World of Warcraft®

I saw an interesting posting on the general forms and thought i'd relay the idea here.

The post was about how the Random Dungeon Finder and Cross Server PvP system has lead to anti-social behavior in the game. We no longer become friends with people we play with. Everything is a grind for one thing or another,Q-ing up for random dungeons to get your daily points then not saying more than 180 characters throughout the entire run.

As a tank i try to be the leader for groups, but more often than not i find myself giving simple commands "Star is Sap" "Moon is Sheep" "On this boss watch out for ###* on the ground" and not really communicating with the people in my groups because they are on other servers and i will never see them again anyways.

What do you all think? Have some of the mechanics in WoW contributed to a anti-social enviorment?

I don't think there is any mechanic that is a cause for anti-social behavior. I am more inclined to think that there are things the incline you to act like that. Communication is key in anything you do in Warcraft.

I recall being a healer before the queue system started. It was quite easy for me to have a nice list of tanks and good dps to hit the caves and take down a boss. I enjoyed it for all the good reasons, knowing your tank beyond 2 rounds, knowing that specific tanks system, etc. There is nothing that is stopping folks from asking in trade or LFG channel for it. Of course getting the same numbers or results are going to be slim compared before the system was inserted.

PvPing with PUGs is a pain if half the time no one will speak unless something goes wrong, and something will always goes wrong. In the battlegrounds ,on both sides, when issues arise people complain. Yet they were never ones to intiate any ideas, plans, tactics etc. Even if they had a high kill count, the point is overall victory no just being the best. Yet why should we care about PvP pugs? No one really does because they know that it is unlikely that they will see that person again for a very long time.

To a certain point we allowed the game to control our actions. They put an LFG system and we used it, at risk of getting crappy pugs or morons who don't understand to stand out of the fire. However there is nothing for say me or anyone else to ask folks and ask " Who would like to do a dungeon locally instead of LFG?" I'm certain you will get a few hands raised.

While you make very valid points the developers have come up with ways to improve the sense of community.

IE: Guild Perks.

The only way to take advantage of these is obviously by being in a guild and while some of them can be achieved by a very determined individual (*cough**cough*ourshadowpriest*cough**cough), they're mostly tailored to be a team effort. I found myself going into battlegrounds in the hopes of finding the elusive dwarf warlock, I hate pvp but I figured it would make the rest of the guild excited to have the guild page.

Another thing that has helped me meet people outside my guild have been dailies. The mobs either spawn too fast or too slow or get killed before their spawn animation is even completed. I've tossed random strangers invites and usually exchanged a few lines just asking how they're doing and such, if they want help with anything else. It made me smile the other day when I bumped into a familiar priest and we both went "AMG STALKER!" Then caught up on how we've been doing x3

I don't think game mechanics have anything to do with how we treat each other in groups. People have the choice to be civilized and patient, or they can treat other players with disrespect. It's hit or miss. You have good groups, and you have crappy ones. All we can really do is try to be considerate and remember there are real people behind the toons we group with.