This blog has been discontinued in favour of a more feature rich website:

www.wowgeekmusings.co.uk - This is still in development!

Gearscore, Achievements and level requirements

We've all been sat in Dalaran for a little longer than we should have been, wondering what to do with our spare time, and we've all seen the requests for various raids, groups and events. What never ceases to amaze me however is the extreme demands placed upon these coveted positions by others, and the reactions to those demands.

I've just purchased a second spec for my prot warrior. I lost interest in her after switching mains to fill a much needed gap within one of the servers top raiding guilds some years ago, but out of respect for her as my first max level character, she has always been one of the first to reach the new max levels as they roll out. Wrath of the Lich King however has provided us with a far greater gap between "just hit 80" and "raider" and time restraints that come with every day life have left her wanting.

It very rapidly went from tanking the odd heroic of a night for others of my gear level, to trying to tank for those with an average item level of 250+ in 200 gear, and failing. So I bit the bullet and did what I always said I'd never do... Get a second spec.

Now I'm perfectly happy to use this spec to gain emblems and so on until I'm able to appropriately gear my prot spec to meet the demands within groups, but I'm far from the only one suffering at the hands of these demands.

In short, Warcraft as it stands today has lost sight of all that was good about it. They've taken out the sense of achievement, and replaced it with... achievements!

No longer do you get into a raid by being a good player, by demonstrating that you know your class and it's specific role. You get into raids by showing that you gained an achievement, and you've spammed your way through heroics to get emblems, or by being carried by your friends, at the expense of others in the raid.

Gearscore, the addon that everyone loves to hate has it's plus sides. It certainly shows that someone has made it through at least some instances, it gives you an indication that they've geared to an appropriate level for the position they are asking to fill, but as we've all seen, it says nothing about the player as a person, or they're ability to fulfil said role.

ICC10 man with my resto druid, a holy paladin and a holy priest saw me top the meters by a clear 20% healing, with the paladin coming in second, and the holy priest 10% behind him. Based on gearscore alone, this paladin shouldn't have been allowed anywhere near the instance, while the holy priest outshone me gear wise by a mile. Obviously at the end of the run, people took a quick glance at the gear and congratulated the priest on carrying the raid... Thankfully, I don't do it for the credit, I actually enjoy working hard to achieve my in game goals.

Is it any wonder that with people playing to such a terrible standard that we're entering a time where we see raid leaders demanding 5.4k gearscore for things like ToC10? Hardly, but then, it's hardly fair on those who can play, have demonstrated it time and time again and are rejected for not meeting some silly number chosen based on the failings of those in the previous raid.

I can only hope that with Cataclysm on the horizon, Blizzard wake up and make enough changes to provide a workable distinction between the player and their gear so that we can stop relying on gearscore and achievements which carry their own set of issues to determine who gets to do what.

Blizzard once had a saying, "Bring the player, not the class" it's high time they adopted another... "Bring the player, not the gearscore"

TRH

Known to those of us who either could afford one, had parents prepared to buy us one, or simply aren't as intellectually challenged, as a Celestial Steed.

Having researched a little this evening, it seems no self respecting WoW blog is complete without an entry about this delightfully sparkly pony so not to disappoint the masses I shall comply with public opinion and give you my own thoughts on the matter.

Firstly I have to express my complete lack of surprise at the myriad of ways people have come up with to insult those of you currently prancing around the Dalaran landing area on your new found mounts. My surprise comes from the inept methods these individuals are using, ranging from mythical figures plucked from the twisting nether to out right attacks on blizzards farming methods.

Reading a thread on MMO Champion I gazed in amazement as one member went on to describe how well within the first 24hours of this item going live, he'd witnessed more than 500 of these. I ask you, short taking note of each name that flies by on one, how exactly does he know this figure to be correct? More to the point, why did people take his claim seriously? Another member was nice enough to point out that we're all being farmed by blizzard, being forced to pay good hard earned money for a mount we don't need. He, along with his supporters must have missed the part where we all pay at least £8.99 a month to play the game, and that no one has a gun to anyone's head.

So why such mixed reviews? I think my opening to this entry says it all... If you were one of those who really wanted to get your hands on one of these then I'm really pleased for you, and when you link it to me in game I'll congratulate you like the decent person I am. If however you're one of those bitter complainers struggling to come to terms with the fact that you can't have what everyone else has, then maybe it's time you got out a little more, read a book or at the very least stepped away from the internet.

For the rest of us however, those who really weren't all that concerned one way or another about landing this highly sought after ride, I think "The Beautiful South" said it best:

And everyone is blonde

And everyone is beautiful

and when blondes and beautiful are multiple

they become so dull and dutiful

Opening

I've been playing WoW since two weeks after release in the EU, and while I've taken the odd break here and there, I've always returned and remain a dedicated fan.

So why start a blog after such a long time? It isn't like there haven't always been issues either with other players or with the development/implementation side of it all, however with the ever increasing interest in blogging within the community, I felt it was time to add my own to the mix, in the hopes that in desperate times when you feel alone in the world, my views may offer some comfort or at least let you know others are out there thinking the same.

This blog is as much as outlet for thoughts and theories as it is a place of comfort where I can let out all that frustration built up by the lack of thoughtfulness of fellow players and GMs alike. I hope it won't become a place just for me to rant and rave when things get too much, but this is my first entry, and I confess I was pushed to it after watching a thoroughly vile individuals comments in party chat, so who really knows at this point? Not I, that's for sure.

At this point in the proceedings it may be appropriate to introduce myself...

As I said, I've been playing since shortly after release, and I've had my share of main changes in that time. Like many others I'm sure, I felt my first ever toon was the best thing since sliced bread, I fiercely defended my chosen role in the game and fought off other classes determined to take a higher position in popular favour. That was of course until my raiding alliance disbanded due to power struggles at the top and a difference of opinion over attendance rules and I found myself looking for a new raiding family. A guild or two later and it fast became clear that there simply were too many adequate players for my role, who while maybe not as skilled as myself in all cases, certainly played the political game better than I. Maybe it was time for a change?

I'd not long finished levelling my second toon to 60, found one of the better raiding guilds had a me shaped hole and applied. I attended by trial, got my promotion and some six months later found myself filling the class leader role, beating down new and exciting bosses on a weekly basis. The lack of political know-how never left me however, and shortly after the expansion and hitting 70 I found myself taking an extended break from the game, returning to find out that my beloved home had turned into a playground for children, childish games and popularity contests, the likes of which I could play no part in.

Forming my own guild was one of the best decisions I've ever made, I don't still have the guild and have moved on to a new home, but I met some of the most wonderful people the game has to offer, some have come and gone over the years, moving on to other games, quitting to spend more time with families and the likes, others however have become real life friends and people I can't imagine my life without. These people now share a space with me within my new and hopefully final resting place.

Don't get me wrong the guild isn't perfect, far from it in fact, but it does have a certain serenity about it when you learn to ignore the glaringly obvious flaws. I'm sure you'll be hearing plenty about those as time goes on.