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All of the latest Mists of Pandaria newsBreakfast Topic: What makes a WoW geek?
by Stephanie Drury 
Dec 1st 2010 at 8:00AM
During the BlizzCon 2010 opening ceremonies, Chris Metzen spoke about the power of words, particularly focusing on one: "geek." He then followed up with a montage of what the word meant to him. Chris's dialogue was about what brings us together as geeks, celebrating common factors we all share as a community.
This of course got me thinking, what does "geek" mean to me? More pointedly, what does it mean to me in the World of Warcraft? What great accomplishments have brought me closer to my community? Raid achievements come to mind, such as obtaining the Hand of A'dal title as a guild an expansion ago (or two). But there are some things I consider elite -- and therefore geekier -- that set my fellow community members on top of what I consider the geek pedestal:
- The Loremaster title -- definitely my chart-topper for geekdom. Kudos to you!
- Anyone who has completed the Scepter of the Shifting Sands quest chain.
- The Black Qiraji Battle Tank mount and Scarab Lord title. This was a whole server-wide event that brought the players together as a community toward one common goal: opening the gates of Ahn'Qiraj. I think this epitomizes the celebratory meaning of geek.
- Obtaining a legendary item -- this also involves a group working toward a common goal, strengthening our sense of community.
What does "geek" mean to you? Is it that elusive title? A rare pet or mount? Perhaps something that isn't even obtainable anymore, or something that was added in Cataclysm. What do you think brings us closer as a community or find celebratory of geekdom in WoW?
Filed under: Breakfast Topics, Guest Posts
Reader Comments (Page 2 of 6)
Lokanaya Dec 1st 2010 8:14AM
It's also a matter of what you do... I know next to nothing about raiding or instances, but I am a major lore nerd. Can't get enough of WoW books, even Knaak ones. :P
So, I guess what defines "geek" for me, since I don't mess with raiding stuff, is being able to list things like the Star-Old God theory, stuff about Azhara, etc. all off the top of your head. :)
MusedMoose Dec 1st 2010 8:14AM
I think what makes a WoW geek is a lot simpler than that. It's not about rare drops, or any item at all. It's not about how much time you spend in the game. It's not about how many 80s you have, how many quests you've done or how many dungeons you've run. It's not even about how long you've been playing.
It's about how much you love the game. If playing WoW is one of your favorite things to do, for whatever reason that may be, then you're a WoW geek. Simple as that. You can have every single dungeon and raid title ever created and be just as much of a WoW geek as the person who's never gotten an alt past 30 but has immersed themselves in the lore so much they recite passages from it in their sleep, and they're *both* just as much WoW geeks as the person who just quests here and there but mostly logs on to RP.
And in the words of Dennis Miller, "Of course, this is just my opinion, I could be wrong." ^_^
Shoikler Dec 1st 2010 9:24AM
You're not wrong at all. Geekiness is about the enjoyment of a pursuit, not the attainment of a goal. Yes, we can use any of the time-consuming tasks to demonstrate geekiness, but they're not a requirement. And it needn't be an in-game task, either; that guy whose WoW fanfic is 300,000 words and still going has established as much "geek cred" as the guy with Loremaster.
We could easily create a list of much simpler things for a "You might be a WoW geek if..." list. "If you've ever gotten into a debate over which races have faced the most adversity in recent years..." "If you've ever tried to explain the 'Basic Campfire for Warchief' joke to someone..." "If you've ever stood in line for a midnight release..."
Craig Dec 1st 2010 11:59AM
I concur
Hampster Dec 1st 2010 12:41PM
What Musedmoose and Shoiker said.
Comito Dec 1st 2010 3:26PM
I have to say this is the term in my view, knowing about the game almost inside out in any certain aspect makes you one! haha
Wulf Dec 1st 2010 8:15AM
http://bit.ly/worgen
'Nuff said.
EdiBomb Dec 1st 2010 8:16AM
The Bloodsail Admiral title and getting back to friendly with the damn goblins after getting it.
Sanguinarius Dec 1st 2010 8:28AM
Anyone with the fawn pet or the dragonhawk mount. Worthy geek.
SpaceGoatPriest Dec 1st 2010 9:03AM
I have the fawn pet and I am only a few mounts away from the dragonhawk. Does that make me double geek? :D
bui Dec 1st 2010 9:22AM
It took me 6 months on my DK to get mountain o' mounts, and just as long to get lore master on that toon, as well as getting all my rep up with the home cities which I did before the Argent Tourney... Let me tell you what doing all that on a DK who has no build up from previous expansions is crazy difficult, so if you see a DK wondering around the Dalaran server flying on a dragon hawk pimping the Loremaster title well needless to say I'm a super geek, I love the DK class no matter what they do to it and now and forever it will be my main, cause I'll be damned if I'm getting all those nerd points and mounts on someone else.
Sleutel Dec 1st 2010 10:58AM
I have both. And Loremaster. And The Diplomat. And Ambassador. And Tabard of the Achiever. And both ICC frost wyrms. And The Explorer from level 72 in the earliest days of Wrath, before you could fly pre-77. And... And...
And... I probably need to get out more. :D
Slick Dec 1st 2010 8:28AM
"What makes a WoW geek?"
You have an active WoW subscription.
Theyas Dec 1st 2010 8:36AM
Geek to me just means someone who embraces every aspect of a thing they love wholeheartedly, with no regard as to how that makes them appear to others.
Me, for instance.
I am Loremaster Theyas. That pretty much spells it out, but at the same time, I can riddle off just about any major lore fact in the game, and I play the game FOR the lore. I raid as well, but the lore and story of a game is very important to me.
I like to think of WoW as a really long, interactive movie.
Eternauta Dec 1st 2010 9:25AM
^ This.
I'm a proud WoW geek!
(... and harry potter geek, and marvel comics geek, and...)
Maccabeus Dec 1st 2010 12:39PM
Thank you! I always explain to those who ask me why I play that it feels like I'm reading a novel where I am a major character. I don't play on a roleplay server, but I have little personal moments where I narrate my characters adventures because I just get so into the intricate story Blizzard has woven for this game. For example, I flew my main (who has Kingslayer), to the Camp Oneqwah in Grizzly Hills, put on the walk command, and walked all the way back to vengeance landing, allowing my character to tell his story so far to his "loyal" imp.
The immersion factor, to me, is what a WoW-Geek is all about.
Rodrigo Dec 1st 2010 8:34AM
Loremaster and Bloodsail + Goblins Exalted seem kinda common and the Qiraji Battle Tank is no longer achievable, so no matter how hard you geek it out, you won't get it. So far the best indicator is probably Insane in the Membrane. But, luckily, we will get the best indicator back in Cata.
I'm talking about Grand Marshal / High Warlord.
Forreststump Dec 1st 2010 8:40AM
"What do you think brings us closer as a community...in WoW?"
Without a doubt, it has to be:
Anal jokes in Trade channel.
Jason Dec 1st 2010 9:03AM
I am so tired of those jokes. Do people seriously have nothing better to do?
Drakkenfyre Dec 1st 2010 10:03AM
It might be against the rules for a GM, but if I were a GM, I would sit in Trade for awhile on each server, and the first person to say an Anal joke would get a warning. Second time they did it, temporary ban.