GamerTrainer offers tutoring for WoW gamers
by Mike Schramm 
Sep 5th 2008 at 2:00PM
Having trouble making your way through Stranglethorn Vale? Can't quite figure out how to farm all that gold for your epic mount? Maybe what you need is a tutor! GamerTrainer is a site that claims to provide tutors for gamers who need a little extra personalized help with their games, and right there on their list, among Halo, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and Call of Duty is our very own World of Warcraft. It'll cost ya, though -- $130 for five hours is as cheap as it comes per hour, going all the way up to $30 for one hour of personalized training. And just because you pay, it doesn't mean you'll actually get help -- "Mister_Llanowar" is apparently standing by to give you some helpful tips, and for all you know, he's just another 13-year-old who's really good at ganking with a 70.As you might have noticed, we're a little skeptical -- there's nothing you couldn't learn from these trainers that you couldn't pick up on, say, sites like the one you're reading right now (we've got you covered on STV and raising all that mount money). Not to mention that the whole point of a game (any game) is to sit down, mess around with it, experiment and explore, and pick it up on your own -- having someone tell you personally what to do and where to go is the exact opposite of fun.
And if you still disagree, hey, call me up. I'll be happy to sit down and play with you on Skype for a measley $30 an hour. I call all disenchants, though, so if you don't need those greens, they're mine!
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Tips, Odds and ends
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Nick S Sep 5th 2008 2:04PM
Hmm... my calendar must be wrong... it doesn't say April 1st.
Elitist Jerks clearly needs to start charging for forum access, if this is the going rate for L2P.
Clbull Sep 5th 2008 3:57PM
To be honest. I can't believe that people would pay this sort of money for gaming tutors. $130 for 5 hours of tutoring seems a bit high.
I agree with you sort of, Elitist Jerks is a good website, especially when it comes to class mechanics.
Paul Sep 5th 2008 2:13PM
I've got magic bottles of cure all, for real. They're on sale now for only $99.99 plus tax, not including shipping and handling. Just send me cash, and I promise to get these out as soon as possible.
Really, people? You need tutoring for WoW? At that price? How about you just click the shiny objects. Now, where's my check.
Rihlsul Sep 5th 2008 2:13PM
Mike, I'd be tempted to pay $30 per hour just to sass you personally. ^.^
Naix Sep 5th 2008 2:14PM
haha
Paying someone to show you how to play a game? How lame is that?
Meira Sep 5th 2008 2:23PM
When you pay more in five hours to learn to play a game than what you actually pay to play the game for 6 months, you know something is wrong...
nbcaffeine Sep 5th 2008 2:26PM
http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2005/08/15/
They seem to have taken the idea and ran with it
Kassius Sep 5th 2008 2:33PM
Oh wow, i really thought this was fake; but haha; wtf
Can't believe they put effort into this idea, without someone along the way saying "wait a sec, this is stupid as hell". Unfortunately the training session feedback forum is empty :S
Mania Sep 5th 2008 2:55PM
This is great news! It's another sign that WoW (and other games) are breaking out of the hardcore-fumble-through-it-yourself-or-look-like-an-idiot early adopter days and becoming mainstream enough to attract less, shall we say, adventurous souls.
Obviously the readers of WoW Insider are not the sort to use this kind of service themselves. But can't you just imagine a college student who plays too much getting a couple of hours of instruction for her mother back home who wants to know where all her kid's time goes but is a bit too timid to do it on her own? Or for that matter, an impatient person who is just awful at explaining things (like me!) buying an hour for a spouse who really wants to get involved so that the spouse can get a decent start without causing marital aggro.
Of course for that to work, the service itself needs to be carefully targeted at that market, and I'm really not getting the feeling that it is yet. But I'm sure that once it becomes clear that there is a (small but valuable) market there, that niche will develop also.
zappo Sep 5th 2008 3:26PM
I can see your point, but the simple reality is... this game isn't that hard. Aside from that all those other characters running around are played by real people. Provided you can handle some immature responses (and this is the internet, you should be prepared for that), all you need to do is ask for help. I'd be surprised if you truly can't find SOMEONE in game that would be willing to lend you a hand.
Mike Schramm Sep 5th 2008 5:25PM
And I repeat what I said in the post: one of the real joys of this game or any other is exploring for yourself and finding things out on your own. Tutoring for how the chat channel works or how to move your character around is one thing (there's not a lot of documentation on that around, because many experienced players are used to being in IRC or controlling an avatar), but tutoring on how to win the game kind of defeats the fun of playing in the first place.
Axxam Sep 5th 2008 2:56PM
You mean I could have been charging guildmates for what I learned about being a Shaman instead of answering questions for free? ;)
This is just ridiculous, and deserves our contempt. Everyone new to the game goes through a learning curve with their first MMO character ever. I had a friend who was familiar with EQ and he helped me learn the ropes with this when I was a level 1 NE Warrior who couldn't change the camera angles from straight overhead (I thought it was supposed to be an overhead view game for my first 3 days). But I learned how to do things and didn't pay $130 either.
PimpyMicPimp Sep 5th 2008 6:41PM
People that pay for these kinds of services should be destroyed.
zindie Sep 5th 2008 9:33PM
I'm skeptical too in this particular case, but I would like to note that some personalized help actually can go a long way. Sometimes someone to baby you through for an hour can really help.
A guild member once did exactly that. He explained how my class worked, what kind of stats I should be looking for and what kind of armor I should be thinking about. He showed me a couple tricks with killing mobs and even showed me some PvP moves with some practice duels.
That one hour spent with me educated me more than any other resource could because it was applied directly to me, my class and how I played.
Jon Sep 6th 2008 1:17AM
Paying for a WoW tutor? Why not just buy some gold?
;)