Ennui at 47

[Artega]

I've reached the point where WoW ceases to be entertaining and begins to be boring. At level 47, there is no real entertaining content for a solo Warrior. Feralas and Tanaris are quested completely, and Searing Gorge and Blasted Lands are incredibly difficult for a solo Warrior because of number of roaming mobs and type of roaming mobs. Without healing or CC capabilities, I often die if more than one mob (particularly elemental mobs) aggro at a time, and this is a common occurence because of ludicrous aggro radii.

It seems that the only options I have are to be forced into grouping in a MMO that flaunts solo-ability as one of its virtues.

Makes me wish there was a global aggro-radius reduction, or a way of making Warriors a good bit better at soloing.

[Xanthix]

Well, if you are dead-set against grouping I won't recommend that, although I think the game is ten times more fun when you have a good run with a group, be they pickup groupers or guildmates.

But if you are bored with a Warrior, why not try another class? Playing a caster, healer, or hybrid class is a very different experience. If you are bored with various zones, try another race or faction - each race's area is very unique.

[Malakar]

I don't see why so many people say the game is "more fun" in groups. I personally think groups are way overrated.

You have two options. Pickup groups or friend groups. Obviously friend groups is the preferred option, but it has problems. Some of my friends have to go afk too much, which means I have the dilemma of leaving them out or waiting on them all day. That's assuming that we have enough people of similar level - not likely. Different people have different amounts of time to play. Also, it can force me into playing one character as a main so that I can stay in line with my friends, something I dislike.

So, often times I have only the second option. Pickup groups are the greatest source of frustration for me in this game. It's rare that I find a group completely devoid of idiots. There's usually at least one 12 year old punk that shows their stupidity and stubborness half way through the instance. Not only do I tire of coaching everyone and their brother so they don't do ridiculous stuff (like AOE my sapped unit while not sheeping anything on a mage), most of the time these people are not responsive to advice, even if you say it nicely. So you have the choice: kick him out and waste the time you've put into it, or go on with his crap, with the potential of him botching the entire run, wasting 2-4 hours of my time.

Oh, and there is one more option. Don't do any elite quests. But then you miss a ton of the content in the game.

All of these problems... for what? Just what exactly makes playing in a group "more fun"? Socialization? I had more socialization in my guild in Lineage 1 where everyone solo'd, cause we weren't all busy talking about hunting.

So what's so great about groups? I'd like to know, cause I sure as hell don't see it.

[Zippyy]

So what's so great about groups? I'd like to know, cause I sure as hell don't see it.[right][snapback]64874[/snapback][/right]

I am the first to admit I may be wrong, but it seems to me that you are lamenting some bad grouping experiences, and not attacking grouping itself.

If grouping were not fun, MMO's would not exist. Games would not have multiplayer if playing with other people were not fun. :) I have had many positive group experiences on Stormrage, even with pubbie pickup runs. I don't know if PvP and PvE servers attract different types of people, but I suppose it is possible. Frequently the group will have a bad egg, and occasionally you will get stuck with a whole carton, but I have found that in general, people are tolerable. Typically it is good to avoid those who use "u" and "r" in place of "you" and "are." That should save you from a lot of heartache.

If you want a much worse pubbie experience, hearken back to Diablo I pubbies. :)

[Malakar]

It's difficult to pinpoint exactly what's causing my negativity.

I will admit that I've had enjoyable grouping experiences in WoW. But I've had oh so many more frustrating or simply mediocre ones.

We could have a lot of discussion about what's at fault. Perhaps we will come up with something better, perhaps not. But I'll say that no grouping never hurt anyone. You can still create friendships and game with your friends without grouping with them all the time.

I guess another thing that pisses me off is that Blizzard flaunted the solo-ability, yet this is by far their least solo-able game ever.

[Cryptic]

Artega, have you tried Thottbotting yourself? (All Alliance quests available, say 44-47?) Forgive me if this is spam:

Page 1:
http://www.thottbot.com/?f=q&title=&obj=&d...maxol=&empire=A

Page 2:
http://www.thottbot.com/?f=q&title=&obj=&d...ire=A&start=100

[Rinnhart]

Artega, have you tried Thottbotting yourself?  (All Alliance quests available, say 44-47?)  Forgive me if this is spam:

Page 1:
http://www.thottbot.com/?f=q&title=&obj=&d...maxol=&empire=A

Page 2:
http://www.thottbot.com/?f=q&title=&obj=&d...ire=A&start=100
[right][snapback]64917[/snapback][/right]

Isn't he a cow?

[Cryptic]

If he's Horde, it's just as easy to research.

http://www.thottbot.com/?f=q&title=&obj=&d...maxol=&empire=H

http://www.thottbot.com/?f=q&title=&obj=&d...ire=H&start=100

Some are class specific, but it looks like there's about 100 entries.

[Xanthix]

(Artega, sorry to hijack the thread with discussion about groups, but I think this is relevant and hope it helps)

I don't see why so many people say the game is "more fun" in groups. I personally think groups are way overrated.
[right][snapback]64874[/snapback][/right]

You make good points about pickup groups, especially if you value high-quality play. But I think you missed an option: Grouping with guildmates.

If you join a good guild, you will have a bunch of people available to play with. In general, people who wouldn't give you a free buff in town will be nicer to you if you are in their guild (just human nature I guess). And specifically, if you find a guild of good people, with characters around your level range, you will be able to do lots of quests you wouldn't normally be able to do. And if you find an idiot, well most good guilds will either talk to them or boot them.

I was in a great guild in beta, and have a good one going now too. I really recommend it. It may take a few tries to find a good guild, but it's worth it in the long run.

[DarkCrown]

If you join a good guild, you will have a bunch of people available to play with. In general, people who wouldn't give you a free buff in town will be nicer to you if you are in their guild (just human nature I guess). And specifically, if you find a guild of good people, with characters around your level range, you will be able to do lots of quests you wouldn't normally be able to do. And if you find an idiot, well most good guilds will either talk to them or boot them.

I was in a great guild in beta, and have a good one going now too. I really recommend it. It may take a few tries to find a good guild, but it's worth it in the long run.
[right][snapback]64931[/snapback][/right]

I would concur with this. I chose Proudmoore at random when I started WoW, and I got lucky in finding Thorns of Gold, the Alliance WoW guild from The Older Gamers. You have to be 25 years old to get in (which helps with the leet-speak) and it's a large bunch, more than 400 last time I looked. I rarely have trouble finding a group.

As far as why grouping is fun --- to each their own. We ran Maraudon with a 46 druid as a healer, a 48 druid (me) as a tank, two 50ish mages and a 53 hunter as firepower. Most fun I've ever had gaming. And yes we got wiped out a few times, and I really wish it were possible to improve the druid's rez spell. But man what a blast!


-DarkCrown

[Artega]

Isn't he a cow?
[right][snapback]64926[/snapback][/right]

Moo.

I think a lot of the problem is Blizzard's continually beating off to the idea of instanced areas and elite quests. I'd love to see some GOOD non-elite quests that are FUN to play. Feralas was full of them, and because of that, I rapidly leveled from 43 to 46 in the space of a single day. Tanaris has a couple of good ones, but I don't much like the place - the music sucks, and the scenery is just blah.

And I think a lot of it has to do with my particular class - Warriors can't solo worth a damn at this point in the game. With ludicrous aggro radii, we get added nearly every fight unless we want to kite the mob back to the zone entrance/exit, and we can barely handle a single add, much less two or more. I've died WAY too many times because I get multiple adds in an area that was devoid of mobs when I picked the fight, and then get perma-Dazed trying to bail out. Unfortunately, there isn't anything that can be done about this, because Warriors would be absurdly powerful if we were given an effective, repeatable in-combat heal (Stomping and getting two seconds of bandaid or drinking a potion that heals a quarter of our HP every two minutes does not count as effective), and reducing aggro radii or giving Daze a global cooldown timer (i.e., you can't be Dazed more than X times in Y minutes) would wreck the "balance" that exists right now <_<

[Malakar]

What level mobs are you trying to kill? If you're getting high aggro radius and chain dazed, it might be because you're fighting stuff 1-2 levels higher than you rather than 1-2 levels lower.

[Malakar]

Hmm you have a good point here. I might try joining a bigger guild on some of my characters.

[Rinnhart]

With ludicrous aggro radii, we get added nearly every fight unless we want to kite the mob back to the zone entrance/exit,

Artega, man, that's standard operating procedure for the average solo player in most any other MMO. Get to a zone wall, get away from the adds. You might just need to adapt more to the situation. *shrug*

And I think a lot of it has to do with my particular class - Warriors can't solo worth a damn at this point in the game.

Still solo better than warriors in other games, though I wouldn't be opposed to some kind of decent root being given to warriors.

or giving Daze a global cooldown timer (i.e., you can't be Dazed more than X times in Y minutes)

Daze is fricken retarded. Two equal level mobs = you can't run away. A cool down timer would be excellent.

More than anything, though, I think you should find a partner. I duo fairly often with a mage buddy, and we've done a number of elite quests pretty easily.

[Artega]

What level mobs are you trying to kill? If you're getting high aggro radius and chain dazed, it might be because you're fighting stuff 1-2 levels higher than you rather than 1-2 levels lower.
[right][snapback]64949[/snapback][/right]

Generally equal-level mobs or lower-level ones. Unfortunately, there tend to be a lot of pain-in-the-ass mobs in Searing Gorge or Blasted Lands, like elementals or other non-bleedable mobs.

[Raziel]

If you're careful, you can pick your targets at the Isle of Dread in Feralas. Hope i've got that name right..

Instances are good right around now. Uldaman springs to mind. Badlands (south of Thelsamar, Loch Modan) is a good place to exp, but there's 5 billion roaming aggro prairie dogs. You won't like it.

The place that stood out to me is Ungoro Crater at 50+. If you can just make it to 50, there is a ton of quests in Ungoro. Yes, there are roaming aggroes, but if you stick to the crater wall, not very many (especially running the east wall up to Marshal's Refuge.. I hit almost none at all). The tar beasts right outside Marshal's Refuge can be annoying, but are avoidable as there's really two ways out.. just go east to the ape area and pull them out and kill them. Good exp, good skinnin', good eatin'.

[Kairos]

I had similar problems with quest content in my late 40s as well. I'm not sure that I can offer much help -- my solution was mostly just to group with friends. The quest surplus does come back in a few levels, though, at least for Alliance. If you're feeling particularly brave, you can do some of the Un'Goro quests. I did the Un'Goro dirt (that starts in Thunder Bluff for Horde, I think) and the power crystal quests starting at level 48. Both of these quests involve using clickies instead of fighting monsters, so even though most things in the zone are 50-54 or so, they can be easily completed if you dodge aggro well enough. Admittedly, this will be more difficult without stealth, but two of my friends managed it well enough around the same level.

[lemekim]

I see that you have not mentioned Hinterlands. There aren't as many quests there as in some other areas, but you can get a few from Hinterlands themselves, as well as from Booty Bay and Darnassus, and it's a nice change of scenery.

There are also some quests available in Stranglethorn Vale (mainly from Booty Bay), they are about level 44-45, and should be fairly easy to solo.

Once you hit 49, you can explore Felwood a bit - there are large areas with sub-50 mobs, much more so then in Un'goro. You can also try Aszhara - there should be some quests for under 50 as well.