by Tiffany Bechdel on Mar 23, 2015
I have been playing World of Warcraft since the beginning. Before Blood Elves, easier leveling, and simplified talents trees, I was there. While this doesn't make me really special in any way, it has done something rather interesting. Being a veteran World of Warcraft has turned me into a stereotypical grumpy old man or, at the very least, has given me the personality of one.
After spending some time with old friends who have also played World of Warcraft for some time, I realized that they had also adopted the traits of a grumpy old man as well! This anomaly seems to affect most, if not all, veteran WoW players to some degree. While we may not have the aches and pains, the advanced age, or the salt and pepper hair, playing WoW this long has, without a doubt, given us this unique mindset.
When you think of grumpy old men you probably imagine someone who has difficulty adjusting to new things. In fact, they often downright refuse to adapt and will downright avoid anything new. The old ways are always better and they see these newfangled things as nothing but pure evil. Their motto tends to be; if it ain't broke, don't fix it. It doesn't matter if it makes their lives easier, better, or just more interesting, if it is new it is bad. Period.
As a veteran WoW player, I also have picked up the notion that new things are terrible things. Any time a new feature, item, or other change is announced I find myself just a bit disgruntled. I hate all things new without even knowing why. I am positive these new changes are the devil and patch notes are the bane of my exsistance. Then of course I try them out and realize they aren't so bad after all, but the next set of changes and additons are sure to ruin the game! Mark my words, ruin!
Old grumpy men always have stories about the good old days. Stories that glorify how things should be, how they were better, and ineviably harder back in their prime. As a veteran WoW player you may also find yourself spewing out these stories and enjoying it while you do so. Stories that encompass the glory days of World of Warcraft. When things were perfect, glorious, and deliciously difficult. For example; back in my day it took months to level, 750 wipes on a boss to kill it, 40 players to fill a raid, and 100 gold made you rich! These new players now a days have it so darn easy! Giving up after wiping just 5 times on a boss, what a joke!
Tying directly into the “back in my day” section, many grumpy old men tend to have a healthy dislike of young whippersnappers who don't understand how good they have it. While I don't think many of us in the game care about age, as a WoW player who has played for quite some time I have found myself eye-rolling at players that are fairly new to the game. Always demanding things like levels and gear to be just handed to them! Clearly they have no concept of good old fashioned work and have no idea how easy the game has become! It is usually at this point that I have the urge burst into one of my “back in my day” stories.
Everyone knows that when grumpy old men of the stereotypical sort get together, they like to tell tall tales. These stories have a hint of truth, but have been embellished and stretched for maximum entertainment value. Hanging out with any veteran WoW player is the same. We all have stories to tell and we enjoy telling them, especially to other veteran WoW players. Sure we might bend the truth a little from time to time, but who cares? It is all in good fun. Besides, we totally could have single-handedly defended the Crossroads against 400 invading Alliance with half of our gear broken, really.
If you have ever heard someone from the older generation talk, you may realize that their vocabulary is different from your own. You may hear things like; ankle-biter, cat, far out, groovy, gnarly, and perhaps even bupkis along with various other words and jokes particular to the time period they grew up in. Even if you have a general idea of what they mean, you probably wouldn't use them today. While many words or phrases have remained the same in WoW, there are many words, jokes, and memes that only long time players will understand. Great examples include:
Vendorstrike Kite him to Vael's room! Where is Mankrik's wife?! Leeeeeeroooooyyyyy Jenkins! MORE DOTS! 50 DKP MINUS! I kill two Dwarves in da morning... Globaled Barrens chat. Loot the hounds! You are not prepared. Booonestooorm!While many players new to the game may have an idea of where these words and phrases spawned from and may even use them, they just don't hold the same meaning to WoW players that were not there for their original creation.
Are you a veteran WoW player? Do you recognize any of these traits in yourself? How has playing WoW for an extensive time period tapped into your stereotypical elder? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below.
Disclaimer: This article is based on a generalized stereotype of the personality of a grumpy old man. This author does not think that all older men (or women) are grumpy or necessarily fill out any of these attributes.