Gameplay

For all the improvements, it's remarkable now little actual change there has been in gameplay. Even the simplest of battles are involved affairs that require player interaction, it's not just a matter of setting the warrior to auto-swing and occasionally delivering a kick. The various rage/mana/etc. managements that each class has keep things interesting. Battles do often play out similarly - charge, rend, wait for 2 attacks, yell, wait an attack, smash - but the ability to participate does make a difference. A warrior has to be particularly quick with his Overpower shortcut which will permit him to score a hit despite a 'Dodge'.

Blizzard is really better than most at being able to mask the fact that this is a game about randomized 'dice' rolls done by the server. Few competitors other than EverQuest, and to a more limited extent Dark Age of Camelot, can boast such fleshed-out zones (though the world is seamless) and consistent and good art. World of WarCraft might never garner accolades for breaking technological boundaries like Doom 3 and Half-Life 2 will, but the somewhat cartoony look of the world promises longevity.

This all translates into a more believable experience, it's easier to forget that everyone will be the same level sooner or later and that most people will have similar equipment. Here too, however, Blizzard does a number on the traditional thinking that all the best equipment means that all players will be clones of each other. The talent system has been revamped and radicalized. Talents are divided into three categories - Arms, Defend and Fury. Presumably the player is encouraged to spend points as much as possible in one of these categories because the requirements for certain abilities often mean X amount of talent points being dumped into a previous ability in the same category.


Talents vary up the way characters work. In Arms, for example, adding points to the Axe gives an increased chance of a critical hit, but to the sword it increases the chance to hit. The Fury category permits the player to increase the critical chance of any weapon or extend the length of time his Battle Shout.

This also means that you might actually want two different kinds of priests or warriors in your party - since, due to their customizations, they can fulfill multiple roles. While no warrior is likely to out-damage a Rogue, the Fury path helps him fulfill a fighting rather than tank role. Best of all, talent points come every level and we find ourselves looking forward to them more than the every-2-levels ability upgrades. Finally, if you're unhappy with your talent selection you can visit a Talent Master and have them wiped.

With its rapid advancement, newbie-friendliness and variety of gameplay - while minimizing the tedious aspects - World of WarCraft seems to have it all. The only question we have is how this player-reliant economy is going to work with no item attrition.