I think it depends on what type of gamer you are. If you are hardcore and have a ton of time, then get the game. If you are casual but don't really care about becoming the best-geared or richest player, then get the game. If you are a casual player who does want to achieve a lot, the don't. I played for a couple years when it launched and had a lot of fun with it. But then the grinding/farming and raiding aspects killed it for me. I didn't have enough time to really get those good weapons, etc. When I re-upped a couple of years ago it was fun again for a week or 2, but then the old annoyances came back and I quit for good. I found myself just wandering around aimlessly bored while everyone was struggling with end-game junk.
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Spore or Wow subscription ?
- Thread starter Dr. McKay
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I see your point, but isn't 15 euros ($20 - I live in Europe) a month a little steep when you're just playing solo, which basically means you're doing quest after quest after quest : go and kill 7 sabretooth tigers, fill this vial with magic water, take this message to that person...
I admit, that's what I did during the trial (I was at level 8 when my trial ended, not bad I think for playing only about 1,5 hours a day) and I enjoyed it very much. But I can imagine when you play the game for a longer period (say a couple of months), it can become tiresome.
For one thing, I don't think the expansions have a lot to offer for (casual) solo players...
I didn't read through all the other comments, so I apologize if someone said this already.
For me, WoW was a huge time and money sink. In addition, I found the game incredibly boring after a while. It's not really designed to be a role playing game, and therefore the story really isn't that immersive (at least for me). So you spend most of your time simply killing X number of these monsters to collect Y number of those items to turn in to some guy who gives you some gold and some item(s). Then you go off and find another quest-giver and repeat the process. Then you grind for gold. Then you grind for rep. Then you grind for honor. All so you can get better equipment so you can enter higher level raids and dungeons so you can get even better equipment so you can enter even higher level raids and dungeons. All the while you're dealing with infantile social retards and spambotters and PUGs and afkers and all the other annoying people.
When you first start playing WoW it is a lot of fun. But at some point you realize that you are putting in a whole lot of time into a game that makes you do the same thing over and over and over again.
For me, WoW was a huge time and money sink. In addition, I found the game incredibly boring after a while. It's not really designed to be a role playing game, and therefore the story really isn't that immersive (at least for me). So you spend most of your time simply killing X number of these monsters to collect Y number of those items to turn in to some guy who gives you some gold and some item(s). Then you go off and find another quest-giver and repeat the process. Then you grind for gold. Then you grind for rep. Then you grind for honor. All so you can get better equipment so you can enter higher level raids and dungeons so you can get even better equipment so you can enter even higher level raids and dungeons. All the while you're dealing with infantile social retards and spambotters and PUGs and afkers and all the other annoying people.
When you first start playing WoW it is a lot of fun. But at some point you realize that you are putting in a whole lot of time into a game that makes you do the same thing over and over and over again.
Lvl 8?
You have just begun to experience the game. The new battleground and dungeon finders make it easy to find others to play with without having to be in a guild. PVP battles are only 20 to 40 minutes. Explore, learn new things, use Thottbot.com for your questions about the game.
It is very important to find a newly established realm with starter players like yourself. Play at your pace don't get caught up in gear envy. Its a game enjoy.
You have just begun to experience the game. The new battleground and dungeon finders make it easy to find others to play with without having to be in a guild. PVP battles are only 20 to 40 minutes. Explore, learn new things, use Thottbot.com for your questions about the game.
It is very important to find a newly established realm with starter players like yourself. Play at your pace don't get caught up in gear envy. Its a game enjoy.
Regarding the "you want to spend $180+ the cost of the game per year" comment:
Yes, it's around that. But, you can drop it down to 12.99 by purchasing 6-month subscription blocks. That's around $156.00 for a year.
$156 is nothing in terms of gaming, especially with games like Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 costing $59.99. While this has a single-player and multi-player campaign, think about how long you might take to beat that game. A month, tops? Maybe less? Now, maybe you're a perfectionist and you want to get all the unlockable stuff. Another month? So we're talking 59.99 / 2 months and then you're done with it. That's around 30/month.
My personal issue was that I was burning through games fast (I was more of a console gamer prior to playing MMORPG's) and was buying one or two a month. It's cheaper for me to just have a subscription to WOW, sink my time into it on my days off, and then occasionally buy the expansion packs.
And the best of all, I don't have to learn how to play a new game and my mastery at my class and game is pretty high.
Back on topic to respond to the above comments:
I agree, level 8 is pretty early to cut it quits. I think my record is hitting Level 10 with a few alts within 2 hours of played time, but again, this is because I know my way around and have done this several times. As you get over the initially steep learning curve and begin to do some battlegrounds and dungeon groups, the game gets more exciting. Even today, playing 30 minutes to 1 hour a day, I still feel like I'm having fun and getting my money's worth. (30 minutes a day = around 15 hours a month, so you're looking at around 1.00 per hour of entertainment. Where else are you going to get that? I went bowling a couple weeks ago and it was around $20 per person.)
Yes, it's around that. But, you can drop it down to 12.99 by purchasing 6-month subscription blocks. That's around $156.00 for a year.
$156 is nothing in terms of gaming, especially with games like Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 costing $59.99. While this has a single-player and multi-player campaign, think about how long you might take to beat that game. A month, tops? Maybe less? Now, maybe you're a perfectionist and you want to get all the unlockable stuff. Another month? So we're talking 59.99 / 2 months and then you're done with it. That's around 30/month.
My personal issue was that I was burning through games fast (I was more of a console gamer prior to playing MMORPG's) and was buying one or two a month. It's cheaper for me to just have a subscription to WOW, sink my time into it on my days off, and then occasionally buy the expansion packs.
And the best of all, I don't have to learn how to play a new game and my mastery at my class and game is pretty high.
Back on topic to respond to the above comments:
I agree, level 8 is pretty early to cut it quits. I think my record is hitting Level 10 with a few alts within 2 hours of played time, but again, this is because I know my way around and have done this several times. As you get over the initially steep learning curve and begin to do some battlegrounds and dungeon groups, the game gets more exciting. Even today, playing 30 minutes to 1 hour a day, I still feel like I'm having fun and getting my money's worth. (30 minutes a day = around 15 hours a month, so you're looking at around 1.00 per hour of entertainment. Where else are you going to get that? I went bowling a couple weeks ago and it was around $20 per person.)
Well, every person's fun is also subjective--I find WoW relaxing and worth the money--for me--I play about 2 hours most days--and still enjoy it. And yes, mostly quests but since it takes me so long to level, I really don't get bored with it. I only have one level 80 character and am working on a Warlock now who is level 53.
Actually they do, just as much as the original game.
I can't disagree with your comments other than:
1) The game environment will appeal to different people on a different personal level. Yes quests are repetitive and there is grind. You can get sick of this game in 2 months or 2 years. You won't know if it appeals to you until you try it.
2) Socially I did not find it as bad as you describe it. Overall my experience on the Dalaran server (PVE) was a positive one. I highly recommend a PVE server vs a PVP server unless you don't mind being distracted from your questing by possibly being attacked by the other side at all most any time.
I didn't really 'quit' technically, my trial just ended. That's why I have been (or maybe still am) doubting whether it's worth it buying the game with expansions plus paying the monthly fee if I won't be able to play for more than an hour and a half a day, and not even every day. (although it's true that the game clients aren't expensive at all)
It's true that the 'for' and 'against' ratio is about 50/50. I admit it is an incredible game with beautiful worlds to explore and magnificent surroundings ; it's also a very atmospheric game and when you're playing, you don't really want to leave. So yes, I can understand that some people get addicted to Wow. But that's not the reason why I'm in doubt. Maybe I'll pick it up in a couple of months when I have more time (we're in the middle of building an extension to the house), but until then, I'll make do with WC3 and Frozen Throne (and hopefully Blizzard will make the Mac client of the SC2 beta available very soon).
At level 8, the game is not that exciting. It starts getting very interesting at level 20 or so. Note - People who complain about it being monotonous, are not experiencing much of the game (you can't experience 95% of all the things you can do when you are level 8).
The expansions are very much worth playing but you don't need them till your character is high enough level to actually go into them.
Almost all people that were against
- Had not played in a long time (the game is very casual friendly now.)
- Had not played the game for that long.
- Played for a long time and burned out in the 80 raiding endgame.
- Had not experienced all aspects of the game (ex PvE and PvP).
If you are not too sure about the game, I would only get the initial WoW (skip the expansions for now). I believe they still include the first month of subscription with your purchase so you would only be out the initial cost of the game.
WoW is VERY casual friendly now....the "looking for dungeon/battleground" feature changed this very quickly. Finding the class that suites your style is very important as well (they all play differently). Lastly, this game has more of the opposite sex playing it than EVERY other game combined! I have an Xbox 360 (with live), PS3, and a Wii....I have trouble remaining interested in anything but the AAA+++ titles on them. I am fortunate in that my significant other loves gaming as well (we met playing Quake 3). We play WoW with real life friends along with the daughter and her husband.
I've been playing wow fairly casually since 2005, and although I'd love it to be free to play, the monthly cost is still pretty cheap.
If you consider the amount of entertainment you get from a £10 DVD, maybe 2 - 3 hours, that makes the £9 a month for wow pretty cheap for the many hours I get for that
If you consider the amount of entertainment you get from a £10 DVD, maybe 2 - 3 hours, that makes the £9 a month for wow pretty cheap for the many hours I get for that