Every time new content becomes available, it’s an opportunity for change in how each player approaches the game. When the content is as significant as an entire expansion, it can mean an influx of players in the most obvious way: people coming back because they want to see that new content.

There’s a second, much smaller shift that happens as well, for both the people who have been playing all along and their guild’s leadership.

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My main is my holy priest. My raid-ready alt is a protection warrior. I like healing slightly more than tanking, but honestly I’m happy playing either. I’m also glad to pinch hit in a dps situation every now and then, because it means I have more time to enjoy my scotch.

After a lot of practice, I’ve become good enough to either heal or tank for instances, heroics, and raids. The change of pace actually keeps my overall interest level higher. When I brought my tank along for the ride, how I was helping!

Or at least, how I thought I was helping. Despite the fact that I’ve become more useful to my guild and have more fun playing the game, the social ramifications have made me wish that I hadn’t tried it in the first place. There were consequences.

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World of Warcraft 3/Wrath is coming. A new expansion dropping is the perfect time to make big changes in your relationship with WoW.

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What makes a main, a main?

I read a WoW Insider post today about mains and alts. I disagree with the answers offered in the article and the comments, so I thought I’d give it a try.

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One of the great joys of WoW is how couple-friendly it is. My wife and I are suckers for some cooperative multiplayer, and we haven’t looked back since we set up her account. We play together all the time, doing dailies, farming mobs, instancing and raiding (although we’re learning that being new parents isn’t really conducive to raiding, so that’s trailing off). Also, leveling alts.

We have some experience leveling a number of duos.

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In The Incredibles, Dash is the young son who can run and move very very fast, like the Flash. There’s a scene where he’s running away from some mercenary villains, through a jungle. So he’s zipping between trees and jumping over logs, but his visibility ahead is limited because the jungle is so thick. Suddenly the forest ends and there’s a tiny bit of beach before a large bay of water, with him barreling towards it far too fast for him to safely turn away. Dash clenches his eyes closed, expecting to wipe out spectacularly… and then opens them to learn that he can run across the water’s surface. Surprise! He lets out this mischievous, joyous, relief-filled laugh, then zips away. It’s a great scene. (Brad Bird for overlord)

In World of Warcraft, my wife and I have had that laugh many times.

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