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Originally Posted by englitdaudelin
I know forums don't lend themselves to nuanced discussions much, what with people having the attention spans of crack-addled gerbils, all whanging away for the snippiest one-line throwaway +1 crack possible.
But lines like this, from another thread, irk the unholy bejeezus out of me:
"Ursan is the only skill used in PvE now anyways..."
So, let's parse. Let's deconstruct. My first option in reading this is, "hey another sarcastic comment about the overuse of Ursan. But s/he can't REALLY believe that...right?"
My second possible reading: "S/He really believes this." (based on reading the ToA, DoA, Ring of Fire Spams, this might not be a bad assumption.
This kind of oversimplifying elitism (I.E. I'm better than you because I don't use Ursan (because I can't be bothered to max out my title, because I was leet without Ursan (because I'm expressing the gamer version of indie rock cred))) is poisoning forums, posts, and even in-game chats.
Please, please, please: at least pay lip service to the complexities of playstyles running around this game, not just the simple differences between PvP and PvE and Ursan and not. I (still) play every day, on rangers and rits, mesmers and monks, paragons and necros. I'm working to max Ursan. I use Ursan with friends in HM. I use a regular bar in HM (yes, on a non-monk toon). I Ursan in NM for grins. I sell, I buy. I feel guilty about playing Ursan. I feel guilty about not maxing my Ursan. I sneer at rank 2 Ursans trying to hop in my group for FoW--even at my own R2 Ursans. I have 35 skill bars for a ranger that don't involve the bear. I like to move quickly. I like to take my time and fight epic battles. I hate redoing zones. I love redoing zones. I hate being asked to be Ursan. I feel pleased when my R8 Ursan's invited to join groups. I get annoyed at guildmates who tell me to "hide your rank." I hide my rank. I get annoyed at being asked to do Ursan so another guildie can get a dungeon. I look for guildies to help do dungeons--using Ursan.
Do I get bored playing Ursan? Sometimes. So...easy solution: I don't play Ursan. But do I also admit that Ursan's made the game quicker, without costing fun? Damn straight. I was in a number of PuG and Guild Groups that failed various dungeons, wiped in FoW, couldn't Clear The Chamber...and then came Ursan. How many times does someone need to try before a shortcut looks damned appealing?
When we jumped into HM, the margins of error shrank a little: 60% DP sends you home. HM in UW or FoW, and you go home on the first wipe. There became less room for monks still learning their craft. Less room for a resto rit with fragile spirits. Less room for a mesmer running a bar that 60% of the gamers can't understand. Ursan expands that margin of error. Armor and health bonuses let you clip a couple of extra aatxes aggro bubbles by accident. Really, do we find extra "wiggle room" such a bad thing? As a monk, leet as you are, isn't it nice to heal a player who's got some higher armor? As a tank, leet as you are, isn't it nice to have the health?
I won't argue that Ursan's a great thing "for the game." On a deep, philosophical level--one concerned with the game, with developing a community, with developing skill, with problem-solving and build-developing--I can't argue that. Ursan made the game one where thinking and build synthesis has gone out the window.
But Ursan's a great thing "for the player." For the average player, for the hella-good player, for the noob and the newb and the newbie. I don't have to spend hours looking for a group that accepts an extra ranger, or rit, or mes. I don't have to convince people that paras are good, or rits can too heal. People who know tons about the game don't need to wait to find more people who know tons about the game--they can direct a group of compliant, clueless bears through a HM vanquish--and come out SUCCESSFUL--and OMG! Maybe even have a little fun. Maybe get a gold. Map an area. Work on a title (let's please not start that argument: some want a title, some don't, it's one of the many complexities of this huge game). Get an ecto, or shard, or gem drop.
Sorry, but I have kids, and a life, and a game to play. I don't want to spend hours forming a party--except for those days when I do. I don't love Ursan--except for when it helps me build my bank, my HoM, my small pile of ecto, my friendships with guildies. I get bored with it--except when I'm looking at the monsters and the art and the scenery, not my skill bar. This isn't hypocrisy, it's complexity. Get used to it.
So this is my request: at least pay lip service to the possibility that the skill(s) you bash, that the playstyle you disparage--whatever skills, whatever playstyle, ANY skills, ANY playstyle--is only ONE of many skills, many ways, we all play this game. Admit the complexities of using Ursan, the ambivalence you feel about the skill and how fast it's let you through things, the weird indie ethos of "I refuse to use something that commonplace," and the similarly weird ethos of "I refuse to learn a full 8-skill bar," and the similarly weird ethos of "you're just an elitist PvPer" and everything in between.
Respect the variety of things we all might do, any given day, in the game.
/complexity and ambiguity.
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