Welfare Epics?

I've heard this term thrown around lately. I understand it to be the epic rewards players get from honor and battleground tokens. I presume the expression comes from a perception that no effort has to be put forth, a person can literally stand around in an AV, and eventually, over time, accumulate enough honor and tokens to buy an epic item.

I'd like to offer my input on this.

If you think that putting in "effort" or "work" into a VIDEO GAME makes you deserving of something special above and beyond players who don't put in that effort, you are mistaken. This is a VIDEO GAME, not a second job.

Being in a 1337 guild does not make you 1337. It makes you a loser IRL with the TIME to invest in a raid schedule, guild drama, and consumable farming. I've been there but NEVER again. I have no interest in adhering to a raid schedule. I come home from work, I wanna blow off some steam, I jump into an AB and wreck some alliance. Then, AFTER I've blown off some steam for a bit I DO SOMETHING WORTH WHILE.

I USED to spend 15 minutes flying down to Kargath, waiting another 30 minutes for everyone to show up, then waiting ANOTHER 30 minutes while people griped about class balance, who "deserved" to go, and weather we had enough healers/tanks to do what we needed to do. Then rolling into MC or BWL to do the same TIRED bosses over and over again.

It's the same today. It's dressed up differently so people think it's different bu it isn't. Tank and Spank... that's all there is to it. Sometimes you have to do this little thing differently over here (dispel the tanks!) or that little thing differently over there (kite the adds!) but it's really the same. The only difference between you (the countless 1337 raiders out there) and me (the countless casual PvP gamers out there) is that YOU happen to put in an application to a group of people who, like you get satisfaction from fighting against AI bots who are, essentially, a puzzle... but, once the puzzle is figured out you get some bizarre gratification from doing the same puzzle over and over again.

You've done nothing special. You feel like it's a challenge but it isn't. You think you deserve your rewards beyond people who aren't "awesome" like you and your guild but you don't. If you derive entertainment from defeating Black Temple or conquering Cavern of Time, whatever... that's fine... that's YOUR GAME. Your epics are nothing but meaningless information in a database on some server somewhere. They aren't badges of honor, they aren't your reward for putting in hard work or effort. They are the things you've acquired while doing something you enjoy.

It isn't a question of whether I deserve my gladiator gear because I've invested a lot of time in BG's. This is a GAME. No one is toiling away day after day to make ends meet. You log on, you do what you wanna do for fun, you log off. Maybe you get an epic or two on the way, maybe you don't. That's all there is to it.

And, I might add... that, even though I've done very little PvE since the release of Burning Crusade, I would be willing to bet that the boss fights are NOTHING compared to the complexity and difficulty of Major Domo, Ragneros, Razorgor, Vael, Chromag, and Nef... and those epics, which were once "1337" back in their day are junk compared to whatever purple nonsense drop off of Gruul or Illidan.

Tagged with: Epics, Gear, PvE, PvP, Welfare, World of Warcraft