Time consumption in WoW?

[netz]

A lot of people start out on PvE servers, and never learn how to defend themselves properly, simply because they never had to. This causes them to get their salads tossed the moment they step onto and a PvP server because the only real threat they've faced was a scorpion add.

In some scenarios, you'll be engaged by members of the opposing faction who are at a similar level to you. Those were usually enjoyable situations for me. However, the more typical scenario is that you're level 28, finishing up some quests in Hillsbrad Foothills, and an ambush crit hits you for 3k; oh, and good luck getting your corpse back. There's not much defense against that...

and thats where you learn to play with your head.
learning running rezzes and not sitting and eating after you rez
learning how to use terrain to rez to your advantage etc...

Useless (and obvious) tactics not appropriate in any other part of the game beyond recovering from a bored level 70 fucking with you, all of which are easily countered by the fact that you can't move nearly as fast as they can.

Truly, the only defense is to not be there, but 80% of the game is contested zones.

Most people ganking in this manner are hoping people log on their 70s to come fight them; in a sense, doing that already means they won since you're wasting your time responding to that sort of idiotic challenge.

[Exoduso]

Because by the time you get to level 70 you get ganked so much, that you just want to do the same to everyone you possibly fucking can.

[Saga]

General rule of MMOs: If the game has a PvP server, your first character probably doesn't belong there.

WoW is kind of the opposite. Once he reaches level 70, he won't have shit to do other than rep grind, raid (think instanced dynamis, only better), or pvp. If he's on a PvP server, he can go out and kill people for fun. Can't do that on a normal server.

Another thing that's good about PvP servers is that they teach you how to play your class under 'harsh' conditions. Leveling on 'care-bear' servers tends to not really put you under any situations where actual players (with brains) are out to get you.

A lot of people start out on PvE servers, and never learn how to defend themselves properly, simply because they never had to. This causes them to get their salads tossed the moment they step onto and a PvP server because the only real threat they've faced was a scorpion add.


Edit: One time I read on the BG boards (before split) that a player got to level 60 and had 4/5 tier 3 epics(think sky gear) in the same amount of playtime that it took him to get RDM to 75.

Nitpicky, but T3 from Naxx was a 9 piece set..unless you meant 4/5 to mean four fifths, in which case that's still weird.

[Insanecyclone]

Because by the time you get to level 70 you get ganked so much, that you just want to do the same to everyone you possibly fucking can.

Blasphemy! Pvp on a pvp server?!

[Deejay]

Meh, can't remember exactly as it was a long time ago. However, it's still a huge difference. Not to say WoW is any easier, but theres a lot less 'fluff' compared to FFXI. However, WoW has an astonishing amount of more content than FFXI. (which cam be good and bad) So you're still going to have your hands full for quite some time.

[Correction]

I disagree with Slapper, you'll at best be able to do 75-90% of a level per day on your first character if you can only dedicate 2 hours to the game.

Instances will be difficult to manage since people like to play replacement musical chairs in this game, too, and setting up instances can take an eternity. Organized raid events depending on the guild will usually take 3-4 hours with a setup time of 15-45 minutes.

PvP might be your best option given your time constraints to gear yourself in epics; however, the gear isn't optimal for PvE as it places survivability above damage output.

It's the same shit in a different package.

First time through a WoW level grind will likely take you ~2 months to hit 70, mostly because you little money, no serious guild to help you and little chance of seriously levelling a profession.

It's that 2nd+ time around that WoW seriously outpaces FFXI by miles and miles and miles. Once you become familiar with areas and quests there is always a 'best' path to take and you can take it every time. None of this 'oshit there are 5 parties in garlaige let's go to the worst possible zone to exp' or 'damn I hit 66 time to start leveling my goddamn subjob again.' WoW lets you progress with much fewer cockblocks.

Anything you have to find a group for will always take the same amount of time in either game, but again WoW proves faster simply because you don't all have to be in the same area to a) invite each other or b) continue looking for members. The game lets you be on opposite continents and still effectively gather once you fill up the 5 party slots at ANY level. You don't have to find a WHM to teleport people.

Anybody who thinks WoW takes as long as FFXI to get stuff accomplished clearly never played WoW to 70.

That said 2 hours will generally net you a whole level+money+some odd piece of gear (hey how about that no real need to farm separately of exping), since you get rested state between sessions and that usually accounts for a good bulk of exp while you're not playing.

[Tulun]

http://www.theorderls.com/wow/




Jesus Christ man, you're lucky I got here first.

Thanks for the link!

Interesting replies. I'm thinking of picking up the 2 dollar trial period, see if I like the game. I'd be on a PvP server likely, because my RL friends are all on one (doh!)

[Deejay]

That said 2 hours will generally net you a whole level+money+some odd piece of gear (hey how about that no real need to farm separately of exping), since you get rested state between sessions and that usually accounts for a good bulk of exp while you're not playing.

holy shit you bring up a good point too. You spend about 5% of the time you do in FFXI mindlessly farming for money, gear, srolls, etc etc.

[Charla]

Let''s just say that if I wanted to get killed over and over, I'd go play Quake 3 again.

Do PvP kills actually get you any sort of gear, abilities or cash whatsoever in WoW? I understand that it's a lot more integral than the tacked-on just-for-fun crap in EQ and CoH, but I never heard of a game where your pvp killcount actually matters for more than bragging rights.

[Correction]

Do PvP kills actually get you any sort of gear, abilities or cash whatsoever in WoW? I understand that it's a lot more integral than the tacked-on just-for-fun crap in EQ and CoH, but I never heard of a game where your pvp killcount actually matters for more than bragging rights.

PvP kills can grant 'Honor' points which can be spent for PvP-specific items like armor, potions and other doodads.

However, you don't actually gain 'Honor' if you gank players significantly lower in level than you are. People who do that are just being dicks. WoW is no stranger to this behavior.

Ganking is annoying in WoW so if it is going to infuriate you just stay away from PvP servers, even if your friends are on them. The only alternative is to level from 30-60 in groups. It's doable but you kind of have to make an appointment to play all at the same time, which in the MMO space only works if you're really comfortable with your friends online. The good news is that the most rewarding group experiences happen in gank-free space (i.e. instances). There's no camping bullshit against rivals who'd just kill you.

[Cheerios]

PvP server rules:

-Don't level in Stranglethorn Vale until 40
-Get your mount at 40 and 60 ASAP.
-If you're doing Scarlet Monastery as alliance, then swim there.
-Always gank people if they are on a kill quest/timed quest, and curse of recklessness elites that warlocks are dotting/fearing.
-Dance naked on an alt if you're short on gold for your mount

If you wanna make your life easy, just get summoned to shattrath immediately and set your hearth there. Portals to all 3 major cities is very nice for a lot of the shit quest objectives 1-58.

[Dezzimal]

Finding an instance group can take some time, just the same as with FFXI and grouping to level. 2 hours is plenty of time to get at least something done. Groups can be hard to find on some servers, Azshara is fairly low population which makes it harder to find groups than most servers.

My first character, a priest, took ~2 or more months to get to 70. My warlock was considerably quicker, even though I took a few breaks of a week or more from leveling him. If you put your mind to it, you can get to 70 in 2 or 3 weeks of focused play on your second or third time to 70.

[Krandor]

STV isn't that bad anymore since people aren't running ZG that much if at all.

[Yeargdribble]

The ability to invest smaller chunks of time is what I really like in WoW compared to FFXI. You could realistically even log in for only 30 minutes and still get something accomplished. That's rarely the case in FFXI other than checking your limited auctions on all of your mules. You could do a lot in 2 hours and due to the resting XP bonus, if you have take a day or two off, you'll come back getting double XP for much of your next level.

Like others have said, when gathering an instance group, you can sometimes end up waiting a while, but unlike FFXI, just because you don't have a group doesn't mean you can't make progress. You can always quest for significant amounts of XP and gold. Money is a joke to make. If you come from FFXI and understand the basics of making money you'll likely have a surplus when it comes time to buy your mount at 40.

In WoW you're killing multiple birds with one stone. You're out XPing... quests give good XP, give good money, sometimes good gear, the mobs drops stuff... it vendors pretty well, you get random good gear drops that AH pretty well. So you're gearing, farming and XPing simultaneously pretty much all the time. You'll rarely have to take a break from XP to go do some money maker for 2 weeks to buy that Hauby or whatever that you MUST have to not be gimp.

I know the FFXI community has a general anti-WoW bias as though it's some horrible plague. I bought into that lie for years. Give it a try and you'll probably find a great deal of the negative remarks untrue or only half true.

FFXI=work
WoW=play

Oh... and play on a PvP server. If you don't like it... you can either reroll or get moved to a PvE. You can't go the other direction though. I was afraid of ganking and tried out PvE to start with, but ganking is far over-hyped. It's not that bad if you're chilling in your faction's zones most of the time and while there will be some frustrating bits, it's overall much more enjoyable imo

The biggest downside to WoW is probably the community. It's harder to find a good guild and good people, but the ones you find will be nice to deal with. There are just a lot more people in WoW and thus a lot more shits.

[Guyverarmor]

I might be going back to WoW here soon just based on how limited my play time is due to work and school. I love FFXI for the past 4yrs I have played It, but now after I lost alot of the free time I had, I noticed how big of a time sink It is. I already played WoW and was actually impressed by the game play ( MOOCOW )maybe one day I will return to FFXI If my time gets opened up.

I had alot of the Anti-WoW/GTFO sentiments but then I played It and thought It was kinda cool. still need to spend time on WoW just like any MMO but not as much. I do agree with the post above about being able to xp,quest(and get xp) plus get some gold/silver/copper and get some dorps along the way Is really cool I think thats the best aspect of WoW I like. I both games for both reasons, but If I had to choose one due to time playing, I would go with WoW. If I had more time to put Into an MMO, would choose FFXI In a heartbeat

[Zosi]

I played WoW for a few months when I needed a break from FFXI, after a RL friend convinced me to try it. The main thing time-wise is that while the "productive" time invested to get to 70 compared to 75 in FFXI is probably similar, the "unproductive" time is MUCH MUCH MUCH lower. If you can only log on for an hour, you can DO something, even if it's just grinding for 30 minutes for a bit of exp and gold. Some stuff takes longer, and stuff like instances have some of the same logistical difficulties as setting up parties in FFXI (can't find tank or healer, party full of afking noobs, etc) but you certainly don't HAVE to do instances to level, it's just potentially more fun that way.

About the ganking thing, it's a simple question of what you want to deal with when you're leveling, and whether you're "revenge" motivated. My RL friends who had already been playing were on Ursin (PvP), so I started playing a rogue there, and I got ganked by something like 90% of higher level Horde players I ever saw. I never really felt the desire to gank any of the lowbie Hordies I saw, so the prospect of being the ganker instead of the gankee in the future didn't really do anything for me. I ended up switching to a PvE server shortly before coming back to FFXI, and I had a lot more fun there, but it certainly depends on the person. If you can take the annoyance of your leveling basically being at the whim of bored 70s of the alternate faction, or for some reason enjoy PKing defenseless people for fun, then by all means, roll PvP and stay there.

One thing I will say is that WoW PvP IS excellent if it's against reasonable targets. Dueling (whether against friends or the opposite faction) is a blast, and the organized PvP matches (battlegrounds) are an extremely fun and decently rewarding way to pass the time if you need a break from grinding. Matches don't usually take long, and you can accumulate points to get some very nice gear for your level. After playing WSG and Arathi Basin matches for a while, I could never play Ballista again, it just felt like some shitty imitation. I've been told that Alterac Valley is even more fun, but I quit my rogue shortly after hitting 50, so I never got around to trying it.

[Marquisate]

If you're a casual player, WoW is perfect for you. With only a couple hours to play you can usually rep grind or BG grind or knock out a few arenas with ease. Unfortunately, PvE raiding the most advanced content requires a more serious time commitment, but it is still possible to enjoy most of the game with the limited time schedule available to you. Every class can solo to the level cap very comfortably, but I recommend that you read up on how each class plays at endgame before rolling a class/race combination. Some advance research will save you a lot of hassle - don't roll Paladin unless you want to be a healbot, don't roll Priest if you WANT to be a healbot, Dwarf/Gnome >>>>>>> Human/Night Elf always, etc.

Personally I've changed from a hardcore raider to a full-time PvPer, and even when I only have an hour or two available to play I find that to be more than enough time for a few BGs or a few arena matches if my partners are online.

[Tulun]

I'm not sure what job I would do at first, I don't really know enough about the jobs in the game.

My good friend is a Human Warlock atm, he seems to enjoy that.

[Melena]

Exo, at 66 I'm getting 10-14kexp per quest turn in. Hell the stupid walk 5 steps and talk to a guy quest is giving 5-8k exp now. As for PVP, i don't mind it too much. What I do mind are the kiddies with no free time sitting outside a lowbie town to kill anyone who walks out. My friend's paladin has been stuck in a town for a week cause every night there's a few level 70's that don't have the skill to hack it in real pvp so they have to gank people 30 levels below em.

[Exoduso]

Exo, at 66 I'm getting 10-14kexp per quest turn in. Hell the stupid walk 5 steps and talk to a guy quest is giving 5-8k exp now. As for PVP, i don't mind it too much. What I do mind are the kiddies with no free time sitting outside a lowbie town to kill anyone who walks out. My friend's paladin has been stuck in a town for a week cause every night there's a few level 70's that don't have the skill to hack it in real pvp so they have to gank people 30 levels below em.

um, couldn't he just stone?

And meh, too lazy to xp 40-70 heh..