not bad...just dated...levels look noce and all...but some effects just look blury....but thats one of the reasons they were so sucessful....they sacrafised graphics so more people can play :)

I dont hate it, I just dont like cartoony graphics.

People play WOW because it's well made and fun.

The graphics were subpar when it launched now they're just even more pronounced. Before someone tries the stylized excuse don't bother.

1) Guild Wars graphics = Stylized

2) Granado Espada graphics=Stylized

They took a gamble on low tech so many would play it and it payed off. One game can't be the best at everything if it was we'd all be playing it. Just odd people waste their breath defending one flaw. The game is strong in many other areas so..just live with the reality and move on.

I don't play WoW anymore but it's certainly not due to the graphics.  WoW has some of the best art direction and designs in gaming.

People who harp on WoW's graphics generally do so because they either (1() don't like the low polygon count on principle or (2) don't like the cartoon-esque approach.

WoW's graphics were done lower res on purpose -- so that they would play very smoothly on everyone's machine in 2004.  Yes, they are not photorealistic, but that decision simply allowed the art directors to make WoW a much brighter, more colorful and visually engaging environment, imo.  The photorealistic games all have sharper graphics, but they are mostly a variety of different shades of brown, grey and green -- which is a high resolution version of visual boredom.  WoW's graphics are quite stunning despite their low polygon count because of outstanding art direction.

And, in any case, leaving aside the low polygon environmental graphics, WoW has the finest animations on the market currently.  If you look at a game like LOTRO, for example, which arguably has "superior environmental graphics" to WoW (because most gamer elitists base such things on polygon count primarily), the character animations seem loose, a bit jarring and unresponsive, and so forth -- they are nowhere near as tight, detailed and control-responsive as WoW's animations are.  Blizzard put a LOT Of effort into WoW's animations and to be honest there really isn't another MMO that has the same fluidity and feel of connection between control and animation that WoW does.

I am not a great fan of the WoW graphics. For me it is the cartoon feel. When I play a MMO I want to feel at least some involvement in the world I am in, and I can't do that in a cartoon. Graphics are not the be all and end all of a game by any means but I feel happier with a little more realism, although 'realism' may sound odd considering the fantasy themes I like best.  

They are far form great.. ANd I hope with the Lich King they get big update.

I play WoW well because its decent and its the only MMO this PC can run till get my new one((But i will go back to EQ2 etc once that new comes in)) Only way I'll stay with WoW is they fix there bugs add more content and make Lich King way better.. (I want a GFX update to it))

The Human's for one need a new design.. Humans in WoW are the uglyist Humans to date for any MMO and in most games..

I like WoW's graphics for the most part.

Yeah, it's not uber pixel eye candy land, but it's very artistic and it "fit's" the Warcraft style.

Yes, these things have all been said before.

What I DON'T like....

1. Not enough face/hair/feature/body customization options in character creation

2. All horde male characters (except Blood Elves) have terrible posture

3. Some races, like human and Dranei, the male avatars are soo bad, I have to make a female avatar just to stand looking at them.

4, of course you have zero customization at latter levels, just the hope/prayer that the gear you get from PvP / raiding / instances ends up looking cool.... which means everyone looks the same

Originally posted by JK-Kanosi

When a professional speaks of graphics, they speak of poly counts and textures. People on these forums usually mix up art style with graphics, which is normal for someone who doesn't know the difference. I personally think WoW's graphics do suck, but the artistic style and details make it bearable. Being cartoony has nothing to do with it. You can have a cartoony game with a high poly count and textures.

 

Actually Art Style will be taken into consideration when judging graphics, You have to take into consideration the graphics technical and the artistic graphics.

They look too cartoony, too much like anime for my taste.

I hated all comics drawn by Jack Kirby, too [too blocky, no curved lines] so my tastes are not mainstream :)

I have no problem with the graphic quality of WoW. I don't need photo realism to enjoy a game, and WoW, while not way up their graphics wise, is good enough.

I just don't like the art style. This is purely a matter of taste. Saying it's to "cartoony" isn't very descriptive. I loved the look of City of Heroes, but hated the look of WoW.

It's like preferring chocolate over vanilla ice cream. Just a preference. The artists that did the work are talented, and again the graphics while not state of the art are good enough, I just don't like it.

But the biggest reason I could never get into WoW, is the 1-60 game is not group friendly enough for me, being an old EQ veteran, and a DAoC fan.

MMORPG Maker

Ok..Here is my take on this..To actually have this conversation 90% of the people responded here needs to know that there is 2 terms here that needs to be separated..It has been mentioned before.-

1 Artistic style

2 Graphics (tech)

These 2 are diffrent....

Art, Like or hate..This can only be viewed in a personal manner or by a serious art critiques( You need a long education for this)

Graphics= a technical term for a computer to show digital images..This can be good or bad based on hardware and software..

When people claim that WoW has sucky graphics they refer to the tech terms(mostly)..And as do I..Why WoW can't have graphics suited for the time 2000-2007 beats me..They could still have gone for the low poly count graphics they have with sliders and on or off buttons..To neglect a certain few that has good computers is also wrong..

Sure, It was a good buisness call to make..but why not have both..?

So..Until then..Yeah..World of Warcraft's graphics sucks..:)

/junker

I personally consider WoW's graphics to be one of the better graphics I've seen in a mmo. Instead of going for the not-very-reality looking graphic that's blurry and pretty hard to detect what is what Blizzard instead did graphics that are more along the ways of Zelda: Windwaker. The graphics is very clean, nice looking and most of all it's easy to see what is what. Apart from the graphics aren't very pressuring on your computer either. Personally I would like to see more games that dare to deny the graphic mania that is around.

I guess I'm old and blind, and playing games on computers since the days of CGA has made me pretty appreciative of todays games, regardless of their graphical 'quality'.

So I never hated WOW's graphics, I think they were pretty nice, movement was fluid and I enjoyed the environment.  (now, the gameplay, particularly the end game, that's a different story)

I think the graphics in WoW are quite nice.  The benefit of not trying to develop a game with realistic graphics is that people generally accept the game for what it is.  I've tried so many games with "realistic" graphics and each time I find myself picking the graphics apart because of the imperfections. 

Now if I could just stomach the end game enough anymore to actually logon and enjoy the graphics... ;)

Well not everyone hates WoW's graphics.  I think many think they are just fine.  There is a certain percentage of people that don't like the graphics and they are certainly entitled to their opinion.  I just think for those that don't like the graphics it's a big thing.  Wouldn't you be a little upset if a bunch of people were all playing a game and saying how wonderful it was but you couldn't play it just because you found you couldn't stand the graphics?  That would be pretty frustrating I think.

I don't hate WoW's graphics particularly; in fact, I love the usage of vibrant colors. The game sort of looks like Rayman 2, which happens to be one of my favorite platformers. My biggest complaint about WoW's graphics would have to be the lack of realistic character shadows and the bulky size of the male characters. Yeah, yeah, I know Blizzard was trying to appease WC3 fans, but the models just don't appeal to me.

WoW's graphics are very intelligent and well designed.   more can sometimes go into making what you want to be 500 prims into 250, restraint can be hard to follow sometimes.

restraint, polish, and a large tappable community is what made WoW what it is.

graphics certainly don't suck and have a great performance but with a rpg I like a different fantasy style than a cartoon one. That being said, WoW's graphics does its job as a no-frills fun mmorpg.

I heard someone talk about WoW's graphics being "outdated." What about, say paintings from ancient times, those aren't worth anything anymore because they are "outdated?" I never understood why people bash art produced with older technology. I mean, we always hope that newer things can use newer techniques, and perhaps produce better results, but that is no reason to suddenly think older stuff looks bad. Maybe it's just me, but I still play older games, along with newer ones. A lot of them, while not looking realistic at all, still have really good art. For me style is everything. Some games, especially the ones that tried to look photorealistic on technology that didn't support that style, sure, they don't really hold up. But things like WoW, where real artistic effort was made, will always look pretty good to me.

Frankly, I am not too fond of the graphical look of most modern games. With such a realistic look these days, it can be very hard to figure out which items are just scenery and which items are actually items I can pick up. Or which doorways are REAL doorways I'm supposed to go through. Or which path I am supposed to follow in the city that's not a dead end when there are so many paths and objects that are there just to look good. In a gameplay respect, the really good graphics are really doing a disservice. But I know that my opinion is not shared by many :)

I'm not pro WoW by the way, but Blizzard has talented artists and used those assets effectively. They chose a style, and nothing in the game is out of place for that style. And the game runs well on modest computers, allowing a very high userbase. People who hate the game or hate the style are going to dis the graphics. When I look at screenshots or watch friend play the game, it reminds me of their older warcraft games, and that isn't a bad thing in my opinion.

Although in a few years or less they should probably think of upgrading it a bit.