When I downloaded the World of Warcraft free trial, I was 99.99% sure that I would not end up buying the game. I already play another MMO - EVE Online. I love EVE, and I would not quit it unless WOW turned out to be something divine. And I don't have the time or money for a second MMO.
On the advice of every WoW player I have ever met (including my roomate, a WOW addict), I chose to play Horde. I noticed that your class was limited by your race - something I didn't like. Since the RPGs I am most familiar with are EVE Online and D&D, both of which have few limits on character options, I was rather dismayed by this. Anyway, I rolled up Donakar, an undead warlock. I prefer ranged combat in general, and I love the warlock class in D&D. Oh, and my roomate thought it might be a good choice for a noob. I picked the Earthen Ring RP server (since I love to RP), and started playing.
Anyway, my first quest was to kill a bunch of X monster. Fairly standard MMO fare. But things got interesting in that the combat was actually quite entertaining in its own right, particularly once I advanced a few levels and had about four powers to choose from. Yeah, I could simply mash Eldritch Blast (sorry, I meant Shadow Bolt), but I also had some debilitating powers to use. Also, ranged combat means moving around quite a bit. I got the sense that mindless button mashing wasn't necessarily the way to win. Every MMO I know involves grinding, so perhaps MMO developers shouldn't try to cut the grind but rather make the grind fun.
Inevitably, I died. I haven't met two MMOs that handled death quite the same way. In WOW, you become a ghost, and can either summon your body to you (damaging your items), or find it yourself (which takes time, but keeps your items intact). A possible flaw in the system (which I exploited shamelessly) was the ability to use your ghost for reconnaisance. The penalty didn't feel very harsh, compared to FFXI (which docks you some XP), E&B (which doesn't lower your level, but you earn half XP for the next few days), or EVE (which is rather complicated, but the normal end result is that you're out a lot of money).
There were a few problems, of course. I would have liked more stat customization, for a start. All my ranged abilities had the SAME range, so either I was out of range, and could do diddly squat, or I was in range, and could unleash my full power. Since moving stops whatever I'm doing, and spellcasting requires a few seconds, I can't effectively skirmish. And there were two complaints that seem pretty universal to fantasy MMOs. One, there's no global chat channel (there were times in E&B and EVE when I got most of my actual enjoyment from interacting with other players). Two, I can't swap out abilities at will to accomodate different situations.
OK, my prediction that I wouldn't buy the game came true. My trial subscription runs out sometime this week, and with it goes Donakar. But that is because I already play another MMO and love it, so the "purchase bar" was absurdly high. My motive for getting the free trial was curiosity. If I was actually interested in BUYING the game, then I probably would have done so by now. And when, in the future, I enter the workforce and begin earning a salary high enough to pay for multiple MMOs, there is a good chance I will get WOW.
I'm not going to give a score, but I will stick WOW on my ranking of MMOs in order of quality and fun:
1. EVE Online
2. World of Warcraft
3. Earth & Beyond
4. Lord of the Rings Online
5. Final Fantasy Online
I, Meshakhad, hereby commend WOW as a Great Game, and suggest that anyone who is looking into purchasing an MMO get the WOW free trial along with the one for EVE.
On the advice of every WoW player I have ever met (including my roomate, a WOW addict), I chose to play Horde. I noticed that your class was limited by your race - something I didn't like. Since the RPGs I am most familiar with are EVE Online and D&D, both of which have few limits on character options, I was rather dismayed by this. Anyway, I rolled up Donakar, an undead warlock. I prefer ranged combat in general, and I love the warlock class in D&D. Oh, and my roomate thought it might be a good choice for a noob. I picked the Earthen Ring RP server (since I love to RP), and started playing.
Anyway, my first quest was to kill a bunch of X monster. Fairly standard MMO fare. But things got interesting in that the combat was actually quite entertaining in its own right, particularly once I advanced a few levels and had about four powers to choose from. Yeah, I could simply mash Eldritch Blast (sorry, I meant Shadow Bolt), but I also had some debilitating powers to use. Also, ranged combat means moving around quite a bit. I got the sense that mindless button mashing wasn't necessarily the way to win. Every MMO I know involves grinding, so perhaps MMO developers shouldn't try to cut the grind but rather make the grind fun.
Inevitably, I died. I haven't met two MMOs that handled death quite the same way. In WOW, you become a ghost, and can either summon your body to you (damaging your items), or find it yourself (which takes time, but keeps your items intact). A possible flaw in the system (which I exploited shamelessly) was the ability to use your ghost for reconnaisance. The penalty didn't feel very harsh, compared to FFXI (which docks you some XP), E&B (which doesn't lower your level, but you earn half XP for the next few days), or EVE (which is rather complicated, but the normal end result is that you're out a lot of money).
There were a few problems, of course. I would have liked more stat customization, for a start. All my ranged abilities had the SAME range, so either I was out of range, and could do diddly squat, or I was in range, and could unleash my full power. Since moving stops whatever I'm doing, and spellcasting requires a few seconds, I can't effectively skirmish. And there were two complaints that seem pretty universal to fantasy MMOs. One, there's no global chat channel (there were times in E&B and EVE when I got most of my actual enjoyment from interacting with other players). Two, I can't swap out abilities at will to accomodate different situations.
OK, my prediction that I wouldn't buy the game came true. My trial subscription runs out sometime this week, and with it goes Donakar. But that is because I already play another MMO and love it, so the "purchase bar" was absurdly high. My motive for getting the free trial was curiosity. If I was actually interested in BUYING the game, then I probably would have done so by now. And when, in the future, I enter the workforce and begin earning a salary high enough to pay for multiple MMOs, there is a good chance I will get WOW.
I'm not going to give a score, but I will stick WOW on my ranking of MMOs in order of quality and fun:
1. EVE Online
2. World of Warcraft
3. Earth & Beyond
4. Lord of the Rings Online
5. Final Fantasy Online
I, Meshakhad, hereby commend WOW as a Great Game, and suggest that anyone who is looking into purchasing an MMO get the WOW free trial along with the one for EVE.