The Outlaw's Least Favorite Game Moments: Dying in WoW

Death. It's something we all have to face eventually. We fear it because we don't know what lies beyond the mortal realm. It could be a place of infinite paradise. It could hold unspeakable horrors for those of us who find evil to be a valid past-time. We might all come back as ghosts, or not at all. But one thing is for certain; it kind of sucks.

Also, in real life, death will never be as epic as this:


Bees... My God...

This is not always the case in video games. Sure, in some cases death might hold dire consequences. You might have to start the stage over again, or even worse, watch a minute long death sequence *cough*Too Human*cough*. But, in games death is never permanent. It allows us to throw caution to the wind and do things we would never do if the Grim Reaper were lurking nearby... probably eating a sandwich he would soon have to clean off the floor. That freedom doesn't always take a good form, however, and in one particular case it even convinced me to quit the game. I am, of course, talking about WoW. While I doubt it possible that anyone reading this hasn't even dabbled in the biggest MMO of all time, I shall explain anyway in the form of an anecdote.

They could have at least made the death world more enjoyable to look at.

I only played WoW for about a month and a half. I started a character on a server full of my friends that were all nearly level 80 and because I was a nub I was expected to quest on my own. I'm not going to say that defeats the purpose of playing an MMO... but it completely defeats the purpose of playing an MMO. I would ask for help because I didn't want to take on a full cave of baddies and I would usually receive none. "Do it yourself," they would all say. "That's how we did it!" Sure, they would occasionally take time out of their busy schedules to assist me, but it was often done begrudgingly. I honestly can't wait to see what kind of parents they will be, but I digress. The point is, I was often forced to fight against overwhelming odds all on my lonesome with nothing to protect my squishy parts but a cloth robe. This resulted in death; lots and lots of death. If WoW worked like most games where I could just restart at a checkpoint it would have been fine, but this is an MMO we're talking about. Instead, you have two choices. One, resurrect in a graveyard, which you are penalized for, or two, run your stupid ass all the way back to your body and fill that bag of bones full of life once again.

Being the person that I am, I will do anything to avoid taking penalties. Thus, with every death I found myself running another official Bi-minutely Azeroth Marathon, and it was fucking miserable. Imagine running back to your body every two minutes to only have to do everything in your power to flee the enemy ridden scene before you have to do it all over again. And you will do it all over again... and again... and again... and again. It got to the point where I was just about to make the paladin cry when another friend of mine on another server asked me to start a new character with him. I did. For a while it was bliss. We journeyed the land leveling up and killing all sorts of mythical creatures. We insulted jerks and even sang "Don't Stop Believing" with a random passer-by. I was enjoying myself... and then it happened. "Hey, Chris, I'm going to be really busy for a while. I want you to level up without me." That was the final straw. I signed off and never again did I return. I'll never go back either. Ever.



EVER!!!!!!!!!!