We Fly Spitfires – MMORPG Blog

Moustaches are back in fashion. In fact, they never left.

Even though I had to download another 600MB patch, I finally got to play Age of Conan last night and it was quite exciting to get back into it. I didn’t actually manage to accomplish much because I spent over two hours trying to decide on what race to play, what name to use, and constantly creating and re-creating my character until I was happy with his appearance (I wish MMOs would give you a little trial area to try your character out before confirming them). Eventually I decided upon a Khitan Dark Templar called Hongjun on the RPG PvP EU server Aquilonia. As it’s a roleplaying server, I also created a backstory for him:

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Patching in MMOs is the perfect opportunity to take a night off from playing

The Internet is a pretty fun place to live. Everything is on demand, downloadable and streaming at you with a click of a button. I utterly adore the idea that all of my favourite movies, songs, games and images are all available online for my pleasure. The only problem is trying to get them because, unless you live in South Korea and happen to be downloading from a South Korean website, you’re likely to be getting a pretty slow connection. And it’s not just your ISPs fault either. In fact, it’s probably the fault of the distributor who doesn’t have the bandwidth, platform or money to give you a high speed download. Yep, that’s right, I’m looking at you Funcom.

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Yes, I once met a Goblin called Gordon. And no, it's not funny.

Before you say anything, I’ll just clarify that I’m not actually an old army veteran suffering withdrawal symptoms, currently considering re-enlisting so I can get back into the action, sate my never ending bloodlust and bring an end to the terrifying dreams that torment my mind every night. No, I am in fact talking about the MMORPG, Warhammer Online.

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Insert witty remark about 7th guest post here

Thanks again to everyone who helped brainstorm some guest post ideas a couple of weeks back and allowed me the honour of writing for them. The response was absolutely fantastic and it makes me proud to be part of such a great blogosphere.

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Here’s a little secret just between you and me: I’ve been having trouble performing lately. Yeah, I know what you’re thinking but it’s not that (in that area I perform like a chipmunk on a caffeine high). I’m actually talking about in a blogging sense and I guess I’ve just been feeling a little uninspired lately. Maybe it’s just a current dip with the MMORPG genre or a preoccupation with other things in my life but, whatever it is, I’ve decided to take action and try to shake things up a little. My solution? I’d like to write a guest post for your blog.

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If I told you that I gained 22 levels in 3 minutes in World of Warcraft what would you say? Would you call me a liar, a crack pot, or a cheat? Maybe you’d just ask for my secret? Well, fret not young one, for herein below lies the magic formula…

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Introducing your friends to the MMORPG genre isn’t particularly easy especially as they throw up a few obvious barriers to entry. “But it looks so boring” they complain; “But I don’t want to pay a subscription fee” they ironically whine as they leave the cinema having spent the same amount of money on a mere two hours of entertainment (or seven hours of torture if it’s a Kevin Costner film /meow). Trying to convert these naysayers is often difficult and no doubt you will get the urge at some point to pick up your 400 dungeon guide and smack them in the face with it but it’s definitely worth persevering as playing a MMO with your closet friends can be an incredibly rewarding experience.

Friendships are so much more meaningful online

I’ve been lucky enough to initiate a few folks into the Brotherhood Of The MMORPG and, although they don’t always stick around for more than a few months, I’ve learnt a few tricks of the trade that might help you out.

1. Gauge their interest.

There’s no point barking up the wrong tree. If your friend isn’t interested in gaming in the slightest then there’s probably no point wasting your breath trying to convince them otherwise. It’s all about picking your battles or something (if Sun Tzu played MMOs I’m sure he would’ve had a good expression for it).

2. Talk about your MMO experiences with them.

Once you’ve decided that your buddy is a potential MMO-gamer, slowly build up their fascination with the genre by telling them some of your favourite MMORPG stories. Make that time you got wiped during a raid a legendary battle for survival and the time a female Troll lent you 5 silver a delicate and unforgettable romance. Be careful not to over do it or come on too strong though but every so often just reminisce about a great experience you had in game. Trust me, it works.

3. Show them interesting posts or articles from the web.

A strategy I used with my friends to pique their interest was slowly trickling through great articles I’d found on the web. WoW and EVE Online are particularly good for this given the amount of exposure they get and the media frenzy they can generate. A few good articles about how popular WoW is or how stories from The Great War in EVE will definitely set their mind in motion. Avoid the articles about people killing themselves over it all.

4. Play it cool.

5. Go for the kill.

6. Play with them.