Light Whispers

“It isn’t what they say about you, it’s what they whisper.”
Errol Flynn

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Light Whispers

The expansion’s first week has been exciting. Yesterday, I logged in and was immediately engaged in three different whisper conversations. And, of course, guild chat. Players are answering questions, finding fun toys and discovering our new world. Eventually, I got to go questing!

Profession quests are new to us and different. For one, we don’t know where they’ll lead: zone questing has a known end via finite number of quests and a story arc; profession quests are a mystery. Especially in that I don’t want to look them up.

We have to learn to balance our time. Whether to quest or dungeon or fish or work on professions; I mull over this all of the time. Since I was heroic raid geared, I know I don’t want to dungeon until I’m about 105 and can get gear higher than my own.

It is the professions that befuddle me. I was doing a Hell Run through Suramar to get a mining quest (no kidding, mining!) and was wondering if I should have waited until I was 110. All professions “should” wait until you are 110 but I can not resist.

My guild, like yours, is packed right now. The thrill of discovery, the hints at spoilers, new gear, quest advice and fun bits are all in chat and, very often, a light whisper to me while I’m playing. I love this.

I hope that Blizzard can sustain this without burning us out. We can all acknowledge that the designers packed the game full of stuff.

Soon, too soon in my mind, we’ll start using the word “progress” and begin measuring our relative successes. There is a term in stand-up comedy called a “step back”, that is when the comedian has gone too far and the audience will pull back and he’s lost them.

We, as players, do not want that step back moment when we feel that we are no longer on the same strata as our fellow players and so striving forward is not worth it. Usually those guys go PvP or begin flipping to Alts; designing their own measurement of success (and this might be the best way, after all). Those who don’t begin to dither about and express unhappiness with the game.

Today, we are all equal; I hope we can keep that feeling for a long time into this expansion.