World of Warcraft at Ten Ton Hammer

By: Thurston Hillman - January 23, 2006

The above is meant to pose a question; do the players need the incredible graphics that World of Warcraft provides, or should there just be an “off” switch to all the special effects, spells, and abilities that the game offers?

To answer this plaguing question, I did a bit of research and looked into the base requirements for World of Warcraft. The requirements (minimum according to Blizzard’s website: http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/faq/technology.html) puzzle me quite as an avid fan of the game… When I first got into WoW, I was using a laptop computer that had a 32 MB graphics card and 256 MB of RAM (both of which are “minimum” requirements for WoW). At this time, I was playing in the Beta and not fully immersed in the huge raiding content and endgame content of WoW, and more into finding groups to kill that damned gnoll Hogger!

When retail hit I was forced to upgrade as I began raiding endgame for WoW. Laying siege to Lag-Forge and raiding the domains of demi-gods is not something for the feint of RAM let me tell you. I’m explaining my experiences with system requirements past and present to illustrate the different “needs” of WoW players for the graphical side of things. Soloing rarely takes any large usage of system resources, while raiding with large groups can slow even the sturdiest computer down to a halt, and players need to plan accordingly depending on their play styles.

There are two schools of thoughts on the “graphical intensity” of WoW. The first, are those players who adore the graphics and wouldn’t disable them in any way, even if it meant more lag during raids and general gaming, or if it means lagging out on crucial heals. Usually, the players who appreciate the graphics in this respect are people who were attracted to WoW because of the “shiny” aspect and it is something that has stuck with them for a long time (remember your first gryphon ride?). These people are normally the more “casual” gamer, and don’t mind the occasional death at the cost the all around in-game atmosphere.

The second thought in regards to the graphics, are those who simply don’t care about all the flashy effects. A large portion of these gamers do appreciate the graphics, but they aren’t playing because of them; instead they are playing for the chance to kill an enemy leader, or get that awesome epic item at any costs. This kind of player would turn off spell animations if it were an ingame option, to maximize raid performance. These players are also the first to berate someone for the well known “Oh no, I lagged out!” message when something goes wrong.

Of course, the above two “schools of thought” are really broad in terms of what they cover, and I’ve just given only two examples of why people must have the graphics and others are not so keen on them. With WoW however, the debate to have or not to have the graphics is really a moot one as the only “control” players have are the base options presented in the Video Options of the game; the most affecting of these being the distance option.

For some, the graphics are the big “pull” into WoW, and I know personally that it was something that really got my attention when I was looking into the MMORPG market (aside from being a Blizzard Kiddie that is…). A lot of players who have played WoW for more then four months or so, really don’t consider the graphics much and mainly go through the game as intended; without soaking in all the impressive surroundings that the game has to offer.

Recently, during a raid on Stormwind and Ironforge with my guild, I was shocked to find that there were members who had yet to see the Stormwind/Ironforge Deeprun Tram. It was truly a spectacle as about four players in my guild got their first experience with the ‘Tram, and were once again impressive by some of the graphical awe of WoW. Another example of where the ingame graphics really “shine” can be found at the end of Molten Core, as Majordomo Executus summons Ragnaros. This little in-game cutscene is an impressive display, and for guilds who have yet to summon the “big guy”, this really sets a tone for the importance of the battle. Simply having Ragnaros “pop” and have none of the effects would only diminish the encounter.

So next time your fighting in Molten Core; soloing outdoors, or raiding Orgrimmar/Ironforge in full force, ask yourself if the graphics are detracting or adding to the experience. Also be sure to look up and check if any griffons are over head, because imagine the view that the riders have!