04-27-2005, 06:47 PM
I was asked this recently by someone. "I'm a pretty casual gamer. What should I go with if I wanted one Alliance and one Horde character to play only?"
There's no doubt in my mind that there are difficulty levels inherent in certain classes. About midway through beta I came to the conclusion that, even though I hadn't fully played every class, the Warlock was probably the most difficult class in the game to play well. Management of mana, health, your pet, your DoTs, Soul Shards, the trading between hit points and mana, and the fact that you lack any real "escape" spell combine to make it a challenging (and rewarding) experience. For someone new to MMORPGs or into fairly casual play, Warlocks aren't it.
We could probably have a full debate over what's the most challenging class to play well, but what do you say would be the easiest? No blanket statements - you have to back it up with reasons. It's not that every casual gamer out there isn't looking for a challenge - I know that's not true - it's just that if you don't have the time to peruse forums to discuss strategies, examine possible talent builds, and only have a few hours a week to play, what class is best? What's the most intuitive class to learn to play with as little "extra crap" as possible?
PALADIN:
I'm by no means a Paladin expert, so I'll just throw in here that getting free mounts is a BIG plus to a gamer without the time or means to accumulate enough money to buy one. That alone gives Paladins a big boost for casual play.
HUNTER:
I'm thinking this would be an extremely poor choice for casual play, since the level of in-game documentation on how to manage pets, keep them happy, and learn new pet abilities is ridiculously low. Add to that the complexities of even managing pets to begin with (separate set of commands on your character), and I'd rule Hunters out for casual play.
MAGES:
Mages have one of the easier Talent tree configurations to understand - duh, Fire, Frost, Arcane! I like Fire! I'll put points in the Fire tree! But are cloth casters a good choice for a casual gamer? Play is more difficult when managing mana comes into the equation, and when a huge part of gameplay is keeping a distance between you and your target. Mages would force a learning curve on a casual player that, once grasped, would be understood - but obtaining that grasp could be difficult for those new to MMORPGs.
PRIESTS:
Bonus - it's never hard to find a group when you're a Priest. This is huge to a casual gamer that wants to group a lot, since they won't have to wait long to find a group to join. I used to whip out my watch, type "Level X Priest LFG (some goal)" in General Chat, and see how many seconds would pass before the invite. Fun. :) I would say that Priests are more casual-friendly than Mages, if grouping is the goal. Mages are more self-sufficient, with better crowd control, free drinks/food, and quick portals after level 20. This lends Mages more to the soloist casual gamer if they want a caster.
WARLOCKS:
I already noted Warlocks above; I think they're the worst choice for a casual gamer.
DRUIDS:
Not a Druid expert, but the versatility of a Druid must be accounted for. Once shapeshifting has been understood, a casual gamer can enjoy playing different roles. However, this also makes it harder for someone without a lot of time to master the different roles. Switch over to Bear Form, great! What's this Rage thing? Huh? Wha? Energy on my cat? What's that? What happens when I switch back? So I have to manage multiple action bars for all my different forms?
ROGUES:
Get behind the enemy. Smack it around and keep smacking it around until it dies. Pure killing, pure DPS. Stealth style possible if you want to play that way. Easy to learn, very intuitive. You're not responsible for healing or crowd control - you're there to kill. At low levels, no real ability to handle adds, so that represents the class' learning curve. In my opinion, the most casual-friendly class out there. When you're a Rogue, you have to pay attention to your partymates less than any other class, which is perfect for a casual player.
WARRIOR:
Ability to take a beating a huge plus. Inability to heal oneself in any way a big minus. At low levels, a good choice. Problem is, at higher levels and in groups, Warriors are expected to be the party leaders, and this is a tough role for a casual gamer who does not have the time to learn complex party mechanics and how all the other classes work. While solo play is manageable pretty well, it's the requirements put on Warriors in groups that make it a poor choice for a casual gamer, in my opinion. I know I expect a *lot* from Warriors in my parties, and I've seen Warriors who don't know what they're doing take a serious tongue lashing in pickup groups.
SHAMAN:
I know too little about this class to comment on it in terms of difficulty, other than it might be difficult for a casual player to figure out their role in a party when playing a Shaman.
My class choice: Rogue. I think casual players and newbies would enjoy the Rogue more than any other class, if they had no preference between the type of character (caster, tough guy, etc).
Professions? There are six choices:
Mining/Blacksmithing
Mining/Engineering
Skinning/Leatherworking
Tailoring/Enchanting
Herbalism/Alchemy
Two gathering professions, ignoring creation altogether
Tailoring/Enchanting is out, because Enchanting is far too expensive for a casual gamer. Okay, if they really wanted Tailoring they could pick Skinning with it to get leather for bags (and because that way they get all their mats from creature kills, which is easier than hunting for herb/mining nodes - this is big, actually). Blacksmithing and Leatherworking just don't seem worth it for casual play, since you can buy their creations from the auction house. Herbalism/Alchemy seems good for making their own potions, and Mining/Engineering is a good pick because Engineers are the only ones who can use most of the items Engineers make.
So this would be my 1 Alliance/1 Horde suggestion for the casual gamer:
1) Alliance Night Elf Rogue (extra stealth, +dodge bonus) - herbalist/alchemist - for solo play
2) Horde Undead Priest (Will of Forsaken) - mining/engineering - for group fun
Since I haven't met anyone on this board yet who said "Dang Bolty, you are completely right" - debate! :)
-Bolty
There's no doubt in my mind that there are difficulty levels inherent in certain classes. About midway through beta I came to the conclusion that, even though I hadn't fully played every class, the Warlock was probably the most difficult class in the game to play well. Management of mana, health, your pet, your DoTs, Soul Shards, the trading between hit points and mana, and the fact that you lack any real "escape" spell combine to make it a challenging (and rewarding) experience. For someone new to MMORPGs or into fairly casual play, Warlocks aren't it.
We could probably have a full debate over what's the most challenging class to play well, but what do you say would be the easiest? No blanket statements - you have to back it up with reasons. It's not that every casual gamer out there isn't looking for a challenge - I know that's not true - it's just that if you don't have the time to peruse forums to discuss strategies, examine possible talent builds, and only have a few hours a week to play, what class is best? What's the most intuitive class to learn to play with as little "extra crap" as possible?
PALADIN:
I'm by no means a Paladin expert, so I'll just throw in here that getting free mounts is a BIG plus to a gamer without the time or means to accumulate enough money to buy one. That alone gives Paladins a big boost for casual play.
HUNTER:
I'm thinking this would be an extremely poor choice for casual play, since the level of in-game documentation on how to manage pets, keep them happy, and learn new pet abilities is ridiculously low. Add to that the complexities of even managing pets to begin with (separate set of commands on your character), and I'd rule Hunters out for casual play.
MAGES:
Mages have one of the easier Talent tree configurations to understand - duh, Fire, Frost, Arcane! I like Fire! I'll put points in the Fire tree! But are cloth casters a good choice for a casual gamer? Play is more difficult when managing mana comes into the equation, and when a huge part of gameplay is keeping a distance between you and your target. Mages would force a learning curve on a casual player that, once grasped, would be understood - but obtaining that grasp could be difficult for those new to MMORPGs.
PRIESTS:
Bonus - it's never hard to find a group when you're a Priest. This is huge to a casual gamer that wants to group a lot, since they won't have to wait long to find a group to join. I used to whip out my watch, type "Level X Priest LFG (some goal)" in General Chat, and see how many seconds would pass before the invite. Fun. :) I would say that Priests are more casual-friendly than Mages, if grouping is the goal. Mages are more self-sufficient, with better crowd control, free drinks/food, and quick portals after level 20. This lends Mages more to the soloist casual gamer if they want a caster.
WARLOCKS:
I already noted Warlocks above; I think they're the worst choice for a casual gamer.
DRUIDS:
Not a Druid expert, but the versatility of a Druid must be accounted for. Once shapeshifting has been understood, a casual gamer can enjoy playing different roles. However, this also makes it harder for someone without a lot of time to master the different roles. Switch over to Bear Form, great! What's this Rage thing? Huh? Wha? Energy on my cat? What's that? What happens when I switch back? So I have to manage multiple action bars for all my different forms?
ROGUES:
Get behind the enemy. Smack it around and keep smacking it around until it dies. Pure killing, pure DPS. Stealth style possible if you want to play that way. Easy to learn, very intuitive. You're not responsible for healing or crowd control - you're there to kill. At low levels, no real ability to handle adds, so that represents the class' learning curve. In my opinion, the most casual-friendly class out there. When you're a Rogue, you have to pay attention to your partymates less than any other class, which is perfect for a casual player.
WARRIOR:
Ability to take a beating a huge plus. Inability to heal oneself in any way a big minus. At low levels, a good choice. Problem is, at higher levels and in groups, Warriors are expected to be the party leaders, and this is a tough role for a casual gamer who does not have the time to learn complex party mechanics and how all the other classes work. While solo play is manageable pretty well, it's the requirements put on Warriors in groups that make it a poor choice for a casual gamer, in my opinion. I know I expect a *lot* from Warriors in my parties, and I've seen Warriors who don't know what they're doing take a serious tongue lashing in pickup groups.
SHAMAN:
I know too little about this class to comment on it in terms of difficulty, other than it might be difficult for a casual player to figure out their role in a party when playing a Shaman.
My class choice: Rogue. I think casual players and newbies would enjoy the Rogue more than any other class, if they had no preference between the type of character (caster, tough guy, etc).
Professions? There are six choices:
Mining/Blacksmithing
Mining/Engineering
Skinning/Leatherworking
Tailoring/Enchanting
Herbalism/Alchemy
Two gathering professions, ignoring creation altogether
Tailoring/Enchanting is out, because Enchanting is far too expensive for a casual gamer. Okay, if they really wanted Tailoring they could pick Skinning with it to get leather for bags (and because that way they get all their mats from creature kills, which is easier than hunting for herb/mining nodes - this is big, actually). Blacksmithing and Leatherworking just don't seem worth it for casual play, since you can buy their creations from the auction house. Herbalism/Alchemy seems good for making their own potions, and Mining/Engineering is a good pick because Engineers are the only ones who can use most of the items Engineers make.
So this would be my 1 Alliance/1 Horde suggestion for the casual gamer:
1) Alliance Night Elf Rogue (extra stealth, +dodge bonus) - herbalist/alchemist - for solo play
2) Horde Undead Priest (Will of Forsaken) - mining/engineering - for group fun
Since I haven't met anyone on this board yet who said "Dang Bolty, you are completely right" - debate! :)
-Bolty
Quote:Considering the mods here are generally liberals who seem to have a soft spot for fascism and white supremacy (despite them saying otherwise), me being perma-banned at some point is probably not out of the question.