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The Daily Grind: Could a non-combat MMO be compelling?
As much as I like being the action hero in MMOs, even I must admit that the ratio of combat to non-combat activities is lopsided to the extreme. Some days I feel like I'm playing an endless kill simulator that doesn't allow me to live in these virtual worlds so much as attempt to murder most of what is in them. So sometimes I think about MMOs where combat isn't just marginalized but non-existent. Could it work? Sure, we have seen titles like A Tale in the Desert and Myst Online replace combat with community crafting, but such games are so few in number and under-populated. What do you think? Could a non-combat MMO be compelling? Would you play a game that was heavy on sandbox elements but had no fighting? 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!
The Daily Grind: Would you play a pacifist character if it were compelling?
I don't know what got my mind on this train of thought the other day, but I got a little incensed that MMO developers constantly equate "hero" with "mass murder of hundreds of sentients," not to mention the fact that as a character, I'm more or less pushed into being a weapon. Yes, I can kill to protect and save, but the killing wears on the virtual soul after a while. My mind then turned to the prospect of being a pacifist in these combat-oriented worlds. Sure, there are always people who go far out of their way to figure out paths to leveling without killing, but what if the game made fighting optional rather than mandatory? I'm not talking about just sitting in a hovel crafting but solving quests through deduction, puzzle-solving, diplomacy, and sheer moxie. How cool would it be to be a mage whose spellbook was full of utility spells instead of fireballs and could use those to help NPCs? Would you play a pacifist character if the game made it compelling enough? 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!
Yes, you can play through Thief without killing anyone
Thief just got its second unveiling last week, now retooled to be more traditional and in-line with the original games in the franchise versus the grammar grotesqueness of the announced-in-2009 Thi4f. Eidos Montreal offered further insight into Thief in a blog post, confirming that protagonist Garrett will be able to get through the entire sticky-finger adventure without taking lives.Eidos Montreal's previous offering, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, also allowed players to make it through the game as a pacifist – save for bosses – a good example considering it too was a modern entry in a franchise that had been dormant for quite some time. Thief is currently slated to launch on PC, PS4 and "other next-gen platforms" in 2014. [Art from the official Thief Facebook page]
'Pacifist' Tauren Druid hits level 90
Now, I like to think of myself as a bit of a pacifist. I avoid taking on non-hostile mobs wherever possible, but Tauren Druid Irenic of Mal'Ganis US has raised the pacifist game. Irenic has leveled from level one to level 90 without doing a single quest, with the exception of one quest he couldn't avoid automatically doing. His total kills for creatures, creature types and critters? None. His total damage done? 92. Largest hit dealt? 55. And that's just accidental clicks of damage with his never-upgraded staff. It should be noted that his statistics are currently skewed by a bug that display honorable kills and daily quest completions from Irenic's main on his pacifist, so don't be misled!. So, if you don't do dungeons, don't do battlegrounds and don't do quests, how on earth do you level? Well, exploration, mining, herbalism and archeology, according the Irenic's thread telling you how he got to 85. What I'm amazed by, personally, is how long it didn't take him: his total /played from 0-85 was 8 days 23 hours 8 minutes 51 seconds, and at 90 was 12 days 4 hours 33 seconds. Now, it's interesting percentage-wise how much time those last five levels tacked on, but nonetheless that's pretty impressive given how much he wasn't doing! What's more, to quote from Irenic's thread, "Since the entrance to Pandaria isn't designed to be entered without questing & killing I spent all my time doing archaeology, and gathering in Kalimdor." This is a really impressive achievement, and I'm rather touched by this peaceful take on WoW leveling! Mists of Pandaria is here! The level cap has been raised to 90, many players have returned to Azeroth, and pet battles are taking the world by storm. Keep an eye out for all of the latest news, and check out our comprehensive guide to Mists of Pandaria for everything you'll ever need to know.
World of Warcraft Druid reaches 90 without a kill
Pacifist characters have a pretty colorful history in World of Warcraft, and the latest chapter in their non-violent march to max level has been written by a Tauren Druid named Irenic. Irenic recently reached level 90 in Mists of Pandaria with a grand total of zero creatures killed, 92 total damage done, and one completed quest. "The one quest I got is a new unavoidable quest that is now auto-flagged as complete for all factions. It registered after I hit 86," Irenic explains on WoW's forums. How did he manage it without a single kill? "Since the entrance to Pandaria isn't designed to be entered without questing and killing, I spent all my time doing archaeology and gathering in Kalimdor," Irenic wrote.
Unique shooter 'Rebel' comes to PlayStation Mobile
PomPom Games (the folks behind Mutant Storm Reloaded, among a few other shooters) has released a brand new game on PlayStation Mobile-compatible devices called Rebel, and as the developer says, the game came from an interesting plan to try and make a shooter ... without shooting. The result has the player running around an island in between slower enemy bullets, trying to aim those bullets at other bad guys, all the while collecting gems and power-ups.Sounds fun. There are multiple levels and game modes to unlock as you play the game, which you can open up by collecting more and more gems. Rebel is available right now on any PlayStation Mobile device (including the PS Vita) for $1.99.
Cataclysm Beta: Mining and herbalism give experience
We've heard of people trying to play as pacifists in World of Warcraft, but there wasn't a lot of support for it in the game. A lot of the experience was earned from holiday events, battleground dailies, profession dailies, items with repeatable quests, and collection quests scattered across the game. If they played healers, this was much easier, as they could heal dungeons and battlegrounds without participating in the actual killing themselves. Blizzard added another way to earn some experience with the latest patch for Cataclysm. You now earn experience when both gathering from mining and herbalism nodes. This is being reported about 4,000 experience for herb nodes in Wintergrasp at level 80. However, these do suffer from the same experience reduction that lower level quests are hit with. As an example, a level 83 player mining a copper node earns 5 experience but earns a couple of thousand from a titanium node. World of Warcraft: Cataclysm will destroy Azeroth as we know it; nothing will be the same! In our Guide to Cataclysm, you can find out everything you need to know about WoW's third expansion, from brand new races to revamped quests and zones. Visit our Cataclysm news category for the most recent posts having to do with the Cataclysm expansion.
The Daily Grind: Turning the other cheek
If there's one thing that MMOs have burned into our brains, melted into our psyches and stamped all over our reflexes, it's that if something moves in game, we should kill it. Sometimes we get a little yellow caution light telling us not to kill it yet, because we're not high enough level or that player isn't in a PvP zone, but it's only a matter of time before the light flickers to green and the slaughter commences. So we kill and we kill and we kill some more, because that's how we roll. But are there times when you deliberately choose not to kill something? Maybe it's a cute mob that you can't bear to see dead and twitching on the ground. Maybe it's a former ally who has earned mercy, or a noble race who deserve a reprieve. Perhaps you find that deep within your heart, sometimes you'd rather hug than slug -- and you run by that flagged lowbie enemy player with a smile. Are there times that you refuse to kill a mob or a player on principle rather than practicality?
Pacifist Priest dings 80 on Friday
Reinisch is the pacifist Undead Priest who's aiming to make it to level 80 without killing anything at all (he's the same player as Noor, who we interviewed way back when and followed up with a while ago), and apparently this Friday, he's going to do it. He's inviting everybody out to a party on Friday afternoon, September 4th, at 6pm server over on The Venture Company. He's going to turn in a Dalaran fishing quest to do it, and he's got quick and easy directions posted on how to get to Dalaran as a level 1.Though there might not be as much going on as other big server parties, it's probably worth going just to see him ding level 80 and the level 1 chaos in Dalaran that will ensue, but it's quite an achievement for sure, especially considering that this Priest was actually created before Noor -- he's named after a German priest who stood up to Hitler in the name of peace and was executed for it. It might be nice just to stop by and give the guy a grats as he dings -- pretty impressive to take a goal that most people would say was impossible, and do it in the game not once but twice on two different classes and factions.
15 Minutes of Fame: The most untalented player
15 Minutes of Fame is our look at World of Warcraft players of all shapes and sizes – from the renowned to the relatively anonymous, the remarkable to the player next door. Tip us off to players you'd like to hear more about.We admit to developing a soft spot for hard-headed, level-80-by-hook-or-crook metagamers like Noor the pacifist and Gweryc the melee Hunter. How can you resist this much sheer creative enthusiasm? These guys undercut their own characters just to see if they can manage without: without killing anything, without wearing any armor – and now, without training any talents. Lithiumflowr of Bronze Dragonflight-EU started making plans for his second Hunter not long after dinging level 80 with his first. But this time, he had an investigation to conduct: At a time when epic-length forum threads split hairs over moving a single point between trees, what would be the effect of going 0/0/0? How could he compensate for a lack of talents? Could he compensate at all? Evidently, he's compensating rather well. Lithiumflowr is humming right along, moving into Burning Crusade with an eye on level 80. He may be the most untalented player you've ever seen – but he's definitely no Huntard.
15 Minutes of Fame: More dings, less killing
15 Minutes of Fame is our look at World of Warcraft players of all shapes and sizes – from the renowned to the relatively anonymous, the remarkable to the player next door. Tip us off to players you'd like to hear more about. The diminutive subject of 15 Minutes of Fame's inaugural profile, back in January of this year, spent a good chunk of change longer than a mere quarter-hour in the limelight. The life and times of Noor the Pacifist, who levels without experience from kills, garnered widespread attention not only here at WoW Insider but in an onslaught of hits from Digg, Stumble Upon, Fark and even the very cool people at Boing Boing. It seemed like everyone wanted to talk about the guy who plays World of Warcraft without actually killing anything. Naysayers opined that Noor would give up the ghost of the tedious task of leveling without killing long before he reached level 70. But lo and behold, here we are just post-Wrath launch – and Noor's ticked right past 70, plugging steadily along toward the new max level cap of 80. 15 Minutes of Fame caught up with him to see how he was holding up on the long, slow climb to the top.
Insider Trader: Crafting a future for professions
Insider Trader is your weekly inside line on making, selling, buying and using player-made products.Are you a tradesman -- or are you simply a player who crafts? The determining factor is yet another question: Do you care? For the vast majority of WoW players, crafting is a means to an end: better gear, more money, consumables and resources. For others, though, crafting is a game in and of itself. The WoW tradesman relishes the entire process of crafting: training up, obtaining rare recipes, scrounging mats, actually crafting items, researching new possibilities, interacting with customers ... an enjoyable pursuit in its own right.WoW's crafting system is by no means complex or even especially compelling – and perhaps even anachronistic. This week, Insider Trader brings you musings on professions inspired by well-known MMORPG blogger Tobold's predictions on the shape of MMORPGs in the year 2020. We have a lot for you to ponder and pontificate about – so please come join the conversation, after the break.
WoW Insider Show goes live tomorrow afternoon
The WoW Insider Show, our podcast is back live again on WoW Radio tomorrow afternoon at its usual time of 3:30pm EST. This week, myself (Mike Schramm), Turpster, and John Patricelli (our Druid blogger) will sit down and chat about all the craziness that has happened in the last Week of Warcraft. From how to be an Azerothian pacifist to the changes going down in Alterac Valley, it's sure to be a rousing listen. Join us, won't you?And don't forget to jump in and say something on the show yourself-- we'll also be live at irc.mmoirc.com in the #wowradio channel, so you can talk to us directly and give live input on the show, and we'll be reading emails from the email address: theshow@wow.com. If you've got a question or an insight to share, we're all ears.So make a note: tomorrow afternoon, Saturday, January 12th, starting at 3:30pm EST. It's the WoW Insider Show's 20th episode, live on the air!
15 Minutes of Fame: Noor the pacifist
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/playable_web_games/Warcraft_Player_Trying_To_Level_Without_Killing_Anyone'; 15 Minutes of Fame is our look at Warcraft players of all shapes and sizes – both the renowned and the relatively anonymous. Know an interesting player you'd like to see profiled? Send your tips to 15minutesoffame@wow.com. Back in November 2007, columnist John Himes took a look at a special breed of player who levels from 1 to 70 in a decidedly unconventional manner: hunters who only melee, a naked (well, except for his loincloth) warrior – and Noor the pacifist, who levels without intentionally killing anything. Now, this isn't the first time we've heard of players who've given this idea a whirl, but Noor, a gnome rogue on Maiev, and his Horde counterpart, Reinisch the undead priest, seem to have the gumption and persistence to make it to the top of the XP tree. We checked on Noor and Reinisch's progress this month and found them plugging along merrily through battlegrounds, quests ... and yes, levels. Intrigued, we contacted the player behind the toons to find out what's behind this novel way of playing World of Warcraft. Read more about the attraction of playing a pacifist character, how to go about getting XP without killing anything – and of course, whether or not Noor thinks he can actually make it to 70 ... all after the break.
But...we've got personality!
When I started playing WoW two years ago, my first character was a warlock. Not understanding what the warlock class was all about, I built myself a bright sunny blond little lock, and quickly tired of the class. My next character was my mage, and I took to that class quickly and easily, having played similar characters in Neverwinter Nights. But even the mage didn't truly fit my personality. Sure, she is my main character, she's my level 70 and I am proud of what I have accomplished with her. I just don't think I am a mage at heart. I actually think I am a priest. Yesterday I even took the personality quiz on the World of Warcraft MySpace, and I came up as a priest, albeit an undead one. Since then, I have been thinking why is it I love playing my priest so much. She's only 32, doesn't have all the spiffy gear my older characters have. The conclusion I came to is that the priest class fits my personality best. I wouldn't call myself a pacifist, but I really don't like fighting all that much. Given a choice to confront a mob or go around, I choose the second option. Now that I have rolled my priest, I notice that I am much more content sitting at the back of the raid filling up those green bars. I get a feeling of accomplishment knowing that I am helping keep the group going. Thinking of all of this made me curious. I'd love to know, what classes fit your personality best? If you were scanned into the game tomorrow, where would you fit in the world? Or, is there no class that truly fits you?
