I'm playing my 5th character class now, and I can definitely confirm that WOW is - in its current state - NOT a game for the solo player, especially the casual solo player. And I'm saying this after playing my 5th character class that is allegedly well suited for solo gaming most of the time (Shaman, Warlock, Hunter, Druid, (offensive) Warrior). The statement "WOW is solo playable from level 1 to 60" must be clarified. Yeah, you can play WOW solo from level 1 to 60 if you accept the following:
- Stick to normal, non-elite type monsters whose rewards are not nearly as good as that of elite monsters, let alone elite boss monsters
- Stick to grinding monsters that are equal to your level, but are better 2-3 levels lower than you (because of the high probability of adds)
- Stick to grinding monsters with no more than 2 expected adds (max.)
- Forget elite quests of your level (and their desirable rewards) unless you find a 5-people party you can trust
- Forget (elite) instances of your level unless you find a 5-people party you can trust
- Avoid the PvP servers where ganking seems to be some kind of fun sport, courtesy of Blizzard's definition of "honor" - 'nuff said
- Accept the fact that you will never be, for example, a high level 300 armor or weapon smith unless you spend ages of ore farming in areas that are completely overrun (i.e. Searing Gorge, Burning Steppes) and spend ages, or a lot of money, for the insanely rare high level crafting recipe drops (mostly from elite instances)
- Avoid to become an Enchanter, because your's truly master teacher sits DEEP in the catacombs of the elite instance Uldaman
- Accept the fact that the items that you could potentially craft are almost all (much) weaker than most instance (boss) drops, and on top of that require ingredients that are so insanely rare that you will hardly be able to collect them all alone
That's just some things I can think of at the moment. There's certainly more.
So, what could you do instead of canceling your account (the obvious), and wait while Blizzard implements the (promised) solo contents?
1.) Make a main character, play it to level 60, and then grind good items for your next characters. Soloing (elite) instances up to level 45 for that purpose is possible with a level 60 character, if you are a bit careful.
2.) Instead of playing just 1 new, additional character class, make more and give them all a different set of professions. Money and items are coming from you main (grinding) character in the beginning. The bonus of playing more new characters is that a.) things shouldn't get too boring anymore and b.) that you can profit from a quite big 200% experience bonus while the other characters, who you're not playing in the meantime, enjoy an extended rest state. This speeds up leveling your newbies a lot. The more additional characters you play, the better is that overall bonus on average.
3.) Once your new characters and their professions have reached a high enough level, start selling the good stuff in the auction houses. Example: My main UD Warrior is a Thorium and Arcane crystal farmer (being mostly a solo player, I've currently given up the insane task of becoming a level 300 armor smith). My UD Warlock (2nd char, Tailoring/Enchanting) will be used to enchant that Thorium and sell it for good money, and also provide 12-slot (and better) bags for my other new characters. My Orc Shaman (3rd char, Herbalism/Alchemy) will transform the Arcane crystals of my UD Warrior into the very expensive Arcanite bars and sell them for big money in the auction houses, and also provide the others with good potions. It's a small company, so to speak, and once these three characters are high enough, the cash flow will be very good. From that cash, you can then buy mounts and items for every new character, and finally buy the one or other epic item for your main character that you could previously not get or afford. By the way, Tailoring/Enchanting are an excellent choice for a 2nd character, because you can hand down a lot of cloth and unusable items (for Disenchanting) from your main character. These two professions are THE best choice if you want to "push" professions using other characters.
4.) Blizzard promised that there WILL be (a lot) more (casual) solo player content in the future. Although Blizzard promises a lot, there is a good chance that it will come in the near future, because the voices of unsatisfied customers have become louder lately.
Well, this are basically my suggestions for the soloist - Don't stick to just one character, beause as a soloist, you will be highly disappointed with WOW in its current state once you reach the higher ranks.
Last, but not least, I have to note: No matter how well done and innovative WOW is as the Internet game of the "next generation", the age-old "quickie" hack-and-slash Diablo/Diablo II were and still are damn good, uncomplicated multiplayer Internet games for the casual (solo) player, whose addiction potential probably surpasses that of WOW just because the underlying game principle is so simple implemented.
- Stick to normal, non-elite type monsters whose rewards are not nearly as good as that of elite monsters, let alone elite boss monsters
- Stick to grinding monsters that are equal to your level, but are better 2-3 levels lower than you (because of the high probability of adds)
- Stick to grinding monsters with no more than 2 expected adds (max.)
- Forget elite quests of your level (and their desirable rewards) unless you find a 5-people party you can trust
- Forget (elite) instances of your level unless you find a 5-people party you can trust
- Avoid the PvP servers where ganking seems to be some kind of fun sport, courtesy of Blizzard's definition of "honor" - 'nuff said
- Accept the fact that you will never be, for example, a high level 300 armor or weapon smith unless you spend ages of ore farming in areas that are completely overrun (i.e. Searing Gorge, Burning Steppes) and spend ages, or a lot of money, for the insanely rare high level crafting recipe drops (mostly from elite instances)
- Avoid to become an Enchanter, because your's truly master teacher sits DEEP in the catacombs of the elite instance Uldaman
- Accept the fact that the items that you could potentially craft are almost all (much) weaker than most instance (boss) drops, and on top of that require ingredients that are so insanely rare that you will hardly be able to collect them all alone
That's just some things I can think of at the moment. There's certainly more.
So, what could you do instead of canceling your account (the obvious), and wait while Blizzard implements the (promised) solo contents?
1.) Make a main character, play it to level 60, and then grind good items for your next characters. Soloing (elite) instances up to level 45 for that purpose is possible with a level 60 character, if you are a bit careful.
2.) Instead of playing just 1 new, additional character class, make more and give them all a different set of professions. Money and items are coming from you main (grinding) character in the beginning. The bonus of playing more new characters is that a.) things shouldn't get too boring anymore and b.) that you can profit from a quite big 200% experience bonus while the other characters, who you're not playing in the meantime, enjoy an extended rest state. This speeds up leveling your newbies a lot. The more additional characters you play, the better is that overall bonus on average.
3.) Once your new characters and their professions have reached a high enough level, start selling the good stuff in the auction houses. Example: My main UD Warrior is a Thorium and Arcane crystal farmer (being mostly a solo player, I've currently given up the insane task of becoming a level 300 armor smith). My UD Warlock (2nd char, Tailoring/Enchanting) will be used to enchant that Thorium and sell it for good money, and also provide 12-slot (and better) bags for my other new characters. My Orc Shaman (3rd char, Herbalism/Alchemy) will transform the Arcane crystals of my UD Warrior into the very expensive Arcanite bars and sell them for big money in the auction houses, and also provide the others with good potions. It's a small company, so to speak, and once these three characters are high enough, the cash flow will be very good. From that cash, you can then buy mounts and items for every new character, and finally buy the one or other epic item for your main character that you could previously not get or afford. By the way, Tailoring/Enchanting are an excellent choice for a 2nd character, because you can hand down a lot of cloth and unusable items (for Disenchanting) from your main character. These two professions are THE best choice if you want to "push" professions using other characters.
4.) Blizzard promised that there WILL be (a lot) more (casual) solo player content in the future. Although Blizzard promises a lot, there is a good chance that it will come in the near future, because the voices of unsatisfied customers have become louder lately.
Well, this are basically my suggestions for the soloist - Don't stick to just one character, beause as a soloist, you will be highly disappointed with WOW in its current state once you reach the higher ranks.
Last, but not least, I have to note: No matter how well done and innovative WOW is as the Internet game of the "next generation", the age-old "quickie" hack-and-slash Diablo/Diablo II were and still are damn good, uncomplicated multiplayer Internet games for the casual (solo) player, whose addiction potential probably surpasses that of WOW just because the underlying game principle is so simple implemented.
"Man only plays when in the full meaning of the word he is a man, and he is only completely a man when he plays." -- Friedrich von Schiller