As I spend a little more time building my characters each day, I grow a little more weary of the process. It seems like such a large investment of my time to a process that will not have any materialistic return or noticeable gains. I guess I am having a little trouble having a hobby that's neither morally superior nor a complete waste of time. Before Warcraft my idea of a computer game was a few rounds of Sudoku or Mahjong Solitaire. My idea of a hobby was mastering a Beethoven Sonata or a Bach fugue, reading a poem or a Stoppard play or delving into architecture, anthropology, linguistics or some other intellectual discipline. However, there is only so much intellectualism a person can engage in on any given day and my idea of relaxation was reading thrillers or watching action flicks or medical dramas ad nauseam.
I still play the piano. I still read, both thrillers, scientific texts and english literature. I still watch plenty of TV and engage in the occasional game of solitaire or soduko. Yet now I also log in to my Wow server to check the AH stats, do the dailies or level up a toon. It remains a daunting thought: how much time and effort has gone into a computer game. Very little of what I do is a natural progression of seemingly meaningless repetitive tasks that eventually amount to some larger achievement. There is no visible progression in reading or watching TV. There is somewhat in playing the piano, but these days playing the piano equates to using a fully T6 geared main to run Gnomeregan or maybe it's using a level 15 for Karazhan. Either way, progressing as a piano player requires better finger joints than I have. As for work, how many jobs are more than taking care of daily tasks that needs to be done every day? Working life is mostly like visiting the Isle of Quel'Danas for the ten or eleven repeatables that pay well at the end of the day.
Maybe the answer to the uncomfortable realization of just how much time and money goes into the game is as simply as not to worry about it. In the great scheme of things, it's not really that much time or money and there's always plenty of other things to worry about. And there's plenty of other things that could be added up just as easily - how much time is spent sleeping, cooking, cleaning, commuting, watching TV, learning how to breathe again during an asthma attack and whiling away the hours that seem like an eternity during a migraine and the confines of a dark room and quiet bed?
Most of life is routine and a vital part of that routine is relaxation. And since I don't play for the end result but play because I enjoy all of it - the leveling, the grinding, the Auction House buy-and-sell frenzy, to name a few - it doesn't truly matter what it adds up to in the end. If the means are where the meaning and fun is more so than the end, then I guess I can look forward to another stint of playing this week without the guilt or concern that I'm wasting time.
Wednesday, 30 July 2008
Sunday, 27 July 2008
Jewelcrafting 300
My level 41 hunter has just reached JC 300. Yay! Now there's a steep levelling curve to catch up so that I can take her to Shatt at level 50 in order to expander her knowledge some more. It was the professions that originally drew me into Warcraft. Levelling alchemy and herbalism with my first character was easy. Levelling skinning and leatherworking with my second was not much harder, except for the dozens of 'drums of battle' I had to craft at the end.
Advising my husband on how to level two crafting professions (tailoring and enchanting) has been hard. Although enchanting sort of has its own 'gathering' profession via disenchanting and tailoring too - since humanoids drop cloth - it is still a difficult level. Tailoring is now at 360 and enchanting somewhere in the vicinity of 335 and it's still an arduous and expensive endeavour. But the rewards have been worth it - enchants available at a button for my numerous alts and 16-slot bags from level 1.
Next I took on Blacksmithing and specialised as a weaponsmith. Although I paired it with mining, my level 41 pally weaponsmith is currently stuck at 250 making copious sets of mithril spurs and will probably continue to do so until they grey out at level 275.
Jewelcrafting has been remarkably easy to level. I initially coupled it with mining as well and was able to craft up to level 125 or so without requiring mats from the AH. From 125 to 250 I actually made a profit crafting mostly blue items and then thorium settings. From 250 to 300 wasn't difficult or extremely expensive, but each point cost around 3 gold to level. I'm hoping that from 300 upwards as cutting becomes a possibility, crafting will return to be either a neutral or profitable venture.
My level 15 mage has picked up engineering and up to level 165, where she is now, it's been an inexpensive breeze. I feel as if my initial enthusiasm is returning. Crafting was suppose to be profitable, then it turned into a money sink and now that I feel more confident in my knowledge of both the game and the AH, leveling a profession is just about revenue neutral to the top and then it makes money. Can't wait for Wrath and Inscription.
Advising my husband on how to level two crafting professions (tailoring and enchanting) has been hard. Although enchanting sort of has its own 'gathering' profession via disenchanting and tailoring too - since humanoids drop cloth - it is still a difficult level. Tailoring is now at 360 and enchanting somewhere in the vicinity of 335 and it's still an arduous and expensive endeavour. But the rewards have been worth it - enchants available at a button for my numerous alts and 16-slot bags from level 1.
Next I took on Blacksmithing and specialised as a weaponsmith. Although I paired it with mining, my level 41 pally weaponsmith is currently stuck at 250 making copious sets of mithril spurs and will probably continue to do so until they grey out at level 275.
Jewelcrafting has been remarkably easy to level. I initially coupled it with mining as well and was able to craft up to level 125 or so without requiring mats from the AH. From 125 to 250 I actually made a profit crafting mostly blue items and then thorium settings. From 250 to 300 wasn't difficult or extremely expensive, but each point cost around 3 gold to level. I'm hoping that from 300 upwards as cutting becomes a possibility, crafting will return to be either a neutral or profitable venture.
My level 15 mage has picked up engineering and up to level 165, where she is now, it's been an inexpensive breeze. I feel as if my initial enthusiasm is returning. Crafting was suppose to be profitable, then it turned into a money sink and now that I feel more confident in my knowledge of both the game and the AH, leveling a profession is just about revenue neutral to the top and then it makes money. Can't wait for Wrath and Inscription.
Friday, 25 July 2008
Changing professions
After much to-ing and fro-ing, I have decided to dump mining and pick up leatherworking for my hunter. I have been thinking about doing it since level 6, but it seemed appropriate to match jewelcrafing with mining. Turns out I have levelled JC to 296 without making use of her mining skill once. I do mine when I come across ore, which is rarely - since I mostly solo and ore tend to be where group mobs are - but my JC has always pulled ahead resulting in AH procurement instead of good old farming.
At level 40, to my great surprise, my hunter learned how to wear mail. Hmmm... Feeling like a bit of an idiot for not have caught on to the obvious earlier, but call me stupid, I just didn't tweak until I hit the trainer. With my main having topped out leatherworking and purchased quite a few mail patterns along the way (good thing I'm as obsessive as I am, otherwise I would never now have all those turtle scale and tough scorpid patterns). If my hunter can farm her own leatherworking mats, she'll be clothed. Yay! I realise that my weaponsmith can also make some mail armor, but the farming for ore is just beyond my level of patience. Spending the amount of money to purchase bar after bar goes beyond my sensibilities. And so I am 'respeccing'. Something I have wanted to do but didn't feel allowed to.
Life lesson learned. Do what you love, not what seems sensible. There's no point trying to make myself do anything that is good for me but I dislike. Instead, I am trying to find things that are both good for me and enjoyable. Maybe it's time to dump the exercise bike too. One can hope...
At level 40, to my great surprise, my hunter learned how to wear mail. Hmmm... Feeling like a bit of an idiot for not have caught on to the obvious earlier, but call me stupid, I just didn't tweak until I hit the trainer. With my main having topped out leatherworking and purchased quite a few mail patterns along the way (good thing I'm as obsessive as I am, otherwise I would never now have all those turtle scale and tough scorpid patterns). If my hunter can farm her own leatherworking mats, she'll be clothed. Yay! I realise that my weaponsmith can also make some mail armor, but the farming for ore is just beyond my level of patience. Spending the amount of money to purchase bar after bar goes beyond my sensibilities. And so I am 'respeccing'. Something I have wanted to do but didn't feel allowed to.
Life lesson learned. Do what you love, not what seems sensible. There's no point trying to make myself do anything that is good for me but I dislike. Instead, I am trying to find things that are both good for me and enjoyable. Maybe it's time to dump the exercise bike too. One can hope...
Strolling in STV
Stranglethorn Vale has always been one of my favourite play areas. Not quite Winterspring or Nagrand level of favourite, but that's just because I dislike plenty of the Booty Bay originating quests. I prefer monster mobs over humanoid mobs. I definitely feel that in-game violence has nothing to do with real life violent tendencies. I'm a pretty peaceful person except for a little ranting and raving on topics I'm passionate about. (Don't get me started on the National Health Service, people who ask to 'borrow' books they have no intention of returning and pseudoscience in general...)In game, I rarely think twice about killing, well, just about anything that's there to be killed. I tend to play without much of the audio, my eyes are mostly on my cooldowns rather than the proverbial sacrificial lamb and my brain is calculating the profit from drops and a little skinning on the side, making it easy to forget what I'm actually doing. Occasionally though, I just don't have the heart. The elite level 43 cat with its shadowcat entourage are one of those occasions. It's just resonates too much of the majestic. I know it'll respawn and I know it's just a computer generated image, but I 'd rather just leave it be.
It's the little things...
It's the small details that keep me playing WoW. Logging in my level 39 hunter was a difficult decision this morning. I am very much aware that I cannot play to my heart's content, there is a limit on the amount of time I can afford to play. I currently play my level 1 AH and level 70 rogue the most, simply because the benefits are greatest. Although to be honest, there's a reason why my rogue is my first level 70. I simultaneously started a rogue, paladin and hunter when my druid was at level 20-something, and six months later my rogue is level 70, my druid 64, paladin 41 and hunter 39.
I dislike playing most classes for the first half of the levelling game. It's only as more options become available that I begin to implement most of my spells. Take frost trap for instance. I learned it at level 28 and didn't touch it until level 38. And now, now it's one of my favourite spells. Not because of it's value, but its looks. There's something very appealing about being able to create a blanket of frost on vistas of green. I think levelling from 35 - 70 will actually be easier and quicker than 1 - 35. Maybe not in game time, but I doubt it will take me another six months to hit 70. Then again, if I wait for Wrath, as I plan to do, at 60, it may just be more than six months before my hunter hits 70.
I dislike playing most classes for the first half of the levelling game. It's only as more options become available that I begin to implement most of my spells. Take frost trap for instance. I learned it at level 28 and didn't touch it until level 38. And now, now it's one of my favourite spells. Not because of it's value, but its looks. There's something very appealing about being able to create a blanket of frost on vistas of green. I think levelling from 35 - 70 will actually be easier and quicker than 1 - 35. Maybe not in game time, but I doubt it will take me another six months to hit 70. Then again, if I wait for Wrath, as I plan to do, at 60, it may just be more than six months before my hunter hits 70.
Thursday, 24 July 2008
To gear up or not?
I recently hit seventy with my main and am now facing the dilemma that arises with a looming expansion pack (which of course I will buy) - should I save my gold since my epic level 70 things will soon be outdated or should I push ahead and acquire some nicer gear?
I don't think it's a matter of A or B, but a little of both. She does leatherworking, so I may as well craft the three primalstrike items. I am also itching to spend a little money on a few BoE epic patterns, but I think I will resist unless they become ridiculously cheap.
I'm pretty set on the arena, but being a big care bear, I realise that it will probably take a few months to be arena ready (if ever). In a few months, I would hope the expansion pack has arrived and I'm yet again grinding xp. And there is just no point gearing up in PvE gear if I want to start doing more PvP. And there is no point to start raiding since I don't think it's a viable play style for me. Gold grinding it is in. Not that I am complaining. Sadly enough, I enjoy killing Clefthoof Bulls in Nagrand and the dailies are boring, but now pretty quick and lucrative. I guess I will be sticking with my blues for a few months yet....
I don't think it's a matter of A or B, but a little of both. She does leatherworking, so I may as well craft the three primalstrike items. I am also itching to spend a little money on a few BoE epic patterns, but I think I will resist unless they become ridiculously cheap.
I'm pretty set on the arena, but being a big care bear, I realise that it will probably take a few months to be arena ready (if ever). In a few months, I would hope the expansion pack has arrived and I'm yet again grinding xp. And there is just no point gearing up in PvE gear if I want to start doing more PvP. And there is no point to start raiding since I don't think it's a viable play style for me. Gold grinding it is in. Not that I am complaining. Sadly enough, I enjoy killing Clefthoof Bulls in Nagrand and the dailies are boring, but now pretty quick and lucrative. I guess I will be sticking with my blues for a few months yet....
Wednesday, 23 July 2008
I want to be an arbitrageur!
Well, not quite. For those unfamiliar with the term, arbitrage is the practice of taking advantage of a price differential between two or more markets. Simply put, it's a risk free profit made by buying at a low price and selling at a higher price simultaneously. In WoW, the profit isn't exactly risk-free since time does elapse between buying and reselling.
Buying low and selling high does require intimate knowledge of the goods that are bought and sold. Some items do not sell, despite what your Auctioneer software might say, whilst others will sell persistently above market price. I have been dabbling in buying low and selling high, but unless I camp the AH, there is only a limited amount of bargains to be had at one quick daily glance.
Pushing the boat out a little further, there is buying low, conversion and then selling high. Simply put, professions. Some materials sell for more than the items crafted from them, but others do make a profit. However, the profit tends to be small, if present. The most I am getting if I buy the mats from the AH, is around 30 gold per item. And of course, there is a cap on the number of items that will sell on any given day. And so I have diverse pool of patterns that sell daily for which I buy mats of the AH, craft the item, and reap in the profit. On days where I have a little grinding time, I grind the mats rather than buying and make an additional profit. This is the most profitable way of trading, but also the most time consuming. The best scenario is buying discount mats, crafting and then selling at a premium. Even so, there is only so much time I can spend trawling the AH for bargains and logging in different alts to craft can be a tedious endeavour.
I don't know what the secret of the AH is. Some days I make reasonable profits and other days nothing sells, but I seem to be at a stalemate. That should come as no surprise. If I spend the same amount of time and roughly the same amount of money a day, it's reasonable to then make a similar profit daily. I guess it may be time to make my peace with the fact that with the time and skills that I currently have no more gold is to be had without more time, money and/or effort thrown into the endeavour.
Buying low and selling high does require intimate knowledge of the goods that are bought and sold. Some items do not sell, despite what your Auctioneer software might say, whilst others will sell persistently above market price. I have been dabbling in buying low and selling high, but unless I camp the AH, there is only a limited amount of bargains to be had at one quick daily glance.
Pushing the boat out a little further, there is buying low, conversion and then selling high. Simply put, professions. Some materials sell for more than the items crafted from them, but others do make a profit. However, the profit tends to be small, if present. The most I am getting if I buy the mats from the AH, is around 30 gold per item. And of course, there is a cap on the number of items that will sell on any given day. And so I have diverse pool of patterns that sell daily for which I buy mats of the AH, craft the item, and reap in the profit. On days where I have a little grinding time, I grind the mats rather than buying and make an additional profit. This is the most profitable way of trading, but also the most time consuming. The best scenario is buying discount mats, crafting and then selling at a premium. Even so, there is only so much time I can spend trawling the AH for bargains and logging in different alts to craft can be a tedious endeavour.
I don't know what the secret of the AH is. Some days I make reasonable profits and other days nothing sells, but I seem to be at a stalemate. That should come as no surprise. If I spend the same amount of time and roughly the same amount of money a day, it's reasonable to then make a similar profit daily. I guess it may be time to make my peace with the fact that with the time and skills that I currently have no more gold is to be had without more time, money and/or effort thrown into the endeavour.
Saturday, 19 July 2008
Drop Rate isn't Everything
It's easy to rely on an item's drop rate for guidance as to where to farm it. I have slowly come to realize that this may be the easiest strategy, but not the most reliable. A 35% drop rate from a level 70-71 mob in a very popular farming spot is a much slower farm than a 19% drop rate from a level 65-ish mob in an unpopular farming spot. If you haven't caught on already, my example is experienced gained from farming motes.
Still grinding rep with The Consortium, I face a similar question. Level 65-67 ogres in Nagrand for beads with a 33% drop or level 68-69 raiders in netherstorm for insignia with a 49% drop? I don't think it makes a large difference, personally. I prefer the raiders near Area 52 just because I happen to dislike ogres. I think it may be a size thing, mostly playing a gnome and all. It started way back in Loch Modan and I haven't been able to shake the feeling since.
All is not as simple as it appears, apparently, and then there's the added uncertainty created by other players. If the popular farming spot happens to be deserted, like this morning, five minutes net enough motes to make two primals and if the usual unpopular farming spot overflows with level 64-65's questing, thirty minutes may yield a couple of motes. Decisions, decisions.
I tend to frequent either the areas I prefer or the situation I prefer. I prefer to farm in unpopular spots where game play is continuous rather than sitting on top of a mountain, waiting for respawn with three other guys (who are infinitely better geared than I am) to jump on the nearest respawn.
Still grinding rep with The Consortium, I face a similar question. Level 65-67 ogres in Nagrand for beads with a 33% drop or level 68-69 raiders in netherstorm for insignia with a 49% drop? I don't think it makes a large difference, personally. I prefer the raiders near Area 52 just because I happen to dislike ogres. I think it may be a size thing, mostly playing a gnome and all. It started way back in Loch Modan and I haven't been able to shake the feeling since.
All is not as simple as it appears, apparently, and then there's the added uncertainty created by other players. If the popular farming spot happens to be deserted, like this morning, five minutes net enough motes to make two primals and if the usual unpopular farming spot overflows with level 64-65's questing, thirty minutes may yield a couple of motes. Decisions, decisions.
I tend to frequent either the areas I prefer or the situation I prefer. I prefer to farm in unpopular spots where game play is continuous rather than sitting on top of a mountain, waiting for respawn with three other guys (who are infinitely better geared than I am) to jump on the nearest respawn.
Wednesday, 16 July 2008
It's gray!
I chose the grey Elekk. Not for the grey, but the saddle is blue and green. I like blue and green...
Confused by the dailies?
I've been struggling to get my head around the dailies, particularly the two dozen on the Isle of Quel'Danas and reading up on it seems to be almost more confusing than figuring it on my own. The best guide to dailies I have come across has been the curse.com quest guide.
I did the recommended 11 quests today and struggled a little through the uncertainty of where to go, what to kill and how many to combine, but all in all, a fun play. It took me just under two hours to complete within a round trip from/to Shatt, but the majority of the time was spent on the puzzling and familiarizing myself with the air. Also, a fair amount of time was wasted by habitual clicking on my flying mount only to be told that it doesn't work. What a disappointment. All that saving to get my epic green griffon and now I can't use it in the major level 70 quest hub.
Ever wonder where all the 70's disappear to? I originally thought into raids and the arena, but nope, the Isle is crawling with variously geared 70's earning their gold the stress free way. *sigh* A good chunk of my time was also spent waiting for respawn or fighting someone else's pull. (It seems unsociable to just sit there and if there's not enough for all, then jumping it must be the admirable thing to do). Top cope with the large number of players, respawn is quick. I completed one quest by killing the same NPC five times in succession - it respawn within seconds right on top of me every time. Good thing I wasn't playing a mage...
Needless to say, I don't like the Isle. But I earned enough gold that I'll probably be back tomorrow. And at least it's pretty and I get a little more use out of my epic land mount for which I had to rep grind Darnassus exalted.
I did the recommended 11 quests today and struggled a little through the uncertainty of where to go, what to kill and how many to combine, but all in all, a fun play. It took me just under two hours to complete within a round trip from/to Shatt, but the majority of the time was spent on the puzzling and familiarizing myself with the air. Also, a fair amount of time was wasted by habitual clicking on my flying mount only to be told that it doesn't work. What a disappointment. All that saving to get my epic green griffon and now I can't use it in the major level 70 quest hub.
Ever wonder where all the 70's disappear to? I originally thought into raids and the arena, but nope, the Isle is crawling with variously geared 70's earning their gold the stress free way. *sigh* A good chunk of my time was also spent waiting for respawn or fighting someone else's pull. (It seems unsociable to just sit there and if there's not enough for all, then jumping it must be the admirable thing to do). Top cope with the large number of players, respawn is quick. I completed one quest by killing the same NPC five times in succession - it respawn within seconds right on top of me every time. Good thing I wasn't playing a mage...
Needless to say, I don't like the Isle. But I earned enough gold that I'll probably be back tomorrow. And at least it's pretty and I get a little more use out of my epic land mount for which I had to rep grind Darnassus exalted.
It's Mount Time
Patch 2.4.3 is being installed as I type and in a few hours I'll be logging on my level 37 hunter and be off to The Exodar for an Elekk. Yay! I'm missing out on seven levels of riding, but I'd rather be logging in a level 37 today than a level 30 and it's the last three levels to forty that's a real drag in Dustwallow and STV, so I'm satisfied. Good thing I've the gold in the bank just waiting to be spent.
I have purchased a mechanostrider for my gnome rogue and a kitty for my night elf druid, but although it will not be my first mount, it's my first Elekk. Will it be a brown, gray or purple? I just don't know. Leaning toward the brown, but the gray is pretty and the purple unusual and each has its own appeal. Not that it matters much. I will be trying to level her up as quick as possible to sixty, so the level 60 epic is almost just around the corner. I think I'll toss a coin or draw straws on this one.
I have purchased a mechanostrider for my gnome rogue and a kitty for my night elf druid, but although it will not be my first mount, it's my first Elekk. Will it be a brown, gray or purple? I just don't know. Leaning toward the brown, but the gray is pretty and the purple unusual and each has its own appeal. Not that it matters much. I will be trying to level her up as quick as possible to sixty, so the level 60 epic is almost just around the corner. I think I'll toss a coin or draw straws on this one.
Tuesday, 15 July 2008
Dailies from Shattrath City
I find the dailies quite daunting and overwhelming, particularly those attached to the Isle of Quel'Danas. I am not quite ready to let go Outland, it feels as if I've barely arrived, and so I enjoy doing the dailies that start and end in Shatt. I also play in short slots throughout the day as a break and find that I can do on region per slot in 5 - 15 minutes and then place her on a griffon to the next whilst I go back to work.
I start my day by picking up the following quests in Shatt:
I'm sure I can trim play time down to an hour within a week, resulting 100g per hour. Not bad at all. And on to the Isle of Quel'Danas, where everything is close by and I'm sure earning gold will be even quicker and easier...
I start my day by picking up the following quests in Shatt:
- The Multiphase Survey
- Gaining the Advantage
- Sunfury Attack Plans
- Maintaining the Sunwell Portal
- Intercepting the Mana Cells
- The Daily Cooking
- The Daily Fishing
- Daily fishing: Bait Bandits
- Daily cooking (Skettis): Revenge is Tasty
- Sha'tari Skyguard quests x2 (Skettis): Fire over Skettis; Escape from Skettis
- Daily fishing: The one that got away
- Gaining the Advantage (skinning knothide and thick clefthoof leather)
- Daily cooking: Soup for the Soul
- The Multiphase Survey
- Farm Mote of Air and/or Shadow; Fish Mote of Water
- Daily fishing: Shrimpin' Aint Easy
- Daily Cooking (Nr Sylvenaar): Super Hot Stew
- Maintaining the Sunwell Portal
- Intercepting the Mana Cells (Becomes available at SSO Phase 2)
- Farm Mote of Mana
- Sunfury Attack Plans
- Farm Zaxxis Insignia x 10
- Daily Cooking: Manalicious
- The Multiphase Survey
- Gaining the Advantage
- Sunfury Attack Plans
- Maintaining the Sunwell Portal
- Intercepting the Mana Cells
- Daily Cooking
- Daily Fishing
I'm sure I can trim play time down to an hour within a week, resulting 100g per hour. Not bad at all. And on to the Isle of Quel'Danas, where everything is close by and I'm sure earning gold will be even quicker and easier...
Fun,fun, fun
I bought a Guild Wars starter pack yesterday. Not that I'm tired of Wow or annoyed like so many players seem to be because the game isn't what they want it to be, but just because. Well, because it was cheap and I am a naturally curious person who doesn't think the grass is greener on the other side, but would always wonder if it might be if I didn't check it out.
It has sparked off a thought on how much time I spend playing and what do I do in that time. Different people want and enjoy different things and I can understand the frustration for those who play as a break from real life. There is an uncanny sense of verisimilitude when playing. Personally, it's the real life qualities that keeps me interested and entertained. I love the Auction House, even though it's hitting a mini-recession on my server at the moment. I love the level caps and other obstacles thrown it, it makes the game harder and in-game items more difficult to obtain. This means that the rewards are biggest for those who persevere longest. I wouldn't be happy if a level 1 could be a master leatherworker and make the same profit my level 70 make with crafting higher level gear. I wouldn't be happy if a level 1 could transmute primals either. I wouldn't be happy if a level 1 could craft 20-slot bags. And although I have a strong dislike for roaming elites, drinking mages and munching rogues, it adds to the gaming experience rather than subtract. It makes it harder and less fair and therefore the rewards are bigger and more enjoyable.
If I played more, I guess I would complain more. If I had been playing for longer than a few months, I guess I would complain more too. As it is, I am still enjoying the working for the rewards I get. Should it be easier? Maybe. I bought a copy of guild wars because it'll take me at least a month to transmute enough primal might to craft my remaining two primalstrike epic pieces. And then I will only have three. However, the upside is that this does not encourage me to quit, but simply to play less. I am not the incessant grinding type. I will not spend twelve hours a day farming primals and I will not spend a few thousand gold purchasing them from the AH. I will quite happily spend thirty minutes a day completing a daily that will require killing a mob which would also provide motes as loot. I will also quite happily spend 20 minutes a day scanning the AH for bargains, buying mats for crafting and selling crafted items as at a profit. To date, my strategy is earning me 100 - 200 gold an hour which adds up a plenty to buy the odd pattern, piece of gear as well as riding skill and mounts.
The gaming experience isn't wow or epic for me, it's everyday. My life is constant turmoil, I get from the game a sense of reliability and predictability. I can play almost every day. I can fly over Nagrand in my newly acquired epic mount with a sense of growing familiarity that is comforting. I can land where I always land, kill a few Clefthoof Bulls for their leather, a few raging storm things for their mote of air and lounge next to a shallow river or lake with a fishing rod, wearing my lucky fishing hat. I rarely play for the excitement and the glory, I play to relax under the domes in Netherstorm, the mushrooms of Zangermarsh or on the green fields of Nagrand and I make my money on the AH. If you play for the rewards, be prepared for a lot of tedious grinding, but if you play because you enjoy playing, it's just fun, fun, fun.
(Except for the levelling of an alliance toon that is not rested from level 30 - 40, it's the trek that never ends. I can't wait for the level 30 mount in patch 2.4.3. Unfortunately, I didn't wait and now my toon is level 37 and by the time the patch comes out, she'll not be benefiting much. Alas, that is the warcraft that we play).
It has sparked off a thought on how much time I spend playing and what do I do in that time. Different people want and enjoy different things and I can understand the frustration for those who play as a break from real life. There is an uncanny sense of verisimilitude when playing. Personally, it's the real life qualities that keeps me interested and entertained. I love the Auction House, even though it's hitting a mini-recession on my server at the moment. I love the level caps and other obstacles thrown it, it makes the game harder and in-game items more difficult to obtain. This means that the rewards are biggest for those who persevere longest. I wouldn't be happy if a level 1 could be a master leatherworker and make the same profit my level 70 make with crafting higher level gear. I wouldn't be happy if a level 1 could transmute primals either. I wouldn't be happy if a level 1 could craft 20-slot bags. And although I have a strong dislike for roaming elites, drinking mages and munching rogues, it adds to the gaming experience rather than subtract. It makes it harder and less fair and therefore the rewards are bigger and more enjoyable.
If I played more, I guess I would complain more. If I had been playing for longer than a few months, I guess I would complain more too. As it is, I am still enjoying the working for the rewards I get. Should it be easier? Maybe. I bought a copy of guild wars because it'll take me at least a month to transmute enough primal might to craft my remaining two primalstrike epic pieces. And then I will only have three. However, the upside is that this does not encourage me to quit, but simply to play less. I am not the incessant grinding type. I will not spend twelve hours a day farming primals and I will not spend a few thousand gold purchasing them from the AH. I will quite happily spend thirty minutes a day completing a daily that will require killing a mob which would also provide motes as loot. I will also quite happily spend 20 minutes a day scanning the AH for bargains, buying mats for crafting and selling crafted items as at a profit. To date, my strategy is earning me 100 - 200 gold an hour which adds up a plenty to buy the odd pattern, piece of gear as well as riding skill and mounts.
The gaming experience isn't wow or epic for me, it's everyday. My life is constant turmoil, I get from the game a sense of reliability and predictability. I can play almost every day. I can fly over Nagrand in my newly acquired epic mount with a sense of growing familiarity that is comforting. I can land where I always land, kill a few Clefthoof Bulls for their leather, a few raging storm things for their mote of air and lounge next to a shallow river or lake with a fishing rod, wearing my lucky fishing hat. I rarely play for the excitement and the glory, I play to relax under the domes in Netherstorm, the mushrooms of Zangermarsh or on the green fields of Nagrand and I make my money on the AH. If you play for the rewards, be prepared for a lot of tedious grinding, but if you play because you enjoy playing, it's just fun, fun, fun.
(Except for the levelling of an alliance toon that is not rested from level 30 - 40, it's the trek that never ends. I can't wait for the level 30 mount in patch 2.4.3. Unfortunately, I didn't wait and now my toon is level 37 and by the time the patch comes out, she'll not be benefiting much. Alas, that is the warcraft that we play).
Sunday, 13 July 2008
A good day
I finally topped out my fishing at 375 and also hit leatherworking 375. I made a pair of primalstrike bracers, my first ever purple item! I also had a few good drops. A couple of level 65 druid tank staves with + AP in cat/bear form. Fantastic, since my feral druid is about to hit 65 and now have a nice staff to show for it. I also had the Design: Veiled Noble Topaz drop from a mob in Netherstorm and after much delibiration purchased the Pattern: Cloak of the Black Void for 100g from the auction house. It's BoE and the mats are easy to farm, so I'm hoping to make my money back. I had a good play day today.
Saturday, 12 July 2008
PVP vs PVE
I have finally hit 70 with my main main and find that the question foremost in my mind has been which way to gear and spec. I have always maintained that I prefer spending my talent point whilst levelling with leveling in mind and would respec for 70 at 70. As with most things warcraft, the decision of gear and spec depends on the choice of PVP, PVE or at least how both. I am still undecided.
I find myself pondering on the nature of PVP and PVE. For me, it's not so much about facing a person as an opponent or an NPC. Rather, it's about how the game is played. PVE has it's place for soloing via some daily quest as well as grinding. It has space for small group play via instances and large group play via raids. I think I have given up all thoughts of raiding except for the occasional moment of wild fantansy. Raiding simply requires too much mutual dependence. I am dependent on others and they depend on me. I can't see myself quitting in the middle of a raid because in my excitement I hit a key too hard and dislocated a finger. For that matter, I can't see myself leaving an instance group a member short because I am too unreliable to be relied upon. I am enjoying some of the daily quests, but suspect that they will become tedious very quickly. I do enjoy farming, but farming alone does not wet the appetite for warcraft.
PVP is most definitely player versus player. I am hesistant to engage in battlegrounds for the same reasons I am hesitant to commit to raid or instance groups. However, I can see myself stretching to try my hand at it a little. The arena does hold a definite pull, probably the strongest. It's short and brutal, a nice contrast to an afternoon spent fishing and farming. It's short and in a 2v2, of which my other would be the other half, there is no real issue of leaving someone, other than him, in the lurch. And he's gotten used to my quirkiness over the years and will be teaming up knowing very well what he's signing up for.
The next step is to gear up and spec for solo PVE and arena PVP, but first I need to research resilience rating and finish levelling up my professions. I didn't quite realise how much work happens after you hit 70 and before you're ready to truly play at 70. And no, farming and daily cooking quests does not count as real play, it's more play play.
I find myself pondering on the nature of PVP and PVE. For me, it's not so much about facing a person as an opponent or an NPC. Rather, it's about how the game is played. PVE has it's place for soloing via some daily quest as well as grinding. It has space for small group play via instances and large group play via raids. I think I have given up all thoughts of raiding except for the occasional moment of wild fantansy. Raiding simply requires too much mutual dependence. I am dependent on others and they depend on me. I can't see myself quitting in the middle of a raid because in my excitement I hit a key too hard and dislocated a finger. For that matter, I can't see myself leaving an instance group a member short because I am too unreliable to be relied upon. I am enjoying some of the daily quests, but suspect that they will become tedious very quickly. I do enjoy farming, but farming alone does not wet the appetite for warcraft.
PVP is most definitely player versus player. I am hesistant to engage in battlegrounds for the same reasons I am hesitant to commit to raid or instance groups. However, I can see myself stretching to try my hand at it a little. The arena does hold a definite pull, probably the strongest. It's short and brutal, a nice contrast to an afternoon spent fishing and farming. It's short and in a 2v2, of which my other would be the other half, there is no real issue of leaving someone, other than him, in the lurch. And he's gotten used to my quirkiness over the years and will be teaming up knowing very well what he's signing up for.
The next step is to gear up and spec for solo PVE and arena PVP, but first I need to research resilience rating and finish levelling up my professions. I didn't quite realise how much work happens after you hit 70 and before you're ready to truly play at 70. And no, farming and daily cooking quests does not count as real play, it's more play play.
