Game On
Ended up putting time into both WoW and GW yesterday. @.@
WoW: First time I've played more than just a brief solo stint to do a couple repeatable quests for money in weeks. While we were predictably slow in gathering, Sunday's run through the Steamvault went so well it was almost silly. Okay, there was one unfortunate pull at the beginning where a tough bog giant spotted our stealthed rogue. That was ugly. The bosses, though, went smooth as can be. I've been in a few times before and wiped repeatedly on Hydromancer Thespia, the first of three bosses. Not this time. After that initial mess, no one died at all. T'was a thing of beauty.
It looks like Blizzard is planning to due away with attunements (were you must complete a series of quests to enter) for some of the bigger dungeons, instead just requiring that someone have the key. I had been doubting I'd ever see inside Karazhan, but this means it'll be possible - even if it feels a little like cheating.
With due consideration, I have to say the single biggest draw to World of Warcraft is how it lays out goals before you, making it feel like you're accomplishing something with your time. Levels earned mean access to better gear, new/improved skills (usually every other level), safe access to new territory, and new things like mounts for faster travel at certain levels. There are professions to increase, too. Even at maximum level, there's usually better gear to strive for. As long as you can see a goal before you, there's reason to come back and play. That's the appeal (and yes, in some ways, the danger).
GW: Got to play with two other guildmates instead of one. That was nice. I do enjoy the company.
On the down side, most of the three hours involved ferrying a lower-level member to a major hub city. That means slogging through not-so-random encounters one zone after another, getting very little experience along the way.
While I usually enjoy playing with friends there, and watching storyline play out as you complete a mission is neat, the game itself has grown increasingly disappointing. The chat buffer is shorter than I'd like. The fast/instant travel to cities looks neat on paper, but is rather limited and fragile and it seems like crossing zones of trash mobs is inevitable. And running around overland is almost painful sometimes as the terrain makes it easy to get turned around or end up somewhere with an impassable hill between you and your objective. Gaining a level means a few more hit points, attribute points, and a skill point, but really means little - at level 14, I don't feel much different than I did at any other level. I haven't found a new skill worth adding to my active bar since... I'm not even sure when. It's hard to look forward to things when I've no real sense of what's before me.
Ultimately, of course, the two games are different in design philosophies.
WoW: First time I've played more than just a brief solo stint to do a couple repeatable quests for money in weeks. While we were predictably slow in gathering, Sunday's run through the Steamvault went so well it was almost silly. Okay, there was one unfortunate pull at the beginning where a tough bog giant spotted our stealthed rogue. That was ugly. The bosses, though, went smooth as can be. I've been in a few times before and wiped repeatedly on Hydromancer Thespia, the first of three bosses. Not this time. After that initial mess, no one died at all. T'was a thing of beauty.
It looks like Blizzard is planning to due away with attunements (were you must complete a series of quests to enter) for some of the bigger dungeons, instead just requiring that someone have the key. I had been doubting I'd ever see inside Karazhan, but this means it'll be possible - even if it feels a little like cheating.
With due consideration, I have to say the single biggest draw to World of Warcraft is how it lays out goals before you, making it feel like you're accomplishing something with your time. Levels earned mean access to better gear, new/improved skills (usually every other level), safe access to new territory, and new things like mounts for faster travel at certain levels. There are professions to increase, too. Even at maximum level, there's usually better gear to strive for. As long as you can see a goal before you, there's reason to come back and play. That's the appeal (and yes, in some ways, the danger).
GW: Got to play with two other guildmates instead of one. That was nice. I do enjoy the company.
On the down side, most of the three hours involved ferrying a lower-level member to a major hub city. That means slogging through not-so-random encounters one zone after another, getting very little experience along the way.
While I usually enjoy playing with friends there, and watching storyline play out as you complete a mission is neat, the game itself has grown increasingly disappointing. The chat buffer is shorter than I'd like. The fast/instant travel to cities looks neat on paper, but is rather limited and fragile and it seems like crossing zones of trash mobs is inevitable. And running around overland is almost painful sometimes as the terrain makes it easy to get turned around or end up somewhere with an impassable hill between you and your objective. Gaining a level means a few more hit points, attribute points, and a skill point, but really means little - at level 14, I don't feel much different than I did at any other level. I haven't found a new skill worth adding to my active bar since... I'm not even sure when. It's hard to look forward to things when I've no real sense of what's before me.
Ultimately, of course, the two games are different in design philosophies.
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