Tag: casual

Emblem Strategy for the Super-Casual

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.

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If, If, Wait, Wait

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.

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Expansions, Side Projects, and your Guild

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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Everything is Always Moving

There's a funny thing happening in my guild.

I logged on late the other night to hopefully luck into a quick instance run (didn't happen), and there were four people from my guild on. I didn't recognize any of them. I vaguely remembered reading someone's app from a little while ago, but that's all. I mean, I've seen them around, but this is the first time I had ever logged in and not known anyone who was online.

"Well, new guildies are good for the guild," I thought.

However, these people were chatting with each other over /g, and they all seemed to know each other pretty well. Even though I didn't know them, it was obvious that each of them was a good fit for the guild. We have a strange and fun guild culture, and it was obvious that they were steeped in it.

It felt like walking into my living room and finding four very friendly strangers there.

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