Not sure what to do on my last day of the WAR Preview Event. I believe it runs through tomorrow but my upcoming work-week will preclude me from playing. If this weekend hadn’t been the WAR PE, I would have actually worked. I’m not sure I feel like trying out classes that I doubt I’d ever play, specifically the melee classes that I haven’t tried. I could try out the other healers to be sure I have the one I’d like to play, if healing is the profession I choose.
My chief concern and indecision is because I don’t want to repeat the content too much. Yes, the early levels go by very quickly and I’ve purposefully not read the quests so that I can do so for the first time during live. However, I’m less inclined to repeat the content I’ve seen so far without being bored by it. The content isn’t bad. There are the usual collection, delivery and kill x rats, interspersed with more original mechanics. But original only feels original the first few times you do it, so I don’t want to wear it out. I still want stars in my eyes when I start playing my main in the live game.
The fact that you can do public quests in between leveling is amazingly good fun. The Public Quests feature screams, casual friendly. I might spend time doing that today to satisfy my craving for WAR without dulling the content for live. The RVR is very engaging, even at this very low level. I’d like to know what the scenarios are at the mid and high tier. The low level map is small, about the size of Warsong Gulch but is more engaging than that explicit capture flag game. It’s more like AB where you are capturing nodes and gaining points for the length of time it’s in your possession. This has been so hotly contested that my heart is racing the whole time! I’m a competitor and don’t like to lose if I can help it. I’ve only seen one blow-out game where as Destruction, we won by 3x points. All the other games were won with fewer than 50 points difference. Twice the scores were so close that we didn’t know who’d actually won until the ending stats displayed.
In the RVR scenarios, I’ve played Order and Destruction. The games have been equally matched with no faction dominating the other. I hope this is how it plays out in the live game. I'd like to leave behind the “Alliance suxors” reputation with WOW. There’s no way to tell if the fact that Order and Destruction seemed balanced in RVR is because the more hardcore players are in BETA and PE Weekend. I hope that’s not the case. I'm crossing my fingers that it’s because PVP oriented gamers are more like minded in how they play and cooperate in PVP, regardless of playing evil (ugly) or good (pretty), which has been the hypothesis floated around to explain why Horde dominates PVP on some servers in WOW.
Yeah, I guess I’m going to do PQs and RVR today. I might try the other healing classes but I was a little put-off by the High Elf zone. I swear there were more players than mobs when I went there to roll the White Lion. I think they’ll be so dang common that I’ll pass. I know Elves are popular – hell I’ve favored them myself. But I’ve never seen that many people rolling the same class at once even during a game launch. I think there were more people doing HEs than all the people who flocked to try the Fae when it launched in EQ2. The experience gave me the, “Uhm, I think I’ll pass,” feeling.
BTW - Can anyone tell me if as the game progresses we push into more generic/common areas? Do I eventually leave zones that are about my race and its counter race to join all races in common combat zones. Like in WOW or EQ2, your starter area is a racial zone then we eventually end up in generic battle zones? This is important to me because if I'm going to stay in the paired conflict zone then I have to make sure to choose one I like. Being in zones that I find aesthetically appealing, is a requirement for me. For example, if the answer is no, then it's very unlikely I'd play the Shaman.
Here's something to remember. Just because you're part of one racial pairing, does not mean (in fact I'd recommend against it) you should be staying in just your racial pairing. There's a hotbed of activity usually in each Tier, and the people in beta seem to congregate around the Empire v. Chaos racial pairing.
Ultimately, the 6 races clash the most at each side's capitol city, but that's not until Rank 40. Until then, it's best practice to find a guild and use their eyes to help you figure out where the RvR is.
It's actually REALLY easy to hop from zone to zone, unlike WoW. At Rank 1 (level 1) you can walk to the Greenskin first warcamp in Mt. Bloodhorn and take a wyvern flight to any of the other races' starting zones. And there's absolutely no harm in doing this. In fact, I'd encourage it for tome unlocks, and more importantly to be where your realm needs you if you want in on the RvR, which seems to be Empire v. Chaos.
Does that help you?
Posted by: JoBildo | August 24, 2008 at 01:29 PM
Perfect! Thanks!
Posted by: Saylah | August 24, 2008 at 02:28 PM
I'm with you Saylah, Bright Wiz and Sorc are rockin' - I did like my Chaos Mage as well - although he didn't seem to fare as well in RvR as my other casters. I didn't like the Elf Archer (Shadow Walker?) so well, nor the squig herder. I also tried an Elf Witch, and she's ok, but ranged DPS is more my play style.
Posted by: Marchosias | August 24, 2008 at 04:39 PM
I did some RVR on the Warrior Priest and got completely creamed. I've never been very good at melee for PVP as I play melee classes so rarely. However, I did some scenarios and kicked butt! Three times in a row I was ranked #1. I was doing DPS and healing - ducking and weaving. It was DA BOMB!
Posted by: Saylah | August 24, 2008 at 05:01 PM
I said it before, but yes... the Warrior Priest freakin' rocks.
Go for it Saylah, and help us out in CoW come release. People are starting to be swayed to the "dark side" and Genda's going to have a lot of folks on Destruction while the rest of us poor saps on Order get our butts handed to us. :P
Posted by: JoBildo | August 24, 2008 at 10:09 PM
Oh noes, the dark side is prevailing in CoW? Can't blame them. I wanted to the Destruction but I couldn't find a really compelling class. Rune Priest was pretty pimp tool. Several times I survived being focus-fired until my mates downed them all. It's like a Disc Priest from WOW - can take one hellofa beating.
Posted by: Saylah | August 25, 2008 at 07:40 AM