Breakfast Topic: A Little Help From Our Friends
by Matthew Rossi 
Dec 5th 2009 at 8:00AM
It's not just achievements: I'll tank a heroic that I have no interest in (I don't really need badges or loot from any of them at this point) or even a raid. In the past few weeks I've found myself tanking Naxx and Ulduar 10 to help people out with achievements, or to gear alts or grind badges for a specific reason. Doesn't really matter what it is, so much as there's someone getting something they need out of it. The best time was getting a friend the Malygos quest finished after months of having it rot in her logs. Part of the reason I do this is because I know they'd do it for me, and have: when I needed block rating drops from Uld 10 and 25 people deliberately skipped achievements they needed to make sure we got things done faster for my sake.
So how about you? Asked your friends for help lately, or given it back?
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Odds and ends, Breakfast Topics, Wrath of the Lich King, Achievements
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
RetadinMan Dec 5th 2009 8:09AM
Yes and yes. I have recently got my friends into WoW, and we are all rolling Druids together. I took them to Elwynn just to do Hogger, even the three of us couldn't do it at lvl 10 (they aggroed the entire area). So I called in a guildie who I had run through some lower level dungeons a while back. Needless to say, my friends had their minds blown by seeing a lvl 80 paladin oneshot everything.
rawrawrawr Dec 5th 2009 8:17AM
I try to help out people as much as possible, even giving gold to lowbies on occasion, if they ask for a favor nicely. I'm sure this is a similar case for almost everyone. Manners go a long way, even with strangers you'll likely never meet.
jiji98321 Dec 5th 2009 8:20AM
lol
rulez Dec 5th 2009 8:25AM
That's what the game is about for me. Do something together with peeps and whenever someone can get a shiny in whatever form out of it it's a nice bonus.
csarcops Dec 5th 2009 8:25AM
Little bit of both. I'm big on achievements, fortunately my guildies are too, so finding a few people to go do something isn't hard at all.
RetPallyJil Dec 5th 2009 8:25AM
Seems like I'm always helping someone ... but no one ever helps me back, the jerks.
muddy Dec 5th 2009 8:29AM
I'm the same, hate achievements.
This game wastes enough of my time/life without handing it more by chasing achievements.
The only one I ever did on purpose was Chef, because my mains name is a short C name and it just has a nice pop to it.
I have done many ones in raids as well, but only because my time in raids is very limited due to work and I'm so happy just to be raiding that I put up with hard mode achievements and the like.
MusedMoose Dec 5th 2009 8:36AM
Honest question, I'm not saying this to mock you or be snarky:
If you think the game's a waste of your time/life, why are you still playing? If it's not fun for you any more, why not stop?
Maymer Dec 5th 2009 9:33AM
I can only assume what he means is what I feel about the game: It is so addicting we can't help but be sucked into it and waste alot of time everyday enjoying it
But, unlike our friend muddy, I have come to accept this fact through the teachings of my religious leader. Often, when a friend or fellow guildie says "HELP!! I'm being ganked in STV", I just chant my mantra to myself and ask: WWFD (What Would Fandral Do?)
And after realizing that this little noob hasn't helped me at all, why the hell should I be a kind and productive member of WoW society by enjoying the company of other players? Where was he when I had a large Morrowgrain shortage at last years Winter Veil's Party? How bout that one time when I needed to grab the Onxyia Achievement before it turned into a Feat of Strenght!? You know what all my so called worshipers...I mean friends said? "Why do I have the title 'MeatShield' above my head?" Team effort people! So to answer this Breakfast Topic: Death to Achievements and the idea of social contact of the Internet. DEATH TO IT!!!!!!!!!
(Note: I really do love achievements, mostly though for the titles and other vanity rewards it gives. I also believe that helping others tends to always benefit you in the end, and have made alot of friends that way which led to real life bonds :) just don't believe any of them if they say they have candy....the candy is a lie!)
MusedMoose Dec 5th 2009 8:35AM
When I started playing WoW again, I joined the server that one of my best friends was on. She'd been playing for longer than I ever had, and as these were the BC days, she had a few level 70s. She helped my low-level characters through all kinds of dungeons, never complained once - she loves seeing masses of people fall to her, what can I say. *grin* Now that we both have characters of equal levels, we help each other through quests all the time when we play, 'cause usually one of us will have done one quest chain while another hasn't.
Can't wait 'till Cataclysm, so I can finally help her lowbies through dungeons in return. Should be great fun.
Redcow Dec 5th 2009 9:35AM
Achievements for me are a mixed bag. In general I don't care for them much. But on occasion there's a reward from them that catches my eye and so those are the ones that I actively work towards. Like I thought the Flamekeeper title would be nifty for my shaman so I got her that, and I really want a Red Proto-drake for my warrior, so I'm getting her that. So a majority of the achievements I do have are purely accidental. Some, I didn't even know existed until I actually completed them because I've only glanced over the long list of achievements that exist. Just in the right place at the right time. Sometimes helping friends get theirs.
Helping friends in game is one of the more important things I believe in considering it's a multi-player social game. That's what a guild is formed for. Or at least ours. I've always promoted the cooperative nature that a guild should be. Though I admit it's sometimes hard to convince people it's alright to take things. They'll give all the time. But they also think they have to be so independent all the time and I find out things like they're buying gems off the auction house when we have gems donated by another guildie and easily accessible in the gbank. But they don't wanna be selfish. Oi. :)
MusedMoose Dec 5th 2009 9:46AM
I definitely agree with you about achievements. If there's one that's particularly appropriate for a character, I'll go for it, like how I want to get the "Merrymaker" title for my rogue and I got the "Explorer" title for my hunter earlier this year. I'd love to get "Loremaster" for my arcane-specced mage, but damn, that's a lot of work. @_@
Gren Dec 5th 2009 9:55AM
I try to help out when I have time - a quick boost in stockades or a run in SM, or helping out with some hellfire instances for instance. I have to admit I hope to get some help back to for my low alts - and I usually get it. Also some heroics if someone needs an achievement or even ulduar/naxx. Although I find it hard to get help back there - its hard to hope to find 8-9 people to help you finish some achievements in Ulduar - you might have to clear a lot first to get to the boss and achievement you want/need. Tbh - I myself aren't that inclined to go to ulduar and do the same avhievement for the umpteenth time for someone else - but I do it.
shadowhowl1900 Dec 5th 2009 10:16AM
omg, i need you as a friend. basically i was thinking when 3.3 hits is to go back and do all hard-modes 10 uld for the mount. welfare or not, its still 310% and 310% > 280%
FoxOfWar Dec 5th 2009 10:32AM
If an achievement gives a snazzy title or mount and generally feels like "actually worth getting"(Loremaster, The Exalted, any of the hardmode meta-achievements), I'll do it.
Doing achievements just for the sake of doing achievements, like any of the raid achievements that say: do it harder, only for 10 achievement points!
I don't have over half of Naxx's/Ulduar's achievements because I never felt the need to do them."Kill Loatheb without killing any spores"... um, why?
Thankfully my guild only occasionally goes after those things in raids. I help them because they're guildies, but I also make my opinion about them pretty clear. If anyone puts any sort of "achievement run"(as in, non-hardmode achieves) in our raid calendar, you can be pretty sure I will steer clear of it.
kunukia Dec 5th 2009 10:33AM
I like helping folks and only care about achievements that give me a pet. I am not very awesome, only raid occasionally and even instance only occasionally. But I farm all the time, and I make a shiny Nessingwary 4000 for each new guild hunter and help with mats and stuff I can craft on my various alts whenever I can. I even keep the guild bank supplied with the Outland and Northrend ammo at all times, and did so before it was cheap. No one uses vendor ammo in my guild!
kunukia Dec 5th 2009 10:34AM
Each now guild hunter that hits 80, duh...
Poppy Dec 5th 2009 7:28PM
You sound awesome to me - you would be an asset to any guild
kunukia Dec 5th 2009 7:43PM
Thanks, Poppy. I am excited that in Cataclysm, professions and alt leveling will contribute to guild XP.
Squirr3llywrath9 Dec 5th 2009 11:55AM
I have a lot of alts, so I'll usually trade instance runs with guildies.