World of Warcraft Master Guide, Second Edition (World of Warcraft) Reviews

• BradyGames needs a proofreader!

  
  By A2XTVVL2NRXER4 on 2006-11-03
  There's lots of great info in BradyGames' new (up to date as of Summer, 2006) guide to Blizzard Entertainment's phenomenal game, World of Warcraft. Unfortunately, the bevy of crammed-in hints hardly makes up for the permeating, abysmal spelling and grammar mistakes. On average, there's at least one major spelling or grammar error on every page (most seem to occur in bunches). *Any* proofreader, human or computer, would've caught these distractions; frankly, they're embarrassing and lessen the guide's credibility. BradyGames obviously paid more for game hints and skimped on the actual English writing and editing skills, ostensibly trying to rush publication before the game changed too much--Blizzard plans a major expansion to WoW in early 2007.
  The mistakes make for an almost unreadable book, and I use the term "book" in the sense of "bound printed matter" only. This is a disappointment for anyone with a background that includes reading (i.e., anyone who can read this review).
  If you're a hardcore WoW addict, there's not much new here. If you're a n00b (newbie), you'll learn a lot. And if you're an English teacher, I'd recommend making this a semester-long extra credit assignment in proofreading.
  Lastly, watch your fingertips--the ink can smear and come off like a fresh copy of the New York Times, potentially making this infotome not just difficult to read, but truly illegible.
  
  

• 3 stars because I was feeling generous.

  
  By A10FBJXMQPI0LL on 2006-11-26
  It's actually more like a 2.25 or a 2.5. . .
  
  There are some absolute basics missing from a book touted as the "Master Guide". Not only are there no indicators on the maps for vendors, quest givers or Gryphon masters, but there's not even a stinking INDEX!! So you're looking for a city a town or a keep and you go to the book. . . Guess what? You're S.O. L. buddy, unless you want to look through EVERY ONE of the maps individually.
  
  Add to that the missing portions of the maps, poor spelling, horible grammar and mediocre layout and you just don't have something worth twenty-five bills. Very disappointed. . . Contemplating creating my own guide.
  
  On the up-side, they did get the guys that write Penny-Arcade to add some of their cartoons.
  
  

• Eyestrain.

  
  By A5V1GQESOAMR5 on 2006-10-29
  They tried to get as much into this book as possible, but reducing to font to microscopic was not the way to go. And they are still missing some of the maps. No city maps at all. Deadwind Pass is missing. And the maps are still the same as in the game, can't they make them better?
  I wanted to find vendors, repair, banks, mailboxes and the auction houses not just in the cities, but anywhere. The area maps do list specific locations and specific characters which is very helpful for questing. They could have a more detailed map of the flight paths, as the tiny simplestic map doesn't have anything labeled as to locations. A beginner would be lost. It does have some good information about professions. And for character development the book is well done. Detailed charts of combat and healing abilities. And a lot of info for beginners. It also has a lot of quest info, if you can stand to read the tiny print.
  
  I recommend this book, but you will need reading glasses or a magnifying glass.
  
  
  
  

• No longer worth

  
  By A3HSA576G4RX7H on 2006-12-07
  I notice a number of mistakes in the book in just a few minutes of reading it and some information that was missing (found it all on fan websites). The quest section is almost a complete waste of space, giving only a quest title, general location, quest levels, which NPC starts and end the quest, prerequisite quests, max xp, gold and item rewards. Not to mention the font was so small, it's hard to read with poor lighting. There's nothing to help complete quests you might be stuck on (again found this on fan websites). The one part that I found useful: talent trees and skills gained by level are no longer accurate due to the patch released on Dec 5th. Wait until the expansion comes out and try the next book they will release.
  
  

• Content is enormous, print is miniscule

  
  By A3UT75Z4PPGTS2 on 2007-01-14
  There is a vast quantity of information in this book. Unfortunately it was printed on very thin stock paper in tiny, tiny print. Perhaps the target audience of teen males won't care, but for post-30 users it may be rather difficult to use. Also, much of the information is freely available on the web, although not so well organized and designed. Is a static book better than a dynamic Wiki? Is better organization preferred to a searchable database? Is attractive layout and design better than the input of users? In the end I never use this book, although it is well made, and can't recommend it.
  
  
• Sent back
  By AAPW3EO9FHBIX on 2006-10-31
  I had high hopes for this book, but it was just disappointing. The only thing I got out of this was that you could fish chests, and I'm new. I'd try and find a different book, and make a test account for the first 5 levels. I learned more that way then trough the book.
  
  
• Excellent Information, Low Quality Book
  By A1UULEB5AU810P on 2007-03-09
  This book is brimming with information and is very useful, especially for newer players. Features such as maps of most areas, with mobs, their locations, and levels, are a great help. There are also listings of the abilities of each class, which is useful for those who need to know when they will be able to learn the next rank of a spell. Finally, the section detailing the most efficient order of quests for each newbie area is quite handy.
  
  However, the book itself is not very well designed. It does not take long before pages start falling out of the binding, and the ink has a tendency to smudge. While the information in the book deserved a higher rating than 3 stars, the lack of durability was frustrating to me.
  
  
• Must Have
  By A2WNKKC0Q7R18W on 2006-10-17
  just picked mine up yesterday. Very detailed with all game maps, armor, weapons etc. Great! must have
  
  
• WoW Strategy Guide - 2nd Ed
  By A27Y2FWT44TP9V on 2006-11-09
  This is a must-have upgrade to the First Edition Strategy Guide. They have done a great job organizing the book For instance - the zones are all listed in alphabetical order, rather than geographically as in the first edition. Obviously there is more content in the world of Azeroth since the first edition was printed.
  
  The book is easy to read and is a helpful guide for those who wish to use it.
  
  
• -2 to durability
  By A1B04MB06UYQFI on 2007-04-09
  This tome is mediocre at best. The ink smears and the binding does not hold together making a very frustrated me. The information in the book is a little to scattered for my liking. Perhaps the contents would be useful for n00bs but I doubt it...perhaps more info on macros. I do like the tab style index. It has its ups and downs all in all not that bad. With that said don't waste your money check out a few sites for this information...free of charge.
  
  
• Good for a beginner
  By A38SOS8RXTG9KR on 2007-05-09
  While most of the chapters in this book can be learned by a weeks worth of play, and experience, it's nice to have a companion to read when you can't be in front of the computer.
  
  To me, this saved me a lot of time, although in many cases, it was too late in my opinion to correct my mistakes. There is a lengthy character guide that helps you choose your race and class - I wish I had this from the beginning... I would have chosen a character very differently. In the future when I make a second, I'll know what to do.
  
  The quest table is extensive, however it doesn't explain what is needed for the quest. It only tells you who gives it to you, the level, the place, and who you need to end your quest with.
  
  The maps could be better, but with a guide this size, and a game this large, it would be difficult to fit everything you need into one guide. And there is an Atlas companion that is brilliant.
  
  Basically, this is meant to be a guide... not a walk through, just the simple facts you might want to know before you begin, or while working through the first ten levels. It's worthless to an experienced player.
  
  
• Useful for the beginner
  By A26RY8ZNCIN0C7 on 2007-01-12
  I bought this guide to see what I was missing after I had been playing for a year and a half. I think that it has an extremely useful overview of each of the classes, albeit somewhat biased from the writers. They describe each class and their respective roles. I liked the background on the different races and on some of the areas, but I did find it lacking in how it organized the items and displayed their stats. I would have really enjoyed a guide for each of the professions and showing where you could buy each purchaseable plan/pattern/recipe and then the mats for each. I think that if I were to have received this as a beginner it would have been VERY helpful, but now as a more veteran player, I found that it was lacking in a few areas. Informative, but not really teaching me anything that I didn't know.
  
  
  
• World of Warcraft Master Guide, Second Edition
  By A2HC9APGC25J54 on 2007-03-22
  For a first time player it was a great.Gives details of the different class and races,and tips for game play.
  
  
• Is there a proofreader in the house?
  By ASXFS0RL5F2TE on 2007-01-11
  Since I found the first edition useful, I even registered for Bradygames website, which has additional information you can download to supplement the book.
  
  Now I'm not going to knock the information presented in the book, of which there is quite a bit, and it is helpful at that. However, it was a letdown coming from the First Edition. I guess my expectations was higher considering what could have been expanded upon from book 1 (larger maps with more detailed notes, quest locations shown, better organization, more detail on in game items).
  
  For the novice to mid level player, definitely can be used, as it provides a wealth of information at your fingertips.
  
  
• good for beginners only
  By A27V4BXFZGXGVA on 2007-02-07
  This book is good for a beginner, unless you want to see a map of a city.
  It sucks if you: want to see a map of a city (which were included in the first edition), want something that was proofread, want something to read that doesn't require a magnifying glass.
  
  My copy has many pages that have streaks on them making reading some portions difficult.
  
  This book is a let down.
  
  
• wow guide is useful, but not always !
  By A2D74R1HWTXXU3 on 2007-05-07
  This guide is handy when you play WOW, and has some good hints and walkthroughs, but there are some minor issues that makes online guide sites more preferable. Like its small fonts, lack of maps, lack of quest updates, and it is hard sometimes to find what you are looking for due to its big size and inconvenient search index. Finally, I would say online guide sites are more handy and gets frequently updated. Up to you really!
  
  
• Disappointed
  By A2XJQ61VSX3XA4 on 2007-05-21
  I was really excited about getting this book, but when I got it I was totally disappointed. Although, a good starter guide about characters, skills, weapons, etc. the title is misleading. The only help I got from it was from the maps; everything else I already knew from playing the game. I use the maps only to look for places I need to go and the rest of the book I don't even bother with. It should not cost so much for such lack of help and it should be shrunk down to the maps because that was all I ever use. I gave it 3 stars because I'm feeling generous and the pretty pictures :)
  
  
• Again, You think you need it, but you don't.
  By A21UWZB9SV05RB on 2007-11-10
  A seemingly good idea in concept, an unbelievably bad idea in reality.
  These guides suffer from a few issues, that ultimately make them a bad purchase.
  
  (1.) Obviously a printed guide for an online game, won't be up-to-date, but these guides are hopelessly out of date. This fact alone makes these guides a complete and total waste of money. If you really want a guide, buy the .PDF version from Brady's website or ask Amazon to carry the .PDF version. The .PDF version is updated periodically throughout the year.
  
  (2.) Due to the nature of all the games being released at any given time, there are lots of guides to write. Understandably they must be pressed for time. But these guides seem to have be so rushed that there are typos, incorrect information and missing information. Mistakes like these can make the guide unusable at times.
  
  (3.) Any guide will likely be used by newer players. They will need to find information quickly and easily. Whoever setup these guides doe not understand information design or the essential needs of a new player. Even if you skip reason 1 and 2, when you actually use the guide, you will likely be frustrated many times.
  
  [...]
  
  Save your money for other fun stuff, like WoW 60 Day Game Cards which amazon usually offers for a good price.
  
  
• WoW Master Guid Rocks
  By A11GTAHDTTAYGB on 2007-01-11
  It helps me find things without having to explore the whole countryside. Tips on classes and quests and much more. I bought 2, one for me and one for my kids !
  
  
• Very helpful Handbook
  By A3RTMHAP3ONRG8 on 2007-01-30
  Nice book to have when you are an enthusiast in playing World of Warcraft. Excellant in giving help for locating NPC's and suggestions for proffesions. Highly recommend it to get through the difficult areas of the game. Maps and different locations are very helpful.
  
  
• Very good information
  By A10N3W3B6GP57Q on 2007-02-19
  If you are just starting out, this book will help explain things that you might not already have read online on some other well informed website.....if you have been playing for a short time, this book still helps.
  
  
• Very Good Book
  By A32SPEVWUXJDD7 on 2007-03-19
  This is a very good book, Has a lot of useful information in it
  
  
• Good "while playing" reference.
  By A19V77MODNVZEI on 2007-05-17
  World of Warcraft Master Guide, Second Edition (World of Warcraft)
  
  Good guide to have handy while playing for on the run refences and "what do I do now" questions. Highly recommend.
  
  
• Wouldn't play without one
  By A978KQ65FX5B9 on 2007-03-21
  The guide books from Brady Games give a great advantage to running around trying to figure stuff out yourself.
  
  
• NO OUTLANDS
  By A1E5YOXDODYMD9 on 2008-03-08
  If you are looking for information or maps on Outlands - this is not the book for you. Burning Crusades was introduced well over a year ago and this book has not even a hint. If you have Master Guide one - stick with it for the lower levels - it at least has decent maps. If you don't have either then look it up on Thottbot - cheaper and more up to date.
  
  
  
• map of thousand needles
  By A1TK6E66P3PBEQ on 2007-01-09
  did anyone find that they were missing there map of thousand needles?if so please check.and i missed new WOW comics they were of same ones in the first book.
  
  
• Master Guide
  By A3RJN6VTI48SH on 2007-01-09
  Not a bad book over all. The font is pretty small and the print smudges a little but the information in it is good.
  
  
• Nice and helpful
  By A2WL7I79FBHHQ7 on 2007-01-10
  I've got first edition of this book, and I think that second is better. You have lots of new information, changes which has been made since first edition. Very nice for every World of Warcraft gamer.
  
  
• Good Information (pre Burning Crusade expansion)
  By A15BYWXMPWXZ50 on 2007-02-13
  Prior to the release of the Burning Crusade this was an excellent source of information. Still good overall for strategies but keep in mind that many of the stats have changed. Still an excellent introduction for those new to WOW.
  
  
• WoW books
  By A3HSAQN23R9NA5 on 2007-02-15
  This book has helped, I wish I would have bought the BC book. That will be next
  
  

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