WoW question(s)

[TheKingofKewl]

I was talking to an old friend yesterday who was immersed heavily into warcraft during the phone conversation, chanting 'join us rob, join us today' feels like that star trek episode where they tried to get wesley into that game. Anyway, sisters bf in it to, head gear, whole room set up towards warcraft, sleeping bag handy nearby, dry snack goods in various easy to reach locations and all that.

Then last night, and I know this is old but I saw the South park episode last night about WoW and them trying to stop a player who was killing everyone in the gaming world. though the intent was humor, it gave me some glimses into the world, most i had seen were dance and rock music videos on youtube when I wanted to see actual playing content. So my friend and I laughed and had fun watching, but at the same time we commented on how good the graphics were and how immersive the game world looked and couldn't help but want to know more and see why so many people are playing. So these are my questions:


Does anyone know if Blizzard responded to this show in anyway? Thought it was funny or were offended, made any kind of comment towards it or just ignored it?

Is there a free trial? I heard about 10 free day cd/dvd you can get

Do long time players get any other perks to their account other than what they find? Any rewards by blizzard. And how much a month. I hear 10 and I hear 15. If seven million people playing couldn't they make it $5? I know they do alot but still.

thanks

( i think this is in the wrong forum, maybe it should be moved )

[Tal]

So these are my questions:
Does anyone know if Blizzard responded to this show in anyway? Thought it was funny or were offended, made any kind of comment towards it or just ignored it?

They worked with them to produce the show.

Is there a free trial? I heard about 10 free day cd/dvd you can get

Front page of Worldofwarcraft.com - free 10 day trial under "Quick Links"

Do long time players get any other perks to their account other than what they find? Any rewards by blizzard. And how much a month. I hear 10 and I hear 15. If seven million people playing couldn't they make it $5? I know they do alot but still.

thanks

$15 bucks a month and no perks.

( i think this is in the wrong forum, maybe it should be moved )

Aye. Moving it now.

[Jim]

Hi,

I love WoW, my lv 70 Hunter will return when the next xpack is released for char level 80 :D

Knight online is Free They claim 10 million players. IF you want to play it to it's Fullest with a Pet & the Best Equipment in the Game, you can buy...>Premium packages:
Bronze Premium: $8.95, Silver Premium: $19.95, Gold Premium: $24.95 <... WoW :w00t:

ps: From one KING to another, This game is Awesome, I played for 2 years for FREE !!!

Is there a free trial? I heard about 10 free day cd/dvd you can get

Do long time players get any other perks to their account other than what they find? Any rewards by blizzard. And how much a month. I hear 10 and I hear 15. If seven million people playing couldn't they make it $5? I know they do alot but still.

[Bolty]

Join us, Rob.

Join us today.

*grabs a Cheeto*

-Bolty

[TheKingofKewl]

heh heh! So I am curious, you had great characters in the old diablo and was wondering what characters you play in WoW and what kind of gear you have. Also if your in a guide, how long you've played, and how a person balances their time between girlfriend, job, and in my case writing a book and still have a decent character or two.

i looked at the Age of Conan game. Looks nice but only combat things to do so far I hear. Plus it would require me to upgrade and everything. So I'm wondering how to fit in this game. I hear your character can go in a 'hiatis' for up to 2 years if unplayed, so if you want to come back to the character in the future. Didn't D2 only offer 3 months before erased?


As for your high lvl warrior guide (for D1) I know that was a ways back and not expecting everything to be fresh. But generally speaking, everything you wrote there is very accurate right? You checked it over and your fellow players did to? I just have a 19th lvl test rogue going in diablo 1 to buy a Holy/Mammal tower or gothic shield I'm hoping. Your guide mentioned you need to be lvl 18-21. A long time player said only holy/tiger.

Join us, Rob.

Join us today.

*grabs a Cheeto*

-Bolty

[Bolty]

heh heh! So I am curious, you had great characters in the old diablo and was wondering what characters you play in WoW and what kind of gear you have. Also if your in a guide, how long you've played, and how a person balances their time between girlfriend, job, and in my case writing a book and still have a decent character or two.

I'm long out of the guide-writing process, although I do write some guides to assist raid guilds with clearing instances and boss encounters.

I've been playing WoW since phase 1 beta. When was that? 4 years ago? I can't even remember, it's been so long. As far as balancing time, I'm married and have a full time job. Like everything else, it's a question of scheduling and working around time constraints. WoW is my hobby, it's what I do outside of work, period. Due to my guild's raid schedule that raids every weeknight but Friday, I literally go to work, come home, eat dinner with my wife, and log in to play. I still play too much, but I have a very understanding wife who also has her own hobbies such that I'm not constantly getting beat up for playing WoW. :)

As for gear, I have some of the best in the game on my main, but that's what happens when you dedicate so much time to the game. With MMOs, time spent is the top determinant of your success, followed by skill - not the other way around, as the players on top would try to have you believe.

The best thing about World of Warcraft is that you can have fun no matter how much you play, although you'll likely get the most out of it if you can find 3-4 hour blocks of time to play it in. Even if such a block is only once per week. The game is only minimally capable of being played in 1 hour chunks - you can do things, but as you approach the end game the number of options starts to dry up in that case. Playing in groups will require some time chunks, a few hours strung together, to get things accomplished. So if you can only play for 4 hours a week, but those 4 hours all come in one block, you'll have a total blast.

It's very true that, like most MMOs, it sucks you in. Even the most casual player can easily find themselves turning into a hardcore 30-hours-a-week+ player eventually. But hey, that was the same with Diablo, right?

Didn't D2 only offer 3 months before erased?

Your characters will never be erased in World of Warcraft. It doesn't make good business sense for Blizzard to do that; they want you to come back and keep paying. With Diablo II, you already paid them money, so if you stopped playing they didn't really care.

There are many casual players who will activate an account, take a character or two to the level cap, play around a bit in the endgame, and then put their account on inactive status until the next expansion. It's the endgame that sucks you in, you see. :)

As for your high lvl warrior guide (for D1) I know that was a ways back and not expecting everything to be fresh. But generally speaking, everything you wrote there is very accurate right? You checked it over and your fellow players did to? I just have a 19th lvl test rogue going in diablo 1 to buy a Holy/Mammal tower or gothic shield I'm hoping. Your guide mentioned you need to be lvl 18-21. A long time player said only holy/tiger.

Everything in the guide is still 100% accurate as far as I know. I've never received any emails over the years with corrections, and I know Lurkers are great at scrutinizing.

-Bolty

[Warlock]

Further to Bolty's post - WoW is a social game. It's possible to reach the highest level playing alone, but it's not anywhere near as satisfying as doing so playing with others (especially a regular group of friends). All the levelling up dungeons are instanced (each group gets their own copy) and designed for five people; a group that works well together can get by with fewer. On old servers it can be hard to find groups for lower level content which is a bit of a shame because it's the game's greatest strength.

A first time player averaging a couple of hours a day will probably take several months to reach the highest permitted character level so there will be plenty for you to do for a while. Once you've done that and want to continue playing your character the game changes - further character growth comes from improving your gear which fairly quickly means changing to a different style of play. One avenue is player vs player combat and the other is raiding - playing with a large group of other players on a strict schedule against tightly scripted enemies. Not everyone that reaches level cap enjoys making the shift but you can always make a new character and do it again.

[TheKingofKewl]

Well my friend, who doesn't like playing with others for some reason, will be glad to know he can get high lvl without help. I'm thinking of joining WoW just not till years end, or 1st quarter of /09. Just got some stuff to finish up. I'm sure i'll still see u all then:)

Further to Bolty's post - WoW is a social game. It's possible to reach the highest level playing alone, but it's not anywhere near as satisfying as doing so playing with others (especially a regular group of friends). All the levelling up dungeons are instanced (each group gets their own copy) and designed for five people; a group that works well together can get by with fewer. On old servers it can be hard to find groups for lower level content which is a bit of a shame because it's the game's greatest strength.

A first time player averaging a couple of hours a day will probably take several months to reach the highest permitted character level so there will be plenty for you to do for a while. Once you've done that and want to continue playing your character the game changes - further character growth comes from improving your gear which fairly quickly means changing to a different style of play. One avenue is player vs player combat and the other is raiding - playing with a large group of other players on a strict schedule against tightly scripted enemies. Not everyone that reaches level cap enjoys making the shift but you can always make a new character and do it again.

[TheKingofKewl]

well i downloaded the free trial. I had no idea what i was doing when i got in there. I can see the appeal, i like the way things look and how they are set up.

however i seem to be only able to move by keypad and mouse responds to click on someone just nearby. Still working out the details. I ran into a human girl in a bikini in the first 2 minutes, ironically. Just running around and jumping nearly naked.

Someone challenged me to a duel before my second character even moved! soon as i can figure out how to chance the camera and move by the mouse and that i will likely be hooked :w00t:

[Selby]

Someone challenged me to a duel before my second character even moved!

Welcome to the newbie zones. People challenge you for duels (usually someone ridiculously higher or lower), naked level 1s named "ImaBank" running around, etc. It's good people watching.

The tutorial, help section, and loading tips were pretty useful in figuring most of the game out. The learning curve for me was pretty low, about 45-50 minutes to figure things out. Having a friend who knows show you how doesn't hurt either.

[Monkey]

well i downloaded the free trial. I had no idea what i was doing when i got in there. I can see the appeal, i like the way things look and how they are set up.

however i seem to be only able to move by keypad and mouse responds to click on someone just nearby. Still working out the details. I ran into a human girl in a bikini in the first 2 minutes, ironically. Just running around and jumping nearly naked.

Someone challenged me to a duel before my second character even moved! soon as i can figure out how to chance the camera and move by the mouse and that i will likely be hooked :w00t:

Let's see if I can remember without being in front of the game: If you right-click, hold, and move the mouse, you'll turn. And you can bind autorun to a mouse button (mine is bound to my scrollwheel). So you can start and stop running (and turn) with just the mouse.

Kind of an advanced trick is to start running, right-click and hold (but don't move the mouse yet) and hit 'M' to open the map. Now you'll be able to direct your pointer along the straightest line towards where you want to go. Once you have yourself lined up for the long haul, hit 'M' again to close the map, and settle back to watch the trip. This is most useful when swimming to things off your minimap, making long runs across flat zones (like the Barrens) or (much later) in Outland.

[TheKingofKewl]

Thanks, this will be helpful!:)


I played a little last night and killed my first boar.

I heard of a person going down to 16 hrs/week in a job for 6 weeks, just enough for rent> to be able to play WoW more often! And I talked to a lot of people who play WoW at work. They talk about their characters, and what level/race they are. =)

Let's see if I can remember without being in front of the game: If you right-click, hold, and move the mouse, you'll turn. And you can bind autorun to a mouse button (mine is bound to my scrollwheel). So you can start and stop running (and turn) with just the mouse.

Kind of an advanced trick is to start running, right-click and hold (but don't move the mouse yet) and hit 'M' to open the map. Now you'll be able to direct your pointer along the straightest line towards where you want to go. Once you have yourself lined up for the long haul, hit 'M' again to close the map, and settle back to watch the trip. This is most useful when swimming to things off your minimap, making long runs across flat zones (like the Barrens) or (much later) in Outland.