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Perfect Ten: Annoying things you hear in general chat
General chat, sometimes called "Barrens chat" or "zone chat" or "the party line," is both the bane and the secret fixation of my existence. It's like a text-based reality show that plays out in real-time whenever I log into an MMO. If -- for some rare reason -- I'm bored of playing the game or talking with friends, at least I have the jibber-jabber of screeching opinions to fill my eye sockets. It's safe to say that general chat earns its bad reputation, but have you ever stopped to analyze exactly why that is? I have. I have traveled that long, terrible path, and at the end I peered over the edge into the abyss, and the abyss told me that I was a carebear who needed to L2P. Here are my findings.
WoW Archivist: Many memes, handle it
WoW Archivist explores the secrets of World of Warcraft's past. What did the game look like years ago? Who is etched into WoW's history? What secrets does the game still hold? Last week, Archivist celebrated the Ulduar raid, including Thorim's famous IN THE MOUNTAINS speech -- one of Wrath's most memorable memes. In its eight years, World of Warcraft and its players have spawned dozens of memes. Today, Archivist remembers some of the best and most enduring. If you've ever wondered where some of these memes come from, read on! The earliest memes WoW memes began almost instantly after the game's release. One of the first was Mankrik's wife. For an early Horde quest in the Barrens, the orc Mankrik sent you to locate her. His directions were rather vague, so many players had trouble locating her. It didn't help that she wasn't an upright and alive NPC, but rather a dead body laying on the ground -- killed by marauding quilboars. Confused players asked where they could find her in the zone's chat. Many, many players. Because the massive zone spanned 15 levels, everyone leveling through it saw that same question asked over and over again. It got to the point where people would ask just to troll the chat channel. The quest is no longer in the game, but players can now visit her grave near Grol'dom Farm. Trolling Barrens chat became something of a hobby for early players. Many in the Horde didn't know about the other leveling zones across the ocean. Some who did ran up against the ongoing Tarren Mill/Southshore lagfest wars and took the first boat back to Kalimdor. The combination of a captive audience and a high saturation of new players made the Barrens the perfect zone to troll. In time, Barrens chat became its own meme, even inspiring T shirts.
Cross-realm play and the rise of the funsucker
When I read Matt Rossi's piece about the future of cross-realm play, I agreed that the possibilities are exciting. But I do see what could be a major problem: funsuckers. We do have funsuckers in heavily quested zones right now. (Granted, this usually only happens after a new expansion or during holidays.) They spawn camp us on PvP servers. They steal our gathering nodes, even though they are in the same faction. (Stealing nodes from the opposite faction is fair play. We don't want to help them support their side of the battle.) They take their huge mounts and sit on NPCs everyone needs to interact with. They suck our fun.
WoW Archivist: Massacre at the Crossroads
WoW Archivist explores the secrets of World of Warcraft's past. What did the game look like years ago? Who is etched into WoW's history? What secrets does the game still hold? Last week, Tom Chilton revealed that Mists would have no dedicated world PvP zone like Wintergrasp or Tol Barad. Instead, Blizzard wants to encourage a more natural style of world PvP. It wants players to duke it out in actual questing zones. On PvP realms, it wants players to be free to attack towns and cities without overwhelming NPC intervention. Since we're reviving WoW Archivist here at WoW Insider after a seven-month hiatus, now seemed like a good time to revisit the earliest days of world PvP. It's no secret that world PvP has had a rough journey throughout WoW's history. Blizzard did all it could to discourage the wild Southshore vs. Tarren Mill clashes that made Hillsbrad Foothills a laggy, unplayable mess, often crashing the Eastern Kingdoms servers entirely. In patch 1.12, the developers gave us new objectives to fight over in Silithus and Eastern Plaguelands, far away from where new players were leveling. Ultimately, those objectives failed to capture much interest. Players mocked the Silithyst PvP objective as "sandlol." Further experiments in The Burning Crusade were only moderately more successful. In Wrath, Blizzard added the Wintergrasp PvP zone, and that has been the company's primary world PvP model through the last two expansions. Before all of that, however, when the game was still so young that the vast majority of the playerbase hadn't yet reached level 60, there were raids on the Crossroads, in the heart of the infamous Barrens. And they were glorious.
Chuck Norris plays a melee hunter in latest WoW commercial
Blizzard has just posted an official copy of the newest Warcraft commercial, in which Chuck Norris plays a human melee hunter with a cat pet. The commercial shows Chuck punching and kicking his way across Azeroth in a particularly monk-like style, fighting orcs and kodos in The Barrens and Westfall, and beating up gnomes in seedy bars. Chuck Norris jokes have been a fixture of Warcraft Barrens and trade chat lore for years, so it was probably inevitable that we'd get something like this eventually. Personally, I'm still a bigger fan of Vin Diesel jokes (and Vin Diesel the human being, for that matter), but it's hard to deny that Chuck doesn't have his place in pop culture and in the WoW community. Now, with this commercial, it's official. And I won't lie, I'd probably give my humans that hairstyle and beard if they showed up in game.
The Road to Mordor: Free Frodo for life!
Turbine? We need to talk. When you're going to drop one of the biggest game-changing announcements since launch, doing so an hour before I'm posting an article talking about how LotRO's been so quiet -- when I have no time to rewrite it -- is a good way to see if you can get my head to explode. Do you know what it's like to have to wait an entire week to talk about something this huge? I literally crawled up a wall, that's what it's like. Whew! Has there ever been a week this crazy in Lord of the Rings Online's history? If there has been, I wasn't there to see it. I've been reading and digesting a mountain's worth of forum posts on the subject, not to mention all of the chatter in the blogosphere: Sneaky Hobbits, LOTRO Weekly, The Green Dragon Inn, Harperella, Overly Positive, Screaming Monkeys, FlexYourGeek, Game By Night, Simple-n-Complex, Multiplaying, Stargrace, Casual is as Casual Does, Spouse Aggro, The Stone Kingdom, Doc Holiday, Mordor or Bust, Player Versus Developer, Nomnom.info, A Ding World, LOTRO Reporter, A Casual Stroll to Mordor, Spinksville, Kill Ten Rats, Tobold, No Prisoners No Mercy, Mordiceius, Yeebo Fernbottom, Ardwulf, Tish Tosh Tesh, Of Course I'll Play It!, Broken Toys, The Ancient Gaming Noob, NecroRogIcon, Psychochild, Keen, Blue Kae, MMO Gamer Chick, LevelCapped, Bio Break, Games and Geekery, Rainbow MMO and The Pix'led Life all had an opinion, for and against, and weren't shy about sharing.
The indomitable LFG chat channel
The first thing I thought when I saw the new LFG interface coming in patch 3.3 was what I said on last week's podcast: that's cool, but where's the LFG channel? If you remember way back during patch 2.0.1, when Blizzard originally released the LFG system, there was quite a clamor raised when they took away the LFG channel then, so much so that they eventually had to resurrect it. And so, when I saw in the latest patch notes that the LFG was set to return as a citywide channel, it didn't come as a surprise at all -- even in the new era of cross-realm LFG, there's still a place for just talking about which groups you can join. But citywide still isn't enough for a lot of players -- some are saying that they want the channel to be worldwide. Ghostcrawler himself shows up in that thread and says a worldwide LFG channel would be nuts. And he's right: way back in the day when it was worldwide, it was "mass chaos," like a Barrens from everywhere. So why are people so tied to it? Blizzard seems to be missing a major way people used the LFG channel.
WoW Rookie: Filter out the #$%!
New around here? WoW Rookie points WoW's newest players to the resources they need to get acclimated. Send us a note to suggest a WoW Rookie topic.Hey, isn't that the same screenshot we used for WoW Rookie just two weeks ago? Indeed it is, faithful readers – because frankly, "Who wants my man meat?" is the perfect illustration for today's topic.The World of Warcraft is your refuge at the end of a long, hard day – and the last thing you want to see rolling across your screen is the kind of lowbrow posturing that's given Barrens chat its notorious reputation. Or perhaps you'd like to let the kids try their hands at WoW, but you don't want them soaking up the rough language that seems to turn up more and more frequently in busy city Trade and General channels.It's time to take charge of your game chat.
WoW is the new "third place"
This is interesting -- a researcher at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (just up the road from me here in Chicago) says that World of Warcraft is an emerging new "third place." That is, it's a place in between your work and home where you make friends and otherwise interact with new people. Starbucks has even used the term in their actual marketing (to try to make their coffee shops a hangout more than just a place that you stop by and grab a cuppa joe), and WoW isn't even the first videogame to fit the critera -- Sony advertised the Playstation 2 as a "third place" in Europe.But even though Blizzard has never actually marketed the game as a "third place," it almost fits the definition most. Sure, it's not actually a different place -- most people do play at home, I'd imagine -- but in terms of having a different crowd of people that you interact with outside your home or work, that is often exactly what WoW is for us. As Professor Constance Steinkuehler (who has a pretty wild website for a college professor) says, "most people go for the game and stay for the people."
Barrens Chat: Spoiled Rotten
So, this is somewhat of a spoiler strip. It is something that has been mentioned and posted in previous articles, but just in case you skipped those for obvious reasons, you probably should skip this, also.That being said, I noticed while drawing this out and looking at a screen shot of Thrall that he looks like a green, balding version of the Geico cavemen. With big teeth, of course. Maybe it's just me.I know I've started doing them on the computer entirely again, but I uh... misplaced my drawing paper. When I get paid this Friday maybe I'll go pick up more, but that's a really long drive to the nearest art store.Possible alternate text for a couple of the panels after the jump! %Gallery-22361%
Barrens Chat: Bubbles bubbles everywhere...
And way too much to drink.Just a short this week in honor of Brewfest. Which has ironically fallen on the same week as this school's homecoming, so no matter where I look there are parties and drunken revelry. Anyways, I haven't had the chance to participate in Brewfest too much this year, although I did roll up an alliance not long ago and rode the Tram for the first time.In closing, have a safe and happy World of Warcraft holiday, and don't drink and ride!See you next week. %Gallery-22361% Barrens Chat is a weekly comic strip that's been shortened today due to too many trips through the festival grounds. If you're looking for something longer, why not try an unwanted parody. Like 'em short and sweet? Try this shocking shorty. Come back next week for another comic!
Barrens Chat: Always a catch
Right when we talk two of our friends into playing World of Warcraft with us again, the same two that talked us into playing in the first place, I miss out on all the fun. Almost a day without power, and the internet has, as of earlier today, finally gotten back up to par. At least I have the weekend to look forward to!I hope I'm not the only person looking forward to my very own Frosty. I missed out on all the other fun vanity pets, but I finally (might) get a cute little Frost Wyrm, oh and the Collector's Edition's other extras as well. I just don't think I'll be cuddling it any time soon, he looks a little bony.See you next week! %Gallery-22361% Barrens Chat is a weekly comic installment created on caffeine and pixy sticks. Although often abusing Hunters in any way we can find, sometimes we go after the tankier players, too. Stop by every week to see a new comic, and hope that the sugar stash has run out by then.
Barrens Chat: Dead ringer
I don't have much to say with this comic this week, thank goodness. With a two page reaction paper due tomorrow, and two exams Friday, I greatly enjoyed the time I took from my week to sit down and do this comic. With that said, I would like to send out a sincere "I'm sorry for your loss" to the five of you whom have recently (read as: within the last month) experienced something similar with a very different piece of hardware. At least that made one of you turn your World of Warcraft subscription back on.Anyways, have you ever wondered what it would be like if things in Word of Warcraft worked the way they did in real life? Like if for instance some large corporation made your Mechanostrider instead of that nice little Milli Featherwhistle? You could be minding your own business, enjoying a nice breeze from running through Nagrand when, Bam!What do you think? Have you ever just thought about something like that? Standing there one day being shocked back to life and thinking "Gee, what if these jumper cables malfunctioned?" Maybe it's just me, but when I see my Engineering friend zooming around in his Turbo-Charged Flying Machine while I'm stuck on my poor, unflying kodo, I sometimes giggle at the thought of him crashing.At least he's not our healer. Barrens Chat is being devious this week, while the author enjoys picking fun at those unfortunate enough to experience the one of the many rings men (and women) fear most. Past victims have been shockingly few, however not all innocents were spared. Come back next week for a new comic!
Barrens Chat: Evolution revolution
I mentioned in an earlier strip that I greatly dislike the Recruit-a-Friend program in an earlier comic. Mainly because the last two people we could have possibly talked into playing World of Warcraft started playing long before the benefit was offered. Needless to say, we're helping them out the old fashioned way, which occasionally includes hopping on an alt and running around with them.After the jump, I actually have more to babble about today. %Gallery-22361%
Barrens Chat: All hands on deck
This week's comic I have decided to do by hand while waiting around for various people and events to catch up to my time line. In other words, the only thing I used my computer for this week was some minor touch ups, framing, straightening, and of course sticking it up here for all of you to razz.I don't know how common a problem this is for other people, but when I'm actually playing World of Warcraft in the same room as my significant other, he tends to use me as his hotkeys. I'm the "M" key when he wants to know where we are on the map, for instance. I don't know if this is something that happens with everyone who plays in the same room as another person, or if it is just a singular case. Do any of you have instances like this one where you end up being the macro, hotkey, or info guide for someone else?For the record, I'll go back to doing things with photoshop next week. Small drawings are evil.See you next week! %Gallery-22361% Barrens Chat is a weekly comic strip that has gone back in time to the good old days of markers and pencils. Although the emo oozes were shiny, and the water elemental looked like a fun time, nothing beats some retro action. Don't worry, everything should be back to normal next week!
Barrens Chat: Guess who
Have you ever woken up and known you were going to have one of those days? It's been one of those days for going on a week now. Before you say anything, I went outside of the "lines" in a few places on purpose on my elemental there. The lines and I are having a disagreement, perhaps next week we shall come to a resolution of our differences. This is something I would like to be doing right now. Maybe in a slightly larger facility, not to mention one without its own face. I once saw a screen shot on the World of Warcraft homepage that had a Gnome standing inside of her Voidwalker. So I wondered, you know those giant water elementals found here and there? Yeah, totally on top of that sport.I thought now would be a good time to use this idea, seeing as how some people are starting school again soon. Missing summer? Try this!See you next week! %Gallery-22361% Barrens Chat is a weekly comic strip that brings to light some of the stranger things in Azeroth. From emo oozes to mooching floozies, nothing is safe from the battered and bruised tablet of doom. Stop in weekly to see a new comic, spy on some old faces, or perhaps meet a new victim.
Barrens Chat: One Tauren's trash
You never realize how much junk you have until you have to move. It is the same in World of Warcraft. You never realize how much junk you're carrying around in your bags until you get a really great drop, followed by the "inventory is full" message. There is never enough bag space.Sometimes it's the junk I pick up that makes me giggle as I play. It makes me wonder, just what sort of people could come up with a joke like that, or an obscure reference that is stretched to the very edge, but still very recognizable.Either way, your guess is as good as mine. So, what do you think he's doing with that particular item in tow?This comic is dedicated to, and somewhat inspired by, my friend Jesse. I almost introduced a new character from the Alliance, but I know how much he hates Horde, so I had to use my Tauren to spite him.See you all next week! %Gallery-22361% Barrens Chat is a weekly comic strip about everything from well used jokes, to picking fun at the things of the future. From Engineers to vials of tears, nothing is safe from the insanity of Megan Harris. Check in every week for a new addition to the madness!
Barrens Chat: Fuzzy Wuzzy was
Welcome back for another Barrens Chat comic. I would up front like to say that I am very excited about exotic pets. So excited, I had to poke fun at fellow blogger Daniel Howell for his post last week on the topic of exotic pets. Although I think I might have been a little misleading when I first ran the idea of what I wanted to do past him.Either way, I'm still playing with a few drawing and coloring changes here and there. I didn't darken the outlines this time around, but I think it makes it a bit harder to see in places.Thank you, Daniel, for pointing me towards your banner for a reference, even if I didn't specify what it was I was referencing exactly.See you next week! %Gallery-22361% Barrens Chat is a weekly comic installment created on caffeine and pixy sticks. Although we've yet again decided to abuse Hunters in any way we can find, sometimes we go after the tankier players, too. Stop by every week to see a new comic, and hope that the sugar stash has run out by then.
Barrens Chat: Unwanted
Now, I know last week I said in a comment that I am trying something entirely new this week. However, that plan sort of backfired when I found out my scanner is no longer in the realm of the living, and those Spirit Healers apparently don't speak binary.I've Wanted to put this comic up since I saw the movie. If you have not seen it, you might not get this unless you watched the movie previews, or have someone explain it. %Gallery-22361%
Barrens Chat: Encore
I don't get to play World of Warcraft very often anymore. Real life comes up and gets in the way all the time, and then you have to sit back and listen to your friends talk about how much fun they've had in the past few weeks you've been away. So you sit, and you wait, and eventually you get time to log on again, run around, and have a jolly old time. Especially when you get to hang out with good people.I've never had Ventrilo or any other sort of microphone attachment that would broadcast my voice across the Internet. For one point, I'd have to break down and buy a headset of some sort. Knowing me I'd likely break it within a week, so I'd actually need to buy two, but that's alright. The other reason is, I'm not entirely sure I want the ability to hear other absent minded people like me babbling to themselves, forgetting the rest of the world can hear them. %Gallery-22361%
