The attitude of the roleplaying community has gone sour

[Deleted]

We have very different experiences of AD, then. To me, the server is a constant hotbed of politics and drama revolving around which guilds or guild leaders get to be 'in charge' of various areas and campaigns, usually leading to people feeling ostracized, steamrolled, or driven away. The realm forum is a rotten nest of memelords trying to out-dank each other. It's become socially acceptable over the last year or so to organise skype groups with the single purpose of downvoting and verbally harassing disliked guilds.

There are still good people and good guilds on the server, but the so-called 'pillars' and 'community leaders' tend to be an amazing herd of drunk baboons.

Oh I agree with the first paragraph; don't get me wrong. This was the reason why I didn't participate in that big "Outland Second Campaign" during Mists of Pandaria. Not only it didn't make sense to me as to why we are going to Outland in character to begin with, but a lot of shitheads on both sides wanted to take charge, and me and my group of friends laughed at them and continued our RP in Pandaria, despite being recruited "in character".

What I meant is, as long as you are sticking to coordinate/walk RP, you are fine for the most part. I am always looking for more people to RP with in a coordinated setting; feel free to hit me when you want.

[Al Gorefiend]

I'm sorry to say that the only thing that ruined RP for me is the lack of originality. I'm sure for the 100 brilliant minds who frequent this forum with colorful character RPs, there's a 1000 RPers behind them all wanting to be the same exact thing. WoW has over a hundred different variations of race/class combos yet 5 of them are at least 30-40% of the RP community - Human Paladin, Night Elf Druid, Human Mage, Blood Elf Paladin, Blood Elf Hunter. Then you have the new DHs which are forced to be the same thing and all look very similar to eachother, and the amount of interest they draw from other players becomes lower and lower. Then they all want to be the same thing. The quiet, edgy, loner hero who lost his family and is bound by honor to forever seek to destroy the X that killed his family.

I RP in my head but play exclusively on PvP servers because the variation in race/class combinations is better, and graphs exist that prove it.

[SoundOfGuns]

I RP in my head but play exclusively on PvP servers because the variation in race/class combinations is better, and graphs exist that prove it.

Overall agreed but... what good does a PVP Server with a variation in race/class do you? I mean... does it even matter anymore if you don't rp?

[Al Gorefiend]

Overall agreed but... what good does a PVP Server with a variation in race/class do you? I mean... does it even matter anymore if you don't rp?

I just like seeing Orcs and Trolls standing around in cities, it doesn't personally affect me at all other than makes me feel a little more immersed in the scenery. Moon Guard US, for example, is at like 60% Blood Elves out of all characters online. It doesn't feel like Orgrimmar when the bank, AH and everywhere else is just a bunch of elves.

[Wewlad]

I noticed that a lot of people are migrating to Moon Guard US from Wyrmrest Accord. I wondered why, and decided to investigate.

What I found is that people are actually RPing believable characters rather than self-insert wish fulfillment avatars.

More important than that, people actually accept IC consequences and don't attempt to use OOC to weasel their way out.

Consequences make a story worthwhile, and Wyrmrest Accord RPers developed a terrible habit of avoiding any sort of negative outcome for their characters even if it would lend to a better story. All behind the veil of "consent" which is complete bullshit. Nobody can force anyone to RP something they don't want to. It's just that those interested in telling worthwhile stories are tired of these people trying to abuse "consent" to get their desired outcome at the expense of the story and everyone else.

Tell this to them on the Wyrmrest Accord forum and they will downvote you because they're incapable of respectfully disagreeing or bringing up any points aside from "but my consent!".

Godmodders aren't even much of a problem. They're quickly called out and shamed whenever they come into the scene.

But there are a lot of us who are tired of how stale the RP world is, especially on Wyrmrest Accord. Nothing changes because everyone trying to be "individualistic". If that's the case then why bother RPing in an MMORPG? Go RP on Skype or forums.

A few years ago we had many responsible guilds who could wield IC power effectively, and this lent to the believable world that once was. Now a guard guild can't expect to actually do their jobs because arresting someone for attempted murder/treason/etc. is just "unreasonable".

Good riddance.

I'm glad Moon Guardians aren't afraid to call out this type of bullshit. It's why their guard RPers are still around after all these years.

[Techno-Druid]

I noticed that a lot of people are migrating to Moon Guard US from Wyrmrest Accord. I wondered why, and decided to investigate.

What I found is that people are actually RPing believable characters rather than self-insert wish fulfillment avatars.

More important than that, people actually accept IC consequences and don't attempt to use OOC to weasel their way out.

Consequences make a story worthwhile, and Wyrmrest Accord RPers developed a terrible habit of avoiding any sort of negative outcome for their characters even if it would lend to a better story. All behind the veil of "consent" which is complete bullshit. Nobody can force anyone to RP something they don't want to. It's just that those interested in telling worthwhile stories are tired of these people trying to abuse "consent" to get their desired outcome at the expense of the story and everyone else.

Tell this to them on the Wyrmrest Accord forum and they will downvote you because they're incapable of respectfully disagreeing or bringing up any points aside from "but my consent!".

Godmodders aren't even much of a problem. They're quickly called out and shamed whenever they come into the scene.

But there are a lot of us who are tired of how stale the RP world is, especially on Wyrmrest Accord. Nothing changes because everyone trying to be "individualistic". If that's the case then why bother RPing in an MMORPG? Go RP on Skype or forums.

A few years ago we had many responsible guilds who could wield IC power effectively, and this lent to the believable world that once was. Now a guard guild can't expect to actually do their jobs because arresting someone for attempted murder/treason/etc. is just "unreasonable".

Good riddance.

I'm glad Moon Guardians aren't afraid to call out this type of bullshit. It's why their guard RPers are still around after all these years.

One thing I've noticed, as being both a roleplayer on Moon Guard and a roleplayer of "exotic races", I think the Moon Guard community tends to be more accepting of unusual, but non-lore breaking, while a lot of times on Wyrmrest Accord, I've actually felt a bit uncomfortable with how intolerant a lot of people are. They also seem to have a strange hatred for Moon Guard roleplayers, which the MG community doesn't seem to have back.

Maybe I'm slightly biased here...

- - - Updated - - -

I just like seeing Orcs and Trolls standing around in cities, it doesn't personally affect me at all other than makes me feel a little more immersed in the scenery. Moon Guard US, for example, is at like 60% Blood Elves out of all characters online. It doesn't feel like Orgrimmar when the bank, AH and everywhere else is just a bunch of elves.

Moon Guard does have SOME immersion killers admittedly. Worgen, death knights and demon hunters just strolling through Stormwind like you're average joe.

If you want to really get immersed, try Argent Dawn EU, they're a bit better with immersion (or at least that's what the Battle.Net forums would have me believe with all the AD threada where people bicker over anything even remotely "lore-bending." Oh no! You wanna play a high elf mage in Stormwind, don't expect me to interact with you IC!).

[Melsiren]

I'm not sure what it's like on the EU, but WRA US Horde side has been like what you described OP for a long time now.

I just don't really do walkups any more, because the rp community is a bunch of toxic tumblr monkeys, who couldn't write a decent character if I put a gun to their heads.
That's not to mention the undesirable specifics I see daily now.

Since right after the start of Pandaria I only RP with my long term friends and people they vouch for, and for good reason.


Also OP, if it's any condolence, if it was one of my Guild members who publicly urinated on you I would have chewed them out and then kicked their asses to the curb.

I noticed that a lot of people are migrating to Moon Guard US from Wyrmrest Accord. I wondered why, and decided to investigate.

What I found is that people are actually RPing believable characters rather than self-insert wish fulfillment avatars.

More important than that, people actually accept IC consequences and don't attempt to use OOC to weasel their way out.

Consequences make a story worthwhile, and Wyrmrest Accord RPers developed a terrible habit of avoiding any sort of negative outcome for their characters even if it would lend to a better story. All behind the veil of "consent" which is complete bullshit. Nobody can force anyone to RP something they don't want to. It's just that those interested in telling worthwhile stories are tired of these people trying to abuse "consent" to get their desired outcome at the expense of the story and everyone else.

Tell this to them on the Wyrmrest Accord forum and they will downvote you because they're incapable of respectfully disagreeing or bringing up any points aside from "but my consent!".

Godmodders aren't even much of a problem. They're quickly called out and shamed whenever they come into the scene.

But there are a lot of us who are tired of how stale the RP world is, especially on Wyrmrest Accord. Nothing changes because everyone trying to be "individualistic". If that's the case then why bother RPing in an MMORPG? Go RP on Skype or forums.

A few years ago we had many responsible guilds who could wield IC power effectively, and this lent to the believable world that once was. Now a guard guild can't expect to actually do their jobs because arresting someone for attempted murder/treason/etc. is just "unreasonable".

Good riddance.

I'm glad Moon Guardians aren't afraid to call out this type of bullshit. It's why their guard RPers are still around after all these years.

The issue is WRA has a bunch of douche bags who have this Highschool popularity mentality who think their the RP elite of WoW.

[Deleted]

AD EU can be a very mixed pot of beans. Some people and guilds are absolutely bloody fantastic. Some people and guilds are absolutely bloody not. There are just as many toxic and abusive gits as you'll find in any other roleplaying community.

[Deleted]

I haven't been active myself since Cataclysm but I can tell you Argent Dawn EU specifically went to the dogs around late wrath-early cataclysm launch. I could sit here and type out a long, pretentious post about how WoW appeals to the lowest common denominator now and go in to detail about how drastic the differences are between the old community and 'neo-AD' but truth is despite the quality of the time roleplayers have always been like this. Even in Vanilla when things were a paradise (vastly superior lore, unaltered timeline, less mary sues, pre-mid life crisis Metzen/No green Jesus/Pre-Knaak, no Kosak, no activision/Bobby Kotick and focus on a serious story with scant humour) you still had a group of players trying to control roleplay, cliques, groups that went out of their way to try and get someone blacklisted for petty reasons.

A good example of this was a certain Watch guild which started out as a wonderful idea under Nath Shadoweyes and then became a full time clique enforcement agency under new leaders that made sure to blacklist anyone they found personally disagreeable. Whether it was a falling out, or a clash of egos, they managed to bully the community by essentially making sure you were 'banished' from Stormwind for 'crimes' lest you face being blacklisted. (which you might as well have given the circumstances of the guild slowly dying in some remote region)

There isn't much you can do given the situation with out really escalating it, I've seen the AD forums they're a cesspit. Other than ignoring these people there's not much you can do. Best to ignore these idiots they only have as much power as you give them. Don't even dignify them with a response.

[Deleted]

I can't speak for the U.S Side of things, but it's certainly true for Argent Dawn. The server has gradually turned into a much more toxic community. While certain segments of the community have always been somewhat exclusionary and elitist, I feel the community has gotten worse in the past year or two. It's become socially acceptable lately to OOC'ly harass and assault players you don't like. Sabotaging and undercutting competing guilds has become standard issue, and I certainly don't remember it was always like that.

During Wrath there seemed to be a much greater emphasis on unity, but that disappeared somewhere between Cataclysm and MoP. The current "community pillars" are, as Koriandr said, a bunch of drunk baboons, and these people sometimes use reprehensible behavior to try and push others to do things their way. And they arn't even particularly good, sticking to cookie cutter roles and relentlessly bashing any attempt at playing something original.

OOC antics aside, I feel like there is an innate hostility towards "non-standard" character concepts now, where once there was a bit more acceptance for an unusual or non-standard character. It was never really paradise, but I have noticed a change.

Sadly, as others have said, there isn't really much we can do, save avoid the memelords and wait for the server(s?) to collectively grow a brain and realize roleplay is a community effort, the quality of which is not linked to your ability to run someone off the server.

In the meantime, find a group of people you do enjoy, and stick with them. They are out there, still.

[Dahlia Dawnseeker]

I can't speak for the U.S Side of things, but it's certainly true for Argent Dawn. The server has gradually turned into a much more toxic community. While certain segments of the community have always been somewhat exclusionary and elitist, I feel the community has gotten worse in the past year or two. It's become socially acceptable lately to OOC'ly harass and assault players you don't like. Sabotaging and undercutting competing guilds has become standard issue, and I certainly don't remember it was always like that.

During Wrath there seemed to be a much greater emphasis on unity, but that disappeared somewhere between Cataclysm and MoP. The current "community pillars" are, as Koriandr said, a bunch of drunk baboons, and these people sometimes use reprehensible behavior to try and push others to do things their way. And they arn't even particularly good, sticking to cookie cutter roles and relentlessly bashing any attempt at playing something original.

I mean, holy bejeebus, people are -way- too serious about retaining control! Now, beneath the upper layer, you do still find friendly communities, but they tend to keep to themselves.

Sadly, as others have said, there isn't really much we can do, save avoid the memelords and wait for the server(s?) to collectively grow a brain and realize roleplay is a community effort, the quality of which is not linked to your ability to run someone off the server..

I think that due to this, friendly players must band together and RP. Speaking of which, I am all for that on Argent Dawn EU.

[Koriani]

So what does one do who enjoys RP but hasn't tried in WoW in years.

I use to play on Feathermoon, back at launch - had a good little RP community for a year or so. But it died out years ago. I joined some local friends more recently on Thorium Brotherhood and RP in another game has got me interested in trying here again.

But the whole cross-server thing with RP and having no *idea* where to start anymore!! I know Moonguard is another RP server on my "Cross-server" list I see around regularly and I know its an active RP server.

Do I just start joining up with the Cross-Realm Custom RP groups I see that are public?

I can't really change guilds (in guild with IRL friends) so I can't just go find a really active RP guild and tag along. I'm kinda on my own for this and just don't know where to start!

(And as someone who has Rped across games of all types - including MMOs for decades - I understand how the cycle in RP communities work. I'm hoping there are enough good Rpers left around the cross-realm world to drown out the crappy, elitest, highschool mentality ones out there. Urinating on another player? That is never, ever, ever acceptable. IC, OOC, RP or not.)

[Fiddlewick]

So what does one do who enjoys RP but hasn't tried in WoW in years.

But the whole cross-server thing with RP and having no *idea* where to start anymore!! I know Moonguard is another RP server on my "Cross-server" list I see around regularly and I know its an active RP server.

Do I just start joining up with the Cross-Realm Custom RP groups I see that are public?

That is precisely what you should, granted.. You might end up with unpleasant scenarios if you just pop up in the middle of someone's event, for example. (And you might not, who knows?). I am not really sure how stable Cross-Realm RP is, but if you just reach out to the ones on Moonguard and have them invite you, I am pretty sure you'll end up on the same 'server'

If you've not roleplayed in a while on WoW, I reccomend getting rp addons too. MRP "My roleplay" or TRP3 "Total Roleplay 3"

OT:
The RP community is much like any other community, you will meet assholes, and you will meet awesome people. Personally I haven't noticed a real change, but I might just have been lucky.