Taz hasn’t read, hasn’t understood and can’t be bothered either.
Not going to engage with that post any further than that, apart from pointing out, that it is extremely rude to assume, male is the default for gamers - if you’re not sure of a person’s gender, just use ‘they’ and ‘them’ but not ‘he’ and ‘him’.
There is no reason to “demand” anything from a player. We are paying them, not the other way around.
Firstly Zamandah, thank you so much for your lovely comments, your brave, insightful and inspiring post.
As for why game designers make games, bottom line is to create an enjoyable experience for a large amount of players that will generate continued patronage and profit, because brutal truth, in this saturated climate, if you fail you lose your customer base. I will say that again because it bares repetition. Games are designed to be enjoyable, they shouldn’t be a chore, they shouldn’t have any worth or validity outside of personal and individual parameters, and any worth or cachet you infuse your experience with, especially from the perspective of others comes from your own opinion of its worth, rather than any true value.
In summary, unless you are being paid to play this game for whatever reason, e-sports or product reputation and promotion, then your achievements in this game, only hold worth to the individual that achieved them. Not to anyone else. Really, people just don’t care, not about your armour, your loot, the time you invested, any of it. The reality is, if you feel wronged that other people attain it in a different or potentially easier way, you wasted your time on achieving it in the first place, because your motivation wasn’t just for you, but the views of others, which you can’t and shouldn’t control and have no right to.
Also let’s face harsh reality here, most things in game now can be bought, people advertise runs incessantly, all legal, now Blizzard allows the sale of tokens. I have no problem with anyone playing the game how they wish, what I do object to strenuously, is people thinking they have the right to dictate mine.
Now I understand, though don’t necessarily agree with it, the inclusion of gated content and unlocking things like races. This game is paid for monthly, the longer as a business you can encourage and promote people to pay a running subscription, the better your profit margins. I personally pay my game-time in six month and twelve month blocks. Indeed over the twelve years I have been playing I have lost count of the money I have invested, all worth it, because I exclusively play this game for fun, and I won’t be forced into content I don’t enjoy. Life is short.
However it does upset me that storyline and lore is gaited behind group content of any description, because there is just no need to do that, Unless, and a cynical part of me wonders if this could be the truth, Blizzard are aware that people will pay for runs from others funded, and funding WoW tokens. However that does seem to suggest a certain amount of scraping the bottom of the cash barrel, that the idealist in me doesn’t want to contemplate.
I enjoy this game, I love the world, the characters, I love the simple things like dressing my dolly.
What I can suggest is that you guys band together, trade contact details, I am always there to chat to, for advice, sadly my profession means I have limited time to play now, but make a group yourself, not just for raids and group content, but to expand your social circle, to find like-minded people who understand your challenges. Maybe Blizzard won’t hear you, maybe some players won’t understand your difficulties, however people are right this is an MMORPG, and people are diverse, make friends, band together, share your experiences and help each other. If nothing comes in the way of a solution from Blizzard, doesn’t mean you can’t collaboratively find a solution yourself.
Sarah.
Absolutely well said. You are indeed eloquent!
Especially this!! I couldn’t agree more with all you said.
In regards to this, My ears flare up and I can’t concentrate when I get tilted, I find it pretty helpful to turn on some music you like instead of game sounds and play. I always chill after 5 minutes or so and then get back into the mix.
I don’t know if it’s related, but I do hope this helps 
And nobody would notice if you played songs for 5 minutes or so, or you could play the songs while lowering the voice or the other way around.
I also do recommend having someone you really like be in the group you’re in, it should make the whole experience more fun and less stressful, I like to say im 900% less toxic and more chill when playing with friends 
Both of these are really good suggestions, I hope they work for someone else.
In my case, music does nothing to calm me; music is something I can listen to when I’m feeling good. When I’m on edge, it makes things worse.
And sadly, I’m a very frequent player. Depending on RL things, I can be playing every evening for two weeks, then not at all for another couple of weeks. Getting together with friends is always complicated. Though yes, that is an excellent suggestion for almost every situation in game. 
With all the “turn off” comments being said… lets just turn off the game be off with it, getting rid of the problem 100% !!! 
Thank you for explaining a little bit more clearly what I had been driving at in this post I am someone who feels the exact same way I am on the spectrum and do not want to be pigeon holed into being in that group who if they put that kind of thing into the game as being incapable of doing it I have on past characters done a lot of the raid content and do not want my condition used as a means to lock me out by other players because of it.
I am sick of explaining to you the logic behind my thoughts because you seem bent on refusing to listen my views as someone on the spectrum who has been there done things and will strive to do them and does NOT want special treatment or a magic wand to be given something for no effort made even if it means no loot either. Sorry your attempting to slight me or make me look like I am trying to be offensive that’s my view having slept on this after reading this reply yesterday.
You don’t have to explain it if you don’t feel like it and i understand your point of view on this. I was just pointing out that how you feel about it is not same than what others are feeling about it. What works for you, does not necessary work for them. And those people have it worse than you, so they need support and understanding, not brushing off their problems or making them look they are just no trying hard enough.
Sorry if i sounded very strict, i am not trying to be offensive towards you. I think it is great that you, despite being on spectrum, don’t see problem here. It is, however, called spectrum for the very reason that it is not same for everyone. I wish you for the best and once again, sorry if i made you feel i was “slighting” you, completely not ment that way.
With respect, I have never seen Radium try to slight anyone and always listens to the views of others. I also have said that if you choose to allow things to bother you in the game then that is very sad for you. I mean that in a non-confrontational way.
You may be able to manage your condition in a way to have been able to do the things you’ve done. I’m very happy for you and long may it continue. But others struggle with some aspects, although all that is being asked for/discussed here is possible options for such players.
The point we are trying to make here does not undercut yours in any way. All we are saying is that it makes no difference to you how others get things done because it’s each to their own. Or at least it should be.
You have done things your way and that’s what you should be happy with. If you take offence at the way someone else has done it then, I’m so sorry, but it’s you who needs to look at yourself and ask yourself why it bothers you so much. It should make no difference to you at all.
I promise I am not trying to belittle you or disrespect you by saying this and I hope I have not caused you any offence.
So every time someone said having autism could not affect your gameplay every time I yelled at players making mistakes calling them autistic was not true. Being autistic can actually make you bad. ? Well, sirs and mam’s I was right.
Excellent point Nerika!!!
It’s not only that it shouldn’t, it actually doesn’t, how other people play their game does not affect you at ALL, and is absolutely none of your business. Each gamer’s experience is a contract between Blizzard the the individual gamer, they are the only ones who the have right to positively or negatively impact how the game is played.
Where the problem occurs is when people believe they have the right to control others due to some mistaken belief that what you achieve on a game matters, or that there is some accountable force that measure worthy level of achievement. There isn’t, the things you achieve in this game have no actual worth at all, outside the game or your own individual satisfaction of achieving them.
If your motivation to do anything in this game extends beyond your own personal sense of satisfaction, then you have wasted that time.
So the argument “I had to do it this way” holds no water, the assumption is you chose to do it that way, you achieved your goal, felt satisfaction…the end. That is where the equation closes.
So I applaud anyone who has overcome these challenges without support, but just because you don’t need a service, doesn’t mean that others don’t. Inclusion means to support everyone to access all content they in-fact pay for.
And as for how someone achieved something, I have ahead of the curve from Draenor, I didn’t do it, it cost thirty pounds. All perfectly legal, and above board, I paid a guild for a run, using money gained from tokens I purchased.
Does it matter, no, not to me, not to anyone. I wanted the mount, I have more than enough money, I bought it. However for someone who feels that what I achieve here actually means something to others, they have no idea how I got that achievement, and that’s the point. Measuring worth on any game achievement may actually prove to be damaging, as you invest time on empty validation, infusing it with worth it just does not contain, actually robbing your motivation to achieve anything of actual value.
It is why computer game addiction still is a legitimate problem, because many prefer to court personal validation in a computer generated world, than in the real world where it’s much harder and your failures can potentially have a very real impact.
So now I am being told I do not listen. Well let me clear something up as I am here according to my diagnosis I was deemed mild on the spectrum for some reason the two of you seem to think I am on the lighter end of it that is far from the case.
Also out of due respect my Dad who has been very supportive to me through out my life has helped to coach me to deal with some of the really bad aspects and issues surrounding having Aspergers. I have issues with my eyes having problems with bright lighting and given I work in retail outside of the game it is a big problem for me to work full time I have had to reduce my time down to part time.
As of now I am starting a degree in IT and hope on completion or on getting half way through to be employed in that field. I also suffer from anxiety and a phobia of large crowds and or a distrust of strange buildings unless I know where all the exits are I am not likely to enter them or stay in them long. I also have the same issue with public transport and motion sickness is another issue.
The assumptions made by both of you about me as someone on the spectrum because I happen to have some scruples when it comes to doing the same as others in this game is absurd why because people are very quick to label others and exclude them as soon as they realise that they have x y or z condition I have been stood up by people who I deemed friends or women who have pulled out the last second in dating me. At getting on for thirty nine years of age I have taken an interest in something that affects me on these forums in this game and it seems I am being singled out because I have learned to deal with the lot I have been given in life and cope well.
Instead of asking me how I went about dealing with the stimuli issues I have encountered in this game and asking me if there is any advice I can give on them you have attacked me because I would like to see that things are not just given to a certain group of people ad-hoc with no challenge involved.
I really do not understand why you think I am being unfair to anyone else on the spectrum by asking for it not to be some easy way to get something others make the effort to get myself included.
I am deeply offended by the way certain people who have posted here have made assumptions about me as a AS sufferer. Perhaps it’s you who need to take a long hard look at yourselves in the mirror as well.
Do I understand correctly, you’re using ‘autistic’ as an insult, to slight players who are not up to your expectations?
Somewhere is a tree, working hard to produce oxygen, so you can breathe. I think you should go and apologise to it.
excuse me??? you’re using it as a insult, pls don’t! having autism is a gift and a curse, try to imagine: having constant anxiety and social pressure, problems with planning and organizing, and many more… though it can also be a gift because we have an eye for detail.
Wow, there is some impressive misunderstanding going on, it’s almost as if we’re a group of people who are bad at socialising or something.
Áranaría, I can totally understand why you don’t want to stand out. You remind me of a very good friend of mine, who is also on the spectrum. We are really close friends, but there are some topics about how we see ourselves as persons with ASD, that we really disagree on and have learned it’s not a good idea to discuss, because we are getting nowhere?
I feel we are in a very similar situation here. I don’t think anyone is actually attacking you. I also don’t think you are intending to attack anyone.
However, if you say this:
… what we understand is, “either we have to be able to do the same as you or, if we’re not capable, tough, that’s our own problem.”
Either we blend in and survive in a neurotypical world or we go under.
I don’t think you mean it that way, but that is how it comes across. I think it’s mostly a misunderstanding.
Some of us don’t want to blend in. The entire point of this “Autism Awareness” thing is, to let NTs know, what ASD is, how it might affect people AND THAT THIS IS OK.
For example, my colleagues know, I’m very good in my job. They also know I’m on the spectrum and that for example when I’m stressed I’ll close the door to my office because I can’t stand any noise and interruptions. Since I started talking openly about mental health issues at work, more and more colleagues have come forward and opened up about things like anxiety or similar. It is having a good effect! We’re starting to talk about things that were previously taboo to mention at the workplace.
I realise this approach is not for everyone. But I would like to get rid of the misconceptions and prejudice towards neurodiversity and part of that is being open about problems as well.
Don’t know if you see my point?
I do I had to battle at my workplace to one get it acknowledged by them as a mental health and long term health issue and two to make them aware more and more kids will come into where I work with it.
Retail is notorious for it’s management’s lack of understanding of the spectrum and this is something I have had to speak up on time and again because they in my work place rotate managers out every two or three years so in the 12 years I have been there I have seen four changes of managers. Some are more understanding than others those who refuse to take notice are usually given a nudge by the store manager’s I have had to learn about it or deal with the real issues that could arise if they do not and trust me things have happened because of that I would rather not go into on a forum such as this but mostly because they knew what I was dealing with was no joke and I am fortunate that most if not all have stood up for me and by me when I’ve had line manager issues.
You maybe right perhaps I do blend in but that is in part to having a large family and the support network of friends and I mean my real ones who have had my back and come out hard on any one who gave me a hard time. I am street smart I am observant and I am also someone who to those who know me well deals with a lot of stuff privately and not openly.
What I have been fortunate in is my ability to keep a public and private face and that is really critical in my job as I am having to deal with the public at work everyday your fortunate because you at least can go in your office and shut the door and shut it all off. I do not have that kind of thing and I have to deal with people being in my face day in day out and social interaction with some is not easy because they either do not like me or I them.
I apologise but all the people who know me well know I detest being treated differently and I prefer to be asked if I need time out or to get around something or away from it.
I guess my point on this subject matter is this that maybe if such a system is put in place that there should be something that looks at the effort you have made to do that thing and then offer the ability to skip it. I do however feel strongly rightly or wrongly that a whole sale skip x y or z content button for no effort is not the way to go about it. Say after 3-5 tries or 50% health loss of whatever it gives you that chance otherwise it is all too easy to just click a button and do nothing at least then you can say you tried to do it but it did not work out.
I am not angry at all I am just miffed and disheartened at some of the responses I have had to my hang ups over the idea in retrospect I would prefer people at least make a tangible effort to do something than just have a button to press that lets them skip the content entirely even with out the loot being given.
Dude, I’m massively impressed you work in retail; that’s one of the hardest jobs out there in my opinion. I did a few weeks in retail as a student (in the run up to Christmas, no less) and I’m still amazed I managed not to murder anyone…
In my opinion, WoW is a game, it should be (and is, for the most part) like some huge pick and mix; part of why it’s been going for so long is, that players can choose which part they like. I have friends who spend all their time with PvP, one of my friends does hardly anything else than LFR raids, some are in guilds, some rather play alone… you get the idea.
I see why Blizz want to make the raid part of the story (so players are more engaged), but I think it’s the wrong way. If you have played the war campaign on Alliance side, there is this part at the end of the Jaina Proudmoore arc, where Boralus gets attacked - and they made this quest into a Mythic Dungeon!
But hey, at the next update it turns out, you don’t actually have to do the dungeon, because you’ll receive the next quest in the war campaign regardless.
Why couldn’t they do something similar with the Dazar’alor raid?
Here’s the thing:
For alot people it might be relativily easy to approach someone and make contact.
(or in some cases, talk themself out of a difficult situation for that matter)
For someone with a handicap like that however, it’s not THAT easy.
Most of them are struggling each day to “survive” so to speak.
Also, autism is not something you should’nt joke about
because it may hurt to those who actually DO have autism.