Thursday Dec 2, 2021
Is there Anybody Out There?
It should not take me by surprise, as it happens every expansion I have ever played in World of Warcraft. But it does.
Each expansion of WoW has its ups and downs. During release, there is a huge excitement built up in the community. Lots of people logging in and available for group play, be it 5-man instances, Raids, group quests, you name it, people are there ready to tackle things together.
Inevitably there is a drop off in population after a while, as people are off to do the next shiny. A new game, burnout, having achieved what they had set out to do on their character, you name it. Reasons to not log in with the frequency and fervor that they had.
The Marrow
Being an altoholic, I suck the entire marrow out of each expansion, playing and replaying things over and over. It’s a strange thing that I never get bored, but the continual flow of dopamine from getting that next level, that next skillup, that next…whatever, just works for me.
And then it happens. I log into guild and Discord, and there is a ghost town where once there was life. It happens slowly, where Raid nights are not pushed, they are only happening -if- enough people log in to make it work. I have never gone after progression, so those that are interested head off to join up with others that do. Meanwhile, I am on to the next alt, working my way through each one to get to 70 and park them for later. Later means when I feel like it, and that is an awesome feeling.
I used to feel resentment towards people for leaving the game, pursuing another shiny. Even now it is still a small bitter pill to swallow when you hear your guildmates in discord playing something other than World of Warcraft. However, that is quickly replaced with “alrighty, on to my 63 Warrior who is sitting with a full bar and a half of rested xp”.
Still Thriving, But Still...
It is a palpable feeling when you get out into the world and start questing. There’s still lots of activity in the Lookingforgroup channel, but there is. definite skew towards the higher end things. Heroics and SSC/TK groups are forming. Guilds are downing Vash and now are working on getting her on farm. Guild recruitment is showing 8/8 for this Raid or 4/4 for that Raid, looking for a class or two to replace those dropping off the progression train. Fortunately, there are enough of us levelling alts that you can get into the lower end instances – Ramparts, Blood Furnace, Slave Pens and Underbog.
Lucky for me, I chose a High Population Alliance Server when creating my Classic account. It still maintains a healthy population all through Classic and The Burning Crusade so far. There is drop-off, but not nearly as much as what Shintar mentioned in their post “Blizzard Killed My Server”. Poor Shin. But they’re working through it and if you continue reading the follow up posts you'll see it for yourself.
A Guild of My Own
I have often thought about creating my own guild, to find others that are driven by the same things I am. Creating a stable of alts to enjoy many of the different facets of the game. There is a lot of draw to this for me, if you get enough people, you have groups who will consistently log in and have others in the same level ranges to group with. I feel that there would be more empathy present, as someone who wants to try something like tanking would be more at ease knowing that the players they’re grouped with are going through the same thing.
However, the same thoughts start to intrude on my daydreams about this. The hassle of organizing something, keeping it fresh and attractive so that people (being people) aren’t drawn away from the guild. Being online, which is really important for a guild leader, wouldn’t be an issue. I don’t know. Maybe.
Ah, daydreams I suppose. Crushed by laziness? Perhaps.
Wylset