Five Things that Surprised me about World of Warcraft as a New Player

After nearly 15 years of playing MMOs, I finally started playing World of Warcraft (Retail). I tried the behemoth MMO out of desperation, seeking a new home after New World Aeternum got sunsetted. On top of that, Housing, a staple feature of every major MMO was finally getting added to the game and I wanted to check it out. Over two months in and I have enjoyed my time in Azeroth far more than I expected to.

The initial starting experience is great, it eases you into the game and teaches you basic mechanics. But as you get to higher levels, the various systems, features and lore does start to become a bit overwhelming and confusing. How I dealt with it was to embrace the chaos and accept that I will have no idea what’s going on and carry on levelling. As time has past, I’ve felt less overwhelmed as I’ve continued to experience and learn the game.

Going into WoW as an experienced MMO gamer, I had expectations and assumptions about the game, but have found myself surprised by certain aspects of the game. Based on my experience so far, here are the five things that surprised me the most as a new player.

You Can’t Dye Transmog

I’m still trying to process this… Literally every other major MMO in existence allows you to dye your armour. Every MMO I have ever played has had an armour dye system of some kind. Yet WoW does not? I’m gobsmacked. Yes, you can get some armour sets in different colours and that’s tied to endgame but seriously?! It’s pathetic.

Okay jokes aside, from what I have been able to gather, the developers would have to build the system from scratch and it would be a major undertaking for them. So that’s why you can’t dye armour. It’s a shame cause they could do what the Elder Scrolls Online does and incorporate Dyes into the achievement system. That way endgame players can have yet another way to show off their prowess, not just the fancy armour.

Questing was not as tedious as I expected

The variety of quest types in both Dragonflight and The War Within made questing feel less tedious. I cannot stand endless streams of kill quests. It’s nice to be able to relax and pick some flowers, talk to NPCs or do Skyriding Races to break up to monotony of killing NPCs. The world events for renown are also a quick and fun way to earn rewards and break up the questing journey.

Even questing in Legion Remix wasn’t been too bad. I mean who hasn’t wanted to be the quest giver? Best quest ever!

There’s no rush to get Addons

I’ve been playing for over two and a half months and I still haven’t gotten any addons. As I was levelling my first character, I didn’t have a need for them. The Base Game UI had everything and more than I expected it to and it’s completely customisable.

I’m a bit hesitant to go crazy with addons. I don’t want to end up in the same situation I’m in with the Elder Scrolls Online where I don’t know what half of the addons I have do. I’m going to be very picky about what addons I do end up using. There’s also been some changes with addons recently in Midnight pre patch. So perhaps it’s not such a bad thing I haven’t rushed to get any.

Flying Mounts are Amazing

Now I understand why I see people ask for flying Mounts in every MMO I’ve ever played. It really is amazing flying around and taking in all the beautiful scenery, especially in the newer zones. The movement feels good but it took me longer than it should have to get a hang of it. And the flying Mount races are so much fun. My favourite regions to fly around are the Broken Isles and of course the Dragon Isles.

Housing is off to a Good Start

Yes, WoW’s take on Housing is pretty damn good. As someone who has played housing content extensively in other MMO’s such as Star Wars The Old Republic, Wildstar and Elder Scrolls Online, I believe WoW’s Housing system is a good foundation that can be built on and improved. You can tell the developers took inspiration from other MMO’s incorporating some of their best features while adding a unique WoW twist.

The neighbourhood system is an intriguing concept, we’ll get a better sense of how it works once the Endeavours system is added with Midnight pre patch. I like having a plot to decorate and that I can move my house wherever I want on the plot (even in the air). But I do wish plots were a little bigger (especially the Horde ones). I also like that I can customise the interior and exterior of my houses including walls, floors etc. I hope they continue to add more customisation options.

It is missing a couple of tools such as being able to group different decor items together and an undo button (for when you move your bookshelf slightly, but then decide you liked it better where it was). They could also benefit from removing restrictions on placing furniture outdoors. I’m aware lighting restrictions are being removed at some point, but there are quite a few other decor items that can only be placed indoors. I would really like to be able to display my Horde Dueling Flag out the front of my house (hehe)!

Another frustration, especially as a newer player is decor cost. Not just gold cost but also unique resource cost as well. The prices would be reasonable for one off purchases, but in housing you often want multiples of the same item. So they need to take that into consideration with pricing. Decor earned from achievements, in particular, should not have a large cost for buying additional copies.

Regardless, it’s been heartening to see the developers be responsive to player feedback. I look forward to seeing what the developers do with housing and hope they continue to respond to player feedback.

World of Warcraft has been a fun ride so far. It has captivated me in a way I did not expect and has quickly become my main MMO. I’m excited to continue exploring and experiencing the game.