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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 5 of 6)
Downhere Dec 1st 2010 10:03AM
Oh wow. I have "Insane in the Membrane", "Loremaster", and 2 Legendary items.
Yesitsmyalt - Arathor
supersaint71241 Dec 1st 2010 10:10AM
Pasty skin, callus on clicking finger, Cheetos crumbs in keyboard... Guilty.
Portals Dec 3rd 2010 11:49PM
/target off-hand
/use [Lotion]
/camp
Sorithal Dec 1st 2010 10:11AM
A "WoW geek" to me just means anyone who loves the game enough that they'll stay with it. Which means that they might accumulate a large amount of achievements, or they may not. Being a geek doesn't really equate with which achievements you have done and whatnot in my book, since obviously not everyone who plays the game frequently will go after stuff like the Loremaster achievement or a rare mount of sorts.
A good chunk of the players who grab titles like that and such seem to just be of the completionist/e-peen crowd anyway.
Quez Dec 1st 2010 10:34AM
Geekdom can be defined in many ways through many different opinions. I personally wouldn't consider myself a full-fledged "wow geek" but since The Shattering, I'
m definitely geeking out about how awesome this game has become, after I swore I'd never return after playing from release til before wotlk, when I quit.
It absolutely has me hooked again and enjoying it almost as much as the early days of vanilla.
Now that I've said "vanilla", I guess that does make me a geek.
killer_tunes Dec 1st 2010 10:48AM
Loremasters of Dalaran UNITE!! lol
divamom1996 Dec 1st 2010 10:49AM
Getting Loremaster? YES
Insane in the Membrane? YES
Doing all the Loremaster quests AGAIN to get the new Cataclysm achievements? WOW GEEK
netokituco Dec 1st 2010 11:33AM
If you read this article and posted a comment here ... yeah, you're a wow geek
VFLEIGH Dec 1st 2010 11:53AM
Maybe they need a loremaster meta achievement. If you got the original loremaster and all the new zone achievements we should get a title 'The Geek'.
Erogroth Dec 1st 2010 11:58AM
I got a Thunderfury during the vanilla wow days without purchasing a single mat. I farmed them all by myself or with my guild in raids. Also I am currently working on the Insane and even though I already have loremaster from before the shattering I figured what the hell may as well do it again for all the new quests.
Erania Dec 1st 2010 12:11PM
I have to say that my friend, Bloonite of on Garona is by far the most geeky I have ever met. When you reach 250 days played on a Death Knight then you have reached that point of geeky-ness. But hey, he is one of the coolest guys in game I have ever met. Just goes to show ya, those who have no lives can make the most amazing friends.
Lishalacey Dec 1st 2010 12:47PM
Buying [Battered Hilt] 3 weeks ago for 5000g just so you can see the lore and go into the Sunwell?
Yes, I'm a capital "g" Geek.
frugality Dec 1st 2010 1:00PM
I'd rather be a nerd than a geek. Geek just sounds awful.
Lemons Dec 1st 2010 1:29PM
Meh, "geek" and "nerd" are always going to be slightly derogatory, and it's probably up to how you've heard the words used previously as to which one you find more suitable. I, for one, think geek sounds better than nerd.
Mperiolat Dec 1st 2010 1:01PM
"Geek", if defining myself, is having all the expanded literature in WoW and being able to explain to other players how it all fits and why its important in detail.
Oh and actually setting up guild events for walking tours of various zones and explaining things: "This is a statue of Lothar, pointing at Blackrock Mountain, marking where he fell in the Second War between Orcs and Humans..."
sonicmagic22 Dec 1st 2010 1:37PM
That whole guided tour doesn't sound half bad. Get like a passenger mount and charge 100g and you could run around a zone and explain all the history there. You'd really have to do your lore homework to have something to fill up the entire tour though without resorting to something like...
Tour Guide: "To your right you'll see a, um, palm tree...as you can see they are quite numerous in this area, they hav-"
Tourist: "Yea, I want my gold back"
Hampster Dec 1st 2010 1:14PM
I hate being grouped up with addicts. Geek is not time spent, 80s made, mounts farmed.
Geek is reading all the quest text (not just the directions) on every quest while you make your way to Loremaster.
Geek is the Well Read achievement (Stephanie I think you could have included that).
Geek is reading all world event discussions between faction leaders intently and then trying to decipher clues or hints at things to come.
Geek is trying to determine what pet companion to bring out based on which fits the surrounding environment.
Geek is emoting /cheer at an npc after he/she gives a rallying speech.
Geek is sporadic mock RP-ing on a non-RP server.
Geek is carrying a lore relevant item in your bag and hoping a boss responds to it (like Atiesh and Shade of Aran).
Geek is thinking the Staff of Medivh is totally badass when all of your guildmates think it looks like only a stick.
Geek is getting excited every time your run any of the Caverns of Time instances.
Geek is asking Thrall if he remembers you.
Geek is hanging out in the Caverns of Time instances after they've already been cleared.
Geek is appreciating the unexplored corners of the map while you were getting The Explorer achievement.
Geek is logging onto WoW and basking in Azeroth's sun when it's cloudy outside.
Geek is trying to find all the easter eggs and hidden secrets in the game (upside down sinners? jar of ashes?)
Geek is a horde of transforming trinkets, holiday gadgets, and old quest items taking up your bank and bag space.
That's all I can come up with for now. :)
Nethertwist Dec 2nd 2010 1:04PM
This.
I found the mock RP part most fitting ;D I play on a PvE server but I do a fair amount of solo RP for giggles (mostly in big lore quests like Battle for Undercity etc). Love it. Even construct little stories in my head about my character and what he's doing here, what his opinion is etc ;)
Lemons Dec 1st 2010 1:26PM
You forgot about Justicar/of the Alliance/Battlemaster! Those are my "geek" achievements. Although I guess that makes me more of a pvp geek than anything else. I just loves me some battlegrounds!
I have Loremaster as well, but I'm not really proud about that one, I just got it for teh pointz! I've seen a whole lot more people with loremaster on my server than Battlemaster. In fact I can count the Battlemasters I've seen on one hand.
frugality Dec 1st 2010 2:02PM
There's a guy on my server named "Battlemaster" with the "Battlemaster" title. His pet (he's a hunter) is also named "Battlemaster"