Chill Winston!

chillwinston.jpg (img:blizzard)

Title appropriate for reasons hopefully forthcoming. Header image appropriate because the title also references a line in my favorite Guy Ritchie movie and Winston just happens to be the name of a character in Blizzard's soon-to-be-in-beta FPS Overwatch. As you can see, if you're on the opposing side of Winston you're probably going to wish that he'd just chill out. Opening paragraph appropriate because this is probably going to be a rambling piece stating things I've said before using more words than I actually need. But I settled on a title and a header image before starting, so I'm feeling a minor obligation to finish it. I know, not many selling points to continue reading.

A few months back, I made a promise to myself to stop speculating about the design of World of Warcraft, and what Blizzard may or may not do by reading into what they're saying and not saying. So far I've kept my promise, even if I didn't speculate that much to begin with. Speculation, of course, isn't talking about likes and dislikes. Speculation isn't simply saying you don't like the fact it took so long for Blizzard to add flight. Speculation is saying Blizzard only cares about maximizing subscription dollars, and prolonging the leveling and end-game open-world content by prohibiting flight is one way to do that.

Speculation is forming a theory or opinion without firm evidence. Note the adjective; not a lack of evidence, but a lack of firm evidence. I alluded to my interest and study of the UFO phenomenon in the piece linked above; I spent several years researching the best evidence available to the public. As of this writing, ETs haven't landed on the White House lawn. Outside of that happening, the only way for me to know, to truly know, would be if I were a decidedly real secret agent with files of direct proof in my hand. I am not such a person, I must say.

There's a parallel here (you still there?) when it comes to speculation about what Blizzard is doing and saying. As is often claimed in ufology, the information possessed by those in the know is highly compartmentalized. The scope of what Johnny B. knows is not what Sally C. knows, and Ashley F. only speaks about what they've been authorized to speak about. The only way for me to know what Blizzard's up to would be if I were a drone on the wall in every single meeting. From CS to design, development, financials, organizational planning---all of them.

So the end result of speculation is the same: there's an inherent inability to know, and speculation will only take one so far until it becomes an utterly exhausting exercise. We can get close to knowing, sure, and sometimes we even stumble upon an actual truth, whether we're aware of it or not. But in the end, I had to distance myself from the subject. I had stop visiting the message boards, certain websites, and curb myself from talking to anyone who'd lend their ear. Oh right. I'm not talking about UFOs here. I'm talking about Blizzard's intentions, their game design, and what they should be doing to make it the game that seems ideal for me.

I've been out of the Blizzard speculation loop long enough to where the thought of speculation on an announced design or feature has zero appeal. Then again, I accepted Warlord's lack of flight from the start, even if communication about when it would actually be implemented left a bit to be desired. But perhaps my disposition was different from the start, compared to those who were outraged by the announcements or the silence or both.

What I had to do with Blizzard, like I did with ufology, was to take everything I'd learned and experienced up to that point and form a belief. To find a solid rock to stand on amidst the sand I'd been mucking around in. I'd have to look at the past ten years I spent in the game, sometimes alone, sometimes with friends; ten years of quality entertainment, how times have changed, and what has remained the same.

What I realized is that the belief had been there all along, the same belief that drew me into World of Warcraft and the one that has positioned me as a gamer who plays almost nothing but Blizzard games: that Blizzard Entertainment brings, and will continue to bring quality gaming experiences to the masses. We've had ample evidence of this (outside of and including World of Wacraft) during the past two years especially.

My truth is a personal one. Mine and mine alone, and one that I won't force on other people. The truth is something they'll have to discover on their own---should they even feel the need to seek it---whether their truth matches mine or not. But if the truth for me wasn't what it is, I wouldn't be in this space. I wouldn't be writing this.

In closing, if I have one bit of advice, it's to take this all in---the state of Blizzard, its games, and gaming in general---within the greater context of everything that's out there. Day to day. Hour to hour. Minute to minute. If you're disappointed, frustrated, or angry, self-imposed exile can be a valuable thing. The truths out there aren't going anywhere. They exist independent of all of us.

If nothing else, try to look up from time to time. Expect nothing, and I promise you won't be disappointed.

We Should Be Able to Talk

This piece is about the discussion---or lack thereof---in the wake of the Blizzard Watch article "Does the Warcraft movie have a problem with women?" If you're not interested, turn back now!

We've had a rough history, we humans. A perpetually out-of-balance history, when it comes to our relations. Those with power, and those without. Those with wealth, and those without. Those with rights, and those without. We are the child of that history. The love, pain, heartache, triumphs, struggles and losses of the past---those are all imprinted into our collective DNA whether we're aware of it as individuals or not.

We're drawn to see the world as we imagine it to be---and much of that is based on our own personal experiences. But one human's experience doesn't do justice to how things really are---it can't. Our time spent here is over in a beat, and much of that experience for most people takes place in a relatively tiny bubble. It's not easy to grasp our diversity, and the sheer will and sacrifice it took humanity to get where it is. We especially have it easy in this time of interconnectedness and relative prosperity---I'm assuming, since you're a gamer and reading this. And because of our technological advances, we're in a better position to both understand and talk about our history with one another than we ever have been.

The thoughts above came to mind after reading Elizabeth Harper's Blizzard Watch article titled "Does the Warcraft movie have a problem with women?" and spending time reading the comments it began to generate. The article was well-constructed and it was obvious Harper spent a good deal of time putting it together. Unsurprisingly, I cannot say the same about the majority of responses, both on-site and in my social media circle.

It doesn't pay to refute those who say that the article's main purpose was website hits; they've adopted a belief that fits their worldview. It doesn't pay to refute folks who say "I've never seen a problem," because they've decided based on their experience there isn't a problem at all---or at least, if the problem doesn't affect the perceived majority, it isn't one. It doesn't pay to refute the hyperbolic, name-callers, and slippery-slopers who seem to fear something they can't articulate on. I'm mostly done with that battle, but I'm never going to leave where I stand up in the air.

How women are represented in-game? That's on Blizzard. How women are treated in-game? That's mostly on us, the players. It's not surprising that women up until recently have often filled the roles of love interests, fodder for other characters or sex symbols. That's largely the role they've occupied in the entertainment industry in the past. But as we grow as a planet and learn more about one another and our history, stratified gender roles continue to crumble. Slowly, but surely, this will be reflected in our culture. It is changing, but that journey has not ended. It can take time to notice a problem in what has always been considered the norm.

If there's one thing we know about the past, it's that we get a lot of shit wrong. It's up to future generations to fix it, like we saw recently with same-sex marriage. Let's not forget less than 100 years ago, women didn't even have the right to vote. Up until the 60s, and arguably much later, women were expected to be homemakers---an ugly notion that still lives on today and seen all too often. Where do you think "go make me a sandwich" comes from?

Sexism is a problem in World of Warcraft both on the company side and the player side, but that's largely because they're both products of a sexist society.

The fact that the entire Warcraft universe was created by mostly men doesn't bother me; I don't see it as a good or a bad thing. It just is. However, I can also understand how the mechanisms of sexism in our society manifest themselves, unconsciously even, in the creations of a group of college-aged guys. While Blizzard are less creators and innovators, those guys were simply going off of what had been imprinted on them by their experiences in life---life within an advanced, industrialized male-dominated society. It would be astounding if sexism wasn't noticeable in WoW given its origins.

Things won't change overnight. It'd be naive to think they would. But they also won't be changed if they are ignored. If there are customers who would like to feel better represented and welcomed in even something as seemingly insignificant as a game world, they should be free to express their feelings. When it comes to players and how they treat one another in game? I can't solve that one, only do my part. But it's on all of us.

Sexism in Warcraft may not be noticeable to you, or it may not be a problem for you. But we still need to be willing to talk about this stuff with calm, open minds. Without hyperbole and baseless accusations. And that takes effort. Especially when it takes empathy and possibly requires us to look at a not-so-flattering aspect of ourselves. Our society. Our norms. But I can't convince anyone to act or see it any differently. I just think we should be able to talk.

I'm going to keep doing my own thing, with the hope that those hindering debate---consciously or not---will one day come to better understanding.

Concluding my Draenor Campaign...For Now

The pre-Barn, Tavern era of my garrison.

Tuesday night is generally my refresh night for all-things-garrison. My work orders from the weekend are within a day or so of expiration, so I make sure to refresh those. The Barn was a late addition, and I was just shy of earning Level 3 blueprints via Master Trapper earlier this week. So I went to see about some boars and set off a small chain of reaction that essentially signified that was I done progressing my character as it pertains to current content---outside of raiding of course.

Master Trapper allowed me to learn the final set of blueprints required for Grand Master Draftsmen as well as construct the Level 3 Barn, the final building needed for Master Builder. Capping off those achievements netted me Garrison Architect. Aside from the Pet Menagerie and the Fishing Shack, which I plan to chip at throughout the expansion, there's not much left for me in the garrison. Sure, I could work on new buildings combos and achievements, but I assume I'll cover those on alts as the expansion stretches out.

I'm currently 670 ilvl, the garrison campaign is complete and I'm tip-toeing towards the finish line of the last leg of the legendary quest chain. Blackrock Foundry LFR will be a welcome addition to the game in that it'll allow the collection Elemental Runes from bosses the guild's weekly raid may not have defeated. Still, I engage LFR to maximize efficiency, not for my own enjoyment.

That all said, I absolutely love how this expansion has turned out. I have little interest in seriously playing an alt right now, yet there are plenty of things for me to do on Draenor with my main character---if I so choose. Besides hunting rares and treasures, there's Ashran, the garrison buildings I mentioned, reputation grinds, follower collection and leveling, not to mention the ridiculous amount of achievements scattered throughout Draenor.

But you'll find me on the Timeless Isle on off-nights, hunting down rare items and the elusive Golganarr. Or steamrolling through the Lich King's citadel for a futile attempt at Invincible. Or knocking out quests in the Cata-revamped zones for completion's sake.

While I can't deny that it feels like we're a bit light on content in terms of where we are in the expansion, my play style causes me to prefer a landscape that looks a lot more like this, and less than what we saw in Mists of Pandaria.

How's the expansion panning out for you?

#SaveWoWInsider (Updated 2.4.15: Saved)

Cover letter from second WoW Insider application (click to enlarge)

Update 2.3.15: Now you can save WoW Insider! Well, you can at least be a part of the next step.

Update 2.4.15: Blizzard Watch, the next venture for the staff formerly at WoW Insider, has surpassed its first three tiers of fundraising goals.

I can't even remember when or how I first discovered WoW Insider. All I know is that it was a long time ago. What I can say is since that first visit, I've returned on a near-daily basis. The Queue is something I look forward to reading every single day, and I'm pretty confident when I say I haven't missed an edition of The Queue since I first started reading. I'm one of those people for whom The Queue can be "late" if it isn't posted in the AM.

WoW Insider has consistently been a source for all things Warcraft, and really, continues to be a great source for all things Blizzard. I'd like it to remain that way. When I learned about the all-but-confirmed rumors about AOL shuttering the Joystiq family of sites, I was dismayed. I won't pretend to know about the finances that drive a decision like this; companies regularly cut services that aren't performing to standards. As far as I know, only AOL knows what those numbers look like; at least, if anyone else knows they aren't able to say.

In the corporate world, they'll look at a site like WoW Insider and determine it's value. Value, in this sense, is profit. However, a visitor to the site defines value in much different terms. I know that I'll find Warcraft news and analysis in a singular place, written by people I've grown to trust over the years. People who I consider a part of my life even if I'm not a known part of theirs. Most importantly, WoW Insider functions as a rallying place for the community where ideas can be freely shared and debated. That's value to me.

It's because of WoW Insider that I met hundreds of WoW players I hadn't known before. I wouldn't have this blog if it weren't for WoW Insider: this space began as a holding tank for the posts I submitted the second time I applied for a position at WoW Insider. I enjoyed the process of it, so even after rejection I chose to continue filling this space. The pet battling guides which brought over 1,000 visitors daily throughout MoP and much of WoD wouldn't exist were it not for WoW Insider. The hundreds of pets I've given to enthusiastic pet battlers over the last few years is a direct result of WoW Insider's existence.

#SaveJoystiq is trending nationally again.
— Adam Holisky (@AdamHolisky) January 27, 2015

I'm not going to pretend that a hashtag/letter-writing/boycotting campaign is going to give us the result we're looking for. If the rumors are realized, and our worst fear confirmed, there's not much we can say to AOL that would change their minds. We can yell "Hey! We like this! We find this valuable!" All they need to counter with is the bottom line, one that's in the red or not far enough into the black. Not profitable.

So where that leaves anyone, who knows. Until we get official word, none of us on the outside can truly tell what will transpire. However, the community does have the power to take things into their own hands should the worst happen. Sites like WoWhead, Ask Mr. Robot, Curse, Warcraft Pets, and others offer a substantial amount of a free content to the community, with additional benefits to people who pay a small subscription fee. I subscribe to, or have donated to each of the sites above because I find their content valuable and want to ensure they remain a resource for the community.

I can't say whether or not something like that would be feasible in sustaining WoW Insider for very long, if at all. But if we do have a shot at #SaveWoWInsider using our own means, we owe it to the folks there---and ourselves---to give it a try.

Additional bloggers talking about this:

Sportsbard
Alternative Chat
Apple Cider Mage
Exodar Sisters
Liopleurodonic

When You Start to Like the Villain

Screengrab: Blizzard

In the Warlords of Draenor cinematic when Grommash was struggling to launch the damaged iron star, were you silently cheering him on? When you saw Grommash hurtle through a wall of flame to plant Gorehowl in Mannoroth's forehead, did you whisper yesssssss? Did Grommash's declaration of "We will never be slaves!" strike a chord in you, too?

Strange, but I found myself cheering for the expansion's villain, the first time I've done so in Warcraft. I wasn't prepared for Illidan. The Lich King marked my first end boss kill, and though seeing his rise and fall elicited sympathy (partially through the game, and admittedly in much more detail later on when I read the novel), I can't say I hoped he'd pull through somehow. Deathwing was no more than a bull in a china shop, so that made him easy to loathe. And Garrosh was set up to be so antagonistic that only trolls (the personality type, not the race) profess undying allegiance to the disgraced now-former warchief of the Horde.

Scholars of Warcraft lore know what happened with the orcs in the original timeline, and how that contributed to the molding of present-day Azeroth. Grommash drinks the blood, the clans follow and Draenor descends further into madness. In the cinematic, we meet the orc clans at that crossroads moment: drink the Demon Blood and become slaves to the Burning Legion, or refuse it and risk annihilation at the hands of Mannoroth and his army. So did you, like me, cheer for Grommash and the Iron Horde when the demon blood was refused? Did you feel a bit of sympathy for them, perhaps even like them a bit?

On one hand, perhaps Blizzard wanted to demonstrate the ferocity and cunning of these orcs; hell, their leader slew Mannoroth. It lets the players know that this is indeed a badass force we'll soon meet. On the other hand, it shows the orc clans at their most vulnerable point, where the wrong choice would lead them down a path of death and destruction, and the forfeiture of their livelihood as free people. The ironic and perhaps sad part of this is that these orcs are still heading down a path of death and destruction, but unlike their historical counterparts, they won't ever gain a foothold on our Azeroth.

The motives of the Iron Horde are simple and clear. Grommash even puts it out there for us in declaring, "We will never be slaves!" Good on you, man! Standing up for your people, not allowing a larger, more-powerful force to call the shots. The Horde and Alliance have both faced similar threats to their existence in the past, and this is really no different. However, Grommash takes it one step further with the follow-up line of, "But we will be conquerors!"

And that's where Mr. Hellscream and I part ways. I'm not an all-or-nothing type person. In other words, I believe you don't have to be a conqueror if you're not a slave, and vice versa. And it's that last line and the motivation behind it that pulls us---the players---into the mix. While Grommash's base intention is pure and honorable---to not be slaves---the methods he will employ to see that out have little regard for the livelihood of anyone who might get in the way of the end goal. Which seems to be total domination, not just of Draenor, but of many worlds.

I'm reminded of a comment made by actor Ben Foster, who will play Medivh in the Warcraft movie, about director Duncan Jones' approach to the film:

"What's exciting about Duncan Jones' take on this video game is that it shows both sides of the war. It shows both sides of a conflict, which is exciting to me. It's not just a video game turned into a movie. It's asking, hopefully, an important question of, where do we limit our compassion for what we consider to be the bad guys? - IGN Interview

With the Warlords cinematic, our "villains" are humanized early on. I mean, come on: if you knew what Grommsh knew then and there, would you have chosen any differently? It's a pretty cool origin story for the Iron Horde as I see it. It puts a key element to this story right into focus: both sides have a lot to lose in this fight. And I believe the best conflict stories are those that humanize both sides. Look at the Governor's arc in The Walking Dead, or even the actions and motivations of some of the main characters. Look at the entirety of Game of Thrones, and how the line between right, wrong, good and bad is so blurry it's sometimes impossible to see.

If the villain of your story has little more substance than a concrete wall, a tricky obstacle for the protagonist(s) to overcome, you're losing an incredible amount of story possibilities, and avenues to explore that just might cause your audience to become that much more deeply invested.

Do I like the Iron Horde based on what I've seen and what I know? No, of course not. But I can sympathize with their cause. And that their cause is now threatening my character's existence, I'm compelled to action. In a way though, it will be bittersweet when I cut down the final warlord, very much for the same reasons I felt sadness when Arthas fell.

Sadness, if for nothing else but the potential for a powerful enemy to have been a force of good.

A Personal Choice

The human above crafted this post.
 

"The term Follower is so apt a word...A follower implies the existence of a leader, and the act of following implies the absence of resistance."

It’s been roughly two years since I sort of stumbled into the Warcraft interest group (WIG) on Twitter. The WIG is my term for a loosely defined body comprised of anyone who primarily chats about World of Warcraft. Of course, the social community in WoW extends well beyond the boundaries of Twitter and that definition, but I'm speaking to my own experience in this space.

When I first created a Warcraft-related account for Twitter, I was at the cusp of an unsuccessful attempt (the second) to earn a spot on the WoW Insider team. In the process of getting myself ready, I bumped into a large section of people who loved talking about Warcraft outside of the game just as much as I did: fans, developers, and content creators. A lot of times those labels overlapped. It was the coolest thing ever. Players from around the world, from both factions, from different backgrounds with different preferences, all engaging with one another over a shared passion.

Well, that’s the rose-colored-glasses-wearing-bird’s-eye view.

The WIG on Twitter can at times appear as splintered as the average high school sophomore class. Which isn’t surprising: cliques are everywhere you look. They’re in your town, in your family, in your workplace. They’re probably in your guild. And they’re a pretty normal occurrence. As human beings we tend to have a natural desire to surround ourselves with people who reflect and reinforce our own ideals, who are more like us. Hell, it’s a survival mechanism. But it can be dangerous, as it is easy to forget there are others unlike you, with their own collection of experiences that shape their worldview.

When I found the WIG here, it filled a social void I wasn’t getting in-game. Sure, I played amongst friends, but their passion never seemed to match mine. The guild I was in was slowly falling apart, the list of in-game friends dwindling due to life responsibilities, boredom or a combination of the two. But I wasn’t done with Warcraft. I was still in love, still making the time, still wanting to be involved. The people in the WIG further inspired me to try different things, to entertain alternative viewpoints as they related to the game we love to play, to create content and share my own voice.

Of course, when you have so many voices in one place, there’s inevitably going to be differing viewpoints---which is good. True debate is healthy. The problem, though, as I’ve seen too often since becoming more entrenched here, is that there’s little true debate when two opposing viewpoints collide. In fact, the debates often resemble what you’d see from high school sophomores...who aren’t at all interested in joining the school’s debate team. Who've failed to understand that the main element of a debate isn’t about being right.

Just because a viewpoint differs from your own doesn’t inherently make it wrong. Just because someone holds an opposing viewpoint doesn’t make them uneducated, or any other lazy, ad hominem you can throw at them. These notions are antithesis of debate.

What does it mean when two people look at the same pieces of evidence, yet arrive at two wildly different, valid conclusions? In the real world it happens all the time and the earth doesn't come to a stand still. But within the WIG, too often it signifies one or all parties will cut the other from their lives (insert “that escalated quickly” meme). The term Follower is so apt a word based on what I witness here on a weekly basis. A follower implies the existence of a leader, and the act of following implies the absence of resistance.

Can we not have a mature conversation anymore? Can people not separate their own self-worth from the widespread acceptance or rejection of an opinion they hold? Must these arguments (and calling them arguments grants more validity than they have) consistently devolve into name-calling and blocking of one another? I’m not talking about cases where blocking is appropriate (harassment, willful douchebaggery); rather the instances where it appears respectful discussion is being solicited, yet it abruptly ends with the playground equivalent of “we can’t be friends.”

I feel sorry for people whose default response is to silence the voices that respectfully disagree with them. The voices that force them to more deeply examine their own opinions and biases. Not only is there the missed potential for personal growth---after all debates are supposed to be educational at their core---but you’ve just excised someone from your life for...what? Because their collective experience has led them to believe something that clashes with your own, and they’ve the audacity to express it?

I used to frequent a web forum devoted to conspiracies and the paranormal. But I stopped going there regularly a couple of years ago because of what became all too familiar: I’d fail to find even a single discussion that didn’t involve attacks targeting people's opinions and perceptions about a story or event. For whatever reason, people failed to address the actual subject of the discussion and would instead focus on the credibility or education of the person who brought the subject to the table.

Person A: Ooh that’s a nasty, deep shade of blue.
Person B: Idiot! Get glasses. It’s clearly black.
Person A: Well when I compared it to color swatches, it looked black at first but…
Person B: Gosh you’re clueless. I can’t hold a debate with you.

This. Gets. Nothing. Done. In fact, it's harmful.

The discussions end up far off from where they started, the thread author wonders why they bother any more, and the people who’ve deemed themselves an authority are fueled by their righteous indignation towards all those uneducated sops who are too dumb to see things as they do.

The negativity I see on Twitter week to week is emotionally draining. Perhaps, though, that’s partly because my in-game situation has changed. Trade chat is permanently turned off because I’ve manage to find and help grow a guild filled with excellent, mature and respectful players who have all pledged to be part of something bigger than the individual. In practice, this means they’re going to do everything they can to make sure their fellow players’ experiences are positive ones---even when things don’t go their way.

There have been countless issues worth discussing in the past year regarding the video game industry, and I’ve seen plenty of perfect examples of reasoned debate that ended with involved parties in disagreement, but avoided the now-we’re-sworn-enemies conclusion.

One of the truly sad parts in all of this is that some people have a message that needs to be heard, but that message gets lost in the tone of delivery. Anyone can yell on the internet, but that’s not the best way to gain an audience. What’s more, sometimes the delivery of the message is so disrespectful and aggressive that the message itself is damaged. What response can be expected if you grab someone by the throat, screaming about what they should/shouldn’t do to help your cause? Shitting on your fellow person in the process of getting a point across is immature, it’s insulting to everyone who’s unlucky enough to witness it, it’s often detrimental to the subject at hand.

This behavior has no place among adults.

Then again, maybe I’m simply standing in the wrong (or right) place. Maybe a number of people who see this post will wonder what the hell I’m even talking about. I envy you if you haven’t seen your online friends turn on each other like wild dogs over a difference in interpretation involving a friggin’ video game.

The nastiness is what tends to stick in my mind in place of the overwhelmingly good amount of interactions I witness here on a daily basis; mostly because the nastiness doesn’t have to happen. Each of us can choose a position while being respectful of the feelings of the people standing in opposite corners. But that starts with a personal choice to be better, to treat everyone with respect.

I offer our guild motto in closing: be excellent to each other. Remember that being excellent to someone and disagreeing with them are not mutually exclusive notions. And if you surround yourself with only like-minded thinkers---with followers---while silencing opposing voices, it doesn’t mean you’ve won the debate; rather, you’ve effectively killed it before it had a chance to become anything.

In a space that is social by design, the casualties of that action are likely much farther-reaching than you may realize.

You want evidence? Scroll to top.

How did you come to join your first guild?

If you're like most Warcraft players who've been playing for a while, it's quite likely that you're not in the same guild you were when you first started the game. I was without a guild for most of Vanilla, only partially aware of what they could add to the experience. See, World of Warcraft was my introduction to the MMO genre, and frankly I was too lost and enamored to really notice a void at that point.

Then on one fateful evening, I'd answered a call for a Scholomance run. It had been by far my favorite Vanilla dungeon, and I rarely passed up the chance to head in. A few of us made our way to the meeting stone to summon the rest of the party. Turns out the four were guildmates. We headed in and the run was going rather smoothly, something that wasn't ever guaranteed. Then, we came upon Ras Frostwhisper. This encounter also went flawlessly, but something new to my experience happened right then: for the first time since I'd began playing, I was greeted with a loot roll window that had a purple-colored item: [Alanna's Embrace]. A cloth robe, and one that my warlock could technically equip.

Exclamations shot through party chat, and the priest who'd been healing our run was beside herself. I'm sure they were holding their breath, thinking of this poor unguilded warlock who probably wasn't carrying her weight to begin with. In seeing their reaction, I wrote, "Take it, I'll pass," which seemed to floor all of them in turn. After a healthy round of thank-you's, the priest paused and asked, "Would you like to join our guild?" Seeing their genuine excitement over the flash of purple (I felt the same thing) coupled with the fact they were so gracious in that moment, I felt honored. My first guild.

That guild turned out to be raiding MC and Onyxia. Though I wasn't skilled or dedicated to contribute much, they brought me along on a couple of nights when they were short players, and it's something I'll never forget. While that group didn't last long into the Burning Crusade, it taught me the invaluable lesson of having a strong, friendly community to surround one's self with---it's something that's never left me, and also one of the main reasons I'm still playing this game.

So I ask: what were the circumstances for you when joining your first guild? And if you're still in your original guild, what is it about your community that keeps it strong?

Why I won't be purchasing a level 90

As soon as the first digital item went up for sale in the Blizzard store, many players feared---nay---knew where it would eventually end up taking the game. A game where achievement and prestige were no longer prized and the untamed lands of Azeroth became the viciously defended domains of casuals and bads. A game where skill and dedication were no longer championed attributes, but instead players with the largest pocketbooks were guided down the paths of least-resistance. Right then and there, the foundation of this once-great MMO began to shake and crumble.

Years passed, and things only got worse. The announcement of a free boost to level 90 with the next expansion's purchase and the rumor of additional purchasable level 90s from the Blizzard store has created a rumble so deep and so low one can't even imagine how Blizzard could recover...oh wait. Nevermind. That rumbling I'm hearing is just a garbage truck coming down the street. 

Nonetheless, here's why I won't be purchasing a boosted character.

You learn by leveling

Every player who is worth his or her salt knows the best way to prepare for end-game content is to do quests and kill bosses who are about as challenging as a training dummy...and thousands of them of that! Run from point A to point B when told to do so, wielding weapons and spells with deftness as you two-shot each of those 50 boars. Since class abilities don't change at all between level 1 and level cap, spending as much time as possible leveling your character will give you the requisite experience you need to join a top-notch raid, battleground, role-playing, or fishing team. 

Free boost = pay-to-win

Come on...you're telling me you don't remember when during the initial week of MoP's release, the first player on your server hit 90 and then promptly quit, taking half the server with them since all the remaining players could no longer be the first to win the game? Blizzard has done a really interesting thing in response to that player exodus, with the realm mergers and all. But the fact that a player will be able to buy Warlords of Draenor, choose a character to boost to 90, and then promptly log out declaring that "they've won the game," just makes me sick. When will it end? Pretty soon everyone will be a winner at World of Warcraft. You probably won't even have to purchase the game to win it when it's all said and done. 

Contributing to the bads

Given that LFR is one of the most painless, pleasant, enjoyable, fun, exciting, challenging, life-prolonging, personally enriching and rewarding content Blizzard has ever introduced to the game, most people would like to see it remain that way. By allowing noobs to purchase a near-max level character and level it up alone in the midst of vitriol launched by the likes of me; in allowing them to enjoy themselves by playing a game of their choice bought with their hard-earned money, we are contributing to the unavoidable downfall of a game we've all worked so hard to choke to death by vehemently disavowing any semblance of change we don't agree with!

Skipping content skips story

The mental dexterity required to comprehend the timeline shifts between expansions is necessary to decipher the commands and directions of most Battleground and Raid Leaders. Here's a test: Deathwing is both alive and dead at the same time. Dead he may be but owwwww does dat fire singe. It's Schroedinger's dragon all over again. And, whoa, wait here's Arthas but he's dead, and he's not dead. Same goes for Illidan the Villidain...holy hell Garrosh's evil twin from the planet Mookmagook is chillin' out in Nagrand and he appears to need some Xanax. 

*Bwah*

Just blew your mind, I know it. See what I mean? All part of the necessary prep to becoming leet.

So why won't I be purchasing a 90?

I think it's obvious.

Thinking about returning to World of Warcraft, starting fresh with a new class or a boosted 90 for Warlords of Draenor, or simply are looking for a fun, respectful community to join? Please consider Sapere Aude on US-Emerald Dream (RPPvP). 

Warlords Release Speculation

It's that time for many of us, isn't it? Even though I represent the more casual type of player, my guild has finished up what we've identified as our current content---a bit late to the party at that, yet it appears we've still quite a bit of time left in Pandaria before we're on to our next adventure. Undoubtedly, the mind can't help but wander to just when that next adventure might take place.

You've likely heard---perhaps even believed---the prominent rhetoric about faster patch cycles and more frequent expansion releases. MoP's pace has been pretty good, right? Warlords seemed to be in good shape at Blizzcon, and we even had people saying the development feels like it was farther along than MoP's, comparatively speaking. Hell, I felt pretty confident we'd see the odd, but not impossible late-spring/early-summer release.

This begs the big question: does the recent announcement that there will be another PvP season before MoP's end completely shoot that possibility out of the sky? Not just yet.

A look at precedents

I stumbled across this post from Pwnarii on the forums. They've gone ahead and listed all of the PvP seasons, their respective lengths, and the computed average. Have a look for yourself, but I've snatched some numbers and listed them here:

Average season length: 24 weeks (approximately 6 months)

Longest season: 38 weeks (approximately 9 months)

Shortest season: 17 weeks (approximately 4 months)

The two complete seasons we've seen in MoP thus far have run 22 (S12) and 26 weeks (S13). By my count, we are embarking on the 17th week of Season 14, and we haven't yet seen a timeline for Season 15 or been given an indication when Season 14 is expected to come to a close. Whether Season 14 ends up being on the shorter side or looks more like our average will have great bearing on Warlord's release.

Looking back farther, Seasons 4, 5 and 6 were back-to-back-to-back short seasons. What's more, the mammoth, 38-week-long season came at the close of Cataclysm, so we do have some precedent for the last PvP season of the expansion dragging on. Of course, we're hoping that doesn't happen. While I don't think the majority of players in our guild are quite ready for new content, that time is fast approaching. I for one am not excited about the prospect of at least six more months of Mists of Pandaria. 

So I have some if-then predictions. You heard it here, folks:

If Seasons 14 & 15 are on the shorter side of the average, then Warlords will be released between May 13th and June 10th. 

If Seasons 14 & 15 are of average length, then Warlords will be released between June 17th and August 26th. 

If Seasons 14 & 15 prove to be longer than average, then Warlords will be released between September 2nd and September 30th.

Of course, any combination of short/long/average will totally muck up these thoughts here, but there's the fun! Warlords hitting the PTR will help us focus our speculation, but I'm willing to bet we're not going to see that happen for at least three months.

What do you think this all means?

Feckless Leader turns one

I can't remember why I returned to Twitter in the Summer of 2012, but I'm glad I did. In spring of 2011, I joined mainly to reserve a handle, as if there was ever a risk of  "elepheagle" being taken by someone else. I ended up making some use of it during Blizzcon 2011 -- as much as the overburdened networks at the convention center would allow. After the con ended, I went dark for almost a year.

Then, right around the time of Diablo 3's release, the guild I was in essentially ceased raiding, and shortly thereafter experienced a small exodus. For all purposes, our raiding guild was dead. We were friends who played WoW together, not a hardcore raiding guild. But since this was happening on a server with a declining population, all of a sudden it wasn't likely we'd be able to recruit enough people to even fill the 10-player raid team.

But I knew I wasn't done. So if it seemed the community in my immediate area was dwindling, it was time to branch out elsewhere. I started reading more blogs and eventually ended up creating this here space. I went with Feckless Leader because I thought I was going to talk about my experience learning about group dynamics, player-to-player relations and leading raids in the context of a casual 10-player raiding guild. That didn't happen, but I'm pleased where I'm at.

One year ago today, I published the first post to this blog, and the reason I'm noting this is because of how awesome I've found the community to be in the last year -- really the first year I've tried to immerse myself to a level I've not come close to in the past. I've somehow managed to publish over 100 posts, four in-depth and quite popular pet battle guides, connected with hundreds of awesome folks on Twitter -- hell, I was on a podcast. I italicize that word for me, not for you, because I would've laughed at you if you said that'd be the case at the start of this year.

I know it's not a big deal in the grand scheme of things, but it means a lot to me. The relationships I've developed. The small exchanges we share on a day-to-day basis, or perhaps only occasionally. Regardless, I love and value the vibrant and diverse community here and am super grateful to feel part of it. And what's cooler is I'm connecting with new, awesome people on a weekly, sometimes daily basis. And as different as we are from one another, we have this passion that binds us.

My one regret is that I didn't do this sooner.

So thank you, friends. Thank you for reading, for commenting and sharing your ideas and your spaces with me. I'm looking forward to the next year and beyond.

-Ross

A Blizzcon Review

The 3WImigos: Chris (@thronus), Dave (@kennylogouts) and me! Huge thanks to Amanda (@scotchtape56) for taking what my be the only photo picturing all three of us at Blizzcon.

I'm finally ready to talk about Blizzcon. This is going to be the first real attempt, anyway. See, a funny thing happened after I returned to Wisconsin after four days in sunny California. Aside from needing a few days of rest just to boost my mental faculties back to online status, I distinctly felt like I had nothing to say. How could that be? I was a firsthand witness to the largest information dump this year about the game I've been playing for seven years (and writing about for almost one) and somehow I didn't feel like commenting.

And there have been some excellent discussions I've followed (ok, and maybe dabbled in) over the past couple of weeks, but I've been largely reticent to participate. The question of gender representation in Warlords of Draenor is an important one. On perhaps the more trivial side, there's the question of the importance of flight in-game. Granted, I wasn't blogging about Warcraft when I attended Blizzcon '11, so perhaps it's just the massive amount of information that leaves me paralyzed this time around. Additionally, I think this reaction kind of goes with straddling the introvert-extrovert line. I have no real issues about being around people and socializing, but I often need a quiet place recharge after doing so.

I'm not planning to get into the nitty-gritty details of the announcements and any surrounding controversies, though will revisit them when I feel I've amassed the necessary amount of mental dexterity to explore those topics more comfortably.

But more on that in another post. For now, let's look at the event itself.

Nom-noms

The 3WImigos (how we referred to our party) did NOT eat well, though that was completely on us. We had grandiose plans to hit a grocery store since our lodging had a full kitchen. Visions of bacon, eggs and OJ turned into waiting in a ridiculously long line at Starbucks for a house black and a Rice Krispy Treat that for some reason the marketing team there felt deserved the moniker of 'Marshmallow Dream Bar.'

Come on.

Chris and I caved on Day 1 and purchased a personal-pizza from inside the convention center. I shared some of mine with Dave and we all declared the item to be at least edible. Luckily, we were able to avoid con food for the rest of our time there. However! In between 2011's con and this year's con, Convention Way (the street that leads up to the center) got a ginormous makeover, turning it into a beautiful pedestrian path. During the con, there were six or so local food trucks parked along the way that had some really, really unique and tasty fare. To give you an idea I had a chorizo sausage on a bun, called 'the Loki'. It was the size of my forearm and had jalapenos and too much melted cheese, among other toppings.

There were also some vendors on the patio areas one can access from inside the center, and these focused more on fresh-made food compared to the pan pizzas you could get inside. We didn't have a chance to check any of them, but it smelled damn good.

Of course, there are myriad of places within walking distance of the con center, though I would offer this parting advice: as much as you think IHOP might be in order to ease the pain from a hangover, it is never, ever, ever a good choice.

Like the way you move

The layout of the con center was similar to how I remembered it from 2011: there's the main hall area, and then three other larger sections of the con center, each mostly devoted to one of Blizzard's major universes (Starcraft, Diablo, & Warcraft). Then you have some smaller, special panel-type stages squeezed here and there, plus a whole slew of vendor booths. What I'd forgotten from 2011 is the sheer number of things that can be happening at the same time. I would've definitely enjoyed seeing more from Starcraft or Diablo, but our party chose to make Warcraft-related stuff priority. But you really, really have to pick and choose for certain time slots. For instance, because of scheduling conflicts, we missed both the Live Raid and the Hearthstone Exhibition.

I am a mana-efficient draw.

Even though there's 25,000+ people there with you, it's relatively easy to get around. By no means is Blizzard trying to pack that place to near-capacity. Not only was it simple to move around, it wasn't a sweatbox, either. I felt temperatures begin to rise when people started filling the main hall in anticipation for the open ceremony, but convention planners must've been all over it because being too hot wasn't ever a problem for our party.

Unlike in 2011, we chose not to visit any of the vendor booths (save for the booth where you can get your picture taken with a Blizzard backdrop). We just felt there was too much else to see in the amount of time we had, and even waiting 30-45 minutes for one vendor didn't seem worth it to us.

Let's get virtual

I originally liked the idea of the virtual stream a lot more than I do now after having seen it in practice. Let's be real: the 3WImigos missed the majority of what happened at the con. Having the opportunity to watch everything we missed, and even re-watch our favorite events, is awesome...when it works. I've tried watching with up-to-date versions of each browser on my machine---including Internet Explorer---and have yet to be able to finish one segment, let alone have a pleasant, uninterrupted streaming experience. I hope to god the live, broadcasted version worked better for the sake of those who spent money and carved out the time (and in many cases planned huge parties) to celebrate the event in their own ways.

Production-wise, I think it's pretty rad for Blizzard to do this. Being who they are, I can't imagine that offering access to a virtual stream won't become the standard model for future Blizzcons, and also can't imagine that they won't improve on this experience moving forward.

Events

This may not come as a huge surprise to some folks who know me, but Saturday morning's sound panel was the highlight on the convention (I'll speak to the highlight of the monster that is Blizzcon in a sec). I had with me a travel-sized packet of kleenex in my backpack, as I figured they'd be a good thing to have when out and about. Never thought I'd be using them to wipe my face while balling my eyes out listening to Jason Hayes and Critical Hit performing on stage. Then again, I often have this reaction when I hear stringed instruments live. Y'all really need to check them out if you haven't.

Second-favorite to that was probably the movie presentation panel. Though we didn't learn much additional info about the movie itself, we did learn quite a bit more about how Blizzard is approaching this and got to see the 'credentials' of a couple of key players: As director Duncan Jones (Moon, Source Code) smirked, Rob Pardo casually noted that Duncan has been playing Warcraft since Warcraft I. Special effects supervisor Bill Westenhoffer was also present (Life of Pi, The Golden Compass...for which he won Oscars!), and proudly acknowledged that he has a level 90 mage, among other high-level toons. He revealed that he'd been busted playing WoW a couple of times will on break on the set of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. How cool is that? 

Safe to say, I think this film's in really good hands.

After hours

It's almost as if I just wasn't paying close attention in 2011, but it seemed that Blizzard folks were everywhere on all of the nights. Between community events, the Hilton and who-knows-where-else, I started getting used to seeing them mingling. Like they're in it with us, too. I had a nice picture taken with Mike Morhaime in 2011, so this year I was content to simply shake his hand...at first. A couple of people in my party had sauntered over to thank him for the games he's helped to create, and to grill him a bit about the new expansion. Mind you, this was Thursday evening, so we hadn't yet heard much about what we were in for. Mike was extremely personable, and quite talkative when he wasn't surrounded by a horde (no pun intended) of appreciative players. 

At one point later in the evening, I noticed he was standing off by himself, so I walked over and said hello again. And talked to him a bit about community and player connectedness. Basically, I gave him the 90-second version of this post (don't read that now, you'll never make it back here and you're almost done). I'm not even going to attempt to paraphrase what he said to me, but I will say that I was heard. I felt heard. And he caught me quite off-guard when he spun my synopsis it back on me and asked what I would do about it.

I briefly spoke with Greg Street, Zarhym (pictured at right), Russel Brower, Chris Metzen and a Blizzard employee named Jed from the Austin office who, like the previous four names, was very kind and genuine when we chatted. I saw many others, but wasn't able to say much more than hello. 

The coolest conversation I had was with Jason Hayes, Senior Composer with Blizzard and founder of the band Critical Hit. Dave and I saw him chilling by the fountain in front of the convention center, eating a bratwurst corn dog for reasons related to Wisconsin. We simply wanted to say hello and be on our way. Let the fella enjoy his dinner. But he wouldn't let us apologize for interrupting him, nor would he let us go. Thus we spent the next fifteen minutes talking to Jason about his music, about our music (he wanted us to send him our rendition of the Tetris theme song), and about how much we enjoyed the sound panel.

There's a reason Blizzard is so awesome and successful. Their people are friggin' magical. 

Gotta talk games 

Warlords: We waited to test until late Saturday afternoon at which point there were no lines. We walked right in, sat down and started playing. In fact we excused ourselves after having felt we played enough (roughly 15 minutes), but I get the feeling we would've been able to stay quite a bit longer had we chosen to do so. Dave rolled a dwarf, I rolled an orc, so we had different experiences in our starting zones. Essentially we were both clearing out an area to establish a base of operations. All I'll say is it was cool and featured a bit of a darker mood than what I'm used to seeing in Warcraft. It was not the Pandaren starting zone we were treated to at Blizzcon 2011. 

Reaper of Souls: Diablo III's forthcoming expansion was testable on the floor on both PC and console (PS4). Dave and I elected to test it out on the PS4 since we figured we'd end up playing on the PC when it was released. Plus, it was an opportunity to check out the PS4 before it came out. That turned out to be a terrible idea, as I don't even own a console and the little of D3 I'd played on PS3 wasn't enough to imprint the controls on my brain. So I was wandering around not remembering how to check which abilities did what, how to access the menu, etc. Hence all I can say about the experience was that Reaper of Souls looks great and the Crusader class should be a lot of fun.

Heroes of the Storm: From where I was seated for the opening ceremony it was this announcement that received the most verbose response from the crowd. People went absolutely nuts when Diablo showed up in that cinematic. I did, too, and I don't even know why. However, we didn't test it. I wasn't too keen on the idea of testing it especially given the amount of iterations we've seen with this title. And partly because I am more than satisfied with waiting until the beta (should I be fortunate enough to land a key). 

The highlight of the con

The people, the community. 

If you're not going to Blizzcon for the people, I'd argue you're doing it wrong. Maybe it's different with Warcraft when compared to Starcraft or Diablo, since the latter two focus mostly on solo play, but when it comes to WoW, it'd be nothing without the community. Blizzard folks acknowledged that fact several times throughout the course of the weekend. We hung out with awesome people all weekend long. In fact, most people we talked with agreed our experience would've been nearly as awesome without con tickets. Seriously. If you can make it to Anaheim during Blizzcon even if you don't have a ticket, do it. The after-parties and the community events are worth it on their own. 

I'm actually considering doing just that for a virtual con: plan out a vacation, nab a virtual ticket and attend the events at night. I guarantee it would still be a blast. Will there be a 2014? It may be too early to tell, but what's certain is that Blizzard loves to give us these experiences just as much as we love experiencing them. 

Blizzcon predictions revisited

I've found it incredibly difficult to jump back into blogging after the slew of info we got from Blizzcon. Aside from really not knowing where to start (at this point I'm just covering my eyes, pointing in one direction, and going there), I think finally this morning my body and mind have recovered enough from the stress of not eating right, not sleeping enough, and perhaps not hydrating myself with the proper type of liquid.

Anyway, prior to the con I was speculating about what we might see and I allowed those speculations to crystallize into predictions. Going to take a moment to review those.

We'll be getting a new expansion - yes
Well duh, Ross. But what an expansion it will be! I secretly went into Blizzcon saying to myself oh god please don't make it about time travel and I left Blizzcon saying f*&% yeah time travel! I don't know. They presented it in such a way that my brain doesn't have a problem comprehending, nor accepting it. Garrosh goes to the pre-demon-blood-drinking Horde and tries to convince them to head back through the portal that connects with our timeline. He's going back into history to summon an army to bring them back into the present.

Level-scaling will become a thing. - no
I didn't think there was any risk in this one not coming true given the hype generated when the feature went live briefly after 5.4 dropped. While in the video significant elements of that technology seemed to be working properly, Blizzard explicitly said it's not ready to even show right now. I'm a bit surprised, given that Warlords seems to encourage playing with friends more than any other expansion, but there's also still quite a bit of time before 6.0.1.

Reforging (and possibly hit/expertise) will be removed from the game. - yes
Besides getting a new expansion, this prediction was the one I was the most confident about. Throughout Mists of Pandaria I've noticed comments from Blizzard folk that seemed to indicate that reforging wasn't accomplishing what they wanted. It's turned into a necessary, annoying step for players each time they receive a new piece of gear. Furthermore, this step is very much driven by the existence of hit and expertise. I think this is a really smart move on Blizzard's part. One awesome consequence of this is that stats can be spec-based; that's why we'll be fine with only one armor set come Warlords, with just the stats on the armor changing depending on what spec we're in.

We'll be introduced to a new race. - no
I felt the pandaren model of a neutral race worked really well for Mists and thought they'd continue to go in that direction. With no new announced race at Blizzcon, we're probably not getting one. I thought this might be the expansion to introduce ogres. Oh well. Next time!

Gathering skills will become secondary professions. - no
I thought five expansions in we'd see Blizzard make this change to allow players to have greater flexibility when it comes to the goods their profession choices actually produce. Not so, and it will still be possible to have a gathering toon who's main professions are mining and herbalism. So you still have reason to play your druid. At the same time, we know garrisons will give players at least limited access to mining, though this maybe be on a scale similar to the farm.

We won't get much new information on the Warcraft movie. - yes
Duncan Jones seems like a pretty cool dude. While we learned a little bit about a couple of characters who will be involved (look it up, not spoiling here), beyond that there wasn't too much new happening. To me, the session seemed like it was created to put those invested---us---at ease. It's clear that the key folks involved in this movie love Warcraft just much as I do, as you do. I walked out of that session thinking damn; they're gonna nail it.

The Closing Ceremony will feature a full-on orchestra playing music from the Blizzard franchises. - no 
This was more my own personal secret wish than it was a prediction. But with Blizzard being moot on the closing entertainment almost right up to the con, I thought the announcement delay was simply to build suspense. In the end we got Blink 182 and my opinion on that doesn't even matter so we'll just leave that there. However, my highlight was the Sound Panel on Saturday morning and seeing Critical Hit perform. They should've closed the con, and I said as much to Jason Hayes when we stumbled across him in front of the convention center. By the way, Jason Hayes was probably the nicest, most genuine Blizzard employee we met out there, and we talked to a lot of nice Blizzard people.

We'll get to be blown away by new character models. - yes
I suppose that's like, my opinion, man, but I was pretty damn well impressed with what I saw, both during the panels and when I got the chance to test Warlords on the floor. The improvements are bold and noticeable, but subtle enough that it didn't pull you out of the game. Of the customization options I had at my disposal, I was able to create an orc whose look I would've been fine with swapping in for my main's look. Your character will still be there -- it's just going to look a hell of a lot better.

We'll see transmog options in WoW similar to what's been previewed for the Diablo 3 expansion. - no
We didn't actually see anything like this, but several times it was alluded to that they mean to have this system in WoW, it's just a matter of working it into the game. With WoW being the harbinger of transmogrification, I don't think Blizzard can afford to not offer the same level of flexibility options as Reaper of Souls will have.

And that's that. Predictions are light and fun when it comes to making them about video games, aren't they? Next, we'll have to speculate on release date. I'm going to go with my birthday: Tuesday, June 10th, 2014. We'll know soon.™

Upright and Walking

Well, the 3WImigos made it through day one---almost. Well, the convention itself anyway. The contests will be starting up shortly, but we may opt to watch those sometime next week and head to In-N-Out for some eats.

We were present for the Opening Ceremony as well as the "What's Next" panel on Warcraft. Following that, we pretty much bummed around the convention center until our legs and feet started screaming STOP, so now two of the 3WImigos are taking a break at the Deuce (our rented house), which I figured I'd use to post something.

Right now, I feel like there's no more room in my brain for information on what's ahead. I've been failing at the 6-2-1 rule. Compared to 2011, it's been much more difficult to adhere to a set schedule---there are too many friggin' wonderful people in the community I was excited to meet. Not to mention the other random awesome people you naturally run into. The three of us were sitting around last night, remarking how great of a time we were having, yet the con hadn't even started.

Seriously. We met up with some good folks right after we rolled into Anaheim on Wednesday night, and were I required to leave the next morning (for whatever reason), I was feeling weirdly content. Luckily, I'm here the whole weekend. There are still a handful of Twitterfolk that I'm super excited to meet up with.

Additionally, had I left Thursday morning, I wouldn't have been able to chat with Mike Morhaime, Mr. Zarhym and Greg Street about the community---concerns anyone who's read the LFR or the Be Part of the Solution posts is aware of.

I felt heard.

Anyway, this is about all my brain can take right now, and I think it's only 5pm. I think.

Feckless Leader's 9 Blizzcon Predictions

I've been meaning to put this out there because predictions are fun and mostly wrong, and I thought to myself wouldn't it be great to revisit these predictions after Blizzcon to demonstrate how wrong I was. Yes. I think it would be great. Plus it'll serve as an awesome transition into talking about the things we actually did learn at Blizzcon this year. These are Warcraft-centric, and I'm not going to elaborate too much on the reasoning behind them. I promise I didn't just snatch these out of thin air so I'd have something to write about. I really see these as possibilities.

So here I go. Nine predictions for Blizzcon 2013. In no particular order.

We'll be getting a new expansion. Ok, so there is a particular order. I put a few of the more likely ones at the start of the list so the follow-up article might seem more favorable in terms of my right/wrong ratio.

Level-scaling will become a thing. At this point, it's pretty much a foregone conclusion the game will see level-scaling. The question is when, and of course with the interesting video leaked a couple of weeks ago, I'm betting that time is now.

Reforging (and possibly hit/expertise) will be removed from the game. Reforging hasn't quite worked out the way Blizzard intended, with players often having to consult an addon or 3rd-party website to determine whether they are "100% optimized," spending one hundred gold or more each time they acquire a new piece.

We'll be introduced to a new race. It will also function like the Pandaren, where they start out neutral and at a certain point choose to join either the Alliance or the Horde.

Gathering skills will become secondary professions. This will allow players to make more meaningful choices when it comes to their two primary professions.

We won't get much information on the new Warcraft movie. The panel will be fun and informative, but we won't learn too much more about what we want to know about, like characters and plot, though we may see some of this week's rumored actors being confirmed.

The Closing Ceremony will feature a full-on orchestra playing music from the Blizzard franchises. Not technically about Warcraft, and that's all I'm going to say about that.

We'll get to be blown away by new character models. This will include the choice of sub-races. Think Fel Orc, and Broken.

We'll see transmog options in WoW similar to what's been previewed for the Diablo 3 expansion. With the feature slated for release in Diablo 3, it makes sense for them to allow the same flexibilities with the WoW transmog system.

To concede, or not to concede?

It would not be wise to concede at this point. Additionally, my AI opponent did not concede even though I had it clearly beaten.

That's the question I'm diverting to this morning, taking a short break from all things Warcraft and Blizzcon. I'm talking Hearthstone, of course. Late last night, I was reminded via Twitter that not everyone views the option to concede in the same light. The flurry of tweets I'm referencing argued that conceding shouldn't be an option at all. I use it regularly, especially when I find myself in the mid-to-late game being absolutely crushed. I'll usually emote "Well played" before doing so. It's not to slight my opponent, or give them a victory on my terms; it's to save us both time and get us both back into the next match more quickly. I do this more frequently when I'm in for a longer play session. It's a practical point of view.

Conceding saves time. If it's quite clear there's no way you can recover from a series of strategic plays by your opponent, or the terrible cards you've been dealt, why drag it out? If you're trying to maximize your gold per hour -- something you might want to do to remain competitive without having to spend real money on packs of cards -- conceding when it's clear the game is lost is smart if you're trying to maximize your gold intake. There's no way around that fact.

Some might argue that you never know what's going to happen, and thus should never concede. I'll leave room for that point. Sometimes you never know, but I'd like to think that I don't concede until it's clear to me that it's the most efficient way to end things. Yes, you never know, but when your football team is down 45 points with 90 seconds to go -- and though strange things have happened -- the game is over. Granted, I can't remember the last time I saw a team walk off the field or court early because they were losing terribly. Could allowing your opponent to achieve the killing blow be more true to the spirit of competition and the game (ala sportsmanship, but I don't like that word)?

Perhaps it is more true to the spirit of the game. But the game dictates that cards are either bought with gold or real money. To those who eschew spending real money, gold is earned through playing. People have varying, but finite amounts of time to devote to the game. Time really is money. So is conceding truly rude, or are the concedee's just getting worked up about not being able to smash the stained-glass window representation of their opponent's hero? Maybe a bit of both.

Personally, I don't share the view that it's inherently rude, but I can understand it. Some say that conceding robs the other player of their victory. This of course, by definition, is not true: when a player concedes, they are essentially delivering the victory to their opponent more quickly than it would've been won organically. In most cases.

Maybe some players are tired of "clean wins" being snatched away right before the game is over. For instance, in a match the other night, I faced a priest who had 13HP remaining. I didn't have the needed damage on the board to whittle my opponent down. However, the next card I drew assured I did. I played the card, was able to smack my opponent with two of my minions, and when picking up the last minion for the final blow, I heard the line "You have bested me," and the game was conceded .5 seconds before I would've won myself.

I thought that was kind of silly, and in that regard I can agree with those who find the Concede option annoying, but would never go so far to call for its removal. I do understand where the criticisms come from, and I think there are some small tweaks that could be made. Maybe players should only be allowed to concede when it's their turn, or something along those lines.

How about you? Do you concede often? Why or why not? Do you think the Concede option is fine the way it is, or should it be tweaked?

WoW Weekly: Preparing for Blizzcon!

I spy: Blizzcon 2011 Official Program, contact cards, portable phone charger, wall adapter for iPhone charger, Sharpie, MoP art book, sunglasses, Kindle and charger. Yes, I will be bringing more than just these items.

WoW Weekly is a biweekly-ish, self-absorbed look into the things I've been doing -- or not doing -- in the game. From auctioneering and pet battling to mount farming and raiding.

I don't know how to start this off other than saying that the thought of being in Anaheim a week from tomorrow has me nervous with excitement. Like 2011, Blizzcon's approach was subtle. There's the initial euphoria that goes along with being fortunate enough to score tickets, but that wears off. Because right behind that euphoria there's the reality of a six-month wait. But then the six months turns to three months. Then 45 days. Then thirty. Then seven. And the closer it looms, the greater the anticipation rises. As I write this, it's kind of like it's finally hitting me: I'm going to Blizzcon!

Naturally, I'm excited to see what's happening next in the Warcraft story. I'm also eager to see what sorts of systems changes might be in store, some of which we've heard about earlier in the week. I'm going to make a point to be up early and at the con on Saturday in time to get a good seat at the panel stage so I can hear Critical Hit play songs from the Blizzard universe. Other than that, I'm going to just wing it. Lastly, I'm stoked to meet people who I've only interacted with remotely -- that's actually what I'm looking forward to most this year.

One interesting development in the lead-up to Blizzcon are the nightmares about the event. Not in the traditional sense, but the true sense in that I feel terror in them. I think it all has to do with the fact that in 2011 while on the way to grab my badge, I realized I'd lost my ID. Perhaps the lingering anxiety from that whole thing is creeping into my unconscious. In the first dream, I missed my flight. That was a big deal. In the second one, I was already in Anaheim out in front of the convention center when I realized that I didn't have my barcode printout. Never bothered to print it out. For a half-second in-dream, I panicked. Then, I scolded my unimaginative mind: Stupid brain. There's a computer lounge in every hotel for miles. You'll have to do better than that. 

Ok. Now to finish up with some random things:

• I think it's pretty cool that attendees are given a virtual ticket this year. In 2011, we had to make a couple of not-so-difficult choices between one event or another; still, we had to make a choice. With the virtual ticket we'll be able to watch everything we missed. Not only that, but we'll have the option to re-watch what we saw firsthand.  
• The guild is continuing to grow (we're still recruiting!) and it's been a lot of fun. Our Flex group is now 8/14 and has grown to average around fifteen players. We seem to be taking on a new player or two each week. This Thursday, in honor of Halloween, we're hosting a naked raid with cash prizes for those who are around. 
• Oh...and the Horseman's Reins finally dropped for me! It's been a long time coming.
• I've logged a hell of a lot of /played time these last couple of week, though most of it I've been AFK with the sound turned up, hovering over a Loque'nahak spawn point. I've been casually after him since WotLK for the Frostbitten achievement, and with my list of wanted mounts dwindling, I've set my sights on her.

The music of Blizzard...live at Blizzcon? [Confirmed, Updated]

Update 6:45pm CST: According to Blizzplanet.com, Blizzard Senior Composer Jason Hayes' band Critical Hit will perform songs from Blizzard titles at Blizzcon on the Panel Stage from 10am-11am on Saturday (show now listed on the band's website). So Blizzcon attendees and virtual ticket holders will have the chance to hear some of Blizzard's music performed live. Sounds from the Starcraft and Warcraft universes are likely, given that Critical Hit both covers the main theme from Warcraft on their CD, and according to the tweet below, knows themes from Starcraft, too.

While this confirms what I was initially getting at, it wasn't what I expected -- we still have no clue about the entertainment during the closing ceremony. Well played, Blizzard. Well played.

---------------Original Post---------------
It's been a long day of standing out in 40-degree weather while enduring 20+ MPH winds. That's how we say farewell to another youth soccer fall season in Wisconsin. I've been rather disconnected from the interwebs all day, pulling out my phone to check email and Twitter as time allows. One of those times, the following exchange caught my interest, and I think you'll see why:

View the original tweet.

I screenshotted this one because I'm sure that if it is indeed an accidental reveal, it'll be taken down in short order -- or will be followed up by an official announcement. If you don't quite understand what's being said above, Stafford gave a shout-out to Hayes in regards to Hayes' band's music video cover of the Angry Birds theme song (click here to check it out). Hayes responds, saying he "can't wait to play [Stafford's] Starcraft Terran music at Blizzcon."

Pardon me, what?

Sure that I'd missed the official announcement from Blizzard while I was out, I headed over the Blizzcon's website. Nothing new since the physical goodie bag reveal. Maybe there's a music stage new this year, I thought to myself. I poured over the convention map and I can't find one, if there is one. 

We're well past the date when we knew who the band was for Blizzcon 2011. While there's no reason I can think of to keep something like this a secret for so long, wouldn't it be a cool way to kick off the 10th anniversary year of World of Warcraft, coincidentally the 20th anniversary year of the Warcraft universe?

I sure as hell think so.