Part6: Whats the downside?- The biggest downside of WoW really applies only to us MMO veterans from the old school games. WoW lacks some features that us old timers really miss from other games... things like player housing, challenging crafting, harsh death penalties, and "meaningful" PvP (meaning where you can actually take over parts of the world or loot the other players items).
This is exactly why vets need to stay away from WoW. It's not for them.
I think a lot of WoW hate stems from people who come into the game and want it to be something that it is quite clearly not. If there was a perfect MMO out there that catered for the hardcore, I'm pretty sure there wouldn't be anywhere near as much WoW hate as the vets would be too busy enjoying themselves, rather than lamenting the state of the industry and blaming WoW for everything.
Well, not so much in terms of "blaming WoW for everything", but before WoW came out, MMOs were developed with quite a different focus.
There wasn't this mad rush to "race to end game". The content from 1 to level cap wasn't deemed mere filler to be powered through as fast as possible. The "real game" didn't start when you reached the "end".
The "real game" in pre-WoW MMORPGs started at level 1 and lasted as long as you chose to play it. Level cap was some far off, nebulous thing that you'd reach... eventually. The important part was enjoying what you were doing during that play session. Players set goals along the way and then invested the time to achieve them.
Reaching end-game in post-WoW MMO's seems to have become an analog for "beating the game".
I never heard people complain about how long it was taking to get to level cap in AC, AO, UO or any number of other MMOs, because getting there wasn't "the main goal" of the game. It didn't "take too long" because we weren't in a hurry to get there in the first place. Sure there were those who made that their goal.. but they were the exception, not the rule.
And that's the main difference between pre-WoW and post-WoW MMORPGs and, by extension, their players. The focus and pacing of the gameplay is entirely different.
In my opinion, WoW took the concept of a MMORPG, demoted some of the classic RPG element (exploration, experimentation, trial-and-error), and turned it more into a fast-paced multiplayer action game.
Because Warcraft was already such a hugely popular franchise is a big reason why I think so many came to the genre. They weren't looking to play a MMO. They wanted to play the new Warcraft game... which just happened to be a MMO. Something that underscores this is that, to this day, there are people who still think Blizzard started the MMO genre. They had never heard of the genre before.
It also caters to a generation who is - in ways far beyond just gaming - less patient and who want everything faster. Microwaves don't cook quickly enough. Fast food isn't "fast" enough. Everyone wants more, and they want it now; not later. WoW caters perfectly to that mindset.
So I wouldn't put it in such damning terms as to say "WoW is to blame for what MMOs are like...". But it would be dishonest to pretend that it hasn't had a major impact on the direction they've taken.
"If you just step away for a sec you will clearly see all the pot holes in the road, and the cash shop selling asphalt..." - Mimzel on F2P/Cash Shops
WoW's pvp is WoW's pvp. It's made for the general public aswell. It's a meaningless grind to get shiny's. Some people praise it's pvp, the battlegrounds and arena's, calling them hardcore and epic. This is bollocks as you can afk gain pvp epics, and lots of people do just that. You don't even have to pvp to get them as in the Arenas you start with 1500 points to spend on shinys and its so easy to exploit to get those epics it's laughable.
That is a lie. You start with 1500 rating, and 0 points to spend.
I dislike those arenas myself, and the mechanic behind it to get items. But disliking it is still not enough reason to lie about it.
Well, then they changed it since I last played WoW. The free arena points was where the term welfare epics originated.
I honestly do not think you have even played wow.
The term "Welfare Epics" was introduced when players could purchase Season 1 and 2 arena gear for the price of Honor points. Which are far easier to get and less time consuming to get than any of the true arena sets.
Hardcore players were upset because the gear they had been farming their asses off in Kara, heroics, and pretty much anything not T6 or higher for months.... Now this armor could be bought by simply farming out some BG's and the gear was actually on the same playing field as the PvE gear just more PvP oriented with such stats as resilience.
PvE players got pissy about it, and dubbed the armor "Welfare Epics". Meaning they didn't have to work hard for it, it was just a gimme item.
However even the "Welfare Epics" had to be earned, you still had to do shit tons of BG's to get a full set and if you wanted the T6 equal of a "Welfare Epic" you had to put in the arena time, which the points are granted weekly off a calculator of how much you will get per week, according to rounds played and matches won. Arena armor is by far harder to get than Honor Gear. When I say harder I mean more time consuming. Plus you have to be somewhat good at arena because the gear is rating locked. Meaning if you lose a lot and never win, you can forget about ever getting certain sections of the armor.
To my knowledge, there has never been free points just given out, or free arena points to just buy whatever in the hell you want.
When the Wrath patch was introduced, Priest and Warlocks, along with certain items and a weapon for S2-S4 were free for that 1 day only, I do not know if that was a bug glitch or if blizzard intended for it to be that way, I never looked into that. That occurred though for 1 day only.
Oh and there is that Arena tournament server, where if you pay an extra fee, you can make a max level toon and be given any set of gear you want to compete. This isn't real WoW though, that the Cyber Athlete WoW shit.
Personally i hate World of Warcraft, i'm only posting in this thread as the title caught my eye and it is a damned good review of the game for potential new players to it... well wrote out, well organised and it does state the bad with the good which is often forgotten about by other people. Well done OP.
no offense, but how is it even possible to "hate" a bunch of pixels?
When I said i had "time", i meant virtual time, i got no RL "time" for you.
Personally i hate World of Warcraft, i'm only posting in this thread as the title caught my eye and it is a damned good review of the game for potential new players to it... well wrote out, well organised and it does state the bad with the good which is often forgotten about by other people. Well done OP.
no offense, but how is it even possible to "hate" a bunch of pixels?
thats a good point, i'll rephrase.. i'm not too keen on the gameplay and how things are done, my first ever MMO was SWG a long long time ago, so i'm kinda spoiled when it comes to wanting complex gameplay.. but as much as i'm not keen on WoW, it's success speaks for itself.
Personally i hate World of Warcraft, i'm only posting in this thread as the title caught my eye and it is a damned good review of the game for potential new players to it... well wrote out, well organised and it does state the bad with the good which is often forgotten about by other people. Well done OP.
no offense, but how is it even possible to "hate" a bunch of pixels?
That's like suggesting people who support abortion actually hate babies.
It's a ridiculous notion and you know it. There's much more to Warcraft than just pixels.
As I stated at the beginning this review is my OPINION... but I tried to be honest and fair.
and no I'm not a blizz employee..... read some of my older posts... I'm a malcontent MMO vet like most of you, the difference is I dont let my bias blind me
Grymm MMO addict in recovery! EQ,SWG preCU,L2,EQ2,GW,CoH/CoV,V:SOH, Aion,AoC,TR,WAR,EVE,BP,RIFT,WoW and others... no more!
The truth about WoW...my short version: 1-60 = fun
60-70 = fun
70-80 = fun
Everything in between = suck (ie. grinding raids, grinding badges, grinding rep, grinding materials, grinding battlegrounds, grinding arenas, etc, etc) Sad thing all the "fun" sections only take about 3-4 weeks to complete in a game that's been out 4 years.
Wierd my version of fun is doing the qeusts, 5 man dungeons, crafting etc etc....still not bored with the game and i started in Nov of 2004. Guess we all have different ideas of whats fun huh.
My first MMO was Saga of Ryzom, played some of the other MMO's out there, Stuck with Ryzom and WOW and the others are on the shelf now...i don't regret buying that War CE though, just wasn't enough to keep me going, Eve was okay i like the complicatedness of it just didn't feel like continueing to play it.
anyways, good post OP and don't mind the negatives, smart people will just try the free trial and decide for themselves if the game is good for them or not.
"The great thing about human language is that it prevents us from sticking to the matter at hand." - Lewis Thomas
WoW's pvp is WoW's pvp. It's made for the general public aswell. It's a meaningless grind to get shiny's. Some people praise it's pvp, the battlegrounds and arena's, calling them hardcore and epic. This is bollocks as you can afk gain pvp epics, and lots of people do just that. You don't even have to pvp to get them as in the Arenas you start with 1500 points to spend on shinys and its so easy to exploit to get those epics it's laughable.
That is a lie. You start with 1500 rating, and 0 points to spend.
I dislike those arenas myself, and the mechanic behind it to get items. But disliking it is still not enough reason to lie about it.
Well, then they changed it since I last played WoW. The free arena points was where the term welfare epics originated.
I honestly do not think you have even played wow.
The term "Welfare Epics" was introduced when players could purchase Season 1 and 2 arena gear for the price of Honor points. Which are far easier to get and less time consuming to get than any of the true arena sets.
Hardcore players were upset because the gear they had been farming their asses off in Kara, heroics, and pretty much anything not T6 or higher for months.... Now this armor could be bought by simply farming out some BG's and the gear was actually on the same playing field as the PvE gear just more PvP oriented with such stats as resilience.
PvE players got pissy about it, and dubbed the armor "Welfare Epics". Meaning they didn't have to work hard for it, it was just a gimme item.
However even the "Welfare Epics" had to be earned, you still had to do shit tons of BG's to get a full set and if you wanted the T6 equal of a "Welfare Epic" you had to put in the arena time, which the points are granted weekly off a calculator of how much you will get per week, according to rounds played and matches won. Arena armor is by far harder to get than Honor Gear. When I say harder I mean more time consuming. Plus you have to be somewhat good at arena because the gear is rating locked. Meaning if you lose a lot and never win, you can forget about ever getting certain sections of the armor.
To my knowledge, there has never been free points just given out, or free arena points to just buy whatever in the hell you want.
When the Wrath patch was introduced, Priest and Warlocks, along with certain items and a weapon for S2-S4 were free for that 1 day only, I do not know if that was a bug glitch or if blizzard intended for it to be that way, I never looked into that. That occurred though for 1 day only.
Oh and there is that Arena tournament server, where if you pay an extra fee, you can make a max level toon and be given any set of gear you want to compete. This isn't real WoW though, that the Cyber Athlete WoW shit.
Other than that, your statement is bullshit.
Right...I wont bother searching up links for you. Do it yourself, but suffice to say, you are wrong.
WoW's pvp is WoW's pvp. It's made for the general public aswell. It's a meaningless grind to get shiny's. Some people praise it's pvp, the battlegrounds and arena's, calling them hardcore and epic. This is bollocks as you can afk gain pvp epics, and lots of people do just that. You don't even have to pvp to get them as in the Arenas you start with 1500 points to spend on shinys and its so easy to exploit to get those epics it's laughable.
That is a lie. You start with 1500 rating, and 0 points to spend.
I dislike those arenas myself, and the mechanic behind it to get items. But disliking it is still not enough reason to lie about it.
Well, then they changed it since I last played WoW. The free arena points was where the term welfare epics originated.
I assume you are reffering to how teams used to go into arenas wearing their pink "silk dress" and armed with fishing poles in order to lose. In the first two seasons it was true that you could deliberatly lose ten games in a row and still be awarded points. I don't know if this can be considered "free" since you still had to buy a charter, create a team, and que for at least 10 games. The final two seasons in TBC had rating reqs on the arena gear which put an end to that type of thing, although people still did it, I assume for laughs (who can get the lowest rating).
I recall the term "wellfare epics" refering to the old arena gear that could be purchased with honor through grinding battlegrounds.
You want the truth about WoW? You can't handle the truth!
I've always wanted to say that. Anyway, the real truth is that Blizzard is getting rich off gamers all over the globe and will continue to do so for quite a bit longer. I just wish we had a more complex game up here making the dough. Its a very watered down MMORPG experience for my tastes. I know the genre could produce a much more worthy game than this. Its just probably not going to happen for another 3 years.
WoW's pvp is WoW's pvp. It's made for the general public aswell. It's a meaningless grind to get shiny's. Some people praise it's pvp, the battlegrounds and arena's, calling them hardcore and epic. This is bollocks as you can afk gain pvp epics, and lots of people do just that. You don't even have to pvp to get them as in the Arenas you start with 1500 points to spend on shinys and its so easy to exploit to get those epics it's laughable.
That is a lie. You start with 1500 rating, and 0 points to spend.
I dislike those arenas myself, and the mechanic behind it to get items. But disliking it is still not enough reason to lie about it.
Well, then they changed it since I last played WoW. The free arena points was where the term welfare epics originated.
No, it never changed. There have never been free arena points. You are either confusing arena rating with arena points, or you are lying.
Welfare epics term originated from the people afk-ing in battlegrounds. This was before arena.
In the past couple of years I have tried quite a few MMOs. I tried SWG, EVE, EQ2, CoH/CoV, LOTRO, GW, basically all the popular ones except WoW. I have a lot of friends that play and have been trying to get me to play but I am one of those people that likes to go against the grain so I resisted. A couple of weeks ago I decided to give it a try. I did the trial and went ahead and bought the battle chest and took the free month. So I'm setting up this opinion by saying it's a fresh look from someone who has played the other games and can give you my honest opinion about this game in relation to the others. I'l save my extended opinions about the other games for another post. But here goes for WoW.
General Presentation/Atmosphere: This is where the game really shines. I think all would agree they are offering a highly polished product. Production is top notch from the music down to getting the lore of the game right. I was a huge fan of Warcraft III and love seeing all the little details that remind me of the previous games. You truly feel like you are playing in the "World of Warcraft".
Graphics: This is a huge point of debate. It is a matter of opinion how "good" you think graphics are. For me I think they are very well done. It stays true to the art style Blizzard is known for and again contributes to making you feel like you are playing in the World of Warcraft. Also a huge factor to the success of the game is the modest system demands. This allows for a very wide available player base. I know the tech is there but many game makers alienate their player base with extra high system requirements. The huge open world does a lot for immersion. I now understand why people bitch about the zoning in EQ2.
Interface/Controls: Things are set up to be rather simplistic. It is like they took some ideas from previous MMO games and integrated them into the interface that Blizzard is known for. Much like Diablo or Warcraft III in the way you use potions and item slots with a typical MMO hotbar in there. You can practically play the game with one hand.
Population/Community: Obviously this is the most populated MMO so there are all kinds of people on. It was a pretty big shock to go into a major town and see so many people. With such a large community there are people who can be assholes but there are plenty that have been nice and helpful. It's common to run into people in the same area or doing the same quest as you. I also personally know at least 20 or 30 people that play this game so it is quite possible to hook up with some friends that already play who will help you along.
My final word is how this game essentially stacks up to the others I have played. A lot of them share similarites particularly in the combat system. EVE is the most unique in that regard. GW lets you change up your skills so it has a different type of gameplay. CoH is a little more action oriented. SWG is.....SWG. LOTRO is very similar to WoW as far as combat and interface. Overall I'm happy about the game and I am sure I will sub for a few months to check it out further. My general perception is that most people like to attack whatever is at the top. Despite some shortcomings that are minimal as far as I am concerned. It is a quality game that deserves the reputation that it has.
In the past couple of years I have tried quite a few MMOs. I tried SWG, EVE, EQ2, CoH/CoV, LOTRO, GW, basically all the popular ones except WoW. I have a lot of friends that play and have been trying to get me to play but I am one of those people that likes to go against the grain so I resisted. A couple of weeks ago I decided to give it a try. I did the trial and went ahead and bought the battle chest and took the free month. So I'm setting up this opinion by saying it's a fresh look from someone who has played the other games and can give you my honest opinion about this game in relation to the others. I'l save my extended opinions about the other games for another post. But here goes for WoW. General Presentation/Atmosphere: This is where the game really shines. I think all would agree they are offering a highly polished product. Production is top notch from the music down to getting the lore of the game right. I was a huge fan of Warcraft III and love seeing all the little details that remind me of the previous games. You truly feel like you are playing in the "World of Warcraft". Graphics: This is a huge point of debate. It is a matter of opinion how "good" you think graphics are. For me I think they are very well done. It stays true to the art style Blizzard is known for and again contributes to making you feel like you are playing in the World of Warcraft. Also a huge factor to the success of the game is the modest system demands. This allows for a very wide available player base. I know the tech is there but many game makers alienate their player base with extra high system requirements. The huge open world does a lot for immersion. I now understand why people bitch about the zoning in EQ2. Interface/Controls: Things are set up to be rather simplistic. It is like they took some ideas from previous MMO games and integrated them into the interface that Blizzard is known for. Much like Diablo or Warcraft III in the way you use potions and item slots with a typical MMO hotbar in there. You can practically play the game with one hand. Population/Community: Obviously this is the most populated MMO so there are all kinds of people on. It was a pretty big shock to go into a major town and see so many people. With such a large community there are people who can be assholes but there are plenty that have been nice and helpful. It's common to run into people in the same area or doing the same quest as you. I also personally know at least 20 or 30 people that play this game so it is quite possible to hook up with some friends that already play who will help you along. My final word is how this game essentially stacks up to the others I have played. A lot of them share similarites particularly in the combat system. EVE is the most unique in that regard. GW lets you change up your skills so it has a different type of gameplay. CoH is a little more action oriented. SWG is.....SWG. LOTRO is very similar to WoW as far as combat and interface. Overall I'm happy about the game and I am sure I will sub for a few months to check it out further. My general perception is that most people like to attack whatever is at the top. Despite some shortcomings that are minimal as far as I am concerned. It is a quality game that deserves the reputation that it has.
Its nice to see a review like this from a fresh perspective, you should have been there for the glory days of pre-expansions The world was just FULL of people... now people are more spread out.
You may love it or you may hate it.. but you have to admit WoW is one hell of a quality product.
Grymm MMO addict in recovery! EQ,SWG preCU,L2,EQ2,GW,CoH/CoV,V:SOH, Aion,AoC,TR,WAR,EVE,BP,RIFT,WoW and others... no more!
In the past couple of years I have tried quite a few MMOs. I tried SWG, EVE, EQ2, CoH/CoV, LOTRO, GW, basically all the popular ones except WoW. I have a lot of friends that play and have been trying to get me to play but I am one of those people that likes to go against the grain so I resisted. A couple of weeks ago I decided to give it a try. I did the trial and went ahead and bought the battle chest and took the free month. So I'm setting up this opinion by saying it's a fresh look from someone who has played the other games and can give you my honest opinion about this game in relation to the others. I'l save my extended opinions about the other games for another post. But here goes for WoW. General Presentation/Atmosphere: This is where the game really shines. I think all would agree they are offering a highly polished product. Production is top notch from the music down to getting the lore of the game right. I was a huge fan of Warcraft III and love seeing all the little details that remind me of the previous games. You truly feel like you are playing in the "World of Warcraft". Graphics: This is a huge point of debate. It is a matter of opinion how "good" you think graphics are. For me I think they are very well done. It stays true to the art style Blizzard is known for and again contributes to making you feel like you are playing in the World of Warcraft. Also a huge factor to the success of the game is the modest system demands. This allows for a very wide available player base. I know the tech is there but many game makers alienate their player base with extra high system requirements. The huge open world does a lot for immersion. I now understand why people bitch about the zoning in EQ2. Interface/Controls: Things are set up to be rather simplistic. It is like they took some ideas from previous MMO games and integrated them into the interface that Blizzard is known for. Much like Diablo or Warcraft III in the way you use potions and item slots with a typical MMO hotbar in there. You can practically play the game with one hand. Population/Community: Obviously this is the most populated MMO so there are all kinds of people on. It was a pretty big shock to go into a major town and see so many people. With such a large community there are people who can be assholes but there are plenty that have been nice and helpful. It's common to run into people in the same area or doing the same quest as you. I also personally know at least 20 or 30 people that play this game so it is quite possible to hook up with some friends that already play who will help you along. My final word is how this game essentially stacks up to the others I have played. A lot of them share similarites particularly in the combat system. EVE is the most unique in that regard. GW lets you change up your skills so it has a different type of gameplay. CoH is a little more action oriented. SWG is.....SWG. LOTRO is very similar to WoW as far as combat and interface. Overall I'm happy about the game and I am sure I will sub for a few months to check it out further. My general perception is that most people like to attack whatever is at the top. Despite some shortcomings that are minimal as far as I am concerned. It is a quality game that deserves the reputation that it has.
Its nice to see a review like this from a fresh perspective, you should have been there for the glory days of pre-expansions The world was just FULL of people... now people are more spread out.
You may love it or you may hate it.. but you have to admit WoW is one hell of a quality product.
I hear these comments every day in Real Life. Yesterday, a guy who played 3 years of EQ2 and only began with Wow 3 months ago: they all say the same: the difference is staggering. You hear it from every ex player of old and new MMORPG's.
The only Wow hate comes from players who played far too much. "I played it for 3 years at 4 hours a day and now I hate it". Which is a laugh really.
Another category are the ones struggling with themselves and the establishment. These guys are against everything that is popluar, but mostly they hate themselves.
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Wow is a very good product and the best and most polished adventure you can have on line. If you look on Xfire it is for 3.5 years the most played PC game (one day in 3.5 years it was second because servers were down), but Wow is also the ONLY game you have to pay for in the top 10 of most played games.
That's the big problem with the competition: to conquer the gaming hearts you have to be BETTER or at least equal than free to play games - also qualtiy games btw - like COD4.
Most other PC games last about 2 to 3 months and than end up being erased from the HD. Very very few get played past the 4 month, almost none get played with a monthly price tag on it after this period.
It's proof, Wow is being hated for the wrong (personal frustration) reasons, not for the vast amount of gameplay it offers to those paying for it.
You have to have played WoW to a fairly high lvl to be able to provide any fair opinion on it. Therefore it is fair to assume that at some point these knowledgable nay-sayers had to have enjoyed the game at some point. It's just funny that after experiencing the phenomenon that is WoW they would deride the game for new players.
So ... you've played WoW and now your tired/bored of the it, don't hate on it for everyone else. To all you potential players it's like someone's ex-husband/wife telling you "Hey don't sleep with my Husband/wife they suck." Remember opinions are like ... Try it you may actually like it. Personally I find myself playing WoW for awhile then trying the new "Hyped" next best thing (AoC, Warhammer, etc.) but seems I always find myself coming back to WoW.
Why not just say I played the game, like it for a time, but it got old for me" instead of "Wow sucks"
Currently anticipating: Darkfall, Earthrise, The Agency, Mortal Online, Stargate Online, Star Wars: The Old Republic ... ect.
BTW I'm a 48 year old police detective who can only play in my spare time, so no Wow isn't just a kids game.
Comments
When do blizzard employees stop posting advertising posts on sites like this...
This is exactly why vets need to stay away from WoW. It's not for them.
I think a lot of WoW hate stems from people who come into the game and want it to be something that it is quite clearly not. If there was a perfect MMO out there that catered for the hardcore, I'm pretty sure there wouldn't be anywhere near as much WoW hate as the vets would be too busy enjoying themselves, rather than lamenting the state of the industry and blaming WoW for everything.
Well, not so much in terms of "blaming WoW for everything", but before WoW came out, MMOs were developed with quite a different focus.
There wasn't this mad rush to "race to end game". The content from 1 to level cap wasn't deemed mere filler to be powered through as fast as possible. The "real game" didn't start when you reached the "end".
The "real game" in pre-WoW MMORPGs started at level 1 and lasted as long as you chose to play it. Level cap was some far off, nebulous thing that you'd reach... eventually. The important part was enjoying what you were doing during that play session. Players set goals along the way and then invested the time to achieve them.
Reaching end-game in post-WoW MMO's seems to have become an analog for "beating the game".
I never heard people complain about how long it was taking to get to level cap in AC, AO, UO or any number of other MMOs, because getting there wasn't "the main goal" of the game. It didn't "take too long" because we weren't in a hurry to get there in the first place. Sure there were those who made that their goal.. but they were the exception, not the rule.
And that's the main difference between pre-WoW and post-WoW MMORPGs and, by extension, their players. The focus and pacing of the gameplay is entirely different.
In my opinion, WoW took the concept of a MMORPG, demoted some of the classic RPG element (exploration, experimentation, trial-and-error), and turned it more into a fast-paced multiplayer action game.
Because Warcraft was already such a hugely popular franchise is a big reason why I think so many came to the genre. They weren't looking to play a MMO. They wanted to play the new Warcraft game... which just happened to be a MMO. Something that underscores this is that, to this day, there are people who still think Blizzard started the MMO genre. They had never heard of the genre before.
It also caters to a generation who is - in ways far beyond just gaming - less patient and who want everything faster. Microwaves don't cook quickly enough. Fast food isn't "fast" enough. Everyone wants more, and they want it now; not later. WoW caters perfectly to that mindset.
So I wouldn't put it in such damning terms as to say "WoW is to blame for what MMOs are like...". But it would be dishonest to pretend that it hasn't had a major impact on the direction they've taken.
and the cash shop selling asphalt..." - Mimzel on F2P/Cash Shops
That is a lie. You start with 1500 rating, and 0 points to spend.
I dislike those arenas myself, and the mechanic behind it to get items. But disliking it is still not enough reason to lie about it.
Well, then they changed it since I last played WoW. The free arena points was where the term welfare epics originated.
I honestly do not think you have even played wow.
The term "Welfare Epics" was introduced when players could purchase Season 1 and 2 arena gear for the price of Honor points. Which are far easier to get and less time consuming to get than any of the true arena sets.
Hardcore players were upset because the gear they had been farming their asses off in Kara, heroics, and pretty much anything not T6 or higher for months.... Now this armor could be bought by simply farming out some BG's and the gear was actually on the same playing field as the PvE gear just more PvP oriented with such stats as resilience.
PvE players got pissy about it, and dubbed the armor "Welfare Epics". Meaning they didn't have to work hard for it, it was just a gimme item.
However even the "Welfare Epics" had to be earned, you still had to do shit tons of BG's to get a full set and if you wanted the T6 equal of a "Welfare Epic" you had to put in the arena time, which the points are granted weekly off a calculator of how much you will get per week, according to rounds played and matches won. Arena armor is by far harder to get than Honor Gear. When I say harder I mean more time consuming. Plus you have to be somewhat good at arena because the gear is rating locked. Meaning if you lose a lot and never win, you can forget about ever getting certain sections of the armor.
To my knowledge, there has never been free points just given out, or free arena points to just buy whatever in the hell you want.
When the Wrath patch was introduced, Priest and Warlocks, along with certain items and a weapon for S2-S4 were free for that 1 day only, I do not know if that was a bug glitch or if blizzard intended for it to be that way, I never looked into that. That occurred though for 1 day only.
Oh and there is that Arena tournament server, where if you pay an extra fee, you can make a max level toon and be given any set of gear you want to compete. This isn't real WoW though, that the Cyber Athlete WoW shit.
Other than that, your statement is bullshit.
he said it was his "opinion" did you even read it?
Dont play games you dont like, play the ones you do..geesh.
When I said i had "time", i meant virtual time, i got no RL "time" for you.
no offense, but how is it even possible to "hate" a bunch of pixels?
When I said i had "time", i meant virtual time, i got no RL "time" for you.
no offense, but how is it even possible to "hate" a bunch of pixels?
thats a good point, i'll rephrase.. i'm not too keen on the gameplay and how things are done, my first ever MMO was SWG a long long time ago, so i'm kinda spoiled when it comes to wanting complex gameplay.. but as much as i'm not keen on WoW, it's success speaks for itself.
no offense, but how is it even possible to "hate" a bunch of pixels?
That's like suggesting people who support abortion actually hate babies.
It's a ridiculous notion and you know it. There's much more to Warcraft than just pixels.
The truth about WoW...my short version:
1-60 = fun
60-70 = fun
70-80 = fun
Everything in between = suck (ie. grinding raids, grinding badges, grinding rep, grinding materials, grinding battlegrounds, grinding arenas, grinding heroics, etc, etc)
Sad thing all the "fun" sections only take about 3-4 weeks to complete in a game that's been out 4 years.
YMMV.
As I stated at the beginning this review is my OPINION... but I tried to be honest and fair.
and no I'm not a blizz employee..... read some of my older posts... I'm a malcontent MMO vet like most of you, the difference is I dont let my bias blind me
Grymm
MMO addict in recovery!
EQ,SWG preCU,L2,EQ2,GW,CoH/CoV,V:SOH,
Aion,AoC,TR,WAR,EVE,BP,RIFT,WoW and others... no more!
Wierd my version of fun is doing the qeusts, 5 man dungeons, crafting etc etc....still not bored with the game and i started in Nov of 2004. Guess we all have different ideas of whats fun huh.
My first MMO was Saga of Ryzom, played some of the other MMO's out there, Stuck with Ryzom and WOW and the others are on the shelf now...i don't regret buying that War CE though, just wasn't enough to keep me going, Eve was okay i like the complicatedness of it just didn't feel like continueing to play it.
anyways, good post OP and don't mind the negatives, smart people will just try the free trial and decide for themselves if the game is good for them or not.
"The great thing about human language is that it prevents us from sticking to the matter at hand."
- Lewis Thomas
That is a lie. You start with 1500 rating, and 0 points to spend.
I dislike those arenas myself, and the mechanic behind it to get items. But disliking it is still not enough reason to lie about it.
Well, then they changed it since I last played WoW. The free arena points was where the term welfare epics originated.
I honestly do not think you have even played wow.
The term "Welfare Epics" was introduced when players could purchase Season 1 and 2 arena gear for the price of Honor points. Which are far easier to get and less time consuming to get than any of the true arena sets.
Hardcore players were upset because the gear they had been farming their asses off in Kara, heroics, and pretty much anything not T6 or higher for months.... Now this armor could be bought by simply farming out some BG's and the gear was actually on the same playing field as the PvE gear just more PvP oriented with such stats as resilience.
PvE players got pissy about it, and dubbed the armor "Welfare Epics". Meaning they didn't have to work hard for it, it was just a gimme item.
However even the "Welfare Epics" had to be earned, you still had to do shit tons of BG's to get a full set and if you wanted the T6 equal of a "Welfare Epic" you had to put in the arena time, which the points are granted weekly off a calculator of how much you will get per week, according to rounds played and matches won. Arena armor is by far harder to get than Honor Gear. When I say harder I mean more time consuming. Plus you have to be somewhat good at arena because the gear is rating locked. Meaning if you lose a lot and never win, you can forget about ever getting certain sections of the armor.
To my knowledge, there has never been free points just given out, or free arena points to just buy whatever in the hell you want.
When the Wrath patch was introduced, Priest and Warlocks, along with certain items and a weapon for S2-S4 were free for that 1 day only, I do not know if that was a bug glitch or if blizzard intended for it to be that way, I never looked into that. That occurred though for 1 day only.
Oh and there is that Arena tournament server, where if you pay an extra fee, you can make a max level toon and be given any set of gear you want to compete. This isn't real WoW though, that the Cyber Athlete WoW shit.
Other than that, your statement is bullshit.
Right...I wont bother searching up links for you. Do it yourself, but suffice to say, you are wrong.
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Grammar nazi's. This one is for you.
That is a lie. You start with 1500 rating, and 0 points to spend.
I dislike those arenas myself, and the mechanic behind it to get items. But disliking it is still not enough reason to lie about it.
Well, then they changed it since I last played WoW. The free arena points was where the term welfare epics originated.
I assume you are reffering to how teams used to go into arenas wearing their pink "silk dress" and armed with fishing poles in order to lose. In the first two seasons it was true that you could deliberatly lose ten games in a row and still be awarded points. I don't know if this can be considered "free" since you still had to buy a charter, create a team, and que for at least 10 games. The final two seasons in TBC had rating reqs on the arena gear which put an end to that type of thing, although people still did it, I assume for laughs (who can get the lowest rating).
I recall the term "wellfare epics" refering to the old arena gear that could be purchased with honor through grinding battlegrounds.
You want the truth about WoW? You can't handle the truth!
I've always wanted to say that. Anyway, the real truth is that Blizzard is getting rich off gamers all over the globe and will continue to do so for quite a bit longer. I just wish we had a more complex game up here making the dough. Its a very watered down MMORPG experience for my tastes. I know the genre could produce a much more worthy game than this. Its just probably not going to happen for another 3 years.
It's interesting to see howmany people are so ant-WoW without actually playing it.
That is a lie. You start with 1500 rating, and 0 points to spend.
I dislike those arenas myself, and the mechanic behind it to get items. But disliking it is still not enough reason to lie about it.
Well, then they changed it since I last played WoW. The free arena points was where the term welfare epics originated.
No, it never changed. There have never been free arena points. You are either confusing arena rating with arena points, or you are lying.
Welfare epics term originated from the people afk-ing in battlegrounds. This was before arena.
In the past couple of years I have tried quite a few MMOs. I tried SWG, EVE, EQ2, CoH/CoV, LOTRO, GW, basically all the popular ones except WoW. I have a lot of friends that play and have been trying to get me to play but I am one of those people that likes to go against the grain so I resisted. A couple of weeks ago I decided to give it a try. I did the trial and went ahead and bought the battle chest and took the free month. So I'm setting up this opinion by saying it's a fresh look from someone who has played the other games and can give you my honest opinion about this game in relation to the others. I'l save my extended opinions about the other games for another post. But here goes for WoW.
General Presentation/Atmosphere: This is where the game really shines. I think all would agree they are offering a highly polished product. Production is top notch from the music down to getting the lore of the game right. I was a huge fan of Warcraft III and love seeing all the little details that remind me of the previous games. You truly feel like you are playing in the "World of Warcraft".
Graphics: This is a huge point of debate. It is a matter of opinion how "good" you think graphics are. For me I think they are very well done. It stays true to the art style Blizzard is known for and again contributes to making you feel like you are playing in the World of Warcraft. Also a huge factor to the success of the game is the modest system demands. This allows for a very wide available player base. I know the tech is there but many game makers alienate their player base with extra high system requirements. The huge open world does a lot for immersion. I now understand why people bitch about the zoning in EQ2.
Interface/Controls: Things are set up to be rather simplistic. It is like they took some ideas from previous MMO games and integrated them into the interface that Blizzard is known for. Much like Diablo or Warcraft III in the way you use potions and item slots with a typical MMO hotbar in there. You can practically play the game with one hand.
Population/Community: Obviously this is the most populated MMO so there are all kinds of people on. It was a pretty big shock to go into a major town and see so many people. With such a large community there are people who can be assholes but there are plenty that have been nice and helpful. It's common to run into people in the same area or doing the same quest as you. I also personally know at least 20 or 30 people that play this game so it is quite possible to hook up with some friends that already play who will help you along.
My final word is how this game essentially stacks up to the others I have played. A lot of them share similarites particularly in the combat system. EVE is the most unique in that regard. GW lets you change up your skills so it has a different type of gameplay. CoH is a little more action oriented. SWG is.....SWG. LOTRO is very similar to WoW as far as combat and interface. Overall I'm happy about the game and I am sure I will sub for a few months to check it out further. My general perception is that most people like to attack whatever is at the top. Despite some shortcomings that are minimal as far as I am concerned. It is a quality game that deserves the reputation that it has.
Its nice to see a review like this from a fresh perspective, you should have been there for the glory days of pre-expansions
The world was just FULL of people... now people are more spread out.
You may love it or you may hate it.. but you have to admit WoW is one hell of a quality product.
Grymm
MMO addict in recovery!
EQ,SWG preCU,L2,EQ2,GW,CoH/CoV,V:SOH,
Aion,AoC,TR,WAR,EVE,BP,RIFT,WoW and others... no more!
Its nice to see a review like this from a fresh perspective, you should have been there for the glory days of pre-expansions
The world was just FULL of people... now people are more spread out.
You may love it or you may hate it.. but you have to admit WoW is one hell of a quality product.
I hear these comments every day in Real Life. Yesterday, a guy who played 3 years of EQ2 and only began with Wow 3 months ago: they all say the same: the difference is staggering. You hear it from every ex player of old and new MMORPG's.
The only Wow hate comes from players who played far too much. "I played it for 3 years at 4 hours a day and now I hate it". Which is a laugh really.
Another category are the ones struggling with themselves and the establishment. These guys are against everything that is popluar, but mostly they hate themselves.
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Wow is a very good product and the best and most polished adventure you can have on line. If you look on Xfire it is for 3.5 years the most played PC game (one day in 3.5 years it was second because servers were down), but Wow is also the ONLY game you have to pay for in the top 10 of most played games.
That's the big problem with the competition: to conquer the gaming hearts you have to be BETTER or at least equal than free to play games - also qualtiy games btw - like COD4.
Most other PC games last about 2 to 3 months and than end up being erased from the HD. Very very few get played past the 4 month, almost none get played with a monthly price tag on it after this period.
It's proof, Wow is being hated for the wrong (personal frustration) reasons, not for the vast amount of gameplay it offers to those paying for it.
Here's a tought:
You have to have played WoW to a fairly high lvl to be able to provide any fair opinion on it. Therefore it is fair to assume that at some point these knowledgable nay-sayers had to have enjoyed the game at some point. It's just funny that after experiencing the phenomenon that is WoW they would deride the game for new players.
So ... you've played WoW and now your tired/bored of the it, don't hate on it for everyone else. To all you potential players it's like someone's ex-husband/wife telling you "Hey don't sleep with my Husband/wife they suck." Remember opinions are like ... Try it you may actually like it.
Personally I find myself playing WoW for awhile then trying the new "Hyped" next best thing (AoC, Warhammer, etc.) but seems I always find myself coming back to WoW.
Why not just say I played the game, like it for a time, but it got old for me" instead of "Wow sucks"
Currently anticipating: Darkfall, Earthrise, The Agency, Mortal Online, Stargate Online, Star Wars: The Old Republic ... ect.
BTW I'm a 48 year old police detective who can only play in my spare time, so no Wow isn't just a kids game.