WoW Blog: Hardcore to Casual: A Transition.

Hardcore raiding can be a very strenuous activity, especially when your efforts and time are not rewarded with new kills or gear upgrades. Recently, my Hyjal/Black Temple guild disbanded leaving many excellent players without a home, and myself pondering my raiding future.

Raiding 5 nights a week is a time consuming and addictive past time. Not only must you adhere to strict raiding requirements and timelines, but you need to supply your character with consumables to increase performance. This means you are constantly on the short end of gold funds.

I play a Hunter, probably one of the easiest farming classes in game. When I'm not grinding mobs, or hitting up the new dailys on the Isle of Quel'danas, I'm in Netherstorm herbing netherbloom. Raiding would often see me splurging over 100g per night to increase my raid viability. After my recent guild disbanded I was faced with a decision, my in game mates were urging me to transfer and raid with them in a further progressed guild, but I'd had enough. I wanted to take a more laid back approach to the game and experience it from a "noobs" point of view.I had a few real life friends who had just rolled their first characters and hit level 70, I joined their guild. Before long I was running normal instance, Mechanar, Steamvaults, MgT, and finding myself enjoying myself a lot more than I would have if I was raiding. Part of this was because I was pumping out huge dps and impressing everyone inguild (1450 on first boss in MgT - I Know attention seeker right?) however the majority was because I was particpating in something I enjoy with people I know.

You find yourself with a real sense of achievement watching players grow and learn. The guild is currently in the midst of gearing up for Karazhan, a stage I was at almost a year ago. I plan to stay on and help them experience some end game content.

Who knows, come WOTLK I just may find myself again in a Hardcore guild, competing for server first, but this time surrounded by real life companions.

Comments

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Yay for not raiding!
# May 31 2008 at 1:03 AM Rating: Decent
I do agree on this! I made the same switch when TBC went live, or even a bit before that. We were raiding a lot, Molten Core at first, then Blackwing Lair, then AQ40 and Naxxramas in the end. That's when I decided it was enough for me. We went from three raid nights a week up to four (originally just temporarily, to master the Nefarian-fight) but the extra raid night was never taken out of our schedule again. And on our non-raiding nights we were (well at least I was) farming the hell out of WoW just to make up for the huge losses (consumables, repairs) caused by mastering new bosses-- or farming ZG/AQ20 to gear up alts.

After a while of following my old guildies through several guilds, the one we were in at that moment fell apart- the third in a short while, compared to the consistent and pretty solid guild we had before TBC. Sure, we had our problems, but nothing we didn't survive-- usually :) After seeing the guild landscape undergo an irreversible change since TBC I decided to quit, and become guildless once again. Or actually, to prevent being spammed with invites from guilds that had barely been founded, let along manage to gather up a decent bunch of people to have fun with, I founded a guild to harbour all of my characters. And guess what: I enjoy the game once again. By crafting stuff and PvP-ing a lot I even geared up my mage to a point where I am pretty satisfied, and possibly equal to how my gear would have been had I done endgame raiding! And the best part: if I don't feel like playing for a week, I don't play for a week, and I never have to feel guilty about letting my team down or anything. I love it.

It's supposed to be a game, not a job, as someone before me said. I agree, and now it is a game once again. Indeed, in the end everyone will find a way to enjoy the game as best suits his/her wishes and/or expectations. I know I found mine :)
Noobs vs Newbs
# May 30 2008 at 11:23 AM Rating: Decent
I'm not sure you know what the word "noob" really means. If you're saying that non-raiders or your "friends who had just rolled their first characters and hit level 70" are noobs, that is quite an arrogant statement. Perhaps you meant "newbs" as in new to the game and still have more to learn (which would have to exclude veteran players who do not raid). If someone doesn't play as well as you do, or if they can't take on the same difficult tasks as you, that doesn't immediately make them a "noob". Of course, if they play like morons and have no willingness to learn and improve, go ahead and call them noobs all you like.
"Hardcore"
# May 29 2008 at 4:04 PM Rating: Good
Casual Gamer =/= "noob."

"Hardcore" =/= better gamer

All being "Hardcore" and raiding 5 nights a week proves is that the people in those guilds have no life otherwise. The game is supposed to be about having fun, and these guilds seem more like 2nd (or 3rd) jobs. I don't see how ANYONE can have more fun playing that way than playing casually.

And really, when it comes down to it, no guild in WoW is truly "hardcore" when compared to guilds on other games I've played.. ones that really ARE "hardcore"... because WoW is not a hardcore game.

Reasons behind that statement:
1) Dying does not cost you XP, levels, or anything important.. only a little money
2) Instanced dungeons, instanced bosses: 'Nuff said
3) Because of the above, high-level gear is abundant, and the flow of gear cannot be dominated by one powerful guild/alliance
4) Gear is 'soulbound' and does not carry a risk of dropping upon your death
5) 1-70 can be done in weeks, not years.

But anyway. I digress. Enjoy the game as you wish to enjoy it. If more people would stop trying to be the 'best' and look at it as a game, they'd realize just how terrible they are treating it.
this song is like how i feel about my raiding life
# May 29 2008 at 8:06 AM Rating: Default
Something takes a part of me.
Something lost and never seen.
Everytime I start to believe,
Something's raped and taken from me... from me.
Life's got to always be messing with me. (You wanna see the light)
Can't they chill and let me be free? (So do I)
Can't I take away all this pain. (You wanna see the light)
I try to every night, all in vain... in vain.
Sometimes I cannot take this place.
Sometimes it's my life I can't taste.
Sometimes I cannot feel my face.
You'll never see me fall from grace
Something takes a part of me.
You and I were meant to be.
A cheap **** for me to lay
Something takes a part of me.
Feeling like a freak on a leash. (You wanna see the light)
Feeling like I have no release. (So do I)
How many times have I felt diseased? (You wanna see the light)
Nothing in my life is free... is free


Boom na da mmm dum na ema
Da boom na da mmm dum na ema

GO!
So...fight! something on the... dum na ema
Fight...some things they fight
So...something on the... dum na ema
Fight...some things they fight
Fight...something of the... dum na ema
No...some things they fight
Fight...something of the... dum na ema
Fight...some things they fight



Part of me...
Oh...
this song is like how i feel about my raiding life
# May 29 2008 at 8:21 AM Rating: Decent
I'm in the same boat, sort of. My guild is progressing through TK/SSC..I recently told them I'm done raiding for awhile while I lvl an alt and just quest w/ my main. I've rediscovered how FUN lvling can be. The excitement and nervous feeling when you see a char of the opposing faction, will that high lvl char one shot me or let me live..? And the pre-BC questing content is a lot of fun too IMO, story lines, allusions to RL people / places. Blizzard's content is awesome.

It gets boring farming to raid. I didn't have time to do anything else but farm gold for consumables, then raid..

I'm loving my baby mage (gnome) and doing quests w/ my rogue (main). I want to experience as much TBC content as possible before WoTLK. I know I may never get to down illiadan (until I go w/ other lvl 80s for the fun of it), but the road to that isn't worth it to me.
this song is like how i feel about my raiding life
# May 29 2008 at 8:04 AM Rating: Default
Something takes a part of me.
Something lost and never seen.
Everytime I start to believe,
Something's raped and taken from me... from me.
Life's got to always be messing with me. (You wanna see the light)
Can't they chill and let me be free? (So do I)
Can't I take away all this pain. (You wanna see the light)
I try to every night, all in vain... in vain.
Sometimes I cannot take this place.
Sometimes it's my life I can't taste.
Sometimes I cannot feel my face.
You'll never see me fall from grace
Something takes a part of me.
You and I were meant to be.
A cheap **** for me to lay
Something takes a part of me.
Feeling like a freak on a leash. (You wanna see the light)
Feeling like I have no release. (So do I)
How many times have I felt diseased? (You wanna see the light)
Nothing in my life is free... is free
Chorus

Boom na da mmm dum na ema
Da boom na da mmm dum na ema

GO!
So...fight! something on the... dum na ema
Fight...some things they fight
So...something on the... dum na ema
Fight...some things they fight
Fight...something of the... dum na ema
No...some things they fight
Fight...something of the... dum na ema
Fight...some things they fight

Part of me...
Oh...

FREAK ON A LEASH BY KORN
Hardcore or Casual..
# May 29 2008 at 7:23 AM Rating: Good
41 posts
Quote:
Raiding 5 nights a week is a time consuming and addictive past time. Not only must you adhere to strict raiding requirements and timelines, but you need to supply your character with consumables to increase performance.


If I wanted a second job, I would want one that pays... "Progressive" guilds are not for everyone.

I enjoy raiding but I prefer a guild with a more casual approach. We usually raid on weekends and grind, or quest with our "baby toons" (alts), through the week. We are not interested in being the first guild to take down a new boss, we just want everyone to enjoy the game.

My point is; there are different kinda of guilds with varying attitudes toward dungeons and raid instances, if you look around a bit and find a guild that will give you the kind of game experience that you want, you will enjoy the game a lot more.
Nice
# May 29 2008 at 6:39 AM Rating: Good
***
1,259 posts
Odd how things work out eh? It's awesome that you took them up and transferred to their server and joined their guild.

Great post, I'm curious to see how things will be at the end of the summer.

Will you be frustrated that people wipe constantly on Prince/Nightbane/Netherspite? Or will your friendships prevail and it won't matter.
Nice
# May 29 2008 at 8:05 AM Rating: Decent
I agree very nice posts my guild has wiped several times on Nightbane and Netherspite but we keep at it we give it 3 tries if we can take them down we move on but always save those 2 for last we usually have to do prince twice but everyone has fun and don't care if we down them first time or even third time round
Nice
# May 29 2008 at 7:47 AM Rating: Decent
*
68 posts
Good posts. I've always felt the same way, it's a game not a job. I *like* the game.... I *dislike* my job. I do get tired of the 'your noobie guild' attitude just because we don't farm Kara or have ever seen the inside of SSC. It's about the same as speeders ;) I'll get there, same as you, but I'll save gas and not get a ticket.... (ok, sort of the same ;)

As a side note...... Ebon, what the hell is that avatar?? It kinda looks like a guinea pig with a muzzle.....
Nice
# May 29 2008 at 12:20 PM Rating: Good
***
1,259 posts
It's a Chooty. A level 40 mob from a game called Rising Force (RF) Online. The thing on it's stomach is a backwards backpack. I'm not sure what type of animal it is, but it's kindof like a really fat moogle.
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