Advice for someone new to World of Warcraft

[Infovore]

@Omi_no_Kami

I hope nobody minds me doing a quick bump to clarify something: I’m about to start my first character, and I’m trying to decide between a Mage, for the DPS and crowd control, or a Druid/Shaman for the versatility. I was just wondering, as you get up into the 20s and beyond, is the Mage noticeably better in his specialties than the shaman and druid, or would the versatility I’d get from either class more than outweigh the (presumably) less efficient DPS and crowd control abilities?

Depends on what you want to do.

Druids and Shamans are more versatile than mages due to the fact that they can change spec to do more than one thing (druids can tank, DPS, and heal, depending on spec and equipment–shamans can DPS and heal very well, and tank sort of adequately on everything up to about 5-man dungeons). Mages do one thing–damage–and they do it well. Some, like Fire mages, do more damage at the cost of less survivability. Others, like Frost mages, do slightly less damage (and it is slight–I play a level 70 raiding Frost mage and my DPS almost always tops our Fire mage, though this isn’t usually the case) but have more survivability and PvP tricks. But their essential purpose is damage and crowd control.

Also, druids can only be one race on each side (Tauren for Horde, Night Elf for Alliance) so if you don’t like those races, that might be a consideration.

[Snowboarder_Bo]

@Omi_no_Kami

I hope nobody minds me doing a quick bump to clarify something: I’m about to start my first character, and I’m trying to decide between a Mage, for the DPS and crowd control, or a Druid/Shaman for the versatility. I was just wondering, as you get up into the 20s and beyond, is the Mage noticeably better in his specialties than the shaman and druid, or would the versatility I’d get from either class more than outweigh the (presumably) less efficient DPS and crowd control abilities?

Each class is strong in their own right; it really boils down to what you want to do.

If you want to be very versatile, druids are the way to go. You can tank, melee dps, range dps, or heal. True, you can only be really good at one thing (although tanking and melee dps are the same talent spec tree, each requires different gear), but you can still contribute to groups/raids/solo PvE in other ways. DISCLAIMER: I have 3 level 70 druids, 2 of them on the same server. I love druids.

If you want to be mega-dps, both mages and shammies can fit that bill. Shammies can also heal, while mages have the best CC in the game. I have a 70 mage, and he is awesome fun to play both solo and in group. I personally haven’t really warmed to shammies much, but I’ve seen some amazing shammy DPS and amazing shammy healers. It’s all in how you spec and what gear you acquire.

Hope that helps; if I can clarify further, plz ask.

[Snowboarder_Bo]

@winterhawk11

Mages do one thing–damage–and they do it well. Some, like Fire mages, do more damage at the cost of less survivability. Others, like Frost mages, do slightly less damage (and it is slight–I play a level 70 raiding Frost mage and my DPS almost always tops our Fire mage, though this isn’t usually the case) but have more survivability and PvP tricks. But their essential purpose is damage and crowd control.

my mage is Deep Arcane spec (49/12/0) and he kicks ass. I leveled up as Frostfire (10/20/the rest) but changed at 70 and love it. highly recommend this spec at upper levels.

[Cisco]

@The_Controvert

I am considering playing the free trial. What are some tips for maximizing my 10 day trial period?

[ul][li]Wire your computer chair to shock you when you load WoW[/li][li]Join a 12-step group now instead of waiting[/li][li]Tell your significant other you love him/her[/li][li]Just smash your computer[/li][li]Get a gym membership[/li][li]Fall in love with LARPing instead - you’ll never find anyone to play with so it won’t effect your life much[/li][li]Which is most important to you [school/job/signiciant other]? Pick one and kiss it goodbye[/li][li]Reconsider[/li][/ul]

-Cisco, addicted to EverQuest from spring of '99 until late 2000, with relapses in 2001 and 2003. Still in recovery.

[FlightlessBird]

Cisco, you are so funny. (I’m crying on the inside though)

Snowboarder Bo, I will have to try that. I’m one of the only mages in our Doper guild, and pure fire. I do a ton of damage. While PvE, mobs rarely touch me, in PvP, if someone isn’t paying attention to me they are usually about to be dead.

But I’m a little bored of the usual rotation but everyone seems to be familiar with frost mages, so I will try the arcane spec you mentioned… I’ll let you know.

[Snowboarder_Bo]

here’s wowhead.com for the build

Dragonflight Talent Calculator - World of Warcraft

and here’s wowwiki for the explanation

Mage builds

(scroll down about 1/3 of the way; you’ll see it)

[cornflakes]

Not to get off topic, but…

Is there any way to do the updates besides the ridiculous Blizzard updater? My kids used to play, but I’m tired of the long updates, followed by file errors/checks/more updates… lather, rinse, repeat.