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A WOW players opinion of the free trial

I enjoy WOW, but I'm the first to admit that some of it's macro-pvp systems are flawed.  So i decided to try the free trial of War

1.  Character creation was well done.  I chose on a Goblin Shaman.  I like ranged dps with the ability to heal ( in WOW, I play a moonkin druid).

2.  Introductory quests -  well done.  It was amazing to me how similar the game is to WOW at this point (just questing).  I enjoyed the ToK a great deal, expecially all the 'fluff' RP stuff.   Having the 'quest destination' marked on the  map was also a neat feature, although some may think it makes the game too directed.   My biggest comment at this phase is just how completely similar everything seems to be to WOW.  In fact, my goblin shaman 'rotation' played out almost exactly like i would do with a shadow priest .   Mindblast (casting time spell), Shadowword:pain ( DOT), followed by Mindflay (dot-concentration spell).  I'm not sure the names of the shamans spells, but they felt exactly the same.   Looting was the same

3. Public Quests -  Really awesome.   the one where you kill the squids that are bothering the giant, then he throws a rock and breaks a door....   They were a lot of fun.   The only problem was the whole 'contribution' thing.  I did it 3 times.. the first time I barely did anything, yet i was one of the biggest contributers..  the third time I did it, I almost solo'd it, yet I was almost last place on contributions.   I like the idea of it being 'half luck - half contribution' .. but I just don't think the game calculates your contribution very accurately.

4.  Influence - A neat idea... kinda like a mini-rep grind.  it only took a few pqs to get the gear from lvl 3 influence.   In all 4 levels (tier 1) I didn't really get any  upgrades though.  

5.   Scenarios -  I only did 1 scenario (the gate one for tier 1 goblins), but did it a few times.  It felt 'small' compared to bgs in WOW.. it also didn't seem to have any tactics at all.   Just a big pit of zerging.   The game was over very fast, and I got a  lot of renown.   I can see why players grind them if they are trying to build up renown... but overall, the actual mini-game was no fun at all.

6.  RvR Lakes -   The actual RvR lake in the goblin zone just reminded me a lot of the Arathi Basin BG.   basically there are 4 flags that you have to cap.   There was very little fighting going on.  I joined a warband of about 15 people, and mostly we just ran around capping flags, while apparently the dwarf warband was doign the same thing 'behind' us.   I was mostly just running with the pack, but there was no real desire for anyone in our group to figure out where the dwarves were and to go kill them.  Basically it was just running around killing 5 mobs, and capping a flag.   

There were two annoying features of the RvR lakes.  The first was when you come to an undefended flag that the other side 'owns'.   Even though it is completely undefended, you have to sit there and wait for the 5 mobs to spawn to kill them, then cap the flag.   Why shouldn't we be able to cap the flag whenever we come upon it?  The second annoying thing was when I finally decided to leave the 'pack' and go try to get in a fight.  I get to a flag that the other side owns..  I manage to kill the 5 mobs guarding it (probably the most fun I had in the game was soloing the boss).. but as soon as I capped the flag, my entire warband (my teammates!!!) commenced YELLING at me and calling me a noob.

Being stuck at lvl 10 for awhile (trial account)... I guess I kind of extrapolated what 'endgame' would be like.   Even though there were plenty of the enemy in the rvr lake, it didn't seem like there was any effort on their part, or our part, to actually kill each other.  The few 'kills' that our warband got were just a quick solo massacre.  I think the biggest party we encountered was 3 people, which took about 10 seconds for our 15 people to kill ( I'm not even sure I got any damage in).

Also, the gear acquistion was a bit confusing.  There were just too many ways to buy/get armor.   Influence rewards, influence purchases, Renown rewards and then the scout medalian thing, then on top of it you have renown points and renown abilities that are on vendors.  Just too many vendors to have to track down and rememeber to go back to for a new player in my opinion.

that completes my review.   I really don't have anything negative to say about the game.  PQs were more fun than I was expecting, RvR was a lot less fun than I was expecting.   I've heard that Tier 1 (because of trial accounts) is much more active than 2 and 3.  I also heard that the same thing kinda happens in T4 as happens in T1... nobody really looks for a fight, they just take turns capping stuff.   The pve was pretty good, but not as good as wow, but the pvp just wasn't good enough to make me want to switch games.  BGs are bigger and more fun than SCs, and Wintergrasp (while limited) at least had large scale battles going on.

Comments

  • CzzarreCzzarre Member, Newbie CommonPosts: 3,742

    The RvR lakes of the T1 is vastly different from those of T4. I agree that limiting you to level 10 does not give you much sense of what endgame is like.

    At least (unlike WoW) you get to ask :P

  • PlaidpantsPlaidpants Member UncommonPosts: 267
    Originally posted by Alandora


    I enjoy WOW, but I'm the first to admit that some of it's macro-pvp systems are flawed.  So i decided to try the free trial of War
    1.  Character creation was well done.  I chose on a Goblin Shaman.  I like ranged dps with the ability to heal ( in WOW, I play a moonkin druid).
    2.  Introductory quests -  well done.  It was amazing to me how similar the game is to WOW at this point (just questing).  I enjoyed the ToK a great deal, expecially all the 'fluff' RP stuff.   Having the 'quest destination' marked on the  map was also a neat feature, although some may think it makes the game too directed.   My biggest comment at this phase is just how completely similar everything seems to be to WOW.  In fact, my goblin shaman 'rotation' played out almost exactly like i would do with a shadow priest .   Mindblast (casting time spell), Shadowword:pain ( DOT), followed by Mindflay (dot-concentration spell).  I'm not sure the names of the shamans spells, but they felt exactly the same.   Looting was the same
    3. Public Quests -  Really awesome.   the one where you kill the squids that are bothering the giant, then he throws a rock and breaks a door....   They were a lot of fun.   The only problem was the whole 'contribution' thing.  I did it 3 times.. the first time I barely did anything, yet i was one of the biggest contributers..  the third time I did it, I almost solo'd it, yet I was almost last place on contributions.   I like the idea of it being 'half luck - half contribution' .. but I just don't think the game calculates your contribution very accurately.
    4.  Influence - A neat idea... kinda like a mini-rep grind.  it only took a few pqs to get the gear from lvl 3 influence.   In all 4 levels (tier 1) I didn't really get any  upgrades though.  
    5.   Scenarios -  I only did 1 scenario (the gate one for tier 1 goblins), but did it a few times.  It felt 'small' compared to bgs in WOW.. it also didn't seem to have any tactics at all.   Just a big pit of zerging.   The game was over very fast, and I got a  lot of renown.   I can see why players grind them if they are trying to build up renown... but overall, the actual mini-game was no fun at all.
    6.  RvR Lakes -   The actual RvR lake in the goblin zone just reminded me a lot of the Arathi Basin BG.   basically there are 4 flags that you have to cap.   There was very little fighting going on.  I joined a warband of about 15 people, and mostly we just ran around capping flags, while apparently the dwarf warband was doign the same thing 'behind' us.   I was mostly just running with the pack, but there was no real desire for anyone in our group to figure out where the dwarves were and to go kill them.  Basically it was just running around killing 5 mobs, and capping a flag.   
    There were two annoying features of the RvR lakes.  The first was when you come to an undefended flag that the other side 'owns'.   Even though it is completely undefended, you have to sit there and wait for the 5 mobs to spawn to kill them, then cap the flag.   Why shouldn't we be able to cap the flag whenever we come upon it?  The second annoying thing was when I finally decided to leave the 'pack' and go try to get in a fight.  I get to a flag that the other side owns..  I manage to kill the 5 mobs guarding it (probably the most fun I had in the game was soloing the boss).. but as soon as I capped the flag, my entire warband (my teammates!!!) commenced YELLING at me and calling me a noob.
    Being stuck at lvl 10 for awhile (trial account)... I guess I kind of extrapolated what 'endgame' would be like.   Even though there were plenty of the enemy in the rvr lake, it didn't seem like there was any effort on their part, or our part, to actually kill each other.  The few 'kills' that our warband got were just a quick solo massacre.  I think the biggest party we encountered was 3 people, which took about 10 seconds for our 15 people to kill ( I'm not even sure I got any damage in).
    Also, the gear acquistion was a bit confusing.  There were just too many ways to buy/get armor.   Influence rewards, influence purchases, Renown rewards and then the scout medalian thing, then on top of it you have renown points and renown abilities that are on vendors.  Just too many vendors to have to track down and rememeber to go back to for a new player in my opinion.
    that completes my review.   I really don't have anything negative to say about the game.  PQs were more fun than I was expecting, RvR was a lot less fun than I was expecting.   I've heard that Tier 1 (because of trial accounts) is much more active than 2 and 3.  I also heard that the same thing kinda happens in T4 as happens in T1... nobody really looks for a fight, they just take turns capping stuff.   The pve was pretty good, but not as good as wow, but the pvp just wasn't good enough to make me want to switch games.  BGs are bigger and more fun than SCs, and Wintergrasp (while limited) at least had large scale battles going on.

     

    Contribution is a mixed bag in PQs. Depending on what you did (heal/dps/tank) it could make a big difference. It isn't supposed to be 100% based on contribution - that's why there's a RR and you just get the bonus points. Not sure why you didn't get any upgrades from the influence rewards if you were getting the elite level rewards - you probably out leveled the chapter if that was the case.

    The scenarios are every bit as "tatical" as the WoW ones. Just sounds like WoW bias to me. Everything ends up in a zerg in most games - there are some more interesting and innovative ones as well. Nordenwatch is a lot more popular that Gates of Ekrund.

    With the lakes - you were in the dwarf/greenskin one - and for T1 that's really not the best one as most are in the chaos/empire lake. It sounds like you played at bad times (yet there probably is rarely good RvR in that specific lake). There is a lot of "musical chairs" involved in some lakes - but I've had tons of epic battles in the lakes as well when we're evenly numbered. And they have the timers on the Battle objectives to discourage the musical chairs aspects. People would just do it do get massive amounts of easy influence/renown/exp. I'm not sure why your group yelled at you. They may have been trying to strategize and trick the Order in a certain way, who knows. But - T1 lakes really aren't that fun unless you have a big 30v30 match or something. T2 you get keeps you battle for which is more entertaining and easier to find the battles. Feels a lot more epic too. T3 the keeps are bigger and the lakes keep growing in size. Same with T4.

    And well - the more gear options available the better. Most just stick to renown gear and PQ/influence gear when leveling up. The medallions are a pain and take so many just to get 1 piece. Mainly intended for Rank 40 players that are having a tough time getting gold bags from taking keeps.

  • TonevTonev Member Posts: 462

    Here is a win, win tactic every time for PQs and loot.

    Run in and just hit your AoE button over and over and you will win a loot bag, everytime.

     

    Now to be honest the really fun levels for me inthe game was from 1-20 after that it becomes somewhat of a chore and tedious montone grind.

  • patrynspatryns Member UncommonPosts: 81

    This person had to be a dev from War.  I was in beta and played for 4 months.  When the free trial came out , I thought I would try it again.  They had just merged the servers and there seemed to be people in t1,t2,t3,t4.  Now remember this is the free trial period.  Nothing has changed.  People still do more Scenarios, now there may be some ORVR in the T4 zones.  The scenario may start out 12vs4 either side until others join the scenario, guess what the side which started out with more players wins, DUH!  The only skill involved in this games is running and trying to  stay alive.  I will say Destro does seem to have more tanks and healers then order on  Skull Throne, not sure about the other servers.  In the lower teirs you see people wanting help trying to do PQ.  Now it seems the thing to do is try and Power level everyone to T4 to go back and forth on Keep taking.  People are still getting disconnected,etc..etc.

     

    i am just playing this game now for the Scenario when I am bored just waiting for fallen earth, I may give EVE a try not sure.

     

     

  • aesperusaesperus Member UncommonPosts: 5,135

    ^

    Huh?

     

    I thought the review was pretty accurate. The game has 3 major problems. 2 of which the devs are constantly working on.

     

    1) - The pvp is still going on a transformation. The game started out as a scenario grinder, so is taking a while to convert into more of an open pvp game (rvr).

    2) - The endgame needs work. They are both trying to improve endgame content (dungeons / sieges / etc.) and the pvp.

    3) - Population. While not bad during peak hours, it's dismal during almost all other times.

     

    While it's going to take some redesigning to get this game to where it probably should be, the game isn't quite as bad as many people seem to want to stigmatize it. While it's most definitely hurting from poor design decisions during development (they should've stuck to what they knew with rvr, instead they didn't), it's still a solid game inspite it's flaws. Not my fav. MMO, but still enjoyable.

  • ArcheusCrossArcheusCross Member Posts: 793

    In my humble opinion, scenarios are the problem here. They allow too much of a benefit of: you click join, wait, do the thing for a short period of time, and earn massive rewards... not to mention it makes opvp have less people due to it. Long story short, you eliminate the scenarios, work on putting more content into open pvp and you sure as hell will have more people battling over flags in opvp.

    This isnt WoW. Lose the bgs(scenarios ie nordenwatch) and stick to the open pvp.

    Just my humble opinion.

    "Do not fret! Your captain is about to enter Valhalla!" - General Beatrix of Alexandria

    "The acquisition of knowledge is of use to the intellect, for nothing can be loved or hated without first being known." - Leo da Vinci

  • PlaidpantsPlaidpants Member UncommonPosts: 267

    Yeah - it would be a understatement to say I was saddened when they announced they'd have scenarios in the game. And to make it worse - scenarios were the best way to level both rank and RR at release. ORvR still needs another EXP boost though. Most people just AoE grind now.

  • joswijjoswij Member Posts: 82

    The biggest problem is that WAR doesn't scale.  They need to have it instanced or player capped to work "properly".  It's really just a sad state of events, that they created the circumstances that require all this instancing.  Honestly I think I had a lot more fun running AB in wow than I did zerging scenerios in war.  The main problem is that the objectives, nearly all require the zerg to flip flags.  In wow a few or even a single player could turn the tide of the overall BG.  In War flags flip faster with more players present.  Or in the case of objective carry scenarios, you get a cute marker placed on your location if you are transporting the item.  It really doesn't make any sense to get away from the zerg to try and pvp for any purpose. 

    Of course wow had very limited BGs throughout when I played, wars seem to be "different" in the sense they have a seperate look.  Although the objectives and styles of the scenarios are very similar.  Players don't really need to interact, they just need to watch the map objectives and timers.  Most times the scenarios are dead until someone is flipping a zone, then expect a double premade group to roll any pugs all night. 

    I think beyond the stability issues of "RvR(Server Lag vs Players)", they really need to stop all RPs from scenarios/keeps/BOs.  It should be all player related, so people will not try to avoid each other and play Keep Tag.

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