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Our Ratings:
Price Guide: Zygor Alliance Guide – $40 |
I play a lot of World of Warcraft.
I don’t mean a lot like two or three hours a night. I mean a lot like I’ve lost two girlfriends, a few buddies, and almost lost a job because of this game!
I just can’t get enough of it, despite the fact that I have 7 level 85 toons right now and I just rolled another one the other day.
You see I’ve been playing since the game first came out, so I’ve seen a TON of stuff. I’ve gone through each expansion pack extremely thoroughly, I’ve seen a bunch of guilds come and go, and I’ve seen a lot of guides.
Let me tell you something- most World of Warcraft leveling guides suck. They’re written by guys who kind of know what they’re talking about, but not really. Or if the guy is pretty knowledgeable, he definitely doesn’t show it in his guide!
When newer players ask me if there’s a certain guide I use or recommend, I usually point them to Zygor Guide. I put together this little review to point my buddies towards so I don’t have to explain why I like this guide all the time to them. Instead I just point em here.
What is Zygor Guide?
Zygor Guide is a collection of guides that have been around for a few years. They’re all rolled into one package, and they’re put together by a pretty big team. When you check out the website and see how massive this thing is, you’ll realize why it’s a big team and not just one or two guys.
Now I told you that this is a collection of guides, but there’s a bit more to it than that. These aren’t guides that you print out or have saved onto your computer for reference. While you can do that I suppose, most players tend to use them a bit differently.
Zygor Guide comes packaged in a small piece of software that integrates with World of Warcraft. What this means is that as you’re playing the game, you can pull up the guide in-game and it can do a number of things for you.
For example, Zygor Guide can give you a waypoint arrow telling you where to go for your next quest. It can also give you leveling guides based on the zone you’re in or your level, what talents are the best ones for your class, and a bunch of other stuff.
Zygor Guide Demonstration Video
In fact, here’s a short list of some of the features:
Features of Zygor Guide
- Waypoint arrow telling you where to go in-game
- Leveling guides for both Horde and Alliance for all zones
- Loremaster guide telling you exactly how to get the coveted Loremaster title
- Syncs with Recruit-a-Friend, pre-leveled characters, and a few other systems
- Updated to include Cataclysm and patch 4.2
- Free updates
- Dailies and events guide so you know what’s going on that day
- Professions guides (including archaeology and inscription)
- How to use guild leveling perks in Cataclysm
- Death Knight class guide
- Auction guide
- Food and drink stats guide
So yeah- this is a ton of stuff. To be honest, you probably won’t end up using all of it unless you’re a complete addict like me.
Now I will be honest with you and say that there are other guides out there that have some similar features. Zygor Guide is not the only World of Warcraft add-on on the market, and each year new ones are developed and put out there for public use (for a fee of course).
All of the World of Warcraft leveling guides have different interfaces, so you may find that you like another one better than this Zygor’s. I just know that after trying several of them, Zygor Guide’s interface and functionality is my favorite. Zygor also has a few features and guides that other products don’t have out yet.
Here’s a comparison of some of the things that I like about Zygor Guide compared to the things I don’t like
Pros of Zygor Guide
- Pretty easy to install and get up and running (for either Macs or PCs- yes I have both!)
- Having everything in-game is just wicked. I hate having to alt-tab to check stuff out, so this saves me a bit of time
- Waypoint arrow is nice so I don’t have to find things my coordinates or just the map
- Being able to choose which area’s leveling guide I want with a few mouse clicks is cool
- Several different viewing modes is nice during certain fights or when you’re looking for something
- Loremaster Achievement guide is REALLY useful- if you aren’t using a guide, it can take you months to figure all of this stuff out (this was one of the main reasons I purchased Zygor Guide in the first place)
- Updates are free and come pretty quickly- the Death Knight and new professions guides were out a bit faster than I expected
- NO GRINDING IS REQUIRED (or even recommended)
- Definitely puts you on the fast track to reaching level 85 (even if you’ve been playing for a while, you may be surprised at some stuff Zygor recommends)
- First class support
Now I won’t tell you that this is the perfect guide- here are a few cons to Zygor
Cons of Zygor Guide
- At certain points you have to fight monsters that are higher level than you. Some classes/players can manage this easily, others may struggle with it
- You have to install it, a bit harder than just saving it to your computer or checking it on a browser (that said- it isn’t very hard at all)
- Some quests may not update automatically when you fly or hearth someplace, but if you click on the quest then it will get updated
- Zygor Guide is either about getting the Loremaster achievement or leveling up wicked fast. This means it will skip some quests, which is good and bad in a way.
So there you have it. Maybe that was helpful for you to see, or maybe nobody is reading this because I’m a gamer, not a writer. Hopefully it was somewhat useful for somebody!
Looking at these pros and cons, some of my friends ask if Zygor Guide is for everyone. So…
Is Zygor Guide for Everyone?
To be honest, I think just about everyone can benefit from them. Some people will definitely use more parts and guides than others, but I personally think the time saved is worth the cash.
Here’s an example from my own experience, just to illustrate what I mean.
Let’s say that you try to get the Loremaster achievement without a good guide. You might be able to find something for free online, but I doubt it (I’ve looked- guys don’t share the best stuff for free!)
So without a Loremaster guide, let’s say it takes you 30 days of playing 6 hours a day- that’s 180 hours.
That’s a lot of time spent, right? That’s time that you could be using to level other toons, spend on raids, or even have a social life outside of World of Warcraft (if you’re into that kind of thing).
Now let’s say that you have a few bucks and invest in something to help (like Zygor Guide). This might cut down the time you spend getting the Loremaster achievement in half, saving you 90 hours of play time.
Since the total package of Zygor Guide is between $40 to $60, you’re spending $40 to $60 to save 90 hours of play time (and your life).
Sound like a good deal? (If you say no I’m gonna punch you)
Of course it is- and there are tons of excellent leveling features included for the $60 (or $40 if you are only getting either Zygor Alliance or Zygor Guide).
The bottom line is- get Zygor Guide. It’ll save you hours of frustration, help you reach level 85 faster, get you the Loremaster achievement, and make your toon filthy rich in the auction house.
Zygor Guide is currently giving bonuses worth over $100 for every purchase of their very popular guide. Some of the bonuses included are free lifetime updates, guild leveling guide, profession guide and many more.
Click here to read more about Zygor Guide
