Massively^™

Well in WoW you can only be killed in newbie zones if you attack first... And anyone willing to attack something with the level of "skull" is willing to die.

The worst thing about WoW newbie zones is there are so many newbies at any one time that you get 20 people standing on top of each other re-doing their UI, and then you get 20 more people running around camping the same lazy peons or whatever... It just gets crowded.

I loved the LotRO newbie instance, gives you time to set up the UI and take things slowly learning combat while getting you stoked about playing the game for the lore instead of just the levels.

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The new player zone in Dungeons and Dragons Online is excellent. The game has movement controls quite above and beyond typical MMO's so it's important to get a hold on those quickly. It also has a nice trap detection and disabling tutorial.

The super extra bonus is the instant teleport to Stormreach if you don't want to do it. :]

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I just thought I'd add:

Back in the day of Asheron's Call 1 on the PvP server, you would make a character and pop out in the real world, then instantly get killed. You would then have your money taken and if you were smart, get inside the tutorial area in your PvP grace period. In here you may be killed a couple times, but by the time you popped out you would be level 5, and then it was your turn to do the killing.

If you had patience it was a really fun time, but often you would see people loose it over general chat. I'm very surprised this game is still around! 8 years!

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WoW's starting area is actually one of the most intuitive. It's one of the reasons so many non MMO players liked it. Was quick and easy to start playing without even reading a manual. I would say newbie zone ganking is pretty rare.

EQ2's tutorial zone is slow and actually gives too much information too soon. People want to play a game not sit around and read.

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I think the best part about WoW newbie zones is all the things you hate about it.

First off, I like that there isn't a tutorial. I like how you aren't thrown into a faux-immersive handholding experience, but you just start playing the game with the addition of a few tips. It feels more natural to learn the game without a tutorial-feeling experience. WoW is definitely intuitive enough that every newbie I've known to start playing has quickly grasped the basics even without a tutorial.

In addition, I think instancing in the newbie areas is one of the worst ideas (and I think EQ2 agreed when they removed the tutorial boat and put helpful NPC's on the island.) People play MMOs to play with others, and a newbie's play experience is entirely dependent on the first 10 minutes in the game. Looking back at my fond memories of starting MMO's, it all had to do with the interaction with other people, not the time I spent alone soloing. A massively multiplayer world should feel dynamic and populated from the first moment you step into it - that's where the magic of MMOs comes from and that's why people play them instead of single player RPGs.

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