[WoW] I Was a Teenage Alpha Tester

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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.