Saturday, August 29, 2009

Veteran Snowflakes




Over at the Rawrcast website, Kenny D posted a story regarding the fifth year anniversary pet and how many long-time players were bitter about it. More specifically, the fact that anyone can log on during the given time and receive the pet. There was no reward being given to players who had been around for the five years.

I read as much of the original post over on the WoW forum as I could stand. Apparently, the longer you play World of Warcraft, the more credibility you have. On what, forum boards? I try to avoid the WoW Forum Boards if I can, but the odd time I've had to delve into that sewer I've seen people trying to prove their point by laying out their resume - What do you know! I've been playing since Beta!

I've got a news flash for these Five Year Players (or FYP) - the game you play today has changed quite a bit from the one you played in Year One. Mechanics have changed. Talents have changed. So while you might know a thing or two about a thing or two, you've been learning and re-learning just like people who have been playing for two, three, or four years. However, FYP's want to be given something in-game so that they can stand out from the riff-raff "newbie" players. They want to be special, unique snowflakes.

Bullshit. Just because you've played this game for five years doesn't exempt you from being any less of a mouth-breathing yutz than a six-month player.

Get. Over. Yourself.

Should long-term players be rewarded for their support? Sure, why not. But does that reward have to hang off your shoulder like the Medal of Honor? Why not make it something that benefits the player's character rather than his/her ego?

Since Blizzard seem to have no problem borrowing game mechanics from other games, I think they should use something like the Veteran Rewards that Everquest uses. Every year that the account is active, they receive another reward. EQ has been going for ten years, and this is the lineup they currently have:

1st year – Lesson of the Devoted: The player is surrounded by a beautiful blue/white glow as they gain double experience for half an hour every 20 hours.

2nd year - Infusion of the Faithful: The player enjoys maximum resistances and statistics and a faster run speed for 15 minutes while he glows brightly with power. Usable once every 20 hours.

3rd year – Chaotic Jester: Summons a Bristlebane puppet that persists for 15 minutes and will randomly cast various spells that provide benefits or minor penalties. Usable once every 20 hours.

4th year- Expedient Recovery: All the player’s corpses are summoned to their feet and given 100% experience resurrection if they are still eligible. Usable once per week.

5th year – Steadfast Servant: Summons a creature that casts healing spells upon the player and others nearby. Lasts for half an hour or until you zone. Usable once every 20 hours.

6th year – Staunch Recovery: The player is healed with health, mana, and endurance fully restored. Usable once every 3 days.

7th year - Intensity of the Resolute: Surrounds the player in a glow of energy and increases the power of the player’s melee abilities, spells and heals substantially for 1 minute. Usable once every 4 hours.

8th year – Throne of Heroes: The player is teleported to the Throne of Heroes in the Guild Lobby. Usable every 72 minutes.

9th Year – Armor of Experience: The player is granted several layers of protection from harm for 90 seconds or 10 strikes. This protection lessens as you take more damage. Usable once every 20 hours.

10th Year – Resupply Agent: Summons a mechanical merchant to the player’s side who sells supplies and buys loot. He will stay up for 10 minutes or until dismissed by the player. Usable once every 20 hours.

Nothing game-breaking there. Some of the rewards aren't exactly earth-shattering, but double xp for half an hour a day sounds reasonable to me. Of course, this won't get a /bow in-game or on a forum board because, hey, everyone can't see the FYP'e ePenis. But for those who are above that kind of silliness, it's a nod to their support.

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