This Is Petty, But it Bugs Me

Lots of the news about patch 3.2 seems awesome. I don't even particularly object to the DK nerfs because, hell, we clearly needed it.

Unifying the badge system will allow people to get past the "can't run Naxx without Naxx gear" problem which is great. Anybody who complains that the time they spent raiding Ulduar was "wasted" because now other people can get the same stuff by running Heroics has *no fucking business* raiding in the first place.

I also really like the fact that the Argent Colosseum is going to have "Normal" and "Heroic" versions for both 10-man and 25-man content. I was really annoyed at the value judgment implicit in the old 10-man "normal" 25-man "heroic" distinction. Just because you can't get 25 people together doesn't mean you want the content to be easy. Just because you *can* get 25 people together doesn't mean you aren't a whiny scrub who wants other people to carry them through for free loot. Seriously, Heroic 10-man content is awesome.

What bugs me, however, is the fact that the new 5-man / raid / whatever is (a) connected to the fucking-argent-fucking-tournament and (b) a new tier of gear.

It's not a gameplay issue, it's a suspension of disbelief issue.

In Northrend I have fought Deranged Viking Giants and their genocidal leader, I have faced living rifts in space-time and ancient traitor kings. Current raiders have taken down the vanguard of the Lich King and an actual Dragon Aspect before moving on to take down the servants of the titans and one of the Old Gods of Azeroth

Where do we go from here? To a fucking sporting event.

Which will apparently drop the best loot in the game.

What the fuck?

I know that it's a game mechanic, I know that it isn't supposed to make any particular sense but seriously, if the Argent Crusade has all of these Tier Nine weapons kicking around, why doesn't it fucking USE them. Why are we being made to fight *each other* instead of fighting the actual damned scourge?

I can cope with the fact that the peasants in Grizzly Hills are tougher than archmages in the old world. I can deal with the fact that Arthas is going to be a bigger badass than Yogg-Saron and that King Ymiron could beat up Onyxia. But I can't take the idea of having a break from fighting the Lich King to play at being a knight.

This is basically my problem with the whole fucking Argent Tournament, it feels like Renley Baratheon in the Song of Ice and Fire series. They sit up there under the black skies of Icecrown with their comfy tents and their pretty flags charging at each other with pointy sticks. It's pathetic.

I do not play WoW to play minigames. I do not play WoW to fucking *joust*.

I would be less insulted if I didn't know that the Argent Tournament was Blizzard's idea of "content for casual players". Because clearly the fact that I don't play every day means that I don't actually want to play the game I *bought* but instead want to *ride around on pretty ponies*.