Rokk Talk

I was listening to the WoW Insider podcast recently, and during their discussion regarding what people would like to see in Cataclysm, one of the listeners emailed in to say that they would like to see more character slots per server. Many people already have ten characters on a server, and with two new races being introduced they’re going to need more. Okay, maybe the word “need” isn’t the right word there. It should be used here: these people “need” help.

It was around this time that Turpster, somewhat jokingly, mentioned that since Blizzard is getting their feet wet with the whole “microtransaction” business model (oh god not this again), maybe they could allow people to throw down a few bucks and unlock some character slots. One certain Michael Schramm protested this suggestion at first, stating it wouldn’t happen because microtransactions are not supposed to affect game play.

A failed argument (sorry Mike) but that got me thinking a little more about it. What exactly could Blizzard add to WoW in microtransaction form? To find the answer, I did what World of Warcraft often does – ripped off ideas from other MMO’s. In this case, I simply went to the most recent success story of microtransaction-based games. This just happened to be a certain Dungeons & Dragons Online.

At first wash, DDO does have many functions that definitely affect the game, albeit in minor ways. There are things like limited use (charges) items that give a minor buff to xp or loot gained, for example. However, I do feel there are things that Blizzard could introduce for a few dollars that don’t affect gameplay, yet players would shell out real cash money for. So with this inspiration, I came up with a few suggestions.

– Shared Bank Space: Instead of having players go through the whole “offering 5gp for guild signatures” to get a guild, then boot all the people from the guild just to get a huge guild bank, let players buy one. On the one hand, it could bear an impact in that it lets profession gurus load up on mats. On the other, people could just as easily mail their junk to alts, or guild bank alts.

– More Hairstyles: Players want their characters to shine like unique little snowflakes. They would pay for more hairstyles, different colors.

– Cosmetics : Makeup, or tattoos. Tell me this wouldn’t be a hot ticket item.

– Dance Studio: This is a no-brainer. People have been BEGGING for this since Wrath came out.

– Veteran Status: Okay, now this one should be less of a microtransaction and more of a paid service. I’ll put this here just for clarity sake, but essentially what this does is allow the player to start a character at a higher level on a new server. My suggestion would be allowing someone to start a character at 55 (same as the starting level of Death Knights), limited to a character class that the character has at 56 and up. Have a 58 druid and want to start a new one on a different server? Pay the cash and get a 55 druid, clad in what would be generic greens. Unlike many other items, services, and transactions, this one is something that people HAVE actually asked for and HAVE admitted they would pay for it.

What about you? What kind of microtransaction / service would you pay for?

The “DK” stands for Death Knight. Wonder what faction she is?

I don’t like the Alliance.

When I think of the Alliance, I envision some hawtness lying atop a mountain of gold and clan in nothing but purple epics. So, they’re like me… only with Blizzard’s favor.

C’mon, we all know there’s little nods throughout the game that gives the edge to the Alliance. Off the top of my head – the Lorekeeper achievement, for example, which had the Alliance needing fewer quests completed to get the title. The second most obvious fact has to be Alterac Valley. Really, the Horde get a log cabin fort while the Alliance gets a Keep with – wait for it – A BRIDGE THAT CAN BE DEFENDED?!

The most obvious fact, though, is that the Alliance is good-looking. You’ve got ruggedly handsome Dwarves, the sleek Night Elves with glowing eyes and a somersault jump, Humans (hey look, my toon looks just like me, no wonder they’re the most popular!), and the cute-but-annoying Gnomes.

Oh yeah, and the Space Goats. Guess every family has that fugly relative.

Horde? You’ve got the green and angry Orcs, the Tauren-cows, Zombie-folk, and the Rasta/Dennis Rodman Trolls. The Blood Elves are the best-looking of the bunch (and the most widely played Horde race… coincidence?), but their personality leaves much to be desired.

Maybe that’s why I prefer the Horde. They’re always a bit of the underdog, fewer in numbers and less-preferred for more superficial reasons. Hell, even their leveling zones are dismal and ugly! People, carrying their vanity over from the Real World, want to play the cute characters. Any wonder the top three races played are Humans, Blood Elves, and Night Elves?

Screw you, Society. I spit on your lust for the pretty, and your disdain toward those who don’t meet your eye-candy standards. Let’s worship Megan Fox, flock to see her in sweat and grunt in Transformers, despite the fact that she can’t act. The flop that was “Jennifer’s Body” gives me a slight hope in humanity. Very slight.

All this leads me to a dilemma. I (me, the man behind the keyboard) have been offered a spot in a Guild on another server. They’re a progressive raiding guild, smaller but a good bunch from what I’ve been told. I was invited by one of my wife’s co-workers. Real Life contact. People, plain and smelly and wonderful. He told me they’d run me through some five-man content, get my feet wet, and go from there.

I’m currently a member of the biggest guild in North America. The guild has multiple raid teams. But it’s easy to get lost in a crowd of five thousand, and for the most part I don’t really care. I do my own thing, do guild runs when I’m able. If I were to disappear, I’m quite sure I wouldn’t be noticed. That is, of course, until I submit my segment for the AIE Podcast (coming soon!)

However, I’m at the point where I’ve done pretty much all the solo content there is to do. Sure there’s quests and such, grind out some achievements, but there’s no point. It doesn’t advance my game at all. Playing the auction house was a nice distraction, as was leveling up various professions. Rokk now has two pieces of Deadly Gladiator PVP gear, and with the gemming I’ve been doing I notice he’s melting face like never before. It’d be nice to put all that power to better use than just killing the same daily mobs over and over again.

I have a Warrior that I might consider sending over, though. He’s almost 80, and Rokk could gear him up so that he’d be less of a liability. Maybe run a few WG’s to get some honor gear. He’s a mighty Tauren slab of killing-meat, and I’ve grown quite attached to him.

The guild on the other server is Alliance.

Son. Of. A. Bitch.

Do I join the Beautiful People, in hope that I may break the anti-social cycle that is my solo WoW play? Or do I spite “The Man” and keep my Bull just the way he is, a solo engine of destruction?