I’m constantly showing Odin (1) new, amazing, things. At 4.5 years old the majority of the world is new, unexplored or at the very least unexplained.
Yet whenever I show him something new, something that I am so excited that I am getting the chance to introduce him to, his response is nearly always the same.
Yeah Dad, I know, seen that.
In the morning I wake him early to see the mob of Kangaroos eating the vegie garden (2), he just rolls over…
Yeah Dad, I know, seen that.
I take him to the zoo and show him weird and wonderful natural creatures…
Yeah Dad, I know, seen that.
I think if I took him back to Mauritius, proved the world wrong and found the last remaining Dodo of which there aren’t even pictures, he would say…
Yeah Dad, I know, seen that.
How can all the wonder of the world be stolen from a 4.5 year old?
- TV
- TV and the Internet
- TV, the Internet and books
Been there, done that, saw the movie before it was released.
Ring any bells?
They all amount to one thing – guides.
Which makes me reflect on the state of WoW, more specifically the WoW player-base, or to hone right in, the guide reading WoW player-base.
We do ourselves no favors proclaiming that the magic has gone, while staring at WoWhead, MMOChampion, WoWInsider or, ummm yeah blogs like this one.
Ever hung out for a new movie, maybe right from the moment it was 1st announced, read every review and update on the movie, watched the “making of” even before the movie was released, maybe just watched the commercial showing the 3 highlights from the movie only to be completely dissatisfied as you leave the theatre?
Ring any bells?
“Vanilla was the best because it was hard back then!”
Funny, cause I have a Wrath Newborn non-guide-reading mate who finds the game really challenging and exciting and umm magical.
Why don’t we all feel that magic?
Back in Vanilla things were hard. There were bugs everywhere, 1/2 implemented and badly balanced mechanics and apart from the slightly less-noobish guild mate, no way to traverse the game beyond trial and error.
Yes there were some guides… Thottbot being the best example, filled with 1/2 truths and misinformation. For all you knew the resident expert hadn’t actually unpacked their game yet, but they sounded authoritative.
Otherwise it was all up to you. Easymode Hunters were Huntards, because although they were easy to play badly, they were hard to play well.
The 1st guide I ever wrote was a Hunter 101 guide for our guild forum because the up and coming hunters made my eyes bleed. I was no Hunter guru but I knew how to make their game easier.
Ohhh, see, there we go, I made their game easier.
Problem: I can’t play my character well enough to enjoy it.
Solution: Read Class guide 101 through 505 until I don’t have to think about it any more.
Problem: These skills and abilities and rotations are no longer magical, they are just a theorycrafted predetermined set of steps to be followed to ensure maximum efficiency. The love has gone.
If I didn’t have to grind I could enjoy the game
Back then, more time was spent grinding for coppers than was spent fighting Internet dragons. You had to play, improve your technique, improve your efficiency to be able to grind to be able to raid.
AH grinding existed, Auctioneer existed, but it was still an arcane art.
Problem: I spend all my time playing and grinding to make the gold to raid.
Solution: follow a gold making guide to make kazzilions of gold so I don’t have to raid.
Problem: I have no reason to quest and grind, I have no reason to play.
Instances aren’t a challenge anymore
Deadmines was hard, the trash just getting to the instance entrance was hard, let’s not talk about the actual instance mobs or bosses.
All the instances were hard. Through trial and lots off errors we would individually work out the best strategy for each encounter. Only to have to repeat the learning experience with the next pick up group we painstakingly formed in the Trade channel.
Problem: no one knows the most efficient way of downing bosses instances or even if they do, there is no consistency.
Solution: Read and promote popular instance guides until the time comes we are all on the same page.
Problem: Instances are too easy – why don’t they give us real challenges like randomizing the encounter.
Solution: QQ moar until Blizzard introduces random mechanics.
Problem: Random mechanics are killing us unfairly, without the opportunity to form a tactic or react to the mechanic.
Solution: Nerf the already guide-nerfed instance.
I raided when raiding meant something
I saw the inside of raids prior to Karazhan, and I’m sure the memory of some of those still get people’s blood pumping, but for me it was Kara and later Gruul’s Lair that were wonderful full introductions to raiding.
Kara was 3 weeks of wipes to get to Attumen – to get to him, not to beat him! A couple of people had been there before, a couple had even read the guides, but for the rest of us it was a new and unnerving experience.
Yes there were wipes, lots of joyful drawn out wipes (drawn out to learn as much as possible about the encounter), but we failed and triumphed together and then we read the guide.
Problem: We can’t one-shot the raid trash let alone the raid bosses.
Solution: Read the guides.
Problem: we are still wiping, you can’t know and encounter until you’ve seen the encounter.
Solution: watch the video
Problem: We one-shot the heroic raid instance on week one after watching the PTR boss kills. Where are the new difficult raid instances and content?
Solution: Introduce new raid instances filled with random mechanics.
Problem: Random mechanics are killing us unfairly, without the opportunity to form a tactic or react to the mechanic.
Solution: Nerf the already guide-nerfed raid instance.
Now days…
Now days we read reviews of PTR content, hear about the quests and know the bosses months before the code is released to the general public.
Now days we read the instance and raid strats months before the code is released to the general public.
Now days we watch the boss kill videos months before the code is released to the general public.
Now days we know the gear tiers before we will receive it, use the theorycrafting tools to determine BiS items and gear sets months before the code is released to the general public.
Now days we know the optimum rotations, fear the imbalance and draft up our talent trees months before the code is released to the general public.
Now days we bemoan the lack of new content, of variety in quests, instances, raids, tier sets, talents, spells, fricken everything months before the code is released to the general public.
Then we get the expansion and we yell at the top of our lungs, from the tallest tower how Blizzard have got it wrong, how bad the game itself has become, how they have let us, the guide-fueled players down.
We bemoan our loss of innocence as if it is Blizzard’s fault.
We have destroyed the magic, yet unable to accept our part in the “decline of WoW” have abdicated all responsibility and blamed the Magician.
You don’t have to understand the secrets to appreciate the show
I say we, but that isn’t true.
While I can’t speak for you I can speak for me.
When I take Odin to the circus and the magician performs his semi-amateur act, I am just as fascinated as I was when I was an innocent 4 year old. I don’t search for the magician’s tricks, the science behind the magic. I sit back and marvel at the magic for what it is.
Sleight of hand that induces wonder.
When some relive the joy of WoW by tossing aside the guides; the heirlooms; the golden bank vaults, others still over engineer their experience and cry foul of Blizzard.
A guild with wings
I am blessed to run with a guild that begins every new boss with a ready check. Not an “are you ready to kill this boss by the guide-book” ready check but rather:
Yes: Wing it and see what happens
No: Let’s stop and read the guide.
We may go several wipes, several ready checks before the No’s outnumber the Yes’ and we revert to the tried and true formula of the boss kill strategy.
Of course, despite the hard work of guildies in preparing and presenting excellent boss kill guides, there is always one Gnome winging it on the night. I listen to the vent instructions, I follow my orders, but I don’t let guides or videos spoil those Ohhh Shit moments when the boss breaths fire across the raid (that was fun last night btw).
I revel in my ignorance, I revel in the joy of the new experience, I allow the magic to flow over me, through me. I immerse myself in the magic that the magicians at Blizzard have conjured.
Just don’t tell my guild that… kk?
Problem: We know so much of the magic is stolen.
Solution: Don’t read guides until you need to read guides.
It’s not the guide writer’s fault!
It’s not the guide writer’s fault that you reach for god-mode before even attempting the level.
It’s not the “How to level 1-85 in 15 minutes” guide writer’s fault that leveling has lost it’s magic on a new character.
It’s not the Greedy Goblin’s of this world that are stopping you from grinding for BOTH fun and profit.
It’s not Elitist Jerk’s fault that you can only spec one way and follow one rotation.
It’s not even that all too familiar arsehat in the pug that tells you to L2P and read a guide.
The only person stopping you from recovering that lost magic is…
YOU!
Balance
You see, Blizzard have balanced the game.
They have balanced it for the 11,900,000 players that don’t read guides.
Their magic is still there, but they don’t have to grind for 2 years to get honored reputation, or afford their basic land mount, or struggle to clear the trash from the instance entrance, or spend months perfecting the dance on the 1st boss of an instance, or spend 20 hours per week outside of game theorycrafting their character to JUST. HAVE. FUN!
So throw the guides away, stop reading blogs… yeah even this blog if it’s draining your mana.
If I’m not injecting the fading joy to play the game into your heart, restoring the magic, then truly I am failing and I might as well just write guides and declare that I have gone to the dark side – all (pointless) work – no fun.
Gnomer and Out!
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.
http://gnomeaggedon.net/2011/04/05/youve-only-got-yourself-to-blame/
Notes:
(1) Odin is my son, yes named after the Norse god and born on a Wednesday (Wodan’s day).
(2) No I don’t really have a mob of kangaroos in my backyard, they are about 5km away. I do however have redback spiders, tiapans, saltwater cros, great white sharks, dropbears and all sorts of dangerous animals… but then, that is the way we Australians choose to live… right?
Very, very well written post Gnomer and a great point! I remember when the ICC 5-mans came out, my close guildies and I excitedly went into them blind (only knowing the storyline and characters, no actual mechanics). And you know what? It was damn fun. Wiping to clumsy pulls in Pit of Saron, then panicking and running through the ice cave. Realizing what those summoned spirits actually did on Bronjahm. And trying all sorts of crazy ideas to beat the Halls of Reflection gauntlet. (We did it the “hard” way, since we never would have thought of hiding in the alcove.)
I certainly appreciate sites like Wowhead, Tankspot, etc., but I do sometimes long for things to be unexpected and new. A little thing I do is never check any raid loot tables so that any item that drops that is good for me is a total surprise, and feels like a gift, as compared to the feeling of getting screwed if you KNOW a boss drops something great for you and then he never actually drops it.
And don’t worry, someday you’ll find something amazing to impress Odin with.
Oh yeah.. I didn’t emphasize the loot enough.. a green item can be such a joy, so long as you aren’t focused on the BiS purple.
As for Odin… I amaze him every day with my love for him (yeah, ok, so his standard response to “I love you” is “Yeah Dad, I know, you told me that 100 times today”) and he in turn amazes me every day as well.
Kids: returning the magic to cynical old bastards since the dawning of time.
You know what? You’re right. We do overthink things. I’ve definitely been guilty of that in many areas of the game, and although I don’t suffer from disillusionment of any kind, let alone to the scale that you spoke about, maybe I’d enjoy the game even more if I loosened my grip on the reins.
Next time I get stuck on a quest, I’m going to figure it out without Wowhead. When we plan the next boss to down, I won’t look up the loot table in advance. Though I might watch a video and read a guide so I don’t wipe my raid, I’ll keep it to a minimum so that I can experience it firsthand.
Thanks for a great post – you’ve given me lots to think about!
TBH, it is being overwhelmed with RL stuff that has made me step back from all the research etc… turns out that was a boon.
Of course I’m not suggesting that guide reading is bad per se… for a long time, playing one night a week, that was my source of magic, as well as ensuring that one night was worthwhile.
But when it gets to the point where the love is gone… well maybe time to remake the initial lust that came with the mystery
How glad I now am to have subscribed to your blog.
After quitting WoW for a year and coming back with the release of Cataclysm, this is the EXACT MINDSET I have been following. Trying to avoid going down the path I reached in WoTLK, with more time spent theorycrafting and stressing constantly than actually PLAYING in GAME! Rather reverting back to the way I first started playing, when everything was just FREE (as in freedom), at the same time retaining relevant things I have leaned and picked up before. It’s all about balance! (Not just class balance with that)
Amazing post, you really hit the nail on the head.
My blog pretty much lines up with my mindset when playing also.
Keep them coming,
- Jamin
Well then… aren’t I glad I’m back and posting.. better yet, posting things that make sense (How dare Dechion suggest that I… me… I make sense).
But yeah, you are right… balance. clear the stumbling blocks, but don’t ruin the ‘story” by reading the last page 1st
i confess that i watch guides before we go in to big fights, but that’s just to get the feel for the fight, and because it’s not fair that our raid leader should have to explain everyone’s role for *every* boss fight. i don’t pore over loot tables, and you’re right — each upgrade drop is a surprise, and a thrill. i do think it would be fantastic to approach fights totally blind, and to figure out the mechanics without looking things up, but it’s rare to find a guild who does that these days, and i’m happy with the way my guild does things. we are very casual and no-stress about things, and we have zero drama. to ask anything more would be crazy. : )
Did I tell you I was on (guild approved) follow through the trash to Lich King, so I could watch a video?
Lucky or that would have been a blind boss fight.
Mind you I got lots of time to take in the scenery, multiple times
As always, got him on last attempt for the night.
no, you didn’t! a blind lich king fight would be insane.
as proof of how casual we are, we haven’t taken down the lich king yet. we tried, but at the time we hadn’t raided since before the shattering, and we were already a couple months into Cata. that fight’s a nightmare if you’re rusty as a team… those black voids…. /SHUDDER.
lately we’ve been working on Magmaw, and dreaming of Throne of the 4 Winds, but the windy fight is too much for us just yet.
Well I watched most of the video.. I was told I wasn’t allowed to watch the last bit though…
Why not?
Because it would spoil the surprise!
So my guild recommends that I watch the strategy, but not all, so I don’t lose the magic. How awesome are Streakèrs?
(Of course they weren’t really my guild at the time, I was just a tag-along friend and they invited me to fill the numbers on the final pre-Catacylsm LK kill.)
If I remember right, I was the last Gnome standing at the final change/phase… of course my memory is prone to scrubbing everyone else from a situation, casting me as a 6’5″ Gnome with windswept Blood Elf hair and a bevvy of human pole dancers hanging off me…
I’m always struck by the discomfort I feel when I watch strat videos. On the one hand, like many others, I truly enjoy the feeling of the unknown encounter. On the other, I feel a sort of collective responsibility to the group to know what the heck I’m doing when the boss is engaged – although it could rightfully be argued that whether or not I watch a video has no bearing on whether or not I act as a huntard on any given encounter. Further complicating the matter is the fact that most, if not all, strat videos watched are successful kills – not like you’re going to watch a wipe video to get the proper strategy! Further, on new content it’s a given that at some point in time we all need to be reminded that, “Uhm, hey guys, you do realize that the kill video we’ve watched was made after like, I don’t know, maybe a kajillion wipes and so we should probably not put too much pressure on ourselves to one-shot this bad-boy.”
The secret, for me at least, is finding the perfect harmony between surprise and excitement of a new encounter and having just enough pre-knowledge to not become paralyzed with sensory overload. Of course, all of our comfortability levels vary, so what’s good for one person may not be good for another.
As an aside, if you think about it abstractly (and in terms of lore), it’s almost as if we as serious players have had a drink of the waters of the information well of eternity and have now become so corrupted by it that we depend on more information in order to survive. By the way, most of us know how that turned out for the elves….just sayin’
I agree, there is a responsibility to the team.. I think that’s why I am enjoying the “wing it” game we have. It doesn’t deny the need to get the job done, but it does allow for some experimentation before we whip out the formula.
I would be doing my guildies a disservice as well to suggest we all go in ignorant. There will always be some that have read the strat and watched the video, whether through love of the game (thus needing to get to the end of the story, so they can guide the rest through), or through a desire to get it right sooner rather than later.
The thing is, the requirement to know the strat isn’t a prerequisite for joining the raid on any particular night.
There is something different about:
“There is a big purple thing that will come crashing from the sky and wipe us.. so avoid it”
and
“Be on the X for 5 seconds, collapse to the Y, then all move to M”
The 1st allows for our own experience to unfold, in part assisted by a “bad” translation of a strat, the 2nd is more like programming the bot.
That’s nice and all, but “I’m not going to read the guide until we really need to” isn’t going to do much good when everyone holds the opinion that everyone must read the guide, have already read the guide, and ideally have already killed the boss a few times. No one person, not even me or you, is the cause or solution to any problem.
Haven’t you heard… One Gnome CAN change the world!
I agree, what is done can’t be undone and for many the idea of ignorance being bliss is a horror story waiting to happen.
Of course many people go through RL ignorant as shit, but become detail pigs when it comes to a game.
I’m certainly not calling for the razing of every informative site and blog, rather suggesting if you are one of those that can’t log onto the game without at least memorizing the strat AND the love of the game is dwindling, maybe there is another approach.
I would be lying if I said that I didn’t read guides, that I didn’t use RAWR, that I didn’t accept external assistance in improving my performance. However where it isn’t life and death (and no game should be about life & death, just about fun… it’s a game ffs), then maybe less knowledge is more power.
For instance… I have been phaffing about since the changes to spec etc came in pre-Cata until this last Saturday night. I then consulted RAWR and optimized my characters. I probably didn’t need to, but it had reached the point where my tinkering wasn’t giving me what I wanted (I WILL NOT LET LOCKS BEAT ME ON THE METERS), so I sought advice.
My performance wasn’t so bad that I had to optimize, but it hasn’t hurt, particularly as the science is so scientific (and packaged for someone as theorycrafting phopic as I am) that it means nothing and is not distracting from my game… my fun.
Back to the one Gnome changing the world… at the end of the day, there is only one world for which I am responsible and as I have previously stated, that world revolves around me.
I wont steal the fun from someone that gets as much or more enjoyment from the meta-WoW stuff as they do from the game, but if the fun of the game is dwindling, then maybe they need to forget how to L2P and instead L2Discover.
Oh, there’s something happening here! WB!
Nice post, and I agree for the most part – or rather, I agree that those of ‘us’ (veterans or whiny people) outside the 11,900,000 it’s hard to perceive how WoW must still feel to the greater majority right now. there’s really nothing wrong or broken from a new player’s perspective or somebody who plays and/or raids more casually – everyone else IS a minority.
that minority seems to be somewhat abundant in the blogosphere though; which I guess makes sense too: many wow bloggers are just that much into wow, raiding seriously (with ‘guide pressure’) or simply theorizing and (over-)analyzing constantly.
And a big part of vanilla nostalgia is flawed indeed, BUT: 40mans were epic. and for me at least that will always be a huge and indisputable loss.
Ohhh yes, no lights turned off and the fire is still burning at my fingertips.
I wouldn’t be surprised if we see a return of some of the burned-out bloggers, those that return from Rift realising that Rift caught their attention because of their love of WoW, rather due to their hatred of it.
When that time comes, they may return revitalized, loving WoW for what it is (rather than what it “should be” or was), for at least a little while.
40 mans were epic and they continue to be an epic pain in the butt if one is ever trying to get a city raid together… I know, not quite the same thing, but what better Internet Dragons to slay that those in other players minds?
Fantastic post, and great to see you posting again.
I do believe you have identified the source of all the WoW whining.
Maybe not all.. but I think most of mine!
At least 95%.
Also… OMG why am I not subscribed to you? Eek!
Gnomes are too small to target?
That’s usually the healers excuse
Well, it’s true! All that jumping around doesn’t help either.
[...] with life pre-MoP. Hate me, go on, hate me – ill love you for it!", I have chosen his post on how guides ruined the magic of raiding, with which I partially agree, but find [...]