Well, I started as a Blood Elf. Mostly because I like elves and the Night Elves looked a bit to much like that wood elf rabble.
First off I have to admit that the art design is absolutely top notch. I like just looking at the screen it’s so beautiful. After that things seem to fall apart a bit for me.
First off I am leveling so fast that it’s almost not even a reward. 4 hours or so to reach level seven and my attitude toward leveling is basically “whatever.” The combat is so dull it almost hurts…click button, watch timer, click button, watch timer, click button, watch grass grow…not for me I suppose.
I guess I could see this as fun in a coop situation (though almost everything is, including Monster Hunter on a Wii of all things). I assume there is a way to set up a voice chat and shoot the shit while you kill 5 of these and 5 of those. I will admit that I do likes games to play while I converse, so I suppose as a social hub I think WoW is probably more fun than Facebook.
I can see this being fun if I had gotten in with a few friends and it was a social thing, but I think I missed the boat on that at this point. What I’m left with is a pretty vacant experience. I suppose I will play a bit further just to see some more of the world (which is stunning), but at the rate I seem to be leveling that will only be a few more hours.
The leveling will slow down a bit, though it’s brisk in WoW. It has to be. There are 85 levels now.
Yeah, I imagine that leveling would slow a bit, but that doesn’t solve my real issues. The gameplay and quests just didn’t grab me. I appreciate that the social/teamwork aspects might be great, but without enjoying the game more I’m not sure I am willing to put in the time to build a friends list.
I think I’ll stick to Monster Hunter for my loot grinding jollies. It’s just so much more satisfying to take down a Rathalos than to collect 5 ‘bear asses’.
I felt the same way when I started playing, then somewhere around level 20 the things that Gordon mentioned all kicked in, and I was hooked.
I also got the free seven days offers. I’m really curious what Blizzard’s subscription numbers will look like when they report on Q2. My bet is that almost all of the loss has been the lucrative North America and Europe markets.
It’s one of the reasons EQ was so good, you had to group, even to complete the most basic of quests, at least in the beginning of EQ. As much as people have complained about making MMOs easier and more solo/casual friendly, I think it’s done a great disservice to the medium.
The fun of those games is making friends, and overcoming things with a group of people. Given how easy it is not to do that in modern MMOs, and how easy it is to progress on your own, it’s no wonder many people find them initially very boring, because they are.
One thing you could do, is get to 19 and start doing the first battleground. That’s an entirely different game, and can be quite fun.
The Burning Crusade is part of the World of Warcraft Battle Chest bundle now.
Hell, I couldn’t group if I wanted to. I’ve only seen a handful of other players the whole time I’ve been playing (most of which have wanted to duel). I really can imagine how this game might be cool playing as a group to tackle challenges.
While exploring Silvermoon I got the sense that there was a really cool game there that I just wasn’t a part of yet (level 8 mages didn’t seem in very high demand). Truthfully I just don’t know if I want to put in the time to “catch up” to the fun.
IMHO, I think you have to get into the lore/story to really appreciate WoW. The music and art style do such a wonderful job of bringing the world to life that it allows you to overlook the now rather dated gameplay.
For the record, the Blood Elf starting zones are non-Cataclysm, so you probably shouldn’t have played them (I loved the Blood Elf starting zones btw). Cataclysm really gave each zone an overarching theme that builds and grows more and more epic as you level. It can feel a bit too linear at times, but it’s an okay trade off for an actual story as opposed to just go here and kill 10 of that.
Well, lets see. EQ, at it’s peak had just under 450k subs. WoW, at its peak had 11 million subs.
Pretty sure this blows your theory out of the water.
By that logic Farmville must be the greatest game ever made.
JM1
5912
Because Farmville is an MMO that should be compared with WoW and EQ?
Balasarius is right - EQ requiring groups for the simplest of quests may be something that appealed to a certain group of people, but it sure as hell isn’t attractive to the majority.
Razgon
5913
Interestingly, almost everyone has played EQ though
JM1
5914
Nah. WoW is the first MMO for so many people.
You are trying to say that “almost everyone” (>75%?) who plays World of Warcraft has played Everquest? I wouldn’t be surprised if it is less than 10%.
Razgon
5919
heh, sorry about the “Not true, true” thing - couldn’t resist.
About the issue - Well, I have no hard facts to back that up (Its the internet, who needs those pesky things) other than everyone I know who plays MMO’s, and on other fora as well, has said they have played either EQ or EQ2 and its quite often referred to as one of the big ones that started the wave, leading to the REALLY big one (WoW, in case you were wondering).
I’d be happy to aknowledge I’m wrong, if you bring those pesky facts to the table, but otherwise…I’m right ;-)
RickH
5920
FWIW, age of conan was my first.
But that elf chick in the PC gamer ads was pretty hot.
