New player, should I wait until DF to continue my sub

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WoW has always interested me but I have never bit the bullet until just recently due to just being a highschooler with no money . I started looking into WoW and saw a lot of negativity about the current state of the game with Shadowlands and previously BFA. With the announcement of Dragonflight and watching even more videos discussing the future of the game, I bought a one month sub and have leveled to 52 and hit a wall. I don’t know what to do. I’m definitely a more casual player in terms of skill and time available to play but my interest in the game is high. I am quite unfamiliar with mmo’s in general and struggle with soicializing and being overwhelmed easily due to autism. I just don’t know if it will be worth my time or money to stick it out to try to learn more or if waiting until DF will be better due to it being a new expansion. I’m sure most of my issues may come from my timing with deciding to join. I am also sure that many others have felt the same way and gotten past it. I was barely alive when the game came out and most players I’ve come across seem to have been playing for years. Considering the only other “mmo” I’ve played seriously is the Destiny franchise since it came out it’s weird to feel like the “odd one out” is just starting. Especially when WoW is much more complex compared to Destiny. I also had friends who played Destiny since day 1 alongside me whereas I don’t know anybody personally who plays WoW. Many videos I have watched have said that WoW requires less sociability than it historically has but it is still something i struggle with. Especially when I am much less experienced and skilled than those around me.

Even though I have been overwhelmed I have still found the overall experience pretty good. The world is interesting and fun to explore and that is what captivated me to try the game in the first place. I want to experience this game without feeling hindered but I just do not know if it is worth trying right now.

[quote=“Cyous-area-52, post:7, topic:1277456”]
What did you like about Destiny? Do you want to try something new? Which activities do you like the most in Destiny? There’s going to be an analog in WoW.
[/quote] definitely the dungeons are my favorite and so far I’ve enjoyed the few I’ve done in wow.

TLDR: Should I as a new player wait until dragonflight to start playing seriously?

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I think you should wait until S4 before really going at it. Definitely play slow and hit 60 before then, but don’t stress over it.

When you hit 60, try some of the endgame zones for a bit, do some old raids (like Icecrown Citadel) to experience some of the older content.

And if you’re still having fun, just chill out until 10.0 pre-patch later this year. It’ll be a while from now, but play at your own pace. :slight_smile:

The most important part of the end of the expansion is to not burn yourself out before the new expansion is released. New Game/Expansion releases are the most fun time to play a game, no matter how terrible that game might be in a month. This is especially true for MMOs.

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I’d wait personally, unless you’re really itching to play wow.

S3 is about to end, and S4 really doesn’t offer much.

if you just plan to play casually then “casual” gameplay definitely isn’t the best its ever been in shadowlands, not to mention the story being very polarizing.

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I was sort of in the same boat (not a new player, but being at 0 completion on SL before this patch).

There’s so much to do to occupy yourself currently. Things of interest have already been covered, but I have been slowly chewing through each covenant and getting some keys done so I can attempt to see some fated raids.

There was actually way more than I thought to work on.

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Ordinarily I’d say wait, but since you’ve already started I think now is a good time to just familiarise yourself with the game - some things will change in DF but the core of WoW will pretty much be the same.

Atleast that way come DF release you can experience all the new stuff with everyone else and have somewhat of an idea of what you’re supposed to be doing!

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As far as social issues (and accessibility issues, as in, being accepted to groups) are concerned, yes, starting with a new expansion would be a better experience. In general, the earlier you jump into WoW content, the better, because if you fall behind the curve, it’s harder to get into certain types of content, and the earlier you play, the more social it will be, since everyone is learning new things at the same time. Anytime you show up late, there’s some level of “you should already know this” from veteran players that you’re going to run into, and that can be frustrating.

That said, plenty of players aren’t interested in the higher levels of content where this kind of thing is actually a concern, so it kind of depends on what you’re looking to do if you need to worry about diving into the game ASAP on a new release or not.

Also, this applies to new content patches to a lesser degree as well - expansions are just the bigger examples of that. Shadowlands isn’t getting a new content patch, but it has a new season starting in… a couple weeks or something? I honestly haven’t looked at the stickied posts about it because I’m not interested in Season 4, but it’s the last “big” thing happening to Shadowlands. If you don’t want to wait for Dragonflight to give the game a proper chance, playing now (to prepare as much as possible for the new season) would be your best bet.

But again, yes, the best experience will be at the start of an expansion.

Please note that if you put interactions with other players aside and focus solely on the gameplay, there’s no real reason to wait for Dragonflight. Public opinion of the last couple expansions has been poor, but it’s important to remember that this is largely a community of jaded veterans who have been playing for, you know, years. Plenty over a decade. Almost 2 for some people. Those people are never going to get the joy out of the game that they did when they first started, so it’s easier for them to pick apart small details that they didn’t care about in 2009 or whatever.

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One thing I see a lot of players on Classic server harp on about Retail is the shear number of “chores” to do in-game. For the most part, you can play retail with no social interaction, and virtually no need to group up. So, chores might exist, but you do them at your pace.

The issues I see a lot of players make is that they feel like they have to do everything. I don’t think it’s fair to yourself if you think you must absolutely do something.

What did you like about Destiny? Do you want to try something new? Which activities do you like the most in Destiny? There’s going to be an analog in WoW.

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Oh I also forgot to mention that WoWhead has a ton of guides for current and old content. Area unlocks, the secret quests, and how to obtain anything in this game.

As a new player that’s already a mountain of content to occupy yourself with. And don’t be afraid to start using party finder at 60, you never know who is doing what or who might want to run that BFA mythic raid with you.

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Ive heard some other people talk about wowhead, ill have to check it out. Thanks!

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Dungeons definitely require a bit of knowledge. I’d recommend slamming normals and heroics (once you hit 60).

I will strongly recommend running dungeons with a group of players that wouldn’t mind showing you the ropes for Mythic+. I think there are a few discords and communities that will help newer players.

You absolutely will experience some “go go go” playstyles. But for the most part, if you let players know that you’re new to the game and you don’t know what to do, they will be helpful.

Much like League of Legends reputation for a toxic playerbase, there’s going to be some bad eggs in Mythic+. But you’re not really pushing levels where you’ll come across them. The social experience is dungeons is literally:

  • “Hello”
  • “Hey”
  • “When do you want Bloodlust/Heroism?”
  • “First boss”
  • “Okay”
  • And then no one talks for the dungeon.
  • Dungeon complete
  • “gg – leaves party”
  • “gg – leaves party”

I could give some general dungeon tips, but I’ll just let you play your way. The most important thing about WoW is enjoying your time. If you don’t enjoy your time, it’s okay to move on. :slight_smile:

Also, WoW is hyper optimized. You can find information about everything. In general, you can trust sites like:

  • wowhead
  • icy-veins
  • raidbots
  • warcraftlogs
  • discords: (“secret finding”, the “class discords”)
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