WoW free to level 20, should I consider?

[Fanfic_warper]

I've always contemplated trying out the game but have been put off by the subscription fees (mostly because at the time I had no job, but now do). Now that it's going free to play to level 20, I'm wandering if I should try it out.

I would like some second opinions on this please, preffereably from those who have had several MMO game experiences.

 

[Merkavar]

I've always contemplated trying out the game but have been put off by the subscription fees (mostly because at the time I had no job, but now do). Now that it's going free to play to level 20, I'm wandering if I should try it out.

I would like some second opinions on this please, preffereably from those who have had several MMO game experiences.

wow is good and all but may i suggest rift instead.

its got everything wow has and more except for the 12 million subscribers.

 

[Furioso]

Why not? If you don't like it then you can stop playing, no harm done

 

[steeple]

I've always contemplated trying out the game but have been put off by the subscription fees (mostly because at the time I had no job, but now do). Now that it's going free to play to level 20, I'm wandering if I should try it out.

I would like some second opinions on this please, preffereably from those who have had several MMO game experiences.

wow is good and all but may i suggest rift instead.

its got everything wow has and more except for the 12 million subscribers.

doesnt rift cost to play, regardless of level?

OT: sure, try it out...
I mean, it's free, so why not?

 

[manythings]

Only if you like boring crap.

 

[Rawne1980]

It's not going to cost you anything to try.

I'm not going to be one of those ex wow players that preach about how much it sucks mainly due to the fun I had when I did play.

You won't lose anything by trying a bit of free stuff.

Look at it this way, you play for free for a bit and by the time you're bored of the free stuff Deus Ex will be here.

Happiness all round.

Much the reason i'm playing Hellgate at the moment .... although I am finding it quite good fun.

 

[Mustang678]

The free version has some extra limitations but give it a go to see if you like it. The whole point of free demos is to determine whether or not you like the game

 

[Stall]

Why the heck not? Unless you live in an area that charges you for bandwidth, what do you have to lose? If you don't like it, then delete it. If you do, then it was worth it. You still should be able to get a few hours of entertainment by going up to level 20, which is worth something. So go for it.

wow is good and all but may i suggest rift instead.

its got everything wow has and more except for the 12 million subscribers.

The only problem is that Rift is bad, and it has a dying sub base as well (I guess you are right on the "except for the 12 million subs" part).

 

[Phlakes]

If you like owning your soul, then you're better off without it.

But remember that the whole free 20 levels thing is just exploitative marketing. They're trying to get you addicted so you'll need to buy a subscription.

Not that that's not valid marketing, and not that it's a bad game, but whatever.

 

[Jasper Jeffs]

WoW is probably the most user friendly MMO, so you shouldn't be confused by anything unless it's your very first MMO. A lot of things are made unavailable in the trial, you can't join guilds or use the auction house for example. I'd also recommend not joining any Battlegrounds, they're dominated almost entirely by heirloom geared players at low level, if not by solely how many Hunters and Rogues you/they have. In 20 levels you can experience a few zones, although if you so chose you could make one of every race and experience a wider variation. Personally I love the Undead starting area, everything about it is nostalgic and I love the atmosphere.

Considering the trial is free you may as well try it out. Ignore the "it will consume you" comments. It won't, it's not even that addictive unless you're an idiot.

 

[viranimus]

I would say, No, its not worth it.

Not that WoW was a bad game, but its a game in decline now. The game already has 3 expansions worth of content, Core TBC has basically been made irrelevant by WOLK and Cata by now. But thats still A large investment of money because in order to utilize a newer expansion you must have all prior expansions and expectations indicate we could see another WoW expansion within a years time. (if the current trend holds true)

Also, the population is slipping. Granted its only slipped from 11.8 to 11.1 million or so per Blizzards fudged numbers, So its not like its going to be a ghost town, but its more to the effect that it is a sign of the beginning of the end of relevance of an MMO.

Also you must consider that getting into WoW now presents two problems linked together. First is that your going to be behind the curve of people who have been playing since launch. So you will find it much harder to get equivalently equipped to people you would potentially be playing with at endgame because people dont like to go back and do old content.

Next there is the fact that WoW is a last generation MMO. New MMOs are on the horizon such as ToR, Guildwars 2, etc that take the basic model WoW laid out, and add new innovations for the genre. Plus they lack the disadvantage of having to play catchup.

The free demo will grant you basic access, but it wont grant you access to certain things that make WoW addictive such as community and trading.

Technically it cant hurt to try it, but I think that at this stage of the game its really rather pointless to do so as there are better alternatives that wont have the same baggage wow brings and with everyone in the thread saying yes, it is important to hear some reasons why you shouldnt bother.

 

[Merkavar]

snip

doesnt rift cost to play, regardless of level?

OT: sure, try it out...
I mean, it's free, so why not?[/quote]

last i checked rift also has a free trial as well. like 7 days or 10 days or something.

wow is good and all but may i suggest rift instead.

its got everything wow has and more except for the 12 million subscribers.

The only problem is that Rift is bad, and it has a dying sub base as well (I guess you are right on the "except for the 12 million subs" part).

how is rift bad? im gusing thats just your oppinion. my oppinion is that rift is excellent.

also where are you getting the dying sub base from? all ive heard is the subs keep going up and are around the million mark. as opposed to wow that has had 2 quarters of negative sub growth. i think last i heard they lost 1 mill subs in 6 months.

 

[im-white]

no invest in a drug or something at least that will not take up as much of your time. sad but true

 

[Alphakirby]

No,because WoW doesn't get good until AT LEAST level 600483 when you get your first flying rocket car!
What I'm saying is that playing WoW is pointless up to 20 because you can't get anything good.

 

[thejackyl]

I would say "No", you get access to only about 4-5 (correct if I am(probably) wrong), and you won't even get 80% of your classes abilities. Hell, half the fun of the game is it's end-game, which can be anywhere between keyboard smashingly difficulty to you could be dead and still beat the encounter, based on who/how competent the other 9-24 people are.

I will say this: Yes, try it out if you have friends who play. That's what makes the game fun, I got into a semi-decent guild. They ended up clearing ICC, but only after it got nerfed 30%, but they were fun to play with when we got the right people together. Than the other guild I was in was just too good. We 10-maned 25 man ICC successfully, before the final few nerfs

If you don't have friends who play, Than I would say pass. About 75%(most likely more) of the game is still "Locked" to you. I mean, you can go everywhere (exceptions being the expansion only areas, and almost every dungeon), but you won't last long when you start encountering level 25+ enemies

 

[Tron-tonian]

Why wouldn't you try it? It's *free*.
That being said, if budget is an issue, why not get into something that let's you play beyond that level limit? LotRO, DDO, Champions Online, and I think City of Heroes / Villains are all F2P, and I'm sure there are even more out there. I know with the first three, you can also level to max. without spending any money* (* - LotRO max is 60 without getting Mines of Moira. 65, I think, if you have it.)

Anyways, yes, you should try WoW.