Episode 2 - Feb. 16 | Episode Index

Episode 2 - Feb. 16 | Episode Index

If you don't count Phantasy Star Online, Final Fantasy XI and City of Heroes, you could say that World of Warcraft is my first MMORPG. Silly to say, but it's true. My first experience with PSO was on the Gamecube, and though I had fun with it, my attention dried up pretty quickly. Reading of Milky's exploits in Vana'diel prompted me to install FFXI on both GMR (gmr.1up.com) 's PS2 and my home PC so I could play at the office and at night when I got home...yet my red mage Skippe never made it past level 8. I got a little further in City of Heroes, creating a character called The Bizness that would fit nicely in the League of Incredible Bastards. But he soon shared Skippe's fate, right around the time NCsoft sent out those cool capes to all the magazine writers.
To be honest, World of Warcraft wasn't even on my radar until we actually got boxed copies in the office last November, and I saw that Milky had established the world-famous Roundabouts in Azeroth. The other MMO's failed to keep me because I couldn't find the free time to sink into them. FFXI was especially tough, because the first 20 levels or so aren't much fun if you're playing solo.

Yet I was won over by WoW's fantastic art style and immediate user-friendliness. Soon, I was up to level 10, and on the boat to Darkshore. Going further in WoW than any other MMORPG before it, I was beginning to feel the hook set in. But still, it was November. The busy season for magazine writers, and review editors in particular. Time was a precious commodity, so I had to limit myself to playing on the weekends and progressing slowly.

A funny thing happened on the way to Auberdine.

While in the game itself, I found out that GMR was shutting down for good, and soon, I'd be up to my eyeballs in free time. The decision had essentially been made for me.

I am now hooked on World of Warcraft.

This is my story.

Enter Johnnypants
Because I lack that certain chemical in my brain that inspires cool fantasy names like T'dyiel Whisperforeststarsong, my main character is a Night Elf druid by the name of Johnnypants. (It was originally going to be Johnny Pants, but the WoW naming system wouldn't have it.) The Druid appealed to me because of his hybrid nature. In his Priest/Mage-like caster form, a Druid can be a strong healer and dole out a respectable amount of damage. At level 10, he acquires Bear Form, which allows him to transform into a Warrior-like tank. At level 20, Cat Form is learned. This effectively turns the Druid into a Rogue, who can activate stealth and deal rapid melee damage.

Of course, as a balance to the Druid being able to play like three different classes, it must be that each Druid form is slightly inferior to the one it imitates. Warriors can absorb more damage than Bear Form, Rogues can deal out more damage than Cat Form, and Priests and Mages are better equipped for healing and spellcasting. The advantage of the Druid, though, is the instant versatility. If a group is looking for a primary healer, you can fill that role. If they have a Warrior, but he's overwhelmed by the aggro, you can share some of the load. If there's already both a healer and a tank, you can support both as needed. A properly played Druid has the potential to be a very fun character.

So that's the challenge: learning how to play each form and when to play each form. Up to my current level of 26, I've been mostly playing solo. For enemies that are +/- 2 levels, I stick to my regular caster form. I switch to Cat for when I want to make quick work of weaker enemies, or if I just want to sneak around and explore areas without fear. I haven't had much use for Bear yet, because I'm not grouping as much. But as my Quest Log fills up with more and more Elite quests and instances that I can't complete on my own (and believe me, I've tried), I'll soon have plenty of opportunity to team up and become the hate magnet.

The Running Crew
Long live the Roundabouts! Born in FFXI's Vana'diel, the linkshell that was made famous in the pages of GMR is now a guild in World of Warcraft. Because only 3 of our 54 guild members have been online in recent days (to be fair, about 22 of them are Milky's alternate characters), I've been soloing a lot lately. But when I group it's usually with fellow Roundies Milkman, Wraeth, Roelon, and Brooklyn. Of the bunch, I'm the lowest level (26) while Wraeth and Roe are up in the mid-30s. This makes it hard to group because my attacks won't do much against the higher-level monsters they fight and my heals and buffs have limited effects. So I've got a little catching up to do if I want to contribute more to my team, aside from my celebratory crotch-grabbing dance.

The Short-term Goals (By next week...)

Johnnypants will hit Level 30 and gain his travel form.
Artisan Skinning will be learned, and Leatherworking hits 155.
All known quests in Blackfathom Deeps (BFD) will be completed.
My Horde character will be created on a PvP server, and up to level 5.
And I'll kill 50 Ashenvale Bears in retribution for sneaking up on me all the time.
The Long-term Goals
We're taking Johnnypants all the way to Level 60, while maxing out our Skinning, Leatherworking, Fishing, and Cooking skills.
We're going to create a new Horde character and become a feared PvP opponent.
And we'll get one of the EGM guys, excluding Demian Linn who already drank the Kool-Aid, to play WoW for a solid three months.

24 Priest LFG BFD, PST
There's a ton of terminology that's unique to MMORPGs, and it can get a little confusing at times. When appropriate, I'll include definitions and elaborations of commonly-used acronyms and abbreviations.

Alt = Short for "alternate character." Right now, I only have one main character. But I'll be creating a couple of alts in the weeks ahead.

Aggro = Term used to describe attention of attackers. If you're running past a Crocolisk and he decides to attack you, then that means "you have aggro." In a group, whoever the Croc decides to attack first has initial aggro. Management of aggro is a vital skill when you're in a group, because you don't want powerful monsters attacking your weaker party members (which are usually the healers).

Hate = Used to describe the amount of aggro a monster has towards his target. Certain actions will generate (or lessen) the amount of hate, making it harder (or easier) to make them switch targets.

Tank = The "damage sponge" of a group, it's up to the tank (usually a Warrior or a Paladin) to generate hate and hold aggro, because his or her high armor stats can withstand the attacks. It's the duty of the healers (Priests, Druids) to keep the tank healthy while primary attackers (Rogues, Hunters, Warriors) take down the target. Can be used as a noun ("Our group needs a tank.") or a verb ("Hey, go tank that Lv55 Elite while I get a fresh Coke.")

Buff/Debuff = To temporarily enhance an aspect of a character, usually done by a spell. Example: The Druid's Mark of the Wild spell buffs characters by increasing their armor rating and all other attributes by a certain amount. (And "debuffing" does the opposite.)

It Takes a Village
Would I want to be a Blizzard employee right now? On one hand, you're making $3.2 gazillion dollars every month and are probably driving to work in a solid-gold rocket car. On the other hand, when you get to work your inbox is flooded with thousands of complaints from players who all think that their characters are broken, that the WoW servers are powered by hamster wheels, and that the Korean players are using dirty tricks to get ahead.

Whether they love it or hate it, WoW players are certainly passionate (and vocal! http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/board.aspx?fn=wow-general) about the game. I'll be using this space to comment on the community, any updates, patches, and modifications to the game, and how Blizzard's customer service handles everything. If recent events are any indication, this should prove to be very interesting.

Mailbox
Feel free to write with advice, funny stories, or well-composed grievances that you wish to air in public. If I like 'em, I'll post 'em.

(Because of my relatively limited MMORPG experience, this column will serve as both a diary of what I'm doing and real-time learning experience. Mistakes will be made and druids will be slaughtered by the hundreds. Perhaps even thousands. But that's part of the fun. Condescending correspondence in the vein of "Uh, of course you're not supposed to use *spell* in *certain situations*, didn't you know that?" will be promptly deleted, and I shall think less of you as a person.)

See you next week.

http://www.1up.com/do/feature?cId=3138260