The Carebear

For those to enumerated by their dice-rolling sessions in the basement, this passage is not for you. For those of us with a pulse, you have no doubt been flashed with what has been termed "Crap", also known as World of Warcraft.

My own reservations aside, the carebear seems an ample fit in this EQish mentality of playing what is essentially a single player game. I digress, but the importance of these people cannot be unmeasured. Games like Shadowbane and Darkfall, however player vs player oriented, seem to (or at least will) thrive on this carebear.

What is a carebear you ask? A carebear is the person (not limited to a particular sex) that plays the game to fight monsters. A carebear is more casually oriented, often new the genra of mmorpg gaming or was introducted to mmorpg via the Carebear mentality. This is the type of gamer that pays the 10 bucks a month for the "experience" more than the interactions with fellow players. While, this is not bad, this is the same type of person that's more inclined to spam "dying sucks" on the forums 24 hours a day.

And yet, as an avid Shadowbane Fan, I find without the carebears, a part of the community has died. You can no longer find that lost guy in Khar (a public town in Shadowbane) that's screaming for help or a better weapon. Gone is that guy who is farming 24/7 at that particular spot to get that particular sword, which you jack in the meanwhile. And gone are the days when there's a million merchant towns to ravage, or that guildmate you can go to because you know he has all the stuff.

We, as pvp addicts, would like to think that we don't need the carebear. "If you don't like pvp, don't play the game" was the common mantra that we repeated over and over again in our heads, as if repetition alone might suffice to stave off our burning desire for the carebear.

Because it is a need. A need for variety. We need that person in the game that's different from us and that seeks different goals. It makes the game feel epic, it makes the game come alive. If everyone was just like you, how boring would the world be? Even if you're all brown, you dont like the same things your neighbor likes. You're not him.

So stay Mr. Carebear. Stay and cultivate on our doorstep and hog that prime farming spot. We'll be waiting, with a sword in hand... and a rose hidden in our boot.

-Longbow