Matticus

Matticus is the founder of World of Matticus, a World of Warcraft blog.

20 Questions with Breana

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Once in a blue moon, Matt gets a chance to sit down with a WoW Blogger chosen this week by a Rhapsody Malt. Find out a little more about your favourite bloggers as he tries to get to know them a little more! This week, Breana of Gun Loving Dwarf Chick gets center stage!

Would you oblige me and tell me a bit about yourself? (We can touch on the WoW stuff later on)

Okay, first big thing: I r girl!  Sorry, couldn’t resist.  I am a 31-year old lady, living in the bum of the US, aka Miami, Florida.  WoW is my first MMO and I have been playing since 2005.

For those that are unfamiliar with Twisted Nether how about some background information?

IE, how did it get started? It started as a byproduct of another conversation that Fim and I had one day via on IM. The conversation veered towards podcasts and we talked about how both of us would like to try it. We thought it would be really awesome to have a podcast that highlighted and discussed the WoW blogging community.

Do you have any upcoming plans for the blogcast that you might be willing to share?

We want to make the blogcast and its site a real hub of blogging news and information, so expect in the near future more link roundups, a wiki, reader polls, and a more interactive experience.  We just posted a “how I can help” page, which lists ways listeners can participate.  This blogcast is everyone’s blogcast and we want the community to feel part of it.

I see your preferred weapon is a gun. An excellent choice. But why do you feel guns are more superior to bows?

Boom!  I just love the sound of it. It also looks very deadly in my little dwarf hands! Seriously, can you be intimidated by a chick with ponytails and a bow? I think not.  Now, if you are staring down the barrel of a gun, that is a whole other bag of chips. 

Many may try to sway me by showing me stats and theorycrafting as to why some bows are superior to guns, but honestly, I don’t care, “Sure, here is your bow Mr. NE, now give me that gun!”

I also really enjoy the recoil animation on Bre and overall, we have been doing just fine on DPS with my “puny” gun, thank you very much!  However, Blizz, I do have some beef…where is my legendary gun, eh!  I mean, not all of us want a pewpew, you know!

What got you started and interested in WoW?

Boredom. Actually, I bought the game for my husband as a birthday present and one day, alone and bored at home, I logged in and started a mage.  Haven’t stopped playing since.

Along that note, what exactly are you up to in WoW right now?

Right now, I am in the middle of my annual, “burnout”.  After raiding for a while, and gearing up my priest, I am taking a break, by making new alts and just trying to enjoy my time online with friends.  Started another priest on Draenor, to which my defense is, “I wasn’t in my right mind when I pressed the create button.”

How did you get started blogging and what motivated you?

Hmmm, I would have to say BRK and my desire to try something different.  I had tried blogging in the past, but often those projects would die a quick death after only a few weeks.   

Last year, Breana had just turned 70 and I started to read WoW blogs for the first time.  I stumbled on BRK’s site, fell in love, then found other great blogs like Kestrel’s, TJ’s and Ego’s and a bug started to form in my head.

I wanted to write and I thought what better thing to write about than my obsession about WoW.  Around the same time, one of my friends, a long time DC hater, started to call Bre, ugly and so forth, so I thought it would be funny to create a site devoted to my “Gun Loving Dwarf Chick” just to irritate him.

It took off from there and I have been having a blast, since!

Is there anything about WoW or blogging that you know now that you wish you knew about earlier?

Once, when my mage was 60 and we were pugging an Upper Blackrock Spire run, a pull went bad and several people died.  In the middle of the fight, I heard someone scream on vent, “BATTLEREZ!”  Until that moment, I had no idea that druids could rez in the middle of a fight.  /Blush

Are you single? (That is, are you guildless?)

Far from it.  I am honored and privileged to be the guild leader for an awesome guild on Bleeding Hollow.  Without them, I wouldn’t be playing or writing the blog.

Where do you see yourself and this blog in 5 months?

For me personally?  Getting ready for my cousin’s wedding and the two day bachelorette party I am suppose to organize!  The blog?  Still on the net, alive and well.

Short answer time!

Beverage of choice when playing: Water or Coke Zero

Currently playing on your media player: How to Save a Life by The Fray

Next blog post topic is: Tarren Mills: All Your Babies Belong to Us

Personality similar to: Grumpy.  Wut?  He is a person…somewhere. Or Charles Bukowski, without the booze and cigarettes.

Heroes? Yes, I do watch that show.  But Battlestar is by miles better.

Next movie you are going to watch? Girly answer: Sex in the City. General gender answer : Hell Boy 2

Hunter pet you wish they’d add to the game: OOO, the pet I wish I could have is already in the game, but can’t be tamed.  I want a chimera, especially the ones from Stonetalon Mountains! 

1 thing you look forward to the most in wrath: Leveling

1 thing you LEAST look forward to in wrath: Leveling

Shoutouts to? My readers, you guys rock!  My guild, AUO. Everyone in BA chat, and to my husband. <3 you all!

Thanks again Breana! Don’t forget to subscribe to her blog and  while you’re at it, subscribe to Twisted Nether Blogcast.

Note to Officers: Your Raiders Want to Raid

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Image courtesy of fireball45 from stock.xchng

I was relaxing on my vent server last night after watching the Stanley Cup Finals. Moments later, a friend storms onto vent and I could immediately tell he was frustrated.

“My raid leader is stupid!“, he vents.

“Slow down! What happened? Aren’t you supposed to be raiding?” I ask.

“Yeah. But the idiot cancelled the raid because there weren’t enough guildies on for a full guild run.” He explained, “22 people in raid are from the guild. Two of them are friends or alts in other progressed guilds, the other is a trial and he wanted the entire raid to consist of the guild only.”

That is bad thing to do. It seemed the raid leader wanted to have exclusive Guildies only. Even though he had enough players to field a whole raid he chose to bag it instead. What happens now? You have over 20 pissed off players who were generous enough to have cleared their whole evening for a night of raiding. This kind of short sighted behavior is bad for a raiding guild. People who join raiding guilds are in it because they want to do one thing only: they want to raid. It’s a simple concept and it still surprises me that some Guild leaders out there do not understand that raiding guilds that don’t raid aren’t considered raiding guilds.

That mantra sounds familiar doesn’t it?

“Bloggers that don’t blog aren’t bloggers.”

Was he worried about loot? Maybe by introducing foreign players into a raid, the loot rules would have to be explained and rendered fair for them have a shot at said loot. I can understand Guildies getting upset if their loot system becomes suspended for a day because of the fact that there are 3rd party players in the raid.

For Carnage, I’ve cultivated a working and professional relationship with numerous other Guilds that are slightly below our level for progression. It works because of 3 reasons:

  1. We get an extra set of hands in case we can’t field a full team.
  2. They get the necessary experience to share with their Guild on what to expect when they reach our level.
  3. Loot that isn’t needed by us is looted to them free of charge.

For Guilds that are on the same level of progression, consider incorporating your friends into your loot system, whatever it may be. If it’s DKP, allow them to earn it. Whatever you do make sure you explain to them beforehand what the rules are and what they’re eligible to get. Make it known that while it’s possible for them to get loot, it is not guaranteed.

I can’t say I understand his motives but I was in a similar situation in Carnage nearly a year ago where there were days that the Guild was unable to raid because of attendance issues. I made it known to the officers at that time that I play this game to raid. If this organization doesn’t plan on doing that then maybe I’m in the wrong Guild. I gave them a 3 week grace period to get things together and we were able to get the raiding machine going.

So how do you know when to kill raids?

When to kill raids

  • Not enough players to at least fill half the raid – Especially on a raiding night when most Guilds are busy, it’s going to be tough to find reliable people to fill in the other half.
  • Not enough roles filled – Not a tank in sight? Unless you have some contacts, it’s best to just bag it and call it a night if you don’t have an ETA on when your tanks or healers will be around.
  • Thirty minute rule – This is a rule borrowed from the unwritten college and university level. If the professor doesn’t show up within the first 10 minutes of class and there’s no notification as to when he is expected to show, I am free to leave. In this case, if you’re still short a substantial amount of people after 30 minutes, give the players on the rest of the night off.

Alternative activities

Can’t get the raid going? Not all is lost. Here’s a few other things you can do to make the best of a bad situation.

  • Knock out dailies and farm – Stock pile a bit of hard currency. Gold is always nice to have. Do a bit of farming and get some raw materials handy for your consumables for the next scheduled raid.
  • Do some PvP – What’s the point of having all these awesome weapons and no one to use it on? Hit up some battlegrounds and have some fun! Organize a premade with a few of your other Guildies and get the daily BG out of the way.
  • Work on your alts – My main is an enchanting/tailor, my secondary is a mining/herber, my tertiary alt is a blacksmithing/alchemist, and I’m levelling a jewelcrafting/engineer. It pays off to be self sufficient.
  • Go outside – Summer is here after all. Catch up on some reading outdoors. Play a bit of soccer (or street hockey) with your friends.

Matticus to Appear on Twisted Nether Podcast

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It’s going to be a busy week for me. I was supposed to shoot with the Twisted Nether folks last week but I caught a nasty cold or flu or a cocktail disease containing a runny nose, wet cough, and a sore throat. I’m slowly recovering and I should be good to go for the shoot. My greatest fear is that I sound too “nasaly” or something. Following that, there’s also the WoW Insider show on Saturday. I’m going to see if there’s an opening for me there as well so you can have a double dose of Matticus to kick off your weekend ;).

Breana’s already sent me a few questions that they wanted me to touch on. I’ll do my best to answer a few of those. Actually, if you want to take a quick look at what I’ll be answering:

  • Why do you blog?
  • Your main is a dwarf, how do you feel about the lack of dwarf children in the game?
  • What motivated you to start writing?
  • What measure do I use to know if someone is a good healer?
  • Why have I never been Shadow?
  • Why do I love healing so much?

On the other hand, I love doing things on the fly. They’ve opened up the floor for listeners to ask their own questions.

I told them specifically not to tell me what the next set of questions will be. Surprise me. I used to do a bit of improv in high school. We’ll see if that translates well over iTunes. If you have any burning questions to ask, the above link is the way to go. We might not have time to get all of them in, but I will do my best and make an effort to try.

By the way, if you want to play a fun drinking game, every time Matt says “eh?” take a drink. Every time Matt says “aboot” down the whole glass.

Heh, I know I’ll at least have one person interested in listening.

Owned by Tree Form

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Note: This post is not WoW related. Feel free to mark as read and move on to the next blog in your reader.

No, I’m not talking about WoW’s tree form! I managed to snap up copies of Wii Fit yesterday.

No joke, it’s a lot of fun! I got up this morning and tried the tree form stance but I just can’t manage it. I guess Dwarf Priests were never meant to mimic their Druid counterparts. Feel free to read up more on my experience and goals with Wii Fit.

(Yes I know it’s called Tree Pose as Wynthea so kindly reminded me, but I had to tie it into WoW somehow.)

An Open Letter to WoW Bloggers

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Dear WoW Bloggers,

I’m directing this post to you in the hopes that you will break out of your creative shell at some point. Blogs die every day for various reasons. The author no longer has the time or maybe they’ve lost interest. Another common reason is that they can’t seem to come up with anything “good” for their blogs so they give up because they fail to attract visitors or fail to generate discussion.

What is a good blog?

That doesn’t matter. Don’t worry about the “good” part until you get the “blog” part down. I’ve spoken to my share of bloggers on the internet and I have sensed a common ailment that affects every single one of them. It’s dangerous, it stunts growth, and it slowly eats away at them without their realizing it.

It’s known as fear of failure.

For bloggers, this is bad. They’re afraid of writing because they’re afraid of being rejected. I believe every blogger out there is capable of great ideas and great posts. I also know they’re afraid of writing it down and exploring the idea because they feel “it’s too stupid” or “boring”.

Realize now that no two readers are made the same. What’s appealing for one person may not be appealing to the other. For instance, I read daily posts on encounters, raiding, and guild business. I tend to avoid story posts where this boss was downed. You might have a nice personal story to share, but I’m not interested. I want to get something of value out of what I read. I want to learn something new. Not everyone’s like that. Others read to escape or to entertain themselves. Readers want to have fun and laugh at stories that bloggers share.

Sometimes, the headlines speak for themselves and I can skip over the story. Let me give you a quick example of how the removal of even 1 character can change the face and feel of the story:

“25-manned Gruul”

vs

“5-manned Gruul”

Now what do you think I’m likelier to pick and read? Even though the 5 manning of Gruul may not be real, it’s still an eye catching headline that will make people pause and read.

Don’t worry

Guy Kawasaki is a business man I look up to. At one of his infamous keynotes, he made a reference to Walt Disney. There’s a song in the Disney franchise called “Don’t worry, be happy”. Guy twists it around in his talk and tells innovators to instead don’t worry, be crappy.

Everyone works hard in the real world to maintain an image and to be the model citizen. They live to serve the expectations that society dishes out. The internet’s a great place to escape that pressure. Write something outrageous! Be daring!

When you first start blogging, you can’t expect an audience immediately. Blogging is a social thing which encourages interaction. You’re not supposed to be a lecturer.

You’re going to write something once in a while that isn’t going to fly with what your readers like. They’ll let you know. Use that reaction for the future. Again, you’ll never know if people will like a post or not until you pen it and publish it.

This is how it works

You write a post which happens to link to another blog.
This other blog’s owner finds out they have an incoming link coming from your blog.
The curious blogger then clicks the link to your blog and starts reading.
The curious blogger proceeds to either like or dislike what you have to say and mentions your blog on their blog.
Other bloggers and readers pick up on it and come to your blog.
The process repeats.

It takes a lot of time to develop. A lot of bloggers give up because they don’t have the patience. This post isn’t directed to them. This post is aimed at the bloggers who claim they don’t have ideas.

Wrong.

You have ideas, you just don’t have the confidence to follow through on them. I want to read what it is that you have to say. I can’t form an opinion of a post if it hasn’t been written yet.

Get over your fear of rejection and just start writing.