Sunday, September 7, 2014

10 Questions to Restore Focus

  It's been hectic on Twitter, between #GamerGate and #NotYourShield. I've put my two cents out there and will continue to do so, but I'm not getting sucked in to the point of forgetting what I'm really here on this blog for: My thoughts and experiences in the World of Warcraft. That includes the aforementioned kerfuffle, of course, but is not limited to it. That said, let's answer some questions:

  1. Why did you start playing Warcraft?
   Both times I started WoW, it was because I was bored at the end of a deployment. After we packed up our equipment, there's nothing to do but sit around watching DVD's and playing video games.

  2. What was the first ever character you rolled?
   In 2006, I played a Tauren Hunter, got power leveled, geared up with friends and spent 20+ hours a week raiding. I ended up hating it after a while and quit before BC came out. In 2010 I played a Dwarf Hunter named Kalven, tamed an orange tiger named Hobs, and took my time leveling, finding my own way into the game again.

  3. Which factors determined your faction choice in game?
   Both times I started playing, I chose faction and server based on where my friends were playing.

  4. What has been your most memorable moment in Warcraft and why?
  Raiding ICC with <Eutopia> on Ally-Durotan. We were way behind the curve, super casual, and only got 11/12 before Cata came out, but it was fun. We raided on 10man twice a week for only a few hours at a time, which was much better than my previous raiding experiences in Vanilla where we raided on 40man 4-5 nights a week for 4-5 hours at a time. I learned quality over quantity from that. I knew all of my teammates by name. Everyone was quick to accept responsibility for mistakes. We treated each other with respect and patience. My favorite night was the night we got Blood Queen down after about an hour of attempts (first night of attempts), then Sindy down on the third attempt. We were casual, but we were good.

  5. What is your favourite aspect of the game and has this always been the case?
  The game changes, and the overwhelming majority of the changes are good. If you had told me in Vanilla that I wouldn't have to worry about pets running away, and that I could have 55 pets (!!!) and that my pets were important to my team and did great DPS on their own, and that I wouldn't have to buy ammo, and that I could use 4 bags instead of 3, and I wouldn't have a dead zone... I'd laugh and call you crazy, then I would dream your words would come true.

  6. Do you have an area in game that you always return to?
  The Dwarf starting zone. Every expansion, I like to roll each class and level it to 15-20 or so, to get a feel for it. It's fun and enlightening. I played the new zones in Cata, of course, and did one character through the Pandaren Isle, which was beautiful, but I can't get tired of Dun Morogh.

  7. How long have you /played and has that been continuous?
  My total /played according to Altoholic is 367 days, and I've taken a few 1 month breaks over the past 4 years.

  8. Admit it: do you read quest text or not?
  Usually, especially the first time through a zone. I like a good story. My favorites for the stories are Dun Morogh, the Horde side of Stonetalon Mountains, both sides of Southern Barrens, Deepholm, and both sides of Twilight Highlands.

  9. Are there any regrets from your time in game?
  It often comes to mind that I regret not killing the Lich King while he was current, even with the buff, but after 4 years, that's not what matters to me anymore. Now I'm on the next step up of wondering if I'll kill Heroic Garrosh before WoD comes out, but that's again not the important part. My real regret that stays with me is that every team I join breaks up at the end of the expansion. <Eutopia> didn't reform after Cata came out. Most of my teammates went to another game. <Ephemera> didn't reform after MoP came out. The guild was still there, but no raiding, no rated battlegrounds. I'm concerned <Egalitarian Misanthropes> won't survive WoD.

  10. What effect has Warcraft had on your life outside gaming?
  I've gotten a better sense of timing, from executing a DPS rotation while managing cooldowns and reacting to fight mechanics. This is a surprisingly applicable skill to working in a restaurant, particularly working on the line.

1. Why did you start playing Warcraft?
2. What was the first ever character you rolled?
3. Which factors determined your faction choice in game?
4. What has been your most memorable moment in Warcraft and why?
5. What is your favourite aspect of the game and has this always been the case?
6. Do you have an area in game that you always return to?
7. How long have you /played and has that been continuous?
8. Admit it: do you read quest text or not?
9. Are there any regrets from your time in game?
10. What effect has Warcraft had on your life outside gaming? - See more at: http://www.alternative-blog.net/#sthash.NPzryKre.dpuf
1. Why did you start playing Warcraft?
2. What was the first ever character you rolled?
3. Which factors determined your faction choice in game?
4. What has been your most memorable moment in Warcraft and why?
5. What is your favourite aspect of the game and has this always been the case?
6. Do you have an area in game that you always return to?
7. How long have you /played and has that been continuous?
8. Admit it: do you read quest text or not?
9. Are there any regrets from your time in game?
10. What effect has Warcraft had on your life outside gaming? - See more at: http://www.alternative-blog.net/#sthash.NPzryKre.dpuf
1. Why did you start playing Warcraft?
2. What was the first ever character you rolled?
3. Which factors determined your faction choice in game?
4. What has been your most memorable moment in Warcraft and why?
5. What is your favourite aspect of the game and has this always been the case?
6. Do you have an area in game that you always return to?
7. How long have you /played and has that been continuous?
8. Admit it: do you read quest text or not?
9. Are there any regrets from your time in game?
10. What effect has Warcraft had on your life outside gaming? - See more at: http://www.alternative-blog.net/#sthash.NPzryKre.dpuf

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Random Ramblings: Learning to Play Druid, 8/14H SoO, #Gamergate and Feminism

  I got my 10th character to level 90, a Druid named Kallonika, and by now it's just a relief that it's over. I hate leveling and the only thing holding me back from my goal of a 90 of each class is just setting aside time to do it. Dungeon diving as a tank is my least hated way to level, so getting my Druid to 90 has been easy enough. The only reason I'm leveling instead of boosting is to save $60.

  That's just it, though. Leveling is easy, but a chore, and I hate doing it. I also reject any argument that it "teaches you the class". Multiple specs for each class, particularly hybrids, makes that argument irrelevant. You can level a Combat Rogue, then switch to Assassination and already be familiar with the basics of managing energy and combo points, but if you level an Enhancement Shaman then switch to Restoration, nothing in your leveling experience will be relevant

  Here's what I think is a better case to be made: Want to learn your class? Do some PvP. Staying alive and getting flags capped or bases captured, peeling healers, killing healers or being a healer will force a player to sink or swim. Do some battlegrounds while leveling or wait and jump off the high dive at 90. It doesn't matter what level you are when you learn to play your class, and it doesn't matter how or where you learn, just so long as you learn.