leveling-up
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The Daily Grind: How often do you want new abilities?
We're all very familiar with the term "ding." We're also familiar with the immediate follow-up to a ding -- namely, figuring out what new stuff you get following a new level. Of course, that varies a lot depending on the game. Guild Wars will give players new abilities all the time, whether or not you hit a new level, but Star Trek Online only offers up a new set of abilities every 10 levels or so (equipment notwithstanding). Granted, if a game gives you abilities infrequently, each one tends to be more vital to your overall play experience. Having a wider spread of abilities means more choices, but it also means that each individual skill doesn't matter as much. So which do you prefer? Would you like to be swimming in new abilities and new tricks at every new level? Or would you prefer a slow roll, with new skills coming infrequently but being special when they do come? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Wings Over Atreia: Snips and snails and Asmo tales
That's what this week's column is made of! Back when I first decided I wanted to venture to the dark side of Aion and compare the leveling experiences of the two realms, I didn't really fathom that there would be so much content added that it would be hard to break away from sampling all of the goodies on my home server. Besides that, with all of the changes, comparing the leveling is just impossible. I knew that it would be easier with the introduction of repeatable quests, but it's just plain stupid-easy to level now as opposed to way back pre-Balaurea. Even with the leveling comparison effectively nixed, I still can report on the differences in the feel of the two worlds as well as just run through and reflect on my impressions of the Asmodian life to give some screen time to the glowy-eyes. Did I mention I love the glowy eyes? With that in mind, Wings Over Atreia devotes this week to the furbacks (said with love!). Glide past the cut for a look at Daevic life in Asmodae from Ascension to the Abyss.%Gallery-137905%
The Mog Log: Level Y
Why are you leveling? It's a fair question in Final Fantasy XI and Final Fantasy XIV and really pretty much any MMO, especially because it's one of those questions you don't really ask while you're knee-deep in the game. You're just playing, you see that your level isn't at the level it could be, and you start doing what you have to do in order to make that number go just a little bit higher. By the classic model in Final Fantasy XI, you find a party, and in Final Fantasy XIV, you get some leves and head out to the races. But that doesn't address the question. You know what you're doing, and I know what you're doing -- the question is why you're doing it in the first place. Even in a game without levels, you shouldn't be leveling. The answer to that question should always be confusion not over the reason but over the very concept. So I'll ask again -- why are you leveling?
Spiritual Guidance: Levels 80 to 85 as a priest, plus recent beta changes
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Spiritual Guidance for discipline, holy and shadow priests. Dawn Moore covers healing for discipline and holy priests and makes the occasional StarCraft 2 reference. If you ask her, she'll tell you disc priests are like sentries and holy priests are medevacs. There is a lot to cover in Spiritual Guidance this week, so I'll be diving right in to the content. I was going to outsource my creative introduction to Mr. Fox Van Allen, but he wanted to be paid entirely in red M&Ms, so we'll just have to do without. We'll be covering two topics today. The first will be to cover the latest build released on the Cataclysm beta earlier this week. There were some large changes made to AoE healing that affect both holy and discipline priests in different ways. Second, I've written up my advice on leveling from 80 to 85 as a healing priest.
The Daily Grind: Leveling, the playing field
They might be called security levels, they might be split between ranks and levels, they might disguise themslves as skill grinds. But in pretty much any MMO you care to name, there will be levels of some kind. (The only exception that springs to mind is Second Life, and even that can be argued.) Generally, it's accepted that the most meat to the game will come after you've made it to the apex of the leveling curve, whether it's a low cap or a high one. But that's not when you started liking the game -- no, even though most players see it as an impediment to getting to the good part, the leveling game is what first hooks you on the game as a whole. So today, we ask a simple question -- what game have you played where you most enjoyed the leveling process? Forget all of the endgame nonsense, whether you had a broad endgame or a fairly narrow one. When did you just enjoy the path toward the endgame, perhaps even enough to be a bit saddened when it was over? Or have you always wanted to just get to the end without bothering with the whole "journey" element?
Arcane Brilliance: Mage leveling guide, the thrilling conclusion
It's time again for Arcane Brilliance, the weekly mage column that wishes each and every one of you a magical holiday season. Arcane Brilliance would also like to point out that it is writing this immediately following three days spent alternating between being in the company of in-laws who like to discuss politics and on the road for 12 combined hours with a five-year-old and a two-year-old possessed of mind-bogglingly small bladders. Arcane Brilliance cannot be held responsible for any grammatical errors or disturbingly homicidal thoughts you might find herein. So how was your Thanksgiving? And if you don't live in the United States, how was your Thursday? Ready to get down to business? We've got a leveling guide to finish! What's that, you say? Finish what? You've been otherwise engaged for the past couple of months and have no idea what I'm talking about? Fear not! On the interwebs, you can find anything. Here, for your convenience, is the complete compendium of Arcane Brilliance's mage leveling wisdom, such as it is: Part 1: getting started Part 2: 1-10 Part 3: 11-20 Part 4: 21-30 Part 5: 31-40 Part 6: 41-Outland Part 7: 59-68 Part 8: keep reading, because this is part 8. Part 9: completely revised Cataclysm mage leveling guide I'll probably be writing in six months or so...TBA Part 10: (after the great zombie apocalypse of 2011) Brrraaaaaaiiinnnnssssss..... Join me after the break as we head for Northrend and level 80.
Why leveling will always be important to WoW
Times they are a changin', and as Patch 3.2 hits the PTR with a new wealth of mechanics aimed at making the journey to 80 that much easier, why not take a moment to look back at how Azeroth has changed? Leveling used to take a long time, and one of the first things a friend told me was that "the game started at 60." While the level cap might have changed, it's something I heartily agree with.Those of you who joined the game around the time of the latest expansion or even before might hear others speaking with misty-eyes of the olden days of Classic WoW when it took an age to get from Darnassus to Stormwind. While WoW might have a much lower learning curve than, say, EVE Online, it does still have one. But WoW is known as a bit of a grind fest and the ever growing level cap, which currently stands at 80 but will no doubt go higher with the next expansion, can be pretty daunting.Especially for a new player.
The Care and Feeding of Warriors: Wrath specs for leveling Fury Warriors
And so this week we conclude our leveling specs discussion with talk of fury. When I started this discussion, I mentioned that I was respeccing quite frequently, and that hasn't changed. Since I hit level 80 I have respecced twice a day. Not out of any specific need so much as out of boredom and a desire to play around with different specs, as I tend to try learning by doing as much as possible. I'm also trying to decide which of my characters to level up next, as I have the Death Knight starting at me but also several warrior alts I'd like to roll through Northrend with. I'm interested in seeing the quests from the Horde perspective, and grinding up on a warrior is cake nowadays. Every spec is solid for leveling, with Protection combining good damage and ridiuclously high survivability, arms bringing a nice mix of proc based pain and AoE damage, and fury?Fury is for killing and killing and killing while the world runs red in ruin around you. Sorry, but while I am a tank and I love tanking, I've discovered two facts in the past week. I can tank pretty much any five man or group quest in my tanking gear as fury and holy heck I enjoy chopping things heads off. My warrior raided throughout vanilla WoW as a DPS build, switching between fury 2h slam and Arms, and it's been nice to get back to that as a Titan's Grip build. I often don't even tell people I'm fury when they ask me to tank, I just show up in the tanking gear and use a 2h weapon and a shield. What it lacks in AoE tanking capacity (no shockwave, no damage shield) it gains in pretty solid single target threat, thunderclap still hits multiple targets, and with the right talents you can even get some solid threat from Bloodthirst. This week we'll be talking about a fury build that allows for some tanking versatility: it's not a raiding DPS build but is oriented towards letting you grind and tank or offtank when needed. If there's room, we'll then discuss a pure DPS build for five mans and leveling if you have absolutely no desire to tank or offtank.
Breakfast Topic: What's your questing style?
It seems like there's a few basic questing styles I have noticed in Northrend. There's the guys people who just sort of go where the wind takes them, maybe try a few quests out of this zone, a few out of this zone, and play around. Others are focused on the level 80 and rep grinds, so they have the quests they want to take mapped out and plotted, the best to get to that end game so they can start heroic dungeons, raiding, PvP, or whatever else it is they want to do after they're done leveling. Then there's the people who want to get into every nook and cranny of a zone, trying to finish every quest before they move on.I'm generally in the last category myself. There's so much interesting lore and compelling story in Wrath that I don't want to miss risking a questline anywhere I go. Besides, if I finish all the quests, I'm that much closer to becoming a Loremaster, if nothing else. I do mix it up sometimes if I want to head into a zone early to grab a specific quest reward, such as heading into Borean Tundra to get my Axe of Frozen Death before heading back to Howling Fjord, but for the most part, when I head into a zone, I like to get it nice and cleared out from end to end. How do you quest, and why? Do you fit one of the types above, or do you have another method?
The Daily Grind: How long should it take to reach the level cap?
Yesterday Blizzard revealed that World of Warcraft's recruit-a-friend program will undergo some big changes. One of those changes: if you group with a friend whose account was signed up because you invited him or her to play, you'll both receive experience at 300% the normal rate.Blizzard has already decreased the amount of XP needed to reach level 60. When Wrath of the Lich King launches, word has it that an even bigger slash will occur in the 60 - 70 range. How long will it take to 60, 70, or 80 now, we wonder? That probably depends on your personal playstyle. But the question of how long it ought to take to reach the endgame in an EverQuest/World of Warcraft-style MMO has been on our minds ever since Funcom made a statement about how many hours it wants people to invest to reach level 80 in Age of Conan.What's the sweet spot for you? Do you want to get there as fast as possible, or is the journey to the top the real attraction?
Magic World Online to enter closed beta
Magic World Online is an MMO that's set to enter a second round of its closed beta on April 6th. Shot in an isometric view, it's not immediately compelling, but a closer look reveals some interesting, forward-looking features.First, and perhaps uniquely, MWO offers in-game video chat. Now, aside from the dubious wisdom of covering up precious screen real estate with a cam feed, you have to admit: that's pretty cool. Furthermore, the site makes allusions to an advanced AI that can handle certain repetitive tasks, such as traveling and leveling up. But wait, what's left for the player to do?Additionally, one can have a pretty sweet-looking house, and your own 'moving castle' (sorry, Howl) once you've joined a guild. If any of this sounds interesting to you, the game is downloadable now, but April 26 is when the actual closed beta begins.
Breakfast Topic: When do you start working up a profession?
I'm not entirely sold on leveling trade skills in World of Warcraft. By leveling up professions you can create armor, weapons, and goods that theoretically benefit your character. With a little luck, you can even make some money from your trade. It usually takes a major investment maximize your professions and get the goods that you want. In most cases I prefer to wait until I've reached the level cap to start professions. There are two exceptions to this. Whenever I roll a character on a server that's new to me, I invest in skinning and mining and sell the materials for gold for my mount and equipment. I used to level fishing too. Until Blizzard added the aggressive mobs on the shore of Dustwallow Marsh, I would swim past the Mirefin Murlocs and fish among the turtles for loot that was much higher than my level. I don't usually level anything useful for my class until I've crossed through the Dark Portal.
Is it okay to kill animals for money and experience?
The time-honored tradition of starting out as a noob fighter, taking down the local wildlife to level up, has probably not been the subject of too much consideration. After all, you gotta kill something, right? Well, actually, that's another discussion completely. Now, I'm not one to trot out the 'Won't someone think of the children?' complaint, but this is a topic that's been on my mind ever since Pokémon arrived on our shores.Sure, we can all tell the difference between reality and a videogame. And the average game wolf critter is no substitute for the real thing, of course. But it's a casual element that's easily rectifiable, and at some level, the message is clear: it's okay to kill animals for fun. At least with humanoids, there's provable intent to cause harm. With animals, you're just treading on their territory, and you should leave. I'm under no illusions about where my meat comes from, but this isn't about survival. Gaming or not, this is poaching.Now, I can appreciate that this is a silly argument to some extent, but as game designers (and I include myself in that category, having worked in the industry previously), we ought to be able to develop ways to level up that don't involve predation. It sets a bad example, at this stage of MMO development history it's lazy, and there's no real excuse to use animals in place of people. A warrior should practice his combat skills on opponents who behave like he does, not on creatures with their own innocent agendas.
