The World of Warcraft Gamer’s Guide to Being Seriously Casually Hardcore

Posted by Brandon On January - 22 - 2010

Hi, I’m Brandon here with MMOMFG.com. You might remember me from insightful articles such as: “Aion: Steaming Pile of Crap,” and “Koreans: What’s with those guys anyway?” It’s been a while since I’ve posted an article here thanks to a confluence of real life events which left me with little time to game and thus little to contribute to the world of video game journalism. However, the siren song of Icecrown Citadel has lured me back into the World of Warcraft with its alluring promises of forbidden pixilated pleasures. Oh Dark Mother, once again I suckle at your electronic teat!

Unfortunately for me, many of the time demands which led to the deactivation of my account originally continue to persist. I still work full-time, attend graduate classes after work, and have to juggle responsibilities at home with my family. All this is to say, I don’t always have the time I would like to dedicate to entertainment pursuits. I think sooner or later many MMO players find themselves in similar situations. When you are in college or working and living alone, it’s easy to commit 20 hours or more a week to a game. Once you start having more demands put on your time, from work or spouses or other family, that 20 hours can rapidly become 4-5 hours a week. In MMOs, this kind of change can have more far reaching effects than merely a reduction in gameplay. With 4 hours a week to play, you likely aren’t going to keep your spot in that raiding guild you’ve worked so hard for over the past several years. They might not kick you out of the guild outright, but you definitely won’t be guaranteed an invite to the weekly raids. Raid leaders simply can’t prioritize spots for members with lower attendance at the expense of members with high attendance.

So how do you make the best of a bad situation? How do you continue getting enjoyment from the game when the things you liked most are no longer available to you? Never fear, I am here to help you answer those questions. So, with no further ado, I present to you:

THE MMOMFG.COM WORLD OF WARCRAFT GAMER’S GUIDE TO BEING SERIOUSLY CASUALLY HARDCORE

The purpose of this guide is to help you, the MMOMFG.com readers, adapt a hardcore raider’s attitude to the reality of a casual play experience. Truthfully, I believe this guide can be of worth to almost anyone who is currently playing World of Warcraft. From freshly dinged 80’s experiencing life in the endgame for the first time to casual players looking to get the most out of their limited play time, to multi-night raiders who just want to get a handle on “game within the game.” The lessons in this guide apply at a fundamental level. I am confident that if you follow the steps I outline in the guide, you will have more fun playing WoW, you will get more out of your play time, and you will improve your performance in the game. Let’s get started!

Step 1: Know your limitations

The first thing you need to do is determine the time you have available to play. We need to identify two things. First, how many hours per week can you play? Second, how many hours can you play consecutively in each play session? Combined, these numbers will determine what your progression ceiling is. By progression ceiling I simply mean the level of content you are likely to be able to clear. The point in all this is not to try and contort your schedule around the play time which lets you raid the highest content you can. You are free to do that if you wish, but the real point here is to determine what your limits are so that you can adjust your expectations to those limits. You can save yourself frustration and headache by knowing ahead of time what you can do and not being upset when you find yourself on the guild reserve roster because you can’t make their raid times.

Step 2: Know how your limitations translate to game experience

This is a continuation of the first step, and simply involves matching your available hours to the time required for different levels of content. Your hours-per-session number is probably a more limiting factor at this stage of the game. You will be able to reach a higher progression ceiling if you are able to play 8 hours a week in two 4-hour sessions than if you are able to play 8 hours a week in four 2-hour sessions. The reason for this is because raiding takes time. Rarely do guilds raid current progression content in 2-hour blocks. Progression raids require a heavy time investment learning fights and improving gear levels to pass “gear check” encounters. Different guilds will have different raid schedules, but, in general, in order to experience most raid content you will need to be able to devote 3-4 nights a week at a minimum of 3 hours per session. If you are unable to make that commitment, you will probably have to stick with raids of lower tier content- “farming” raids or “alt” raids- and heroic dungeons. Once you know what content is available or unavailable to you, you can begin forming goals for yourself as a player.

Step 3: Set goals for yourself

The next thing we need to do is set goals for ourselves. Maybe you think your goal is just to have fun playing the game. Well, I would hope that was a given considering you spend $15 a month just to play it. What I mean, however, is that you need to determine what it is about the game that makes it fun for you. Once you know what you find to be fun, then you can go about maximizing it. I think there are three main goals that most people have when playing WoW, and these apply to both PvE and PvP. First, being the absolute best you can possibly be at whatever it is you are doing. This is where the real minmaxers and hardcore gamers hang out. Need to drop 1000g to re-gem all your gear? No problem. Whatever it takes to be the best. Second, being almost as good as you can possibly be. No, I’m not going to have a goal for every possible effort level someone can put into a character. This goal refers to people who have a desire to be good at the game but don’t want to obsess about a two-point stat loss here or there. Essentially, they want to play the game well and have people recognize that they are good players, but they don’t feel like they have to be some kind of in-game superstar that everyone knows. Finally, the last goal is simply to collect stuff. Titles, mounts, achievements, gear, gold, whatever it may be. Maybe you don’t really care about what your dps is, you just want to have lots of purples and look really cool swinging a big sword around. It’s your $15, don’t let anyone tell you that’s not a valid goal. For my part, I strive for both the second and third goal. I have a somewhat obsessive compulsion to collect gear for my character and often feel disappointment on reaching my progression ceiling because then I no longer have any gear to collect. I also have a strong desire to be as good as I can be, but can’t always justify spending so much gold on enchants, gems, or BoE epics so I can’t really consider the first goal to be an objective for me. So figure out what makes the game fun for you.

Step 4: Know your class

Because this is a guide aimed primarily at being casually hardcore, I’m assuming most readers will consider themselves to fall in with goals 1 and 2. In order to be the best you can be, or close to it anyway, you absolutely must know your class inside and out. How deep into things like game mechanics you want to go is up to you, but there are a few things you will need to know at a minimum. First, you will need to know the various stat caps, if any, applicable to your class. At a minimum, all classes except healers will have a hit cap that they must reach. Most classes also have caps for stats such as armor penetration, expertise, haste, and with the introduction of higher level gear some classes such as Rogues and Fury Warriors are even pushing against the cap for crit. Knowing the minimum stats required for your class is absolutely mandatory. It would be a good idea for you to know why your class has certain requirements and why, for instance, crit or ArP is a better stat for you than haste, but it isn’t necessary as long as you have a general understanding of stat priority. You will also want to know the optimal rotation for your class. All dps and tank classes (again, healers don’t really follow) will have a skill rotation or priority system that has been determined to produce optimal results. It isn’t necessary for you to understand the math and theory which were used to produce the rotation (although if you enjoy that sort of thing go for it) so long as you know that pushing certain buttons in one sequence will give higher damage/threat per rage/energy/mana than pushing them in a different sequence.

So now that you know what information you need to be aware of, you need to know where to find it. Knowing where to find reliable resources of information will make learning your class much easier. Notice I said RELIABLE. This may come as a shock to you, but not everything on the internet is a fact. XXLeGoLaSXX on the WoW forums might claim that spamming wing clip is the best dps for a hunter, but you may not want to take his word for it. This is not to say that there are not sources of reliable information available on the WoW forums. Spend just a little time on your class forums and you will soon discover which players are held in the highest regard as quality players. Pay attention to the advice they give and check their armory to see how they gem, enchant, and spec. There are also some great websites you should be aware of for quality information on your class. These can vary in their complexity. The Elitist Jerks forums have the very latest, cutting edge theory and mathematics for almost all class and spec roles. This is where much of the information on stat caps, rotations, and gear combinations originates. The EJ forums are NOT beginner friendly, however. They are all business and are heavily moderated. It is not the place to go and ask basic questions such as “How much hit do I need?” Depending on your class, there may be an FAQ thread stickied in your class forum which contains useful beginner information. Always read these before asking questions. Another great place to go for information is Tankspot.com. As the name implies, the site is oriented towards tanking but it also contains some great resources for dps specs of all the tank classes and is now also beginning to add more information on healing as well. Tankspot.com is also, in my opinion, the premier source for guides to raid content, as their boss encounter tutorial videos are the best done of any I have watched and are usually out within the same week that encounters are released. There are lots of great websites out there, just make sure you know how trustworthy they are before taking them as the stone-cold truth.

Step 5: Plan ahead for gearing

So now that you know how to play your class effectively, you need the gear to make yourself a certifiable badass. The most valuable thing you can do is plan ahead for gearing. Why run Heroic Forge of Souls twenty times to get a belt that turns out to be not the best option for you? Or if you happen to be a raider, do you really want to spend your DKP (or whatever you kids use today) on a weapon that isn’t itemized well for your class? Do some research and figure out exactly what you need and where to get it. Since this guide is primarily aimed at casual players who won’t be raiding current tier encounters, you’re probably going to be dealing with a lot of heroics and badge purchases. Create a gearing strategy beforehand so you can run the necessary heroics without getting stuck in dungeons you don’t need to be running and so you won’t waste badges by buying a trinket that isn’t as good as something you could get as a drop.

To create your gear wishlist, you will want to make good use of your class resources I talked about before. Many classes have dps simulators, either through spreadsheets or standalone programs such as RAWR. Get used to using these programs and knowing how to consult them on possible gear swaps to make sure your performance is always maximized. Once you have your analyzing tool at hand, go through your gear choices for each slot and see what kind of combinations you can come up with. Wowhead.com has a handy comparison feature that you can use to look at multiple pieces in a side by side comparison. If you have a basic understanding of your class’s stat values, you can usually use this to “eyeball” which piece will be better for you. I personally use this as my first filter for all gear choices, followed by a more in-depth dps simulation for more precise results. Of course, you need to be mindful of your stat caps whenever putting together a gear set.

Finally, know where and how to get the gear you settle on for your set. Know exactly which pieces drop in each dungeon or raid before you go into it so you can be prepared to roll or bid on the item if it drops. You should also be mindful of which badge purchases are the best upgrades so you will know which order to purchase them in. This can fluctuate, as you may receive minor upgrades in dungeons or raids as you attempt to collect all your gear. When you have a focused, pre-determined gearing strategy, you will find gearing up to be more enjoyable and go much faster than just running heroics and taking whatever drops and wondering why your dps is lagging behind.

Step 6: Put in the effort

So you’ve researched your class, you’ve made your shopping list, now you are ready to be the best you can be. Don’t take all that time you’ve invested and invalidate it because you aren’t prepared to do what it takes to do it right. Probably for most classes, the best gear set is going to involve some combination of four pieces of Tier-9 badge gear, plus the offset helm or shoulders. The offset pieces cost more, and some people might be tempted to just go with a full set of Tier-9. Don’t cut corners! The tier pieces have a lot of variation in their stats to make the set a good all around set. But because of stat caps (soft caps really, not hard caps, but that’s another article) a lot of those stats may go to waste. As an example, the helm and gloves for the warrior Tier 9 set both carry hit rating, 124 rating altogether. As a fury warrior, the soft cap for hit rating is 164 rating, leaving you only 40 hit rating to make up on all the rest of your gear. The likelihood is that you will go over the soft cap in hit and waste a lot of the hit rating on those pieces. Yes, the offset helm requires you to farm more badges, but if you really care about being the best you can be, you have to put in the effort.

The number one area where people let laziness ruin their goals is gemming and enchanting. I know that gems are expensive. Believe me, I hate dropping 200g per Cardinal Ruby as much as you do. You might currently be cursing me because 200g is cheap as far as your server is concerned. The fact is, if your goal is to be the best, why would you not extend that to your gems and enchants? Sure the difference between 20 Agi and 16 Agi is only 4 Agi, but across 15 gem slots that is 60 Agi. Would you take a permanent 60 Agi buff if someone offered it to you? Of course you would. Don’t skimp. There are tons of dailies around to make gold. It might take you a few days to get enough to buy that berserking enchant, but don’t let that stop you. The important thing is getting it right. Take the time and do it the way it needs to be done.

So you got your gear, you researched your class, you gemmed and enchanted your gear correctly. You are almost certifiably seriously casually hardcore. One final word of warning: don’t screw around in dungeons or raids. You better be busting your ass every fight to put out as much damage, threat, or healing as possible. You worked for all that gear, don’t be another scrub in welfare epics that gets out dpsed by the tank. Being hardcore isn’t about looking like you know what you are doing, it is about absolutely, without a doubt knowing what you are doing. I routinely out damage better geared players because of the simple fact that I care and they don’t. So put in the effort on every single pull and commit yourself to being the best.

Step 7: Don’t compare yourself to hardcore raiders

The final step in being seriously casually hardcore is really more of a quality of life exercise. Do yourself a favor and don’t compare yourself to progression raiders. Of course they are doing more dps than you, look at that gear! It’s nothing to be ashamed of. Believe me, I have gotten way more compliments of “Wow! Your damage is awesome for that gear!” from better geared players than I have ever been put down for not competing with them on the damage meters when they are two full tiers of gear ahead of me. The fact is that you knew going in to this what your limitations were and that certain things would be unavailable to you. Take pride in being a better player than someone with better gear because of how you play and not what the damage meter says at the end of the run. If you ever do get the opportunity to join a raiding guild, they will be concerned with: do you know how to play your class, do you gear properly, and do you not stand in the fire. There is more to playing the game than looking at the ilvl of your gear, and that is what being seriously casually hardcore is all about. So be proud of how you play the game and how you excel at your class despite lower level gear. And most importantly, have fun doing it. If you follow all the steps in this guide and you find that you really don’t enjoy the game as much as you used to, stop doing it! Go back to step 3 and reevaluate your goals. Maybe being hardcore just isn’t what you want out of this game, and that is perfectly fine. Don’t let anything in this guide keep you from having fun playing the game, because in the end that is the only thing that matters to anyone.

I hope that this guide helps you learn a bit more about how this game works and how you can become better at your class. We don’t all have the time required to face WoW’s stiffest challenges, but that doesn’t mean we can’t still be elite players. With more and better gear becoming easily available through badges and the new Heroic dungeons, players across all servers are learning to appreciate the distinction between how someone plays the game and how many “omgpurples” they have on their character sheet. If you take these tips and combine them with a commitment to being the best you can be at your class, I know that you will be a player who is respected for the skills and attitude that you bring to every run.