Citizen Azeroth: Rep Experiment 2 - Today's update

I'm going to ding 30 just before leaving Stonetalon for Ashenvale.

Still haven't touched Ashenvale, Tarren Mill, or Thousand Needles.

Over 350 quests completed.

Amazing.

Citizen Azeroth: Rep Experiment 2 - Phase 2 Complete

This morning I completed Phase 2 - all of the level 10-20 zones plus 3 dungeons (The Barrens, Silverpine Forest, Ghostlands, RFC, WC, and SFK). I am leaving the Barrens instances RFK and RFD for level appropriate times.

I literally dinged level 28 on the last Barrens quest.

So here is where I am now:

Darkspear Trolls: Honored (10967/12000)
Orgrimmar: Revered (5830/21000)
Silvermoon: Honored (9838/12000)
Thunder Bluff: Honored (11832/12000
Undercity: Revered (1991/210000)

Ratchet is Friendly (2710/6000) and all other goblin factions are Neutral (2855/3000), all on sympathetic rep. I am also Exalted with Tranquillien, not that this means anything.

On to Phase 3, the 20-30 zones. These will be Stonetalon, Ashenvale, Thousand Needles and Tarren Mill. I will do BFD and RFK while I am in Phase 3.

Citizen Azeroth: Rep Experiment 2 - Phase 2 50% Report

Well, my little rogue is halfway through Phase 2, having done about half of the Barrens (up to things related to Camp T), all of Silverpine Forest, and just venturing into Ghostlands. My plan is to finish Ghostlands, then return to Barrens before starting on Phase 3.

I also got rushes through Wailing Caverns and Ragefire Chasm. Not only this is efficient, but it kind of nerfs my experience by being grouped with a 70, which actually suits my plans.

So at this point, halfway through Phase 2, I have just dinged 24. My reputations are as follows:

- Darkspear Trolls: Honored (7690/12000)
- Orgrimmar: Revered (1633/21000)
- Silvermoon City: Honored (4733/12000)
- Thunder Bluff: Honored (7066/12000)
- Undercity: Honored (9701/12000)

I think the Silvermoon City number is pretty impressive, considering I haven't touched any Silvermoon quests in Phase 2. That's 4021 reputation points just from sympathetic reputation since Phase 1.

I also picked up a few other bits and pieces:

- Ratchet: Friendly (1384/6000)
- Everlook, Gadgetzan, and Booty Bay: Neutral (2192/3000)

This is interesting because I have done no quests for these other goblin factions. Obviously they share a similar sympathetic reputation formula among themselves, like the player racial factions have with one another.

- Tranquillien: 1250/3000

This I actually picked up at the end of Phase 1. I'll be Exalted when I leave Ghostlands. That's just how that rep works.

Citizen Azeroth: Raiders need love too

(This was a reply to a poster who objected to a recent show, where Starman said that the new 10-man/25-man instance model of the upcoming Wrath of the Lich King expansion might mean that the highest level content might be reachable by casual players, and that more hardcore raiders might not have anything to reach for or unique to do. We got a reply from a listener who objected to his 'elitist' attitude. This was my reply on the subject of hardcore raiding vs. casual raiding).

One of the strengths of our show is exploring different perspectives. Different people have different approaches to the game. That includes the perspective of the raider AND the perspective of the casual.

I am more the casual perspective of the cast, but I can see the points of the raiders. They DO put more time and effort into the game and I do -- and why they do this is not really the point. They simply do. And they believe, and not without some justification, that those who work the hardest at the game and put the most effort into it should get the best rewards. At first, I did not see this perspective either. But if you REALLY believe that everyone needs to accept all play styles, you need to put yourself in their shoes as well.

If the highest level content was available to everyone, even people who, for whatever reason, were not able to invest a lot of time in the game, that sort of defeats the purpose of being a high-level raider. It's about putting the extra effort and time into it that gives them a "high" in the game. If everyone can do it, it's not worth doing.

It sort of reminds me of climbing mountains. Mt. Washington is the highest peak in northeastern United States, at 6,288 feet. I can tell you, since I climbed it in November, that this is a hard climb, especially when you get to the top and the winds are howling at 45mph and there's a whiteout. There is also an access road; you can drive your car up to the top during the nice weather season (not in November). But I can certainly imagine the disappointment if I'd climbed this mountain in season, struggled my way to the top, and saw a parking lot full of overfed tourists looking at me like I'm crazy because, "don't you know there's a road?" (a friend of mine actually got this question on a similar experience climbing Whiteface in New York).

So I laugh every time I see the "This Car Climbed Mt. Washington" bumper stickers, and say my boots need little "These Feet Climbed Mt. Washington" plates. But, I also realize that for some people, for whatever reason, this is the only way they'll get to the top of the mountain. It may be no fault of their own. It may be simple laziness, or they might have small kids, or they may have a physical disability. There are lots of reasons.

But does that mean I want access roads built to the top of all mountains? Hell no. There should be some things that are only for those who have the tenacity and drive to do it themselves. Is this fair? Define fair. Is life fair? If you're hoping everything in life should be available to everyone, no matter what their circumstances, you're going to live with constant disappointment.

So do I mind that I will never see the highest level content? No, because I got to that point through a series of choices and priorities. I choose to place other things over raiding, like spending time with my husband who hates raiding (not that I am that fond of it either), or working on silly experiments for this show. I COULD choose to become a hardcore raider, join a guild with a strict raiding schedule, and see the highest level content, but I would have to make sacrifices in other parts of my life. I choose not to do so.

It's about choices and priorities. And I have come to the conclusion that there needs to be a place for everyone in the game -- including those who choose to make WoW a major priority in their life. And I can't do that if I don't realize that they have to be kept entertained too.

Citizen Azeroth: Rep Experiment 2 - The Horde Completist

The subject: a female orc rogue
The goal: Complete every (or nearly every) quest in the old world. Experiment may be continued into Burning Crusade if I have not totally burned out by now.
The experiment: See how fast she can become Exalted with all factions, and what levels she can get to before leaving certain levels.

I can't guarantee I am going to get every quest. For one thing, as you level out of an area, it becomes increasingly difficult to find all quests. For another, not all quests are available to all races. There are quests only available to non-undead, or just to Tauren. Of course, I can only do the rogue quests and not quests available only to other classes. But I am going to do my best.

And of course, since this is a Horde toon, I am only going to be able to do the Horde quests.

At the end of each phase, I will report on experience, reputations, and observations.

I am going to "chunk" various zones by levels.

Phase 1: Complete all 1-10 newbie zones, without any instances. Complete quests in Durotar, Mulgore, Tirisfal Glades, and Eversong Woods. Complete any "breadcrumbs" to the next 10-18+ zone, but do not do any quests in those zones beyond the breadcrumb.

Phase 2: Complete all 10-18+ zones, including any level appropriate instances. In Phase 2, I will be doing Barrens, Silverpine, and Ghostlands, and the instances Ragefire Chasm, Wailing Caverns, and Shadowfang Keep.

Phase 3: Complete all 18-30+ zones, including Stonetalon Peak, Tarren Mill, Ashenvale, and Thousand Needles, and the instances Razorfen Kraul and Blackfathom Deeps.

I haven't planned out beyond Phase 3 yet, but will do so as the experiment progresses.

This morning, I completed Phase 1. I did all quests I could do in Durotar, Tirisfal, Mulgore, and Eversong Woods (in that order).

Current level: 17 (6582/16400, or about 40% into level)
Reputations: Honored with all Horde factions:

- Darkspear Trolls: 2778/12000
- Orgrimmar: 4272/12000
- Silvermoon: 712/12000
- Thunder Bluff: 1043/12000
- Undercity: 447/12000

Remember that orcs start out Neutral with both Silvermoon and Undercity, so although those seem much lower than the others, add 3000 points to each of them to get an idea of how much reputation was actually gained by doing these quests.

The 1-10 newbie zones do not have sympathetic faction. Doing these quests only built reputation for the base faction and added nothing to the other factions. As I move into the 10-18+ areas, I will be gaining reputation for all factions.

My Ratchet faction is also 1000/3000, by virtue of a few Ratchet-reputation giving quests in Durotar. I also picked up 1000 points in Trainquillien faction by virtue of doing the "bread crumb" quest that took me into Ghostlands.

I will probably start Phase 2 in the Crossroads, given that at level 17 I need to work on my lockpicking, and I'd like to do Wailing Caverns at or about proper level for getting gear.

It surprised me that I ended up so far into level 17 without ever leaving the 1-10 zones. In the later levels I was fighting a lot of grey-con mobs, but even a grey-con quest gives pretty good experience.

Citizen Azeroth: The Rep Experiment, Part 2

What if you take a Horde rogue, say, an orc, and make her do every quest there is?

I mean, EVERY quest.

Take her through all the quests in Durotar. Then Tirisfal. Then Mulgore. Then the blood elf area (name has temporarily escaped me). The start over with the 10-20 zones