Bring On The Harvesting #WoW #MMORPG

A conversation last night with Dusty Monk from Of Course I’ll Play It spurred on the following post, so thank you Dusty! This is what he had to say:

“The thing is, grinding gets a really bad rap in our genre, but it’s only partially deserved. Spending time running around gathering things, for whatever reason, can easily be construed as a grind – whether you’re doing it for resources, or faction rep, or just for quests. And the thing is, if it’s the only think you’re doing, and then it becomes a grind.

But too many players would have you get rid of all the repetitive tasks in an MMO, to make it as exciting and thrill-filled for every possible playing moment as possible. And I think too many fail to realize that quite often that very low key turn-your-brain-off and relax kind of play is extraordinarily important to a huge variety of players. Even the most hard core, long term players. 

I’ve been singing the praises of keeping a little bit of grind mixed in with your content for a long time – so it’s nice when I come across other players that recognize you don’t always want to throw out cut out that “low involvement” playing, and that it’s not always a bad thing. ”

I have a ritual in the evenings when I want some calmer form of gaming. I log in and spend an hour or so flying around from node to node, harvesting. I find harvesting a very relaxing act and a viable method of ‘playing’ a game, especially in WoW where you earn experience for it (unless you’re skinning). I don’t have to deal with other players on a personal level (of course there are always others flying around harvesting too, but interactions are minimal) and I rarely have to deal with large encounters of mobs. The entire experience is quite therapeutic, giving me time to step away if I need it and leaving me to my thoughts.

These quiet moments in video games are important if you’re in it for the long haul. It’s great to go out and scream your frustrations at the top of your lungs, but there always comes a time where you’re looking for a quieter method of ‘escape’. Plus who doesn’t like all the money you can make from harvesting!

My shaman reached level 81 last night, this will be the third time I’ve worked my way through the cataclysm content and I’m loving every minute of it. I still haven’t ‘completed’ everything in cataclysm, and since I switched over from horde to alliance it’s almost like new as far as quests go. The paladin is almost 70, having finally inched her way out of Burning Crusade which I dislike to the very core of my being. I typically try to dungeon grind my way through 60-68 because I dislike BC zones that much. I’m looking forward to questing with her through the lich expansion although with so many characters and so much to do in game I’m certainly in no rush.

I’ve also been playing loads of Glitch, which I mentioned in a previous post here on MmoQuests, working my skills up so that I can milk butterflies and squeeze chickens remotely. Ah, the possibilities.

As always, happy gaming no matter where you find yourself! I really want to stress that point, too. There’s a lot of conflict going around lately from people who hate one or more games and hence the people playing those games. Honestly, it doesn’t matter what you’re playing in your free time. It’s your choice. You shouldn’t feel bad if you spend it playing facebook games or WoW or EQ2 or AoC or any other title out there. It doesn’t mark who you are as a person, it’s just a pastime, and we all spend them differently. I’ve been concerned these past few days because it seems like more and more people are getting hurt because of the video games they play (emotionally hurt I mean). Tolerance is an easy thing to preach, but we have to remember that it’s not supposed to be about tolerance when it’s convenient for you. It’s supposed to be tolerance over all.