In the battleground matches I've played lately, it seems that somehow the number of people complaining and whining has decreased, even though our faction seems to be losing just as much as before. Instead, the Alliance players I fight with seem almost depressed, as if every match is a torture to them -- they don't shower blame on other people, but instead say things like, "I have a dream that one day we might win a BG," or "Golly, this is horrible, I hate Alliance PvP." They have their heart set on a particular PvP reward, and as soon as they have enough honor or marks, they will heartily abandon their fellow teammates to the sad task of losing to the Horde day in and day out.
It's true that losing isn't fun, and whatever the reasons our side seems to be losing all the time seem quite outside of our control. That's hard no matter which faction you're in. But there is a thing we've all heard about growing up called "good sportsmanship." When we play competitive games with each other, the idea is that we're supposed to enjoy the actual playing of the game more than the winning or the losing. Indeed, as with anything in life, if you get too attached to the outcome of a particular endeavor, you are less likely to do well than one who plays for the love of the game itself.

I've been thinking about this lately because I myself don't want to log on to WoW only to feel like the game is like banging my head against the wall. It has helped a great deal to realize that whatever rewards we get are more like milestones along the path, not really an end in themselves. After all, if I play, it should be because I truly enjoy playing, not because I absolutely must posses some item that will be out of date in a few months no matter what I do. This realization has enabled me to pace myself, so that I don't allow long losing streaks to carry on for hours and ruin a good part of my day. If I'm losing a lot, I can stop and do other things, then come back to it another time with an entirely fresh set of allies and opponents -- and more importantly, a fresh desire to do my best and improve my skills. WoW is supposed to be fun; but if it isn't fun for you anymore -- whatever the reason -- then it's time to either change your approach or do something else.

Tags: battleground, bg, complaining, losing, pvp, whining

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, PvP