AFK, Posting: Server Rivalry

I'm sure BRK didn't expect this post of his to be one that spawns a reaction from another blogger, enough so that they sit down to write about it, but...it did, so, I decided to indulge myself.

For those of you who don't watch everything BRK makes, this movie was just about him helping some taurs complete a quest. Big group quest with a scary elite, and so on. This, in itself, is nothing special, besides it being delivered in BRK's normal, enthusiastic, fun manner. It's a comment he made during the movie that got to me. "This is why we go carebear server, 'cause this is just too much fun."

Of course, as soon as he said that, my PvP server pride raised its hackles. Though, after I took a moment to calm myself by camping lowbies*, I started to think about it.

Obviously, BRK is not against PvP. He has multiple stories about eating PvP-flagged face that was chilling where it didn't belong and he went crazy for Battlegrounds and Arena just a little while ago. So, really, he's not afraid of conflict, as long as it's on his terms.

Hey, that's great! You have your favorites, I have mine. But, well, let me think about it for a bit.

Why do I like PvP servers?

I wrote about World PvP a little while ago. Well, actually, just about a year ago. I have plenty of friends who don't see it the same way I do, who get completely frustrated and annoyed and ticked off that someone is killing them on the way to their quests. That they're being camped. I even know people who become irrationally annoyed when they attempt to gank and fail. They are much happier on a "carebear" server, and that's fine. Go on, go, be free! You can even come back, now, if you want.

So, then, why, if I have that sort of mindset, did my hackles get raised at BRK's innocuous little comment? There's nothing wrong with him liking PvE servers over PvP, he never insulted my PvP server or anything...so, why the immediate feeling of defensiveness on my part?

Because of the subconsciously perceived assumption behind it, that cooperation between factions doesn't happen on PvP servers (now, he probably didn't mean it that way, but since when have gut reactions ever been the best thing to base opinions on?). We totally do, and it's awesome when you have that moment of fear that the 80 DK is going to stab you through the gut while you're just trying to get one final quest mob, and instead he helps you take it down, waves and mounts up to go. It's also awesome to do the same, /flex, /roar, and then fight each other to the death.

However, that's not the point of this post. The point is, as follows:

PvP server and PvE server players have often have a sort of rivalry going on. To stereotype (as we must)...

Those on PvP servers see PvE players as "carebears" who can't handle some ganking, who are "pansies" or other less agreeable words, scrubs who can't deal with unexpected situations, and so on.

Those on PvE servers see PvP players as immature gankers who can only gratify themselves by proving their epeen against characters 20 levels below themselves, and so on.

Obviously, this is a gross generalization of everyone on a PvP or PvE server, especially as people often have multiple characters on different servers. But I find there are some real differences between people who play mainly on one type of server or another.

For example, when I build a spec, part of my concern is often whether or not it will function for both PvP and PvE, or what kind of survivability it provides. This is for levelling, dailies, raiding, almost anything I would put my character to, this comes into effect. This just isn't a concern on PvE servers. They aren't worried about the rogue in the bushes or the hunter flying above them.

When thinking about class balance, when it's not my own, my immediate concern has often been "how fast can it kill me and do I have counters?" That is my gut reaction. Then as I look it over, it eventually works its way into my raid encounter mindset, my group mindset, and the rest of PvE. Thus, some classes seem to me to be immediately OP, even if they are struggling in a raid setting, as they're two levels below me and just two-shot me while I was picking flowers. On a PvE server, however, the focus is generally what you do more: if you're an Arena-goer, it's probably PvP balance; if you're a raider, it's probably PvE balance.

In the end, though, we're all people playing a game. We all choose to play in certain ways, and in certain ways are a product of our environments. Sweeping generalizations aside, we're all pretty much the same. /fuzzy feeling

*No lowbies were harmed in the making of this post. Except Blood Elves, but, in my defense, they make the most wonderful crunching sounds.