So, I was trying to hold out just a little longer before writing another one of these for something else… something, better. I will probably get to at least one more of these posts, maybe two if I manage to get to my level 20 cap. If you’re just tuning in, or have not gotten what’s going on here, I’m working on playing through some of these many Free to play MMOs available on the market and giving some thoughts. I’m starting with World of Warcraft since it is “the game”, or at least, it once was and seems to still be what other MMOs are measured against. Part one, where I start my adventure can be found here.
I wanted to go ahead and get a part two out there. At this point in my play, I can not fathom any reason why anyone would pay a monthly subscription to play this game. Ever. I have absolutely no clue how this game is so popular even from a social aspect angle, there are much better experiences out there. There are also way better gameplay aspects out there.
Now, I am still sticking it out to see if things get better, which they might. Firstly, I am currently at level 9, which as near as I can tell in this game, is synonymous with being on the edge of *more*. Or even on the edge of possibly what could be called the “real game”. For example, There are several features, even basic things like achievements, which I currently can’t get which say “Unlocks at level ten”. I’ve encountered several quests and even a phantom ghost wall which said I had to reach level 10 in order to access them. I remembered that I needed to upgrade my hunter skills and while so far I’d unlocked something like one per level, level ten adds at least half a dozen including things like the ability to train more pets.
So once I pass this level 10 mark, I can already see a whole new wealth of possibilities. As i said, there will be at least one more post on this topic, after I’ve done some of this new stuff.
I also have made it to some sort of very large city. So far, I’ve been to three towns, all were mostly deserted of other players and all could be viewed end to end from any point in the town. I have recently arrived at a large city and it was chock full of other players, many riding mounts and all considerably higher level than I.
On the other hand… the combat is boring. Traveling is boring. Here’s the pattern as I travel between towns, I wander through a vast open empty area, eventually I reach an area full of enemies, these enemies all attack one at a time and often only after being provoked. Being an archer, primarily, this means i target the enemy. I walk towards them mashing “2” until i am in range of my special attack, then I stand there mashing 2 while the normal auto attack shoots arrows and my pet runs in to take all of the damage. After killing the enemy, I walk up to the body, i look a few useless trinkets that I’ll later sell, then i find the next enemy.
This is slow and tedious.
The travel itself is also slow. There may be a way to point to point travel that I have not discovered, but as much as I think, say, the fast travel of TES or the point to point TPs in Second Life kind of “break the experience” (when I played oblivion I made a point of NEVER fast traveling), trudging through the land of Warcraft is really really laborious. I’ve left several old quests behind from my current city and I am absolutely dreading the idea of wandering back to complete them.
So, I’m really holding out for more excitement, and I have a feeling that I’ll either find it soon or not at all.
