The Why And The What

The 'why' I'm doing this: Well, I've been playing World of Warcraft on and off for nearly three years now, having been introduced to it by my Other Half, who got into it almost as soon as it was launched. In that time I've spent 90% of my time playing on the Alliance side on PvE servers (I'll get into the character history another time). The OH has done the same. We've both tried Horde characters, but as he says, we've never really felt it.

However, for the reasons he explains so well himself, he's gone over to the other side. I didn't really feel like I had to follow him blindly, but there is a realisation I was unable to avoid coming to, which is that when we adventure together I enjoy it far more than when I adventure without him. So while I could have stayed on the old server, developing one of various characters I've got to one level or another, or working on daily quests with my main level 70 and getting quite bored, I decided to take the plunge and keep the option of playing with him. We don't do it all the time, but it's nice to have someone you can always ask for help with a quest, or just for company when grinding. So that's the why.

The 'what'? Well, he'd always enjoyed playing his main priest, and I hadn't tried one since the second character I ever tried, so I started out there with a Blood Elf, while he started with a new mage (he'd had one of those once too). But again I wasn't really feeling it, so I left him languishing around Silvermoon and gravitated, as I always, inevitably do, back to the class that speaks to me the most out of all those I've tried (and I've tried everything except a Paladin) - Yes, another druid. And as there's only one option for Druids in either faction, I became a Tauren too - and I've always been rather fond of them. I've joined the same guild as the OH, which I'm finding friendly and welcoming. I haven't really got to know them yet, as I'm currently eight or nine timezones away from most of them, so I don't exactly coincide much. So that's the 'what'.

And I should also note 'what not', to help put me in context as a player. I'm not just casual, I'm uber casual. I'm not remotely interested in raiding, or just doing the same instance over and over again waiting for the day when a particular item drops, because I don't even know what items might drop.

Which leads to the fact that I'm not one of those players who spends all their time when not playing WoW reading about how to play WoW. I don't research talent builds, or instance strategy, or any of the myriad nuggets of information available to help hone one's play. I just do it. No grand plan, no big ambition beyond surviving, exploring, and learning new stuff.

And also, despite what I said above about enjoying adventuring with my partner, I'm generally to be found filed under the heading "does not play well with others". I like solo-ing. I'll join a gang if I'm in the rare mood for an instance, and occcasionally if I and someone else are clearly on the same quest I'll party with them, but that's broadly it. I've been very turned off by guilds that aren't remotely casual, but are all about the raids (or more accurately, previously perfectly normal guilds that have suddenly gone that way); that expect you to be online at exactly the same time every night ready to join the raid and take up your duly assigned spot. Apart from anything, who has the kind of life that can accommodate that kind of routine? I never know what time I'll be getting home from one day to the next. So this guild we're in is small and feels quite comfortable so far, but I haven't actually done anything with them yet, and I reserve the right to bail if all the guild chat suddenly starts being about some atunement or other and lots of raiding rules start to appear.

I like my casual, I like my solo-ing, and so far, I'm quite liking the horns :-)