tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post7671880513547992667..comments2024-03-28T10:18:05.213+00:00Comments on Inventory Full: Are You Trying To Be Difficult Or Are You Just Slow? : WoW ClassicBhagpusshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03499162165023939880noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post-71073120423270725182019-09-07T09:35:21.525+01:002019-09-07T09:35:21.525+01:00One thing is, my impression of the current state o...One thing is, my impression of the current state of WoW Retail is drawn 90% from playing the Free Trial. I've levelled several characters to the trial cap of 20, all with no assistance of any kind from other characters on my account, not even bags or coin. <br /><br />For the first 10-12 levels of that I'd say the fretrial was harder. I certainly died more and leveling took longer. I also had worse gear. Once you get out of the racial starting areas and into Elwyn/Westfall or Don Morogh/Loch Modan, Retail, even on the trial, does change gear and accelerate away from Classic. Gear improves and at 16 my Panda Monk could solo quests my Classic Hunter couldn't.<br /><br />I have to also say that even on my sub-20 characters I can now play on Free Trial, but which were created when I was last subbed, I don't find leveling particularly fast or easy. My Druid has been stuck in the high teens for ages because every time I play her it's a struggle. She is in the horrible Night Elf realms, though. <br /><br />I think most Retail players are so used to having Heirlooms and massive twinking assistance from their high levels they forget what it's like to level a completely fresh, unassisted character. It's easier than Classic, for sure, but it's not face-roll.<br /><br />I hugely prefer Classic, though. The pacing is just spot on for me and the hybrid theme-park/virtual world mix is extremely comfortable and inviting. Looks very likely I will resub at least a second mont, which i never thought would happen. After that we'll be heading into EQII's expansion so we'll see.Bhagpusshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03499162165023939880noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post-4028499344756837032019-09-06T23:05:42.376+01:002019-09-06T23:05:42.376+01:00Of note that is only addressing the pure difficult...Of note that is only addressing the pure difficulty aspect. Past that I agree that I enjoy the pacing of the game way more. I just realized that my comment sounds like I was disagreeing with your post as a whole >.> The gameplay feels more meaningful than World of Warcraft has felt in years.Belghasthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00894831901283379351noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post-24296311825174093092019-09-06T23:02:52.187+01:002019-09-06T23:02:52.187+01:00So I wouldn't say that Classic is harder than ...So I wouldn't say that Classic is harder than a certain block of MMORPG experiences that are of a similar age. However as compared to the current live client, I would say it is a night and day difference. I am used to being able to roam around with impunity and pull entire packs of mobs on the way to an objective "named" and pretty much ignore whatever adds. Often times my limited casual melee AOE will have burned down the adds by the time I kill the mini boss.<br /><br />In Classic however I have to pick my way through the world trying not to get more than one mob at a time. Potentially hunter isn't that different because I remember back in Vanilla playing that class in part because I couldn't reliably solo anything else. Hunter has always been extremely powerful and I could see it feeling effectively the same. However melee, especially Warrior melee is a significant difference.Belghasthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00894831901283379351noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post-33281835147241115662019-09-06T19:36:23.878+01:002019-09-06T19:36:23.878+01:00Thanks! Sometimes titles just pop into my head as ...Thanks! Sometimes titles just pop into my head as I'm writing - this one did.<br /><br />A lot of nonsense is tallked about "balance". GW2 players never shut up about it. What it usually seems to mean these days is making sure there are no OP classes or skills and that everyone is basically the same, at least in terms of parse for their role. <br /><br />That's not balance. That's stasis. If it was ever achieved, which it never is or will be, it would be the death of any RPG although it might make for a good competetive video game. "Balance" in an MMORPG means creating a holistic environment in which all players can feel useful, successful and integrated. That can and should allow for huge differences in effectiveness between classes and even races in specific situations. Players should be able to create characters that are baseline playable in most scenarios but who shine in the appropriate role.<br /><br />The designers of the first wave of MMORPGs tended to understand that. The second wave, beginning with WoW, did too, for a while. Then the number-crunchers seized the controls and we've been struggling with their impossible demands for their kind of "balance" ever since.Bhagpusshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03499162165023939880noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post-11199678159620986312019-09-06T18:18:26.325+01:002019-09-06T18:18:26.325+01:00First, I just wanted to say that I absolutely love...First, I just wanted to say that I absolutely love this post's title.<br /><br />Second, sometimes I wonder if we should start to acknowledge "patience" as a skill. It seems quite underrated to me.<br /><br />Third, your last two paragraphs really resonate with me. I keep thinking of how well balanced the game feels, with all its systems complementing each other just so. Which is funny, because one thing Vanilla/Classic often gets accused of is lack of balance. But why do people always talk as if dps in raids and power in PvP are the only things worth balancing? (I might work that part into a proper post.)Shintarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16758343475446510635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post-39913915395547607482019-09-06T17:31:00.561+01:002019-09-06T17:31:00.561+01:00Yep, I had it in mind to mention named mob group q...Yep, I had it in mind to mention named mob group quests and the guaranteed head drops but the post was running crazy long so I had to spike it. I am sure now that the devs deliberately balanced everything to achieve a desired average leveling rate. All the indicators point to it.<br /><br />The xp curve level to level is extremely consistent (so far - not sure if it has step changes later on) and on-level kills give 100% xp, which seems to be 145 points as far as I can tell. Information on Classic is sketchy. Mobs above your level cap at 120% for higher Orange cons. There's no advantage in killing reds.<br /><br />That makes it quite possible to calcualte how many mobs you need to kill per level just to grind xp without questing. At level 20 it takes 160 level 20 kills to fill the level, which isn't all that many. If you can combine those kills with some kill quests and some rested xp it drops fast. I've been managing my gameplay this way and it makes for a pleasant experience.<br /><br />Drop quests work fine so long as you just let them fill out as you hunt and don't go cherry-picking to get them done. I did that on Bear Meat and it took me nearly 40 kills to get the required three drops! During that time I spent far too long running about trying to find bears. I could have doubled my xp intake by just staying in the bear areas and also killing boars, spiders and kobolds whenever I saw them.<br /><br />Classic is absorbing to play because of this well-constructed and coherent design. It makes the whole thing feel convincing - well, it convincesd me, anyway!Bhagpusshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03499162165023939880noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post-37582321474604261782019-09-06T15:06:36.052+01:002019-09-06T15:06:36.052+01:00My theory about doing quests that require drops as...My theory about doing quests that require drops as a group has been that since you get less XP per kill Blizz is merely balancing that out by making you do a lot more kills so you end up with the same eventual XP gain for mobs. Or such was my thinking way back in the day.<br /><br />Far more annoying is the simple drop rate, which feels too low on some quests. I once did a survey asking if people would rather get a "kill 20" quest or a "5 drops" quest, and kill 20 won pretty easily in the poll.<br /><br />You will note that for quests that need a drop from a named mob Blizz generally has a drop for everybody in the group. If you need a guy's head, he'll turn out to have 5 heads if you have a full group.Wilhelm Arcturushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07033496821708933394noreply@blogger.com