Different play styles question/(a bit of a rant)

[SpiritBinder]

I just wanted to concur with what others here have already said (and probably better than I could have in any event). There is no definitive way to play this game, it is what you make of it, and that is part of the beauty of it all.

This ^

I am that person that does the hardcore "thing" but latey have been slowing down due to cata coming etc. Lvling my 3rd 80 and doing quests that I never even saw the 1st 2 times through, I must be so far off loremaster on my main it's not funny. And the thing is, I've played a riduculous ammount of time, and have been doing so for 4 years... I really felt foolish for not completeing quests that are the "middle" of the story, and going ..Ahhhhhhh so thats why that guys there... Ohhhhh so thats the reason that thing did that in the next zone.. etc.

Seriously there is so much to the game that you have done over myself, and "those" others, and I wish that had done 1/2 the stuff you have

[Cerah]

I think everyone else has already said it, but I'll add my two cents to the mix. It's your gaming experience, you're the one paying for your account, so play the way that you want to play.

I know exactly how you feel. I leveled my main hardly ever taking step in a dungeon except for a few my boyfriend and I tackled together, about 10 levels or so over their intended levels. Dungeons were just another place to explore -- they weren't the be all and end all of WoW. I never did any raids either until my 70s, and all the raids I have done have been PUGs. Some have gone well, some have broken up after the first couple bosses. My gear's not the greatest (I just went on my first ICC 10-man raid last Friday -- we didn't make it past Rotface), and I get no end of grief from other players for being specced BM. But you know what? My pets are my hunter's life and I'm NOT giving them up just because some random idiot I don't even know thinks that MM does better dps.

Cataclysm is literally giving us an entirely new world to explore -- dungeons and raids will be a part of it, yes, but remember they will be just that: a part of it. I don't know about you, but I'll be too busy hunting for new pets and just exploring to bother with dungeons for the first few weeks after it comes out.

WoW is like any other part of the internet: you can meet some really nice people on it, some real friends, but you can also meet some immature jerks. Don't let the jerks spoil the game for you. We play to have fun, and if you're not having fun, what's the point?

[Foru21dr]

I concur with what the others are saying. I have my been playing for a couple of years, and I have done mostly solo playing. All guilds that I was in are small/friends and we never really ran dungeons. I find my fun in BG play and recently questing my alt characters. I'm taking the time now to read what the story is behind the quest and am saying hey.. what a cool storyline.

I have to say though it is also the guild that can make the game fun to play. I'm also with Petopians and the casual group has made this so much more fun to play. I also will be doing some exploring in dungeon runs, and they encourage me to do it. But I only do what I want to do. No one pressures you to do more than you want. Great to be in such a good group. Makes a big difference.

[Curumor]

Bottom line is wether you enjoy what you do or not.
If you do, then tell your "friend" to have a coke and a smile and stfu.

[Sukurachi]

You know, I thought this whole issue was behind me.

It turns out I was wrong.

One of those two friends and I had a bit of a spat on a "social" issue two weeks ago, and he abruptly logged out and has been ignoring me since.

Today, suddenly, he's all "hi, how are ya!".

When he asked what I was doing with a low-level toon, he started into me about "breaking you of that bad habit and regressing back to where you were before".

In other words, if I find pleasure in starting a new toon to play with other friends, instead of queuing for dungeons and amassing Justice Points (or whatever those Frost Emblems have become), then I am "regressing".

When I told him that I just wasn't into the same things as he was (game-wise) he just started in about never getting anywhere with the game, blah blah blah.

I told him to stop judging my game-style, that it made me happy, and it was really none of his business.
believe it or not, he got ANGRY ... at ME!!! As if it was MY fault that I was not playing up to HIS specifications.

And guess what happened then?
You got it... he... logged out without saying a word.

It seems that I play WoW so badly that it just upsets people too much, they forget how to be polite and simply slam doors and walk away!

And of course, my playing the way *I* want to play is... "my fault" and somehow, my "defect". And it bothers other people no end, it would seem.

So, I felt it only fair to warn all of you kind folk here...

Do not play WoW with me, as my casual, laid-back, slow-mo way of playing, with an absolute and utter disregard for and lack of interest in "advancement" will surely cause you all no end of aggravation and anguish! I am anathema, it would seem.

There you have it.
The end of the saga.

honestly? I'm seriously thinking of going back to FF-XII... it felt like an MMO, but without the hassle of people telling me how I should be playing. (I know you guys have all been super... I just wish I could afford to transfer my whole guild and all 30 of my toons over to the same server as you peoples).

[Vephriel]

That is just deplorable, no one has any right to say that, and if he's a 'friend' you may want to take a closer look. =/

[Worba]

I don't know anyone who likes Oculus, and this dungeon is singularly bewildering for a newcomer - don't worry, the other randoms are much, much simpler (in terms of complexity - difficulty is the same).

We were there for 4 hours (a bit more, I think). We wiped 3 times on the first boss (after around 5 minutes of play, each time), and once quite quickly at the beginning of the 2nd boss(es).

So, around 15-20 minutes of actual game time, and nearly 4 hours of waiting.
I suspect this is "normal" in situations where you are getting that many people coordinated. My hat's off to those who organize these things regularly.

4 hours of waiting? No. This is how it was before the LFD; nowadays if you do the random dungeon tool you get a group normally in 10-15 minutes (unless you are a tank or healer in which case it's usually a matter of seconds).

Also, what you did was 5 man content, not raiding - raiding is when you have 10+ people.

However, at the end of it all, it's just not for me.

I was once exactly the same - to me, dungeons seemed to take a great deal of time and effort, and I preferred just doing quests and rep grinds on my various alts... but honestly once you discover how quickly dungeons can go, and how easy they (generally) are, quests and rep grinds are what you do when you're waiting for a dungeon queue.

Sure, sometimes you get a bad group, and the dungeon ends up taking 2-4 times as long as it should, sometimes you will even leave the group in frustration, but that's the exception not the rule, at least in my experience.

Generally the less wait and bother it takes to get into a dungeon, the less crabby and uptight the players will be, meaning 5 mans despite the occasional buffoon usually are reasonably quick and painless - whereas raids by virtue of the extra work needed to form and complete them, tend to go the other way, and so I avoid them.

Am I so really wrong?
This friend is now upset with me.

I've noticed a lot of wow players seem to have a different sense of time than me - I'm like you; if I'm going to take 3-4 hours out of my day (and I mean 3-4 hours nonstop, where I'm not able to pause and deal with chores or otherwise be available to my family), then dammit I want something to show for it... somehow the "OH IT WILL JUST TAKE 20 MINUTES... TOPS!" promises always seem to become 2 hour extravaganzas of people fumbling around, waiting for this one, waiting for that one and so forth...

That's the beauty of the LF dungeon tool - (by and large) you're just dealing with people who are ready to go and want to blast through and get it over with.

I got told "if you don't raid, you won't be able to do anything in Cataclysm".

So does this mean the end of WoW for me?

Solo'ing and questing will always be viable without setting foot in a dungeon, so based on your description no it certainly will not be the end for you, however I would encourage you to give dungeons another try, but through the LFD tool - do that a few times to get a sense of how long these things *should* take, and then go back to your friend and try again if you want... and if he's still dragging and plodding you can point it out and let him know he needs to pick up his heels if he wants to group with you.

[Kalliope]

People who hold your playing style against you like that aren't friends. Ditch 'em and make new ones, IMO. Friends don't have to have the same interests, but they should at least tolerate differences.

[Ryai]

Sukurachi- your friend is simply being an elitist. He is being a nosey elitist and you should just flat out tell him, the next time he tries to mosey on over to you and cozy up with you, that he is not being a friend.

Then ask him; Do you pay for my game time? No? Then bugger off, I play how I PAY to do so. If he still tries to affront you, tell him he isn't much of a friend anyways because while I have tiffs with my friends we usually resolve this shit out. I don't go away until I expect to hear what I want to hear.

Lastly, you should just ignore him. There's nothing wrong with how you play. it's a game, GAMES ARE MEANT TO BE FUN NO MATTER WHAT YOU DO. For some people wow is a 15 minute time killer, for others they spend whole nights on the game. He's not a real friend, he's one of those puppeteers. IE they try to control and manipulate what you do because they want you to do, what they want you to do.

[Sukurachi]

I don't know anyone who likes Oculus, and this dungeon is singularly bewildering for a newcomer - don't worry, the other randoms are much, much simpler (in terms of complexity - difficulty is the same).

We were there for 4 hours (a bit more, I think). We wiped 3 times on the first boss (after around 5 minutes of play, each time), and once quite quickly at the beginning of the 2nd boss(es).

So, around 15-20 minutes of actual game time, and nearly 4 hours of waiting.
I suspect this is "normal" in situations where you are getting that many people coordinated. My hat's off to those who organize these things regularly.

4 hours of waiting? No. This is how it was before the LFD; nowadays if you do the random dungeon tool you get a group normally in 10-15 minutes (unless you are a tank or healer in which case it's usually a matter of seconds).

Also, what you did was 5 man content, not raiding - raiding is when you have 10+ people.

sorry, I think you missed a part of one of my rambling posts.. it was 10-man, not a 5-man.
there were two distinct events in my rant one was regular heroic 5-man dungeons (randoms), the other was Trial of the Champions, 10-man.

[Makoes]

Everyone has thier own play-style, and no-one has a right to tell you to play differently. I love doing quests on my hunter, I love raiding on my druid, and I love random dungeons on my Shammy healer.

I am not a hardcore raider. I am bearly a casual raider, I think I join a guild raid once or twice a week.
I love random dungeons, and when I am not doing those I love to sit around chatting with the guild or doing quests, or just random slaughter of innocent scourge.

Play how you like, thats what games are for. Fun.