and my liking of wandering around virtual environments and poking at things (I have the entire Myst collection, which is sort of the epitome of wandering around poking at stuff). Something about having a game we could both play.

Is it fairly easy to get into game play?

Any pitfalls to watch out for?

Does anyone have anything good to say about it? (I did not post this to start a bitchfest)

[Gandalf]

I enjoy it, though I've been playing it for about a month. PvP makes for good fun.

The big pitfall I've seen is that it can become insanely addictive, but that's about it. Also, you'll need some patience, a lot of time will simply be spent walking from place to lpace,

[Covenant]

My Other Half just bought World of Warcraft.

We're going to try it out for a bit, but I'd like to know if anyone here has something to say about it.

I think the rationale here was that it would make happy both his PvP battle urges (he's heavily into things like Unreal Tournament online play) and my liking of wandering around virtual environments and poking at things (I have the entire Myst collection, which is sort of the epitome of wandering around poking at stuff). Something about having a game we could both play.

Is it fairly easy to get into game play?

Any pitfalls to watch out for?

Does anyone have anything good to say about it? (I did not post this to start a bitchfest)

It's amazingly easy, from my perspective, so just pick a class you enjoy and do that. I got a character to 60 and another few to other low levels, and then didn't bother to log back in after my card ran out. If you just like to poke around at things, you'll totally groove on craftings. You explore all over, see some pretty crazy stuff, do some quests based around it and end up being able to make cool things for money.

But besides that, no. Consider joining a guild though, because otherwise things will be harder for you. Also, go Horde! Thunder Bluff at sunrise is gorgeous.

[Stofsk]

Any pitfalls to watch out for?

Yeah, the pay-by-the-month thing. Pay to play, it's just not right.

Does anyone have anything good to say about it? (I did not post this to start a bitchfest)

Aw.

Ok seriously, I would say the one thing you should watch out for is the addiction. Just speaking in general terms, the whole MMORPG phenomenon tends to bring out the worst in some people's obsessive compulsive tendencies. I doubt you'd have anything to worry about though.

[GuppyShark]

Most of the beef people have with the game comes from the endgame content - but it looks like PVP is being massively overhauled in a good way. I look forward to getting back into it.

[Ghost Rider]

Is it fairly easy to get into game play?

Pretty much. There isn't much to say in the way of any complexities or variables, beyond point click.

Any pitfalls to watch out for?

Teenage motherfucking numbskulls. While my language is a tad harsh, far too many times I've encountered a moron that makes my cat look like a genius. This in a game which is exceedingly easy.

Does anyone have anything good to say about it? (I did not post this to start a bitchfest)

There's plenty, it's just things veterans bitch about are more because Blizzard never fixes some very basic character class flawed abilities.

Some good notes is both the enviroment as well as the stmosphere of the game. There are more engrossing but WoW combines the two better then most without making your computer needing an upgrade.

All in all I hope you and your SO enjoy it, because the one time I got my girlfriend on the 10 day free trial she wouldn't mind a human female's ass, but did discover her boyfriend resembled a gay Macy's day parade float and there are people offering her 5 Gold for cybering.

[Stofsk]

All in all I hope you and your SO enjoy it, because the one time I got my girlfriend on the 10 day free trial she wouldn't mind a human female's ass, but did discover her boyfriend resembled a gay Macy's day parade float and there are people offering her 5 Gold for cybering.

Why is my first reaction to that "Post pics plz k thx!"

[Lagmonster]

If you like the genre, you might take a gander at Guild Wars. It's a nice variation on the theme and doesn't cost a dime to play.

[White Haven]

You can't fly til the expansion pack!

Other than that...the game's very, very easy. That's good when you're new, but really, really starts to suck when you hit endgame content, because any numbskull with a game card and a pulse can get to 60 without learning how to play. Seeing as I'm one of my guild's raid leaders, I face this fact on a daily basis, and....some are trainable, some give up and leave when I don't accept coasting, and some are averageish. But that's beside the point as a newbie. The only problem I see for you two is the choice of servers. Sounds to me like you'd feel more at home in the safety of a PvE server, and your SO would want the sheer mayhem of a PvP server. One thing I'll point out is that two people duo-levelling, even on a PvP server, are rarely bothered, since most people looking to gank don't want to poke an obvious team. That helped my first 60 out tremendously. Also, if you end up in a guild with some PvPers, it's helpful to be able to say 'Mage and a priest ganking in Redridge' and see the Wrath of God, or at least the wrath of my Warlock, descend on them. And in closing, Mannoroth power!

[Gil Hamilton]

Most of the beef people have with the game comes from the endgame content - but it looks like PVP is being massively overhauled in a good way. I look forward to getting back into it.

As it is, PvP needs an overhaul. At the moment, hitpoints are out of balance with the DPS of some classes, to the point that some characters in end game content equipment are just walking around one or two shotting people left around right, even without busting a bunch of cooldowns to do it. In my bear form with my tanking gear, I have 6.6k unbuffed hitpoints and 11k armor... and a rogue still cheap-shot-then-kidney-shot-me and went through about 6000 of the 7000 HP I had at the time in that ten seconds. Until the expansion comes, this is going to be a real problem because DPS has far exceeded most peoples hitpoints in end game PvP.

All in all I hope you and your SO enjoy it, because the one time I got my girlfriend on the 10 day free trial she wouldn't mind a human female's ass, but did discover her boyfriend resembled a gay Macy's day parade float and there are people offering her 5 Gold for cybering.

Gay Macy's day parade float, huh? Let me guess, a Paladin?

[Ghost Rider]

All in all I hope you and your SO enjoy it, because the one time I got my girlfriend on the 10 day free trial she wouldn't mind a human female's ass, but did discover her boyfriend resembled a gay Macy's day parade float and there are people offering her 5 Gold for cybering.

Gay Macy's day parade float, huh? Let me guess, a Paladin?

My Pally is only a couple bright colors, he may look pretty bleh...but compared to my warrior, he's goddamn Conan.

To be honest Blizzard has no eye on equipment other then sets. My Warrior is basically florescent green, pink, orange, and yellow because that's some of the best DPS equipment you can get from Naxx and AQ40. Ugly as fuck, good stats for PvP. At least my tanking gear is just the Dreadnaught armor.

[Flakin]

I just started playing too, Broomy, downloaded it two days ago after years of resisting the urge. The 10 day free trial and free download was just too tempting to ignore.

Right now I'm just ambling through on a PvE server but will probably switch to PvP once I've got the hang of things. I know that there are mounts and speed spells and the like coming up but it just seems like so much plodding along between locations alot of the time. Don't know if that may also be my choice of race / class.

It is fun so far though.

[brianeyci]

Once you get tired of paying 15 bucks a month or however much it is, buy Guild Wars which has no monthly fee. GW has a low level cap, is about PvE and co-op on one hand, and on the other PvP is really easy to get into because you can make a maxed out character right away. Trust me Broom, playing GW for one or two weeks and beating the game is a lot better than playing WoW for months to get to level 60. Like all MMORPG the pitfall is getting addicted and doing nothing else, and GW avoids that pitfall by being very easy to beat and very easy to quit, and focused on tactics rather than gathering really powerful items. And in GW you can ignore morons if you want and play through the entire campaign with your husband and NPC's.

[Ghost Rider]

I just started playing too, Broomy, downloaded it two days ago after years of resisting the urge. The 10 day free trial and free download was just too tempting to ignore.

Right now I'm just ambling through on a PvE server but will probably switch to PvP once I've got the hang of things. I know that there are mounts and speed spells and the like coming up but it just seems like so much plodding along between locations alot of the time. Don't know if that may also be my choice of race / class.

It is fun so far though.

The breakdown of speed for WoW.

Mounts: At level forty you can learn the riding skill for your race(you can learn other races but you need to be eligible for that race's mount and be exalted with the race), and then are able to buy a mount to use.

The mount increases running speed by 60%. Paladins and warlocks can get a free mount(costs mana) at this level as well.

At level 60 you are able to learn the advanced version of riding and thus are able to use a Epic mount. There are many versions of said mount that vary between whether you enjoy PvP or have enough gold. Paladins and Warlocks have a multi tiered quest to do to get their superior versions of the level 40 mount. These quests are completely optional.

These mounts upgrade from 60% to 100%.

Druid and Shamans are exceptions with certain levels they get a travel form(they will get a flying one in the expansion) that increase their speed by 40%(Druid) and 30%(Shamans). They get this ability before everyone is eligible for said mount.

There are abilities to increase speed of walking as well as enchantments but they are very minor increases versus the mount itself.

[Kuja]

Is it fairly easy to get into game play?

Take a couple days to learn how the hotbars work and which tabs do what and you're all set.

Any pitfalls to watch out for?

Since you said your SO is interested in the pvp, that probably means he's going to set up on a pvp server. Which means that while you're in contested territory keep an eye out because anyone from the enemy faction can attack you at will.

Does anyone have anything good to say about it? (I did not post this to start a bitchfest)

It's a fun game. I play it mostly to roleplay but there is a huge amount of things to see, do, and find. And fight, of course. It's very immersive, especially if you're thr kind of person who actually reads a quest's backstory intsead of jumping right to the loot listings.

[SecondStorm]

As it is, PvP needs an overhaul. At the moment, hitpoints are out of balance with the DPS of some classes, to the point that some characters in end game content equipment are just walking around one or two shotting people left around right, even without busting a bunch of cooldowns to do it. In my bear form with my tanking gear, I have 6.6k unbuffed hitpoints and 11k armor... and a rogue still cheap-shot-then-kidney-shot-me and went through about 6000 of the 7000 HP I had at the time in that ten seconds. Until the expansion comes, this is going to be a real problem because DPS has far exceeded most peoples hitpoints in end game PvP.

I dare say he was very lucky and very well-geared.
With 11k armor and 7k hp you'd laugh at a AH-greens and blue rogue.

Druid and Shamans are exceptions with certain levels they get a travel form(they will get a flying one in the expansion) that increase their speed by 40%(Druid) and 30%(Shamans). They get this ability before everyone is eligible for said mount.

Nitpick: Ghost Wolf is 40% not 30%.

[KrauserKrauser]

Just one thing, your SO does not have to be on a PVP server to PVP. There are battlegrounds in the game where he can PVP to his heart's content on PVE servers as well.

It's like all the benefits of a PVP server without having to worry about getting ganked while exploring, which is alot of fun to do in WoW, it's a great graphically rendered game.

[Sharp-kun]

Just one thing, your SO does not have to be on a PVP server to PVP. There are battlegrounds in the game where he can PVP to his heart's content on PVE servers as well.

Or you can just use /pvp to toggle it on and off when you want.

[White Haven]

On one hand, getting ganked sucks. On the other hand, PvP servers allow people to identify themselves as premium-grade assholes, and then to be viciously stomped upon in retaliation. Can be quite satisfying at times.

[Gil Hamilton]

My Pally is only a couple bright colors, he may look pretty bleh...but compared to my warrior, he's goddamn Conan.

To be honest Blizzard has no eye on equipment other then sets. My Warrior is basically florescent green, pink, orange, and yellow because that's some of the best DPS equipment you can get from Naxx and AQ40. Ugly as fuck, good stats for PvP. At least my tanking gear is just the Dreadnaught armor.

Ah, yes. The AQ40 set gear. Redefining hideous fantasy armor.

At least, I think Dreadnaught looks cool. You look like a goddamn killer robot with that stuff on. Plus, when Burning Crusade comes out, Warriors got the good armor... your Paladin will be the Pink Power Ranger in T5.

[Gil Hamilton]

I dare say he was very lucky and very well-geared.
With 11k armor and 7k hp you'd laugh at a AH-greens and blue rogue.

It's that Naxx/AQ40 Rogues are that rediculously high DPS. However, even in mixed Nightslayer/Bloodfang, a Rogue with the right spec is going to chew through my hitpoints and have a ten second head start on me on damage. If I can spin and bash him, I can usually get a heal off, but if the rogue gets the jump on me, I'm going to have a hard fight. Theoretically, I have a 20% chance to resist stuns with my talent spec, but I've yet to see it work.

And frankly, I've watched a T2 geared mage do 6000 damage to be in 2 shots. He may have been a trinket mage, but right now, DPS available to end game content players is alot bigger than the hitpoint pool.

[White Haven]

This is true, unfortunately. Side-effect of the fact that the Burning Crusade talents are in, but the increased stamina on Burning Crusade gear is not in until the expansion hits live. As a result, the additional damage needed to chew through the meatier opponents is there....without the meatier opponents.

[2000AD]

If i had to sum it up i'd say it was Diablo 2 scaled up hugely. My first reaction when watching my brother playing it was "That's just like Diablo 2" (Hardly surprising since they're made by the same people.)
It's fun to play, but i think PvP was a bit of a let down. The two smaller PvP battle grounds are fun to play, but team work seems to be spontaneous and not at all organised (as in, "Oh, that guy picked up the flag instead of me, i guess i better help him" rather than anything planned). I was waiting patiently while leveling up to get into the big 40 people per side battle ground, where there's lots of little side quests to do to help your team, mines to capture, NPCs to find, something that looked like a pre planned strategy would be essential. And all i find when i finally get the required level to get there is that the only thing resembling a 'strategy' that people have is "Rush the Stormpike Graveyard". No planning, no doing the beneficial side quests, little co-ordination, no building up a solid base to attack from, just rush rush rush. It's a huge waste of potential and i was hugely dissapointed.

[Tasoth]

Lagmonster beat me to the punch about guild wars if you're not into the monthly fee thing. Aside from paying, WoW is supposed to be quite fun to my understanding and highly addicting. We lost a friend to it for a couple months before he broke himself out of the habit.

[DarkSilver]

I'm on Mug'thol (PvP server), I'm enjoying it, especially since I got friends playing with me now.

I suggest a hunter if your into exploring, my Night Elf Hunter is pretty decent, plus Hunter's get a speed boostingspell (Aspect of the Cheetah) at lvl 20 which is near the Mounts (+40% movement). Level 40 also gives them Aspect of the Pact (your entire group gets Aspect of the Cheetah). Only drawback to the two aspects are if you get hit while they work, you get a 4 second stun.


Warlocks and hunters are pure awesome in PvE, certain hunter pets are excellent in PVP (My Ghost saber when I get him Prowl iwll be sheer terror in PvP)