Imitating Budd

No, I don't mean by pretending I'm an Manataur.

If you've ever seen the movie Up, you know there's a scene where the two protagonists meet Dug, the talking dog.  When he begins to describe the collar that allows him to talk, Dug is distracted by a "Squirrel!"

Well, that's sort of what I've been up to lately on Tomakan.

I've been leveling Tom's Engineering, and since I didn't feel like paying the AH prices for Fel Iron and Adamantite, I've been rummaging around Outland, farming the stuff.  And in true Budd fashion, the "Shiny!" has been distracting me.

"Well," I thought, "since I'm here, I might as well solo a few heroic BC instances.

"And oh look, there's a quest here.

"And I can pick up the To Hellfire and Back achieve with a few more quests.

"And I can see about getting enough rep to get into the Tempest Keep heroic 5-mans.

"And here's some quests that lead into Draenei lore."

"And...."

Well, you get the point.

This is why I put on blinders when I was leveling Tom and Neve to L85; the lure of the Shiny! is just too great.  Maybe if you've got a stable full of alts this is all old hat, but to me, this is still new.  Yes, even BC, because I'm exploring things from an Alliance point of view.

***

One thing that I've been struck by is how perception is indeed reality in Azeroth.  Take Dustwallow Marsh, for example.  If you've leveled through there as Horde like I have, there are a few simple truths to the region:  the Grimtotems are a loose cannon, the buildup to Onyxia dominates the questing, and Theramore dominates the area.  If you get even just a little close to the place at level, the magnitude of the stone walls and cannons --and oh yeah, the soldiers-- make the place look impregnable.  Brackenwall Village is your kids' backyard fort built with leftover lumber by comparison.

Then try leveling an Alliance toon and take the ship from Menethil Harbor.

Once you land on the dock, the first thing you're struck by is how empty Theramore really is.  With such a frontal display of might, your mind conjures up a battalion or two of Lordaeron's finest.  While there are buildings around, there are so few NPCs to match.  What's more is that a good portion of them are actively trying to subvert Jaina's leadership.  Once I got over the surprise, I laughed.  Psychological warfare is alive and well in Azeroth.

***

I'll elaborate on this in a later post, but I'm struck by the parallels to the history surrounding the BC races.  Both the Sindorei and the Draenei had most of their race willingly turn away from the Light and embrace the Burning Legion.  Both have dealt with genocidal campaigns, and barely cling to survival.  Both mistrust the other, yet would do well to examine their own ranks more closely.

***

Heard Around Azeroth

In Battle of Gilneas:
BL:  I can't believe half of our team is AFK!
Neve:  We're not.  We're getting corpse camped by two Hunters, two Locks...  ::dies:: and a Priest.
BL:  And you can't break through that??
Neve:  Not when they're on the boat with you.
Priest:  And no @#$% tanks, either!!

In Honor Hold, Hellfire Peninsula:
[Tomakan (L85) is perusing the offerings by the Honor Hold Quartermaster for curiosity's sake]
Warrior:  ::challenges Tomakan to duel::
Tomakan:  ::inspects the Warrior, finds he's L61, and Declines::
Warrior:  ::challenges Tomakan to duel::
Tomakan:  WTH is wrong with you?  ::Declines::
Warrior:  /flexes  I'm bad!  I'm bad!
Tomakan:  ::Mounts and flies off to a Shattered Halls run::
Warrior:  ::challenges Tomakan to duel::

What just happened?

I'm being bribed...

"This system is meant to address the unacceptable queue times currently being experienced by those that queue for the DPS role at max level. The long queue times are, of course, caused by a very simple lack of representation in the Dungeon Finder by tanks, and to some extent healers."

"but perhaps we can bribe them a little"

What is this, I don't even...

I suppose something was necessary to address the problem, but seriously? Resulting to tactics my mother would use to get you to do what she wants? That doesn't sit so well.

I'm at a point now, as are most regular players, which I don't really need valor points except for my off spec gear - and I'm not overly concerned about gearing it up.

But wait Mr. Awesomely-Bearded Deftig, you get a nice bonus, what do you have to be upset about?

First, thanks. My beard is awesome, isn't it?

Right, I get the fine opportunity to jump out into the LFD maelstrom and do the same thing that frustrates and burns me out - tank for a bunch of randoms.

It may sound elitest of me, but I don't particularly enjoy running the dungeons anymore. The faster I can pull, the better the dps is, the more geared the healer is, the quicker I can end that dungeon - THE BETTER. My faction grind for Cataclysm is over, I don't need any gear out of there and frankly, I only have one 85 (by choice - warriors are just the best class). And I don't feel the need to help you gear up your 9th level 85 alt while you struggle to remember where you put hex on your hotbar because you rarely play that character.

"Understandably, players prefer to take on that responsibility in more organized situations than what the Dungeon Finder offers"

No shit, ya don't say?

I'm to the point now where I haven't run a heroic dungeon as a tank is roughly two weeks - and in the one dungeon I did run, it was with a guild group going because one of our members was gearing up a tank.

So is the bribe even worth it?

"offer them a chance to get some of those elusive pets and mounts "

Hey that's great and all, but I long ago lost hope of getting any of those instance drop mounts. If I'm not farming Stratholme 5 times per hour now, what makes you think I'm really going to be so inclined to throw myself onto the mercy of the LFD and HOPE I get a decent enough group to finish the dungeon, and also again HOPE I'm lucky enough to get the mount out of a bag? Do you think that would actually happen? Ya, right...

Also, say you're lucky enough to have actually gotten one of the mounts. You now have a chance to get the exact same one as before and get extra peeved!!

"Even if they don't get a pet or mount, or get one they already have"

Not to mention how cheap of a reward it would feel. My guild took a group of players through and earned every achievement to get iron bound protodrakes. I'm proud of that mount because we worked as a team and finished them out (in honesty, we did finish the final achievement once Cata was released). But none the less we still did something and that mounts carries some significance aside from the fact that I was patient enough to carry a group of people I don't know through a dungeon.

Will this ultimately result in me participating? Probably a few times, but not very happily... Because, sadly, pvp is not very fun anymore. And now that the guild is funding repairs, I don't have the need to do dailies, I haven't even been logging in. At the VERY least, this gives something to do...

Blitzkrieg

I've done my share of battlegrounds in the past, but a couple of days ago I tried my hand at something new:  rated battlegrounds.

The result can be described in two words:  Ye Gods.

Although we were in three BGs that night, I think we set some sort of record for losing in the Battle of Gilneas, because we lost in exactly 01:44.  The opposing team swarmed over us and took the flags as if we weren't even there.  Their composition --something like 50/30/20 Healers/Rogues/Tanks-- made it impossible to get more than a few hits in before getting obliterated.

"Geez, Q," one of the guildies told me, "I only got two heals out on your mage before she bit it."

Oh yeah.  Now I know what a mop feels like when you're dumped in dirty water. 

I think the only BG experience that is comparable is the time I ported into Alterac Valley as Tom to find only five fellow Alliance players against a full complement of Hordies.  Even then, I lasted longer in the ensuing fight against an 8:1 ratio.

If you want to run rated BGs, think about Arenas first.  Trust me.  For myself, I think I'm going to stick to regular BGs, because by comparison the pace is much more relaxing.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go pry a knife out of Neve's back.

Hear Ye, Hear Ye!

Like the font color?

Good, cause you're gonna see a lot more of it soon!

Yes, that's right, Parallel Context is going to be an official mouthpiece of Blizzard.  You hear it here, it must be true!

There will be the occasional guest post by GC and others, but in general the three of us will be providing the WoW community with official updates that --due to our extensive readership-- will be disseminated more thoroughly than is currently possible on the WoW Forums.

One nice little side effect of this is that we can provide Blizz with suggestions that will be taken to the highest levels of development.  For example, my suggestion to prevent ninjas in a PuG --flipping a switch so that if a player drops group after a loot roll in an instance they will be unable to roll for loot for a one week period-- has been favorably received by the development staff, and a version of this upgrade will be in the 4.1 PTR shortly. 

We look forward to serving you in the future with timely, cogent updates on the game we all love:  Ultima Online!


EtA: I'd be remiss in pointing out that a few of my fellow WoW bloggers have similar momentous announcements for this Friday:

Rades at OrcishDraenic Army Knife

Vidyala at ManaliciousOrcalicious

Recycled content...

Never have I seen a company recycle so much content. In fact, it’s


gonna get really old if everything is always the same. However,

give it time and I’m sure we’ll see some new stuff.

You have to trust that a company as big as Blizzard has something up its sleeve.



Up until the news of the re-release of ZG and ZA, I

never thought I’d see them again. I should say I hoped that would be the case anyhow.

Gonna be fun to see how they changed the dungeons and mechanics. Hopefully, it will

let us get the mounts a bit easier this time, though I seriously doubt it.

You have to wonder though, what else is going to be recycled? Will we see MC version two?

Down to even lower dungeons such as stratholme version 2? If that’s the case I can say I’m

NEVER – ever gonna be really motivated to run them. Seriously, who’s really

gonna want to do that all again? I certainly don’t. In fact I’d be happy to

run any new themed dungeon that’s introduced. You think we’ll see any new dungeons

around path 4.2 as well? I really hope we do, because if the content doesn’t hold my interest

and burn out starts to set in, it would be a really big shame to

desert this game after so many hours put into it.

You can’t take things too seriously though.

You Never Know

Last night my family attended the district-wide Festival of Bands held at our local high school.  The Festival of Bands pulls together all of the woodwind, brass, and percussion band students throughout the entire school district, from 5th Grade through 12th Grade, for a combined concert.  The concert showcases all of the hard work the band students have been putting in --my oldest, a flutist, among them-- and gives them a chance to shine on the stage.  (Or in this case, gymnasium, as there were over 400 students assembled for the program.)

We left after the concert and went back home, just in time for my wife to realize that she'd accidentally a book she'd been reading behind.  I went back to the high school to go hunt for the book, hoping that the building hadn't been emptied and locked for the night.

Luckily for me, I encountered one of the band directors when I was roaming through the gym, and he suggested we try the high school band's office.  We crossed into the Commons area, and while he called his wife my eye was drawn to the lost-and-found shelf.  I pointed to myself and at the shelf, and the band director nodded while he talked on his cell.

I searched under the hoodies and jackets and found a few notebooks which I searched through, but not much in the way of my wife's book.  I set the notebooks back, and it was then that I noticed the owner's name of the topmost one:

Jimmy "Leeroy" Jenkins

"For the Horde!" I whispered, smiling.

So... Where've you been?

That was the question asked me by a guildie when I fired up Quintalan for about 20 minutes early last evening.  It was about the only time I had to spare in between the end of the work day and having to take two of my kids to a skating party, but I figured I'd knock out a few quests in Uldum before I spent a couple of hours at a 1970s era roller rink.

I kind of shrugged at the question.  "I've been on," I replied.  "Mostly in the mornings and the early afternoon."

"Okay.  I haven't been able to get on in the mornings lately, except for Saturday."

I'd noticed that the regular morning crowd for both Tom and Neve/Q has been thinning a bit lately, but until my guildie alluded to it I hadn't noticed the decline in my evening playing.  With three kids (and their activities) and a wife who works in the evenings part of the time, I've cut back on my WoW playing.  When I do play, it's much easier to run a quick BG or knock out some quests/crafting rather than queue for an instance.

At times like this, I miss the quick Wrath instances like A-N or Forge of Souls, the BC quickie Hellfire Ramparts, and Vanilla's Scarlet Monastery Graveyard.  Got 15-20 minutes?  No problem!  You don't have to be in a losing fight in Warsong Gulch; you can go bash some Scourge or Fel Orcs instead!

But really, the design for Cata instances took away the ability to get a dungeon quickie.  Given that Blizz wants to make the instances --especially the heroics-- hard, the concept of a quick and dirty instance clashes with design intent.  And I'm fine with that.  It's my schedule that has changed, and I shouldn't expect the game to change for me.

This is where things kind of intersect with a persistent theme the past month or two out in the WoW blogosphere, how a certain subset of WoW players have gotten disaffected with the game.  We're not talking about the people who like WoW but tried and fell in love with Rift (or LOTRO or another game), but the people who burned out on WoW or who threw up their hands in disgust over the game.

Even if my own WoW time has been cut, I still find things to do.  If I'm the only person in my guild on in the morning, I make a point of chit chatting while holding down a tower in Alterac Valley.  (And I'm not even talking about roleplaying, but just regular in-game talk.)  What I don't get is when people focus in on one aspect of the game so completely that they miss the rest of the game world.  I've said it before and I'll say it again: an MMO is what you make of it.  Yes, there is design intent at play, but you can choose to buck the system and do your own thing.  Nobody pulled out the book of WoW Scriptures and read "Yea, and upon the Seventh Day the Toon assembled with many brethren, and thus they entered the Great Raid.  And the Two Headed Ogre with many pokey eyes was slain."