gank
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Forum post of the day: Flying mounts in the old world
I was thrilled when Blizzard announce that the Burning Crusade would usher in flying mounts. Then we found out that we would only be able to use flying mounts in Outland, since Blizzard had not rendered some areas of the game. Lalia of Icecrown suggested that flying mounts should be allowed in the old world, just with a lowered ceiling. The biggest objection to this idea was the possibility of sky-ganking. Ganking however is a fact of life on a PvP server. I try to avoid going to Azeroth whenever possible, partly because it takes so long to get from place to place. Sure it would take a great deal of coding, but I would love to see this explored further. If nowhere else, flying should be an option in Moonglade. That way Druids could try out their fantastic flying skills as soon as they get them. Do you think we should be able to fly in Azeroth?
Do summoning stones need neutral guards?
I play on RP servers only, but when they first came out, I tried an RP-PvP server for a while. I kept plugging away at it till I got to my mid thirties and finally gave up. Ever since then it's seemed to me that players on PvP servers are people who like their game to be extra difficult, and they don't mind if that means they have to suffer through the kind of situations that would submerge a "normal" gamer in intolerable frustration. They just accept that leveling up means doing lots and lots and lots of ghost runs, because other high-level characters will gank you and they will camp your corpse, and there's not much you can do about it. That's just the cost of being elite, to them -- having gone through it, it's as though they feel baptized by fire.That's why I'm always surprised when a player from a PvP server asks for some sort of help from Blizzard with such frustrating situations. A blood elf hunter named Arkdemon is asking for neutral guards at all summoning stones -- apparently he's had trouble getting to his instance when there's a bunch of PvP going on there. But isn't that the whole point? Isn't PvP on a PvP server supposed to get in the way of PvE stuff, just like all the other struggles these players go through leveling up? The fact that you can effectively conquer a summoning stone, raid entrance or otherwise important spot on a PvP server is the whole reason people play there. If you take away this sort of challenge, or nerf it until it's not so serious a problem for people who just wanna PvE that night, then what's the point of even having a PvP server to begin with? (Zul'Aman is a possible exception to this rule, since it's so much more accessible to the Horde than the Alliance, but even in that case, a number of hardcore PvPers cried out how much they hate the addition of guards there.)Bornakk seems to agree with me for the most part, but he mentions that Blizzard will indeed add guards (or indeed do whatever they want) if they feel it is necessary. What's your opinion?
Heroic 3-year old arises to save Azeroth [Updated]
juBBjuBB is the proud father of one very charismatic girl who, aside from being absolutely adorable, is also able to play WoW! As he says in his forum post "YOU may have been GANKED by our 3yr old!", Charisma was captivated with her parents gaming activities and started out playing WoW at 1 and a half years old, doing very basic things like running and jumping and chasing bunnies, but since then has actually gotten the hang of some of the basic mechanics of the game. She has learned that you don't want that green bar to get empty or you'll "fall down," as well as the fact that the alliance ("blue") is good and the ugly ones ("red") are bad -- or enemies in PvP anyway. She knows to cap a flag and grind her way up in levels, too apparently.Some people who read this story cry foul. How can a 3 year-old level to 20 "by herself" (as her myspace page claims) without being able to read? Also, it certainly does seem a bit much to say that she can "gank" people. I also doubt that she can play at the same level as, say, the proverbial 12 year-old WoW player could. My bet is that when the father says "level to 20 by herself" he probably means "without doing any quests and with me watching and talking her through things." And when he says "gank," he means "overpower a level 30ish opponent with a level 60ish rogue alt of her parents using very basic play tactics," which, hello gankers everywhere, even a 3 year-old can do by pressing just a few buttons! Good for her, I say, but shame on anyone over 9.But I digress. Playing three to four hours per week maxiumum, juBBjuBB says, is helping Charisma get excited to learn the alphabet and cooperative teamplay. Fatherly love and pride in such progress may be leading him to exaggerate a little bit about her gameplay skill, or maybe leave certain details about it to our own common sense -- but can you blame him? If I had a little kid who showed a strong aptitude in any area, from computers to cartoons, I might need to rein in my superlative praise too. She may or may not be the one heroine destined to be the best gamer in the world, but she's the pride of her father's life, and in his Azerothian sky there's no star shining brighter than her.Update: More from Charisma's father after the jump! You may find it hard to believe...
The ganking challenge: Deathwing edition
We've already reported this week on new and exciting ways that players are coming up with to PvP, and it looks like another interesting and possibly unique challenge is taking place over on the Deathwing server. Ruzai, the creator of this thread over on the Deathwing forums that explains the details, calls it "The Ganking Challenge."It seems to have generated lots of interest, and sounds very fun! It's world PvP based, obviously, but it provides enough structure and basic rules to turn ganking into a game. Here's a quick overview: There are 3 targets at a time. Post a screenshot of your kill, and then pick 3 new targets from your own faction. All targets must be level 70 and not in a BG. You can't tell the targets that they're being hunted. Playing dirty is encouraged. Example: Targets are now Narkan, Pacsan, and Mitsuomi. If Volarun was to come into Orgrimmar and gank Narkan and post a SS proving the kill, the Horde hunt would end and Volarun would get to choose 3 new alliance targets. There are further details in the thread if you're interested, but I would love to have this challenge come to my server! I especially like that the active targets switch from Horde to Alliance after every kill, as it gives each side a chance at being the predator and the prey.[ Thanks, Craver! ]
To gank, or not to gank, that is the question.
This obviously concerns players on PvP realms, where ganking is a daily occurrence, but I'm curious as to the habits of those who enjoy it. I'm using the term "gank" here loosely - although it tends to be used as a catch-all by anyone who's been on the losing end of a world PvP skirmish, I tend to use it to describe a situation where the player being killed is at an unfair advantage (e.g. fighting other mobs, low on health, or attacked by multiple players).Those that do gank others regularly also sometimes stick around to grief their opponent, usually by killing them over and over after they resurrect. I've seen players stick around for hours to kill lower level opponents repeatedly - I remember when you couldn't run through Blackrock Mountain safely for fear of Rogue attacks.As someone who doesn't have much interest in ganking, and no interest in griefing, I've never understood the mentality of someone who can stay in the same spot for hours killing players that have little or no chance of fighting back.So what are your thoughts on ganking? Do you engage in it often? How much time do you spend on it if you do? At least one curious mind wants to know.
Hey! I needed that!
Nikol of WoW Ladies posts about something I shouldn't get so worked up about, but often do anyway-- higher level characters farming mobs that lower levels need for quests or rep.Now, Nikol is actually on the opposite side of the equation from the one I remember being on more. She was wondering if there is a certain etiquette when she goes to farm Timbermaw rep (as a level 68) and starts competing for mobs with level 58s. Which is actually very nice of her, because usually I'm in the other situation: I'm playing a lowbie alt and I have to go kill 50 pigs to get their spleens. Suddenly, a level 70 mage roars through the area, AoEing every pig he sees, rounding them all up in a pile so he can level up his skinning. A few seconds later, I'm left with nothing to farm, and he's standing over a pile of piggies, skinning away and humming to himself. For some reason, that makes me just see red. There are lots of other places he can farm skinning, so why does he feel the need to gank my quest mobs? It makes me seethe just thinking about it!Unfortunately, as Nikol finds out, there is no set etiquette-- outside of a group, it literally is a free-for-all. If you're in my place, your only real option is to just find another quest to work on while all the mobs respawn, or poke around to see if he missed any. And to tell the truth, I shouldn't get so angry anyway-- it could be that the mage didn't realize I needed those pigs, and in fact, there is probably a whole other cache of pigs just over the hill that I haven't found yet.But for some reason it just drives me nuts. Have you been on either side of this situation? And how have you handled it?
Why do we gank?
Hot on the heels of that craziness in Mexico comes an article on QJ.net talking about that touchiest of subjects, ganking. In the article they talk about a European forum post put up by Varneras that lists reasons why people gank. He says that some do it simply because they believe it is expected gameplay on a PvP realm. Others gank players out of a feeling of sport. Now, I play on a PvE server, so my experiences with ganking have been limited, largely because I find no real interest in raiding Crossroads. Recently however I had occasion to live some real life gankage when I went to The Bulwark to finish off Alexi Barov. As our group formed, a similar group of horde also gathered, taunting in their most creative fashion, and salivating for the upcoming fight. By the time we began the quest, there were about four hordies joining in, which made trying to keep our healer alive a bit of a challenge. However, it also made the fight more interesting, and in the end more than a little adrenaline flowed through my veins. So I sit here thinking on the subject of ganking, and although there are obvious negatives, I think the practice brings a sharpness to our game play we wouldn't have otherwise. For example, one of my few forays into a PvP realm I rolled a little paladin. As my character loaded into Northshire, I noticed an honor guard of level 60 players - this was before the expansion had been released - there to guard me and my fellow newbies as we attempted to level through the content. This isn't something I've ever seen on my original server, and so I was surprised until I realized why they were there. If they were there, so were the Horde rogues, ready to filet my level two pally body and dance upon my corpse. As much as I would love to hear about the reasons why you as players gank, I am also interested to hear if anyone has any experiences similar to mine. I came away from the encounter with a sense of Alliance solidarity, and a greater appreciation of how adaptable and inventive the players of World of Warcraft can be within this virtual universe.
