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Why aren’t we perpetually drunk

Published March 5, 2011 World Of Warcraft 2 Comments
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I was fishing, and I fished up some port from some wreckage,  and then there was more port,  and then on occasion I’ll get some Rumsey Rum,  that promises to give me +10 stamina  for 15 min and gets me drunk to boot!

One of the first quests you do when you hit Stormwind sends you to the Winery for some wine.

16 silver for a Jug of Boubon. Sweet!

We have festivals that provide us with free booze,  kegs and flagons for everyone!

When selecting what cooking receipe I was to get next I could have got an alcohol making one,  but I couldn’t think of a good enough reason to want to be able to slip my hand in my Enlarged Onyxia backpack and pull out some alcohol.  Quietly having a little sip.

*slurp

*giggle

If you have ever done the Wildhammer Dailys in Twighlight Highlands  collecting their beer makes you drunk,  and it’s bloody annoying.  I’m trying to work,  make gold,  and do questing,  and here is my flying mount flying off into all sorts of weird directions.

We have alcohol available to us in all sorts of places,  it’s cheap,  your screen goes funny,  and the entire world gets little announcements. * blah* is getting tipsy.

It’s kind of like alcohol advertising.

“What is he drinking?”

“He is getting drunk from [black label make me a man brew]

“Hey I want some!”  Have you ever thought that way?  “Hey he is getting drunk off some sweet stuff, I want to buy some/”

So Why don’t we drink more?

Zahraah is getting drunk from Flask of Port

Zahraah is getting tipsy off of Rumsey Rum

You feel Tipsy Whee!

You feel completely Smashed after that Flagon of mead

( Yes I wrote this post IN the Gallina Winery)

and then I kept drinking until I “Drunken Vomited” several times It was kind of gross, Then I passed out in front of a Keg. Real classy.

I know its not real. Everyone knows it’s not real.  In Australia we had Fallout 3 originally refused classification basically because of the way the ‘chem’s were delivered that they were “Material promoting or encouraging proscribed drug use”

I don’t remember there ever being concern about the availability of intoxicating beverages in Wow.

So the question was ” Why aren’t we perpetually drunk?”   we have the means, it’s cheap  it does funny things, our health doesn’t suffer

I personally find it annoying , the affects interferes with my gameplay, I also don’t want to be the Shadow Priest that hangs out in Stormwind drunk all the time, because any passerby gets told.  “Zahraah is tipsy on..”  and Being Drunk in Wow isn’t cool.

Do younger players think ” Woot!  I am drunk!” Hahahah! cause surely we would see more drunk people around given the amount of younger players that play.

I don’t get the impression that alcohol is a big deal at all in Wow, and I think regardless of its availability, what it stands for in real life, that getting drunk in game is more an annoyance then it is “for fun”  we know the difference between real life and virtual worlds.  Given the opportunity to misbehave, most people don’t.

So why would we not be able to tell the difference when it comes to violence and drugs in games?

What else I have been doing.

Published March 1, 2011 Gaming , World Of Warcraft 7 Comments
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Reading Mogworld

I suck at book reviews, and I haven’t quite finished with it.  I am dividing my public transport time between this and playing Battleheart ( more on that furtherdown)  so I have been slower then normal with it,  but I argue,  if  almost getting a undead mage to 58  ( 58 apparently the 1st time ) can inspire a book.  Shutdown night and an almost finished book can inspire a blog post.

You may know Yahtzee from The Escapist,  Zero Punctuation.  He did a review on Cataclysm in January this year, and is also a co owner of Mana bar Australia’s first gaming bar.    ( with game themed cocktails!  <3)

It’s cheap at Book depository, so no excuse not to buy it, but if you can’t wait I am sure bookshops will have it ( well at least the bookshops I shop at  aka Galaxy Books in Sydney)

You may also be relieved to know that the pace in his reviews is not the same pace as the book.

You can tell there is a strong wow influence, you can also tell that he seems to have missed out on a bit of content. As much as Altitis can be considered a disease,  it allows you to learn a lot more about the game, content,  classes.  But this isn’t a book about Wow, it could be a book about any MMO with undead mages, and above all  It’s about Jim,  an undead mage who wants to kill himself. It’s quite easy to imagine Jim, and Meryl (his undead companion come stitcher back togetherer)  (as pictured below – and no they are NOT holding hands)

This would have to be my first book that I would call a “geek magnet”   who knew that by carrying it around a train station,  ( I use my train ticket for a book mark ) would make boys talk to me. I was approached with ”  IS THAT MOGWORLD YOUR READING”  Alas he was more interested in talking about the book then me,  but I think I successfully encouraged him to buy it,  because he  should ‘get’ it, and I nodded wisely as I said “Get it”  like its a secret club only some people are invited to. Because while I shall not call it a heavy pensive thought producing tomb,  much like reading The Dome was,  it was fun and entertaining, and there have been several times I have chuckled aloud on the train, and often have a grin fixed to my face.

So much of it is relatable.  Some of the silly stuff  especially.

“They stand around like they’ve got a broom up their arse, start talking weird, lose interest in everything except quests and having the best armor”

It describes the symptoms of adventurers suffering the syndrome,  and what image in wow calls to my mind is the posing done outside banks with various pieces of gear that goes on.  More specifically the double glaives back in the day.

So I think you will quite easily “Get it”  and I am sure you will be entertained once you get over that as a MMO player your gaming world is getting mocked in the most amusing of ways.

Playing Battleheart 3.99 ( aus)  for Ipod and Ipad on the Itunes store.

Prizes go to the first person who can identify the class and role of the four non skeleton looking creatures in the pic above.

I lied.  There are no prizes, but yes, there is a Tank, a healer, a caster dps ( who I forgot to tell to target something) and a melee dps.

You hire your recruits from the Tavern – they level up and get new abilities every 5 levels,  you get Gear, and gold and the ability to upgrade, and sell and buy more gear, and xp for winning a fight.

My four mains are level 16, 17, 15, 15 and about 5 hours play, so yes I am enjoying it,  MUST GET ONE MORE … LEVEL…..

If you are anywhere but Australia – I am sure it’s cheaper. ( Insert moan about the price disparity) but I didn’t mind paying the money because so far I have at least gotten 5 hours of entertainment out of it, and I forsee quite a few more.

Looks like you can get to level 30 – and there are enough class combos,  with their own duel talent trees to pick and chose from that you can try, and train different variations

Here mousey

Published November 8, 2010 Gaming , World Of Warcraft 11 Comments
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Mice have come a long way since  the days of stealing the ball from the mice in the computer labs in highschool, prompting our IT people to glue the mouse holes shut, making cleaning impossible.  Highschool computing taught me to love keyboard shortcuts.

My mouse at home has 5 buttons, it also has marks where my fingers have worn away the silver coating, as does my work mouse.  anthropologists of the future shall know how we used our technology by the wear marks of our finger placements.

   At the time I got my 5 button mouse that came with its own software, I thought I was being very brave in breaking away from the standard mouse – It sat in my draw unused for months while I worked up the courage to plug it in.  I was eventually forced to when my old mouse died,   and now I think I am ready to upgrade again – I have gotten comfortable with 5 clicky things,  and using Alt  and mouse clicks but  I need more buttons.

I blame druid healing,

I also need to be able to reach those new buttons with as much speed as I can the right click / left click so the button placement is important

 In the Pic above the mouse on the left is how it’s currently set up and on the right  – what I think I would like.

I am not sure my thumb is flexible enough to get to three buttons quickly,  but where my ring finger sits on a mouse I could comfortably ‘squeeze/press the mouse on the side, and my little finger sits there doing nothing, and it has enough strength to press a button

( reminds me of ” Hi my name is Joe,  I have a wife and three kids and work in a button factory”  how many buttons can you push at once?

So at some point in the near future I shall be going somewhere with a gaming mouse display, and holding each of the mice to see what I like

I am sure I  would adapt to any mouse placement changes, but some of them look like you would get serious hand crampage, and I would rather a functional mouse then one all gussied up.

Fawkes and Codex poster – sold out already..

Published October 1, 2010 Gaming 6 Comments
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It’s on backorder at Thinkgeek – but it’s an awesome poster.  If you’re a Fan of The Guild you will recognise it as the poster that Zaboo commissioned for codex,  and then because she wasn’t dating Fawkes sold on Ebay to buy her, her new computer.  I love watching The Guild – and I have a soft spot for arrogant  gamer boys – so even though Fawkes’s character is a jerk.  I hope this season of the guild he gets redeemed.   Though if he becomes a soppy mess then he might lose a little of his appeal. ( The kilt is a bonus though) 

I think it would look perfect on my bedroom  Computer room wall.

Who you play with matters

Published July 29, 2010 Gaming , MMORPG , World Of Warcraft 11 Comments
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Deuwowlity had a post  here, and some things stuck me about it,   talking about playing the game the way you want to – and other people giving up what they want to do, so others don’t have to. 

Who you play with is a massive motivation to keep playing, and especially now with other distractions, a pre expansion slump, new games to distract you  –  people  matter –   and I have learned that  it comes down to  who you want to play with  V   how you want to play.

I was ok with following around someone being their pocket healer  on a brief leveling project of a Elemental Shammy.  Even though I had picked the class for something new and fun.  I ended up healing while we were questing.  More because it was for time spent with that someone.

I was quite happy leveling up my Healing priest in dugeons because of who I leveled with, and I probably enjoyed healing more, because I was with someone I enjoyed playing with.

I am ok healing H Sin in my current guild – ( even though I feel like most of my job is just to eat the unchained Magics sometimes)

I wasn’t ok with being forced to heal all the time on my main when Wrath came out, and I  left a guild back in early days Wrath because the intended healers for the 10 man  Naxx were slow levelers,  so the Shadow Priest was good to use.  It meant there was more than likely no permanent spot for me in the raid when the healers did finally get there.   I got called selfish when I told them my reason for wanting to move on. If the people had mattered more I think I would have been ok.  My attitude to healing has changed a lot now – for the right people now it wouldn’t be such a big deal.

In another guild I  wasn’t ok with three active Shadow Priest raiders, when one of them refused to sit out. Ever, and this influenced my move to what become the first guild I felt like was ‘home’

I guess Healing / DPS come up for me as the most frequent circumstances of times where how I want to play v how others wanted me to play became an issue because it impacted on how I enjoyed playing.   I don’t have other preferences that affect how I play.  What wing gets done first is negligible, If we work on Hard Mode LK, or Hardmode RS  doesn’t matter,  and depends on a heck of a lot more than just one persons whim on how they want to play.  Maybe my warrior will have Tank / Dps Issues in the future,  or if I gear her up reasonably well she might be in a good position to be a tank in cata.  ( OH THE HORROR)

Deuwowlity asked  how many people are stuck playing the game in a way that doesn’t make them 100% happy and came to the conclusion it was probably a staggeringly high number.  I wanted to answer – it’s who you play with that makes the difference – who you will stick around for when things aren’t all roses, but I would tend to agree. If you could ask your guild their inner most desires what spec / role they would truly love to play – I doubt you would have a viable raid.

 When the people don’t become important enough to make a little sacrifice for, be it spec,  time,  content, progression – or lack of  –  then the reason you play changes – and makes it easier to leave for something /someone who is more important.   I had to learn that when I was not logging in and enjoying playing that leaving is sometimes better than logging in, and hate what you will be doing for the next few hours. 

When Cata comes out we will all have that chance to refresh our mains again.  Asking someone to level 80-85 because you’re not going to have enough healers/tanks will be a massive ask.  But some people will do that, let their choices as to who they level first, and gear up be influenced by what will be needed by their friends or guild.  Duel specs will make it easier to get there,  and you can try to pick up gear for both along the way,  but you will still need to focus more on one aspect.  You can only pick one piece for a quest reward.  Do you pick what will help you level faster – or what will be more useful for the needed spec.

I am sure some guilds will be planning for this – of course things change,  people change – they might get to 81 and hate their class, but it’s something to think about.  Will you be leveling what you want to – playing how you want to?  Or you will play what others need you to, and I guess as  Gnomeaggedon points out – in his post Play the way you want to and I know us hybrids  don’t let the pure dps classes complain too much about choice – but playing what you enjoy the most doesn’t just had to be a difference in role tank/dps/heals,  but also the style of  dps you do.

StarCraft II – Wings of Liberty

Published July 28, 2010 World Of Warcraft 14 Comments
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I had no intentions on getting it,  but a few things swayed me

 1. No Monthly Subscription fee – so I wasn’t forced to renew another month incase I still was interested in playing casually. 

 2. familiarity with similar Games I enjoyed  I never played Star Craft – I actually bought it when news of SCII was released with the idea of playing it.  However never even installed it. I used to be a big fan of Total annihilation though,   and me and my brother would play against each other, and I liked the map variety and the principles sounded similar.

3. Cute little Mechs.  Robot ♥ Yes I know he is an office assistant – but he is the ultimate poster boy for mechs. Little mechanical robots

 4. Cheap Price. For Australian Buyers  I got it for Aus $ 70.00  ( 69.97)  from Dick Smith – and was able to have a copy set aside for me on release day afternoon and pick it up after work.  Initial research showed that  Eb Games had it for $98  Jb HiFi had it for $ 89.98  Kmarts Catalogue showed it at $74   I believe that EB  and maybe JB ?  have a price matching  offer – I got my Aion cheaper from EB  by proving Dick Smith had it cheaper when I got mine.  So if you haven’t got a copy yet and your Australian – certainly worth asking. $28 bucks is still a worthy difference.     And the Dick Smith Price is instore as well as online.

Initial Impressions.

While working through the tutorials   ( unfamiliar game – so I wanted to do this right.)  I got dragged into some Multi player Games V the AI by some friends.  Yeah for MSN,  or we would have never of known we were both in the game.

Real ID did not at the time transfer my Real ID friends from WOW to Starcraft, even though its connected to my battlenet account, and asks for my authenticator I use for wow when I log in. We had to add each other again

Half the games we 3v3’d  ‘Server Lost’ – seemed to affect the bigger maps more.  

Achievements “were not working at this time”

Campaigns look great.  I only did a couple,  but I can see myself being entertained long enough quite well.

I did a  1v1AI game, and I managed to get 4 terran marines up, and a couple of towers before I was smashed. Practise Practise Practise. Need to get a routine up for base start up.  I need to get more familiar with what an Engineering building  looks like,  or get into a habit of building things like that on the right so I know I have one.

The similarities to Total annihilation make its easy. I need to go back to the Tuts to get some basic training on grouping my Units,  patrols.

There is no deselect Unit button.  You can canx a Unit’s orders,  but you can’t unselect it unless you select another unit.

I am finding my 22 inch screen a little bit of a pain – I get a good map view,  but I also have more space to move my mouse through to get the next part of the map.  I probably need to use the mini Map more.

But Wednesday night ( tonite) is raid night – so I will be back in WOW.

A bit too much cheek.

Published July 14, 2010 World Of Warcraft 23 Comments
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This  probably has to be the most cheek I’ve seen on any gear model.  They are Elemental Rockridge leggings from Mara

She is not displaying her cloak now ( obviously) but that is an option.  I can choose to ‘hide’ her indecency untill I get different legs but I haven’t. I think she looks tarty ( a judgement)  – and I find that somewhat amusing.  It’s rather unfeministic  of me.  I know guys play female avatars so they have a “better ass” to look at, but I also don’t want to be ‘shamed’ into hiding because I am worried about the impression it makes.   

I am a liberal western woman. I want to play a character that is sexy and attractive.   My main is a Nightelf with bouncing boobs.  I love the exaggerated femininity. I play a fantasy game. I want my women to be clearly women, and my men like men. However there are lines in fantasy that must get drawn. I’m never going to get facial tattoos,  or dye my hair that colour,  or walk around city streets brandishing my sword and shield, nor will I pick a class over another because one’s boobs are bigger.  I keep my Lovely purple dress in the bank   and  I  don’t mind however that my current gear set on my main is more conservative. Long dress,   and that’s ok because she’s my more serious character..

Theres a stereotype right there.  That even I take my more conservatively dressed character more serious than my sexy fun tank. See regardless of my liberalism I still judge my own characters dress.

 I will also admit that the unattractiveness of horde side possibly steered me towards working more on my Nightelf more when I first started playing.  Sure my undead warrior I rolled on a friends realm looked cool.  But she was ugly.  I could see my kneecaps poking out of my pants. 

 I revel in the fantasy identity I can choose to be, and dress how I like without fear of being harassed by a local hoon because you can see some leg.   However  there are concerns that our perception of Female Avatars change the way we view women  – and that people, men and women exposed to suggestively dressed women in-game show a higher ” Rape Myth Acceptance – basically this is the view that Women deserved to be raped if “they wear suggestive clothing or are out alone at night”   From a study in February this year , as reviewed here   by Jesse Fox from Stanford  that showed and taken from the abstract of the actual study  ” Results suggest that gender-stereotypical virtual females enhance negative attitudes toward women”

I felt a  brief stab of guilt.  My refusal to hide my cheeks, or wear a shirt to cover any of my Avatars cleavage may contribute to the acceptance of this negative attitude, especially since I am a female, and I have found that anything that  is sexually female charged becomes more layered with intent if you’re a real girl.  I am ok with my Warrior looking like a tart ( see another judgement )  because she is not real.  I am ok with a women choosing to wear what she wants  Avatar or not.  Period.  IRL, or VR. Though  miniskirts in winter are silly!

You also may remember the Daedalus Project by Nick Yee  and he found amongst other things that

 ” Players seem to prefer avatars that reflect their own stereotypical gender traits. Female players prefer avatars that display feminine traits (e.g., grace) while male players prefer avatars that display masculine traits”

Most female gamers will pick female avatars.  I want to  play as a female.  I want my Avatar to look female. Is that so bad if its a sexy female? We already know that a Metal G is impractical and quite possibly painful. 

There has also  been some  recent discussion on the change to Wonder Womans outfit  – she has gone all conservative with a jacket and pants ( or leggings..) to as the Writer J. Michael Straczynski says ” ‘toughen her up and give her a modern sensibility'” a few writers  about this change,   don’t consider this change to be  as ‘ wank worthy’

 

And these are the looks that she has worn of the last 60 odd years.

Pic from Geekinthecity

What does Wonderwoman have to do with virtual game avatars? – its all still fantasy. While wearing pants instead of spandex tights doesn’t means she can’t be a superhero – or be attractive. Spandex tights make her more of a fantasy.  We don’t have to meet local club dress codes, and our avatars don’t need to worry about boobs falling out of costumes during songs.

I would be more worried about the perception of the female image  where clear lines between real world and virtual world fantasy and reality   are not available   Look to the print media and photoshop, and TV, and movies, and Models and P0rn  – before thinking that because my warrior shows a little cheek that she deserves to be a victim.

Yes I agree – there may be a little too much cheek on that pair of pants, she will get new ones I’m sure, but no matter what your,  or my avatar chooses , or happens to wear.  It will never change my belief;  no one deserves to be a victim.  

“I can’t… mum’s cooking a lamb roast.”

Published June 23, 2010 Gaming , raid , World Of Warcraft 10 Comments
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Michael Grays Ready check: How to make that vital member show up made me think about when the idea  of  when a committment to people on the interwebs became as important as a committment to people in my real life,  and  how easily I can be manipulated when it comes to wow commitments. There are some things I don’t say no to that I should.

The main point I got from the  article was  about getting that vital person to turn up to your raids, and basically applying social pressure, via guilt trips and ego stroking to make them. ” We need you..  stroke The raid can’t go ahead without you ” stroke

In a progression guild environment,  if you needed to apply this type of pressure on any of your essential people,  then your already in trouble – guilds work because  there is an automatic assumption of commitment as per your agreed raiding times,  you turn up – you get purples – progression  – prestige – what ever the aim.  Most non casual guilds  have attendance requirements. If you don’t meet them, then you will miss out on things and get replaced.

How to make a raid member show up, is worth a read,  but I am going to assume that it’s written partially tongue in cheek.  You should not have to manipulate someone into a commitment.  In game.  In real life.

One point of the article that disturbs me a little in it’s use for exerting social pressure  is the part of Michael’s article  “Trade some contact information” It’s no longer just posting  on a forum saying your late – not available.  It’s having your personal email address,  Mobile number, Home number made available to people who will try to peer pressure you into being available for what they want you to be.  Of course it’s still your choice to share this information.

I can tell you the exact moment when my Wow/Real Life commitment priority switch got confused for the 1st time.  I was sitting in a dodgy Irish Pub In Sydney on a weekend drinking beer with friends,  and getting anxious that I might be missing out on  late night bit of raiding they were trying to squeeze in outside of normal raiding times. Having to be anti social and email from my phone the raid leader telling them,  that I would not likely make it home in time, and that I was sorry.  Looking at my friend laughing at me when I explained what I was doing.

That was by email,  not so bad.

But imagine getting a call from someone.  ”  The Raid will be called if you don’t turn up”   How does that make you feel?  Even the coldest of hearts has to be thinking.  “If  I’m not there – 9 other people have had their time wasted. ”

This is my list of what I consider to be the methods of communicating social/peer  pressure with the most  affective at the top, based on methods to make it difficult to  ignore social pressure  ( so yeah if you really want me to do something you better be asking me face to face.)

1) face to face
2) Phone call / vent
3) text message
4) Whisper In game
5) email
6) forum post

There are people I have shared personal contact information with,  while it can have it’s uses I probably have been somewhat pressured to  be available by my ability to be contacted .  (  I am not talking about you.  Yes I know that’s what your thinking.)

With the implementation of real ID – hiding on an alt will be difficult and I’m undecided as to if I want to use it because of its additional way it makes me contactable.

I know your playing, and you are in…    Why are you ignoring me?

I don’t have a secret alt  I hide on,  but I know some people who do – or only share it with some people.

Like most social media trends it will depend on if my friends use it – and whats it’s used for.  So I will wait  – am happy to be a sheep rather than a trend setter.   I am interested in its potential,  and eagerly await the scandals that I am sure will appear in trade channel and forums, and will be interesting to see if it will be used to exert peer pressure/social pressure

Things that make you go…

Published June 15, 2010 Gaming , MMORPG , World Of Warcraft 11 Comments
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A Thing that make me go LOL

Another one of Looking for More’s Corporate Raider  Comics

A thing that made me go 😦

Skeleton Jack advised that he was kicked out of Cataclysm Friends and Family because of his blog.

He says

“Apparently there is some internal policy at Blizzard that prohibits people from participating in NDA content who have some form of media interaction and/or publication dealing with Blizzard games on any level.  IE., I have a blog about WoW so I’m out”

If I were to be involved in something wow related that required non disclosure, I don’t doubt my ability to keep quite about the details,  but I do conceded that I would be influenced by the content.   While I don’t necessarily believe that I am a Wow investigative journalist with a moral duty to expose all.  I would be tempted to at least mull over the new thoughts that my experience would give me,  and that it may come out in my writing about wow regardless.

The missing out on something because you write about Wow is a disappointment, it becomes a cost –  and one I had not thought about much.  But certainly a price  worth paying for the freedom to speak my own mind.  

A thing that made me go GRRRRRRRR

Warcraft Widow Deletes Boyfriend’s Toons  as per A Geek Girl Diva

Fool him for trusting his girlfriend by not logging his account out,  and as  Geek Girl Diva  points out, she not only deletes characters,  but she destroys the gear on ‘his favourite’ by deleting them one by one.  

I’ve watched a few ” I’m tired of my Boyfriend playing his   *insert game console here*   on youtube, and girls smashing it up, and posting it on youtube,   theres videos of Girlfriends raging, and  deleting Beta Key code emails their boyfriends received  ect.

It not funny.

His reaction  – the smashing of his computer screen was also not funny  – and quite scary. 

Yes there are extremes to gaming addictions, and something like that could be seen as ‘staging an intervention’ ,  and I am sure there are so many Significant others that have issues with the time spent on a game  – but there has to be other ways of opening up a conversation about the issue the relationship is having then destroying their game/console.

I read I kept Playing – A happy ending about the writers struggle with an Everquest addiction  a follow up to I kept playing – the cost of my gaming addiction    for some perspective, and as an example of what I never want my life to come to.

If you ever destroyed something dear to me out of spite – I wouldn’t smash my screen – or rage around my apartment – I would look at you with sad eyes,  and tell you to remove yourself from my presence.   That goes for my writing,  my notebooks,  my pictures, any creative project –  but I will say – that like the person with the everquest addiction   – If I’m ignoring an naked Girl boy ( in my case) in my bed for the sake of one more level.  I have bigger problems.

I don’t want a dedicated server.

Published June 3, 2010 Gaming , MMORPG 12 Comments
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You may have heard over the last few years Aussies complain about our lag, the time zone differences,  and that our gaming experience is affected by the distance between us, sitting at our PC’s at home,  and the location of the servers, somewhere in the USA – it seems my battlegroup Bloodlust is based in California.   We use services to lower our ping to reduce the lag to make us more competitive in places like arena.

The solution – to enhance our gaming experience,  reduce lag, and actually cast spells when we actually press the button/click  is to have a local based server.  If this ever happened,   more than likely the Aussies you see pop up on your servers,  in your raids, in your pugs,  sprouting patriotic sentiments in general chat,  we would all huddle together and play on our locally based server.

I would miss the variety that being able to play with people from different countries brings. Language,  words,  expressions,  colloquialisms, humour, we get a better understanding of world events, increased general knowledge, we actually get to talk and interact with people rather than just read about it. 

On a dedicated servers, sure we would still get the Kiwis,  and maybe some of the asia based players,   but our player group, and therefore progression would lean more towards our standard peak hours.  Playing outside that normal peak would mean less people around,  less chance of getting groups for quests, raids,  dungeons,  ect – because of the significant differences in playing quality  I can’t see many people willing to put up with the Lag connecting to us – we do it because we have to,  everyone else would have a choice.

In Bloodlust  – LFGs / Random BG’s even raids on BR run  24/7   I didn’t quite understand what we had untill I found, even queuing as a tank on my baby Tank , the delays in a LFG forming and the general lack of people around.  As my American friend explained,  what do you expect it’s early morning  for us.  Brynhild is on Galakrond which is the Retaliation battlegroup, and it’s been dead when I’ve logged in my play times.   She got invited to a small guild,  but I was never on when they were,  which is probably why I got kicked.

It would also mean that our ability to compete in things like  Arena would still never really be fixed.   Arena would still have Lag because the matches involving American servers would still have the same issues.

Arguably,  while the lag affects all Australian players,  it only matters to a small percentage,  progression raiders,  Arena players.

It may impact us more in rated battlegrounds in Cata  where winning and losing will mean a lot more,  however our battlegroup seems to do ok  win /lose is around 50%

To lose the ability to get to talk  to so many people from other places in the world, because the server population would get very secular  I would rather not have a dedicated server.

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