I remember back when I first started playing WoW and holidays were basically my favorite part of the game. Children’s Week was the first ever holiday I participated in and I ran that kid all over the place, to places I’d never been before, so I could get the Speedy minipet (much to the horror of the significant other who couldn’t believe that I was passing up the option of a whole five gold!)
And all the holidays were like that, I went nuts over ’em. Got all the items, did all the little things you had to do. For the most part the only people who cared about the holidays were people like me who were dorks who were willing to fill up our bags with toys and candy and stuff, and that’s basically what I did. To this day my bags and bank are bursting from the seams– with holiday stuff. I could pull out that Valentines’ Picnic Basket while at the meeting stone for a raid or heroic and everybody would ooo and ahh over it cause nobody else had one. I could throw Jack O’ Lantern heads or snowballs at people in the middle of July. I was the crazy hunter with all the gadgets and minipets. And finally I was pretty content that I’d done all the holidays and could relax, and not have to worry about bagspace anymore.
So then this new thing comes out: Achievements.
Suddenly holidays are like THE BIGGEST THING EVER TO HIT WOW and suddenly I find myself in this odd position.
Do I follow the mass hype and fill my bags with even more holiday crap when it’s already rare enough as it is for me to have a precious *gasp* five empty bag slots? Do I do achievements for things that I already did, back before it really mattered?
The answer, for me, is no. I can’t bring myself to do it this time. I don’t exactly know why, I’m not trying to be elitist or a party pooper or anything of that sort. I guess you could say I’m like the stereotypical kid from the country who was used to quirky and personal Christmases and Thanksgivings on the farm who then goes to the big city to see that they’ve been all commercialized*. Doing it all for an achievement rather than for the heck of it feels hollow to me, especially because I already have most of the toys and stuff. Besides, it’s difficult for me to enjoy a holiday if I’m freaking out about meeting requirements for things. So, I’m not going to pressure myself into it. That’s all.
I will of course do the holiday achievements if they fall in my lap, or if they happen to coincide with something I wanted to do in that holiday anyway, or if they provide a nice bonus incentive (i.e.; rep for elder coins)… but I would’ve done that before the achievements. I guess I’m just not going to go out and “seek out” those achievements if I don’t want to. (Brewfest may prove to be an exception cause of a running joke that Tawyn is the guild drunk and thus needs the Brewmaster title, but we shall see.) In summary, I’m going to do the holidays for fun, and not have to worry about finding a particular somebody to /dance with in Dalaran or whatever.
So there you have it. That’s why I’m not going nuts over holiday achievements. Not because I dislike holidays or dislike other people doing the achievements. Not because I am Uncle Scrooge. But because for me, it’s all been doooooooone befoooooooore!
* I’m a country kid, I’m allowed to say this kind of thing >.> Oh, and I ride buffalo to work, and I don’t really have the internet, this is all just an illusion.
Good for you 🙂 I’m glad you’ve already done them and have experienced them! In-game holidays are a really unique experience for me, I am really glad they’re around.
I am happy they’ve brought the achievements for them, if only to make more people give them a try. I know last year I didn’t do any of the Lunar Festival or Midsummer festival stuff, simply because I didn’t really know what was really involved. The achievements are a good way to tell people, “Hey look, you can get a cute pet if you try this!”
Also, “The Love Fool” is kind of a lame title, IMO 🙂
I do like achievements, and some of them I’ve chased after pretty hard, but this Valentine holiday one is really obnoxious. The things you have to do to get it, just so much more work than any of the others so far, and all you get is a silly title I wouldn’t even use.
You might not be a Scrooge, but I’m finding myself to be. I just can’t seem to get into the WoW Holiday things. Actually, can’t even get myself to enjoy the Fair when it’s in town.
And for achievements? I still scratch my head over having to get everyone of those. But then again, that’s what this game s about. Having a HUGE world to have fun in and play your way. 🙂
An illusion? Then why am I even here? Is this all a dream? What is a dream? What is the meaning of life? Do I have free will? If Kel’Thuzad falls down in the middle of Naxxramas, and there’s nobody there to hear him, does he make a sound?
I enjoyed the wow holidays a lot more pre-achievements as well – and even now I enjoy non-achievement aspects of the holidays, and pretty much ignore the achievements. Maybe I’m a little scroogey too.
Oh, everybody’s got a water buffalo
Yours is fast but mine is slow
Where we get them I don’t know
But everybody’s got a water buffalo
I was an avid collector of the Vanity Pets, but I lost momentum by the time WoW’s Oktoberfest rolled around, and I still regret never getting the Wolpertinger. Curse Blizzard and their misleading description “Summons your invisible Wolpertinger Pet.” That was the cutest pet EVAH!!!
On the one hand, I think the achievements are kind of nice in that they’ve gotten people doing things they wouldn’t do otherwise (like the holidays) and maybe enjoying them.
But I also kind of agree with what you’ve written here. Most of the holidays, I’ll do one or two things and then I’m like, “Meh.” The ones I really liked were the Lunar Festival, the Fire Festival, Winter Veil and Children’s Week. And while it’s fun to see people getting so into them, all the people doing them just for the achievement and not to have fun kind of sucks the fun out of them for everyone else.
Hopefully they’ll be done with the achievements this year and the holidays will go back to being for fun next year.
I agree 100% with the sentiment.
Fishing was my thing. I loved it. I would fish and fish and fish and then fish some more. I maxxed out my skill quickly enough, and would spend hours fishing pointlessly. I’d fish anything, anywhere, anytime. I loved it. When I got Mr Pinchy I thought the world had ended and I could retire happy forever.
Then, achievements rolled around. Wrath was released. Suddenly, everybody was at 450 fishing and had a Mr Pinchy. It’s not that I was jealous, it’s hard to describe what I was… really… A little sad that what had been my (kinda) personal field of play was now everyone’s. And for what? They don’t like it, they don’t care… they just want 10 achievement points and a shot at a title one day.
🙁 my preciousss
Ok, this post makes me ridiculously pleased because I had this idea that something was wrong with me and I was losing my usual “all for fun” attitude. And after I posted a long grumble about the Lunar Fest I thought I’d keep quiet but – arrrrgh! SOOOO much bag space angst, and the Love in the Air thing only lasts a few days and the drop rates on things are a pain and – and the goofy thing is that I’m not even trying for that purple dragon mount. I just want the holiday to provide a little fun, and frankly, they haven’t done that since All Hallows. I really don’t like the way they seem to force people to have to PvP or Instance in ways that aren’t enjoyable, or possible – like that heroic that was required for the title Elder, which of course only works if you have a lvl 80. I really think they need to revamp achievements to make them possible – at least make the titles more fun to get, and THEN toss in a few truly hard achievements so not everyone gets that purple dragon, if they do want to make it rare/valuable. Having so many things be a time sink and at the same time very non-fun/annoying really puts a drag on the holiday.
Short version: Whew. I’m not alone!
Heh, I’m the same way nowadays, Pike.
Just do what I do, and get your Holiday fun vicariously through friends and guildmates that need your aptitude. 🙂
I’m the exact same way. Holiday achievements now seem more like a chore, like you have to do them and all the magic and fun and excitement have been completely stripped out and replaced with frustration and noise. It’s awful.
I did get the Hallowed and Merrymaker titles and when Lunar Festival hit I just couldn’t bear it. And now Love Is In The Air, I just want to hide.
I totally feel like your Scrooge there but I can’t help it. Commercialised indeed (what I like best about real-world holidays is relaxation and fun with family and friends) so I’m not surprised I don’t care for the holiday achievement chaos now.
I agree too with the sentiments about forcing people into things they don’t like (pvp) or excluding them because of instances (unable to find groups), this seems contrary to the notion of holidays.
Anyhoo. Bah! Humbug!
Barenaked Ladies ROCK!!!
You are most definitely not a scrooge – or else there are a whole bunch of us out there – lol!
I think the achievements are fun in some respect – I’m enjoying working on the Explorer title now (just got Ambassador), but the holiday ones do remove much of the ‘holiday’ feel when it becomes a grind-type feel. I’ve refused to do them, so far for that reason. If it isn’t fun – I’m not doing it!
i agree… sortof… there are the ones like orphan week that i will probably do every year… on all of my toons… just for the cute pets. this one is just madness though! and it started before lunar festival even ended! ARG!!! i guess to each their own. at least it gives us something to do if we dont feel like questing or raiding…
I totally agree.
I am one of those country kids too, I ran around visiting Elders last year because I wanted the tailoring patterns, I visited the midsummer fires for gold, I ran around with my SW and Shattrah orphans and had a great time.
Now? It’s mostly meh, been there, done that. The holiday achievements are the new dailies for me, drudgingly boring for the most part 🙁
Just to provide a different perspective.
I did do the holiday events pre-achievements and loved them. I do feel kind of invaded by the “commercialism” that achievements bring to them and annoyed by the overcrowding by those who were never previously interested in them. However, personaly I love the achievements!
I used to do the holiday events and do what I could, what seemed the most fun, what I knew how to do. With the achievements I have a list of the holiday content to explore. If I want, I can ignore the silly ones like /pity the love fool, but I can see what all the candy hearts will say and try to get one of each, I can try to get the picnic basket, which last year i did not even know about – cause I did not luck out and get one. They give me a list of the content to explore and enjoy – and I like that. The overcrowding with achievement junkies, meh – I can live with it, I might even be one 😉
zomg….ur better half is a lock too?? and quit lying to people….we don’t ride Buffalo in Montana….that’s Wyoming. We’re too far north, and therefore too primitive….we still ride the good-ol’-fashion horse. And don’t be fooled, people, WoW’ing by telegraph is not as easy as it sounds.