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What is better?

WoW vs. EVE

2K views 10 replies 10 participants last post by  realitycheque 
#1 · (Edited)
Which is better?

A google search of why WoW is better than EVE brings up about to pages of "EVE>WOW" or "Why EVE is better than WoW" and no arguements for why WoW is better than EVE. So, I want a WoW fan who has played EVE to give me a reasonable argument for why WoW is better. Yes, an arguement. Not just shouting out "WOW/EVE IS BETTER". AN ARGUEMENT. Otherwise i'll just play EVE.
 
#2 ·
Depends on what style of game that you're after.

Strictly speaking, EVE is by and large a PVP based game. There's no way around it. If you're at war with another group, and your ship gets destroyed, its destroyed for good. All of the invested upgrades, implants and other goodies just goes poof. And some people just don't like that.

WoW offers a little bit of everything. While the PVE aspect is usually the one focused on, it has its smattering of PvP to whatever else have you in it.

I personally prefer WoW because its a more casual game, but EVE does have its perks, and I do like to fly giant metal monstrosities.
 
#4 · (Edited)
If I had to guess which game you'd like better - I'd say WoW. With 11 million subscribers and counting, this is not a wild guess.

First of all, let me start by saying this: There's a reason your Google search went the way it did - and that's because no one has any need to argue why WoW is better than (place MMO name here). It is a hugely fun game, and I have met many people who I couldn't even imagine sitting in front of a computer, let alone a computer game, who play wow. I even convinced an old girlfriend of mine to start playing - and she loved it.

WoW lets you assume the persona of a hero in a fantasy world, dominated by magic, good and evil, and two warring Factions. You directly control your character in the third person, level him up, collect items etc. If your hero is slain, your spirit appears in a graveyard, and you must retrieve your body, with a slight penalty which only lasts a short while.

EVE, on the other hand, gives you control of a spaceship, and places you in a galaxy in the far future. You level up as well, though training skills takes less than an hour at first, play for a few days and you will soon see that it can take actual weeks (as in, real-life weeks) to learn a new skill. PvP is completely unforgiving -you die, you're dead. You lose stuff - permanently. The economy is huge, the amount of items staggering.

Both are very different games. Both have their advantages and disadvantages. But they do have something in common - both are MMO's. This means that both are online traps. They can consume huge amounts of your time, without you ever getting bored. You will find yourself making excuses for to play it!

I played WoW on and off for about 4 years, racking up huge amounts of play time. Do not take all the controversy about WoW being addictive and destroying lives etc lightly. It happens, and it can happen to you. And the worst part? You won't even know it. And when you do, you won't admit it to yourself.

WoW is very addictive. It is designed to keep you coming back, to always give you something to do - and reward you for it. If I were to recommend a game to you, I wouldn't recommend an MMO, period. Surely there are other games out there that have sparked your interest. I don't mean to tell you how to live your life, but if you find yourself with huge amounts of time to burn, don't turn to MMO's.

As it stands, the decision is entirely up to you. Both games have a free trial period. Why not try them both out for yourself?

edit: Lord of the Rings Online is a fantastic MMO - casual, fun game with a mature, friendly player base, but the real plus is that it won't hook you like WoW will (A good thing!) . I highly recommend it.
 
#7 · (Edited)
I really would not recommend playing either..

World of Warcraft and its contemporaries are built like some kind of pavlovian experiment. You do something, you get a treat (generally watching a completely pointless number go up or getting a piece of garishly coloured clothing for your fantasy persona), you keep doing that thing, you get more similar treats. It's built on the most primitive investment/reward system. There is very little storyline (in fact, since blizzard can never decide on theme there's little in the way of consistent setting) and no sense of persistent consequences. The game eats time and gives you numbers in return in the most cynical way possible, all wrapped up in a vaguely pleasing but not visually stunning exterior. Even the multiplayer bit doesn't redeem it, as most of your contemporaries will be ritalin-popping ten year olds frantically mashing buttons and quitting groups mid-instance.

EVE is at least radically different, it just isn't necessarily the good sort of difference. EVE doesn't have a learning curve, it has a learning wall which you jump at frantically for a while. Admittedly, once you scale that wall it becomes quite fun.. the open endedness actually gives it a value which other MMOs lack and there are real consequences to your actions in game, skillfully avoiding the naggingly unpleasant feeling of having 15 players queued up to recieve the same quest where they're all 'the chosen one' or whatever bollocks. You can also play it casually, in fact it encourages casual play. I went down the trading route myself, and generally only logged on an hour or two each day to do a couple of back and forth trade runs because market saturation meant that any more time would have been pretty unprofitable. The problem is that it's still, essentially, a timewasting simulation. You do the same activities over and over again to earn fictional money (like you need a second job) and the second you break the cycle and try maybe venturing out of the noob-safe zones to make the monotony more interesting you get instantly blown out of the sky because other players have spent more time on the game than you. Worse, this kind of trying to make the game interesting cost you money (in blown up ships) which you have to make back by doing the same boring tasks again.

If you're desperate to play an MMO, my advice would be to wait for Star Wars: The Old Republic, the developers of which have kind of promised to buck the trend. Whether they'll deliver is another matter, but I still (naively perhaps) trust Bioware to make fun games.. Blizzard doesn't make fun games, they make addictive games, and while I still have great respect for CCP and their overcomplicated economy simulator, it's just not what I find fun.
 
#10 ·
I haven't played EVE, so I will refrain from offering any oppinions on which is preferable. I might be able to shed a little light as regards the plusses and minuses of Warcraft though.

World of Warcraft and its contemporaries are built like some kind of pavlovian experiment.
Firstly, the above statement is true. the questing experience has improved tenfold as of Wednesday however. I have been levelling in the current beta for the next expansion. There will always be an element of "you can help strengthen the mighty horde and serve our warchief by collecting zhevra hooves, thanks!" but the quest lines and story element is now far more engaging and I would suggest that as a narrative gaming experience is now has a lot to offer.

One massive negative aspect of Warcraft (I havent played any other MMO's so I don't want to tar all player bases with the same brush) is the juvenile, selfish 'e-peen' attatiude of many of its players. I combat this by making sure I am very particular when it comes to finding a guild. Which brings me to my next point:

The people you game with will have a very, very large impact on your enjoyment of the content. If you're gaming with a great bunch of guys and girls you will have fun. I play PvE almost exclusively and greatly enjoy the teamwork/problem solving aspect of end game raiding. The 'physical' rewards (gear, weapons and the likes) shouldn't be the reason to raid. To quote many a guild recruitment thread, the best attitude is "loot to progress, don't progress to loot".

If you're looking for an immersive and highly social gaming experience that will give you many hours of fun, and possibly enable you to meet some great people (I met the Mrs while questing in Nagrand) then WoW might be for you. But I would ask that you bear in mind that I have no real experience with other MMO's. (I am however eagerly awaiting SWTOR, me and many guildies are looking forward to playing together)
 
#8 ·
TGM nailed it.

I have played both. WoW for roughly two years, EVE for a little more then a month. I think I can say I enjoyed EVE a lot more, but there just wasn't the social aspect that WoW has. If I had all my friends from WoW playing EVE, I'd never touch WoW again.

But in the end, they are both total time wasters in this short thing we have called life. I'm hoping that my 7 month break from this deployment will get the damn MMO monkey off my back for good.
 
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