Times Change

world of warcraft

My wife and I were lucky enough to have our first daughter last year. We will be luckier still to have our second daughter later this year! The prospect of a second child has brought a lot of things into focus, including exactly how much time we're going to have to play World of Warcraft… which is virtually none, given how this first year of having one child has been.

We originally got into WoW because I had two computers (I'm a PC tinkerer), and we didn't have a lot of money. World of Warcraft, if you play it a decent amount and already have the computers, is a cost-effective hobby. $300/year for two people is great when you're playing almost every day.

But what happens when the parameters of your life change? How about logging on once a week? No raiding, instancing, or remaining competitive at pvp. We couldn't put the time together to finish a seasonal event before it ended. In such cases, the cost/value ratio comes out differently, and in our case, unfavorably.

We still love WoW. In fact, if we hadn't decided to become parents, we'd be playing tonight. My wife got teary-eyed during our conversation on whether to cancel or not. We've spent a lot of time playing this game together, had a lot of fun, and made real friends. I've learned so much about leadership from this game that I can't even begin to describe it. Participating in this experience has changed us, and we're going to miss it.

However, times change. I feel like part of the struggle of being a healthy person is letting go of what has passed and putting your attention into what is happening now. Right now, my wife is in her last trimester, and we have a little firecracker running around our apartment. For us, it's just not the right time for a hobby like WoW.

So, our WoW chapter has come to an end.

(…for now. Blizzard doesn't delete characters, after all.)

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Wrath Emblem Design Revealed

world of warcraft

Hidden in an otherwise bland post on the next season of pvp rewards, game designer Kalgan let slip how emblem progression is going to go for the rest of Wrath! Here's the relevant quote:

it won't be quite as easy to get deadly items via emblems of conquest as hateful items currently are via emblems of valor

Well, that's interesting. So what have we learned? Read the rest of this entry »

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Emblem Strategy for the Super-Casual

world of warcraft

Update! This article is well-intended but the truth has been revealed, and I guessed wrong. More information in the article "Wrath Emblem Design Revealed".

However, it kills me to delete text, so I'll leave it here anyway. Also as a reminder to myself that design is opaque.


Only raid or instance once a week? Wondering what to do with those 25 or 30 emblems you've finally accumulated? Like real-life money, don't let those shiny tokens burn a hole in your pocket.

"But, but, but how can I wait? Zomgepics!"

I know, I know. The siren call of zomgepics beckon us all.

The emblem gear will (in all likelihood) be refreshed when a higher tier of content comes out, just like the Badge of Justice system did in the Burning Crusade. This means that your Emblems will (in all likelihood) appreciate in value.

Read the rest of this entry »

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If, If, Wait, Wait

world of warcraft

My 10-month-old daughter is sick, coughing, congested. Confused. She doesn't understand why my wife and I don't just fix it. It's impossible to explain that we would use this awesome congestion power on anyone but her. So, lots of soothing, lots of grumpy diaper changes, lots of naps interrupted by vicious choking on mucus. She finally goes to real sleep late in the evening.

Parent freedom time! However, said parents are absolutely exhausted. Need to do something before sleep, though. We're not parent-bots.

"Hey, you know what would be great?"

"No, what's that?"

"Want to do some dailies? Just to relax for a few minutes. Get you closer to that rep sword."

"That sounds good!"

Ok then! Let's log on for fifteen minutes or so and do some dailies.

Position in queue: 429
Estimated time: Calculating...

The calculated time ended up being twenty-four minutes.

Back in the days when we were sitting down for a three or four hour block, a twenty-four-minute delay was just a minor irritation. But now, we're (trying to) log on for a half-hour or even ten-minute session. A twenty-four minute wait? It's the whole thing.

This got me thinking.

Read the rest of this entry »

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Ghostcrawler is Awesome

world of warcraft

In reference to Adam Holisky's recent WoW Insider's post The Ghostcrawler Experiment, where the questions are:

  1. Is the GE (Ghostcrawler era) of WoW better than the BGE?
  2. Does Ghostcrawler do a good job?

I just wanted to post something quick in response. I've written about Ghostcrawler before, although I perhaps wasn't as blunt as I could have been. So, I will speak more plainly now: Yes, and I can't believe that we're even talking about this.

Read the rest of this entry »

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