User:Xiaquin

= About Me =

I owe pretty much everything to my friends, they've really cultivated the game for me. In my early days, I was in a random, do-nothing guild that made me feel like I wasn't part of anything. The leader was friendly enough to help my poor butt. I still remember him leading me through charr that I couldn't beat; he wielded this awesome sword of fire. I spent much of my time just joining PUGs and scraping by on my own. Eventually, I gave it up, I just had no attachment to the game. When I left, I didn't even know there were festivals, it was just another RPG, as far as I felt.

Eventually I met a guild leader in a different universe. I put aside old, rusted characters and picked up a bow. Since then it's been a much more fulfilling adventure.

Yes Likes


 * PvE-anything
 * Lore
 * In-character Thoughts
 * Veterans that play smartly

No Dislikes


 * PvP
 * Elitism
 * AI
 * Cynics
 * Sour Cream. Enough said.

=Random, Babbling Thoughts and Goblets of Wisdom=

03/05/11
You could fit the FUD-flavored bologna from GWGuru on a cable network. They're the most popular Guild Wars fan forums, and, unsurprisingly, attract players from the best and worst sides of a community. However, they can be broken down needlessly into three sides: the boosters, the cynics and one-track minds.

Why do you care? Omg.
I really don't, it's common for people to point out foibles, and GW isn't short on pretentiousness. (Dumbed down answer: for the lulz!!1)

Boosters will defend Anet and the game, and are mostly only compelled to speak up because there are so many...

Cynics. Everything about the game, to a cynic, is either broken or "pointless". Many cynics barely play the game anymore, haughtily feeling that it's cool to keep posting on the forums and trouncing new builds while maintaining a gruff attitude about how Anet "doesn't care".

One-track minds are those that don't really care either way, as long as they don't lose anything they have or are guaranteed something they've wanted.

At first, I raged at critics. After all, they do permeate otherwise informative or rational topics with personal rants.

Now, I just laugh at them. Guru1 (for GW1) has a lot of bitter veterans and angry sentiment toward Anet.

Guru2 (for GW2) is just weirder. There's a much more positive attitude, but since the game is still in alpha the cynics spend their time picking apart game footage and concepts that displease them enough to start a thread...just to kick up criticism where none existed. Often pedantic but always opinion, they offer little to the community other than breaking down hype into balls of FUD. Shockingly popular, I try hard not to enter these threads, as they're always populated by obsessive types that, while virtuous, are overwhelming with the minutia they emphasize.

Below: non-representation; just pure, unadulterated sarcasm.

There's something I don't like about GW
Imagine a forum drinking game. 1 shot each if you hear these.

-Anet doesn't care/never cared

-GW is a PvP game (keg stand: PvP is crap/dead/no mass appeal (massive irony FTL))

-PvE is too easy (2 extra shots: roll face on keyboard/empty skill bar can win)

-PUGs are bad (spin around 100 times: heroes/Embark killed them off (LOL!))

-[New content/update] is lame (2 if complaining about what they wanted instead)

-Nerf X (bonus shot: X is fine, how does it hurt you?(Every time! I love it))

-"I'm still holding Anet to promises it made years ago by mentioning them in update threads"

-Latest update broke something/needs nerfs/Anet screwed it up

-Game is dead/nearly dead/always been dead (since my friends left and I played 5 hours/day until it became boring)

There's something I don't like about GW2
A delicious satire that pretty much sums up a lot of discussion on a game that's still in ALPHA.

''Ok, so we all know GW2 can't be perfect, but they really needed to try harder, because that's what I've been dreaming of playing. I have this great, big, awesome design in my head, and it's like Anet didn't even ask me for it!

''Perhaps more importantly, why does my skepticism mean so much? I have no qualifications in game design, programming, art or marketing, but why couldn't they make this thing I don't like into what I really wanted?

''But the big question: will thing I don't like about the game make GW2 suck? Everything else about the game has gotten me soo excited but minor thing I don't like could be a deal-breaker for many people, now that I'm here to flagrantly criticize it.

''What do you guys think of my attempt at stirring up more worry about the game that I've built up to a point that it can't possibly meet my expectations?

''I'll never truly understand why GW2 isn't being personally designed for me, to be better than any game I can think of without any of their problems and can appease all of my wanton requests. I've bet my entire gaming future on this game and seeing only 1% of the content has me convinced that this thing I don't like is the pressing issue I need validated; my insatiable standards have to be vetted in the community for all to read.''

The Problem with PvX-minded Players
There are lots of things that make me cranky within the GW community, but there is a certain resource out there that is getting too much attention at the expense of real, new players looking for help. Too often do I come across a thread of a player who is either fresh out of Ascalon or is just in the swing of things and needs to come up with something that's not a silly concoction that will meet certain doom.

More than that, these players are appealing to the experienced in order to learn what they should be looking for with their professions. This is the opportunity many of us enjoy where we get to impart our knowledge and ability to welcome new players into our community by respecting them.

Sadly, it's almost knee-jerk that the first post boots them from the forum to go sift through the mind-numbing, inadequate and downright muddled mess of a site known as PvX Wiki. This is completely lazy and not helpful. It is one thing to direct a new player to a tutorial/overview of what a profession is all about, but what is with the community's reliance on such a broken tool?

The ranger is one of the worst-covered professions on PvX Wiki. It's idea of "Great" builds include exaggerating the use of daggers or scythes, and a Barrage "build" that bolts on two interrupts and leaves much of the rest of the build as "options". In addition to such useless help, there is a definitive attraction that every build seems to require PvE skills. These are only attainable if you have GW:EotN. Without this expansion pack (and not everyone has it), most builds on the site are completely unattainable.

To wrap this up, let's stop the PvX Wiki obsession and start actually helping players. I am of a time before PvX Wiki and didn't discover it until after I had acquired a lot of experience. Sending a new player to this confusing mess of a database for "Pro" or "Meta" builds is just asinine and demonstrates a total lack of interest in actually helping the player get his or her bearings. There's very little a new player learns from the builds as the early learning of the game demands subtle reinforcement of attributes and abilities; not a bombardment of builds designed to do specific things coupled with extremely high equipment and skill requirements.

Let's go back to a time where players helped one another. We were all new players at some point, so just ask yourself what it would be like to be new again and find yourself dumped at the PvX street corner to figure the game out for yourself. We're so better than this. Thank you.

The Wiki/Forum Dilemma, A Love Letter To The Real Fans
It built to a point that I felt like I wanted more. There are riches of discussion out there, and I wanted a place in them. I joined the "guru" forums, but, I've honestly been disappointed in both the community and with myself. The more time I spend there, the more disillusioned I become. There are so many bright players there, I enjoy them immensely. Sadly, their contributions are suffocated under the weight of those that make the place miserable. Anyone who spends time on the forums knows what I'm talking about. The wiki is a bird of the same feather.

(Bad) GW members can be the most insatiable people in the world, sometimes. And none of it is warranted. Still, I refuse to let them win. I sometimes cave and let myself post in retaliation, and I always regret it; it's never the right thing to do.

No, to me, the real dilemma are the fans. I'm talking about the insatiable fan boys/girls. Ones that curiosity knows no bounds. They are rabid, they are dedicated, they thirst for lore and never end their searches for answers. They squee just talking GW and are all over any topic with their opinions and rambling infatuations. They absorb GW. They eat it, they drink it, they live for it and some have for years been following its evolution.

When I decided to "enter" the community, I felt like I would be arm in arm with the folks that knew the game proudly. But when I explored, I learned something that I have only just begun to accept:

I am not even close to a fan of GW. I am clueless. I know nothing and I have seen nothing. I barely care. I am casual, passive, uninformed and inexperienced. What I thought I was returning to, an old favorite, has a community that completely humbles my once-thought fascination. They are the fans, and I am simply a player in their world. I cannot keep up with them, I cannot make myself love every minutia of the game as they do. All of my excitement is dwarfed by their obsession. All that I adored about the artistic world is blown away at the worship others have for it, right down to having intimate knowledge of the artist who brought the game to life.

I am in the shadow of a massively-addicted, profoundly devout community that I can only watch from the side lines. I will never appreciate what they can. Never contribute to the community like they can and I will never be as recognized or even remembered. All of this is hard to deal with, for it isn't easy to accept that something you have loved so much and thought so much about, is actually something you barely understand.

My hat is off to the truly devoted, you impassioned followers. I am simply in awe of you all; thank you for all that you do. I am but a simple member, an unknown. Fortuna su voi.

=My Guild: Scions of Arion [ARIN]= We are a small group, meeting officially once a week. But we are highly noob-friendly and welcome any new members. We're currently working through GWEN together, but have been struggling with some personal schedules. Nevertheless, it is our love for the game and our friendship that brings us out every Sunday, to the end of us all.

= Characters =

I've tried pretty much everything aside from primary Paragon (oh, you poor, underrated profession). I've found I enjoy simplicity most, as I'm a terrible multi-tasker. But I've also learned there is simplicity in all professions, you just have to find your niche.

I take my primary just about everywhere, whenever there's a job to do. Active characters are working on something in particular, with an expected "finish" date. Limited players are warming the bench, called upon in times of need, but otherwise have finished projects.