A Retribution Paladin who doesn't want to be a Protection Paladin isn't a good Holy Paladin.
Warquell was lucky enough to borrow a level 45 Paladin on the final day of the closed beta. After playing it for one day, he fell deeply in love with the class.
The level 45 Paladin he borrowed during the beta happened to be Protection-specced. Having tanked a 10-man Uldaman once, he came away believing Paladins were the game's MTs. So when open beta launched, he chose Paladin without hesitation.
Reality was cruel. In actual gameplay, if a Paladin wanted to run dungeons, they were basically limited to healing. When he went to The Deadmines at level 20 and wanted to tank, he was rejected. When he wanted to play Retribution, the reply was simple.
"DPS is full. Come heal."
To run The Deadmines, Warquell had no choice but to heal. But by the game's unwritten rules, players could only roll need on gear for their current spec inside dungeons. A healing Paladin couldn't roll on DPS or tank gear.
"Ah, I want the Gilded Buckler."
"Ah, I want Mr. Smite's Mighty Hammer."
"I don't want healer gear."
Having once experienced max-level Uldaman during beta, Warquell chose not to become an everything-needs Paladin. He knew that if he rolled need on everything the whole run, he wouldn't be able to survive socially in the game, and would probably get kicked from the guild too.
Frustrated, he only ran The Deadmines once before losing interest. After leaving Moonbrook, he wandered aimlessly and somehow ended up in Duskwood on the eastern side of Westfall.
Walking along the main road, Warquell found Duskwood terrifyingly quiet. The silence felt unnatural, eerie. When he saw the corpses of Night Watch NPCs, along with player skeletons scattered everywhere after spirit releases, he immediately realized something big had happened in Duskwood today.
"Something big happened!"
Warquell moved forward carefully. When he reached the three-way crossroads leading toward Ogre Valley, Stranglethorn Vale, and Darkshire, he saw Stitches swaggering down the road.
"There's a boss!"
Warquell watched Stitches one-shot a player who ran up to die with a single swing. Seeing its grotesque, horrifying appearance and enormous health pool, only one thought came to mind.
Boss.
Unlike the other foolish players who charged in to feed themselves to it, Warquell followed behind Stitches at a distance and observed carefully. He discovered it was heading for Darkshire. Any Night Watch NPC or player who dared block the road was crushed.
"Everyone get here now. A super boss spawned in Duskwood!"
Warquell knew his limits. Going alone would only make him Stitches' next meal, but he also didn't want another guild to steal it. He immediately posted news of the super boss in guild chat.
"Boss? Where?"
"A super boss? Real or fake? Don't mess with me. I'm very innocent."
Quite a few lurkers in the guild were dragged out by Warquell's message and started asking about the super boss.
Warquell said, "It's in Duskwood. My current coordinates are 50.9, 66.8. Hurry up. This boss is insanely strong, has a ridiculous amount of HP, and already killed the Night Watch NPCs on the road. Looks like it's going to massacre Darkshire."
"Holy crap, that's insane. I'm coming now."
"Have to go. Super bosses drop great loot."
"Everyone gather in Darkshire. Let's form a raid and kill it."
"I'll lead the group. Anyone coming to kill the boss type 1. We'll sell whatever drops and split the gold."
In an instant, Fearless Guild chat was flooded with 1s. Everyone's enthusiasm had been ignited by the super boss.
Hugo, who was working on voice chat software, happened to tab back into the game for a glance and was startled when he saw guild members gathering in Darkshire.
"Holy crap, why is everyone from the guild here?"
Hearing him shout, Carlos and Igor switched back into the game too. Sure enough, dozens more Fearless Guild players had appeared in Darkshire.
But it wasn't just Fearless. There were also many players from Madhouse, Freedom, and other guilds. A rough count showed at least one to two hundred extra players compared to before. Aside from the three major guilds, there were also dozens from smaller guilds.
"Is the Horde attacking?"
Carlos looked completely confused, thinking the Horde had assembled to hit Darkshire.
Igor said, "If the Horde dares attack Darkshire, I'll corpse-camp them all day."
Hugo said, "Doesn't look like it. Check chat. They're going to kill a boss."
With so many people suddenly arriving in Darkshire, the game became extremely laggy. Fortunately, their computers were top-tier machines, so they could still move.
Carlos looked at guild chat. Sure enough, it was buzzing. Everyone was recruiting players and forming groups to kill the super boss in Duskwood. Stitches.
Wait. Stitches?
"Didn't Gabryell say Stitches was part of a hidden event triggered after finishing the Wife of the Corpse Hider quest? Strong, sure, but it doesn't drop good loot." Igor remembered what Gabryell had said before going to class.
Hugo said, "Right. Gabryell even told us not to get involved."
Carlos said, "Gabryell is incredible. He had the foresight to know Stitches appearing would cause a player frenzy and lead to this situation. That's why he told us to stay out of it. If he hadn't warned us, we'd definitely have joined everyone else."
"Should we say something in guild chat?" Hugo asked.
Carlos replied, "No need. Let them go. It's not easy getting everyone grouped up together. If they all fight Stitches together, they'll get more familiar with each other. That's good for guild development."
It was a rare unofficial guild event that had brought everyone together. Carlos had no reason to stop it.
"Alright."
Hugo asked, "So... are we joining?"
Honestly, even knowing Stitches wasn't a real boss and wouldn't drop anything good, he still wanted to go. It was human nature. People loved excitement.
"No."
Carlos tabbed out of the game and continued working on the Azeroth National Geographic Forum.
"Let them make noise. We're all Alliance anyway. It's not like they'll start fighting each other."
As long as it wasn't a Horde invasion, he saw no reason to waste time. If the Horde really attacked Darkshire, then for the Alliance, he would join the battle without hesitation and fight to the very end.
"No good loot. No interest."
Igor tabbed out as well and continued developing the voice software.
Hugo thought about it. Since the two big brothers in the dorm weren't going, there was no reason for him to go either. He also tabbed out and returned to development.
"Kill the boss, get loot. Charge!"
"The Freedom vanguard got wiped. The boss is coming to massacre Darkshire. For the Alliance, we must defend Darkshire!"
"We are Halele Guild. We're no worse than Fearless or Madhouse. This is our chance to prove our strength. We must take the boss and become famous in one battle!"
Players in Darkshire, divided by guild, all rubbed their hands in anticipation, eager to claim the first kill on Stitches, get amazing loot, and make a name for themselves.
As for ordinary solo players, even though they knew they had no chance to compete, they still couldn't bear to leave. They wanted to fish in troubled waters. If they somehow got credit for the boss kill, they'd be rich.
"Susie, look. They're going to defend Darkshire. Should we fly over?"
David had just arrived in Southshore and was itching to join after reading lively guild chat.
David, Susie, SevenDays, DontPanicHealz, and MushroomHunter had followed the leveling route Gabryell gave them, passing through Wetlands and Arathi Highlands before reaching Southshore in Hillsbrad Foothills.
Susie bound her Hearthstone at the Southshore inn.
"No. Fighting a low-level boss is pointless. Levels matter most right now. Once we hit max level, any random piece of gear will be better than what drops now."
David could only force down his urge to leave.
"Alright, I'll listen to you. Let's level first."
If not for faster leveling, why would they have traveled all the way here? This place really was paradise. Other than them, there were no Alliance players around, which meant no competition for mobs.
MushroomHunter said, "The guild leader said there are Horde here. I'm scared. What do Horde even look like? Do they have tusks all over their faces, look terrifying, and like to capture Night Elf Druids as pets?"
SevenDays said, "Relax. If any Horde show up, I'll handle them."
DontPanicHealz said, "Will you die if you don't brag? If we run into Horde, you'll be the first one pissing yourself."
Susie said, "The Horde models may be uglier, but they're players just like us. If we meet them and they don't attack, we'll keep leveling. If they do attack, who's afraid of who? We'll fight."
Susie was aggressive by nature. Peaceful coexistence was fine, but if someone wanted war, she'd oblige.
David said, "Exactly. If they dare mess with us, we'll flatten Tarren Mill."
That brag went too far. Susie shot him a disdainful look.
Susie said, "No matter what, we don't cause trouble, but we don't fear it either. If the Horde provokes us, then for the honor of the Alliance, we'll hit back."
Susie looked beyond Southshore. In the dim evening light, the town was beautiful as a painting, but behind that beauty lay endless unknown danger.
Horde, we're here!
Susie badly wanted to clash with the Horde and see whether the Alliance was stronger, or the Horde was.