World of Warcraft advice sought

[by-tor]

Hi. I am installing World of Warcraft today and I have some questions and I am also seeking general advice about the game.
First, how do I update it? Second, what is involved with creating an account? Third, how do I find the closest server? Fourth, what are macros and where do I get them? Fifth, what are the best mods that work with the latest version? Finally, what else should I know? Thanks!

[by-tor]

Also, do I need to get some software and hardware to do the voice chat thing? How does that work?

[Biggirl]

It's been a while since I installed it but. . .

I believe it prompts you on how to create an account. The updates are done on their end. Unless you mean new versions, of which there is only one-- The Burning Crusade-- which you have to buy.

P.S., I set up my account, what? 2 years ago maybe. Only had to do it that one time and I never had to think about it again.

[RickJay]

Originally Posted by by-tor

Hi. I am installing World of Warcraft today and I have some questions and I am also seeking general advice about the game.
First, how do I update it?

It's automatic. Be prepared for a LOT of initial updates, hours of them.

Second, what is involved with creating an account?

The program will guide you through this. You will need a valid credit card.

Third, how do I find the closest server?

You don't; they only have a few server farms. You choose the type of server you want; ones that allow player-killing (PvP) and ones that do not (PvE) and it will suggest a server on your behalf. You can choose any server you want but unless you have friends you want to play with on a particular server, just make sure you don't pick PvP if you don't want that.

Some servers are marked as "role playing" and some not. This makes no difference.

Fourth, what are macros and where do I get them?

You can do a Google search but don't bother until you've learned the game a bit. Macros aren't necessary and if not done right can mess up your game.

Fifth, what are the best mods that work with the latest version?

See above.

[Dunawake]

RickJay covered most everything pretty well, but I'll add some detail on macros and mods.

Originally Posted by by-tor

Fourth, what are macros and where do I get them?

Macros are able to be written in game, essentially they are just a way to bind an action or series of actions to a single hot-bar button. Common macros that aren't complicated are ones that perform a certain emote or set of emotes, so that someone can /spit on a person they just killed in PVP. :-P Far more complicated macros have been written though, that do things like performing a cycle of different attacks to maximize damage for the hunter class. Beyond a certain complexity, macros are usually abandoned in favor of dedicated mods.

Originally Posted by by-tor

Fifth, what are the best mods that work with the latest version? Finally, what else should I know? Thanks!

The amount of mods for WoW is wide and deep, probably your best bet would be to look at the variety available on Curse Gaming , especially their "Most Popular" mods. Mods are able to modify basically everything about your WoW gameplay, the only thing they aren't really capable of is complete automation of your attacks. Certain mods are extremely useful for large group play, like CT_Raid_Assist, or KLHThreatMeter, but you won't have to worry about those things until you hit max level. In general, if there is something that seems to be annoying, or you have a hard time doing while playing, someone has built a mod to help.

[Dunawake]

Originally Posted by by-tor

Also, do I need to get some software and hardware to do the voice chat thing? How does that work?

As long as you have a microphone that works through normal use in Windows/Mac, that should be sufficient to use it with the in-game voice chat.

[jayjay]

Originally Posted by Biggirl

Unless you mean new versions, of which there is only one-- The Burning Crusade-- which you have to buy.

Burning Crusade is the only one right now. There is a third expansion in the works, Wrath of the Lich-King, but it's very early stages right now and won't be out until Christmas (AT LEAST).

[Pixilated]

If you'd like to have an "add-on" program to assist with the WoW world, I like using Cosmos. It contains things like equipment compare, chat 'hot buttons', coords, and my fav - will give you list of drops the mob is associated with as well as letting you know what profession uses the components (silk = tailor, purple lotus = alchemy, etc)

unfortunately, the component list doesnt seem to be working but that might be something on my end that I disabled (you can disable programs you dont want).

[DigitalC]

You really don't need any addons or mods to begin with, WoW is so popular for its simplicity and how easy its to get into. When you reach max level you can start worrying about stuff like that, for now all you really need to do to get started is put the cd in and follow the instructions.

[The Hamster King]

Originally Posted by RickJay

Some servers are marked as "role playing" and some not. This makes no difference.

It makes a small amount of difference. Characters on roleplaying servers have names like "Errodan" instead of "Superhunter". Chat on RP servers is more likely to be in character and grammatically correct. You see a lot less of "Dooood, u just got totally pwned!!!!!!" If such minor details affect your suspension of disbelief, go RP.

[Infovore]

Originally Posted by Dunawake

As long as you have a microphone that works through normal use in Windows/Mac, that should be sufficient to use it with the in-game voice chat.

True, but it's usually better to download one (or both) of the major voice clients, Ventrilo or TeamSpeak. The in-game chat is rather...lacking, and it's been my experience that most people use one of the two I mentioned in lieu of it. Both work for PC and Mac, and both are very easy to install and set up.

[Biggirl]

Originally Posted by jayjay

Burning Crusade is the only one right now. There is a third expansion in the works, Wrath of the Lich-King, but it's very early stages right now and won't be out until Christmas (AT LEAST).

Because I can't only give Blizzard money a measly $14 dollars at a time.

What's gonna be in it? New races? New professions? New classes? More levels? I gotta know!

Notice I didn't ask about instances or new areas. That's because I've been playing for years and have yet to reach level 60, much less 70. But I do have a butt-load of characters.

[Jayn_Newell]

If you have a high-speed connection, I'd go to FileFront and look for a patch 1.0 to 2.0* or something like that--it'll probably be faster. If you have dial-up (unlikely, I know), use the blizzard downloader.

*unless you have Burning Crusade--otherwise intall that, then get 2.0-2.4--I think we're at 2.4, aren't we? I lose track after a while.

[jayjay]

Originally Posted by Biggirl

Because I can't only give Blizzard money a measly $14 dollars at a time.

What's gonna be in it? New races? New professions? New classes? More levels? I gotta know!

Notice I didn't ask about instances or new areas. That's because I've been playing for years and have yet to reach level 60, much less 70. But I do have a butt-load of characters.

Dunno. There are only three things I've heard about it so far, a new continent, a new tradeskill and a Hero Class.

The new continent is going to be Northrend, which is where (I don't know if you're up on the Lore here, so I'm just going to indulge myself) Arthas confronted and was possessed by the Lich-King, and where Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne was more or less set. It's going to be a 70+ area, I believe.

The new tradeskill is Inscription, which sounds like a different kind of Enchanting.

The new class is the Death Knight, which will only be accessible if you have at least one character at 70.

Wikipedia entry for Wrath of the Lich King

[ShibbOleth]

I just reinstalled WoW + BC on a different PC. It takes a fairly long time to get the initial software loaded, but the updates were actually not nearly as bad as I expected.

You don't need to add Burning Crusade right now. That adds a whole new section that is available only once you're at a fairly high level. You might miss a couple of little things by not adding it right away, but I'd suggest you make sure the game is right for you first.

[Death of Rats]

You will need BC to access the Blood Elf and Dranei races and thier areas.

[Broomstick]

MY recommendation - and of course the people playing this game have 10 million opinions, literally, because that's about how many of us there are - is as follows:

Start with just basic or "vanilla" WoW. Don't get Burning Crusade or any mods at first. Just jump in, get a character started. The initial 10 levels will, through various quests, teach you how to use the game and your character. Go ahead and start 2-3 different characters and play them to level 20.

At that point you will have a better idea of what's going on, what interests you, and so forth. You'll know what does and doesn't annoy you about the user interface. And so on.

THEN you can start thinking about mods, macros, and adding the Burning Crusade.

I will also recommend the following websites:

World of Warcraft Community Site - this is Blizzard's official WoW site, which has everything you need to know to get started, and even has links to other sites discussing classes, professions, strategy, etc.

WoWWiki - a wiki devoted to WoW, full of lore, various items of interest, quests, raids, races, and so on. It seems to update pretty quickly - for example, the day after the 2008 Lunar Festival started they had information on what had and hadn't changed from last year's.

Thotbott - this is a database of WoW stuff. If you get stuck on a quest, or need to locate an NPC or a thing, this is the place to go. Some people prefer Wowhead

[Miller]

Originally Posted by Death of Rats

You will need BC to access the Blood Elf and Dranei races and thier areas.

And to use the Jewelcrafting trade skill.

[rockle]

Originally Posted by DigitalC

You really don't need any addons or mods to begin with, WoW is so popular for its simplicity and how easy its to get into. When you reach max level you can start worrying about stuff like that, for now all you really need to do to get started is put the cd in and follow the instructions.

As someone who only very recently (a month or so ago) started playing WoW, I can vouch for this. I usually hate games like this because I can't really handle "complicated," but just the standard install of the game is fine for me. (My husband installed some add-ons for me, but I don't know how to use them and I don't know that I need to anyway.)

[Snarky_Kong]

Oh, and if you eventually get addicted, max your level, and start raiding, read the forums at elitistjerks.com. There's everything you'd ever need to know about how to best use your skills on that forum.

[lunar elf]

Welcome to WoW! I'd start playing without any mods to really get a feel for the game. You don't realize how much you rely on a mod until you start installing them. The game is pretty straightforward and fun to figure out.

There's lots of really cool mods out there. My favorite one lately has been LightHeaded and TomTom.

Check out the wow forums too for all sorts of information, but Thottbot and Wowwiki are great resources even for max level toons!

[RickJay]

Originally Posted by Pochacco

It makes a small amount of difference. Characters on roleplaying servers have names like "Errodan" instead of "Superhunter". Chat on RP servers is more likely to be in character and grammatically correct. You see a lot less of "Dooood, u just got totally pwned!!!!!!" If such minor details affect your suspension of disbelief, go RP.

I'm on an RP server and probably half of all character names are things like "Superhunter," "Magedood" and "Beerisfun." I have never seen any sort of public chatter that was RP, and spam gold-selling messages fill the main channels. The RP server was not the tiniest bit of improvement over a regular server.

[The Hamster King]

Originally Posted by RickJay

I'm on an RP server and probably half of all character names are things like "Superhunter," "Magedood" and "Beerisfun." I have never seen any sort of public chatter that was RP, and spam gold-selling messages fill the main channels. The RP server was not the tiniest bit of improvement over a regular server.

Hmmm. Is it one of the older ones? I've heard that as newer RP servers came on line the RPers would migrate away from the older ones leaving them in the state you describe. I mostly played on Steamweedle Cartel (one of the medium-aged RP servers) and it was never that bad.

I stopped playing six months ago, but I find it hard to believe that things went to hell that quickly.

Or maybe it's because I left ... I was one of the guys reporting name violations to the GMs ... .

[jayjay]

Originally Posted by RickJay

I'm on an RP server and probably half of all character names are things like "Superhunter," "Magedood" and "Beerisfun." I have never seen any sort of public chatter that was RP, and spam gold-selling messages fill the main channels. The RP server was not the tiniest bit of improvement over a regular server.

Report them. RP rules won't be followed if there's no consequences, and it's extremely unlikely there will be consequences unless they're reported.

What I hate about RP servers is that they're prime targets when the PVP munchkins' servers are down. They pop a newbie toon in the RP servers and suddenly all the starting areas are a flaming chaos of 7334speek and RP-baiting.

[Critical1]

Voice Chat

do yourself and everyone else a favor and get a microphone/headset combo. the stand alone mics universally suck arse and will pick up large amounts of ambient noise. head set mics can be fine tuned to a much greater degree and will be easier on everyone.
(using voice chat in gaming since 1998 and I have tried virtually every program on the market, trust me on this)

thats the only real hardware I would suggest, otherwise the above info is great and spot on...but where is the link to alla's?

http://wow.allakhazam.com/
ah yeah, there ya go.
that and tthotbot are the 2 big pages you need for info.

do yourself another favor, when you have a question about a quest, READ THE FUCKING QUEST LOG (note not yelling at you but if you ask an obvious question this is the answer you will receive in general chat) aka RTFQL for short. then if you still dont know what the hell is going on you can check Alla's or tthotbot for added help and or ask around. people are helpful for the most part but when you have heard the same newbie question a few dozen times it gets really old.

[by-tor]

Thanks for the answers! I installed it and had a go. It was fun if a bit repetitive. How does one go about joining a guild? Is it invite only?

[jayjay]

Originally Posted by by-tor

Thanks for the answers! I installed it and had a go. It was fun if a bit repetitive. How does one go about joining a guild? Is it invite only?

It is invite-only, but invites are a dime a dozen. If you go into one of the major cities, there is a Guild Recruiting chat channel that's automatically joined. Keep an eye on that, or check the Guild Recruiting forums on Blizzard's WOW website. The problem isn't usually finding a guild to join, it's finding a good guild to join. But, since you're not permanently bound to the first guild you join, you have options.

[jayjay]

Originally Posted by by-tor

Thanks for the answers! I installed it and had a go. It was fun if a bit repetitive.

I don't usually find things repetitive until at least the teens...where did you start?

[Infovore]

Originally Posted by Critical1

do yourself another favor, when you have a question about a quest, READ THE FUCKING QUEST LOG (note not yelling at you but if you ask an obvious question this is the answer you will receive in general chat) aka RTFQL for short. then if you still dont know what the hell is going on you can check Alla's or tthotbot for added help and or ask around. people are helpful for the most part but when you have heard the same newbie question a few dozen times it gets really old.

I would like to suggest a couple of websites that I find immensely better than either Allakhazam or Thottbot. I started on these like everyone else, but every since I found Wowhead.com, I never go back to the old ones anymore. Wowhead is better organized, more attractive, and tends to have more concentrated helpful advice than the large number of unhelpful ones you have to wade through to get to the good stuff on Allakhazam or Thottbot.

Also, there's a new site called WowDB (wowdb.com) that is looking even more promising than wowhead. Graphically prettier, and includes a 3D modeler to let you see what various pieces of gear look like on your character.

I suggest you give these two a try in addition to Allakhazam and Thottbot--everyone's preferences are different, and you might find one of them more to your liking.

[by-tor]

jayjay I did the dwarf start to level 5 and the night elf start to level 4. The repetitive part is killing the same monsters over and over in more or less the same way but I guess that is just how it is.

[jayjay]

Originally Posted by by-tor

jayjay I did the dwarf start to level 5 and the night elf start to level 4. The repetitive part is killing the same monsters over and over in more or less the same way but I guess that is just how it is.

I don't know...I've never found those areas repetitive. Dwarf you kill some troggs, then some pigs, then some trolls, and off you go to the Big Boy Town. Elves, same more or less...pigs, cats, demons, spiders, grab some water, Big Boy Town.

Admittedly, your "repetitive" and my "repetitive" may be different. At this point, I can generally skim through the newb levels (1-10) in most areas in four or five hours.

Oh, and about "the same way"...you have a very limited repertoire of skills now. That will change. You eventually get several different ways to kill things, and at lvl 10 you start gaining talent points, which can be spent on other interesting class-related skills.

[rockle]

Originally Posted by jayjay

Oh, and about "the same way"...you have a very limited repertoire of skills now. That will change. You eventually get several different ways to kill things, and at lvl 10 you start gaining talent points, which can be spent on other interesting class-related skills.

Wanna know the biggest bummer about WoW, so far? That I cannot actually use Polymorph or Firestorm powers on the people I work with.

[jayjay]

Originally Posted by rockle

Wanna know the biggest bummer about WoW, so far? That I cannot actually use Polymorph or Firestorm powers on the people I work with.

Hell, I'd settle for a Silence effect...

[Biggirl]

Originally Posted by rockle

Wanna know the biggest bummer about WoW, so far? That I cannot actually use Polymorph or Firestorm powers on the people I work with.

Holy crap, would I love to put immolation traps all around my cubicle. It would be a fry-fest since almost everyone around here has been hit with a stun arrow long before they reach me.

[jayjay]

Originally Posted by Biggirl

Holy crap, would I love to put immolation traps all around my cubicle. It would be a fry-fest since almost everyone around here has been hit with a stun arrow long before they reach me.

"Biggirl, why are you hoarding Sharpies?"

"Hunter weapon!"

[Turek]

Originally Posted by Biggirl

Holy crap, would I love to put immolation traps all around my cubicle. It would be a fry-fest since almost everyone around here has been hit with a stun arrow long before they reach me.

I dunno, having my annoying co-worker do the little shaking jig and turning green from stepping on a snake trap holds a not small appeal.

[Biggirl]

Which all goes to show, by-tor, that there are many ways to kill your co-workers in WoW.








And they, you. My boss has a very effective drain soul spell that he uses at every staff meeting.

[Jayn_Newell]

Originally Posted by jayjay

"Biggirl, why are you hoarding Sharpies?"

"Hunter weapon!"

Of course, everytime we see mail drop around here, it's shaman gear it seems like (my husband is a hunter). The insulting thing? One of them is enhancement and looking at my leather items! Actually, he was doing that as a warrior too. I keep telling him to roll a rogue and get it over with--he'd die just as much, and be wearing the same gear.

[aruvqan]

Originally Posted by Biggirl

Which all goes to show, by-tor, that there are many ways to kill your co-workers in WoW.


And they, you. My boss has a very effective drain soul spell that he uses at every staff meeting.

Actually one of my co-workers plays WOW and is in my guild=) I was her secret santa this year and got her a game card ... she was thrilled=

If you want to roll an alliance on thunderhorn, get in touch with me, Sonnenschein. I have a good guild I belong to [we are theoretically a raiding guild but we have people who PVP and others who just like to hang out and chat and do occasional groups.] If nothing else, I can help you get geared up at the lower level by taking you through a couple of the baby dungeons=)

[by-tor]

Thanks for the offer. What times do you generally play aruvqan?

[Taters]

I too am a WoW geek, and don't have any advice to offer that hasn't already been offered in this thread.

I just popped in to say I laughed out loud when I was reading the posts about the powers to use on our co-workers. I was thinking Holy Shock myself. Some of the folks in my organization could stand a dose of that.

Also, doesn't ANYBODY play on Spinebreaker?

[aruvqan]

Originally Posted by by-tor

Thanks for the offer. What times do you generally play aruvqan?

Nice to hear from you in game ... *just* as we were going into Karazhan...

But Ill see you tomorrow morning =) and we'll get you some decent gear.

[jayjay]

Originally Posted by aruvqan

*just* as we were going into Karazhan...

And since that's probably gibberish for by-tor, Karazhan is one of the uber-high-level dungeons.

To explain dungeons...they're self-contained areas that are instanced, that is, each party that goes in gets their own dungeon generated for them. Only that party is going to be in that dungeon, unlike the rest of the world where everyone exists. They range from the newbie-level Ragefire Chasm in Orgrimmar (levels 14-20, I think) to Karazhan-level (lvl 70).

Dungeons are NOT soloable, unless you're way above the dungeon level. Most mobs in a dungeon are Elite, which means they have around four times the hit points of regular mobs of their level. You NEED a group unless you're godlike next to that level. Unfortunately, all the GOOD loot is in the dungeons...

[aruvqan]

Originally Posted by jayjay

And since that's probably gibberish for by-tor, Karazhan is one of the uber-high-level dungeons.

To explain dungeons...they're self-contained areas that are instanced, that is, each party that goes in gets their own dungeon generated for them. Only that party is going to be in that dungeon, unlike the rest of the world where everyone exists. They range from the newbie-level Ragefire Chasm in Orgrimmar (levels 14-20, I think) to Karazhan-level (lvl 70).

Dungeons are NOT soloable, unless you're way above the dungeon level. Most mobs in a dungeon are Elite, which means they have around four times the hit points of regular mobs of their level. You NEED a group unless you're godlike next to that level. Unfortunately, all the GOOD loot is in the dungeons...

LOL ... I didn't mean to end up in a raid guild ... we actually arent a raid guild, we are a family guild that happens to have some seriously *good* gamers in it i actually bailed off my old server to get away from my [raiding] guild ... because I wanted to play casually. So what do I do? Crank a baby warlock from 1 to 70 and raiding in like 2 months of casual play *sigh* [I just happen to know where all the quests are and the best ways to play my lock for maximum destruction so I frequently went against monsters 4 or 5 levels higher than me, or multiples my level and got lots of nice equipment and cash ... ]

I was in and out of game all day, my ISP was having server issues in a big way ... but I did send a bunch of gear =) and as soon as i can catch up with him in game [i sent him a couple of tells a few minutes ago but he isnt responding ...] we can go out and have some fun. I just made a feral druid and am already level 12...