Breakfast Topic: How do you pass time in cities?
by Chris Clow 
Jul 28th 2011 at 8:00AM
It seems that with each new feature that Blizzard adds to the game, our characters spend more and more time in the capital city hub. Profession dailies, portals, trade chat, and LFD all beckon our characters to spend our time within the friendly confines of Stormwind or Orgrimmar.
Have you ever taken a look at what other people do while waiting for the opportunity to conclude their business in town? Or at what you yourself do?
I've watched people put on light shows with vanity items; run laps around Dalaran as if they were in the Race for the Cure; inspect everybody who walks by with an interesting item; or hop from rooftop to rooftop in Stormwind. Others devote their time to more annoying pursuits; finding the biggest mount possible to stick on top of the mailbox outside the AH seems to be a common theme.
I often idle in Stormwind while waiting out the last minutes before raid time. I typically camp my character in a special point in the city. On my main, I leave my mount in between the spires of Stormwind Cathedral, while my DK stands watch by the tomb in the graveyard and my shaman idles away under a tree in the Valley of Heroes. It gives me a familiar setting while I talk with my guildies and helps me focus on whatever the next important task I have.
When you're in town, do you try to put on a show? Do you wait anywhere significant? Or are you the type who doesn't linger in civilization for any longer than necessary?
Filed under: Breakfast Topics, Guest Posts
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
Revnah Jul 28th 2011 8:05AM
"When you're in town, do you try to put on a show? Do you wait anywhere significant? Or are you the type who doesn't linger in civilization for any longer than necessary?"
The latter. The only town I like to actually spend time in is Thunder Bluff, and with all the portals being in Orgrimmar I hardly go there anymore. The main cities are too busy for my liking, and there's always someone showing off their rare mount on top of the mailbox or the auctioneers ;-)
I usually go mining while waiting for the raid summon. I suppose Trolls be of da South Seas, we don' like cities, mon!
Revnah Jul 28th 2011 8:23AM
"... or STAND on the auctioneers" was what I meant to write. D'oh.
Chetti Jul 28th 2011 11:39AM
Me too, or Undercity. Though Undercity still confuses the begezuz out of me. Both of my Taurens call Thunderbluff home, and really.. if I wasn't leveling the undead alongside a friend of mine who has had many undeads and knows Undercity well (and prefers it), she'd live in the Thunderbluff too.
My alliance main lives in Stormwind, though she used to call Darnassus home (being a night elf and all). She did move back there for a short time right before the Shattering, and stayed there for a while, but I chose convenience of Cata portals in SW over having to take a boat.
trefpoid Jul 28th 2011 12:40PM
Since I'm a mage, I go to Thunderbluff when I want to relax, specially at night. It's so damn beautiful there. When I have to sell stuff and do important business, I'm always in the Undercity. There's hardly anyone, all AH all nearby and the bank is right there. I don't like crowded places much, even less because my PC explodes in Orgrimmar. I know the Undercity like the palm of my hand and I luv it, must have my hearthstone set there with all my toons. I hardly stay very much in a city though, when I have to kill time I go fishing or looking for a few digsites, see if I get lucky :D
Kalistasis Jul 28th 2011 8:07AM
I spend most of my time flying around Orgrimmar and trolling /2
My favourite activity is offering free portals whenever I see someone charging ridiculous amounts.
Ooh, and killing Gamon...
MusedMoose Jul 28th 2011 8:09AM
Most of my characters don't do anything special in cities - on my server, the only Alliance city with a significant number of people running around in it is Stormwind, and there's usually tons of people hanging around showing off their flying mounts by hovering a foot off the ground. Wings in your face no matter where you go. -_- However, there was one time I tried something different.
When one of my mages finally got her Violet Proto-drake, I noticed how remarkably bat-like it could be when standing still on the ground. So I spent a goodly amount of time in SW trying to find a roof edge that was angled enough for me to be able to stand on it without falling off but that would make it look like my drake was hanging over the edge. Yes, I wanted to be atop a giant purple bat that was hanging over the city of Stormwind.
Let's just say it's a good thing I was already on a flying mount, else my Slow Fall spell would have stopped working out of spite for the number of roofs I feel off of. @_@
MusedMoose Jul 28th 2011 8:10AM
*facepalm* Fell off of, not feel off of... Is the E.D.I.T. Button still broken?
ataljang Jul 28th 2011 8:11AM
Anvil and valor vendor are all I need. Occassionaly I will do the cookng quest. I use the android app for all things auction house. The cities to me, are less fun now that flight is enabled in them.
Kurtis Jul 28th 2011 8:11AM
I don't spend much time in the cities. However, if I am waiting for a raid or just chilling for a while, I shift into bird form and perch on top of the auctioneer tipi in the Tauren district of Orgrimmar.
nvrbrd Jul 28th 2011 8:17AM
When I am in a hub city, I tend to sell my junk, repair, do my dailies real quick, see if I can buy a new valor piece, troll trade chat a little (sometimes that is very entertaining by itself) and then fly away to my next endevour. I try not to hang out too long as it becomes pointless to stand in a city for an hour or more doing nothing when there is just so much to do! I have healing wars on my shaman because it does do a light show hahaa!
Nina Katarina Jul 28th 2011 8:19AM
I try to avoid city crowds as much as I possibly can. My auctioneer is in Thunder Bluff, I've got a jewelcrafter who only moves between the trainer and the mailbox, and my main is back to being hearthed in Dalaran, only goes to Org for quick fly-throughs or to buy JP/VP gear.
Narkondas Jul 28th 2011 8:28AM
Being a druid I fly around Stormwind mindlessly - and occasionally engage in the fun game of "Playing chicken" with the ground. (Switch into caster form and let yourself fall, switching back at the last moment)
I have yet to win - the best I've managed was a draw....
babywhiz Jul 28th 2011 9:29AM
While waiting for raid to get settled, I do this thing where I flight form skim the water by the Cata portals, then fly off the edge of the waterfall and as soon as I am over water again, I leave flight form and plunge into the water. Then, I will jump up out of the water, hit flight form and skim the water to the next pool, and repeat.
Aalokor Jul 28th 2011 9:42AM
Similarly, on my druid, I try to keep hots up without touching the ground.
Bynde Jul 28th 2011 11:00AM
As a Druid I love playing "chicken" but I like to challenge other Druids to see who can fall the closest to the ground without splattering.
Kurtis Jul 28th 2011 2:04PM
I did this a lot at the Argent Tournament, to get down to the bottom of the cliff where the boat to gather shark meat was located. I usually shifted back somewhere around the mast, but once I made it all the way to the deck...
Xantenise Jul 29th 2011 5:05AM
I do this on my druid all the time.
Lloren Jul 28th 2011 8:29AM
I like to find tall points of the various buildings in SW and perch my Druid in a sitting position while in flight form on top of them. My favorites are looking over the ocean from the cathedral and the top of the Mage tower.
btsfstr Jul 28th 2011 8:34AM
In Dal I used to jump in circles around the floating thing in front of the south bank.
On my Shaman I hang out behind the new Auction House. There are a few trees there, and while still being close to a mailbox with a quick ride up on my dragon, I'm still around no one but a few rabbits.
On my Mage I either like to hang out either with the Tauren in Org because I like the waterfall there, or fly around aimlessly.
Namy Jul 28th 2011 11:48AM
I always used to go get my shoes shined whilst in Dal or camp outside VH waiting for that last book! After receiving said book I used to spend my time up in Archmage Vargoth's Retreat until he started to creep me out ; )
Now I sit on a roof in SW amongst some very friendly seagulls.