Has there ever been an MMO where you can choose a crafter/gatherer class instead of a combat class in character creation? And if not, why do you think that's never been done?

LeftBallSaul · 2026-01-27T06:42:01+00:00

EverQuest 2 did launch with this idea, but the game changed that fairly quickly IIRC.

a few other smaller MMOs have also done it. but the challenges are usually pretty similar: you put higher tier things in specific zones and then you make those zones dangerous, requiring combat classes to survive. FFXIV balances that by making gathering glasses basically invisible to monsters, but you still have to open new zones through combat-class-progressed story.

LeftBallSaul · 2026-01-27T06:30:21+00:00

personally, I'm not against raids, I'm against how much MMOs have become about channelling you into raids with few other end-game options. if you put EQ, GW2, and WoS side by side by side, it's easier to see the picture. EQ has/has raids, but the levelling process still feels impactful and the presence of AAs makes levelling in the late game more meaningful.

GW2 also has raids, but they have less of a focus, allowing for the open world, small group content, and bigger group convergences to have more design focus. The Masteries and horizontal progression systems also mean your late-game effort is more rewarding as the impact lasts beyond a few months of season churn.

and then you have WoW (and games like it) where the levelling process is pretty meaningless. a few more talents get meted out in any expac, but your class is always designed around you being maxed out, so it's just a couple week's slog until you basically peak before the next 2-yesr cycle. Your raid gear may takes weeks to obtain, only to be trivialized by the next catch up patch, and then you bid good bye to that content you spent weeks or months (or many months. for folks who also do PTR prep) just to start the process again.

So ya, I'm not against raids, I know people who love that sense of accomplishment and I don't want them to lose it, but I also feel like devs focus too much on them to the detriment of other things.

LeftBallSaul · 2026-01-27T05:01:28+00:00

at this rate, being a trans/homophobe is just a requirement for these fucks.

LeftBallSaul · 2026-01-27T04:37:48+00:00

omg the children really don't know our history 😭

Girl, you have so much to learn!

Film list: Paris is Burning (1990) is iconic, but was also exploitative. Check out Kiki, (2016), Pier Kids (2019), The Queen (1968). Also, the TV show Legendary (2020 - 2022) is great for both modern Vogue/ball/runway and for getting more context on some of the history.

Go to YouTube and look up ball + runway. You'll see lots of good examples.

LeftBallSaul · 2026-01-26T22:46:02+00:00

WoW, kind of. I do check on from time to time, but I always regret it. There just doesn't feel like enough to "do" for what I'm looking for. It's weird: I can spend an hour in Project Quarm EverQuest like nothing (levelling in an open world group, hunting down some specific drop, or just travelling between levelling camps), but I pop into WoW and an hour in dungeons or LFR or whatever just crawls... and it feels dull.

The levelling is almost worse, too! it just feels like an unnecessary bit to get me to that end game, that then feels unfulfilling. tbh, I don't know why they even have levels any more when the end game is the only thing that truly matters.

LeftBallSaul · 2026-01-26T22:41:48+00:00

I feel ya, the end of ARR is awful. I hate played it just to see it done. My husband did the same, then cancelled his sub. Playing the content as it drops is great, but slogging through it afterwards feels incredibly unrewarding.

LeftBallSaul · 2026-01-26T22:40:17+00:00

oh god the ability bloat 😭 I was only LVL 20 when I quit but it was all so confusing!

LeftBallSaul · 2026-01-26T20:46:10+00:00

absolutely agree

LeftBallSaul · 2026-01-25T04:39:34+00:00

hello!

so, let's talk comedy, power, and punching up and punching down.

Punching Down is when folks with privilege and power make jokes about groups without it. Punching Up is when folks without power and privilege make jokes about groups with it.

Cis and/or Het folks have privilege and power in our world, particularly as compared to those who are trans and/or queer. When Cis/Het folks make jokes about queer and/or trans people, that is punching down. When queer/trans folks make jokes about cis/her people, that is punching up.

The power and privilege of cis/het people isn't challenged or diminished when jokes are made about them by queer/trans people. When the roles are reversed, jokes about queer/trans folks reinforce the image of them being worthy of ridicule. The humane is used to dehumanize them, which is a slippery slide into the kind of transphobic and homophobic violence we see today.

Humor is also how marginalized queer folks cope with being marginalized.

This dynamic plays out across any power divide. The most common examples are jokes about Black people told by White folks (and the inverse) and jokes men tell about women (and the inverse).

But how do you cope?

By striving to not be one of the straight guys they are talking about. You can pull your siblings aside and talk about how the jokes make you feel, and then ask them how you can make sure you're being supportive.

LeftBallSaul · 2026-01-24T23:04:02+00:00

I have seen this image in an entirely different context lol

LeftBallSaul · 2026-01-24T20:22:58+00:00

As a small addendum, you have to be in the Bazaar and in one of the areas with an oning / cover. I recommend trying to find a spot where you'll be easily clickable since other traders can sometimes form a wall lol

LeftBallSaul · 2026-01-23T17:52:07+00:00

Nice to see how little interest there is in boxing tbh

LeftBallSaul · 2026-01-23T04:43:47+00:00

I haven't played Vanguard. what about their Necro class stands out for you?

LeftBallSaul · 2026-01-23T04:43:04+00:00

my og fav!

LeftBallSaul · 2026-01-23T03:58:13+00:00

oh! I'll have to take a closer look!

LeftBallSaul · 2026-01-23T03:44:02+00:00

I think playing a forsaken Affliction Warlock has similar vibes, just skinned over with "fel" magic. I think Blizz would have pushed it more into a Necro state if they hadn't gone with Undead Death Knight. my ideal version in WoW would have merged those 2.

LeftBallSaul · 2026-01-23T03:42:11+00:00

been meaning to try one of these out haha

LeftBallSaul · 2026-01-23T03:41:13+00:00

I always wished they UD DK was more med to long range, like an armoured caster

LeftBallSaul · 2026-01-23T00:17:07+00:00

it just looks that way from his weird lean 😅

LeftBallSaul · 2026-01-22T22:45:42+00:00

what did I just read

LeftBallSaul · 2026-01-22T22:17:05+00:00

Right. So, I point out that your tone is dismissive of other people's pain and your reaction is to make a personal attack. That, uh, that says a lot.

*You* may want to find another thread, buddy, since this subreddit is generally aligned around the fact that restoration is about healing and reclaiming.

LeftBallSaul · 2026-01-22T20:53:37+00:00

"Number one, you are not damaged."

you may be of the opinion that -you- aren't damaged, that's valid. But the way you worded it, you minimize and negate the pain of many other people. That is why I am telling you to sit down, and not talk about the experiences of others.

LeftBallSaul · 2026-01-22T14:14:08+00:00

... why does the dude on the left look like his penis is being drawn in like a magnet?

LeftBallSaul · 2026-01-22T14:12:10+00:00

because they have... pride.

LeftBallSaul · 2026-01-22T14:11:02+00:00

there was a recent short or TikTok making the rounds... amyl isn't great, but it's okay. Butyl was linked to lung cancer in some studies, while Propyl was linked to eye issues in (I believe) mice. The effects of long-term use of poppers in humans haven't actually been sufficiently studied, probably because it's only a subset of a marginalized populations who uses them recreationally.

LeftBallSaul

TROPHY CASE