@Sarabande:

I found myself nodding in agreement throughout your comment.

I'm also an older player, and very much dislike the snarky attitude so prevalent among late-game players. It makes it very difficult for a newb (I only have one toon at 80) to find any helpful advice without being called stupid.

I want to do the best I can. I don't want to let my fellow players down when I group with them. I want to experience everything there is in the game - I'm a huge lore nerd and want to learn everything. Do I put a lot of pressure on myself? Yes. It's hard sometimes to see that I'm the only one doing so. My guildmates have been totally supportive and forgiving, and I love them for it.

I've done one Naxx25 and one partial Ulduar10 run. Hours of tension and family aggro were not my idea of a great time. I might try again, now that I know what to expect, but it's definitely not something I can handle every single week. I wantz the purplz, but I realize now that I can't dedicate the time to acquiring them quickly - it's going to take a while. And I'm ok with that.