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For those who have never played World of Warcraft: The game in a nutshell
UnleadedRev
Member UncommonPosts: 568
INTRODUCTION:
Having played World of Warcraft since it's release back in 2004, I finally have decided to post something that may help those who are looking for a MMORPG, and have never played World of Warcraft aka "WoW".
I have had a love/hate relationship with the game since it came out in 2004.
In fact, at the time most of my friends and I had just finished a 4 year stint with Everquest and you would think that we all would have been totally blown away by WoW at the time.
Well, kind of sort of...as WoW was not really the same game back then as it is now.
But despite that, over the past 12 years I have usually subscribed to WoW for about 3 months and then took 6 month breaks from it, every year.
However, this habit of non-steady subscriptions has come to an end and I plan to sub for at least a year now.
Here is why and what WoW is in a nutshell for those who have never played it and/or the latest expansion the "Warlords of Draenor":
Despite the artwork being a negative for me over the years, this last expansion updated the graphics to the point that I really like them.
Some might consider them too "cartoony" compared to Elder Scrolls or other games, but in all honesty art is a personal taste and the adjustments made in the last expansion have impressed me.
Blizzard is a solid company with a great track record, there are no scams or dirty tricks.
Of course, they are not providing a free public service and are in the business of making money, but there is a free version of the game for those who want to try before subbing.
Also, unlike many other MMORPGs Blizzard and WoW are here to stay and not going anywhere.
THE GAME:
Although the game is set in the oh so tired and saturated Fantasy universe of games, World of Warcraft came out with its story and characters at a time 2004, when such Fantasy saturation was not happening.
Thus, it remains to this day a great fantasy universe.
Yep, it has Orcs...but there are so many other races, any redundancy to other fantasy games is a mute point.
The best way to describe World of Warcraft as a MMORPG is basically that you can play your character in many many ways.
For example, if you are a traditionalist who likes PvE, Dungeons and Raiding, the Dungeon Finder and Raid Finder will easily find you a group, especially during prime time hours.
If you do not like Dungeons or Raiding, you can pretty much play the whole main story line and really enjoy yourself by taking your time and enjoying the beautiful scenery, land, lore, characters and story of the game.
Don't like fighting pixel dragons? Well, there are several PvP options.
For example, you can quickly join a 2 vs 2 or 3 vs 3, arena battle, a huge Battleground, or the Ashran Instance.
All of which have many players from different servers.
The battlefields and Ashran instance can be quite large with many players.
If you do not like playing any of these PvP games with random players, there are many options for you to either create or find pre-made groups.
As a result, you have a ton of ways to play both PvE and PvP.
Now here is something totally new when it comes to MMORPGs, that being the games "Garrison" feature, where upon entering the Warlords of Draenor (WoD) storyline , you get quickly to the point where you are introduced to your Garrison, which is kind of like an outpost.
You can manage this Garrison and customize its contents, i.e. its building by choosing what you want to build and why, as well as to upgrade.
You also get "NPC Followers" you can send on missions, and IMHO the Garrison feature is very fun.
However, I had issues understanding the whole concept at first, but thanks to other players who answered my chat questions, but moreover forum questions and just reading about that game feature has now made the game more fun for me.
Especially PvP, as I love playing in the 'Ashran" instance where you not only fight players from the opposite side, but can do quests as well.
All of which give you Conquest and Honor points to buy great and cool looking PvP gear.
THE GOOD THE BAD THE UGLY:
The really GOOD part of this game is that the storyline, lore, and basically the games universe is very interesting and immersive.
In fact, some of the past expansions were IMHO truly epic, as in my case, "The Wrath of the Lich King".
I loved the novel, the expansion, the in game storyline "Everything".
But the best part is that you can still play content from that past expansion!
I missed all the Raid Content for Lich King in the past, but upon my return to WoW this year I did all the old Lich King Raids SOLO!
Dont like to solo? Well you can create and find groups for the old content as well.
Also, very good are the variety of options in which to buy things with in game gold, real money, or tokens.
None of which on the real money side is pay to win.
In addtion, the WoW website is one of the best MMORPG websites out there, so that you can get caught up in the lore and storyline, via reading or videos.
Confused about a PvP or PvE character build? Do not worry, as there are tons websites and videos on the web to help you quite easily.
Like a nice community? Well, the WoW community has gotten a ton better! In fact, I do not use the term 'Wow Kiddies" anymore, as I have found 90% of my in game experience to be great.
THE BAD:
Servers vary in terms of performance and the caliber of players on them.
I play on 2 different servers atm, with a few level 100 toons, and the performance on one of those servers is poor, while the performance on the other server is great.
Do your research and ask questions in the forums about this.
Sometimes you will get an occasional player who uses the game has their personal outlet for "potty talk", but you can put those players on "ignore" quite easily and be rid of them asap.
The subscription for some players is a game breaker, and I understand that.
IMHO, if there is a MMORPG in which to pay a subscription, then WoW is the one to do so with.
I usually sub for 1 or 3 months.
Sometimes things are confusing, i.e. "the way things work", and a good example of this at least for me were as follows:
1) Equipment Manager
2) Builds
3) Too many quests
The key to all 3 is to hit the forums or do a web search and also asking your guild or someone on the game.
For some odd reason I had trouble with those 3 things shown above, but are now all sorted out.
THE UGLY:
There once was a lot of "UGLY" for me with this game.
I hated the community.
I stunk at PvP.
Could not find raids, hated raids, and did not want the stress of a guild.
But...these things were "my fault".....as I did not take the time to read and do research on things I did not understand.
Also, I was "anti-social", and did not talk to anyone in game for advice.
Once I changed those 3 things, there was no ugly.
Also, avoiding trouble makers and putting spammers, trolls, and potty talkers in chat on ignore helped as well.
IN CONCLUSION:
I am no expert....but I have played almost every major MMORPG that was released between 1999 and the present.
In addition, there was a 3 year period where I avoided MMORPGs at all costs especially WoW.
Sometimes you need a break....and I did.
I was playing to many PC games, and after cutting back, the results at least for me were more fun and more understanding.
Thus, take your time, do some research, watch game trailers and videos, play the free version of WoW, and maybe a 1 month subscription and see for yourself.
Even if you find the game is not for you, at least you gave it a try.
Having played World of Warcraft since it's release back in 2004, I finally have decided to post something that may help those who are looking for a MMORPG, and have never played World of Warcraft aka "WoW".
I have had a love/hate relationship with the game since it came out in 2004.
In fact, at the time most of my friends and I had just finished a 4 year stint with Everquest and you would think that we all would have been totally blown away by WoW at the time.
Well, kind of sort of...as WoW was not really the same game back then as it is now.
But despite that, over the past 12 years I have usually subscribed to WoW for about 3 months and then took 6 month breaks from it, every year.
However, this habit of non-steady subscriptions has come to an end and I plan to sub for at least a year now.
Here is why and what WoW is in a nutshell for those who have never played it and/or the latest expansion the "Warlords of Draenor":
Despite the artwork being a negative for me over the years, this last expansion updated the graphics to the point that I really like them.
Some might consider them too "cartoony" compared to Elder Scrolls or other games, but in all honesty art is a personal taste and the adjustments made in the last expansion have impressed me.
Blizzard is a solid company with a great track record, there are no scams or dirty tricks.
Of course, they are not providing a free public service and are in the business of making money, but there is a free version of the game for those who want to try before subbing.
Also, unlike many other MMORPGs Blizzard and WoW are here to stay and not going anywhere.
THE GAME:
Although the game is set in the oh so tired and saturated Fantasy universe of games, World of Warcraft came out with its story and characters at a time 2004, when such Fantasy saturation was not happening.
Thus, it remains to this day a great fantasy universe.
Yep, it has Orcs...but there are so many other races, any redundancy to other fantasy games is a mute point.
The best way to describe World of Warcraft as a MMORPG is basically that you can play your character in many many ways.
For example, if you are a traditionalist who likes PvE, Dungeons and Raiding, the Dungeon Finder and Raid Finder will easily find you a group, especially during prime time hours.
If you do not like Dungeons or Raiding, you can pretty much play the whole main story line and really enjoy yourself by taking your time and enjoying the beautiful scenery, land, lore, characters and story of the game.
Don't like fighting pixel dragons? Well, there are several PvP options.
For example, you can quickly join a 2 vs 2 or 3 vs 3, arena battle, a huge Battleground, or the Ashran Instance.
All of which have many players from different servers.
The battlefields and Ashran instance can be quite large with many players.
If you do not like playing any of these PvP games with random players, there are many options for you to either create or find pre-made groups.
As a result, you have a ton of ways to play both PvE and PvP.
Now here is something totally new when it comes to MMORPGs, that being the games "Garrison" feature, where upon entering the Warlords of Draenor (WoD) storyline , you get quickly to the point where you are introduced to your Garrison, which is kind of like an outpost.
You can manage this Garrison and customize its contents, i.e. its building by choosing what you want to build and why, as well as to upgrade.
You also get "NPC Followers" you can send on missions, and IMHO the Garrison feature is very fun.
However, I had issues understanding the whole concept at first, but thanks to other players who answered my chat questions, but moreover forum questions and just reading about that game feature has now made the game more fun for me.
Especially PvP, as I love playing in the 'Ashran" instance where you not only fight players from the opposite side, but can do quests as well.
All of which give you Conquest and Honor points to buy great and cool looking PvP gear.
THE GOOD THE BAD THE UGLY:
The really GOOD part of this game is that the storyline, lore, and basically the games universe is very interesting and immersive.
In fact, some of the past expansions were IMHO truly epic, as in my case, "The Wrath of the Lich King".
I loved the novel, the expansion, the in game storyline "Everything".
But the best part is that you can still play content from that past expansion!
I missed all the Raid Content for Lich King in the past, but upon my return to WoW this year I did all the old Lich King Raids SOLO!
Dont like to solo? Well you can create and find groups for the old content as well.
Also, very good are the variety of options in which to buy things with in game gold, real money, or tokens.
None of which on the real money side is pay to win.
In addtion, the WoW website is one of the best MMORPG websites out there, so that you can get caught up in the lore and storyline, via reading or videos.
Confused about a PvP or PvE character build? Do not worry, as there are tons websites and videos on the web to help you quite easily.
Like a nice community? Well, the WoW community has gotten a ton better! In fact, I do not use the term 'Wow Kiddies" anymore, as I have found 90% of my in game experience to be great.
THE BAD:
Servers vary in terms of performance and the caliber of players on them.
I play on 2 different servers atm, with a few level 100 toons, and the performance on one of those servers is poor, while the performance on the other server is great.
Do your research and ask questions in the forums about this.
Sometimes you will get an occasional player who uses the game has their personal outlet for "potty talk", but you can put those players on "ignore" quite easily and be rid of them asap.
The subscription for some players is a game breaker, and I understand that.
IMHO, if there is a MMORPG in which to pay a subscription, then WoW is the one to do so with.
I usually sub for 1 or 3 months.
Sometimes things are confusing, i.e. "the way things work", and a good example of this at least for me were as follows:
1) Equipment Manager
2) Builds
3) Too many quests
The key to all 3 is to hit the forums or do a web search and also asking your guild or someone on the game.
For some odd reason I had trouble with those 3 things shown above, but are now all sorted out.
THE UGLY:
There once was a lot of "UGLY" for me with this game.
I hated the community.
I stunk at PvP.
Could not find raids, hated raids, and did not want the stress of a guild.
But...these things were "my fault".....as I did not take the time to read and do research on things I did not understand.
Also, I was "anti-social", and did not talk to anyone in game for advice.
Once I changed those 3 things, there was no ugly.
Also, avoiding trouble makers and putting spammers, trolls, and potty talkers in chat on ignore helped as well.
IN CONCLUSION:
I am no expert....but I have played almost every major MMORPG that was released between 1999 and the present.
In addition, there was a 3 year period where I avoided MMORPGs at all costs especially WoW.
Sometimes you need a break....and I did.
I was playing to many PC games, and after cutting back, the results at least for me were more fun and more understanding.
Thus, take your time, do some research, watch game trailers and videos, play the free version of WoW, and maybe a 1 month subscription and see for yourself.
Even if you find the game is not for you, at least you gave it a try.
Comments
Vanilla WoW was great. Now it's a dumbed down shadow of it's former self. I finally called it quits after WotLK because the writing was on the wall. The queue's were already forming for dungeons and you could see where things were headed, but I was tempted back for Cata and MoP for a short time with each expac. That was enough for me.
See head.
Hit head.
Take reward.
Repeat.
I know catering to the masses is what everyone is going for since it brings in the most money but you need to find a balance otherwise you are going to shoot yourself in the foot eventually.
A new player comes in - do you really want him to be stuck for 2 months in zones with graphics from 2004?
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
And if the old zones are not updated that again just shows that the game is so on rails that once you are past a location it is redundant there is no need to return. Hardly a living world or a fun experience for anyone other then whack a mole types.
Lets take a level 50 toon.....In vanilla wow my level 50 could beat a 55 easily...In classic EQ my level 50 could barely solo a 45...The instances in WoW were very easy if you had experienced MMO players in your group...The problem was often that you had a group of noobs who had no clue what aggro and crowd control were so they just blasted away at everything....People thought the dungeons were hard basically because they didnt know how to play.
WoW was fine for a casual gamer but i think for the more hardcore it was too easy
The Venn diagram of that small sliver and people who want to read a lengthy text about a game is even smaller.
"What is truly revealing is his implication that believing something to be true is the same as it being true. [continue]" -John Oliver
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