Gameplay

As far as MMOs go, World of WarCraft lets the player proceed at a rapid pace. Although there is a clear slowdown once you hit level ten, the levels don't really drag on like they do in EverQuest or Dark Age. Certainly this is helped in an illusory way by the gigantic experience bar, which shows the progress quite visibly, even as I'm approaching level 20. This isn't like EverQuest where you can sit around with your group all day, killing orange and red mobs and not even see a sliver of progress. (Note: "mob" = monster, and in EverQuest the color codes designate their approximate difficulty for your level. -ed.)

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Ironforge entrance, the dwarf city

The Ironforge interior

However, I can't help but remain skeptical. After Earth and Beyond, which was the bees knees and the cat's pajamas at the same time for the first month, before succumbing to "enhancements" which nerfed gameplay down from casual fun to EverQuest grind levels, I think my skepticism is understandable. MMOs are constantly changing and being patched - particularly during beta and the first few months of release. There's no guarantee that Blizzard won't relent to the powerwhine… er… powergamers and increase the grind factor exponentially, in order to extend the "pleasure" of working for every level. There's also the seemingly clear economic advantage of keeping your players playing longer - the longer they play, the more money they pay. All we as the press and fellow gamers can do is hope that Blizzard won't pull a fast one at launch or a month or two after.

The most remarkable difference between WoW and the other major MMOs is that you can solo. That's right, Mr. Brad McQuaid, my dwarf warrior can stand toe-to-toe with a monster of equal or slightly higher level, come out on top and be back on his feet in less than a minute. Oh, you know what else, Verant? No stupid pet that costs a handful of bones and ten seconds to summon is going to beat up on a warrior who took weeks to build.

Food vendor

The dwarf newbie zone

I've only flown through, never landed

All bitterness aside, every class in the game is a capable solo or group partner. Even the-ever-so-frail Mage can freeze his enemies in position and blast them from long range with fireballs. Grouping isn't a necessity for anyone, and quite a few people solo for much of their time in game. Usually, groups form for specific quests. Like naval task forces, they're assigned a mission and often disband after it's done.

The classes fulfill their familiar roles admirably. Warriors make the best tanks, especially when in defensive stance and using taunt. Rogues deal incredible damage thanks to their quick dagger attacks and backstab, but are at the biggest risk because they attract monster attention very quickly. Mages are like rogues with the advantage of range, Warlocks are pretty much the World of WarCraft equivalent of EverQuest's Necromancer since they have pets and many damage over time spells. Paladins and Priests are the healers, with Paladins having auras and being better at melee and tanking, while Priests are better spellcasters and can keep monsters calm. The Shaman, Hunter and Druid aren't activated yet in the beta.

The best and most surprising part about World of WarCraft isn't just the level of polish and the minute changes, but the one big change - the quests. From level 1 all the way to my current 18, I have never been without a quest in my queue. I don't always do them and can occasionally be found soloing or grouping just to kill monsters, but should I ever want a more specific task, I just go do a quest. The only point of confusion is the difficulty of these quests. Upon reaching an area and taking the new quests there, most will be marked in the yellow color (average difficulty). However, some of these are almost impossible to do until you gain a few levels and the quests become green, or unless you group - while others are simple courier or "kill X monsters" missions which aren't difficult at all.

Altar of Storms

The human n00b zone

Stormwind, the capital of the game

All in all, World of WarCraft looks like the most polished and gamer-friendly MMORPG out there. It does lean more towards the casual players, which seems fair given that the other MMOs are dominated by the powergamers. However, despite this, it really doesn't depart from MMO conventions at all. It's just leaner where it needs to be, polished in the right places and has some extra meat on the bones in the form of quests. And like everything else with the Blizzard tag, this works.

Oh and for you warriors out there: the late newbie levels (6-10) may seem dull, but keep at it. Once you get to the early-mid teen levels, the difference is like between a handjob and sex.

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