Saturday, June 16, 2012

WOW again...

It’s blog time!  This week I spent most of my time in WOW (and a little time building in SL).  I found a friend [a real life (RL) friend] that is an experienced player and he took me into my first dungeon play.  I felt like a kindergartener in a PH.D program -talk about totally sensory overload! Between the chatting, and the killing, and being killed (repeatedly), and trying to find my way back into the dungeon, any finding and using my healing spell on myself and others, and knowing what loot to take and pass on (I made some big mistakes on that one) – I only survived being kicked out of the group because my friend’s vote saved me!  I certainly learned a lot and earned enough XP (that stands for experience points) to be able to ride a horse – well a ram because dwarfs can't ride horses, only rams.  But I got a nice ram and it’s a lot more fun to ride than walk (presence).  I found myself thinking less about teaching and more just enjoying playing.  So this week I am going to study up on the teaching application (and continue to enjoy playing).  Also, I find that I like doing quests on my own; however, playing in the dungeons is exhilarating!   Here’s what my dwarf looks like now that I’ve amassed some new equipment.

22 comments:

  1. Welcome to WoW!! Dungeons can be daunting at first, but once you learn the mechanics of them you will be on your way to pro status. Just be sure to play the game the way you want to play it. I hope you meet a bunch of friendly people, because the more immature ones can sometimes ruin it for people. Good luck and have fun!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Welcome to gaming, there's a lot more to the Azeroth and we're glad you're here!

    ReplyDelete
  3. That is the magic of Warcraft, there is really something for everyone. You can spend all your time alone questing, or playing in 5/10/25person groups, focus on fighting other players, etc.

    Hope you keep enjoying the game, and you are quite brave to play a female dwarf, you hardly see any of those.

    ReplyDelete
  4. You should have rolled an undead. jk, enjoy the game, and it's drug like effects. =D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
    2. I've experience the dopamine effect - the challenge is to incorporate the experience into "traditional" learning environments. Check out this TED video how gaming can make the world better http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/jane_mcgonigal_gaming_can_make_a_better_world.html

      Delete
    3. I've found some of the TED talks are excellent for this topic. People genuinely enjoy the games and many people (myself included) spend hours of our free time researching and learning about the game. I really do hope things can be learned from the immense movement that is modern videogames, especially ones that require at least a little (I'm sorry Modern Warfare 982) thought.


      Also, a bit of advice about dungeons: people take it for granted that everyone know what is going on when they join a group. This is obviously not the case, but don't take it too harshly when they try to remove you for only trying to learn and have fun. I raid very near the top end of WoW, and when I get on a low level character they kick me once in awhile too. People are trigger happy, forgive them and have fun.

      Delete
  5. Welcome to video heroin!! I just started my 3rd restart over the last 6 years i think wooo

    ReplyDelete
  6. I hope the adventure and blog continues I would love to read more :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Wow will become your life be careful what you are getting yourself in to.

    -ex wow player

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wow will become your life be careful what you are getting yourself in to.

      -current wow player

      Delete
  8. Welcome to one of the worlds we call home! I think it's brilliant finding all sorts of different people playing the same game. Enjoy your time in game and keep blogging about it! I'll certainly keep reading them when I can!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Great job on the blog, you are very talented at describing your thoughts and feelings. Your use of vocabulary and attention to detail really provokes thought in the reader. Keep it up and just remember that theres a real world out there as well :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Dungeon healing is great fun (life-long healer here). If you're "teacher" has the patience I would strongly recommend downloading an add-on like Vuhdo and learning how to use it. It just makes healing so much more of an intuitive process. Best of luck in Azeroth!

    ReplyDelete
  12. This is a very interesting blog and I have bookmarked it! I am a student of the Arts and I source educational environments and new media in my research. I am also a casual WoW player and have a few thoughts about the dynamics of group learning within the game. If along your adventures you would like to chat I would be very interested in discussion. Take care!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Welcome to Azeroth! I will have been playing for 4 years in November. Healing addons can remove some frustrations with groups in dungeons. I would recommend Healbot or Vuhdo to help out. Lots of videos on youtube as well.

    Travel well.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Excellent choice of class and race! I'm a female dwarf fan myself and I think you'll benefit greatly in the long run playing a hybrid class. Being able to heal down the line once you're comfortable with how everything works is a great option. :) Maybe your friend can help set you up with some mouseover macros for healing spells when you're ready; the default interface works really nicely with them.

    Good luck!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Its fun to hear someone experiencing the world for the first time. Glad to have you in the game.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Welcome to WoW! Here's 10 things I've learned over the years I've played:

    1)Once you hit lvl 15, if you want to level faster always be in a que for a dungeon while you're questing.

    2)Go to www.wow-loot.com to see what gear your class can use and what dungeons/quests to get it from

    3)Go to www.wowpopular.com to find popular specs for your class.

    4)Go to wow-professions.com for free (and very helpful) profession leveling guides.

    5)If you see someone using a node (like fishing, mining etc..) DON'T go up and try to use it. It just makes you look like a jerk.

    6)Try to only need on gear that boosts your primary attribute (although it sounds like you may have learned that already).

    7)Take time to do world events (like Darkmoon Faire, Midsummer, etc), they're a really fun way to break away from the monotony of questing/dungeons.

    8)If you're going to PvP start at the top of the cap (lvl 14,19,24,29...), it will make it easier to deal with people that have BoA's (Bind on Account [gear that can be purchased and mailed to other characters on your account/server])

    9)Rp if that's your thing! I suggest Wyrmrest Accord as a good RP server.

    10)If a dungeon is new to you and you're not sure what to do, tell the group that when you get so someone can help you.

    Hope you enjoy your time in Azeroth!

    ReplyDelete