03-29-2004, 10:46 PM
I've now slogged through another week of play since my first report. As I feared, too many people were concluding that my first report was the overall, "that's it" report about the game, and I received /whispers from people online like "still hate it?" and "are you going to keep playing?" I even had one "you suck, this game rules" comment. Wow, it's public Battle.Net all over again! :)
The main point of my first report was "this game has a steep learning curve, especially for mages." However, with my learning curve out of the way, I was able to concentrate on developing my mage. I have gone from level 12 to level 18, and things are getting more interesting.
For starters, as those who read this forum know, more Lurkers are around to game with. The Lurker guild on the beta is now consisting of 10 members, with some more yet to report (cough, Griselda, where are you?). Questions and answers have been flying back and forth on the guild channel. Just as last weekend was my turn to ask the "dumb" questions to Zoid (how do I leave the general chat channel so it stops spamming my screen, how do I throw an item into chat so everyone can look at it, etc), this weekend I got to answer them all. In later phases, when I'm sure more Lurkers will get in, this new gang can answer the "dumb" questions that crop up.
Things are a LOT more fun when in groups for a MMORPG, especially as a mage. As I told TPJ of the Amazon Basin, I've just accepted that mages stink and have adapted my playing style. As I watch Paladins take on 3 monsters of the same level at the same time and survive, I stick to one-at-a-time fighting of such monsters (and die about 10% of the time - 80% when the mob is a ranged attacker such as a mage or archer - more later). Either that, or I stick to mobs of a lower level than me. It's a beta, mages stink right now; maybe they'll be corrected later, no problem. Playing with a group is another way to survive, since I have a handle on how aggro works. However, many players don't want to bother with a mage grouping with them, since we just die a lot and are a hassle, I guess. Either that, or it's my body odor. :)
So I can handle fighting one melee enemy of the same level as me. Two, and I'm toast. I'm pretty sure it's not a matter of my ability - the mage just isn't equipped to handle it. Frost Nova helps a ton by freezing the mobs in place (when it works - monsters can resist it), but in order to kill one mob quickly before they both unfreeze, I use up a majority of my mana. I get in trouble then with the second mob.
But that pales in comparison to taking on ranged mobs. Since freezing them only applies to their movement, I can't halt the attacks of a ranged attacker. I also don't have the advantage of getting off a clean 2-3 shots before I start taking damage, which is the case with a melee attacker as he/she runs at me. My death rate against ranged attackers is near 80% and has become a major point of frustration. Their attacks halt my attacks, and I have no way to "stun" them. I get repeatedly killed by ranged attackers who are below me in level. Teaming up is my only solution. Jarulf made quite a teammate this weekend, as he could charge ranged attackers and stun them, allowing me to wail on them with impunity.
Since no Lurkers are really up to my level yet (I play too much), I'm still on an exploration kick. I've been around a good bit and can say that I've seen about 25% of the world now. The transportation between the two continents (Kalimdor and Azeroth) is handled via the use of teleportation guys, since they don't have the boats worked out. In fact, talking to the NPC who you would purchase a boat ride from has a note from the developers that the boat artwork isn't done yet, and to "enjoy the free teleport" in the meantime.
What I'm really itching to do is an elite quest with my fellow Lurkers. I partied with a bunch of strangers and we attempted the mines beneath Westfall, where three(!) elite quests can be solved. Three hours later, after descending into a seemingly endless dungeon, we were finally massacred by some goblins and their mechanical contraptions. It was a good run all the same; I gained over 10,000 experience (that's a lot, since I needed 33,000 to level up) and had quite an adventure. The excitement grew the farther we got, as the pressure mounted. The further we went, the less the chance we could recover our bodies if we died, and the greater the odds that the adventure would end. It was a lot of fun, especially since we were down there without a priest (a healer). Thanks to the use of Soulstones created by a Warlock, we were able to resurrect ourselves in place if we died. My mage's ability to conjure food (health) and water (mana) to be used when not fighting made me very popular. But eventually, we were mobbed too much to be able to use Soulstones to recover. Perhaps a tank made a mistake and pulled too many monsters; I couldn't see how it all broke down since I was always at the back of the party (and, as a Gnome, I'm way too short to see over the others very well. Funny, yes, but it's true). All I knew is that we were swarmed quickly and got annihilated.
Since a party can have only a max of 5 members (this is good and bad, really, since parties TOO big can be chaotic), VERY good teamplay is required to survive. I think that's what makes elite quests elite - you will need heavy teamwork if you want to complete it at a character level appropriate to the quest. Since teamwork is what makes MMORPGs fun, I can say I had more fun down there than I had for all the rest of my playing time put together. I can't wait to try it again with some Lurkers.
Thanks to the instance system, our party was alone in the dungeon and didn't have to worry about being bothered. This also prevents cheese play where a team could easily get to the end of the dungeon after some other party cleared it out. Since much of the difficulty is getting to the end point, you need the instanced dungeons to force you to work for it. :)
So....solo play is still frustrating, but as the quests are getting more intricate and I'm able to party with others, it has gotten better. Not that this is a surprise to me. I knew going in that MMORPGs are heavily party-oriented. The cynical side of me says that's because partying up will make you friends on the server and keep you playing (and paying) the game long after you've seen everything, but then games are simply more fun socially anyhow. As long as you find the right group. And from what I've seen, isn't that why we're all reading this site anyway? To be in the right group?
Tune in for my next report at a future date...hopefully other Lurkers will also chime in with their game impressions.
-Bolty
The main point of my first report was "this game has a steep learning curve, especially for mages." However, with my learning curve out of the way, I was able to concentrate on developing my mage. I have gone from level 12 to level 18, and things are getting more interesting.
For starters, as those who read this forum know, more Lurkers are around to game with. The Lurker guild on the beta is now consisting of 10 members, with some more yet to report (cough, Griselda, where are you?). Questions and answers have been flying back and forth on the guild channel. Just as last weekend was my turn to ask the "dumb" questions to Zoid (how do I leave the general chat channel so it stops spamming my screen, how do I throw an item into chat so everyone can look at it, etc), this weekend I got to answer them all. In later phases, when I'm sure more Lurkers will get in, this new gang can answer the "dumb" questions that crop up.
Things are a LOT more fun when in groups for a MMORPG, especially as a mage. As I told TPJ of the Amazon Basin, I've just accepted that mages stink and have adapted my playing style. As I watch Paladins take on 3 monsters of the same level at the same time and survive, I stick to one-at-a-time fighting of such monsters (and die about 10% of the time - 80% when the mob is a ranged attacker such as a mage or archer - more later). Either that, or I stick to mobs of a lower level than me. It's a beta, mages stink right now; maybe they'll be corrected later, no problem. Playing with a group is another way to survive, since I have a handle on how aggro works. However, many players don't want to bother with a mage grouping with them, since we just die a lot and are a hassle, I guess. Either that, or it's my body odor. :)
So I can handle fighting one melee enemy of the same level as me. Two, and I'm toast. I'm pretty sure it's not a matter of my ability - the mage just isn't equipped to handle it. Frost Nova helps a ton by freezing the mobs in place (when it works - monsters can resist it), but in order to kill one mob quickly before they both unfreeze, I use up a majority of my mana. I get in trouble then with the second mob.
But that pales in comparison to taking on ranged mobs. Since freezing them only applies to their movement, I can't halt the attacks of a ranged attacker. I also don't have the advantage of getting off a clean 2-3 shots before I start taking damage, which is the case with a melee attacker as he/she runs at me. My death rate against ranged attackers is near 80% and has become a major point of frustration. Their attacks halt my attacks, and I have no way to "stun" them. I get repeatedly killed by ranged attackers who are below me in level. Teaming up is my only solution. Jarulf made quite a teammate this weekend, as he could charge ranged attackers and stun them, allowing me to wail on them with impunity.
Since no Lurkers are really up to my level yet (I play too much), I'm still on an exploration kick. I've been around a good bit and can say that I've seen about 25% of the world now. The transportation between the two continents (Kalimdor and Azeroth) is handled via the use of teleportation guys, since they don't have the boats worked out. In fact, talking to the NPC who you would purchase a boat ride from has a note from the developers that the boat artwork isn't done yet, and to "enjoy the free teleport" in the meantime.
What I'm really itching to do is an elite quest with my fellow Lurkers. I partied with a bunch of strangers and we attempted the mines beneath Westfall, where three(!) elite quests can be solved. Three hours later, after descending into a seemingly endless dungeon, we were finally massacred by some goblins and their mechanical contraptions. It was a good run all the same; I gained over 10,000 experience (that's a lot, since I needed 33,000 to level up) and had quite an adventure. The excitement grew the farther we got, as the pressure mounted. The further we went, the less the chance we could recover our bodies if we died, and the greater the odds that the adventure would end. It was a lot of fun, especially since we were down there without a priest (a healer). Thanks to the use of Soulstones created by a Warlock, we were able to resurrect ourselves in place if we died. My mage's ability to conjure food (health) and water (mana) to be used when not fighting made me very popular. But eventually, we were mobbed too much to be able to use Soulstones to recover. Perhaps a tank made a mistake and pulled too many monsters; I couldn't see how it all broke down since I was always at the back of the party (and, as a Gnome, I'm way too short to see over the others very well. Funny, yes, but it's true). All I knew is that we were swarmed quickly and got annihilated.
Since a party can have only a max of 5 members (this is good and bad, really, since parties TOO big can be chaotic), VERY good teamplay is required to survive. I think that's what makes elite quests elite - you will need heavy teamwork if you want to complete it at a character level appropriate to the quest. Since teamwork is what makes MMORPGs fun, I can say I had more fun down there than I had for all the rest of my playing time put together. I can't wait to try it again with some Lurkers.
Thanks to the instance system, our party was alone in the dungeon and didn't have to worry about being bothered. This also prevents cheese play where a team could easily get to the end of the dungeon after some other party cleared it out. Since much of the difficulty is getting to the end point, you need the instanced dungeons to force you to work for it. :)
So....solo play is still frustrating, but as the quests are getting more intricate and I'm able to party with others, it has gotten better. Not that this is a surprise to me. I knew going in that MMORPGs are heavily party-oriented. The cynical side of me says that's because partying up will make you friends on the server and keep you playing (and paying) the game long after you've seen everything, but then games are simply more fun socially anyhow. As long as you find the right group. And from what I've seen, isn't that why we're all reading this site anyway? To be in the right group?
Tune in for my next report at a future date...hopefully other Lurkers will also chime in with their game impressions.
-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.