Ok, I've got some general questions about WoW, so I'm posting em on here cause you guys are knowledgeable on it :rolleyes: Ok, here goes:



At what lvl does the game start to pick up/get really heated? When does it start to slow down/get boring? Whats an Intance, form what I gather its a dungeon, is that true? Whats "resetting an instance"? At what lvl should I start PvPing? Would it be better to go to PvE if I dont wanna be ganked around the clock?(I dont care, being ganked is part of the game) How many people are allowed in a party? a Raid? Whats the largest raid you've seen/been in? What sort of places give off the most lag, what is the best place to start leveling? For Druids moonfire, why does it dispell Roots? What is the druid most offensive spell? Best spell? Worst spell? In what situation is the Water form useful, besides just swimming around? Can you fight underwater? After you run out of air underwater, what happens? do you die? or do you lose HP OT? Why are skinning and mining considered the two best jobs for cash? Is the money system better with coppers, silvers, and golds, instead of one monitary value of currency?

That's all for now, but Im sure ill have more :wiggle:

I'm probably the least knowledgable of all TDG members and am little more than a lurker but here goes:

Whats an Intance, form what I gather its a dungeon, is that true?
Yes, it's a dungeon that you and/or your party have entirely to yourself. Barring those pesky monsters that is.


Whats "resetting an instance"?
Some folks like to farm instances/dungeons for magic items, tradeskill supplies, cash or just fun but after having completed the dungeon from start to finish there's a time limit before you can re-enter the instance and it be repopulated. You can re-enter all you wish but it won't have any monsters to fight until that time limit has been surpassed. To reset the instance, most folks just ask guild mates or friends to invite them to a group, re-enter the instance (since the invite provided a different leader to the group thus resetting it) and then leave the group with a fully populated and ready to roll dungeon.


At what lvl should I start PvPing?
Any lvl that you wish! It isn't very wise of me, but I attack each and every opposite factioned player I see if they are flagged. My best result so far has been 1 Honor Kill Point at lvl 14 and the rank of Scout at lvl 24. Keep in mind, the only way that is possible is with other players of my faction attacking the same thing I was and I accidentally hit for 1 point or more *wink*. (I like to imagine the look of shock on high lvl players getting attacked by an idiotic lvl 10+). If you actually want to contribute to PvP, lvl 40-ish and up would probably be best but start whenever you find it fun!!


Would it be better to go to PvE if I dont wanna be ganked around the clock?
To each their own but I went PvE so that I could determine when I wanted to be a target and when I didn't. Everyone has their preference but I must say, PvE in WoW is quite a lot of PvP is you want it to be imho.


How many people are allowed in a party?
5 including yourself.


a Raid?
40? I'm honestly not certain about that but I think it's 40.


Whats the largest raid you've seen/been in?
Approximately 70 Horde players attacked Darkshire once and our Alliance forces eventually increased to about 50 players. That's 120 total not including NPC's running about.

I've never been on any PvE raid larger than a 5 man instance run.


What sort of places give off the most lag
Cities, more specifically...Ironforge!


Can you fight underwater?
Yes, shapeshifted and not shapeshifted you are able to fight but not with all of your abilities if you're shapeshifted (waterform) but you can still attack.


After you run out of air underwater, what happens? do you die? or do you lose HP OT?
Yes, you lose HP overtime and it seems to me that it increases the longer you're without air but that might simply be perception on my part. Yes, you can die if you don't reach the surface quick enough.


Why are skinning and mining considered the two best jobs for cash?
Well, I think skinning is due to the fact that a large percentage of what you fight is skinnable. So by virtue of the large amount of skins you can aquire, a lot of folks deem it one of the better skills. Mining, otoh, is due to Engineering and Blacksmithing being heavily reliant on ore which doubles your customer base. Herbalism should be just as profitable as skinning but I don't know if it is or not.

I would suggest that if you want to take two "cash" skills that you choose Skinning+Mining or Skinning+Herbalism since both Mining and Herbalism use a tracking skill to find their resource nodes it could be rather annoying switching from one to another.



I've tried to answer your questions to the best of my ability and those that I did not answer are either beyond my WoW, Druid or general game knowledge OR a matter of opinion that I don't really have one about.

I hope this helped somewhat....take care and have fun!!

-Low

Ok, ive got some more questions:

Is partying nessecary in the early stages of the game (FFXI partying started at 10 and ended at 75, even then partying was needed ot do all the fun stuff)? IS grinding getting xp or gold? or both? What is a "build"? Why is there an honor system? How do you start getting your epic set(s)? Questing? or are they drops off mobs? Are "toons" character, or just avatars in general? How much is a mount? epic mount?

Thats all I ahve for now ^^ Thanks again TDG!

Ok, ive got some more questions:

Is partying nessecary in the early stages of the game (FFXI partying started at 10 and ended at 75, even then partying was needed ot do all the fun stuff)? IS grinding getting xp or gold? or both? What is a "build"? Why is there an honor system? How do you start getting your epic set(s)? Questing? or are they drops off mobs? Are "toons" character, or just avatars in general? How much is a mount? epic mount?

Thats all I ahve for now ^^ Thanks again TDG!

You can solo to level 60 (the max) in WoW, so technically partying/grouping is never required. Some classes with low dps (priests < level 20, druids) will have difficulty with some quests at various levels. That said, the druid is able to solo some things no other class can very effectively. The best items in the game are the result of quests that take place in instanced dungeons, or drops from mobs in instanced dungeons. Unless you are farming a much lower level zone, dungeons usually require a full party of 5 people to complete.

Most people who use the term grinding refer to getting xp from kills - unless they are level 60 which implies they are farming drops/gold.

A "build" refers to a specific selection of talents for a class. You get 1 talent per level, starting at level 10, for a total of 51. Each class has 3 talent trees. For the druid, you might see a build description as "38 restoration, 13 balance" which refers to how many points they have in those trees.

Blizzard implemented an honor system to provide rewards for, and encourage, PvP between similar level players of opposing faction.

Class armor set items are in the game for all classes. For the druid, the top tier are Cenarion and Stormrage. These drop from mobs, bosses and events in Onxyia's Lair, Molten Core, and Blackwing Lair. These are raid zones for level 60 characters. Most high level raiding in the game is done by single guilds or alliances of two or more smaller guilds. The Wildheart class set comes from less difficult dungeons that can be completed with 5 to 15 people.

Some classes (Hunter the only one I know of for sure) have epic weapon quests in the game. These are fairly long quests and generally involve lots of killing. Some (or all) of the quest is likely to take place in instances.

I consider a "toon" to be a character.

Normal mounts (can be purchased at level 40) cost 90g (72 for mount, 18 to train riding). Warlocks and Paladins get one for free (requires some questing I believe), but theirs requires mana to summon. Faster mounts are available at level 60 and cost 900g, though again warlocks and pallys can do a quest to get one (definitely not free this time, given some of the items required). There are also faster mounts available by taking part in conventional PvP, and the Alterac Valley Battleground. These cost much less, but require a significant amount of time to achieve rank/reputation in order to purchase them.

Herbalism should be just as profitable as skinning but I don't know if it is or not.

Herbalism has been very profitable for me... I would however suggest to get one of the trade skills that you can build up (i.e. only one of the gathering) as (for me anyway) it gets boring just gathering all the time, and as an alchemist i have enjoyed getting new pots ect even though it hasnt been profitable at all... (but as i said gathering the herbs has been)
My opinion take it or leave it, Druids are made for herbalism, you can gather while in any of your forms, the water travel form is awesome for gathering strangle kelp, only my opinion take it or leave it as you will :p

Herbalism is *very* profitable. For instance, I walked into Swamp of Sorrows for the first time around 40ish, and discovered a great concentration of valuable blindweed. It sells on my server for big bucks (er, gold). In fact, I feel so guilty taking so much bucks for so little work that I drove down the price by underselling the other folks. I bought my and one of my sisters mounts exclusively with blindweed and stranglekelp. Stranglekelp also sells high, because so few want to swim for it, so for a druid it is a bonanza.

Herbalism probably the most profitable gathering skill in game, as most of the good mining nodes are inside instances - and you can end up having to share those with others in your group or raid.

Good low level herbs:
Swiftthistle
Kingsblood (selling several gold a stack now due to Thorium Brotherhood faction turn in)

Medium level:
Goldthorn to a degree
Fadeleaf - for Rogue blind powder
Wildheart (for leatherworkers, occasionally gathered with Purple Lotus in STV)

Higher level:
Ghost Mushroom
Gromsblood
Mountain Silversage
Dreamfoil
Icecap

Ok, I have some more questions if you guys are willing to answer them; that said, there arent so many this time, because I dont want to find out everything about the game before ive actually purchased it >.> <.<.

Is the a "fame" system, like in FFXI? How is dual wield damage calculated? Is it 1.5 , the .5 being for offhand, or 2.0? What are the most dangerous areas to travel in? Any constested areas in peticular?

Is the a "fame" system, like in FFXI? How is dual wield damage calculated? Is it 1.5 , the .5 being for offhand, or 2.0? What are the most dangerous areas to travel in? Any constested areas in peticular?

The equivalent of FFXI's fame system, though it's more similar to EQ's faction system, is reputation. When you obtain Honored reputation, prices go down, and sometimes you can only buy things or do quests with a higher reputation.

Dual Wield is complicated... a developer posted how it worked, and while I can't remember the post, I believe the intent was that an off-hand weapon adds 25% dps. (So, 100% with one weapon, 125% with two weapons.)

How is dual wield damage calculated? Is it 1.5 , the .5 being for offhand, or 2.0? What are the most dangerous areas to travel in? Any constested areas in peticular?

IIRC - offhand weapon dps is halved. In addition, the miss rate (chance that you will miss a target - not that it will dodge, block or parry) for both Main and Off hand weapons is also increased. Whatever the specifics, they only apply to Hunters, Rogues, and Warriors - the only classes which can dual wield in WoW.

Couple things of note about contested areas in WoW: Alliance generally enter them sooner than Horde. Alliance low level contested zones on the eastern continent (Redridge, Duskwood, and Wetlands) have 0 Horde quests / flightpaths (except for rare 1-time class quests).

This doesn't mean alliance won't have problems being ganked in these zones on PvP servers. It does mean that it's more convenient for alliance to gank level 20-25 horde than vice-versa.

At what lvl does the game start to pick up/get really heated?
Level 47. You're ceasing to be a Lowbie and you are still questing in areas where you still have a chance to compete against the opposing faction.


When does it start to slow down/get boring?
Depends on the individual, but most people start to feel the grind about level 54ish. Most people start rolling alts at that point so their mains get Rest XP. The race for 60 is easier with the Rest XP.



Whats an Intance, form what I gather its a dungeon, is that true? Whats "resetting an instance"?
An instance is a Dungeon where the only people inside are your group, and is defined by elite mobs/bosses that are tougher to kill. "Resetting an instance" means typically you've run the instance once and want to run it again with essentially the same group. You have to reset it so that the mobs are back, etc. In order to reset the instance, the group must be disbanded, and a new leader must re-invite the group memebrs outside the instance.


At what lvl should I start PvPing? Would it be better to go to PvE if I dont wanna be ganked around the clock?(I dont care, being ganked is part of the game)
On PvP servers you won't have a choice, you will be PvPing the moment you enter any Contested Territory, which is around level 22ish. In Contested Territory, any faction can attack members of the other faction on site. You should check the population ratios for each server, it can have a bearing on your Realm decision. For example, on my server, Arthas, I am Horde. Alliance outnumbers Horde about 1.8:1 on average at any given time on Arthas. I chose Horde because my RL friends chose it, but a lot of people like a challenge, so they choose the outnumbered faction. Others want EZMODE so they go with the bigger faction.

How many people are allowed in a party?
5
a Raid?
Anywhere from 6-40.

Whats the largest raid you've seen/been in?
15 in UBRS Raids. I'm still running UBRS for my Beaststalker Tunic on my Hunter (60 Hunter, 48 Druid).

What sort of places give off the most lag
Major Cities, especially Lagrimmar and IronLag.

what is the best place to start leveling?
Wherever your starting area is.

For Druids moonfire, why does it dispell Roots?
Any damage taken by the target will decrease the hold of Entangling Roots. Most spells have a downside, that's the downside to Entangling Roots.

What is the druid most offensive spell? Best spell? Worst spell?
Most Offensive to other players = Moonfire, especially if you spam it.

Best Spell = Depends on the situation, but I'll give you my three favs:

1. Nature's Grasp = Great Gank escape and PvP tool:
http://www.thottbot.com/?sp=17329
If you spec for Improved Nature's Grasp, it's a 100% chance.

2. Nature's Swiftness = Basically an "Oh Crap" button:
http://www.thottbot.com/?sp=17116

3. Innervate = This one has caused some controversy because Druids complain that many guilds require a Druid to spec for it in order to become/stay a member, but powerful nonetheless:
http://www.thottbot.com/?sp=18562

Worst Spell = Don't really have anything. I use them all from time to time. Some Druids don't use "Soothe Animal" (http://www.thottbot.com/?sp=9901), but I use it when collecting herbs.

In what situation is the Water form useful, besides just swimming around?
Escaping Pursuers and faster underwater questing. I've never had anyone catch me in the water. We are the survival class.

Can you fight underwater?
Yes, but you shouldn't fight in Seal Form. You may have to switch to seal form temporarily to rest your breath timer, but you don't cause much damage in Seal Form. It is funny though, to watch your Seal Form hit something.

After you run out of air underwater, what happens?
You die. But, Druids can stay underwater forever in Seal Form. You are not under the Breath Timer.

Why are skinning and mining considered the two best jobs for cash? Is the money system better with coppers, silvers, and golds, instead of one monitary value of currency?
Not sure I agree with that statement. Some people go with 2 gathering professions and sell what they gather on the AH. Never tried this myself, but I hear it's a money-maker. I went with Herbalism/Alchemy on my Tauren Druid. Taurens get +15 to Herbalism, and I'm rolling in it. On my server Elixir of Greater Defense sells for 10g per stack of 5 on the Auction House, and the materials are easy to get for free. I've made about 50g in 3 days doing that + questing.

A guildie gave me the best piece of advice when it comes to making money:

1. Sell everything you don't need on the AH. People will buy anything. Most drops people will use or are craft items.

2. Put it in the AH for 24 hours, even though it costs a little more, it will pay off due to more exposure.

Is partying nessecary in the early stages of the game (FFXI partying started at 10 and ended at 75, even then partying was needed ot do all the fun stuff)? IS grinding getting xp or gold? or both?
It is necessary if you want to do instances, however as a previous poster said, you can solo all the way to 60. The downside is that most of the good items (Armor, weapons, etc.) are in instances, so if you solo to 60, your gear my not be as good as equal level players.

What is a "build"?
Beginning at level 10, each time you level you get one "Training Point" per level. You use these training points to specialize your character. For example, my Druid is Restoration Specced, so I have decided to specialize in Healing, Whereas a Druid who goes with the Feral Spec, is choosing to specialize in utilizing the various forms (Cat and Bear). That does not mean that I can't use the Cat or Bear form or that the Feral Druid can't heal, it's just that I've chosen to make my Healing stronger by specializing in it.

Why is there an honor system?
Adds a PvP reward system, as flawed as it is.

How do you start getting your epic set(s)? Questing? or are they drops off mobs?
There is a PvP set you can get by playing Battlegrounds, or you can get your PvE epic sets by running Molten Core/Onyxia's Lair multiple times.

Are "toons" character, or just avatars in general?
Both, really. I used this term with my guildies and they had no freaking clue what I was talking about. Guess they don't read the WoW Forums. :wink:

How much is a mount? epic mount?
Level 40 Mount = 90 gold. 18 Gold for training, 72 Gold for the Mount itself if you are honored in your home city, which you will be by level 40, unless you're retarded. Warlocks and Paladins get the mounts for free, but I know that Warlocks have to quest for their epic mount. Not sure about Pallies and their epics.

Epic Mount = 900 Gold.

Any constested areas in peticular?
This depends on the Realm and which faction outnumbers which.

For the Horde on my Realm (although it has calmed down A LOT since Battlegrounds), the worst areas are:

1. Hillsbrad (by far the worst)
2. Stranglethorn Vale (specifically Booty Bay and Camp Nesingwary) - second worst
3. Ashenvale (although if you stay off the road it isn't bad at all)
4. Eastern Plaguelands
5. The entrance to Blackrock Spire (Camped by 1,342,629 Alliance 24/7 for cheap HK's). Rez and run, rez and run.
6. Kargath (since Battlegrounds, it has been quiet).
7. The Bulwark
8. StromGarde Keep (Horde has quests there, but the guards don't attack the Alliance, so they camp it).
9. The Ruins of Andorhal

All I can think of right now. Perhaps an Alliance on a Horde-heavy server can help you with the other side. ;)