The Queue: When is patch 4.1?
by Adam Holisky 
Feb 17th 2011 at 11:00AM
Let's start off with an often-asked question.
James asked:
When is patch 4.1 coming out?
I'd be surprised if we didn't see the patch 4.1 PTR in the next month, with the patch arriving on the live servers some time in April or May. I have no inside info on that; it's just speculation based on how long we've gone between patches before.
Several folks at Blizzard have stated in the past they were not happy with the way the Wrath patch cycle played out, so there will be some modification to the release structure, I'm sure.
Your "secret ID"
Feralubu asked:
I use the LFG tool, and encounter a fool. A fool named Badman form Otherserver EU. I add him to my ignore list. 3 days later Badman decides to quit WoW forever, and deletes all his toons. 3 minutes after that another player on Otherserver EU discovers that the name Badman is available, and promptly makes a new toon by that name.
Is the new Badman on my ignore list?
No. Unless something has changed, the friends list, ignore, etc. are all based on secret IDs that we don't get to see. Those IDs are independent of the player's name. That is why when I change my toon's name from "paul" to "mauddib," everyone still has me on their friends lists.
Guild size and guild leveling
Karch asked:
Has Blizzard ever outright stated what size of guild they were thinking of when they designed the guild leveling system?
Blizzard has stated in the past that the guild leveling system was designed for both small guilds and large guilds. Small guilds are ones that generally can only field the numbers for 10-man content, and large guilds are ones that can do multiple 10-mans or 25-mans. Obviously, the larger guild will have somewhat of an easier time reaching the cap each day, but the smaller guild shouldn't have too much of an issue, either.
We've not heard an actual number from Blizzard, and I doubt we will. But the system obviously isn't designed for a bank alt guild, although I'm sure there'll be someone who can prove me wrong here.
Have questions about the World of Warcraft? The WoW Insider crew is here with The Queue, our daily Q&A column. Leave your questions in the comments, and we'll do our best to answer 'em!Filed under: The Queue
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 9)
lazearian Feb 17th 2011 11:04AM
School is boring make me intrigued my que que compatriots!
Random info, happenstances and other cools things :O
GO!
RogueJedi86 Feb 17th 2011 11:07AM
You know those 3 legendary bird Pokemon from one of the early Pokemon movies? Look closer at their names.
ArticUNO
ZapDOS
MolTRES
You'll never look at Pokemon the same way again.
Moeru Feb 17th 2011 11:16AM
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerogel
Drakkenfyre Feb 17th 2011 11:18AM
Holy !@#$
Never knew that.
Drakkenfyre Feb 17th 2011 11:19AM
About the Pokemon thing, that is.
Grovinofdarkhour Feb 17th 2011 11:21AM
Okey-dokey. I may not know you from Adam, but if school is boring, I'm here to help. I'll tell you a story, then ask you a question.
I was always hesitant to tell my folks about WoW. I'm still not sure why. They're the ones who bought the old Laser 128, an Apple II clone, when I was in 7th grade and proceeded to watch me while away every spare moment playing The Bard's Tale II for the next year, and that was like, 25 years ago. They knew I played D&D, and they knew I liked computer games. If at any point in the last 4 years I had ever gotten up the nerve to just sit down and explain that everything I had loved about D&D when I was little was now available in online games that require no paper, pencils or dice, it probably would have made total sense to them. (Just how much time I spend on it probably wouldn't have entered the conversation right away.) I had been sidling up to it a few times, talking about how most TV is crap nowadays and my wife and I spend more time on the computer than watching TV. I've even made a few comments along the lines of "well I'd love to sit around playing World of Warcraft all day, but I've got errands to run", that sort of thing, just to gauge their reactions, and... nothing. They've never heard of this Grovin fellow, and they don't know what a hunter pet is. And maybe I took a little mischievous satisfaction in the feeling that I was leading some kind of double life.
Dad lost his battle with leukemia in the early hours of Friday the 4th. It had been a long 4 years, and it's been a rough couple of weeks, but we made it through the funeral, all the visitors, and all the food baskets, and being the accountant of the family, I'm helping Mom with all the paperwork he left behind - there's enough to keep us busy til summer. But now, I feel like I was never honest with him. I know that with his productivity-oriented mindset, he most likely would not have approved, and I realize that probably no good could have come of it (I can almost hear him now: "you mean to tell me you've been playing some video game for 20+ hours a week for the last 4 years? No wonder you never finished your CPA!"). But now I'm just wishing I had told him, told him everything, for good or for ill, and let the chips fall where they may. I feel like I actively kept him from knowing the whole me.
I know that's stupid. I know it's a game. I know they're just pixels. I know I don't fight dragons or drink potions or carry gold. But I've let this game become a big part of my life and I hid that fact from the one person who most likely would have told me to get my head out of my ass. The logical side of my brain says I did the right thing; we didn't fight much, but we had our disagreements from time to time, and I just prevented another one, a stupid and unnecessary one. It was a perfectly normal, natural defense mechanism.
So why do I feel like such an asshole about it?
Cos Feb 17th 2011 11:26AM
My vote is for http://www.damnyouautocorrect.com/
Say goodbye to your next 1-2 hours, they will be missed.
Phil Feb 17th 2011 11:39AM
@Grovin
My condolences to you my friend
Amy Schley Feb 17th 2011 11:46AM
Grovin,
Well, part of what you're going through is just a pretty normal part of grief. Whenever we lose something we cared about, we wonder about what we could have done differently. (Example: my husband's grandmother slipped into a coma two days before my bar exam, and passed away the second day of it. We were by her side when she passed, but I was so busy studying and dealing with my own mental health issues that I never had a chance to say goodbye before she became comatose.) It's normal to wonder about such things, but try not to dwell on them.
My parents have much the same attitude your dad did, and it does hurt a bit knowing that they'll never really understand. (And my folks hate TV and most every other time-waster too, so it's not like I can pull that rhetorical card.) But even if he would have disapproved knowing how you spent your free time, he still loved you and was proud of you. That's something to hold on to.
Aitron Feb 17th 2011 11:52AM
@Grovin
It's human nature to dwell on what we could or should have done. You would have to be without conscience to not do so. What you need to do now is let go of your misplaced guilt over something that really is very trivial, and revel in the memories you have of him. Don't create contention between you and your Father that never existed. Condolences, and best wishes.
andjew1 Feb 17th 2011 11:55AM
more about pokemon!!!
ekans is snake backwards
arbok is kobra backwards.
but what is muk backwards?
Cbeefman Feb 17th 2011 11:58AM
@lazearian
you might have the "asshole" feeling because you know he'd still love you even if he complains about it when u tell him
i know my dad didnt get it at first but it grew on him as he came to realized its just the same as my brother being a Football (Soccer) junkie
i'm sorry you weren't able to share that part of your life with him, he might not have gotten it at first but, like mine, as long as your hobby doesnt impede your ability to do other priority things, he would eventually let it slide
Galestrom Feb 17th 2011 11:57AM
@Grovin
First, my condolences. Second; don't beat yourself up man. There's a stigma associated with this game we love, and it's one that's largely driven by society's lack of understanding. That lack of understanding tells us that we should find better ways to spend our time -- going after higher learning, or building widgets in our garage, or taking up 'real' hobbies like Painting or Kayaking or Golf -- or some such crap.
In my view, there is absolutely no reason feel shame over doing something you love. In this case, it's a hobby that's social, engaging, goal-oriented, and provides a needed respite from the goings on of real life. I think unless folks spend some appreciable time playing it (or something like it), they'll never really know what it's all about.
The question is, how do you think your father's knowing would have changed things -- if at all? Not to diminish the gravity of your own feelings; but, I'm not sure that his implicit knowledge of your preference here would have made much difference. You could be spending 20+ hours watching sitcoms as most folks do instead, would that have been better in his eyes?
TLDR: I can't think of a good reason for you to feel like an asshole for not telling your dad about how you spend your own time. As judgmental as my own family is at times, I also can't blame you.
Here's hoping your emotional recovery is a swift one. ;)
Aspirisis Feb 17th 2011 12:02PM
@Grovin...
Holy cow, my friend. Not too often the comment thread on the queue can give me goosebumps. I am very sorry for your loss...all I can say is that, if you arehappy, healthy and a good person, then your father did a good job, and he is proud of you, regardless of how you spend your free time.
That was a remarkable post and is making me rethink a lot of things...so thank you.
Task Feb 17th 2011 12:24PM
@Grovin
First off my sincerest condolences to you.
And I can understand how you are feeling as well, because I lost my uncle ( on my mom's side) on Jan. 21 of this year. I was thinking the same thing myself when I wasn't grieving like my mom and relatives. I thought that those feelings would pop up out of nowhere when I was working but they didn't.
When I called my close friend and asked her, she said what all the other posters here have said, that everyone grieves and handles it in their own way. I felt better knowing it wasn't something else.
I don't know what else to add Grovin, but you'll get through it.
/salute
Brett Porter Feb 17th 2011 12:30PM
/tar Grovin
/hug
Xaklo Feb 17th 2011 12:54PM
This whole thread should be adapted into a Breakfast Topic: Coming out of the WoW closet.
wow Feb 17th 2011 1:02PM
@Grovin:
My condolences to you. I've been down your road as well, so I know what you mean. Unfortunately, its human nature to do the "What if this, What if that." scenario's. Relish the time you had together and think on all the pleasant memories you have with your dad.
My mother, may she rest in peace, died in 2003 and she would've loved WoW. She used to play Paper DnD when I was a DM. She also loved to play games, so she was a lot like I was. A video gamer since the 1970s.
You'll soon realize that you and your dad had a pretty good relationship, even though you didn't tell him about WoW. Though I have a feeling he knew you were gaming, maybe not WoW specifically, but playing games, but chose not to say anything. Parents do have ways they surprise us with what they do know about us.
Take care
Shinanji
Moiread Feb 17th 2011 1:03PM
@Grovin
Loss and lament always make us feel like we're the bad guys. My father passed away suddenly from a heart attack in November of '07. I was 24 years old, and up to that point I had not had a good relationship with him, partly because my interests were so diametrically opposite of the things he thought I should be with doing with my life, and partly because he couldn't wrap his head around the fact that I wasn't his little girl anymore and was completely capable of running my own life. It had gotten to the point that we didn't talk about anything and I avoided visiting my parents because I knew it would only end in argument. I had only seen my father maybe a half dozen times in the last two years of his life.
Three years later I'm married to a man I know he wouldn't approve of, I'm on a career path he would despise, and I spend a great deal of time on "The Nintendo" instead of climbing mountains and seeing the country. His picture hangs above my computer and I try to remember him the way he was when I was small and the world was uncomplicated. I study hard in my classes, I love my husband the way my parents loved each other, and I try very hard to keep the lessons that my father taught me about strength and integrity at the forefront of everything I do.
But sometimes in the dark corners of the night, his disapproval bites at the back of my mind. I regret not trying harder to be the person he thought I should be, which I know full well to be folly. I, too, feel like an asshole.
Grovinofdarkhour Feb 17th 2011 1:15PM
Thank you to everybody :) Phil, Amy, and everyone right on down the list... I can't explain how much this helps.
I know that what you're all saying is true. I know on some level I'm misdirecting my grief, and I'm overblowing things - it's not like he would have disowned me over a video game. The biggest thing I'm still struggling with - and I think it's just the timing of things that's making me artificially impose it upon what was an otherwise solid, healthy father-son relationship - is that for as much as we justify this hobby, it is undoubtedly a time-sucker, one I've kinda given free reign and not really kept in check, and I've certainly done less with the last four years than I could have. And I think losing him is making me think a lot about... you know... "stuff."
I've sort of built up this picture in my head, the classic angel-on-one-shoulder-devil-on-the-other, but the devil looks like a drug dealer, and his name tag says Blizzard, and he's saying "It's OK man, keep playing, keep paying... don't let anyone tell you what you should be doing", and the angel is Dad, saying "Don't you get it? That game is STEALING your LIFE!!" And not telling him, withholding the truth from my Voice of Reason, was my own personal form of capitulation, of giving in to my addiction. Of telling the WoW gods, "I don't care any more, do what you want." Is this imagery reasonable, or fair? Maybe, maybe not. I'm still working on that one.
Maybe that's my problem... I still have doubts. I may show up and eat this wafer and drink this wine, but I'm still not sure I believe.
Either way, thanks again to everyone, this has been better therapy than I could have possibly hoped for, or probably deserve. Elune bless you all. :)