With the couple expansions that have come out, WoW is an expensive game to get started on. That said, it's easily the best game to try if you're new to the MMO genre. However, the game starts at 80. Until you're 80, you're only real concern should be to get to 80.
With those in mind, the best advice I can give is as follows:
The trial is pretty much a waste unless you've never played an MMO before. If you get the 20 levels the trial allows and find some enjoyment in the game, purchase the standalone game and go from there. If you hit the level cap and want to go on, get the next expansion. Continue as the logic suggests.
Buy single month subscriptions (or time cards) until you know you're going to play for a while. The multi month subscriptions will save you money but you'll waste even more if you stop after a month.
Find a group of friends that you can play with. As said, the game begins at 80. It can be fun to level, but without some sort of company, it can get a bit mind numbing. That said, use a leveling guide. There are certain level ranges (late 40s, mid 50s) where it will feel like there is no where to go, nothing to do. The use of a leveling guide will avoid those moments entirely and get you to 80 much faster then you would alone. Example: My first char: Took some 14 days to level to 60. The char I'm on now: 1-80 in 7.25 days. Granted, the first char was my first and I took leveling far less seriously, but there is lots of time to be saved. I have a fuckton of these guides, PM me if you want one.
Finally, control yourself. WoW can be addicting in a sense because there's so much to do, especially in the new expansion, that if you constantly set goals for yourself, like I did, you end up playing way too much, like I did, and then you ought to quit playing, like I did. I came back to the game because a handful of my friends play it and it's very fun to play with friends.
GC_PaNzerFIN wrote:
(PSS. This was partly joke, so no need to come guns blazing WoW fanatics. Go watch the South Park WoW Special and you understand)
Perhaps I misunderstand what you're saying, but that episode is as satirical as everything else South Park does. If all you know of the game is that episode and fanatical stories you've heard, that's the reason you try to make this silly point.
