Just about everyone has heard of the Geneva Conventions, but not everyone knows that they’re actually four separate treaties detailing appropriate treatment and conditions for prisoners, wounded, enemy soliders, and others during a time of war. They are, by most accounts, the foundation of international law during wartime.

Now I’m not saying that we need to declare war on people with ridiculous character names, but I think a little guidance might be in order. So to that effect, I think I’ll dedicate my first post (Hi there!) to what I’ll call the First Convention of Character Naming:

1. Names with “pwn,” “lol,” “uber,” and other such forms of l337sp34k in them somewhere are only generally funny for the first 10 levels. After that they make everyone else laugh at you. Not with you, at you.

2. Naming your character “irtankgud” is all but a guarantee that other players will, in fact, assume you are not a good tank. Naming your rogue anything with “stab” in it automatically kills your cred. You’d better be good enough to offset your name.

3. Hunters: naming your pet something like “gonnabiteya” or “poisonlol” or “chompy” is a sure sign that you’re probably a Huntard.

4. Terribly spelled variations on characters from popular media (I’m looking at you, mister hunter named “Leegolass.” You too, warlock named “Sauronn.”) do not make you look cool, they make everyone else roll their eyes at you. Twists on those names however, can be hilarious. A warlock named “Harrydotter,” for example. That’s kinda funny.

5. Spec-based names are only entertaining if they’re ironic. Naming your druid “massivhealz” is only funny if you’re actually feral. My good friend Rettarded, for example, is a prot pally.

Seriously folks, the “randomize” button is there for a reason, and usually turns out something palatable if you’re desperate and resorting to naming your character after furniture in your room.

Yikes. When did I get so jaded?

Anyway, as with the actual Geneva Conventions, there’s more than one. Suffice to say I’ll revisit this topic. Maybe we need some conventions around other aspects of the game, too.

The following links aren’t exclusively Warcraft or Azeroth-specific, but they are of interest to anyone who plays games or MMOs.

First: Griefer, a story by a fellow Metblogger (in Atlanta) Will Hindmarch that extrapolates the concept of griefing into a real-world, near-future(?). Well worth your time.

Second: Another link to The Escapist, this time on the topic of how or why “regular” folks view gaming: The Myth of the Media Myth.

Third: Winner of the “best comment” award on MetaFilter for this tongue-in-cheek “review” of the MMO “Outside”.

The respawn rate of objects and players is ridiculously slow. A dead player can expect to wait for years to respawn, and will be set back to zero assets and a tiny, nearly helpless form. Death is hardcore, and resurrection all but impossible. Outside is not a game for the QQers out there!

Happy Wednesday!

BlizzBlues got you down? Dreading the login before another farming run on SSC, Mt. Hiyal, or Black Temple? Stuck in Karazhan and no idea why it seems so hard to get 24 of your best friends (to quote Brutalus) to come to Vashj? Seems I am not the only one feeling the BlizzBlues when I am on my main. Sure, there’s Sunwell and with 25 daily quests at hand I could go back and wrangle some more Aether Rays or fly in circles looking for Nethercite. But, all in all, it’s been done zillions of times before, between three alts and a main close to a thousand times, I reckon.

Not quite ready to give up fully, I first got it into my head to get Conqueror on a character rolled after the Burning Crusade came out. Which, given there’s no AB and WSG rep for tokens anymore, amounts to an average 8,000 Warson Gulch games. Even at twelve a day, which is unlikely given the wait times in my Battlegroup, that’s 666 days (and the number is fascinatingly fitting).

So I decided to try my hand at speedrunning. Hunter to 70 in four days six minutes /played, Warlock in four days, nine hours, twelve minutes, Shaman in about ten (it’s what passes for “balance” these days). Three speed runners later and I am sick of that stuff, too … and have barely passed the fourth week into the BlizzBlues.

Enter Achim, my trusty sidekick, former HWL grinding partner, crazy Ice Cream parlor owner, and avid reader of bad 60s tuppence romance novels. Under his guidance and continued pushing we assembled the team (”we’re getting the band back together,” he proclaims on Vent and is seriously miffed that only half of those in attendance get the reference), and re-rolled.

Building a new guild, a new social structure, a new way of thinking and leveling, while setting new goals and thinking about progression in terms of experience, not bosses, prove to be a daunting task. But somehow we did it. We formed and leveled an Alliance guild on a server none of us had ever played on. We suffered, again, through the indignities of low level pugging in Deathmines, Scarlet Monastery, and Stockades. We filled our guild pool with gold extracted from those of us who accidentally clicked Horde Flight Masters and got two-shot by those enraged wyvverns we formerly rode into the sunset of Tanaris, and we experienced, for the first time in years, Wailing Caverns as a challenging instance (In 2005 WC put the L into L2P, to quote Eyonix). At 60 we entered Molten Core, we slew bosses and trash in Zul’Gurub, we wiped on Nefarian and the trash before the Four Horsemen. The game was fun again.

Thusly invigorated, actually looking forward to log into the game and play for an hour or two, we decided to mash it up once more. This time we’d take everything we’d learned from leveling Alliance and make a Horde guild. There was some apprehension at first, not the least in yours truly. My Horde characters and the new Alliance toons had grown familiar and become attached. That epic flight form was hard work, so was the Paladin’s Cenarion Gryphon. But, in the end, we all agreed - nothing would be lost and much could be gained.

Beating the BlizzBlues takes a few simple rules. Here they are, in case you’re interested in trying our adventure for yourself. And if, for some reason, you feel like trying it with us - we just started and will wait up for you (see Rule #1), join us in our next adventure.

1. Create “stop points”. We suspended leveling at all “nines” (19,29,39,49, and 59), waiting up for those who came a little behind. PvP and tradeskill leveling are good things to do during those breaks. Thanks to the 2.3 leveling speed changes this was never more than two days or less, but it helped us to stay together and experience content as a community, not as individuals.
2. Re-focus on what’s important in the game. Getting to 70 as fast as possible and farming Illidan might be some people’s idea of the games’ only true purpose, but alas taking a handful lowbies at the lower end of the level requirements into Wailing Caverns or Blackrock Depths can be more exciting and rewarding than farming Lootreaver for weeks.
3. Observe the story.Your first character might have been a little bit too occupied with getting the hang of the game while subsequent ones tried to level quickly to catch up to the guild. Stop every once in a while to actually take in the story, it’s what you pay your monthly fee for, might as well enjoy it. Do the long but fun chains such as the Tirion Fordring chain, they’re worth it in terms of entertainment.
4. Play the polar opposite of your current main. I went from a Druid tank to a caster class (my formative roots).
5. Play without compromise with people you totally, completely, and absolutely, trust, respect, and call “friend”. If this means waiting another two weeks to enter Karazhan instead of recruiting someone whose attitude is just “OK” but who could tank/heal/DPS today, wait the two weeks.
6. Don’t make the re-roll your new job. You have a main somewhere else, play it. Take time off from the game, as well. As long as everyone in the team observes this simple rule no one will be stuck too far behind.

The best place to find re-roll guilds is in your current circle of friends. Chances are, some are as burned out as you are and can trade the (understandeable) attachment to their mains for a few hours of refreshingly fun adventures a week on an alt. Or that guy/gal you became best friend with, in game, when both of you were already 70? Wouldn’t it be fun to level with him or her from scratch?

I know I will enjoy our next foray into pre-TBC leveling and playing with a new and old set of friends I never had a chance to level or play with. This time the goal is lofty - Kara cleared by May, but we’re confident we can do it. After all, time and levels fly if you’re having fun.

What about you? Got any prescriptions for the BlizzBlues for those of us who still want to spend time playing?

Life (which is questionable) imitating Art (well, a video podcast, anyhow).

Me? I play mostly late at night so the only person I’m neglecting is my wife (who’s usually on the PC next to me, though not playing WoW) and not my kids.

Parents, how do you handle your gameplaying and, if they’re old enough, do your kids play too?

Is something in the wind lately?

Every where I turn, friends who had dropped their WoW accounts like they were hot have been signing on for more questing, more rep grinds and more alt-a-holism. While at the same time, hardcore raiders seem to be dropping out from burnout. My old guild has lost several die-hard 24-7 WoW-heads in the last month. What’s going on?

Is the dim Autumnal lighttriggering something deep and mysterious in our limbic systems? Wolves grow their winter coats. Trees’ leaves put on a show for the tourists. Cider mills open for business. And old players return to WoW.

What’s driving this? Is it all of the Wrath of the Lich King press, or the promise of soloable epics from Ogri’La?

What’s your guess, dear readers?

And that was a tricky title… the idea of this post is to discuss why are YOU playing WOW!

Is it to gear up and be the best that you can be in game? Is it to enjoy a fun time with friends? Or is it something else?

This past weekend I went to Stratholme Live to farm Righteous Orbs for some Crusader enchants.

Yes, Stratholme is a level 60 instance, with under-par loot compared to Outlands greens and blues; but it is still FUN. We did the whole instance in group of three toons: I was tanking on Dreadmoon (level 70 druid); we have a healer (level 62 priest) and DPS (level 62 mage).
(more…)

..and finally found my motto in the Eitrigg forums.

It goes like this:

“If the tank dies, it’s the healer’s fault. If the healer dies, it’s the tank’s fault. If anyone else dies, it’s their own damn fault”
(more…)

You get it while you’re questing. You get it in Ironforge and in Orgrimmar.

You get it whether or not you’re Aldor or Scryer, you get it in the mail, you get it in whispers and general chat.

Now, you can get it on your very own instant messenger!

Smooch says (8:58 AM):
hi?

kullender says (8:59 AM):
hi

Smooch says (8:59 AM):
who’s this?

kullender says (8:59 AM):
This is a company serving for WOW players. Now we are looking for some cooperators in game. There is a world of good for our cooperators. do you have any interest in it?

Smooch says (8:59 AM):
i’m not sure what you mean

kullender says (8:59 AM):
We lvl for players and also,rent their accont if they have an idle account with a lvl60 char even naked.

Smooch says (8:59 AM):
…

kullender says (9:00 AM):
?

This person added me via MSN Messenger, which happens occasionally as I have my contact information on my website. After I allowed them to see my online status, we had the above conversation. The email address for ‘kullender’ is ipgfeedback5@hotmail.com — not sure who that is, but I’d love to know how they knew to IM me.

Anyone else gotten any ‘outside the box’ WoW spam?

Turns out it’s about 80 square miles. To put that into perspective, the island of Manhattan is about 20 square miles. How do I know that? Tobold figured it out. He went through the trouble of figuring out how big a mile would be in game based on how fast a toon could run across it, and then measured the whole damn continent of Kalimdor, then doubled that to account for the Eastern Kingdoms. It’s pretty small for a “world” but as Tobold notes, maybe landmass isn’t the correct way to measure virtual worlds:

“But in the end measuring the size of a virtual world in square miles doesn’t make much sense anyway. If you made a parallel World of Warcraft with exactly the same number of quests and mobs, and the same geography, but just doubled all distances, Azeroth would be 4 times as big. But that wouldn’t add anything to the game. So counting the size of Azeroth in number of quests is a better indicator of game “size”. And in that respect World of Warcraft is easily beating other games that just have more land mass.”

[via BoingBoing]

Click for readable image.