For me, one of the best points of playing World of Warcraft is the social aspect. I found a guild that I really meld well with, raiding is always fun and never stressful, and vent and guild chat is a total hoot. Plus, as an added bonus there is a significant number of other female players, like myself, with whom I’ve become pretty close.
So you can see why it was an easy decision for me to not switch to a European realm when I recently moved across the pond from the U.S. to Germany. You also can see the predicament I found myself in when my old West Coast raid crew decided to fire back up again after a long hiatus over the summer — chiefly, the 9-hour time difference. So while I wanted to reclaim my DPS spot with the group, I also was hesitant to commit to a raid starting at 4:30 a.m. my time when I am not a morning person.
But I couldn’t say no without at least trying. I made the raid time one fateful morning last week, and was surprisingly alert as the group (in its second night of raiding ICC for the week) made its way through the Crimson Hall, past the Frostwing Halls and, for my first time ever, up to the Lich King.
Attempt after attempt was unsuccessful up until, as the sun rose behind my desk, Arthas fell. But in my delirious, sleep-deprived state, I did something very stupid. After dying in the fight — a Valkyrie had thrown me off the ledge — I released. Yes, I thought it would be a wipe, but it turned out to be the lucky time that the crew persevered and made it through. So I did not get the achievement or title, or see the epic cinematic, but I was still there and happy to play a role.
My blood was pumping with excitement as we said “good night,” and I crept back into bed intending to make up for the few lost hours I had spent raiding. But that didn’t end up happening — I was too wound up. When I finally began to feel sleep upon me, the work day had begun for this part of the world, and things had to get done. It seemed everyone and their mother interrupted my attempts to sleep with phone calls and rings at the door.
I finally decided to just get up and get the day started. Coffee was a necessity, but I made it through the day and then got my full night’s rest. Was it worth it? Absolutely. And I plan to do it again when the group has an open spot.
Since then, I’ve been playing a bit more during the day and prime-time my time. That’s when the server is pretty much empty — but it makes for good quest time. Though, it seems that being one of the only players around and active makes me a prime target for random whispers. I’ve been getting a ton of whispers from people wanting help, wanting gold, wanting a guild to join, or apparently just wanting to chat.
Maybe once I finish up Loremaster and Cataclysm comes out, I’ll try rolling my goblin on a European server — if only to have a populated place to play during the times that I’ll be on. We’ll see. Maybe I can convince some of my guildies to wake up at 4:30 a.m. so they can play when I want. Fair’s fair, right?!
If you do decide to roll a Goblin on an EU server, Ravenholdt EU has quite a good horde population. My main is on the Alli side there tho, but will be rolling a Goblin for the fun of it :) As I have most of my days free, you’ll have someone to quest around with.
Yes, gotta love those time differences. On my primary server I am lucky to only be 2 hours behind the rest of my guild.
Is it worth the time difference when you have a good group of people to play with? Undeniably yes. Considering the vast majority of any server consists of people who would rather play lemming or be carried to a top spot somewhere for a chance at gear, when you do find that group that is both mature and makes you laugh it is a blessing and should be held onto with a vice grip.
Nothing worse that joining a group only to be led into a fiery pit of death because the leader didn’t feel the need to read up one things.
Grats to your friends for getting Kingslayer and you’ll get it next time. Afterall, they love you as much as we (your readers) do ^_^