Cost

[jotty]

Does WOW cost any money, at all to play online?

Coz if it does, im not gonna get it.

[Foonyak]

Yes, it has a ~$15 per month subscription fee.

[jotty]

Darn it, i might get it if it was like, $8 a month (about £5 in my currency).

Personally I think $15 is to much. thats how much I pay for satellite T.V, and xbox live.

[Tanitha]

<mutters> I'll have to try and dig up the thread, but a lot of the players have posted their experiences with the cost of World of Warcraft.

All told, World of Warcraft is ferociously good value for money. I currently manage to play - on average - 20 to 30 hours a month. So I pay between 75c and 50c for an hour of entertainment, making it by far the cheapest I've experienced. That is discounting the feeling of achievement, the social aspect of it and the fun one can have on the forums.

My suggestion would be the following.

1. Pick up a trial edition. They run for about NZ$4.99, so in £ that should be what - 1 maybe 1 and a half? This allows you to try the game for 10 days for a minimal expense.

2. If you enjoy that, pick up a full edition. That runs between NZ$29 and NZ$39 if memory serves me right. So again, fairly cheap and for that you get a free month of play. Play through that month too.

3. If you are still enjoying it you can consider getting a subscription and possibly The Burning Crusade expansion.

That gives you ample opportunity to see if it is actually worth the investment for you without over committing to the expense.

[Foonyak]

I don't remember how much the original EQ or Ultima Online cost, but I do remember Asheron's Call (released at about the same time) cost $10 a month. Getting any cheaper than that without going for a free game (Guild Wars etc) is going to be near impossible.

[Stigg]

What?!?!?! Tanitha doesn't have a link at her fingertips?!?!!?one1!

Let's evaluate this. How old are you? Old enough to go to a bar or pub? How much do you spend on a beer? $5? So in three drinks you have paid your subscription.

Not old enough to go to a bar? Do you go out to a gas station and buy a sandwhich? What isthat? $4? Pack a lunch for 4 days and you have paid your subscription.

Giving up ANYTHING for a day or two is more than your subscription, and endless hours of entertainment.

[Socalchyd]

I currently manage to play - on average - 20 to 30 hours a month. So I pay between 75c and 50c for an hour of entertainment, making it by far the cheapest I've experienced. That is discounting the feeling of achievement, the social aspect of it and the fun one can have on the forums.



Is there a point of dimishing return since I seem to be playing 20-30 hours a week :laughing: My partner has become a Warcraft widower.

[Tanitha]

I have not yet found a point of diminishing returns.

Part of the beauty of World of Warcraft is that you can log off at any stage without losing your progress. (Unlike that other ccorpg that warps you back to town when you log off!) So, if I don't get a quest done in a day there is always tomorrow to carry on with it.

So long as I'm having fun while playing, that's more than enough for me. Yeah, it means I'll be unlikely to see high level raid dungeons and so on but seriously - the game is just so massive even without that that I don't feel as if I'm losing out on anything at all.

[kcma]

ppl who complained about wow costs need to get a job (or a 2nd job) and work, and not stay home and play wow... problem solved.

i was out partying with roomate and happycow on Fri night, 6 of us racked up a $500 bill at the club... another $200 at the strip club, and another $70 for munchies to sober up on... i wish they cost as lil as wow :p

[piscene]

Here is the exhaustive discussion on the value of paying to play. http://forums.worldofwar.net/showthread.php?t=386783

But really, the bottom line on value in general is that it is a personal choice. There is no such thing as a good value in a concrete sense. There is only what each of us considers to be a good value for yourself and your money. Clearly, those of us here feel that we are getting a good value for our $15 per month.

[kcma]

well, i gues it's not fair for me to comment on paying since i don't have to pay with my account. but still, if i didn't have my account i'd still pay that $15 a month (which is not that much, a 12 pack of beer?).