Starting WoW in 2016

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Skinypupy
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Starting WoW in 2016

Post by Skinypupy »

Throughout most of my gaming life, I actively avoided MMOs. I could never wrap my brain around the idea of paying for a game, then paying per month to play it. I'm also not a social person by nature, so playing with others didn't hold much appeal for me. Guild Wars 2 completely changed my mindset, and I came away from that game entirely fascinated by the genre. I played GW2 for the better part of a year, then I jumped into the beta for Final Fantasy XIV. Three years and 1,500 hours (and counting) of FFXIV later, I find myself quite in love with MMO's. I've tried all of the major ones, capping out toons (at the time, anyways) in GW2, FFXIV, Neverwinter, SWTOR, ESO, and Tera. I play exclusively PvE, and mostly play solo unless the game requires grouping (FFXIV does that a lot).

Oddly, however, I never really got into WoW. I gave it a half-hearted effort a couple times, but the highest I ever got was level 12. I've always been completely fascinated by the lore and the overall world that WoW created, but jumping into a well-established MMO 10+ years into its lifespan is an incredibly intimidating prospect.

Looking through the upcoming release schedule and realizing that there really isn't anything coming out that I'm terribly excited about until September (Final Fantasy XV), I have decided to spend a month or two and give WoW a dedicated effort. If nothing else, just so I can say I did. :)

Rolled a Draenei Hunter on the Dalaran (high pop) server, and ran up to level 7 last night. It's actually quite fascinating to see the foundations of the game (both good and bad) in the starting zones. Even though the questing was very basic and the graphics are rough around the edges, the overall aesthetic and world are still stunningly beautiful. I plan on taking my time leveling up, as I'm in no rush to get to the cap. My playstyle is far more about the journey than the destination when it comes to MMO's, and I'm quite excited at the prospect of diving into such a richly developed world. I know there's an expansion coming out soon (August?), but I'm not concerned about getting to cap before then. If I'm still interested by the time it comes out, I may give it a shot.

If there's things you think I should know, I'm all ears. I'm also not opposed to jumping to another server, if folks think there's a better place I should start. Will post a few thoughts here as I go, if anyone is interested in hearing what a complete WoW noob might think of such a well-established game.
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ColdSteel
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Re: Starting WoW in 2016

Post by ColdSteel »

Hunter is a good choice. Anyone can play a hunter and get though the game to max level. Playing a hunter well, that is another matter entirely. There's a reason the "huntard" moniker was (and may still be) popular. I played a hunter for many years, up though the Lich King expansion and I really loved the class. In 3 levels you'll be able to tame your first pet. I recommend you get a DPS pet and learn to manually control him. That will be really important later when you do instances.

You're smart to enjoy the leveling ride. WoW used to provide (I assume it still does) a really fun leveling experience. There is just so much content in the game it's unbelievable. I found the crafting to be fun as well so don't ignore that. Leather crafting is always good for hunters.

Wow is still my favorite MMO. I'd still be playing if my account hadn't been hacked by some jerk a year after I took a break from the game (as a result of a Blizzard data breach). One of my guild mates noticed one of my characters running around and reported it and so I got all my characters and stuff back. But, Blizzard locked my account and now I can't login to play anymore. So, be sure you use good security. WoW gets hacked like no other MMO (or at least it used to).
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Re: Starting WoW in 2016

Post by Daehawk »

They'll give your account back to you if you call and ask and prove who you are. I had to many years ago when my account was hacked and stolen. The first guy I talked to said it was m fault and didn't do anything. I gave up but a few months later my friend wanted me to join him in it so I called again and that guy gave me no hassle or crap at all and gave me my account back. So dont give up.
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ColdSteel
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Re: Starting WoW in 2016

Post by ColdSteel »

Daehawk wrote:They'll give your account back to you if you call and ask and prove who you are. I had to many years ago when my account was hacked and stolen. The first guy I talked to said it was m fault and didn't do anything. I gave up but a few months later my friend wanted me to join him in it so I called again and that guy gave me no hassle or crap at all and gave me my account back. So dont give up.
Yeah, I contacted them and they wanted me to fax them a copy of my driver's license to prove who I was. I was like wut? Your system just got hacked and you want me to send you my driver's license? Really? No way I was doing that, so, I just gave up on it. That was about 5 or 6 years ago.
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Re: Starting WoW in 2016

Post by Skinypupy »

Yikes, that's sketchy. Will definitely keep an eye on that.

Reminds me that I should probably start looking for a guild. Not even really sure how to start doing that, tbh. :? I happened to find a good one in FFXIV entirely by accident (randomly responded to a zone shout for new members), but haven't had much luck in any of the other MMO's I've played. I suppose being social for a change would be a good starting point.
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Re: Starting WoW in 2016

Post by coopasonic »

I was in the WoW Alpha. It hasn't changed much since then. :P

The big plus to WoW (in my opinion) is that you never, ever have to join a group. Of course if you don't get into the raiding scene there's not much to do end game so you cancel your account until an expansion comes along, but that's alright by me.

It is the only MMO I can always go back to though and I've played a lot of them.
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Re: Starting WoW in 2016

Post by Smoove_B »

Yeah, I don't remember exactly when I was playing (2004 or 5 maybe?) but I did it mainly to see what everyone was going on about. I admittedly went into it with a negative expectation, but actually rather enjoyed it. I also played (mostly) a solo hunter and for me, it was about exploring the world and seeing all the stuff. Never grouped, never ran an instance with strangers - just totally solo adventured my way into the 50s or 60s (it's all fuzzy). I re-joined to see what everything looked like after the Cataclysm and played for a month. It's been so long at this point I could probably go back and start all over again and it would feel mostly new. I can still see various landscapes and I remember quite a few areas in great detail and it's likely been close to a decade (or longer) since I've played. That has to count for something in terms of creating a memorable world.
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Re: Starting WoW in 2016

Post by Blackhawk »

Skinypupy wrote: Rolled a Draenei Hunter on the Dalaran (high pop) server, and ran up to level 7 last night. It's actually quite fascinating to see the foundations of the game (both good and bad) in the starting zones.
For what it is worth, you're actually starting in one of the oldest areas of the game. Save for the Outlands content, every original zone from level 1-60 was completely remade a few years ago - with the exception the Draenei and Blood Elf starting areas. You're going to find a much more polished game once you graduate from the islands in a few levels.
ColdSteel wrote: In 3 levels you'll be able to tame your first pet. I recommend you get a DPS pet and learn to manually control him. That will be really important later when you do instances.
I'm pretty sure hunters start with a pet now, and that all pets can be DPS pets. It is just a question of how you want to spec them.
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Blackhawk
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Re: Starting WoW in 2016

Post by Blackhawk »

Skinypupy wrote:
Reminds me that I should probably start looking for a guild.
Well, it is a little late since you've already started on Dalaran, but I can't recommend Grievance Gaming highly enough for guilds. They are the OO of gaming guilds, and have chapters in almost every MMO out there.
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Skinypupy
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Re: Starting WoW in 2016

Post by Skinypupy »

Blackhawk wrote:
Skinypupy wrote: Rolled a Draenei Hunter on the Dalaran (high pop) server, and ran up to level 7 last night. It's actually quite fascinating to see the foundations of the game (both good and bad) in the starting zones.
For what it is worth, you're actually starting in one of the oldest areas of the game. Save for the Outlands content, every original zone from level 1-60 was completely remade a few years ago - with the exception the Draenei and Blood Elf starting areas. You're going to find a much more polished game once you graduate from the islands in a few levels.
Which is funny, since those are the two races I tried last night. :lol: I may actually reroll as a different race tonight, as the constant flapping sound of the moth pet drives me a little bit nuts. I'm only an hour or so in...wouldn't hurt to restart.
Blackhawk wrote:
ColdSteel wrote: In 3 levels you'll be able to tame your first pet. I recommend you get a DPS pet and learn to manually control him. That will be really important later when you do instances.
I'm pretty sure hunters start with a pet now, and that all pets can be DPS pets. It is just a question of how you want to spec them.
Yep, I've had a pet from the start. Doesn't appear that I can control it until level 10 though.
Blackhawk wrote:Well, it is a little late since you've already started on Dalaran, but I can't recommend Grievance Gaming highly enough for guilds. They are the OO of gaming guilds, and have chapters in almost every MMO out there.
What server are they on? Will check it out if I decide to reroll.
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Re: Starting WoW in 2016

Post by Redfive »

Grievance is on the Thrall server, at least for Horde.

I played from 2004 continuously until Lich King and then came back for Cataclysm and for Pandas.

Just before Warlords was released I rolled an Orc Warrior on Thrall and on Blackhawk's suggestion contacted Grievance. I was accepted and had a great time until I stopped playing again so I can recommend them as well.

I recently restarted again, this time on another server and now have a paladin up to 51 or so. The leveling experience is very easy and still enjoyable after all of these years. It helps that this is only the 2nd character I've leveled since Cataclysm was released where they re-did all of the original zones.
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Blackhawk
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Re: Starting WoW in 2016

Post by Blackhawk »

Skinypupy wrote: Which is funny, since those are the two races I tried last night. :lol: I may actually reroll as a different race tonight, as the constant flapping sound of the moth pet drives me a little bit nuts. I'm only an hour or so in...wouldn't hurt to restart.
Once you get Tame Pet, which you get fairly early, you can tame any Beast-type mob in the game.


ColdSteel wrote:
Blackhawk wrote:Well, it is a little late since you've already started on Dalaran, but I can't recommend Grievance Gaming highly enough for guilds. They are the OO of gaming guilds, and have chapters in almost every MMO out there.
What server are they on? Will check it out if I decide to reroll.
Yep, Thrall for Horde, and Proudmoore for Alliance. Link. If you join Horde (as all decent human beings do), tell 'em Felsprocket sent ya.
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Re: Starting WoW in 2016

Post by Lorini »

With a gazillion ways to group, you don't really need a guild anymore. Mine died and I never found another one. Yes, get the Blizzard authenticator ASAP if you don't already have one.

Keep in mind that the end game is where 99% of the game is at, so don't be too disappointed when you leveled your character up one way, and then have to do it totally differently once you hit level cap.

I don't normally play games with mods, but I won't play wow without add ons, I'm a high information person and they are really great for that. Use elvui to get started if you don't want to worry about getting a ton of different ones, otherwise download the curse client from curse.com and look around there. The ones with a ton of downloads have so many downloads for a reason :).

As you probably are aware, Legion will be out at the end of August so it's a nice time to get started. Most people play with alts, as they really come in handy for gold making and professions. This way you'll have time to level a few.

Let us know if you have more questions, I'm not an expert by any means but I'm sure others can help as well.
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Re: Starting WoW in 2016

Post by Skinypupy »

Lorini wrote:Keep in mind that the end game is where 99% of the game is at, so don't be too disappointed when you leveled your character up one way, and then have to do it totally differently once you hit level cap.
I doubt I'll stay engaged much once I hit endgame, tbh. Of all the MMO's I've played, FFXIV is the only one that I kept playing once hit the cap. I'm mostly just in it for the journey, the story, and the leveling experience. Running daily raids in multiple MMO's (since I still do it in FF) simply isn't feasible with my schedule.
I don't normally play games with mods, but I won't play wow without add ons, I'm a high information person and they are really great for that. Use elvui to get started if you don't want to worry about getting a ton of different ones, otherwise download the curse client from curse.com and look around there. The ones with a ton of downloads have so many downloads for a reason :).
I'll check that out tonight, thanks! :)
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Re: Starting WoW in 2016

Post by Exodor »

Skinypupy wrote: Reminds me that I should probably start looking for a guild. Not even really sure how to start doing that, tbh.


Once you hit a major town you'll likely get bombarded with guild invites. You can look for a guild by using the guild interface (hit O to bring it up or click the button).

My only other advice is to pick up a few gathering skills when you can - mining and herbalism are probably the best - and sell the stuff you gather on the Auction House. That can be a great source of cash when you're new and you get XP every time you gather from a node.

It's a bit of an odd time in WoW - the last content patch was a year ago. You may see more players in the wild as bored players level alts but if you stick around until the Legon expansion (August 30) or even the pre-patch that's probably coming in a few weeks you should see a spike in the number of players.
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Re: Starting WoW in 2016

Post by Lorini »

Raiding isn't like that anymore in WoW because of all the different ways you can raid. Many people now raid once a week or so and raids can be as small as eight people. Much better experience than back in the old days. There are still a few who super raid, but Blizzard wants their game to fit for many different schedules and so changed things up quite a bit in the last three years or so. Gear checks are now done in game instead of solely by lookingforgroup as well, so you'll not end up in a raid you aren't ready for.

It's up to you of course, but frankly the leveling part of the game isn't good enough for the $$ for me. I don't raid much, but I like the dailies and pet battles and the faction stuff.
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Re: Starting WoW in 2016

Post by Baroquen »

I actually resubbed a few weeks back. I'm knocking out achievements on the Lothar server with my old characters, and started a new character on Dalaran because my kids are playing there. Having a lot of fun, but then I've almost always enjoyed it.

I'll second the recommendation for mods. For professions too. I haven't found a good guild on Dalaran though. I joined up with one that sent an invite, but they're just offering to EVERYONE. So there's no community at all. I've stayed for the guild buffs/benefits, but I might bail and look for a quality one. We'll see.
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Re: Starting WoW in 2016

Post by Blackhawk »

My philosophy on that is that any guild that randomly invites me without knowing the first thing about me is doing the same to everyone else. That means that they're just getting a cross-section of the WoW community, and that isn't something I want to soak in. The real strength of a good guild is that they're an alternative community to the open public one that festers in the gutters in every major city.
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Re: Starting WoW in 2016

Post by Skinypupy »

I haven't even looked at professions yet. Are there ones I should absolutely focus on or actively avoid?

Looks like Leatherworking + Skinning is good for hunters, will give that a look.
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Re: Starting WoW in 2016

Post by coopasonic »

Damn you people. I never really got very far with a horde character and you are making want to try it...
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Re: Starting WoW in 2016

Post by Redfive »

Blackhawk wrote:My philosophy on that is that any guild that randomly invites me without knowing the first thing about me is doing the same to everyone else. That means that they're just getting a cross-section of the WoW community, and that isn't something I want to soak in. The real strength of a good guild is that they're an alternative community to the open public one that festers in the gutters in every major city.
My last couple of characters I only picked up gathering professions.

It is very easy to make money gathering and then selling the materials on the auction house. I know that in 12 years the scale of the economy has drastically changed, but my 51 paladin has about 3k gold in the bank just from selling materials / bind on equip loot in the auction house. 3k is nothing at high level but it is a fortune for any character that hasn't purchased flying mount skills yet.
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Re: Starting WoW in 2016

Post by Toe »

Skinypupy wrote:I haven't even looked at professions yet. Are there ones I should absolutely focus on or actively avoid?

Looks like Leatherworking + Skinning is good for hunters, will give that a look.
That is a good one, but personally I would recommend engineering and mining. You can make guns for yourself and it just has lots of fun items (as well as many useful items) to create, whereas the other professions are almost entirely utility items.
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Re: Starting WoW in 2016

Post by Blackhawk »

Professions are a little odd.

With any appropriate profession, you'll end up able to make one piece of end-game gear, plus one good item mod. The stuff you get as you level the profession is rarely as good of quality as the stuff you get through questing and drops. With the exception of the odd piece here and there, you just won't be providing your own gear (which was something I always hated.) However there are sometimes items that you can make that are fun conveniences or toys. Every crafting profession will also give you a few craftable mounts.

Keep this in mind, though: You will spend a lot of money leveling a crafting profession. You will spend money on training, on recipes, and on materials.

My suggestion for a first character is to take two gathering professions (mining, herbalism, skinning) and sell the goods to other players. You save all the money from training, plus you gain enough to grow old on. I'd recommend skinning for one of them. It won't be the biggest money maker, but the other two will have you running all over the hell picking flowers and mining nodes. Take both and you'll spend more time chasing radar blips than you will playing.

When you get to the end, you can always abandon one and pick up a crafting profession.

If you want to craft, though, either leatherworking or engineering is great for a hunter. Engineering has a ton of cool toys that are will worth getting (especially some of the teleporters!), but it is one of the more expensive ones to level. Inscription and Jewelcrafting can be used by any class, too, although inscriptions is arguably less valuable than the others. If you do take a crafting profession, make sure your second one is the matching gathering profession (skinning for leatherworking, mining for engineering, etc.)

Also take the time to improve your secondary professions (cooking, fishing, and archaeology) while you level. They have benefits, and you don't want to have to grind them up from 0 when you get to the end. Note that you can have all of the secondary professions at once.
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Re: Starting WoW in 2016

Post by Lorini »

The undermine journal will show you that leatherworking is an awful waste of money because you can buy what you are making cheaper than using up the materials (that you could sell) to make it. And yes I second the recommendation to simply get gathering professions, although professions are apparently changing quite a bit (yet again!) in Legion so that advice may change. Auctioneer is a nice basic auction add on. There are more but they are way more complicated than auctioneer.

If you want more on this, ask, and I'll explain further.
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Re: Starting WoW in 2016

Post by Blackhawk »

And don't get me started on add-ons. I mod WoW the way I mod Elder Scrolls. I think I was running ~70 or more last time I played.
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Re: Starting WoW in 2016

Post by Daveman »

I was a somewhat serious player from retail release through the end of Cataclysm. My work changed at that point and while I leveled through Mists of Pandaria I didn't raid or do anything serious, I mostly just played PvP at that point. Stopped playing altogether after the first major content patch for MoP. Hearthstone has scratched the Warcraft itch for me since.

Something no one else has mentioned that was a big factor for me that I'd mention. While there are many classes to pick from, and any one is fine for soloing your way through the game... when it comes to group content (whether it's 5 man dungeons, PvP or the 10-25 man raids) there are 3 functions you can perform: damage dealer, healer or tank. In the raid setting there's usually a need to further split up the damage dealers into ranged and melee... or 4 group functions.

Of all the classes that are available, the Hunter, Mage, Warlock and Rogue can only ever specialize as damage dealers. I started out as a Mage and enjoyed that, but when I started an alt who could cover other functions (a Shaman who can be melee damage, ranged damage or a healer) I vastly preferred having the option to do more. I was ultimately a healer 95% of the time, but being able to switch to damage when doing stuff on my own, or if we were OK on healing a given night and needed more damage for a particular fight was nice.

Also, it was much easier to find a group as a healer than a damage dealer. When the automated LFG tool came out the wait times as a healer were usually 1/3 or better than queuing up as a damage dealer. Tanks are generally even more in demand than healers... seemingly everyone is a damage dealer.
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Re: Starting WoW in 2016

Post by Toe »

With Skinypup being an MMO vet, I would think the more unique-to-wow classes would be the best rout for him. Hunter is a pretty good choice with that in mind. While all classes can solo, some are considerably more powerful than others, especially when it comes to tough encounters (really meaning quests that are recommending doing it in a group of 2 or more players).

In regards to running the 5-man instances, I would just recommend you queue up and run each level-appropriate 5-man instances once, just to see the sights (and get quest experience/rewards). Some really fun and unique locations/bosses/etc to see. And, honestly, I like the longer wait in queues as a DPSer in some ways, as you get to do more quests in a particular zone before you start out-leveling the area. More than a few quest chains end in fun, unexpected, grand ways, and something not to miss in WoW, in my opinion, as that a good portion of its charm. Admittedly, I am a bit of fan (over 700 days /played, leveling up every class to 100), so I might be a bit biased, heh. But I also enjoyed GW2, SWTOR, Neverwinter, Wildstar, and most recently ESO. They all seem to have their pluses and minuses.
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Re: Starting WoW in 2016

Post by rshetts2 »

Im probably going back in the middle of July. BTW leveling a hunter is a breeze because you can easily control multiple mobs and your pet will hold whatever youre fighting while you range away. As far as end game, even if you do not raid, WoW has put a lot things to do into the game, so you can play for quite awhile after you have maxxed out.
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Re: Starting WoW in 2016

Post by gilraen »

Blackhawk wrote:
Skinypupy wrote: Rolled a Draenei Hunter on the Dalaran (high pop) server, and ran up to level 7 last night. It's actually quite fascinating to see the foundations of the game (both good and bad) in the starting zones.
For what it is worth, you're actually starting in one of the oldest areas of the game. Save for the Outlands content, every original zone from level 1-60 was completely remade a few years ago - with the exception the Draenei and Blood Elf starting areas. You're going to find a much more polished game once you graduate from the islands in a few levels.
Yeah, I was going to say that - it's an interesting starting area but the quests are much less polished and streamlined than the other zones that were changed for Cataclysm expansion.

Something to keep in mind thought:
1) Warlords of Draenor expansion completely killed profession-based economy. You will not be able to make nearly as much money selling raw materials because people can level in their own personal base (garrison) using only last expac's mats. It's supposed to change when Legion hits.
2) You can queue up for raiding for LFR (looking for raid) difficulty in dungeon finder if you hit max level and don't want to mess with regular raiding guilds but just want to see the content. Don't queue up as tank or healer in low-level dungeons unless you absolutely know what you're doing...community has taken a turn for the worse and is very unforgiving (and most of them will outgear you with their heirloom gear)
3) There is a setting in the interface options to block guild invites. So until you're ready to actually look for a guild, you'll save yourself some aggravation by checking that box.

I have every class at 100 except for warrior and priest. I'm in "maintenance mode" now before Legion - got 12 characters at lvl 100 (7 Horde on Hydraxis and 5 Alliance on Scarlet Crusade). 6 of them have this expansion's legendary ring (which involved weeks of grinding every LFR raid...if I never see those raids again, it will be too soon).
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Godzilla Blitz
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Re: Starting WoW in 2016

Post by Godzilla Blitz »

gilraen wrote:
I have every class at 100 except for warrior and priest. I'm in "maintenance mode" now before Legion - got 12 characters at lvl 100 (7 Horde on Hydraxis and 5 Alliance on Scarlet Crusade). 6 of them have this expansion's legendary ring (which involved weeks of grinding every LFR raid...if I never see those raids again, it will be too soon).
Wow, that's a lot of WoW!

This thread makes me want to revisit WoW. I played for three months when it first came out, and got a priest up to the cap then (Lvl 60). But I got horribly addicted and the game nearly ruined my life.

I revisited it once again, about five years ago, but all the people I knew in my guild were gone, and the stuff I had was no longer cool, and it just didn't stick.

I didn't realize the initial content has all be reworked. I think if I went back again I'd want to reroll a new character and set strict time limits on my play. It got... out of hand the first time I played.
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Re: Starting WoW in 2016

Post by YellowKing »

I've been strongly considering it when Legions comes out.

I've always been a huge MMO fan, and have played nearly every major one to come out since the original EverQuest.

I had a mixed history with WoW. I was in an early beta and was honestly about burned out on it by the time it released. I never hit level cap at release, and wound up being distracted by other big MMOs of the time.

I did come back for Draenor and wound up maxing a hunter before quitting again. Haven't touched it since.

Since the MMO craze is over and almost nobody is making subscription-based MMOs anymore, I've really been craving that old-school MMO experience. I did mess around with Final Fantasy IV for quite some time, but got discouraged with the occasional forced grouping.
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dbt1949
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Re: Starting WoW in 2016

Post by dbt1949 »

When they put out a new chapter in WoW does that mean it's all encompassing or do you still need to get the older games too.
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coopasonic
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Re: Starting WoW in 2016

Post by coopasonic »

dbt1949 wrote:When they put out a new chapter in WoW does that mean it's all encompassing or do you still need to get the older games too.
Generally they have all-in-one price for everything up until the current expansion and then a purchase for the current expansion. Right now you can get everything currently available for $20 then a $50 purchase for the Legion expansion.
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Re: Starting WoW in 2016

Post by Skinypupy »

YellowKing wrote: Since the MMO craze is over and almost nobody is making subscription-based MMOs anymore, I've really been craving that old-school MMO experience.
My wallet is giving me dirty looks because the two MMO's I've decided to focus on are the last two monthly sub games in existence.
I did mess around with Final Fantasy IV for quite some time, but got discouraged with the occasional forced grouping.
Occasional? :lol: The further you get in FFXIV, the more grouping becomes the sole focus. As much as I love the game, that grouped structure is why I'm starting to drift away. 3 year old twins, a 60 hour a week job (with lots of travel), and a 10 week old puppy don't exactly lend themselves to dedicated chunks of time for a 15 minute queue then a 30-40 minute raid.

So I re-rolled as a Human hunter on Proudmoore last night. You guys were right, the level of detail and polish in both the graphics and the quest structure between that and the Draenei starter zone are significant. Played up to level 11, and really enjoyed it so far. Hit my first big city (Stormwood?) right before I logged, which was a little...overwhelming. The explosion of crazy high-level gear and exotic mounts was truly a sight to behold. I felt like the country bumpkin stumbling into New York for the first time, looking around with wide eyes. It's interesting to be back in an MMO with lots of general chat (even if most of it is rather "ew"), as FFXIV is mostly pretty quiet even in highly populated areas. I swear everyone in Stormwood was speaking in tongues, but I'm sure I'll pick up the lingo eventually.

I'm still struggling a little to figure out pets. I have my starting pet (wolf) and assumed that I can pick up new and/or better pets along the way? I've captured a bunch of small animals like rats, chickens, and rabbits (the ones with the green paw above their heads) via the turn-based mini-game, but am not entirely sure what those are used for other than battling against other small animals. Do I eventually catch things that replace my wolf, or is he my default pet throughout?

It was also interesting that the starting Draenei questline led you directly to the crafting/gathering professions very early on, but the human one doesn't seem to. Or if it does, I missed it entirely. I haven't come across a profession trainer yet, and I've been doing every "!" quest that I can see.
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Re: Starting WoW in 2016

Post by Newcastle »

You might want to look into Cursehttp://mods.curse.com/addons/wow. Basically this is a mod manager and a way to get mods. Be careful what you take some had been known to be infected, so I'd get ones that are really highly rated and have a ton of downloads, not one that has like 1-500 donwloads.

Lots of cool mods like helping readjust your UI, crafting help, finding mining nodes, inventory tracker for all your alts, and most pet tracker (ie where to find x pet).

I think there is a website dedicated to hunter pets. I cant recall the name or anything remotely about it, but I know there are ones out there that detail what type of pets are good for what. Never played a hunter long term.

I stopped WOW April '15 due to life stuff, went back for a day back this May and not sure I'll come back again for Legion. Kind of bummed the guild I was in booted me, but i understand. Haven't read too much on legion but for the last 2 xpacs having to go 1 year without content seems wrong to me. Also removal of the scenarios from MOP was horrid. Decimation of professions. Not to be a debbie downer. Am sure folks are enjoying it, and god bless. I'll read up on Legion and see what it has to offer.
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Newcastle
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Re: Starting WoW in 2016

Post by Newcastle »

Quick google searches turned up

-http://www.wow-petopia.com/

Also Wowheadhttp://www.wowhead.com/pets
wowhead was my go to source for info on WOW overall. You can look up almost everything there for stuff.

There were lots of other sites I used, but wowhead was really awesome in terms of items you might want, resources you need for x profession and were to get it.
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Re: Starting WoW in 2016

Post by Skinypupy »

Newcastle wrote:Quick google searches turned up

-http://www.wow-petopia.com/

Also Wowheadhttp://www.wowhead.com/pets
wowhead was my go to source for info on WOW overall. You can look up almost everything there for stuff.

There were lots of other sites I used, but wowhead was really awesome in terms of items you might want, resources you need for x profession and were to get it.
Thanks. I'm still not entirely sure how to go about capturing all of these new pets (which is apparently a different process than the small animals I've been capturing), but will do a little research and find out.

I also need to apparently find a "pet trainer" somewhere...hmmm.
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Re: Starting WoW in 2016

Post by Lorini »

If only you were Horde I could tell you where the pet trainer is but you went white bread, so there ya go :)
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Re: Starting WoW in 2016

Post by Blackhawk »

Skinypupy wrote:
I'm still struggling a little to figure out pets. I have my starting pet (wolf) and assumed that I can pick up new and/or better pets along the way? I've captured a bunch of small animals like rats, chickens, and rabbits (the ones with the green paw above their heads) via the turn-based mini-game, but am not entirely sure what those are used for other than battling against other small animals. Do I eventually catch things that replace my wolf, or is he my default pet throughout?
Wind. Stormwind. Most of the merchants there are rarely, if ever, visited. There is the fountain square with the bank and auction house where you will spend most of your time there, and there is a trainer. Other than that you can ignore most of the city. Remember that you can walk up to any NPC named "Guard" (like "Stormwind Guard") and ask for directions to any spot in town, which will give you a waypoint. So while the size of the town makes it feel overwhelming, it really isn't that bad.

There are two kinds of pets. Your wolf is a hunter pet. The chickens and such are called vanity pets or mini-pets. The mini-pets are for the pet battles, collecting, and for display. Every character can have a vanity pet out at almost any time just for the flavor. I always used an addon called GupPet to auto-summon one at random whenever I played. I think my collection was approaching 500.

The hunter pets, on the other hand, grow as you do. They get a skill tree just like yours that you can assign points to in order to make them a better DPS, a better fighter, specialize them, or whatever. You can get different pets. You have a wolf, but could go to Azuremist and tame a moth just for old times' sake, tame a tiger, a gorilla, a turtle, or scores of others, with dozens of variations (well, skins) for each. Some people make pet collecting a hobby in and of itself. Each pet family has a special ability that can make them better suited to certain tasks, although any pet can tank, DPS, or PvP these days. While you may find old materials that say that certain types of pets (cunning, ferocity, tenacity), that's out of date.
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Re: Starting WoW in 2016

Post by Blackhawk »

Skinypupy wrote: Thanks. I'm still not entirely sure how to go about capturing all of these new pets (which is apparently a different process than the small animals I've been capturing), but will do a little research and find out.

I also need to apparently find a "pet trainer" somewhere...hmmm.
You will receive a 'Tame Beast' skill. It may even be introduced to you and tutorialized through a quest.

For the trainer, ask a guard.
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