Drama Mamas Lisa Poisso and Robin Torres are experienced gamers and real-life mamas -- and just as we don't want our precious babies to be the ones kicking and wailing on the floor of the checkout lane next to the candy, neither do we want you to become known as That Guy on your realm.

Dig those groovy threads, man. Being caught in the middle of a feud between the raid leader and guild leader does not require you to wear baby blue bell bottoms, but it may help.

Dear Drama Mamas,

I find myself at a loss for words about recent events in the guild I belong to. Since I can not figure out if I am being unreasonable I've decided to seek outside help.

Recently a Raid Leader and our Guild Master had a fight. The Raid Leader and his Raid Team quit the guild we belong to and settled into a level 1 guild together. They were the only people raiding in our guild and the raid leader was instrumental in helping each of them gear and I understand why they followed them. They did not have an issue with the fight between the GM and RL, they just followed the person who had helped them the most and who would see them through their raids. Our guild has a lot of followers and very few leaders so I am not surprised. This was a loss for our guild, but since drama always seemed to follow that Raid Leader its probably for the best.

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Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Drama Mamas

I do use Real ID. Wait, that's not accurate. I do have Real ID enabled on my account and I do have a friends list, but I rarely use it. Because of It came from the Blog, my real name is known in game. So that kind of privacy is not as much of a problem for me as it is for most players. Still, my friends list is exclusive -- I don't friend everyone and his brother like I do on Facebook.

The Drama Mamas recently covered the problem that arises when you want to have some alone time, but your friends keep inviting you to do things with them. It's hard to say no without feeling like you're hurting their feelings. If Real ID had an invisible mode, this wouldn't be a problem. Captain Obvious has been tapping his foot about that one ever since this feature first came out.

So all of your friends can see your real name and they can chat at you whenever they want. In Diablo III, they can even hop into your game if you don't have that function disabled. But at the same time, you can play on an alt while waiting for your friends to get online to get a group together. They can contact you easily cross-server and cross-faction -- even cross-game. The online privacy issues are huge if you aren't careful, but the convenience of chatting with friends from all over the region is also huge.

Do you have Real ID enabled? If so, do you invite people you don't know in the physical world or do you restrict it to friends who already knew your email address and real name? If you don't use it, why not?

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Filed under: Breakfast Topics

Drama Mamas Lisa Poisso and Robin Torres are experienced gamers and real-life mamas -- and just as we don't want our precious babies to be the ones kicking and wailing on the floor of the checkout lane next to the candy, neither do we want you to become known as That Guy on your realm.

Sometimes commenters will suggest that we have received a fake letter. I hope this week's is, although that's actually irrelevant. This kind of thing does happen, unfortunately.

Dear Drama Mamas,

I am writing to you today in need of your coveted wisdom and advice. First just let me inform you that I am a gay man of age 16 in real, and that this type of situation has happened before, but in different variations.

Here's my problem.. It all began with an innocent night outside the gates out Stormwind city. I was sat on the grass opposite a guy. He began talking to me very nicely, I replied, and we got on well. We were talking about random topics for around 10 minutes and became instantaneous friends. He was kind, polite and had top notch spelling and grammar (Which I loved). He went on to ask me personal questions. Such as age, place of residence etc. I had asked these questions first so I thought it would be fair to answer his.

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Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Drama Mamas

Many players going for What a Long, Strange Trip It's Been leave Children's Week until last -- often not by choice. It is a truth universally acknowledged that School of Hard Knocks is the worst achievement required for any holiday meta. Even if you like PvP, competing with your region-mates for the same objective is frustrating, to say the least. And then there are the funsuckers who do their best to obstruct everyone trying. Ugh.

I think that otherwise, Children's Week is rather fun. Being the minion of orphans who coax you into irresponsible actions is enjoyable, surprisingly. I love the scripted reactions of the NPCs, particularly Lady Sylvanas. (I'm so predictable.) I do miss taking Salandria to see M'uru, though. Having her rock out with the Elite Tauren Chieftains doesn't have the same impact.

The pets are fun to collect as well. Sleepy Willy is a long-time favorite of mine. I did not try to get all of the pets on alts in preparation for Mists of Pandaria, however. I do think it's a great idea because all companion pets will become account-wide in the expansion. I just didn't make the effort.

What did you enjoy most about Children's Week? Did you meet your goals? What pets did you get?

Filed under: Breakfast Topics

I really enjoy how the races in WoW have such distinct characters. Yes, they look different, but that's not the same thing. And it isn't so much about the accents, either. Their lore, their attitude, the way they die -- it's all so much fun. It also makes it difficult to enjoy the distinctness of your character in other games, when your race doesn't change how you speak or even dance. (Spoiler: SWTOR.)

Now, as much as I love Lady Sylvanas and even though I am drawn (by our Kelly Aarons) as a blood elf, I think I most resemble a gnome. I'm average height, mind you. And I have a large collection of Horde clothing. But my voice, my laugh and my attitude are rather gnomish.

If I were restricted to only Horde races, I'd have to go with troll -- even though I had the tusks removed years ago. (HAHAHAHAHHA. Sorry.) They have fun hairstyles, they are pretty mellow unless roused, and they have a curvier body type than the evil blood elves.

Which race do you most resemble and why? Is it primarily a personality thing or a physical similarity? And no, the race you choose doesn't have to be a playable one -- so if you think you resemble a naga, tell us all about it!

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Filed under: Breakfast Topics

Drama Mamas Lisa Poisso and Robin Torres are experienced gamers and real-life mamas -- and just as we don't want our precious babies to be the ones kicking and wailing on the floor of the checkout lane next to the candy, neither do we want you to become known as That Guy on your realm.

With Real ID and Battle Tags, solo time while playing any Blizzard game is more difficult than ever. But can playing alone still be accomplished?

I get that WoW is an MMO, and that many games are multiplayer or have multiplayer opportunities. Most of the time, I don't mind playing with other people. I like dungeons and raids and grouping for battlegrounds.

But sometimes, I want to play alone. I don't like to quest with other people because I have a certain way of doing things, and I don't like to be redirected or slowed down. Likewise, when I'm learning a new class/game/spell/mechanic, I want time to flounder on my own (or in random groups) to figure out how things are going to work for me before I jump into a group with my friends, where I feel the stakes of my failure are a little higher.

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Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Drama Mamas

I love to argue about the most evil race in WoW. My devotion to the Dark Lady has nothing to do with it (mostly).

You see, I don't think the Forsaken are evil. They aren't responsible for what happened to them. They didn't choose to be undead. They were perfectly happy to remain living humans. Sylvanas didn't seek out her bansheeness. And all other races shun or just tolerate them. So the Forsaken culture is built around the condition forced upon them. Yes, Sylvanas has now taken to, uh, recruiting new members of her race, which most consider very Lich King-like. But how else is she going to expand her ever-decreasing population?

Because the Forsaken are no longer living in the way that all other races are, they cannot value life in the same way. I believe this makes them amoral instead of immoral. They do what they can to survive and even flourish in the hostile world of Azeroth. Of course there are individuals who do despicable things, but you can't judge an entire race on the activities of a few bad eggs.

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Filed under: Breakfast Topics

Trade chat on almost all servers is a wretched hive of scum and villainy. But you can advertise items for sale and look for groupmates there as well. Sometimes you can even get answers to your questions -- if you are very lucky and willing to sift through the lies and mockery. General chat in the MoP beta can be just as bad, as it can in any MMO, beta or otherwise. (See SWTOR.) And even if chat isn't full of obscene references and spam, there's the whining. The whining!

Another problem with trade and general chat is the feeding of trolls. Perfectly decent people will get into a rage war because Trollmaster and Trolliscious demeaned a class, profession, race, favorite sports team, etc. Trolls love that. Any attention is good. And then everyone else has to put up with the arguing and insults flying back and forth. I know. It's hard to ignore when the trade chat villains start calling anyone who likes the female pandaren "chubby chasers," but going verbally postal in public chat isn't going to help anyone. I fought the urge and so can you. (Though my Twitter followers heard all about it.)

Guild masters and officers often keep trade chat on to make sure that no guildies are misbehaving in public. This can be a painful experience and usually not worth the time. Personally, I turn public chat off in live and keep it on in beta. Beta general chat often answers questions I have -- in between all the misogyny and malicious pranks.

Do you turn off the public chat channels? If so, do you turn them back on again to conduct legitimate business, or do you just stay away? Do you find chat problems in other MMOs? Or are you one of the ones causing the problem? /glare

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Filed under: Breakfast Topics

Previously we reported that all Annual Passholders had been sent their Mists of Pandaria beta invites. But many players have been complaining that they still hadn't received theirs. Blizzard responded to that today. Those who have purchased the pass after April 18 will get their invites in a future wave. There were also errors when sending the invites to some accounts, and Blizzard is attempting to resolve them.

Annual Pass Invite Beta Update

We want to confirm that, at this time, all World of Warcraft Annual Pass subscribers have been invited to the Mists of Pandaria beta test, with two groups of exceptions. One exception group are those who purchased an Annual Pass on or after April 18, and will receive their invite in a future wave. The second exception is a small list of remaining accounts from previous waves that encountered an error, and will be properly flagged for beta access as soon as we can resolve the issue.

If you haven't yet purchased an Annual Pass, you still have time to guarantee your spot in the beta by signing up for a year agreement (link) before the offer expires on April 30. Those taking advantage of the Annual Pass receive Diablo III for free, access to the Mists of Pandaria beta, and the exclusive Tyrael's Charger flying mount for your World of Warcraft characters.

source

So if you haven't received your beta invite yet, you will Soon™. No dates have been released for when the remaining invites will go out. In the meantime, you can read up on all of the MoP beta info here on WoW Insider. (No, it's not the same as being able to play the beta, but I'm just saying ...)

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It's open warfare between Alliance and Horde in Mists of Pandaria, World of Warcraft's next expansion. Jump into five new levels with new talents and class mechanics, try the new monk class, and create a pandaren character to ally with either Horde or Alliance. Look for expansion basics in our Mists FAQ, or dig into our spring press event coverage for more details!

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Filed under: Blizzard, Mists of Pandaria

Children's Week starts this Sunday, so that must mean that it's time for It came from the Blog's annual Running of the Orphans. As the event name says, we get orphans and we run around with them while completing our orphan quests.

• When: Sunday, April 29 at 12:30 p.m. EDT (9:30 a.m. PDT, 10:30 a.m. server time)
• Where: Meet at the pond near the engineering trainer that's next to the orphanage in Orgrimmar on Zangarmarsh (US-PvE-H)
• Who: Any Horde character level 10 or over
• How: Ask any member of It came from the Blog for an invite to the guild if you are not already a member of our family of guilds already.

We will have a fishing party while we wait for everyone to arrive and get their orphans. Then we will be orphan minions, taking them wherever they want to go -- the Running of the Orphan Caregivers may be a more accurate title, but it doesn't have the same ring to it. Time permitting, we may even try for some achievements.

You have to be at least level 10, because you can't get an orphan otherwise. We also will not be forming a raid since we need to complete quests. We will have an event chat set up as usual, however.

Hope to see you there!

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Please join us on Zangarmarsh (US-PVE-H) in It came from the Blog. All guild ranks can invite, so /whisper Roblinator or any online member. You are all welcome as long as you play by our simple rules -- basically, don't be a funsucker! Visit the guild FAQ for more details.

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Filed under: Events, It Came from the Blog