I don’t particularly care for that mentality, but I’ve yet to find a suitable alternative that still allows me to socialize online. If you want to join in the conversation surrounding your favorite show or book, you have to jump on it right now, or you’ll miss out entirely (or worse, have things spoiled). In general, taking part in pop culture means consuming things the minute they hit the ground. While some will still take weeks or even months to savor a good game, most of them dart from one thing to the next, playing hard and burning out, or staring indecisively at their backlogs, overwhelmed by choice (it was quite by accident that I decided to write this the same week that the Steam Summer Sale kicked off). But I see this shift in many of my friends, too, the ones who play solely for their own enjoyment. Granted, many of the games I play nowadays are for review, and that requires barreling through at a much faster pace than I would if I were playing for fun (deadlines are deadlines, after all). I’ve gotten out of the habit of taking things slow. My appreciation for the medium has deepened, and I’m confident in my skills, but something has changed along the way. I game a lot more today than I did when I first started playing WoW, and I play a much larger variety of stuff. #Guild wars time sink how toI know how talent builds work, and how to manage aggro, and why you should leave high-level areas well alone until you’re ready. Thankfully, though, my gaming literacy has markedly improved since then. It was more fun than I can properly describe. A wandering elf and a clumsy dwarf, running around with mismatched gear and woeful talent trees, dying again and again and again, getting a little bit better every time we fell. Our adventures in Darkshore remain a very happy bundle of memories. My partner in climbing the learning curve was my real-life partner, who had never played an MMO, either. (For the record, I did end up raiding eventually, but my Druid was no healer. I could practically hear him shaking his head over Vent. He went back to Molten Core, and I braved the spiders on my own. I wanted to learn for myself, not have my hand held. He wanted me to power level, but I had no interest in that. I remember him tearing through a cave of spiders as I tagged uselessly along, asking him to slow down so I could look around. #Guild wars time sink crackedI remember him arriving in Dolanaar with his epic mount and his Thunderfury, clad in a full set of something far more impressive than my Cracked Leather Pants. His guild was short on healers, so he talked me into rolling a Druid and insisted on helping me grind. He’d bought me the game as a way for us to spend time together after I moved out of my parents’ house. My meandering pace drove my little brother crazy. If anything, it was a complement to what I was already doing. Getting around took time, but that wasn’t a problem for me. There isn’t an inch of Teldrassil I didn’t paw at. I explored every house, every cave, talked to every NPC. I came in with my teeth cut on adventure games and languid turn-based RPGs, and my approach to WoW reflected that. I started playing WoW in 2005, back when you had to reach level 40 before you could drop all (and I do mean all) your hard-earned gold on a riding mount. Azeroth held many wonders, but Teldrassil always felt like home. Giant trees, rolling hills, wisps and moon wells and purple mist. I can remember it almost as well as if it were a real place. There are few game environments etched into my brain in as much detail as the Night Elf starting area in World of Warcraft.
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