Cryptic header, sorry. But two only semi-related items:
Why do ppl twink? Seriously, without attacking you twinkers, I’m asking, what do you get out of setting up a game where you have a huge advantage? What makes it worth the effort for you?
Kind of attack: how do you justify it?
Are the xp-off brackets voluntary? Cause I saw less twinks in low level bgs for a few weeks, but they’re back in force now. I regularly face opponents who have 1.5-twice my health (for context, I have full enchanted loooms with dungeon gear fill ins, though the fill ins are usually behind the curve since I’m not stopping to twink).
Up front answer: why do I deck out enchanted looms?: I played a LOT of casual bgs over the years. I like to be able to contribute. My skills are ok, but without looms (which are the average gear now, if you look at any casual bg group) I’d probably fall behind. I would never sit there and xp off twink in regs though. The idea of facing opponents who can’t hit me back both bores me and sits at the same moral level as paying to get your kid into USC, to me.
Because there is no sense of conquest, fun, satisfaction, or self improvement when things are so easy.
Like Achilles said to Hector, in the movie Troy, when he trip on with a rock while they where in the middle of a duel: Get up, Prince of Troy! Get up! I won’t let a stone take my glory!
Twinks want an enormous advantage over their foes mostly so they can enjoy their delusions of grandeur when they beat them.
I’m not even knocking it, just stating a fact. I have twinked in the past for that very reason. Sometimes it’s fun to stomp a mud hole.
The reason you’re seeing them more the last few weeks is because IIRC, they were allowed back into leveling BG’s after blowing a gasket when they were segregated again. They claim that the twink BG queues don’t pop. I and others claim they don’t queue to play against other twinks.
Eventually low level BG’s will be filled with more and more twinks as levelers get sick of being preyed on, then twinking will start dying out, if I’m right. It similar to some FPS games: People start using aimbots, wall hacks, etc. Normal players get sick of it and start to dwindle or use their own hacks. Eventually it’s filled with nearly as many hackers as it is regulars and the hackers get sick of their own kind killing them, so they move on to a new game.
Before the cross server, queue-from-anywhere panel was added to the game, it was really common to see some of the same players repeatedly in games. It was cool to build a reputation for yourself as a good or positive player knowing that others would recognize you by name. Friendships and rivalries with total strangers were made this way.
A lot of twinks are just out to preserve that sense of accountability, seeing as though bracket-by-bracket communities are smaller and more tightly knit like in those days.
Some just aren’t interested in gearing their characters more than once due to time restrictions or just an aversion to the concept of progression that never ends.
Many twinks do it just to farm people that are at a serious disadvantage for their crime of leveling in a leveling format, equipping only the upgrades that they happen across rather than going out of their way or buying gear. It isn’t every twink or even necessarily a majority of them, but it’s more than some here give credit.
Those are the three big ones, I think. Though I’m sure there are several others.
You said a mouthful. Even at max level, you saw some of the same people and in some ways, knew what to expect. “Oh, it’s that Paladin again, free HK!” or “crap, it’s that Priest, better go the other way.”
Those are some of the biggest reasons my twink friends do what they do. The community was the biggest reason.
And yes, it’s unfortunate why many engage in the playstyle. It’s easy to spot those people as they get angry at any change or improvement that hinders their ability to access casual levelers. They’re the ones who spout at people for no reason. They’re the ones who use terms like “git gud” or “scrub.” They never offer anything of value to any conversation.
I liked the idea of cross-realm but it’s one of those many ideas that sound awesome on paper but when you try to apply practically, doesn’t seem thoroughly thought out.
Twinks are grinding dungeons over and over for bis pieces and/or buying expensive rare boe drops that are more expensive than max level 400 gear in the ah.
My demon hunter got to 385 in about 5 days of hitting max level and then jumped to 398 in the second week. I never got into challenging content or did any grinding.
I saw a couple guildees take a fresh alt and chain run the player through m10s and got him over 400 in a single day of hitting max level. I think it was a monk and everyone in the group was wearing leather to share loot.
Eh nah, by definition there are no twinks at end game.
And if there were, it would still be ‘harder’ since you need to re-gear every patch and BiS gear is current, mythic raid gear or gear earned from very high rated PvP. At 29, BiS gear is a wailing caverns blue here, heirloom there, random quest epic over here…
They really can’t compare.
Is ilevel 400 what you’d consider and end game twink?