Catclysm in T Minus…

So Cataclysm. Probably the gaming event of the year. Will it suprass the record for fastest selling game ever, a record held by it’s predecessor, Wrath of the Lich King? I suspect that.. yes. It will.

I’ll be picking up my preordered copy in a couple hours.  I suspect blogging will be a little… light as a result.

I’ll be playing my new Tauren priest, and will probably be giving a goblin rogue or possibly hunter a whirl on the side.

To those of you heading into Azeroth – whether the new 80+zones, or as an alt exploring the altered old-world… please remember to surface for air and water and food and other things that you have to do, like work and significant other and kids.

To everyone else… stay away if you value your free time. It’s too late for us. Save yourselves.

World of WTF

So I’ve been playing WoW again, on a new character. I’m pretty sure people who are playing it right now can relate. TL;DR, it’s a whole new ballgame – at least until you hit Outland again. This post by Spinks pretty much nails it. Trying to enjoy all this new content as a level 80 in full epixxx doesn’t work. You have to roll a new alt to get it. To relearn it. Because everything’s different, from the way skills and talents work to the zones and quests (a comfortable mix of something old, something new, something borrowed something blue). Even the lowbie instances have changed – I ran the daily on my level 20-something priest, got Stockades and ran into… Hogger.  He’s the end boss.

I could imagine some folks not interested in grinding 1-60 again might be a little annoyed right now, and I’m guessing come Cataclysm, the 80-85 grind and early life as 85 will probably be a little…uneventful. The game’s done a bit of a backflip from the metagaming epeenfest that Wrath became, to a complete new experience of discovering lore and getting excited about the little things again. So far I’m loving it, and it’s sheer brilliance on Blizzard’s part. The game needed this. A complete overhaul, from the ground up. Simply slapping another tier of content for 80+ might have kept the core happy for a while, but sometimes a game isn’t about the game, and more about the world. 4.0.x and Cataclysm looks set to reimagine the universe, which suits me just fine. I was getting tired of grinding epix/xp/rep/whatever, and welcome a return to a more innocent time of exploration, immersion and simple wide-eyed discovery.

WoW: The Shattering, and how obsession solves nothing

Bugger. Doesn’t look like I’ll be quittin you, WoW, after all.

The Shattering is happening as we speak. Basically Deathwing – some bad nasty dragon guy – popped out of his hole in the ground and is going on a rampage across Azeroth.

I was determined not to get sucked back into the timesink that is WoW, but after hearing some of the (fellow) fanboy hype I can’t help but take a curious peek. I’m terrified because WoW is like being an alcoholic. Even if you quit drinking, you’re still an alcoholic. All it takes is that one drink to get you back on the wagon.

But, dammit, I can’t really help it. WoW is, after all, my thing. Other people have action cricket, or binge drinking, or stamp collecting. The only hobby I’ve ever really enjoyed was playing WoW. It made me happy.

End of the day, what point is there to getting fit and pursuing other activities if you aren’t really enjoying them? Gym is punishment every day. While I’ll continue focusing on gaining some level of personal fitness, obsessing about it isn’t actually making me a happier person. Like, what point is there to being fit and toned if you’re still an antisocial recluse? Pumping iron 4 times a week and spending hours walking and hiking is enjoyable, but like anything in life if you begin obsessing about one thing, it doesn’t actually make you happy. It becomes a chore. Wow became a chore for me and I stopped liking it. Now, this personal fitness drive is becoming a lot more like work and a lot less like fun.

Perhaps it’s possible to find some kind of equilibrium in life. To do what you must as well as what you enjoy.

Hell, it’s worth a shot.