For all I know this still goes on, may have just occured last week.

If it has, let me know.

If it hasn’t, well play along with me a little.

The basic premise is easy…

• Go into your image folder
• Open the sixth sub-folder and choose the sixth image.
• Publish the image! (and a few words wouldn’t hurt, though I dare say I couln’t stop a blogger from adding a few words of their own).
• Challenge six new bloggers.
• Link to them.

Back then the 6 bloggers I chose were: Leafy, Fikkle from For the Horde, Fimlys (who didn’t repond.. will take that up with him later), Pugnacious Priest, Euripedes from Critical QQ, and finally Matticus (who I knew wouldn’t respond, but hey I never stop trying).

So I guess to get the ball rolling, I will pick my 6th screenshot folder…

Mmmm…

not sure how that folder got there…

OK, maybe a little creative sorting, and now I have a sixth folder I can use.

6th sceenshot is...

Mmmm, don’t like this one much, but them’s the luck of the sixes

Horde Wins

Not just wins, but achieves.

Kinda ties back to yesterday’s post.

There were many We Had It All Along *cough* , that went the wrong way, or went to an Alt, along the way to Battlemaster.

Everyone of them heart wrenchingly disappointing, yet every one making me more determined to make the 10 point difference next time.

Achievements like that happen either completely unwittingly, or with you fighting tooth and nail.

I fought tooth and nail.

I loved every minute of it and to be that close, I doubt I was idle for a moment, even if I was guarding a lonely node (guarding the Bees as Dingo, my guildy would say), I’d be active scanning the map, calling enemy movements.

Guild chat generally erupted after such a loss.. I’d be the only one talking, but I wouldn’t be bitching (so much), rather encouraging others to join me, to feel the thrill of the close loss, or better yet, the close win.

I shared my joy surrounding this screenshot back in June last year.

Next Six

Anyway, my bit is coming to an end, time to pick someone to share the pain love with.

You probably wont want to, but it’s one of those opportunities to stop and look at what was. It may have been the worst screenshot you ever accidentally took, but then it might also be the screenshot you took while slamming the Prt Scr button at a special moment in your WoW past.

Anyone that chooses to continue with this meme may link back to this post, assuming there is a track back (otherwise leave a comment, or drop me a line), people will get the opportunity to find the source, then follow the branches. if I can be arsed, I will compile a list of those trackbacks, which is as much as I will promise).

Also if you are a blogless reader, feel free to link to a screenshot of your own, or drop me a line via the contacts page and I will post it in the comments for you.

Finally, if you are a blogger and interested and not yet invited to join in… screw ‘em.. just join in!

So, to my victims of the meme and the rules one more time.

• Bear, cause I love him and I know he has screenshot folders of his special moments strewn around his harddisk.
• Pugnacious Priest, because I miss her (yeah OK, I could read even if I wasn’t writing). I have bumped into her in a couple of BGs, but I can’t wait for BattleTags so I can make that a regular event… Ohh yeah, watch out Bear, I’m coming for you!)
• AppleCiderMage, because I haven’t given Mage blogs of any description any attention lately, but I understand this is one I should.
• Arioch, because Arioch has screenshots.
• Cynwise, because I keep rolling on his servers and never come back.
• Windsoar, because she’s always one of the 1st to turn up here if I make the slightest murmur. (Here it is: Meme the Sixth)

So that’s my SIX.

In reality I have known all but 1 for a long time, which is why I chose them… I haven’t been reading in a while.  Hopefully they will join in and lead us all to bloggers that we otherwise wouldn’t be exposed to, that will touch our lives and WoW experiences in some new way… well I hope that’s what they do to me.

The Rules.

• Go into your image folder
• Open the sixth sub-folder and choose the sixth image.
• Publish the image! (and a few words wouldn’t hurt, though I dare say I couldn’t stop a blogger from adding a few words of their own).
• Challenge six new bloggers.
• Link to them.

Can’t be arsed

Well I can’t forever, but until the day comes I really can’t be arsed, here are some responses.

• Windsoar with Meme the Sixth
• Navimie from The Daily Frostwolf with Meme the Sixth – Gnomeageddon’s challenge

Gnomer and Out!

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.

http://gnomeaggedon.net/2012/02/15/sixth/

Finally, finally, with a lot of help from my friends and awesome support from the PuGs, I got Resilient Victory,

the last achievement I needed for Master of Arathi Basin,

and more importantly the last achievement I needed for Battlemaster.

So yes, I am now officially Battlemaster Gnomeaggedon, Justicar of Gnomeregan. Well I would be if you could chain titles… Guess I will stick with Gnomeaggedon of Gnomeregan.

Of course, with what comes next, you will probably re-title me Gnomeaggedon, Master Whinger of Gnomeregan.

Meh whatever…

The Hard Slog

Not all the achievements for any of the Master achievements are easy. For some people winning 100 of any BG is hard enough. Some of the achievements are even contrary to the goals of the BG, or the winning of the BG at least.

Still “the achievement” exists, the combination of 5 Master achievements, comprising 54 achievements in total (AV: 10, WSG: 11, SotA: 13, AB: 12, EotS: 8).

For that you get a title… A title… nothing more (and thankfully nothing less), unless you want to include 50, yes a whole 50 extra achievement points.

So what’s my gripe?

Well for one, What a long strange trip it’s been…

Remember the bitching about this achievement, it takes 12 months (brew of the month), included achievements that required some dedication, or at least being online at the right time.

• What A Long, Strange Trip It’s Been: 8 master achievements
• To Honor One’s Elders: 12
• Noble Gardener: 8
• The Flame Warden: 6
• Hallowed Be Thy Name: 11
• Fool For Love: 12
• For The Children: 6
• Brewmaster: 6
• Merrymaker: 11
• Total: 72

Sure quantitatively there are a more achievements to earn, but many of them are givens. Ultimately this isn’t a hard meta achievement, although its reliance on RNG at times is frustrating, at the end of the day it’s a join the dots achievement and a full 12 month cycle of playing.

People wanted the big purple drake and were prepared to bitch about it, because it was too hard… god forbid you have to spend years waiting on the Spirit Healer, or accepting that to get the wins you will have to go through the loses… lots of loses… for a title… a title… No bonus gear, pets or mounts along the way… just a title.

... and my stats aren't *that* bad...

Elite skills and a bit of gear

What about the Instance and Raiding achievements. I’m not going to say they are easy, I know people dedicate themselves to the perfect moves for some of them. Still, at the end of the day, 5, 10, 25 people can walk away with titles and mounts, all within a single patch period.

Know the right people and you can piss fart around an entire expansion then get your high reward achievement once your over-gear the situation… in fact, why do that, why not just wait until your are and expansion or two down the track and solo the instances and raids for the achievements.

Try soloing a few BGs a couple of expansions down the track and see how far it get you.

Looking for the Justice in Justicar

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t resent the other meta achievements coming with more tangible rewards, bloody hell, would you even bother with What A Long, Strange Trip It’s Been if not for the Purple Drake waiting at the end? The little bonuses along the way encourage your to chase the ultimate goal, but in the end, it’s the drake that you ignore your real life lover for during Love is in the Air.

I do think that at some point someone at Blizzard needs to have a look at something that while not broken per se, just doesn’t seem to add up.  Hell, Blizzard have proven in the past they are more than happy to fix things that aren’t broken, so why not fix Battlemaster, and while they are at it, why not spice up Justicar?

If For the Alliance can reward you with a mount…

If you can get the Stormpike Battle Charger for a handful of honor – without even needing to be exalted any longer…

Not to mention the other honor mounts, like the Black Battlestrider,  for more handfuls of honor…

Why don’t you get a battle mount for achieving Battlemaster, in fact why not get a mount for each of the factions represented by the sub-achievements as you progress?

Hardest of hardcore PvP

Of course if you are in the top 0.5% of players in the arena each seaon you will receive one of the Gladiator’s Twilight Drakes…

… and if you win 75, 150 and 300 Rated Battlegrounds, then you can get your hands on a Vicious War Steed, but don’t expect a different model for knocking yourself out… no you just get a better title!

Once again, not trying to detract from the achievements in Arena or Rated Battlegrounds (something I am extremely unlikely to ever achieve at this point in time), but I have to ask, what, beyond a title which I will most likely never display (I am Gnomeaggedon of Gnomeregan!) was the point of chasing Justicar and Battlemaster.

Yeah, yeah… I know personal satisfaction… pffft!

I’m just left wondering whether Blizzard understand the term Achievement and the concept of being rewarded appropriately.

Anyway, on a final note, I’d like to thank all the people, guildies and PuGs alike that assisted me in achieving Battlemaster. Apologies for not getting a screenshot of all the Alliance that stuck through against the odds to pull off the Resilient Victory.  I know you doubted the strategy, like so many before you, but you unlike the others kept the faith till the end and for that I am very grateful.

In particular that thanks goes to the PuG Sylthren from Muradin.  It was your confirmation of the strategy that steadied the other PuGs.

As for my guildies (Arivina, Daraiste, Daror, Deady, Dingo, Doamy, Fando, Giggitty, Informer, Magok, Maiyen, Meli, Oromic, Plaguezilla, Salex, Tickk, Xero), who so mercilessly taunted me after gaining Resilient Victory in a Rated Battleground while I was on Squidly. Who for another 2 months laughed at the suggestion that we attempt Resilient Victory (OK, you were scared that once I had it I would delete Gnomeaggedon, then delete WoW)…

I thank you for being at my side, even though for many of your Battlegrounds and PvP in general was the last thing you wanted to do.

Although, I’m sure you will admit… we had fun taunting and crushing the Horde!

Gnomer and Out!

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.

http://gnomeaggedon.net/2012/02/14/and-all-i-got-was-this-lousy-title/

lol… some things never change.

Gnomer and Out!

1st stroke is free

2nd stroke requires a donation!

http://mobro.co/Gnomeaggedon

Last chance for Movember donations!

Thanks to all of you, including WoWInsider, for your support and kind wishes for Movember.

Don’t stop sharing just because the Mo’s are going away for another year

Mo’mer and Out!

My MoGnovemberaggedon…

Shave and a Haircut: Movember

Just in case you thought I wasn’t serious

Depression in the family: Movember

Youth gone wild: Movember

Married with child and depressed: Movember

Depression in the workplace: Movember

Talking about it saves lives: Movember

Better Off without me

Aware People are Supportive People: Movember

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.

http://gnomeaggedon.net/2011/11/29/stroke-it/

Sorry… Irregular Scheduled Maintenance

Well, it’s scheduled, we just didn’t mention it on the logon screen… just in the forums you never visit and the Twitter feed that scrolls faster than you can read.

Oh well… Irregular Scheduled post it is then…

WHY DO PEOPLE NOT ATTEMPT THE OBJECTIVE IN BATTLEGROUNDS?!?!

F$%jING NOOB F$%jING BA$TARD CRAZY PSYCO BEARDLESS GNOMES!!!

Ohh hang on…

That’s me…

A couple of posts back…

A little while back.. a couple of posts back... holy Gnome poo Wolfman, that was back in July?… I said I was going to write a couple of posts explaining why people don’t try to achieve the objectives in Battlegrounds.

I have to admit.. I’m a slack bugger and now I don’t know what the hell I was going to write about… over two posts…

I’m sure it was good… but… ummm… I’ve got no idea what would have covered two posts.

I kind of do… but I can’t believe I would have stretched it out to two posts (he says at the beginning of a post that will probably be so long you will need to read it over morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea… don’t forget to forward the link so you can finish it after work).

The answer is simple… only takes two words…

Is the post really about to be over?

Killing Blows!

There, I said it, even formatted it as a heading… job done.

You see.. it gets to a point, where the only reason to run normal BGs is for killing blows… and yeah the love of BGs, of course, the love of BGs… Naaaaah… killing blows.

There are only so many times you can carry the flag in WSG, to the win, while you pass the people having all the fun in the middle.

There are only so many AV’s, AB’s and WSG’s you can run until you can’t earn any more reputation.

I look happy about it too don't I... NOT!

Even when the only reputation to be earned slower each painful patch is Battleground reputation… (Should bloody PvE… they make that easier each patch)

There are only so many Battlemaster achievements you can score, while winning a game, before you just have to give up and fight on the roads…

One achievement to go...

… knowing that you wont give up, even if the strategy calls for you to be 500 points behind before making a remarkable recovery…

Come on... we can do this!

… even when your stinking-healing-squid-tentacle-waving-Alt gets the achievement 1st in a rated battleground…

Press Confirm to delete character...

IN A F$%jING RATED BATTLEGROUND… ON YOUR ALT…

There are only so many BattleMaster achievements you can score…

… before you you say…

F$%j IT!

…if only for a little while…

I am fighting on the roads.

I am fighting in midfield.

I am fighting off the node.

I JUST WANT TO KILL THE F$%jING HORDE!

and you know what… I played the 1st AV in ages that I enjoyed the other day…

I didn’t cap towers…

I didn’t back cap towers…

I couldn’t give a flying F$%j about the graveyards…

Drek’Who?

At some point, in some BG, you will just get to the point where you think…

I am here to kill the Horde!

I AM HERE TO KILL THE HORDE!

HORDE, HORDE, HORDE, HORDE, F$%jING HOOOORRRRRDDDDEEEEE!

There… simple isn’t it…

No I still don’t have that one stupid achievement…

Lucky really… if I did, there would be only one reason to run BGs… one reason to play WoW…

HONOR KILLS!

Gnomer and Out!

No.. you didn’t get off that easily!

DONATE TO THE ALLIANCE!

(Or I’ll rip your bloody arms off!)

PS: I’m pretty that F$%jING is FISHING and WordPress is scrambling it…

Ohh.. maybe not…

My MoGnovemberaggedon…

• Shave and a Haircut: Movember
• Just in case you thought I wasn’t serious
• Depression in the family: Movember
• Youth gone wild: Movember
• Married with child and depressed: Movember
• Depression in the workplace: Movember
• Talking about it saves lives: Movember
• Better Off without me
• Aware People are Supportive People: Movember

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.

http://gnomeaggedon.net/2011/11/08/1015-on-a-tuesday-night/

I know I said I wouldn’t post again, but any excuse to avoid going outside on this beautiful Spring afternoon.

I realized while rereading my Movember posts from last year, plus a post from earlier this year, that my posts on depression were kind of, well, depressing.

So, where is the good news?

Here’s some around people understanding depression and more importantly with that understanding facilitating recovery.

Manager that didn’t understand

When I wrote the post about Depression in the Workplace it was with vivid memories of a manager that while professionally-supportive didn’t understand the long term nature of mental illness.

In my case, my wife suffering with mental illness and myself being dragged into depression, it was a difficult time for everyone, a situation that we were going to need a while to recover from.

This included frustration at me missing a couple of hours each week or fortnight to visit a shrink, let alone me coming in occasionally late or rushing out early.

Likewise although my manager was aware of my situation, he never shared my situation with my coworkers or other managers, leaving them to form their own ideas about my erratic behavior.

In the end I was a bee’s dick from termination (maybe closer… I called for a last minute stay of termination) and my team mates were very disillusioned and felt I was letting them down at every test.

New Managers

For over a year now I have had not one but two new managers. The senior manager has been around for a long time and I know he was aware of my bad performance, but not my situation prior to becoming my manager.

The 1st getting to know you meeting I had with each of the managers, I explained my battles with mental illness, my ex-wife’s battles and my determination to stay well and perform at a high level.

I really had no idea how good these managers were until my ex-wife’s attempted suicide that I mentioned briefly in Better Off without me.

Support

The Monday morning after my wife’s attempt, I sent a text message to my boss informing him of the lost weekend of work (which was an issue as we were on a tight time frame and this put us back a week), as well as the events with my ex-wife.

Moments after I arrived in the office my manager took me into a meeting room and told me to go home and sort things out – taking as long as I needed. Once I explained that my ex had been hospitalized and I preferred to continue working until the moment I needed to leave without notice, he accepted this.

He did one more thing, which was to gauge how I felt about letting the whole team aware of the basic situation. Of course I was happy for him to share as much a he needed.

About an hour later I was summoned to another meeting room, this time by the more senior manager. He also told me to go home, and not come back until I was ready. Likewise once I explained my intentions, he gave me leave to come and go as I needed.

As for the lost week of work – it was irrelevant. Any time… any time I had to choose between work and family, I was to choose family with their direct approval.

Each day I was asked how I was, how Odin was, how my ex was, even how my ex’s partner was coping (a lot of my energy early on went to supporting my ex’s partner as the experience left him reeling and depressed).

About a week after the suicide attempt, my senior manager called to me to his desk to review a list of symptoms on his PC. After reading the symptoms and confirming my ex experienced all but one, he told me to grab a meeting room and call my ex’s psychiatrist.

You see my ex-wife had been misdiagnosed with depression years ago and thus ha been receiving the wrong treatment. With my boss’ assistance, I was able to assist her doctor in finding the correct treatment.

Coworker support

As I mentioned earlier, nothing was hidden from my coworkers and they were aware that I had the full support of two levels (actually it was 3 levels as the department head was also aware and supportive) of the organization.

I could talk freely with them, they could talk freely with me. We discussed progress, they never once said a thing, nor even a raised eyebrow, if I arrived late, or left early.

Clock watcher

Have you ever hand a clock watching manager?

My last couple have been clock watchers. My current one is a horror, as he is normally at work about 7.30am, so he knows.

I officially start at 8:30am, but apart from 3, maybe 4 days this year I haven’t been in before 9, with 9:30 probably being the average.

I’ve only seen him tap his watch 3, maybe 4 times this year – those were the days I was on time, quickly followed by a cheeky smirk.

Flexibility

Of course I gave something in exchange. What I gave was the offer to work outside of office hours, whenever required. By this I mean at 6pm if someone called. At 3am if someone called from London.

My workplace gave me, continues to give me, nearly 12 months down the track, the flexibility I require to maintain my and my family’s mental health. In return I give them the flexibility to operate on two hemispheres.

Win/Win

Performance

So my performance review results are in.

Two years ago I was bottom of the rung, being prepped for termination. Within the afore mentioned bee’s dick of losing my job, and to be honest, that would have been the last straw for me.

This year I received the highest performance result possible. Something neither of my bosses have seen before. My senior manager stroked my performance outcome while they gave me the news.

This was a great result for me.
This was a great result for them.
This was a great result for our team.

It was a result achieved by me while dealing with all the dramas that surround mental illness.

This is evidence that being open and accepting about mental illness in a workplace can have excellent results.

The difference.

There are a few key differences this time around.

For one thing I have been a lot more vocal in the last couple of years about mental illness. I haven’t hid anything. So rather than leaving my coworkers wondering why I am erratic, I have worked with them so that we can perform better as a team.

Then there are my managers. My previous manager is an excellent person, but one that lacked the understanding of my current managers.

One of them has a sibling with disabilities. The sibling has had the disabilities all their life, thus my manager is accustomed to the idea that some illnesses are long term. Adjustments need to be made, but life can still continue with appropriate support.

The other, the senior manager, just happens to be married to a psychiatrist. Fortunately for my ex, my boss’s wife specializes in the illness my ex suffers from. This is why this manager knew what to show me on the web. This is why he understands that this won’t be fixed overnight.

They understand.

They aren’t afraid to talk about it.

They are prepared to support.

It’s not taboo… It’s just another facet of the human condition we call life.

It’s not over, it’s the beginning, a supported beginning.

So I am well, mentally, physically and I am maintaining my employment.

Odin is well and can discuss the illness that mummy has in her head, that mummy sees doctors for to help her become well. He plays games where he puts the pieces of a patients mind back together in the right places, just as the doctors are with his mummy.

His mummy is well. Occasionally she hits a wall, but she’s also prepared to call for help, whether it’s me or Lifeline.

She knows now that she has lost years of her life, her marriage and several jobs due to mental illness.

What is important is she knows she didn’t lose this things because of who she is, but rather from a condition that went untreated.

Now she is receiving treatment, as hard as it is at times, she now has a future and a million reasons to live.

Her friends are supportive.

Her family is supportive

Her workplace is supportive.

There is no need for shame and secrets as mental illness is as normal as a broken arm.

Please support Movember in donation, word or deed.

It is a worthy cause, we are all worthy causes.

Mo’mer and Out!

If you are in the U.K. and want to support a local, how about Now Gamer Dave from Now Gamer?

Now we just have to talk Fuubaar and Fulguralis into the hairy upper lip!

Not that I would ever dissuade you from supporting me!

My MoGnovemberaggedon…

• Shave and a Haircut: Movember
• Just in case you thought I wasn’t serious
• Depression in the family: Movember
• Youth gone wild: Movember
• Married with child and depressed: Movember
• Depression in the workplace: Movember
• Talking about it saves lives: Movember
• Better Off without me
• Aware People are Supportive People: Movember

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.

http://gnomeaggedon.net/2011/11/03/one-mo-time/

I’ve missed you!

Unfortunately time is still not on my side, so no super dooper posts from me.

Still, I am squeezing out a little time to remind you of something.

I’M ALIVE!

And that, as I described to you in gory detail this time last year, is due in a large part to friends and medical practitioners with a good awareness of depression, the effects on an individual, and the wide ranging effects on the individual’s family and broader community.

I’m excited to be alive and once again participating in Movember, and invite you to share in the excitement of knowing you are making a difference by raising awareness of depression and prostate cancer.

I know I wont have time to do this justice this year, so I wont be posting about it again, but please read through last years posts.

Shave and a Haircut: Movember

Just in case you thought I wasn’t serious

Depression in the family: Movember

Youth gone wild: Movember

Married with child and depressed: Movember

Depression in the workplace: Movember

Talking about it saves lives: Movember

Better Off without me

Aware People are Supportive People: Movember

I will briefly mention my ex-wife, who has been through a very difficult year this year dealing with mental illness. Intially battling to stay alive, then months of therapy and courses to help her develop coping mechanisms and redirect the behaviors that have prevented her from living what many people would consider a normal life, one where the thought of suicide never enters their thoughts. It has been a tough year for all around her, but we are hanging in, as is she.

One of the greatest challenges has been educating her mother about what mental illness is, why it isn’t cured overnight, why it isn’t her fault, why the abuse directed at her is a cry for help rather than true abuse.  Of course, I am fortunate that I live in a society that can, more and more, talk openly about mental illness, that can make adjustments to enable people to heal and become fully functioning, whereas my mother-in-law comes from a culture where mental illness “doesn’t exist” and certainly never happens to a loved one.

Bringing the conversation about mental illness into public arena is one of the greatest strengths of Movember.  Just as a pink ribbon, or pink bottle top is a great way of raising awareness of breast cancer, growing a Mo is a great way of raising awareness and letting all around you know that you are aware and care about issues affecting men’s health – and you don’t even need to say a word.

Everyone can contribute in some way.

• Donate
• Grow a Mo
• Grow a Mo and join the Movember celebration
• Get your workplace, club, class, whatever, to join in and grow Mo’s
• Encourage your partner to grow a Mo
• Discourage your partner from waxing their Mo
• Compliment someone on a Mo today
• Come join my MovemberTeam!

Remember, this isn’t just an Australian event, it is worldwide… Even ForThePie is joining in this year in Movember U.S.A.! Of course there is Movember U.K as well.. go look… get the look… the Movember look!

Mo’mer and Out!

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.

http://gnomeaggedon.net/2011/11/03/one-mo-time/

In the latest scandal to rock the Horde since Garrosh Hellscream’s rise to power, Drek’Thar has been implicated in a win trading scandal and sentenced to execution.

Sources close to the investigation inform us that questions were raised about the unusual number of wins by the Alliance in the Alterac Valley.

While Drek’Thar denies all wrong doing several irregularities point to a conspiracy to deprive the Horde of vital war resources.

• The design of fortifications in Alterac Valley have for a long time been considered imbalanced giving a clear advantage to the Alliance. Yet Drek’Thar refuses to make modifications.
• Even when towers and graveyards, clearly in sight of the Horde General are attacked, Drek’Thar refuses to leave the safety of his stronghold or send his Warmasters to recap these critical strategic nodes.
• When taunted from his stronghold, Drek’Thar rarely attacks beyond his doorstep, not even to eliminate the threat forming on “Noob Hill”
• Drek’Thar and Vanndar Stormpike have exchanged RealIDs and frequently discuss the progress of their forces.
• The Warmasters have been placing wagers on the outcome of the battles to acute the future of their loved ones.

Garrosh Hellscream is quoted as saying:

Yet another example of soft Alliance-loving leaders put in their positions by that traitor Thrall. If he wasn’t off saving the world, I would have his head on a pike as well… KILL THEM ALL!

Investigations into the other battlegrounds have stalled with the realization that with the exception of Isle of Cobquest, no leaders have been placed to coordinate the battles.

Drek’Thar has refused to stand down from his position, or relieve his Warmasters of their roles in the battle for Alterac Valley.

When pressed he responded:

Garrosh who?

Let him come and throw his body on our pikes. We won’t be so easy on the pretender to the Horde leadership as we are to Vanndar’s forces.

In the Alliance stronghold of Stormwind, King Varian has given his full support to his leader Vanndar and Drek’Thar.

This is war, any weapon whether made of steel or deceit that wins the field for the Alliance is supported by me. Anyway, I am funding the Alliance war effort on my Alerac Valley winnings.

Vanndar Stormpike had only one short statement regarding the issue…

lol L2P noobs…

Gnomer and Out!

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.

http://gnomeaggedon.net/2011/07/18/drekthar-to-be-executed-for-win-trading/

So we have a new guildy, a pvp loving guildy. I’ve been in WSG with him all weekend… school holidays.

A demotivational player

Yeah, he’s a young guy. His parents are younger than me.

I don’t care about that either. He plays his rogue well. Peeling is his favorite word. He’s a team player, setting up opportunities for the win. I like that, it’s the way I, and my mates play. Personal glory 2nd, win for the team 1st.

He has one annoying habit, one I haven’t had much personal experience with in a while and when I did it was related to PvE and Gearscore.

No good reason to have these screen shots

He idolizes gear, titles and arena ratings.

When we enter a BG, he is immediately inspecting the team.

Wow, she’s got a 2800 arena rating from last season.

That guy is a Battlemaster!

That warrior is sooo geared.

Look at that noob in greens/heirlooms/last season’s/PvE gear.

To me all of that is irrelevant. Sure it indicates that a player has won some battles, but ratings can be forged, titles can indicate a selfish player, gear indicates nothing more than a grind.

except I wonder why the need to demotivate prior to game start

What matters is the player’s motivation to be in the BG and usually that motivation isn’t obvious until the game is underway.

Why are the 2800 rating, the Battlemaster, the well geared players in WSG?

Probably not to capture the flag.

They are most likely there to get HKs. I have no problem with this. If they get the right HK it is assisting me in my goals. If they are taking random kills and ignoring the enemy flag carrier (efc), we are at crossed purposes.

My goal at the moment is two fold.

1. Honor
2. Flags cap for the win

It was 3 fold, but I now have Master of Warsong Gulch, so my primary goal in WSG now is just to reach Exalted with Silverwing Sentinals. To do that I need the flag to be capped as many times as possible in the BG.

I’m also, for just a little bit longer, after honor, so the win is important to me.

Soon I will be maxed out on honor gear, so the wins will be less relevant, but the flag caps still important for another 13000 reputation.

Then… whatever… for the joy of playing, for the honor kills, just to piss the Horde off.

I expect my motivations will be guided by that of my team mates then.

Why bitch and moan when the game is going so good

The Plate assumption

Whenever I enter a WSG with my mate Plaguezilla, the geared and competent DK, people automatically nominate him as our flag carrier (fc).

He just points at me.

He doesn’t want to carry flags, he wants to kill the Horde. He knows I want more flags for our team than less, so he will facilitate that, but given the choice, he would rather stop the efc than be the fc.

Our goals are different, but luckily complimentary.

Luckily for me at least.

Most WSG you will find 8/10 people brawling in mid-field. It would be a mistake to call them noobs. They probably know exactly what they are doing, it just doesn’t reflect your desires.

and people are having so much fun

Coming back to our green/heirloom/last season/PvE geared team mates.

Whatever…

Seriously, it comes down to their skill, attitude and desires.

Can you carry a flag in greens?

Yes!

Can you carry a flag in PvE gear?

Yes!

Can you PvP in PvE gear?

Yes!

It might not be easy. You may be putting more pressure on the rest of the team, but you can do it.

There were two examples of this over the weekend. Both 3 capped. The only issue of note was their attitudes.

There was the tank warrior in PvE gear. Admittedly he was provoked by my new guildy, but he made the silly statement that

Plate is for flag carrying

To which I call bullshit.

The 2nd was in greens. My new guildy also provoked him (I’m working on the kid ok…).

Gear might not matter... just don't take the credit

His only mistake was declaring that he won the BG for us.

I also call bullshit.

My 5 year old son could have 3 capped that game. We were a good team against a bad one. He had myself and a Mage mate peeling anything and everything off him before he even knew it was there.

The gear didn’t matter, the motivations of his team mates did. We covered his arse and returned our flag.

Just a shame he thought he was an individual hero in a team game. If my motivations were different, if flag caps didn’t matter, I would have let the Horde fill him full of holes.

Luckily for him, out paths coincided that game.

Don’t call people out for bad gear, there could be an awesome player behind that avatar.

Don’t idolize titles/rankings/gear, they promise nothing but the the fact the player has done whatever they needed to do to get them.

They may mislead you to believe you can rely on them for something they aren’t prepared to give.

Aweful gear FTW!

Play your game, play to win.

Judge people on their actions not their looks

and everyone should come out on top.

Note: The only text in those screenshots involving the guildy in question, is the text showing him helping us to a quick win.

Gnomer and Out!

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.

http://gnomeaggedon.net/2011/07/12/i-dont-care-about-the-color-of-you-clothes/

To which I respond…

No we’re not.

Kill them before they hurt you.

Focus their healers, send them to the graveyard 1st, make them wish they hadn’t joined the BG too.

A long time ago Gnomeaggedon joined the circle of healers meme. People thought it was novel, a joke, but I was DEADLY serious.

You don’t need healers to win a BG, you just need to make sure the enemy has none.

This was highlighted on the weekend and began with comments just like the title of this post.

...with 18 minutes still on the clock!

A short time later, I had capped for the 3rd time and the enemy team never got out of the graveyard I was slowfalling over each time with the flag.

Healers are overrated.

Sure they help, but if you aren’t playing PvP as if healers didn’t exist, you probably deserve to die.

Don’t get me wrong, I love my BG healers.

As I said on twitter:..

3 things I have learned in WSG:

1. Healers love Mage food
2. Healers love Flag Carriers
3. Healers love Mage food providing Flag Carriers.

But I don’t rely on their existence. I play knowing the only thing between me and death is me… then grin an evil grin when I discover I am getting heals.

Protect ‘em if you got ‘em!

Ohhh and speaking of healers.

Healers Have to Die!

I’ve mentioned this add-on before and Cynwise has an excellent post on the ethics of it.

Keep this one alive and they made do the same for you!

What you need to know is, not only will it show you enemy healers, but it will also show you friendly healers as well.

There are two things you need to do:

Turn the options on.

Turn on enemy AND friendly name plates

Gnomer and Out!

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.

http://gnomeaggedon.net/2011/07/12/omfg-no-healers-were-screwed/