32 replies to this topic

[Hedena]

I'm just curious not having seen this game at all yet, what it is like I really would not like to get into anything that pulls me away from EQ!

Rate the Graphics, Game Play, interaction, and what drives it, do you just hack and slash, is it solo stuff mainly or is it mroe group or is it guild based? How about tradeskills? Give us the low down

[Kamile]

I can give you my one week's worth of playing perspective:

Graphics - Yaxa hated them originally, but that's Yaxa! They are more cartoony than other games and they don't give a lot of variation in characters (can change face, hairstyle, body color, body tatoos, and hair color, but not size or specific details like eye color). If you liked WC3, then you'll probably not mind since it feels like you zoom in and run around that world. If you like designing characters to a T (ala CoH), then you might not like it as much. But you get used to it.

To gain xp you can either run around and kill stuff, or run around and do quests. Quests have very nice rewards in both xp and items. I also think they are fun and enjoy that they are not impossible (although some are harder than others of course).

As a druid I'm able to solo or group and by looking around it seems like this is the case for other classes as well. I see a lot of both. I'm only 17, but I haven't seen much use for a guild yet beyond meeting people and finding groups. I'd imagine the higher end would be a different case.

The melee aspect of WoW reminds me of CoH and maybe DAoC to an extent. You can put on attack and not do anything else, but its a silly waste of your abilities. Also, you get talents which allow each person to uniquely specialize depending what kind of player you want to be.

Tradeskills are sweet. You can only have two main ones, and those should likely be based on what is most beneficial to your class. I make my own armor and for the most part its better than what I could otherwise buy and often better than what drops. Plus its nice that you can't fail and you know which items will definately give you skill ups vs those that might vs those that won't. Some tradeskills will require more effort than others - like enchanting. Some are super easy if you take the time to collect stuff while you're out fighting, like skinning/leathercraft.

Also, I'd like to add a comment on pvp. I hated the idea of pvp in EQ because I hated the idea that my hard earned stuff could be taken away and in general it seemed lame. Pvp on WoW is completely different. First off, it feels right in a game based on warcraft. Second, its all the thrill of fighting other people without the risk of losing your stuff. Third, as I understand it provides rewards later on that you would otherwise be ineligible for. Fourth, its not something you have to deal with every single moment - there are still instanced dungeons and territories where it is completely optional. Yes, there are some asses out there, but on the bright side you've got a whole lot of people out there who would be happy to seek revenge for you.

The biggest adjustment for me has been getting used to the spellcasting. There are several instant cast spells that I keep forgetting I don't have to stop, move slightly to the side, then cast. I'm sure I'll get used to it soon, its just hard to break that habit.

The downsides to the game right now are all the people in the same areas doing the same things, the lag (!), the queues, you know, all that new game stuff. Otherwise, I'm really enjoying it.

Anyways, that's my perspective on the game so far.

[Metranon]

the quest system is really really good, you're never stuck in the old "kill monsters get xp and loot" mentality, the quests always have a decent plot, often are contiguous with other quests, and are varied enough youre not doing the same thing constantly

the graphics are artistically very beautiful but not extremely detailed or realistic-- WoW is very much a "third person" game, where you feel you are playing the role of your character but not necessarily one with your character. This has its ups and downs, as it makes the world extremely cool and fantasy-like, you can really forget about your bad day when playing WoW. the downside to this of course is less total immersion in the gameplay, when I play Doom 3 i like to turn off all the lights in my house and turn up the volume really loud to scare myself and get my heart racing, can't really see myself doing that in WoW

PvP is very fun as long as you are a smart player, if you go to hillsbrad at level 22 as a horde, expect to get ganked a lot, yeah, but thats not playing WoW smart. I like the sense of conflict and danger in the game as opposed to EQ where i would do a /tell group, "yeah im just gonna go afk for 10 minutes at the inzone and make some chicken burgers, spam me when you get here"

[Jesilynn]

The game mainly runs off of quests. You can xp the old fasioned way but it's more time benificial if you xp while working on a specific quest. You might kill 10 creatures and get 1k xp off those kills, then turn in thier heads for a quest and get 1900 more xp from that.

Trade skills are the own in this game seriosuly. Perfect thing to do when you only have a few minutes to play, or somthing to wind down at the end of the day with. it's not maddening like EQ. You dont have to do a bunch of clicking, if you have the items in your inventory, you can click on the recipe, click creat, or creat X ammount, or creat all- and walk away. The only downside is that you can only have 2 professions *that's what they call tradeskills*. But that's plenty because from what i've seen, they kinda grow with you as you lvl. IE, im a tailor and the stuff dropping off the mobs i kill right now for xp/quests just happens to be the same items i need to make stuff for my lvl of tailoring. And it's worked that way since day 1.

Also, it's not wasted skill cause the stuff i can make right now, i can actually wear and it's decent gear!!

As far as graphics go, they are a bit cartoony but i really like it lol. IT's a game, doesn't need to be realistic.

The main thing that i like about how the game's been designed, is that it doesn't matter how much time you have. If you've got 10 minutes to kill before you gotta go do somthing, it's worth logging in cause there's stuff you can do for those 10 minutes. and if you have a day off and can play all day, there's stuff to do all day without getting bored. the game molds itself to what kind of player you are, and has plenty to offer to every type of gamer!

[Hedena]

Started looking into this a bit and i was curious are there slowers? ddnt' seem to be on their website... figured boxing a cleric and warrior would pretty much own the game, or maybe two pallies

[Slyikibar]

Love it.. Tidbit Yardgnome is alive and well in WoW

[Hedena]

1. Are there slowers in WOW
2. Does the Horde get the same armor as the alliance?

I ask this because the starting stats of horde warriors are pretty damned nice, and if they have the same gear in the end as alliance warriors I would not see why you would be an alliance warrior? Assuming that they also get the same warrior abilities.

Edited by Hedena, 02 December 2004 - 09:52 AM.

[Haylo]

No and sorta.There is no "slow" skill in WoW. Some of the armor is general and can drop from any mob, but i think later on there are horde only and alliance only armors.

[Kwanlei]

Warriors have a skill called Thunderclap that slows the mobs attacks by 10% for 10 secs and affects up to 4 mobs also has a DoT. Warriors also have Demoralizing shout that decreases the mobs attack by a certain amount depending on the rank.

[Metranon]

the starting stats of horde warriors are pretty damned nice, and if they have the same gear in the end as alliance warriors I would not see why you would be an alliance warrior?

starting stats mean almost nothing in WoW

for example a tauren warrior starts with 28 strength to the gnome warrior's 18, and 24 stamina to the gnomes 21

however, both races get a +3 bonus to strength at every level and a +2 bonus to sta. this means that at level 60, each race will have +177 strength naturally and +117 stamina

also items have a lot of stats...like in EQ by level 60 as a warrior you will have perhaps a hundred or more points of strength and stamina on your armor.

The racial abilities are nice as well, tauren seems to be the most popular race because of their 2 second stun war stomp. However, some of the other races also receieve abilities that are extremely useful-- look at the dwarf warrior's stone form ability, this adds immunity to poison disease and bleeding, and cures these effects if they are on you at the time, as well as adding +5% armor which is a LOT at level 60--if you find yourself fighting a poison rogue in PvP, and you pop stoneform halfway through the fight, you just won.. Gnomes get the ability to escape from movement hindering effects, in PvP, these are some of the most powerful spells in the game, a gnome warrior will have a big advantage over a tauren or orc warrior when fighting any ranged class in PvP. Humans get extra skill in maces and swords, allowing them to be the best in the game with those weapons.

It's a mistake to play WoW in EQ terms and try and look for the "power combo". I've heard of people duing pally/rogue, 2x pally, 2x shaman, priest/mage, warrior/rogue, warrior/druid....any 2 classes will work well together.

PvP balancing is a little more tricky in WoW. Right now the most powerful class in pvp is the warlock, hands down. Fear is grossly overpowered and a skilled warlock can beat other players 10 levels higher than them by using fear if they do so wisely. Likewise, paladins are currently extremely strong vs, other melee classes, a level 60 paladin can nearly beat a 60 warrior without using a weapon (while the warrior is armed).

But the balancing is far from done in WoW....classes that are overpowered now will likely become the shadow knights of WoW at some point and then rise up again.

Edited by Metranon, 02 December 2004 - 05:25 PM.

[Globin Shade]

I dunno, I don't have problems killing pallys or warlocks (as a shaman).

#1 is don't let them cast. Sure I can be reverse kited a bit, but as soon as it wears off he's hurting. I killed a warlock 4 levels higher then me in Hillsbrad last night (that was fun) even though he had a cleric try to help him (he got the sheild thingy cast on him and I think a heal as well).

I love the balance, it's really a rock paper scissors thing. My main fear is rogues. If they get the drop on a shaman, you are dead.

I also very much like the +pvp. It's pretty damn cool to go to Alliance territory and have to be worried about more then just mobs, adds a welcome edge to the game.

One thing that has not been mentioned is you also get XP for exploring, and anyone can solo. In fact some of the worst soloers from EQ (pure melee) dp quite well in WoW. It's cake to make potions at 10th level that heal 35% of your health immediately, and you heal outside of combat at any level very quickly (and can eat/drink to make it faster).

Mana and HPs in wow regereate like you have a bard+chanter+FT maxed+AA, it's very very fast (out of combat). As a shaman all I do is cast and generally even if I go oom I just need to sit for (literally) 30 seconds and get FM again.

Soloing is not tedious like in EQ either. You can accomplish most quests solo as well, although there are "Elite" quests that require an entire group! These start around 10th level for horde and I assume for alliance as well (Ragefire Chasm).


Many classes can slow attacks (poison does it for instance). THere are also "snares" which generally are based on cold spells and dots which usually are poison or fire. If you played WC3 you know how the spells work.

Also AC is a much more important thing then in EQ. I am very pleased with the game, there is no "Get 60th level be like everyone else at 60, or at least you all share a single goal". Esp with classes like SHaman or Priest you never know what you are going to get. I am a damage dealer/caster killer where I could also be a melee master or a super healer. Priests are similar, and can be insane in PVP if they take the feats (Although they will not be very good healeres).

Priests in WoW are robe weareres and very similar to EQ necros w/o a pet.

Edited by Globin Shade, 03 December 2004 - 10:48 AM.

[Ralvienverson2]

There are ways around fear depending on your class. As a warrior I am basically unkillable on 1 vs 1 unless a rogue gets in a stun right off the bat. Its all about being a smart player and know what your abilities do. icould prob even kill a rogue if he stunned me. Basically it goes like this. This is if for fighting a fearing class

Open with charge.
Swtich to beserker stance and pop off beseker rage(makes you immune to fear for 10 seconds)
hamstring
watch the warlock panic because he cant fear me
kill him in 3 hits
switch back to battle stance

[Globin Shade]

Try that on my shaman

I have to say, he's pretty much pure PVP build, but I can suprise the hell out of warriors my level when they find out I have more hps then they do.

I hover around 1500 at 30th level. Not too shabby. Sure my mana pool sucks ,but you don't go OOM in PVP (well 1on1) fights.

[Ralvienverson2]

That was for fighting fear class's ;p Now as for fighting a shaman. They are the class I have the most difficulty killing. Taking on a shaman of the same level or close to the same level I will lose most of the time unless I get a big crit or 2. I crit for around 400-600 dmg ;p I guess the semi crappy thing about pvp so far is that it hasnt been many one on one battles or small skirmishes, ususally its me vs like 5 so I get my ass handed to me

[Metranon]

ya warrior HP is too low, roughly the same as rogues shamans paladins etc

i can kill people in pvp....like ralv said, crit for over 400 damage at 33...but i still think the warrior class needs work, rage generation is gimped compared to rogue (or druid panther form) energy generation and use, and sorry but when i have 115 stamina and people with 30 or more less stamina than me can beat me for HP's at the same level, thats not right.

[Ralvienverson2]

Yea as met said almost all class's gain 10 hps per sta, and thats the same as a warrior. It shoud be like 12-15 or the other class's should only gain like 8ish. I dont have much of a problem with my rage generatoini. yea I cant do as many special attacks as I want but i try to save a good amount of rage for execute. Great way to kill off those annoying heal classes heh

[Metranon]

i think its dumb that if you miss with an attack, you don't get any rage for it, that doesnt make any sense, shouldnt oyu get more angry for missing than hitting?

also compare warrior rage to rogue energy. Rogues naturally regenerate energy to their FULL energy pool, whereas warriors start with zero rage and have to build it through damage, getting hit, charge, blood rage, etc. Don't get me started on paladin's mana which regenerates to full naturally AND the class gets a buff that provides some of the best mana regenration in the game

also when a warrior misses with rend, mocking blow, or execute, he still loses the rage for that miss. If you just saved up 80 rage to finish off the priest thats 5 levels higher than you attacking your group, and you missed that attack....well thats 80 wasted rage. If a rogue misses an eviscerate, he loses almost no energy for that miss, by the time eviscerate has refreshed, the rogue already probably has more rage generated than he had for the first eviscerate.

if you can get the jump on someone, pop bloodrage before the fight then charge, sure thats like 45 rage or more, but if you get jumped and miss your first two attacks, you don't have rage to do shit with. Which situation should make you more mad, logically?

[Caladore Buhbong]

Dont... fuck... with the paladin... ><

Warriors do need a severe tweak somewhere... However as in EQ, I dont know where.

I have played a hunter, paladin, rogue, and warrior between my friends cheracters and mine and all seem fairly fun and balanced. The warrior however NEEDS tweaking to meet the fun levels of the rogue.

They should model the warrior abilites and rage after the rog abilites and energy and things would be better. Mabey give them rage when getting hit on a larger scale (getting really pissed) and then take it on all special attacks (getting vengance and getting less pissed)

[Metranon]

i'd be pretty happy if they just fixed the stamina to HP bug and looked into miss rates

right now if i got all the HP for my stamina upgrades from leveling up, and they provided the same amount of HP as stamina on items does, that would add over 900 HP

[Metranon]

a month after release this is my impression of WoW:

the game is really fun, the world is well done, but i can't see myself playing this game for more than 6 months to a year. WOW is not what it cracked up to be

The game is so simplistic that in a year or so, it will become something like World of battle.net, everyone with 10-15 days to spend /played will be level 60, good instance gear will only be a few weeks behind that, and barring an expansion with a MASSIVE amount of much more challenging content, Anyone with a lot of free time on their hands and half a brain will be extremely bored with WoW inside a year or so.

Also there are a lot of bugs and imbalances in the game. WHat in detail, i don't care to go into. Are the bugs, problems, and poor CS worse than EQ's were? I don't know, they are bad enough that they leave me with a bad taste in my mouth sometimes, one that reminds me why i quit EQ.

Fun game? sure. can i see myself playing it for 5 years like EQ? no, and i can't concievably see how WoW could be improved to provide an experience that engrossing. The real potential for large scale strategic battles and character development isn't there.