[WoW] I Was a Teenage Alpha Tester

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Originally Posted by Tenarius

I have one question: was there any mention of the Lich King or any of that storyline during alpha from NPCs or such?

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The Forsaken (the rebel player undead) are obsessed with Arthas, given that his army is on their doorstep in the Plaguelands and agents of the Scourge have actually set up base and contest one of their lowbie zones (Silverpine Forest).

They have plans for him and it seems clear he has plans for them.

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Can WC3 heroes be seen wandering about?

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Many of them are, and others are clearly just not placed yet. But Taurens graduate their newbie lands by completing a quest with Cairne Bloodhoof, and an optional quest in the orc/troll newbie lands leads to delivering a message to Thrall.

I'm told there's a memorial to Uther Lightbringer in the Plaguelands, but I never got that far myself -- the Scourge is really not fooling around there.

Theramore wasn't open in alpha, but all indications are that Jaina is there and needs to be interacted with for some quests, etc.

Minor characters, like Gazlowe from the Frozen Throne orc campaign, are all in and are sometimes fairly important -- Gazlowe in particular is related to something like one-third of all the quests in Ratchet, the goblin village on the east coast of Kalimdor.

lots of warlock info but wanted to add some priest info:

Priest class:

Imo, one of the most polished classes currently in the game and so unlike any healer I’ve played. I’ve played priest twice during alpha now, early on during dorf before some of the changes and then again now with my night elf.

As a priest you have a whole variety of things you can do besides healing. You have in your arsenal: shadow pain – a dot, mind blast – a nuke that does draw some major agro but is a hefty amount of dmg., holy smite – smaller nuke, little mana, sleep – only able to put 1 mob to sleep at a time, holy word shield – damage absorption shield castable on yourself and others, holy word fortitude – stamina buff for everyone, inner fire – self buff for increased dmg, psychic scream – ae fear, brain wash – decreasing threat so mob will switch hopefully to attack someone else and many others.

I can solo as a priest surprisingly well although I do duo and group a lot but I’m not worried if I can’t find a group and want to do a quest alone. The holy word shield is a life saver. I do a lot of tanking myself, so by refreshing my rune and tossing in the dot to start with and also using mind blast most things go down easy. Every priest can play it different, some will focus on their nukes and some will tank and take stamina increases or a combo of both. I’m a spirit junky on my priest but I do know some that prefer int. or stack stamina. It depends on your play style I guess I would say. The point is Priests can Solo, can Tank somewhat decent, can Nuke and they have crowd control. I love an active class which is why this draws me in and also warlock. They both keep you VERY busy.

One of the first things I noticed as playing a healer in WoW is how fast things go. My first group as a healer shocked me; I didn’t just heal the tank and sit on my arse. You are casting a dot on the mob, tossing a renew on the caster, nuking a runner, sleeping the add, brainwashing a mob. The pace to me is much faster then EQ. You are constantly moving if you are an instance and you don’t have the sit and med time really. The drinks get your mana up fast if you do need to take a little pause. If you want to just sit and press a heal button and then sit and drink/med, you are in for a surprise with this class.

The best trade skill I really do think for this class is herbalism and alchemy. With sleep you can run in and harvest and get out before the mobs get you. Warlocks also being a great one due to their fear spell to gather herbs. Of course you can always kill the mob and do it the hard way hehe. I run almost every nite before I log around a few spots I like and harvest up herbs for the next day and make some potions. I rarely worry about my mana /health with a nicely stocked potion supply on me. I also give potions out usually to our tanks at start of a group and toss a potion to a caster if need. It’s just a really complimentary skill set to have.

Also, I’ve never done so many quests in my life in any other game as this one. The quests are the best way to level but more so they are what makes this game fun to me. The stories behind them are amazing and each part of a quest has you wondering what you’ll be doing next or who you are going to save etc. They progress you through the lands. As you start out in your little noob town and gather quests, eventually after a little while there will be another quest that will move you out of your town to the next town or down the road. The quests get you to explore the world which I love.

Think that is all, not as eloquent as Pedi and Whiz but my 2cents.

hugs
savvy

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Originally Posted by Llith

Any chance we can get a screenshot or five of the undead? :)

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Sure, here are a couple, some of which I brightened to bring out the detail:

http://chuma.cas.usf.edu/~dking3/Debrot.jpghttp://chuma.cas.usf.edu/~dking3/undead_hat.gifhttp://chuma.cas.usf.edu/~dking3/vashish_sit.jpg

Sorry, I don't have any pics of the waggling rotten tongues or the pox marks on the faces or the gouged out missing eyes, etc., which were added after the undead push. I was going to log in and make one in the character select screen to show you, but all my character slots are full! :o

One question, but for me it's a gamebreaker:

Does it have a first-person view option?

Wow, that is awesome. It would be such a thrill to interact with the major and minor characters from the Warcraft solo campaigns. I hope for a beta e-mail still, painful though it is to see Players Online: 600ish on worldofwarcraft.com. It's better than the Players Online: Everyone But You that was there earlier, though!

I absolutely love the story of the Forsaken undead. Don't get me wrong, I love the dead. Frequently, in fact! However, the Forsaken have a particularly poignant plight, beset on all sides as they are. I can't wait to experience the undead city, it sounds like such a fantastic place. Any screenshots of it or of the undead kicking around?

My friend mentioned something about hidden trainers for exotic emotes or abilities - gnome juggling for tauren, or such. Know anything about that?

Also - somewhat off topic - this is an Everquest group?

--Tenarius (wonders if the gnomes say, "This is my BOOM stick!")

EDIT: Halp! The undead have returned! That middle picture is great!

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Originally Posted by Snapdragyn

One question, but for me it's a gamebreaker:

Does it have a first-person view option?

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Yes :)

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Does it have a first-person view option?

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Yep, just zoom the mouse wheel all the way in. I personally prefer third person -- I love seeing my paladin dodging, blocking with his shield and parrying blows with his mace -- but plenty of folks are using first person, too.

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My friend mentioned something about hidden trainers for exotic emotes or abilities - gnome juggling for tauren, or such. Know anything about that?

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I didn't see or hear about anything like that. There are trainers around for unique tradeskill recipes, but that's not really what you're talking about, I don't think.

Having said that, I didn't explore the Horde lands to quite the same degree as I combed Alliance lands -- they just aren't my cup of tea in the same way. Lots of people feel the exact opposite, though, so it's no condemnation of the Horde lands. (And the Barrens and the Undercity and the village of Sen'Jin are still "oooooh" spots for me, no matter what.)

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Also - somewhat off topic - this is an Everquest group?

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No, this is THE Everquest group. :p

This thread is like heroin. It hurts to read but it feels good too and I cannot stop. Thanks all KEEP POSTING SAV VASH GRAFFE (who is SLACKING!) WIZ and PEDI!

GAHHH!! THE PAIN MAKE IT STOP!

I will give Red Sox LOWER BOX SEATS (4) to anyone who gets me in this frigging thing!!!! OH THE PAIN HATE YOU HATE YOU HATE YOU ALL!

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Yep, just zoom the mouse wheel all the way in. I personally prefer third person -- I love seeing my paladin dodging, blocking with his shield and parrying blows with his mace -- but plenty of folks are using first person, too.

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When in 3rd person, do you still move around as if you were in 1st person EQ, or does it switch so that right/left is "move right" and "move left" rather than "turn right" and "turn left" as in EQ?

Controls are the same in any viewpoint. Zooming out just moves you further behind your head, as opposed to EQ, where you can switch to the viewpoint of an invisible observer stationed somewhere else.

Very good write up Whiz. Only whetted my appetite for this game. I can not wait and hope I get into one of the earlier phases of the beta. The info posted by you and the rest of the alpha clan only reinforced my preconceived notions that this game will rock.

I do have some questions. How big is the world, or how big does it feel. How many people were in a particular area at any one time (say newbie area) and at which point would you say you felt crowded?

What Dmitry said. It's the closest I can come to actually playing, though! I can sort of play vicariously through the alphagoers, it's almost the same.

No, Whizbang, that's not what I'm talking about, and I'm by no means certain that it's fact. That being said, I imagine Blizzard is leaving a sizable number of surprises for the full version of the game, as they have in the past. Perhaps gnome juggling is one of them!

THE Everquest group, eh? My goodness. I stopped playing EQ years ago because I couldn't find a good group of people to play with (shortly before the first expansion, if any of you can even remember that far back. how many, now? five?), but when I played I was THE Everquest player. I never did find any good groups of people, sadly, so I spent most of my time toward the end playing the "how fast can I powerlevel my millionth druid by kiting dwarven guards" game. I do recall the first days of EQ, though, and I am hoping that WoW will be an experience just like that, only one which continues for a long, long time.

FINALLY I know why Whiz decided to step down as guild leader in his (and my) EQ guild, Walkers, and a VERY fine reason to be sure Whiz. I am so damn happy you got to be part of the Alpha and I know that having you and Pedi there will make the final version great.

Awesome write up, I am drooling and have sweaty palms now wanting WoW for myself, glad you two are having fun and look forward to hearing more.

I MISS YOU PEDI!!! :(

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Originally Posted by Mitebe

I do have some questions. How big is the world, or how big does it feel. How many people were in a particular area at any one time (say newbie area) and at which point would you say you felt crowded?

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We have only had real access to perhaps a third of the world. In some cases, high level NPCs beat you down the moment you showed up (level aggro makes an enormous difference on aggro range, and if you try to sneak a low level character into, say, Stranglethorn, stuff seems to come from nowhere to destroy you). There are also special Guardian of Blizzard NPCs guarding areas where they don't want testers sneaking into until they're finished and open -- and they death-touch.

Having said that, the third of the world we've had realistic access to is about as big as original EQ.

The individual zones tend to be large as a large EQ zone (Dreadlands or West Karanas) but are dense with "points of interest." The zone of Westfall on Azeroth's west coast, for instance, has ruined farms just over the border from Elwynn Forest with several quests associated with them. It's got a long seacoast with three quests and a dropped item-based quest (get the pirate's treasure map and start hunting his hidden chest down). It's got Sentinel Hill, an outpost of civilization in a ruined land with new quests and higher level content clustered around it. It's got the village of Moonbrook, which has fallen to the Defias Brotherhood. It's got gnoll and bandit camps scattered all over. It's got still more ruined farms involved in still more quests. Oh, and it's got a huge instanced dungeon, has an amazing battle for the second paladin class quest (the aptly named Test of Valor) and more stuff I'm sure I've missed. (I'm now playing up my second paladin and doing it more human-focussed instead of dwarf-focussed, to explore the lands better.)

But the points of interest aren't usually crowded together, which makes adding more content and people to a zone fairly easy. In this latest push, paladin-specific quests were added for their spells. Both Dun Morogh and the Elwynn Forest -- both of which already felt full and vibrant -- had new content added to them for the first quest of each race (where you earn your rez spell). The addition of the Dark Iron Dwarves camp near Helm's Bed Lake or the addition of Hero's Vigil to Elwynn not only didn't crowd out existing content, they fit like a glove. But if you aren't a paladin, you might never know either one is there.

How about the selection of weapons and armor available? And how are the skills for weapons done? I know it was mentioned you put skill points towards a type of weapon, but how many points are possible in a single type and how does it affect what you can do with the weapon?

how does it perform, is it a system hog, or does it have a good solid engine.

I need to be able to attack another player character on another "team" without them first consenting to it. Without that the game will lose my interest too quickly. I need the competition and difficulty that comes with a PVP environment. Whether they set up a seperate world for this like EQ did, or find another solution, I truly hope they do take interest in us PVPers. And don't quickly abandon us like Sony did because of our small numbers.

WoW looks promising, and I'm eager to replace EQ. But no global PVP = no use for me.

Lauranathalasa
Sanctus Lumen
Sullon Zek

There are a reasonable selection of weapons.

You use skill points to unlock certain other weapons.

For example: A warlock starts off only knowing how to use a dagger, and a mage starts off only knowing how to use a staff. Now, if you loot a kickass staff as a warlock, instead of selling it or giving it to a friend, you can spend two skill points and learn how to wield it yourself.

Paladins start off knowing how to use 1-hand and 2-hand maces/hammers to begin with, and that's it. They can, if they choose, buy 1-hand and 2-hand swords (seperately) as well. Warriors in particular have a vast array of weapon skills they can buy after they reach certain levels.

Question about the music - I've heard some of the samples, and they sound fantastic. You specifically mentioned it in your narrative, Whiz, that it was worth leaving the music on. Is it really that good? I can typically only tolerate a couple of loops of a music sample before I have to put my own on and leave the area. I am told that every area has music that beautifully sets the mood for it and does not noticeably repeat ever, is it really that good?

Wow, I'm certainly not getting much work done. I suppose I'd be getting even less done had I gotten into the beta!

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Originally Posted by Whizbang Dustyboots

There are a reasonable selection of weapons.

You use skill points to unlock certain other weapons.

For example: A warlock starts off only knowing how to use a dagger, and a mage starts off only knowing how to use a staff. Now, if you loot a kickass staff as a warlock, instead of selling it or giving it to a friend, you can spend two skill points and learn how to wield it yourself.

Paladins start off knowing how to use 1-hand and 2-hand maces/hammers to begin with, and that's it. They can, if they choose, buy 1-hand and 2-hand swords (seperately) as well. Warriors in particular have a vast array of weapon skills they can buy after they reach certain levels.

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So once you learn how to wield it (spend 2 points on it), that's it? Ya can't spend more points on it to be better at it?

Concerning the weapons.... how are the graphics there? Like EQ with a couple simple models for most and rare models for a select few, or most look different....

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Originally Posted by Mudsquirti

how does it perform, is it a system hog, or does it have a good solid engine.

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Graphics aren't optimized yet, but it performs quite well. Having said that, I have a high end graphics card, so I may not be the best one to judge.

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Originally Posted by haplo888

Whether they set up a seperate world for this like EQ did, or find another solution, I truly hope they do take interest in us PVPers.

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There's lots of Blizzard folks who are pro-PVP like you are, and they've talked about special rules servers, with the implication that both an RP and PVP ruleset could be in the cards. I suspect that's what'll happen, honestly. I would object to all of WoW being made FFA PVP (which is what my comments in the original post were really about), but I also think WoW could support team-based PVP at the very least quite well.

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Originally Posted by Whizbang Dustyboots

...but I also think WoW could support team-based PVP at the very least quite well.

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The game seems like it is set up initially for team PvP. I'm not all that versed in the WoW lore from previous games, but it definitely sounds like this game has 2 (or 3 with the rebel Undead) teams bent on wiping the other out.

Rebel Undead are part of the horde.

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Originally Posted by Tenarius

Question about the music - I've heard some of the samples, and they sound fantastic. You specifically mentioned it in your narrative, Whiz, that it was worth leaving the music on. Is it really that good? I can typically only tolerate a couple of loops of a music sample before I have to put my own on and leave the area. I am told that every area has music that beautifully sets the mood for it and does not noticeably repeat ever, is it really that good?

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Hmmm. It's a matter of taste. A number of people early on complained that the music (mostly) isn't as dramatic as Warcraft II battle music, but instead is more background music. To me, that's what makes it work, since I'm not hearing the same blaring of horns repeatedly and distractingly.

I'm an unabashed fan of Blizzard's sound/music team, though, and what they do is really, really to my tastes, so bear that in mind.

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Originally Posted by Taalar

So once you learn how to wield it (spend 2 points on it), that's it? Ya can't spend more points on it to be better at it?

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In most cases, you can spend Talent points on the weapon to specialize in it further, like you can with your default weapons. This isn't always true -- as I recall, mages can never specialize in daggers nor warlocks in staffs -- but that might be an oversight. But warriors can always do it, and that might be one of their select advantages.

Note that a lot of people are on the fence at this point about weapon specialization Talents, and we've been told they're going to be changed and/or beefed up in future. I like them myself, but only as an adjunct to raising your core damage-dealing stat (my dwarven hunter will raise Agility first, and then get Gun Specialization, Gun Mastery and Gun Power afterwards, for instance, and Beast Slaying after all of that).

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Originally Posted by Xuakal

Rebel Undead are part of the horde.

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See? Shows how much lore I know. But I got the impression there was a set of undead that was separate from the others.

Horde
Alliance
Scourge?

Someone mind giving a breakdown of who's who? Probably found elsewhere, but looking for a simple list. :)

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Originally Posted by Taalar

The game seems like it is set up initially for team PvP.

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Some of the world design will make it a little messy in some areas, though. I suspect a team-based PVP server would need additional guard NPCs to stop full-on slaughters of some races in some areas.

The Scourge are the dominant faction of undead, but they're all NPCs.

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Originally Posted by Whizbang Dustyboots

But warriors can always do it, and that might be one of their select advantages.

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Cool. I prefer the idea of knowing only a couple types of weapons and being really good at those 1 or 2 types.

The Horde consists of the Orc, Tuaren, Troll and the Forsaken.
The Alliance is the Human, Dwarf, Night Elf and Gnome.
IF you remember from WC3:TFT The scourge is the undead that follow arthas/the Lich King. The forsaken are the undead that follow Sylvannas and are no longer under the control of Arthas or demons. The scourge is an NPC faction atm while the Forsaken are not.

Whiz, I would like to know the specifications of your system. You say that the game ran with no problems, so I'm curious to know how yours compares to mine. I was expecting an upgrade to be necessary, but perhaps it won't.

A winamp library search for "warcraft" brings up some 30 songs, including the WC Tides of Darkness score and various samples from WoW. I'm something of a fan too, but, for example, while playing WC3: TFT (multiplayer, at least) I will typically have the music turned off in favor of my own. It just gets old after the hundredth game or so.

I could see a horde vs alliance team PVP system working on a separate server, but I don't want that on MY server. I think that being able to duel people would be extremely cool, but only consensually. In a PVP server I think the best implementation would be to have battlefields, where armies of players could clash. If you step on to the battlefield, you're fair game. Alternately, as Whiz said, NPC guards could be posted on newbie areas and such.

Welp, I was wrong about the zones! I didn’t realize they existed. I have the same computer with the same hardware I used for playing EQ and I never even realized there were zones. Sure, lag at times, but the fact that I didn’t realize there were zones pretty much says that they won’t impact your playing time at all.

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Originally Posted by Rombus
Do you know how many people have said "I'm not going to play a Priest or Druid in WoW because I hated them in EQ!" ? A lot.

Originally Posted by Whizbang Dustyboots

I married one of them, in fact.

But we both see that priests and druids are VERY different from their EQ incarnations at this point. Based on the druid NPCs I fought while on my Horde characters, I expect WoW druids to actually appeal to EQ ranger players more than druid players, to be frank.

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I wanted to address what Rombus said and echo what Whiz said.

I was not open minded about playing a druid again because I hated what the class represented in EQ (not gonna get into it). And I was burnt out on playing a cleric. I loved the cleric class, but I really resented how demanded clerics seemed to be for groups and thus people resenting ME for being in that position. And I resented how other healing classes were able to solo more efficiently than I could on my cleric. And I especially hated the attitude, “You’re a support class. You’re not supposed to solo. Suck it up.” Like I was going to give up MY playing time for melees and help THEM have fun with the game. Forget it – I didn’t feel like bending over this time around.

WoW definitely proved me wrong. Priests did start out weak in the soloing department and since mages were overpowered at the time, there was little need for priest crowd control and healing wasn’t that big of a deal. Players either felt unchallenged or overwhelmed with the class. And of course, the stereotypes about clerics started to come in that people who played the class just had to accept their role. Blizzard listened to the feedback and rebalanced the class in the next push. Before I knew it, people were praising the class left and right. When I played the priest, I felt extremely satisfied with it. While I won’t be playing a priest in retail (more on that later), I was very happy to know that anyone who plays a priest won’t be considered a support class. They will be important in groups, but not overly so. They will do just fine when they want to log on and solo for a little bit. The spells are unique and different from other classes. They are truly their own class.

And as for druids, I haven’t had a chance to test one yet, but I have seen enough to know that the druid is a melee class that is able to shape-shift into an animal form for certain melee attacks. Whiz is right that it will appeal more to people that like to play rangers. I had a friend who played an EQ druid (she liked to heal and buff and still solo – it’s the same thing) find that priest was much more suited to her playstyle. I think people who play druids for buffing and being helpful in general will find that the priest will meet their needs in this regard. (They will get to wear lovely flowing robes!) People who liked the combat aspect of the druid will find that WoW druid probably serves the same needs.

And another set of expectations was broken for me when I tried out the rogue class. I didn’t really expect to much, but I didn’t think I’d enjoy playing the class. I honestly had no idea how they were going to solo, especially if their big thing was backstabbing. Rogues get so many combat moves, it’s unbelievable. While most of them require that the rogue be stealthed and from behind, there are moves you can use when you get aggroed or when a mob sees through your stealth. You can stun an opponent for four seconds and run behind the mob to backstab it. You also get an ability to increase your dodge for fifteen seconds so you get hit less. You also get a “DoT” ability. The more bubbles you have, the longer the DoT lasts (the damage goes up significantly with each bubble). You also get “sprint” – increased running speed for fifteen seconds to escape from a mob if it doesn’t look good. When I got to level 20, I trained in poisons, not really knowing what to expect. I was thrilled to find that when I applied poison to my daggers, they literally dripped with venom. You can watch a rogue run by and you will see poison dripping from the weapons. I’m not talking about the sissy EQ rogue epic drip – there is a real glow to it. (If you use a sharpening stone to sharpen your weapon, your weapons will gleam brightly. If you get your weapons enchanted, you will get a faint blue glow around it.) Rogues as they are right now are probably the most popular class in alpha. I expect some of the abilities to be toned down, but it should remain a solid, fun-to-play-and-solo class. I was able to solo mobs up to four levels above me if I played my cards right. Rogues can’t take a lot of hits, but the trick is to dish out a lot of damage like a mage does and emerging as the victor. And with stun, dodge, sprint, DoTs, poison, and powerful finishing blows, the rogue has a lot of resources to survive.

Edit: I forgot to mention "slice and dice" it's a move that allows you to attack faster. The more bubbles you had when you used the move, the longer your increased attack will last. Can really make a difference in outlasting a mob.

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Originally Posted by Galamar

Oh, and what was your favorite moment in Alpha?

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There’s a significant quest mob that spawns with three bodyguards, but the bodyguards are delayed so you just deal with the main NPC at first. Dealing with all four of them at once can be a handful. My favorite moment was just blasting away with my nukes and having everyone in the group wondering why the bodyguards didn’t pop when they were due. The main NPC had died too fast to summon them. I absolutely loved seeing the damage I did! The main tank was a paladin and he kept it stunned so I didn’t get the aggro that I rightfully deserved. :p

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What certain experience really set the game apart from others?

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I hated doing quests in EQ. You couldn’t pay me to do them. I had the same attitude in WoW, but now I find them the most fun thing about the game. I’m always looking for quests that deal with the human nature as opposed to being heroic (“oh, save the town by killing XYZ!”). There was a quest where two farms were fueding and in the middle of it were two Romeo and Juliet types that were forbidden from seeing each other. It was fun running around to both farms, working with “grandma” to figure out a way to reunite them secretly. There are a couple of quests where you get emotionally rewarded for your effort. In the troll land, one NPC asked you to get the skull of his slain brother and once you accomplished that, the spirit of the brother would appear and both NPCs would bow and thank you. There is a quest like this in night elf lands between two lovers torn apart by a life and death situation. The dialogue plays out very nicely. I did not know what they were saying because they were speaking in night elf language, but Graffe was there and he translated for me. It was touching and heartbreaking. And then there are gnomes who have this ridicilous machine they’re trying to create as a super secret weapon. Once you give them the items they need, you watch what happens when they try to transform a corrupted gnome with amusing results. Some NPCs have a performance at the end of each quest which makes you want to be there when your friends complete it just so you can watch it again. Other NPCs are just fun in sense of personalities. I remember one orc female NPC being curt with her instructions. Whiz and I would be like, “Wow, she’s kinda being a bitch, isn’t she?” But it would make sense as it went along and we’d go ha HA.

So that’s really what is the most fun. I generally don’t care about lore or roleplay. I still can’t be bothered to read the messages I’m supposed to deliver, but damn, the interaction with the NPCs are a lot of fun and you end up remembering who they are and what they do. Every time I pass a dwarf out in the Wetlands, I know he’s out there because he doesn’t want to go to town and deal with his wife. :p

Dmitry, I will post some more gnomish screenshots just for you later. If there is anything specific you want, be sure to mention it. Otherwise you are at my mercy. :p (I will also look through my undead screenshots and post more for the poster that requested it.)

I miss you, too, Bon! I always ask Whiz about you. Looking forward to playing with you again. /hugs

And Savanna, stfu about not being as eloquent as Whiz and I. :p I actually learned new stuff about the game because of you. There were certain things I didn't realize (then and now) so you definitely do add a perspective that we both are lacking in.

Unbelievable. Somebody posted a link to this thread on /.

And, thanks for the info Whiz, even if it only makes me jealous :) I just hope G5 PowerBooks hit the shelves before WoW does.

Does it seem as if they are really actually accomidating for the massive number of players who will transfer from the other games. I am hoping that they may be even overaccomadating. I remember when EQ first started....daily if not hourly crashes(log server crashes and server crashses and zone crashes seperately and consistantly). DAoC was sorta shaky the first day. I am glad u wrote these guys. <3 Whiz n Pedi....oh and i guess Vash too.

My understanding (And I'm not in anything... /sigh) is that the game's been more stable for the last few months than every previous MMO has been on release. Could be wrong though. ^_^

Can you post pictures of the succubus model and pointy hats please! THANK YOU!

Sounds fun, I'll definitely give it a try once its live, but I do have a few concerns.

Minor:
I have no desire to wear a pointy hat. Mind you, I don't like 90% of the helm graphics in EQ either. I certainly hope that it isn't too detrimental to not having a pointy hat. (Or any hat graphic for that matter.)

Major:
I am immensely disappointed that the only elves available are night elves. Any hope what so ever for an expansion making a High Elf a playable race?

Considering the history of the Warcraft games it seems to me that the elves made a MUCH larger impact in the world/alliance than some of the other chosen playable races. I played 1&2 from beginning to end multiple times, though it has been a few years. WC3 didn’t appeal to me like the other 2 did. I liked it OK, but I was not too far in when I discovered EQ, so I did not make it that far into that game, and it wasn’t worth going back for in my down time. Not to offend the Gnomish contingent, but they seemed like a relatively minor addition to WC 1-3 franchise… Did I miss the huge impact of the gnomes in #3? A few of their troops were very useful, in the earlier games, but the elves where (from a story standpoint) much more influential. Considering the practical value of what the gnomes bring I have no objections for adding them in. Flushing them out is great! But I am bitterly disappointed in the lack of “real” elves. I think that may have been one of the reasons I never bothered to go back and finish #3.

And while I realize talking about expansions before beta is ludicrous… Can you give a real elven loyalist some hope?

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I have no desire to wear a pointy hat.

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Heretic!!!

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Originally Posted by JaKa

Can you post pictures of the succubus model and pointy hats please! THANK YOU!

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Jaka, I'd post a video of the succubus' animations (they are sexy and hilarious) but I've got to step out of the house. I'm sure Vash will be happy to post a couple pics of his.

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Originally Posted by luxum

Heretic!!!

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Individualist! I'm not too keen on robes either...

You need to finish Warcraft III's undead campaign.

There simply aren't many high elves left. :(

And most of the survivors sold their souls (essentially) to the devil for a chance to reclaim lost glory in the expansion and aren't necessarily great player character choices.

I wouldn't rule out blood elves as an expansion race, but I would also be somewhat surprised to see it happen.

Seriously, I've seen four or five high/blood elves in all of the 1-30 lands, which constitute about a third of the game world. Even accepting that most of the survivors of Quel'Thalas are in the Plaguelands near their homes, there simply aren't that many of them left at all.

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Originally Posted by Whizbang Dustyboots

You need to finish Warcraft III's undead campaign.

There simply aren't many high elves left. :(

And most of the survivors sold their souls (essentially) to the devil for a chance to reclaim lost glory in the expansion and aren't necessarily great player character choices.

I wouldn't rule out blood elves as an expansion race, but I would also be somewhat surprised to see it happen.

Seriously, I've seen four or five high/blood elves in all of the 1-30 lands, which constitute about a third of the game world. Even accepting that most of the survivors of Quel'Thalas are in the Plaguelands near their homes, there simply aren't that many of them left at all.

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If I wasn't at work I would go sit in a corner and cry for a while.

About the staff thing: when you spend your 2 skillpoints as a Warlock, you gain the ability to use the staff. You still have a separate skill rating with the weapon, which is I think 5 points per level. Right now my Staves skill is 30 points behind my Daggers skill, since I got a great off-hand item which I couldn't use while holding a Staff. So, yes, you get to learn how to use a new weapon, but you still have to practice the skill up to hit realistically with it. This was also true with my Tauren warrior, Bovus, who did Engineering and made himself a nice gun, which he trained in at level 20. I couldn't hit the side of a barn with it at first, though, so this is how I raised it up:

http://chuma.cas.usf.edu/~dking3/bovus_gun.jpg


Shooting squirrels and other ambient creatures (no exp. creatures, but there to serve as local color, such as the herds of gazelles in the Barrens, or rats in basements). So cruel, but so wickedly fun! :D

For people interested in Pvp, I read something in an interview that there are several ways (planned) to PvP. First is normal Duel. Both have to accept to fight eachother. This is done in the same arena you see in some of the gameplay movies. You can also fight in groups this way, or pay an NPC to fight some monster inside the arena. Other people will be able to watch from the seets and might even be able to bet on who's going to win.

Second is that some areas will be PvP enabled. Meaning that it's Alliance Vs. Horde free fighting. Pretty logical since the whole game is already set for faction versus faction battles. (Alliance town guards for example will attack horde players who try to enter the alliance town. You might even be able to conquer a whole village with a large group, for a short while.)



...All I can say is: First, great post Whiz! Second, oh darn this game is doing good. Third, I'll search up those interviews again.

/drool

vash, is that a weapon on your back in that SS? Am I to believe that some of the equipment carried by a PC is visible on their avatar? That's pretty sweet if so!

Great Job, Wiz, Pedi, Vash and Sav! I am floored. It looks like you had a great time!

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Originally Posted by Lysandor

/drool

vash, is that a weapon on your back in that SS? Am I to believe that some of the equipment carried by a PC is visible on their avatar? That's pretty sweet if so!

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Yah, that's my 2handed Mace, which I was specializig in. I believe that one is a Triangle Mace, I think :) Your shield or your 2handed weapon is sheathed on your back when you're not using it (or if you hit the Z key to sheath/unsheath your weapons). 1handers go on your belt. ;)

Most warriors were (at the time) doing the "one handed weapon and shield" full-on tanking mode, but I opted for a heavier hitting, scarier and simultaneously funnier looking approach with that guy. ;) He's tons of fun.

Vashanti and Whiz, welcome back! I had ZERO interest in this game until I read your posts, you can bet I am glad I gave in and signed up for beta the day it became available. No email here yet tho =( Vash please stop in on Ayro and say hi this weekend! Send regards to Alanya too please!

How bad is the death penalty?

Is there ANY downtime? Doesnt sound like much based on your description of the priests.

How well do you forsee EQ guilds migrating folks to WOW? If half my guild wants to play evil folks and half wants to play lighties is it gonna rip our existing friend base apart? This is my #1 concern with EQ2 as well...

Kad

How about dynamic content in the game? The static quests, mobs, etc. all sound about as cool as possibe. But do the devs have any plans on doing what would constitute GM events, like the Horde taking over a human town and it changing around, that kind of stuff?

Vash, that is an unbelievably rad screenshot. It's a giant cow with a gun. Wow. WoW, in fact!

Mordlu, you should totally play through the Warcraft solo campaigns, even if you cheat to beat the missions. The story is really, really good. And you'll find out what happens to the elves!

Didn't Vash already post a pic of his succubus? I ... wouldn't mind seeing a video of her in, uh, action. Only if she's wearing a pointy hat though.

Can you drive those steam tanks?

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Originally Posted by Mordlu

Individualist! I'm not too keen on robes either...

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aye for awhile i wore non robe chest pieces in EQ. go go knotted satin shirt

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Originally Posted by Kadath

Vashanti and Whiz, welcome back! I had ZERO interest in this game until I read your posts, you can bet I am glad I gave in and signed up for beta the day it became available. No email here yet tho =( Vash please stop in on Ayro and say hi this weekend! Send regards to Alanya too please!

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Danke! :) Will say "hey" to Deb as soon as she gets home for ya. ;)

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How bad is the death penalty?

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Originally, there was no death penalty, but people developed a strategy of "death porting" by purposefully drowning themselves or the like to reappear back at their bind spot (in a city). They changed that, though, as corpse lag was out of hand, so now when you die, you appear as a quick moving ghost at the nearest Soulbinder (you don't have to manually bind anymore in a city). You have the option to run back near your corpse to reincarnate, so to speak, with no penatly (except being out of health and mana), or to click the soulbinder and eat an experience point penalty and reincarnate on the spot. You'll never lose your level, but you can go into negative experience for doing this. Also, you don't have to loot your body when you die; once you come back from the dead, your goods are all on you. The experience penalty for choosing to manually reincarnate at the binder is about one bubble of experience -- there are 20 bubbles between each level.

If you get a rez from a player, or use a soulstone from a Warlock, then you can get "rez effects," which lower your stats for 5 minutes.

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Is there ANY downtime? Doesnt sound like much based on your description of the priests.

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Not too much -- you can heal up eating food and regain mana using drink in a matter of seconds. If you don't eat or drink, you can heal and regain mana on your own, and you can train in Talents such as Regeneration or Meditation to speed up the unassisted health and mana regain process. Also, your Spirit stat helps you regain both mana and health more quickly.

Can't answer the Guilds question, as that's an issue we're going to have to find out still when they open up the beta to be both Horde & Alliance at the same time. Right now they're only doing Alliance.

Is there any class in this game that will be at all similar to the play style of an EQ bard?

Also, could anyone suggest a site with the lore from WC1-3? I am curious about the history that will be behind this game.

Yah, only my undead guy wears a robe, and that's because he has no skin on his bony knees! He's gotta cover that up. :p

But my Orc warlock and my Human Warlock are both out of robes. Luckily there are many nice chest slot items that don't have the robe look and are still cloth armor with decent stats. Plus, the tabard hangs down that way, whereas with a robe, the tabard is only visible on the top half.

I am keeping the robe on my gnome, though. He's way too stubby looking without it, bwahahaha! :cool:

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http://www.gamespydaily.com/news/fullstory.asp?id=4264
GameSpy: How safe are cities if you're playing a character from an opposing race (i.e. human going into an Orc city)? Are NPCs mindful of what types of creatures pass through their gates? Are there any racial prejudices?

Allen: It would not really be the World of Warcraft if the Orcs and Humans let each other pass freely into each other's cities. In fact, NPCs throughout the world will tie into the back-story, complete with factions, alliances, and conflicts.

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http://gamespy.com/interviews/january04/wow/index.shtml
Kaplan:
As for player interaction, we want players to feel like they are part of the big picture, not just looking at it. For instance, in one of our towns, Horde players will be challenged by invading Alliance raiders. If all the Horde players were to band together and thwart the attack, the town will remain viable and thriving. However, if players do not get involved in the fray, the town will become overrun and unusable for a short period of time.

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http://gamespy.com/previews/january04/wow2pc/index2.shtml
That means that there will be areas where NPCs like the ones I saw would automatically attack any members of another race. You wouldn't see any humans in the undead capital of The Undercity or orcs in the human city, for example -- they'd be slaughtered by every NPC that saw them. Other areas will be more open, able to accommodate any member of their side of the Alliance/Horde war. Finally, there will be free-for-all areas where anybody can go.

I asked Kaplan whether he realized that in a game where the players have total freedom to play any way they choose, that many players would take that as a challenge. Kaplan just smiled and said, "We're counting on it." In fact, it's quite easy to imagine "counting coup" scenarios where members of opposed races see how far they can get into enemy sanctuaries before they die. There will also be stealth options to sneak into protected areas, and there may even be high-level missions that send you deep into enemy territory (diplomacy, spying, and the like).

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http://wow.warcry.com/content/e3_2003_coverage/?content=dayone
-PVP will be consentual, 90% of world is non-pvp, 10% is
-the Stranglethorn Arena will be player pvp. Players can buy tickets to fight dragons, hyrdras, etc.
-Multiple players can fight a monster at once, but there will be limits.
-Team battles, either groups vs groups or groups vs monster(s)
-Guild battles planned, will be advertise
-Spectators can buy tickets, eventually be able to bet on games

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http://wow.warcry.com/content/e3_2003_coverage/?content=daytwo
- Are there plans for consentual PvP in non-PvP areas? (In the form of duels, more or less) And Group consented PvP in non-PvP areas. (Like a group duel?)
There will be no non-consentual PVP at all, and PVP will only be allowed in chosen places (can't do it anywhere). If your side is dominating a PVP arena or something then more monsters may spawn on the opposing side, or even more interestingly, attack your Guild Hall, to give you a handicap.

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http://wow.warcry.com/content/e3_2003_coverage/?content=daythree
- Why can't Alliance and Horde races be in the same party?
Because the whole game is based on those two opposing factions. It would kill the storyline to have them able to ally. It is possible that this could change, however, if people don't like it and/or Blizzard changes their approach.


- Will there be Alliance vs Horde battlefields that act as PvP zones?
Yes, these areas would be only Alliance vs Horde fighting, meaning that Alliance races can't fight each other (no Human vs Dwarf) and the same with Horde races.

- With all the race restrictions as far and grouping and guild restrictions being what they are, is Blizzard aiming for a DAoC-like theme? That is, are they setting the stage for a Horde vs Alliance type scenario in the game where this will be a major part of PvP?
Yes, there will be a heavy Horde vs Alliance theme. Also, Blizzard confirmed that the plan now is for no cross race-grouping and guilds will have to either be Alliance or Horde. They don't think that this will change, even with gaining a good reputation with the opposing race, but this isn't set in stone.

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Hmm.. I think this is all. :p Gamespy and Warcry have some great WoW covereges.

pfft who needs gamespy n Warcry when u have Vash, WHiz, and Pedi.

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Considering the history of the Warcraft games it seems to me that the elves made a MUCH larger impact in the world/alliance than some of the other chosen playable races. I played 1&2 from beginning to end multiple times, though it has been a few years. WC3 didn’t appeal to me like the other 2 did. I liked it OK, but I was not too far in when I discovered EQ, so I did not make it that far into that game, and it wasn’t worth going back for in my down time. Not to offend the Gnomish contingent, but they seemed like a relatively minor addition to WC 1-3 franchise… Did I miss the huge impact of the gnomes in #3? A few of their troops were very useful, in the earlier games, but the elves where (from a story standpoint) much more influential. Considering the practical value of what the gnomes bring I have no objections for adding them in. Flushing them out is great! But I am bitterly disappointed in the lack of “real” elves. I think that may have been one of the reasons I never bothered to go back and finish #3.

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Yes, High Elves were much more important to all of the previous warcraft games, however the majority that aren't dead are not exactly wandering the countryside ready to chat. The reason given for gnomes not being too involved in the previous games was because they were busy fighting (and losing) another war. They had to abandon their homeland and move in with the dwarves as a reasult. The reason noone heard about it was because they knew that shit was stirring up outside and knew that their allies couldn't do jack to help em out. (Yay lore and the convenient excuses given! Hehehe)

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Originally Posted by Tenarius

Mordlu, you should totally play through the Warcraft solo campaigns, even if you cheat to beat the missions. The story is really, really good. And you'll find out what happens to the elves!

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I would have to use the cheat codes, cause I have zero desire to play through it knowing the elves are going to poof. What are the cheat codes for it? PM me if ya don't wanna clutter the string up.

I know I won't be switching to WOW now. I may play it, but it will be the same status as my twinks. They are fun to goof off on, I'll see and experience things on them I can't on my main. But I won't care about my character like a care about my "main".

Ruldar, from what I've read it seems like Paladins are the closest Bard analogue in WoW. Read up at http://www.worldofwarcraft.com, they have class descriptions there. Also, the best way to get the lore is to play 1-3 =)

EDIT: Check yer PMs, Ruldar and Mordlu. Oh, and I second Xuakal's feelings! Cheat to get around the hard missions, it's worth it to finish the campaigns if you have the time.

Don't really have the time to do that right now, was hoping for something to read for the next hour or so. :p

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I would have to use the cheat codes, cause I have zero desire to play through it knowing the elves are going to poof. What are the cheat codes for it? PM me if ya don't wanna clutter the string up.

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They do not poof. There are still some alive and well. There is still a full fledged community of them. They didn't exactly sell their souls, just broke their ties with the alliance. Err... something like that. Play the game damnit! The story is great and the gameplay is actually some of the best I've ever experienced. To say you've given up on it after only playing a couple of the early single player missions is closing out a whole lot of what made that game as great as it is.

I haven't played WC3 since Gromm's harvesting mission. I see how I need to do it now, I just don't feel like it :(

That was a low point in the Orc campaign... Really I liked the missions from The Frozen Throne much more than the actual Reign of Chaos missions.

Lots of people compare the shaman to a bard also. The totems reminds some of songs. Each shaman can only place one totem of that particular element such as a strength totem adding strength to the party members so another shaman might cast Stoneskin totem to decrease dmg taken by the group. Shamans can heal, nuke and rez though also. Currently shamans are being reworked, last I heard. They were during alpha very difficult in my opinion and seem to be good at a lot of things but not strong in really anything. They also had the ability to train in a different weapon, the axe(like vash mentions). I enjoyed the class but not sure where it will end up and I may have to revisit it later. Would love to fill in more on this one since it had a lot going on with it at the time but work is calling my name!

hugs
savvy

Great write-up, i don't want to try to top it, so i'll just answer some questions along the way, then i'll get to my own bit about the mage, probably during their darkest days (played mine to 26 in Horde push)

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Originally Posted by Mudsquirti

how does it perform, is it a system hog, or does it have a good solid engine.

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I had an athlon 1.2, with 384mb ram and a Geforce3 ti4200 vid card (or something like that) and lost my cable for about a week and had to resort to dialup through aol. I didn't have any problems playing the game whatsoever.

The shaman looks REALLY neat. While I'm planning to play a warlock, my friend wants to do a troll shaman (imitating the new Troll hero in the Frozen Throne)... so I've heard more than I really wanted to know about them.

I see how you're getting that comparison, Savanna, especially the "good at a lot of things, but not really strong in anything" bit! That's how I remember EQ bards anyway. They definitely incorporate more than just the totems though, like you said, with nukes and heals and such. Tell us more if you know more! And, does anyone have shaman screenshots? What the totems look like, maybe?

--tenarius (is being called by work too, but is temporarily very hard of hearing)

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Originally Posted by Ruldar

Is there any class in this game that will be at all similar to the play style of an EQ bard

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I actually seem to recall reading somewhere...

found it

http://fohguild.org/forums/showthrea...ighlight=bards (Samurai/Bard Hybrid)

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Originally Posted by Furor Planedefiler

I've commented about this myself in various chats over the years. This[The Samurai] is one of those classes that if done properly, would be simply awesome. The problem with a class like this in EQ is the 'hybridization.'

The bard in EQ is already a very problematic class. It is THE class that has led to more headaches for the developers (in EQ) than any other combination of classes combined. Had they simply not HAD a bard class at all and instead taken the 'song' aspect of the class and broken it up and given several classes different portions of, for example, the current bard song lineup, we'd have a much, much cleaner game and far less class balance issues. This would have allowed for the true utility and 'fun' factor that the pure melee classes need(ed). This is something that you see being done right now in World of Warcraft. There is no Bard class, but there are 'song' like effects - i.e. shouts from warriors, or auras from paladins, etc...

A very, very long time ago (this was probably even Pre-Kunark) the development team for EQ wanted to actually give the Warrior class battle chants. I think at that point they realized the issues it would cause with Bards and the game at large and scrapped the idea entirely.

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imo he has a point. Bards are really the only class in EQ with an entire major design concept all to themselves. It makes much more sense in an MMORPG to split up those abilities.

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Originally Posted by Xuakal

They do not poof. There are still some alive and well. There is still a full fledged community of them. They didn't exactly sell their souls, just broke their ties with the alliance. Err... something like that. Play the game damnit! The story is great and the gameplay is actually some of the best I've ever experienced. To say you've given up on it after only playing a couple of the early single player missions is closing out a whole lot of what made that game as great as it is.

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I may just be clinging to futile hopes in my desperation, but I'd say that might get me a real elf in an expansion. And sadly I prefered the game play in the first 2 games. The third had a ton of neat tricks I loved, but it had more pains than challenges.

Mordlu-

Night Elves can be tailored to look like High Elves should you want one to look like it. You can change the skin tone, hair color, etc. at character create to make it look like your favorite pasty high elf.

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Originally Posted by Telegareth

Night Elves can be tailored to look like High Elves should you want one to look like it. You can change the skin tone, hair color, etc. at character create to make it look like your favorite pasty high elf.

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I can make dwarves look like gnomes too... It's just not the same.

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Originally Posted by Mordlu

I can make dwarves look like gnomes too... It's just not the same.

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Never! They are fundamentally different.

I think that Night Elves are way more interesting than High Elves anyways.

Alpha people: were any of the underwater zones available? What were they like? How was the swimming interface?

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Originally Posted by Mordlu

Sounds fun, I'll definitely give it a try once its live, but I do have a few concerns.

Minor:
I have no desire to wear a pointy hat. Mind you, I don't like 90% of the helm graphics in EQ either. I certainly hope that it isn't too detrimental to not having a pointy hat. (Or any hat graphic for that matter.)

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I hope the ONLY hats are POINTY and that YOU have to WEAR YOURS IN YOUR PANTS!!!!!!

DAMN YOU TO HELL YOU EEEEEVEEEEEL BLIND EEEEEGNORANT FOOL!!!!!

p.s. Blizzard if you are reading this, I am not like this at all... no no no I am a diligent hard working beta tester who wants only to help and assist and wash your cars and love you and hug you and be your friend... no I am NOT INSANE OR ANYTHINLY LIKE THAT.... do not listen to them... they are WRONG I am a beta tester of the gods pleasepleaseplease... i HATE YOU HATE YOU HATE YOU PLEASE LET MEW IN OOOOOOHHHHHH HELP ME HELP MEMMMME

I started my alpha during the end of the undead push, and really didn't get heavily into it until the Tri-Horde push. I played a troll mage and an Orc warrior. Both classes were fun to play, but the warrior at the time had at least 10x the survivability that the mage had when frost nova was taken away, then given back as something not quite the same.

One thing that has to be said for the mage class is that it's not nearly done. The incarnation i leveled up to 26 (mostly in AE groups, ;) ) was fun to play in a group setting, but the soloability really was diminished at around lvl 20ish and when frost nova was changed from a stun to a root. They can fill a role, but they aren't that versatile at the moment. Mages are a work in progress, and i'm confident that they won't be the weakling that they were in the Horde push forever.

The warrior was a hoot to play during Horde. Warriors were nearly unstoppable, i could solo just about anything with the exception of multiple casters. The choices of attack moves and the battle or defensive stances made the warrior a really fun character to play in just about any situation. You can't press 'a' and eat a sandwich, there are so many things you can do during the course of a fight as a warrior as long as you have sufficient rage built up. Just learning what everything could do, then setting up strings of attack moves for different situations was really fun.

During the alliance push i primarily played a human paladin and a night elf priest. The priest class was an eye opener for me, was a surprise to see all the abilities available to them and learning how to use them so i could survive much better. Paladins have some very interesting abilities as well, but they have been covered to much better extent by others.

I don't think anyone who has experienced their first griffon ride can adequately express the feeling. It is the most amazing single event of the entire alpha, by far.

tele~
don't know your name this push :( u disappeared!

will post some screens of shamans later from my tauren but atm my web hosting went to shit so they are moving me to a faster server.

sav

Tenarius,

I didn't see any underwater zones, however there were some quests where you had to go swimming. The only thing different from swimming and running on land is that you are underwater. You can stop, cast, start swimming again with no problem. Vision is almost as good as it is outside, you will be able to see where you are going way far in advance.

Sav-

I'll look for you. I've been kinda busy lately and haven't been on in a week or so, that and i'm experimenting with all the different classes. I'll be back on the troll soon, i really want to dig into the mage changes.

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Originally Posted by Telegareth

I didn't see any underwater zones, however there were some quests where you had to go swimming. The only thing different from swimming and running on land is that you are underwater. You can stop, cast, start swimming again with no problem. Vision is almost as good as it is outside, you will be able to see where you are going way far in advance.

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Groovy, no pollution in the waters of WoW. Sav, check your PMs =)

One last question before I go back to work for a while. Has anyone seen / screenshotted the big summoning rituals?

--ten

EDIT: *drool* ... never mind that PM, Sav, it looks like you got them hosted already. Awesomeness.

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Originally Posted by Tenarius

Never! They are fundamentally different.

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So are elves and night elves. ;)

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Originally Posted by Dmitry the Wizzy

I hope the ONLY hats are POINTY and that YOU have to WEAR YOURS IN YOUR PANTS!!!!!!

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Well if it makes you feel better it LOOKS like I have a pointy hat in my pants, but I'm blessed.

Hello Whiz and others that I know from back in the day. Incredible write up. I have taken a break from MMO's for about 6 months now but I will definitely be giving this a try out.

Verbalsabre

Here are some more pics of a few cloth headpiece options from the last push:

http://chuma.cas.usf.edu/~dking3/Glut1.jpg http://chuma.cas.usf.edu/~dking3/Glut2.jpg http://chuma.cas.usf.edu/~dking3/Glut3.jpg

Another Undead:

http://chuma.cas.usf.edu/~dking3/Undead_Cave.jpg

Another goofy pic of my Tauren:

http://chuma.cas.usf.edu/~dking3/Bovus3.jpg

There are more head options available now, such as how the cowls look -- I'm pretty sure they're a bit more shaped looking now, not just so "lying there on your head" like they appear above.

More! More! I can almost pretend I'm playing, now!

awesome pics, Vash, I love the orc with the... fedora thing.

Oh yah, goggles can be worn by anyone with high enough Engineering skill, and a couple of them add Stamina -- very nice for Warlocks. :D

I must confess - I have not been at all interested in it up to this point... After reading Whizbang's (and other's) excellent writeup I'm going to have to play this when it gets released.

http://chuma.cas.usf.edu/~dking3/Bovus3.jpg

Look! It's MOOrpheus!

The KOS status between Horde and Alliance intrigues me. I've been planning Human Rogue all the way, and the thought of snooping around Orcish territory is more than a little exciting.

On another note, the wearable flowers are interesting... If I can get the right look, it might cause me to change my preferred name to another of my fantasy pseudonyms.

I would like to know what tank and caster duo you guys thought were the most effective. Effective meaning how fast they can get XP -> how quickly they can kill enemies and recover from down time.

I am debating between a Warrior and Mage versus a Paladin and Mage. And if I go warrior, I wanted to focus on being offensive -> using 2H weapon and offensive stance to kill mobs quickly and keep the aggro.

Please tell me that's not an orc with a sombrero

Here are some pics of interest: when the "facial hair" option for a female human is clicked, she can choose various earrings or even a nose ring and eyebrow ring. :) For Troll ladies, that button controls tusk size, and for Undead ladies, that button controls the various pox-ridden, rotting facial additions. :cool:

http://chuma.cas.usf.edu/~dking3/Kalena1.jpg http://chuma.cas.usf.edu/~dking3/Kalena2.jpg

Here's a pic of a female tauren shaman, with a fun looking weapon:

http://chuma.cas.usf.edu/~dking3/CowBelle1.jpg

Awesome! I was actually going to ask about that, the facial customization. So it's every bit as varied for all the races, not just the undead? Is that a skull Cowbelle is carrying?

The pimp tauren is still better =)

OK, gnome screenshots for Dmitry:

http://mywebpage.netscape.com/svanaf...alpha/bink.jpg http://mywebpage.netscape.com/svanaf...meengineer.jpg

http://mywebpage.netscape.com/svanaf...ealchemist.jpg

Very large screenshot of a gnomish quest.

Some more examples of facial customization. The male undead is missing his jaw entirely. These features are cosmetic. You don't have to have straps or metal jaws on your face if you don't want. There are quite a few "lovely" undead females to look at in addition to grotesque ones. ;)

http://mywebpage.netscape.com/svanaf...ndeadfaces.jpg

Example of shaman totems being used in the game. The red one on the left is a fire nuke, meaning there is a steady stream of nukes coming from it while you're in combat. The green one on the right is either a snare totem or a group totem in which party members absorb less damage from the mob, I forget.

http://mywebpage.netscape.com/svanaf...amantotems.jpg

Getting a rez.

http://mywebpage.netscape.com/svanaf.../alpha/rez.jpg

Dwarven mount (rams).

http://mywebpage.netscape.com/svanaf.../alpha/ram.jpg

You can actually sit down on chairs or benches in the game! Especially neat when you are sitting in a bar with food on the table or you just want to go AFK at the bank.

http://mywebpage.netscape.com/svanaf...alpha/seat.jpg

Poison dripping from daggers. (Rogues only.)

http://mywebpage.netscape.com/svanaf...pha/poison.jpg

Wow. Fantastic pictures, Pedi. That rez animation is simply beautiful, and it looks like there's a huge variety in facial appearance. Are bodies similarly varied?

Also, does anyone have good images of the warlock pets? Imps, etc? Vash showed us the succubus already, but I was curious as to what the other summons look like.

Time to work.

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Originally Posted by Tenarius

Awesome! I was actually going to ask about that, the facial customization. So it's every bit as varied for all the races, not just the undead? Is that a skull Cowbelle is carrying?

The pimp tauren is still better =)

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The Undead race definitely has the most dramatic facial customizations. From what I've seen of the taurens, you can customize the size and shape of your horns. There are slight facial markings you can also flip through. The changes are mostly subtle, but they're there. I know the orc females, in addition to the human females, have the ability to wear multiple earrings, nose rings, and eyebrow piercings. I don't remember if they added anything to their male counterparts. I don't recall what trolls have (I know the ladies can change the size of their tusks), but they aren't finished with the trolls yet. Every single push I've witnessed a dramatic change in the facial appearance for the better. Gnomes and dwarves don't get any special facial customization, but the dwarves have a LOT of hairstyles to choose from. The gnomes get the funkiest hairstyles and mustaches/beards. Night elf females have facial wodes. The men don't need them since they have facial hair instead.

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Originally Posted by Tenarius

Wow. Fantastic pictures, Pedi. That rez animation is simply beautiful, and it looks like there's a huge variety in facial appearance. Are bodies similarly varied?

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The bodies are the same. The only thing you customize is the skin color. If there's a race you want better pictures of, just tell me what you're looking for and I'll provide it, np.

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Also, does anyone have good images of the warlock pets? Imps, etc? Vash showed us the succubus already, but I was curious as to what the other summons look like.

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This is the spell casting animation when you summon a pet.

http://mywebpage.netscape.com/svanaf...pha/summon.jpg

The imp pet.

http://mywebpage.netscape.com/svanaf.../alpha/imp.jpg

The voidwalker.

http://mywebpage.netscape.com/svanaf...voidwalker.jpg

Next is the succubus, which you've already seen. After that is the felhunter, I believe. I don't think anyone had that pet -- not sure what level it is supposed to be. And then after that, there's the nightmare steed warlocks can summon. I don't have a screenshot of that, but I've seen it floating around. There is probably one on the blizzard site.

If you make an undead and go into the Undercity and find the warlock section, you will find a "classroom" in which a warlock trainer explains to the other NPCs the power of the warlock class. The trainer will summon each pet and talk about their strengths and weaknesses (even makes a joke about the succubus power lying in distracting men). It's a fun display to watch if you swing by there. ;)

Edit: Found a felhunter in Stormwind!

http://mywebpage.netscape.com/svanaf.../felhunter.jpg

so, Race as opposed to Class determines horde or alliance?
(i was kindof set on a human Warlock, but all my friends are planning horde, I figured sinece a warlock was all dark and whatnot he might pass as hordeness)

Well, if there was any doubt before, Whizbang and crew's report on the state of the game so far has sold me. While I won't be in beta I will be there on launch day. That, coupled with the delay in the release of EQ II means I get one long summer of playing World of Warcraft. I can't wait!

a few more before I become lost for the night :)
shaman totems, you'll see one of each element I have up.
water = healing fire = either a fire nuking totem or I might have been using the fire totem that gives the tank an effect on his weapon that causes flame dmg and earth = most likely damage decreaser
http://www.endlessimaginations.com/i...w/shamantotems

warlock pets during a group and some spell effects. this is an area in the undead push where the humans turn to werewolves at night like Pedi mentioned.
http://www.endlessimaginations.com/i...ow/warlockpets

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Originally Posted by Tenarius

were any of the underwater zones available? What were they like? How was the swimming interface?

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There's a fair amount of underwater content available. The naga are exploring the coastlines of both continents, the coastlines are riddled with shipwrecks (this being a Blizzard game) which in turn means wreck-diving and undead sailors, there's a mission where dwarven terrorists (no, seriously) have placed a seaforium charge (yep, one of the many puns in the game) at the base of a dam where you have to swim down and disarm it, etc.

Swimming controls are handled via mouse, and it does take a little getting used to, but once you do, it's not bad. Well, outside of trying to get out of the canals in Stormwind. ;)

Whizbang, I'm not the only one who can't say thanks enough for this awesome post.

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Originally Posted by Tenarius

Is that a skull Cowbelle is carrying?

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It's a 1handed mace, of which I can't remember the exact name ... it's a skull with spikes out of the eyes on a stick, basically. ;)

I LOVE the gnomes!!!!!!

More more more!!! Man o man I cannot wait to play this game!

Thanks!

"Let me install these Gyromechanic Gears and Restabilization Cogs and we'll fire up The Recombobulator."

hehe! thats awesome.

I was interested before, now I am seriously drooling!
thanks much for all this good stuff.

/cry is it true gnomes cant be priests? Vash Matrix cant be true all the time :mad:

damn, most impressive write up. I will admit, I've been firmly in the "I will never play another MMORGP after I finally break this EQ addiciton" camp for, oh about 3 years now ;)

I think I've been lying to myself. Still not 100% I'm going to give this a go, but goddamn, the hype doesn't seem to have been overdone. I wait with anticipation for more to come from the game!