I wrote off MMO's a while ago because they are too much of a time-sink for me and the fact that they never end used to appeal to me but it no longer does. It does sound like something I would have liked in the past though. It's great you have a pal helping you get started.
One thing that stuck out to me was the sheer number of names that you have on your screen in those populated areas. Can you switch that on and off?
This is exactly the reason why I haven't played MMOs until now. You have to spend your whole day on this game. I think I'm just going to play a couple hours a day and see if I have fun.
I'm not sure about that, but I hope it's being turned off because I don't want to see so many names every time I go into the game.
are you new to MMO's? I was there when they first started to exist and I am not trying to tell you to stop because you can do whatever you want in life.... but for me, i "chewed up" several years of my life on MMO's and at the end I really regretted it. Again, I am not trying to take away from your response or what you do in your spare time, it's just worth thinking about. :)
Like I said, I know how much time a day I have to spend on this game, so it's fine. I play games for fun and I don't have excessive ambitions.
that's probably a really healthy way to approach stuff. happy gaming!