World of WarCraft Open Beta has BEGUN!

[Nevlonniel]

WORLD OF WARCRAFT

WarCraft world map (http://www.blizzard.com/wow/townhall/worldmap.shtml) - This will aid you greatly in figuring out the layout of the land. Note: Only capitol cities and major towns are listed. Smaller hovels are not listed.

Alliance & Horde Races (http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/races/) - The Alliance has 4 races and the Horde has 4 races. Each one has their pros and cons, but in the end, each faction is evened out nicely.

Classes (http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/classes/) - Each race has four to six classes to choose from. Some races have different classes from other races.

Professions (http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/professions/) - Professions are in addition to your class. You can have up to two professions. They aid greatly in aquiring more money.

Money - 100c (copper) = 1s (silver); 100s = 1g (gold). Note: Gold is quite rare in the game and hard to come by due to inflation within the game.

Who's in the Open Beta? Let's find out!

Rie - Nevloniel, Night Elf female Hunter; Pacific Normal Test 30

Joe (Rie hubby) - Legolamb, Night Elf male Rogue; Pacific Normal Test 30

Figrin - Dergan, Human male Paladin; Pacific Normal Test 30

Tondry - ?, Tauren male Warrior; Pacific Normal Test 30

Viscera - Baudihillie, Human female Warrior; Pacific Normal Test 30

Yoghurt - Aldoros, Human male Mage; Pacific Normal Test 30

Zasz - Mavand, Night Elf male Druid; Pacific Normal Test 30

(To be updated with each new character name entry)

EDIT: I have updated the helpful links above. The pages they link to have more info and explaination.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

As I promised in my previous thread (http://www.sw-fans.net/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=37034)...

The World of WarCraft Open Beta has begun and is ripe for the picking! Not surprising, FilePlanet had a slew of keys ready for the picking, and they were picked within hours of the announcement. So, don't bother with FilePlanet.

The only place to be able to get an Open Beta key is at the official website: worldofwarcraft.com

However, and again not surprising, the website is down. No doubt from the masses all scrambling to get a key so as to get a chance to play a bit of WoW... and for free at that.

So, all I can say is, keep hitting the refresh button for the WoW website for your chance at being able to play the deliciously beautiful and fun World of WarCraft.

And for those of you that are not able to make the Open Beta, fear not. The game goes on the shelves in stores on November 23, 2004. So you don't have long to wait. (Only down side to this is that it will require a monthly fee, so those that don't have money or aren't willing to pay a monthly fee, well, you'll be out of luck.)

But, here's hoping all that wish a chance at the Open Beta get into it!

I'll be in there and waiting for your arrival. :)

EDIT: Looks like the WoW page is up and linking to the downloader which will then allow you to dl WoW Open Beta. So, get clickin!

[Shawn]

I wanted to try this out, but I don't feel like using Blizzard's crippled version of BitTorrent to download it. If I can find it somewhere else, I'll nab it and give it a shot.

[Darth Viscera]

Originally posted by Nevlonniel
I'll be in there and waiting for your arrival. :)

riiight, but I think that one way you might shorten that wait would be to actually post what server you're on :rolleyes

i'm in, but apparently East Coast 4 (the one I intended to join) is a PvP server, which is problematic. Problematic because it'll probably take me about 3 months to learn 100% how to play the game as a noob, and 9 months added to that to figure out all the likely equations and download all the likely excel sheets in order to become hugely proficient at PvP (I'm assuming this game is as complex as Star Wars Galaxies, and a lot more complex than EVE: Online was), and I don't want to be ganked constantly while I'm trying to learn how to play the game.

I ended up picking East Coast server 3 because it's on the east coast and has a high population. First thing I've noticed is that apparently everyone is lagging but me (unless player characters are supposed to run by in stop-frame animation mode) but I don't know how to confirm that because I don't know how to determine what my ping is. Second thing I've noticed is that, as I anticipated, I have no idea what to do, nor how to do it. Basically the game is saying "hi, you're in the game-world now, here's a big city nearby that isn't Lordaeron, ok later" :huh, there isn't an in-game tutorial, and the "Getting Started" page at worldofwarcraft.com is down until Blizzard can figure out how to deal with high traffic.

Exit, take a deep breath, wait for the Getting Started page, try again.

edit~east coast 3, in-game name "Baudihillie", as in, one of the valkyries from norse mythology.

[Figrin D'an]

Downloading the client for this is just... annoying. Probably won't be done until this evening at best. And just signing up for an account was nearly an exercise in futility.

Hopefully the game is worth having to jump through all these hoops.

[Zasz Grimm]

Originally posted by Figrin D'an
Downloading the client for this is just... annoying. Probably won't be done until this evening at best. And just signing up for an account was nearly an exercise in futility.

Hopefully the game is worth having to jump through all these hoops.

No doubt. And yes, LV, it would be best if we know what server your on..you know, so we can play together.

Edit/Add: If I was anyone who was trying to get the file, I'd go to fileplanet.com and hit up their servers. While it's a long wait, their servers are really fast. I usually pull about 125-190k constant DL from them. I'm gonna hop in a line and wait.

[AmazonBabe]

^_^; Sorry about not posting the server. You see, it's a bit complicated in that regard because I'm on the server that was used for the closed beta. Essentially, I don't think it's showing for those getting into the open beta. So, while I have an account, I have to create a character on a server that you guys can access.

And I can't get into the game to do that until I finish downloading the program through Blizzard's jurry-rigged version of BitTorrent (why they even messed with it is beyond me). They're using a different program for the open beta, and instead of putting out a patch, they're making ppl redl the whole thing. :x I started the dl last night before bedtime, and this morning it was at 32%. Hopefully it'll be done by the time I get home from work. *crosses fingers*

I'll have more info for you guys then as to what server and such. I do hope we are all able to get on the same server so we can all run amuck. That'd be awesome!

Fig - While the dling is annoying as heck (I have to plug my computer directly into my cable modem, turn off my firewall, and hope to gawd the butchered version of BitTorrent works... and even then it dls like molasses), the game really is spectacular. I think you'll enjoy it. :)

Zasz - Last night while getting the program, fileplanet's servers were all non-responsive (at least the free servers were). So I had to resort to using the retarded BitTorrent. :\

(As an aside, and in my defense, I didn't know they were going to have more servers available for the open beta. You have to understand that for the closed beta, they only had two servers: a PvE server and a PvP server. It never occured to me they would have several for the open beta. My bad.)

[Zasz Grimm]

Yeah, I keep getting bumped OUT of line. =/. And now my roomie forced me to get off stupid version of BT, cause it was lagging his cam session with his gf. Oh well, guess I'll just wait until later today.

Prolly play tomorrow.

[Kelt Simoson]

Warcraft never appealed to me, unfortunetly.

[AmazonBabe]

While Blizzard makes fantasic games, it really surprises me how they totally messed up the dling process. I mean, how hard is it to put up some dedicated servers for the sole purpose of dling the program? And they can't give an excuse that they're afraid the servers would crash. I mean, they're putting up a huge MMO... they BETTER have good servers running.

Well, as painful as it is to dl the game, I really do hope it doesn't put ppl off. The game really is fun.


Oh, and if anyone's curious 9though i can't see the list of servers, so i don't know what's out there), I'm on a server called Beta Server. I don't know if it's accessable by the open beta testers though.

[Figrin D'an]

Originally posted by AmazonBabe
Fig - While the dling is annoying as heck (I have to plug my computer directly into my cable modem, turn off my firewall, and hope to gawd the butchered version of BitTorrent works... and even then it dls like molasses), the game really is spectacular. I think you'll enjoy it. :)



We need to teach you about port forwarding in your router/firewall. :mneh


One would think that, by now, Blizzard would realize that any time they have an open beta on any of their games, they are going to get blitzed with dl requests. They simply weren't ready for this thing to open up to everyone. The WoW site is still down, and their mangled BitTorrent dl client is a patchwork fix at best.

5 hours of dling left. blaaargg.

[Pierce Tondry]

Only 5? I left my connection up all night and most of today. I'm only half done. It's stupid. Really, really stupid.

[AmazonBabe]

:( I'm sorry Pierce. And here I thought I was having it bad.

Fig - I did do the port forwarding. It did absolutely squat. It always worked fine with other things I needed to dl, but for some reason the dler that Blizzard uses is special in that it hates me. The only way I could get it to move at semi-decent speeds without knocking me off every 5 minutes was to do what I stated above. :\

[Zasz Grimm]

My patience and strategy paid off. For like 4 and a half hours, while playing halo 2, I made sure I didn't get bumped out of line at Fileplanet.

I'm downloading at a smooth 230k a second. Should be done within a couple of hours.

[AmazonBabe]

YAY!!!!

Ok ppl... we need to devise a strategy where we all create characters on the same server (preferably one that's not crashing) and run AMUCK!

[Figrin D'an]

I should be up and running in another 20-25 minutes or so... almost done dling. I don't have a clue what kind of character I'm going to create though, so that'll probably take me a little bit to determine.

The only way we'll get everyone on the same server is for someone to just pick one, post it here, then have everyone create their characters.

[Zasz Grimm]

yeah, someone just pick a server, so me and my roomie know where to go when we start up.

[AmazonBabe]

OK, all i gotta say is whatever you do, DON'T PICK SERVERS 3 OR 13. They've both been having serious problems all day.

And, um, I leave work in about 10 min, and then it takes me 30 min to get home, and maybe another 10 to change and go potty and stuff. THEN I'll get on. can you wait a bit longer? ^_^;

(This is of course, assuming my dl has completed.)


OH! I forgot another important aspect!

Human, Night Elf, Dwarf, Gnome = Alliance

Orc, Tauren, Troll, Undead = Horde

Essentially, a Night Elf and Orc will NOT get along, and you cannot ally with the opposing force even if you are friends IRL. Just rules of the game.

So, um, it's either Alliance or Horde, otherwise we're at odds.

(I was gonna create a Night Elf character)

[Zasz Grimm]

im going human mage.

[Figrin D'an]

There's other stuff to decide too, like which game type and such.

I'm pretty much against PvP, because I don't really feel like having to fight off spawn campers and high level dorks who want to pick on newbies.

So, that leaves either Normal or Roleplaying realms. RP sounds kind of neat, but we should probably stick with Normal for now.

Region.... I'd say go with Pacific, just because that's where our most experience player (ie. Rie) is located. Even though I'm in the midwest, my connection is fast enough that it really doesn't matter what region I choose.

Anyway... I think I'm going to start with a paladin, since it is fairly congruent with the Warrior/Monk hybrid I have for a character in Guild Wars.

[Shawn]

There's a bunch of other things I'm using my bandwith for at the moment, so it may be a day or two before I get this. Any idea how long the Open Beta is for?

[Zasz Grimm]

Originally posted by Shawn
There's a bunch of other things I'm using my bandwith for at the moment, so it may be a day or two before I get this. Any idea how long the Open Beta is for?


I heard that it would run until the game was released.

[Figrin D'an]

Originally posted by Shawn
There's a bunch of other things I'm using my bandwith for at the moment, so it may be a day or two before I get this. Any idea how long the Open Beta is for?

I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure the beta is open until fairly close the to the release date of the full game, so it should be a couple of weeks.


Okay, peeps, heres what I did.

Pacific time zone, Test Realm 30. It's a Normal realm. I'm a human paladin, named Dergan. Join me or die. :mneh

[Shawn]

I wanna be undead. :(

[Pierce Tondry]

Dergan... Venitor?????

Edit: well, for this server I will be taking a badass Tauren warrior so I can clock people with a giant pole and laugh.

Once the dl finishes that is. >_<

[AmazonBabe]

I am SO sorry I didn't get on when I stated I would.

I got a call from my hubby about a last minute birthday get-together for his dad. So I went to my hubby's parents house for cake and ice cream.

In either case, I wouldn't have been able to play cause my dl wasn't finished yet! *tears hair out*

But, as of right now, the dl only has 4 hours left to go, so unless something drastic happens, the dl should finish tonight while I sleep.

So tomorrow I should be ready to plaaaaaaaay!

Thanks for the info Fig. Once I get my character started on the same server you're on, I'll let you know what her name is. Only thing is I'll be creating a Night Elf, so I won't be with you right away due to me having to make some money first to travel to the human stronghold. I could just create a human character, though, so I start in the same city as you. Let me know what you'd prefer. :)

Shawn - I'll create a Horde character as well. You can have more than one character on the same server, so I'll be switching between my Alliance and Horde characters to help ppl out and also have some play time with them. :)

:lol After all, I am the resident schizo. ;)

[Master Yoghurt]

Aldoros - level 5 human priest

Some questions:

* Where do you get more/bigger storage containers? My 16 item backpack is sucktacular

* I noticed I could not wear chain or leather, is this a class restriction for priest, or is it a trainable skill?

* Is there a way of zoning to areas to enable faster travel? My feet gets tired of all this running..

[AmazonBabe]

Yog -

1. You can either find vendors that sell bigger pouches, or you can get lucky and raid it off of a creature you have slaughtered. The largest pouch I have seen holds 10 items. But you can have I believe up to 6 pouches? Or maybe it's 5. I can't remember. Anyways, yeah, you can definitely hold more than 16 items.

2. Chain and leather are for warrior and hunter classes respectively. Now it's possible you can train to learn how to wear these particular items, but don't quote me on that. Best to check out the WoW forums and inquire there.

3. The only "zoning" I know of are [something] stones (dammit, I can't remember the name!). You get them from innkeepers from the various towns. But you can only have one at a time, and it can only take you to one place and has a 30 min to hour cool down period (can't remember the exact time).
i.e. If you talk to the innkeeper from town A and go a-questing, and after you're done, you don't want to run the miles, you click on the stone and it teleports you directly to the town, just outside of the inn.
secind i.e. Say you travel to twon B and you go a-questing without speaking to the inn keeper, and you finish and want to retunr without running miles, clicking on the stone will set you back at twon A. In order to have it set you to town B, you have to speak to the innkeeper at town B.

Hope that helps. :)



As for my dl/playing status: My dl finished last night sometime, and I went to check it this morning. Essentially, this is what I had to post at the WoW support forums...


have spent the last two days downloading the WoW OB program (on my cable modem no less... frusterating). It finally finished sometime early this morning.

So, I hit "Play World of WarCraft" to begin playing, and then it prompts me for my user name and password. So I put in my user name and password which I've had since CB, and it starts doing it's lil validation window stuff, when I get an error message saying it "Unaible to validate game version. This may be caused by file corruption or the interference of another program. Please visit www.worldofwarcraft.com/support for more information or possible solutions to this issue."

So, now I'm here pleading for help as to what to do!

I have checked the download by restarting the downloader to see if all was ok. It showed no problems in checking the program that was downloaded.

Then I check to see if I have any programsd running that may interfere with the game. Nothing.

I also restarted my computer to see if that would fix it. Nothing again.

And the version I'm running is:
0.12.0 (3988) (Release Assertions Enabled)
Oct 10 2004

Please, Blizzard, what do I have to do in order to begin playing again! I'm desperate here! =(

As of right now, I have gotten a response from another player suggesting some things to do, but I have yet to here from any WoW support actually answer my question. And it is quite possible i won't get an answer today.

So, gents, I'm kinda stuck.

I can certainly try to answer your questions here if you have any problems ingame, but as of right now, I can't join you. :\

<-- is sad :(



EDIT: Ah, screw waiting for Support to respond. I'm calling them. And if that doesn't work, I'm driving down to Irvine and throttling a few tech supports (cause it'd make me feel better and less frusterated).

<-- has gone from sad to mad :mad



EDIT 2: Well, I called tech support and the fix should be quite simple. Essentially, I have to delete the closed beta version and the stress test version before running the open beta version (something about the program getting confused and not knowing what to look for).

(As an explaination, basically when they had the closed beta, stres tests, and open beta, they didn't think about just releasing a patch to update the program. No. They made you dl a NEW program each time. Fun, no?)

Anyways, so I'll try this when I get home and HOPEFULY (keep your fingers and toes crossed) the game should be up and running tonight!

<-- has gone from mad to having high hopes :)

[Morgan Evanar]

See, this is why I didn't bother.

[AmazonBabe]

You. Everything takes a lil pain to get somewhere.

But if you don't want to play, that's fine. I'll have fun by myself. :p

[Morgan Evanar]

No, it doesn't. Guild Wars? Painless. Diablo 2 beta? Painless. Various other betas I've been in, random crashing exempted? Painless.

[Pierce Tondry]

Getting the actual game from Fileplanet is 7830215749479537495747 times easier than downloading from the Blizzard installer. I got the file in two hours last night and am set up to play as of now.

My non pg-13 thoughts on the download client, for your amusement.




Sniper Tondry: So far, a 19 meg file has taken half an hour.
I could jerk off, shower, and change clothes in that amount of time and get a lot more entertainment value from the process.

[Lady Vader]

Originally posted by Morgan Evanar
No, it doesn't. Guild Wars? Painless. Diablo 2 beta? Painless. Various other betas I've been in, random crashing exempted? Painless.

Well, yeah, I recall GW being painless to dl, and even WC3:FT was painless as well.

Ok, look, I understand the downloader for this particular beta is sucktastic. I agree with you 100% on that. And if ever I meet a Blizzard programer, I will ask them why they decided to use such a bad downloader. (Hell, I'm so curious, I may break down and call them just to ask that question.)

But I'm not about to base a game on the craptacular downloader they decided to put up for the beta.

At least for the full version, there won't BE a downloader. And for those that buy the plain vanella version, they'll have 4 CDs or so to download the game with. And for those that buy the uber version (like me), they'll have one DVD.

Anyways, yeah, the downloader sucks. But at least you do get the game eventually. I think patience is a virtue overlooked at times.


Tondry - my shower alone would take half an hour. I take long showers. ^_^;

[Figrin D'an]

I will be on again later this evening, per the info I posted above. After I play some tonight, I'll post my initial impressions of the game. More good than bad thusfar (excluding the whole downloading mess, although it was much less painful for me than some others, given the stories I've heard...).

[Lady Vader]

Forgot to mention earlier today...


World of Warcraft Open Beta Signups Closed
We have reached our initial projected number of signups for the open beta test, so account creation is now closed. We'd like to thank everyone for their interest in joining the World of Warcraft open beta test and their patience during our website outage. Please note that we will continue to analyze server population, and should there be more space for testers prior to the game's launch on Nov. 23, we will re-open the signups.

So, for those of you that got in, yay! And for those of you that missed your chance, there is a possibility they will be opening sign-ups again. I'll keep an eye on the website for news on this just for you. :)

[Darth Viscera]

Baudihillie, Human Warrior, Server 30

[Lady Vader]

Ok, dudes, since all you guys are on Pacific Test 30, and I'm sure you'd like me as a guide, I shall be joining you tonight. Along with my hubby Joe.

I tried to get into Test 30 last night, but it was quite full and refused to let me squeeze by. So I flip about in 37. But I refrained from getting to high in my lvling so i could delete the character and restart with you in 30 tonight.

So, expect me. :)

I don't know what my name will be yet, but I have yours, so i'll message you guys.


EDIT: Ok, I had a thought. I really want to create a Night Elf character, so here's my plan of action.

Tonight I will get on Test 30 and play my behind off to start/finish the Teldrassil areas (starting point for the Night Elves). Once I'm done with that, I'll take a Hypogryph from Darnasus to the mainland of Northern Kalimdor. Once I reach Felwood in N. Kalimdor, I take a ship that sails me to Azeroth. The ship essentially lands just outside of Stormwind, as there is a ship dock there. When I get there, I will bully my way to Stormwind and hope to goodness nothing decides to eat me for dinner. Otherwise, I could be a bit delayed.

Basically, I will be playing all night long to be able to get to you guiys by either tonight, or if it's too late for you, by tomorrow. I have no work tomorrow, so skies the limit. (The advantage I have over this is that I have already done this section for the Night Elves when I was in closed beta. So I know the layout of the land and the quests.)

I will however contact you when I get into test 30 so if you have any questions at all, feel free to ask me.

And for those of you that were completely lost in my explaination and want a map of the WarCraft world, here ya go:

http://www.blizzard.com/wow/townhall/worldmap.shtml

[Lady Vader]

Oh, for those of you that haven't posted what your character names are and where you're at, please do so. Hopefully everyone will be on Test 30.

I will keep a list in my first post at the top for easy finding.

I have also gathered a small list of helpful tidbits and placed them in the first post as well.

[Zasz Grimm]

Me and my roomie abandoned Pacific- it was just too laggy for me. I'm on test 25 on central. I might later tonight go to pacific and start up a character with you guys. I dunno, I'm WoW'd out at the moment.

[Nevlonniel]

That's ok. You join us when you want to. At least you know where we are. :)

[Zasz Grimm]

Originally posted by Nevlonniel
That's ok. You join us when you want to. At least you know where we are. :)


My friend abandoned his character on that server- though I'm still enjoying my druid. However, I'm gonna switch and hit up night elf with you guys. I'll start playing later tonight. Will add info then.

[Zasz Grimm]

Add: Pacific Test Server 30, Male Night Elf Druid. Name: Mavand

should be on later tonight.

[Lady Vader]

Then I shall see you later tonight as I will be grinding to get to the guys over in Stormwind.
We can hook up and get done with Darnassus faster.

[Figrin D'an]

I'm out in Westfall with my paladin right now... hope to be finished with that area soon... but, I can get back to Stormwind quickly with the griffin service, so when everyone wants to meet up, just message me and let me know. (Character Name: Dergan)

[Zasz Grimm]

i want to be like at least 10-12 before I play with you Fig, seeing as how your palridian is like 15 or so.

i'll be leveling more tomorrow. i'm a bit tuckered out tonight- playing the same character as I did and doing the first level over made me be like... 'mrrreehhhh...I'll play later'

And Rie, I didn't mean to duck out on you and your hubby, just not in the mood atm. Tomorrow for sure.,

[Nevlonniel]

No prob Zasz. I had to crash myself as I could barely keep my eyes open. Hubby also had work today.

But I'm gonna be getting on as soon as this post goes through. So I'll see whoever's on! :)

FYI, I've updated the names list in the first post to this thread.

[Darth Viscera]

Originally posted by Nevlonniel
FYI, I've updated the names list in the first post to this thread.

BAUDIHILLIE NOT BAUIHILLIE
:mad
:spank

[Nevlonniel]

Fixed just for you :mneh


EDIT: Well, gents, I can't seem to access Test 30. It gets to the screen of retrieving my characters and it just sticks there. I don't kow what probs they're having cause I can't even log into the WoW tech forums to ask what's going on.

So all I can do is sit and wait. :\

[Darth Viscera]

Okay, now I'm having fun.

Deciding that my best chance to become a great warrior was to meet up with Nevlonniel, alone I set out on a quest, to reach the great harbour of Menethil, and there meet up with my friend long sundered for the voyage back to her homeland of Teldrassil. I had hope that my journey would go unnoticed by the various evils that inhabit the lesser-traveled paths of the Eastern Kingdoms.

The road from the Northshire to the great stronghold of men, Stormwind, was uneventful, and I passed unchallenged along the northwestern road from Goldshire. In Stormwind I entered the Dwarven quarter, and boarded the tram to Ironforge. So thrilled was I at the tram ride that on several occasions I shed my clothes and armor and attempted to jump off the sides of the vehicle while shouting with glee, but to no avail. I was held back by forces unseen, and I took this as a sign that my quest had been blessed.

I disembarked the tram at the great Dwarven city of Ironforge. The city had been built into the side of a mountain, as dwarves seem fond of doing, and blast furnaces and lava were everywhere. Again I found it necessary to shed my clothes and armor and travel with only panties and a bra as my protection, in order to keep from suffering heatstroke. At last I exited the great city to find that a snowy mountain road awaited me, and so I got dressed.

I took the road south through the mountain passes of Dun Morogh, turning east now. My course took me to the Northern Gate Outpost, and there I crossed from Dun Morogh into the very borders of the Wetlands. At the Northern Gate I came across two journeying Elves. They were tall as Elvish princes, and shimmered with the light of greatness. Nervously, I spoke to them.

Baudihillie: Mae govannen mellyn nín! Hail, Thingol! Master of Shadowglen! Hail, Bigjohnson! Son of Elwë!
Thingol: HAHA WTF
Bigjohnson: OMG LOL
Baudihillie: Whence has your journey taken you?
Thingol: OMFG LAGGGGGG
Bigjohnson: fo real yo
Baudihillie: Do you come here from the harbour of Menethil?
Thingol: no LOL
Bigjohnson: yup oh wait no lol
Baudihillie: Do you know the way to the harbour of Menethil?
Thingol: go down the hill and take a left and follow the road
Bigjohnson: its reaaaaaal fun
Baudihillie: But...do not Orcs patrol that road?
Thingol: yeah
Bigjohnson: haha nope
Baudihillie: I see. Farewell! Harthon gerithach raid gelin a melthin!
Thingol: uhhh
Bigjohnson: wutever

From there, I reckoned, the path would become harder. I deftly dodged the Orcs that patrolled the Wetlands-side of the Northgate Pass by diving down 100 feet off a cliff, and landed perfectly on my feet. As I looked out now, my view changed from snow-laden mountains to that of a vast marsh which extended as far as my eyes could see. As I was midway through the Wetlands, however, and hope glimmered that I might yet reach the harbour despite the black lands that I would first have to travel, a crocodile ate me and the server crashed before I could release my spirit.

to be continued

edit~I'd just like to take this time to point out that Test 30 west coast has been down for 15 hours straight, while Test 3 east coast is fully up and running.

[Nevlonniel]

Wow, all that for me? I feel so honored! ^_^;

Can't wait to hear the end of the story.


As for the servers, yeah, all are down now. With 500,000+ signups (fguring some weren't able to dl the installer figure about 450,000 to 500,000 ppl are actually playing) and 40 servers... uh, yeah, I'd say they'd be down and lagging horribly.

Me thinks Blizzard had better put the monthly subscritpion fees to good use and buy, oh, about 50 more servers or so.

Yeah.

[Pierce Tondry]

They have more servers, from what I understand. They're just purposefully creating heavy server loads so they can optimize their code. It doesn't mean much for our playing ability at the moment.

Presuming that reasoning is accurate and honest, one hopes they're putting this optimization knowledge to good use.

[Darth Viscera]

I made it to Darnassus!

I traveled through the Wetlands, dying once, but the graveyard was like 15m from my corpse, so I just quickly ressurected and continued on. When I reached Menethil Harbor, I found that there are 3 ships:

1 which comes and takes you to the eastern coast of Kalimdor (Winterspring I think?), on the very left (regular intervals)
1 which is fixed and goes nowhere, in the center
1 which comes and takes you to the western coast of Kalimdor (Auberdine), right across from Teldrassil, on the very right (regular intervals)

I took the ship on the very right, and was soon in Auberdine. From there, there were 2 ships, one in the south berth, which takes you back to Menethil, and one in the north berth, which takes you to Teldrassil. Both ships come at regular intervals. I took the ship which docked in the north berth, and was soon in a village in Teldrassil. From there I took a purpley portalish thing, and now I'm in Darnassus, which must be like the Stormwind of the Night Elves or something.

It's awesome that I figured this out before you Rie, even though you've been playing this game for a month :lol

[Zasz Grimm]

Well, I'm on two servers now.

I have a level 11 human mage on test server 41 on Central, named Malius

And Mavand still on the other. Though, I'm in a huge mage mood, so you'll catch me there more, if you ever wander that way. My roomy has a level 10 warrior and 12 warlock.

[Lady Vader]

I will be on Test 30 (assuming it's up and running) in about 2 hours time. Hope to see some of you there. :)

[Iesis]

Hey! Check this site out!

www.wowbay.org

I dunno how legit it is, but essentially it says they'd pay you to play WoW O_o

(Personally, I'd wanna be paid in game cards or ingame gold ^_^; )

[Darth Viscera]

LOL Rie, you've discovered selling MMORPG items. I tried that once with EVE: Online back in june 2003. I made $115 by selling a Vexor cruiser, a Minmatar Hauler, and 4 million ISK. That payed for my game and my subscription fees.

Basically, selling MMORPG stuff (items, in-game currency, characters) for RL cash goes against the terms of the EULA. You can do it, but if the company running the game catches you (they keep a log of all transactions that take place in-game), they will ban your account on the spot. You then would have to purchase another copy of WoW to get a new cd-key, because each account is tied to one cd-key, and create a new character to get back into the game.

I've done the math on this several times. It's usually the case in an MMORPG that if you're extremely efficient and well-versed in the game, basically a super-hardcore player who's playing with the sole intention of gathering up high-value stuff that can be traded for dollars, then you can make about $4-$5 worth of tradeable items or currency an hour. It tends to stay at that price in EVE: Online, SWG, and probably will be the same in WoW. This WoWbay company seems like IGE, and what they will do is buy your stuff for a lesser price than you might make on ebay or playerauctions.com so they can resell it to other players and make a profit on your items. If you sell on ebay, however, then ebay will close your auction and probably send you an email saying that Blizzard has stated under penalty of purjury that you are violating their copyright.

And then there's the biggest risk of all, when selling. Since you are selling virtual items that basically don't exist in the real world, your buyer can safely reverse the charges on you after receiving his brand new item in-game. Say you just sold your Level 6 sword or whatever to joeschmoe@isuck.net via paypal for $175. Joe Schmoe then receives his brand new sword from you via in-game trade, then contacts support@paypal.com (or his credit card company), tells them that he never received the item that he paid $175 for, and that he wants his money back, and to please reverse the charges. You have no proof that you actually got the product to him, and he automatically siphons your brand new $175 right out of your account and back into his. Oh, and he now has your shiny Level 6 sword.

So basically, selling stuff is fraught with the danger of getting caught and someone doing a chargeback on you. There is no established means of protecting the seller from a chargeback, so:

Caveat venditor!

[Brian]

For anyone intending to play the game in retail and play PvP, do not take the warrior class. It's just too weak in any situation, really, but it especially falls short in PvP.

[Darth Viscera]

what class should I take, then?

[Pierce Tondry]

That depends on a couple of things. If your intent is to take a melee class, that boils down to Hunter, Paladin, and Rogue. If you enjoy stealth and good damage dealing, Night Elf Rogue is an optimal choice since they recieve a racial bonus to their stealth abilities. If distance attacks are more your thing, Hunters of all races have long range attacks and pets to do melee engagement, plus they can set traps. If you really want to play what the Warrior should be with some healing/protection on the side, then a human or dwarf Paladin is your best bet.

I will be taking a dwarf Paladin for retail and learning mining, blacksmithing, and cooking as my primary and secondary professions.

[Nevlonniel]

Thanks for the info, Visc. :) I didn't realize it was such a scetchy deal. I wasn't too serious about trying it out, but knowing that info really has turned me off to it. :x



Originally posted by Brian
For anyone intending to play the game in retail and play PvP, do not take the warrior class. It's just too weak in any situation, really, but it especially falls short in PvP.

Warriors are wea? WTF? And in PvP no less?? That sounds... messed up... O_o


- - - - - - - - - -


As an aside... last night was the last day to play on the North American servers in the Open Beta Test. :cry It was a bitter-sweet moment... to be able to play one last time before the servers went down for complete character wipes to start fresh come retail on Nov. 23.

For all those I got a chance to play with, it was fun! I do hope that sometime in the future, and if you can afford the monthly fee, you will come join me again in the world of Azeroth. :D

For those that do continue on with retail, PM me so that I can give you my character name and server. For those that are not able to at this time, I do hope you will be able to in the furture. :)

I hope all that were able to play in the Open Beta have enjoyed the game as much as I have. I have to confess that I am seriously addicted to it, and will continue to play it religiously until I have done all the Night Elf, Human, Dwarf, and Gnome quests. Once I have finished with that, I'll go look for some Horde races and kick some major booty... maybe even start and lead my own massive raid party. I shall yet be Queen of WoW. :p

But, before that happens, I must first wait 5 days (*twitches* I'm... ok... I... can wait o_O) until the game is released. At that point, watch out LA... the streak zooming down the streets and highways will be me as I go to GameStop at breakneck speeds after work on the 23rd, then zoom home, then begin my life anew in the lands of WarCraft (I suppose I can expect skipping eating and sleeping as I immerse myself in the game... thank GAWD for Thanksgiving weekend!).

But, even though I may not see some of you in WoW, I know I will see you in other MMOs (GW for one). I may not spend as much time in those games as I will in WoW, but you're not going to get rid of me that easily. >D

And, so, there it is. The end of the Open Beta... the beginning of retail come November 23.

The World of WarCraft awaits me (and you too).....


This is your resident Chronic Schizo and newly christened MMO Junkie biting her nails off in anticipation of WoW.


(P.S. - I think I need to found the WoW Addicts Anonimous... WoW A.A. ^_^; )

[Figrin D'an]

I was pretty happy with my human paladin in beta. The healing abilities and bonus auras make a huge difference, and are what really seperate them from the warrior class.

I was pleased with what I saw in the beta, for the most part. There were some elements that I was not particularly fond of, but they are ones that are inherent to all MMOs, and the really good aspects outweighed them considerably. I think Blizzard will have massive success with this game... it does live up to the hype in many respects. It's an MMO that I could actually see myself playing... Guild Wars is the only other MMO about which I have made that statement (if you classify GW as an MMO).

This is a very good game, and if it weren't for the monthly fee, I'd be among the droves buying it next Tuesday.

[Pierce Tondry]

Originally posted by Nevlonniel
Warriors are weak? WTF? And in PvP no less?? That sounds... messed up... O_o

It's really retarded. From what I understand, the Warrior was originally a really great concept. A level 60 Warrior will have three stances (Battle, Defensive, and Berserker) from which to choose. Berserker deals more damage and takes more, Defensive deals less damage and takes less, and Battle takes and gives the normal amount, but has a wide range of battle abilities to use. They even have a special kind of energy bar called rage, which starts a battle at zero and builds as the Warrior takes or deals damage. Sounds like the finished product would be great, right? Really fun, and even tactical in a way. Right?

Wrong. Over the course of the Beta testing, Blizzard altered the Warrior so that the following now hold true:

1) The Warrior's ability to generate rage was decreased until Warriors only effectively generate rage when attacking things of lower levels that they are assured of hitting and dealing high damage to. (Note: this means they will be unable to use most of their special abilities during battle, as most warrior skills require rage to use)

2) The Warrior's damage output through skills and direct attacks was decreased overall, with no corresponding increase to their other stats to compensate.

3) With the above items holding true, Warriors are unable to perform the damage management function Blizzard designed them for. They cannot take enough damage to stay alive for long, they cannot deal enough damage to be a concern to either monsters or players, and they cannot use most battle effects for lack of rage.

4) The Berserker stance was unfinished as of the last patch, which was implemented yesterday.

5) Most abilities that were at one time stance-specific are now useable in any stance.

6) The abilities the Warrior uses do not generate enough hate to redirect the attacks of any monster or player.

What that all boils down to is: the Warrior performs no useful function. A Warrior and Priest combined are required to do what the Paladin can alone. If I want a tank, I'll say "Get me a Paladin." If I want a damage-dealer, I'll say "Get me a Rogue or Mage." If I want a puller or ranged PvPer, I'll say "Get me a Hunter." If I can't get any of the other classes for a specific role, I'll say "Get me a Druid."

No one will ever say "Get me a Warrior" until that class receives significant changes.

[Nevlonniel]

They are still working on improving the aspects of all classes. They have stated even though Open beta is over, they are still taking suggestions and implimenting them in patches. Hell, they finally heard our voices about the degredation of items when you die (thank gawd).

Either way, I expect to see several patches bweteen the time of release and the end of the year. The game is quite playable and extremely fun. It's expected that some aspects will not be completed quite at release, but will certainly be fixed with patches.


This is a very good game, and if it weren't for the monthly fee, I'd be among the droves buying it next Tuesday.


Well, hurry up and make your first million so you can join me! ^_^; Actually, having you around even for the short time last night really did help my armor and fighting skills. I like Paladins! (http://www.blizzard.com/inblizz/fanart/images/screens/ss82.jpg) ^_^

[Figrin D'an]

It's not so much that the fee is too much for me to afford... it's more the principle of the matter. Paying $50 for the retail game installer, plus $15/month just to play it, doesn't sit right with me. By the end of one year, one will have spent $230 just to play one game. I would be compelled to maximize my playing time to feel as though I were getting as much out of the game for the money I would be spending on it. I don't really want to feel tied to my computer and to the game to justify the cost.

That said... if you know a way for me to make a quick million, I'm all ears. :mneh

[Lady Vader]

Eh, I guess it doesn't bother me to pay $15 a month. I figure they're just maintaining a game I enjoy. Besides, what with all the severs they'll have, and the fully detailed game that it is, they'll need that money to maintain peace with the servers and their employees.

It's funny how on the WoW forums, this discussion was brought up countless times. Some complained about the price and wanted it lowered, while others countered that with why the fee was needed. Others wanted the fee raised just so the whiners couldn't/woudn't be able to play. And still some wanted at least one server that was free, albiet with much much less niceties that the paying servers would have. It just went on and on and on. They essentially beat the horse so dead, there wasn't anything left of it. Maybe a pile of dust.

Anyways, as for the million, when I figure out a way of making that million, I shall share my secrets. :D

[Pierce Tondry]

Originally posted by Nevlonniel
They are still working on improving the aspects of all classes. They have stated even though Open beta is over, they are still taking suggestions and implimenting them in patches. Hell, they finally heard our voices about the degredation of items when you die (thank gawd).

Either way, I expect to see several patches bweteen the time of release and the end of the year. The game is quite playable and extremely fun. It's expected that some aspects will not be completed quite at release, but will certainly be fixed with patches.

It's not like the class just needs a tweak or two. Popular innovators of the class during closed beta have quit it due to the changes made in the beta stages. There's even footage from open beta of an unarmed paladin nearly defeating an armed warrior of the same level (60). That's pretty sad.

But according to Blizzard, the class is "awesome". It's pretty clear they're not listening to the players on this score. Waiting for them to change the class, really wouldn't be worth it.

[Figrin D'an]

So, I flew into Stormwind and was walking down the street in the trade district, when I noticed a bunch of dead bodies around. Something was wrong, so I continued down the street to investigate.

Low and behold, the Burning Legion had invaded the city! Well, we couldn't stand for that, so those of us still alive banded together and went on a demon hunt.

http://www.thegjo.com/WoW/Demon1.jpg


We tracked down several of them, and proceeded to make them deader than dead.

http://www.thegjo.com/WoW/DeadDemon.jpg


However, after taking out Doomguards and Fellhounds, the big guns arrived. Infernals. And, one very large Infernal with a bad attitude.

http://www.thegjo.com/WoW/MassiveInfernal.jpg


He pretty much stepped on everyone and crushed them, or smacked them and sent them flying all over the place.

http://www.thegjo.com/WoW/Overmatched.jpg


And most everyone died. Those still left were taken out by an ubermage guy who showed up and turned everyone into chickens (no, I'm not kidding).

[Zyon Rouge]

The game looks and sounds fun, but being 14 and having no job means having no game. *shakes fist at the montly fee*

[Lady Vader]

There's even footage from open beta of an unarmed paladin nearly defeating an armed warrior of the same level (60).

Do you know where I can find this footage? I can use it to make a strong case in the suggestion forum and see if I can't get a huge following to back me as we persuade the Devs to change the butcher of the Warrior class.


Fig - GOOD GAWD! You met the Burning Legion and got whooped! I bet you feel honored! :p Seriously, though, that looks awesome. Helluva lot more fun than those two Tauren that decided to pick on semi-noobs on our last night (cheap shots if yu ask me).

[Pierce Tondry]

That's a nice thought, but I got the video originally from a post in the Warrior class forum at the WoW website. If the Devs haven't already seen it, they're not going to be suddenly motivated to watch.

The video is hilarious, partly because of what it demonstrates, but partly because of the background music they selected for it. I've got it on my PC, so if you really want to see it for yourself, I'll host it and let people download.

[AmazonBabe]

Yes please. ^_^

[Pierce Tondry]

Edit: bah, miserable failure. Time for plan b.

[Nevlonniel]

As sad as it is how the Warrior class did, the video is funny. LOVE the choice of music. :lol

Thanks for sharing Bri. :)

[Pierce Tondry]

You're welcome Mrs. Rie. Even though I can't recommend it for play upon release, I must admit that in spite of my griping I love the concept. It's just a poor execution at this stage of the game.