"World of Warcraft" is different from regular online role-playing games.
Players quickly notice its special aspects, starting with the game's maps and quests.
Instead of precisely marking a specific point on the map,
it feels like being in a real world, giving players a general area to search.
This makes the quests a bit more challenging, but the areas aren't too large.
Also, the game developers made sure the non-player characters (NPCs) related to the quests have clear signs above their heads, so you can always find them.
Well, except for those who easily get lost.
Besides that, Ben was confused because, despite doing many quests, he hasn't received a main quest yet.
In most online role-playing games, there are usually main quests and side quests.
Side quests help players get stronger and understand the game's different features.
But in "World of Warcraft," Ben hasn't gotten any so-called main quests.
However, Ben doesn't find it boring at all.
He's been busy with quests non-stop.
There are many quests in the game.
Some are simple tasks from ordinary people, while others reveal parts of the game's story.
This is actually a small change Lucas made to "World of Warcraft."
He used the "attraction anchor" concept from "The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild" to design the terrain and quests in "World of Warcraft."
Since it's a virtual reality version, Lucas couldn't perfectly recreate every tree, grass, and rock from the original "World of Warcraft." He mainly focused on recreating the terrain, except for some iconic places.
For example, he wouldn't turn Elwynn Forest into an ocean.
Besides the terrain, there are the quests.
"World of Warcraft" doesn't have strict main quests.
It only has side quests.
Lucas slightly changed some of the less important quests.
Basically, he created a chain of quests that guide players to new locations early on, preventing them from getting lost.
Players receive a quest at Northshire Abbey, which gradually leads them to Goldshire.
But instead of directly saying the NPC is in Goldshire,
the game uses visual cues and quest design to attract players.
Like in "Bloodborne" and "Dark Souls," why are items designed with bright white lights?
That's the basic attraction anchor concept.
In "World of Warcraft," landmarks like Goldshire, Northshire Abbey, and Stormwind have different styles across Azeroth.
This makes them good attraction anchors.
Plus, the yellow exclamation marks above NPCs make them hard to ignore.
Especially for players who are perfectionists, how can they sleep at night if they don't talk to an NPC with a yellow exclamation mark?
Ben isn't a perfectionist, but he's still curious.
So, Ben kept doing quests and couldn't stop.
It felt like playing a single-player game.
The stories behind the quests fit the game's world.
Each story feels like it's teaching players about Azeroth's culture and people.
The small group that planned to meet quickly is now scattered.
Each starting area has a lot to offer.
Also, everyone is just starting out and doesn't know the fastest way to reach others.
So, they've decided to play on their own for now.
Playing alone is actually quite efficient.
Ben discussed it with the others, and they decided to play separately for now and meet up later when they understand the game better.
As for dungeons, they don't even know where the entrances are.
"But leveling up is so hard!"
Ben said in their group chat.
The area around Northshire Abbey was fine, but after getting the first quest about the Defias Brotherhood, Ben felt it was difficult.
The monsters he encountered were mostly red, and they would attack if you got too close.
Luckily, there were many people in the starting area because the game just launched.
But even so, some lone players who wandered into the more remote areas accidentally attracted two or three monsters and died, becoming skeletons in Elwynn Forest.
Compared to the original "World of Warcraft," Lucas used the earliest version's visual settings, where players who die turn into skeletons that don't disappear (in non-residential areas). Theoretically, if players die enough times in the wilderness, they could create paths paved with skeletons, and players could even tell the race of the deceased by their bones.
Also, undead characters are skeletons, but they aren't too scary since it's an online role-playing game.
As Ben spoke, the others seemed to agree.
The other players started chiming in.
"Yeah! Leveling is so hard, skills are expensive, repairing equipment is expensive, and I can't even afford potions," complained Zack in the chat.
"I die if I pull two monsters," agreed Joey, who was still in Shadowglen.
"Don't even get me started, paladins barely do any damage! Luckily Zack is with me," Hannah complained. She wasn't just complaining about the paladin class but also her dwarf.
She didn't expect her female dwarf to look so bad in the game, even though she looked okay in the promotional videos.
"Is it? Leveling as a mage is pretty easy, but I'm a bit fragile. I just learned to make bread, so I drink water when I'm out of mana and eat bread when I'm low on health. You guys should ask the mages for bread and water; it'll make things much easier," said Wells, the only mage in the group.
Ben and the other three fell silent.
The small group chat was quiet.
"Shut up!" the four of them said in unison.
After saying that, they all left the chat without waiting for Wells' reply.
Is leveling as a mage really that easy? Why is everyone else's game experience so different?
Ben wondered as he traveled.
The only downside is that Ben feels this game is too real.
The realism isn't just in Azeroth's culture and the game's combat system.
It's also in his experience as a great warrior of Azeroth.
Repairing equipment is too expensive.
Learning skills is too expensive.
Buying supplies is too expensive.
He almost sold all his equipment to learn skills.
And when leveling up, he can only fight one monster at a time.
Otherwise, he's likely to die.
When he's low on health, he has to slowly recover.
Every time he spends money, it feels like he's being cut.
But overall, Ben is very satisfied, and he likes the warrior class.
Compared to the original, Lucas's virtual reality version of "World of Warcraft" gives warriors a significant boost.
The impact of each attack feels real, making it addictive.
And as the class that can best enjoy this pure impact and has three different stances, he can tolerate the hardship a little more.
"Forget it, let's finish this quest first," Ben said with a sigh.
After completing the "Milly's Harvest" quest, Ben prepared to do the "Garrick Padfoot's Bounty" quest he had previously accepted.
But when he followed the map and arrived at the quest location at Northshire Vineyards, he was stunned.
(End of this chapter)
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