In every great myth and medieval story, there are always heroes, the
Untouchables, the ones who everyone knows, fears, and above all, respects. In
the 11 or so months that WOW has been taking the globe by storm, it is very
surprising to see that there are a handful of people on every server and side,
who have become legends like the heroes of old. Most will agree. if you think
and compare it to your own personal server. When I play my undead warrior Memnok
on Thunderhorn, I can assure you that in the last year, there have been several
"Big Names" that both Horde and Alliance fear and respect. These are the guys
you only hear about in rumors and whispers, the kind that if you were to see
them deep in Ashenvale, you would /bow and give the road, whether they are
friend or foe. In mass PVP, they are the ones most sought after, that head the
fight leading by example, no matter how much damage you and your side deal, they still stand before you and fight on (pulling arrows out of their Armour,
brushing off blows, and putting out their hair that is on fire). They make or
break instances, raids, battlegrounds, or large scale PVP, and what’s more,
THEY, and everyone around them know it. But if you strip off the rumors and
mystical air about them, who are they? Did they ever mean to get this popular or
respected?
I managed to get a hold of Thunderhorn's greats, and sit one on one to talk
about their standings and what they feel has happened in the minds of the
players over the last year. The movie Gladiator gives a great quote, when
Proximo tells Maximus "...I was not the best because I killed quickly, I was the
best because the crowd loved me..." This is what separates these few from every
other player on the server.





I just want to take this time to thank everyone who is participating in the
interview, it's a pleasure to get to know a little bit about each of you.
This will hopefully give all the readers a bit of an insight on your in game
fame. But to start off, what are you games names, classes, races, and
guilds?





Sufferings- My name is Sufferings, I am an undead rogue from the guild
"Lobster Brood".



Warringtaun- My name is Warringtaun, I’m a male Tauren Warrior from the
guild "Lobster Brood".



Omniscient- Well then! I go by Omniscient, an Undead Mage in the guild
"Lobster Brood".



Alamo- In order of creation, I have three level 60 characters: Slithe,
Troll
rogue 60, Alamo, Tauren druid 60, Soo, Dwarf rogue 60, but Alamo is my main.





After hearing the introduction to the interview, do you feel that you and
your character fit into the category, or belong in the top 3 list on
Thunderhorn?



Sufferings- I used to be known as the most feared rogue on Thunderhorn. I
have since gotten more into the PvE side of WoW, but often jump in to waste some
folks.



Warringtaun- It certainly is what I hear. Top three though? Being that
tanks often play a prominent role, and our epic gear is fairly noticeable (
Spike City for sure), I would say that the look of Warringtaun certainly grabs
your attention and sparks discussion. What aspiring player isn't in awe of a
player standing in force with the Quel'Serrar and the threatening Might armor?
On a hulking and looming Tauren all the more?! From that perspective, yes, I've
gained quite a bit of notoriety on Thunderhorn.



Omniscient- Well I of course don't go spouting things like "I'm the
best!"
or try to draw attention to myself through words, but rather show my skills
widely and let people get an idea for themselves. But to answer your
question, judging by the tells and responses to my actions in what I do in
game, yes!



Alamo- I am doing this interview for fun, and just to get the obligatory
disclaimer out of the way first: WoW is a game, and I take it only as
seriously as I have to. There are no great accolades to be had for being the
best, especially if that position has caused one to ignore more important life-
obligations. Having said that, I enjoy playing WoW, and the only thing I have
maybe missed out on is TV watching and heavy drinking. To answer your original
question quite frankly: no. I play a support class. The high-profile characters
will always be rogues. There is nothing more frustrating to a player than being
3-shotted from stealth, or killed before they can get out of stunlock. Rogues
raise people's blood pressure, while druids do not. From a PvP standpoint,
druids are an "annoyance" class. My play style has me running away in travel
form for a good majority of the fight, which frustrates those classes that are
used to being able to fight up close. I am not going to kill anyone in a quick
or flashy way (unless I am spamming moonfire on a hunter or mage) and therefore
don't usually make people's KoS list. This has its advantages, however, because
I can sometimes heal without being mass- targeted, or run away if I am while my
teammates kill my pursuers. Druid is a unique play style in WoW, and although I
initially loathed it, I have come to really enjoy the capabilities of the class,
and would never play another class.





At what point do you believe that your reputation exceeded that of the
normal level, and put you in a place much higher than other players?





Sufferings- Being one of the first 60s on the server, and being one of
the
first to PvP, it was sometime in early February.



Warringtaun- As a Warrior, I first gained the respect of our faction by
focusing on teamwork as a true tank in instances such as Dire Maul,
Scholomance, and Stratholme. By the time a solid amount of players were
hitting these instances, many players were still trying to figure their role
in groups, and naturally many Warriors were still thinking in terms of
soloing, being dps machines. I focused on my role in a group environment
however, and as players were focusing on gearing up in instances, my
reliability and skill as a traditional tank became known. This certainly set
me up as a player known to be a good for grouping. But this can only take
you so far in player recognition. As the epic gear started flowing in, my
reputation moved from one of the several skilled tanks, to one of the
leading tanks gear-wise. Many people told me I showed them what a warrior should
strive for.



Omniscient- I'd say it was probably during the time I hit the mid fifties
with my mage and began dueling people on a regular basis, people who already had
made names for themselves started to recognize me on the battlefield as well as
the dueling grounds. Back then I had a pure fire build, the burst damage was
simply amazing. killing people before they had a chance to execute their first
attack wasn't uncommon. Unfortunately the pure fire build is becoming less and
less effective as more guilds progress into Molten Core and hoard their fire
resist.



Alamo- I am not sure that this situation has happened yet with Alamo. My
original character, Slithe, was the first non- gold farmer rogue to 60 (on
horde side, at least). For a while he was unbeatable, since there were only
a handful of 60's on either side. Early on I had a desire to be a part of a
guild that would challenge the end- game, and after a couple of misfires,
Lobster Brood was formed and Slithe was installed as guild leader.





In your opinion, in what setting of the game brought you your fame?
Instances, raids, battlegrounds, unique items, or mass PVP?





Sufferings- At first, mass PvP, the ability to run solo against a crowd.
Later, I feel it is more towards my role as a guild leader in a very
successful PvE guild.



Warringtaun- Instances. Working with many players to run efficient
conquering machines to lay waste in instances. People always remember the taste
of success and thirst to play more, often with the knowledge of what players can
and will help get them there.



Omniscient- I'd say it was probably a conglomeration of all of these
things,
but primarily skill in PvP battle.



Alamo- Being guild leader of a guild born from controversy, coupled with
my commentary on the Thunderhorn forums regarding the end- game, brought me a
very visible profile. The fact that I was brash and often abrasive did not tend
to downplay my visibility. I pushed guild members to be the best, to do things
first, and to most importantly, to be dedicated and consistent to the raiding
game. When we were not raiding, we did a lot of Crossroads PvP in the early
days, and then Tarren Mill, where the Lobster Brood rogues would go in packs
killing soft targets with impunity. For reasons enumerated above, this kept
Slithe's in people's mind. Shortly thereafter, due to a dearth of druids in
lobster brood (we had exactly 0), I started Alamo, got him to lvl 60 in 9 days
played (no rest xp) with guild help, and promptly quit PvPing. I stopped playing
as much, and as a result, began to fade from memory. I also did not participate
in Warsong Gulch when it was released.





What kind of guild are you in, or what kind of guild do you run? Does it
share in any Fame on your server?





Sufferings- I am the leader of Lobster Brood, and it is quite well
known. It was formed a long time ago as a PvE guild, and has been known as a
leader for the horde for quite some time.



Warringtaun- I belong to a solid raiding guild with a strong PvE focus as
would be expected on our server. Not only does it share the fame, it is what
made my gear acquirement possible. This is what people respect the most, it's a
look into their gaming dreams, what they want to attain also, and seeing someone
else acquire it, and watching their style, it gives them a pattern to follow so
they can get there also.



Omniscient- I am in the top Horde raiding guild on my server, Lobster
Brood. It's widely known for its success in the end game content as all top end
guilds are. I'm the Mage class leader.



Alamo- Lobster Brood. The other original choice was "Lobster Spawn," but
'Brood" won the vote. At one point LB was the cutting- edge Horde guild, but now
the other Horde guilds are more or less at the same progress points. The thing
that is setting LB apart at the moment is the after- raid PvP that we do as a
group. Battlegrounds is fun and exciting in an all- guild group, and since the
Alliance seem only to queue in pick- up groups, we seldom lose.





What type of character build do you use?





Sufferings- I use 31/8/12.



Warringtaun- Currently I am spec'd for Protection. Why? Namely for rage
reduction in Sunder Armor so as to ensure the front-loading of my agro
generation. We all know everyone is trigger-happy so the sooner you get full
Sunders on the better, and running out of rage early on is just the pits.
That plus I want to take full advantage of my epic one-hander via one-hand
specialization. Both are deep within the protection tree. I've tried other
builds, and while it's true that Protection spec. it isn't necessary for
solid tanking success, I still want to squeeze out every advantage I can for
agro control even if it does gimp me in other areas a little more.



Omniscient- use a 20/0/31 build as far as talents go, It's an Ice/Arcane
build for those who aren't familiar with Mages. I've found this build to
next to unstoppable in PVP, It took a short while to adapt and learn the way of
this build, but once I got it down. I’m not sure I'd ever want to go back to my
fire build, someday perhaps, for kicks!



Alamo- I am, and always will be, a restoration druid. My current build
has
11 points in balance, for omen of clarity, and 40 points in restoration, for
maximum healing efficiency. From my perspective, until I have the rank 13
epic PvP gear, no other spec makes sense. I will elaborate on this point in
response to the next question.





What kind of equipment do you normally have on, and what do you carry around
with you? (anything for laughs?)





Sufferings- I wear 6 of 8 Nightslayer. Mostly all high-end PvE gear. I do
carry a Gnomish World Enlarger just for kicks.



Warringtaun- Normally I have Might gear on with a one-hander and shield.
Being Protection spec. I want to play to the strengths of shield slam and
one-hand spec. I trade out various items like trinkets and necklace of
course. For PvP I desire attack power so I equip Will of the Martyr for my
necklace, and dual Counter Attack Lodestones. Of course the Warrior PvP
trinket is also an option. For general purpose tanking I use Might, a neck
and trinket that focuses on defense, and one that gives a small AC boost.
Rings of course are the DI ring and Myrmidon's Signet. For laughs?
Pitchfork!! ( http://www.thottbot.com/?i=7862 ) which is always on me. I
love whipping out that huge hayfork and poking mobs and people with it.



Omniscient- Well I've always focused on my intellect, a lot of other
Mages I
know go for just damage or even crit chance, but that's just never seemed
very promising to me, I find that I survive much longer in battle having
8.4k mana, which isn't too shabby considering I haven't gone with the Arcane
Mind talent, a talent that increases your overall mana by 8%. I also don't carry
around a bunch of different gear sets, They're not a necessity for me. The only
other gear I bring along with me is my Fire Resist gear, infact I don't really
understand how other mages find the bag space to carry anything with all those
extra gear sets they have. As far as things for laughs...of course! I can't
resist running up on a low level out in Durotar and dueling them then pulling
out the Cannonball Runner, Barov Peasant Caller, or even Smokey's Lighter, these
things are also quite valuable in normal one on one duels as well though.



Alamo- Druids have it bad when it comes to gear. I have 3 16- slot bags
filled with different gear for cat, bear, and caster gear, as well as PvP
gear, situational engineering trinkets, keys, and quest items I have never
fully collected. I still carry around my mechanical yeti, since I cannot
bring myself to use the last charge and lose it forever. I also have a
snowball maker with me at all times. My normal gear is full Cenarion with an
Ironbark staff enchanted with +55 healing and the Battle Tabard of the
Defilers. Since feral gear is sorely lacking from the itemization tables, I
don't see the point in going from full epic gear to an all- blue feral set.
I equip a 4- piece PvP set for 15% increase to travel form speed since I
don't have a mount.





Are there any Toons on the Alliance side that you feel meet the requirements
on this list, that you yourselves personally fear and respect?





Sufferings- I would have to say Kanze, a human mage.



Warringtaun- Any mage. Seriously though, there is a priest named Esk on
Alliance that I find hard as hell to kill. Jessicakim also falls in that
category, I have to dig deep and grit my teeth when I see her on the BG
fields. These two have gained my respect by what they do and how they do it.



Omniscient- Well I wouldn't say I fear them, I do respect them though,
there are plenty of talented people on the alliance side, not enough to make up
for the unspeakable amount of idiots though, sadly. But yes, there are maybe 2
or 3 that get my blood pumping when I notice their name on the field.



Alamo- Tinyboom, Prowl, and Samh. There are less well- known people like
Fivehundred and Manorhulk who I respect for their mastery of their class.





What is the strangest question, emote, or compliment that you have received from
a fellow Horde member?





Sufferings- I have been asked how I kill so many people, but I just don't
know how to answer that.



Warringtaun- I remember a tank from another guild sent me a tell wanting
to talk about tanking Magmadar, but as we discussed it he told me part of his
problem was that he was trying to carry on a conversation with a friend in game
while tanking Magmadar, I just blinked and was at a loss for words after that. I
still laugh and shake my head when thinking about it.



Omniscient- Ha! I remember running into an in game hooker in Orgrimmar,
it started out as me tossing her a gold or so to help with armor or some such,
then she offered cybering services, I could tell she wasn't from the US by her
English. made for a good laugh. ;>



Alamo- I go Barrens general chat when I have not received my daily dose
of retardism. I get asked to do Stratholme/ Scholomance/ UBRS at least 3x per
day in random whispers. I got an invite to an MC PuG recently as well, and that
is memorable for its audaciousness as much as its stupidity. The best part of
being a druid is going bear form and getting behind a random hunter's pet and
spamming the /sit /stand commands. Priceless.





What do you hope to see and encounter in Blizzard's expansion to WOW?
(Imagine in a perfect world).





Sufferings- New Raid Encounters, a revamp of the PvP system (it sucks
now, battlegrounds have ruined PvP)



Warringtaun- Free gold for everyone? Blood Elf ladies frolicking the dirt
roads of Orgrimmar is of course high on my list, but like everyone I'm eager to
get into Hero classes and find out what Blizz has in store for that.
Considering the interview going on here, you shoulda guessed that one!



Omniscient- Without a doubt I'd have to say more raid content. Molten
Core is a one-night deal. Zul'Gurub is a giant time sink, BWL is fun, but I
think if there were currently 2 or so more end game instances it'd add much more
of a sense of variety, instead of, "Alright guys, that instance is clear! One
more week till we can have fun again!”



Alamo- Pandas. A Druid epic travel form. A druid- epic weapon that shifts
in response to our forms (I find it amazing that the only shape shifting class
doesn't get an epic weapon that transforms). I also want the Horde to get
Paladins. Paladins who are Pandas.





Did you aim to be one of the top on the server or did it just happen?





Sufferings- Yes, when the Honor System first came out, my goal was to be
number one. For weeks, I was number one or at least in the top 5 until I
stopped PvPing.



Warringtaun- No, "being the best" was never my goal, being good at the
game was. Everything else simply followed I guess.



Omniscient- I always aim to be the best at what I enjoy, but in all the
time
I've spent playing MMO's I've found that not only applying yourself is
what's needed to succeed widely in the game. A number of things that you
don't really have control over have to go your way as well.. There are some
amazing players out there that people don't even pay attention to or notice
simply because they're in the right place at the wrong time. ;/



Alamo- I think it's because I play like 20 hours a day.





Are you ever the target of resent or hate from other people just because you are
viewed as one of the best?





Sufferings- Hate is a bad word. Am I a target? Yes. If anything, I have
made friends and met some nice people because. Someone might log onto their alt
and whisper me, but always something nice. But, as soon I attacked anyone, it
was very common for a whole raid group to stop and destroy me in one second.
Sometimes, I felt like a mob in MC with so many debuffs on me!



Warringtaun- Sometimes, but Thunderhorn is an awesome server with
fantastic people and get 20 times as many words of congratulations as words of
jealousy or accusations.



Omniscient- Ahh, sure, there are always going to be people with bad
attitudes because they think they've been done wrong in some way or because
they're jealous of your guild being further in content than theirs. I've even
been called out by other mages, trying to knock me or call me out, only to be
crushed in duels! ;


Alamo- People hate me because I am an asshole. All other considerations
are secondary.





How much time do you spend in WoW per week to maintain your status as one of the
best?





Sufferings- When I was PvPing actively, I spent about 4-5 hours a day
PvPing. The best way I accomplished this was by always going solo. I tried
to perfect the gank and run, so by the time someone noticed their priest had
just been wasted, I was already running away back into stealth.



Warringtaun- It's been playing since January, and I have 86 days played
at
this point, I'll let you do that math. I just play whenever I can, and many
times when I shouldn't. /grin



Omniscient- Oh god..ehh..80ish hours? more perhaps?



Alamo- I play WoW maybe 40 hours or more per week, if I have the
time.





Is there still any gear that you think would "top you off"?





Sufferings- Would like to finish off my Nightslayer set, but also would
like
a couple certain pieces of Bloodfang. Regardless, I will still keep and wear
at least 5 pieces of NS, so I get the 5 piece set bonus.



Warringtaun- No way. Blizz will always release those better items, I just
continue consuming them as soon as I can.



Omniscient- Hahah..oh yes, Blizzard's always there to put just a little
more
eye candy just slightly out of my reach to work towards!



Alamo- BWL feral gear.





Do you bother with the Blizzard forums (or any other forums for that matter) and
try to keep up to date on what is "coming up"?





Sufferings- Yes, realm forums, I am somewhat active on. The rogue forums,
I post occasionally, but at least keep up to date on it. I also keep good track
of my guild forums and web page. I occasionally browse the PvP, Raid, and
General forums for Blizzard.



Warringtaun- Of course, but mainly I focus on the Warrior forums,
striving
to understand the Warrior class better and what is in store of us. I try to
keep up with the flow of the game too by visiting other forums and I think
everyone should at least dabble in that if they want to plot their course
wisely.



Omniscient- Sure. I troll the realm forums constantly, rarely posting,
though just to see what's going on, I've never been one for posting on
forums, just isn't my deal. I also take an occasional glance at the Mage
boards from time to time. There's not a whole lot of interesting
information on the class boards though usually.



Alamo- Yes, of course.





Well, I want to thank you all for participating in this interview, and hope that
this will give some of our readers an insight into the world of high class, end
game players, be it in PVP or PVE, these are the ones who have perfected their
game and class play and should be feared and respected.