Why I Might Actually Be Stupid

[thessalian]

So ... I might actually be ever so slightly stupid.

Look, y'all remember a few years back when I got really heavily into FFXI Online and I'd yammer about yon deathgnome until people's brains threatened to dribble out their ears? Yeah, I kind of got disenchanted with the Deathgnome. This may have had something to do with having hit the approximate point in game where I could not particularly advance because I needed way more high-level help than I could ever actually manage to get hold of to advance anywhere, ever. I hate level capping. It makes me want to claw things.

Anyhow, FFXI was more or less the extent of my video gaming at one point or another, unless you count the Sims. (I do not count the Sims. I do not play the Sims. For me, it's a character creation/interior design tool that I will occasionally play and then either abandon the entire household or, if I am in a particularly vindictive mood, find some way to more or less kill every single one of the little Simlish-spewing bastards. Usually with mods. I don't have the patience to wait for a fire to start on its own; for Sims 2, I had a buyable fire mod. That was fun.)

Anyway, then I got into Dragon Age. Or rather, was dragged into Dragon Age and got into it more than mitchy did, seeing as I'm not entirely sure she's even done one full playthrough yet. :) Anyhow, the DA-love is spreading as a friend of mine off of Chicago got the game for a Mother's Day present and now it appears that I am partially to blame for said friend wandering off on hiatus. Which wouldn't be quite as big a deal if she wasn't the ST. Hoist by my own petard? (Seriously; I'm just glad she's having a good time, and I like being the DA Mage Tactics Guru. Given seven or eight playthroughs as Elven Mage alone? I think I should be preeeeeetty good at it by now.)

Anyway. None of this is why I might actually be ever so slightly stupid. The reason for that involves ... well, other games.

For a little bit of my video game history ... I've been an off-and-on video gamer since I was very, very small. One of my earliest memories involves playing Ms Pac-Man and Centipede and Space Invaders at a Montreal bowling alley when one of my parents or relatives or someone was playing in their amateur league. Or something - I was maybe four, so the fact that I remember at all is a thing. Our first 'computer' was actually a glorified audio cassette player that plugged into the TV, and upon that little bugger I played shit that looked kind of like Bubble Bobble but wasn't? Honestly, this is all bits and pieces of childhood memories of gaming. But after that and a brief infatuation with Lemmings when I was ten and my first 'boyfriend' (if you can call them that when you've only just hit double-digits) had an actual, honest to gods computer ... well, I kind of forgot video games even existed for a few years. Then the NES came out, and I wanted one desperately. And, in fact, got one. So I played Mario Brothers and the first Final Fantasy and Duck Hunt (that stupid fucking dog with the giggling) and all the rest of it. I lost interest, though my mother continued to play with it long after I gave up. More or less the same thing happened with my Game Boy, although that stopped when I went through my 'what is in these technological gadgets, anyway? Let's take it apart and see what it looks like inside!' phase in high school. Most of the things I could put back together (the stereo, for instance). The Game Boy ... I lost the screws.

So here I am, 34 years old and more prone to focus on and stick with a video game than I was at any point in my childhood or teenage years. A little fucked up, but there it is. But lately I've had issues. I can't make my USB controller work and I utterly suck at navigating via keyboard so most of my PC games ... I just can't play. This includes Mass Effect 1 and 2 (the latter of which keeps changing the key settings anyway), Assassin's Creed and even freakin' Worms World Party. Dragon Age 1 and 2 are okay because I can point-and-click to navigate, like I did with FFXI. If I can find a few more games like that, I'd be good.

And all of this is still beside the point, and still not why I might actually be ever so slightly stupid. It is a lead-in to some sort of rational explanation for the stupid, mind you - I like video games, I particularly like RPG-ish sorts of video games, I need to be able to navigate by mouse for the moment and overall, I am running out of games to play. And getting bored.

So the reason why I might actually be ever so slightly stupid is ... I'm considering picking up World of Warcraft. I could just reactivate the Deathgnome, but I hear Warcrack allows more for soloing than FFXI ever did. (And I can actually play a gnome.) I might actually be every so slightly stupid because I spend my day dealing with idiots and shouldn't really want to spend my evenings with them either. But if I stay off the PVP servers, I should be fine. Right?

...right?

Comments

[tyrell.livejournal.com]

You can solo lots of WoW (even more with the latest expansion, I hear) and PvE servers mean never having to PvP.

Lord of the Rings online is another very, very good one. Neither need huge keyboard skillz. Lotro will eat your brain with the shiny storyline and you'll find soloing easy if you're a FFXI veteran.

Mass Effect: set the keyboard to arrow keys, ctrl for run, keypad 1 and 4 for powers. Do that with left hand while mouse with right = easy.

[thessalian.livejournal.com]

Mass Effect: Well, there's the minor problem of my being so far away from ambidextrous that it isn't even funny; my right hand never knows what my left hand is doing. Plus there's the problem of arrow keys being on the right-hand side of the keyboard and having no earthly way to shift my keyboard further to the left to make it easier; veeeeery small flat. Not to mention that I did try sensible keyboard settings and then it changed them on me so I didn't get past the first firefight with whatshisname the biotic in ME2 because ... well, every time I pressed a button it didn't do anything. But I guess I could give it another try on a day when I can actually afford to dump more aggravation on my poor beleagured soul without my brain exploding (read, maybe for a half-hour on a Sunday afternoon after I've had my second cup of coffee).

As to Lotro ... I try really hard not to play video games based on existing works of fiction. But your supportive words re: Warcrack are doing jack all for my bank balance but increasing my desire to get out of work early and pick up shiny game from ... somewhere. I assume it'd be best to just start with the base game until I know WTF I'm doing?

[tyrell.livejournal.com]

Ah, yeah, you do need the keyboard a long way to the left. I'm not great ambi either, but it's not much more than "mash the forward arrow" most of the time.

Lotro is great AND terrible because it puts you in a very detailed tolkien world (you will squee big the first time you walk through the door of Bag End), but it puts you in a very detailed tolkien world (and none of it will match the picture in your head at all).

WoW deserves its success. Every class is soloable, the game is very balanced, very fun, they listen to the players and make lots of awesome. Expansions are worth it because they improve things for everyone right from the beginning, not just level 60+ content... you can start with all the expansions in and still have a great intro (in fact apparently the new starting sections with the latest one are better than ever).

I don't play WoW anymore, but I have to give it credit - it's going to stay the biggest for a long time because it's really bloody good.

[ainulindale.livejournal.com]

WoW is okay. I avoid it anymore because of how it completely devours people, but if you want something that allows for soloing and not so much PVP, WoW on an RP server is great.

That said, I'm a lot more partial to Guild Wars where it's free online play, far shinier graphics, soundtrack, and plot. And you *definitely* can solo--you never even have to interact with a single live player if you don't want to because the game supplies you with a wealth of henchmen to choose from. GW actually tends to have a stand-alone PC-RPG feel because they designed it that--should it fail as an MMO--it could remain a stand-alone game.

[adelpha.livejournal.com]

WoW is very possible to solo, although once you get to... is it level 85 now? You get a little limited in what you can do. Daily quests, achievements, crafting, random stuff you find enjoyable.

If you find a good guild on the way, great! If you don't? Those idiots you mentioned? Pick-up-group hell. Don't get me wrong, you can get some very, very good groups of random players. But you're more likely to get groups of absolute morons who do crap like stand in the fiery stuff then yell at the healer for letting them die. Tanks who still don't get that crowd control is kinda needed these days. Healers with no situational awareness.

So, you start an instance. If you're really lucky you kill the first boss, then the group falls apart at the second one 'cos nobody's working together.

Sorry, that may have turned into a little rant. But it's definitely one of the things that pushed me away from WoW in the end. It was supposed to be Happy Fun Time, not Stressy Slap-The-Idiots Time.

Aaanyway, as long as you don't pick a PVP server, you're never forced into PVP play. You can choose to duel, flag yourself PvP for a while, there are a few PVP zones, and various battlegrounds you can drop into if the mood takes you. But it's not forced.

Another recent one that's had decent press is Rift. I've played a little, but certainly not enough to comment on it one way or the other. I'm pretty sure there's a trial knocking around, if you wanted to give it a go.

[thessalian.livejournal.com]

...........Ahahahaha, you've only hit the tip of the iceberg and I know it at least as well as you do. Here are a couple of links to help you understand why I am calling myself stupid for even considering another MMO:

Bannable Offenses (go waaaaay back to the beginning of the blog for the funny)
Any and all entries in my LJ tagged 'Deathgnome', more or less

Believe me when I say that I feel your pain. Pullers who don't understand that mages need to rest for Mana every now and again. Tanks who do not understand holding hate. Healers who refuse to dispel effects like poison. Damage-dealing mages who insist on casting area of effect spells in areas full of things that can easily eat your face but won't attack you unless you do something stupid like dump rocks on them. Mages who insist on equipping a sword and wading into melee. Badly built up parties. Spambots. RMT. Bots.

Still, one can't play the same story over and over and over and not get a little bored. So at least this has replay value and I can stay away from the aggro if I can't be bothered with it and just craft things.

[doccy.livejournal.com]

Look for a good Guild in WoW, then. They do exist, and the good ones are very, very good (ex-WoW myself, mainly because I wanted to have some free time again :P )

[wingedkami.livejournal.com]

I play WoW as a solo game on a PVE server. I'm aware that there are technically other people playing it, because hell, someone is buying all that stuff I keep dumping in the auction house, but I've managed to avoid interacting with them in any other way.

The thing about WoW is that it's actually getting better. I've recently played through an area with my second character that I've already played with my first, about a year earlier. And the second time through the area had been revamped and was loads more fun.

You don't need the expansions to begin with, but having them won't make things any more difficult. It will slightly limit your character options to not have them, but if you want to play a gnome that's not a major issue. You can always pick them up later if you decide you want to play a gemcrafting archaeologist death knight goblin. That said, you can probably get a better deal on the price buying a box set.

(My dwarflock is on the Bloodhoof server, should you want a non-idiot to say hello to.)

[thessalian.livejournal.com]

I haven't entirely decided whether I want to play Draenei or Gnome or what, but I'll tell you what I don't want to play: I could not possibly give less of a damn about werewolves in top hats.

And ooooooooh, nifty. I shall keep Bloodhoof in mind.

[wingedkami.livejournal.com]

It's the accents that puzzle me most about the worgen. Why are they all from east London? Have the Americans only just discovered that the British have more than one accent? There was a character in Bones the other night who sounded like a worgen.

I have a Draenei priest on Bloodhoof as well, but she doesn't get played as much. I was playing her along with my husband's Draenei, but then he discovered Minecraft and hasn't logged in since.

(I also play Minecraft, but didn't give up WoW for it.)

[thessalian.livejournal.com]

...Oh, this I've got to see. If for no other reason than it presents a particularly amusing mental image of top-hat-wearing werewolves laying waste to Albert Square. Now there's an episode of EastEnders I'd watch.

Ah, I could probably do with an alt. Or two. I dunno; I remember from FFXI that mules are useful, anyway. But I'm honestly a little torn between Gnome (because I have a thing about teeny tiny characters nuking the living shit out of things ten times their size) or Night Elf (Druid! Hunter! And the option of Mage if I want it!) on the Alliance side, Night Elf or Forsaken for Horde (though I'll need at least the Lich King expansion for that, I think). At least now I know how MMOs work...

Minecraft? .........No, I don't want to know. Really. Considering further MMO-ness is bad enough. *g*

[wingedkami.livejournal.com]

I may be slightly out with east London since I'm pretty bad with accents, but it's definitely London. Some of them could be straight out of a Guy Richie movie. (I'd watch that too.)

Minecraft? It's like lego with zombies.

[tyrell.livejournal.com]

Regarding needing to team up at the top levels: I have played days and days and years of WoW, way back before the expansions, and I only have one near-top level character. There are so many ways to play each class, the replay value is IMMENSE and I keep going back to try new ones :) PvE server recommended.

Guild Wars is the other MMO in my top 3 with Lotro and WoW. Brilliant fun, very pretty, totally free once you've got the bundle (definitely get all the add-ons). Maaaaany hours on this one.

[marigoldsthorn.livejournal.com]

Dont know about WOW but I did a stint playing LOTRS ONLINE. Free to play and rather fun... especially if you're a Tolkien nerd.
Pretty good as a rp environment if you like... I can't remember the name of the unofficial rp server... I know it was called Landy for short though. *shrugs*

Ive heard of vast improvements for WOW however so... Im considering it myself... or would were I not a full time student with work.

[nightskywarlock.livejournal.com]

Gnooooooooooooooooome.

(Also, I still say you should check out KoL - although not right now. They just rolled out the biggest update in three four years and the servers are crying under the load.)

[nadriel.livejournal.com]

Well, if you want shinies and help and stuff, I'm on Earthen Ring as Horde (Nadriel), and Bronzebeard as Alliance (Feudbringer)

[jedishadowolf.livejournal.com]

World of Warcrack is so very fun and you can do tons of solo content. It's a blast - and for someone who truly sucks at video games I've found it totally playable. Can't help with EU servers but if you get the game and go with a US server Durotan is most friendly for Alliance, and Medivh is the_blonde_one & I's (my?) home Horde server. We'd be happy to help you out whenever we could.

[thessalian.livejournal.com]

That would be "Medivh is the_blonde_one's and my...", seeing as you wouldn't say "Medivh is I's server". *g* I'll keep it in mind, though I'm not sure I can sign onto a US server from the EU.

(Edited for my own grammatical whoopsie, partly brought on by focusing on my LJ user tag. *g*)

Also, why are almost none of my friends on the same server? *cries*

[doccy.livejournal.com]

You can join as many servers as you like (with up to 10 different characters on each one). If memory serves, you're limited to 50 across the entire game (that might have changed, though).