Sunday, February 4, 2007

Noob-Wrangling, or "I Feel Like I'm Back in Highschool"

Non-Gamers' Guide to This Post

Noob
is a term used for new players. Personally, I think it's a dumb word. Like the word "blog." It just sounds ugly. Like someone should be vomiting when they say it.
The highest level you can get used to be 60, but it's 70 if you have the expansion pack.
lol means "Laugh Out Loud" and has really started to get on my nerves. You shouldn't "Laugh Out Loud" unless you're actually laughing out loud. And please don't get me started on "Rolling on the Floor Laughing."
-------------------------------------

The fact of the matter is that I'm a 23 year old married woman who plays this game with her husband, brother, and sister-in-law. I'm shy and responsible and polite, I was raised in a southern Christian home, and both "southern" and "Christian" ought to imply that I've had impeccable hospitality training.

Most of the players on WoW are male and in high school.

I mean, you get a big chunk of college-aged guys, and some older players tossed in, but the overwhelming population is hormone-crazed adolescent boy. And it wouldn't be quite so bad if the most annoying of these hormone-crazed adolescent boys didn't insist on putting everyone else down. Like maybe they've been picked on at school, so they take it out on all the other WoW players in order to make themselves feel bigger.

You who don't play WoW ask, "How do you know they're being rude?" And you who do play WoW laugh and laugh and laugh.

How do we know? Because of general chat. There's a chat box in the bottom left-hand corner and every now and then you get bored enough to read what's going on. And more often than not, what's going on is high-level jerks abusing and making fun of us poor low-levels.

Mr. Level 42: How do you define a noob?
Mr. Level 60: lol anyone lower than 60 is noob lol i call lvl 59 noobs lol
Mr. Level 42: lol Yeah. But some 60's are still noobs because they pay to have their charas power-leveled.
Mr. Level 60: Yeah.

This was an actual conversation I joined (not quite as vehemently as this post) after it started getting a bit catty. The gist of what I said expressed my feelings on how people treat others in the game, especially people who put others down for not being as high a level as they are. Because that's essentially what the "noob" debate has degenerated to. It's being used as a put-down, and it's just sickening.

Personally, I don't care about being new or low level. There's nothing wrong with it, there's nothing to be ashamed of, but a number of high-levels like to chat in public about how this or that person is such a noob ha ha ha and aren't we special because we're not noobs ha ha ha.

What the crap is that? I had cliques in my high school and I don't think they're any more enviable in WoW. I have always thought, and will always continue to think, that people who talk like that are just trying to put down others so they can feel better about themselves, and that they are the crappiest kind of people alive. Lower level players may aspire to be the same level as them, but they in no possible way should ever want to be them. A level 1 character who treats others with respect and kindness is less of a "noob" than a level 70 with a stupid attitude.

That's not what I think, either. It's fact.

3 comments:

  1. I love it when people call other people n00bs like it somehow makes them more superior.

    If anything, they're bragging about spending more time on a VIDEO GAME than the other person.

    Even better is when the person says something like "omg u n00b" or "if ur a n0b go DYE plz!".

    I almost always make a comment about their "1337 English skillz" and proceed to get a whole bunch of angry whispers about how "it r a game u dont need to talk rite".

    Sure, you don't, but it's always nice to be able to understand something the first time you read it and not have to re-read trying to figure out exactly what they abbreviated and what it means.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I don't really mind being called a "n00b". It just means I'm new to the game.

    I honestly think I've gotten to be a better player than a lot of the "power gamers" who put down other people, though.

    I reached this conclusion after 3 unsuccessful Deadmines runs with Sharaes, 2 horrible DM groups with a 22 Warrior (Wysteria) and 22 Priest (Theldon) at the lead - should have been a cakewalk, but nope... massacre, and the fact that anytime we group with Zach and at least 1 other competent person, we never die. Oh... and I've also made about 200g selling these "power gamers" my junk. *grin*

    ReplyDelete
  3. Zach: Oh, I'll be GETTING to the 1337 English skillz post (*shudders*). Don't you worry your little head.

    Thesden: I totally agree. There's a lot more to being a good W.O.W. player than having high levels and the best equipment. ^_^ And I'm pretty good at ignoring the "ur a noob" comment myself. I just worry about anyone who takes it seriously.

    ReplyDelete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.