So, is it worth it?

[Count Duckula]

Kas and I resisted buying WoW. Everybody (and I mean everybody) had accounts, ponyed up the $15, and got addicted. Kas had some gamer bushido about never paying money for games, and I had this hangup about paying $15 a month for something I'd never have time to play.

We went home for Thanksgiving, and it turns out my sister's boyfriend has WoW and plays it religiously. And I gotta say...WoW is, well, WOW. Even Kas was impressed.

So, in order to play this game together on Bnet or realms or whatever, we'd both need a copy on our own computers, and we'd need to pay the $15 each. However, I have school and work, and Kas has work, though he spends non-work hours playing videogames anyway.

So is it worth it? Can I count on being around friends? I remember Roland's D2 server and how I got to play with Doc and Occhi and the gang every day. Do the Lurkers have their own space within WoW that's safe from normal gamer hazards?

[kandrathe]

My suggestion would be to try it for the minimum time period, see if you two like adventuring together in virtual. There are many couples that enjoy WoW together. And, yes, there are many lurkers on Stormrage (Alliance), and quite a few on Terenas (Horde) and a smattering on other servers.

[Roland]

Kas and I resisted buying WoW. Everybody (and I mean everybody) had accounts, ponyed up the $15, and got addicted. Kas had some gamer bushido about never paying money for games, and I had this hangup about paying $15 a month for something I'd never have time to play.

We went home for Thanksgiving, and it turns out my sister's boyfriend has WoW and plays it religiously. And I gotta say...WoW is, well, WOW. Even Kas was impressed.

So, in order to play this game together on Bnet or realms or whatever, we'd both need a copy on our own computers, and we'd need to pay the $15 each. However, I have school and work, and Kas has work, though he spends non-work hours playing videogames anyway.

So is it worth it? Can I count on being around friends? I remember Roland's D2 server and how I got to play with Doc and Occhi and the gang every day. Do the Lurkers have their own space within WoW that's safe from normal gamer hazards?
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The beauty of pay to play is that you can cancel at any time, for as long as you like, and when you're ready to go back, everything will still be waiting for you. I do this all the time with WoW: play for a month, quit for a month or two, then go back. It keeps my budget sane, and myself, for those times when work and life just take too much out of me to allow for any serious progress in the game.

IF you pick one of the major Lurker servers (i.e. Stormrage for Alliance side), you'll find plenty of people to spend time with. Unfortunately, most of them have capped toons, so growing up will be spent mostly alone. However, having said that, there are plenty of good people out there for PUGs - you just have to look out for them, and be quick to weed out the bad when you see them. I've met plenty of very friendly people who played with me for very long periods of time, when the only introduction we got was "Are you doing this quest? Can I join?". :) It's amazing how you can find someone in the beginning of the game, and how they can still be cool to play with 30 levels later, when you're both complete strangers.

WoW itself is not that expensive. Buying the game upfront is a little costly, when you're buying two copies, but the good news is you get a free month of play for each copy. With this, you can try the game and see just how much you enjoy it, and also how much time you can actually spend playing it on a regular basis, without worrying about sinking another $30 a month into it.

WoW is a very fun, addicting game, but it can also take a lot out of you if you don't have a regular schedule to devote to it. Which is why I tend to be so sporadic in my playing of it - I just don't have a regular enough schedule to devote significant time to it, despite my "work" schedule being fairly normal. Which is why I said you can always cancel your account at any time, and rejoin at any time as well, without losing any of your characters.

I, personally, would recommend picking it up, and finding a good server with a strong Lurker crowd on it. Without a good guild, the game is still plenty fun, but half the fun of the game is the social aspect, and without a good guild, you won't be finding nearly enough of that to satisfy. The game world is just too vast to be spending significant time socializing without running into huge gobs of inbred idiots, mostly because they all gather in the major focal points (large capital cities). Out in the wilds, however, you'll rarely run into too many jerks, but you also probably won't find too many friends, either, simply because the world is just that big. Don't let it scare you off, though - it has so much to offer, it'd be a pity to pass up on it simply because you couldn't find a dedicated friend to play with. Besides, that's what Kas is for. ;)

Good luck with your decision, and let us know where you end up. We'd all be willing to lend a hand in any way we can. I think you'll really enjoy WoW, so I say give it a shot.

[RTM]

I'm pretty sure there are free 14-day trials around, and there's a deal going on now where you can buy the game for $20 after rebate. Buy some 2-month gamecards from Amazon.com for $25 instead of subscribing ($15/mo + tax here in NY, which ends up being $16.xx) and it's downright cheap! ;)

I justify the expense by comparing it to other forms of entertainment. A movie is $8 for ~2 hours, which is $4/hr. So if I spend more than 4 hours playing WoW in a month, I've gotten my money's worth. Also, I would usually spend between $30 and $50 or so on games in any given month; since I subscribed to WoW I haven't purchased a single game. Heck, I'm saving money! Note that my wife doesn't necessarily share my views. ;)

[LavCat]

Two or three years ago I stated here that I would never pay a subscription fee to play any game, no matter how good. I put little attention to the hype of World of Warcraft. Having over a hundred Diabo II accounts kept me pretty occupied. Then one day Griselda asked if I wanted to be in the beta.

I'm sure I'm not the first to tell you that the game is horribly addicting. I had to eat my words. Something I do not do often.

As you may know there are many, many realms (servers). Characters cannot normally move from one realm to another. When WoW went retail people from the Lounge decided to play on Stormrage (the name of the former Arch Druid) and Tichondrius, as those were the servers on which the Basin had decided to form their guilds. I had an unfortunate falling out with the Lurkers guild on Stormrage, but most of my characters are still on Stormrage and I'd be pleased to play with you! I have several baby characters. I think it is a correct statement that most of the U.S. and Australia/New Zealand people here who play World of Warcraft are on Stormrage.

[Quark]

So is it worth it? Can I count on being around friends?

Being totally honest, the only way you can get any consistent help within our community is to level with that help. 2 of you together will make things much, much easier than just being alone. But it can become really hard organizing people together for certain goals (instances, mostly) when they aren't part of a defined group.

Ramala, my 60, basically went 15 to 60 in the same 5-man group. The levels flew by. Mitzy, a 53 mage, basically solo'd everything except some instances (I skipped a few). It was slower, but any solo time was sped up just by gaining general knowledge in the game. Mitzy stopped leveling for other various reasons. Chani, my 56 druid who will be my 2nd 60, also had the benefit of being 1 in a group of 6 or so people. Less grouping than Ramala, but there was never any things blocking my progress, really.

Do the Lurkers have their own space within WoW that's safe from normal gamer hazards?

Well, in instances, you won't have to deal with others unless you go into a public group. General/Trade/LookingForGroup channels can all be left, so you'd only have Guild and custom channels then. But out in the world ... they're there. Most of the time you won't be bothered, but occassionally you will.

I definately find it worth it, though. End game, people are split. How much you like raiding is a big factor in how much you like the end game. All the levels before it, though, I've seen very few people not enjoy.

[NotSoDarklord]

I miss pirengle :-((

On a more relevant note however, I've never questioned WoW being worth it. It's a great game that satisfies the casual gamers along with the hardcore gamers that enjoy being slapped in the face with long grinds.

[Sabra]

My Dearest, Dearest Ducky!!!

I have some sort of deal/offer thingie from Blizz where I can share my discs with a friend and they get a key and can play for a month. I'd mail you the discs and we'd go from there. This from the email I got.

Dear World of Warcraft® Subscriber:

You are eligible to receive a FREE 30-day credit* to your World of Warcraft subscription when you recruit a friend using the Guest Pass key below. This key is trackable back to your account and if your friend becomes a World of Warcraft subscriber and pays for their first 30 days of subscription time, your account will be automatically credited with a free 30 days. It's that simple.

Here's how it works:

Give a friend the Guest Pass Key provided below. Install World of Warcraft on his or her machine using your Game CDs (your friend will not need the CDs to play the game after installation) Have your friend enter the special Guest Pass Key below when prompted during the installation process (the Key can only be used once). Your friend will have 10 days of free access to World of Warcraft.
When your friend completes their 10 free days, they will be given an option to upgrade to a full version of World of Warcraft by purchasing a retail copy of the game. When your friend upgrades to a full version of World of Warcraft and then pays for their first month of World of Warcraft, your account will be automatically credited with a FREE 30-day World of Warcraft subscription.
Offer expires January 1st, 2006. Your friend must upgade to the full version of World of Warcraft on or before this date in order for you to receive the free 30 days of World of Warcraft subscription time.

So you could see during the 10 days if you and Kas would really use it enough to make it worth the money.

Then I got this...

Dear World of Warcraft Subscriber,
It's hard to believe it's been a year since World of Warcraft first opened to adventurers. As a thank you for your loyalty, we'd like to present you with 3 special coupons that you can use to purchase gift copies of World of Warcraft for only $19.99 after rebate. Just click on the link below to print your rebate coupons, purchase a World of Warcraft retail box at your favorite retailer, and mail back the completed rebate forms, along with your original receipt. It's that simple.

The rebate offer is for subscribers only, so for verification purposes, you will need to legibly write your World of Warcraft Account Name on each coupon, as well as the new Account Names of your gift recipients. We hope you're enjoying World of Warcraft and that this makes it a little easier to share the fun with friends this holiday.

Best Regards,

The World of Warcraft Team

I print some kind of coupon and it's a rebate thing. I can't believe that other old time DSF regs didn't get this as well and wouldn't do the same so you'd have two copies.

So - with all the love in my heart - there are two things to consider.

Now, would you have friends here? If you wish we will guild you both into Lurkers and you will have more friends than you can shake a stick at in no time. With an add on or two, you and Kas could become part of our Avarice Alliance, which is a group of about 4 guilds that coop for raiding and other purposes.

Socially, I guarantee you that you and Kas will be very, very happy if you decide to go for it.

So pleased to see this post and hope you'll take me up on the deal. If so, please email me at the usual address.

Much luv for and big hugs to you both.

[Roland]

Ah crap. I think I got those e-mails too, and I think I deleted them. Sugar. Otherwise, I'd gladly offer them up (they do me no good).

Well shucks. I wonder if I can get them back?

[Drasca]

Well shucks. I wonder if I can get them back?
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Its a holiday season sales push. Just go to the www.worldofwarcraft.com mainpage, and follow the links to their offer.

[LochnarITB]

My 2 copper.

There is no question WoW is worth the money. The real question is whether it is worth the time. If you, like me, have an addictive personality, there is one term for what will happen to your free time - black hole! If you have more self control, you can get as much or as little out of your time as you desire. Playing together as a couple would be very advantageous as well. Save for the big instances, there are very few quests that a good duo can't do before they go gray (a term you will understand in game).

So, my advice, go for it. I love spreading the addiction. ;) :wub:

[SwissMercenary]

While browsing, I've caught an ad for a 10 day trial on Fileplanet right here: http://www.fileplanet.com/promotions/world...wow_nonreg.aspx

Do note that it does require a 'valid' credit card.

From what I've noted over the talk about that magazine-included 10 day trial, you used to be able to just input some random gibberish into the credit card field back then - it wasn't checked until the 10 days expired, but don't quote me on that.

For my personal opinion, I'm very much in the anti-WoW camp, but I'll not be raining on any parades here, so go have fun.

[Chesspiece_face]

Also, unless they have changed this recently, when you purchase WoW it comes with a 30 day free trial. So your first month being free you can take that time to decide if you like it or not and if you don't, cancel the account before you have to start paying the monthly subscription.

Edit: One warning. The most prevelant thing i've noticed of people when they make the transition from normal user centered games to the MMO genre is the shock of the patching process. There is a lot of information that needs to be transfered from the server to your computer before you can even begin to play. And the patches can be extremely large so prepare yourself for a couple hours of updates along with the install time if you decide to start playing. There is a good years worth of updates/changes between the retail version and the present incarnation of WoW.

[Rinnhart]

Also, unless they have changed this recently, when you purchase WoW it comes with a 30 day free trial.  So your first month being free you can take that time to decide if you like it or not and if you don't, cancel the account before you have to start paying the monthly subscription.

Edit:  One warning.  The most prevelant thing i've noticed of people when they make the transition from normal user centered games to the MMO genre is the shock of the patching process.  There is a lot of information that needs to be transfered from the server to your computer before you can even begin to play.  And the patches can be extremely large so prepare yourself for a couple hours of updates along with the install time if you decide to start playing.  There is a good years worth of updates/changes between the retail version and the present incarnation of WoW.
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How much patching you have depends. I'm not sure WoW has, yet, but most MMOs periodically re-release with an updated version. They may be waiting for the expansion.

[nobbie]

So, in order to play this game together on Bnet or realms or whatever, we'd both need a copy on our own computers, and we'd need to pay the $15 each. However, I have school and work, and Kas has work, though he spends non-work hours playing videogames anyway.

So is it worth it? Can I count on being around friends? I remember Roland's D2 server and how I got to play with Doc and Occhi and the gang every day. Do the Lurkers have their own space within WoW that's safe from normal gamer hazards?
[right][snapback]96206[/snapback][/right]

If I had to describe WoW in one sentence, I'd say: "WoW is a visually and acoustically brilliant fantasy MMO with a lot character and atmosphere, and on the other hand much fluff as far as quests and story goes".

So what you get is a typical, addicting Blizzard game with the finest (comic-style) fantasy graphics and gameplay (interface and player interaction) I've seen so far. On the downside we have a game that can hardly be described as solo-player friendly unless you think that grinding of wilderness creatures and easy mobs for i.e. faction reputations is your thing. True solo-player content in the form of interesting (and rewarding) solo quests or quest lines is more or less non-existant with the exception of the first ten levels of your character's lives, where Blizzard obviously made an effort to suck you into the game as quick as possible.
WoW starts to get a lot more interesting (and rewarding) with groups of five people and more when you can go into the (elite) instances with far better drops than the usual world drops. Since you seem to play as a couple of two people you have a much better stance as far as the easier world quests goes, but you will definitely need to group with other people if you want the better stuff of what the whole game is about: items and even more items.

I personally have played the game mostly solo so far because I like to be solo underway. Therfore I've focused on the best solo classes in WoW, and this is my recommendation for solo players, or small groups of two or three people:

1.) If having fun is your primary goal, then play a Warlock. The Warlock is in my opinion the most fun class to play with all his pets, utilities and powerful spells that rival even that of the Mage, at least in combat versus one or two targets. Crushing monsters pairs using your pet, Soul Fire, Death Coil and Shadowburn with all their stunning visuals and sound effects is just pure fun, especially when you know how long it usually takes for other classes to bring down two or three monsters at once.

2.) If playing WoW "fast forward" is your thing, then play a Rogue. The Rogue is the last (solo) class I've started to play because I first thought that fiddling with all the quick ninja-style stealth and non-stealthed combo point skills is not my case, but I was wrong. The Rogue is THE damage king in WoW, at least versus single or two targets, he is much fun to play, and the stealth mode allows you to get solo to places where other classes (with the exception of the Druid in cat form) cannot get to.

3.) If playing (the probably) best allround-class is your case, then play a Druid. The Druid can tank, stealth and heal. He is not a master in these respective areas like the Warrior, Rogue and Priest, but he can do everything quite well, and the synergy of these three basic abilities is what makes the Druid so much fun to play, especially for solo players or in groups of two.

Which race or faction you choose is a matter of personal taste. I personally am leaning towards the "underdogs" from the Horde, the Undead. This race has in my opinion the most appealing and atmospheric home areas (Tirisfal Glades, Silverpine Forest) and cities/outposts (Brill, Ruins of Lordaeron, Undercity, The Sepulcher), and the funniest, self-ironic characters and quests in the game.

As far as PvP goes, here's my general advice: If you don't like to be attacked or unpleasantly surprised when you are not in the mood to battle other players, then don't play on PvP or RP-PvP servers. I have made a test ride on a PvP server and have come to the conclusion that it's not necessary to spice up my gameplay (always watch your back etc). When I want PvP, I go into the battlegrounds and play with friends against the other faction. Since WoW is balanced for group PvP, and hardly for 1 vs. 1 PvP, RP or PvE servers are the best option if you want to enjoy both PvE and PvP without unpleasant surprises.

This are some things I can think off the top of my hat. I personally would buy WoW again, and if I should ever be forced to pause with the game for a year or more, I'd certainly come back and restart again - again with an Undead Warlock on a RP (PvE) server :)

[Walkiry]

While browsing, I've caught an ad for a 10 day trial on Fileplanet right here: http://www.fileplanet.com/promotions/world...wow_nonreg.aspx

Do note that it does require a 'valid' credit card.

From what I've noted over the talk about that magazine-included 10 day trial, you used to be able to just input some random gibberish into the credit card field back then - it wasn't checked until the 10 days expired, but don't quote me on that.

For my personal opinion, I'm very much in the anti-WoW camp, but I'll not be raining on any parades here, so go have fun.
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I'd echo this, do try before you buy. The things this game has that annoy me showed themselves very fast and got amplified as I progressed in my first month (didn't finish it). Didn't change much when I re-tried for a few days later on with my brother's acc^W^Wmy very own account because using someone else's account is against the EULA and a higher level character. So with such a trial you'll be able to get exposed to them.

If you don't find things annoying, you'll probably be able to go and have fun, as SM said ;)

[Tal]

So is it worth it? Can I count on being around friends? I remember Roland's D2 server and how I got to play with Doc and Occhi and the gang every day. Do the Lurkers have their own space within WoW that's safe from normal gamer hazards?
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We have a large presence on Stormrage Alliance with friendly allies in The Basin and in Carpe Aurum. They're a pretty friendly bunch on Stormrage but I'd keep an eye on the guy that runs Sharanna, Shalandrax and Krystian. He's a ninja. :shuriken:

If Horde runs to your preference the Lurkers also have a great guild on Terenas - friendly helpful and chatty too! Overall pretty close knit bunch. :)

I'd say give it a try through one of the free trial options.