Hyper and Chia and Dalton and you other WoW/PokeMUSH people:

[thistlechaser]

I'm kind of, sort of poking at WoW info. You guys are all horde people? So I'd want to be one so I could do stuff with you? Which server would I want to start on?

I downloaded some game clips from the official(?) site to try to see if I could cope with the graphics or not. Is the animation you see on the game "smooth"? (Like you'd see in a cartoon or animated movie?) or does it jerk/pause between frames? (I'm not sure if the clips weren't real animation to save on size or if that's how the game really is.)

I'm not really sure about this, so don't get your hopes up, but more questions anyway: How hard was it to learn to play? But I guess my biggest concern is if I can cope with the graphics or not. (No offense intended, but they come off as so ugly and unrealistic next to FFXI.)

Do you guys recall how much the game cost? And how much it costs per month? Oddly I can't find it on this site. (www.worldofwarcraft.com must be the official site?)

It'd be nice if there were a demo version or a test version or something I could play for a few minutes to see if I like it or not... Maybe I'll just pick it up on my way home tonight...

If I do get it, are there required expansion packs I'd want to get as well? (Only if I'll need them to meet up with you guys. I don't want more than that right now.)

And man, I suppose there will be a ton of updates I'll need to start out with.

Grrr, I'm so undecided, but I'm just so bone-deep tired of not having fun on FFXI. (Other than that the people rock, but the game itself has been fun maybe once in the past six weeks. No exaggeration.) Eh, and this does not mean I'm quitting FFXI. Bah, but people always say that when they try WoW, then they vanish. Maybe I shouldn't do this... Anyone who knows me knows I can only be "into" (obsessed with) one thing at a time... It's funny, I'm sitting here thinking "I can't quit FFXI now that I have all my good armor!", but that's a pretty sucky reason. Maybe I should stay on FFXI and just start leveling some other job (eh, but I hate leveling, it's even less fun than farming).

Do I sound indecisive? That's because I am!

Comments

[animarelic.livejournal.com]

I'm alliance, straight up. I have like one horde alt, and I can't stand the horde lowbie areas.

WOW is incredibly easy to learn/use. If you can play FFXI, wow will seem like a really nice, incredibly simple cakewalk. Which matters in the heat of a really big battle. Not only is there a hotkey interface, but also a button interface for all of your really important stuff.

There are no Expansion packs out for WOW yet, all the bonus content that they've put in has been through patch downloads.

Depending on your computer, it is very smooth in WOW as compared to FFXI. If your computer runs FF smoothly, it'll run Wow smoothly. There are periods of lag in big cities when there are 1641646874684 other people around, but on my computer it was still better than going into a big city in FFXI.

'Ugly' graphics or not, I'm impressed with how good the game looks at many points. And if you're not enjoying yourself playing FFXI, even though it's 'pretty' or whatever, then why bother playing it? I have enjoyed practically every minute I've played on WOW (you always get crappy parties from time to time in an MMORPG but if you sign up on Perenolde server, I can get you into my guild and help you with all your lowbie quests if you need it). And I have played FFXI before, everything was so AGONIZING to do. This game is like a breath of fresh air. Leveling is basic and easy, you never ever ever lose EXP for dying, and crafting is a joy to do, because you don't have to base your crap on phases of the moon, time of day, day of the week, which way the wind is blowing, how many beans you ate that day, etc. If you fail a creation, you never lose the materials, you just fail the creation and can attempt it again. Fishing is fun, easy, and relaxing, just the way fishing should be!

And prices are not through the roof outrageous on everything!

[animarelic.livejournal.com]

Also, I believe the price-point on the game is currently $39.99, and per month it costs me about $13. It's very comparable to FFXI in cost.

[pomr.livejournal.com]

I would be very sad to see you go away. =u.U=

That said; if you're not having fun, trying something else out doesn't seem like a big stretch to me. Of course, you might get bored of it really fast too, since as has been stated it is much easier than FFXI is. I honestly have no clue though, as I've not played it.

[scribbulus-ink.livejournal.com]

I play both Horde and Alliance, because I like Night Elves (Alliance) and Tauren (Horde). WoW plays smoothly for me, and they have 3 different payment plans.

From the FAQ:
Will there be a monthly fee to play the game?
Yes. After the end of the free month included with the game, you will need a subscription in order to continue playing the game. You have three options, as you will see when you create your account: a month-to-month package at $14.99 per month, a three-month plan at $13.99 per month, or a six-month plan at $12.99 per month. Please be aware that the subscription fees for three-month plan and the six-month plan must be paid in full.'

I think you can play for a month free to see if you like it, but I'm not 100% sure on that. The cost of the game itself was less than $50.

I really enjoy it; it's a fun game, and I really like the world, the races, the classes, and the gameplay. I primarily solo, and I'm not in a guild, so I can't speak on grouping experiences, but I've heard good things from friends who are in a decent guild.

Server choice doesn't really matter; it just depends on whether you want to be on a player vs player server, a regular server, or a role playing server. I'm on a regular server, but I've played on a RP server, which was pretty fun.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Thanks for all the info! (And mmmmm, CSI icon! Gil rocks my socks. :) )

All that sounds so good, like just exactly what I want. And I wouldn't have to quit FFXI, I should be able to do both... *dither* Maybe I'll grab it tonight on the way home...

[scribbulus-ink.livejournal.com]

PS -- I play Entwistle (Tauren warrior) and Sevarys (Night Elf hunter) on the Khadgar server, which has been a stable server since the game launched. Not terribly high traffic, which is good.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

That's the biggest thing that keeps me from even wanting to try another game: I'd miss you all so much. But I'm tired of spending hours on end just standing in my MH because there's nothing I have to or want to do. That's just insane, and isn't fun. :/ I'll joyfully be there when something is happening, but I'm tired of attempting to kill time in FFXI. (Thought process: Oh god, it's the weekend. How am I going to kill so many hours on the game?)

[animarelic.livejournal.com]

You sure would. Especially since WOW can be played in 20 minute blocks and you can still accomplish things, whereas in FFXI you really have to be on for several hours to get something done. (Gil is love, definately. Though I like just about everyone on the show. Warrick needs more love!)

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Ah, the prices sound good! Cool! (I've not gotten up to the FAQ yet, heh. Tons of info on the site to read through!)

. I primarily solo, and I'm not in a guild, so I can't speak on grouping experiences, but I've heard good things from friends who are in a decent guild.

That's another bonus, that you can solo.

Server choice doesn't really matter

For me it only matters because I want to be able to interact with my friends. :)

[scribbulus-ink.livejournal.com]

That's another bonus, that you can solo.

Oh, definitely. I've got my NE hunter up to level 31 by soloing. I can count the number of times I've grouped on one hand, and that was mainly because someone asked me to help them with a quest. Also, I really like that there are multiple areas that you can quest in, because I like traveling around the game world and seeing new territory, and it helps to be able to go somewhere else if I get bored. The Alliance has a few more options in that respect, I think, because my Horde warrior is more or less stuck in one area until he gains 4-5 more levels, but I can still travel around a bit.

[abiona.livejournal.com]

http://pics.livejournal.com/abiona/gallery/00003kwh

Ok, so I only played WoW for a week, but during that time, it was pretty much HORDE ALL THE WAY! I made a Night Elf, a Dwarf, and a Human just so I could, but they weren't nearly as fun. I mean, Tauren doing /moo? Best thing ever.

I really liked the bright colors of WoW, but I disliked the style of the figures. Anything "female" has boobs, even Tauren (wouldn't they have like, udders or something?). These boobs are Very. Noticable. I think female dwarves and gnomes look absolutely ridiculous and terribly proportioned because they are all boobs and noggin.

One reason I like FFXI is because Wen's chest doesn't look like she should be taking damage from it every time she takes a step. XD

And I think all the boots look silly.

...

Yes, you can solo. I found soloing to be a bit tedious (and downright terrifying when my poor axe broke during a fight! ;_;). But this may have been my job, for I was a Warrior. We smack shit up and move on with our lives.

...

Come play on Fairy server!

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

The more I read, the more I'm liking. These hearthstones sound really cool. So you never need to budget time to get back to a safe place to log off (so long as you haven't used the stone in the last hour)?

That's so easy it almost feels like cheating! :D I think I'm going to pick it up tonight for sure. Hopefully I won't have so many hours of downloading that I can't poke my head in tonight!

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

I really liked the bright colors of WoW, but I disliked the style of the figures

Yeah. I think the colors could grow on me, but the figures seem kind of... pointy. Like their angles are too sharp. And yeah, the boobage. :P

I think Tauren's what I'm going to try out. Undead caught my eye more, but they can't play the jobs I want to try. (Which one one hand seems really odd, but on the other makes sense.)

and downright terrifying when my poor axe broke during a fight! ;_;).

But man, that's cool though! I've always said that FFXI armor/weapons need to wear out. (That'd do WONDERS for our economy problems!)

[abiona.livejournal.com]

It didn't seem cool at the time, mostly because I was "exploring" and trying to find ze big city of Ogrimmar (or something like that), and thus was rendered weaponless when I really rather needed that axe. XD

I think SE taking a more active stance against gilsellers would be even better for the game economy. : P And probably less difficult on me. If a weapon I paid a ridiculous amount for broke (even if it was just temporary), I'd probably burst out into tears. XD

This reminds me: another thing I don't like is that you have to pay to learn your skills. Oh wait. I'm a black mage in FFXI ... I pay to learn my skills there too. {Hmmmm.}

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

and thus was rendered weaponless when I really rather needed that axe. XD

Heh! Understandable!

I think SE taking a more active stance against gilsellers would be even better for the game economy. : P And probably less difficult on me. If a weapon I paid a ridiculous amount for broke (even if it was just temporary), I'd probably burst out into tears. XD

Agreed on both parts. I don't want to imagine the armor I spent 10M for breaking... no resale value at all.

Oh wait. I'm a black mage in FFXI ... I pay to learn my skills there too. {Hmmmm.}

*snickers* Indeed!

[tharpy.livejournal.com]

If you leave can i have your stuff

You can't leave... I wanna grow up to be an angsty drk.. Who will i have as a role model if you leave ;_;

You should come on a promy run with us :D and i dunno.

I'm all about friends not leaving games i'm playing, but if you're not having fun then i can't say too much in argument of that. After its a game... games are meant to be fun... if its not fun then its not a game anymore.

I'm a casual player so its tough for me too sometimes, if you look at the Account numbers.. I've had the game longer than i believe nearly anyone else in the LS (mines only 6 digits) most of the rest of the shell are in the 7 digits. I want to be able to do things with the shell... and i see sooo many people who I have at one point or another leveled with and see them with lvl 75 jobs.. or two of them...or 3.. and yeah i just feel sucky because i'm not there.

anyway I do hope you stick around FFXI-land it'd be sad to lose you too :P

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

If you leave can i have your stuff

Spoken like a true DRK! ;)

And I'm not leaving! Not for good. I'm just going to have something to do with all the downtime I have on FFXI.

Don't think you all could be rid of me that easily. ;)

[loneguardian.livejournal.com]

To be honest, I tried WoW for a while. FFXI just got to be too much for me, so I tried something else. Got my Tauren Druid up to like... 14 before I lost interest (I'm so not a mage-type ; ;) and my Troll Hunter up to 20 (Think combination BST and RNG and you've got a good idea of what it's like) and -really- liked it. But... I dunno. WoW is extremely lonely if you don't join with friends, and if you pick Horde and your friends are Alliance, you can't even -talk- to them (Horde and Alliance speak different languages), which sucked majorly, since someone in my Church played an Alliance character... and frankly I just like the Horde better. The Tauren are so damn awesome and the Troll women are actually quite appealing with some combinations. (And I'm lame, I know, I think the mohawk+hugetusks on a male Troll is sexy, gimme a break.)

But yeah. And also WoW has a system to reward you for -not- playing, oddly enough. So play FFXI then WoW when you get bored, and you get EXP bonuses from the rested status, it's quite neat, actually. And it's -really- easy to make money while you level, especially if you level things that support each other like skinning and leatherworking, or gathering and herbalism. The only downside is, while leveling a craft is REALLY fast, you only get to level like... I think 2 crafts? Maybe 3 if you include fishing. It's kinna lame since you have to make a new character to level a different craft, but eh.

You can totally play both (WoW doesn't take much time to play, it's -definately- geared more toward casual players, not hardcore ones like FFXI is), but we'd definately miss you in the FFXI real of things. We need our abuse-toy! ;o;

[daltontrix.livejournal.com]

I play my Orc Hunter, Glukk, on an RP-PVP server called Emerald Dream. Depending on how much you might want to deal with the PVP system (contested areas being literal deathtraps during peak times if you're on an older server), a PVE might suit you more. You can only be PK'd in those if you turn your flag on or go into one of the Battlegrounds (sorta like little PvP mini-games).

It plays real easy and the only laggy bits are the big big cities, Orgrimmar can do nasty things if you're low on RAM, Ironforge is possibly the worst.

And, I didn't see it mentioned, but you can safely let your account expire and not lose your character. You could play for two months, stop for four, then come back and have your characters still be there, just by renewing your subscription again. Assuming you remember the account name and password. ;)

[daltontrix.livejournal.com]

Oh, Zac and Kate have characters on Emerald Dream too, by the by. Sorry guys!

[daltontrix.livejournal.com]

Well, you technically can 'forget' a craft and start a new one, but it's at 0 again and that just tends to be annoying, obviously.

If you really want to get fast money, though... herbalism and skinning. Costs nothing more than what it takes to get a skinning knife, and you can sell off stacks of the stuff at the auction house easy. ;)

[animarelic.livejournal.com]

I see you've decided to come to the dark side. ~_^ Look me up on Perenolde, my main alt there is 'Darket' you can type /t Darket and talk to me when I'm on. (Which is usually from 8:15ish at night to disgustingly late hours of the morning). I'll hook you up with some lowbie gear and starting cash.

Happy adventuring!

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Well, I'm glad I'm not the only one. :) I picked it up tonight and I'm installing it right now. From everything I've seen and read, it should make for a good enough break from FFXI. And really, I'm not looking to replace FFXI, I just need something else to fill in the big empty chunks of time I have right now. (How silly is this: While at work, just thinking about buying WoW, I already started to miss FFXI! :P )

Part of this is also that I'm really missing some good MUSH friends, people I knew and saw daily for years, are all playing WoW together now. I'm the only lost sheep not on the game. I'd really like a chance to interact with them, at least now and then. Chat if nothing else.

but we'd definately miss you in the FFXI real of things. We need our abuse-toy! ;o;

Oh, like you all could get rid of me that easily! :P I couldn't let all the ladies (and most of the guys) get lonely! Heehee.

*snugs lots!* Don't worry about the static not being there when you hit your 60s. Today I just cannot deal with it anymore (*kills Waru, the last straw*), but tomorrow will be a new day. And once RL gets less stressy I'll be better able to deal with FFXI stresses, too.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the info! I want to get my feet under me before I deal with PvP, so I guess I'll just pick a random server for now.

*hurries the download along* I want to check it out tonight!

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I gave in. :D Downloading all the patches and updates and whatever now.

*writes the name down* Okay, will do! Thanks!

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Oh, and love the new icon, too! You look great in PLD AF!

[peppygrowlithe.livejournal.com]

Frank, Katie, and I all play on the RPvP server that Frank described in an above comment. While it's their main, I really only log on my troll priest once in a while; my main is on a PvE RP server Feathermoon. Tauren druid, mere bars away from the highest level 60.

One of the things that ties me most to WoW is the fact that there are RP servers - not just because you get to RP (for the vast majority, it's 90% OOC anyway), but because the mentality and maturity of the people is *drastically* higher. This, of course, leads to more effective groups, less inane channel banter, and so forth.

WoW is very easy to learn unless you're Cara, who after like 12 hours of play still runs around like she's drunk. *ducks* ;)

If you do get the game, tell us! I have like 494i12p09 Horde characters and 1 Alliance one, because I think the Alliance is by and large filled with more annoying people (hot night elves with big boobs and humans (a safe, non-stupid-looking race) definitely have a greater appeal toward a younger audience than zombies, bulls, and green things. Plus, being a monster is more cool than being a non-monster. :)

Unfortunately, I think you probably wouldn't like the game, if only because your first big experience for so much time was FFXI, and it would be your basis of comparison. WoW is simpler in many, many ways, which I highly, highly prefer, but you don't always strike me as a "simpler is better" sort of thing. (I totally totally don't mean that as an insult, just that you tend to look for more depth and realism than me.)

If you do decide to try, though, tell us your opinions and stuff! Maybe we can decide a server and faction and... things. Although yeah, my 'main' is super busy on Feathermoon. >

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Ah, good! Thanks for the name of your server! *writes it down*

If you do get the game, tell us!

I not only have it, it's installed and downloading ... eh, downloading the updater, I guess. That just finished, now it's downloading patches and updates and what have you.

I didn't look too closely at the Alliance races, cause I was pretty sure you all were Horde. If I were going to be Alliance I'd be human, for the same reason you listed. ;) Plus I like being "average", not something special. But since I'm going to be Horde, I'm pretty sure I'm going to be a bull-thingie like you. I want to be a hunter and undead folks can't do that, so.

Unfortunately, I think you probably wouldn't like the game, if only because your first big experience for so much time was FFXI, and it would be your basis of comparison. WoW is simpler in many, many ways, which I highly, highly prefer, but you don't always strike me as a "simpler is better" sort of thing. (I totally totally don't mean that as an insult, just that you tend to look for more depth and realism than me.)

Understood and agreed. I do usually like things harder and slower (oh baby?), more realistic, needing more time put into them, but at this moment in time I need a big, big break. *cries* I want things easily for once! I want things handed to me on a plate! (I hear tell you guys just get your maps! They're all given to you! They're all just right there when you need them!) And that's what I want right now.

Although yeah, my 'main' is super busy on Feathermoon.

I'll poke you if I get on tonight. :) *smooch* ...eh, what, what's your name there again?

[firebyrd.livejournal.com]

You're not the only lost sheep, or at least you weren't. Some of us are poor with crappy computers, so still aren't playing. :)

[fealu-bryne.livejournal.com]

For the record, I'm also on Sargeras, though that's a PvP server.

And might I just say... I HATE ALLIANCE. Gnomes are hella scary, humans are boring, and Night Elves -- don't even get me STARTED with Night Elves. I loathe and despise them to extents I can't even begin to describe. The only decent race in Alliance are Dwarves. Dwarves are cool. But not enough to make up for the Night Elves.

Horde, however, absolutely rocks my socks. I don't really like Tauren all that much -- they make cool characters, but I could never play one. Definitely not my style. Trolls are pretty neat. Orcs absolutely rock my socks, and Undead are so immensely kickass it's not even funny. My two favorite combos are Orc Shaman and Undead Warlock. Magic all the way, bay-bee!

I'll stop my ranting now.

(Right after I add... NIGHT ELVES SUCK!!!!!!!)

[fealu-bryne.livejournal.com]

I have to admit with Zaccy on that -- I have a feeling you probably won't like WoW much. But we'll see!

[daltontrix.livejournal.com]

Don't forget Norino, my evil evil Gnome rogue. ;)

[fealu-bryne.livejournal.com]

That's why I said, "Gnomes are hella scary" doofus.

[peppygrowlithe.livejournal.com]

Name's Samhuinn! Though I won't be logging on toinight. Studying. Catch you around, though. :>

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

I don't like night elves, either. "Eye candy" races do nothing for me. I wouldn't mind being human, but I can cope with being this, um, bull-thing. Whatever I'm called. :P

I wanted to be undead, but I couldn't be a hunter so I passed on that for now. Maybe I'll make another character one day and try them.

(Right after I add... NIGHT ELVES SUCK!!!!!!!)

Which might be why guys like them? ;)

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Okay, maybe another night then! It's probably for the best that we didn't meet up tonight, cause I'm so new and clueless I probably would have killed you by mistake or something! ;)

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

I put a new post up, comparing the two. :) I won't say I dislike it, but I'm not sure how much I'm liking it. But it's different and interesting, so I'm gonna be back! (I'm on Hyper's Feathermoon server for now though.)

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

I started on an old friend's server for now, so I wasn't able to poke you tonight. Sorry! :)

[epyonmk3.livejournal.com]

Heh, they definitely suck. Just watch the female Night Elf's /dance, it's like a stripper. :P And the males dance like Michael Jackson. Complete with crotch-grabbing. >.<
Yeah, Horde all the way for me. The only Horde race that doesn't really appeal to me is Orcs. Compare that to my alliance choices, which is either human or Dwarf. If dwarves replaced Orcs in the Horde, it would rock (despite the fact that it wouldn't happen, since the Orcs started the Horde).

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

. Just watch the female Night Elf's /dance, it's like a stripper. :P And the males dance like Michael Jackson. Complete with crotch-grabbing.

Ugh. Ugh. Just ugh.

Luckily I won't encounter them anytime soon.

[loneguardian.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I did the herbalism/skinning thing on one of my characters and they were rolling in money in no-time flat. XD Gotta love gathering raw materials.