I'm not claiming that specialised classes are the essence of fun in a MMORPG,  but compared to many other games you "feel"  the effects of an imbalanced group immediately.  You also will recognize if the healer stands where the tank should be or the damage dealer is not properly protected by the warrior. To me this has always been a very special side of playing WoW.

I did not know DAoC had a similiar balanced class spectrum. Maybe I should have played it a little longer but when I played the trial, the graphics  already had been outdated.

Tried WoW for awhile, and it was pretty promising in it's early stages; but the initial draw isn't there for me anymore.  My subscription is due to end any day now, and I sincerely don't miss the game.  A sure sign for me, at least, that I won't be coming back anytime soon, if at all.

...

Yes, even after the expansion.  TBC was a big bait and switch in hindsight.  Every class got a whole new slew of abilities, and then got nerfed to hell.  Instead of being a part of the big rollercoaster all over again with WotLK, i'm going to sit on the sidelines and see if my gut instinct is correct.

Originally posted by IrishJigzer

How can some1 not like this game! This game has pvp it has story//quests creation of guilds, uniqueness and atoine structure and graphics you can fly you can ride this game is U.F.B!!!

It's also got a design philosophy that follows the:  "Hey, if they have a role, they're fine!  Balance be damned" mindset

Not to mention one of the worst communities in existence.

I missed out on the begining where wow had open world pvp cause my connection couldnt manage ( bad quality pstn ftl, plus i had to pay my isp by the minute). After pvp moved to bg's i never got interested in the game again....

Unfortunately, i keep hearing wow had great world pvp

Wow has the complete MMO market in its hands

62.2% to be exact. And Blizzard polished the game since patch 2.3 to the extreme.

http://www.mmogchart.com/Chart7.html

I just shows that people on MMORPG.COM are not representattive of what' is being played.

I played about a dozen other MMORPG (or tried to play) and this is my conclusion:

1. Best game play ever (PvP animations and fights are fantastic and miles above anything on the MMORPG market. YOU can really CONTROL your avatar with NO hick-ups lag or "cluncky" reactions.

2. Seamless open worlds - ALL in 3D - with Outland as the incredible high point of open world. You can fly over cities, lakes, forests, mountains and land on ANY point without EVER seeing a loading screen.

3. Game grows on you and the end game is MILES above anything on the market. See point 4.

4. Players at level 70 can rally choose HOW they want to play. No need to  HAVE to follow a line. YOU CHOOSE the game you want to play and STILL get rewarded. be it PvP, PVE dungeons, Raids, Arenas, Professions, solo,...

EVERY Play style is rewarded. And  it's players who decides HOW they play  WOW. No longer you NEED to do something to get good gear. EVERYONE is rewarded accordingly.

Something patch 2.3 in TBC was a real blessing for..

Simply introducing this openess and choice, the game reduces "grind feeling",  Because he can choose the things he likes best. and play according to his moods.

There IS a side effect to this: people tend to play with their mains longer...

62.2% says it all really.

Originally posted by Zorndorf

Wow has the complete MMO market in its hands

62.2% to be exact. And Blizzard polished the game since patch 2.3 to the extreme.

http://www.mmogchart.com/Chart7.html

I just shows that people on MMORPG.COM are not representattive of what' is being played.

I played about a dozen other MMORPG (or tried to play) and this is my conclusion:

1. Best game play ever (PvP animations and fights are fantastic and miles above anything on the MMORPG market. YOU can really CONTROL your avatar with NO hick-ups lag or "cluncky" reactions.

2. Seamless open worlds - ALL in 3D - with Outland as the incredible high point of open world. You can fly over cities, lakes, forests, mountains and land on ANY point without EVER seeing a loading screen.

3. Game grows on you and the end game is MILES above anything on the market. See point 4.

4. Players at level 70 can rally choose HOW they want to play. No need to  HAVE to follow a line. YOU CHOOSE the game you want to play and STILL get rewarded. be it PvP, PVE dungeons, Raids, Arenas, Professions, solo,...

EVERY Play style is rewarded. And  it's players who decides HOW they play  WOW. No longer you NEED to do something to get good gear. EVERYONE is rewarded accordingly.

Something patch 2.3 in TBC was a real blessing for..

Simply introducing this openess and choice, the game reduces "grind feeling",  Because he can choose the things he likes best. and play according to his moods.

There IS a side effect to this: people tend to play with their mains longer...

 

62.2% says it all really.

 

You know nothing about MMOs i see...

Just because it apeals to the masses doesnt make it the best game, nor does it that its played the most.

WoW is the Noob MMO and is comparable to McDonalds in the Resturant industry...

Yes it has a lot of customers, but is it the best food?

Originally posted by paulscott

It's generally not a good idea to listen to this forum.  I consider it stupid to not have played WoW. 

I sort of agree with both statements with one caveat - "If you play MMORPGs then... I consider it stupid not to have tried WoW."  Or something to that effect.

For me, tried it, didn't like it.  Perhaps It was the server, perhaps it was the fact that I came to it years and years after it was released and it was reduced to bordem in the early levels for most people... whatever the case it was a fairly bland experience for me.

I just felt... cheap.  I know, people will say "it is the most polished blah blah blah..."  but it reminded me of old console games more than AC, AO and EQ did.  The character seemed very unidimentional, no depth.  The overly simple characters just seemed lacking.  I tried many different characters, each one felt like I was playing with a stuffed animal... not sure how better to explain it than that.

I am sure it would have become more expansive if I had played up to the higher levels, but not so much so that I would have invested the time to get there.  All in all, I didn't last my whole first box-month before leaving.  It wasn't horrible, it just was too nintendo-ish for me.

Edit for spelling

WOWs graphics are too kiddie cartoony for me to spend any cash on it.

Never payed for WOW and never will.

Just because WoW's art has a hand-drawn style, that doesn't make it "kiddie".  If you're avoiding the game for this reason, I think you're missing out.  This is certainly a barrier to a lot of people who crave more realistic graphics, and for some people it might be too much of a barrier, but honestly it really isn't that bad. 

I came from EQ which despite being old actually seems more realistic than WoW, but you do learn to appreciate the art style, even love it.  The geography and layout of the world is really beautiful, especially some of the foresty areas.  Once you've become accustomed to the graphics, you'll find many beautiful places to visit.  The seamless world has a very 'epic' feel.

Don't discount it as a kiddie cartoon, you really are being unfair to the game, even if it's not to your personal preference.

Originally posted by Jerid13

 

WoW is successful because of their main idea when they stated marketing it, they wanted everyone to be able to play, even people who only had a few minutes each day, and so they made a game for the average joe, and were very successful.

However they didn't have a single shred of new content / ideas

The really amazing thing is that no one else has caught on.  Guess that says a lot more about the other game developers than it does Blizzard really. 

Originally posted by Pappy13

You're right, wanting everyone to be able to play isn't a new idea.  After all, Blizzard has been doing that for years.  First there was Warcraft and then Diablo and then Starcraft and now WoW.

The really amazing thing is that no one else has caught on.  Guess that says a lot more about the other game developers than it does Blizzard really. 

 

You say that l ike it's a good thing.  Blizzard set up a system where any idiot could sit down and play.  Unfortunately, that means a lot of idiots sat down and played.  While that's  great for Blizzard's bottom line, for people who don't want to be surrounded by idiots, it's a problem.

Originally posted by Cephus404

Originally posted by Pappy13

You're right, wanting everyone to be able to play isn't a new idea.  After all, Blizzard has been doing that for years.  First there was Warcraft and then Diablo and then Starcraft and now WoW.

The really amazing thing is that no one else has caught on.  Guess that says a lot more about the other game developers than it does Blizzard really. 

 

You say that l ike it's a good thing.  Blizzard set up a system where any idiot could sit down and play.  Unfortunately, that means a lot of idiots sat down and played.  While that's  great for Blizzard's bottom line, for people who don't want to be surrounded by idiots, it's a problem.

 

It IS a good thing.  Blizzard has set up a system where everyone WANTS to sit down and play.  For way too long gaming has been a non main-stream thing to do.  "Oh, you're a gamer", like you have some sort of disease or something.  Now that Blizzard has started to make gaming acceptable, those people who considered themselves better than your average Joe Blow who didn't game are having an identity crisis.  Really, it's okay to be normal.  No, REALLY, it is.  For those of you who don't want to be surrounded by the rest of us, I got news for you.  It's you that we need to cut out, not the other way around.

That's just my opinion, I could be wrong.