Thursday, May 17, 2012

What Type of Achievement Hunter Are You?

Achievements are going account bound with mists and there are many reasons to like or dislike it depending on what your personal views on achievements are.

Achievements mean different things to different people.  To some it is an e-peen thing.  To others it is something they feel validates their time wasted playing a game because they earned something.  For others it is just there but not something they actively think about. And yet for others it is a form of content itself just like a raid would be content, something to do.

Something as simple as the achievement system has become a huge part of the game even if it sometimes goes by without even thinking about it. 

There are people like me that look at the list of new achievements and immediately starts to think about which ones I can do solo and which ones I will need groups for.  I actively seek the solo ones as something to do when not doing anything else.  Other people come across an achievement and go, wow, I didn't even know that was an achievement.  There are all different types..

Which type of achievement hunter are you?

E-Peen Achievement Hunter:
This is the type of person that goes out of their way to try and be the first to do anything and everything.  They are the ones that have to have realm firsts and will gladly show everyone that asks, and doesn't ask, how great they are by posting their achievements and immediately shooting down anyone as a "bad" that doesn't have the same date on their achievement. 

They only go for the achievements worthy of bragging about.  Realm first mage is important to them.  Realm first raid is important to them.  The salty title is a waste of time to them because anyone can get it.  It only means something to them if they did it before the other person.

There is also the wanna be e-peen hunter that would fit in the same category even when not talking about firsts.  They might have a fall of deathwing achievement dated May 10th, which most would not be impressed by, but if you do not have it, they will brag on and on about how they have it and you don't, just to extend their e-peen.  This version of e-peen hunter would think salty is important however because if they have it and you don't they can use it to stroke their e-peen.

Completest Achievement Hunter:
They take achievements serious, but not to the point where they go crazy about it.  If getting a raid achievement would be easier to get next patch, they do not mind waiting, but they have to do it because they need it.  Seeing 54/56 in an achievement category bothers them because it is not complete.  They want to have everything because they believe the only true achievement is completing all the achievements.  Each one of those 54 achievements are nice, but until they have all 56 in that category they have not really achieved anything.

A completest will raid even if they are not a raider, because they have to have them all.  A completest will PvP even if they do not PvP, because they have to have them all.  A completest sees each achievement as part of a bigger achievement, the achievement of getting them all.  It is the over all number and getting as many as they can that matters to them, even if they take their time doing it.

Content Achievement Hunter:
This is the type of player that uses achievements as a form of content.  To them, like the completest, when they see 54/56 they want to get the other two but unlike the completest that looks at it as the real achievement isn't done until all 56 are the content achievement hunter looks at it like they have two other things to do for content.

Where the content and completest differ is the content hunter does not stress over having it all.  54/56 is fine with them.  They will do only the ones they want to do and use the achievements list as a form of tracking to see what they have and have not done.  They are the type of person we have all seen and quite possibly the most common achievement person.  Hey, I just noticed I never did black temple on this character, who wants to go?  Is something a content achievement hunter would say.  They use achievements as a way of giving them something to do when they do not have anything else to do.

Dedicated Achievement Hunter:
These are the people dedicated to having to get it done.  Kind of like the e-peen one that has to be first this one has to be done as soon as possible but they will not be as up front about it as the e-peen hunter.  They will also not rub it in your face.  They will just be happy to have done it.

This category of hunter usually comes from the dedicated raider or dedicated PvPer.  They focus one thing and that one thing is not done until they can do it all.  They are dedicated to that single focus.  To them, nothing says you are a real raider like having all the raid achievement.  Nothing says you are a real PvPer like having all the PvP achievements.  They do not seek the achievements to rub it in someones face, they do it to show people who they are.  I am raider.  I am a PvPer.  My achievements show that.  That is what they would say and they are really dedicated to getting those achievements, none of the others really matter at all to them.

Incidental Achievement Hunter:
This is the type of person that usually only gets the achievements that come without much, or any, effort.  25 fish, level 10, things that happen just because they do are the achievements this person will have.  So why are they still classified as an achievement hunter?  Because if you tell them that they can get an achievement for doing something without actually changing what they are doing already by much, they will do it.

They are the type of person that if you ask them why they are fishing and they say it is because they are waiting in queue and only doing it because they are bored you can tell them they can get achievements from fishing in the dalaran fountain they will move there.  Being they are only fishing to pass the time where they fish does not matter to them but if they can fish to pass the time and get an achievement at the same time, they will do it.  They won't go out of their way for an achievement, but they will take all the ones that will come to them on their own without any concentrated effort.

Closeted Achievement Hunter:
Oddly enough this type of achievement hunter will usually have a fair deal of achievements but if you ever ask them about achievements they might say something like they are not a loser that wastes their time on useless achievements or I'm not really into achievements.  They will be the ones that will come along to help out on things only if they do not have the achievement for it but will never say that.  Doing a run of black temple and they do not have the achievement, they will gladly tell you they will help you out.  Doing a run of tempest keep but they already have the achievement, they are busy at the moment or they would have helped.

The closeted hunter is an achievement hunter in denial. They want the achievements, they want as many as they can get, you can tell that from their usually high number of achievement points, even if they always say they do not care about achievements.  You can pick them out easily when running old content because they will always be happy to help other people get achievements but never ask for help in getting any themselves.  They are a closeted achievement hunter.

Bonus Achievement Hunter:
This is an achievement hunter with an agenda.  Does it offer a pet?  Does it offer a mount?  Does it offer a title?  If so they are all over it like white on rice otherwise they don't care about it.  Achievements matter to them only when there is something else that comes along with the achievement.  They want the bonus goodies only, that is all that matters.  The achievement pop up means absolutely nothing to them unless it comes with something else.  A new title, a mount or pet in their mail box, or anything else they can show off.  A tabard, the dalaran coin, things like that.

Indifferent Achievement Hunter:
This person does not care about achievements in any way.  If they get one, cool, if not, that is cool too.  If they get a bonus out of something, cool, if not, that is cool too.  The word achievement is not even in their gaming vocabulary.  They play because they enjoy playing.  They do what aspects of the game they like because they like doing it.  The thought they will get an achievement for something never enters their mind.  They might get the destroyers end title or many others but they will usually be the ones that wear none.  None of that matters to them.  They are only here to play the game.

With the shared achievements coming out in mists you have to look at all the types of achievement hunters out there and see how this changes the game for them in one way or another.  It will have a fair deal of impact on nearly all types of achievement hunters out there in some why, even the ones that do not care about achievements at all.

I fit into the content achievement hunter category myself.  When I am bored and looking for something to do I go to my achievement list and think, what can I aim for now.  Shared achievements will impact me and people like me the most of all the types of achievement hunters out there I think.  We lose the most when this comes out.

If all my characters already have all the dungeon achievements what need would I have to go back and do all the BC stuff on a new character when I am bored, they will already have the achievement.  Achievements worked as a form of content for me.  It gave me something to do when I was bored.

What type of achievement hunter are you and how will shared achievements effect you?

11 comments:

  1. A curious mix of Content and Bonus. Like I'll do a rep grind acheivement happily and even enjoy it in a perverse sort of way, but I find myself avoiding the ones that give little or nothing in the way of rewards, directly or indirectly.

    Outland grinds are the favourite, I've done them all now aside from the ogri'la as theres nothing to tempt me to do it, no pet or mount or whatever. Not that I ever, ever, use my Talbuk or Netherdrake mounts, but its nice to know they're there. Others like fishing or cooking, I'll do for fun or waiting for a queue to pop up, I have no intention of going for salty or chef titles and dont enter the fishing weeklys.

    ...I started writing this out believing I was more content than bonus...I'm now doubing myself. Mounts, pets and rep tabbards for every faction grind!

    ReplyDelete
  2. A curious mix of Content and Bonus. Like I'll do a rep grind acheivement happily and even enjoy it in a perverse sort of way, but I find myself avoiding the ones that give little or nothing in the way of rewards, directly or indirectly.

    Outland grinds are the favourite, I've done them all now aside from the ogri'la as theres nothing to tempt me to do it, no pet or mount or whatever. Not that I ever, ever, use my Talbuk or Netherdrake mounts, but its nice to know they're there. Others like fishing or cooking, I'll do for fun or waiting for a queue to pop up, I have no intention of going for salty or chef titles and dont enter the fishing weeklys.

    ...I started writing this out believing I was more content than bonus...I'm now doubing myself. Mounts, pets and rep tabbards for every faction grind!

    ReplyDelete
  3. A curious mix of Content and Bonus. Like I'll do a rep grind acheivement happily and even enjoy it in a perverse sort of way, but I find myself avoiding the ones that give little or nothing in the way of rewards, directly or indirectly.

    Outland grinds are the favourite, I've done them all now aside from the ogri'la as theres nothing to tempt me to do it, no pet or mount or whatever. Not that I ever, ever, use my Talbuk or Netherdrake mounts, but its nice to know they're there. Others like fishing or cooking, I'll do for fun or waiting for a queue to pop up, I have no intention of going for salty or chef titles and dont enter the fishing weeklys.

    ...I started writing this out believing I was more content than bonus...I'm now doubing myself. Mounts, pets and rep tabbards for every faction grind!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I suppose I'd best fit in the "completionist" category, although I view it more as a content thing. I tend to work on them when I'm bored and don't want to gear up or level another alt, but I do look at those greyed out achievements more than the ones I have gotten, and certainly with pets and mounts I look at the list of what I don't have yet more than what I do have. I have definitely done many things I don't like, some I actively hate (fishing and archeology) just for the achievements.

    It's kind of like mowing the lawn: you don't necessarily enjoy doing it, but you feel great about it when you finish it.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. I am a content one but I must admit I often think of doing PvP even if I am not really into it just because there are so many achievements there for me to get.

      But being I do not go out of my way to do it that is what keeps me from being a completest.

      Delete
  5. Anon, Grumpy's GL:

    Not quite sure how I would fit under your descriptions. I like getting achievements, and I do work on getting them. This includes a lot of the group achievements, as well as a lot of the solo ones on alts. All in all, I suppose I am a Content Achievement Hunter, but that isn't quite how I see my play. So as you know how I play and my preference for solo play as well as my dislike of over-running instances, aside from raiding, tell me how you would fit me into your breakdown?

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    1. You would fit into Content achievement hunter. Like if they added a lets do lunch for exodar you would look at it and say, cool, I have to get this one. Something to do.

      You might pick and choose which ones you do but the ones that appeal to you are content creating for you.

      Delete
  6. I would say I'm closer to the Bonus Achievement Hunter. I will go for the ones that give titles, mounts, or pets first. My warlock was my main for years so I have more ach's on her and I don't really care to go back and re do them all on this toon...account wide ach's or not. I know I got them on one toon and that's enough for me. So now that my hunter is my main I'm focusing on the newer ach's or ones I want to do for fun.

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    Replies
    1. Some classes or even character names scream out to have particular titles.

      I am like that one some alts where I want a title. I'll go for it just for the title.

      Delete
  7. I'm a bit of a mix between completionist and content. The main reason I got into doing achievements was for something to do, or a different way of doing content that had gotten boring. I do feel that need to have them all though.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am partly like that.

      I don't stress PvP or heroic raid ones however. Everything else I could be partly a completest.

      Delete