Well, something interesting happened to draw me back onto my old server. There was some drama in the guild that I helped start (by helped I mean I signed the charter, that was about the extent of my contribution). Basically, a lot of the people who had been with us for some time decided to leave the guild for a different guild. Obviously there was a lot of bad feelings and a sense of betrayal (possibly on both sides, but my viewpoint is one-sided). Our guild master decided to combat this exodus by calling in the "originals", and as an original, I left my retirement in Azuremyst to do battle in the harsh reality of the PvP server.
As a side note, that really is how PvE feels to me: retirement. It's fun, it's relaxed, I feel like I can do whatever I want, but it's hard to get anything of substance done.
That wasn't what this post was supposed to be about, but it got me to thinking. I have run with a lot of the people that left. I genuinely liked a couple of them. I know this happens a lot, but why? MAS isn't exactly a "raiding guild". We're more a relaxed group of friends who get together, level and occasionally run some comments. We have 4 G-bank slots and a tabard, pst for invite. . .OK, that last part was totally me kidding. I got to thinking, there really are only two types of raiders.
The first type of raiders is all about improvement. I've nicknamed these people Gear Whores. They'll run with guildies, run with pugs, run 5 days a week, and constantly brag about the "osum l33t perplez" they won from runs. Their runs are endless loops of repetition to get the "best in slot gear".
The second type run because people they know run. They like the game, but normally have a bunch of alts and aren't as concerned with "progression". They are generally more laid back and not as desiring of instant gratification.
I would consider myself in the second group. I want to run with people who are in the second group. I want to put the people in the first group on /ignore. I tried to come up with more classifications for people, but really you either raid for friends/the experience or gear. Anyone who raids for gear is a mercenary and not worth the time of inviting to a group.
/end rant
Stay a while and listen.
11 years ago
5 comments:
Well said Fishy.
I consider myself to be in the first group- I raid for improvement. Improvement of gear, improvement of play. I think our entire raiding roster is pretty much the same in that regard.
However, I resent that you've lumped us in with the "check out my l33t gear" crowd.
Members of my guild do not brag about how well we play or how good our gear is. Posting DPS or healing meters in PUGs is frowned upon, as is bragging about our realm firsts.
There were quite a few people that left our guild when another up-and-coming transfer guild was threatening our "best on server" status, and I think those are the sort of people you're referring to as "mercenaries". That transfer guild eventually disbanded (the founders went to play Age of Conan) and the players who left our guild tried to come back, only to find that they had passed through a one-way door.
I think you might be right about the majority of players who don't fit into the second group, but I would like it to be known that not everyone who plays to improve their playing ability and character are braggarts or "gear whores".
We do make endless loops of repetition to get best in slots, though. ;-)
Or we could say that there are two types of raiders: those who seek to improve and challenge themselves; and those who are content being mediocre. You've chosen comfortable mediocrity, and are trying to justify it by making it about friendship.
You can phrase the issue several ways, can make one side look better or worse than the other. But both paths have valid reasons as to why people choose them. Your formulation is just part of the truth, just as my version above is another part.
Ohhhhh Fish. I'm not a gear whore!
I think you have wrongfully lumped people into the gear whore mentality.
To me the game is about improvement. you start at level 1 and you improve from there. If I had no way to better my character I would quit playing.
I wouldn't say that the types are set in stone, but rather that these are two extremes in a spectrum. I fall comfortably somewhere in between, but somewhat closer to comfortable mediocrity.
My goal is simply to experience content. I would definitely say that gear is important, particularly because gear is necessary to progress. As a mage, I can't competently do my job without achieving a certain threshold of DPS, which requires gear.
And if I want to see more bosses that are harder than the last, I'm going to have to constantly improve my gear so I could adequately participate in that fight and not drag anyone down.
In short, it's either "I seek to improve, but don't care about being the best," or "I am comfortably mediocre, but I have set an adequate standard for skill and gear as to not look like a noob."
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