First RS Review in a while: A Member's Betrayal

[rossmallo]

OkSo, yeah, not seen one of these for a little while, have we? I feel a bit bad for falling behind on these, but I have a reason. A reason a lot of you will probably want to lynch me for I got hooked back in by World of Warcraft.

 

You see, most people will most likely know about this, but for the uninitiated, let me explain a new expansion, Wrath Of The Lich King, was released. This had so much opportunity to get me back in inescapably, it really did, and for a time, it looked like it did. But I played it for a while and I need to say thisapart from all the stuff with the siege vehicles etc you can get in certain areasThey didnt even attemptTHEY DIDNT EVEN ATTEMPT to try something new. I was the same old mage slinging the same old fireballs at new enemies with the same old predictable AI.

 

One thing that did catch my eye was the AMAZING new city, DalaranTrust meThat place is everything Yanille wants to be It really is a true city of mages. Huge towers, massive magical influence, all sorts of strange magical goods, its awesome. THAT, I can give WoW credit for. Unfortunately, the game seems incapable of realising that you need to have some sort of incentive for playing, like entertainment.

 

 

 

HoweverEven though I was essentially playing a game that could have rightfully been advertised saying Now, Play the game youve already played a hundred times before, only with new places and people I somehow got suckered in. And Ill admit, it was fun.

 

 

 

For a while.

 

 

 

But soon, it started to wear on me, and I found myself constantly levelling my trade skills to try and break up the tedium, but they could only keep me for so long. Eventually, though, a few days ago, I started with the questing again. In that day, I played it for about three hours

 

And only became aware that I was playing it in the last few minutes.

 

I had been rendered completely and utterly emotionless in real life. I realised that I had been sitting at my PC, with my eyes glazed over, pressing buttons and clicking the mouse, both aware and unaware of what I was doing. Maybe this is how one is SUPPOSED to feel while playing this, butNo. This is what someone is supposed to feel in a dead-end job which requires no thought, just input.

 

Now, let me ask something.

 

Isnt World Of Warcraft supposed to be, dare I say it in front of anyone who plays itA game? Yaknowsomething meant to entertain people?

 

WellTo me, this was seeming like far, far, faaaaaar too much like a second freaking job. (WellNot that I HAVE a job at the moment but Graphic Design at college is pretty Saradomin-damned close...)

 

So, on that very same day that I snapped (ie, came to my senses) I IMMEDIATELY looked for my phone to get RS topped back up.

 

 

 

HonestlyI reallyreally dont know how long Blizzard are going to be able to keep this little project of theirs up. Yes, I said project, Im not referring to it as a game for the aforementioned reasonsLet me really, REALLY look at what has been properly implemented in WoW from this expansion.

 

1. New Class: Death Knights

 

2. New Profession: Inscription

 

3. Vehicles

 

4. Achievements

 

All the other things are aesthetic at best. And DONT FREAKING START with the whole but-but-butting about new equipment and stuff. We both know that all equipment in this project is nothing more than a power-increaser and an individuality-decreaserWhereas, look at the equipment we get in RS: Up till level 40ish in Attack, Defence and Ranged, yes, it follows the same pattern World of Wowcrack does increased stats, nothing more.

 

But when was the last time in WoW you saw a bolt of lightning descend from someones sword? The last time you saw them drive their blade into the ground to unleash hell on everyone around them? The last time you saw someone get instantly cremated from a single crossbow bolt?

 

Yes, all of the weapons in WoW may have a lot of power behind them, but they, like the rest of the stuff in that game, lack diversity. Runescape lets us have that diversity with weapons that have special attacks and so on, giving us various tactical edges in battle.

 

 

 

Ok. Going to stop talking about WoW in a sec but I want to say one last thingI genuinely think the project is in its twilight. I meanall the next expansion is going to be is like, another new class, another new trade skill and so on. In my opinion, I think that unless they really do something drastic with that game, its going to stagnate and implode. Because think about it. This game is quickly becoming more and more inaccessible to new players. The cheapest you can get World of Warcraft, The Burning Crusade, and the Wrath of the Lich King for these days is £55 total. THE CHEAPEST. Thats 11 months of RS membership right there and then! And theres the fact that membership to WoW is £8 a month, totalling £96 per year. RS is £60 a year, theres no obligation, and is easier to cancel if you need to take a break. Not to mention that installing the stupid thing is only slightly preferable to seven days of torture. First, you have to install WoW, which takes like 2 hours with 4 CDs, then Burning Crusade, which is another hour or so with 3 CDs, and finally Wrath of the Lich King which is on one DVD, thank god, and it takes 30 minutes. But the tortures just begun. You have to download every single patch to date. I actually had to leave my computer on overnight to do this, and i'd started at 8PM. And of course, every few months I have to download another patch, and it renders WoW unplayable until I do so, and this can take up to a DAY to get it to even work.

 

Now, tell me, guysWhats preferable...

 

A: A behemoth of a game that eats money and life, the installation of which deserves a medal once it's achieved...

 

B: A Cheaper, pick-up-and-play game that despite lesser graphics, outdoes A in almost every respect?

 

...I hope you'll make the right decision.

 

 

 

Alright. Alright. Enough talking about thatWhats been happening in Geilnor since Ive been gone then? Im going to quickly go over whats been going on.

 

 

 

STEALING CREATION. Jagex, this is why we love you. This is the most enjoyable new minigame Ive seen in my recent time in any online game. Its utterly amazing. It combines Skilling and Combat in a brilliant way, even making lvl 3 skillers useful. I wont go into the full details, but basically you have to collect clay in various forms that require progressively higher levels in Mining, Hunter, Woodcutting and Fishing. This clay allows you to create new equipment, armour, weapons and items to help you collect more, and the team that has the most at the end is the winner.

 

As I said, this is the most amazingly fun minigame Ive played in a longLONG time. Also, the fact you can literally steal off of other people is face-crackingly hilarious. I actually reduced an Ancienter to flaming me and Stealing Creation on the forums for stealing from him about four times.

 

However. The rewards from it are nothing short of amazing Armour and items that double exp gain? Ooooh. Yes please.

 

 

 

WHILE GUTHIX SLEEPS. The first Grandmaster quest. Without giving TOO much away, The highest ranked druids of Guthix, residents of Taverly, have been researching a devious treasure hunter known as Movario. His past links him to the evil mahjarrat and sorcerer Lucien, who has plans to re-enact Zamorak's plan to steal the staff of Armadyl and rise to godhood. Adventurers who sided with the knights of Armadyl in the past received a letter informing them that Movario helped him get it, and with staff in hand, Lucien is hoping to create an army of power, and rule Geilinor. The quest takes on a new epic twist, travelling across the land and creating our own small army of legendary warriors in the hopes of countering Lucien, or at least figuring out what he's going to do with his new super-powers. It's safe to say that some ancient and amazing powers must be in his sights, but it doesnt exist... does it?

 

Yes that's right, its the stone of Jas, and after capturing a highly powerful Dagon'hai mage, posing as him and solving a cave full of magical puzzles, it has at long last been discovered, but Lucien followed us, stole the stone, and gave it to his superiors...

 

Buuuuut, weve danced around the main issue long enough, so lets talk about the hot, spicy reward.

 

Remember in my last one where I said something along the lines of maybe this forge will let us smith Dragon? I want you all to know THAT I FREAKING CALLED IT. Yes, This quest has finally given us access to the long-awaited Dragon Platemail

 

 

Pity it kind of came a bit too late for anyone over the age of 14 to care. Seriously, its only got, what, a few def points higher than Bandos Armour.

 

Whoops.

 

 

 

FALADOR AND FREMNIK ACHIEVEMENT DIARIES. Okay, I gotta say, I LOVED these. Though, it has to be said, the Fremnik one was a little easy. However, the rewards were very good. Boots that allowed upgraded Lyres that could hold six enchantments instead of four, and could teleport you to Waterbirth Island instead. It also made getting rep for Miscelenia easier, and lets you get between the islands quicker too. It also opens a Deposit Box in Relekka, which is very appreciated for people killing Rockcrabs. Its not bad, and the defence bonuses are pretty decent too.

 

NowThe Falador one is a different kettle of fish. I blitzed the easy ones, no problem, giving me access to a dinky little shield with a good prayer bonus, and the ability to restore a hefty chunk of prayer.

 

HoweverThe medium tasks were a little less fair. MOST of them were doable, but one of them required me to do part of Ratcatchers.

 

Which resulted in the death of my Kitten. I was not happy. So, I have to make my current one grow to a cat before I have a chance. Greeeeeeat.

 

Though, that was NOTHING compared to the stupid mistake I madeI got my prayer trained all the way to level 70 to try and do the hard tasksAnd then I noticed I needed to kill a Skeletal Wyvern. And I have lvl 58 Slayer at this point. Rest assured, foul words were said. Slayer is my second-least favourite skill, second only to the abomination that is Agility. So the fact I would have to get another 12 levels before I could finish what I started did not do much to stop me from throwing my keyboard through the window.

 

Maybe Im making too much of a big deal of this, but honestly, the hard reward is something to behold. White Lilly seeds. These, when planted in the middle of an allotment patch, protect ALL crops. Awesome. Pity I have to raise my cat and my Slayer to get themOh well.

 

 

 

CHRISTMAS EVENT AND QUEST. Both of these were l33t. For the event, we had to hunt down Jack Frost using a special Frost Imp. Nothing too hard, but the reward we got has caused the biggest and most surprising price crash of a single Rare in a long time. For the quest, we got Santa Suits.

 

SoGuess which rare suddenly became very popular?

 

Strangely enough, the price has plummeted on these, however. Thinking logically, I would have expected these things to become ludicrously expensive over the Christmas period. HoweverThe pricescrashed for some reason, I have NO idea whycan anyone help me on this one? Imconfused. Regardless, the quest: Myths of the White Lands. Explorer Jack asks you to go to this special ice realm to look for treasure, and a mage from the mage tower teleports you there.

 

Anyone whos played Pokemon Diamond/Pearl will immediately understand how the icy floor works here. Basically, you step onto the ice and you uncontrollably slide in that direction till you stop. Only difference: You can move in 8 directions, which makes the puzzles quite hard, actually. Its a very quick quest which only gives a 500exp lamp, and 5000gp for reasons that will become apparent during the quest. However, there IS some bonus exp to be had there. If you havent done this quest yet, guys, take my advice: Bring a hammer, a chisel, and a Hatchet. Youll see why if you explore the rooms.

 

 

 

And finally, IN PYRE NEED. Jagex finally came through with the phoenixes for the first update of the year. Not only can we get Phoenix Familiars, but we can also get PET Phoenixes. AWESOME. Im a person who loves birds, so this is quite a big deal to me. However, it needs level 72 Summoning, but Im going for that anyway.

 

It also gives you access to the Phoenixs Lair, and this lets you get a load of exp for fighting one of the easiest level 265 ever. Pray Mage. Attack. Ignore the fact your Attack Level drops dramatically temporarily. Done. You get loads of Experience for it and a chance to get the aforementioned pet Phoenix.

 

 

 

SoThat brings us up to date, I believe. Sorry for the major TL:DR hereRegardless, I hope you enjoyed it. Proper RS Reviews to come.

[totalpwnage]

This is exactly why all my friends that went to World of Warcraft came back to RuneScape. Well, that and PvP worlds. It just becomes "try this character out, oh wait you have to grind your levels up again or do quests for exp again and" yeah. Imo, it just gets old. With JagEx, you're constantly getting new mini-games -- we just got Stealing Creation a while ago and now we're getting Mobilizing Armies sometime soon.

 

 

 

I just hear people talk about World of Warcraft on my teamspeak when they quit RS -- after about a month, they were bored. Those that were long time players (not many) came back with pretty much the same reasons you did. But yeah... RuneScape just does it better, in my opinion.

[psvstef]

my friend quit Wow for the same reason :lol:

[Kietaro1]

I would like to respond to your comments about WoW.

 

 

 

First, you are absolutely correct in that WoW has the ability to suck players in and cause them to lose track of time, often with a demeanor of idiocy. You said in your post that you believed that this 'project' is on it's way out but I would reference this to show that you are wrong. Sure it is tedious and a main reason I play Runescape over WoW, but any game that makes you lose track of things is sure to have you coming back for more. Whether it is to kill some free time, take your mind off things like lonliness or boredom, WoW gives you the opportunity to escape it all, be sucked into a fantasy world, and allow you to accomplish things that have 'reward'.

 

 

 

Secondly you say that WoW does not offer weapons that allow for individuality. This again is inacurate. With skills such as enchanting, jewel crafting, and inscribing a player can custom taylor their armor in more ways than there are types of armor in Runescape. Even more than that, every class has three trees to spec so as to allow for futher customization in that these will often alter defense levels. Though I feel this is just redundant, have you heard of a Thunderfury? Or 'chance on hit'? You ask about lightning bolts and attacking everything around your charater but WoW classes by themselves can do this. On top of that however, plenty of weapons in game give you a chance to do have a special attack do extra damage, root, debuff, etc. There are so many of these that if you were to give every weapon, armor, and ammo in Runescape special effects you still would not begin to dent how many there are in WoW.

 

 

 

Thirdly trade skills are a joke. They take very little time to max. On top of that, characters take 2 months to max playing about 3 hours/night though in reality you will play more.

 

 

 

And lastly, WoW combat > Runescape period. I play Runescape to unwind and I play it much more often than WoW, but when I want to fight something WoW will ALWAYS win out in the end.

 

 

 

Bottom Line: I love Runescape; I have since '01 when it was the only game I could play over the internet. However WoW is a wonderful game as well. It is not the same as Runescape in any way other than the MMORPG aspect, BUT it is it's competition and one that holds the majority of the market share. If for nothing else other than the maturity of the average gamer, WoW is a much better game as far as combat goes. Runescape though has so much more to offer other than combat and that is why I enjoy it that much more.

[rossmallo]

Yeah, I'd have to agree with you, Kietaro, the combat is far better, but theres one problem: that's 95% of the game, there's very little else. That's one of the main reasons WoW is such a major grindfest - Sure, RS has grind but a lot of different kinds of grind =P

[Kietaro1]

And I agree with you. However like I said, WoW is a much different game geared towards a different kind of player. For all intents and purposes, I am a skiller. I enjoy grinding and the feeling of accomplishment (but moreso the ability to do other things and play :P ). WoW however is a combat players dream though.

 

 

 

And if you look at most Runescape characters, you will notice that their combat usually dwarfs their non-combat skills. Seems like the 95% of WoW should be 95% of Runescape... but it isn't.

[Mercifull]

I pay £3.20 a month (cheaper rate for being an old skooler p2per) which equates to £38.40 a year. Much less than the £60 you quoted. Good post though :)

[rossmallo]

Ah, well, I pay by SMS, so it's £5.

[Slayer_Jesse]

=D> well writen article! its nice to have some proof that rs is better than wow... lol jking. (not much tho.) and i must admit, variety is one of the reasons i like rs. i may not skill much, but i like the fact that its there if i choose to do so!

[casthewiz]

I've played runescape since summer of 05, and I quit in November... Been playing WoW since the beginning of december... I just got so bored of runescape, it stopped being a matter of skill whilst playing and instead became just where and how I clicked... I don't know if I'll get bored of WoW or not though. :?

[Kietaro1]

Just buy Left4Dead and you will be set :D

 

 

 

 

 

And Warcraft 3 is still the best game of all time imo.

[Misterknowitall]

I have and propably will never play WoW, although I like the storylines, so I read them (I played Warcraft 3 and it's expansion, so I'm curious about what will happen to the Lich King).

[Kietaro1]

As they have already systematically killed all of the other named NPCs in Warcraft, I am sure the Lich King will suffer the same fate.

 

 

 

In truth it is better to ignore WoW as it has screwed up the storyline completely. Pre-WoW history is awesome. WoW lore is crap.

[rossmallo]

^ You could not be more right.

[Misterknowitall]

As they have already systematically killed all of the other named NPCs in Warcraft, I am sure the Lich King will suffer the same fate.

 

 

 

In truth it is better to ignore WoW as it has screwed up the storyline completely. Pre-WoW history is awesome. WoW lore is crap.

 

 

 

That buys me some more RS time.

[Ezz]

My thoughts exactly on WoW, I played it for about half a year and then went back to RS :)

[pgmr185]

By the way, Santa hats crashed because everyone knew months ahead of time that the Santa suits were being released.

 

 

 

Loads of people stocked up on them and then when the event was released everyone dumped them at the same time.

[Melos]

WoW however is a combat players dream though.

 

 

 

I dunno about that. I'm a PvP player at heart, and I chose quite a few other games over World of Warcraft for PvP. I admit, I have NOT PvP'd in WoW nor have I have even gotten a character past Level 3 in that game... It just bored me right off the bat and from what I heard, the PvP is highly unbalanced. My brother used to play WoW a lot back in the day, and he had gotten a Level 70 Rogue who used to PvP all the time. He would complain and b1tch about how cheap this class was and how Blizzard nerf'd Rogues again, etc. Alright, maybe my brother was a whiner, but the problem is that he's not alone. Whenever I go to the WoW forums for kicks, I always see people complaining about how unbalanced this class is, how that class should be nerfed, and how the PvP just outright sucks. Heck, those friends of mine that play WoW do not play it for the PvP, and I would say almost never do it. They always go on those 8 hours raids or whatever and make a billion gnomes, but they never, ever PvP.

 

 

 

My dad is now the only person in my family that plays WoW and it's really just for the "fun", casual PvM. He did play some PvP for quite a while like a month before WotLK came out and I did watch him play, but I was totally turned off from what I saw. My dad was using his Level 70 Hunter and he had the second best gear available, or so he told me. He didn't have the arena stuff, but it was still the #2 gear and should work quite well for PvP regardless. You might be at a slight disadvantage, but hey, skill/build could make up for the minor disadvantage. Or so I had thought. I watched a Level 70 Warrior run up and kill my dad's Level 70 literally within 1.5 seconds. Then I saw the same Warrior run up and kill the Mage and some other character that was with my dad in the Battlegrounds. I watched my dad "fight" these Warriors a few more times and where my dad barely did a scratch on him, the Warriors would make mence meat of my dad's Hunter in record breaking time. Wow, that's some balanced game right there...

 

 

 

Putting things in perspective, using the second best gear in RuneScape would be the equivalent of using Veracs or even Abyssal Whip/Torags in a Duel Tournament... Although your at a little bit of a disadvantage against the players with godswords or whatever, you could still win if you know what your doing and with a little luck on your side never hurts. Hell, I've won Duel Tournaments before in Rune, against players with much better gear, and that's not even the second best gear available!

 

 

 

Now, Diablo II, a game that I PvP quite a bit more frequently than RuneScape (due to my lack of levels) also is a bit more balanced. Using the second best gear would be using a Shako instead of a CoA, or using minor life skillers instead of 45 lifers. Guess what? Even with not so perfect gear, even with gear that aren't even "close" to the top, players still can't compete very effectively as long as they got some skill. From what I saw in WoW, the Warrior did not need any skill whatsoever to kill my dad and everyone else. Was having the #1 gear just that much different that the #2, or was it just because his class was insanely overpowered? I dunno, you tell me?

[Toad]

i played WoW for a month came back, constantly dieng if you dont have teams on quests, everyones too serious, runescape is cheaper, more user friendly, can watch youtube at same time, wewt, and is alot easier to just well relax.

[greenmelf]

WoW however is a combat players dream though.

 

 

 

I dunno about that. I'm a PvP player at heart, and I chose quite a few other games over World of Warcraft for PvP. I admit, I have NOT PvP'd in WoW nor have I have even gotten a character past Level 3 in that game... It just bored me right off the bat and from what I heard, the PvP is highly unbalanced. My brother used to play WoW a lot back in the day, and he had gotten a Level 70 Rogue who used to PvP all the time. He would complain and b1tch about how cheap this class was and how Blizzard nerf'd Rogues again, etc. Alright, maybe my brother was a whiner, but the problem is that he's not alone. Whenever I go to the WoW forums for kicks, I always see people complaining about how unbalanced this class is, how that class should be nerfed, and how the PvP just outright sucks. Heck, those friends of mine that play WoW do not play it for the PvP, and I would say almost never do it. They always go on those 8 hours raids or whatever and make a billion gnomes, but they never, ever PvP.

 

 

 

My dad is now the only person in my family that plays WoW and it's really just for the "fun", casual PvM. He did play some PvP for quite a while like a month before WotLK came out and I did watch him play, but I was totally turned off from what I saw. My dad was using his Level 70 Hunter and he had the second best gear available, or so he told me. He didn't have the arena stuff, but it was still the #2 gear and should work quite well for PvP regardless. You might be at a slight disadvantage, but hey, skill/build could make up for the minor disadvantage. Or so I had thought. I watched a Level 70 Warrior run up and kill my dad's Level 70 literally within 1.5 seconds. Then I saw the same Warrior run up and kill the Mage and some other character that was with my dad in the Battlegrounds. I watched my dad "fight" these Warriors a few more times and where my dad barely did a scratch on him, the Warriors would make mence meat of my dad's Hunter in record breaking time. Wow, that's some balanced game right there...

 

 

 

Putting things in perspective, using the second best gear in RuneScape would be the equivalent of using Veracs or even Abyssal Whip/Torags in a Duel Tournament... Although your at a little bit of a disadvantage against the players with godswords or whatever, you could still win if you know what your doing and with a little luck on your side never hurts. Hell, I've won Duel Tournaments before in Rune, against players with much better gear, and that's not even the second best gear available!

 

 

 

Now, Diablo II, a game that I PvP quite a bit more frequently than RuneScape (due to my lack of levels) also is a bit more balanced. Using the second best gear would be using a Shako instead of a CoA, or using minor life skillers instead of 45 lifers. Guess what? Even with not so perfect gear, even with gear that aren't even "close" to the top, players still can't compete very effectively as long as they got some skill. From what I saw in WoW, the Warrior did not need any skill whatsoever to kill my dad and everyone else. Was having the #1 gear just that much different that the #2, or was it just because his class was insanely overpowered? I dunno, you tell me?

 

Was he PvE or PvP specced, was he in PvE or PvP gear; that would make all the diffence.

[Darkduellord]

awesome read :)

[Melos]

WoW however is a combat players dream though.

 

 

 

I dunno about that. I'm a PvP player at heart, and I chose quite a few other games over World of Warcraft for PvP. I admit, I have NOT PvP'd in WoW nor have I have even gotten a character past Level 3 in that game... It just bored me right off the bat and from what I heard, the PvP is highly unbalanced. My brother used to play WoW a lot back in the day, and he had gotten a Level 70 Rogue who used to PvP all the time. He would complain and b1tch about how cheap this class was and how Blizzard nerf'd Rogues again, etc. Alright, maybe my brother was a whiner, but the problem is that he's not alone. Whenever I go to the WoW forums for kicks, I always see people complaining about how unbalanced this class is, how that class should be nerfed, and how the PvP just outright sucks. Heck, those friends of mine that play WoW do not play it for the PvP, and I would say almost never do it. They always go on those 8 hours raids or whatever and make a billion gnomes, but they never, ever PvP.

 

 

 

My dad is now the only person in my family that plays WoW and it's really just for the "fun", casual PvM. He did play some PvP for quite a while like a month before WotLK came out and I did watch him play, but I was totally turned off from what I saw. My dad was using his Level 70 Hunter and he had the second best gear available, or so he told me. He didn't have the arena stuff, but it was still the #2 gear and should work quite well for PvP regardless. You might be at a slight disadvantage, but hey, skill/build could make up for the minor disadvantage. Or so I had thought. I watched a Level 70 Warrior run up and kill my dad's Level 70 literally within 1.5 seconds. Then I saw the same Warrior run up and kill the Mage and some other character that was with my dad in the Battlegrounds. I watched my dad "fight" these Warriors a few more times and where my dad barely did a scratch on him, the Warriors would make mence meat of my dad's Hunter in record breaking time. Wow, that's some balanced game right there...

 

 

 

Putting things in perspective, using the second best gear in RuneScape would be the equivalent of using Veracs or even Abyssal Whip/Torags in a Duel Tournament... Although your at a little bit of a disadvantage against the players with godswords or whatever, you could still win if you know what your doing and with a little luck on your side never hurts. Hell, I've won Duel Tournaments before in Rune, against players with much better gear, and that's not even the second best gear available!

 

 

 

Now, Diablo II, a game that I PvP quite a bit more frequently than RuneScape (due to my lack of levels) also is a bit more balanced. Using the second best gear would be using a Shako instead of a CoA, or using minor life skillers instead of 45 lifers. Guess what? Even with not so perfect gear, even with gear that aren't even "close" to the top, players still can't compete very effectively as long as they got some skill. From what I saw in WoW, the Warrior did not need any skill whatsoever to kill my dad and everyone else. Was having the #1 gear just that much different that the #2, or was it just because his class was insanely overpowered? I dunno, you tell me?

 

Was he PvE or PvP specced, was he in PvE or PvP gear; that would make all the diffence.

 

 

 

I'm pretty sure he had PvP gear... He had gotten his gear from those PvP points or whatever from the battleground stuff. He was also PvP spec'd cause he was going to be doing a lot of battlegrounds.

[Kietaro1]

At Melos.

 

 

 

It seems to me that your dad and his friend did not know how to play their class. Now do not take that as me attacking your dad but I would say that the majority of complaints regarding unbalance steem from people not being able to play their class.

 

 

 

To parallel this into Runescape imagine the combat triangle that we supposedly have. Range>Mage>Melee>Range. In WoW it is similar but much more complex and based on gear. Now as you said, your father had the second best armor for a hunter. First we would have to look at his spec but that is way too detailed for this response. Instead let us just think of real life combat. A warrior in PvP on a good team is going to be geared towards Arms for increased damage. They may be Protection but I doubt it. These specializations increase the players ability in certain aspects. Imagine a skilled swordsman fighting someone who had never held a sword. Now on top of that we have armor types. Now imagine a warrior with a two handed sword, mastery of his weapon, and plate designed to thwart any offenses made against him. Then you have a hunter with a pet that is designed to take hits so the hunter doesn't. He is wearing leather and weilding a bow. Once that sword hits that leather, what do you think is going to happen?

 

 

 

To contrast that however hunters have several things to keep them from getting hit. First other team members. A hunter is a back line class that should not be getting hit. That is what the other players are for. Secondly they have traps that are desgined to keep other players far enough away where they are not being hit. If your dad is spec'd Marksman he needs the other players whereas a traps Hunter would be alright by himself for a bit. And the mage... yeah he seems to not have any idea how to play a mage. I play one and can take down tanks like a dump truck over legos. With ice nova, ice block, blink, polymorph... yeah that just should not happen.

 

 

 

In other words every class is designed to work in tandium with other players (i.e. raids, 3v3 PvP). Outside of this certain classes will be 'unbalanached'. In truth though this only seems true. Depending on Specializations, armor, and ability to play classes become war machines bent on the destruction of any class you may play. Since your dad is a casual gamer, I would take it that he does not have the skill that the warrior may have had. After all that warrior may play consistantly, everyday, all day like many of my friends do.

 

 

 

Again not saying your dad nor his friend were bad, just that the others were that much better. Sort of like how Zeljovac can own me anytime we fight PvP even if I wear Torags and a whip and he wears bronze. He just knows the mechainics of PvP better than I do making it hard for me to compete. Same goes for WoW where I feel as though combat dwarfs Runescape in comparison. I doubt anyone can say that clicking and wating is better than frantically using moves, ice novaing, running, instant casting, bandaging, blinking, blowing cooldowns, reaquire new target, rinse and repeat. There is no comparison.

[Cheefoo]

I'm going to admit it. WoW has a better combat system, and graphics. But that's all.

 

 

 

It's just one of those instantly gradifying games that make you feel special because you pressed a button in the right direction enough times, and saw pretty lasers kill some really pretty looking monster. The player characters are always in top physical condition, which is pretty disturbing. You get pretty looking spells to shoot lasers etc. at people, but to get them, you have to play for hours and hours.

 

 

 

Of course they wanted to make the game require lots of time, but the player is in some half dead daze, smiling at how their muscular elf zombie warrior just kicked a mega-super-dragon in the face. It's instantly gradifying all the way through to the last level.

 

 

 

There's also barely any risk involved, like in Runescape. You don't lose all your items when you die, just so the brainless player doesn't start crying.

 

 

 

Sure, I guess it's a fun game, but it's repetitive instant gradification.

[greenmelf]

I'm going to admit it. WoW has a better combat system, and graphics. But that's all.

 

 

 

It's just one of those instantly gradifying games that make you feel special because you pressed a button in the right direction enough times, and saw pretty lasers kill some really pretty looking monster. The player characters are always in top physical condition, which is pretty disturbing. You get pretty looking spells to shoot lasers etc. at people, but to get them, you have to play for hours and hours.

 

 

 

Of course they wanted to make the game require lots of time, but the player is in some half dead daze, smiling at how their muscular elf zombie warrior just kicked a mega-super-dragon in the face. It's instantly gradifying all the way through to the last level.

 

 

 

There's also barely any risk involved, like in Runescape. You don't lose all your items when you die, just so the brainless player doesn't start crying.

 

 

 

Sure, I guess it's a fun game, but it's repetitive instant gradification.

 

The exact same in true for RS, only less pretty.