World of Warcraft is an MMORPG that takes place in Blizzard Entertainment's Warcraft universe. At its peak, it boasted a player base of over 12.5 million subscribers, making it the most popular MMO of all time.
^ Please enlighten me. I've tried the game many times, but I always ended up hating it more and more. It's shitty graphics, and boring leveling grinds. To be honest I never got far into the game. Is the initial suck-age worth-it for the high-level activities?
Prepare to be flamebait dude. But I have to agree... I tried it once, and thought it was fucking terrible. I honestly had more fun with the Champions Online trial.
I never ever "grinded" while levelling, and I didn't find leveling boring until I did it for the 7th time. I find the graphics on max are quite charmy, even though yeah, they do need a lift which will hopefully happen in Cataclysm. High level content is very enjoyable as long as you have a good crew to play with in my opinion.
The graphics are artistically awesome. Truth be told, I got to level 30, decided that I wasn't dedicated enough to go any further, and stopped. But I still appreciate it from afar, it's got some great quest structure and addictive loot-ery.
But again, I'm not nearly good enough to play it regularly.
1. Purposely designed addictive gameplay with huge emphasis on time = reward. 2. Runs on ancient PCs. 3. Is cheaper than playing regular games. 4. Is extremely easy to get in to and get good at. 5. Socialization minus the 'restraints' of reality.
All of these things combine to make what is the juggernaught of money printing success that is WoW.
As someone who was a wow addict I can confidently say that the game truly is evil incarnate. Every single facit of its design is to consume as much of your time as possible and fuck am I glad I stopped playing.
WoW is one of them games with the X-Factor. Not sure why, but there's just something about it that makes me just want to play it. I love socialising with people, so the fact I can play and "socialise" is a bonus...and the gameplay isn't half bad either really.
WoW is one of them games with the X-Factor. Not sure why, but there's just something about it that makes me just want to play it. I love socialising with people, so the fact I can play and "socialise" is a bonus...and the gameplay isn't half bad either really.
"
No dude! You're just getting hypnotized! SNAP OUT OF IT! SNAP OUT OF IT!
@creamypies: Haha I haven't played an MMO in a while, but i've certainly got the itch back on...I don't know whether to get get back to the friendly,simple WoW, or the deep, tough Eve...
I played WoW from release until about 6 months ago. I loved it, started Guilds, ran websites the whole deal. I enjoyed the social side and the levelling and dungeon design was great at the time.
I feel that the game has now been dumbed down too much and as such the feeling of achievement when you completed a particular dungeon or raid has now been lost. I had 4 level 80 Toons all pretty well geared. The issue is that the gameplay has not progressed enough to keep me interested. Also if you are trying to get into the game now as a noob there is no incentive for other players to socialise with you as you are not going to offer them anything until you get to 80...as such its a long boring sequence of events when you need to do them by yourself.
As for the graphics they do need a revamp, although it will take a lot more than pretty graphics to get me back.
The game swallows your life whole, forget sitting down for 10 miniutes with the game...it just doesnt happen. Once you get to 80 its another section of grinding and dungeon completion quests that can take hours to complete.
Personnally my Xbox and PS3 allow me to play great games which I can pick up and put down as and when.
As for why is WoW so great? You may as well ask why people are achievement freaks...the same thing . You can instantly rank yourself against other players by the stats you have, the type of armor you wear, when you completed a quest etc etc. Its a game of one upmanship and once you buy into that its very difficult to let go.
If you are grinding while leveling in WoW then you are doing it completely wrong :) Oh and MMO's are never really about graphics, there are plenty of new and pretty MMO's coming out all the time that constantly under perform subscription wise. Honestly if you don't find it fun I would not play (I mean this in a good way) MMO's are too time consuming to be playing them if you are not having fun. As others have said friends make a huge difference, if you have RL friends that play or get into a good friendly guild it is a completely different experience.
As to the exactly "WHY" WoW is so popular that's a pretty loaded question that you could probably write a book about social dynamics, addiction and the rest.
I don't play myself anymore but thats mostly due to work/life/other games etc.
In the end you guys are haters, wow is probably the greatest game out there, more exploration than any other game, more teamwork than any other game. Wow has its own economy that fluctuates with world events.
I will say that players who have been around in the beginning might be mad that some things are dumbed down.
If your not just hating and truly want to try this game for what it fully is, go to the store with 2-4 good friends, then put your computers around a table and play about 3-4 hours a day until level 50ish (even though the expansions have the most fun content and u can only enter the first one at 58), if you don't like it then... you lied about doing the above.
It's an addiction to the community, with a decent game behind that. I put 5+ years into the game. I look back with regret, but at the same time, I have to admire it for having the ability to hook me in for so long.
I really liked the world that they'd created. All the different quests, and all the quest text and stuff. More specifically, one of the very first games i played was Warcraft 2, being able to walk around and explore the world of your childhood? Godamn...
I played WoW as a single player game though, so my experience with it is very different to everyone else.
The only grind in WoW is once you hit 80. For people like me the reason WoW is so good is because it offers the most competitive pvp mmo on the market, and I hate to say that because the game is inbalanced as shit atm where everyone does too much damage
I played for about a year and a half before I finally ran out of time and cancelled my account. But my best friend plays a few hours a day and is the best Priest on his server (Ysera).
If you try to play WoW alone, it does get pretty boring and tedious. It gets fun when you're doing quests with a friend or 2 or 3, when you're doing low level dungeons, pvp, that kind of stuff. And essentially, the time it takes to get to level 80 is basically just teaching you how to play the game, because it opens up a lot more once you get there. So many dungeons and raids to do, of the 5, 10, and 25 man variety.
It becomes more of a social thing as you're hanging out with the same guild buddies (real life friends or otherwise) for hours at a time, week in, week out. It's like a playing on sports team or going to a local bar.
The social aspects of the game, and the lore the game is based around and can be found everywhere. I'm just a sucker for the WarCraft Universe, I grew up playing WarCraft 1 and 2.
My impression of the game is pretty meh. I mean I played it for a year or so and I had a really hard time getting anyone to quest with me. This was terrible because I got a lot of fun out of just questing. I found instancing very entertaining too, but there was always some question of not having the right group, not agreeing on an instance and players who behaved poorly. I always ended up playing a Paladin, Druid or Shaman to be self-sufficient for questing. After that I got pretty bored. I suppose I'd go back if I found a small group of people interested in leveling with me. I think the highest level I got to was 65 and it was fairly boring on my own.
@TMThomsen: Do you think those are good graphics? That might be decent art design, but there are like four polygons in the whole image. I agree that WoW graphics are no longer good enough to hold my interest.
IRT: The first question is whether you dig MMOs, that is to say, whether you like the idea of a persistent character you can improve and level up and you also like cooperative play. You'd also have to not be too much of an action junky - people who generally prefer RPGs to FPSes, that is, people who are used to enduring subpar gameplay in order to achieve satisfaction in some other way are most likely to appreciate the MMO format. Of course that can get you into any MMO, and the question is why WoW and not one of the other MMOs?
Well, the answer lies in the fact that every MMO has a surge of interest when it's released, and many games (Like Warhammer or Conan) never had a higher population than in their first week online. So the first factor is WoW's quality upon release - no surprise to any fan of Blizzard games, but hardly the norm for MMOs, which tend to like to release early and fix things once they're making money. This business model means a lot of people will quit an MMO in the first month because it's broken, but the level grind was perfect from 1-60 upon release for WarCraft, allowing people to linger. Conan or EQ2 are examples of games that just weren't finished on released and will never regain their initial populations as a result.
Second factor is, for all that WoW's updates come ungodly slow, they do come, and they generally matter. Compare that to a game like LotRO which is beginning to seem like it'll never get so far as Rohan in the LotR timeline.
And last, it has things to scratch the itch in both PvE (with elaborate dungeons with varied designs and encounters) and PvP (With arenas for small groups and several BGs for teams of various size). PvPers would be left in the dark in most MMOs, and PvErs are left out in WAR, which was one of that game's great failings.
At the end of the day, though, if you don't like MMOs, you don't like WoW. It's never going to have an exciting and responsive combat system and it's never going to have a storyline worth mentioning.
PS Original content WoW has lots of grinding. It's not until the expansions that they figured out a way to do quests that weren't grindy.
Everything. Everything is so damn good. I was solidly addicted for about a year (not that long compared to some) and quite frankly it was some of the most fun i've ever had in my whole life. There is too much perfect in WOW to go into every detail, but with a great and often hilarious story, fantastic range of quests for an MMO, exemplary art design and lovely graphics, perfect gameplay with fantastic action and brilliant multiplayer, a good challenge (though i fear blizzard is slowly removing that as time goes on) and a near endless amout of things to do, kill and collect. . . well, pretty much all that plus a couple dozen other things i can't be bothered to go into here.
But it's not for everyone, of course. Just like any game.
@Veektarius: So how many polygons does a game has to use per frame to be above the shitty limit? Of course WoW's graphics can't compare to to newly released games, but it's far, far from shitty.
" ^ Please enlighten me. I've tried the game many times, but I always ended up hating it more and more. It's shitty graphics, and boring leveling grinds. To be honest I never got far into the game. Is the initial suck-age worth-it for the high-level activities? "
That kind of game just isn't for everybody. It may just be that simple, for the same reason some people don't like Sports games, or simulations, or shooters, the same things don't appeal to everybody. It's entirely possible that you just don't like WoW, or MMO's in general.
For me personally, the draw initially was the huge expansive game world to explore, the immense array of equipment to amass and constantly upgrade as well as the ability to essentially have 2 games, as if one game wasn't big enough, I could switch to the opposing faction and play those guys. But initially I approached it as a single player game and only wanted to do the quests. While I got enough enjoyment out of that, it wasn't until I discovered the social aspect of the game that I really began to sink into it. Hitting the level cap is just the beginning, after that you can find a raid group, and take on the bigger, more epic dungeons of the game.
EDIT: just to agree with some of the other posters, if you find yourself grinding then you need to seek out more quests :) There are just about enough quests to get to 80. But it depends where your definition of grinding lies, because not all of those quests are unique or different, many do in fact require you to kill 10, 20, even 50 of the same monster. But you can also run dungeons for XP, and things like that. But you can most definitely get to 80 on quests alone if you do almost all of them.
Essentially though, the formula is this. Hit lvl 80. 50 - 200 hours of grinding depending on how many time's you've done it, and how you play. If you even want to hit 80, not everybody does. But once you do, it's Upgrade Gear -> Tackle Bigger Dungeon -> Upgrade Gear -> Repeat. Not everybody is going to like that, but some people do. Even then that's not the only aspect, I know a guy who plays it solely because he enjoys playing the auction house. No kidding, he's got a lvl 80 but he doesn't raid, he just relaxes by farming materials and expertly playing the auction house to amass probably the most money anyone on his server has, and uses it to buy the ridiculously rare trinket and silly items. But that's how he chooses to play it.
Then of course there is the PVP aspect, which, despite putting literally thousands of hours into the game, I have never ever touched other than the places you need to in order to get some of the armor/items. The large group stuff. The 1v1 or 3v3 etc I havnt ever tried and don't intend to. But again, for some people it's the reason they play.
I'd say if you have tried it, and it genuinely doesn't seem to interest you, perhaps move on? But if you're determined to give it another go then switch factions, or play a different race (I fucking hated the game when I first played it, starting as a horde orc, 30 mins in I gave up. Then later I tried an alliance hunter and have been playing him on/off ever since)
As for shitty graphics, well, that's not something I can help you with. You will either let that get in your way of potentially enjoying it, or you won't. Not a lot anybody else can do about it, you do have to remember that the game is 6 years old, and even then it was designed to run on the majority of computers at the time. The two expansions up the graphical quality significantly (although again, designed to run on a multitude of machines, so they are not crysis, that's for sure.) and the upcoming Cataclysm expansion will replace the entire game world (well the main portion anyway) with an upgraded version, as well as allowing things such as flying mounts in the main game world, and I believe they are dropping the level requirement on some of the more interesting content such as flying mounts and etc.
Bottom line though is that, like any other genre, MMO's aren't for everybody, and like every stylised world, WoW is not for everybody. :) You cannot like everything.
If things like the UI bother you, you can download Addons which can customise them, or heck even script your own LUA addon packages.
Also, it's odd that I saw this thread as about a hour ago a friend of mine convinced me to go back to WoW for the summer, and I just re-activated my account. :)
what do you mean grind? Is doing warsong gulch and arathi basin grind? Is questing a grind? Then modern warfare 2 / battlefield 2 / halo 3 etc etc multiplayer is a huge grind. And the quests are ok by me, because i know how to play, meaning doing solo quests, pvp and instances in a way as to not let the game get repetitive. Then theres the socialising aspect and all that stuff. Suggestion: if you dont have any friends that play you can just join a nice guild -if you find any that is-. But its the special moments in there that make the game great. Unlike other games where the best moment is the huge explosion in the end, the best moment i had in WoW was a random WSG match i joined with my guildies, and defending the sht out of it, and finally we scored at the last 2 mins and won. Verdict: some people may like some ppl dont. Hell if you check the GB forums there are these kinds of things for all great games. WoW, MW2, dragon age, mass effect 2 etc, some ppl just dont like them
"^ Please enlighten me. I've tried the game many times, but I always ended up hating it more and more. It's shitty graphics, and boring leveling grinds. To be honest I never got far into the game. Is the initial suck-age worth-it for the high-level activities? "
" I've played it for five years, and I no longer grind. I spend four nights each week socializing with my guild while overcoming raid challenges. I don't have time to play more than that. Tonight we're going to try the Lich King again =) "
Some people need to get out more. I don't see how you can succumb to such a boring and relentless grind of a game. I love the Warcraft universe but I have never been able to get into WoW - It's just far too boring and many of the players are not this "all friendly" bunch of people you say they are. They hate noobs and people who don't play the game religiously four or five nights a week, I for one would much rather play a game I can pick-up-and-play rather than one that I waste my life on. That many have already said, they later regretted.
When I was playing, WoW was about social interaction with purpose. This aspect is what makes it entirely different than a graphical chatroom, although it could be that, too (Trade Chat, anyone?) Playing the game alone can be okay for a while, but if you play it with others a lot it gets to be a fun adventure. There is something comforting about logging on and hearing your guildmates say "Hi" or getting a greeting via a whisper. Talking with others about the days accomplishments and your goals in game gives you the sense of being part of something bigger. I've tried other MMOs and so far I've never had the same sense of community in them that I had in WoW. Hell, in Champions I rarely saw anyone talking to each other.
" I really liked the world that they'd created. All the different quests, and all the quest text and stuff. More specifically, one of the very first games i played was Warcraft 2, being able to walk around and explore the world of your childhood? Godamn... I played WoW as a single player game though, so my experience with it is very different to everyone else. "
I won't be surprised if the majority of the 11.5 million user base plays WoW like a regular, single player RPG for a while and then move on. I was in a strong raiding guild for a while but the thing I loved the most about the game were the same as you - the world and the quests, which are the building blocks of any good RPG. The level grinding and the MMO part of it are what retains the massive userbase but there is a great single player experience in here as well.
@TMThomsen: It's all about the anti-aliasing and high detailed dirt bro! Fuck great art style and a colorful world. /sarcasm
" Trade Chat, anyone?" Oh god no. No. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoo *horrible flashbacks* I turn that mofo off. For good. It's like fucking 4Chan on there even on the roleplay forums. "
" Trade Chat, anyone?" Oh god no. No. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoo *horrible flashbacks* I turn that mofo off. For good. It's like fucking 4Chan on there even on the roleplay forums. "
What's wrong with 4chan? "
Nothing in it's own rancid little corner.
But Trade Chat is for Trade :\ It's my biggest weakness for nerd rage. Given half a chance i'll utterly freak out over people 'just chatting' in trade, it drives me round the fucking bend. Everybody has one massive nerd rage weakness, trade channel spam is mine, i'm not proud of it. So I just turn it off permanently and only re-activate it when I actively want to trade, but even then it's fucking useless. Nothing makes me angrier than people spouting shitty memes and quotes and other bullshit like that in the trade channel on a roleplay server. I'm seeing red just thinking about it.
"^ Please enlighten me. I've tried the game many times, but I always ended up hating it more and more. It's shitty graphics, and boring leveling grinds. To be honest I never got far into the game. Is the initial suck-age worth-it for the high-level activities? "
"^ Please enlighten me. I've tried the game many times, but I always ended up hating it more and more. It's shitty graphics, and boring leveling grinds. To be honest I never got far into the game. Is the initial suck-age worth-it for the high-level activities? "
"
Thanks for enlightening me. You posted a picture. "
I probably wouldn't have made it past the first few hours if I didn't have people I knew in the game with me. Leveling a new character is always kind of shitty in the beginning...cause guess what, you're level 1 it's the least powerful you'll ever be. Max level is where it's at though, most of the player population is max level so that's where all the action is. It'll seemingly take forever to get to max level, but it's usually a combination of not being familiar with quests and not knowing how to play. Once you know how to play, either through lots of practice or lots of reading up online, things move along very quickly.
A lot of wow players would argue that the game isn't playable without addons, which isn't really true, it's just that addons make the game a lot easier in many ways.
I've played it off and on since launch, until recently I haven't been playing it for more than a few months at a time but when I started I played 2 years without stopping. To me, its just something different, look at every other online game 95% of them are shooters. How many times can I shoot somebody before it gets old? Graphically, ya its not the best but I think thats why its as popular as it is, it doesn't require a top notch system to run on.
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