Reason # 1 Billion as to why I hate WOW -- OK not really.

[dustinzgirl]

So I'm trying to get a world of warcraft package together for my son's 13th birthday, I think he's responsible enough now to play online games like that.

I have to buy the boxed games and mail them to him because I don't want to send him my credit card LOL.

What all should I get from beginning to end? I mean, the basics to the expansions? I tried figuring it out on my own but there is like a gajillion different things and its just to confusing. I want to get him a pretty good starter package around 100-150$ So I can get several different expansions/book guides/ect

Oh, and does anyone know if they make WOW statuettes like they do for AD&D? Chris has a good collection of the AD&D ones so some WOW ones would add to that pretty well.

Thanks my smart darling friends!

[the smiling weirwood]

There's only one expansion for World of Warcraft so far. Honestly game guides are not necessary, the game does a wonderful job of explaining everything. And then there is wowdb.com which tells you everything about everything. You might be thinking of the game cards? They are just another payment plan, you buy a card worth so much money and use the code to get game time. Like a phone card.

[Commonmind]

I beg to differ Smiling; for the average and somewhat acclimated WoW player sites like Thottbot, Wowhead and Wowwiki are fantastic resources. For the beginner, however, the guides can be quite helpful, especially in the case with a younger player who may need things spelled out a bit better and who may find trying to make sense of some of the database sites rather confusing and subsequently frustrating. And while the game does do a fantastic job of getting you accustomed to the basic controls and the way the GUI works and how specific mechanics function, the scope of the guides is well beyond that.

There's a compilation of World of Warcraft that comes with the game and its only expansion, and coincidently includes two easy to follow strategy guides which help develop a base knowledge for the game as well as help beginning players with their starting areas, dungeons, etc. As for the statuettes, there is a company out there that produces figurines based on a player's actual in-game avatar and while somewhat expensive I'm sure he'd get a kick out of seeing himself (in polygonal form) sitting on a shelf somewhere. Here's a link. There are also some official figurines out there as well, though I can't remember which company produced them (DC, possibly) and so I can't help you there.

Just a word of caution however, at 13, 30...even 65, people who get themselves involved in MMO's often lose that sense of responsibility that allows them to regulate how many hours they spend logged in. I don't think it's particularly unhealthy for young kids to play these types of games; especially for shy children who can learn to develop social skills in a different environment from the ones they're usually involved in. However, I was the guild leader of a large raiding guild in WoW and had quite a few kids in the roster and not all of them knew when enough was enough, even the good ones. I would suggest monitoring his playtime and making sure that he's not spending every waking moment questing.

[the smiling weirwood]

Hahah my recent return to the chronics is due to being forcefully cut off. It turned out to be a great blessing. I really did want to raid the Sunwell though, after all that Black Temple farming.

Yes, they don't call it World of Warcrack for nothing.

[Rane Longfox]

Just don't let him go on the forums.

No, seriously.
I wouldn't let anyone near it, anyway. (PS, this is nothing to do with the title of the video, and does contain NSFW (not safe for work) parts where he swears)

[Aes]

The forums aren't any worse than the game itself when it comes to things like that. Be aware that with any online community, be it by online game, forum, or whatever else, this element will be present no matter what precautions are taken.

[Rahl Windsong]

Best deal I have seen out there is the WoW Battlechest set. This set includes the original game DVD, and the Burning Crusade Expansion DVD and codes for both. Plus a Bradey game guide for both and I got it for under $40 Canadian funds at Walmart.

By the way now that the expansion is out there, if you own WoW and like it the expansion is a MUST. It takes the game to a new level of fun, at least it did for me.