Project Lore

One of the perils of doing anything publicly is the risk of being labeled "Stupid". Ignorance we can handle, stupidity not so much. Is there a difference? You bet. Ignorance is the absence of knowledge. How do rogues do an attack rotation? We have no idea; we're ignorant about rogue-mechanics. Stupidity is acting in a manner inconsistent with known facts. We know not to pull aggro from our main tank. If we were to start firing before the main tank has established aggro, we'd be acting stupidly. There is a fine line between ignorance and stupidity and that's "Unconventional". A hunter who melees because he knows no other way is Ignorant. A hunter who knows the proper method of playing a hunter who chooses to melee his way while leveling is Unconventional. So also would be a player who eschews killing mobs while leveling -- known as pacifist-leveling -- or someone who refuses to wear gear while leveling, just for the challenge of doing it. Being unconventional is fine, as long as you don't affect other people without their knowledge and consent. For example, it is known by most hunters that bringing a level seventy-five pet to a heroic instance will be gimping his own damage-output. It is also well known that the fastest way to level a hunter-pet from seventy-five to eighty is in heroic instances. A single heroic Violet Hold will usually give a pet almost an entire level. Bringing a level seventy-five pet to a heroic with the goal of leveling it quickly, but seeking the permission of the rest of the raid before the raid starts, is Unconventional. Bringing a level seventy-five pet to a heroic because you didn't know there are level seventy-nine pets available for immediate taming is Ignorant. Bringing a level seventy-five pet to a heroic and without caring about the feelings of the rest of the raid is Stupid. Personally, we are ignorant about just about everything there is to know about tanking and healing. When we bellow at our tank, "Make more threat!" we are very fortunate she doesn't yell back, "Why don't you, in your infinite wisdom, tell me just how you expect me to accomplish that!" Because if she did, we'd stammer and stutter and exclaim, "Just... you know, get it angry. Hit it, whatever, right? Threat! Do it!" And she'd reach through the Internet and squash us for our ignorance. However we are not stupid, and we know that regardless of how the tank is generating threat, it is our responsibility to not pull aggro from the main tank. Our ignorance of tanking-mechanics can be compensated with our knowledge of hunter-mechanics. How do we compensate for a tank not generating as much threat as we'd like? * Cast Misdirection at every opportunity. * Feign Death before we overtake the tank on the mob's threat list. * Just chill out and decrease our DPS until the tank has a solid threat-lead. If we were to refuse to Misdirect, Feign Death, and reduce our DPS when the tank is having difficulties maintaining aggro, we would not be "teaching the tank a lesson" by intentionally pulling aggro. No, we'd be Stupid. Eliminating ignorance requires two people: an apt teacher and a willing student. Eliminating stupidity is the job of just one person: the stupid one. You can encourage, enlighten, educate, and cajole a person towards not being stupid, but ultimately, it's his decision. But what else can you do? You can learn to differentiate between ignorance and stupidity yourself and react accordingly. Your PUG is having a hard time in Culling of Stratholme because the priest keeps running ahead of the party? Remind him that the paladin tank makes a wonderful Undead battering ram. Teach the priest that standing on top of, or slightly behind, the paladin tank will basically guarantee the priest's survival. If the priest adjusts his tactics appropriately, you'll have eliminated a little ignorance from the game and probably ensured the success of your run. But if the priest says nothing and keeps running amok, you'll know that you're dealing with Stupid and it's time to abandon-party. Ignorance, stupidity, and unconventionality are big parts of Warcraft. Learning to modify your behavior when confronting these characteristics is key to your progression and fun in the game, (and in real life too).

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As I said earlier, I recently got my warlock his last ding until WotLK comes out. I have had a chance to bring him into a few instances, and I really enjoy it as a change of pace compared to my shaman. I'm definitely on the bottom of the DPS charts, but I can bring a few different things to a group as a warlock instead of a shaman. Don't get me wrong, I love my totems, heroism, and general ass kicking ability, but sometimes it's just fun to throw dots. I've still got a lot to learn in order to become more effective, but that's all part of the game. I'll get there eventually, but for now I'm ok with the fact that I am the weak link whenever I'm on my warlock. I must have run into a horde version of Xeno the other night while farming some Primal Life for a healing enchant. Of course, we all know that the horde consists of jerks and that warlocks are arrogant, so he decided to attack me. I, being a badass enhancement shaman, tore through his cloth wearing, emaciated blood elf face in a couple seconds. I then /apologized to him as I saw that he hadn't released, and then I engaged another level 62 bog lord nearby. As expected, the warlock used his soulstone and began attacking me again. Having been killed once again, I figured he had learned his lesson. However, just a few minutes later, I was forced to kill him once again. I can't help but wonder what made him keep trying. If it was me, I would have given up and run away with my freshly rezzed tail between my legs, as I have so many times (remember, I'm an enhancement shaman). Of course, with the mishmash of greens and blues on my warlock, I probably would have avoided screwing with a melee class that has beautiful badge weapons both enchanted with mongoose. Don't ever tell me horde are smart.

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