If you are not a gamer, then you probably won’t relate to this post. I am not going to talk about the kind that live under bridges (more like the kind that live in their parents basement). I am going to talk about how there are some terrible trolls out there and good trolls (both in-game and on the web).
I know what you are thinking: “Is there such a thing as a good troll??”
I say there is. Have you ever read a comment on an article or in Trade chat and it just got you all flustered and riled? You start developing an involuntary compulsion to make personal assaults using profanity and caps. In my opinion, that is a good troll and only good in the sense that they probably don’t believe a word of what they said, but they know you do. They have a talent for pressing the right button to make your blood pressure spike. I am just as guilty for falling victim to this ploy as anyone else, especially when it came to defending SWTOR.
There are days where I swear I will never read another comment or enter Trade chat again. Unfortunately, by doing so, you might miss out on some pretty excellent comments and comedy. I admit I’m not perfect so despite the fact that most of the time I know that people are only saying things that make me nerd rage, sometimes I still cave in and flip out. You may have noticed the times when I have done that from some of my past posts (i.e. most Soapbox posts).
So you are probably thoroughly confused. If the people that I just described are the “good” trolls, then what are the bad trolls? The bad trolls are the dorks that try too hard. The kind that you would swear are 12 years old because they clearly have no idea what people are discussing. You ignore them because they are annoying, not because they irked you right off.
The anonymity of the Internet gives the trolls courage so the best that we can do is remain civil and maintain our composure, which is easier said then done.
Wait, did someone say [Thunderfury, Blessed Blade of the Windseeker]??
So when Mists of Pandaria goes live, and everyone starts leveling and raiding again, the angst of acquiring the new shiney legendary will begin and I fear the worst. I don’t really fear for our guild because we are all pretty reasonable adults, but I can already see the drama starting now in the community as a whole. It will envelop hundreds and thousands of players. People will be crying endlessly because they were not chosen to receive the required widgets that must be collected to progress through the quest line. I don’t think Blizzard is quite prepared for the swell of controversy by creating a legendary for all classes.
I have to admit, while I knew that Bioware would eventually go F2P with SWTOR, I wasn’t expecting it to happen so soon. I know this game has been under very heavy scrutiny by players and gaming pundits since its release, and now they are all screaming “First” upon the Free-2-Play announcement. It does sadden me that this game has become such a flop because I honestly really enjoy this game, though I am beginning to understand the end-game criticisms.