04-29-2005, 03:19 AM
So, after two revisions necessitated by two browser crashes, using different versions of different browsers on different computers...I'm posting my enhanced rundown of my viewpoint on this.
For starters, I would NEVER reccommend to a casual player that they go to a PvP server, especially not now when you have to have body guards flanking you if you don't want to get ganked. I broke down and started a 'lock on the new Gurubashi server hoping that I wouldn't fall too far behind (I will, but what else can I do? Play PvE I guess...). Tonight at 7:00 when the server crashed (it was Ironforge in Northshire Abbey!) the highest level Alliance side was 11 (Dwarf Hunter).
Druid: Yes, druid's shifting, multiple action bars, etc. could confuse a casual player but I must admit I was totally lost when I looked at the skills my rogue alt had. Playing a druid gives versatility, survivability, and low down-time which is what I was looking for exactly and seems like it would be preferable for a casual.
I think this game has a much steeper learning curve than any of Blizzard's other games (except maybe Diablo I, where the put the Butcher on level 2! :blink: ) and that a casual player will have to work over some humps before reaching level 10. Which brings me to
Warlocks: I love them to death (though I haven't reached the dreaded high levels with them yet). To be honest 1-10 is incredibly easy going in my opinion but after you reach 10 the casual player's world would turn upside down. Shards? Having to choose between radically different pets? Warlocks have what I view as the biggest, coolest arsenal in the game but it definitely comes at a price for the casual.
Warrior: If there was a class that was worse for a casual than a 'lock it would have to be Warrior. It's not but I view the Warrior as being very frustrating in solo with few escape mechanisms, no add control, and the annoyance of Rage. In groups they have to take on a completely different role as well. "You're telling me...that I have to stand here while a gigantic stone statue 35 times taller than me smacks me with a 6000 pound hammer?" I'm very proud of my brother for learning how to play a warrior (and play it well, no less) without reading massive online guides, etc. But I'm even more proud of him for dealing with it on a PvP server where Shadow Priests nine levels lower can deck him in about 20 seconds.
Hunter: So lets see here...as was mentioned before, Hunters have one trick, adjusting to pets. This took my younger brother part of 15 minutes. Sure, it gets a little more complicated but I view hunters as being easy and relaxing.
Shaman: I know nothing. Seem maybe a little complicated but I'm not one to talk.
Mages: Seem okay so long as you don't mind long drinking breaks. Good in solo, and in a group (so long as you don't aggro the wrong guy at the wrong time!). Solid choice, probably.
Priests: No problems ever getting a group, coupled with tolerable killing power, makes for another class whose real weakness is downtime.
Paladin: Slow killers, even at low levels, who rarely die or eat/drink. I don't think this is a casual choice because I think casual players want something where they feel involved, which leads into the
Rogue: Everybody is suggesting this, it seems, but Bolty, I (don't) completely (dis)agree with you! Rogues have escapes, seventy-one attack skills (no I haven't counted, sorry), two side skills that take loads of time (lockpicking) or money (poisons) to level up but are also your main draw in groups. I am not a rogue person at all. My generically sarcastic rogue bashing that I did so much of after my younger brother started leveling his rogue up has been replaced with me quite simply not enjoying the rogue class on any level (grouping with bad rogues, fighting against rogues, playing as a rogue). For me playing a rogue is anything but easy, and I can't imagine that out of 1.5 million subscribers I'm the only one. But I WAS a weird kid...
About professions, I don't feel much like elaborating right now. I honestly think they're boring. Except enchanting, and engineering.
For starters, I would NEVER reccommend to a casual player that they go to a PvP server, especially not now when you have to have body guards flanking you if you don't want to get ganked. I broke down and started a 'lock on the new Gurubashi server hoping that I wouldn't fall too far behind (I will, but what else can I do? Play PvE I guess...). Tonight at 7:00 when the server crashed (it was Ironforge in Northshire Abbey!) the highest level Alliance side was 11 (Dwarf Hunter).
Druid: Yes, druid's shifting, multiple action bars, etc. could confuse a casual player but I must admit I was totally lost when I looked at the skills my rogue alt had. Playing a druid gives versatility, survivability, and low down-time which is what I was looking for exactly and seems like it would be preferable for a casual.
I think this game has a much steeper learning curve than any of Blizzard's other games (except maybe Diablo I, where the put the Butcher on level 2! :blink: ) and that a casual player will have to work over some humps before reaching level 10. Which brings me to
Warlocks: I love them to death (though I haven't reached the dreaded high levels with them yet). To be honest 1-10 is incredibly easy going in my opinion but after you reach 10 the casual player's world would turn upside down. Shards? Having to choose between radically different pets? Warlocks have what I view as the biggest, coolest arsenal in the game but it definitely comes at a price for the casual.
Warrior: If there was a class that was worse for a casual than a 'lock it would have to be Warrior. It's not but I view the Warrior as being very frustrating in solo with few escape mechanisms, no add control, and the annoyance of Rage. In groups they have to take on a completely different role as well. "You're telling me...that I have to stand here while a gigantic stone statue 35 times taller than me smacks me with a 6000 pound hammer?" I'm very proud of my brother for learning how to play a warrior (and play it well, no less) without reading massive online guides, etc. But I'm even more proud of him for dealing with it on a PvP server where Shadow Priests nine levels lower can deck him in about 20 seconds.
Hunter: So lets see here...as was mentioned before, Hunters have one trick, adjusting to pets. This took my younger brother part of 15 minutes. Sure, it gets a little more complicated but I view hunters as being easy and relaxing.
Shaman: I know nothing. Seem maybe a little complicated but I'm not one to talk.
Mages: Seem okay so long as you don't mind long drinking breaks. Good in solo, and in a group (so long as you don't aggro the wrong guy at the wrong time!). Solid choice, probably.
Priests: No problems ever getting a group, coupled with tolerable killing power, makes for another class whose real weakness is downtime.
Paladin: Slow killers, even at low levels, who rarely die or eat/drink. I don't think this is a casual choice because I think casual players want something where they feel involved, which leads into the
Rogue: Everybody is suggesting this, it seems, but Bolty, I (don't) completely (dis)agree with you! Rogues have escapes, seventy-one attack skills (no I haven't counted, sorry), two side skills that take loads of time (lockpicking) or money (poisons) to level up but are also your main draw in groups. I am not a rogue person at all. My generically sarcastic rogue bashing that I did so much of after my younger brother started leveling his rogue up has been replaced with me quite simply not enjoying the rogue class on any level (grouping with bad rogues, fighting against rogues, playing as a rogue). For me playing a rogue is anything but easy, and I can't imagine that out of 1.5 million subscribers I'm the only one. But I WAS a weird kid...
About professions, I don't feel much like elaborating right now. I honestly think they're boring. Except enchanting, and engineering.