Recently, I’ve spent a fair amount of time playing alts, and I’m sure I’m not alone.  Things are in a bit of a lull for many people right now, what with no Wrath release in sight, and the sunny summer months, so more “organized” play is more difficult.  When looking at my collection of alts, and trying to decide which to play, I got to thinking about not which classes I liked, but why I liked them.  Could there be a psychology behind my class choices and the choices of others?  First, let’s take a look at some of the choices I have made, and then try to address possible generalities.

My First Character

Ok, so not necessarily my first character, as I started with a rogue, but my first character I stuck with all the way.  A Hunter.  One of the reasons I took the hunter is that I was in closed beta, and it was one of the last classes that was added to the game.  I also had a previous fondness for pet classes, as they were often very self-sufficient.  That is exactly what the hunter turned out to be.

Though I realize this is an MMO, I often spend a good deal of my time soloing.  I always have.  Part of this is due to my playtimes, as it is often difficult for me to group much at the times I normally play.  With the hunter, soloing was a breeze from level 10 on.

There was also a good deal of complexity with the hunter, which also appealed to me.  There is a vast world of pet selection, pet skills, weapon types, shot selection and a bevvy of other intricacies built-in to the Hunter.  Of course you can quite easily doze as a hunter, just send the pet and auto-attack, but a well-played hunter takes focus and multi-tasking ability.  Perfect.

The problem I found with hunters once I hit 60 was that there were so gosh darn MANY of them.  It was both a powerful and quick leveling class, so of course just about everyone had one.  What was happening was that when I DID have time to group up and start tackling the end game, I had a hard time finding a fricking spot.

My Character Evolution

Soon I decided I needed a class with which I could get groups whenever I wanted to.  The druid appealed to me because it was also a very intricate class, perhaps even more so than the hunter.  Druids can do anything reasonably well, and, more importantly, can spec for healing in the end game.  Healers rarely want for groups the way hunters do.  I also quickly found that once I hit 20, they were as good at soloing, if not better, than hunters.  It was truly the perfect class for me.

I also quickly found I quite enjoyed healing.  There is something about the whole group RELYING on you for success that appealed to me.  I loved the level of responsibility I felt I had, and enjoyed that I was often the difference between life or death for the tank and the group.

My Character Conclusions

For me, the hunter was appealing because of its combination of versatility, power, and intricate playstyle.  The druid appealed to me due to its versatility and, later, its power as a healer.  Not eveyone is suited to healing, but I found that I flat out LOVED the resposibility.  As it turned out, I found the perfect pair of characters.  On one hand, I had the solo friendly Hunter, who could take on most content quickly and efficiently, and made for a good time when alone.  On the other I had my very sought after healer, who also challenged my multi-tasking abilities and my resilience.

With that out of the way, let’s take a gander at the holy trinity of greater class “types,” and see if we can’t find some correlations between their respective play styles and the psychology of their owners.

The Tank

The tank is a very complicated class to play in WoW.  It’s not so much the mechanics of the class itself, as they generally only use a few skills over and over again, but the overall play style.  Tanks are usually responsible for marking and leading instance runs, for starters.  When you join a group as a tank, people just plain EXPECT you to mark and lead.  Because of this, tanks have to know the instances better than anyone else.  They need to know all the mob types and their skills, all the pulls and how they should work, all the boss fights.  Where a DPSer can sit back and wail on the skull, the tank has no such luck.

Not only do they have to know the instances front and back, they also have to have intimate knowledge of all the player classes as well, in order to use them to their fullest ability.  They need to know who can adequately CC mobs, who can use other utility skills to the benefit of the group, and how best to squeeze every last drop of performance out of each and every group.  Once that’s all in the clear, then they have to manage all the mobs coming their way, and do their best to keep control of all of them.  In the end, they also often carry the highest repair bills, and are the most dependent on great gear to succeed.

Whew!  So who in the heck would want to be a tank?

Well, on the “good” side, true leaders.  The people that ENJOY sitting at the head of the table, and shouldering the load for others.  The people that aren’t afraid to hand out orders, or give people advice if they are doing something wrong.  This kind of player gets a great deal of satisfaction out of having a successful run.  They know they did a good job when they get their group through a tough instance, and they often enjoy the respect and admiration they receive for their willingness to lead.

On the “bad” side, the tank classes can also attract the arrogant and the control freaks.  Yes, there are difficult people who like to play tanks.  They can’t enjoy the game unless they can tell people what to do, and when to do it.  They like to bark orders, and they especially enjoy yelling at people for doing things the wrong way.  They get off on the way people “need” them to succeed, and they don’t care so much if people admire them so much as respect them.

The Healer

Healers find themselves in their own predicaments.  Healers are often the first ones blamed for a wipe, and at the same time they seldom get credit for a “good” run.  They spend all their time playing “whack-a-mole” with health bars, and consequently don’t really “see” what’s around them as much as other classes.  Healing can also be VERY difficult in ways people don’t expect.  An undergeared tank can be a total nightmare, and the healer may still get blamed if the group wipes repeatedly.  Strong-willed DPSers who seem oblivious to threat monitoring can also make a healer’s job a living hell.  A bad CCer can cost a healer as well, as the healer is usually very high on the threat list, and the first person a free-roaming mob will go after.

They type of person that likes to play the healer role is often someone who cares more about the success of the group as a whole than personal achievements.  Very few people pay much attention to healing stats and numbers like they do DPS, but this type of player doesn’t really care.  They would rather see a successful run where nobody dies than a wipe-filled run where they collect loads of epics.  You’ll notice one theme in many healers is they fail to heal themselves. I think this tendency goes a long way to explaining the type of person that plays a healer.  They get lost in the group dynamics, and enjoy it most when the group works together like a well-oiled machine.  Healers often attract the most selfless of players.

Another type of person that can be drawn to the healer class is the player that is interested in quickadvancement above most else.  If you want to get geared up in a dang hurry, roll a healer.  Guilds are always looking to gear up more healers.  This type of player is in it more for the gear and the numbers, and they often fall off and focus on other classes when their gear progression begins to slow.  They may never take the time to really learn the “art” of healing, and likely will become bored with the playstyle after not too long.

The DPSers

In my opinion, nobody gets scrutinized as thoroughly as DPS classes, especially in end game raid situations.  Sure, healing numbers are looked at as well as tanks, but the first thing anyone wants to know is what kind of DPS is being put out.  This is also an area where some very hard numbers are bandied about, everyone seems to know that a BM hunter should be putting out XXXX DPS in SSC, and if you’re only pulling XXX, then you need talking to.  The same can be said about most pure DPS classes, while the more utility-based classes get free passes.  (Shadow Priests, Enhance or Elemental Shammys, etc.)

The most competitive players are often drawn to DPS.  If you want to prove your worth over another guy, this is the easiest class to get definitive answers with.  If you’re out DPSing the next guy by 100+, it’s pretty obvious to everyone.  DPS classes often draw those people flat out obsessed with number crunching.  Heck, there are numerous spreadsheets and gear evaluators out there, and they almost always focus on pure damage output.  If you want to try to squeeze every last ounce of performance out of a character, DPS might be the road you want to take.  There isn’t quite as much that is “ethereal” about DPS classes, just dish out the hurt.

DPS classes can also draw a couple other personality types:  the ego and the lazy.  The ego driven player wants to top the DPS charts above anything else.  They don’t care if the group is wiping, as long as they are in spot #1.  The lazy player sometimes picks up DPS classes because, well, they can be easy to play.  Hunters are classically associated with this type of player with the mean-spirited moniker “huntard,” since supposedly a 2 year old could get a hunter to level 70.  This “lazy” type of player is the polar opposite of the competitive type.  They probably know nothing of gemming strategies, DPS spreadsheets, or how to maximize their DPS in any way.  They know a couple of tricks, and stick to them.

Conclusion, Sort Of

So what exactly is the point of all of this?  Well, for one I think it’s interesting that if you pay attention you see these aforementioned types of players again and again.  I’ve been playing WoW for over 4 years, and it was like that from almost the start.  The leaders and the Arrogant rolled tanks, the Helpers and Gear Whores rolled healers, the Competitive, Ego Driven and Lazy rolled DPSers.  While it may seem I’m giving a “good” and “bad” type for each of the holy trinity, in the end I don’t think there is all that much difference.  Let’s face it, everyone is in the game to have fun, well, most everyone, and they have the right to do it how they see fit.  I’ve run many an instance with an Arrogant Tank, and I never quit because of it.  I’ve also been guilty of a bit of both Guild Whoring and Laziness in the past as well, but that doesn’t make me a “bad” player.

In a way, I think it goes to show just how great a game WoW is, and why it has had the longevity that it has.  I’ve really only scratched the surface with this post, as I’m sure if someone took the time to really analyze characters and why people play them, they could find many more common themes.  I also generalized into the three main types, and I’m sure that if you shifted focus to particular classes you’d see different things.  Heck, I didn’t even get into the altaholic, who likes to play a little bit of everything.  (But, in my experience, the Altaholic often has a Healer that they play the most - so I’m not so sure they aren’t just an offshoot of dealing with the often boring, thankless job that is healing.)

In the end, maybe you found yourself in one of the types I described.  Perhaps in reading this article, you gained a new understanding of why you play the character you play.  Maybe in some small way it can help you be better at what you do, and at the same time teach you what you really enjoy about the game at a basic level.  Then again, maybe not.  So what type of player are you?

As is often the case with a post of this nature, I had a lot of further thoughts and things I’d wished I had included once I hit the “publish” button.  It’s the nature of the beast, I guess.  So here are some further ruminations on Why We WoW.

One of the key points that came up with people when I discussed my post yesterday, both in the comments section and in the BA Chat Room, was the idea that WoW doesn’t mean all that much.  There were people who were vehemently in opposition to this thought, and they felt that there was real meaning for them in the game in one way or another.

There are some ways in which I agree.  I agree that the “good feelings” you get from accomplishments do in fact mean something.  I generally have what I’d call an “expansive” or “spiritual” way of thinking, and IMO having positive thoughts and experiences is VERY important.  I know that I generally “feel good” about things if I have a successful night in WoW, and I know a lot of other people feel the same.

So yes, “silly” accomplishments in the game can affect your life.  Heck, maybe you have a great night in SSC, and the next day at work feel uber IRL, and get yourself a raise. 

Entertainment or Hobby?

I think something that comes up again and again in reaction to my post yesterday is that WoW is much more than your standard movie or television show.  After all, those are passive entertainment activities, and passive WoW would be no fun at all.  I mean, you don’t make any decisions in the movie theater beyond “butter or no butter,” and you aren’t affecting the outcome of CSI by making decisions for the main characters.

In WoW, however,  you are playing an active role.  Isn’t WoW more a hobby than entertainment?

One of things that people who don’t play WoW don’t get is that it’s more than entertainment.  Many people look at WoW the same way they do television.  To them, we are spending hours and hours a week doing nothing more interactive or enriching than watching the Food Network 24/7.  (In defense of the Food Network, there are times that it’s all I watch!)

Would they think differently if they thought of WoW as a hobby?  I think so, but that might prove difficult.  Say I like to make model cars as a hobby.  If I spent 3 hours every other night painting wheels, nobody would look down on me, ask if I was addicted, and insist I was ruining my life.  The same could be said for most hobbies, too.

If I spent 20 hours a week reading, I’d be enriching my vocabulary, not hopelessly addicted.

If I spent 20 hours a week crocheting, I’d have beautiful blankets and wouldn’t have ben “wasting” my life.

If I spent 20 hours a week painting, people would admire me no matter how crappy said paintings were.

If I spent 20 hours a week raiding in WoW, I’m ruining my life, I need help, and I’m a loser.

Sound about right?  That’s the rub.  How do we convince people that WoW is a hobby, and NOT just entertainment?  I honestly don’t know.

For me, I was only successful convincing my wife that it had some merit once I started this blog, and soon had over 100 regular readers.  Needless to say, I make sure to let her know how my readership grows all the time.  This has largely let me off the hook.

In general, though, it’s hard to convince people that this is a hobby and not entertainment.  We don’t have any visceral “product” at the end to show people, really.  They don’t share our triumphs when we take down a new raid boss, or win the roll on a shiny new epic.  They don’t understand that we develop REAL relationships in game.  That we often talk of things other than WoW, that we share experiences with others.  They just don’t get it.

I guess, in the end, the answer is simple.  Get them to start playing WoW, as the more people that play, the more people understand and value this wonderful game.  (And yes, I have tried this tactic with my wife, but she absolutely refuses to even give it a look.  She can be stubborn sometimes, but it’s one of the reasons I love her!)  I know I value WoW.  Hopefully yesterday’s post didn’t make you think otherwise.  Thanks for reading!

I’ve been leveling away on my Shadow Priest, making the push to 58 so I could hit the Outlands.  I was just a bit into 57 last night, and spent the next 2 hours doing various quests in Winterspring.  A large amount of dead Yetis later, I reached my goal and hit 58.  I promptly turned in my remaining completed quests, dumped a bunch of stuff I’d never finish out of my log, and headed for Darkshire with the intention of hitting the Outlands the next time I logged on.

It got me to thinking.  What exactly had I just accomplished?

I had set a goal for myself, and upon reaching that goal I was happy, and excited to push into the BC content, where I knew far better gear awaited me, along with much better zones to level through.  But I had a bit of an empty feeling.

Had I really accomplished anything?  I thought some more.  Do we ever really accomplish anything in WoW?  Let’s say I was in a guild and we just downed Illidan.  Did I really accomplish anything even then?

Sadly, I kept arriving at the same conclusion.  No.  Even if I had just picked up the most uber of uber drops, I wouldn’t have accomplished anything.  How is the staff or whatever that Illidan might drop any different from the staff I had at level 1?  When you get down to it, aren’t they both just a collection of 1s and 0s, in developer parlance?  The only thing that really differentiates them, in the real world, is some ID number on a  server deep within the bowels of Blizzard.

Am I foolish to search for some kind of meaning in my enjoyment of WoW?  I don’t think so.  The time I spend playing WoW is significantly less than many people out there, but at the same time I spend a LOT of time in WoW.  Why do I spend so much time in this game, doing the same things I’ve done hundreds of times before?  I’m not sure.

Is it because I feel some lack in my real life, and I need to “achieve” in some way in a game?  Thankfully, that’s a big no.  I have a wonderful family that’s growing, and a solid career at a great company.  Oh, and I like to think I write a pretty decent blog, too.

Is it because I’m highly competitive, and want to “do better” than other people in the game?  Nope, that’s not it.  If it is I’m failing miserably at this point.  My biggest claim to fame is 5/6 in SSC.  Not all that much in the grand WoW of things.  I’m happy that I’ve at least seen some degree of “end game” raiding, but I’m well behind the curve.  You know, “part time” and all.

Looking at all the classic categories of why we play these games, I only mildly think I like to achieve and socialize.  I like getting new loot and better gear, I like hitting new levels, and I like progressing somewhat into new content, at least content that’s new to me.  I like being in groups and taking down bosses.  I do also like talking about WoW (as evidenced from this very blog) and I spend some time chatting in /g.

Honestly, though, everything I just detailed that I like about WoW is really nothing at all.  Just more 1s and 0s, excepting possibly the social aspects.  So why do I keep doing something that doesn’t give me any benefit in the real world?

Because I like it.  I can’t detail exactly how or why, but I really like it.

Besides, get down to brass tacks.  What other things do you like to do in your spare time?  Watch movies?  Aside from the occasional indie flick with philosophical undertones, that’s largely empty as well, right?  Watch sports?  Yeah, as a Cubs fan I can tell you that there’s not much there, either.  Our uniforms don’t even change.  I have yet to see the Cubs get any loot.  Yet I still watch them, too.

In the end I guess I just have to see WoW just for what it is:  entertainment.  Gripping entertainment, that leaves most others in its wake.  Maybe searching for deep meaning in something like this is folly.  It’s just like a movie that doesn’t end, or a book that just keeps going and going.  Maybe I just need to accept that as a good thing, and not try to find a true “benefit” I get from it in the real world.  Though I can at least say that’s it’s a great way to get away.

Ok, pointless rambling off.  If you’ve gotten this far, bravo!  Maybe you can share with me why YOU WoW.  Now excuse me, I have to go hit the Outlands.

If you liked this, you can read more of my thoughts here, where I get into WoW as entertainment vs. WoW as a hobby!

If you happen to be looking for a new guild, there is a refrain you’ll hear over and over again.  “No drama allowed.”  It seems guilds that are looking for members want to assure people that there won’t be any real conflicts, whining, or general mean-spiritedness within the guild.  This is something that is impossible to guarantee, and also something likely impossible to achieve, but that’s beside the point.  Is it possible that guilds and the people in them actually thrive on guild drama?

Classical Theory of Guild Drama

By the traditional way of looking at things, guild drama is nothing but deadly.  Many a guild has been torn asunder by intense storms of drama.  Big guilds, small guilds, high profile guilds, PvP guilds, you name it, many of them has fallen victim to intense drama.

Therefore, one big job that guilds have undertaken is the avoidance of drama.  Smart guilds have very specific policies to try and quiet arguments.  Very specific loot systems are set up to assure a “fair” distribution of loot.  Many guilds also have detailed interview processes and trial periods before accepting new members.  In the end, all of these serve to keep things peaceful and humming along.

Does that mean there is no place for drama?  Is there any way in which drama can be helpful?

Drama is Essential

Stop and think about this for a second:  where would we be without guild drama?  The various loot systems, for instance, would there be so many detailed systems if everyone automatically “got along?”  People have put a lot of work into various DKP systems to try to make them as fair as possible.  Would they have bothered if everyone could automatically get along?  Probably not.  Are we better for having these systems?  Yes.

Think about your guild message boards for a second, if you have them.  (And if you don’t, why not?)  My guild happens to have a very lively message board.  We talk about all things WoW and a lot of other things besides.  We’ll talk about nearly anything, excepting of course, politics and religion. (Though honestly I’d love it if we did.  I’ll argue anything.  I’m a secularist who supports Obama, if you must know.)

Even our lively message board, though, never gets as “fired up” as it does when there is some kind of drama at hand.  If we start arguing about guild direction, for instance, everyone seems to come out to play.  Lurkers suddenly make their stances known, and the more vocal members go at it in post after post.

This doesn’t mean it gets downright mean, it never does, but our guild “drama” posts are always the most lively.  They bring out the most responses, and guarantee a great deal of guild interaction.  Is that a good thing?  Yes.

Also, let’s face it.  People in some way enjoy guild drama.  Don’t kid yourself.  Some deep, dark part of you just likes it when things get a little heated.  Just look at the way that tales of guild drama spread.  Look at the success of shows like Jerry Springer.  Isn’t that just a different form of guild drama, after all? 

Break it Down to Build it Back Up

Sometimes this is the only way.  Think about it like a house - sometimes you can throw on a new coat of paint and make a few repairs, and it’s as good as new.  Sometimes, though, the studs are rotted out, the ceiling is ready to cave in, and you need to start fresh.  You need to bulldoze the thing to build it stronger than it was before.  The same could be said of guilds and their policies.  Sometimes, it’s necessary to tear the whole thing down to make it anew.  By this I don’t literally disband the guild, but sometimes you just have to throw everything out the window.

What causes that to happen?  A lot of the time it’s guild drama.  Sometimes things just won’t change for the better without vocal dramatists to bring it to the forefront.  There are often very serious issues that linger below the surface, and if you quash all sense of guild drama, you prevent them from surfacing until they get so intense that they tear the guild apart.  Isn’t it better to allow a bit of guild drama to take place once in awhile?

Heck, you could easily argue that the good old US of A was founded on guild drama on a grand scale.

Besides, do you want a Brave New World-esque totalitarian guild where you can’t voice your opinion for fear of rocking the boat?  I sure don’t.  I’m argumentative at heart, and I imagine a lot of other people out there are too!  Isn’t a perfectly peaceful guild just a little…boring?

Conclusion

Guild Drama does serve a purpose, and it does have its place.  That doesn’t mean you need to go all Jerry Springer, but you shouldn’t have an irrational fear of drama either.  Also, any guild that says there is “no drama” is probably lying.  If they haven’t had it yet, they will.  It’s just the way people are.  Eventually someone is going to be unhappy about something, and maybe in the process they can make your guild even better.  The strongest guilds are those that can weather guild drama, and use it to their advantage.  So don’t automatically fear those that might bring a little drama to your guild.  Maybe they just want to make it better for everyone.