The night before voice chat
Tomorrow, if all the prophecies come true, Patch 2.2.0 will finally arrive to a server near you. A subset of the server population will experience the new voice chat to test out as the service is slowly phased to the rest of the population.
Many of us who have the privilege of being in "good" guilds have been yakking away happily on Ventrilo or Teamspeak (or even Google Talk or Skype in smaller groups) for quite some time. But to the "small guild" community, tomorrow and the days that follow may represent one of the biggest milestones in game development since the launch.
To those who are uninitiated to the world of voice, let me offer you a few tips to get you through your introduction to this wonderful new vehicle of gameplay.
You may not need to spend a fortune on a headset. Although a headset (preferably USB) is the ultimate solution to your voice chat voice void, it's not your only solution. If you're going to be raiding or if you play a lot, comfort is going to factor in a huge way -- trust me on this. The best most expensive headset in the world is useless if it causes you pain after wearing it for any length of time. Consider the fact that a headset is merely a microphone and a set of headphones. Dig out those comfy headphones you love that you use with your iPod or mp3 player and consider adding a USB microphone which is commonly available for less than half the price of a headset. You can easily use your sound card (or integrated sound) as the output source for your headphones, and use the USB microphone as your input source.
Use Push-To-Talk. It's been a long time since I looked at the voice chat client on the PTR, but I'm pretty sure push-to-talk is an option. Use it. Nobody wants to hear you chewing gum, eating food, watching television, yelling at your family, or listening to music while you play. Pick a key that you don't use (I use the right control key) and set it up so you need to press it in order to say something over voice.
Don't Swallow The Mic. This is especially important if you're using a USB microphone or headset. They're sensitive. It's not (likely) like that old microphone on the tape recorder in your parents' attic that you had to press against your lips to pick anything up. Anywhere from two to six inches is usually fine, depending on the sensitivity of the mic. Play with the level on the voice tab in the sound settings to find the optimal arrangement. People will invariably tell you to speak up if you're too quiet. It's generally better to be too quiet than too loud.
Be Aware Of Air. It sounds funny, but there are few things that hurt the ears more than the sound of someone blowing in the mic. If you have a very "breathy" laugh or you tend to exhale in frustration a lot, it might be a good idea to let go of that push-to-talk key.
Test Before You Talk. There's a test function on the voice tab too. Try it out before you rush to shoot the breeze with your friends. Killing your own hearing versus killing the hearing of all of your friends is the lesser of two evils. If the sound that is played back to you is too loud for your comfort, it's going to be too loud for everybody else as well.
Be Nice. In a full voice chat enabled group, you no longer have an excuse to abbreviate. Express your appreciation to people for their help, and be sincere. To echo the words that show on the loading screen, being polite to people on voice chat will make you friends that could potentially last forever -- or at least until Level 70.
