Little Ball of Rage: Who the hell do you think you are?
Little Ball of Rage: Who the hell do you think you are?
WoW Blogs - Little Ball of Rage Warrior Blog
At some stage I know people will appreciate a discussion about warrior development incoming for Cataclysm. I have held off on this for two reasons so far:
1) Warrior playstyle mechanics are going to change massively, far more than any other class. The removal of on next swing attacks will cause a big change in our habitual button smashing.
2) The warrior trees and abilities were and still are the last to really be finalised. Personally I do not find it that productive to discuss so many things which almost certainly will be changed significantly before release.
In short, for that discussion watch this space! I anticipate that as soon as the patch notes for 4.0 start to release it will be the best time. Remember that 4.0 will release on live well before Cataclysm releases, so there will be plenty of time for discussion.
My thoughts this week are on a traditional beef of mine. Namely general player behaviour.
As a player who has never ever been without top end raiding gear it could be an easy thing to be a bit of an ass about it. It is a general human behaviour to consider yourself the 'norm' and then assess all other things/people in relation. So for a majority of players in my situation, almost everyone is a) a terrible player and b) an idiot. After all, if they were a good player and intelligent, why would they run around in that gear?
This manifests itself in many different ways:
There is often a chip on shoulder approach which demands recognition from other players, when it is not forthcoming then you demand it and generally become rude or abusive until you get it.
Then there is the 'my gear is best so I know best' approach. We have all met them, I have even met them when I outgear them by two tiers. These are the players who the moment they join a random hc/raid/pug group, or even PvP battlegrounds will start to issue orders and demands. All failures are the result of other inferior players screwing up. If they did something wrong it was only because they were trying to cover for someone else.
The third option is the bank camper who stands around all day in their gear and then starts to comment on other peoples gear selection/enchants/gemming/talents without any sort of introduction. 'Hey man, why are you using that weapon, are you retarded or something? My advice to you, no offense intended, is that you change it really quickly before anyone else thinks you are a total testicle head'.....
We all know these people exist, in fact they are quite easy to find. The people they are most often abusive to are the people they don't know at all. They wouldn't dare abuse people they know because it might risk losing part of their perceived fan base.
Personally, my attitude is almost the reverse! The only people I am harsh to are my guildies....
What right do I have to abuse or get annoyed with a random player I never met before? I couldn't care less about their gear/ability. I can always leave a random group quite easilly, I can ask them to try and do something differently if they are causing problems (if I am tanking for example) or I can flat out ignore them (as I so often do in battlegrounds).
A fourth option, which I must admit I am quite partial to, is to troll them very lightly. Make random comments which they can't decide are complimentary or not and watch how they react.
In short though, it is hard to justify having expectations from a pug group. People play the game for different reasons and in different ways. If they are enjoying themselves who am I to say they are playing it wrong? It is, afterall, a game.
My guildies however, that is a different matter entirely! The whole point of being part of a progressive raiding guild is that you join up with a common aim in mind. You have stated that you share an expectation to raid effectively. So if one of my guildies routinely screws up I am perfectly within my rights to be annoyed with them for it!
This isn't necessary an open invitation to abuse people, however it does give me a certain right to let them know that I am annoyed. For me this normally comes out in random comments such as 'If only hunters had some way to wipe all their threat....' or 'lets get this guy to heal the boss, as whichever tank he heals seems to die really fast!'.
As long as it isn't personal it is ok. Raiding times are a business arrangement!
So the moral of the story today is: Only abuse people you know and like, the people you don't know don't deserve it!
Last Updated on Thursday, 19 August 2010 13:20 Written by Flanks Wednesday, 18 August 2010 14:19
Comments
For example, if an insult makes an idiot leave and frees up a spot for a competent player, it's a success. Also, an insulting comment may not be intended to insult for the sake of insulting - it may just be very straightforward criticism that is mis-interpreted as an insult.
And yes, it is a game and people play it for fun. That's still no excuse to be a clueless idiot. And if someone thinks he has the right to act selfishly because "hey m8 im jst having fun. its a game, chill out!", they don't have any right to expect you to behave any differently.
The game is, as everything in the world, based on co-operation. Both sides equally give and receive. If a moron ruins it by "just having fun, k?", you need to eliminate them or cut your own losses by leaving. If you don't, you only end up losing (valuable time, nerves, money, gold, loot, whatever) and encouraging their behavior.
If you are in a random pug, then people have different expectations. Why should they play to yours and not their own?
As you say yourself, if you don't like it then leave yourself. Don't ruin other people's experience.
On either counts I still expect to pull my weight. What I'm saying is that I can put up with some gobshite as long as they dont keep screwing up, as soon as they do that I completely rip into them for being all talk no trousers.
On the other hand those that ask for help or offer guidance in a polite and friendly manner get a much better reaction.
Manners are the free currency that can buy my time.
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