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The Story of a Wandering Online Traveler
Michiel
Member UncommonPosts: 235
Disclaimer:
I realise there will be many Threads similar to this one, but please let me be. I'm only looking for some constructive feedback and possibly good stories from fellow online gamers.
I'm a 23 year old male with (finally) a College degree and a full-time job. I have experienced the addiction of WoW over the years, but I've also taken the necessary breaks from the game. I have played almost all P2P and F2P MMORPG games on the market today and none of them could hold me as long as WoW still does. This Thread is ment to provide a storyline of a gamer looking to have some fun in his free time. I decided to write up all of my frustration as an attempt to let it go and maybe be able to make a decision: keep playing WoW or step away from it forever. And before you say 'just walk away and don't bother us' realise this: I want a game to play in my free time to have fun and escape from the real world. I have searched for that game for a long time now. AoC gave me hope but let me down and Warhammer did the same. I always ended up going back to WoW. Witness the battle:
I started playing WoW in september 2006 and I have been on and off through the years. A friend of mine gave me WoW as a birthday present and it didn't take me long to get addicted to the game. I played all the free hours I had even trading in sleep for it. I started out with a Dwarf Priest recommend by my friend because of the racial Fear Ward. It took me a while to get to level 60, but when I got there it was great. I remember people with Tier 2 / Tier 2.5 being heroes of the community and when you saw a Horde player with that kind of gear you had to run like hell. The world around you felt epic and full of wonders. I decided I wanted to focus on PvE and with the help of real life friends I got taken in by some of the better Guilds and I was able to do 1 run of Molten Core, Black Wing Lair and Zul'Gurub before everything fell apart somewhere in December 2006. TBC was coming and none of the Guilds felt like raiding anymore since it would all be for naught. I had spend around 2 months getting to the fun part and when I was there I only got to enjoy the excitement for a little bit.
Of course I moved on and got thrilled by TBC coming. I started a Blood Elf Rogue on day 1 of TBC. But little did I know that would be the start of loads of doing nothing in Shattrah and eventually in Dalaran. Because I played so many hours I was 70 in no time. I played on a new TBC server so there weren't many people there. I actually had to wait 2 weeks before the Guild I picked up on the way had enough 70's to start doing some raids. We did some heroics and tried some Karazhan, but it was hard back then and we had crappy gear. People who didn't show up for raids finally caused everything to collapse (this was after weeks of canceled raids) and I gave up on WoW.
A few months later I got sucked back into WoW by the same friend who bought me the original pack. I full enjoyed it at that time and I could actually find groups to do Heroics with. I started collecting that basic PvP set also known as 'free epics' so I had something to start with. I did loads of Heroics and got the right gear to actually start raiding. That's where it got hard: I was DPS. Sure I had experienced the need for Tanks and Healers above DPS before, but not as much as now. If I even got into a Guild I always had to fight with 6 or more Rogues over raid spots. And since I was one of the newest (every Guild always has the 2 veteran Rogues) I almost never got to go. I got so fed up with it: I paid to play a game but I couldn't actually play. I was mostly flying circles in Shattrah looking for groups or something fun to do. But it led nowhere.
I started my own Guild and got enough people together to do some raids, but with all the recruiting, arranging and keeping members happy it felt more like work than having fun. So that Guild didn't last longer than 7 days before I caved in under the pressure.
The last months of TBC were somehow easier. I had build up some reputation while doing Heroics and just chatting in Ogrimmar and people started to recognize my name. I got into some higher end Guilds and I had more raiding time. I was having loads of fun killing bosses for the first time and clearing complete instances. People actually showed up for raids and everyone was dedicated. Then the nerf was introduced to mark the ending of TBC, but we didn't mind. We took the opportunity to make as much progress as we could. But then WotLK came along.
The Guild fell apart because most of the members were sick of having to throw their gear away for the second time. So there I was, alone again. I leveled to 76 before giving up. There was nothing left but the knowledge of having to prove myself again, as DPS, that I was worth recruiting as a Guild. I took some time away from WoW and only resubbed two weeks ago. I leveled my Rogue to 80 within days hoping to see some fine end game content. But once I hit 80 I traveled to Dalaran, only to find myself walking around in circles, screaming my head of trying to find a group for any Heroic.
Like so many times during the years I realised I would have to play either a Tank or a Healer to get to see some PvE endgame content. But I have tried leveling those classes so many times (and always gave up around level 15) that I couldn't bare to try again. Then I thought the new class Death Knight could be the solution. It would only be 25 levels right? I started leveling a Death Knight and I got him to level 62 before realising: why am I leveling a Death Knight when so many other people have done the same? Nobody confirmed this for me but I thought I would end up the same with the Death Knight as my Rogue: walking in circles in Dalaran.
So I started leveling a Priest today, like I started leveling one a couple of years ago. But I just couldn't handle it anymore. Knowing you have to do so many levels just to be able to play the game like you want it. Already having leveled a Priest before I had to do same thing all over again. Just because I wanted to be on the Horde side with my friends.
I'm on a crossroads now: I truly want to play the game because it can be fun. Hanging out with friends and slaying bosses to feel some sense of accomplishment in my free time. But I just don't think it's fair I have to play a Tank or Healer to do so. Especially if it means I'll have to level a completely new character.
I'm actually hoping for some constructive feedback from you as readers. I assume most of you have played WoW and have likely had the same feelings. What did you do? Did you find another game to replace WoW with or did you quit gaming altogether? All stories from you readers would be appreciated. Maybe I could find some answers in it.
Comments
Roll a DK. Starts at level 55 and you can both DPS and tank to your heart's content.
EDIT: Good DK tanks are a wanted commodity in raiding guilds.
Playing a game is to have fun, so since you dont have fun leveling a priest or warrior, dont do it.
Unless you dont mind re-roll a hybid like druid or pally or shaman, that can dps and also heal. It may be a bit easier to get into raiding guild.
If you still only want to play your rogue, than maybe you can try to find a guild in the official guild recruitment forum.
Good luck!
RIP Orc Choppa
Michiel, I totally know how you feel. When you get right down to it, WoW is actually a team game where you have to sacrifice individual freedom and enjoyment for the good of the team in order to be successful. Now, there are plenty of team games out there like TF2 and CS, and in a way, WoW is one of them, but is masquerading as a MMORPG with its prereq grind, fantasy rpg elements, etc. I think they would have been equally successful if they had just made a cooperative Warcraft RPG/dungeon runner for PvEers and a Warcraft fighting game for the PvPers. All other MMOs suffer from a similar problem. So far, they just haven't really come up with a good reason to have so many people together in one world.
Do what I did and make it a rule to only play single player games or 1v1 games. Right now I'm playing Streetfighter IV and it's really a breath of fresh air to play something involving individual skill and NO GRINDING! I've been playing WoW and other MMOs for so long I almost forgot how pointless a game mechanic grinding and leveling are. Plus, SF IV brings back memories of playing games in the arcade as a kid, especially playing it at live tournaments at parties with friends.
I've also been playing a lot of action games like Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, Half-Life 2, Portal, God of War, etc. My solution for you is to go out and buy non MMO PC games and a Playstation 3 or Xbox 360 and pick up a bunch of games and just have fun for a change. Yeah, the people on this board will call you a carebear/sheep/child, but who cares? All of my RL friends left WoW and MMOs for the new consoles and other PC games.
Don't get me wrong, I like WoW and still play it now and then, but only on my own terms; like a single-player RPG just to try my hand at different alts and battlegrounds. I don't join guilds or interact with other players at all. On that level, WoW is just a less intense version of one of the Diablo games. Now that's the true title I'm waiting for from Blizzard: Diablo 3! That and Starcraft 2. WoW will be in the rear view mirror for me when those games come out.
Another suggestion i would give is: Advertise youself!!!
Go to the realm forum and tell others about yourslef, age, pass history/experiance, what raid you've gone through, how prepare you are ( always prepare pots and elixar beforehand etc), whats your raid time etc etc...
Always let the guild knows why you will be a good addition to them and not the other way round....
Something like what you would write in a resume.... But warning, some raiding guild would want a player with at least 3k plus achivements points...
Of course with all raiding guild you will put to test, so come prepare, watch all videos regarding WOTLK raids...
Good luck again!
RIP Orc Choppa
Yes, and its currently the Blizzard Dev's favorite target for the nerf bat. Its been a constant stream of nerfs, and other "balances" for patch after patch now. Death Knight started out as the first "hero" class(classic Blizzard bait and switch) and after people had spent a lot of time playing it, they started to nerf the hell out of it. They HAD to see some of the "balance" issues on the beta servers, but it went live in that state. I have a level 80, and its still a fun class(if you can resign yourself to months more of Blizzards "special attention") but nothing like as much fun as it was the first few months, Of course, with the hysterical howling from casters that DK is "OP!!", this was pretty much to be expected(the fact that it was ment to be a caster killer class, seems to have escaped some peoples attention... ^^) . Blizzard really needs to develop a system that splits PvE and PvP abilities, so that we don't have this endless game of wack a nerf.
There are so many idiots around that it really isn't hard for a decent player to stand out from the herd. And when it comes to entering a raiding guild, DPS players have a much easier time than tanks. I know that, at least on my server, decent rogues who know how to stay alive in raids and top damage meters are like gold dust.
If you can write guild applications as well as your original post, then I really don't see you having many problems.
D&D Home Page - What Class Are You? - Build A Character - D&D Compendium
Edit:
Never mind.
Thank you all for the nice replies. I took some of your advice and started joining LFG channels, using the WoW ingame LFG panel and, again, screaming my head off in the city channels. It hasn't helped me so far, so I'm going to try the next suggestion: try to find a raiding Guild and work my way up to a basic raid spot.
It's gonna be hard though; (considering I can't find any groups for HC's) I'm still wearing my old T6 gear. So I'm guessing not many Guilds will recruit me at the moment. But I have been playing my Rogue since day 1 of TBC so it would be a waste just to retire him now after spending so many hours on him.
If you readers have any more stories or debates please write them down. It's good to read other peoples opinions on this subject.
As late in the game as its getting, your best bet would be to either find a new guild(that you could help grow) or one of the mid sized guilds that has lost some people. At this point in time, unless you have either an internal contact, or very nice gear(and the experience to maximize your damage out put on the meters) you are unlikely to get in to one of real raiding guilds. They are all about standings on the damage/healing meters at this point. Many also require first hand, in depth experience of the various instances that they are raiding. Which of course is difficult to gain, without having the gear from earlier sequence raids/instances. Bottom line, its an endless treadmill, and if you step off for too long, you are going to have a very difficult time catching up. I wish you the very best of luck.
Some tips:
a) Many level 80 blues are better than Tier 6.
b) PvP gear can be useful for filling holes in your gear where the items you want didn't drop.
c) If you had good raiding experience at 70, then thats worth a lot when applying to guilds. You have a huge advantage over most other newly dinged 80s.
d) Experience at particular boss fights is over-rated. Most boss fights can be learnt quickly by someone who's had good raid experience and is willing to prepare for raids by watching videos / reading tactics.
e) Gear is over-rated. It's easy to gear up quickly. Just make use of all the opportunities on offer - not only heroics, but also PvP. Try to join pugs for VoA, OS and Naxx. Your gear is probably good enough for those, even if you don't top meters.
The most valuable things in a raider are knowing how to play your class and knowing how to move in a raid (e.g. not stand in the fire). You already have those.
P.S. Are you playing on Ravenholdt? I remember a rogue with a similar name to yours.
D&D Home Page - What Class Are You? - Build A Character - D&D Compendium
Everything this guy said plus
f) DON'T neglect your trade skills at max level its all about min-maxing (raising your stats no matter how small it is every little bit helps) and some of them even give additional abilities not to mention the BoP items you get.
g) Head to Icecrown and start your tournament dailies ASAP they will help funds you not to mention there are some decent epics
h) Work on your Reputations as soon as possible you usually have to quests until you reach friendly then you can buy that factions tabard and its all down hill from there...
i) Sons of Hodir *shivers* its a pain but if you want shoulder enchants you need it.
There are times when one must ask themselves is it my passion that truly frightens you? Or your own?
Those are a load of tips I can work with! Very much appreciated. It's gonna be a lot of work, but if I don't have to give up the Rogue (server: Lightning's Blade, name: Syhon) it's all worth it. Any more advice would be appreciated (stories too)!
I have the upcoming weekend to invest in WoW so I'll report in after to let you all know if my hard work has paid off.
Well I've tried for a couple of hours spread over the last week, but no succes. I've been looking around for a Guild to join (screaming in Cities and browsing Guild websites) and start farming HC's, but no one will take me. They all have high gear and experience demands. On top of that it seems the situation has gotten worse with the demand for certain achievements. How am I going to get those required achievements if I need them first to join a Guild or raid?!
I decided I'm going to wait for either:
A) The patch that implements the mount at level 20, 40, 60 (as a motivation to keep me going) so I can easily level a Priest to 80 and feel like I can play the game again, or
Anywho, until either of those options become available it's no WoW for me. Guess I'll go out and enjoy the nice weather! Thanks for all the feedback, it's appreciated.
I know where you are coming from mate, but I have to say in my (current) opinion its a matter of your perception. I've got so many things I need to do at level 80 I dont know where to start on any given day.
I know my guild would be glad to have you (though I'm a rogue myself =P), and I cant believe that there arent guilds on your server dying for more raiders as well. Sure.... everyone is always looking for tanks and healers.... but its not like there's no room for DPS.
Worse come to worse contact me.. transfer to my server... and run with us.
If you really feel the need to be a tank or healer just find one you like to play.... I started a paladin a few months ago and LOVE it... he is dual specced for tanking and healing
Grymm
MMO addict in recovery!
EQ,SWG preCU,L2,EQ2,GW,CoH/CoV,V:SOH,
Aion,AoC,TR,WAR,EVE,BP,RIFT,WoW and others... no more!
I know how you feel. Most times I don't bother with groups. It seems that all too many people have turned general, trade and LFG chat off, so they can't even hear you. Given that the LFG UI is almost never used, that makes it very difficult to find parties. I sometimes wonder if the Armory is being used the way that Blizzard intended it(knowing their focus on gear I'd not doubt it). Any way, best of luck to you.