Somebody's Following Me

I can't go anywhere in Outland without running into someone on a nether drake mount. 

It began the moment I set foot in Outland at Hellfire Peninsula...

And it's continued throughout my experiences here so far...

Being able to walk on water has its advantages.

At least in Shattrath City you can find people on other mounts, but still the nether drake is by far the "standard" mount found on the Anniversary servers. 

These are just a few of the times I've seen nether drakes around. It's so ubiquitous that one could be forgiven if you'd have thought they simply gave you one once you unlocked flying. But no, there's a long grind to get a nether drake mount. I did it once during Cataclysm simply because I wanted to see how it was done, and while it's not the worst grind in the game it didn't engage me either.

That being said, seeing all these players with their nether drake mounts, I'm reminded of Syndrome's quote from The Incredibles...

From The Incredibles vis makeagif.com.

Meme Monday: Spring Cleaning Memes

Yes, I've been doing some Spring Cleaning. Well, among other things, but I'm sure you understand. And I do mean around the house, not cleaning out my pile of memes.

Yep. Sad to agree.
From Someecards via Pinterest.

I sometimes wonder if the squirrels in our
yard do spring cleaning too. From makeameme.

Yes indeed. All those brooms around Silvermoon,
just working their asses off. From Reddit.

The curse of being a reader. From bookbub.

Indeed. From Imgflip.

Just hedging my bets, that's all.
From Imgflip.

What Is The Goal, Anyway?

Bhagpuss commented on yesterday's post about walkthroughs and solved games that "following guides are just more fun", to which I snarkily replied that "are you really playing the game, though?"

That little exchange kept rolling around in my head all night, and I decided to delve deeper into it, because I don't think I was right to simply dismiss Bhagpuss' point.*

In my response, I likened following a walkthrough or merely utilizing the optimized meta to playing connect-the-dots or watching a movie or television series, but upon reflection I don't believe it's just that.

A game is active entertainment. No matter anything else, if you're playing a game of any sort, you're choosing to engage with it. While we can also choose to engage in more passive forms of entertainment, such as watching television, you still have to interact with the game. AI hasn't progressed to the point where it plays the game for you**, so that mere act of physical interaction raises it above the level of watching reruns of MASH.***

However, the operative word isn't 'active' per se, it's 'entertainment'.

Yes, I went there. From the movie Gladiator (via Tenor).

I forgot to ask that basic question: "Are you having fun?" Or maybe a better one is "What is your goal?"

While the former question is the one most people ask, maybe your goal isn't to have fun at all. Let me explain.

***

Walkthroughs are very common in teaching. They provide students with a process to understand a concept with known starting and ending points, and if you get stuck during homework or a test you can fall back to that walkthrough as a guide to help you work through your issues. For example, my Advanced Lab 1 and 2 classes in Physics at UD relied heavily upon you as a student to study and reproduce journal articles, then write up the results as a formal 10-20 page lab report.**** My third lab experiment was provided to me by the professor showing me the lab equipment and the basic design, handing me the requisite journal article, and then said "Now, go and reproduce The Photoelectric Effect."

While some lab experiments are more simplistic than others, they are all walkthroughs. However, I would argue that "entertainment" isn't the typical reason why people utilize them. Yes, there are those who find it fun --and I'm one of them-- but the primary reason why they exist is for instruction and understanding.

Likewise, walkthroughs are found in various other sporting and hobbies. They provide a basis for understanding, a learn-by-doing methodology, and a foundation to build upon. I'm thinking of the karate-do kata that the kids (and my wife) used to perform for their karate class, and you get the idea.

I recognize this kata from their classes.

From the standpoint of games, for some people walkthroughs are the best way to learn to play the game. They provide you with the understanding of the logic behind the game, where the pain points are, and how to solve the problems presented. 

***

So, assuming that the answer to "What is your goal?" is to have fun or be entertained, then we can proceed to "Are you having fun?"

That answer is completely on you. If by "having fun" you go do your own thing, then go do it. If to have fun you follow a walkthrough or the meta, then do that too. 

However, that doesn't mean that people won't judge you because of what you do. People are people, and I've found over the years that the people who love to say "I won't judge you" often are judging you, just not out loud. And yes, I'm guilty of that too. I'm not going to deny that.

If people react negatively to you for not following what they perceive is the "correct" way of playing, don't be surprised. But it also needs to be said that you don't have to yield to their pressure. If they want you to play a specific way and if it's a requirement for your participation with them, then you have to decide whether it's more important to play your way or play with those other people. If others can't respect you for the way you want to play a game, I think there's your answer.

So for me, "having fun" means doing my own thing, trying to puzzle out answers on my own, and not utilizing walkthroughs or a published "best method". To those who use those because they've got other things to do, such as raiding, then that's fine. You do you. 

*Yes, I realize it's my blog and I can do what I want with it, but I try to avoid being an asshole.

**It could be argued that botting software for MMOs is rapidly approaching this tipping point.

***Even then, it must be said there are greater and lesser degrees of engagement while watching television or a movie. If you're in a movie theater watching a movie, the crowd can be more engaged than if you're watching alone at home. The same thing goes for the shared experience of watching a sporting event in a bar or a stadium; you may not be playing the sport itself, but you're engaged with the shared experience of watching and cheering on the participating teams.

****I've told this story before, but I'll mention it again. The night before all of our Advanced Lab 1 lab reports were due, I was working on one of my last lab reports when I somehow nuked the floppy disk my lab reports were on. I had to scramble and rewrite 4 lab reports, a total of 80 pages worth, over the course of 8 hours. I somehow managed to finish it in time, my memories of that caffeine and terror fueled night are pretty hazy.

A Solved Game Forces You to Respond to It -- Whether You Like It or Not

In the midst of planning the construction of some raised garden beds, studying for the Amateur Radio Extra Class License*, and handling family-related activities, I've had plenty of time these past few weeks to do some thinking. 

The biggest thing on my mind was why I actively avoid trying to follow the crowd and follow the clearly defined optimal game path when playing any video game. 

Am I committing self-sabotage by doing this?

When I play a single-player game, it's not a big deal because there's nobody looking over my shoulder to tell me I'm doing it wrong. I'm quite aware that just about every video game, from Baldur's Gate 3 to Oregon Trail** has wikis, walkthroughs, and meta-builds out there for people to use, but unless you're actively streaming your gameplay*** people will be none the wiser. 

But in the case of an MMO, there is always a best way of doing something --courtesy of algorithms and mathematics-- and if you're not following that meta build that's going to be a bit of a problem. Maybe not if you're playing the game solo, but if you want to do any group content there's always somebody who will be annoyed if you're not "doing things properly".

That's one of the big reasons why I never played what was at one time THE best rated boardgame on Boardgame Geek: Puerto Rico. Aside from being a Eurogame with a pasted-on theme designed to hide a mathematical exercise, Puerto Rico suffered from what for me was a fatal flaw: if you follow everything perfectly the winner will be explicitly determined by your initial turn order. Some Puerto Rico fanboys were so into the meta that they'd absolutely flip their shit if you didn't play exactly according to the meta.

Eurogamers aren't very fond of randomness
in boardgames either. From Pinterest.

If you play MMOs, does that sound familiar?

***

Here's the thing: whether or not you play according to the meta of a game, the mere existence of an easily obtainable meta for a multiplayer game means that you have to deal with the consequences, even if you consciously ignore it. Other players will expect you to play it, and if you don't that will impact their opinion of you as both a player and a person. Ignorance is unfortunately not an excuse for a subset of MMO players, and once you become aware of the meta**** you really have no alternative but to deal with it. 

Yes, I deal with it by actively ignoring it, but that's also because I kind of figured out a lot of the meta playstyles in my Classic WoW toons through experimentation while questing. Sure, I'm not aware of the entire meta of a particular class, but a short jaunt to Icy Veins or Wowhead will present it to me in full gory detail. I guess you could say that I'm happy I got 80% of the way there by myself, and it's frequently enough for the pugging I do (or casual play). Raiding would certainly put that philosophy to the test, because a) I don't want to look like an idiot and wipe the raid*****, and b) I have a certain amount of pride in playing well and not being a liability. At the same time, I know that looking at the meta is opening Pandora's Box, akin to downloading and utilizing your first Damage Meter addon: once you see how you're really doing there's no going back.

There's a post by Shintar on her SWTOR blog, Going Commando, that's 4 years old this month about this very phenomenon. Titled My DPS Is Bad and I Can't Look Away, it has been living rent-free in my head ever since I first read it. That it came out 3 months after I gave up my progression raiding career certainly had something to do with it, and I completely sympathize with her opinion. At least with SWTOR the game culture doesn't trend toward hardcore that the versions of WoW do, but for me, that post was uncomfortably close to the lead-in before I'd have another "discussion" from a raid lead about "getting my DPS up". 

But that's the thing: we're all responding to the very nature of a solved game. Consciously playing a different way from the meta is as much a response to the meta as embracing it. 

***

I was thinking about this when my Questing Buddy spent some time playing Stardew Valley over the past Winter. In her usual way, she went out and found a playthrough so she could follow the best path to completing the game. I counseled her to just go and explore the game; sure, you get a "score" after two years but you can keep playing indefinitely after that. Unless you're deliberately trying for something very hard to do, such as completing the original storyline within one year, there's no real reason to follow a playthrough guide.

But you can guess the outcome, can't you? She kept up with the guide.

*Yes, I'm studying for the highest level of Amateur Radio license available in the US. It is certainly much more technically oriented than what I found in the other license coursework; while I originally thought I could be ready to take the exam by April, I have since come to the conclusion it'll be more likely late Summer before I'm really ready. 

**Seriously, there's walkthroughs on how to win a game whose whole purpose is to get you to understand how migration on the actual Oregon Trail was like. Talk about missing the point.

***I'm very glad I'm too shy to consider streaming, because I would not be amused by such commentary.

****Typically having been told of its existence by another player wanting you help you get better at the game. I'm going to be charitable and it was a positive interaction, but if you know MMOs it's equally likely it was a variety of "git gud scrub" followed by a group kick.

*****OF COURSE I've done that before. Do you have to even ask?

Meme Monday: Writer/Blogger Memes

After some work I've been doing for some upcoming posts, I figured I'd circle back to one of my favorite exercises in self-flagellation: writing.

Writing is kind of in my blood, because right now I'm actually doing that. I've been doing that on this blog since 2009, and I don't see me giving this up any time soon. I've been writing fiction off and on since high school --I was serious enough about it that I photocopied the submission info for Science Fiction and Fantasy magazines out of Writers' Market back in the 80s and 90s-- and the bug still has a hold of me. Today (Sunday), while I put this post together I went back to a story I'd been working on and tinkered with it a bit and tried to figure out the direction I wanted to take it, a rut that I need to simply just tell my inner critic to shut up and just write myself out of.

Anyway, here's a few writerly (and blogging) related memes...

Guilty! From Someecards.

Sorry about that; couldn't resist.
From bhargavkesavan.wordpress.com.

Yeah, been there. This past week, in fact.
From Bang To Write.

I keep thinking that my plot twists are so obvious
that a truck could drive through them. From Autocrit.

This is also me. From Instagram.

Well, that's not gonna happen. If my mom found
this blog, I'm pretty sure she'd think I was about
to be damned to the fiery pit of hell or something.
From SEOptimer.

A Tale of Two Extremes

One of my unwritten rules about pugging is that I don't go all in until I get a feel for how a tank and healer operate together. It obviously goes without saying that such a conservative approach would not be good if I were to ever get the urge to run Mythic+ instances in Retail, but it's served me well over the years. My credo boils down to "Don't do anything stupid, pull threat, and wipe the group while people are feeling each other out."

Well, I figured I hadn't been on my two Horde toons in a while, so why not pull Neve out of the garage and go visit Scarlet Monastery? Neve is a Frost Mage*, so she consequently has a lot of utilitarian/crowd control abilities. When you combine that with my 'starting off slow' approach, what could go wrong?

Almost from the beginning, the Healer kept pushing us to go bigger. "I can heal through it," she said.

When I used single target for the first couple of mobs, she said "Mage, AoE to save mana instead of single targeting when over 3 in a mob."

I was annoyed at that because we originally had three in the pull but two additional enemies came wandering in midway through that fight, and I mentioned as much. 

"I main a Mage," the Healer replied. "I'm used to it."

"I main a Mage too," I replied, "and I want to make sure how well tanking is working before I go ham."

"You'll pull threat. It's what we do, get used to it."

I grumbled at that. There's enough tanks I know who dislike that belief and the behavior it encourages that I was immediately sympathetic toward the tank, who said nothing.

We got partway through the instance, and then the tank said "brb 5 min" and then stayed put.

Well, the Healer was having none of that, so she started pulling mobs one by one and we slowly worked our way forward. I suspected the tank was just going to basically go AFK and then vanish, and sure enough he did just that. So the Healer got another tank and we continued on and finished the run. 

Once we finished it, the Healer dropped and we got a new Healer. The tank, after the first few pulls asked me to go single target because he was having trouble keeping threat with me constantly AoE-ing so much. "I know you want big numbers and all," he began...

"I'm fine with single target. Whatever you need," I finished. "We don't have that first Healer around, and that's fine."

"Whew," our new Healer said. "I'm still learning healing." 

"No biggie. I want to go at a pace you're comfortable with."

***

It goes without saying that while that first Healer was definitely skilled, I preferred the second Healer because I worked at the pace that the Tank and Healer were comfortable with. I didn't need any extra drama, and I think that's a problem that some people seem to relish causing. 

This reminded me of the time back in 2021 when I attended an AQ20 raid where our Raid Leader had pugged one of the two tanks, who turned out to be from the top raiding guild on our old Myzrael-US server. Yes, the guy was good at what he did, but he wasn't interested in listening to what the Raid Leader wanted, which drove all of us nuts. He began freelancing his way through the raid, ignoring our Raid Lead and essentially directing people to do it his way.

Well, our Raid Lead kicked him, top guild member or no, and our Guild Master also kicked him from our Discord. Sure, the tank we got as a replacement wasn't as good, but at least he could work within the raid team paradigm.

There comes a point where you have to relinquish your desire for big numbers to work with the rest of the group. MMOs have "multiplayer" in the acronym, after all, and the entire point is to work with people to accomplish a singular goal. If you're not interested in that, maybe finding a group of likeminded people is best for you, so that I can grab a bowl of popcorn and watch the fireworks when they start.

*Cardwyn: "I approve."
Me: "That's nice and all, but I'm pretty sure she doesn't need your approval."
Cardwyn: "We mages stick together. End of story."

Me: ::sigh:: "Why can't the voices in my head be more normal?"

EtA: Corrected the year of that AQ20 run. It was a couple of weeks before pre-patch for the original TBC Classic in 2021.

Second Verse Same as the First

After my previous post about how leveling seems to have been subtly speeded up, I decided I was going to make some changes how I was going to approach leveling in Outland.

As of April 15, 2026.

I was originally planning on leveling Briganaa all the way to L70 and then go back and level other toons one at a time. After the process of slowly leveling what eventually became 4 toons at once, I figured changing the methodology was in order. 

Well, then I met the speed of leveling in Outland.

In the two weeks that I've been enjoying the view in Hellfire Peninsula, I now have one toon at L62 and two at L63. I suppose it's slipping back into old habits, but I discovered the quickest way to combat a game that insists on pushing me faster toward max level is to simply spread out the leveling process among several toons. At the moment I intend to stick with three, but I think that I'll eventually bring five into Outland.

Something I have been wondering about is what I intend to do once I start getting toons to max level. Even if the leveling slows down the farther in I go, I expect some of these toons to be getting to L70 by July. What to do then?

Well, the first thing I've thought of is to simply not get flying. 

Blizz opened up the quest chain for the nether drake mount
right when the Dark Portal opened, so you can't go a couple
of minutes without seeing a player on one. It's almost
as bad as seeing the paid boost ground mount "reward"
everywhere as a reminder that people paid money to
skip playing the game.

I don't need it to get to max level, and since I'm not raiding I don't need to do the Tempest Keep instances as part of any attunement quests.* I don't intend to impoverish myself just because, and I'm still expecting  a lot of players to stop running instances as time goes on. Other than getting to Tempest Keep, there's no real reason to get basic flying: a fast ground mount is quicker, a Druid's fast flight form is much quicker at diving in and obtaining gathering nodes**, and it does cost a bit of gold.

Is it a hipster move? I'm sure some people would say yes, but I pushed back on it even in 2021 and then in late 2022 in Wrath Classic. I simply don't want to be a slave to having to make gold just to get a mount that I won't really use, and I don't like standing around somewhere, preening and showing off my new fancy mount and/or gear.*** 

If I'm not doing flying, and I'm not raiding, I'm starting to think about running some Alterac Valley battlegrounds. I'm not interested in Arenas because I know I'm not good enough for them, but I would like to go out and play some AV for a change. I could also run some instances, so long as I'm not required to utilize flying for them.

And, oh yeah, I've got a couple of Horde toons around. I ought to work on them too.

*You need flying to get to the Tempest Keep instances. No way around it, as the time of posting you can't even summon a player in front of the instance entrances themselves. I do think that'll change as time goes on, but I'd not count on it just yet.

**That happened in 2021, where Druids with fast flight form would frequently pick entire zones clean of gathering nodes because they were so fast compared to anybody else. So, why should this be any different once a Druid's fast flight form becomes available in Phase 2?

***Yes, I'm the sort of guy who, when presented with a cost-is-no-object choice, would likely end up buying a decent quality-built sedan to drive around with. I don't want to be seen, and I don't want anything flashy. In my experience, people noticing you isn't really a good thing; as I like to tell people who I am introduced to in meetings, if you don't know my name it's because I'm doing my job well, and if you know my name it's probably because people were shouting it during emergencies.