Player titles

One feature that I really liked in Lord of the Rings Online was collecting player titles. You can gain titles for things like finishing quests, killing mobs, mastering trade skills, or simply exploring the area. After a while you have a long list of titles that showed your accomplishments. You can select one of the titles and have it displayed together with your name.

The titles have no real gameplay effect and are just for show - a roleplayer gimmick. Collecting titles is another time sink for a completionist like me. It is fun to switch to "Kirana, Slug-squasher" while mindlessly grinding or to "Shire Brewmaster" when I am drunk.

WoW has player titles as well, but they are rather rare. There are two for PvE, "Champion of the Naaru" for finishing the Trial of the Naaru and the ultra-rare "Scarab Lord" only available to the openers of the AQ gates. From the arena you can reach one of Challenger, Duelist, Gladiator, or Rival. Reaching exalted reputation in all battlegrounds gives another. And if you PvP'ed before the 2.0 patch abandoned the old honor system then you kept your highest lifetime title.

Patch 2.4 will add two new titles. One for finishing the Black Temple attunement questline - a great accomplishment in my opinion and well worth a title. I am looking forward to getting it. And a second title that you can buy for 1000g at exalted with the Shattered Sun Offensive. That one stumps me.

Buying a title - are you serious, Blizzard? Will you offer a degree from the unaccredited University of Warcrafting next? Having to buy the title after putting a lot of effort into getting to exalted is an insult in my opinion. Titles are something you earn. The price tag devalues the title and people who have it will probably be laughed at. Reaching Exalted will be a long and hard struggle, but the thing most people will be reminded of when seeing the title is that you paid 1000g to feed your vanity.