The state of twinking pre-3.1
by Mike Schramm 
Mar 4th 2009 at 5:00PM
Our friend Drayner has posted an open letter to Blizzard over at Twinkinfo.com in which he basically laments the breaking of WoW's twinking game. We've covered twinking quite a few times before here -- it's the game-within-a-game of beefing up lower-level characters to their maximum power using enchants, low-level items, or whatever else they can find. Officially, Blizzard hasn't endorsed or condoned twinking -- if you want to do it, you're free to, but you've got to live with the rules they set on items and enchants, and so forth.And that seems to be Drayner's main issue with Blizzard: they aren't consistent on twinking. They'll make changes that level the twink field, and then they'll ignore bugs that almost completely break it. They kept the latest enchants off of players below level 60, but then they grandfathered in players with the 450 profession buffs. He's got a whole list of changes they've made for and against twinking, and basically asks Blizzard to either support twinking, or (and obviously he's less happy with this decision) end it for good.
Unfortunately for him, he probably won't get an answer. There are plenty of players twinking, but not nearly enough for Blizzard to consider making changes based on twinks alone (and while twinks are howling at some of the changes, the rest of the player population either dislikes the whole idea of twinking, or couldn't care either way). And considering that twinking does draw some players into the game, it's not likely Blizzard will ditch it anytime either. Twinks, they would likely say, are playing a meta game already based on made-up rules, so why should it matter that they've also got to abide by other inconsistent rules? Based on what we've heard from them in the past, it seems twinking is a player creation, not a Blizzard creation, so it's up to players to deal with the issues, not Blizzard.
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Tricks, Fan stuff, Virtual selves, Odds and ends, Blizzard, Classes, Enchants
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 7)
epsilon343 Mar 4th 2009 5:06PM
Whine whine whine...if the purpose the game was to remain level 19 and do BGs the entire time then they wouldn't have made the level cap 80 and focus on end game content with the patches.
S?hrtogg Mar 4th 2009 5:58PM
I have a twink myself and see it as a fun minigame, a little project. It's fun to play with once a week: some duels, skirmish arena or WSG with guildies on Sundays. It'd be sad if Blizzard were to remove this funny part of the game entirely.
Drayner who posted the open letter however has made it into his primary devotion in the game. Leveling gathering professions to 450 on several lvl19 twinks? That's not something I'd ever even think of doing. Respect for the effort though. It sure was a mistake by Blizzard to allow it though and for new twinks as serious as Drayner it really is a feeling of unfairness and powerlessness, while a simple level cap could have prevented this drama.
I'd recommend the devs to not balance the game around twinks, but a little consideration is appropriate. A dramatic mistake for the twink community can be easily prevented when they are considered for just a second.
Max Mar 4th 2009 6:45PM
twinking is for people who don't have real skill and thus can't succeed in real pvp. So they have to vastly outgear their opponents constantly.
It's the most tremendous waste of time, and I hope all people that do it die in a horrendous tiger mauling.
Max Mar 4th 2009 6:51PM
it absolutely cracks me up that twinks are complaining about an unfair imbalance from the profession bonuses. Now you know how the rest of the world feels.
Twinks, please go jump into a fire, or off a bridge, and do society a favor.
Mpmagi Mar 4th 2009 9:01PM
"it absolutely cracks me up that twinks are complaining about an unfair imbalance from the profession bonuses. Now you know how the rest of the world feels."
This.
max_bmw Mar 4th 2009 9:41PM
Many, not all, but many of the complaints about twinks simply don't hold water. Take many of the complaints about twinks and attempt to apply it to level 80 PvP and you will see what I mean.
A few common examples:
1. Some players (twinks) out gear other players - Unfair.
or similarly.....
Some players have obtained the best gear and enchants the Blizzard has made available to them - Exploit.
Enter a lvl 80 BG in greens with no enchants and you stand a high chance of getting two shot. This is the case at any level of PvP. Everyone at level 80 is 'twinking', i.e. attempting to get the best items and enchants available. However, when this is done at level 80, it is often referred to as "skill".
2. Low level twinks have no "skill".
It doesn't take much skill to press a button, no matter what level your character is. What most players do not have (twink or not, level 10 or 80) is a concept of teamwork, coordination, or achieving BG objectives. One of the most effective players I have seen was a level 12 warrior in a BG who who simply stayed on the enemy flag carrier and kept them hamstrung all the way across the field.
3. Twinks are just jerks who want to 'pwn noobs'.
Well, unfortunately, some are. However, these are the same people who take their level 80 to corpse camp lowbies in Darkshire and who sit in trade acting like fools all day. This is really a people problem as opposed to a twink problem.
4. Twinks take too much gold/time to create, or
You have to have high level characters help you, or
New players can not create twinks.
Not true. As a personal challenge I created a lone character on a new server to see if I could make him into an effective 19 twink, and I did. I ran with at level groups for the few instance drops needed and generated all the gold needed though mining copper and selling it in the AH. It took less than a week.
5. Twinks are dumb/a waste of time
End game raiders and PvPers are dumb. They spent all that time getting the character to level 80. Then they do the same thing every week to get the best gear and enchants and then just replace it all a month later when the next patch comes out. Wow, see how easy that is.
WoW is a RPG. One of the core concepts of RPGs is raising ones stats to provide a relative advantage. No matter what level of play, some player/class will have some item or ability that provides them an advantage. I view this as a challenge rather than a problem. If you do view this as a problem, then perhaps a game such as Call of Duty which has no levels/gear/stats would be more to your liking or more palatable to your gaming philosophy.
Max Mar 5th 2009 12:58AM
@max_bmw
You can attempt to rationalize it all you want, but the fact remains it's still unfair.
The difference between gearing up at 80 and gearing up a twink is that at 80 everyone has an equal chance to be good. If you enter arena and suck hardcore, you will eventually be paired with other players who suck hardcore and have equal fights. And you all have an equal chance to improve yourselves through honor and arena points, especially with the changes to the arena system.
At 19 however, the "true" 19 players (not dickwads with nothing to do all day but one shot people with ridiculously overgeared characters) have absolutely no chance of ever achieving the same level as a twink. Unless you want to spend a ridiculous amount of time at 19 farming gold (who would?), true 19 characters just can't compete. There is NO way for them to raise themselves to your level.
When it comes to the concept of skill: While this game in general does not require much skill overall, 80 pvp is actually semi-balanced. You have to think about your plan for fighting the other team, know the enemy classes, save your important abilities for the right moment, coordinate timing with your teammates, and be able to think quickly and on the fly.
Twinks push the sinister strike button over and over again.
See my point?
Max Mar 5th 2009 1:05AM
Here's the real question: if twinks were forced to enter a twink-only battleground, where all they would face would be other dickwads like themselves, would they do it?
No, because it would be just like playing the NORMAL GAME.
I hear this argument all the time: "The real thrill of twinking is fighting other twinks"
Well then why the fuck don't you go play the game the way it was intended and fight other equally geared characters?
max_bmw Mar 5th 2009 3:28AM
Calling people dickwads lends my arguments more validity, its pro.
There is no difference between gearing at 80 and gearing at 19 except that at 19 most gearing is done through PvE and at 80 it could be done through either PvE or PvP. At both levels all players have the same opportunity to obtain the same gear, twinks do not have access to some magic cache of loot that others do not. That some players chose not to avail themselves of what can be attained, at any level, is not anyone's fault but their own. As I mentioned, twinking does not require high level assistance or even a substantial amount of time or gold invested, as I was able to do it solo in under a week, in my spare time (after work, family and my main).
At 80 however, the "true" 80 players (not dickwads with nothing to do all day but one shot people with ridiculously overgeared characters) have absolutely no chance of ever achieving the same level as a twink. Unless you want to spend a ridiculous amount of time at 80 farming arena points (who would?), true 80 characters just can't compete. There is NO way for them to raise themselves to your level. Do you see how this argument falls flat?
No level of PvP is balanced. Play a warlock at 80 or a DK at any level and you would see that.
"You have to think about your plan for fighting the other team, know the enemy classes, save your important abilities for the right moment, coordinate timing with your teammates, and be able to think quickly and on the fly." This applies at any level of PvP if you want to be successful, twink or not.
Level 80s push their stunlock macro over and over again.
What exactly is the point?
If there were twink only BGs, I would be in them every time. I twink at any level I play at for the same reason I obtain the best PvP gear and enchants at level 80, same as everyone else, to allow my character to be the best competitor he can be.
To be successful at any aspect of the game requires effort. I put in that effort and reap the rewards, as any player is capable of doing.
It seems that where you encounter one of those players who put in the requisite effort you see a problem and cry about it, I see a challenge and work harder to overcome it. I think thats really the point here.
rosencratz Mar 5th 2009 8:49AM
@Max - Who said;
"Here's the real question: if twinks were forced to enter a twink-only battleground, where all they would face would be other ******* like themselves, would they do it?"
Yes. yes they would. They even ask for it regularly. Their asking for it is essentially the subject of this article.
The world is sorry that you once got owned whilst levelling when you tried to do something that you weren't taking seriously enough to attempt to be comeptitive but please get over it. Some people think the lower level PvP brackets are more balanced in some ways and the lower levels of skills make things simpler and more/less of a challenge but regardless of all that if you want to start demanding others play in the way you want then i demand the right to declare how YOU should play the game.
Max Mar 5th 2009 12:35PM
Here's my question. If you would so willingly enter a twink-only battleground, why not just play the normal 19 battlegrounds with normal gear? It would be exactly the same thing.
And yes, there are some parallels between 80 pvp and twinking (getting the best gear, etc). But the fact remains that at 80 everyone has an equal opportunity. At 19 you're one-shotting people you hopelessly overgear, who have no chance of being as good as you. You can say that its easy to twink even with only a 19 character, but really, battlegrounds are just a fun alternative while you level. No fresh 19 is really going to spend all that time just trying to be good at 19 battlegrounds. You've turned a fun break from leveling into a srsface hardcore one-shot fest. No one can just do 19, 29, or even 39 battlegrounds just for fun anymore. And THATS my point. If what you were doing had no detrimental effect on other people, I would say fine, waste your time how you want to. You're ruining the game for other players.
Blizzard should make twink-only battlegrounds where the dickwads can go play their little parody of real pvp.
Max Mar 5th 2009 12:37PM
I'm going to quote someone from a few pages on:
"I don't think you're getting the point of how this ruins the game for people who just want to play BGs normally.
Take your normal L26-28 toon who's climbing the levels into a BG for a bit of fun. See how much of a chance you get.
Twinks make BGs exclusive to twinks and the rest of the population or 'noobs' as you refer to them are either cannon fodder, regardless of skill, or they skip BGs.
I liked BGs a lot more when they were just a fun way to take a break from leveling, not an e-peen inflater for people HAVE to win at everything, even if they need to exploit."
Draggos Mar 4th 2009 5:19PM
I'll admit, I've rolled a 19 twink warrior and its definitely harder then it seems to get all the gear and enchants you need. Some of the lower level enchants that you would use are extremely hard to get and/or cost a lot of gold. Not to mention it also takes friends who are willing to run you through lower level instances over and over again until you get the certain piece of gear you need. Its almost an entirely different game in itself. I honestly don't find it very interesting anymore but some people live for that kind of thing, Its almost an entirely new game all on its own and if thats what the people are into, then more power too ya.
Rayekk Mar 4th 2009 5:17PM
Well, that's one perspective- the other is maybe we're bored of end-game farming (I know I am) and Twinking is a source of fun, constant challenge and a change of pace. Or maybe we don't want to deal with teh constant grind of end-game gear changing- we do the very same thing raiding guilds do- max our stats, geat the best possible gear and enchants, and then group up in order to do battle that has a goal.
I pay my $15 buck a month too- do it make me less important that you becasue I do more than end-game?
I'd suggest reading Drayner's post before you condem it as "whining."
epsilon343 Mar 4th 2009 5:26PM
I'd actually wager that a twink would be less important than a raider (I'm using generic terms here, not directly you and me) because, like I said, the game was designed for a progression between 1-60/70/80 with end game raids being the focus after that.
I did look over the letter and I really don't feel like it's something that should be dealt with. For a large majority of players, level 19 is just a stepping stone until level 20. I don't want my gear or talents being modified for a small group of people who are engaged in a low level hobby.
PopeJamal Mar 4th 2009 6:19PM
"Can you still see where this is going? Right now, it’s making an impact in the 19 bracket, but as time goes on, this difference is going to discourage anyone from making new twinks. If this is what Blizzard is hoping for, GG, it’s gonna work. I will say to Blizzard though, this will push some away from WOW altogether. I will be in the front of that line too."
I love how a bunch of twinks decide to do what can ARGUABLY be considered game exploits, and then complain that BLIZZ are the ones that are ruining game balance. Then they have the nerve to talk shit about Blizz and ask them to "pretty please make it bettahs" all in the same breath? Oh, for real??
The guy that wrote that article is a doofus. And I say that because I've reached my quota for the use of the word "asshole" today. I have no problem with twinks, really. I never have to deal with them for more than a week or two as I level, and I'm generally a "to each his own" type of guy. As long as you aren't peeing in my bowl of cereal, cool. Let someone who cares fight that battle.
But this guy ADMITS that he knew they were probably going to put the kabosh on many of these "grey area" activities, but yet he PURPOSELY went out and did them anyway. Now that he's put his "big girl panties" on, he realizes that he, and the other "grandfather" twinks may have ruined balance in the twink brackets.
Boo f-ing hoo! Nobody told you to create some goofy-ass meta-game and start considering that "Srs Bznss". You had no reason to think Blizz would come clean up your mess, so you should have been more careful. Quite honestly, that was a stupid move. You "played" yourselves. Really well too.
You don't have anyone to blame but yourselves. Soak it up. I know I'm enjoying it.
/popcorn
Quantumflea Mar 4th 2009 7:01PM
"I pay my $15 buck a month too- do it make me less important that you becasue I do more than end-game?"
Aw you're so fucken entitled. I pay my 15 bucks a month and i want a pink unicorn to ride and i want it to fart fire out of its arse.
brucimus Mar 5th 2009 7:28AM
twinking is for people who suck at pvp. So they have to outgear others to win
I hate all twinks and I hope they die in a fire
Molloch Mar 5th 2009 9:58AM
@ brucimus...
No, not necessarily.
When I created my twink (19) rogue a year and a half ago it wasn't to faceroll folks in the 10-19 bracket, since quite frankly running nothing but Warsong Gulch and dueling other twinks at The Crossroads gets REAL old, REAL quick. I did it as a bit of a distraction; as something to do on the side while playing on my main, on days that I wanted a break from the norm. I wanted to see if I could build the gear set, get the enchants, etc., but in the last year and a half since finishing the character I have played him for maybe an hour total.
There are probably twinks who love nothing more than to kill farm in Warsong, but personally I don't see the point. I created a twink, I won't delete him because of the time I spent on him, but I'm probably never going to play him again.
The exercise is finished.
The novelty's long since worn off.
Aries Mar 4th 2009 5:19PM
Twinking, simply put, is an epeen contest for people who suck at PvP.
Blizzard needs to put XP in the battlegrounds and be done with it. Level 19 twinks don't need to be running around with 2k HP and 1 shotting legitimate players.
Twinks ruin PvP at lower levels.