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09-02-2004, 01:39 AM
(This post was last modified: 09-02-2004, 02:54 AM by smithy.)
Hi,
The stress test is going to be starting tomorrow at noon. See the WOW website.
Given that I'm only going to have a week to actually get a feel for the game, I'm wondering what class would be best (not necessarily strongest) to use?
Does it really even matter? I'm thinking about rolling a mage just because they seem the least gear dependant class. I think playing a mage would let me spend more of my time seeing the world because I wouldn't have to search for gear as I leveled.
Smithy
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Actually, all classes are gear dependent in someway. The reason being is just about all gear will boost attributes in some way and attributes effect a number of things. So, saying a mage isn't gear dependent isn't exactly true. They can probably get by better than say a Warrior or other classes, but they still need gear to be at the pinnacle of play.
Probably the least gear dependant class is the Warlock since they have pets to do things for them (like being meat shields or adding a little extra damage). Play a Warlock though can be tricky as you need to learn how to let your pet sustain agro. (Which is difficult at times, even the littlest thing will cause you to grab agro from your pet. I've seen a number of times where my Warlock casts weakness, a 0 damage curse that decreases the damage a mob can do, and the mob will switch to attacking me even though my minion may have done a two to three hits against the mob in questsion and I have to stand there and take hits for a couple more hits from my minion before the mob finally peels off and goes after the minion.)
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Hi,
I guess later on in the game every class is going to need the good gear. I doubt I will make it past level 10 during the stress test though.
Maybe I should just pick each race and go through their starting areas? I'd like to be able to maximize my time so that I get as good a feel for this game as possible during the limited amount of time I'll have. The stress test is more of a demo to me, I guess.
Smithy
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smithy,Sep 2 2004, 05:55 AM Wrote:Maybe I should just pick each race and go through their starting areas? I'd like to be able to maximize my time so that I get as good a feel for this game as possible during the limited amount of time I'll have. The stress test is more of a demo to me, I guess. An experienced player can go from level 1 to 10 in a matter of a few hours. Newbies can take around 2-3 times longer. Just giving you a timeframe. If you play 4 hours a day, you could take maybe 3 characters to level 10 before the week is up.
The starting areas for the races are interesting and diverse. Once you get to level 11-12, you move into more of a "pooled" area that's common to 2 or more races. For example: orcs, tauren, and trolls will all wind up in The Barrens after completing their starting areas. Trolls share their starting area with orcs, and gnomes share their starting area with dwarves.
If you want to see a number of starting areas and get a small "feel" for the game, I'd recommend playing:
Human
Night Elf
Undead
Tauren
Dwarf/Gnome
Orc/Troll
Although you wouldn't have time for them all. Note: the human area will be the most crowded during the stress test. Human races are always picked over others in MMOs. The least popular races are gnomes and trolls.
If you're new to MMOs, don't play a Warlock. And yes, mages/warlocks/priests are the least equipment dependent, but at the early levels none of the classes are all that equipment dependent. So just enjoy. Remember that the first 20 levels of the game are the learning/kiddie levels, so to speak. After that, instances become available, equipment becomes more varied and interesting, and the classes start getting their more advanced spells/skills. If you play a few classes and think that they are "generally the same," it's because you're only at the low levels.
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Quote:Although you wouldn't have time for them all. Note: the human area will be the most crowded during the stress test. Human races are always picked over others in MMOs. The least popular races are gnomes and trolls.
Yeah, I think this is going to be the biggest issue for the stress test, where they're talking about adding 100,000 people (!). I'd avoid playing a Human like the plague. The whole human area will probably be well overcamped. Dwarf/gnome might be OK, but it wouldn't surprise me if a big population starts there, too. In general, I would recommend playing a Horde race, because they tend to be less popular, particularly among newbies. Also, the different areas of the game are on different servers, so the expected lag during the stress test would probably affect you less, if you play in a less popular starting area.
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Hoard Troll Shaman sounds like it would be fun then.
Smithy
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I've played the Paladin during most of the beta (a little hunter and a little warrior sprinkled in there as well). It's been an interesting and fun ride, but it's getting increasingly harder to solo at higher levels. The Paladin is definitely gear dependent, but for the starting few levels, if you chose to play one, you'd be ok for the most part.
I don't think you'll have trouble finding a party to play with, so the pitfalls of soloing with a "gimpy" class, such as the Paladin, won't be an issue.
So, basically, pick whatever you want. Play a bunch, play a few, play one -- you'll get a feel for the game within the first few hours, and you can extrapolate how your character's career will go from there. As more skills become available, your style of play changes slightly, but for the most part, the way you play your class of choice will be pretty standard by level 20ish.
Places like Westfall where there are items that spawn (the oats quest comes to mind) or monsters that need killing (the harvesters) will be interesting to see how they are dealt with during the stress test. I bet there will be lots of camping done, and lots of time spent waiting for respawns.
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I'd be surprised the Stress servers stay up longer than 5 minutes at a time truthfully...
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Sorry for the title.
I just saw on the main wow.com page that the three highest level characters from each class/race combo will be offered slots in the closed beta. I would love one of those slots but I doubt I have a chance.
Smithy
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09-02-2004, 06:14 PM
(This post was last modified: 09-02-2004, 06:15 PM by Swiss Mercenary.)
Hrm... Account creation page, down already?
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09-02-2004, 06:32 PM
(This post was last modified: 09-02-2004, 06:39 PM by smithy.)
No, actually it just hadn't come up yet. I just created my account. The servers were VERY fast. I may have just beaten the rush though, not sure.
Here I go. :)
Smithy
EDIt: For anyone who is playing in the stress test, I'm going to be starting a Dwarf druid named Gerris. I was going to be hoard tgo start but I really want to try out the druid.
Actually, Night elf druid since I can only play a human or night elf as druid. So, NE Druid named Gerris.
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Well, when I get around to making my account, I'll probably play a Tauren Shaman, though I may make a Tauren Warrior, seeing as how the highest-level people get into the Closed Beta... :)
ArrayPaladins were not meant to sit in the back of the raid staring at health bars all day, spamming heals and listening to eight different classes whine about buffs.[/quote]
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09-02-2004, 07:09 PM
(This post was last modified: 09-02-2004, 07:22 PM by TriggerHappy.)
Nevermind, alittle searching and the account has been created :D .
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Well, I have been playing an Undead Warrior with an Undead Priest buddy, and am Level 4. His name is Urscythe.
I've also started a Tauren Shaman, which I will play as often as possible, and he is named Artega.
Both are on the Mannoroth (PvP) server.
ArrayPaladins were not meant to sit in the back of the raid staring at health bars all day, spamming heals and listening to eight different classes whine about buffs.[/quote]
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They have been playing nice and smooth, I just finished an hour long session no problems at all. Though if I read the numbers right most of the servers only have about 1500 people on them.
I'm messing around with a Troll priest just to see. Though with Treesh being a hunter, we might have to find a warrior after we get bigger.
Though I do plan on playing a lot of the different races and chars just to see so I might not get too horribly big. :)
Initial impression though is that the servers can handle it right now. Though the game is very much a hack n slash game. The other MMORPG's I have beta'd have at least allowed you crafting quests right from the get go. Crafting seems to have a very minimal importance in this game.
I'm not happy about the refresh being locked in at 60 Hertz my eyes though.... Does anyone know how to change that?
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09-03-2004, 04:10 AM
(This post was last modified: 09-03-2004, 04:12 AM by TriggerHappy.)
Gnollguy,Sep 2 2004, 08:11 PM Wrote:I'm not happy about the refresh being locked in at 60 Hertz my eyes though.... Does anyone know how to change that? Easily:
Reforce.
http://www.majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=1847
Works with both Nvidia and ATI. Note, it only works with Win2k and XP.
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Hi,
Where's the closest mage trainer to the crossroads in the barrens?
Smithy
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Hrm... I've mostly been playing a human paladin...
What I'm wondering is - where are the two guards that you need to find, after getting the quest at the east bridge..?
As for my opinion on the game - I don't have one yet. The players, though, are funny.
"So, there's about 50 spawns in the starting area, and 300 newbs are camping them" - disgruntled player.
That's what the human newbie area looked like 10 minutes into the test - I, luckily, got in as one of the first players, and managed to get ahead of everyone by at least 1 or 2 quests - I spent most of my first 3 hours adventuring in empty areas, with 2 or 3 other people. When I returned to them, half an hour later, they were crawling with people.
*Ponders going into Duskwood
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I play in a window, so the refresh rates are no problem. I prefer being able to use thottbot and ICQ/MSN on my other monitor while playing WoW, too.
If I recall correctly (My icon doesn't reflect this change anymore... odd), you enable window mode by adding "-window" to the shortcut.
"Yay! We did it!"
"Who are you?"
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