80

Sep 4, 2009

By Patrick.

Gaming

So late last night, feeling a fit of digestive upset that could only be cured by a peanut butter and honey sandwich with a tall, icy glass of milk, I fired up World of Warcraft and hit level 80. I've been playing WoW off and on for years, but this is the first time I'd ever reached the game's maximum level. And so, now what?

I was initially reluctant to post about this, because it seems such a petty achievement in the grand scheme of things, but then I was a gamer before I was whatever it is that I am now, so why not? I think it's pretty cool in a very geekish way, and since my wife and I tend to watch television, read, surf the web, and play games in the same room, it hasn't affected my social life. When we don't go out, we're there together with our dogs, and we're both curmudgeons. Wife, dogs, game: all is well with the world. I don't need you people.

But on the topic of "now what?", a few members of the Popehat forum and I have begun a casual leveling guild, named Susan Express, for sessions on Monday nights. We intend to play select characters together, level them together, hit old world dungeons together, and in general use the game as the glorified chat room it's always been. Characters will be, hopefully, appropriately leveled. No "twinks," no level 80s running 4 low level characters through high level dungeons. Though I am pretty generous with my gold.

The guild is based on the Wyrmrest Accord realm, a "role-playing" server chosen because such servers tend to have more adults playing. We are aligned with the Horde faction, because to be honest the Alliance makes my teeth grind.

If you'd like to join us (I know we have a few current and ex-WoW players reading the site), post a comment here or better still in the devoted thread in our forum, or contact me (character name Tusker), in game.

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18 Comments

World of Warcraft

17 Comments

slambie • Sep 4, 2009 @8:48 am

Susan Express – please tell me you're joking. Your guild members are very likely to be hounded (and not in a good way) by other players thinking you're the in-game spam-happy gold sellers of SusanExpress.com.

That said, if I wasn't so entrenched on my current WoW server, I'd join you. I've put the top-level raiding grind behind me, but still spend a lot of my game time in WoW messing about and occasionally running heroic 5-mans.
Jag • Sep 4, 2009 @8:59 am

I think most WoW players (at least Hordeside) would get the joke and realize that a gold selling guild would probably not be around for very long.
gj • Sep 4, 2009 @9:01 am

Congratulations on 80. As a member of the tooth-grinding Alliance on Kirin Tor, I've been thinking about giving Horde a try to see the other side of the game; if I do, I'll give Wrymrest a try, and see how Susan Express is doing. Though playing without being unable to give Blood Elf pallies the beatings they so richly deserve may cause me to develop facial tics…
Patrick • Sep 4, 2009 @9:13 am

Slambie, more than half the people who comment on the name laugh at it, as in "good joke!"

Give your fellow players credit. I know you got the joke.
John Kindley • Sep 4, 2009 @9:15 am

I'd like to join. I haven't played WoW in a while though, and I'm not nearly as good as my 11-year-old stepson. I always wished I could get the old school chums I used to play D&D with to join WoW. Seems it would have been more entertaining. Is your group tolerant of unproficiency?
Patrick • Sep 4, 2009 @9:16 am

And gj, we beat night elves. It's pretty similar, except they're blue.

I do loathe blood elves, for what it's worth. Worst mistake Blizzard ever made was to add those people to my beloved Horde.
Patrick • Sep 4, 2009 @9:17 am

We're all n00bs John.

Look us up (see the character name and server above) for an invite in game.
Chris • Sep 4, 2009 @9:21 am

If Patrick's not on, do a /who Susan Express. Most of us can invite.

Current plans are for Monday night characters to start around 7:30 Central/8:30 Eastern. Most of us also have other characters we're messing around with outside that group.
PLW • Sep 4, 2009 @11:00 am

I just redownloaded the client (Thank you University/Work T3!) I'll be there!
PLW • Sep 4, 2009 @11:11 am

Hey, Patrick (or anyone), do you have a spare "scroll of resurrection" you can send to plwarre at yahoo ??
Patrick • Sep 4, 2009 @11:18 am

Done PLW.
PLW • Sep 4, 2009 @12:28 pm

got it.. thanks!
slambie • Sep 4, 2009 @1:16 pm

Point taken Patrick. I'm most likely irreversably jaded by all the in-game ass-hattery I've been subjected to over the last 4+ years as an online player.

Speaking of guild names and slambies with no sense of humor, two of the best I've seen so far are "Armed and Hammered" and "Blood Bath and Beyond."
Jag • Sep 4, 2009 @1:35 pm

My guild full of my bank alts was called Mt. Hyjal Ski Team.

It was funnier last expansion.
Chris • Sep 4, 2009 @1:52 pm

There's a guild on Emerald Dream called "Built Horde Tough" that always made me laugh.
Bruce • Sep 4, 2009 @7:07 pm

A return to traditional values. If only I could take Tuesday afternoons off.

Running instances when you are all at the appropriate level is fun and challenging – you get a sense of real acoomplishment. I got a curmudgeons reputation back when I was playing as I refused to go out of my way to run noobs through a dungeon. "Find a couple of other players and go run it properly – it's more fun that way".

I hated Gnomer and Ulda – but would run Scarlet Monastery or Zul Farak all night long.

Other fun guild names in my experience:
Chairmen of the Horde
My Little Pwnies
Gquit
Chris • Sep 5, 2009 @4:10 pm

Is Zul Farak the one where the dozens and dozens of non elite trolls run up the stairs and try to kill you? And you fight gamera (or is it godzilla)? Because that one was awesome.