Serious face is serious.

Today is my birthday. Happy Birthday to me.

I will occasionally allow myself to reflect on the past when it comes to my birthday. Another year older, and maybe another year wiser? Maybe? This year I’m looking back on things and I have to question that. Specifically as it pertains to this blog.

My very first blog post was on October 22, 2008. You can see it here, but I’ll save you the click. That post consists of two short sentences. “This is a test. I’ll delete it later.”

I’ve followed that post with almost six hundred and fifty other one, with topics ranging from my thoughts on classes and class changes, my personal journal entries, some gameplay tips, and even suggestions for making gold. The focus of the blog has changed a few times. So has the name.

Sometimes I’ve taken my blog seriously. Other times, I just didn’t care as much as I should have. There’s dead links, and links to sites that might not even exist anymore. I put them there for myself as much as for anyone who might come to the blog. Truth be told, I probably haven’t clicked on any of the links on my own site in years. If I’m not doing it, why would I expect anyone else to?

The same goes for the blog in general. If I don’t take it seriously, why should anyone else?

I’ve always said that it’s important to know your “why”. Why do you play World of Warcraft, or any game for that matter? What’s the hook? What draws you in, or compels you to play?

The same goes for blogging, or writing. My goal for this piece of digital real estate has been twofold. One, I’ve got a shitty memory and I like to write down my experiences in the game. Two, I have this desire to know stuff. That stuff might be making gold, or playing the game better. I’ll spend the time trying to find out how to be better and due to Reason the One, I’ll write down what I find. Not just for me, but for others who might be looking for the same information that I’d found. That’s why I smartened up and put tabs in the menu bar at the top of the page for things like Gold. To make it easier to help others as well as myself.

If I could go through the cross section of WoW players and pick out who my blog would be geared toward, I’d say Casuals. I hate that label, because it doesn’t accurately reflect the people I’m going after. WoW is a big open game. People can play however they want. The people I put my focus on are the ones who might not have tens of hours a day to play but still want to contribute in some way. They still want to feel like they’re getting their money’s worth out of their subscription, without being a drain on the player base. If I’m offering help, it’s guidance in making the most of their time and getting better in some way.

I’ll give you an example. If you go over to the search box and type in “Gnomesequencer”, you’ll find a few posts describing an addon that configures macros in such a way that you can play just about any class by spamming a couple of buttons. Many people found that addon controversial because it seemed to take the skill level out of playing any given class. I showed how powerful it was by taking a class that I had never played before and leveled it from 1-100 (which was level cap at the time). I then took it into LFR, which was my first raiding experience in WoW, and held my own on the DPS charts.

That was the idea of the addon. That was what I loved about it. It wasn’t going to help you put up bleeding edge numbers. But it could take a shitty player and make them passable. Decent. People said that using the addon was cheating. But here’s what I say. First, it doesn’t violate the EULA so it’s not cheating. Second, if I was running dungeons or raids with someone who was always performing poorly, I’d rather them use Gnomesequencer and not know their rotation rock solid. Of course it would great if they knew their stuff, but if they’re struggling I’d rather them use the crutch. Let them build their confidence by knowing they’re not going to get kicked for sucking.

Gold-making tips was another of my favorite things to post. It blew my mind how people would constantly complain that they couldn’t make gold. Everyone can make gold. There’s just some ways that are more profitable than others. Most people won’t make fifty thousand gold a week with a limited time schedule, but they can absolutely make enough gold a month to pay for a WoW Token. On US realms at least.

Here’s the thing. Tomorrow I will be getting on a plane and unplugging from the World for a week. No news, no internet. Just time to relax, think, and plan.

I’m ending this post with a screenshot of Rukgut. I was playing him back in 2008, and I’m leveling him now. No matter what other class I prefer or use, Rukgut is the OG.

Ah, memories.