Friday, August 31, 2012

How Not To Die While Gaming

Before I get started, I just want to make sure that everyone's aware that this, while being a guide of sorts, is not to be taken as permission to go out and spend days on end gaming. There have been numerous cases around the world of people gaming to the point of exhaustion, and ultimately, death. This post is my way of sharing my plan for an extended gaming session that ensures I do so in a safe manner. Just like a running marathon, a gaming marathon is all about proper preparation and execution; do either wrong, and you can wind up seriously hurt.  If you plan on following any of my suggestions, you do so at your own risk.  Please use common sense.

On September 25th, I plan on making at attempt at obtaining "Realm First 90 - Warlock" on my server in World of Warcraft's newest expansion, Mists of Pandaria. While I'm forming my game-plan for the in-game portion, I know I also have to keep in mind my real life, as it will likely take several hours of non-stop gaming to pull this off. These are the points I'll be hitting.

Pre-Session
  • Have a specific goal in mind.  Marathon gaming for the sake of marathon gaming is dangerous, namely because you have no real point at which to stop.  Form a goal, and stick to it.
  • In the days/weeks leading up to the session, get plenty of rest.  You'll not be taking a break to nap, so rather than entering the session already operating on a deficit, it's better to get caught up and be well-rested before hand.
  • Make sure all of your responsibilities are handled.  If you're in school, make sure all of your assignments are done.  Pets?  Make sure they're fed, or make sure someone will be able to feed them.  If you're a bill-payer, make sure those are done as well.  Nothing ruins a long gaming session like the sudden remembering that you have something that needs to be done right now.
  • Make sure your friends and family know what you're up to.  This ties in to the previous one, especially since you don't want any sudden surprise visits, or the announcement that you were supposed to be attending "that thing" with your significant other.  When you're telling them about it, though, make sure you don't get defensive when they start to call you crazy, because that will just reinforce their idea.
  • Ensure your gaming equipment is up-to-snuff.  Try some shorter sessions of whatever game it is before your big day, to make sure your computer or console can handle it.  You really don't want to find out that your video card is prone to overheating after three hours of play, when your goal is on the line.
  • Stock up on food and water.  Water gets a bad rap for being boring, but it's the most efficient way of hydrating yourself, and trust me, you'll want to stay hydrated.  If you prefer something other than water, try to steer clear of anything highly sugared, as it will most likely result in a sugar-crash later.  Food will help as well, especially more nutritious items, such as cereal bars or trail mix.  Stay away from anything you're not used to eating, as you don't want to find out something gives you stomach problems in Hour Three of your session.  And for cripe's sake, if you know something does give you problems, don't eat it while you're in session.
  • Set up your gaming area.  If you game at a desk, make sure everything's clear, the keyboard is at an ergonomically appropriate level, and your chair is comfortable.  If it's a console, set up a comfortable chair at a reasonable distance from the television.  Make sure everything that needs batteries has fresh batteries or a new charge, and keep spares on-hand.  Doing this a few hours, or even days, ahead of time will save you a lot of headache in the long run.
  • Arrange for a gopher.  Got a younger sibling or roommate who isn't totally opposed to your plan?  Who might even think it's kinda neat?  See if they'd be willing to make runs for additional food and water, give you back-rubs, etc. while you're in progress.  Keep them informed of your plans.  Best of all, if something should go wrong, it helps to have another set of eyes and hands there.
Before you scoff at this, insisting that it's way too much work for something as simple as gaming, keep in mind that I'm not talking about prepping for your regular gaming routine here, though a few of the points are probably good to keep in mind then, too.  This is meant for a serious gaming endeavour, and I like to think that all those professional gamers out there follow a similar set of guidelines.

There may be a couple of things I've missed, but that's why I'm starting to plan everything now.  If you're doing the same, I wish you the best of luck!

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Game Plan: Short Term

Third post on the first day!  Don't get used to it, folks.  I just wanted to take a moment in this extended format to really get down to the nitty-gritty as to my intentions for the start of the next World of Warcraft expansion, and the weeks leading up to it.  Keep in mind that I subscribe to the "Best laid plans" theory, where though I may have everything down and ship-shape ahead of time, it's not unknown for me to completely go off the rails at some point.

Main goal at start of Mists of Pandaria - Earn "Realm First Warlock - 90" with my orc warlock, Knand.

Secondary goal - Gear Knand for raiding and leveling his professions to max; when not gearing Knand, level professions for all PvE realm characters to max.

Tertiary goal - Begin raiding on Knand; level other PvE realm characters to 90; begin leveling RP-PvP characters to 90.

As you can see, I've got quite a plateful there.  Luckily I had already requested the week that Mists of Pandaria happens to be launching off for vacation, so I'll have seven days in which to get as much of these goals done as possible; I'd love to say I'll get them all, but as you'll see shortly, there's a *lot* more to it than these goals makes it seem.

To start with, it'll only be my initial push for "Realm First" (R1) that will have me grinding 24/7, so to speak.  Once Knand hits 90, I'll be taking a well-deserved nap.  After that, I have no fewer than three 85s to get to 90, plus a currently 73, as well as a fourth 85 I plan on transferring over sometime between now and then.  If I decide I want to buckle down and get my stray Alliance hunter in on the game, that'll make six total characters to get to max level, while simultaneously getting Knand geared and professions.  Quite a feat to try to pull off in seven days.

I'm currently in the process of pulling together an R1 team for the push; if I get the players I'm thinking of, it'll be Knand, a mage, and a third to-be-determined character working together, with the assistance of Zygor's Quest Guides.  I've found that three party members is the perfect number, more or less, when leveling by questing: Enough to make short work of any mobs you come across, not so much that you both cripple your mob experience and make gathering quests a nightmare.  Ironically, thanks to Blizzard's new scenarios, we'll have the perfect amount of players for those, as well as a fair hunk for dungeons; would be nice if the third player could be a tank and/or healer.  Not to be cold-hearted, but whoever groups of me will be doing so with the understanding that anyone who falls behind gets left behind, myself included.  And that the whole thing's going to be Livestreamed and recorded for entertainment purposes.  Whether I actually get R1 is irrelevant: I will not stop until Knand hits 90.

After that... well, most bets are off.  I'll need to get Knand geared, and while I'm sure it'll be a time-consuming project, if Cataclysm was any indicator, I'll have some down-time when there's nothing I can do.  At that point, I'll get my death knight and priest in gear, as they have Mining and Herbalism, respectively.  Might even level them by leveling their professions, as I'll be needing plenty of ore to level Knand's Jewelcrafting, and by proxy, his Enchanting.  That'll just leave my warrior, who has Blacksmithing and Engineering, and my possible other warlock, who currently has Enchanting and Tailoring (though Enchanting might be dropped for Inscription).  The currently-73 rogue is a Skinner/Leatherworker, and will most likely be fighting to be last on my list with my warrior, as I haven't had a huge need for either one of their professions.  Throughout all of this, I'll be carefully using my pre-expansion stockpile to raise funds and buy the necessary goods I'll be needing, so getting my professions up will be an excellent way to help it along.

It's feasible.  As I get a couple of max'd characters under my belt, the remainder will become easier, as I'll be more familiar with the content.  And hopefully by the time I've gotten most of the PvE characters up, the starting areas for 85-90 on my RP-PvP realm should be less crowded; not really looking forward to huge mobs of Alliance attempting to pick off my poor little Horde characters.

Next Post: Preparing For The Grind: Real Life Edition

or Game Plan: Long Term

Highlights

So that they don't get lost, I'm transferring two recent Facebook posts here:

WoW Activities Part 1 - She's an Altoholic.

That's right, She can't help herself when it comes to trying out every race, class and profession out there. There have been several times where She's had to delete old alts on other realms in order to make way for new ones (as you only get 50 per WoW account), and She's overjoyed at the announcement that everyone gets an 11th slot on each server. Just to give you an idea, She has four 85s, a 72 and a 50 on her main server, an 85 and two 80s on her old server, and is currently leveling 3 characters to 85 on her newest RP-PvP server. She's also getting ready to RAF-level on the new server. The only classes She doesn't have are Paladin and Shaman, and the only professions are Leatherworking and Inscription; this is mostly because of her addiction to Locks and the Enchanting/Tailoring combo (so far each server has one of these).

Wow Activities Part 2 - She plays the Auction House

Now, before you start begging for gold, keep in mind the fact that She's been raiding a lot lately, which tends to eat up both time and gold. On top of that, She's been stockpiling things for the next expansion, so again, any gold that might be had is being turned around into items. Long story short, She likes to be comfortable. Who wouldn't be happy with the ability to have anything you want, whenever you want it? Or to be able to help your friends and guild mates do the same? That's pretty much the level that She plays the AH at; enough to make sure She's and her mates are never wanting for anything necessary, and a few things that are just plain fun. She's not out to hit the gold cap, at least not as long as She's still entertained by raiding and alts!

She Who... Blogs?

That didn't take long, now did it?  Apparently I already had this set up, complete with an old intro post (which I've since hidden), and had completely forgotten I'd done so.  Bad She!  I'll strive to post here at least once a week, most likely on Wednesdays.

Don't worry, though.  I'll still use Facebook to keep you guys informed as far as spur-of-the-moment things go, or for linking you to interesting stories and pages.  You'll also probably get a faster response through there, if it's a fast response to something that you need.  Can't think of anything you'd need to ask that would require quick replies, but if there is, there you go.