Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Quick Links
I've never played an MMORPG, and am a little intimidated. Might I enjoy WoW?
BaynLitemede
Member Posts: 12
I've always been fascinated by MMORPGs, but until recently was put off by the common issues most forums, reviews, etc. indicated would likely be in store for me if I tried my hand at them. I've heard allot of good, and allot of bad with respect to WoW. This site seems to know what it's talking about, and anyone who's been here longer than five minutes has more knowledge than I do. So, I will consider all responses, and respect all opinions. Your input is appreciated.
This will apply to the general "tone" and "community vibe" inherent in the game, in addition to just gameplay. These are my prerequisites for being able to enjoy the game:
I don't want to be told how to play it.
I don't want to be looked down upon or chastised constantly for playing the game differently than people think I "should." (I'm talking about knowing how to "play my class," not general rules of conduct, which are totally reasonable from what I've seen).
I want to encounter a roughly equal mix of friendly and generally cantankerous players - I can deal with some people being mean, since that's how people are. What I can't deal with is paying for a monthly (or longer) subscription, only to constantly be berated by the majority of players I come into contact with.
I want to be able to enjoy the game by soloing, or playing with a small number of friends - perhaps even just one friend.
I want a nice, long, rewarding experience. I don't care about the lack of things to do once I reach a high level - as long as I get my money's worth for at least a few months, I'll be happy. Contrary to what this post may seem to imply, I'm not that picky, because I'm not spoiled by having played previous MMORPGs.
I don't want to be required to be familiar with any typical D&D or MMORPG language other than what this game itself entails, and what I can learn from the game's manual or website, in order to fully enjoy the game.
I want to be able to spend allot of time just wandering around, exploring, collecting things, learning the lore, etc. I love immersion.
I want to be able to role-play when and if I choose to, but I don't want to be required to if I don't feel like doing it.
So, might WoW be for me?
Thanks again for your input.
Comments
All of these things that you listed WoW can accomodate you. However, if you don't want people telling you how to play your class, I would suggest not being a warrior or priest. People expect warriors to tank (for instances), and if you don't you may be warned a few itmes and/or kicked out of the group. Also, people want priests to heal, and if your just going to cast attack spells at enemies many people will not pick you up in the group. Besides those classes mentioned, the rest all you have ot do is stay back, wait for the warrior to gain aggro, and start attacking.
WoW was created for you. Almost literally, I'm not kidding. Advanced players too can play it for the long term, but someone new will just about fall in love with this game.
The learning curve is brilliant, new players will not feel like a fish out of water at all. I don't want to tell you too much so as not to spoil the game for you, but yes you would enjoy WoW if you enjoy video games at all.
The game will play even on my work computer that doesn't have a video card, and quite well which is amazing for a new game. Also, if you have a really nice computer, WoW's environments will....wow you lol.
If you prefer to role play, pick a server that is designated RP. You will find a more PvE centric community which is usually, but not always, more civil. If you don't appreciate the finities of being ganked, be sure to pick a PvE server. If you enjoy PvP as I do, pick a PvP server. Even if you get ganked, there are many different areas for every level and both alliances to level up in, so just change areas and you will find this will prevent the constant ganking.
WoW is designed with the new player in mind, but even veterans of MMOG's will enjoy the challenging high end, and FUN PvP of WoW.
Yes that is true...
Warriors: You are a tanker and nothing else so if you want a warrior get used to that idea...
Druids: A Buffing class... Decent soloists at 10
Warlocks: Dmg over a time frame... and holds... Pets....
Preist: healer nothing else
Rouge: Fun class to play, Dmg Dealers... Not tanks however so be careful
Paladin: A Healing Warrior, Alliance Only i was never fond of them myself
Shaman:Awesome Class good healing and dmging spells and can actaully wear armor :O Horde Only
Hunter: Pets, Ranged Weapons, Awesome Soloists
Mage: Dmg Dealer...
Edit: Seriously tho if you would like a 14 day free trial i can give it to you... Just PM or say so on this board.
Thanks for everyone's responses.
Thanks allot for the offer of a free trial, but I am weird about accepting things from people - it's not you, it's just that I feel bad whenever I take things from people. I'm weird lol. But I appreciate the offer very much. Thanks. Besides, I can't buy the game for a while, anyway.
It's interesting that Hunters make pretty good soloists, as that was the class listed on the WoW site that appealed to me the most. I love the idea of hunting, pets, traps, etc. What scared me was the recent posts on their forums about the Hunter class having serious balance issues. Those who complained about those issues made the game sound very intimidating, and those who flamed them for complaining made it sound even worse by telling them to "play your class right and you won't have any reasons to complain."
Is there any weight to either of those concerns, or are those people just a vocal minority?
WOW is a PVP game, everything you do will be for that :P
---------------------------------------------
Don't click here...no2
So, which is it? Newbie-friendly and flexible, or PvP and hardcore-centric?
I'm not someone who will abstain from PvP all together. I want to experience as many facets of the game as possible. Afterall, I'd be paying for it beyond the price of the initial purchase. I just don't ever want to be forced to do anything, or for the game to end up being about that one thing - or even heavily about that one thing.
Greetings.
About the community and the people playing WoW... It depends what server you choose too... PvP servers (which most people choose, because pvp is what makes WoW fun) got a bit of immature players who tend to CAPS ABUSE a bit, and repeating/spamming a bit. Quite irritating, but WoW got both Ignore players option, and you can even leave the general channel if it get all mad (ive done that once...). But of.c. there are alot of mature kind people aswell
Most people are nice, just that the not so nice people tend to talk alot 
Roleplay servers got a very good comunity, where its rules on how to behave.. Just that you should stay alot more in character while speaking, aswell as keep the out of game talk mostly away from the chat.
No idea how the normal servers is, but i guess its most mature players there, as on the RP servers.
And about hunters... They are the best solo class
But i dont think they are overpowered or anything... In PvP, i get them down most of the times, usually no problem... Im a Mage btw. Its true as people says, know to play your class, but not in all cases. Some classes are better vs other classes, and some classes are better on PvE... I think the classes are balanced, generally.
Good game, but they have been ruining the pvp with Battlegrounds
Pure Honor grinding... and they nerfed the normal raiding on cities and alike, by adding penalities (dishonorable kills on the NPCs you just cant avoid hitting while raiding a city) 
. So in order to gain pvp ranks, you need to do battlegrounds...
And about WoW = PVP game ... Well, at 60, its nothing left to do other than gaining better equipment for pvping afterwards... but on the way there, its about questing and grinding, which i dislike... You get forced to do quests and grind in order to get level, so you some day will get 60 to pvp...
-----------------------------------------
Playing: WoW, EVE Online
Played: AC2
Hmmmm.
I guess the normal servers would be best for me. That way I won't be forced to do anything (PvP or RP) but can do them when I choose to. That's more up my alley.
I'm kind of odd in that I think I'll actually enjoy questing and PvE more than PvP. I just want to explore a huge world, interact with people (or not, if I choose not to) and level up. I'll do some PvP, but I don't want to make it the whole point of the game for me, y'know? What I really want to do is just sign up with a friend or two and go questing with them and explore. I want to imagine I'm actually in the world, and just enjoy questing and exploring with a friend or two.
I just have three final questions.
1) When you say you can leave the general chat, does that mean if you want to you can make it impossible for people to talk to you unless they PM you? If I wanted to, could I limit my communication to those only on a friends list or something to that effect?
2) How viable is making (or otherwise coming up with) things to sell, as a source of gold?
and
3) If I don't rush, and take my time, and advance at a fairly leisurely pace, can I expect at least a few good months of PvE and exploration before I run out of quests and unique instances? If so, then I would consider that getting my money's worth. (That's longer than most games I play lol).
(tried the edit function, but seems like it didnt work...? anyways)
Its newbie friendly, but not that flexible... For "that" level range, you need to be in "these" zones, in order to quest. But you can pick a few different zones to quest in though.. there are places i've barely done any quests at all... To experience the entire game... I would try the Roleplaying servers if you dont hunger for pvp. You can pvp at the RP servers aswell, but its just a little more limited. If you dont want to pvp, its just to avoid attacking the other faction members. They wont be able to attack you unless your PvP flagged (get that by typing /pvp or by attacking the other factions NPCs or players). If it would have been a PvP-RP server, i would have been there
I've played a bit on a RP server, but i loned for the PvPing.
-----------------------------------------
Playing: WoW, EVE Online
Played: AC2
Ok... If you dont like RPing, and dont want to pvp too much, you should try the normal servers as you also stated...
1. There are 4 standard channels, and 1 channel you need to activate yourself. Its 1. General, 2. Trade (only in the big cities) 3. LocalDefence (messages if your faction get attacked in the zone your in, and players use it to arrange counterattacks, or to give information about the attack (how many, levels and stuff)) and 4. LookingForGroup (LFG channel, to seek out ppl to quests or instances and alike). its also a 5. WorldDefence, which says where in the entire world it is attacks. This channel cannot be spoken in by players, only message on attacks. Might be good to know if its the neighbour zone or something
. You can also create or join other channels made by other players...
All of the 4 (5) channels listed above, you can leave. You can't remove Whispers, say, partysay, raid say, yell and what i might missed of that type... If a player is annoying you, you can ignore him.
2. You can pick 2 Proffessions, where you make things out of stuff you gather, or buy. Like Leatherworking combined with Skinning, Alchemy combined with Herbalism... With those combinations, you get most of the stuff you need for leatherworking by skinning, and the stuff for alchemy from herbalism. There are sometimes you need things from other places... You can trade the stuff you make, in the 2. Trade channel, or at the Auction House (based in the main capital city of each faction, Orgrimmar, and Stormwind). Items you find around in the world is also well able to do such with of course
3. The rushing to level 60 is mostly at the pvp servers, i would guess... Or if you got friends who play alot, and goes away from your level. Happened to me, and it sucks. My friend played alot more than me, so we got seperated. Forced myself to play alot to try to catch up with his level... Not any cool at all. If you just play with your friends all the time, and none of you play unless the other one isnt, its no rushing
-----------------------------------------
Playing: WoW, EVE Online
Played: AC2
Ah, thank-you. You've all collectively answered all of my questions. Sounds good to me! It gives me enough options and control, but also will throw unexpected things at me too. Perfect!
Thanks!
AH, thank-you! Will do. (That cat thing is still funny to this day lol)
BaynliterMede, I would definetly say WOW is not for you.. You seem to be like me in the fact that while you understand how people are generally "A holes" on the internet you can sometimes look over that.. However I have played this game since beta and I can tell you that this game has the worst community of people in any MMORPG I have ever seen...Whats ever funnier when I think about it is that durning open beta when almost everyone could sign up and play for free the community was actually better.... Now its just full of derogatory comments directed towards each other.. I want even get into the most imfamous place in each server "The Barrens" Chat...
I dont know how it is on a RP server since I have never played on one in WOW, But I have heard that if you donnot RP you can be Reported by other characters and Blizzard will enforce there rules.. That is a rule btw looking at there site..
If you play on a PVP server I would say Soloing for the most part will be out most of the time.. Maybe you could get some soloing done late late at night.. But most of the time your going to get a dagger, arrow, spell in the back here as people constantly are running around ganking others.. Usually its 3 on 1 or someone who is 20 to 30 lvls higher then you. Untill you get to lvl 40 and get a mount or for a new player when ever you get enough money, soloing will be very very fustrating.. Even if you are in a guild cause most guilds do not and will not baby sit you while you level.
Just to sum it up since this is your first MMORPG game I would not recommend a game that might shape the rest of the Genre in a bad way for you.. And WOW can do that.. WOW is becomming a Nerf and Buff fest with as alot of PVP MMORPG's become. Put that with all the bugs in the game (check the bug forum on the official site) and the Server Proformance issue( has been this way since OPen beta) and WOW can be fun but also a very fustrating time...
If you just have to play WOW I would suggest a trial first so you wont possible waste money...But I would suggest you try City of Heros or Anarchy ONline as one of your first MMORPG's.. THey have alot of helpfull people and the communities are 100x better...Plus both of these games have expansions comming out this year.. AO already has PVP and COH will be bringing it in with the expansion..Also EVE would be a good bet, its not my type of game but I have never really heard anything bad about it.. And for a MMORPG thats just amazing.
------------------------------
You see, every mammal on this planet instinctively develops a natural equilibrium with their surrounding environment, but you humans do not. You spread to an area, and you multiply, and you multiply, until every natural resource is consumed. The only way you can survive is to spread to another area. There is another organism on this planet that follows the same pattern. Do you know what it is? A virus. Human beings are a disease, a cancer of this planet.-Mr.Smith
From the replies you guys have given, it seems that many different people have had many different experiences with the game.
Based on all your replies, my main question now is this:
If I play on a normal server where PvP is consensual, use the ignore function liberally when necessary, primarily stick to playing with people I already know, and mainly focus on PvE and questing (while occasionally taking part in PvP as well), will I be capable of advancing in the game at all, and enjoying it?
Dont buy wow! Game is really sux, u play 2 days and cancell ur account cos its the most boring game ever
What sucks about it? Why would I cancel my account after two days? In what ways it is boring? I need reasons for the opinions offered, in order to come to an intelligently arrived at decision.
Well, I just spent about 45 minutes reading the official WoW forums at worldofwarcraft.com, and without fail, every thread was chocked full of "LERN 2 PLAY UR CLASS NEWB!" and metagaming jargon like nerf, buff, and debuff (obviously those terms are part of any RPG worth it's salt, but to speak in non character and non adventuring terminology to the exclusion of all else gives the appearance of a population of players more concerned with leveling and powergaming than immersion or just plain having fun).
What I didn't see a single example of, on any of the boards, was posts detailing people's good experiences. Nobody spoke of their most fondly remembered experiences. Nobody told stories of their quests. Nobody spoke in terms of character or fun. It was all complaining, technical jargon (which, as stated above, isn't a problem, except that it seems to so heavily overpower the more intuitive and fun aspects of the game - assuming those even exist
), and flaming.
If that's representative of what I'm in for in the game, I'll pass. I am looking for a rewarding fantasy RPG that I can play with others, that features an enormous world to explore, yes - but not if any potential fun therein is ruined by the above.
Can anyone allay my fears, or am I pretty much screwed as far as WoW goes? If so, can you recommend other fantasy games that I would like? (Guild Wars doesn't count - area design is too linear, and it isn't as deep as I'd like it to be).
Sadly no, WOW is a very well put together game but the one thing that ruins it and something that would ruin the best made game is the Community... And WOW has perhaps the worst community of any MMORPG out there... The "dOOd" crowd seem to populate this game and trust me when I say this that the official boards are nothing compared to how people are in game.. Is that to say that there are not any decent calm people playing WOW, ofcourse there are.. But they are but a fraction of th narrow minded kiddies that play this game.
The community is what finally did it for me as far as leaving this game(well that and Blizzards nerfing of certain classes/skills), while it is addictive it is also a must to team up to advance your character (Instances, quest) and thats when the playing expierence takes a dive for me.. Not all people are bad in this game but almost all of them are.. But that was a given since most of the Bnet kiddies left Diablo 2 to come here.
If fantasy is your thing I really dont know what to tell ya other then EQ2 right now...Maybe DAOC but its rather outdated and finding groups is rather a pain.. THe community is 100x better in those games though then WOW or Guild Wars...I would suggest Horizons but from what I have heard the learning curve is alittle steep for people that havent had exp with MMORPG's before...
If you are willing to try other games though there are some Sci-fi games out there that are not to bad...Anarchy Online had a expansion that was mostly fantasy based as well and it has a pretty decent community..
Edit* Lineage 2 (Fantasy) looks like it has turned a corner recently.. I have read nothing but good things about the game recently.. So much so that I might just have to give it a try myself.
------------------------------
You see, every mammal on this planet instinctively develops a natural equilibrium with their surrounding environment, but you humans do not. You spread to an area, and you multiply, and you multiply, until every natural resource is consumed. The only way you can survive is to spread to another area. There is another organism on this planet that follows the same pattern. Do you know what it is? A virus. Human beings are a disease, a cancer of this planet.-Mr.Smith
Hmmm
Reading the Lineage II forums revealed allot of pretty nice and helpful individuals. They even told jokes *gasp* lightheartedness on an MMORPG's official forum? Wonders never cease! lol
The only thing is that the site lacks gameplay information, save for the most basic. Is PvP consensual in Lineage II? How big is it's world?
I honestly dont know what people are complaining about, the WoW community is NOT that bad. Just stay off the Official Forums. You should find a relatively new server [it seems theres some every month], and get yourself a guild. In a guild, you can ask for help, they can ask you and its not a big deal.
I've been playing since beta and never HAD to ignore anyone. Sure, I have, because they were annoying, but not so much it was harrassing to me personally. As long as you treat other people well, I'm willing to bet you dont have a problem and will love WoW. [By that,I mean don't steal loot from people, get people killed.]
Well, I've at least narrowed the field down to EQ2, Lineage II, and WoW.
WoW still scares me.
EQ2 scares me because of EQ1 lol.
And Lineage II scares me because of how promising it sounds, combined with the lack of detailed information on it's official website. (i.e. there's nothing about PvP at all, whatsoever).
So here's what I'm doing. I'll get the August issue of the aforementioned mag, and play the free WoW trial. I'm playing the EQ2 free trial now. I don't know if Lineage II has a free trial, but if it does, I'll try it too. I'll decide based on the free trials, or I'll just swear off MMORPGs. Afterall, nothing can be for everyone.
That said, so far I'm enjoying the EQ2 trial. I can imagine myself having a huge amount of fun with my friends with that game. The pros for me include intuitiveness, hand-holding tutorials, configurable chat filtering, the fact that's (for now) it's purely PvE, and it's FPS-like controls. It's actually allot like Morrowind if it was an MMORPG which is cool to me. The cons for me are that my character doesn't feel very distinct from others, I don't get a good sense of what the rewards for advancement will be for a mostly solo Scout character, and the trial gives the impression that NPC and PC interaction are limited compared to pure hack'n'slash grinding. I want to feel slightly more immersed than that. Does it get better outside the trial?
Based on the pros and cons listed above, maybe you guys can intuit what it is I'm looking for a bit better, and let me know if EQ2, Lineage II, or WoW would be for me.
Note: I considered Horizons and SWG briefly too, but they both seemed like allot of work for very little of the kind of gameplay I'm after. They also both sound like they have quite a few things that would annoy me.
I think this is your best bet right here.. I will be honest with you, I am a former Fanboi of WOW gone bad. I used to love this game but with the constant nerfs/buffs, the Direction (or lack of), and the COMMUNITY, I hate this game with a passion.. So it would be safe to say that im alittle biased.. While I have told you the truth about what the bad parts of WOW I did have alittle emotion behind it in trying to influence you...But its always best to see for yourself if you like a game or not, I can remember 3 years ago people saying Anarchy Online was a Horrible game (they were judging it because of teh poor lauch) That game was absoluty amazing and had me hooked for about 1 1/2 years..
But there is also a good thing in you trying WOW though, you seem like a Mature person and im almost certain that once you get into the game you will see that everything I said was true expecially the Community.. I always say the best way to kill a bad game is to get everyone you can possibly get to try it out.. That being said get your WOW trial today heh..
BTW L2 is diffently a PVP game, much more so then WOW since it has PVP with a purpose like DAOC, SB, AO, and others.. PVP with a purpose is that you are killing for a reason IE to gain Land, territory, Items, (your affecting the game world).. In WOW you just kill for honor to allow you to get gear or items that you have to buy... There is no ganing or losing land, items, Territory, Towers, ect.. Its just killing in instance zones that is displayed on a scoreboard lol literally.... Anyways if you do try L2 please let me know if its a decent game, I too have been thinking about giving it a try now that it seems to be turning that corner.
------------------------------
You see, every mammal on this planet instinctively develops a natural equilibrium with their surrounding environment, but you humans do not. You spread to an area, and you multiply, and you multiply, until every natural resource is consumed. The only way you can survive is to spread to another area. There is another organism on this planet that follows the same pattern. Do you know what it is? A virus. Human beings are a disease, a cancer of this planet.-Mr.Smith