The reason you haven’t seen me post anything is because I’ve been spending many hours on World of Warcraft. I’ve gotten myself a level 43 Paladin, pretty decently decked out, and something struck me while I was playing:
WOW is just like real life.
See, back when I was a lowly 37, I’d toiled and grinded my way to about 56 gold. It wasn’t easy, seeing as money making items are hard to come by, but ceaseless mining and skinning expeditions had gotten me enough bronze, silver and leather that I’d finally reached 56 gold. And with that money, I happily purchased a pretty buff weapon, Sword of the Magistrate, which also happened to have a +7 attack enchant on it, for a whopping 38G.
A friend of mine who is also playing, started out just about the same time that I did. He is now a puny level 27, but he’s decked out in all blues. He casually mentioned that his dagger cost him 200 gold, and he got that money from friends in high places (level 70 dudes with too much money from the Outlands).
Life lesson learnt: it’s better to have friends in high places, than it is to work hard and become good at what you do.
Spending money that you earn yourself is sweeter though, no ?
don’t let WOW take over your real life!
One thing to learn when leveling up.
Never ever buy weapons from the AH. Trust me, you will only replace that weapon soon. Same goes for armor, don’t keep checking the AH for better armors. You will waste too much money soon before you know it, you can’t afford your mount etc..
(I have a lvl 70 char, so I know what I’m talking about :))
John: yes, but then you have to think: is it the purchased item that will give you enjoyment, or the purchas-ING of that item?
quitacet: no danger of that, life is just on pause at the moment =).
KG: not an issue, Paladin mounts are 90S. There is no way to get good equipment outside the AH, other than to run around like an idiot at higher leveled players squaking “PLZ PLZ CAN U RUN ME THRU SM PLZ QUIK B4 MY MUM CUMS BAK ONLY 3 BARS TO LVL LOL PLZ” (actual quote). And then “need”-ing the blue that drops. And then saying “I GTG SOZ” *hearthstone*. No thank you.
I’m here to enjoy the rich world Blizzard has created, not rush pell-mell through weapons and armor, as if each “better” one actually had a real value other than to convince me to put in more hours into the timesink that is WOW.
(Also, I’ve found that certain lvl 70 chars can be just as ignorant as lowbies, or even more so. I know of one guy who boasted of his super buff 70 ‘lock, but didn’t know that pallys get a res at lvl 15 or so. Even more tiresome is the childish “ZOMG MY LVL 70 ALT TOTALLY KIKS UR ASS”, or “MY CLASS IS BETTER THAN URS U SUX /IGNORED”. Not saying you’re one of ‘em, plenty of nice folk who will patiently guide you through an instance and teach you how to work together as a team… just saying that saying you’re a lvl 70 tells me nothing about how you play. Heh.)
Not in the purchas-ing, but in the earning of whatever gold you need the equipment. as anyone who has ever cheated in a game will tell you, pushing the cheat too far will only spoil the game.
Would you have slogged away at WoW if everything that you ever wanted was just handed to you when you asked for it? Where’s the enjoyment then?
John: No, I wouldn’t have slogged away at WOW.
I would have spent the time running the many interesting instances, and doing the many interesting quests.
To me that’s better =).
Why don’t you want to run instances? It’s true that some group will fail, but most of the time there is also one that will succeed to the last boss. You don’t exactly need a high level to run you through an instance. If a group fails, try again. I believe you’re not a quitter right?
I agree that some 70s are dumbasses. They can’t play jack of their class what more knowing what other classes can do. And yes, some people like to boast what they got. When I said I have a 70 I’m not trying to boast that I’m level 70 and you’re not. I’m just implying that I have more experience in WoW and am just trying to help you out.
Oh and about the mount issue, I know that pallies and locks get free mounts at level 40. But you still need to pay 800g for an epic mount :)
Slogging away by any other name…
KG: I *do* run instances. That’s the sole reason I’m there, ‘cos instances are the most fun thing in the game. That, and battlegrounds.
Relax, I wasn’t saying you were one of them. It just really gets my goat, to hear someone casually drop “my lvl xx char on realm yy”… it’s so insignificant! Like comparing megapixel ratings on digital cameras. Tell me about the cool Onyxia raid you had, or the Lord Khazzak take down, or something interesting.
John: you earn money and you buy a plasma TV. Which of the following gives you the most “happiness” or “satisfaction”:
(A) Pride in getting it: the idea that the TV is bought by you and you alone, with your own two hands and effort.
(B) Joy in using it: The idea that you now have a plasma TV, and you can save all that space on the table and watch your favourite shows in high-def, big-screen satisfaction.
(C) Bragging rights: The idea that your neighbour doesn’t have one. Or yours is bigger.
Everybody feels all of the above to some degree. To me, I feel (B) edges out (A). To you, (A) edges out (B). Just a small difference of opinion =).
But that doesn’t happen in real life. Right? It’s still your own ability that counts.
“Life lesson learnt: it’s better to have friends in high places, than it is to work hard and become good at what you do.”