Hello,
I'm currently enjoying my 10-day free trial. Afterwards, I plan on upgrading my account and paying the $15/month. My question is this: How does the whole game actually work? Like, do I download the client for free? And if I do, do I also get the expansions for free? Or do I need to buy every single client? If so, how much is it for each one?
ID:181777
 Sep 14 2009, 10:42 am
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Sep 14 2009, 2:18 pm
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Danial.Beta
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Their system changes over time, but generally you have to buy one license to WoW(a box copy or off the site), this gives you 30 days free on top of the 10 days you already got. However, this doesn't come with expansion packs. You can go to gamestop and normally get a WoW box set for a reasonable price.
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Quit now while you're ahead. The game has peaked out and is starting on the downward slope.
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You always run the game through the WoW patcher. What you pay for are the license keys for WoW Classic, WoW TBC and/or WoW WoTLK. You get CD's too, but those just alleviate the need to download some of the stuff that needs downloading.
And yes, the game itself is a seperate purchase from each expansion pack. Usually you can find a packaged deal with game + all expansions for cheaper than if you had bought them individually. | |
I disagree. Although I don't currently play, WoW is still as big as it ever was. As a new user he has at least the 1-80 leveling he can do, if he enjoys it.
Personally, it took about 3 times quitting and coming back to WoW to finally get to level 70(the max last time I started playing again), but that is because I get burned out on games. Of course there are more productive things he could do with his time, but if he is having fun with it, than it is worth it to him. You do, however, sometimes need to take it into perspective. Assuming it takes you 6 months to get to level 80 and a combo pack for WoW costs $40, it will cost you about 15*6+40=$130 for the game. That may seem a little high for what you get. I know, based on the hours I put into it, it was well worth the cost of two new retail games, but I payed for each expansion as it came out and it paid for it a few months I wasn't playing, so mine was more like 15*12+50+30+30=$290. In that perspective, it probably wasn't worth it. | |
SuperAntx wrote:
Quit now while you're ahead. The game has peaked out and is starting on the downward slope. that's funny, because if you take statements like this to be true, WoW has "died" thousands of times and is "on the downward slope" permanently. then, suddenly, the game grows even larger and continues to break its own world record of largest MMO ever. it's also quite silly to use the doomsday card when the game just had a new expansion announced | |
Danial.Beta wrote:
I disagree. Although I don't currently play, WoW is still as big as it ever was.Zaole wrote: it's also quite silly to use the doomsday card when the game just had a new expansion announced Player count != quality. Haven't you guys ever heard of BYOND Anime? By downward slope I mean Blizzard is constantly nerfing the harder content while handing out epics for doing almost nothing. Veteran raiders are either in close-knit power guilds, quitting, or are very hard to come by. What you're left with are a bunch of quasi-raiding guilds full of members who haven't seen much content and aren't capable of pulling their own weight in a raid environment. Because of said people, you've got a snowball effect where Blizzard keeps nerfing the content for them while a batch of even dumber people are awarded with a set of epics. If you like the game then nothing I say will change your mind. I'm just trying to give you a little perspective from someone who's played since before BC/WotlK. | |
Perhaps if what you are wanting is the massive raid thing, but the vast majority don't care about that, and because the vast majority is where the money is at, Blizzard is catering to them. Chances are, as a new player, WoW is more fun than it has ever been before.
I started playing WoW when it was first released. It was by a very large margin the easiest to get into MMO on the market, but that is saying very little. It still took a huge time investment and a lot of strife to get to level 60. As the patches rolled on, it became easier and easier to hit that point. Every time I came back to the game, it got easier. And as a casual player, this was better for me. | |
Danial.Beta wrote:
Perhaps if what you are wanting is the massive raid thing, but the vast majority don't care about that, and because the vast majority is where the money is at, Blizzard is catering to them. What do you base that on? You made it up. According to WoW Census, the majority of active players are at max level. Blizzard has put out multiple updates in order to grease up the slide from 1 to 80. This in turn means it's much easier for people to reach end-game content. While not a terrible thing, it enforces the argument made in my previous post. The only thing left to do at 80 is raid. | |
Sorry, seems I poorly worded that. I understand that a lot of people are at level 80, and I'd believe the majority. What I'm saying is that the majority don't want to have to train for months, and retry a raid 40 times before getting successfully through. WoW is a game, not a hobby. And I'd guess that most players see it that way. So they don't want to put all their gaming time into a single game. Sure, for many people, WoW is their only game, and thus their hobby. Blizzard wouldn't be making this move if it wasn't profitable. And the only way it is profitable is if more people are having fun(and thus paying a monthly subscription fee).
So although you may think it is hurting the game, clearly it is not. And my argument about it always getting easier was my way of saying that Blizzard has always been moving this direction, even from the start. I'm sure the first people to level 60 probably felt the same way you do when BC was released, and the 1-60 leveling was adjusted. And yes, there are plenty of morons at level 80. As someone who didn't do a lot of raiding, but was able to hang with the big dogs on skill(but not on armor because I refused to invest the time), I had to deal a ton with the morons, but oh well. WoW is undoubtedly more fun now than it has ever been before for new players. I recently reran a character from 1 to 80 and it was a far better experience than years ago. And as someone with a job and things to do, I couldn't afford to spend the time to get into major raiding. | |
Danial.Beta wrote:
What I'm saying is that the majority don't want to have to train for months, and retry a raid 40 times before getting successfully through. Running a few greenhorns through is pretty much standard, it's how you introduce newer players to tough content. The problem having an entire raid filled people who recently slid their way to 80. If there's a big red circle on the ground, the monster is shouting he's about to attack, and there's a big warning flashing on the screen to move, then you should move. Instead you have a group of people standing around trying to do the most damage with their new +42034 Strength epic sword. After wiping, they'll complain on the forum about the encounter being too hard, causing Blizzard to issue another series of nerfs. To put it simply, WoW is catering to the same type of anime "players" we have here on BYOND. They're the type of person who, rather than overcoming a challenge, would rather sit next to a pbag gaining strength and then one-shotting anything they touch. This is counterintuitive and just makes the game boring for people who are actually playing. And as someone with a job and things to do, I couldn't afford to spend the time to get into major raiding. The general raid time for most of the guilds I have been in is three hours on a single weeknight, with an extra 4th hour if we go into overtime. There's usually an optional cleanup day before the raid reset. Most "hardcore" raiding guilds actually play a whole lot less than the casual players because the easy content can be cleared quite quickly. There's also the weekly raid lockout period (which is being extended) for guilds who take a whole week to clear something rather than three hours. This lockout, while making things easier for casual players, actually prevents the more experienced players from playing at all. | |
What I meant by having time to get into raiding was not actually running through a place, but rather running 50 lesser raids to get the equipment to be able to run the better ones. And then there is the problem of finding a group to run the lesser raids, and then compounding the problem is finding people who are willing to go through them with someone who has horrible equipment to begin with. If I ever got the equipment, it might be a little better, but I would have to find a group to run a dungeon 5 times so I could get my crossbow or whatever.
I was in a raiding guild, and the time I was expected to dedicate to playing WoW was just unacceptable, even to someone who has no kids and no hobbies besides video games taking up his time(well, I do spend way too much time arguing about pointless stuff on forums >.>, but that isn't technically a hobby). Then again, I was a spot filling ranger, not an "in demand" pally, druid, or priest. | |
Danial.Beta wrote:
running 50 lesser raids to get the equipment to be able to run the better ones. And then there is the problem of finding a group to run the lesser raids, and then compounding the problem is finding people who are willing to go through them with someone who has horrible equipment to begin with. Are you talking about regular 5-man dungeons? You should be able to blast through those wearing quest greens. It's how they were designed. Since there is an incentive (in the form of a daily quest) for geared raiders to run them, there will always be groups ready to go for any particular dungeon. Right now the only "lesser raid" would be Naxxramas. Keep in mind it was harder when it first came out, and people running it were wearing the same 5-man blues you're wearing now. Lots of guilds are still running it and it would be a shame to just try and skip it. You aren't really getting your money's worth if you go around skipping content. I was in a raiding guild, and the time I was expected to dedicate to playing WoW was just unacceptable, even to someone who has no kids and no hobbies besides video games taking up his time(well, I do spend way too much time arguing about pointless stuff on forums >.>, but that isn't technically a hobby). Unfortunately those guilds exist, but they're usually the types of guilds trying to push forward into new content. They aren't really meant for casual players. | |
SuperAntx wrote:
Danial.Beta wrote: Mostly 5 man, but at least 1 10 man(Probably Nax, but it's been a while so I forget names), and I did the 40 man in Wintergrasp a couple of times. The point was, it wasn't just getting together for 1 run through, to get the equipment I need to get my DPS to a reasonable level I had to go through each one many, many times. The grinding was just silly. And finding people to do it was always an issue, even when reaching outside the guild. It would take like 30-45 minutes to do a UK run, but up to two hours to get a group together, and god forbid anyone have to leave after just one run. Trying to do a 10 man was double as bad, as you had to find and depend on twice as many people. Perhaps this is more of a server issue, but we had a medium population server. Right now the only "lesser raid" would be Naxxramas. Keep in mind it was harder when it first came out, and people running it were wearing the same 5-man blues you're wearing now. Lots of guilds are still running it and it would be a shame to just try and skip it. You aren't really getting your money's worth if you go around skipping content. The only content I skipped was the stuff I was told by anyone I grouped with that "it isn't worth it" or it was too high for me to go to before I gave up. Unfortunately those guilds exist, but they're usually the types of guilds trying to push forward into new content. They aren't really meant for casual players. I guess I just don't like a game that decides what time of day I need to be on to do anything with it. I don't keep gamers hours, so often I couldn't get on when the majority of people were. And even if I could, I didn't want to have to factor that into my schedule. If I want to play some TF2 I can pick it up at any point in the day, and set it down just as quick. I can forget about it for a month, and nobody starts emailing me asking me if I quit it. The whole ecosystem I found counter productive to my life. That's not to say that it isn't fun for others, but if WoW can make it easier for people like me by making it easier for others to get up there, then get equipment, sounds like a win for me, even if it's a lose for you. It may hurt the hardcore players for WoW to make the game more accessible to people like me, but it makes the game more fun for people like me, and people who work day jobs and don't have time to dedicate to a game like WoW largely outnumber the people who are willing to become hardcore players, and not just in numbers but most likely in wallet size as well(which is what Blizzard really cares about). It may result in a good few idiots making it to level 80, but my experience is that any idiot could make it there before, he just had to be a persistent idiot. | |
SuperAntx wrote:
By downward slope I mean Blizzard is constantly nerfing the harder content while handing out epics for doing almost nothing. Veteran raiders are either in close-knit power guilds, quitting, or are very hard to come by. What you're left with are a bunch of quasi-raiding guilds full of members who haven't seen much content and aren't capable of pulling their own weight in a raid environment. Because of said people, you've got a snowball effect where Blizzard keeps nerfing the content for them while a batch of even dumber people are awarded with a set of epics. it's funny that you say the game is too easy, because i don't see you killing 25 anub or getting earth wind and fire. making more content available to casual players does not magically make the other more difficult achievements any easier. and about the purples comment: does a certain text color becoming more commonplace really bother you so much? did you freak out and have a panic attack at level 10 when you started encountering a lot more greens than from levels 1-9? did you threaten to quit the game forever when you reached level 40 and were wearing a full set of green/blue gear? If you like the game then nothing I say will change your mind. I'm just trying to give you a little perspective from someone who's played since before BC/WotlK. i've been around since beta. does that somehow, inexplicably, make me better or more knowledgeable than you? | |
SuperAntx wrote:
Zaole wrote: nice way to dodge everything i said nothing i said was a personal attack | |
Deathscyth15 wrote:
if you realy whanna play wow and your not sure if you wanna pay for it try a private server then no horrible idea | |
Zaole wrote:
Deathscyth15 wrote: Even the best private servers have a plethora of glitches that will make you want to gouge your eyes out. If you can't afford it you can talk to Blizzard about it and they will charge you less. A good thing to say is you have XBOX Live and want to get WoW, but you can't spend any more and don't want to get rid of your Live account. Usually they'll let you get away with 9 a month or so. | |