A ninja by any other name

The Hub was victim to a ninja the other night, it seems. I had not been sleeping well the past few nights, and actually wiped out just before 8pm. After tucking me in with my stuffed menagerie, he came back downstairs and logged into WoW for a bit.

While on his Alliance Priest, he received a whispered invitation for a Mara run through. He delightedly accepted, and found himself the only at-level clothy in a full party, headed by a friendly level 80. At some point during the run, an epic BOE mace dropped. Long story short, the Rogue rolled "need," and an outcry among the party members ensued. The Rogue claimed that the purple tanking mace was better than what he had equipped, and was finally convinced that it did not suit his character.

At this point, all party members agreed to roll again, and the Hub actually won. Unfortunately, however, this rogue refused to trade the item over to him. He also refused to equip it, claiming that he had been told by the 80 leading the party "to just sell it." When reminded that it was not the 80 who had won the roll, his response was that they were all "getting a run through so just shut up."

Coincidentally, I logged on to WoW.com yesterday morning to find this on the front page:

Heroes of Warcraft on EU Stormrage sure does try to justify their ninja in this thread -- they have paragraphs and paragraphs about why it was a "tactical choice" to ignore a roll and give an item to one of their guildies. But in the end, a ninja is a ninja -- if you decide to roll, and someone wins, and you give it to someone else, that's a ninja. No amount of explanation and squirming is going to get you out of it.

Why, oh why, after all this time, do people insists on being greedy bastards and trying to sneak off with things that do not belong to them? Don't they realize what they are setting themselves up for?

And before anyone starts in with that "mara is srs business" crap, might I remind you that it isn't the item that dropped, or even the gold it could have been sold for - it's a matter of being the kind of person that other players can trust and will enjoy running with. And I don't care if someone bogarts my freaking hat, they aren't getting the opportunity to do it twice.

I have withheld said Rogue's name from this post, mainly because I still haven't decided whether or not this is the end of the story.

See, I gotta mean streak.

C'mon, Aion open beta

It really can't get here soon enough. There are just so many things that I'm itching to try out, for instance, the Spirit Master class. I'm wondering how similar to WoW's Warlock that will be, or if it should more logically be compared to the Magus in Warhammer Online. I've never played a Ranger-type class that didn't have a pet, so trying out the Scout's Ranger spec also looks to be pretty fun.

While in the closed beta, I messed around a bit with Handicrafting, Sewing, Alchemy, and Cooking. While the Handicrafting looks fun and has jewelry recipes, it also creates bows and staves - neither of which fit my Sorcerer, Templar, or Assassin classes. So, trying out a Ranger or Chanter with Handicrafting should prove to be of more use.

I am definitely sure that I need an Alchemist; the HP, MP, Cleansing, and Flight potions are all essential, I'm convinced.

For those of you who'd like to get a glimpse of life as a Sorcerer, ENJOY!

Aion Sorcerer Class Guide - Levels 10-19

Re-visiting the lowbie game

I've found my way back to WoW, in just little dribs and drabs, lately. I haven't so much as touched my high level toons, though. Instead, I've been leveling a couple of Draenei alts back on the server where D and I played Alliance way back when. If you happen by Dalaran say hi to drama-queen Emnyte the Shaman and Draece the Clumsy Hunter.

I have them both on the cusp of level 30, and - other than the DK I made there to farm gold for me (Turette the potty mouth) - it's pretty much the highest I've ever leveled an Alliance character.

You know, I take that back. I do have Colbi the cheesy Night Elf Druid languishing in her mid-30s, but other than getting her a new 'do and checking out the pink cat form, she isn't seeing any love either.

What I have REALLY enjoyed, though, is that leveling is no longer the monstrous ass-ache it used to be with the running back and forth and spending hours just getting from one place to the next. Say what you will about ruining the game, I'm DIGGING having early-access to mounts. What do you think?

Recent WoW mount changes re-vitalize the lowbie game

Got to wear the hat that my baby done sewed.

http://www.brighthub.com/video-games/mmo/articles/46101.aspx

I'm totally digging Aion. After participating in 3 closed beta events, I'm now waiting breathlessly for the open beta, coming "soon."

Crafting and farming materials has always been one of my favorite parts of any MMO, and even of single-player RPGs. God only knows how many days of my life have been devoted to gathering mushrooms in Oblivion, searching for a Skooma recipe in Morrowind, and mining copper ore in World of Warcraft.

And yet, the flawed afterthought of a profession scheme in Warhammer Online left me cold. I could have loved spending time butchering animals, growing my own herbs, and whittling myself some Talismans for multiple purposes.

Lucky for me, NCSoft's upcoming MMO appears to be holding on to some of that ol' black magic I crave. Stay tuned for more, especially with open beta!

Guild Loot Rules - which system does your guild use?

Loot Distribution Systems for Guilds

Writing this article created some interesting questions for me. My own small guild of RL friends and family has always used a combination of Need / Greed and a very - VERY - casual Loot Council. For instance, something drops and one of us in the party will exclaim, "Pally shoulders! Woot!" or something to that effect. If an item drops and benefits more than one person in the party, the guild drama typically starts like this:

"You take it. It goes with your robe."
"No, no, I couldn't! I just got a ring! YOU take it."
"No, I'm serious, I really want YOU to have it."

Then we'll all have a good cry and spend a few moments calling each other 'sweetheart' and finally someone will equip the damn thing so we can move on. Of course, we've only been running retro-raids lately, so the item in question was probably the wrench-shoulders or the Bullwinkle hat, or something like that.

I can only imagine how much drama loot could cause in a guild where people aren't there strictly for the companionship. Okay, that's not true, I have participated in such guilds and I know for SURE that the resentment can build fast and furious if not successfully squelched early on.

So how does YOUR guild hand out the swag? And when the llama rears its ugly head, who gets to step on it, and how?