So, another WoW expansion is on our doorstep and already it calls for my soul. I want to scream and run away, but I feel a strange euphoria wash over me as if hypnotised by this sirens song. I've managed to quit twice already - last time the Burning Crusade expansion brought me back and it looks like it's about to happen again. I can hear its voice, singing a soothing melody that assures me that all is safe and warm here, come closer and do not fear us... for we love you and we miss you... come home dear Tob... come home...

Try as I might I don't think I can fight it, even though I'm have no rational desire to go back. See, the problem is with the people now.

Blizzard (despite all of their best efforts) has managed to create an environment that is incredibly hostile towards a lot of gamers. The mistake they made was that their game was too good.
WoW attracts almost every type of gamer, wrenches their souls away from their bodies and locks them into place, forcing them to continue playing. This was a beautiful thing when the game launched four years ago, offering up an experience like no other. Now this experienced has sadly degenerated into a war of souls... and no, I'm not drunk so quit asking.

Alright, enough with the cryptic melancholy, let me lay it out straight. WoW is full of assholes, pure and simple, and I'm not just talking about the filthy Alliance scum either.
WoW has managed to call all of gamings most sadistic bastards out of the woodwork (formerly known as Counter-Strike players) and locked them in with the rest of us. Damn near every aspect of the game is turned into a maddening exercise in frustration, being forced to match wits constantly with mindless pricks whose primary form of attack is "OMFG u NUB!!!!11 ur so GHEY!"...
I mean, how am I supposed to combat that kind of psyche? I suppose I could smash myself in the face with a large metal pipe until the level of brain damage I end up with is on par with their genetic retardation, but that would take a lot of joy out of the other things that I like to do, like wiping my own ass for example.

"So why don't I just avoid them?" It's because they're everywhere, and their numbers just keep growing while our numbers go down. When any player reaches endgame they'll find that almost every player who wasn't an asshole has either quit or become an asshole themselves in order to survive. Add to that the fact that new players are often shouted down and probably won't find anyone to group with for a long time (mostly due to endgame,levelling 70-80 or playing level 55 Death Knights) and you'll start to see the ratio change in favour of the universal moron.

"But hasn't Blizzard done anything to stop this madness?" Not really... there are anti-harassment rules, but these only apply in severe cases... there's no rule against stupid people sadly. There are also the RP realms, which used to provide a safe haven for gamers who wanted to enjoy the experience and take in all that the developers had worked so hard to create... but now they're mostly run by idiots too.

"But-" No, just... no. I already know that I'm going back... even though I don't really want to.
I'll go back, lured once again by the siren's song, and I'll bide my time. Yes, I'll suffer fools once more, watching and waiting for my chance to strike back... then my friends, Azeroth will be ours once more!

Or even better: Azeroth will be mine! GWAHAHAHAHAHA!


-Tob