(No, I don't think we should make Arctic like WoW.)

So... a while back I got a new computer, and since some of my friends at work were playing WoW, I gave it a try, too. I tried most of the classes, leveled them up, "twinked" a few (which means I got the best gear for the level I could get). Got to be fairly good at the game (though I was never in one of the big reading guilds, I managed to do a fair bit of PvP there, and the PvE was really easy). In the end, though, WoW just didn't do it for me. Arctic is a much, much better game IMO.

A few things that I like about Arctic (and some of these I didn't fully appreciate until after playing WoW):
1. you can't easily obtain information about every single aspect of the game

2. you can communicate with everyone on the mud (though some people you don't really want to talk to)

3. you can loot other players' corpses when they die (the "twink" aspect of WoW is what turned me off to it, I think... because once you have your gear on WoW, you will never lose it unless you throw it away, while on Arctic it might be hard to kill a geared character, but on death they can be stripped of their stuff)

4. WoW is 99% about the gear you get... and since you can never lose it, this becomes boring once you have maxxed yourself out. In Arctic, gear certainly makes a difference, but game knowledge and skill ultimately win.

5. pk can happen pretty much anywhere, and isn't limited by factions... if someone irritates you, you can try to take them out

There are a few things I did like, and think Arctic might benefit from, too, though I don't ever want to see Arctic become WoW-like! Some things that would be nice, though, are:

1. knowing how to get to (not how to lead or what loads in) the majority of zones in the game

I remember before I got used to Arctic, when I was trying to find a mid level zone to exp in, and I carefully read all the maps and room descriptions... and died losing all my stuff in... the opening rooms of Silvanesti (cringe). After that I was reluctant to explore at all, because it was a major risk for a solo character. Later I got over it and learned how to survive, but if I knew basic directions to appropriate solo or small group zones up to the mid 20's, it would have sped up my leveling in my days as a complete newbie.

2. easily being able to find out item stats... in WoW too much information is given (you can know exactly the damage range of an item, and any special abilities it has, just by looking at it)...

I think the details they make available on WoW is too much information, but it would be nice if we had an easy way to compare the item's power to something in inventory even without loring it.

3. the battleground and arena area in WoW, where you can go in for pvp, and you know that is what everyone is there for... there is an objective, and there is no danger from a loss... I think this is a good way to learn how to do some basic pvp, which is different from the clan warfare-style battles we see on Arctic

I was half-asleep last night, tossing and turning, and thinking something like this might be interesting:
An arena-type setting that you get into via a pledge (like the training area near Tarsis). Within this arena, anyone, including trash characters, are allowed. Anything you gain from pk while inside this area is yours (so players come here on a geared character at their own risk). Somewhere within the arena, though, at certain times, there would be a (or more?) mobs that are hard but not impossible to solo on a high level, poorly geared character with some skill... and these mobs have a so-so chance on death of dropping something that might be worth the risk or time to a neutral (I mean, not like the mage book for fireball, but something a little higher... or perhaps a decent, but not elite, weapon, etc.).

It's just an idea, but I know it's something I might like to try. It wouldn't affect the normal clan warfare that goes on, and it probably lead to a number of the mid-range and newbie players becoming better at pvp. Normally I don't like the trash character idea for pvp, but in an arena setting it might be okay.

Just some thoughts... and please, if you're going to flame me, don't flame about WoW or Arctic staff support... I have never had anything but good experiences with both games. The other thing I should mention is that there are certainly aspects of Arctic that I'm not aware of, so please let me know if something I posted here is a bad idea. I've never been involved in Arctic clan warfare, and I haven't seen most of the truly high level stuff in the game.

I'm trying to get my co-workers to switch over to Arctic... They may be too into the graphic-based game and the characters there to make the switch... but I'm trying. :D
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