Mystic Worlds

20:1 Odds - Are You a Betting Man?

How long would you keep your job if you only had 20:1 odds of getting paid each week for the time spent? Other than Chicago Bear fans, how many times would you lay down cash on a bet for a team that only has 20:1 of winning? I'm guessing for many people the answers are "not long" and "not often or never". Yet many of today's MMORPG game designers expect you to do 20:1 against, and frequently. Of what do I speak? I'm talking about Pick-Up Groups, commonly called, PUGs.

Stepping away from my raiding toon and back to one that is still leveling, I once again face the question of, "To group or not to group?" I'm more inclined to solo from the get-go and the ever increasing odds of PUG failure, only makes me more inclined to do so. 20:1 is probably an exageration but not by too much. I know that my odds of completing an instance with a PUG group - sub quests completed, boss mob down, initial group stays in tact until the end, isn't very good. When I include the time to find the group, get everyone to the instance and get rolling, a failed PUG is more than a minor inconvenience, it can be a huge chunk of wasted time. If you don't have much time to play, then the impact to your game advancement and enjoyment are both greatly diminished. If I used any potions, oils, buff food or anything with an extended cooldown in the course of the misadventure, then the cost of failure is even higher.

Given the deplorable odds for success, is it any wonder that many people choose instead to take the surer route of soloing small quests and grind? You have two hours to play today. Do you rely on yourself, knowing that you can control the outcome and meet your objective for the session or risk it with a PUG? If I have rest bonus XP there is no question in my mind that I'm going to solo. If a group of friends or guildmates runs an instance or quest, I'll do that, but I don't throw away time and rest XP on PUGs.

I think the problem that we are facing is two-fold. As more busy, career-oriented people with hectic lives enter the MMORPG game-space, the percentage of players who are fiercely protective of their game time is going to increase. We need to log-in, get shit done and have some fun along the way. Wasting time with people who don't have a clue, are rude, childish, inconsiderate or all of the above isn't what we'll choose to place our bets on. So we gravitate to the sure thing - friends or solo.

Another issue is the actual time required to complete tasks as in higher levels and end-game. These long drawn out instances aren't even an option for many people. It's not that we can't play 20+ hours week - it's that we can't do it 5 hours at a time. We need to do 1-2 hour sessions or have the option of walking away with very little notice, then continuing on when we can. Well, with the exception for the new 45-minute Strat, this isn't even remotely possible. And gambling this precious time on the 20:1 odds of a successful PUG is just begging for failure and disappointment.

Is my time in WOW an investment? You bet your ass it is.  I pay for the service, an ISP and decent enough PC hardware to play the game in style.  How often do I want to bet that on a long instance with a PUG?  Not very.  In the end, the more patient who have time to gamble are more likely to PUG. Whereas those of us with little time to spend on risky bets, will make the choice again and again, to solo.

Cooking as Primary Profession

Ala EverQuest, I think World of Warcraft needs to turn the Cooking profession into a primary profession. Like tailoring, the gathering process is passive because it doesn't require a specific skill to obtain the components. However, unlike tailoring, to obtain the comps needed for the buffing foods, you do have to execute a focused effort to acquire the items - most of which, aren't available for puchase on the AH.

Serious pursuit of cooking as a profession was one of my favorite things to do on EQII. My provisioner level was always higher than my toon's playing level. I think it adds a very nice roleplaying opportunity for players. The idea of providing necessary goods - beyond weapons and armor, is appealing to many. Now EQ is a bit different as there are food and beverage slots on each character, making these items a basic need. However, even though that doesn't exist in WOW, most players do use buffed foods during boss fights - especially in the 40-man raids. So why not make it a primary profession? Very little of the existing game dynamic would need to change, save for the fact that people who already have two primarys and cooking, would have to make a choice between them. Or better yet, raise the cap for cooking in some way so that it can go above 300 if it is a primary and add some new recipies.

I think it's a big "miss" on Blizzard's part that cooking isn't a specialized profession. It supports fishing which god knows goes nowhere until you're very high in level, and even then doesn't offer much opportunity for profit, save for a few select fish. Come on, this is a roleplaying game. Lets add a little more RP spice!

A Priest’s Life - Clothier Bane

My first character in World of Warcraft was a Human Warlock, pre the deathcoil patch and class revamp. So I was a Warlock before the preceived point at which we became over powered. I leveled the vast majority of the way solo and only did a handful of instances before the high 50s. This means that my fighting style was aggressive and nuk 'em. Demonlogy specc'd, I did a lot of drain-tanking to kill mobs. This doesn't work very well when you start questing with groups.

I remember the first time that somone told me to control my aggro I had absolutely no idea what they were talking about. Do what? Don't go all out damage why?? I mean - they gave me the ability to do this damage, you don't want me to do that? I had little or no experience with Warriors, let alone priests. I was still fighting "every man for him/herself". And too, I expected to get healed. I think in the back of my mind it was suppose to be nothing different from what I'd been doing with the exception that I'd never die because there's a priest in-toe. How wrong. How foolish. I didn't come to WOW completely ignorant of MMOs. I'd leveled an Enchanter in AC2 and messed around a bit in EQ1, before doing my EQ2 Summoner. But in those games the idea of holding back my casting just didn't exist. I was expected to go all out every-single-time. Take it down quick. Take it down fast. All out nuk it with whatever you've got. NOW. This idea of controling my damage was like asking me not to breathe.

It took me a little while to "get it". Most of the time I was thinking, "This priest is a freakin idiot." And wondering, "Why isn't this summofbitch healing me?" No one bothered to really explain until I hit Molten Core. After they did explain to the first time raiders why, it was crystal clear. When you pull aggro off the tank the mob becomes a loss cannon. Besides killing you, it could then turn on the next party member, and the next and so on until we all die. When the priest is wasting time healing you - lil clothier that shouldn't be taking damage, they are not healing the tank, the off-tank and they are consuming precious mana. It only takes wiping a raid once to realize the severity of uncontrolled aggro. Luckily, I pulled it in my younger raid days, but never wiped us. *Whew*

Now an older and wiser player - okay, jaded too, I can spot a non raiding character in the first pull. It's the Mage that casts before the Warrior gets off his first swing, the Rogue that thinks he should attack his "own" target, the Warlock that thinks he/she can tank yet a different target with their pet and the Druid that doesn't break bear form to help heal even as we are all dying. And anyone that is opening corpses while a significant mob is still on us, and I'm barely bringing the tank back from the brink of death because everyone else is looting and not fighting. Yeah noobs - and as a preist, you run across far too many of them.

Levels 45 to 48

At levels 45 to 48, I like to hop back and forth between Tanaris for Zul’Farrak (ZF), Feathermoon for peaceful grinding with the hope of a golden pearl and Aerie Peak for quests very easy grinding. If you’ve been lucky, you’ve completed most of the quests in Tanaris by now for your level and maybe even wrested your riding carrot from ZF. This trio of areas is my favorite after you’ve stretched beyond the Defias quests from your early life in Azeroth.

Tanaris in particular, has a nice amount of slay and collection quests which are my preference. They’re easy and straight forward to complete and you can accomplish the objectives of multiple quests simultaneously. Sure, hardcore fans will say they dislike the quests for the same reason – they’re easy, but I’ll debate that this is a game and I’m supposed to be having fun. Plus I like grinding humanoids. They don’t drop a lot of crap that I have to sort and vendor. They tend to drop currency, cloth, quest items and the occasional armor and weapon. Very few gray items are dropped by the humanoids and I like that. So even if you’re not a tailor like my priest is, we all need first aide! In an hour of questing or grinding, I’ve typically found two to three green items that can be sold on the auction house. What could be better than grinding XP, quest XP with rewards and green loot?

In Tanaris I’ll grind the pirates in Waterspring Field and Lost Rigger Cove. Both can be a little dicey as they are popular spots for mages to grind, and meeting the opposing faction will cause drama. And you’ll encounter level 60s running here-n-there who have nothing better to do than dismount and 1-shot you. When I get tired of that and it becomes counter productive, I’ll catch the gryphon to Feralas.

The Stronghold of Feralas presents the first set of quests for the areas. There are plenty of Naga to grind on Feathermoon and the north shore of the Isle of Dread. If you’re leveling cooking you can kill the wolves in the area for your Hot Wolf Ribs recipe that will yield +8 Stamina and Spirit. If you’re a hunter you can pick up Dash 2 from the same wolves or venture across the waters east and get yourself a Wind Serpent. Twin Colossals and Highland Wilderness have plenty of slay and collection quests. An added bonus for me is that I love killing Ogres – always have. They crack me up when the hit the dirt with a ground-shaking thud. I have visions of grandeur when they fall dead at my feet. 99.9% of the time your experience on Feathermoon will be Horde-less and a free ride in a contested area. However, all bets are off when you are at Colossal’s or Wilderness. Camp Mojache is just a few clicks away so you will be running into Horde. Not to mention that the Dire Maul instance is in the center so you’re going to encounter level 60s willing to kill you for a laugh.

When you get bored with these areas and want a change of scenery, fly into SouthShore and make your way NE to The Hinterlands (Aerie Peak). The Gryphon Master is at the top of the AP tower. While you’re up there take the tunnel into the tower and pick up the Witherbark Cages quest. Doing the quests while grinding the Moonkin and Trolls are good fun. It’s mostly slay quests that will net me some tailoring comps, a few wildvine for the AH and currency. I wouldn’t venture any further east than The Alter of Zul until your level 47. Otherwise you will be doing the gravestone walk as you make your way back from faction kills. As for Skull Rock – don’t do it or go near it until 47, depending on your class. There are packs of stealth wolves there just waiting to pounce on you for dessert.

All in all it’s a good time – levels 45 to 48. When I get a hankering for some 5-man groups I put out a call for ZF or Uldaman. If I get really bored then I might revisit Scarlet Monastery

Harvesting:

Tanaris: Mithril, Truesilver, Thorium, Firebloom, Purple Lotus and Skinning

Feralas: Mithril, Sungrass, Goldthorn, Purple Lotus, various pearls and Skinning

Hinterlands: Iron, Mithril, Goldthorn, Khadgar’s Whiskers, Sungrass and Skinning

Top 10 Lies About Priests

Alysianah, my level 45 Priest on Illidan, is getting pretty grumpy.  While I was composing a different post for later on in the week to discuss my progress, it brought to mind the behaviors I see that tell me people don't understand their own role in a group, let alone mine.  So let's clear up a few misconceptions about Priests...

TOP 10 LIES ABOUT PRIESTS

10. Should heal people in BGs because we aren't tired of doing that in instances/raids and only do PVP for an opportunity to heal strangers some more.

9. Should use mana to heal random players that they encounter who are on the brink of death, because an expressed form of gratitude from said healed-player, will certainly be forthcoming. 

8. Should buff passers-by because people are courteous and always say, "Thanks!"

7. Should waste mana replenishing the health of a Warlock who has just "tapped" it all for mana just before the pull.

6. Has enough mana to sustain a pull immediately after resurrecting and re-buffing multiple players.

5. Should forgo taking the time to get their loot because the group wants to race on to the next mob, even though the tank and Priest are the last to stop fighting (in the priest's case healing)  the last mob and aren't even AT the next one yet.

4. Should cast anything greater than Renew on casters who AOE without cause or in imprudent situations.

3. Should waste mana and possibly pull aggro themselves, repeatedly healing Warlocks and Mages who don't understand the phrase, "Control your freaking aggro!"

2. Can heal four different players simultaneously because everyone has decided to pull their own target instead of attacking the tank's target, and the three idiots having these delusions of grandeur are all in cloth.

 

And #1 lie about priests is ...

Whassup!

Not too much going on right now with me and MMOs.  I was going to download the trial versions of Anarchy Online and Ryzom.  However, I’ve yet to find the time.  I’ve read that AO is very high on the grind-scale but that the complex skill and fighting system make up for it.  I’m also interested in seeing what a more sci-fi MMORPG feels like to play.  Although the graphics and playable races of Ryzom don’t impress me, the idea of being able to create my own quests does.  Hopefully, I’ll find some time in the near future to give one, or both of these a try.

Until then I must amuse myself with WOW when the opportunity to play presents itself.  On the last raid I picked up my third piece of Nemesis – belt.  I’m still trying to raid with the guild on Sun and Wed.  Other times, I’m working on my NE priest who is now half way to level 46. 

After the patch, I spent a couple of days cleaning up my interface, getting rid of unused mods and trying out some new ones.  More on this later…