Yep it's official, even a die hard DAoC addict like me has gotten hooked on WoW!
The experience system is mainly exploration and quest orientated, and the quests are clear, well designed and above all fun.. the ability to share quests with friends is also a nice touch.
This almost totally removes the dull xp grind. (I even tried to slow down leveling so others could catch up... its surprisingly hard to not level
)
The user interface is well designed and logical, I havent even bothered to look at the manual tbh, everything seems to be exactly where you would expect it, and if you find yourself thinking "wouldn't it be good if...." then press a few buttons and the chances are it's there somewhere
The screen is almost totally uncluttered by vision obscuring boxes and yet manages to display everything you want including a map.. the ability to see other party members on the map is particularly usefull.
The crafting system is much more involving than DAoC, as resources need to be gathered, recipe's learned etc which certainly makes it less dull than the repetative key pressing of DAoC. Personally I kind of miss the oportunity to just sit and chat or read a book while crafting but I think most people will see it as an improvement.
The general feel of the game is much more arcade style than DAoC which takes a little getting used to, and I have yet to see how this style lends itself to PvP. My gut instinct is that WoW PvP will lack the dynamic, reaction intensive edge of DAoC.. which depending on your prefered playstyle could be seen as a possitive or a negative.. to me its a negative but I'll live with it
On the whole its a really, really good game.. it's no replacement for DAoC imo, as the two games are vastly different in style (would be like comparing Total War to CAC.. same genre, totally different approach) but its well worth taking a look at
<edit> oh yes, lag.. almost non existant, even in the huge, graphicly detailed, highly populated cities there is almost no perceivable lag... its impressive!