MMORPGDot Feature: World of Warcraft Beta Journal #3
Dialogue, 2004-03-30

Everyone by now is probably familiar with the quest box. Right clicking on an npc with a yellow exclamation point above their head brings up a quest log entry. Inside this quest log is some text, which is slowly revealed to you at a readable speed. This is a really nice touch as it simulates an actual conversation. Once the quest is revealed, you are usually given an option of rewards or simply informed that you will receive a cash payment. As long as you're doing level appropriate quests the rewards are always appropriate. Even if you're not, the loot that you're given is very sellable and can net you some cash from other players or merchants. Once you've accepted a quest, your quest log (opened by pressing "L") is your catalogue of what you're currently working on. Quests are organized by the location you retrieved them, unless they are class or tradeskill specific quests, in which case they are listed by your class or tradeskill. Quests are colour coded to indicate the level of the reward in relation to your level. If the quest is coloured yellow (which most of them will be), it's going to be a challenge for you and will provide good xp for you. Similarly, red quests are probably too hard for you (but it's unlikely you'd be given a quest that was red, so you'll probably never see one), green quests are providing an xp/loot reward that's slightly below your level, and quests that have grey text are probably not worth doing because the reward is going to be so inferior to what your level demands.

Merchants are extremely easy to utilize, as they have screens that look just like your inventory (or backpack, which can be opened by hitting "B"). Small blocks hold items that are for sale, next to which are the prices they'll charge you for the item. Right clicking on an item in the merchant's window purchases one of that item and deposits it into your backpack. You can also left click to pick one up, drag, and drop the item into either your backpack or the appropriate slot on your character sheet. Picking up an item (either from a merchant or your backpack) causes the slot that it can be used in to highlight in yellow. In this way you always know where to place your weapons and armor. Hovering over an item (in either your inventory or a merchant's screen) reveals the info block about the item. On the info-block is revealed the item's name, type, number of hands used to wield it, attack speed (in seconds), damage range, level ranges, and any special properties. If you are currently in a merchant's screen, the item block will also list the amount of money the merchant will pay you. Item level ranges are something that has been mentioned before, but I'll go over it quickly because I've even seen people *in* the Beta asking about it. A weapon (or any item) will usually have a listing something like "Level 25 (min 17)". What this means is that the weapon is best utilized by someone of level 25. IE, the damage it does will be maxed out, all of the bonuses will be active, etc. "min 17" means that it can first be used by someone who is level 17. However, someone using that weapon at level 17 and someone using the weapon at level 25 will be doing hugely different amounts of damage, and not just because of possible higher strength. The closer to the listed level of the item, the more damage you will do, up until the max listed on the item.

Speaking of level, level increases do more than simply net you more Talents (discussed below). They also give you the opportunity to purchase Abilities from your class trainers (the abilities screen is viewable by pressing "O"). Every even level sees more Abilities become available to you. Abilities are purchased straight up with cash from trainers, and the only requirements to obtaining them are level based. Right clicking on your trainer will bring up the Abilities purchase screen. You'll be able to tell which ones you can buy because they'll be in green. Red Ablities will become available later on. There is also a filter to let you pick which ones you want to see. Their purchase price and what they do is listed in the entry of the purchase screen. Abilities that are not purchased at the level they are available are still available even after you gain another level, so there is no rush if you can't afford to purchase a new ability right away. Abilities are the "cool things" we think of when we think of WoW character classes. Holy Smite, Rend, Frost Burst, Backstab...all of these are abilities purchased from class trainers. Weapon Proficiencies are also Abilities, so if you're a Paladin that really wants to wield a sword, purchasing that ability from a class trainer is something you're going to want to do.
Beyond that, Tradeskills are also Abilities...something I'll get to in a moment.

Your character sheet is where all of your information is stored. It is opened by pressing the "C" key. The front page to your sheet shows a small portrait of your character, which can be moved around using the green arrows above the picture. All around the picture are slots representing equipment spaces on your character. Two of these are completely decorative, the Tabard slot and the Shirt slot. Tabards can be purchased (for 1 gold) if you are in a guild. Every guild sets what their tabard looks like, and every guild member must purchase that tabard design. Shirts are decorative items that can be looted or crafted by tailors. They are simply their to enhance the look of the character. Other slots are generally reserved for more powerful characters. Rings, Amulets, Helmets, Eyewear, and Pauldrons (shoulder armor) are extremely rare below level 20.

Your character sheet also has several tabs, each of which contains more information about your character. Talents are abilities purchased after every level. Talents you already have are listed at the top of your page. Talents are purchased with Talent points, which you receive every level in a certain amount. Initially you only receive 10 at a time, but that number goes up as your level does. Talents come in a few varieties: Attribute increases, Hunter Traits, Resists, Weapon Specializations, and Defensive Traits. Attribute Enhancements add one point to the attribute listed for every talent you purchase. Hunter traits give you increased damage vs. types of creeps (beasts, undead, etc). Resists add on to your resistance to certain attack types (fire, cold, etc). Weapon Specializations add to your damage with specific types of weapons. Defensive Traits all keep you alive longer, doing things like adding to your defense (permanently), adding to your shield defense, or increasing health (or mana) regeneration. Reputation is not currently added into the game, but will in the future reflect your relationship with the many and varied cultures of the World of Warcraft. This is very much like "Faction" from Everquest. The final tab on the character sheet is the Skills tab. Skills are improved through use, plain and simple. Every skill you have at the game's beginning starts at 1, and increases from there as you move through the game. Skills dictate your success at using your abilities. So, if you purchase the ability to use swords, you would gain the skills "Swords" at 1. Using the sword in combat will increase your swords skill, improving your to-hit chance with the weapon. As you can see on the tab, there is a blue bar indicating how far along you are in your progress. The yellow number on the right indicates your current cap to your skill (based on level). Tradeskills are also listed here, and like other abilities are improved through use. Which leads me into a brief discussion of how you go about Tradeskilling...

The current push, Tradeskills must be purchased from Tradeskill Trainers before they can be used. In the next push, you're going to be able to obtain a Tradeskill as a matter of course through leveling. Beyond that, new recipes and higher levels of the Tradeskill will still need to be purchased from a Trainer. Tradeskills are broken into two categories: Gathering and Crafting. Most Crafting skills have a Gather skill (Mining/Blacksmithing, for example), and most players that do one also do the other. Like weapon skills, tradeskills improve through use. Unlike other MMOGs, a crafting attempt will always succeed as long as a player has the right ingredients and the recipe. Crafting is done at specific locations, such as anvils. There, the player opens his Tradeskill Ability from the list and uses the Tradeskill window. Listed on the window are all the recipes he currently owns. If he has enough materials to make something, a number is listed next to the recipe name. In the bottom area of the window are a list of the components used in the creation of the item and the requirements to make it. There is also an icon for the item itself, which you can hover over to see what the stats of the item will be. Recipes are colour coded like quests. In this case, the colour indicates the likelihood that you'll increase your blacksmithing skill by using the recipe. If you're simply looking to grind skill levels, just like with quests you want to be doing yellow items. Yellow indicates that you are likely to increase your skill with the item. Green means maybe, Red means certainly, and Grey means not at all. Thus, you want to make sure to increase your skill through yellow items. Red items are sure to increase your skill, but use up more resources. Doing yellow items until the reds become yellow is a sure way to maximize your skill without wasting resources. Recipes are new items you can make, and must be purchased from a Tradeskill Trainer. New Recipes become available at different skill levels (usually a few every 5 points in the skill), and cost an amount of money dependant on the level of the recipe. Eventually, you will hit the cap on your current tradeskill ability level, and then you'll have to purchase the next step up. For example, the first level of Blacksmithing is "Apprentice Blacksmithing". Once you reach the initial level cap in blacksmithing, you can go no further, and must purchase "Novice Blacksmithing", which raises your skill cap. In this way you are constantly purchasing new recipes and abilities as you get better at your trade.



One last quick aside before I wrap it up today (whew). A reader wrote in to ask if I could quickly compare World of Warcraft to some currently available Massively Multiplayer games, with Everquest being the one specifically mentioned. I should point out that WoW is still in Beta test. Everything about it is still in flux, so anything I say today is basically going to be invalid in two months. Just the same, you ask and I write, so here is my bullet point comparison of WoW to two other great fantasy MMOGs, Final Fantasy XI and Everquest:

• World of Warcraft
  • Quest Depth - Not even released yet, all quests not in yet.
  • Interface - Almost flawless, with a few tweaks will be.
  • World - Deep, rich backdrop, really makes you care.
  • Community - In-game, very small, mostly friendly, out-of-game, slavering in anticipation
• Final Fantasy XI
  • Quest Depth - Been out for two years, lots of quests, some repeatable and some boring.
  • Interface - Steep learning curve, non-intuitive on the PC.
  • World - Fully realized world, great storyline.
  • Community - Very quiet out of game community, in-game very friendly and knowledgeable.
• Everquest
  • Quest Depth - Five years worth of material, some quests are completely pointless.
  • Interface - Mild learning curve, somewhat outdated.
  • World - Interesting world, but difficult to get at unless you try.
  • Community - In-game community can be friendly, but there are a lot of jerks too. Out of game almost universally bitter.

On Thursday I'm going to relate to you a tale of adventure, looting, discovery, and death. On Thursday: The Deadmines of Westfall. See you then!