The Funeral of WoW Gold

Consider this statistic: Worldwide, nearly 45 million people play massive multiplayer online role-playing games like EverQuest II [and World of Warcraft], and the amount of real-world money associated with virtual worlds would make it the seventh largest country in the world according to gross domestic product. [EurekAlert]

It’s no wonder then that social scientists are turning to these mass online worlds to study human interaction (albeit via online aliases) and social networking.

Massive multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPG) have been a growing phenomenon thanks to the wild success of games like World of Warcraft and real-life simulation game Second Life.  It attracts all sorts of people, not just the stereotypical angsty teenager hiding in his parents’ basement.  There is a large population of women and middle-aged people who play the games. And as all of these different backgrounds and experiences collide, it becomes a social scientist’s playground.  (I direct you now to my all-time favorite MMORPG story: Second Life affair ends in divorce)

Presented at this year’s American Association for the Advancement of Science Annual Meeting in Chicago, social scientist and engineer Noshir Contractor of Northwestern University gave an overview of the 60 terabytes of information his team had accumulated from the game EverQuest II—including a survey of 7,000 players, making it the largest social science project ever conducted.  From the schlew of data analyzed, some interesting statistics emerged:  “many players underestimate the amount of time they spend playing the games, and the number of players who say they are depressed is disproportionately high. They also found that women don’t like to play with other women but are generally the most dedicated and satisfied players. And players aren’t just teenagers — in fact, the average age of a player is substantially higher.”

However, most intriguing from a social scientist’s point of view is how players form networks.  And what they found was surprising.  Even though a MMORPG offers the unique opportunity to engage players from all over the world, people are most likely to build networks of people they already know or who are at least from the same geographic area.  Contractor stated that, “It’s not creating new networks. It’s reinforcing existing networks. You can talk to anyone anywhere, and yet individuals 10 kilometers away from each other are five times more likely to be partners than those who are 100 kilometers away from each other.”

While it isn’t surprising that that a person would begin a game with people they know, the lack of expanding social networks is an interesting phenomenon, one that will undoubtedly be the focus of more research as scientists delve ever-deeper into the wild world of online gaming. 

When it comes to competing in arena, there are many tools out there that can enhance a players ability to win the match. Almost all World of Warcraft players are at least familiar with what mods are, and most would recommend that it is smart to use them to ones advantage. There are thousands of mods out there designed for different aspects of the game, ranging from simple user interface changes or bar mods, to those that assist you on healing or crowd control.

With this continuing feature, GotFrag plans to highlight useful mods for arena game play in World of Warcraft. These mods will range from more popular ones to some that the majority may not know about, but could use to their advantage.

The first mod we would like to highlight this week is Gladius. This mod is very similar to other mods such as Proximo or Arena Master, but I have found it to be the most efficient of them all.

Gladius is a mod which helps to target each opponent in the current match, highlighting their class and life/mana/rage/energy pools. Gladius can also be set to show casts from the opponents, along with a large picture showing which CC is currently on which target. You also will have the option to make click macros, where different mouse button clicks while hovered over the bar will do what you tell it to, such as setting that target to a focus target.

Another great feature with Gladius is the ability to call out trinket use and low player health in party chat, making it a lot easier to notice such occasions. Below are a few slash commands for the mod listed at wow.curse.com.

Slash Commands:
/gladius ui, config, options - displays the configuration screen
/gladius test1-5 - shows a test frame with the chosen amount of test units
/gladius hide - hides the test frame
/gladius trinket - simulates a trinket being used for the first arena target

An arena mod is very crucial for arena play, and it will enhance anyone’s game play in arena because you can use it to click a target that might be out of sight or out of range. Not all official competitions allow such a mod but they are very helpful and if you are looking for one that works well, be sure to try out Gladius.

Blizzard Entertainment has announced that its 2009 Arena Tournament for the popular World of Warcraft MMO will begin on February 17th. Participants players and teams will compete for the chance to reach the world championship and win over $
200,000 in prizes. Others potential rewards for entering include an Armored Murloc in-game pet, and the title of Vanquisher.

We’re pleased to announce that the 2009 World of Warcraft Arena Tournament is nearly here. Starting next week (February 17, 2009), players will be able to sign up to compete in this year’s exciting competition. The tournament will feature an online qualifier played on our special tournament realms. Top teams will proceed to their respective regional finals and compete for a chance to reach the global world championship – with cash prizes totaling over $200,000.

These realms have been outfitted with level 80 character templates and the latest epic gear from Wrath of the Lich King. As an added bonus, we have included exclusive rewards that players can earn by participating in the tournament, including an Armored Murloc in-game pet. Top teams will also contend for a chance to achieve the “Vanquisher” title for their live characters.

If you would like to demonstrate your arena prowess, or simply want a chance to earn the exclusive loot, please check back next week for more details and register!

Head over to the links below for more information.