World of Warcraft

Anyone pick up this game? I want it really bad and forgot it came out today. Im going out first thing in the morning to get it.

I was in the beta and am picking it up in the morning. I found it to be fantastic fun, cannot wait to have a day off work and away from class, and drop 10+ hours in a row to power level my way out of the noob area's again.

First character will be a human paladin, since I know the quests and should be able to get back where I left off within 2-3 days of power gaming, then slow down to an enjoyable pace. (roughly level 25-28 range is my goal by weeks end)

I'm playing on Illidan PvP server, in Central, with a reasonably sized guild (40'ish dedicated players)

I really recommend going on a PvP server, having to actually battle, defend, and the best part, raiding the lands of other real people is bar none one of the best experiences I've had in months, and adds a whole new dynamic to the game, that hunting and questing cannot, in my opinion.

Laser surgery Thursday, hopefully be recovered by Saturday(give or take), go back to work on Tuesday, gives me my 3 days I need to level

I was in the beta and picked the game up today. They started having some major problems with lag on the servers tonight and the Pacific and Mountain servers have been completely down for the last few hours. I really like the game but it's not a great start by Blizzard. I hope they get the problems fixed by the morning.

i would have it if i hadn't counted on amazon getting the game to me by thursday with PAID shipping. I swear, they have shipped my free stuff faster than this.

I thought about going with WoW but i went with EverQuest2 instead. I just decided that I wanted to play with the more realistic characters as opposed to the cartoonish ones. I'm not knocking it though b/c I have yet to really play it. I'm just enjoying what I've got.

So wat is the HTF server eveyone is going to play on? I want to jump into the same server this time since I couldnt do it with Galaxies.

ANybody have the Collector's Edition? How is it? I tried finding it yesterday but the store(s) were sold out.

It has a hardcover book with a 100 pages of art and so forth, right? I was considering holding off the purchase until I find time during the holidays to play, but this extra sounds really cool...so much better than the crap you get from the Half-Life 2 Collector's Edition - a t-shirt and a crippled hint book? WTF? What a major disappointment H-L2 was in that department.

My first impression of WoW was that the graphics were cartoonish, but I soon realized that it's all a matter of style. WoW has one style, sort of fairy tale Disney-ish, and EQ2 has another style, trying to look more realistic, but it's still cartoonish in many ways.

My experience with EQ2 has been one frustration after another. The game seems to take pride in not explaining the most important things for the sole purpose of generating difficulty in achieving them. I don't get a sense of accomplishment in having finally figured something out if it becomes so obvious after the fact, instead it pisses me off.

On the other hand, I'm having fun in WoW.

Exactly. It's not as if you look like Charlie Brown or something. The graphics are the exact same style that Warcraft has used from the beginning.

The game's great when it's playable but right now the server problems are real bad. Blizzard is working on the problems and adding more servers but my guess is that it'll be a while before they're all running smoothly.

Was gonna get the CE, but it sold out by the time I scratch together enough money. Now I'm just gonna wait for the regular version to lower in price then join my friends' clan... well, I can go out right now and get it from my local EBGames... temptations. Damn it. Still hope they'll have more copies of CE come out later.

I have been looking forward to this game but I don't know if I have the time for it right now. I'm addicted to Halo 2 on Xbox Live like a mofo, I am trying to beat Half Life 2, I am in the middle of Fable AND LOTR: The Third Age, and in the next two weeks LOTR: Battle for Middle Earth and Knights of the Old Republic 2 are coming out.

It has come to the point where every free moment of my time is gaming - how the hell can I fit a MMORPG in there??? Aside from not working and sleeping???

Someone needs to invent the 48 hour day!

My thoughts exactly Kami! I just learned yesterday that KOTOR 2 is coming out...how the hell am I going to play WoW, finish H-L2, play Ghost Recon 2, tweak my HTPC, finish Buffy Season 7, watch Harry Potter 3, rewatch the re-mastered Matrix, and learn the Half-Life 2 Source SDK?

Oh and in a few days I'll be in crunch mode for my company's big project.

Ugh.

BTW, anybody have the Collector's Edition of WoW? How is it?

I installed the beta of WoW and I deleted it after playing with it for two days. The gameplay was boring, imo. It felt like a rehash of a rehash. I didn't stumble across a single original thought. I just don't see what I must obviously be missing. Everybody seems to speak so highly of WoW, but compared to CoH it is too slow paced and group play is not nearly as dynamic. What was I doing wrong?

Games like EQ2 and WoW are considerably more "questy" than CoH. Nobody ever complained about it taking too long to go anywhere in CoH. The early zones aren't big (exception: the new Hollows zone is freaking huge), and when you reach level 14 you can pick a speedy travel power. Sometimes I think the CoH designers looked at the things that were most frustrating about the typical MMORPG and got rid of them. The result is an MMORPG that is greatly simplified and therefore many diehard MMORPG grinders will scoff at CoH for being so simple, however it must be said that CoH had the smoothest launch ever.

Speaking of that, the loot lag on WoW seemed to be completely gone all day Thanksgiving day, at least on the server I play on. I can't imagine that it was because fewer people were playing, I think they might have fixed it. Good for them, because I'd hate to imagine the programmers not being able to enjoy the holiday weekend. Note to self: never release a new product just before a holiday.

Original thoughts? I think they might be all used up now. I think the last original thought is CoH's "sidekick" system that lets new players play alongside veterans.

I haven't done much group play in WoW yet but I expect that I will have to do it soon, at level 12 the quests are becoming too dangerous to do alone. It's frustrating to barely survive a battle against one mob only to have two more spawn right on top of you. But WoW, like EQ1&2 and CoH, has the distinct classes that are suited to particular roles in combat. Warriors are for melee, mages are for ranged attacks, priests are for healing, etc.

And the graphics impress me more and more each day. Yesterday I traveled from the human city of Stormwind to the dwarf city of Ironforge for the first time, and I was floored by the graphics inside Ironforge and then again by the snow-covered mountains outside Ironforge. "Cartoony" is the wrong word for this, it's like watercolor paintings of fairy tale landscapes have come to life. Somebody had to create all of this and it has to be commended, not criticized.

As for the collectors edition, I've been playing the game so I haven't really had time to watch the DVD, listen to the CD, unroll the cloth map, or look at the table book of concept art. The in-game pet is a nice novelty, and I've seen a lot of them, so the collectors edition must be popular. Good for Blizzard.

I haven't be able to play yet, what is the pet they give you for the COllectors Edition?

I love the cartoon look of WoW, I think its a nice break from the same old dark and dreary look of some games out today. I will say that I like Galaxies for the fact that I can pretty much go all around the game solo if I like and this sounds like COH that when you get to a certain point you will have to group up. This is hard for me sometimes when I can only play for and hour or so. Also it doesnt sound like Ill be getting the CE anytime soon. I have never been a big fan of the CE, SE, etc. It seems like for the most part they just pack crap in them and soak you for an extra $10 or $15.

Wayne, thanks for your comments. Being an avoid FPS player, CoH must simply be fitting my frantic playing style better. Also, one the things that irked me in WoW was the monster spawning. Door missions and train missions in CoH keep the gameplay going fast without external interferences. I guess to each their own.

If you pick up on Collectors Edition, the World of Warcraft CE is the one to get. You get a hardcover art book, a DVD with all of the games cinematics and special features along with the games full sountrack. Well worth the extra 10-15 bucks IMO. Now, if only I could find one!

Im sure someone on eBay will run you dry for one. I'll have to look into finding one then.

Oh and by the way how is the game for casual gamers? im currently in school and dont have much time to log in. Christmas vacation is coming up and will have lots o time to sink into this game.

CoH's instanced missions are great, nobody can disrupt your mission. I think WoW has some instanced quest caves but so far all of mine have been in the open. Killstealing isn't much of a problem, the first person to strike an opponent gets the loot, others can help but they get no XP or loot.

The WoW collectors edition gives you a choice of 3 pets: a baby panda, a mini Diablo, or a baby zergling. And you can get a pet with every character you make on any server, unlike EQ2 CE's baby dragon which you get with only one character on one server.

So far WoW seems to be fairly friendly to casual players. When you are logged out you accumulate "rest". When you resume play from a rested state, you get a XP bonus until you have expended all of your rest. If you log out at an inn or anywhere in a big city, you accumulate rest four times faster, so it's a good idea to log out there. This rest concept gives a little boost to casual players to help them keep up with players who play often.

You'll definitely want to be in a guild with members that use their professions to support each other and also share their loot with members who can make the best use of it. For example, Rogues and Hunters (until level 40) are limited to leather armor, so any good leather armor drops should go to them, and otherwise the leatherworkers should be making them some nice armor. There's plenty of generosity in my guild and I wouldn't have it any other way.

One innovation that I think is indispensible is item hyperlinks in your chat messages. Shift-clicking on an object while typing the chat message will insert the name of the item as a link in the message that others can click and see the description of the item. My guild chat has a lot of messages such as "Anybody need a [Gleaming Claymore of the Whale]?" followed by all the warriors and paladins saying "Me! Me!" It's also great in the trade chat channel. And linking the item can be quicker than typing its name too.

Do we have a HTF server?

Jeff: I don't know about HTF servers, but I'm playing with some non-htf friends on Tichondrius (as an Orc Rogue) and SpineBreaker (as a Night Elf Warrior). Those are both PvP servers in the Pacific time zone. It seems that WoW doesn't mind you having multiple characters across multiple servers, so if an HTF server ever appears, I might be willing to join that also.

A

I picked up WoW Sunday night, and have managed to get to level 14 so far. Unfortunately, work, classes, and the girlfriend are sapping my precious Warcraft time. Oh, to be a deadbeat shut in, that is the life for me.....

Playing on PvP Illyden server, Central. Our guild has about 45 members now, all from 2 forums we regular, so there is more accountability then if they were just random people picked up through the game. So far, guild has been running well, we split it into sections based on class and professions, last night for example, we took every bit of copper and silver ore we found, and sent it all to one blacksmith. He did a skill grind to the next level, and shortly sent out about 25 new mail's he learned to produce. Cost us a bit of cash, and about 2 hours of his smithing, but 1-2 more nights of it, and he'll be an elite blacksmith, and we can rush the next in line up. Working quite well.

Everquest has had this feature for a few years =)

I am really considering buying WoW after the Holidays (I just don't have any time now) but I'm afraid I will get addicted and neglect my family. I may have to just resist the temptation and skip it =(

I never played Everquest, sorry I thought it was a WoW innovation.

Ok... forgive my ignorance on this...

WOW is similar to Everquest in that you have to buy "time" to play online, right?

As intrigued as I am by both of these games, I am spoiled by Neverwinter Nights, which allows online play for free. I'm not sure I could bring myself to pay for the game and then pay more for online time.

How much does the online time cost?

I found one of the last Collector's Edition in this area and snagged it last week. It is $80 and though that is a lot (and I usually ingore CEs), it is really worth it. First off, the game itself rocks hardcore. Best MMORPG I've played yet (out of EQ, AO, DAOC, others) by far. The extras in the CE are very nice, the art book alone is worth the extra $ if you like warcraft games. Plus the game comes on both DVD and CD discs, extra soundtrack CD, making of DVD, cloth map, and 10 day free pass for a friend is just gravy. And it all comes in a nice heavy box. If you see one and are on the fences, just buy it (it is worth it and you won't see one again.)

The game itself costs $15/mo with 1st free. Not cheap, but the game is so darn fun for MMORPG players that I consider this a bargain. Every class is fleshed out and fun to play, tradeskills work and make money, questing is diverse and rewarding, and you can customize your char to taste with the talent system.

I wish I was playing it right now, fantasticly fun game

I could be wrong, but doesn't Neverwinter Nights operate in multiplayer mode by connecting to a server hosted by another player? If there is no central server hosted by BioWare or anything else that causes BioWare to incur expense by the fact that people are playing it, then it damn well better have no monthly fee to play.

For games that have central servers maintained by the company that makes the game, hey, somebody has to pay for the bandwidth, server maintenance, support, etc. Plus these games usually have ongoing development of new content and improvements.

There's a whole lot of entertainment coming from that $15. If I keep spending my evenings playing WoW and other MMO games, I may cancel my cable and DirecTV subscriptions because I haven't been watching much TV lately.

My gosh...Blizzard sold 240,000 copies of World of Warcraft on its first day. That sets a new record for most successful PC video game launch. There were 200,000 accounts activated. No wonder they had server issues heh. They started with 40 servers but had to double that to keep up with demand. You can read the press release at http://www.blizzard.com/press/041201.shtml

With all the positive reviews I've been reading from the player base I am really tempted to buy this game =)