Maybe, to a degree, it's *us*?

Community General Discussion
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Going through the forums, one of the typical isues that comes up is that “WoW is not a social game” any longer.

And perhaps, contextually, that is true to a point. Some of the QoL changes and accessiblity do minimize the need to socialize. But not 100%.

As I sat in Nazjatar, waiting for shutdown, I saw another Gnome hunter. I petted his spider, ran over to /s with him and had a very short but pleasant conversation. I liked his spider, he liked my cat. It was that simple but so gratifying.

And it made me think back to BFA, after I’d come back and was farming the bird for the mount on Mechagon.

More often than not, a simple, untargeted /greet and some other basic interactions via emotes towards Horde or /s if Alliance would make the spawn time pass much faster.

There were spontaneous dance parties, feasts wasted, etc. almost each and every time. Not 100% but maybe around 94%.

Even on Korthia, where mobs are now dying in 3-4 hits, I’ve been saved by and have assisted unasked and often recieved some kind of recognition for the effort and respond in kind.

So I wonder where the lack of socializing in the game comes from? Sure, we don’t need to form groups from trade anymore but why does that stop us from trying to socialize?

Maybe, despite what we percieve to be the games best efforts to de-socialize the game, the true socialization efforts must reside with us.

Next time you’re out and about, tell a silly joke. Ask where Mankirk’s wife is, make murloc noises, converse, and emote.

You may be surprised at what happens next.

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WoW is no longer a social game in the sense that we have to go out and interact with every random passerby because we don’t have to anymore. It occupied a unique moment of time before the rise of social media and meeting people from across the world from the comfort of your own home was no longer a dream but a reality.

It is unfortunate that we cannot go back to those times as humanity has changed significantly since the beginning of the technological revolution. It very much so is a case of ‘It is what it is.’

Of course the anonymity of the internet and the competitive nature of humans leads to some less than ideal interactions with members of the community. It does make me happy that I don’t have to group up with some numbskull to kill Hogger anymore.

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I like you.

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My classic guild is extremely social and nice and many of them play table top games together virtually on off nights etc etc. Some of them have even tracked each other down and go out drinking.

I don’t see this in most retail guilds.

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People don’t want to socialize anymore. Human beings aren’t interesting to us because they don’t give us the same satisfaction as getting a rare drop or an achievement so it becomes a burden to have to socialize with others. Quite sad.

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It is us, but it’s also partially on Blizzard.

Do I still interact with people? Yes. I’m starting premades for entry level PvPers back up in the coming month, and I still run M+ and stuff with my guild.

Do I talk in pugs? Not really. There’s only so many times I can be told somebody’s going to find my address because my voice sounds “ugly” so I deserve to be cough before I just stop talking entirely. Or you know, just screaming in general.
So yeah, it’s a burden to have to socialize with others. Felt like a freakin’ stroke of luck when I got into a 7 key the other night on my MW alt trying to farm conduits and people were actually being nice.

It’s almost like if they had basic moderation - like other games - we may actually find people more willing to socialize in general.

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I remember I just typed drools in a quite org general and a kinda long conversation started lol.

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Stuff like that is awesome! For a while, I would just watch trade and when someone would complain, I would send them a bear burger in the mail with a positive message of some sort.

The bear burgers are a part of my character who likes to eat tasty :bear::sandwich: (bear sandwiches). I should start doing that again.

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My Guild is, mainly, casuals and I, another casual, quest mostly alone. As I main DH tank, I find most interactions are with people doing fly-by mob dumps or cracking off a single shot while I patiently hack down mobs/bosses, but meh…

Worst, though? PvP. Hardly anyone seems to want to join a voice chat to co-ordinate strategy or even just have a bit of a natter. Must say that there are a few very good PvP co-ordinators out there, but it can be heck reading their notes while trying not to die.

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It’s only not social for players who refuse to be social.

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This. So much this.

If Blizzard hadn’t worked so hard to remove the necessity of cooperative play and socialization from the game the player base wouldn’t have drifted so far into the “why join a guild” types.

It’s so much easier for Blizzard to sell gold to us when we do NOT have a cooperative network in game to do things for us and for whom we do things.

I hate to say that it was a calculation on their part to assist in selling tokens and other goodies, but it’s certainly the result of their design choices and cui bono is still one of the most powerful investigative questions out there.

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I always /salute other DKs, and if I see really cool looking pets or transmogs or mounts, I’ll /applaud. Unfortunately, I have yet to get a reply.

On my nelf DH, I did have a nice conversation about transmogs in demonic with a belf DH. That was kinda neat.

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Yeah I don’t think LFG/LFD caused people to be less social.

I mean “/1 LF2M Scarlet Monestary!” is not being social, it’s just asking for a pug. Get in the run, it’s the same deal in the dungeon then as it is now, everyone just does their job.

I think the GOGOGOGO mentality had more of an effect, but even today you could try to start a conversation in /p if you wanted and maybe you’d get that one anti-social cretin, or maybe you’ll get someone friendly.

Either way though, if you want a convo, someone has to actually start it.

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World of WARCRAFT. Get it? War is antisocial. It ain’t nice. We steal Giant Catfish and rice from our NPC’s. Then we go out and kill stuff. NO! It ain’t nice and it ain’t “social.” I don’t want to socialize with people who do mean, nasty stuff. Y’all are rude, crude and armed to the teeth. It’s okay if I’m that way but, not you.

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It would take a rogue to state that war is a solo activity.

Just sayin’.

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It’s the amount of instanced content vs world content now. Instanced queue-able content that’s quick and cross server means you’ll never see those players again.
Even IRL making friends involved doing the same activities or being in the same area with the same people for a while, or over and over.

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I still taunt mobs off people about to die to them while yelling something stupid like I GOTCHU FAM after doing it

I’ve had one person actually recognize me from doing it before so they helped kill an elite with me lol

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Having been playing BC it is way more social than retail is. It is exactly as I remember it, and it’s refreshing.
I WANT to say it’s partly us to blame, especially with how anti-social we’ve gotten IRL (putnam etc for those who read) but I just can’t help agreeing that’s the case here in WoW. I really do believe it’s mostly, if not entirely, WoW’s systems that caused it.

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I always try to /cheer when I see someone cool.Is that worth something

Oh, and I try to buff everyone I see (provided I’m one of the, like, two classes that can still buff).

I really do try to make this game social, but most of it is just this “gogogo” mentality and it’s reinforced everywhere. I’m not sure anything can make a difference?

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When I play a game the reason I’m there is to get away from people. There is plenty for me to do solo. So NO I don’t want to be social with others, I mean no disrespect with it I just like to get away and enjoy myself w/o other people.