06-25-2005, 01:21 PM
Can I nominate myself as someone who does not play enough? I would bet that I am also in the running for MCP (most casual player) award, if there is such a thing. Here are my qualifications:
On Stormrage, I have exactly one character at level 45. This would amount to 128 points or 2025 points depending on which of the two metrics is used.
Now, bear in mind that I've been on Stormrage with all of you since December of last year, almost right after launch. In fact, I was able to donate one-tenth of the 10 gold piece price for the lovely tabard that all of us proudly display today. That's right, I had a character with gold in the bank before we even had tabards!
Maybe the reward that I deserve is the LEP (least efficient player) award? At my pace, I won't see 60 until maybe Christmas!
Ok, on a more serious note, here are some of my thoughts based on my experience as a player with very limited time:
My time is generally ridiculously scarce. I have a job where during the week I will work from 9 a.m. to 1 a.m. on average. On weekends, I will usually spend some time in the office as well (as I am doing now on a Saturday night). I will also periodically travel heavily and live out of a suitcase. (Tris knows what I do and can tell you that I work in what people in our profession literally call a "sweatshop".) On top of all of this, I have a 4-month old baby boy that I don't see enough of and earlier this year I moved my family to a new continent where we don't speak the local language.
I knew all of this coming into WoW and rolled Hunter specifically to maximize my ability to solo. The thinking at the outset was that my chances of participating in groups will be low due to my unpredictable schedule and inability to commit meaningful blocks of time to playing. This thinking, I believe, has been confirmed in my personal experience. However, I believe now that it was nonetheless a mistake to roll Hunter. Instead, I should have rolled Priest. My reasons:
1. Hunter effectiveness relies heavily on equipment. Relatively speaking, a hunter is a much easier class to develop as a second character, assuming that one has a high level first character passing down equipment. Guns/bows that are level appropriate for a hunter are often almost impossible to get at that level. While it is true that item levels usually lag character levels in the game, other classes are less affected by this because they either have spells that bypass this problem or have more variety in weapon choice.
2. Scarcity and utlity favor priest over hunter. Not having played a priest, I am only guessing when I assert based on observed facts that it is easier to solo as a hunter than as a priest. On the other hand, I am getting to the point in my play where a lot of content requires some kind of group, even if it is the short pick-up-on-the-spot kind. I spent about 45 minutes tonight before coming into the office crawling past the front part of Uldaman. The dark dwarves and trogs in the first sections are all 35-37 elites, easy enough for me at level 45, but not automatic. I still had to proceed slowly and watch my pulls. Two is ok. Three gets tough, especially if I mismanage my traps and mana. The point is that it kinda sucks going through Uldaman slowly by myself at this level. I suspect that if I had a priest, I would have done at least the front parts of Uldaman 5 levels ago with up random group.
Blech, wish I could be online more. Back to work! Those donuts won't make themselves!
On Stormrage, I have exactly one character at level 45. This would amount to 128 points or 2025 points depending on which of the two metrics is used.
Now, bear in mind that I've been on Stormrage with all of you since December of last year, almost right after launch. In fact, I was able to donate one-tenth of the 10 gold piece price for the lovely tabard that all of us proudly display today. That's right, I had a character with gold in the bank before we even had tabards!
Maybe the reward that I deserve is the LEP (least efficient player) award? At my pace, I won't see 60 until maybe Christmas!
Ok, on a more serious note, here are some of my thoughts based on my experience as a player with very limited time:
My time is generally ridiculously scarce. I have a job where during the week I will work from 9 a.m. to 1 a.m. on average. On weekends, I will usually spend some time in the office as well (as I am doing now on a Saturday night). I will also periodically travel heavily and live out of a suitcase. (Tris knows what I do and can tell you that I work in what people in our profession literally call a "sweatshop".) On top of all of this, I have a 4-month old baby boy that I don't see enough of and earlier this year I moved my family to a new continent where we don't speak the local language.
I knew all of this coming into WoW and rolled Hunter specifically to maximize my ability to solo. The thinking at the outset was that my chances of participating in groups will be low due to my unpredictable schedule and inability to commit meaningful blocks of time to playing. This thinking, I believe, has been confirmed in my personal experience. However, I believe now that it was nonetheless a mistake to roll Hunter. Instead, I should have rolled Priest. My reasons:
1. Hunter effectiveness relies heavily on equipment. Relatively speaking, a hunter is a much easier class to develop as a second character, assuming that one has a high level first character passing down equipment. Guns/bows that are level appropriate for a hunter are often almost impossible to get at that level. While it is true that item levels usually lag character levels in the game, other classes are less affected by this because they either have spells that bypass this problem or have more variety in weapon choice.
2. Scarcity and utlity favor priest over hunter. Not having played a priest, I am only guessing when I assert based on observed facts that it is easier to solo as a hunter than as a priest. On the other hand, I am getting to the point in my play where a lot of content requires some kind of group, even if it is the short pick-up-on-the-spot kind. I spent about 45 minutes tonight before coming into the office crawling past the front part of Uldaman. The dark dwarves and trogs in the first sections are all 35-37 elites, easy enough for me at level 45, but not automatic. I still had to proceed slowly and watch my pulls. Two is ok. Three gets tough, especially if I mismanage my traps and mana. The point is that it kinda sucks going through Uldaman slowly by myself at this level. I suspect that if I had a priest, I would have done at least the front parts of Uldaman 5 levels ago with up random group.
Blech, wish I could be online more. Back to work! Those donuts won't make themselves!