Just been handed a copy of WoW...

[JC Denton]

Dont get into WOW you get hooked and wont se your frinds for years only a warning.... [img]smile.gif[/img]

[Ivelliis]

Untrue. I've found a great balance of WoW and RL. Mainly, I only play WoW when I'm way too tired to go out, and all my assignments are done [img]smile.gif[/img]

[Memnoch]

Originally posted by Larry_OHF: Thanks for all the opinions, guys. I will definately give the free trial a go and see what its like...but as for paying to play per month...I am in my final semester of school before I get a job and we can sell this house and get away from these neighbors who have been getting worse these days. I do not have the time to devote to a game where I would get my $15.00 worth every month, because my time online is so limited and short. Once I am free from the troubles of this semester...I will consider this game again as a potential investment worth the money to play. I hope some of you are still around in a few months to team up with!

Sorry to quote a month old (nearly) post, but this is the reason why I've been reluctant to play MMOGs like WoW or Guild Wars - time. I've heard lots of great things about WoW and Guild Wars and MMOGs in general, but from what I've also heard you need to devote lots of time to it. What would be the minimim weekly time investment you'd need to put in to actually make the subscription worthwhile?

[SpiritWarrior]

Totally up to you. GW doesn't charge you monthly so you may like that aspect. I don't play it often as I have said but then I don't worry since I amn't paying and 'wasting' money when I don't use my paid time. WoW charges a monthly subscription which I have always said I feel is money well spent. The day I feel it isn't well spent I won't pay. Sometimes when I know I will be busy or when I am getting bored I deactivate my account for awhile.

The whole "investing" time into a game is overrated. You will want to play a game you pay for and you will want to play it frequently. If you don't then you shouldn't be paying for it in the first place. The jokes people make like "It will steal your lfe and job away" are just that: jokes. What they mean is these are good games and like Baldurs Gate and NWN's you will play them alot at first. Baldurs Gate and Thief 1 stole my social life away for a good week or so when I first got them.

I remember before I ever played any MMO's I heard horror stories about EQ and swore that these games are gimmicks people get hooked on, like gambling in a casino. The difference is in a casino you win or lose (mostly lose) and if you do lose you have nothing to show for it when you finish. With a game that you pay for you always have something to show for it; you played for a set amount of time in a fantasy world. We don't read a fantasy novel and after 2 chapters start saying that we have nothing to show for it. We ecaped into that world and intend to see the book to its end by revisiting it again and again.

I know people who play WoW once a week, and I know some who play it once a day. What matters is that you enjoy what you're doing despite how much time you spend doing it. It is not a job after all, but just a game.

[Memnoch]

What about in terms of character development, etc. Am I going to be stunted if I don't spend the 100 hours a week that Luvian was saying?

[SpiritWarrior]

Of course not. I never spend 100 hours a week even when it was all new to me. If you want to rocket ahead and powerlevel to the max you can by all means, but taking it at your own pace is what it's all about. In WoW for example, there are level brackets, different things to do at different stages in your characters development. It is designed for casual and hardcore players.
Getting the best items and investing tons of gold can give you an edge but it is hardly game-breaking. The world is totally balanced with the casual player in mind. Most MMO's are or they wouldn't be successful since most of the hardcore players that have the free time to be on 24/7 don't have the money to support it.

Like I said, I know people who play once a week or once every two weeks and they love it. People with kids and jobs and family commitments get little free time and so when they come on to unwind they're lovin it. But they are hardly on every day. The thing is that's perfectly fine.

[Luvian]

You'll get more fun out of the game if you play casually.

It's true that the game support casual players, until you get to the end game, then it's all about the powergamer. The xp pack will add 10 more levels, so that will help maxed out casuals.

[Kakero]

Since the game card cost $120. Which is quite expensive compared to other mmog I've played. It would be a waste not to play the game for 24/7. Which is what I basically did with my 3 months ( free 1 month + game card time ).

[Timber Loftis]

The game is getting more and more friendly to casual gamers. The xPac end-game raids are going to be capped at 25-man. Plus, they are adding 10-man raids with a reset timer. So, a casual group of 10 people will have 4 days to do a 10-man raid dungeon, and then the dungeon will respawn. Very doable on a casual basis.

If you try it for the first free month and don't like it, don't subscribe. I loved it. So I subscribed.

If you get tired, cancel. If I'm at a computer terminal I can cancel my subscription in 30 seconds.

[Neo the Warrior Cat]

Originally posted by Kakero: Since the game card cost $120. Which is quite expensive compared to other mmog I've played. It would be a waste not to play the game for 24/7. Which is what I basically did with my 3 months ( free 1 month + game card time ).

Erm..... The only cards I've seen in my area cost $30, same as the game, and that's for two month's worth.


So I have no clue what you're on about.