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WoW Moviewatch: Stuck in the World of Warcraft
Yesterday I wanted to impress you all on my first Moviewatch post, so I showed you a very classy, serious movie. Today? Not so much! Instead, today I offer you a good laugh. MTGScreenie brings us his musical and comedy stylings in the form of Stuck in the World of Warcraft. This music video, set to Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start the Fire," but with WoW-specific lyrics, is a comic ode to the game he loves. MTGScreenie's singing isn't going to win any awards, but I think that makes the song even more endearing and funny, especially when he strains to hit the high notes or runs out of breath because the song outpaces him. The visuals won't blow you away, but you'll see lots of amusing reminders of things you love and hate about playing WoW. Seriously, people, who doesn't love lag and ganking! [Thanks, Terrë Yuki!] If you have any suggestions for WoW Moviewatch, you can mail them to us at machinima AT wowinsider DOT com.Previously on Moviewatch ...
Breakfast topic: The calm before the storm
The expansion draws ever nearer, and many folks are working away at the last important bits of Burning Crusade content. We're looking to see Wrath by the end of this year. I've been spending a lot of time leveling alts to get ready for Wrath of the Lich king. I've noticed that this has been surprisingly easy compared to my previous leveling experiences. In the last week or so I've leveled my Warrior from 40 to 56 with very little resistance. I've probably only been ganked a total of ten or so times. I'm beginning to think either most people have shifted their priorities from hunting lowbies to preparations for the level 70 to 80 grind. Or could it be that many of the folks who would ordinarily be giving me grief have been preoccupied playing in the beta test? It reminds me of the unofficial truce between factions immediately following the release of BC.Has your gaming experience changed recently?
Death Knight Gameplay Video: Unholy PvP
Jadefury continues to deliver with the Death Knight videos. This time, he runs around in one of the Northrend starting zones and preys upon unsuspecting Alliance. It's a bit of a gank video, so fair warning if you're not into that. He uses this level 73 Unholy/Blood build. Jadefury himself admits, of course, that the first thing he had going for him was the element of surprise -- not only ganking, but people panicking as they had to face down an unfamiliar class. We wouldn't be surprised if PvPing with a Death Knight for the first few months of Wrath is easy if only because of that deer in the headlights phenomenon. Still, he also showcases some very nice uses of Death Knight PvP skills. My favorite is his use of Death Grip, which looks like it's fast becoming the signature Death Knight move -- not only does it take care of people trying to run away, but he uses it as a spell interrupt in a pinch. There's also some freezing action going on as well with what looks to be Chains of Ice. Of course, having Magic Suppression probably helps a lot as well. Of course, it's worth noting that he leapt upon people in combat (with some rather sweet looking Nerubians at that, we can't believe we'll be able to solo those, Wrath is going to be so epic), and this is only at level 73, so level 80 organized PvP may look somewhat different. Still, it's yet another good look at Death Knight gameplay to prepare all of us rerollers.
Breakfast Topic: Camping out
I have a love/hate relationship with Stranglethron Vale. I find the quests to be interesting, and I like the colors used in the zone. It is, however, a hotbed of PvP action. On a PvP server there are always opportunities to gank or be ganked. This tends to lead to an escalation of alts. It goes something like this. 1. You get ganked while killing Bloodscalp Trolls.2. You resurrect and wait for the perfect opportunity to exact your retribution.3. They log onto their level 70 and one-shot your level 32 alt.4. You log into your 70, fold, spindle, and mutilate your foe's 70 until they cry for help.5. Their buddy joins the fight.6. Your buddy joins the fight.7. Half of their guild rushes to STV.8. Your guild matches their fire power. It's really interesting to watch something like that happen. I'm not sure how anyone who has no 70s on the server survives the most ganktastic zones in the game. I can't quite comprehend how people can feel compelled to hang out in these zones at high levels just for ganking. I imagine that they're all either bitter about their own leveling experiences, or maybe they're short.
Pirates of the Burning Sea to eliminate ganking, restore ambush gameplay
Is ganking really such a bad thing? That's the question Isildur addresses in his latest Pirates of the Burning Sea dev blog, where he outlines how ganking evolved in the game -- and how it got out of control. "Ganking has a long and difficult history within our design and development process, so it's a hard question to answer with a simple 'we hate it' or 'we love it," Isildur said. To really understand why the Flying Lab Software developers are torn on the issue of ganking, Isildur explained their concept of 'ambush gameplay' and the contradictions it brings to game mechanics. Isildur explains how the creators of Pirates of the Burning Sea envisioned the act of piracy. The scenario he outlines involves a lone pirate (or small group of pirates), who catch an unwary merchant by surprise, defeat him and loot, then escape before reinforcements can arrive. This is the ambush gameplay Isildur and the team at Flying Labs pictured -- rewarding for pirates, disheartening for lone merchants. To put a more visual spin on it -- a player sets sail from port, perhaps hoping for an uneventful trip. But then, a sail appears on the horizon. Is it a friend or enemy? As the unknown ship comes into view, so does its pirate flag, signaling a possible fight to the death. But the introduction of the Open Sea to the game changed all this. In some respects, Pirates of the Burning Sea developed in ways contrary to the original spirit of the game.
"An armed society is a polite society."
Or so wrote Robert Heinlein in Beyond the Horizon. The general idea was that, in a country where there were serious (and officially sanctioned) consequences to misbehavior from quarters other than the police, you'd wind up with a place where people really thought hard about whether it was worth pissing someone off just for the fun of it.Whenever I'm reading about PvP, that quote always springs to mind. People who have played MMORPG's with more "hardcore" PvP systems have mentioned that the amount of random ganking you see in WoW just doesn't seem to occur on the same scale elsewhere. WoW's PvP is pretty consequence-free. Corpse runs are annoying, sure, and being camped is nobody's idea of fun. But you don't take durability or experience loss after a PvP death, and you don't lose money or items to the attacker. Nor does the attacker gain anything from killing you (unless it's honor if you weren't a gray target).
Peacekeepers who don't keep the peace
A couple of people have posted about the Shattered Sun Peacekeepers slacking off on their jobs lately, quite possibly thanks to something Blizzard fed them in Patch 2.4.2. In their reports, they complain about Peacekeepers attacking them for no reason, sometimes not even in retaliation for attacking (or defending yourself against) a member of the opposing faction. I can actually empathize with this as I encountered the ill-placed wrath of the Peacekeepers myself when I rezzed my wife's toon in front of the Staging Area. Without having done anything other than rezz, the Peacekeepers promptly charged and made short work of me.In my experience, I have found that the Peacekeepers around the Shattered Sun Staging Area have been slacking off. In fact, my wife's toon was ganked right in front of the building and the so-called Peacekeepers did absolutely nothing. Sensing a bug, my wife wrote a ticket and got a somewhat rude e-mail response saying that -- you guessed it -- it was working as intended. An Alliance guild on my server seemed to be aware of the fact and exploited it to full effect, killing solo players who could seek no refuge under the apathetic -- or even hostile -- Peacekeepers.According to reports, it's a known bug -- one player even made a video to document it -- but so far Blizzard has turned a blind eye to it. I got a more sympathetic response from my GM who at least mentioned he'd look into the situation. An in-game GM even reset the Peacekeepers in order to see if it would change anything (it didn't). I don't mind gankage... it's part of being on a PvP server. But when an area is supposedly a sanctuary, you don't expect to go through the hassle of a fight. Even worse, you shouldn't have the Peacekeepers tossing your butt around when you're being peaceful yourself. If things keep going the way they are, The Shattered Sun Offensive should probably downsize or hire some more useful temps.
Player vs. Everything: Maxed out and bored
Congratulations! You've hit level 70 (or whatever max level is in your favorite game), and you're officially a badass. For many players, this is a goal they've been striving towards for months -- even years in some cases. The feeling of having that first max level character is immensely invigorating. It's like putting the finishing touches on a long-term project or getting to the last page of a monstrous novel. What an accomplishment! However, after basking in the glow of your newly maxed out character for a few days, you quickly realize you have a small problem: What do you do with yourself now? The answer to that question is going to depend heavily on what game you play. For most people, it's going to be PvP, raiding, or a nice mix of both. You'll probably continue collecting gear for your character or working on your skills. Depending on the game, you might be able to work on some sort of alternate advancement or achievement system for your character -- maybe even hunt down some unique titles. All of this is pretty standard fare for endgame content. Sooner or later, you'll probably get a little bored of it. Don't fret, though! There's a whole host of other interesting things you can do to keep yourself entertained at maximum level that go beyond the planned content. Read on for a few suggestions.
Blizzard on griefing: deal with it.
Drysc responded strongly to some QQ over at the forums when a poster from Kil'jaeden -- a PvP realm -- ranted about being griefed by high level characters while leveling up. Drysc's uncompromising response? Get some friends and fight back. He reasons that if players roll on a PvP server, they should expect to be griefed as part of the leveling process. It's the same philosophy that has prevented Blizzard from allowing character transfers from PvE to PvP realms. It really only makes sense. If players roll on a PvP server, they shouldn't complain about players from the opposing faction taking advantage of the fact that they're flagged for PvP.As Drysc explains, "the rules of war are based around attacking when the odds are in your favor". This could mean when opponents outnumber you, outlevel you, when you're low in health and/or if you're engaged with multiple mobs... the question isn't whether it's honorable or fair. It's war. In a PvP server, everything is fair game. There are no rules, and players certainly shouldn't bother sending tickets to GMs asking for any help (or sympathy). This should probably be common sense, but Drysc's somewhat provocative response is something of a surprise -- to many players a welcome one. While I'm all for etiquette (ganking a fisherman is just plain rude) and a personal sense of honor, players who roll on a PvP server know what they signed up for. Shape up or ship out -- character transfers, after all, are just a click away.
Breakfast Topic: Gankster Poll
I always roll on PvP servers. I don't know why, but I just don't feel comfortable on a PvE server. There's just something exhilarating about always looking over your shoulder to see where the next attack may be coming from. Since there is such a strong division between Alliance and Horde, PvP just seems natural. Sure, I get ganked, but I can hold my own. When I'm soloing, I very rarely take advantage of PvP in the environment. I'm usually too busy leveling or grinding for cash to start a land war. I've even been known to help out an ally in distress. About the only time I attack unprovoked in the environment is when there is a quest monster close by that I need to fight.
Breakfast Topic: Should there be honor in PvP?
And by honor I don't mean the honor-as-currency system that's currently in the game -- I mean a sense of personal honor as in, there are things you make a conscious decision to avoid doing just as a moral gesture. I thought of this recently after a truly miserable losing streak in Arathi Basin. I wound up in three consecutive matches with a full complement of 15 Alliance players to 7 or 8 Horde (with both sides being PuG's, mind you). Being out-numbered and out-gunned sucks no matter what, but it's made immeasurably worse in places like Arathi Basin and EOTS due to the dwindling number of sites you'll have to rez when your side is being utterly destroyed. There was one particularly awful game where the Alliance decided to see how much honor they could get from us before the inevitable 4 or 5-cap ensuring their victory, and simply zerged us in the graveyard as we rezzed (or tried to). The feeling was made worse by knowing, having also played Alliance in BG's, that Horde would almost certainly have done the same thing had the situation been reversed. PvP is the subject of a lot of emotional dicussion in the WoW community as a result of situations like these, and I think we can all agree that it's not the losses that drive you nuts so much as knowing that the game is full of places and times where no amount of strategy or skill will keep you alive.There are a lot of things in PvP that I just don't like being a part of. I don't attack fellow Druids unless I'm attacked first (yeah, I know it sounds crazy, but a surprising number of Druids subscribe to this). I don't join in when an enemy player is obviously being dog-piled. I don't /spit on opposing players or do other rude emotes, and I don't participate in griefing. There's not much about WoW's PvP system that's really all that fair to begin with, especially when compared to games more explicity designed around PvP combat, but in the back of my mind there's still that notion that your opponent should at least have a sporting chance. I risk being called a hopeless carebear for this statement, but I think "honorable kills" are a lot more enjoyable when there's a measure of actual honor involved.
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?
My log off spot
Many of us that have played the game every day over the years have developed some habits of sort. One of the habits that I've found myself doing night after night is logging off in the same spot. For me, this spot is at the staff vendor in the Aldor section of Shattrath. I find myself logging off here almost every night since I hearth back to Shat when I'm done raiding, and then go and repair immediately (less I get yelled at for not being fully repaired).I can imagine that there are some better spots than others to log off at. In particular the PvP servers I'm sure pose certain pragmatic limitations on where you can disembark from the game. In the PvE world, I could (if I wanted to) log off anywhere in the wild. Save for the wandering aggressive mob, I would be just fine. However, I don't think this would be too good in a PvP environment.
Birds of prey: Is Druid epic flight form OP in PvP
I was sitting at dinner with a buddy of mine (I'll call him Zebulon), excited about the prospects of being one of WoW Insider's newest bloggers. He suggested that I should write a post on why Druid's Swift Flight Form is "OP." I thought he was just whining, so in my least empathic voice I said, "QQ more nub, you knew what you signed up for on a PvP server." As it turns out Zebulon had a run-in with a shifter who really knew how to use his class abilities. As he was flying back from Skettis daily questing high above Terorkkar Forest, Zebulon, who was playing a Rogue, was ambushed by a Druid in Swift Flight Form. The attacker flew above him and shifted into caster form. The Druid cast Insect Swarm and began spamming Moonfire as he dropped toward the ground. The altitude permitted the Druid to break combat and return to flight form. Because of the speed boost from epic flight form the Druid was able to make another pass. Damaged, dotted, and desperate, Zebulon searched for a safe body of water to drop into. The plan was to dismount into the water, Cloak of Shadows, and then Vanish from the attacker. No luck- HK for the Druid.
The Daily Grind: In my MMO...
Kill Ten Rats says that in his MMO, using phrases like "u r" (as in "you are"-- yeah, I don't do it either) should flag you for PvP, as should writing "lol" ten times, or using the word "ghey".I'd have to say that I agree, but what if you could design your own MMO, tailored especially to your own tastes?In my MMO, ganking someone below your level would give them a 10 minute buff that would make them stronger than you for 10 minutes or until they killed you, whichever came first.In my MMO, NPCs would be extremely excited and generous even after seeing you complete the simplest of quests. "Wow, you killed all those rats in my basement? Here, have this Holy Avenger Sword!"In my MMO, anyone who needed a group could get one without waiting, and all group members would instantly appear wherever they needed to be once the group was formed.These are all pretty nice, but what can I say-- I'm a nice guy. Your wishes might be a little... harsher. If you had a designer at your beck and call to create the MMO of your own personal dreams, what would be "in my MMO"?
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.
Roving gangs that steal your stuff?
As we generally do here at WoW Insider, we make it a point of reading many other news sources to bring you the newest and freshest news we can possibly find. But I have to admit, in the middle of surfing around, I stumbled across one article that has brought me back to a question I've wondered about several times before. In short, why does the mainstream media add World of Warcraft into articles when WoW really has very little to nothing to do with the topic they're talking about?Take, for example, this article from the Washington Post. In the article they say "In World of Warcraft, the most popular online game, with an estimated 8 million participants worldwide, some regions of this fantasy domain have grown so lawless that players said they fear to brave them alone. Gangs of animated characters have repeatedly preyed upon lone travelers, killing them and making off with their virtual belongings."
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.
Player ganks woman's character, gets beat up by husband
A Mexican WoW player named Bronco Carson got beat up in real life by the husband of the player he had been repeatedly ganking, as well as a few of the husband's friends. Apparently, he'd been killing the heck out of this woman's character, which is reasonable enough, although somewhat annoying. The woman started threatening Carson at some point, but hey, it's the internet, right? They don't know where he lives.Wrong! Carson seems to have decided that a good idea would be to give the woman his address and and ask "if her husband was man enough to just come meet me to settle this." Um...bad move, sir. The husband and friends came and beat him up, netting Carson two broken fingers, a fractured wrist, and a destroyed computer and entertainment center. The moral of the story: if you're going to make life hard for someone in-game, don't give them your address and taunt their husband to come fight you. You are not prepared.Note that this story may well be fake, seeing as how there's no terribly credible source for it -- all the references to it I've been able to find trace back to this story on Fun Tech Talk. Grain of salt and all that.P.S. Just so we're clear, beating people up isn't cool, especially when it's three against one.[via wow.qj.net]
