WoW in My Hour - Gnomeaggedon

WoW in My Hour is on to its sixthinstalment where I interview other bloggers and WoW players to explore the different ways people spend their time in game and speculate (or relate) what/how they might prioritise the smaller time periods - particularly if that is all they are left with. This week we move to the darkside... a DPS blog for the first time!

1. Can you please introduce yourself. Tell us a bit about who you are
   and what you do (blog about) - in terms of WoW?
   
   I'm a young (hey, 40s are the new 20s right?) professional that gets more kicks out of WoW than TV and house work. I live, work and play in Melbourne, Australia. Recently single father of Odin... my little household god.
   
   A quick note on the "recently single". While there is no question that WoW playing was a prominent issue in our relationship, it was really an easy target, and the hours spent in keeping the relationship afloat way outweighed the hours playing or thinking about WoW. I see too many people pointing fingers at WoW as the primary reason an otherwise flawed situation breaks down. I will mention pre & post separation in this interview because the pre-separation was true "Wow in an Hour stuff", whereas post-separation is my choice to "WoW in an hour", or not.
   
   I play Alliance side on Aman'Thul, one of the Oceanic tagged servers in the Bloodlust Battlegroup. I have two mains, Gnomeaggedon the Fire Mage of ill repute and Squidly the interloping Shaman. There are probably 20 other characters strewn across 10 other servers that have never and will never make it beyond level 3.
   
   From a blogging point of view, I have been blogging now for nearly 2 years at Armaggedon's Coming! It's a blog primarily about Fire Magery, particularly Gnome Fire Magery, occasionally about Resto Shamanism, often about silly thoughts that enter my mind that my RL friends would just shake their heads at - so instead I publish it for hundreds to shake their heads at.
   
   Originally it was along the lines of Fire Mage raiding tips, tricks and experiences. These days it tends to be more about Fire Mage PvP... I can fit that into an hours playtime.
   
   
   
2. How would you describe yourself as a WoW player? Hardcore, casual (and what you mean by those if you choose to use them), raider, PvPer etc
   
   I'm a casual-hardcore-casual-pvping-raider.
   
   Did that clear it up? No?
   
   Ok, I'm casual. I don't have specific times that I can or do play. That is controlled by RL - work and family. When I was married, I arranged to have one night a week (generally Fridays) as my night out at the pub... the thing was I never left the house, I just played with my mates while having a few beers.
   
   Beyond that, I might grab the odd "Desperate Housewives hour" here or there.
   
   I'm hardcore. When you have limited playtime, you don't want to waste it. Thus I research what I need, I gear for what I need and I go do it. When I get an invite to a raid, I will be the 1st at the summoning stone, expecting to summon immediately - especially if I am the last to join the raid.
   
   I don't appreciate people screwing about for an extra 15 minutes, or coming in their house clothes rather than their raiding clothes, or gemming green because they are only 4k gold away from that bike.
   
   I'm casual. It is unlikely I will log on with a raid invite pending, in fact unlikely I have any particular plans at all. I might want to raid, but I will settle for PvP. I might want to PvP, but I will settle for questing.
   
   I PvP, therefore a I am. I have nearly always enjoyed PvP, although I didn't get into it for a year or so after I started playing WoW. Recently I have picked up the bug again, in part due to my lack of anything else reliable to do, but also because I have stumbled across a group of people that just destroy battlegrounds... there is nothing better than sending 40 Horde back to the starting graveyard in AV within a minute of starting a game.
   
   I'm a raider. I love raiding. My raid gear is the best it can be with what I have and can do. I know my class and I play it pretty well. For most of TBC and WotLK, I raided with a group of friends every Friday night. We all did our own things the rest of the week and they were in much more progressed raiding guilds, but Friday night was reserved for RL friends, and in fact started because I could only play Fridays - so they all rolled toons with the understanding that they would keep up to, but not go significantly past me.
   
   
   
What does a typical week of WoW playing look like? Pre-separation: Friday nights 4-5 hours raiding with mates. Occasional weekday mornings doing AH scans and automatic posts - while I did everything else that as required around the house. Post-separation: Depends on whether Odin is staying with me or not, but there is much less limitation on what I do. It is still very casual and random though. I don't catch up with my mates on a regular basis any more (we are all online and have our own chat channel - but it isn't a "Mates Run").
• I log on
• Check Wintergrasp - do it if the time is right.
• If I haven't done VoA 10 & 25 or the weekly raid, I join the LFR channel/interface.
• I might queue for a random instance, but meehhh.. whatever.
• I might quest for a bit to try to complete Loremaster.
• I might go and sign up for a BG by myself
• I might join the Bloodlust PvP group and bang out BGs in between quests
• I might visit the AH.
• I might relog into Argent Dawn US and join the folks of Single Abstract Noun.
• I might not be in the mood for any of this and only discover it when I log in... in which case I log off.
3. What is it about gnomes... ?
   
   I don't know how to describe it.
   I don't think anyone can describe it.
   Until they try it.
   I have met a lot of Gnome haters over the years... some of them admit later that they rolled a Gnome and loved it, many I think keep that information in the closet.
   
   
   
4. You've been getting back in PvP recently what brought about the renewed interest?
   
   Three PvP unrelated things brought me back to PvP.
   
   1) Raiding (or the lack of it), and
   2) Squidly, and
   3) LFD
   
   1) Raiding (or the lack of it). My mates and I went our separate raiding ways some time back. Well they went raiding, I just sort of wallowed. This was before LFD and Raid weeklies and all that. I could spend 4 hours in /LFG and not get a run. That's when 2) came about.
   
   2) Squidly is the Shaman I rolled because I was bored. I started leveling him the traditional way, but soon found myself leveling via BGs when the XP was insane. He basically went full time Resto and it was just piles of fun. I soon realized that in the matter of a couple of months he had outstripped Gnomeaggedon's PvP achievements.
   
   3) LFD came and Squidly was in great demand. Soon enough his PvE gear outstripped Gnomeaggedon's, and then I got bored of the demands on PuG healers, so I did the only sensible thing... I shelved Squidly and brought Gnomeaggedon out of the cold.
   
   Back to 1) The problem was, that no matter how much Gnomeaggedon did the LFD dailies, he was still just one more undergeared Fire Mage in the crowd when it came to raids... About this time, I made a desperate plea to one of the most respected Mage Bloggers, Euripedes from CriticalQQ.. He responded and Fire Mage PvP was back!
   
   By back I mean I have pretty much neglected everything else.
   
   
   
5. What do you think about the recent changes to the honour and looking for battleground tool?
   
   
   I hate it.
   
   There, I said it.
   
   To be more specific, from Gnomeaggedon's PoV I hate it. Gnomeaggedon had to slog both ways uphill through the snow over burning coals to get all the PvP gear that can be bought with honor.
   
   However... from Squidly's (and I dare say the general WoW populace) this is a awesome development.
   
   Gnomeaggedon is in the position many high level raiders (well mid level anyway) found themselves when T9 and T10 was being given away for nothing. At 1st glance there is nothing in it for him, yet everyone else is getting a leg up.
   
   However there is lots in it for Gnome. Lots of honor to spend on, well actually I don't know what. Lots of people injected into the battlegrounds. Lots of fresh meat to slaughter.
   
   Strangely, I am sad at the loss of the Battleground marks. I wish they had kept them. I think that if you choose to fight in a BG, there is no other reward than increased honor. I would like to be able to gain the marks for choosing to live and die in a specific battleground, which could maybe then be handed in, in sets, say for Arena points or something.
   
   Squidly on the other hand will be rejoining the Honor Train... time to discard that Deadly gear and upgrade to the latest 3 season old gear.
   
   
   
6. Any tips for those getting into battlegrounds for the first time?
   
   Tip 1: Learn to laugh at death... theirs and yours.
   
   Dead is a natural state in Battlegrounds and has little of the adverse side effects of PvE death. It's a max of a 30 second timeout for being a naughty player that couldn't stay alive.
   
   That said, value your life highly - you can't contribute that much at the graveyard.
   
   Tip 2: DO NOT FIGHT ON THE ROADS! Cynwise says it best here.
   
   One additional point. If you MUST fight on the roads (ie. you have been pulled from your saddle by a pack of blood thirsty Horde), then do your team mates a favor. Drag the enemy off the road and tie them up long enough to allow your mates safe passage.
   
   Dying on the road is a death in vain.
   Dying off the road to allow you mates to cap a "flag" is a death worthy of a ballad.
   
   
7. Do you arena? If so, how is it for little gnomes with big balls of fire? How does it compare to battlegrounds?
   
   I'm "thaaaat close".
   
   I have joined two Arena teams. A 3v3 and a 5v5. We planned to take the 5v5 for our first killing spree last Sunday, but we got caught up in the joys of WSG and AB and before we knew it midnight had arrived.
   
   It will be interesting to see how things go. None of us are expecting to top the Arena rankings, it's a bunch of mates having a bit of fun, however from what I read, not raiding is a handicap to PvP (another argument for separating the two). You see, most people dont' wear that much PvP gear, just the bare minimum, then they wear high end raiding gear to achieve the burst they need.
   
   There is a good chance I will be the 1st to die under a burst of raid-quality DPS... but that at least will give me less time to screw up.
   
   
   
8. Is there anything (in WoW) that you wished you could get into but just don't have the time (or for some other reason)?
   
   I think I have been lucky (and time constraints have added to this) to see most parts of the game now. Sure not at the high end in any of them, but I have raided, PvP'd, instanced, quested, enjoyed World events... so I have the breadth if not the depth.
   
   I regret missing the bulk of the one-off events. Even the Zombie invasion for me was an hour here or an hour there. When I finally had time to go and enjoy it, the party poopers got it canned.
   
   I would still like to go back and complete all the old world/TBC raids... I LFR for them all the time. However, I think you need a guild to get that stuff done and even then the guild has to be willing (and I have been in a few guild capable, but "we have already done that" prevents it happening).
   
   
   
   
9. If you had only an hour to play WoW in any given session how would you fill your time?
   
   See 3) above.
   
   That is pretty much how every hour (whether contiguous or not) in WoW goes for me.
   
   It is one of the reasons I was, and still am for that matter, angry at the change that LFD brought with it. You can only "queue" for one activity at a time. You must choose Raid, PvP or Instance. I'm not an activity hopper. If I get in a BG, group or raid, I will stay there, but I would like to be able to queue for all 3 and choose the 1st option available.
   
   
   
10. If you could only ever play for an hour at a time - would you? If yes, then how would you see your in game activities change? If no - why not?
    
    My play style has adapted to 1 hour blocks anyway. So yeah definitely.. let's look at what Gnomeaggedon and Squidly can achieve in an hour.
    
    Quests:
    Both would do a lot of quests.. maybe only one fumbling one, or 10 quick and easy's.
    
    Instances:
    
    • Gnome would get at least 1 instance, maybe 2 (allowing for queue time). The rest of the time can be spent grooming his beard in Dalaran or questing.
    • Squidly would get 3-4 instances.. healer queues pop fast.
    
    Raids:
    Both could easily fit in a VoA, maybe two (how many PuG raids do more than one or two bosses). Likewise the weekly raid quest is usually the 1st boss, people are always forming weekly raid groups, meanwhile quest.
    
    Battlegrounds:
    Using the new system, you should be in a battleground within minutes of joining the queue, Then it depends on your group and the battleground. You may get 2-3 battlegrounds done in that hour.
    
    The battleground group that Gnomeaggedon has been rolling with will knock over a max honor AV in 9-15 minutes.. that's 4-6 AV's in an hour.
    
    But you need to be honest with yourself and your loved ones about that hour.. I will leave that to lucky question 13).
    
    
    
11. Would you be willing to be part of a raiding crew/guild that only raided for an hour at a time? Do you think it's feasible?
    
    Definitely yes, on both counts, however the willing is easier than the feasibility.
    
    The feasibility is easier now that you can extend raid lockouts. It would also be easy if you had a raid crew/guild that would slip you into a raid for an hour no matter when or where.
    
    That is a big ask of a raiding guild of course...
    
    "Ohhh we have made it to Arthas.. Ahh Gnomeaggedon has logged on, who wants to skip this fight?"
    
    That said, there is no reason why you couldn't organize 10 people to raid a specific instance on specific toons for 1 hour sessions. Remembering that for some people 1 hour sessions only come once per week, for others it's once per day and of course some people have no control over when that one hour occurs.
    
    But let's just assume that you can get 10 people to be online at 9pm (home from work, kids are in bed, dishes & homework done etc.) each designated raid time, then there is no reason why you can't all be sitting out the front of the instance at 9pm. If someone has a mammoth, you don't need to go to town to repair, or get reagents etc.
    
    In that hour, all going well, you should be getting at least 1 to 2 bosses down, maybe more. What if you don't have 10 ready to go? Well don't stop... Who didn't spend an hour in LFG looking for one or two more for Naxx, only to go ahead and find it was easier without the dead weight?
    
    What people do with their characters between those scheduled raid slots is up to them, as long as there is a common understanding that that raid time, that raid instance is purely for the use of that group and they will be waiting outside at the designated time and not a "minute" later. Remember it doesn't have to be ICC Hard mode. For time limited players, venturing into ToC, Ulduar, even Naxx is better than doing absolutely nothing (or LFD for the 1000th time).
    
    Raiding for progression is fun. Raiding for gear less fun. Raiding for fun with a great group of people beats all.
    
    
    
12. Do you have any tips/advice for making the most of your WoW play time?
    
    1) Be honest
    2) Remember why you only have "an hour" and honor that
    3) Be flexible, more flexible that you imagine you can be.
    4) Don't lose heart if you don't succeed.
    
    1) Be honest with yourself, your playmates and your RL "mates".
    If you only have an "hour" then play for the hour - no more. Yes, even if that means logging out mid-raid, BG or instance. It's way too easy to play for "another 5 minutes".
    
    2) This is a big one. If you are only playing for "an hour" due to real world commitments, especially if this is negotiated time, then honor the gift of the time.
    
    5 minutes more might not mean anything to you, but it will to your partner the 3rd time you do it. You need to understand there is a different definition of "play time" for the player and the stood-up.
    
    Player: I hour of play time starts when I start doing something productive in game. It doesn't include starting the PC, visiting the AH, grabbing my offset from the bank, flying to the raid location, returning to town, repairing, selling trash, visiting the AH, logging off and shutting down the PC.
    
    The Stood-up: You time starts the second you either:
    a) Mention you are going to play than f'ing game, or
    b) The moment you leave my side.
    
    So that "hour" is in reality best case 50 minutes, more likely 40 minutes.
    
    Don't feel ripped off... you got to play - that's what you wanted to do wasn't it?
    Instead be genuinely grateful for the opportunity to play. Once that time is over, make sure you concentrate fully on the other aspects of your life.
    One you get a good track record, there is a good chance you can get an occasional 2 hour session when there is a double header Desperate Housewives/House session on.
    
    3) Be flexible. I know some people are terrorfied of PvP... but let me tell you, it is soooo much fun you will wonder how you survived the boring months of LFD, the hours of waiting on your raid group to fill, or to repair.
    
    Sure if depends on having and average+ group and on having an enemy that isn't going to roflstomp you into the group... but if you don't cry when it takes you 3 weeks to down the latest progression boss, you shouldn't be crying when you only win 4/10 battlegrounds.
    
    4) Don't lose heart in the game if you don't get to (or complete) raid, PvP, Instance etc in your limited time. This time maybe you didn't succeed, but you probably will next time.
    
    I've been bumming around the server for a long time, long before practically instant instance queues, before random Battlegrounds, before there was a reason for a PuG to take me on a raid.
    
    I have spent 5 hours dreaming of getting a spot in a 5 man.
    
    Trust me, life is very good for the time-limited right now. Just because you didn't get the raid spot until 5 minutes before you logged off this time, doesn't mean you wont get one in the 1st 5 minutes next time you log on.
    
    
13. Any final comments?
    
    Well... there you go, I get to litter someone else's blog with a wall of text.. you can never accuse me of being succinct.
    
    Thanks Gameldar for the opportunity to share my "WoW in an Hour"!

Thanks so much Gnomeaggedon (or is that Trollaggedon I'm a bit confused) - awesome responses that give a great insight into not only how you play the game, but also how you approach it with RL concerns included. Thanks for your honesty too!

As always - if you have any questions I'm sure Gnomeaggedon will drop by and answer them, so please ask away in the comments! And if you are a horde player on the Bloodlust Group - watch out for the great balls of gnomen fire!