Cauldron's Corner

This is where I brew up some rant-seasoned vitriol with a dash of wahhh! 


Be warned: If you partake of this stewy-brew, you may turn into a bitter old toad, with warts, no chance of a prince or princess kiss, and a hearty dose of righteous indignation indigestion. I am fresh out of Pepto-Bismol and Tums, and I ain't going to the drugstore.

Professions--piss me off.

I don't mind spending some gold to level them, I don't mind spending time flying hither and yon collecting, gathering, farming, what have you, in fact, quite often it's relaxing, and taking the time to find good recipes and skills is an enjoyable part of the game. It's something I am capable of doing all on my own, determining my destiny as it were, and like real-life ingenuity and gumption, I can do this.

In ancient Chinese culture, I learned that some of the first published texts were intended for the common folks' access to education and betterment. If they gained the limited access to this path of knowledge and study, they could aspire to a government office with all the benefits and professional pride they had so deservedly sacrificed and studied for. This is still not unlike (public) education and free libraries. There are many paths to knowledge, and it takes one's determination, a modicum of intelligence, and literacy. My own professional path is much too imbalanced with a whole mess of degrees and not much coin to go along with those many initials and accolades I can rightfully put by my name in a signature line. Yes, even someday I may get a PhD, so I can have the best title of all. I went into my real life job with eyes wide open, but I still do not believe there are too many limits--only ones those I put upon myself (looks at novel half-finished...).

But--in Azeroth, I hate the limitations that are put on professions. I hate that only the "good" stuff is available in raids, such as the gems. I hate that the good recipes only go to a limited few, and worse yet, the materials are also available to a limited few. In my opinion, and this is a strong one--you may want to have a glass of water handy to swallow this--this is such bullshit. No professional attribute should be solely available in a raid environment. Everything anyone wants to make, grow, sell, auction, etc., should truly be available in a free market game.

The gems especially annoy me, being a Jewel Crafter. Supposedly I can make big coin with this skill. Okay. I am sure I can--if all I did was play the auction house game, and that is not a fun game.

Admittedly, I am too damn tired to make too much of an argument this morning. I also need to find the reference to the aforementioned Confucius-y reference to Chinese culture. I'll get to it, I promise. In the meantime, I need to go find some ginger ale. This brew is bitter.