Thursday, February 3, 2011

Doing my part to keep Chicago lighter

Check out this map (yes I love maps) that charts the profanity level of the US by looking at tweets. The darker the area, the less profane, the lighter the area, the more profane.

So what is causing me to curse up a storm? Tol Barad and archaeology.

First, Tol Barad. Yes, yes I know the design is broken and changes in the patch are coming. But you know what the patch is not going to fix? The utter utter stupidity of Alliance on Drenden. I don't understand how they still don't grasp the concept of Tol Barad. Hey, standing with 30 other people in ICG may cause you to not die, but you know what? We're not going to win.

The alliance on the server also are so ridiculously slow to react. If we do get a big group to take over a spot, 90% of those people stand around there and wait for it to fully go alliance instead of getting a group to quickly run to the next obvious spot that the Horde is going to defend.

Yes, arena and general battlegrounds make me swear. But it doesn't even compare to the swearing that Tol Barad causes. And to the rest of the Alliance on Drenden, the patch changes to Tol Barad are not going to fix your f'in stupidity. FFS.

Secondly, archaeology. On a slightly positive note, I did get Ring of the Boy Emperor. But I am still at it for Tyrande's Favorite Doll.

I know all of the nightelf dig sites like the back of my hand. I have completed Scandalous Silk Nightgown a ton of times, the most of any common night elf item. I mean really? Are you trying to tell me something O Cruel Cruel RNG?

It's a funny (if funny actually means sad and devastating and crushing) thing, this archaeology. While your brain tells you that you should just give up because you're never going to get the item you are going for, there is still that tiny tiny sliver of hope in your heart that keeps you at it.

Those couple of seconds while you are creating an item and you see that bar go across your screen... right before the bar is completed and the next item appears on your screen... you hold your breath and for a second genuinely believe that you're going to get something good. But then you get another crap item, and you feel foolish for having believed even for those few seconds.

It's those couple of seconds of hope that Blizzard is exploiting with archaeology, keeping all of us still at it. Damn you, Blizz. You should have just called it hope-ology.

7 comments:

  1. It's very true. It reminds me a lot of the suspense of opening a pack of trading cards, that moment of excitement that you might get a valuable/rare/desired card. Except with Archaeology you already KNOW you're getting garbage and just want to move on to the next one. :P

    Actually, I wonder if Archaeology would be more exciting if the item was a mystery until you solved it! It wouldn't really work as-is, obviously, since different items need different amounts of fragments...but I think I'd be much more enthusiastic about it, rather than cynical and exhausted with the whole process.

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  2. Aww your server's Alliance is bad too XD I swore off pvp ages ago. People still make me come along, and then I get lost, and then they die, and then I don't know what to do, and I just contribute to the failing alliance all around me :(

    And archaeology is fun! Kinda, sorta, if you are leveling with it and have ideas for writing some RP around it. It just almost becomes fun. I hope you get the items you are after soon. I know I want nearly everything and it is going to take all expansion XD (even if they don't add more)

    Though I do wish I could wear some of the grey items... wouldn't you like a Scandalous Silk Nightgown or ten for an evening party? XD

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  3. @Rades: I'm glad I'm not the only one cynical and exhausted.

    @Sakaki: Yeah, the alliance on our server are notoriously bad. I think people think the patch will fix everything. But it won't.

    Mmmm interesting thought about doing some RP with it. Folks who are really good with the RP writing should definitely blog about that! And yeah, it'd be more fun if we could do more stuff with the common level items.

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  4. You know... I was up and about over here. I was on my way back to where I sleep, and I heard something. It was low, almost imperceptible at first. But then it grew in both volume and power. It had a distinctly female quality to it, and soon I didn't have to strain to hear what it was. It was just one syllable, and it went something like....

    ffffFFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUU**********

    And then I smiled as I realized it was my dear little Plant-Girl doing the PVP thang again. I had a chuckle at her cute but impotent plant-rage, and then went to bed.

    Hello from the desert, K! =D

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  5. 120 odd Nelf solves since the last Nelf rare now and still no Doll!
    Also yep alliance are crap on my server as well every raid night at the start we look hopefully at Tol Barad but generally the Horde have it all night.

    Zetter

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  6. Hah, I recently dug up the dressing gown so I have a full set of nightwear! I am just holding out for Malfurion's Dodgy PJs.

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  7. @Nico: /wave! Good to see you checking in! Hope you are doing well. We really really miss you. Especially Sam.

    @zetter: I'm glad (but also sad) to know I'm not the only one still going for the doll.

    @Tam: Mmmm and what are you going to do once you have a full set of nightwear my dear?

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