Gweryc-Halfhand
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15 Minutes of Fame: Gweryc on WoW's nonconformity backlash
15 Minutes of Fame is our look at World of Warcraft players of all shapes and sizes – both the renowned and the relatively anonymous. Know an interesting player you'd like to see profiled? E-mail us at 15minutesoffame AT wowinsider DOT com. We knew when we sat down a few weeks ago to interview Noor the pacifist that the whole concept of a WoW character who didn't kill anything would start the flames rolling. The idea definitely lit some bonfires around the interwebz: incredulous readers Dugg it, StumbledUpon it ... it even showed up on Fark. But the real heat was in the reader comments, as readers at WoW Insider and across the 'net flamed, lambasted, reasoned, cajoled, ranted and otherwise worried the topic to bits like a pack of ravenous worgs. Seeking some perspective in the aftermath, we turned to Gweryc the melee Hunter. We suspected he might offer a shoulder to cry on about being misunderstood in the pursuit of eccentric, concept-driven gaming. Instead, we got an inspired dissection of current thinking on who plays MMORPGs and why -- and what playing a purposely gimped character has to do with it. Join us after the break for a conversation with Gweryc on metagaming, gaming achievement ... and of course, being a Hunter who hits stuff.
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.
