This week's World of Warcraft Wisdom piece is more whimsical than usual as I present an idea that could change the game - and provide some much-needed catharsis in Azeroth. If you're looking for my regular philosophical musings, consider this an off-week. Many moons ago I wrote about ganking, that for those of us on a PvP server it is just part of the game - annoying as it may be. Even though ganking is part of the game, it can get really old when your level 58 is running around Hellfire Peninsula and some bored 85 decides to go after the lowboys. It is for this reason, if I were Blizzard, I would institute a bounty system in the auction house. Here is how it would work: just say RandomJoe, who is several levels above you (and therefore mostly indestructible) is going around for thrills and ganks you, then hangs around and hits you again when you rez - keeping this up until you have no alternative but to log-off. Unless you have a deep-seeded taste for revenge, the idea of getting even with RandomJoe is not really possible. That is - unless I worked at Blizzard. With the proposed bounty system, you could go to the auction house and place a bounty on RandomJoe's head. Depending on your level of anger toward the offending player, you could place anywhere between 5 - 1,000 gold to have him ganked back. Of course, the more you put down, the more likely the bounty will be collected. Anyway, you perform a few clicks and suddenly, his name is up for sale in the auction house with the price. You then enter relevant information, which would include: where he ganked you, his class, his name, and whatever else you might find important to put in there. Then, when he has been sufficiently ganked, you will be notified and the wave of satisfaction can roll over you like a nice summer breeze. Oh, imagine this too: if a bounty is posted on a player, that character gets flagged (maybe RandomJoe has to wear a scarlet  for about a week) and receives notice that he or she has a bounty on their head. Of course, any random player can't take RandomJoe out to collect the bounty - only players that accepted the bounty can hunt down the marked character. Yes, it would be frustrating to see a player running around with a "kick me" flag, knowing that you were powerless to bring the player to justice - but it wouldn't be fair to player to have to fear constant attacks from mere onlookers. Also, it would take the fun out of being a bounty hunter - having to stalk your prey. The "marking" would also create some interesting interactions among friends - not just enemies. Imagine your guild mates' reaction:

"Dude, did you really go back to Hellfire?"

"Yeah, what can I say. My life outside of WoW is, like you know, totally inadequate. It helps me to feel like a man, you know, dude."

"I bet you drive a big truck, don't you, dude."

Moreover, think of the possibilities: new achievements, a new reason for guilds to form (come on, you can hear it now in the global trade chat: "'Get Ahead' is a bounty hunting guild in need of healers, tanks, and people who just love to get even. No, we don't get even, we GET AHEAD!"), and a new title: Boba Fett, to accompany your name. Can't you imagine it, you collect, say, 100 bounties, and you get the title. How cool would that be? Abbysomeone Boba Fett, priest feared by the Alliance gankers across Ysondre - I'm giddy just thinking about it! I'll keep it simple and not risk copyright infringement - thus if I were Blizzard, the title would be "the Bounty Hunter." There would also have to be a new locater for the map, like one that tracks herbs, this one would track bounties. If you have accepted a bounty hunting auction, hit the click on your map - should RandomJoe arrive in your vicinity, then a little dot would appear on your map. It'd be an easy tweak for an update to the interface. Suddenly, servers would change, too. We've all had friends change servers for better PvP and what-not. Now, they could change servers because the ganking on one or another is high enough to warrant relocation - to get the title and the gold. Of course, there would have to be some rules. For example, you can't initiate a bounty unless the ganker is, at minimum, ten levels above the gankee; however, if you are ganked by a group of people, well, it is just a matter of clicking on the combat pane, marking their names, and setting a price for their collective heads. That said, in the case of group ganks, the bounty could only be collected if they were taken out together. This might be hard - but if you get the bounty in quickly enough, it could happen. It would also be essential that if a player — the gankee — abuses the bounty system, like the boy who cried wolf, they'd be encouraged to grow up and face their fears solo by limiting the amount of bounties a person can place in the system. PvP, and subsequently ganking are part of the game, so it's a delicate balance. Even if bounty hunters can be found at every tavern in Azeroth, there comes a time when you need to fight on your own (virtual) two feet. In addition, if the bounty is not collected, the player gets 90% of the gold back that was put down for the hit. I figure this would help in making sure that players don't abuse the system as much. Another thing, multiple players can choose to take on the bounty, but only one can collect the gold. Yes, there could be a legion of bounty hunters out there, but Azeroth is a big place and there are plenty of places to hide, so the more hunting that is going on, the more likely it is that the bounty will be called in. Another rule: bounties could not be collected in battlegrounds or arenas. Bounties could only be collected on the normal field of play. Sure, you might be doing dailies in Tol Barad, see a dot appear on your map, then don your PvP gear to go after the bounty. Bounty hunting could be an awesome addition to the game - but only in the field of play, not in battle grounds or arenas, as players might lose sight of there actual objectives. Plus, players are already flagged in an arena, no need to clutter things up even more. One final aspect, to keep it interesting: give a title to players whom escape bounties. Let's say that you have escaped 100 bounties, then you would be given the title of "the  Scoundrel." Certainly could be a fun title to wear. If you were Blizzard, would you add the bounty hunting system? What is another change to the game you would add, if you were Blizzard? Follow me on Twitter @wow_wisdom and let us know if you'd like to see bounty hunters in World of Warcraft. For more World of Warcraft Wisdom, click — HERE.