About the Bloggers: Alex Ziebart
Twice a week, our writers will tell you more about themselves, and let you get to know them and the characters they play a little better. Click here to read more About the Bloggers.
What do you do for WoW Insider?
I'm primarily a weekend blogger for WoW Insider, but I also stick my nose in during the week when I can. I am also a columnist for Hybrid Theory and I take turns with Elizabeth Wachowski writing Know Your Lore.
For the Horde or Glory to the Alliance?
Glory to the Alliance! While orcs bug me for some reason I can't decipher, I don't really have anything against the Horde. I started playing Alliance because that's where my friends rolled and we started a pretty awesome guild there, so I stuck around and came to love it. If those people had rolled Horde instead, I might be playing there. Both factions have their own feel, and they're both very cool.
What's your main right now?
My main is a Human Shadow Priest on the Cenarion Circle server, just breaking into the Sunwell Plateau in 4 pieces of Tier 6(Mother Shahraz refuses to cough up the Conqueror). I do have quite a few alts that I play very heavily(such as my Protection Paladin), but my heart lies with my Priest. Most of my characters are female, but it isn't an aesthetic thing so much as a 'its cooler when girls kick ass' thing. Yes, I am a male despite what my avatar up there may tell you.
Favorite thing to do in Azeroth?
It's really hard to pick just one thing, and I don't think you ever really need to pick one. I don't like to PvP(because I'm bad at it), but I'm in a raid that is moving into Sunwell, I am a roleplayer, and I enjoy levelling my alts. I play WoW to hang out with friends, so anything can be fun in WoW if you keep the right people around.
What's the best instance in the game?
Overall, Stratholme. The lore, the gameplay, the environment, the fight with Rivendare... all amazing. When I'm on my Protection Paladin? Shattered Halls, heroic or otherwise. It's like a Prot Paladin Playground.
What's the number one thing Blizzard could do better?
Two things come to mind. First, differentiating PvE and PvP a little more. I don't mean stats-wise, I mean appearance or vanity. Additional titles, armor sets that don't just swap colors, that sort of thing. Someone who is rocking the brackets in the arena shouldn't look identical to someone who just banished Kil'jaeden and vice versa. They can both look awesome, but they shouldn't be identical.
Second, place more emphasis on the social aspect of the game. Take a few pages out of SWG's book. Things such as player housing, guild housing, taverns and pubs that are more interactive('live' bands, etc) would help this a lot. PvP servers may not care about these things(which makes it unlikely they'll be implemented) but they would strengthen RP servers a lot, and RP servers definitely need the help.
Favorite piece of loot?
The Shard of the Fallen Star from AQ40 is easily my favorite. It has become my raid's good luck charm. I equip it whenever we need a little edge on our first kill of a boss, and things always seem to come together. Coincidence and superstition, sure, but sometimes you need that false sense of confidence to pull it off.
What accomplishment in-game are you most proud of?
My guild, easily. We signed the guild charter only a couple weeks after the launch of WoW, and the guild is still going strong. I became the GM quite awhile ago, and I have a ton of support from the other guild officers. I'm glad to have these people with me. Additionally, we're part of a major raid alliance on our server. This is a point of pride for us, because most people are of the opinion raid alliances are doomed to failure. We've been going strong for a few years and there's no sign of stopping. We were once called "nothing more than a glorified PUG" so it's nice to be ahead of those people in progression now.
Hey, you have to be a little cocky about some things, right?
If you had 10 more hours to play every week, what would you spend them doing?
Probably the same thing I do now, just more of it. Roleplaying, levelling alts, brainstorming ideas for my next Know Your Lore installment, the usual.
When I'm not playing WoW, I'm...
Writing. I write a lot. I write for WoW Insider, but I'm also working on two fantasy settings of my own. A traditional fantasy setting, and an 'eastern' setting with elements inspired by China, Japan, Korea, and those regions. I think it's a lot of fun, we'll see where it goes. I'm hoping to turn them into a series of novels/graphic novels eventually, with RPG settings to accompany them. Kind of a distant dream at this point, but what's life without dreams?
