Wow. That is a stratospheric response to a single comment. To be sure we're on the same page, this is the post you're talking about, yes?
49s Mon/Thurs/Sat -->9 PM est<-- Que up! - Forums - World of Warcraft
I don't recall any other recent posts I made that would evoke this kind of reaction, but then, I didn't expect that kind of reaction from the above post, either.
I was about to start a big argument, but then I realized that's not what this is about.
You make it sound like I betrayed 29s and went on a smear campaign with the purpose of promoting 49s. If that's how you took what I said, I can see why you would launch such a vitriolic attack. For me to promote 29s, and then actively sabotage them for the sake of another bracket -- that would be one of the most underhanded, dirtiest, two-faced things a player could do, and I'd likely have the same reaction you did if roles were reversed.
That's not what I did. If my comments came off as disparaging 29s, then I apologize for misleading you, and I should have been more clear. I really did sit in queues with no pops, and I got whispers from other players about where games were. If 29s got games during those times like Dont claimed, then so much the better -- and I said so in that thread. Can you see why I questioned him?
As for competitive level, yes, I do feel 49s are currently more competitive. But that doesn't take away from everything 29s accomplished this year. We had to get over a history of complaining and past expectations to get the bracket moving again after three false starts, and 29s finally did it. Moreover, 29s have had a *lot* of fun, close games. We have work yet to do when it comes to communication. Up until I left for my revamp, both factions still struggled with focus fire, still struggled with quickly mobilizing offenses, and most importantly didn't have much in the way of callouts on vent. You and others understandably ragequit more than once over 29s refusal to work together and cross-cover each other. But these are the right problems to have -- most other brackets haven't stepped up to this level.
More than most brackets, 29s have players that know their classes and how to use them. I would put 29s against any lower or upper bracket any day of the week. So now the challenge is working together, and 29s struggle with that. So do 49s, but 49s step up more often to get chatter and field reports going. The much higher burst makes communication more critical, and anything less than comfortable with your setup leads to death for you and your team. The survivability of 29s is more forgiving.
To be more specific, then, I think 49s are more competitive because players gel as a team more often. Not often, just more often. That doesn't mean 29s suck -- far from it, 29s offer some of the best XP-off games in WoW right now. But 29s can get even better, and most player frustrations point to communication as the next step up.
If you want to get into specifics about particular brackets, we can take that to another thread. But if I misled you (or anyone) with my comments, then I take responsibility for that and I apologize for making 29s appear less than they are. That was not my intention, and 29s deserve much better than that for the strides they made and continue to make this year. I'm always forthright about my opinions, and you can continue to rely on that -- no bracket escapes my analysis when I invest time in that bracket. Clarity is just as important, and if that's where I came up short in what I said, then thank you for calling me out on it.
Hopefully this brings you some context, and some justice. If I can clarify further, do ask.
Bwappo
