Hot on the heels of that craziness in Mexico comes an article on QJ.net talking about that touchiest of subjects, ganking. In the article they talk about a European forum post put up by Varneras that lists reasons why people gank. He says that some do it simply because they believe it is expected gameplay on a PvP realm. Others gank players out of a feeling of sport.

Now, I play on a PvE server, so my experiences with ganking have been limited, largely because I find no real interest in raiding Crossroads. Recently however I had occasion to live some real life gankage when I went to The Bulwark to finish off Alexi Barov. As our group formed, a similar group of horde also gathered, taunting in their most creative fashion, and salivating for the upcoming fight. By the time we began the quest, there were about four hordies joining in, which made trying to keep our healer alive a bit of a challenge. However, it also made the fight more interesting, and in the end more than a little adrenaline flowed through my veins.

So I sit here thinking on the subject of ganking, and although there are obvious negatives, I think the practice brings a sharpness to our game play we wouldn't have otherwise. For example, one of my few forays into a PvP realm I rolled a little paladin. As my character loaded into Northshire, I noticed an honor guard of level 60 players - this was before the expansion had been released - there to guard me and my fellow newbies as we attempted to level through the content. This isn't something I've ever seen on my original server, and so I was surprised until I realized why they were there. If they were there, so were the Horde rogues, ready to filet my level two pally body and dance upon my corpse.

As much as I would love to hear about the reasons why you as players gank, I am also interested to hear if anyone has any experiences similar to mine. I came away from the encounter with a sense of Alliance solidarity, and a greater appreciation of how adaptable and inventive the players of World of Warcraft can be within this virtual universe.