Thursday, January 7, 2010

Left in the dust

I hate leveling. In fact, who doesn't? The grind from 1-80 is a real pain in the ass with a fresh toon on any server. Without having the benefit of a previous level 80 for heirloom gear or other benefits (including Recruit-a-friend), the long arduous journey can be quite frustrating. Back in the days of the Burning Crusade, I remember being a lv65 and being able to run some of the higher level, but not endgame content, yet none of the lv70's in my guild were interested in running with me. Farming badges and obtaining better gear were always a top priority. Even when I finally hit lv70, the gear I had still wasn't good enough to run most of the endgame content, and yet again, I was left in the dust. Needless to say, this left me feeling very frustrated and left behind. Akin to the adult version of playground exclusivity--"You're wearing THAT? Sorry, you can't play with us." And for some strange reason, it hurt just as bad in the virtual world as it did in the real one. So when I finally left my former guild and formed my own I vowed not to be an elitist asshat and to help others with leveling and eventual gearing. Why? Because I remember just how frustrating it was to be so very alone in a very group-dependent game.

Granted, it is possible to completely solo levels 1-80, but where's the fun in that? Especially when you are a member of a guild of supposed "friends" that have agreed to help you be the best player you can be. So then, how does one handle this situation when the people involved are also your friends in real life?

My current guild consists of people that I know in both RL and friends that I have made in-game. Because of our collective experiences, we have a rule that requires the higher levels to help out the lower levels and we provide incentives when doing so (extra DKP). This way no one is really "forced" to drop what they are doing and help the lower levels, but at the same time it encourages those who normally wouldn't be inclined to do so. Typically when I am online, I do not notice that this is an issue. I am typically quick to help out others because of my experiences, but today while taking a day off to deal with RL matters, I found out from another guildie (who is still leveling, btw) that his requests to run lower level content were completely ignored and he was literally left behind by his lv80, geared guildies. Unfortunately, one of those guildies is a RL friend of our guildmate. To say the least, I would have expected better from this person. And at the very least, I'm severely disappointed with regards to this situation. Officer meeting anyone?

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