Dorigon
Alpha and Omega
The purpose of twinking has long been argued over. Some say that it is about getting the largest advantage possible, while others say it is about having a closely-kniit competitive community. Early on, competitive twink guilds and premades did exist, but many twinks were lone wolf newbie-killing rogues with names like Ikilluall and Shankngank. As time goes on, and experience off battlegrounds stay the norm in twinkdom, more and more twinkers feel that the purpose of twinking is to create a competitive yet friendly community-driven environment. However, there are still those diehards that will grasp at any advantage that they can hold over others. The purpose of this poll is to gauge the community's opinion of some questionable practices in the 15-19 experience off bracket. You may not take some of these options seriously, but give them their just consideration.
Mend Pet BugLet's be honest here - hunters are already the most OP class. Give them the ability to stay in combat indefinitely following combat, by way of bugging mend pet, and they are just ridiculous. As if this weren't enough, the hunter's teammates can stay in combat as well by spamming beneficial casts on them. The horde of defias masked rogues liable to be in any WSG is enough to screw an otherwise respectable team over, but for them to not be able to get saps off after many shouts of "/bg SAP THE F*CKING EFC" takes frustration to a new level. This bug largely nullifies rogues, thereby changing the dynamics of entire WSG's. Hunters on Bleeding Hollow are the most guilty of this exploit.
Wrist/Glove GemsWhen gems first came on the scene, much controversy surrounded them, with Mnkey leading the anti-gem charge. In reality, people were against gems for two reasons - they were lazy, or they were afraid of getting banned. Myself, I was lazy, but I could see their benefit. Casters, somewhat broken in 19s due to resists, could finally get spell penetration. Many also promoted the use of resilience gems to reduce the bracket's burst. Following a string of temporary and even one (later overturned) permanent ban, gems have become very rare. Ore recently alleged in a TwinkInfo thread that Waw Tawent uses them, but an investigation by way of the armory did not corroborate his claims. Lilcassidy is the only known user of gems at this time.
Pyrium Weapon ChainSome people erroneously compare the use of pyrium weapon chains in 19s to the leg armor and librams of yesteryear - specifically, people who use weapon chains. While armor kits benefited everyone equally, weapon chains are really only useful for a handful of specs. They are like a microcosm of the argument over twinking's purpose - should people use them to gain the greatest advantage possible, or should they abstain to maintain a competitive environment? It is really up to the individuals whether they want to be respectable or not in this regard. Let's face it, hard capping white hits is extremely overpowered. The damage gains are astronomical. Several respected members of the community, such as Adeus and Mocha, have recently been seen publicizing the usage of weapon chains on TwinkInfo.
Geometry JumpsThere is sure to be some controversy over jumps being included in this poll, but it is a classic example of the haves versus the have nots. If you can do certain jumps, you can shave precious seconds off the time it takes you to get from one location to another in the gulch, as well as get out of line of sight of enemies. Many will argue that it is the duty of everyone to learn jumps, but hold on - maybe we should have some compassion for the gnomes and dwarfs of the world. Many jumps are NOT fair, since they can range between exceedingly difficult and relatively easy to execute depending on your race. This issue is further confounded by Ownaque attempting to copyright his 'signature' jumps. If we are trying to maintain a fair atmosphere, are some of these jumps really fair? What about hunters using disengage to get up geometry that is not intended to be crossed? How about goblin jumps? It is up to you to decide this matter.
Being in the midst of the midsummer festival, the entire bracket can appreciate how OP outside buffs can be. Now, I don't mean the kings, might, and arcane brilliance that tinks commonly get while waiting for queues to pop - I mean the fire festival consumables, which let casters stack 44 spellpower and 30 haste rating. I am a warlock, but stacking these consumables, I feel more like a hunter - it can get incredibly boring just burning through peoples' health. What this brings me to is, horde can get a 60 intellect buff from borean tundra if they crack open the eggs outside of the main building. Having a 60 intellect buff isn't quite so OP as stacking 44 intellect and 30 haste, but it is at least in the same ballpark. This buff is also questionable because it can give horde an unfair advantage over alliance, as they can not get it. Not many tinkers get the 60 intellect buff - Havemorefun(Deadpetcity) used to, but he was browbeaten in to not getting it anymore. Pixieology has been seen sporting it on occasion, as well. Given that people in Europe use all sorts of crazy things, I am sure that the EU has people using it too.
High Level Satchel GearIt is common knowledge that my polls usually include one EU entrant - in an indirect manner, high level satchel gear is EU's entrant to this poll. Many US tinks may not know about this, but EU twinks found a glitch that let them get satchel gear from level 55ish dungeons, thereby attaining gear just WAY beyond anything else that we can wear. Thankfully, it was only the EU client that was corrupted in such a manner, and the US servers are, as of now, free of the taint. French graveyard farming premades tend to use high level satchel gear, but they apparently do not do so well in the graveyard containing department as Waw Tawent. Perhaps a kind EU tink can further fill us New Worlders in on the high level satchel gear.
Grandfathered GearNow, I expect an uproar over grandfathered gear being included in this poll. Take a moment and think about the premise for this poll - are we trying to gain every advantage possible, or foster a competitive community-driven environment? I imagine that public perception of this option will be defined (to an extent) by who has grandfathered gear and who does not, but in all honesty, it has a pretty minor effect on the 19s bracket. Sure there are a few minor upgrades here and there, but having grandfathered gear isn't going to make or break a game. When deciding whether or not to pick this option, try to disconnect yourself from whether or not you yourself possess such equipment.
Mend Pet Bug
Wrist/Glove Gems
Pyrium Weapon Chain
Geometry Jumps
(Horde) 60int buff
High Level Satchel Gear
Grandfathered Gear
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