09/10/04

World of Warcraft Beta Stress Test - Well on this one I didn't get an invite when the real work began, but did get in for the Stress Test portion of the game. First impressions of things... I don't care for the downloader! Now don't get me wrong I'm all for helping the community it's just that my expectation for this game are now way different from others; monthly fees should be much lower and game purchase price should be too. If the game distrubution is going to borrow off the bandwidth that I buy and the game prices are to be like the other games then the cost is too high. Using a download engine with the BitTorrent P2P technology should be to reduce the games overall cost. My download experiance was poor enough that often I was giving up more bandwidth then I was getting and with no way to limit or control the client side it just doesn't stand out as something I'm willing to pay to have.

Now, on to the game; Here is another twist on the D&D style of gaming and the graphics in this one yet again leapfrog previous games. Play style is still along the same lines as most the others it's mostly new avatar design and a different world. Be ready to have a current video card as the demands are state-of-the-art and really do need a good G4 or ATI 9x and newer cards. I'll update things more later after getting a little more time under my belt to discuss leveling and the "grind" of game play.

Krang

09/14/04

Well, that was a short 3 day run through the game so not really much to be said to fairly tell what the game has to offer. What I can say is the graphics are outstanding and what I saw of the world it should have enough area to play in. If I get the chance to review it more I'll be sure and update things here.

Krang

11/12/06

Playing out the game after beta for several months it got really old for me. Outside of ganking on my PvP server and the endless repeats of Raid zones for gear and months with little success I stopped playing. I have recently returned to see if anything had changed before the myth of Burning gets here and not much really had. Some fixes and some updates, but the toys are way too many these days. We'll have to see how things play out if BC ever gets here althought the expectation of just adding high end content will only hold off the ganking as long as it takes people to max out again.

PvE servers are too much different in that people dump duels in your face and are often 7+ levels above you or a twink. Getting off the human side of the game, there are some things to do and it is possible to run a solo life and level at a fair pace at that. If you are on a PvE server its easy to not be bothered while on the PvP you tend to be somewhat slower to the gankers that come around. On a demo account its easy enough to make 20 in the trial period and live off your own loot. For the most part if it isn't green or better, just cash it out.

Anyone starting out to run a solo life I would suggest you get the 3 secondary professions of Cooking, First Aid and Fishing. Cooking will supply you will all you need for recovery, First Aid will allow in-combat heals and Fishing will provide you with lots of free loot and resources to make food with. Be sure when you fish you hit the oil spots AND the trash piles as they have some nice goods (I have pulled greens and blues). As for the crafting side of the house, get bag space...ie. make a tailor! There are a few how to guides on the EU forums that are the fast path to getting this done on least resources and making coin too. Get to as big a bags as you can as space is rude in this game.

On a trial account not much you can do since trading is out, but with a live account you can email your items back and fourth and move bags around. Even the smallest bags sell for 4 times build cost. Will have to check in after BC hits and the dust settles, but for now I wouldn't buy the 7 mil online hype, although 7 mil characters made might be true because everyone needs space 2-3 play and 7-8 banks per account is a must.

Last note, a grinder can cap 60 in 2-3 months with a casual doing it in 3-4 if you play your rested. BC will tell if that changes much to cap out for the grinder. So far from what beta people say is 60+ gear kills 50-60 gear so raid if you want, but leveling is what you need. Try to have some fun out there, but don't get lost in the rinse and repeat life of a game. Class skills change, but the process doesn't change.