WOW: Take It or Leave It

Loremaster · **WOW: Take It or Leave It -** 05-06-2009, 01:36 PM

I'm one of those gamers who really hasn't played World of Warcraft. I've played for an hour on a friend's computer, who gave me a BradyGames guide for the game as well. I've also avoided playing MMORPGs because, well, I'm married and am usually holding down a full-time job. But now I'm laid off in a down market, and the same friend gave me one of those 10-day subscriptions where, if you're logged on with the gifting player, you all get triple experience points for the duration! Gaming with unknown people doen't attract me, but gaming with friends does. Is this game worth attracting the potential wrath of the wife?

TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT: Is WOW worth my time? OR, why do you LIKE or HATE World of Warcraft?

(Your opinions first.)

peteramthor · 05-06-2009, 08:04 PM

Don't put your marriage in any sort of peril for ANY game. That would be my first advice.

Now on to WoW. I've played a bit, nowhere near a hardcore player or even a real active casual player at that. I enjoy it but I do take a breaks from it now and then. Usually a few weeks off at a time. Right now I'm taking some time off from it actually.

I have a full time job and two kids. Nobody else to worry about making angry as I'm a single parent. So usually I would play after both of the young ones were in bed. A couple of hours to unwind killing things and then I would crash out for the night. This was about the only form of entertainment I had access to since I was pretty much trapped at home.

Also if you get on the right server you can find local players pretty easily. I know the RP server Argent Dawn has a lot of local people on it and is high traffic.

The_Elf · 05-07-2009, 02:28 PM

I very much enjoy WoW, and am a fairly active casual player (who would be a little more hardcore had I the time). It is a way for me and a few of my friends who play to actually get together and game a bit. With our hectic schedules, it's really hard to do that anymore. Plus, noone is put under the strain of being "DM." We get together, roleplay as desired, delve into a dungeon and divvy up some loot.

lowfly · 05-07-2009, 07:53 PM

I have actually been waiting for this very thread to be started. My opinion of WOW and other MMORPG's is simple......i will not play them. Here is why.....

In order to play the game you must first purchase the game from a store (Wal mart - Gamestop ETC). It costs you anywhere from 30 to 50 dollars depending on the game. you get home all excited about your purchase only to find out that in order to actually PLAY the game you must pay an additional 9-15 dollars per MONTH to play the game you just plunked down 30-50 dollars to purchase. WOW, EVERQUEST, D&D Online has no offline play at all! The only thing that you can do is create your charactor. This is gaming companies greed at its worse. I am about to show my age here but I have played online games such as Air Warrior and Aces High and i have paid the monthly fee for said games but thats ALL i had to pay. At Aces High, You download the game, Setup your account and away you go. With Air Warrior you actually got a disc once you signed up on the server and even then you could fly off line with BOTH games!

I realize that WOW is the closest thing to Tabletop D&D on the computer but to me it is simply not worth the additional expense.

peteramthor · 05-08-2009, 07:56 AM

I will defend the monthly pay a bit here.

You will get a lot of support and tech help. Something gliched at the end of a dungeon and no item dropped? Send a letter to support and usually withing 24 hours you will get an item. I've seen folks trapped in an instance and not be able to get out, but after they message for support a GM showed up and reset that section and insta killed the baddies on respawn so the group didn't have to kill them again. Every complaint I have ever sent in has been responded to within 24 hours also, maybe not resolved to my liking but responded to by an actual person telling me why they are resolving it the way they are.

Also lots of content. Big patch came down recently with a bunch of new content. There have been instances, quests, items, everything you can think of added in through updates. Most other games (like Everquest back in the day) never did this. They would just save it all up and make it another expansion. WoW continues to update the world and add to it between expansions.

As to expand a bit on the idea of 'why play WoW over tabletop gaming'. Well for me it was pretty much a no brainer. As I said before I'm trapped at home being a single parent with two kids. Getting out to play in a tabletop game was not going to happen (although recently I can now get out one night a week) unless I wanted to pay a babysitter that I can trust. That alone would be more than the monthly cost of WoW for just getting out one night. I don't have to try and see who else can make it for a game and on what nights. Wonder if they are going to show up on time so I can run or play in the game before I would have to leave since the babysitter isn't going to stay forever. You get the idea. For some folks playing WoW just makes more sense than tabletop gaming. Know don't get me wrong I love regular gaming, its just not that much of an option right now.

There's another two cents from me. Your milage may vary.

Da Gamers Den Boss · 05-08-2009, 11:26 AM

I too use to have some of the same issues with the monthly fee, but now I agree more with Peter. That fee to play comes with a lot of benefit that you wont necessarily get without it, plus it makes a healthy and profitable company that can continue to come out with future games. Think of it like renting a DVD that you get to keep and watch as often, and when you want to. And if you get tired of it, then you can quit any time. How many DVD's can you rent for the same monthly fee and how many hours of use do you get out of the DVD v. what you would do on WOW or any of the other services? It's all a matter of perspective, and dang it, I wish I had thought of it first!

The_Elf · 05-08-2009, 02:21 PM

*shrugs* I actually spend less now that I play WoW than I did when I was table-topping regularly. See, those game companies would come out with one, sometimes two books per month that i'd be interested enough in to plunk down the cash. When gaming books go for $25-$40, you're looking at me spending quite a wad of cash at the ole Den. Now that I only upkeep my WoW, i'm only spending about $15 a month. Plus another $40 (I think) every two or three years to keep up with the expansions.

Now take that, and compare it to trying to stay competitive in a card game environment. I'm practically making money over THAT hobby.

I am...THE ELF

Loremaster · 05-09-2009, 04:20 PM

I've been reminded by others that, instead of buying the software and paying the monthly fees, there are good MMORPGs out there that are free to download and free to play.

Cost IS a reason that I haven't jumped on yet... mind you, I've been playing Magic on and off for fifteen years as well.

peteramthor · 05-09-2009, 08:35 PM

I played a few of the free MMORPGs out there. Some are pretty good and some are really bad. So here's a few tidbits of advice on that.

Try and find out where the game was originally released. Most Korean games are really grind heavy. You just gotta kill and kill and kill for days on end to level up. Very few quests or other ways to gain XP other than just killing bad guys.

A lot of free games have an 'item store' where you pay actual cash for 'store points' to buy these items for your character. This is all well and good unless those items throw the balance of the game way off and are not available any other way. I fell into that with a game called 12 Sky. Besides being a Korean grindfest the item mall was really needed to keep up at all. I ended up spending more a month than what WoW would have cost me. Finally I got a clue and stopped playing that one.

Check out sites like mmorpg.com for infomation on any potential game you want to play. You'll find some reviews there along with other needed information (like if a game is about to shut down because it isn't making enough money off of the item mall to support it). You'll also find out which ones have the best support or no support at all.

Just my two cents. Your milage may vary.

Grand_Master_Jarf · 05-10-2009, 03:44 PM

to put my two cents into the discussion, I've enjoyed WoW off and on ever since it was released. My dad bought it, didn't enjoy it, so I took over his account and have had it ever since. There are times when the 15 bucks a month can be a bit much, but considering what some people spend when they go out for a weekend, the 15 a month isn't so bad. Now yes, if you are married, or have a other half, please don't dedicate all your time to the game, spend more time with your other half, and play the game when needed. Always play the game in moderation, only a handful of times have I been dedicated enough to spend 8 hours or more in the game, doing whatever.

At this moment in time, with my current money situation, I cannot afford the game, however since I am about to move into a house with some friends, and will have plenty of free time, i have been thinking about picking up a game card and getting back into the game, at least casually.

That's my two cents for now