Don't call it a comeback
by Matthew Rossi 
Jan 6th 2008 at 2:30PM
Nihilum, everyone's favorite (okay, some people's favorite) guild, would like us all to know that they plan to come back and world first the Sunwell Plateau the way they did Illidan. Apparently since putting Hyjal and the Black Temple on farm they've, well, been farming them and PvPing and taking more or less a 'holiday' away from the game, which makes sense, insofar as they don't really have any new content to see. Sure, Zul'Aman, but when you've already beaten Illidan going back to the ten mans is kind of anti-climactic. So they've basically been done with WoW. But they haven't actually stopped playing, so it's not a comeback, they've been here for years.Yes, I made an LL Cool J reference. I went there.
They've also redesigned their site if you intend to make use of it to keep track of their progress: I have some old friends back on Norgannon I know will be watching them intently. For those of you who won't, well, it's still a very pretty site design, and you can always watch this Babe Ruth like 'calling' of their eventual success and discover with us all if it's genius or hubris.
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Guilds, News items, Instances, Raiding
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Elmo Jan 6th 2008 2:33PM
What a surprise...
Rich Jan 6th 2008 2:39PM
*yawn*
We all know they'll hit the PTR, learn all they can and practice. Then inside of 7-10 days they will have beaten the boss and get world first again...
Hellsbellboy Jan 6th 2008 3:08PM
yeah it's pretty nice that they can go to the PTR and practice, which won't cost them anything but time.. learn the encounters, then go to their real server and down the bosses and get credit for it.. at a much lower cost to themselves.. ie money, potions etc.
TotalBiscuit Jan 6th 2008 3:10PM
Yeah, it's BS, no-one else can do that, it's the NTR, Nihilum Test Realm after all! Oh wait yeah... it isn't.
Ozymandias Jan 6th 2008 3:29PM
Wonderful. Nihilum clears Sunwell Plateau in 2 days after live server release. Waves epeen. Same as usual. It's sort of the same feeling as getting decimated by a group of 70s hitting up a newbie zone; makes them feel good about themselves and makes everyone else kind of jealous and at the same time uninspired, like there's no reason to try and progress now.
These are the kind of things that really hurt casual guilds that are having trouble progressing through early 25 mans, speaking as a member of one. Say what you will about Naxx, but what really shone about it was that no one was able to come close to mastering it for almost a year- it was something of a raider's promised land, untouched and full of better loot than anyone could imagine.
I remember even seeing people in Tier 2 was pretty rare and a sign of accomplishment, like they were a step above everyone else in the AH. That doesn't happen any more. Once someone gets an easy kara set, they stop raiding, because they don't care to do more of the same old crap that everyone else has already steamrolled on the way to BT.
This whole mentality combined with the fact that any person with half a brain can farm up a full S1 pvp epic set about equivalent to your average kara gear is really killing casual guilds.
Not much to do about it, sadly.
Ozymandias Jan 6th 2008 3:43PM
Another fun thing hardcore endgame guilds do for us is they never cultivate their own raiders when they're lacking in a class. Instead, they pick them out of less-progressed guilds.
What this has led to in my server is a staggering lack of cohesion among endgame guilds. People will often leave them as soon as they get epicced out, and go to the next best guild. Not nearly enough people are patient enough to stick with whoever got them where they are, and instead end up either in the top couple of guilds in BT or they server transfer because they've burned all their bridges and now the entire realm hates them.
Iliya Jan 6th 2008 3:13PM
Seriously, who gives a rat's tail about these gold-buying wankers?
Thijz Jan 6th 2008 3:24PM
True, these guys are really overrated. It's not like they're some really good rockband that is going to release a long-awaited album or something. C'mon, off all of use WoW-players these guys have the least of a social-life and that makes them icons or something?
Matthew Rossi Jan 6th 2008 4:54PM
In my experience, a lot of raiding guilds (the one I was in included) use Nihilum, Death and Taxes, Curse and other guilds as barometers of encounters, especially as Blizzard first implements and then tweaks them. They also watch those guilds kill videos to get an idea about the fight.
Not every guild *can* go onto the PTR and do what Nihilum does. And being world first is an achievement in game... it doesn't cure cancer or save the world, but it is notable.
So I guess my answer to "Who cares" is "some folks."
tripp Jan 6th 2008 3:06PM
Is blasting through the game and getting 'world firsts' really a big deal? Why don't these guild sit back and enjoy the content if they love the game at all?
Hellsbellboy Jan 6th 2008 3:08PM
because if they 'sat back' and enjoyed the content of the game.. we wouldn't be talking about them now.. By getting all these world first, they garner public attention. And people on wowinsider then write about them. 8-P
TotalBiscuit Jan 6th 2008 3:09PM
Because for some people, that is what's fun.
I'm one of those people, if I'm not doing difficult and new content, I'm bored out of my skull. Hence the reason I'm not subscribed right now, raiding doesn't fit into my lifestyle at this point in time.
Not everyone can simply sit back and take things at a leisurely pace. I for one get very impatient when that happens, there's nothing worse than seeing a guild slack, and missing out on things they could be doing, just because their members are too lazy or simply don't care enough to bother with it.
nobbie Jan 6th 2008 3:36PM
"Who is that guy over there?"
"Psst .. he has just beaten Kil'jaeden .."
"Yes, he is a Nihilist .."
(quote Jeff Bridges a.k.a. The Dude)
Medros Jan 6th 2008 4:07PM
I am not sure this is a good thing, and I am overjoyed that Blizzard seems intent on making guilds like Nihilium wait for a full clear, as some bosses will be based on rep, which they can't get in the frst night.
-Medros
http://www.allthingsazeroth.com/
TotalBiscuit Jan 6th 2008 4:48PM
The hilarious thing about Nihilum is the huge numbers of people who will proclaim in loud voices that they don't care about Nihilum everytime they're mentioned on a site such as this, often getting as offensive as possible in the process, failing to see just how hypocritical that actually is.
Rich Jan 6th 2008 5:35PM
Not all of us are raving fanboi's like you TB.
TotalBiscuit Jan 6th 2008 5:42PM
I love idiot detractors like this that believe I'm some kind of fanboi, when I've publically come out and said that Nihilum have done some incredibly questionable shit in the past, as well as given two very balanced and unbiased interviews on the subject. I'm surprised anyone could accuse me of being a fanboi to anyone or anything and keep a straight face, your version of reality is truly interesting.. and utterly fictional.
It's like you would rather ignore facts in favor of self-righteous nerd-rage. NO, NOBODY EVER DOES THIS IN THE WOW COMMUNITY!
Here's some food for thought. Anyone who plays WoW, and criticizes other players for doing better at it, is a fucking hypocrite. I can't believe some of you have the nerve to come out and scream no-lifers, when you yourself play the very same game, and if you set your mind to it, could also be achieving regularly in the raid-game. Wasting time in WoW is even worse than dedicating time to something specific. You're still a worthless basement virgin in the eyes of the world for even going within 10 miles of a copy of the game and it's about time you quit criticizing raiding guilds and other players that achieve more than you do and whining incessantly about the lack of support for the mythical and undefinable 'casual' player who wants his content force-fed to him on a silver-spoon without him having to go out and get it himself.
Vomit-worthy, truly vomit-worthy.
Sky_Paladin Jan 6th 2008 6:00PM
I can't help but notice we said almost the same thing at the same time >.>;;
TotalBiscuit Jan 6th 2008 6:25PM
Great minds. Not even that, just common sense, and we don't feel the need to pull people down in order to justify our own self worth. Constructively criticize, by all means, that helps the community, but don't stoop so low as to call people nerds and claim superiority in your inferiority. This is a game for nerds, rejoice in being one and unite with your fellow nerds, because you are one, whether you think you are or not.
matt Jan 7th 2008 12:23PM
This from a podcaster who attacked other wow podcasters because some blog rated them above him. Yeah you have lots of room to talk