When WoW becomes work
by Matthew Rossi 
Apr 29th 2008 at 4:04PM
Okay, well, not that part. But lately I'm noticing that I've developed a very workmanlike attitude towards WoW. Punch in (that is to say, log on) an hour before raid time, get my consumables lined up, talk to the other tanks about strategy, help to herd the raid group to the instance, help summon folks who didn't get there under their own power because they logged on five minutes before raid time, tank the raid, get myself back to Shat, get my banking straightened out, run a few dailies, punch out (that is to say, log out). Maybe I'll log on some alts for PvP or level grinding, and maybe I won't.
Frankly, this is a terrible way to play a game. So I've resolved that I shall not do so anymore. What am I doing to make my play time less like middle management?
Well, for starters, I'm stepping back from den mothering people. This is a game, not a social outing for preschoolers, and it's not my job to hold anyone's hand and get them to the raid on time. (Unless I'm actually supposed to be doing that, but thankfully I usually don't have the raid leader job, just tanking.) There's a line between being conscientious and being an enabler, and I don't need to cross it. Luckily, my guild is sort of insane, and so between guild chat and the irascible but hilarious guild leadership I've been able to just sit back, laugh my head off at what they say between pulls, and decompress from my self-appointed cat herding.
Secondly, I'm actually going out and having fun, even if it means I don't do all my dailies. I've gone back on my 'no PuG' stance a bit, grouping up with random people with no expectations at all. The reactions you'll get when you drop in on a group of level 67's in quest greens and offer to tank the Ring of Blood for them can be downright priceless. You can even DW tank it if you get bored. And it can be hilarious to go into the battlegrounds in full tanking gear and confuse the heck out of people. No, I'm not going to kill anyone anytime soon, but man, concussion blow can really ruin someone's day, and while my crit rate is low in that setup, a 1500 point shield slam to the face is never fun for anyone. Except me. It's hilarious for me. I don't even care if I die if I get to see that happen. And hey, we know who's tanking Drek! It's the dude who has zero killing blows with the shield on! Finally, some clarity comes to Alterac Valley.
I also had fun discovering that yes, you can get a rogue to level 12 in a day. Even if, like me, you are painfully awful at playing a rogue. I made it harder by not sending myself bags or gold, which meant a lot of crisp basilisk urethra would have gone unlooted had I managed to kill anything more impressive than an angry pig. In my defense, she was very, very angry.
Essentially, it wasn't the game at fault, it wasn't even raiding, it was my attitude that needed adjusting. No one's forcing me (or anyone else) to run dailies and raid exclusively. Now, granted, some of this comes from a feeling of responsibility... I want to help my guildmates and be the best tank I can be so that the other 24 people on the raid don't get shafted... but I have to temper that desire to excel with a sense of fun and a willingness to do more than stick the blinders on and whack the same mobs in the groin over and over again. This isn't my job (well, okay, it's sort of my job, I mean, I get paid to write about it but still) so I shouldn't treat it like one.
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, WoW Social Conventions, Virtual selves, Odds and ends
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
Badger Apr 29th 2008 4:19PM
Matt: This is a great read. It's easy for leveling and playing in WOW to become a total chore, so these are some good insights you've offered to help others avoid that 'burdened' feeling.
"[I]t can be hilarious to go into the battlegrounds in full tanking gear and confuse the heck out of people. No, I'm not going to kill anyone anytime soon, but man, concussion blow can really ruin someone's day, and while my crit rate is low in that setup, a 1500 point shield slam to the face is never fun for anyone. Except me. It's hilarious for me."
Best passage out of the whole dang article. Hahaha.
On a totally unrelated note: What's with the random bold letter 'W' in the middle of the article?
Griselle Apr 29th 2008 4:37PM
I believe it was meant to signify the "post jump" commencement of the article.
Great perspective assessment, Matt. A lot of us need a little help keeping the obsessive perfectionist at arms length.
All your crisp basilisk urethra are belong to us!
Matthew Rossi Apr 29th 2008 4:45PM
Oops. I'll fix that now.
Badger Apr 29th 2008 4:55PM
Thanks for the clarification, Griselle (delightful sig line, by the way), and thanks for applying the 'hotfix' to your article, Matt. ^_^
Lars Apr 29th 2008 8:12PM
That was a hilarious quote, especially because I've been playing my protection warrior a lot lately. The thought "what would happen if I jumped into an arena" has crossed my mind a few times.
gareth Apr 30th 2008 9:25AM
This article has win stamped all over it, and I've found the dailies have a problem too, I feel compelled to do all of them everyday. I do resist though sometimes especially when I'm tired, after all enjoying myself and pacing myself out playtime wise is always much better in the long run.
And going protection in BGs has to be experienced, get a freshly dinged Rogue not realising what a Lichen guard shield with a thorium shield spike through it can do :)
I remember an epic 60s rogue battle last time I went to EoS before the cavalry arrived, shield block for the win :D
Tweak Apr 29th 2008 4:48PM
Excellent post. I have been there too, and rather than quit the game, like I have so often, you took a very good approach. You just took a step back, and instead of farming for raids you just enjoyed yourself, but still managed to give 100% to raiding for your guild. More people, including myself, should follow this post. I would prevent people from quiting the game and screwing a guild out of all those epics you got, and most likely a decent player.
Aphext Apr 29th 2008 4:26PM
I used to get burned out on my shaman quite a bit after raiding 4 required days during the week and a couple of pug ZA or Karas on the weekend. What I usually did to break the tedium was respec. I raided resto, so this usually meant I went enhance (kara level gear, 8k health!) or elemental (S2 arena set) into BGs and mixed it up a bit. Anytime you get a break from the norm is a good thing imo =D
Lol @ crisp basilisk urethra
Epoc Apr 30th 2008 3:55PM
my buddy and i will just roll new alts and lvl them together in 2v2 fashion. We'll even duo instances to give ourselves challenges (this usually stops after RFK 1 time we duo'd ZF but that was a pain)
and it makes the game seem less repetitive
Zali Apr 29th 2008 4:27PM
It is easy to get into the job mentality in any aspect of the game, especially if you have a "team" of people who are dedicated to a particular task at a particular time. Other than my grind for epic flight, I have always tried to avoid that. I stay away from hard core raiding guilds, not because I don't wan to see BT, but because I see the price my friends pay for that. More often than not, they trade off pleasure for progress.
Right now I'm playing with daily quest circuts. Whats the fastest way to do 25 dailys? I've been working on that for a few weeks and I'm starting to get a little bit job oriented towards it so this weekend I kicked back and watched all the shows I had on TiVo that I have been missing. I think I'll get in on Kara this week and make a push for badges. Got exactly 100 right now. I think I want to get 150 for the new badge gear.
I can get to have blinders on and very focused on one goal, but once I reach that goal then I kind of flounder around a bit, level some alts, level their trades, etc. Then I pick up on a new goal and I'm off again in full run mode. It helps me keep the game fresh and not too stagnant.
Dan Apr 29th 2008 4:42PM
Something that some friends and I did after our "casual" raiding guild imploded, was to roll toons on the opposite faction and form up our own guild. Seeing as we were no longer in the same guilds with our mains, it gave us a nice place to hang out, away from the whispers of our new guilds (hey can, you heal for MgT? Can you cut this gem for me? etc. etc.) and just let us play together and do some meaningless fun stuff-- run level appropriate instances together and the like while leveling, that sort of thing.
ameretto Apr 29th 2008 4:28PM
/cheers for your stand on ending the babysitting of raiders
I've continually been torn between whether to make the switch from gathering professions to production but I fear once I do everyone will harass me for the random enchants, pots/elixs, or gems. I think raid preparation should be a consideration during your solo daily runs rather than the five minutes before invites and summons go out, but thats just the asian in me :P
JPN Apr 29th 2008 4:29PM
Level 12 in a day? More like level 15.
Matthew Rossi Apr 29th 2008 4:49PM
I really, really stink on ice at playing a rogue. I mean, really.
Worcester Apr 29th 2008 5:45PM
The nice thing about playing a Rogue, no one ever asks you for a run-through or a PuG.
In fact, nobody really asks you for anything!
Except for a lockpick :P
censorman Apr 29th 2008 4:32PM
Buy GTA 4. It's got this feature called fun, crazy concept. In addition to killing opponents to get better gear to kill more challenging opponents, it has this thing called a story, the option to avoid 12 year olds, balanced pvp....
Badger Apr 29th 2008 4:34PM
[ Insert 'LOL Jack Thompson' joke here. ]
Brandon Tilley Apr 29th 2008 4:54PM
Ahahaha!! Win!
Matthew Rossi Apr 29th 2008 5:53PM
Honestly, if I need another game I play City of Villains. It's really fun.
tripdream Apr 29th 2008 4:33PM
I've been in that situation several times myself, wondering how things went from playtime to worktime and not notice it along the way. The best way I have found to rid myself of all that pressure is to roll a new character and start all over again. The best thing about that is that you can go back to how it all began when you rolled your first character and just *relax* because there is no more pressure on you to tank or to do this or do that. Hell, don't even join a guild on your new toon, just solo as much as you can and group when you need to. Oh, and don't tell anyone you know what you are doing. You can't get any peace and quiet (and much needed rest) if you're constantly getting spammed on your alt about getting ready for the raid. Good luck!