I recently recruited a friend using RaF and thought him the basics. He is a fast learner but while teaching him I noticed several things that aren't mentioned anywhere. He doesn't know how to use macros or what a rotation is, Auction house is completely something else, what points with what spec and so on. They aren't even given the basic names of things so that they could search for these things. For a total new player without a friend or being over resourceful it will be hard to start WoW.
Now my friend here, chose a priest. Wanting to be a caster more than anything and so it happened that our raid team needed a healer. He's a Very fast learner, studying his spellbook and asking when ever he doesn't know. Using dungeons and RaF's xp bonus it has taken us around 6 to 7 hours of in-game time for him and my mage be lvl 70.
While doing dungeons we quickly realized something. The groups are something that define how well you learn things. I remember someone arguing that the game doesn't teach much anymore. They are right, leveling doesn't teach you anything these days, thank to the quests being too easy, mobs dying from one hit and leveling being far too fast.
What has replaced this learning that was earlier taught by the game, is now the people playing the game. Groups in dungeons and battlegrounds, LFR and many other group activities, even the trade channel have something to teach. Most often it's "not to" rather than "do", but even learning this is good.
As a DPS Arcane Mage, never having played the class before, the basics were easy to grab thanks to all the hours of watching trade on my main and hearing how Arcane Blast is the thing for Arcane Mages. Later on I of course used the awesome power of google to see what really is the rotation only to notice that arcane mage isn't as easy as it's portrayed to be. However the initial thing thought by trade and LFD was enough to get one started.
Now what have groups in dungeons taught us?
1) That every class in lower levels if the healer is resourceful enough is able to tank if the know how. This was proven by Arcane Mage tanking several dungeons thanks to the tank leaving.
2) Teaches what classes use what abilities and skills.
- When you hear your groupies whining that "Why did you need that agility gear as a mage?" This should tell you several things; Agility isn't a stat that mages need, you cannot use leather when the rant continues on that direction, and possibly the person whining will even tell you that, INTELLECT is the stat you need.
- It's almost impossible to get straight helpful answers from anyone now-a-days in WoW, therefore when doing something wrong and accidentally triggering a whine/rage, it's useful to ask, why? Eventually you WILL get some helpful information out from the whiner as they have to base their opinion on to something.
3) Teaches patience
- How many annoying groups have you had? Thought so.
4) Teaches your role
- Tanks tank, DPS'rs DPS and Healers heal, when in a dungeon group even when knowing nothing, you'll quickly get the information you need, by simply doing all the wrong things. Of course that's not recommended, but accidental wrongness is not bad and others will most likely give you the information you need to understand something. Tank whining that the warrior is prot as well and so in a tanking spec, gives this other warrior information that he is in a wrong spec for his role as a DPS. Same with healing. You quickly learn to understand what role does what when you've healed the wrong target 7 times and the group is annoyed that you can't target the tank.
5) Teaches you new words
- While looking at Trade, this friend of mine asked several things, what they meant. What is spec? What is ilvl? What LFM/LF means? What is BWL? What about DS10?
- Now most often you can figure out the answers to these simply by looking on, however some things that come up in a dungeon aren't so easy. BL? Kite? MM? And so on. While sometimes you will be left in the shadow of doubt, most of the time the group has enough sense to explain what these things are, and when you know then you know. As an example to kiting. The tank dies, Hunter takes the aggro and kites them around finally with group effort we kill the mobs, and the hunter goes; "There you saw some awesome kiting." It doesn't need any more explaining than that.
6) Teaches you professions
- There are bushes and nodes around in dungeons and archeology ones in the higher level ones. Most creatures are skinnable and almost everything drops cloth, some drop gems and not to forget patterns and such. These things will teach you eventually what a profession is, even simply by association and you become curious or by someone asking, if it's okay if I need that for my tailoring? Eventually your interest is piqued and you will find out somehow what it is.
7) Teaches you teamwork
- Teamwork at the moment in WoW is quite important, especially at high levels, with raiding, more difficult dungeons and different group quests. Now of course you can quest alone but eventually there will be time that you need to group with someone and the dungeons provide experience how to act. A simple "hello" and "goodbye" are only polite and you'll quickly get these things understood while in a dungeons.
8) Teaches that leveling is irrelevant and only there for you to learn to use your basic skills and to get you familiar with the skills you have and the UI and your basic role and that the real game starts when you are max level and when you really understand the basics.
9) Teaches you to appreciate those with experience and skill
- Horrible groups can be handled but horrible individuals are just horrible. Dungeons will help you appreciate helpful and skillful people and be more like them in return if they served you well, making a slight idolization to go to their direction. Some players even say that it's okay to contact them and ask help and such, which is fabulous from the point of view of a new player. Take those chances, as it's very profitable in the short and long run in terms of experience and information.
10) As the game itself teaches you very little..
- You will learn to use google eventually even if it's only to find basic things. We have been thought that google can solve all of our problems and this is true when it comes to WoW. By learning more and more, you'll develop more and more and learn to be self sufficient.
And there you have it. My honest thoughts about the whole "learn your class" manner and what he game teaches us.
Ei kommentteja:
Lähetä kommentti