Played Lately: World of Warcraft

• I have previously established that I like World of Warcraft, the very definition of the massively multiplayer online game genre. Therefore it may seem counter-intuitive to you that I don't like to play my video games with other people. I dislike it to such an extent that this blog was temporarily named Solo Gamer before I came to my senses, limited as they may be. I don't have anything against other people, per se, though I have run into the requisite number of net-idiots. It's just that people sometimes form attachments with those they play with and I am allergic to responsibility in any form. I'd rather play when I want to play without dependencies to anyone else.
• Here's the implication you might be picking up: making friends in an online game can actually make me avoid playing that game! How weird is that?
• This is why World of Warcraft and Guild Wars before it were perfect for me. You can do just about anything you want without interacting with anyone else. WoW has balanced the quests so that the majority can be completed by a single, carefully played character. Grouping just makes the quests fly by faster. GW has the heroes and henchmen to fill out a party when you don't want to worry about other players. They aren't as smart as a real player, but they aren't nearly as dumb, either.
• I told you all that so I could tell you this: I finally joined a pickup group to run the library wing of Scarlet Monastery. That just happens to be one of those things that you can't do solo, at least not until it's no longer worth doing solo. I am quite proud of myself. We went in, killed a bunch of crazy people, picked up some nice loot. And not once did they ask if they could put me on their Friends List. Whew!
• If you just so happen to play the game, you might be interested to see how my main character is progressing. No cracks about my weak gear, please. Me and Ms. Dolly Parton could tell you a thing or too about being proud of what you have to wear.