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Friday, November 10, 2006
Finding a virtual identity
My first level 60 character was a troll warrior, specialized as tank. I tanked my way through Stratholme, Scholomance, and the other dungeons, up to General Drakkisath in UBRS, and it was fun. Then it became increasingly obvious that we were often blocked due to lack of healers, I leveled up my undead priest, and from then my whole raiding career was done with the priest.
My guild raids every night, and I try to participate 2 to 3 times a week. And as there aren't all that many level 60 raid dungeons below BWL, I know them all inside out by now, and start getting a bit bored. So I tried to reactivate my warrior. But the guild has a lot of warriors, and understandably they wouldn't let a badly equipped alt tank. So I had to respec to dps warrior, 18/33/0 arms/fury, dual-wielding flurry. I tried that spec in solo and PvP, and it dishes out quite a good amount of damage. And then I waited for an opportunity to go raiding with my warrior.
Last night the opportunity came, a Zul'Gurub raid which due to lack of rogues could use more dps warriors. We killed the bat boss, the snake boss, the spider boss, no problem. But I absolutely hated it. Playing that dps warrior in a raid just wasn't fun to me. Then some RL stuff came up, and I left the raid. I don't think I'll ever raid with that character again, at least not as dps warrior. Dps warrior is just not me, not my style.
I think the main reason I don't like dealing damage in a raid is that there is no simple feedback on how you are faring. As a healer it is pretty obvious whether your healing target is alive or dead. As a tank you always know whether you are keeping aggro or not. But as a damage dealer you are one of many, and you can't vary your tactics and see what works and what doesn't work. Even an addon like Damagemeters can only give you a total score. A secondary reason for not liking my dps warrior job is that it requires too much running around. As a priest you just stand and heal. As a tank you should have the mob firmly rooted on one spot. But as melee damage dealer you need to run after your targets all the time, which is not something I enjoy.
This is a valuable lesson. Because while I have 3 characters leveled up to 60, and a bunch of lesser levels, I don't see myself leveling them all up to 70. Not only would that take too much time, it would also sooner or later require spending all the money for riding skill 225 for each of them. Only my undead priest has 150 skill, and I think I'll have a good chance of having enough money for the normal flying mount and required riding skill when I need it. For the others I would first have to spend money on the epic ground mount, effectively doubling the cost. I'm not sure I still want to spend all that time on alts. That is the one disadvantage of expanding the game: the longer the game is, the less alts you can bring to the top.
So I found my virtual identify as a priest, and will spend most of the time after the expansion comes out to level up that priest, and then go raiding with him. My warrior will only level up once the priest hits 70, and will mainly be used for his herbalism and alchemy tradeskills. If I go visiting dungeons with my warrior, I'll turn him back into a protection spec'd tank. I might also make a new character, a blood elf mage, because I always wanted to play a mage, and having a new race for it increases the interest. But I have no idea how high I'll get with that one. Because whether I will still be playing World of Warcraft in a year, I don't know. It depends of so many things, but currently my interest is declining. You can't play the same game forever.
- posted by Tobold @ 9:54 AM Permanent Link
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Tobold, with the minor feedback you get with your warrior I guess you simply do something wrong :) And you aren't the PvP type of player either (with the comment on running around).
Dmg Meters do tella lot (if you use SW Stats, not Dmg Meters). you can reset the data and sync with other players and compare. Did oyu fare well this boss or not? How do you compare to classic dmg dealers like Hunters and Mages?
In our raid we have 2 off tanks who barely do damage. We had some guests playing fury warriors who clearly beat our best mages in damage. Yes you can be the difference here. A faster kill means less mana being used, less likely a wipe going to occur.
I also see this being a question of age. Running around and being very fast in decision and positoning is clearly somethign for younger players. Thats why most warriors are played by younger players, I rarely see 40 year olds playing this type of class. IF they do they aren't as good as the young ones.
Our main tankis one of the best on our server, and is 16. My son isn't bad at all and is a nice def tank too, being 13 years old. Our other def tank is 40+ and has problems, so we found tasks he can do (with comparable equipment btw.)
Dmg Meters do tella lot (if you use SW Stats, not Dmg Meters). you can reset the data and sync with other players and compare. Did oyu fare well this boss or not? How do you compare to classic dmg dealers like Hunters and Mages?
In our raid we have 2 off tanks who barely do damage. We had some guests playing fury warriors who clearly beat our best mages in damage. Yes you can be the difference here. A faster kill means less mana being used, less likely a wipe going to occur.
I also see this being a question of age. Running around and being very fast in decision and positoning is clearly somethign for younger players. Thats why most warriors are played by younger players, I rarely see 40 year olds playing this type of class. IF they do they aren't as good as the young ones.
Our main tankis one of the best on our server, and is 16. My son isn't bad at all and is a nice def tank too, being 13 years old. Our other def tank is 40+ and has problems, so we found tasks he can do (with comparable equipment btw.)
# posted by 
: 10/11/06 10:36
: 10/11/06 10:36
Very telling quote at the end of this article:
"You can't play the same game forever."
Could this be the beginning of the end for WOW?
"You can't play the same game forever."
Could this be the beginning of the end for WOW?
Could this be the beginning of the end for WOW?
You call it "the beginning of the end", I call it "peak". But I'm pretty certain that the total subscriber number of World of Warcraft will peak shortly after the Burning Crusade comes out. But of course WoW will still run strong for many years, will probably still be the biggest MMORPG for another year or two, and might still be around with the last faithful players in 2020. Which is a long time for a video game, but still far from "forever".
You call it "the beginning of the end", I call it "peak". But I'm pretty certain that the total subscriber number of World of Warcraft will peak shortly after the Burning Crusade comes out. But of course WoW will still run strong for many years, will probably still be the biggest MMORPG for another year or two, and might still be around with the last faithful players in 2020. Which is a long time for a video game, but still far from "forever".
"I might also make a new character, a blood elf mage, because I always wanted to play a mage, and having a new race for it increases the interest. But I have no idea how high I'll get with that one. Because whether I will still be playing World of Warcraft in a year, I don't know."
Well, substitute warlock for mage and that is exactly how I feel. I am torn between making a warlock alt now and go on raids with my main 'till the expansion comes.
Well, substitute warlock for mage and that is exactly how I feel. I am torn between making a warlock alt now and go on raids with my main 'till the expansion comes.
# posted by : 10/11/06 11:47
: 10/11/06 11:47
While it's true that damagedealers don't get instant feedback (except when they pull aggro), there are several things you can do. First, get a damage tracking addon. SWStats and Damagemeters are the most popular. The latest versions of both have automatic sync, so they record all damage dealt, even if some players are out of the 30-yard range of the combat log. Also, get KLH Threat Meter.
When you have your measuring tools in place, you can start tweaking your damage. Check the gear and builds of your fellow damagedealers. Learn to know the threat output of your tanks, as well as your own. Experiment with different skill combos. Then start increasing your damage until you are always 1-3 crits away (or more if you have fast weapons) from pulling aggro.
One telltale sign of a good damagedealer is how much healing he receives. Ideally, the damagedealers should not get hit at all. A good damagedealer knows when it's safe to DPS, and when they should duck and cover. But if they do get hit, they should have consumables and especially bandages ready. No healer likes a damagedealer that needs more healing than the tank.
Finally, there's efficiency. While this is mostly a concern for mana-using classes, rage/energy efficiency can make a big difference as well. Efficiency also includes threat output. Your job is to do as much damage as possible as safely as possible. The less threat you dish out per point of damage, the more damage you can do.
When you have your measuring tools in place, you can start tweaking your damage. Check the gear and builds of your fellow damagedealers. Learn to know the threat output of your tanks, as well as your own. Experiment with different skill combos. Then start increasing your damage until you are always 1-3 crits away (or more if you have fast weapons) from pulling aggro.
One telltale sign of a good damagedealer is how much healing he receives. Ideally, the damagedealers should not get hit at all. A good damagedealer knows when it's safe to DPS, and when they should duck and cover. But if they do get hit, they should have consumables and especially bandages ready. No healer likes a damagedealer that needs more healing than the tank.
Finally, there's efficiency. While this is mostly a concern for mana-using classes, rage/energy efficiency can make a big difference as well. Efficiency also includes threat output. Your job is to do as much damage as possible as safely as possible. The less threat you dish out per point of damage, the more damage you can do.
# posted by : 10/11/06 12:20
: 10/11/06 12:20
Ah Fury Warriors... You need gear just as badly as a tank. Unless you have 1000 unbuffed attack power and at least +7 to hit and crit from epic DPS gear, don't bother specing fury. Use MS with a big shiny 2H (I suggest something like 37/14/0).
I love my fury warrior and would say it is the most fun class and spec to play in a raid. However, I can get near 1850 buffed attack power in epics and output nearly 1500-2000 DPS when using all pots and recklessness while spamming execute on bosses <20%.
I love my fury warrior and would say it is the most fun class and spec to play in a raid. However, I can get near 1850 buffed attack power in epics and output nearly 1500-2000 DPS when using all pots and recklessness while spamming execute on bosses <20%.
# posted by : 10/11/06 14:47
: 10/11/06 14:47
Uh oh.
My main is a 58 prot-spec warrior (I love to main tank) and I'm 41 years old.
Nobody told me that I was too old and slow to run a main tank!
Maybe all that PvP will help sharpen the old reflexes :P
PS -- I will agree that tanking is not easy; even pre-endgame the spec and the ability to hold aggro plus neutralize the target are critical.
Just this morning I jumped into AV for a while before work and ran to help with Balinda, only to find that there were only four or five of us. But I grabbed and held aggro, smacked her around with concussion blow and stunning revenges, and slapped her with silencing shield bashes whenever the cool-down allowed. I didn't have a healer, but between the Defiler trinket, a PvP healing potion, and Bal's 'healing' polys I stayed alive and we took her down.
My main is a 58 prot-spec warrior (I love to main tank) and I'm 41 years old.
Nobody told me that I was too old and slow to run a main tank!
Maybe all that PvP will help sharpen the old reflexes :P
PS -- I will agree that tanking is not easy; even pre-endgame the spec and the ability to hold aggro plus neutralize the target are critical.
Just this morning I jumped into AV for a while before work and ran to help with Balinda, only to find that there were only four or five of us. But I grabbed and held aggro, smacked her around with concussion blow and stunning revenges, and slapped her with silencing shield bashes whenever the cool-down allowed. I didn't have a healer, but between the Defiler trinket, a PvP healing potion, and Bal's 'healing' polys I stayed alive and we took her down.
Yeah, I'm 41 too, and I have no problem with tanking. It is the dps warrior role I have problems with. I don't even *know* if I'm doing well or not. And I just don't like playing that role.
My 18-year-old son who plays a 58 mage looked over my shoulder while I was tanking an instance, and after watching a while he said, "I don't think I could do that". IMO, while ability (both natural and learned) is important, play style preference is critical as well. I watch my son play a mage and he is very good at it, but typically he is either at a distance doing AOE or hitting a single target, or is jumping around giving people 'frost boots' and popping AOE instant-casts; it is a very different play-style that I would have to work to learn. Tanking / melee can be much more difficult than ranged because you have to be able to keep on the target, whether a mob that gets away from your aggro in a chaotic melee, or a slippery PvP opponent trying to avoid that Execute. Some of my problem is simply visual -- I visually lose what I have targeted in the chaos. The rest of the problem is that warriors, ironically, can do so much, and there is so much to keep track of, from target to stance to rage to cool-downs; especially difficult in PvP.
You know, it's all your fault I rolled a priest...
I find it fun to play the priest, and just because you're not moving around doesn't mean you're not buzy. For the most part that 3-5 person group is responsible for keeping the other 17-35 people alive and playing (you've seen the healer simuator at http://www.rougebob.com/priest/ , right?).
We, the priests that is, were talking the other day and we're of the opinion that since we're luckily 99.99 dramaqueen free in our guild (the one who is, doesn't raid), that we have adrenaline junkies for priests. The job works well for that kind of personality.
I find it fun to play the priest, and just because you're not moving around doesn't mean you're not buzy. For the most part that 3-5 person group is responsible for keeping the other 17-35 people alive and playing (you've seen the healer simuator at http://www.rougebob.com/priest/ , right?).
We, the priests that is, were talking the other day and we're of the opinion that since we're luckily 99.99 dramaqueen free in our guild (the one who is, doesn't raid), that we have adrenaline junkies for priests. The job works well for that kind of personality.
# posted by : 10/11/06 17:57
: 10/11/06 17:57
Could this be the beginning of the end for WOW? I too found this comment slipped in at the end telling.
When I found that I got in beta I was extremely excited. On my seasoned character I headed to the Outlands and it was fun finally seeing new yellow exclamation points that didn't lead to < elite > or < raid > quests.
On my draenei and blood elf characters I created to check out the starter areas it was interesting to see the new surroundings.
But...it is an expansion, not a brand new game. The thrill of figuring out not just how to play my class, but simply how to play the game is gone.
My first character a dwarf didn't know that Ironforge awaited her past Coldridge Valley. But this time, instead of thinking my entire world is Azuremyst Isle, I know my Draenei will have to make her way to Exodar post-haste and pick up a flight path.
Instead of not staying in Sunstrider Isle because of the beauty of it and to visit ever spot on the map, I know I'll head to Silvermoon and get some professions asap.
I know my action bar will eventually fill up with spells and I'll get more bag space.
The landscapes will be different, but the mechanics are the same and maybe that's what pushes people to new games.
When I found that I got in beta I was extremely excited. On my seasoned character I headed to the Outlands and it was fun finally seeing new yellow exclamation points that didn't lead to < elite > or < raid > quests.
On my draenei and blood elf characters I created to check out the starter areas it was interesting to see the new surroundings.
But...it is an expansion, not a brand new game. The thrill of figuring out not just how to play my class, but simply how to play the game is gone.
My first character a dwarf didn't know that Ironforge awaited her past Coldridge Valley. But this time, instead of thinking my entire world is Azuremyst Isle, I know my Draenei will have to make her way to Exodar post-haste and pick up a flight path.
Instead of not staying in Sunstrider Isle because of the beauty of it and to visit ever spot on the map, I know I'll head to Silvermoon and get some professions asap.
I know my action bar will eventually fill up with spells and I'll get more bag space.
The landscapes will be different, but the mechanics are the same and maybe that's what pushes people to new games.
I have 4 level 60 characters and the one I identified with the most is my feral druid. My first was a rogue, which never really made it past places like Strat/Scholo. There also appeared to be a glut of rogues when WoW launched. I just got bored with the sapping and dmg output (which was so dependant on great gear which I didn't have). My second was a warlock, which I enjoyed purely for PvP, whereas general PvE content, not-so-much. A move to a new server caused me to level up a holy priest. I enjoyed keeping my buddies alive as we progressed through content. I also found a priest an ideal class to play to guide new players through WoW, just got old watching a green bar and pressing a few buttons...
Then came the druid which represents my virtual identity perfectly. The jack of all trades master of none fit and allowed me to enjoy the game again. Leveling was fun, instances fun, and raiding has been fantastic. The druid is the only character I continue to nurture whereas my other characters are more playthings.
As a feral druid, I'm generally in a group of 3 rogues and one DPS warrior with improved battle shout in a raid (usually Group 5 in MC...inside joke there which I'll leave at that, we're having T-shirts made). As previous posters mentioned, damage dealing as a DPS warrior, rogue, feral druid I find is more about finesse, knowing when you can pour it on and knowing when to get out of there. Because of our experience, my DPS group seldom needs healing and with some of the clever Leader of the Pack + healing enhancements in TBC, I may not have to "swiftshift" into heal mode as much when the situation gets dire.
Then came the druid which represents my virtual identity perfectly. The jack of all trades master of none fit and allowed me to enjoy the game again. Leveling was fun, instances fun, and raiding has been fantastic. The druid is the only character I continue to nurture whereas my other characters are more playthings.
As a feral druid, I'm generally in a group of 3 rogues and one DPS warrior with improved battle shout in a raid (usually Group 5 in MC...inside joke there which I'll leave at that, we're having T-shirts made). As previous posters mentioned, damage dealing as a DPS warrior, rogue, feral druid I find is more about finesse, knowing when you can pour it on and knowing when to get out of there. Because of our experience, my DPS group seldom needs healing and with some of the clever Leader of the Pack + healing enhancements in TBC, I may not have to "swiftshift" into heal mode as much when the situation gets dire.
I meant to mention that my virtual identity is my priest. I played another class to 60 first, and I'm leveling yet another class to 60 now, however its the priest class that I've felt was made for me.
Due to raiding burnout and lack of viability outside of raiding, my priest has slowly become less appealing - but she still is my main. When everything is clicking right, she is still fun to play.
Due to raiding burnout and lack of viability outside of raiding, my priest has slowly become less appealing - but she still is my main. When everything is clicking right, she is still fun to play.
I suppose my WoW virtual identity would be my mage - simply because it is the only one I ever got to 60. I cancelled WoW long ago, but recently reactivated it for a short while. But I could not really be bothered to try to level up any of the other toons (a bunch in 30s and 40s), quickly got bored with it.
I have never been particularly attached to any toon, leaving a game has not been hard bacause of the toon. It is worse that you might loose contact with some in game friends you have made, so being part of a cross-game community has become an important.
I have never been particularly attached to any toon, leaving a game has not been hard bacause of the toon. It is worse that you might loose contact with some in game friends you have made, so being part of a cross-game community has become an important.
I think personal preferences and playing style, out weight age and natural ability. Someone may have a slight edge over you if they possess natural ability. However, if you know your class and love the style, you'll be just as good.
There was a time when I didn't think I could enjoy anything as much as my Warlock, but everything wears on you over time. You can only play the same game - no matter how many alts you roll, for a certain period of time before it's old to you. I enjoy my priest and will try out the new content in BC. But there is nothing that can be done to rez the newness and feeling of awe you had completing things on your first toon.
I think for some, BC is a bit too late. It's too many alts, visits to the same dungeons and raids too late. We'll tinker with BC but nothing about your class or play-style is changing. If you're like me, you're just waiting for the 2007 games.
There was a time when I didn't think I could enjoy anything as much as my Warlock, but everything wears on you over time. You can only play the same game - no matter how many alts you roll, for a certain period of time before it's old to you. I enjoy my priest and will try out the new content in BC. But there is nothing that can be done to rez the newness and feeling of awe you had completing things on your first toon.
I think for some, BC is a bit too late. It's too many alts, visits to the same dungeons and raids too late. We'll tinker with BC but nothing about your class or play-style is changing. If you're like me, you're just waiting for the 2007 games.
# posted by : 12/11/06 18:45
: 12/11/06 18:45
In reading these comments, I feel fortunate that I picked up WoW only this May. I see a lot of (understandable) burnout among the old-schoolers; they often seem un-motivated to even bother to check out the BC content. Since my main has just recently reached the endgame, BC couldn't be better timed for me. In January my main will still not have exhausted existing content - nowhere near!
Frankly, my alts frequently find content that I never saw with my main, and there are still regions where I've only scratched the surface, many quests still not done. I've not leveled past 20 on the Alliance side either. Nor played on a PvP server. Nor tried the RP scene. Still constantly finding something new, sometimes even in areas I thought to be exhausted.
I sometimes party with a veteran player (a 60 on each faction plus several mid-level alts), and several times I've found that he's totally unaware of content that I ran across while leveling -- to the point that I'm surprised how much he missed along the way.
So for me, BC will be a welcome bonus to what is still an abundant variety of content.
My Horde main will likely enter the Outland as a 60 in bright shiny new Tier 0 gear, looking for new adventures.
Regarding the "beginning of the end for WoW", I don't see a MMORPG with a 7 million subscriber base fading anytime soon. There is an ongoing huge influx of new players, and at least some of the veterans will return (or will stick around) to check out the new races, level to 70, and try out new instances and the new PvP BG.
As for me, my guess is that WoW will keep my attention for at least another year, perhaps longer.
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Frankly, my alts frequently find content that I never saw with my main, and there are still regions where I've only scratched the surface, many quests still not done. I've not leveled past 20 on the Alliance side either. Nor played on a PvP server. Nor tried the RP scene. Still constantly finding something new, sometimes even in areas I thought to be exhausted.
I sometimes party with a veteran player (a 60 on each faction plus several mid-level alts), and several times I've found that he's totally unaware of content that I ran across while leveling -- to the point that I'm surprised how much he missed along the way.
So for me, BC will be a welcome bonus to what is still an abundant variety of content.
My Horde main will likely enter the Outland as a 60 in bright shiny new Tier 0 gear, looking for new adventures.
Regarding the "beginning of the end for WoW", I don't see a MMORPG with a 7 million subscriber base fading anytime soon. There is an ongoing huge influx of new players, and at least some of the veterans will return (or will stick around) to check out the new races, level to 70, and try out new instances and the new PvP BG.
As for me, my guess is that WoW will keep my attention for at least another year, perhaps longer.
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