February 2008 Archives

While I have been off doing a very different kind of writing as well as working, Blizzard has slowed a bit their new info from the PTR. Our first link of the day is for a WoW Insider post about the new Isle of Quel'Danas. Well, actually, we have a few about that. The big thing, though, is that this will not be the walk in the park that many Level 70 zones are these days. Netherstorm and Shadowmoon are usually not a big problem unless you get overrun like Khadgar in his dream.

The Isle will be tough. We also have new info on the third phase of the opening of Quel'Danas, Sun Reach Harbor. I love that WoW Insider is detailing these things, but I worry about how many quests and accomplishments I hear are only available during certain phases. It would almost encourage an addiction like playstyle for the duration of the opening. I guess we will have to see what happens once stage 4 is reached.

Along with the opening of the Armory, we had the pleasure of meeting the new gear for badge vendor, and boy is it interesting. Ranging in cost from 45 for off hand weapons to 150 for two handers and the crossbow, the items on the vendor are said to rival Black Temple loot, which will no doubt anger many BT raiders. WoW Insider did do the math and figure out how many badges the average player will need, and if you've been a good little player, saved up over 600 badges before the next patch hits, you too can be Sunwell ready, or at least over geared for Kara and Zul'Aman, when Phase 3 hits.

While WoW Insider points out Razorthorn Rise is not a new area, as it is just sitting there taunting us with emptiness like the Barrier Hills did pre 2.1, but in 2.4 the area will be newly populated and farmable for a Shattered Sun Offensive daily quest, or so we are informed. Of course the links above aren't the only changes, just the notable one. We also have a PTR Patch Notes update with some class changes, new daily quests that indicate they may be related to Alchemy and Jewel Crafting respectively, and which might just lead to new recipes for those professions.

MMO-Champion, always a great resource for the raw details of items from the PTR, have a fair bit of info from the realms today, including an interesting similarity between a Demon and the Dark Naaru in the Sunwell Plateau, Entropius and M'uru, as well as theories about how M'uru became Dark(though wouldn't having your light sucked out of you be enough?), as well as some Relic and weapon changes. The site was also the source of the information about the upcoming Horseman-like Midsummer Fire Festival event boss, Lord Ahune in Slave Pens, and also the source of the discovered skin in the PTR data files for what might be a true Sylvanas look, instead of the tired Night Elf model we have now. Stay tuned for more including a discussion of farming!

I was reading a blog post from my friend, the ever insightful and interesting Alyviel over on Bitter Roots. While we are of the same guild, officers both, we have differing viewpoints. This does not prevent us being friends, thankfully, as everyone needs friends, but there are issues at times. One of those such issues is a difference in perspective. I am a casual raider, raiding when time and other things in life allow.

I write many things, not just these stories, and I also have the podcast. Raiding is maybe 8th or 9th on my priority list. I like the gear Arita has, and hope to get more for Med to bring him up to par, but if I had a choice between a 3 hour raid and 3 hours of writing, podcasting, or even questing, I would take them. Progression, epics, and all that goes with raiding is great for many, but does not have an overarching dominance within my realm of interest to be honest.

So, when I read Aly's post today, and her statement,

However, I've been looking at some boss fights and I think we're ready to move on.

This made me sad. I love my guildies to death, they are like a family, but I just don't see this push to raid, to move past the content. I am not saying we can't go on to 25 mans, but it takes more than 10 people to go to Mag, ot Tempest Keep, or even Serpentshrine Cavern. What her post shows is that we have 10 people who have hours on end to kill in a dungeon on a Sunday afternoon, forsaking all other plans. Her post doesn't say a thing about the Zul'Aman run that was canceled because their full run tired everyone out.

Perhaps I am taking Aly's words a little too literal. Perhaps she only means less Kara. The way I see it, though, is that there are only 7 days in the week, and we can't run Kara to get people geared for those 25 mans if we hit 25 mans every other night, not as long as we hit Zul'Aman at the same time. I understand burn out, I see what it does to people. I just think that Eledith, her healer, doesn't need to be on a run every week.

We have at least 4 or 5 other decent healers who can main heal in Kara, be it raid or main tank. So let Eledith and the other top geared players who are tired of Kara and don't care about Zul'Aman go off and hit Magtheridon, Tempest Keep, and Serpentshrine Cavern with 15 PUGs or another raiding guild, and let those of us who still want to learn Karazhan, and still feel we have something to experience do so. Just because we now have more raid focus than before, doesn't mean we need to leave the beginner raids behind.

So I am, at this very moment, playing Medrose, the renames toon from the PTR PvE realm that I copied over. Let me just say that since I cannot see Silvermoon without rolling a Hordie or dying horribly, this place is great. I get to see the amazing Blood Elf structures they brought in with the expansion and have a lot more protection than I expected to have surrounded by such structures.

My second thought was that the measures Blizzard put in shortly after the expansion launched to combat lack of spawns for questing sure are in full force on the PTR. The sheer number of quests on the Isle of Quel'Danas, the bump to 25 daily quests, and the amazing amount that can be done in the 2.4 patch is just shocking and pleasing. I have no doubt there will be a lot to due and little to get bored with when the Isle of Quel'Danas opens up.

When I first got Med his bird, I flew around all the zones, just exploring the scenery. I happened on the Throne of Kil'Jaden and back then those mobs looked so deadly that just flying within sight felt like a huge risk. Now we get to go there, get to fight the mobs that are in that seemingly inaccessible area, and that is exciting! Oh, and I finally found Doom Lord Kazzak, who has always frustrated me with his yell spam in Hellfire Peninsula.

I think that when 2.4 hits, there will be more for people to do in a day than they know what to do with. /cheer

I was reading over a blog post by my friend Aly, who has her Bitter Roots blog here on ATA as well, and she was talking about the holy trio in her instance life. She has a DPS, Tank, and Healer, so she has all the traditional bases covered. But what about the modern bases? If I am putting an SV group together, I can't hope and expect to do it just asking for Holy Trinity based titles, DPS, Tank, Healer. I need to make sure I have CC in there, because without CC it'll be a wipe. Ok, so the new trinity is DPS, CC, Tank, Heal.

The point I am making is that there is no longer a simple trinity of general class types that one can recruit. Different instances... different fights require the use of different abilities. Some places might require you have a Rogue, while others are so full of undead that without a Paladin, the run takes a lot longer to finish. What places can you think of which need something specific?

Of course, when the patch notes first hit, there was a lot of new info, helping or otherwise adding to the excitement surrounding patch 2.4. While that huge influx of info has slowed a bit, there is still a good amount of info coming out about the next patch for World of Warcraft. WoW Insider has their own roundup post, where they will put all the info they find about the patch in nice, neat categories.

We have info about the World PvP daily quests, a peek at the UI and Interface panel changes in 2.4, and an awesome post about what we can expect to see in 2.4 before we even run off to the Isle of Quel'danas, including daily quests in Shatt from some of the newly converted NPCs which are now members of the Shattered Sun Offensive. Oh, and don't forget the gift to PvPers who spend their time in Battlegrounds, a repeatable turn in quest that gifts you honor for all those excess tokens.

A day or two ago WoW Insider informed the audience that the Naaru that the Blood Elves where fueling their Paladins on had vanished on the PTR, and that pretty much sealed it for the identity of the Dark Naaru in the Sunwell Plateau. Of course, those on the PTR aren't hesitating in having a bit of fun as some enterprising warlocks have found a way to enslave Brutallus the demon from Sunwell Plateau, pretty effectively killing everything on the Island. I agree with WoW Insider's Daniel Whitcomb, this will most likely be fixed before 2.4 goes live.

Fishing is getting some major buffs, or gifts at least, in 2.4. First, we get fishing Daily quests.  Yay! We can push people into 375 fishing with rewards of cash and blues! Speaking of Blues, There is a report that at least one fishing quest rewards you with a new non combat pet, Chuck the baby crockolisk, which you would get in a Bag of Fishing Treasures, which comes from the fishing quests much like the Crate of Meat and Barrel of Fish come from the Cooking Daily. Other items found inside this bag are Sharpened Fish Hooks, a recipe for Captain Rumsey's Lager, Weather-Beaten Fishing Hat.

We also have reports of a seemingly common drop 20 slow unique bag, Sun Touched Satchel, and even though their own reader said so days before, WoW Insider is reporting that the Phoenix non combat pet does, in fact, drop from Kael'Thas in Magister's Terrace. How it took them 4 days to read their own comments which included a screen shot of the Phoenix being looted off Kael'Thas, I don't know, but there you have it.


News out in the last few days shows that items critical to making most high end crafted items, Primal Nether and Nether Vortex, will no longer be BoP, and Nether Vortex will not be purchasable for 15 Badges of Justice as well as 7g and change. This will make crafting my next level breast plates for Medros, as well as the items for Ameland even more possible since I won't have to go run heroics or go and do Kara runs endlessly to get enough badges for them.

The last roundup of news in the last few days are as follows. Suggested possible Dragonhawk mounts, class set changes, and even a few class changes as well as more promised to be coming. We have linkable spells and quests, and more walk throughs of the new area of the Isle of Quel'danas, starting with the new rep, all the way up through the 5 man Magister's Terrace  and unlocking the 25 man Sunwell Plateau. Update: Tigole on Attunements, miscellaneous notes from the latest PTR build, with more likely as the progressive test continues.

I love WoW, often more than I should. I love the art, the story, the feel of accomplishment when a goal I reach is a long toil, but worthy in the end. Grinding Ogri'la to get my Vortex Walking Boots. Grinding out SV runs and buying up every available Coilfang Armament I could until I got my Cenarion Hippogryph. Pushing every day to get my Netherwing rep to exalted for a Netherdrake. Even grinding out the rep for Darnassus to get Medros a Saber instead of his tired old Charger. All of these have been enjoyable but long battles for rep and a bit of coin, to get the items I want in the game.

Some call me hardcore. Some call me a farmer. Different people, different titles. I have even been called the WalMart of Argent Dawn. Addict is a popular one, and one I am not even sure I can deny anymore. Me? I call myself casual. I don't spend hours on end mastering fights that can turn on the chance of a crit. I don't spend hours getting the rep or reagents for a raid. I don't spend days upon end running heroic after heroic to get the best gear in the game. I don't fret over going somewhere and wiping over and over, giving 30-50g worth of repair bills. It's a game, and not really worth all of that effort.

My question for you is this: can you be a hardcore casual? How about a Casual addict? Can you be addicted to the game and still play casual? I guess the base problem in the entire discussion is definitions and classifications. How do we define an addict of WoW? How do we define a casual player? How do we define a hardcore player of WoW? Can a casual still play 5-10 hours a day on a weekend? Can a hardcore play only 10 hours in an entire week? Is an addict someone who can't stop? What if you are a hardcore player who is addicted but only plays for 10-15 hours a week?

In the end it all breaks down to stereotypes and classifying people by our own biases. For someone who is struggling to get the time for their first character to hit 70, someone who raids Kara every week and does a 25 man or Zul'Aman on the weekends could be hardcore. Someone who has a couple 70s and sees the same guy RPing in Shatt every time he is near, wearing the same level 45 greens, could see that person as a casual n00b who can't play worth a damn. To that RPer, the hardcore who ridicules him, or even the one who just doesn't respond to the attempts to RP, those guys in all purples from Kara, ZA, or the 25 mans could be seen an elitist jerk raider who can't follow the rules.

You see how perceptions are? They only serve one purpose: to break up the community into divided camps, more easily picked off by other games and bad patches, leading to a fractured, aggressive, and volatile community. What keeps us apart as a community, what maintains the divide, is the fact that the patches seem to focus in one area at a time, making one part of the game good while seeming, from the player perspective, to break or sacrifice the other parts of the game.

I wonder, though, is there any way to repair the problem? Can we fix this growing divide between the different goals? Will we just drift apart until the game falls apart with players drifting to different games that fill their particular need more than WoW does? What do you think of this problem, of the stereotypes in WoW?

WoW Insider reports today that the Worldwide Invitational is scheduled for Paris at the end of June, with the new expansion hand on playable. Well, let's look at the wording. Hands on doesn't mean it hasn't been released, to me at least, it means that the contest side of the event will not likely use that content. Second, let's look at the dates. If this is a playable demo, then it could be as little as a 2 week preview on the expansion.

Here is what I am hearing from reliable sources. First, the Friends & Family testing phase ends soon. If this was from a Blizzard rep, I would say that could be anything from a week to a couple months, but this wasn't Blizzard. This was a reliable source without corporate 'cover your ass' speak enabled. Second, what I said we needed for my predicted time frame for release, 2.4 PTR by the end of February, has happened.

Give it a couple months of testing for 2.4, including I suspect a contest phase where we can compete for entry into a beta phase, and we see the patch live about April. Launch the official closed beta around the same time, give it a couple to three months for beta, and release in mid to late July. I know, the conventional wisdom you see is late fall or winter sometime, but I just don't see that being reasonable. Yes, the expansion is a lot of work, but those who are working on it are only doing that for the most part. 2.4 is not their distraction, nor is Starcraft 2.

Let me break down my math for you one last time, and that way I have it in test for reference. Pardon my excessive math. WoW launched Nov 23, 2004. Burning Crusade launched Jan 16, 2007. That is roughly 26 months between them. With me so far? Blizzard previously stated that no development was done, nothing was even started for TBC for about 6 months due to the wild popularity, server problems, code issues, and other issues that came along with the launch of the game. This knocks TBC development to 20 months.

Got that? We're at 20 months of development. Say we have Wrath of the Lich King on July 15, ok? Yes, hypothetically. That will be 18 months. 18 and 20 months aren't too far apart, right? The arguments I usually hear about this time is that WLK has much more to be worked on and fit into the game. I agree. Now here is the final piece of the puzzle that is my expected release date. "Our goal is to progress toward annual expansions." Now I originally thought that we would see 16-17 months of development on the expansion, but I can give time for recovery from TBC.

So while there is much more to do, and they want to move toward annual expansions, I don't think it is too much to think that 18 months of development for WLK, with all the extra work people suspect is needed, would be a decent time for the second expansion. So, while it could be late 2008 for the expansion, I do not think it will be January 2009 like some of the crazier people have said. I just don't see them aiming for less time and taking more time than TBC did. If they don't get better, improve on their past accomplishments, then what use is it to be in business? What the WWI means

While anyone who visits fan sites or the WoW forums will already know patch 2.4 is out, I figured I would let you all know a few highlights of the PTR so far. First, though, the current PTR notes version can be found here, and as they are trying a new testing method where there test different content as they are satisfied with it, those notes can be expected to change regularly.

The biggest info we have so far is profession based, and my goodness we have a lot of goodies coming for professions in this final battleground in the fight with Legion(for now).

• Leatherworking
• Blacksmithing 
• Tailor
• Jewelcrafting and Gems

We also have other information, such as the rep rewards for the Shattered Sun Offensive, though sadly no loot links yet due to the database sites not quite catching up. We also have some interesting tidbits of new surrounding some interesting new raid drops, sunmote. But wait, there's more! New possible bag types, the Rocket Mounts from the TCG loot card(available in March), new Badge of Justice rewards on the Isle of Quel'Danas that equal or surpass Black Temple loot, and did I mention the new epic bow Thor'idal, which makes it own arrows, has the build in buff from the quivers we have now, and which is just fricking awesome? Well, consider it done.

Additional Info:

• Black Temple & Mount Hyjap Attunements gone!
• The return of 8 piece sets?!?
• Defense changes
• Possible new Priest form: Holyform
  
• Dubious quality of PvP Battleground changes
• New Phoenix Non-Combat Pet dropping off Kael'Thas
• Sunwell Plateau in game cinematic
• 
  

Keep tuned here for more as the news develops

It all started with "Anyone want to go to SV or Heroic SP/UB" which I typed into guild chat. That elicited a few interested people, but not enough for an actual group. It did, however, bring about an interesting conversation with a fellow Ret Paladin in my guild the Shadow Walkers. He asked if I was planning to go to Heroic SP to work on the 'unofficial ret set'. I said no, not understanding what he was referring to. He went on to link me a few items from this Unofficial Ret Set. Ornate Boots of the Sanctified & Ornate Leggings of the Venerated were the pieces he linked, and one look told me the place he was going. The conversation also pointed to Bracers of Just Rewards as another 'classic ret piece'.

For any of you who saw my recent Gear Review for Medros, you will notice that there is a very different tact in gear and stat selection in the gear my beloved Paladin has. Strength. Agility. Attack Power. Hit Rating. Crit Rating. All of these are what I have built my DPS for Medros on. Now, I will admit that Ret Paladins use a fair number of spells. Avenging Wrath, Consecration, Crusader Strike, plus our seals and judgments. However, most of the ret spells I use are based around my attack power and melee damage.

So, friends, allies, Paladins and admirers, what do you think? With the coming changes to Retribution gear, should we just wait and see what blizzard is doing? See what the stat change that they say will increase our DPS is going to be? Do you think we need to focus on spell power or attack power?

I know, I know, I am being overly negative, but this is the 3rd year of this holiday and nothing has changed. As well, unlike most other holidays, they quests are still not repeatable. This is a great festival if you are an 11 month veteran or less, but if you are a long time Wow player, this event is boring, tired, and a waste of valuable time spent questing, leveling, or farming.

When people saw that the festival began today on the forums, there was some small hope that the event would be the one old event that Blizz has been updating. Unfortunately a Blizzard dev posted(formerly Caydiem?) that there was nothing new or changed in this year's rendition of the event.

I didn't say we wouldn't be touching Lunar Festival. It's definitely on our list. We were simply unable to add anything new for this year.

Though the post did have one thing to look forward to in a week or two... though nothing we didn't already know.

Love is in the Air isn't completely revamped, but I wouldn't say it has been left untouched.... ;)

Yay!?!

I have had a lot of people find me on my site and in game who are asking me about gear. A lot of new guildies who have just hit Level 70 are also looking at our guild's minimum requirements for Karazhan with shocked disbelief at the disparity between their numbers there as compared to what they are at now. The plan here is to link you my characters WoW Digger Profile, and explain why I chose it and where I got it from.
Profile: Arita
Slots:
Head - Druidic Helmet of Second Sight | Sockets:: Gleaming Dawnstone, Glowing Nightseye, Glowing Nightseye | Enchant: None
Neck - Torc of the Sethekk Prophet
Shoulder - Mantle of Autumn | Enchant: Inscription of the Blade
Back - Shadow-Cloak of Dalaran | Enchant: Enchant Cloak - Spell Penetration
Chest - Tunic of the Nightwatcher | Sockets:: Potent Noble Topaz, Potent Noble Topaz, Solid Star of Elune | Enchant: Enchant Chest - Restore Mana Prime
Wrist - Illidari Bracers of the Invoker | Enchant: Enchant Bracer - Major Intellect
Hand - Clefthoof Gloves | Enchant: Enchant Gloves - Spell Strike
Waist - Windchanneller's Ceinture of the Sorcerer
Legs - Kurenai Kilt | Sockets:: Runed Living Ruby, Gleaming Dawnstone, Gleaming Dawnstone | Enchant: Mystic Spellthread
Feet Shattrath Jumpers | Sockets:: Glowing Nightseye, Great Dawnstone | Enchant: Magister's Armor Kit
Rings - Violet Signet & The Horseman's Signet Ring
Trinkets - Scryer's Bloodgem & Vengeance of the Illidari
Main Hand/Two Hand - Bloodfire Greatstaff | Enchant: Enchant Weapon - Major Spellpower
Off Hand -
Ranged/Relic - Idol of the Unseen Moon

Have questions about gems, improvements, and enchants? Reply to this comment or email me, med2008@allthingsazeroth.com!

Updates:
After a great weekend in Kara, I have replaced:

• Manasurge Pendant
• Ruby Drape of the Mysticant(replacing Shadow-Cloak of Dalaran from an earlier run)
  
• Bracers of the White Stag
• Mitts of the Treemende | Sockets: Radiant Talasite & Veiled Noble Topaz 
• Ruby Slippers(replacing Boots of Foretelling from earlier in the run)
• Violet Signet
• Spectral Band of Innervation