Has WOW changed much?

silvine

I played WOW back in 2005 for a few months. Now that there's a new add-on out I'm thinking of taking it up again (plus I'm tired of console games).

Has WOW changed much? All that grinding and monotony really pissed me off and made me stop. Collect 20 of this, kill 20 of that etc.

Does it still take absolutely ages to level and get the really good gear/skills?

Do I really need to player for an hours upon hours to get any value out of the game or can casual gamers enjoy it too? I hear raids can be all night affairs...

Do I need to go and buy all the add-ons or just the new one?

What classes/races are good now (ie for beginners). Back in 05 I was a Horde Hunter.

Do I need to join a clan?

ravydavygravy

Its very casual friendly, I had my first char at max level in 2-3 months of casual evening play earlier this year, with the occassional longer session. The random dungeon tool makes it easy to run level appropriate instances from level 15 onwards, and similarly the battlegrounds tool does the same for PvP.

At max level, you'll quickly gear up to Tier 9 levels just by farming heroic versions of the Northend dungeons for triumph badges. Gearing beyond that will require forays into raids, but since Cataclysm is out later this year (presumably) you'd probably not be bothered with this since the top end raid gear will be replaced very quickly once the new expansion is released (word on the street is that you'll be leaving the level 78-81 zones with the equivalent of iLvl 270 gear).

All of this can be done without a guild, but you'll probably enjoy it more if you find a nice sociable levelling guild - there are lots of them around since people spend a lot of time at this stage levelling up alt characters.

Edit: regarding grinding, the low-level quests can still be a bit annoying, but once you get past them, it gets a lot better. I'm levelling a paladin alt in westfall at the moment, and I must have killed 40-50 goretusks to get them to drop 3 f***ing snouts! Roll on outland, and god bless imba heirlooms.

Dave

silvine

Great might give it a blast.

Should I buy any of the other expansions or just the Cataclysm?

Any tips for starting off?

Also one of the characters I really loved with Arathas. Can I get to fight him or fight <i>for</i> him? I know it sounds stupid but I played Warcraft III and he was the best thing in it and I'd like to find out what happened to him and the story arc around him.

FunkyMissMonkey

You have to have all the expansions to play Cataclysm. They're a sequence, not stand alone addons.

Plus, in order to level to each new level cap, you need the appropriate expansion for it (otherwise there wouldn't be any content for your new level)

The game has changed pretty dramatically since release, and it's certainly worth trying it again since all the "casual friendly" changes in one of the recent patches.

silvine

I have the original game here beside me. So if I understand you right I should just play that now and not worry about buying any new content until I reach the first level cap?

Gunmonkey

silvine wrote: »

Also one of the characters I really loved with Arathas. Can I get to fight him or fight <i>for</i> him? I know it sounds stupid but I played Warcraft III and he was the best thing in it and I'd like to find out what happened to him and the story arc around him.

The whole 2nd expansion (Wrath of the Lich king) focuses on him and the armies raised to defeat him. And the Death Knights (new class added in WotLK) start out fighting alongside him, burning villages and killing peasants.

best ya could do is give the trial a go, see if enoughs changed to intrest ya. Its only the basic game, and the expansions are a lot better scripted and with better quests (very few "Kill 20 bears, now 20 slightly different coloured bears").

Magaa

Yes its rediciously easy to get gear gold and items.

Tragedy

If you disliked wow at launch, you'll probably enjoy it now.

If you enjoyed wow at launch, you'd probably find it unfulfilling now :pac:

copeyhagen

dont come back!!!

it will suck you in and destroy any friendships / relationships you have

Komplett-Tech: Ryan

copeyhagen wrote: »

dont come back!!!

it will suck you in and destroy any friendships / relationships you have

QFT

TBH the game is one massive, addictive grind fest. first you grind to get to higher levels, then grind to get gold. Then you have a few fun weeks of raiding new content. Then its back on the grind again to collect more gear, level up a alt, then another and another. So on so fourth.

Quite a lot of my friends and i are planning to jump right into the new starwars mmo as soon as it launches. We have already tried the star trek online mmo and it was absolutely dire. Just waiting for something really good to come out to help kick the addiction. But with starcraft2 just a few weeks away from going live... hopefully it will help a little.

But like copeyhagen said above, if you let the game get the best of you expect to loose contact with some people who are pivitol in your life. I think all of us who have played wow know of someone who has lost a job, friend, partner, wife and house. So tread carefully.

TheDoc

Komplett-Tech (Ryan) wrote: »

new starwars mmo hopefully it will help a little.

Cant come soon enough, although I'm struggling a little with wow now with generally not being arsed logging on, I cant help but think cataclysm will shoot wow back into my veins big time. It happened to me before TBC and WOTLK, and I'm sure it will happen again.

Every mmo I've gone off to has been dog rough in comparison, Star Wars online though looks like its up to something good, but unfortunately I only have to look at my game shelf to see the supposid wow killers that came and failed misrebly.

I look at you

Age of Conan
Aion
Warhammer
Lord of the rings

And the countless other crap.....Matrix Online....

F00t13f4n

If you want to get back into WoW, I recommend buying the first expansion (Burning Crusade) and levelling one of the new races (Blood elf for Horde, Draenei for Alliance). Blizzard had learnt a lot by the time they released BC, and the grind is much easier. You still have the collection quests, but there's SOME story there to interest you as well.

If you have a friend already playing WoW who was thinking of starting another character, get them to use the refer-a-friend system. You get to level twice as fast, so you'll be level 60 in a day (plus they'll show you all the new stuff).

WoW keeps going because nobody has come up with anything better. Anyone can jump straight into WoW, and it is very forgiving to the average player. I'm not particularly good, but am getting to fight Arthas every week. It has saved me a bunch of money too, because it's the only game I play!

Anyway - that's my two cent. Have fun, whether you play WoW or not!

Nehaxak

Planetside was the only other MMO that kept my attention, but that was before Wow anyway (still going too so I hear).
EQ2 was ok, just a bit, well, dead when I was playing.

coffee_cake

Komplett-Tech (Ryan) wrote: »

QFT

TBH the game is one massive, addictive grind fest. first you grind to get to higher levels, then grind to get gold. Then you have a few fun weeks of raiding new content. Then its back on the grind again to collect more gear, level up a alt, then another and another. So on so fourth.

Quite a lot of my friends and i are planning to jump right into the new starwars mmo as soon as it launches. We have already tried the star trek online mmo and it was absolutely dire. Just waiting for something really good to come out to help kick the addiction. But with starcraft2 just a few weeks away from going live... hopefully it will help a little.

But like copeyhagen said above, if you let the game get the best of you expect to loose contact with some people who are pivitol in your life. I think all of us who have played wow know of someone who has lost a job, friend, partner, wife and house. So tread carefully.

I have to agree. I was completely and utterly addicted for about 2 years, I've finally stopped and I'm *amazed* at all this free time I suddenly have!!! :eek:
Always logging on for an hour or so turned into a few hours then all day :rolleyes:
Loved it but some serious relief to have stopped

copeyhagen

if there wasnt a enw expansion coming out i would stop today, focus my energy on far more important things.

all i seem to do now is log on and do the weeklies / dailies on my 4 toons then the odd raid then log off.

been playing bad company 2 and loving that, but only in small doses, which is a good thing.

anyone wanna buy an account with 4 80s :P haha

silvine

So I took the plunge and have spend the last two weeks playing mostly in Silvermoon. I have a few low level alts and one mid level Hunter. Here's what I've noticed has changed since I stopped playing in 2006:

1) It's way way easier to level up. I got to level 15 in a few hours with one alt

2) Blizzard kept my characters, equipment and account details from 2005, impressive.

3) The graphics engine has been souped up but it still looks a little dated

4) The dungeon finder makes the game way more fun and easier to play

5) WTF is everyone talking about in chat channels in the large cities?!

6) Some people take the game very seriously. I pulled a mob with my hunter in one dungeon quest and one dude went nuts at me for it. "Reroll as tank Huntard!" etc

7) Addons make the game much easier e.g. Carbonite

8) Most of the quests are still just get X, kill Y. Maybe it gets different at level 80...

9) The game is very well polished, every time I find a problem Blizzard have implemented a solution. EG I got stuck in the map and found that there was a way of ressurecting somewhere else. Ditto for the request a ticket feature.

10) I'm playing as Alliance and when doing the Horde dungeons it's hard to get the dungeon specific quest unless someone has them in the group.

11) The auction house is a little bewildering

12) When looting when is it acceptable to select need and when should I pick disenchant?

13) WTF are glyphs and all these daily and weekly events they've built into the calendar?

14) Is it worth buying weapons and armour at all? Everytime I need something it just seems to drop.

15) It's much much better being able to get mounts at lower levels but they're bloody expensive. I'm currently stuck on a white mule.

16) How do I decide what to auction, sell or swap?

17) I like the way the world evolves, particularly what they've planned fo the cataclysm

18) Starcraft 2 is out next week. There goes my plans to get to a Death Knight this side of the Summer.

19) Gnomereggan sucks

Kiith

silvine wrote: »

5) WTF is everyone talking about in chat channels in the large cities?!

DIRGE!!

silvine wrote: »

6) Some people take the game very seriously. I pulled a mob with my hunter in one dungeon quest and one dude went nuts at me for it. "Reroll as tank Huntard!" etc

Generally, you should just let the tank pull, unless asked otherwise.

silvine wrote: »

8) Most of the quests are still just get X, kill Y. Maybe it gets different at level 80...

The old world and Outland are still very much like that. Northrend is a massive improvement from a quest point of view.

silvine wrote: »

12) When looting when is it acceptable to select need and when should I pick disenchant?

If you need, you need. Otherwise, Disenchant.

silvine wrote: »

13) WTF are glyphs and all these daily and weekly events they've built into the calendar?

Glyphs improve your talents. For example, increase the duration or effects, reduce casting time etc...

silvine wrote: »

14) Is it worth buying weapons and armour at all? Everytime I need something it just seems to drop.

Don;t bother spending money on gear. Drop rates have increased, so you'll pick up stuff as you go.

silvine wrote: »

15) It's much much better being able to get mounts at lower levels but they're bloody expensive. I'm currently stuck on a white mule.

Take at least one gathering profession and you'll get money no problem.

silvine wrote: »

16) How do I decide what to auction, sell or swap?

Sell any grey items to a vendor, auction everything else.

silvine wrote: »

19) Gnomereggan sucks

Yes, it does.

StinkyMunkey

Nehaxak wrote: »

Planetside was the only other MMO that kept my attention, but that was before Wow anyway (still going too so I hear).
EQ2 was ok, just a bit, well, dead when I was playing.

Planetside was my first true love. They have merged all the servers into one (Gemini, stateside). When Werner died, PS died for me. Stopped playing in 08 i think, was playing since 03. Game is a mess now, ppl just use the trial to create toons to hack with, i resubbed early last year for a month. I think i logged in twice to see hackers running rampant everywhere:(.

Dustaz

silvine wrote: »

5) WTF is everyone talking about in chat channels in the large cities?!

They are looking for people for Pick Up Group raids. for example:
[1]<EliteKiller>: LFM ICC 25, link 8/12, 5.5k gs
translates as "looking for members for Icecrown Citadel 25 player, Whisper me the achievement that shows you have killed 8 of the 12 bosses previously and you need a gearscore of at least 5500. All the abbrieviations that they are using wont mean anything to you till you hit level cap as they are all level 80 raids. Dont even ask what gearscore is:(

12) When looting when is it acceptable to select need and when should I pick disenchant?

If you need, need. DE all other times. Bear in mind that even though you are a hunter, you dont NEED everything. Need on stuff that has agility, crit, stam, attack power. You really dont need str, int, spi, spellpower at all.

DRakE

lf 1 healer 1 tank eoe 10, come back to me with 6.4k gs or no

actually got this the last day

Dustaz

lmao

We did EoE in blues originally....

Nehaxak

StinkyMunkey wrote: »

Planetside was my first true love. They have merged all the servers into one (Gemini, stateside). When Werner died, PS died for me. Stopped playing in 08 i think, was playing since 03. Game is a mess now, ppl just use the trial to create toons to hack with, i resubbed early last year for a month. I think i logged in twice to see hackers running rampant everywhere:(.

I was subbed up on and off up until about Feb this year. They also upgraded it finally to work ok with Windows 7/Vista. The latencies were too high for me to play like I wanted too on Gemini and it's still full of hackers.
I think though yeah, when Werner died my interest also fell away.

There was talk of a PlanetSide 2 at one stage but sure you know what SoE are like.

Tucking Fypo

If you're thinking of coming back now, consider waiting a couple of weeks. School's out at the minute and you'll find yourself getting /y by 10 year olds.

L2P u Noob etc. :eek: