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Breakfast Topic: Weekend Rantings
It's Monday morning and you're back in the real world after a hard weekend of raiding, questing and PvPing. What better way to spend your time at work than by ranting about your weekend? Whether you spent the entire weekend repeatedly wiping on the same instance, you didn't make your goal of level 40 thanks to being ganked, or you couldn't play WoW at all, let's let it all out.Personally, I was playing some low-level battlegrounds and it was a really frustrating experience. The team was filled with players who had rolled Horde "because Horde always wins BGs", not realising that players still have to work for the win. After playing a couple of matches and logging off in frustration, I came back later only to find people who were even worse. No amount of helpful explanation or guidance worked, and the Alliance must have been laughing their heads off.
Breakfast Topic: Would you trade?
An interesting hypothetical question came up in guild chat recently. When new to WoW, you have to make a decision that can persist for months -- the decision whether to go Horde or Alliance. I've met players who frequently switch sides, and others who have never deserted the faction they chose when they first ran the game.What if you could switch? Trade in a level 60 of one faction for an equivalent of another? Would you do it, and why?I'm not sure that I would; I personally enjoy seeing new scenery from both sides, levelling up through both factions. I know some players who role-play would love to, for example, turn a human into one of the Forsaken, but somehow I don't think it's a game feature that's ever going to happen.
Breakfast Topic: Age boundaries
Thanks for all your Breakfast Topic ideas; watch this space, as we will be featuring them in days to come!Today's topic is age. In WoW, you can play characters who fit into a variety of perceived age brackets, from sultry young females to grey-haired older men--you can even play your characters beyond the grave, if that takes your fancy. However, I was shocked the other day to find out that a grey-haired human character was actually played by a teenager. I had automatically conferred some sort of respect on to the character, and the realisation that the player was younger than me took some time to sink in.On the other hand, sometimes it's easy to tell the age of a character--textual cues and behavioural habits might give it away. I've seen several adverts for "mature" guilds; do you seek out players who are approximately the same age as you? Or do you team up with anyone, even if they might have to leave halfway through to do their homework?
Breakfast Topic: Breakfast Topics
We've been running the "Breakfast Topic" feature for several weeks, and now's the chance for you to step forward and suggest your own topic for discussion. If you've got a burning issue you'd love us to post about, or a topic you want other readers to chime in on, simply send it in via the tips form.You can also send in any other tips or suggestions for the site via the same form, if you're itching to see us write about something in particular.
Breakfast Topic: Game Over (redux)
Drakedog's graceful exit made me think about leaving the game as a concept again (although not something I'm planning on doing any time soon). The video shows two things--the popularity of WoW machinima, and how easy it is to casually destroy everything you've spent hours working towards.If you leave (or when you left), how will you go? Quietly? Via eBay? Or will you make a statement, solemnly destroying your epics (so you can't be tempted back), clad in the clothes you started out in, sitting cross-legged on the floor waiting for your doom?Me, I'd probably run naked into an opposing faction city for laughs. I'm that kinda girl.
Breakfast Topic: To test or not to test?
Now that we're familiar with the test realm contests, that Beta spot looks oh-so-inviting, but which contest to enter? If any? Having briefly popped on to the Honor Contest EU realm yesterday, it seems that many players are pinning their hopes on PvP, labelling the race to 50 as "only for gold farmers" and the level 25 alts competition as "a waste of time".Whether this attitude is fair is another matter, but there's certainly been a lot of confusion over the contests so far. Many players arrived on the Honor Contest realm looking for their level 60 characters, so often that players in Mulgore made macros to clear things up in chat. The feeling is definitely one of "every man for himself", with newbies who ask "which is the best class for pvp?" or "what's the fastest way to level?" often going unanswered.It strikes me what a tremendous amount of time these gamers are going to have to put in to win the contest--but it certainly looks achievable, and that time would probably be spent playing WoW anyway. Are you planning to enter a contest? If so, which one?
Breakfast Topic: Abort, Retry, Fail?
Sometimes, despite our best intentions, we can't complete a particular quest on the first try. Maybe it's a difficult escort quest, or we're trying to kill mobs with some particularly nasty attacks, but there are plenty of moments when we want to just give up--or at least come back later.Aborting quests has the unhappy side-effect of filling up your inventory with quest items--half-collected drops and special items given to you by NPCs. Retrying again and again often leads to death and armour at 0%; but failing isn't a nice thought. On the occasions when I give up on a quest, I try to destroy the quest items straight away (so I won't start chucking out the wrong thing in the middle of an instance) and I like to think of it as "moving on" rather than "failure".What's your attitude to the inevitable quest abandonment? Do you try to complete every single quest you pick up, or are you happy to drop them at a whim?
Breakfast Topic: Dirty tactics
While we might assume by default that every other player is a honourable and upright paragon of virtue, sometimes little quirks of behaviour manage to shatter our illusions beyond repair. From chat spammers to mob campers, we frequently run into some dirty tactics which serve to convince us that perhaps WoW isn't such a nice place to be after all.Ganking aside, what are your favourite or least favourite tricks to employ in these situations? One of mine is excessive politeness--it may be the Englishness of it, but saying "I'm terribly sorry, old chap, but would you mind pushing off for a few minutes while I finish this quest?" has surprising effects.
Breakfast Topic: Guilded or unguilded?
Joining a guild can be a lot of fun, but it can also bring a lot of drama into your life. Some people eschew the complexities of guilded life and purposefully go guildless; others pick and choose guilds carefully, or bounce between guilds at will.I've personally only found a couple of nice guilds in my time playing, and I generally don't join guilds with my alts on other servers--it's not exactly fair on the guild, since I'll not be playing much. However, I've found guilded life to be rewarding and (given the tales I have heard of other guilds) surprisingly hassle-free. What's your take on guilds? More trouble than they're worth, or worth their weight in gold?
Breakfast Topic: Skimpy armour
This debate is a perennial topic amongst MMOs, thanks to their often-stylised representations of reality. It goes like this: why does some armour barely large enough to cover one's modesty offer the same (or better) protection as head-to-toe chainmail? More importantly, why does some armour appear as a bikini top for female characters and yet a hefty breastplate for males?It's a toss-up between realism and artistic licence, and Blizzard seem to have gone for the latter every time. While I don't personally mind the chainmail-bikini wardrobe, I know of players (especially those who RP) who aren't keen on it at all, and others who purposefully dress their Night Elves in Black Mageweave Leggings for fun. What's your stance? Do you seek out or avoid skimpy armour? Any particular favourites?
Breakfast Topic: Alt-itis?
I'll be the first to admit that I may have a slight case of alt-itis--however, with 27 characters spread across sixteen realms, it's perhaps gone a bit far. Many of my characters are placeholders, created so that I could talk with friends on the server, but I've played enough of them to have seen the first 10 levels from every possible angle.I like being able to create a new character when I am in a "newbie" mood--sometimes levelling older characters gets slow and tedious, and the heady rush of starting again is the ideal antidote. Fortunately, WoW's mechanics support this behaviour, unlike some other games which restrict the number of characters you can make.However, I'm now at the stage where I've got too many alts, each of which is starting to make different friends and acquaintances--my playing time is being spread thin to keep up with them all. While character transfer may help with some of this, I fear there is no permanent solution other than to lie low for a while.Are you an alt-addict? Why do you make alts? If you only play one character, do you intend to start again once you hit 60?
Breakfast Topic: Proudest moments
Whether it's downing Onxyia, getting Nef to 10% or even picking up that weapon or pet you've always wanted, we've all celebrated some happy times. The process of getting my first mount -- saving up, playing the auction house to make enough money, then frantically beating up gorillas to get that last bar -- was probably the first real feeling of accomplishment in-game I had, especially as it had some tangible reward.Soloing difficult quests, completing instances when you're a man down, finding a rare drop -- what are the highs of your time so far in WoW?
Breakfast Topic: Non-combat pets
There are a variety of non-combat pets available throughout Azeroth--ranging from easily purchased pets to those which can only be obtained through cross-faction co-operation. While some people see them as annoyances, others are hastily trying to collect as many as they can; after all, it passes the time.I have a few of these pets, including the Sprite Darter Hatchling pictured right. However, I'm not very attached to them--the fact I can only have one out at a time doesn't help. I generally send any rare treats I find to the Auction House--especially on low alts, finding Little Timmy in Stormwind is a great way of making some quick cash.What's your stance on non-combat pets? Take them or leave them? Gotta catch them all?
Breakfast Topic: Do you RP?
Role-playing in WoW is an interesting hobby; it can completely dominate your gameplay, or take a back seat to the usual business of killing things. Having established characters on both RP and RP-PvP servers, I've dabbled in it myself, but usually end up explaining just what OOC means to newbies in Mulgore, leaving [Barrens - General] and adventuring just as if I were on any kind of server.I joined a guild which brings the RP side of the game to life, and it's opened up something of a new world to me. Even if I'm soloing, I try and keep in-character when I play now. However, my non-RP friends don't see the appeal in emoting into empty air and making sure you find a bed before logging off. Do you RP? Have you tried -- successfully or unsuccessfully -- to convert hardened PvE/PvPers?
Breakfast Topic: GM for a Day
Omnipotence, omniscience, and having to deal with users' complaints day in, day out; being a GM has its ups and downs. If you suddenly found yourself in the shoes of a GM, for one single day, what would you do with your power? Is it time for revenge, or would you seek out those in need of help? Would you run rampant on the forums? Glide invisibly around the world?Of course, GMs can't make gameplay changes, but you could perhaps escalate a particular pet proposal that's in the pipeline. The notion of character transfers is one I'd like to put some weight behind, plus some mechanism for international co-operative play. With a GM's power, I'd love to just explore the world, invisible and untouchable. A day might not be long enough, though.
Breakfast Topic: Game Over
It might not be something any of us are countenancing, but people do stop playing WoW. There are many reasons to quit--lack of time, money, enthusiasm. However, as with any MMO, the words "Game Over" never flash on your screen--how do you know when it's time to stop?We each have different goals when we play WoW. I play because I enjoy the social side of things, and my ultimate goal (if I had all the time in the world) would be to play every class to level 60, visiting every area and dungeon, finishing every quest line. I love the depth of WoW, and I like seeing the tricks that other classes can pull off to surprise me; I want to learn them all. I'm not in this game for epics, but I know many of you are. If I achieve that goal, I may stop playing, or I may have found another along the way.What's your core goal in the game? Have you left WoW and returned, or has it always had a place in your life?
Breakfast Topic: To gank or not to gank?
Call me a carebear if you like, but I've long since tired of being ganked, and as a result I've spent most of my levelling time on a PvE server. I've recently gone back to my PvP server characters, and I've suddenly found a complete lack of ganking going on.The change that prompted me to abandon the characters in the first place was the introduction of the honor system, which seemed to worsen the experiences. Whether due to the Battlegrounds or the lack of bloodlust on this old server, however, it all seems much nicer now--or perhaps I'm just more clued up as to where to go and how to avoid the Alliance.As players level on PvP servers, I've often heard that they'll gank lower levels in "revenge" for their own experiences, continuing the vicious cycle. Sometimes ganking goes above and beyond reason, though. What's your opinion on ganking? Is it still as much a problem as it ever was?
Breakfast Topic: Favourite instance
You've run it ten or twenty times and you're still not bored; the drops are good and you've mastered its mobs. Solo or in a group, what's your instance of choice, and what makes it so good?The Deadmines would probably take the crown for me; despite being a low level instance, I managed to run through it first time with a seamless PuG, and now that I'm all grown up I revisit it for fun. On the flip side, The Stockades is probably one of the most boring instances I've done, but since it's the first time my druid got to tank an instance it holds a special place in my heart.
Breakfast Topic: Valentine's Day gifts
Today's the day to show your appreciation for that special person in your life. If you don't have a partner, never fear; the NPCs scattered around the capital cities are certainly very free with their lovin'. However, if you've someone to satisfy, nothing says "I love you" quite like a special in-game gift.The non-combat pets are especially cute gifts, and I know of people who've farmed for whelplings for days; other well-appreciated gifts could include the money to buy a mount, a particularly nice trinket or even an in-game engagement ring.Have you given or received a special gift today? My other half doesn't play WoW, so I'm bereft of in-game presents, but perhaps my scantily-clad Night Elf will pick up a few admirers before the day is out.
Breakfast Topic: No peeking!
When questing, I often use Thottbot to help me optimise my hunting. Using the site I can find out where NPCs are to report to, where the mobs are concentrated, and even read helpful hints from other players (and contribute my own). Thottbot's proved invaluable on many an occasion, especially when attempting quests that are reasonably difficult to solo.However, recently I've found myself peeking ahead -- looking at the end of quest chains to see if the total XP and rewards are worth it, reading around the subject and generally spoiling any surprises that might have been in store. I've made the decision to stop this until I'm actually stuck on a quest, rather than before I even accept it, and it's a hard one to abide by.Are you over-reliant on Thottbot? If people ask where certain items are, is your first response to direct them to the site -- or to grab that laptop and look it up for them? Or do you see it as a form of cheating, and prefer to find surprises out for yourself?
