Others say...

"Terrific for new players"
This is a great collection for someone brand new to the game. The Atlas is exactly that, it is a map book... the detailed maps of the various towns were very helpful for finding specific characters that you need to interact with,but there really are no specifics on the world maps. The Master Strategy Guide is extremely general, it gives a general overview of how to approach the game, but NO specifics. The book has a nice breakdown of what classes work best so that you can pick one that matches your style. What is MOST helpful (to me) is a list of almost all of the quests available, organized by location. There are hundreds of quests available in the game, it is really nice to be able to reference them, and see what the rewards are (for people with short memories, checking them off as you go). The last book is the BEST in my opinion, the Dungeon Companion is an awesome guide for instances (dungeons). There are decent maps, and a good breakdown of what type of enemies you'll encounter, and how to handle them. The smartest part of the Dungeon Companion is that it lists each quest that is related to the Dungeon. This is great for new players otherwise you'll get a quest, go through the entire instance, then find out that there is another quest you need to complete so you have to go through the whole dungeon again. Instead, using the Dungeon Companion, you figure out which quests you need, sign up for them all ahead of time, and you are ready to go!
Experienced players will get almost no use out of the atlas and Master Guide, and very little use out of the Dungeon Companion, and yes, most of the information found in these books is available online, but for someone BRAND new to WoW like myself, i found these books to be invaluable, and getting all three for a discounted price was an awesome deal.
Please note, this set was created before the Burning Crusades expansion, so there are NO details on the stuff that was added for that. If you are going to jump into WoW headfirst like i did... get this set, get the Burning Crusades expansion, and get the Burning Crusades Strategy guide. By the time you get wow,BC,the strategy pack, and the BC Strategy guide, you will be into it for over $100, but you will have a very strong understanding of the game, and you will avoid a lot of 'newb' errors.

"Essential"
I doubt it's possible for a new player to be competitive without these guides or their web-based equivalent. Since you're reading this on Amazon, it seems likely that you have a computer but want a book. These will do the job. Statistics, strategy, tactics, and a complete inventory of everything that can be inventoried: it's all here. Without reading these guides I would have been clueless about the subtle balance of abilities and equipment that make up a good fighter or a good team. The section on etiquette is an especially nice touch: Warcraft is not just for keyboard bullies.

The writing style is friendly but businesslike and the authors never lose sight of the ultimate goal: to have fun. One star off for cheesy proofreading and type so small (especially the glossary) that it almost requires a magnifying glass to read.

For all but the most casual player, this is a no-brainer. Buy it or get hammered by the guys that did.

"Atlas is junk, the other two books are worth it"
Order this if it's cheaper than getting the strategy guide and the dungeon companion separately. The Atlas is a waste, but the other two books will help out. The strategy guide is an excellent bathroom read. The dungeon companion is great when you need to head straight for the bosses in any of the instances.

"Strategy collection is WOW literally!"
This collection for me was basicly a buy 2 get 1 free deal. I was a little steptical that they would be complete guides by looking at how many total pages they said there were under the strategy collection description. However, rest assured they are complete individual guides matching the total pages for the individual guides themselves if they were sold separately. The Atlas is paperback but that is the only real difference with 3 bookmarks included. I use these guides constantly and they are easy to read and very informative. Highly recommended! I just ordered the WOW Burning Crusade Brady Guide and cannot wait to get it! They truely are WOW!

"Great Deal. Useful information. "
I've found this 3 pack of guides to be very helpful and informitive. Very useful in my play of WoW. You get all 3 for just a bit more than you'd buy any one individually so it's a great deal.

I already had a copy of the Master Guide but picked up this 3 pack for the deal on the atlas and the Dungeon companion. Both are good investments.

Many people complain that the Atlas is just blown up maps you can get by playing but it HELPS if you've never been to a place before and keeps you from having to search the wilds for hours on end. It also has the helpful functions of telling you who's where for much of your vendor needs. I've referenced it many times.

The Dungeon companion doesn't give you step by step walkthoughs of the dungeons but you don't really need those. Nor do you really need an explination of "Bring a tank, a caster a healer and a rogue" You pretty much know that stuff by the time you GET to Dungeons. Thing is you very rarely have that "Ideal" Group for them and the guide lets you know more or less what you're getting into when you go in, and helps you be ready for the tactics of the bad guys. Scarlet Monestary for example. When you go into the last chapel it tells you to make sure you clear both sides of the room, the middle and the little alcoves off to the side, because when you challenge the last bosses, ____anyone____ You haven't killed in there, will dog pile you. Normally an add or two can be expected but that room has upwards of 50 to 60 mobs there that is a bit much for anyone to fight at that level.

The small things like that, that make a HUGE difference is where this guide shines. Also the tables of the bosses in each dungeon and who drops what and with what frequency is AWESOME. It keeps you from searching and reading though the (( longer and more detailed)) walk thoughs on line and you can even take this one with you into the bathroom on breaks! lol

The master guide is........ not so much a GUIDE. As much as it's the INSTRUCTION BOOK that you kinda need to know the game. The one that comes in the box is woefully simple and only hits on alot of the main points. That's where the Master Guide makes it's points. It gives you the general details that are left out of the instruction book. It tells you how to play and how to avoid some newbie mistakes. Granted "EXPERIENCED" Wow players will take away less from this guide than the new player, but it still has useful things in there. But the thing is.. if you've been playing WOW for over 6 months.... you have probably learned things that guides are going to tell you... so.... don't expect TOO much out of them.


All in all this 3 pack is great stuff. Very useful and easy to access. I'd highly recomend them to anyone who seriously plays Wow. Just to have for easy reference. With one expanion out and another one coming, these guides will be more and more for "beginners" but then, there's a Burning Crusade guide out for that expansion and I'm sure they'll put out one for Wrath of the Litch King.