02-18-2005, 12:47 AM
First of all, "level capped" has a very different meaning in WoW than it does in many other games. Level capped in other games means basically you're done with your character. But in Wow, it's the start of the second phase of your character. In the first phase of your character's life, you become more powerful by gaining experience points which give you more powerful attacks and better statistics. Once you hit level 60 in WoW, however, you still continue to level -- but this time, through items. Sound wierd? Well, what happens when an ice mage puts on an item that gives more int and a bonus to his or her ice spells. Why, that person gets more powerful spells and better stats!
And this is *exactly* stated intention of Blizzard. Keep in mind that most of the development up until this point has been focused on level 1-59 content, and that the only real level 60 content right now are the three level 60 instances (BRS, Stratholme, and Scholomance), two raid instances (Molten Core and Onyxia), Winterspring and the Western and Eastern Plaguelands. There's a smattering of high level content in other areas, too, (Felwood, Blasted Lands, and Burning Steppes come to mind), but pretty much that's it. However, *future* content development will likely focus mostly on level 60ish players, and Blizzard developers have specificaly stated that items will be the way for characters to continue to "level." For example, Onyxia and Molten Core are considered Level 1 raid instances. The idea is that future instances and raid encounters will be added that will be balanced with the assumption that you've collected a lot of items from the lower level raid and normal instances -- and will be much harder than the current instances and raid encounters.
Until new areas are openned up and new content added, though, what should you do? Well, first, have you really done all the high level outdoor quests in the game? Personally, I love the high level quests far more than early quests, because they tend to have much richer storylines and more interesting events attached to them. I'm just starting to methodically clear through the Eastern Plaguelands, and I'm constantly amazed by the richness of the histories and stories told there and just by the shear volume of what's there. If you've done the Winterspring and Plaguelands thing, you might check out the often missed Blasted Lands. Even though that's more low-to-mid-50's level stuff, there're some big epic quest chains there that are interesting to do.
Second, have you considered changing your playing style a little and actually trying out some of the instances? I'm a social person, so I'm an instanceaholic. I recognize that a person with a different personality than mine might not like to go on instance runs. Still, for me, the instances are some of the richest areas of the game in terms of content and challenge. I highly recommend that you try them out.
But if you really don't want to do that, then as others have suggested, you can give your character a vacation for a bit and try out a new class and/or a new faction. Then, when new areas open, you can break out your mage again.
(By the way, don't forget that if you're frustrated or bored with your ice mage, you can always respec your talents and try new things that way).
And this is *exactly* stated intention of Blizzard. Keep in mind that most of the development up until this point has been focused on level 1-59 content, and that the only real level 60 content right now are the three level 60 instances (BRS, Stratholme, and Scholomance), two raid instances (Molten Core and Onyxia), Winterspring and the Western and Eastern Plaguelands. There's a smattering of high level content in other areas, too, (Felwood, Blasted Lands, and Burning Steppes come to mind), but pretty much that's it. However, *future* content development will likely focus mostly on level 60ish players, and Blizzard developers have specificaly stated that items will be the way for characters to continue to "level." For example, Onyxia and Molten Core are considered Level 1 raid instances. The idea is that future instances and raid encounters will be added that will be balanced with the assumption that you've collected a lot of items from the lower level raid and normal instances -- and will be much harder than the current instances and raid encounters.
Until new areas are openned up and new content added, though, what should you do? Well, first, have you really done all the high level outdoor quests in the game? Personally, I love the high level quests far more than early quests, because they tend to have much richer storylines and more interesting events attached to them. I'm just starting to methodically clear through the Eastern Plaguelands, and I'm constantly amazed by the richness of the histories and stories told there and just by the shear volume of what's there. If you've done the Winterspring and Plaguelands thing, you might check out the often missed Blasted Lands. Even though that's more low-to-mid-50's level stuff, there're some big epic quest chains there that are interesting to do.
Second, have you considered changing your playing style a little and actually trying out some of the instances? I'm a social person, so I'm an instanceaholic. I recognize that a person with a different personality than mine might not like to go on instance runs. Still, for me, the instances are some of the richest areas of the game in terms of content and challenge. I highly recommend that you try them out.
But if you really don't want to do that, then as others have suggested, you can give your character a vacation for a bit and try out a new class and/or a new faction. Then, when new areas open, you can break out your mage again.
(By the way, don't forget that if you're frustrated or bored with your ice mage, you can always respec your talents and try new things that way).