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    World of Warcraft

    Game » consists of 9 releases. Released Nov 23, 2004

    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.

    So what do you do?

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    Steven

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    #1  Edited By Steven

    I don't understand how a five(?) year old game can keep millions and millions of people to continue to pay for it.  I must admit, I've never played a MMO of any kind, so I really know next to nothing about them.  What are you actually doing in it though?  How could you play for hours a day and still be playing years later?

    I guess the new expansions gave more stuff, but even then...it stlll boggles my mind.  I'd think you would see everything there is to see by now, do you just start over and do it again?  Is there really *that* much stuff to do?

    I'll probably try to get into an MMO eventually, but I figure it's too late to get into WOW.  But I just saw that Wow was the site's most visited page for the day, and again...I just don't understand!  Thanks for your time.

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    SathingtonWaltz

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    #3  Edited By SathingtonWaltz
    I played the free trial of WoW and thought it was boring personally. The only MMO I could recommend to you would be City of Heroes. I still play that game often, It's extremely fun. 
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    Teh_Eel

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    #4  Edited By Teh_Eel

    Personally WoW only really hooked me when I reached 70 which at the time was the highest level. At that point there is quite alot to do. Raiding is good fun with a nice bunch of people and you actually make some good friends out of it. There is also the pvp element which I never really liked but the occational arena or battleground was ok. And there leveling professions and getting rare expensive mounts to pass the time.

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    SathingtonWaltz

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    #5  Edited By SathingtonWaltz
    Miniman said:
    "SathingtonWaltz said:
    "I played the free trial of WoW and thought it was boring personally.
    Were you playing with friends? It's pretty shitty when you are soloing quests.

    "
    Yeah, a few of my friends. It just wasn't anything special to us. A few days later we were back onto City of Heroes. It's all preference I guess. 
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    Shadow

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    #6  Edited By Shadow

    City of Heroes ftw.  I love that damn game.  And it's slightly older than WoW

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    SathingtonWaltz

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    #7  Edited By SathingtonWaltz
    Shadow said:
    "

    City of Heroes ftw.  I love that damn game.  And it's slightly older than WoW

    "
    I have yet to play an MMO that was more fun, and had such an excellent and supportive community than City of Heroes. The community, and the vast amount of character possibilities just make the game fantastic. I've been playing on and off since the game first came out. Just started up again last week. 
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    RelentlessKnight

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    #8  Edited By RelentlessKnight

    I personally don't know why WoW suddenly hit first place around today or so. Yeah it could be somewhat boring to level up from the start but if you have a friend + that offer that Blizzard will give you a mount for enlisting a friend. Then it could be fun. But I recommend joining a guild around lvl 10 or more.

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    Vinchenzo

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    #9  Edited By Vinchenzo
    Miniman said:
    "WoW has at least 2 years left before the community dies or they transfer to a new mmo, it's definetly not too late to start."
    How wrong you are. A 10+ million community can't just "die."

    Steven said:
    "I don't understand how a five(?) year old game can keep millions and millions of people to continue to pay for it.  I must admit, I've never played a MMO of any kind, so I really know next to nothing about them.  What are you actually doing in it though?  How could you play for hours a day and still be playing years later?

    I guess the new expansions gave more stuff, but even then...it stlll boggles my mind.  I'd think you would see everything there is to see by now, do you just start over and do it again?  Is there really *that* much stuff to do?

    I'll probably try to get into an MMO eventually, but I figure it's too late to get into WOW.  But I just saw that Wow was the site's most visited page for the day, and again...I just don't understand!  Thanks for your time."
    There's your problem, you've never played an MMO. Let me list out what usually happens.

    1. Make your character obviously. Choose the race, class, name, and features.
    2. You're now a Newbie. Begin questing and ask stupid questions in General Chat.
    3. Maybe picked up some friends and/or levelling buddies, possibly even a low-level guild that you can instance with or one that supports people like you. Hard to find quality ones.
    4. You've hit level 30 and get your mount. Keep questing till you're 80.
    5. Along the way you have experienced the different levels of instances, from ones in the 20-30 range, to some in the 50-60, 70-80, and everything in-between.
    6. Once you hit 80, maybe even a little before, you have decided what kind of player you are. See numbers 7 and 8 below.
    7. You've chosen to raid. Your professions should be levelled up and based on what class you play. Your first goal is to make a name for yourself and do more instances, then going to the realm forums and searching out a guild. You get lucky and are recruited, where DKP is usually in place and you raid on scheduled nights. When not raiding, you do daily quests to make money, play the auction house, or do a bit of PvP. Maybe even make an alt.
    8. You've chosen to PvP. Your class build will be based solely on devastating others. You should either join a dedicated PvP guild, or make friends with people like you. Whether you have chosen to PvP because you hate scheduled raids, or hate raiding in general, you learn to be a more skilled player in arenas.
    These days, the lines between a raider and a PvPer are blurring. Blizard is making it a lot more casual. So you don't necesarrily have to go to either side of the spectrum. Also, with 10-man raids, it's a lot easier to get those epic instances done without a strict time-table. The reason people keep coming back to WoW is because of the way it baits players. It always dangles that higher rank or better piece of gear above you, and when you get it, they come out with more powerful equipment.
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    TheGTAvaccine

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    #10  Edited By TheGTAvaccine

    Yeah, as Vinchenzo has stated before, WoW is extremely casual now. It's easy to hop in as a high level character, and get gear of the finest caliber within hours. Also, the Player versus Player, professions, etc. are what got me back into WoW after 2 years of going cold on it.

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    Shadow

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    #11  Edited By Shadow
    Vinchenzo said:
    "Miniman said:
    "WoW has at least 2 years left before the community dies or they transfer to a new mmo, it's definetly not too late to start."
    How wrong you are. A 10+ million community can't just "die."
    Oh how you misunderstand.  He's referring to the little-known virus that causes WoW players to die after 6 years of subscribing to the service.  Blizard hasn't sent out a cure because they never thought it would become this big of a hit.  Announcing it now would be financial suicide.  Now they're milking the franchise for all it's worth until late 2010 when symptoms start to surface the world over.  Everyone else will transfer to a new MMO once they realize exactly what is causing all the deaths.
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    BiggerBomb

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    #12  Edited By BiggerBomb

    World of Warcraft is as successful as it is because of its accessability. Unfortunately, the game has become too casual for me to want to get back into it. I'm keeping my eye on Star Wars: The Old Republic, mebe you should?

    SathingtonWaltz said:

    "Shadow said:
    "

    City of Heroes ftw.  I love that damn game.  And it's slightly older than WoW

    "
    I have yet to play an MMO that was more fun, and had such an excellent and supportive community than City of Heroes. The community, and the vast amount of character possibilities just make the game fantastic. I've been playing on and off since the game first came out. Just started up again last week. "

    Response: Champions Online.
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    Shadow

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    #13  Edited By Shadow
    BiggerBomb said:
    "World of Warcraft is as successful as it is because of its accessability. Unfortunately, the game has become too casual for me to want to get back into it. I'm keeping my eye on Star Wars: The Old Republic, mebe you should?

    SathingtonWaltz said:
    "Shadow said:
    "

    City of Heroes ftw.  I love that damn game.  And it's slightly older than WoW

    "
    I have yet to play an MMO that was more fun, and had such an excellent and supportive community than City of Heroes. The community, and the vast amount of character possibilities just make the game fantastic. I've been playing on and off since the game first came out. Just started up again last week. "

    Response: Champions Online."
    Damn right.  This is THE reason that I don't give two shits about the DC MMO.  Champions Online will kick sooooo much ass, and it'll finally give me a use for that damn 360 chatpad I have.
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    penguindust

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    #14  Edited By penguindust

    I played WoW for about 2 years.  I had an 80, a couple of 70s, and a few in their 50s.  I was what can best be described as "causal-hardcore", meaning I played nearly everyday, raided (running an endgame 10+ player dungeon) several times a week.  I capped out my professions, ground the battlegrounds (PvP), bought an epic flier, traded up to a netherdrake, yadda, yadda, yadda.  The reason people play and still play for months on end is because WoW, when done right, is about community.  If you are lucky, and persistant, eventually you will find a group of people you like hanging out with...provided you don't start with a friend in the beginning.  Once you accomplish that, you need to get better.  Like practically all RPGs, getting better is the draw.  Higher levels, better spells, more powerful gear.  Unlike a single-player RPG, though, the motivation to excell is not based on progressing the story, but in being a good, reliable member of a team.  Are your offensive spells strong enough to kill the mob (enemy) fast enough?  Can you apply enough healing power to the tank (player who all the mobs focus their damage on) to keep him/her alive?  Can you hold the aggro (enemy's attention) and withstand the brutal damage being inflicted on you until the DPS (offensive damage players) kill the mob?  Until you are on an equal or better footing than most of the players you fight alongside, the desire to improve will keep you playing.  "All purples"  I believe it is what keeps most people coming back.  The knowledge that you are good at what you do, having a reputation among others of the same, and demonstrating those assets over and over again.

    If you decide to try the game out, then I have a few suggestions. 

    • Don't worry about joining a guild until you are level 20 or higher.  These days, leveling is relatively fast to 50.  However, if people ask you to join a group, or if they are advertising for help, go for it.  Establishing contacts is as important as getting better stuff.
    • Once in a guild, don't ask to be run through an instance (dungeon) on your first day.  Also, don't ask for gold or free stuff.  There are a lot of "takers" in WoW, and being identified as one will quickly sour others toward you.  Instead, ask others if you can help them.  Be resource, not a liability.
    • Sell loot (weapons, armor, material goods) that you don't need in the "AH" auction house.  Look at what similar items are selling for and undercut the price by 20%.  Early on, this is the best way to make money.  Until you get above lvl 30, whatever rewards you get from questing should be good enough to progress with ease. Save, save, save.
    • Unless it's really your thing, don't worry about PvP until level 70+.   But if you must, only run PvP when you are level something-9, i.e. 19, 29, 39, etc...otherwise, you'll get quickly killed by opposing players.  
    • Once you get used to the basics, go check out one of the "addons" sites like Curse.com or WoWInterface.com for some time-saving modifications.  Questhelper or Lightheaded are addons that help you finish quests by providing locations and strategies.  Some might call that cheating, but the alternative is looking up the same information online (Thottbot, Wowhead, Allakhazam) or pestering others for the answers.
    • Learn the lingo.  WoW has its own shorthand of terms that practically everyone uses and expects everyone listening to understand.  Google around the net for terminology and ask (politely) others to explain themselves when bewildered by the vocabulary. 
    • Be social, but equally careful.  There are a lot of morons running around Azeroth.  Remember, anonymity + the internet = the worst aspects of otherwise normal people. 
    • Finally, if you are really going to get the full experience, kiss 90% of all other gaming away.  Every moment playing some other game, is time you could have spent leveling.  It can easily suck you in and keep you coming back to see what is going on. 

    I, personally, don't play anymore.  I had a lot of fun when I did, but I also missed out on a lot of other games.  I don't plan to return even if there is another expansion, but I am interested in other MMOs like DC Online, Champions, and Star Wars: The Old Republic.  A good MMO, like WoW, is a vibrant, entertaining experience, but it can also be a very demanding one.  You can try and dabble, but it's unlikely you ever understand the appeal under those restrictions.  On the otherhand, fully engaging in the genre has its own disadvantages.

    LIfe is full of choices.

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