Soapbox hits a homerun in regards to WoW

I recently read through that soapbox article. Man oh man, did that thing nail WoW.

I played World of Warcraft since its beta, and I remember keenly the honor rank system. Killing enemy players and participating in battlegrounds based on popular themes such as capture-the-flag and king-of-the-hill earned you honor points.

At first, the system wasn't so hard. You had to wait a week for your honor to calculate your rank. There were caveats to ranks, such as a private (and later knight) tabard you could wear to prove your rank, an insignia that could free you from being stunned or paralyzed, weapons and armour sets as well.

But the system was skewed towards who had the most time. It didn't matter how good you were; you still received the same honor for victory. This rewarded not skill, but time, as your rank was determined by how much honor you were ahead or below the other ranks. There were people who dedicated their entire spare time only to see they lost rank.

That wasn't the only problem; there could only be one rank 14 (Grand Marshal for the Alliance, High Warlord for the Horde). Being rank 14 gave the recipient access to a very powerful, top-end weapon. But people could remain rank 14 and antagonize other players striving to reach follow suit. There was no reason to remain rank 14; you forever had Grand Marshal or High Warlord added to your name and your weapon could never be taken unles you yourself made the decision to discard it.

In the end, time does not neccessarily indicate skill. Furthermore, alot of people wasted good money and time striving to reach something out of their reach and had nothing for it but bitter memories.