Breakfast Topic: Never Gonna
World of Warcraft does have a decent variety of things to do. Arenas, Battlegrounds, Soloing, Professions, 5-mans, raids, the list goes on. Some may focus singlemindedly on one or two aspects of the game, while others dabble a bit in most or even all of them. All this variety also ends up meaning that some people just won't like certain aspects of the game, and will generally shy away from doing them. This can also be true of classes, of talent trees, of playstyles, and all the rest. Of course, sometimes we swear we'll never do something in game, then do it anyway.For example, I once swore I would never play enhancement on my Shaman. I felt like a Shaman was supposed to be an elementalist first, a summoner of the elements, and a caster, and that if I really wanted to just swing around dual wielded weapons all day, I had a Warrior I could go to. But recently I started a Shaman on a server other than my normal to check out the RP scene there, and I decided to try enhancement out for a bit.
I was suddenly hooked by the idea and the play style itself, enough that I went and respecced my higher level Shaman on my main server. I still play mostly as Elemental and Restoration when I play my Shaman, but I have gained a healthy respect for a pair of whirling weapons and the rather badass summoning of Spirit Wolves and all that.
Similarly, When I play battlegrounds, I try to never give in to the zerg. I try to organize who I can, and I'm never afraid to play a supporting role. I'll stay back on defense, heal, or play decoy. Whatever needs to be done for us to score and win, I'll do, even if it means I die constantly or get fewer Honorable Kills because of it.
However, with the recent School of Hard Knocks achievement, I have found myself on the forefront of the said mindless Zerg. While I'm generally at the site of multiple flag caps and returns every day, It's not generally me who's doing the capping because I'm busy making sure the Horde don't harass the flag capper. Unfortunately, that doesn't work for this achievement, so last night, I found myself out in front of the Zerg, ready to live the reality of Every Man For Himself.
So what about you? What nevers -- things you'll never do, classes you'll never play, places you'll never visit, and so on -- do you have when it comes to World of Warcraft? Is this never because of time, or skill, or personal preference? On the other hand, was there something you thought you'd never do that you've done?
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Virtual selves, Breakfast Topics
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Reader Comments (Page 3 of 5)
AndremedaSC May 2nd 2009 9:15AM
I said I'd never PVP, and I really really don't want to, but I do want that drake so I'm going to have to try for the holiday achievements.
I will never do PVP for the sake of doing PVP, though, and I will never do arenas.
Karilyn May 2nd 2009 9:31AM
Strangely enough, I didn't give into the zerg for the BG achievement.
I one-shotted all 4 of the parts for the achievement... AND was victories in each of the four battleground matches I played.
AND
In those four matches had capped 2 towers in AV, 3 successful flag assaults in AB, returned 3 flags in WSG and captured a 4th, and capped 2 flags in EotS
I was on a roll yesterday :P
pietrex May 2nd 2009 9:34AM
I will never PvP for fun. I simply dislike this kind of competition. I am surprised so many people enjoy it. For me, it's just purely frustrating. I only duel from time to time with my friends. The only exception is when I have to PvP for the seasonal achievements. I even do Wintergrasp very occasionally. PvE for the win.
chris May 2nd 2009 9:35AM
you mean like people refusing to buy small eggs for crazy prices? I get tons of hate tells for it but then minutes later all my auctions sell out :D made ~500g on eggs last night XD. Everyone claims they dont want/need them but then it sells within minutes anyway lol.
FifthDream May 2nd 2009 9:55AM
I'll never let a stranger dictate when, and how, i play a game that i pay for monthly.
I will never know my "role".
I will never participate in an activity in-game that feels like work, or an obligation.
I will never wear gear, or spec, based on others' expectations.
I will never understand how any of the above would ever be fun.
Locked May 2nd 2009 10:12AM
Being successful is fun.
To be successful, you must know your role, and as an extension of that, your class, which may take work.
To be successful you must work with others, which involves scheduling, or someone telling you when to play.
To be successful, you may have to spec/gear correctly, which may align with others' expectations.
This is why the above is fun.
FifthDream May 2nd 2009 10:23AM
To be successful, i have to conform to what someone else's idea of success is? That's quite laughable.
I have fun soloing, and playing with my girlfriend, completing achievements and quests, and wasting time when i have time to waste. If i had to do the things you said, and work to do what some stranger expected of me, without being paid for it, in order to be "successful", i'd much rather fail miserably at WoW. And i'd have fun doing it.
Angus May 2nd 2009 10:28AM
We had someone like you in my guild.
Wouldn't listen to advice on spec, gear or how to do their job.
He asked why he wasn't getting to go to raids and see new content.
"We gave you the opportunity to fix these things so you would be able to do your part. We aren't carrying you. Fix it and get back to us."
He quit and has been in like 6 guilds since. Every time he tries to get into raids he hears the same thing. You'd think he'd listen. But no one can tell him how to do his job because it is his fun and money. Except he's miserable.
Go figure a cooperative game is not fun when you refuse to cooperate.
Karilyn May 2nd 2009 11:57AM
"Except he's miserable."
That's the sad truth. I see it a lot. As I like to word it...
Fun is killing the boss.
It is not fun wiping repeatedly because of unprepared raiders.
You can enjoy the game the way you want, that's cool, but you are probably in the wrong game if you don't like raiding, and don't wanna try to raid. World of Warcraft is called an MMO, but that's like saying Super Mario Brothers is a videogame. Yeah, and Halo and Final Fantasy, but who's to say you'd be a fan of all three? They are very different genres, and not everybody likes Action, FPS, and RPGs.
World of Warcraft itself, belongs to a genre known as Raiding MMOs.
If you don't enjoy Raiding, you probably should try a different MMO so you can have more fun. Find what you do like. You don't HAVE to like Raiding to have fun with MMOs.
You sorta do have to like Raiding to have fun with World of Warcraft
/shrug
Calybos May 2nd 2009 12:04PM
"You sorta do have to like Raiding to have fun with World of Warcraft."
STRONGLY disagree. I've never done any raiding and don't plan to, and yet I'm having lots of fun with the game, doing quests and RP-ing with my guild.
Akhi May 2nd 2009 3:28PM
I'd like to add that working smoothly as a team with a bunch of people around the world is fun, which requires teamwork and a willingness to be selfless. Playing around in a new world and fitting into a different society is fun. You can run around grabbing nodes out from under people and watching other people die so you can get the mob they're trying to kill for a quest you need, or watch others get ganked repeatedly by the opposing faction without helping, and it won't require any compromises on your part (it's your $15/month too, after all), but it sort of defeats the point of an MMORPG, to me. (I'm using "you" in the general sense here, not specifically @you, FifthDream).
Being willing to try new specs or follow other people's suggestions to achieve a goal is just an extension of a lot of the enjoyable aspects of an MMORPG, and when everyone does it, fun is multiplied. But if the reward isn't worth making any changes to your play style, by all means, don't. It's not for everybody, and it's the people who don't enjoy it but do it anyway that cause problems for groups of people who do enjoy it.
I only say this because I used to have the same attitude, but then when I wanted to see content that required group cooperation, I gave it a shot and found out I got a whole new level of enjoyment out of it that more than made up for the fact that people expected me to know my class and play my best.
George May 2nd 2009 10:18AM
Never roll a human. Even though I play alliance. Because I play a human most of the day, I don't want to be playing one in a fantasy game. Yay spacegoats.
Fairlane May 2nd 2009 10:07AM
Quit.
Aerislan May 2nd 2009 10:12AM
I always swore I'd never participate in Arenas, or grind BG's for the sole purpose of building a PvP set. Since Wrath I have went back on both of those "never gonnas"
Trilynne May 2nd 2009 10:28AM
I once swore I would never roll a DK, lock, or rogue. I now have all three as alts. :P But one thing I will NEVER change is my Paladin: she is PROT ALL THE WAY BABY. And Ret as dual spec, but NEVER NEVER NEVER Holy. I kill people when I try to heal them. >.>
Dookieshed May 2nd 2009 1:20PM
Prot ftw. Never gonna spec holy.
Suite May 2nd 2009 10:39AM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ql1IFJwF0SQ
FifthDream May 2nd 2009 11:00AM
I will never refer to Draenei as "Draenei" out loud. Ever. They are "Dramamine", as indictated by this odd bit of... misinformation when you look at listings for Burning Crusade on eBay: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0903/FifthDream/wowdramamine.jpg
Since i saw this months and months ago, i've always referred to them as Dramamine. It amuses me.
Rowan May 2nd 2009 11:14AM
I had sworn off PvP cause I was a squishy Warlock since before BC. However, I've been a PvP-aholic since LK...and I don't know why. It started with Strands since I could just man a cannon and still contribute, then for whatever reason Vault dropped PvP after PvP gear for locks - it was a sign. So now, I spend about half my day in PvP, other in PvE.
I will never roll a DK, a Warrior, or a Rogue. I despise melee.
Rowan May 2nd 2009 11:16AM
Moreover, I will never roll a tank or a healer. Too much responsibility scares me - and everyone would die.