Today, after creating a T-shirt, I have now decided to follow in Fulguralis's footsteps of comment turning post! I was over at Miss Elf's blog catchin' up on some reads (and I apologize I've been a lurker!) There was an interesting post about what it must be like coming in as a brand new player after the release of Wrath of the Lich King. My comment became a wall o' text (/apology) and thus, I decided to make it a post. I just think it's an interesting topic. My favorite paragraph from her post is as follows:
I think the old world needs to be played – yes, played, not zerged. Am I the only one who remembers what this game used to be? When you did every instance on the way to cap, when people talked in General (talked, not argued), when you ran into the same people all the time because you were levelling at around the same pace. When logging in was actually exciting, and questions about quests or looking for help weren’t met with “rofl u noobz omg my mom could solo that hahaha u suckâ€.
(For the rest of Miss Elf's post, please go here. It's a good read.)
And that brings us to the comment I left over there:
I do see these trends happening, but it's not all lost… at least not for everyone.
I started playing prior to BC, but I still love(d) all the content. (Then again, I'm a lore nerd *ducks*)
I'm glad to see you say that old content needs to be played and not rushed through. My parents started playing last November. Sure, you could say their motivation is me… but… I honestly am not putting it on EZ mode for them. Oh no. I want them to experience it as fully as they can. (omg, wall o text incoming in 3…2…1)
I did give each of them a few gold to start off with, just as my husband gave my toon when I started. I made a couple bags for them too. I gave them a couple addons, but nothing crazy or overboard. (NO Questhelper. Bad. Bad. Bad.) I taught them some tricks for the AH. Not get rich quick, but so they weren't getting cheated on it.
They both applied for my guild and were invited in. (Even as an officer, I could not avoid protocol for my parents! 😉 )
My mother, bless her, found people while she was leveling and they were grouping together. I've run her and my father through a few instances, but usually I'll go on a toon that is only 10ish levels higher (since I didn't have any close enough otherwise), like my pally, to tank while they burn stuff down. I've helped them learn some group expectations, roles, etc.
Then, as my mother's main gets closer to level 55, a guildie (that has several characters, as do I, but is one of those people that levels fast – unlike me most of the time lol) says we can summon her out to instances in Outland and run her through. I say, “No.” They say she can go in at 55.
I wasn't questioning the level restriction.
I whisper and explain that we need to keep in mind this is her first toon and I want her to experience it as such. I remember the first time I went to the Dark Portal… it was cool. Let's not rush her. Let her have fun. No powerleveling until like, her 3rd max level toon, mkay? xD
What do you guys think? (About the issue, not the length of my comment! 😛 )
It can be very hard to restrain one’s self from overloading millions of tidbits of information onto a new player. When I got my Ex to start playing, I had already been playing since release…he made his first character about a year ago. Eventually I just had to completely back away because I was bum-rushing him through things for gear, etc. which he just didn’t care enough about. Let’s face it, did you want zomg-epix when you were lvl 30 for the first time ever? Nope.
I stepped back and he figured out what he liked to do best in-game. He kept it to one character and I focused back on my own things. If he needed help, I was there.
I agree though. I think it’s great to really suggest strongly that people experience the old world and actual PUG’s before lvl 30. Learn what it’s like to run SM Cath on a mode that isn’t “EZ”. Let them figure out that the chick in there WILL sleep you no matter what lvl you are or what spells you wield.
And most of all, let there be an epic “Awwweeee” moment when they see the Dark Portal for the first time and enter Outlands.
Of course, I completely agree with bum-rushing to max lvl after said experiences have been achieved =P
I wish more people would keep this in mind when they encounter new players or refer new players.
I’ve also seen a few new players that have been quickly bored as well as seeming to lack knowledge of things they should have learned a bit along the way. (I say a bit and not necessarily mean just how to play their class.. I’m talking overall WoW stuff). And I think some of that is from getting zerged and/or feeling the pressure to zerg.
It’s sad, really. 🙁
Don’t worry, I’ve been a lurker here too ;).
You just touched upon the other consequence of the problems I talked about in my post – the amount of high level players who have somehow missed a lot of really important info…
I now have a bunch of abandoned alts between levels 10-50. There are just no groups for anything. I spent an hour looking for two DPS to come SM Graveyard on the weekend… No responses :(. One of the most fun parts of levelling was venturing into an instance, hopefully getting some gear, and finding people to fill up your friends list.
Hm. I just had a thought that’s about to become a post.
Anyway, great post – glad to see other people feel the same way! 🙂
@Miss Elf – How wonderful it is to get inspired for posts while commenting! 🙂
In general I liked running into people. You were right in your post about how you’d be running into the same people over and over as everyone worked on leveling. It doesn’t seem to happen quite like that anymore.
Our guild tries to have alt runs that are level appropriate. Before the xpack came out, we were doing a whole series of them as we worked to level up together. But, that has slowed with the expansion, but I wouldn’t be surprised if we returned to that at some point.
I really agree – new players should experience the game as it is and is supposed to be experienced, not zerged through in the blink of an eye.
Back when I got my bf playing, I was worried about saying too much and overloading him with info but since he chose to play a hunter first, I knew nothing about it and that shut me up pretty quick and (hopefully) let him experience the game at his pace, on his own, making his own discoveries.
I remember learning things on my own as a baby druid/priest and that felt really awesome. People seem to forget that sometimes.
(Especially the first arrival at the Dark Portal, that was truly an epic moment.)
Since starting WOW in November I have had so much fun, it is incredible. I have learned a lot from you, dear daughter, and made many friends. I’ve seen people fly by me in levels, had to stop and remind myself that I want to enjoy the game content, and that they are not playing their first toons. My main is past level 55 (I also have two active alts between levels 23-28)so I have made a Death Knight. That’s a
whole other story…lol.
I have been helping my fiance level. She get the basic fundamentals of the game, but I do not think she is incredibly comfortable playing alone. She is just now getting into tradeskills etc at level 72.
@Darraxus – Some people do prefer to buddy up rather than solo. I can respect that. I also think it’s great that she has someone knowledgable about the game playing with her. To me the issue is more so when us ‘old hats’ decide all sorts of stuff can just be skipped (or not think of it really) when we enjoyed those things ourselves… even if we skip ’em on all our alts now.