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The Think Tank: Keeping in touch with the friends in the magic box
Earlier this week in the comments of the article about MMO social network ZergID, readers went off on a tear about how MMO players keep in touch and communicate with guildies and friends beyond the game -- as my mom used to say, the people in the magic box. What quickly became obvious is that there's no one accepted method. Social media, forums, chats, IMs, Steam, and this crazy invention called a telephone were all mentioned. I thought we could use a more formal discussion, so in today's Think Tank, I asked the Massively writers how they keep in touch with guildies and MMO friends when they're not playing or when they're between games... if they keep in touch at all.
The Daily Grind: What makes you stay with a bad game?
I freely admit that I've played games that I hate, but the incredible thing is that I've kept playing them, sometimes for several years. I remember actively hating EverQuest in its early days, but MMO alternatives were slim, and getting my friends off the evercrack and into something interesting like Asheron's Call was darn near impossible. The truth was that I was willing to do almost anything to hang out with my guild, including spend $10 a month to camp-check and corpse-run. So I wonder how many of you have played or are playing a game you dislike, and why? Do you do it out of a sense of loyalty to friends and guildies, like I did? Do you suffer from the completionist's compulsion to finish everything he starts? Do you just want to make sure you've gotten your money's worth? Do you hold out hope that the game (or your tastes) will suddenly change? Or is there some other reason? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Enter at Your Own Rift: The little things
For me, it's all about the little things in life: the smell of a good cup of coffee, the enthusiastic hug of my two-year-old, an illicit pack of Lemonheads candy, or throwing punny tags into Massively articles. While big things are essential to have and get right, it's the little things I find that give life its unique flavor. So when I enter MMORPGs, I'm always on the lookout for little things. Oh, sure, PvP and raiding and overarching epic stories are all well and good, but it's from the little things that the soul and flavor of a game emerges. I'm often far more delighted when I stumble upon a funny little Easter egg in a game than if I win that roll for a purple piece of armor. Today I want to look at 10 little things in RIFT that I've come to appreciate and savor over the past month or so. Maybe these elements don't get all of the glory, and maybe they're even seen as superfluous to some, but without them the game would be far less to me. So while we rush between rifts and struggle with expert dungeons, I'd encourage all of us to take some time to reflect on all of the supporting cast of features that are just as important to the overall effort.
Drama Mamas: Proper AH etiquette when a guildie helps craft
Drama Mamas Lisa Poisso and Robin Torres are experienced gamers and real-life mamas -- and just as we don't want our precious babies to be the ones kicking and wailing on the floor of the checkout lane next to the candy, neither do we want you to become known as That Guy on your realm. So. Dreamy. I perhaps should have warned you that if you are going to send letters that contain even the slightest hint of a Jane Austen reference, this kind of thing would happen. Well, now you know. Hi, I recently had an issue with a guildie that I would like to ask about. At the beginning of the expansion, it was a goal of mine to get one of the Darkmoon Card trinkets crafted. As we all know, it is no small task. A fellow guildie (and fellow officer) offered to help me with the task. So I immediately flicked the farm herb switch, and set out to make it happen. After a couple of weeks, more research into available trinkets, and nearly 60 stacks of herbs, I was one card away from the deck. I was able to purchase the last card for a good sum of gold and finally had my deck ready for the Darkmoon Faire. With all of the gear research I had done, I concluded that the trinket I had worked so hard for was going to be replaced very quickly. So I decided that I'd try to sell it, reasoning that there were other personal goals I had in the game that could benefit from a chunk of gold. After posting it on the AH and being away for a day, my guildie that crafted it for me shot me a fairly aggressive tell saying how he thought selling it was a low thing to do. He explained that he even used some of his own herbs to craft the cards and that the only reason he offered to begin with was to help a guildie get raid-ready. I took it off the AH so as not to cause problems and explained that I wasn't aware he had to use his own mats to help make it all. I found out later that he had been ripping me to others about selling it before he spoke with me. I posted an explanation in our forums of why I was going to sell it at all. apologized if I offended anyone, and stated that I would be using it after all.
The Soapbox: A sense of humor is your number one weapon
Disclaimer: The Soapbox column is entirely the opinion of this week's writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of Massively as a whole. If you're afraid of opinions other than your own, you might want to skip this column. It's one of my ongoing theories that MMOs severely tempt (if not outright encourage) us to engage in the less savory aspects of our character. I'm sometimes worried that these games do shape our personalities, at least while we're playing, to bring out the worst in us. I'm not talking about addiction or anything like that, but rather about things as simple as fostering greediness, selfishness, envy and bullying. From games that are supposed to be massively social, I often get the impression that the message they're preaching is to look out for yourself and get ahead of the (kill ten) rat race any way possible. At least in my own game sessions, I've seen signs of this happening. I've kept silent when guildies ask for help, because I want to get this quest done for myself. I've fallen into the stressful grind of endgame gear to the point of becoming completely fixated on it to the exclusion of all else. Once or twice I've written an angry diatribe on forums, attempting to use the sheer weight of my words to club the opposition into submission. And, yes, I've lost my cool with party members whom I judged as not pulling their weight, and I've chewed them out. It's usually at times like these when someone or something kicks in to remind me that I have gotten a little too serious and need to lighten up. It's not that MMOs are "just" games but that these are games, and as such, shouldn't we be having more fun and laughing more often than we do now? This is why, over the years, I've developed a personal philosophy of gaming that revolves around three simple concepts: if it's not fun, don't do it; help others when the opportunity arises; and always bring a sense of humor to the playing field. Today I'd like to explore that last one.
Drama Mamas: Friends behaving badly
Dodge the drama and become that player everyone wants in their group with the Drama Mamas. Lisa Poisso and Robin Torres are real-life mamas and experienced WoW players -- and just as we don't want our precious babies to be the ones kicking and wailing on the floor of checkout lane next to the candy, neither do we want you to become known as That Guy on your server. We're taking your questions at dramamamas@wow.com. We often explain bad behavior in game (and on the internet in general) with anonymity (NSFW link). This just does not apply to the letters we answer this week. The friends behaving badly know the letter writers in "real life," and it is that phrase that seems to be the problem. If WoW were just a game and not real people interacting in real situations, it wouldn't cause real drama for us to tackle each week. This disconnect between proper behavior in the physical world and Azeroth just doesn't make sense when you know your guildies in both places. But sense or not, it happens -- and these letters are just two examples of a common problem.
The cynic's guide to World of Warcraft
We tend to be very careful while composing articles here at WoW Insider. We're always mindful that not everyone plays the game in the same way, or has the same experience on different servers or factions, but every so often a certain madness seizes us and we feel the urge to ... tell the truth. In that vein, I am pleased (sort of) to present The Cynic's Guide to World of Warcraft. This article owes a heavy debt to Ambrose Bierce's The Devil's Dictionary. If you want to see a real master at work, read that.
Guildwatch: It was my friend
Of course the issue is supposed to be fixed now, but after getting booted off their mains in Ulduar, Dark Haven on Baelgun had had enough, and made a dancing line of cows to display their displeasure. Pretty funny.Lots more guild shenigans in this week's Guildwatch as usual, including some drama (both good and bad), some downed news, and some recruiting posts. Tune in after the break below to see what's going on around the servers. And if you have a tip, from your guild or something you saw on the forums, send it along to us at guildwatch@wow.com. Thanks!
We Have a Tabard: A little help from my friends
The We Have a Tabard series is designed to help guild leaders, officers, members achieve their goals to maximize their cooperative experience.I'm relatively new to leading a raiding guild. I've been working on building and training my team for about six months. I've been leading the recruiting and correcting members, managing raids, and in general trying to make my online family as functional as possible. It's a lot of work for one person, and no matter how much I love my guildies I have to admit that I am tired.The best thing that I've ever done for myself and my guild is to ask for help. I have some great players in my guild that are well respected by other members and the server community. They have expertise in areas that do I do not. Probably most importantly they are less likely to mince words than I do and are willing to do what it takes to get the job done. Having some backup has helped some become more invested in the guild and has really lightened my load.Choosing who to ask for help can be a tough call. It does little good to select only your favorites or your friends, if they are not successful leaders. Take several factors into account when selecting a council of officers:
How do we start a guild?
I'd like to take a moment to address another reader email. In this post I kind of skirt the direct issues of recruiting and establishing a guild bank. I offer my best advice on the absolute basics of starting a guild. Please ignore spelling, grammatical, and punctuation errors in the reader's email, and direct all of your ire toward mine.heya,me and my friend want to start up our own to guild working towards raid progression. We have both done all pre 3.1 content on other characters on different servers and on moving to a new server have found it hard to find a guild that meets our needs/scheduale; thus we want to form our own guild. However neither of us has any experience in doing so, and would appreciate some tips on how best to start ie. how to recruit, how developed the guild bank needs to be etcthanksBefore you get started making your guild, I'd like to let you in on a little secret. Some of the most painful experiences in my life include boiling the skin off the back of my right hand with scalding water from a steam iron (you wouldn't notice the scar unless I pointed it out, but even 22 years later I use it to tell left from right), the massive hangover I had on 1/1/2000- three days after I got my tongue pierced (and working a double shift), and starting a guild with a handful of friends. My best advice is that unless there is a real need for a guild, don't do it. You and your friend may want to look for a guild that meets your needs, our readers have posted many that are looking for members.
Partying at BlizzCon
Tickets are only going on sale today, but already people are planning the most important part of BlizzCon: the parties. There's a whole crew of people planning to meet up at the Hilton, and if the past few years are any indication, all of the restaurants and bars around the area will be hosting roaming groups of World of Warcraft and Blizzard fans after the show every night. Whether you're meeting up with your guildies or just sitting down with random strangers to talk about whatever Blizzard announced previously in the day, partying at Blizzard's big event is always a good time.Most plans are still up in the air, though we do have one event for you to mark on your calendar: our regular WoW Insider meetup will be held as usual on Thursday night again this year (that'll be August 20th). We haven't quite figured out a location yet -- unfortunately, I think we've finally outgrown The Lost Bar, as last year it was not only packed to capacity, and not only did my throat wear out from yelling to the crowd, but the bar's lone bartender has soured us on going back there. We're looking around for someplace a little bigger, preferably with a stage and a mic, where the drinks can flow freely.Wherever we end up, it's sure to be a hoot -- we'll likely have giveaways, WoW Insider editors and staffers aplenty will be in attendance, and, probably the best part, you'll get to meet all of the fellow readers who fill the comment fields next to you. If you're grabbing tickets today (or even if you're just planning to be there anyway), stay tuned as we get closer for more news on where the meetup is going down. BlizzCon 2009 is coming up on August 21st and 22nd! We've got all the latest news and information. At BlizzCon you can play the latest games, meet your guildmates, and ask the developers your questions. Plus, there's some great looking costumes.
Guildwatch: Confessions of the guilty
Diemm, in this excerpt from a long trade chat screenshot (which you can see in this week's column below), confesses right away to ninja'ing a guild bank -- he was brought into a guild by a merge, and decided he'd rather take everything in the bank than be a part of the guild. As despicable as it is, his honesty is quite refreshing. We have a confession, too: last week's Guild "Goodness" was just an April Fool's joke. In fact, here's the scary part: Jalabharxo, in the intro, who asked for help and actually got it? That's my character. And that was actually the third time I asked a trade chat nicely before I got a clean screenshot I could post -- the other two times, I got made fun of.So it seems that drama is the norm. Not that there isn't goodness to post -- if you hear of any, let us know, and we'll fit it in. But for now, if you hear about guild drama or downings, feel free to send them to us at wowguildwatch@gmail.com. A few quick notes this week: we are no longer posting about Vault of Archavon ninjas because a) there's just too many of them, and b) they often have nothing to do with guilds, and this column is about guild drama, not PuGs. Also, we are way, way backlogged on guild recruitment -- apparently everybody and their guild is recruiting new players. We'll spotlight guilds as we can, but we've got way more coming in than we can post for now. Sorry if your guild got missed, hopefully you'll find the people you need. This week's GW is right after the break.
What to do when a player dies
This AP story is making its way around the community -- Jerald Spangleberg's daughter was faced with a growing problem when he passed a way: figuring out how to notify the guy's in-game friends. As online relationships grow more and more prevalent, relatives of those who pass away are often having trouble notifying some of the deceased closest friends. Even Blizzard can't help in this situation, apparently -- they have no policy or rules to deal with players who have died, and no way for relatives to log in to the game without the password to let guilds know what has happened.You might suggest that these relationships aren't that big a deal, but when you think that guildies are encountered almost nightly, while real-life friends connect only when schedules allow (maybe once or twice a week), you can see why it might be important to let the ingame associates know what has happened. Unfortunately, all of the solutions so far are pretty morbid -- there are sites that will send email for you, or some players have left lists of contacts to reach when they move on.The importance of online relationships is likely to increase in the future if the past few years are any indication. And given that the average player is getting older even as they're making more and stronger friends online, it might not be long until we've got a much better solution to deal with this problem.
Breakfast Topic: Presents!
Winter Veil is here. The cities are decorated, snowballs are flying, and everyone will be waking up early in a few days to see what Great Father Winter has left under the Christmas tree. We recognize the holidays as a time to share with family and friends. Outside of services, parties, and shopping you're probably still spending a considerable amount of time with your cohorts online. I'd like to know if anyone is planning on sending gifts to their guildies and other WoW buddies. It's unnecessary but still thoughtful to recognize these folks we spend so much time with. I think it might be fun, but I'm not sure what to get.
Testing strategy reading abilities, Part I
Everyone reading this site knows that it's pretty important to read strategies for the various boss encounters in WoW. No matter if they're from Boss Killers, our own Ready Check, long threads over at Elitist Jerks, or home made modifications, studying boss fights outside of the game is essential to success.However sometimes it's kind of hard to tell if everyone is actually spending the 15 minutes to read over and understand the strategies outside of the raid. This is particularly troublesome for the raid leaders and officers, since some of the fights can be very hard to explain without first having an understanding of where and what things look like.We're having this problem in our guild right now. Not that big of a problem, granted, but it's still something we'd like to get better at. So last night our guild master made a map of the Kalecgos play field, detailing where everyone should stand (I know that some readers will comment that it's not necessary, but it's what works for us). In the bottom right hand corner there's a derogatory yet funny message about yours truly, something along the lines of a suggested act I can go do to/with myself. It's obvious, it's funny, and it sticks out like a sore thumb.Tonight the GM will go around and ask each of the 35 or so raiders we have in the guild, "What was out of place on the strategy map I posted today?" If they can't answer correctly, they won't be raiding with us again anytime soon.
Guildwatch: Drama, but the good kind
People just might have heard all the bad drama that they want to hear -- we had a few good stories this week of guilds actually doing well, or making their way past useless drama to continue with progression, or just generally making the world a better place for other players. Then again, we still got lots of good guild-breaking, whine-filled drama, so who says you can't have both good and bad?Both good and bad are after the break, as well as downed and recruiting news from around the realms. And don't forget, if you've got drama, downed, or recruiting news to support (if it's your guild or anyone else's), just drop us a note at wowguildwatch@gmail.com. We could especially use some really nice downed news and screenshots -- the shot above, from Kill on Sight on The Forgotten Coast, is good, but surely you all can do better, right?
Breakfast Topic: Guild sayings
Anteia emailed us about sayings that her guild has -- when guildies enter guild chat, apparently they say "Parn," for no other reason than at one point someone said "Hola" while their Draenei filter was on, and it came out as "parn." Thanks to a guild typo, they also use "exacrit" in place of "exactly" (as something that crits logic), and running away in cheetah form is referred to as "hauling cat out of there." That's a good one, actually.My guild has a few sayings (most of which have already sneaked into Guildwatch), though my personal favorite is simply yelling "Shaman Power!" when a Shaman in guild gets a nice drop or does something spectacular. Not nearly as catchy as Anteia's examples, though.Has your guild built up your own jargon or sayings? When a group of people are placed in situations like this, it's almost unavoidable that they'd build up their own meanings and words among each other. What are some good sayings and phrases that your guild uses ingame?
Guildwatch: Going too far
The short version of the tells above: Renzor tried to start some drama by posting a vent recording on the forums, and when Avasa (who took the screenshot) posted against him, Renzor threatens to kick him (and, as you can see, claims Avasa "likes to create drama" when Renzor was the one who posted the vent recording). Click the image above to see the uncut convo (with some not so SFW language), and click the link below to check out the whole story, along with all of the other drama (including a bit of bank drama that will surprise you) from this week's GW.And if you've got drama, downed, or recruiting news from your own guild or someone else's, send it along to wowguildwatch@gmail.com. Your tips keep this thing running, so thanks in advance.
The secret society of WoW players
Rufus on WoW LJ had something happen last weekend that I'd be happens to a lot of us players: He was introduced to someone who he had nothing in common with... except that they played World of Warcraft. It happens a few different ways -- sometimes, it's like what happened to Rufus, in that you share a mutual friend who knows you both play WoW. Sometimes, it's just someone (or you) overhearing something about WoW and realizing that you've found a fellow player. And sometimes it's just your guildies -- out of game, you have almost nothing at all in common, but the game has brought you together.In my experience, it's usually just as awkward as Rufus makes it out to be -- especially when you're brought together by someone else, they have no idea that there are different factions and realms and that there are probably a good nine million, nine hundred and ninety thousand people you haven't ever met in game. There are some things that we have in common, obviously -- everyone has died to the Defias pillagers at some point, and almost everyone knows how tough it was getting past Moroes that first time. Sometimes, people can actually come together on these things -- I had a good old friend whose husband and I bonded a little for no other reason than that we both played Shamans.But usually, especially if introductions are made by a third party, it's just awkward. Have you been in this situation? Did you come away as awkwardly as Rufus did or did you make a new friend thanks to your time in Azeroth?
The accidental ninja
Spensi on WoW LJ says she may have accidentally ninja'ed -- it was clear before the raid that if Moroes' Pocket Watch dropped, she would get it. But when it actually dropped, she apparently looted it herself as main looter without saying anything, and her guildies didn't quite remember the deal before the instance started. Was it a ninja? I don't know -- there are good points on both sides.In fact, it seems the only way to really avoid loot drama is to, unfortunately, be as selfless as possible. Last night, I did a run of Ramparts on my up-and-coming hunter, and on the first boss, the Hunter mail pants dropped. The other Hunter in the party needed them as well, so we rolled on them, and I won. Later in the instance, another green piece came up that we both needed, but to be fair, I let him have it. And finally, on the second boss, the mail hands dropped, and I did need them, but once again, to avoid drama, I just let the other Hunter have them. I could probably have made a case for at least rolling on them, but it wouldn't have been fair for me to walk away from the instance with two blues when he only had a green, so to keep the peace I let it go.It worked out, too, because I picked up some great blue hands anyway when I turned the quest in. And that's the thing to remember when it comes to loot -- there will always be more of it. Even if your item doesn't drop, or you don't win this roll, or your guildie gets angry because you nabbed an item, even though they knew you needed it, there'll always be more drops and more rolls and more loot to get.
