04-29-2005, 09:18 AM
It's a very interesting question but I find the idea of a typical "casual gamer" somewhat flawed
If we were asking what's the best class for a dedicated gamer I suspect Artega's answer would be very different from MongoJerry's. Upthread Jarulf implies he's a casual gamer, Nobbie implies he may become one. Casual they may be, but they certainly don't need the game dumbed down
Most people likely to play WoW have played some other role-playing game in the past. What you liked in D&D and Baldur's Gate is probably going to be what you'll like in WoW
So I'd suggest the best response isn't a one-word answer but a discussion with the person about what they have liked in previous games and what they expect from this one.
If casual means they've played online games before then I really think they should go for more of what they liked before
If casual means they're rather new to playing online then there are a lot of things to learn that are perhaps rather distant for most of us veterans
One of the biggest shocks is that so many people are jerks. Often amazingly so, when it clearly harms them as much as it harms you. This is really unexpected and often really upsetting to new players.
On that note I'd advise against being a priest. Priests get sworn at a lot. OMFG HEAL NOW NOOB isn't very nice for anyone. For someone who is new to playing games in this it may be enough to make them go back to bridge or gardening or whatever they did before if they're unlucky with their groups
The classes can broadly be broken into two types of complexity. Some classes basically do one thing. Warriors, Rogues and Priests are fairly linear. Druids, Shamans and Warlocks seem to me to have a much greater variety in each battle. That will be off-putting to some new players but very appealing to others. Personally I quite enjoy battles being different and requiring me to pull tools out of the box that I don't usually use. Some people find the meditative side of killing in some highly effective and honed routine to be a great way to play
As for pvp the game is now very unfriendly to casual pvpers, which is a state of affairs I can't see lasting for long. But if you're under 40 you can still get quite a lot of kills if you hunt in an area you are over-levelled for. My level 30 Hunter is lethal in Ashenvale where I quite often run into level 20-25 Alliance. In Stranglethorn Vale, even my level 40 druid is usually a cheap kill. Mixed level fights such as the TM-SS one that is an institution on every server are quite good fun. If you are a healer and heal the level 60s you have a big impact, if you have range you can plink away for a small impact and if you're melee and under-levelled you're just cannon fodder, even a rogue. But even a casual player can have lots of fun on a pvp server, especially if it's one of the more recently opened ones. You just need the temperament where it doesn't bother you if you die
If we were asking what's the best class for a dedicated gamer I suspect Artega's answer would be very different from MongoJerry's. Upthread Jarulf implies he's a casual gamer, Nobbie implies he may become one. Casual they may be, but they certainly don't need the game dumbed down
Most people likely to play WoW have played some other role-playing game in the past. What you liked in D&D and Baldur's Gate is probably going to be what you'll like in WoW
So I'd suggest the best response isn't a one-word answer but a discussion with the person about what they have liked in previous games and what they expect from this one.
If casual means they've played online games before then I really think they should go for more of what they liked before
If casual means they're rather new to playing online then there are a lot of things to learn that are perhaps rather distant for most of us veterans
One of the biggest shocks is that so many people are jerks. Often amazingly so, when it clearly harms them as much as it harms you. This is really unexpected and often really upsetting to new players.
On that note I'd advise against being a priest. Priests get sworn at a lot. OMFG HEAL NOW NOOB isn't very nice for anyone. For someone who is new to playing games in this it may be enough to make them go back to bridge or gardening or whatever they did before if they're unlucky with their groups
The classes can broadly be broken into two types of complexity. Some classes basically do one thing. Warriors, Rogues and Priests are fairly linear. Druids, Shamans and Warlocks seem to me to have a much greater variety in each battle. That will be off-putting to some new players but very appealing to others. Personally I quite enjoy battles being different and requiring me to pull tools out of the box that I don't usually use. Some people find the meditative side of killing in some highly effective and honed routine to be a great way to play
As for pvp the game is now very unfriendly to casual pvpers, which is a state of affairs I can't see lasting for long. But if you're under 40 you can still get quite a lot of kills if you hunt in an area you are over-levelled for. My level 30 Hunter is lethal in Ashenvale where I quite often run into level 20-25 Alliance. In Stranglethorn Vale, even my level 40 druid is usually a cheap kill. Mixed level fights such as the TM-SS one that is an institution on every server are quite good fun. If you are a healer and heal the level 60s you have a big impact, if you have range you can plink away for a small impact and if you're melee and under-levelled you're just cannon fodder, even a rogue. But even a casual player can have lots of fun on a pvp server, especially if it's one of the more recently opened ones. You just need the temperament where it doesn't bother you if you die