WRUP: Wherein people are devoured
by Alex Ziebart 
Feb 19th 2011 at 2:00PM
I failed to ask the staff a bonus question yet again this week. As is often the case, they managed to come up with one completely on their own. This week's WRUP is about ... cannibalism, I guess? I don't know. I don't really get it.
Alex Ziebart (@AlexZiebart): I'm going to be gearing my priest more this weekend. I wasn't enjoying the class much as holy, so I tried out discipline and it fits my playstyle much better. Discipline is love. Beyond that I'll just be doing a lot of writing, here and elsewhere.
Anne Stickney (@Shadesogrey): Writing, of course, interrupted by an appearance on the Group Quest podcast Saturday. Raiding on Sunday, but that's about it. Bonus question: I like cake. Wait, what was the question again?
Basil Berntsen (@outdps): I'll be podcasting and PvPing! I am going to try to set something up with ret/MM/healer. People who understand this better than I do tell me this is a good comp.
Chase Christian (@madsushi): I'm going to be leading a massive guild farming/crafting expedition this week, as we're pushing for the Fish Feast and Cauldron recipes. As a smaller guild, we're pretty far behind some of the bigger guilds on our server in terms of guild leveling and development.
Dan O'Halloran: Getting over this horrible cold with large amounts of RIFT open beta, EverQuest time-locked progression server goodness and SOE's Facebook RTS Dungeon Overlord. May be able to get my inscription shaman to 50 with PUGs so I can learn the next set of glyphs. Gillian Anderson. With raspberry sauce.
Daniel Whitcomb (@danielwhitcomb): I almost have enough badges for the Tol Barad horse mount, so I'm hoping to keep up the pace on those dailies and may even get in on a TB victory or two if I'm lucky. I may also try finishing out Vashj'ir on my warlock if I get some more free time as well. I want my awesome level 83 rep hat! My bonus answer is Alison Brie. With caramel.
Elizabeth Wachowski (@leeatwaterlives): Assuming I ever get off of work, I'll be leveling my shaman and playing Ghost Trick on the DS. Bonus answer: Jon Hamm and Christina Hendricks with alfredo sauce.
Joe Perez (@Lodurzj): Dancing around because of the restoration shaman buffs and incoming cooldown. Lodur-cision 2011 will be coming up very soon, if you don't know about that be sure to check out the leetsauced podcast. Bonus question: In response to Lisa and Matt, Scarlett Johansson with honey.
Josh Myers (@elamqt): I've found a new love in playing the auction house, something I've never really tried before. I'm also slowly leveling six different alts for some reason. As for the bonus question: Neil Patrick Harris. With frozen yogurt. And I think Alison Brie needs to go with some crackers. Aww yea, cheese joke.
Kelly Aarons (@Cadistra): WoW, Ghost Trick, and Magicka. And depending on how the weekend goes, I'll be hauling my 360 to my friends' place to play MvC3, as I currently don't own a television.
Lisa Poisso (@emused): Free time on EverQuest and a level 84 WoW character -- argh, the decisions! Bonus question: Gerard Butler. With chocolate.
Matt Low (@matticus): Massive recruiting efforts for my 25-man guild is what I'll be trying to tackle all weekend. That and additional research for our buddy Nef. As a response to Lisa's bonus answer: Jessica Alba. With whipped cream.
Mathew McCurley (@gomatgo): I just had dental surgery, so I'll be popping meds and riding this one out on the sofa all weekend. WoW on Sunday, hopefully getting Nefarian on 10-man down. My bonus answer is Rocketships.
Matthew Rossi (@MatthewWRossi): Looks like I'm gonna do a lot of writing and podcasting in the next few days. Didn't see that coming. Also tweaking my raid spec in the wake of 4.0.6. Oh, my bonus answer is Julianna.
Robin Torres (@cosmiclaurel): I'll be at the Sunday Love Fest, of course. Bonus question: Charlie Hunnam with Nutella.
Sarah Nichol (@mentalshaman): I'll be playing the Rift beta and achieving calm and tranquillity via herbing and archaeology. On Sunday I'm hoping we'll get the numbers to kill Atramedes on 25s; otherwise, it'll be Al'Akir or Bastion of Twilight on 10-man. Now I've had my learning weeks, I'm looking forward to tightening up my DPS. Answer to the bonus question? Professor River Song with a sonic screwdriver. Or Sean Bean with soy sauce. Don't ask about the soy sauce.
The weekend is the perfect time to kick back, relax and enjoy some game time. Are you an achievement junkie? Can't get enough raiding? Rolling a new alt? Considering taking the leap into roleplaying? Whatever your favorite way to play World of Warcraft, let us know in the comments what you're playing this weekend! 
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Bossy Feb 19th 2011 2:21PM
I would give wowinsider.com one advice.
GET RID of those guys that try to eat from both cakes.
You can't write and give advice about WOW and playing those other amateurish duds.
Because that's what those terrible "games" are: complete and utter MMO duds.
Choose play WOW or quit & getting money to write about WOW.
Billlop Feb 19th 2011 2:28PM
Yeah because WoW is the only MMO ever created isnt it? Also who the hell do you think you are telling people what to play? They can play what they want, no one can stop them.
Léona Feb 19th 2011 2:34PM
If they were to play wow and only wow, they would become very bored of the game, and stop writing about it. Playing other games keeps things from going stale too quickly, so the writers will keep writing about wow, due to still having an interest in it.
Also, who died and made you king of the internet? Stop telling people what to do with their money and time.
BB Crisp Feb 19th 2011 2:43PM
"Choose play WOW or quit & getting money to write about WOW."
Finer words have never been written.
Avan Feb 19th 2011 2:55PM
From a blogging standpoint, playing other MMOs can help the bloggers see what Blizzard does right or wrong. Getting a fresh perspective on familiar mechanics this way is a good thing.
From a gamer standpoint, do not tell people what they can and cannot play. It is their free time, not yours.
And then just speaking from common sense: If you don't like the writers talking about what they're going to be playing in the WRUP post, then don't read the WRUP posts. Duh.
Iano Feb 19th 2011 3:01PM
Grammar- No- grammar- GAH-
YOUR HEAD ASPLODE!!!!
I think a finer missive on why Wow writers SHOULD be playing other games, too, has never been nor will ever be written. EVER.
I repeat the argument again, and again state- this is a perfect reason why these writers SHOULD be playing more than just WoW:
"Choose play WOW or quit & getting money to write about WOW."
/golfclap
PocketFox Feb 19th 2011 3:03PM
Your name is so appropriate for this comment, too.
"I don't like any games but WoW, so you shouldn't either, because I say so!"
jrockzmyv382 Feb 19th 2011 3:28PM
I once considered people like Martin Luther King Jr., John F. Kennedy, Abraham Lincoln, and Charlie Chaplin to be great speakers...
But... I stand in awe at your inspiring words. You have joined their ranks. /bow
"Choose play WOW or quit & getting money to write about WOW."
I'm making that into an inspirational t-shirt.
Iano Feb 19th 2011 3:42PM
Pay attention, younglings: this is how memes are born.
"Choose play WoW or quit & getting money to write about WoW."
I predict at least three solid news cycles before this dies.
To be fair, I forgot to a previous meme- it was so funny when Zarhym that one!
dannyflorida Feb 19th 2011 6:44PM
Whenever I read in WRUP about WoW Insider columnists playing other games -- especially with no mention of any WoW activity-- it does sort of put a bad taste in my mouth.
Not that I begrudge them for doing so, it's just that I'm reading WoW Insider and reading about WoW Insider columnists doing what? Not playing WoW. I expect the WoW Insider columnists to be some of the biggest WoW fans and players anywhere and would expect them to be playing WoW much, much more than other games week in and week out. Heck, I have friends who I'm sure are not nearly the fans of WoW as these columnists, and yet WoW is the only video game they play.
The tag line for the WRUP column is, "What are you playing this week? ... Join us to see what we're up to in and out of game...." Some columnists (even most, sometimes) mention no activity "in game" whatsoever. I like to hear about what my favorite columnists are doing out of game, too. Though I'd rather hear about their activities outside of gaming entirely in this respect (except on rare occasions). I don't mind hearing about a columnist playing another game sometimes (especially if the reason is to compare it to WoW or get a different perspective on WoW from the competition), but it seems, more and more, that's all I hear about from some columnists for their out of game activity report.
I'm an avid reader of WoW Insider, and this is my feedback on the subject. I don't post in the comments here often. I'm not trying to stir up drama, just trying to voice my opinion on the matter.
Iano Feb 19th 2011 7:10PM
Danny, I appreciate your comment, there, especially the tone you used. But I have to disagree- there are 16 writers listed in the post, and EVERY ONE of them at least mentioned what they might do WoW-wise this weekend. I see TWO mentioning the Rift open beta, TWO mentioning some free Everquest time, and a couple more mentions of facebook games and other sundries. Even the sick fellow mentioned his level 50 shaman, and the dental surgery dude is going to try and down Nefarian on Sunday.
What I mean to say is that the impression you've formed is a false one- I don't mean that as an attack, just that the facts don't stand up to scrutiny. This group is a nice cross-section of WoW-players, and some of them are managers or cartoonists for the site, not even articles writers!
I think the basic idea is that many people ARE tired of WoW- and some of those people saw Rift and Everquest mentioned a couple times in there (in conjunction with WoW activity, I might add), and assumed the writers aren't playing enough WoW.
Also, "Choose play WoW or quit & getting money to write about WoW."
hehe. :)
Alex Ziebart Feb 19th 2011 7:45PM
All of us play WoW for leisure. We sink more time into WoW than any other game. We love it, and that's why we write for a site like WoW Insider.
However, do keep in mind that this is our job for many of us. In the case of the Senior Editors and above, we spend 40 hours per week on this site minimum. During patch weeks or other times of heavy load, we can spend 60-80 hours exclusively on this site quite easily. Reading about WoW, writing about WoW, editing others' writing about WoW, researching WoW...
Imagine something you love, be it WoW or something else. Now imagine doing nothing but that every hour of every day, both for work and leisure. It would be a lot of fun at first, but you would get sick of it very quickly. You need something to distract you from it once in awhile. You need to have the ability to step back and do something else, so you can truly appreciate what you loved about that thing to begin with.
If the only thing we played was WoW, we'd all be miserable and the site would suffer for it. Who can get excited over patch notes when we're sick to death of looking at World of Warcraft all day? All of us still play WoW as our main game, but we do take necessary breaks from it.
Also, I think playing other games enhances our appreciation and knowledge of WoW. It isn't a betrayal to play RIFT or DCUO or LotRO. It helps us understand what else is out there, and what goes into WoW's development. If we don't like something that WoW does, we can see what alternatives are available that WoW could benefit from. We, as a team, greatly benefit from seeing what other games have to offer. But we are all still WoW players first and foremost.
DarkWalker Feb 19th 2011 9:41PM
Sincerely, a site about a game from guys that only played that game would probably be bad, as they would have no referential :)
As a common player, I keep active accounts in a few F2P games, and use the occasional free trial, in order to both know what is out there and to have an escape plan if I ever get burned out in the game I'm playing.
It even helps when making suggestions on the forums, both official and non-official, since I get to know what is implemented differently on other games (and whether or not I prefer that other implementation).
(Although there is some irony in that I ended up trading, for the time being, WoW for DCUO, which is not F2P and does not have an open trial yet. It's cheaper, has less wasted time for my playstyle, I love being able to PvP with and against pre-made characters, and I didn't had 5 years to get bored with it the way it happened with WoW. Oh, and not only it does not have Boats or Zeppelins, it also have a portal hub, which is a HUGE plus for me :)
Bossy Feb 20th 2011 3:47AM
Tx to the guys who wanted to insult me for a rather catchy phrase written at 01.00 AM :)
Come to think of it, I speak and write 4 languages, so next time I'll publish in French or German. :))
The thing is ... this is a WOW site, I don't care about any other game when I come to READ things on WOW insider. Period.
I can go to massively or MMO champion or that stinking pile of WOW hate shit that's called mmorpg dot com to read about ALL those other "beautiful" MMO's.
The fact is .... I already spend MASSES of money on those badly developed pieces of junk in the past. I spend more than a 1000 euros already to that shit that's called "competitive" MMO's.
No one of you guys is going to replace this sum to me. But no one is going to hype talk the "next big thing to me" either. Not with the quality on offer: pieces of shit.
And that's simply what they are. Period. You have to be blind and deaf to not see the difference between what WOW offers and that so called "competition". The fact this game simply HAS no competition on a comparable scale (more than 1.5 billion dollars in 2010) tells everything. People PAY to play wow, the others are not even worth the initial launching price.
As one of the authors said: "we work 40 hours per week on this site", well then let us see info on WOW and not again being "lured" to play those duds.
The only reason why you would write about them is to promote them. Well: they simply don't deserve to be promoted. Terri bad unresponsive pieces of copycat is all I saw for 5 years now.
Alex Ziebart Feb 20th 2011 6:57AM
We publish roughly 100 articles per week about World of Warcraft. In all of those articles, we have chosen to discuss other games we play in a very small handful of them. In this past week, probably only two or three times maximum. Deal with it.
"The only reason why you would write about them is to promote them."
That is the silliest thing I have read in a very long time so I am going to go with my gut instinct and assume you are trolling.
Julie Feb 20th 2011 10:21AM
A double-plus good statement there brother! Sad is, you are preaching to the blind. Stay true and always remember: War is Peace; Freedom is Slavery; Ignorance is Strength.
Drakkenfyre Feb 20th 2011 12:19PM
It's a shame you speak so many languages, but your English can be terrible.
I got annoyed after seeing RIFT over and over again in articles, but this isn't your personal "Keep me playing World of WarCraft and nothing else". Yes, this is a site devoted to the game, but there is nothing saying they can't play other games. This article is asking what they are doing on the weekend. Nothing says they have to play the game non-stop. Would they or should they post an article like "Why you should play RIFT instead" ? No. Should they be criticized simply because they say what other games they are going to be playing on the weekend? No, only a moron would do that.
If you work at a certain restaurant, say Pizza Hut, eventually you are going to get sick of pizza, and don't want to eat it. Now I am not saying they are sick of the game, but if someone were to come along and say "Hey, you can't eat other food on your time off! You're supposed to eat nothing but Pizza Hut all the time!", they would be an idiot.
You want a dozen people or so to only play one game, because you think it's their job. And I mean that in a literal sense. Like a Coke driver not being allowed to drink Pepsi. That's sad.
jordan Feb 19th 2011 2:24PM
Does it really even matter if you beat this boss 25 or that boss 10? To me a kill is a kill.
foust117 Feb 20th 2011 3:40AM
Robin always eats everything with Nutella!
Udderpowered Feb 19th 2011 2:55PM
Is that pic the zombie invasion? So many fond memories...
*tearwipe*