About World of Warcraft
About World of Warcraft
By u4game
Yep, we managed to milk a bit of new media and info from the cats at Blizzard Entertainment; well Vivendi actually. So, basically we offer a refreshed first-look on the features regarding WoW general principals, details on the game's visual effects, gameplay-realted matters, and so on.
World of Warcraft is a Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG) set in the world of everybody's (well, mine at least, and as I am exceedingly self-centered, everybody's) favorite fantasy real-time-strategy, presenting it as an enormous, persistent game world which gives you a chance to form friendships, slay monsters, and engage in epic quests that can last for days or weeks.
A world of danger...
She said she'd meet me here. Where could she be?
OK, the first thing that comes to mind when we say Blizzard is perfectly balanced gameplay with immense replay value. The developers are designing this title so that it can offer a lot of fun even to the players who do not intend to spend a lot of time on-line, by setting the pace of the adventure according to the players' capabilities. This means that the game will keep adapting to the player. Gameplay will, further, focus on action, questing with story elements, dynamic events, and flexible reward systems. World of Warcraft will also put an emphasis on combat and tactics against multiple opponents. The developers are, in fact sufficiently self-assured that they claim that they will advance the entire genre with this game. From what we know, they just might be right.
The story in World of Warcraft continues four years after the events described in Warcraft III. It will take you through Azeroth and other familiar lands (and underwater terrains) from the Warcraft saga as well as some new ones; letting you meet and fight alongside legendary heroes and your friends. You will experience numerous changes in weather throughout the world thanks to the game's dynamic skies and clouds giving players the ability to actually see clouds begin to form and coalesce into stormy weather. Other effects include snow, rain, and fog. Pretty impressive for a MMORPG wouldn't you agree?
The three races the developers decided to reveal are Humans, Orcs, and Tauren. Blizzard announced that there will be more player races and that they will all be revealed in due time on the game's official web. Each of the races in the game will have specific properties, racial skills, abilities, and equipment. When it comes to in-game equipment and items, World of Warcraft has an interesting little trait. Apparently, your characters can create various useful items along their adventures, using their particular trade-skills. The variety of these trading skills was not revealed yet, but Blizzard has promised to give additional info throughout the course of development. On top of that, the game entails a straightforward bank system, thanks to which your uniquely-created items can be stockpiled. This also avoids the inappropriate creation of additional characters for the mere purpose of accumulating numerous items.
Another important thing worth mentioning is that gender will in no way influence the abilities of a character. Also, players will be able to customize the look of their character in details: they will be able to change hairstyle, hair color, skin color, and faces (you can even incorporate some mean-looking tattoos). The characters will never age, and they will never be required to eat or drink, but they will be able to show a large number of emotes (animated emotions). As for the character classes, Blizzard did not yet define all of them, but they are pretty sure that most classes will be based on the units found in the Warcraft series.
World of Warcraft is based on a mixture of a skill-based and a level-based system, as the developers strived to use the best out of both. In order to advance throughout the levels, you will have to fight many enemies and gain a lot of experience, but you should never expect to see Diablo-like action: each move will require careful tactical decision making and strategy elements. Players will be able to fight each other, but they will never be required to do so. In fact, any player who does not want to fight his peers, can simply state so, and will never be attacked by other players (we believe that this issue is closely tied to the inclusion of the customary PvP method of combat - which means that players can choose to engage in a duel or simply walking away). Besides, it's not like you won't have anything to do. Keeping the game exciting at all times, there's the freedom of exploration, collecting and creating items, mastering trading skills, etc. Also, high-level players will have special quests and even entire dungeons, especially adapted for their stats.
The Orcs can sometimes lie pretending they are dead - it is said.
I was right.
One of the few technical details about the game that has already been revealed is the fact that the game has a 1st and 3rd person camera, which can be controlled using the mouse wheel to choose the preferred angle.
The in-game areas will be vast and highly-detailed. Of course the unavoidable subject here is the transition between playable zones (or Realms in this case, because Blizzard revealed that the game won't be divided into those traditional MMOPRG zones). Some of these game-sections will include a brief load time, but otherwise players are not going to be bothered with any lengthy area switches. Practically, you get to go through many different realms, which all have their unique appearance and races that inhabit them. Other than that, the developers have decided on capping the number of players per Realm, seeing as there's always the possibility of overcrowding. They also wish to ensure that players can maintain a certain sense of community in these Realms. However, the precise number of allowed players in a single Realm is yet to be determined. Traveling through this huge World of Warcraft is hard and slow, but if you decide to use a portal, ship or zeppelin, it becomes much faster. You will be able to join coteries, clans and guilds, but specific rules and details concerning that will be released later.
Even once it gets published, the game will continue to grow thanks to Blizzard who plans to keep on introducing tons of new lands, monsters, unique items and quests, and in order to provide the genuine gameplay experience, Blizzard also plans to have live Game Masters who are members their customer support department run the game.
World of Warcraft will be available for purchase at software stores, on-line and directly from Blizzard Entertainment. However, in order to play, player will have to sign up for a monthly account. The good news is that you will be able to create more than one character per account.
The game will primarily be developed for the PC platform, but as the game won't appear any time soon, the current hardware requirements would probably seem monstrous. One encouraging piece of information is that the game will play on our mortal machines equipped only by a common modem. We have to keep in mind that the game is still under severe development and that we are still ages away from a mere beta version of the game. Blizzard also promised that World of Warcraft would support a wide array of different 3D accelerator cards.
I already said (several times probably) that we still know nothing of the release date and it would be quite ridiculous to try to guess a release date for a Blizzard game, as in spite of their brilliance, they are obviously unable to meet scheduled release dates. In the mean time, sit tight and keep checking that www.u4game.com for information on applying for the beta-test.
Posted on: Mon, Nov 26 2007 9:34 AM
Top 15 Things Every World of Warcraft Player Should Know:
By u4game
Top 15 Things Every World of Warcraft Player Should Know:
Keep this checklist handy - it could save your life (or at least have you doing less frequent corpse runs).
By Allen Rausch | Nov. 30, 2004
OK. You've gone and done it. You've bought yourself a copy of World of Warcraft. You've installed the game, set up you're account and watched the super-cool opening cinematic. If you're new to MMO's or even if you're an MMO veteran, though, you're probably saying "Now what?" Well that's where your friends at GameSpy are stepping in to help. For this week's Top Ten, we've compiled a list of hints, tips and pieces of information every player needs to know. In fact, we're even giving you a little bonus. Because there are two main sides, we're giving you the Top 15 things World of Warcraft players need to know - 5 each for Alliance players, Horde players and 5 that apply to everybody!
The Alliance
1: Looking to solo? Get yourself a Night Elf Hunter or a Warlock.
While there isn't any one particular character template that works perfectly for soloing, this is about the best that there is on the Alliance side. First, there really isn't any equal level monster in the game that a properly tricked out Hunter can't tackle one-on-one without breaking a sweat. While Warlocks are a bit more fragile, they have an excellent complement of damage dealing spells that will let them survive - albeit while taking more damage. Unfortunately, many creatures will attack in groups if they notice one of their buddies getting pounded on (Elite creatures are particularly nasty with this).
That's where pets come in, Any "Pet" class can use their animal (or demonic) companion to do what's called "crowd control" - basically pulling one creature away from a group and a time and killing it. The Warlock's Void Walker is particularly good at this. Night Elves quest lines at low levels are also pretty self-contained within the geographically isolated Teldrassil, meaning you never have far to run to reach a quest destination or to retrieve your corpse.
2: Gnomes have the best (worst) dancing emotes.
Trust us on this one. Simply typing /dance into the game while playing as a gnome will show you what we mean. Gnome dancing is the most offensive thing in Azeroth - rumor has it that the Horde offers 10 gold pieces to anyone who can actually manage to kill a Gnome in PvP during a dance. Therefore it makes Gnomes perfect for role-players who want to annoy other players and have a good laugh.
3: Everyone loves a Human Priest.
This is the perfect class for players looking to group. Humans' racial talents help a Priest hold his or her own in combat and there isn't a group alive that isn't thrilled when a Priest shows up just before heading into an Elite dungeon or an instance. Priests are also pretty rare in the game, there aren't really all that many players who enjoy taking on the social/support roles, so your skills will always be in demand - and you'll level pretty fast.
4: You don't have follow the quest lines for your own race!
One of the biggest misconceptions that new players have about World of Warcraft is that quests are restricted by race - in other words, that if you're playing a Human, you must take the "Human" quests in Elwynn Forest when you start out. That's simply not true. Players can take any level-appropriate quest regardless of their race. For Alliance players looking to level up a bit faster, there is a bit of a shortcut. Simply head to the hub cities of Ironforge or Stormwind as soon as you're strong enough to get out of the newbie zone (around level 5). From there, find the passage to Teldrassil, the Night Elf homeland and start collecting quests. Teldrassil is very small, contains the hub city of Darnassus that offers every service, and players rarely have to run far to complete quests. You'll find yourself at level 10 or even higher in no time!
5: The Alliance means more content, but more people.
For whatever reason, the Alliance races as a whole (Humans, Night Elves, Dwarves, and Gnomes) are more popular with players. This can often mean severe crowding in popular regions along with what we like to call "mass extinction events". That basically means that several quests in the area that require players to kill a particular animal may make it hard to find that animal for a while - and that you may be racing other players who are standing around waiting for them to spawn. The good news is that the Alliance has a lot more quest-based content than the Horde. While this isn't noticeable at the earlier levels, many Horde players often find themselves running low on quests around level 25-30 and being forced to just "farm" random creatures for experience.
The Horde
1: You will end up in the Barrens - accept it.
Throughout the beta process, the one zone that everybody complained about the most was the Barrens, a level 15-20 zone that is quite literally in the center of everything for the Horde. As a result, this zone has the dubious distinction of undergoing almost constant revisions. The good news is, it's much better than it was - the bad news is, it can still be long and tedious. The thing is, most Horde quest lines eventually send players to the Barrens and it contains access to one of the neutral towns where Horde and Alliance players can get together, so the place is absolutely crawling with players. While that can be good for making friends, it's also the place that's the most hunted and overcrowded on the Horde side. Unfortunately, the Barrens is just a fact of life for Horde players - better to go, do what needs to be done, and get out.
2: Want to get to level 10 quickly? Visit dead people.
More accurately, visit Undead people. Since Quests aren't race specific, players can accept any level appropriate quest regardless of their race. That means that Horde players have access to a slight shortcut to level 10 similar to the one enjoyed by Alliance players. In the Horde's case it means hightailing it to the Orc hub city of Orgrimmar as soon as you can survive the trip and catching a zeppelin ride to Tirisfal Glades. Head south from the zeppelin tower to the Undead town of Brill and start looking for quests. Like Teldrassil for Night Elves, the quests in Brill are a bit easier and can usually be solved without a tremendous amount of traveling, significantly shortening your trip to level 10.
3:The Horde has the best and worst hub cities in the game.
Both sides in World of Warcraft have three hub cities designed for players to congregate, buy and sell items, and deal with NPC vendors and trainers. The Horde is blessed with the best and cursed with one of the worst hub cities in the game. The best city to do business with NPCs in is the Undead Undercity. If you have a choice of heading to one hub city, this is the one to pick. It's the smallest major city, meaning you don't have to do a tremendous amount of running to get to the shops you want. The city is also basically a circle - meaning it's almost impossible to get lost. Orgrimmar, the Orc hub city, on the other hand, is incredibly confusing, with twisting paths that sometime loop back on themselves. Orgrimmar means a lot of running and it's all too easy to get lost. It's also kind of the center of the universe for Horde players, so you really do need to learn it if you hope to use the auction or make new friends.
4: Tired of fighting for elbow room? Join the Horde!
For some odd reason, players seem to choose to play as Alliance characters far more often than as Horde characters. The good news for Horde players, though, is that fewer players mean fewer people jockeying for resources. Even the Barrens, probably the most crowded Horde region, never see the problems with "mass extinction events" that routinely plague the Alliance. If you're interested in questing and not interested in hanging around with ten other people (at peak hours) waiting for a monster spawn, why not join the Horde?
5: The Undead are just psychotically cool!
While everyone has their own opinion, ours is that no World of Warcraft race gets as many "coolness points" as the Undead. First, the character models are just a riot with hairstyles that literally defy physics and a facial customization options straight out of the Velvet Dungeon. The designers also clearly had a ball putting the Undead lands together because every area and storyline within the Undead zones is filled with clever asides and subtle (and not so subtle) humor about the Forsaken's unusual situation. Role-players will also enjoy playing the Undead since they're as close as any World of Warcraft race comes to being "evil". True - they are an oppressed minority, but they're also planning universal genocide, so you make your own call.
Everyone!
1: Read your Quest Journal!
Now we hate to snipe here, people, but the "L" key on your keyboard opens up your Quest Journal. This handy-dandy little item contains literally all the information you need to solve whatever quest your given. Check it early and check it often because if you're cluttering up the "General" chat channel asking "Where's the Wailing Caverns?" 47 times not only will you learn all sort of new Azerothian insults, but when you eventually find the place, it's not going to win you any friends when you then start looking for a group to explore with. Your Quest Journal has directions so precise they make MapQuest look vague to avoid precisely this situation. Read your Quest Journal! Read your Quest Journal! Read your Quest Journal!
2: The City Guards are your friends - use them well.
This is kind of an adjunct to the whole "Read your Quest Journal" thing, but the other thing that clogs up the general chat channels is people asking for directions in the hub cities. Fortunately Blizzard has come up with a simple solution - just ask a city guard! They'll give you directions to everything in the city and even provide you with a little flag in your mini-map! You know, the employment situation in Azeroth must be pretty bad when you consider that most of these guards are level 75 or so and can easily wipe out virtually every monster in the game and they're taking the time out of their busy schedule to help you. The least you can do is avail yourself of their services. I don't even think they get paid!
3: Every trade skill has a complement.
Players can only learn two "professional" trade skills (Fishing, Cooking, First Aid and a few others don't count). Be aware that with the exception of Enchanting and Tailoring, every trade skill has a "gathering" skill and a "crafting" skill. Blacksmithing, for example, requires raw materials that can only be retrieved by Mining. Be sure you select the appropriate skill; otherwise you will end up buying raw materials at auction or trying to trade your raw materials for finished goods.
4: The NumLock key is your autorun.
This should be obvious, but you'd be surprised how many players forget to use their autorun. Autorun is your best friend, though. During long runs you can be checking your quest log, futzing with your inventory, or chatting with friends. Use it!
5: Control your Pets!
This, of course, only applies to pet classes (Warlocks and Hunters), but if we had a gold piece for every Warlock and Hunter who left his pet on "Aggressive" we'd - well, we'd have a lot of gold pieces. Your pets are tools. They're used for very specific purposes. Putting them on Aggressive lets them attack indiscriminately and can draw a lot more monster attention than your group is ready to deal with. All too often a pet on the loose means death for the group and a long, boring corpse run.
Posted on: Mon, Nov 26 2007 9:30 AM
wow
By u4game
wow
World of Warcraft draws heavily upon the lore of the Warcraft universe. Long-time fans of the Warcraft games are finally able to step into the world from a player's perspective, and experience the universe firsthand. People, places, and units from the strategy games are brought to life in World of Warcraft.
You can visit such places as the Burning Steppes, where Grom Hellscream fell in battle against the demon lord Mannoroth, and Ironforge, where the dwarves make their home below the mountain. Legendary heroes, such as Thrall, Cairne Bloodhoof, and King Magni Bronzebeard, are also in the game, presiding over their respective peoples as leaders in their race's capitals.
Guards in the human city of Stormwind look just like footmen from Warcraft III, peasants in the human town of Hillsbrad look exactly like their counterparts in the strategy games, and orc peons shuffle about the farms of Go'Shek in the Arathi Highlands. Night elf players can even see gargantuan Ancient Protectors patrolling the elven lands of Teldrassil, while a towering Ancient of War waits to greet all visitors to Darnassus
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