Before we get into the meat of the article, I’d like to relay two thoughts. My first thought revolves around happiness or the lack thereof. Some of the most miserable people I know in the real world are also the wealthiest. I don’t mean they don’t worry about bills, I mean they don’t have to work. They can travel, they can buy just about anything they want, and they are hopelessly miserable. They don’t seem to notice, but they have no tolerance for the clerks checking them into the hotels, or the server that just tried to be friendly. All of these lesser dressed people are morons in the eyes of the elite. Just keep that thought in your back pocket as you watch the chat scroll by in Dalaran with people demanding gear and achievement checks before they let you into a run of Heroic Violet Hold for some lousy badges. I feel pity not jealousy for these poor gear-blinded people.
It’s fairly evident that a raider is going to know more about maxing out DPS, and how to itemize their gear with one specific talent spec for a specific end-game boss fight than someone who has never been to the instance. I’ve met quite a few “raiders” who could find the “best in slot” gear, and then stand where they were supposed to and hit the three buttons they needed to hit to survive a boss encounter. I wouldn’t call that “knowing your class.” Blizzard has veered away from class mechanic requirements and made the encounters puzzles. If you know the pattern, then you can beat the encounter, period. I would contend that people who know the encounter can beat the encounter on any class in almost any gear.
Ultimately, who has more fun? I have never heard so many people get pissed off than I have during raids. Whether there is loot drama or the fact that one (or more) persons is a moron, people get really and truly angry. I’m not sure who has fun in that situation, but it is sure as heck isn’t me. If I want loot drama I’ll talk to my wife about shopping and see how she just ninja’d new patio furniture and I had to pass on my new big screen TV. I guess I need more DKP (Diaper Kleaning Points) for the TV.
Knowing instances is not the same as knowing the game.
Issue number 16 (who’s counting?) I’m not sure how knowing less than 1% of the overall game experience translates into knowing the game, but it appears that raiding is the only way to have street cred in WoW. I’d put my friend Loremaster Cheekymonkey up against almost anyone in a head to head game of Jeopardy on WoW knowledge. An avid adversary of raiding, he has forgotten more about WoW than most people will ever know. You would be hard pressed to say he’s a noob.
The sad reality for raiders wanting street cred really comes with the nerfing of the game. With the ease in which guilds are blowing through the content, can people still feel a sense of pride for beating the game? Not in its current state, maybe when Icecrown Citadel launches. Heck, I’m more impressed when my merry band of jackhole guildmates can jump on alts and clear instances while chatting on vent about how my wife ninja’d my TV (I’m not bitter). You guys can still stand in Dalaran and act all puffy if you want to though, I’m sure someone will be impressed (is that you Peacock?).
Raiding Dalaran, the Toughest Raid of All
End-game
At the end of the day, it’s all about what you enjoy. Some people enjoy the nano-micrometer approach of squeezing all they can out of a character class and working as an integral group to beat new encounters. Other people enjoy doing “whatever sounds fun tonight.” Both parties are right, and neither is going to change the other’s mind, but that doesn’t stop us from trying. Play the way you want to play and with the people that help you reach your goals. If your goal is to have a level 80 of every class, then go for it. If you are languishing in the 70s and have been since February (I’m looking at you Cody), then you can do that too. Enjoy the game, and more importantly, let others enjoy it the way they want to, not the way you think everyone should play.
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