About to buy (real) WoW

[abreklnzetni]

I hope this post isn't against the rules, I apologise if it is.

Anyways, I wasn't sure if I'd like WoW, so i played for a few weeks on a private server with a downloaded copy of the game. Fast forward a few weeks and im totally addicted. Private server's just aren't for me, as I've yet to find one that has people who actually use the auction house (it's always totally empty, 0 items), the servers are very laggy, and the game is filled with bugs. The server I was playing on has this problem where it freezes every couple hours, and the guy in charge of the server has to manually restart it in order to play again.

Since I'm not promoting private servers or illegal copies of this game (i'm actually doign the opposite!), i'm hoping this post isn't against the rules. I just wanted to vent some of my anger.

I've got a couple questions.

- How many people are online at a time on a "busy" server, one where the population in the realm status is considered "high"? I know it goes by "high", "medium", and "low", but I did a few searches and couldn't find any actual numbers. I'm wondering because the server i was playing on had a player cap of 30 :shocked: and it was still very laggy.

- With the new expansion coming out in January, will there be any changes or anything that might make it a bad idea to be a mage? mage is my favorite by the way, just didn't know if there would be any drastic changes coming soon that would make a mage less desireable/enjoyable.

- I play maybe 4-6 hours a day, sometimes more, sometimes less. Would it be unreasonable to expect to get a single character up near 60ish by the time BC is released? at least up to 40? I'm not going to rush, I'm going to enjoy the game, just wondering if that is an unrealistic expectation. On the private server (same xp rate as blizz servers) i got my mage up to level 18 in about 9 days (about 30 hours total)

- I will be playing on an american server, and I will be on the horde faction, probably a troll. One of the main things that i NEED to have is a server where there is alot of activity on the auction house. Does anybody have any recommendations for good US servers with active auction houses and high (but not overcrowded) populations?

Sorry for this post being kind of wordy and rambly. Just a combination of frustration from a not properly working server, excitement that i'll be able to play the game the way its meant to be played, and just a few questions.

I'm also psyched to hopefully find a server with a booming economy because i'm really into the whole auction house thing, buying low selling high, cornering the market etc. (i read all those kcma goldmaking threads, 80+pages total!)

Thanks for reading, and I'm glad to finally be about to support the cause by buying a legit version of this game.

See you all around :wave:

[lostboi]

I considered playing on a private server a few times..but 100 player limits seemd like they would be boring...so i never played wow for aloong time lol. Just started recently cuz my friend got me it...i cant answer all ur questions but..I know one or 2 :)

the 1-60 isnt unreasonable..im lvl 47 afterr 9 days of /played so 24 hours a day...thats like a total of 200 and some hours..O_O omg lol i didnt realize that...then again i have no life lol...it should be possible if u try ur hardest. I should be 60 oson i think :D

As long as u play on a server with medium or high or close to that in pop the AH should be full of stuff...only new servers will be limeted..So any server u got friends on or a medium or high ratign should be good for u...

Ill leave the rest up to someone who knows more..cuz im still fairly a newb.

Oh and u can google joannas horde leveling guide..since u wanna be a troll..with it u can get to 60 in around 6 or 7 days played..her record is 4 days 20 hours of /played :)

L8erz
Jesse

[abreklnzetni]

Thanks for the quick reply :)

That's good news about the AH, looking forward to that.

I actually saw a couple youtube video's of joanna's leveling. I'm thinking i'll just make an honest effort to level quickly but still enjoy the game, and if i find that i'm up in the high 40's early 50's with less than a week until BC i'll do some serious power-leveling. Joannah's guide could come in handy for that.

I just want to be in on that whole "race to 70"thing with the new content etc. I want to hopefully get some of the rare drops so i can sell them for ridiculous prices on the AH before they become more common and the prices level out. I need some good luck for that to happen though.

Cheers :)

edit: one more question. will all realms be compatible with burning crusade? or is there a chance i will have to transfer my character to a different realm at some point? just wondering, thanks :)

[bwirum]

Glad to see you turning to the bright side of life ;).

You'll have a very hard time reaching 60 from now to BC release, 40 however, should be totally plausible. Of course, you can do a guide like Joanna's, but the you'd miss out on a lot of the exploration.

All realms will be upped to BC.

Good luck.

[snowieken]

Yep, nice to see you turning away from the Dark Side, and also nice to see you understand that private servers are totally not condoned on our forums. Since you are getting away from them, I'll let it slide. :grin:

Welcome to the game, in advance, and welcome (belatedly) to our forums!

[mesonm]

- I play maybe 4-6 hours a day, sometimes more, sometimes less. Would it be unreasonable to expect to get a single character up near 60ish by the time BC is released? at least up to 40? I'm not going to rush, I'm going to enjoy the game, just wondering if that is an unrealistic expectation. On the private server (same xp rate as blizz servers) i got my mage up to level 18 in about 9 days (about 30 hours total)


You can do level 20 in 20 played hours...or less...I've done it in 16, but that is pushing it.

Level 46 in 6 played days...Level 60 in 10-12.

If you want to look around and smell the roses, you'll take longer...It all depends on what is important to you.

I have multiple 60's, so I've already smelled the roses...

[inkmva]

- How many people are online at a time on a "busy" server, one where the population in the realm status is considered "high"? I know it goes by "high", "medium", and "low", but I did a few searches and couldn't find any actual numbers. I'm wondering because the server i was playing on had a player cap of 30 :shocked: and it was still very laggy.


A high pop server has anywhere between 5-8000 players on it, both sides added. How many would be online at any given time is anyones guess, but you'll have plenty of people online. All the time.


- With the new expansion coming out in January, will there be any changes or anything that might make it a bad idea to be a mage? mage is my favorite by the way, just didn't know if there would be any drastic changes coming soon that would make a mage less desireable/enjoyable.


No class will end up as useless in TBC, all classes have players crying "NERF!" more or less justified in certain situations. It'll all be good in due time though so play whatever you find entertaining.


- I play maybe 4-6 hours a day, sometimes more, sometimes less. Would it be unreasonable to expect to get a single character up near 60ish by the time BC is released? at least up to 40? I'm not going to rush, I'm going to enjoy the game, just wondering if that is an unrealistic expectation. On the private server (same xp rate as blizz servers) i got my mage up to level 18 in about 9 days (about 30 hours total)


Some private servers boost xp to silly levels. Never bothered trying one of these myself, but some friends told me of a few thousand xp per kill right from the bat. It all depends on the setup though.

60 is doable if you follow a guide but you wont be smelling the roses. You'll hardly see them as anything then a hazy blur while you zoom past them :P.


- I will be playing on an american server, and I will be on the horde faction, probably a troll. One of the main things that i NEED to have is a server where there is alot of activity on the auction house. Does anybody have any recommendations for good US servers with active auction houses and high (but not overcrowded) populations?


All servers fill up to a certain degree after some time and all AH's are live and viable. Older servers more so with more mature echonomies.


I'm also psyched to hopefully find a server with a booming economy because i'm really into the whole auction house thing, buying low selling high, cornering the market etc. (i read all those kcma goldmaking threads, 80+pages total!)


I love that stuff myself. Great past time for me :sunny: . You'll be able to pull this off easier on servers with less bots on them, as lots of "grindable" items are easy to "take over" but you cant compete with bots grinding out thousands of items daily. This isnt something you can plan against though and Blizzard nukes the bots everywhere as soon as they can find them.


Have fun and welcome to the "real" World of Warcraft ;).

[Big Guns]

I really don't know why anyone bothers with a private server anyway, when a trial account is just $2AUD and the game itself can be bought for $24AUD.

[amgyn]

my friend is playing a "private" server right now.. and its REALLY REALLY boring.
Real server is like 100 times better.
BG's are always going, you can find almost anything on auctionhouse and its realy easy to find a group.... plus you interact with people who actually like the game, instead of just playng it cause its free...

[Valas Azuviir]

edit: one more question. will all realms be compatible with burning crusade? or is there a chance i will have to transfer my character to a different realm at some point? just wondering, thanks :)

All clients will be updated to run the new BC tweaked engine, meaning all servers will be TBC compliant. This is a fairly standard MMORPG situation (EQ comes to mind, the former 800 pound gorilla), and occurences as with DAoC with expansion and non-expansion servers are the exception rather than the rule.

So, you don't have to worry about character transfers, unless you absolutely hate it on your server, with it being too crowded, too many ninja's etc etc etc. In which case, the usual server character transfer scenario (and fee) comes into play.

[Benadar]

I wouldn't worry about not getting level 60 before the expansion comes out. If you do make it in time, nice. If you don't, it shouldn't be a problem, since the new starting areas in Outland (the new continent) will probably be totally overcrowded in the first week or two.

[abreklnzetni]

cool, thanks for all the help. i got the game yesterday and started on the Tichondrius server. I'm glad i played the money, it's like playing a completely different game, people everywhere, functioning economy etc.

cheers :sunny:

[QuiSiLoR]

level 60 isint out of the question for a person with no experience at all.... I went from 0-60 in 19days with my first ever WOW char on my first ever server.

Its all about enjoying the game, BC will bring in a lot of new stuff and variety especially in some class changes, items and Jewels. Tbh in BC im gona roll a BE Mage... atm I have a Troll Hunter :)

[abreklnzetni]

im actually not in that much of a rush, i'd rather enjoy the game instead of rushing through. like i mentioned earlier though, i played levels 1-18 or so on the private server, so i'm just kind of grinding my way through till about 18 then i'll slow down a bit and take the scenic route. im at level 8 right now with a troll mage. i hear that people are complaining about mages being nerfed, but im just going to trust that in the future patches blizzard does the right thing and keeps everything balanced. i'm not about being a power player just want to have fun. i went with enchanting because i heard that when the xpac comes out disenchanting will be dependent on your enchanting skill, instead of being able to DE anything at lv5. (although it may have already changed in the patch? haven't tried it yet). i figure that will decrease the supply of high level enchanting materials and push up the price. anyways im not really expecting to make money from enchanting, it just seems like it would be fun. there's plenty of money to be made at the AH ;)

sorry for the ramble, see you all around

[Chelica]

Not too sure about grinding all the way to 60. The fastest way is to grind + questing. Avoid UPS quests if they are out of your way. My first 60 got there in 16 played days on a PvP server. I did not go straight to 60, I took a lot of time off to PvP, exploration, and up my Professions.

Currently leveling another toon on a PvP server and am at 26 with only 1 day played. Also in a PvP server, it will take a bit longer. STV is killer and will slow down your progess a bit. There are tons of quests there but there are also tons of opposing faction waiting to play around with you.