November News/Discussion

[Mirajj]

Nov. 4 News

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Patch 3.0.3 is launching with tomorrow's maintenance, setting things up more for the WotLK launch happening in a few short days.

The PvE vs PvP debate will never end. PvP's an afterthought tacked onto an otherwise great PvE game. PvE is too easy, and if you want real WoW challenges, play against other real life people, not scripted encounters. Personally, I don't think that there'll ever be a solution that'll make even most folks happy about this. But...can PvP and PvE folks co-exist? Can a PvP oriented and focused guild make the cut?

I'm admittedly not a big fan of WoW Machinima movies. Some are pretty good, but for the most part, I don't find them of much interest. However, this one did catch my eye. It's from Lafawnduh and won first prize in Warcraft Movies Shrieking Shorties Contest. It's just a hair over 5 minutes long.

For discussion, I present...Knockbacks. Several things do it now, and several popular spells do it, too. Everyone has an opinion on these, and they are wide and varied. Is the dps gained to the person using the knockback spell worth the dps lost by any/all melee near the target mob? Are folks careful enough to properly use a knockback attack without aggroing more packs of 'friends' in tight instances? Can tanks keep their temper (and aggro) while their mobs are airborne a lot of the time?

[Quark]

For discussion, I present...Knockbacks. Several things do it now, and several popular spells do it, too. Everyone has an opinion on these, and they are wide and varied. Is the dps gained to the person using the knockback spell worth the dps lost by any/all melee near the target mob? Are folks careful enough to properly use a knockback attack without aggroing more packs of 'friends' in tight instances? Can tanks keep their temper (and aggro) while their mobs are airborne a lot of the time?

I hate the knockbacks with a passion.
"You must be facing your target.
You must be facing your target.
You must be facing your target."

Pretty soon that mage is gonna be my target.

[NiteFox]

This is a public service announcement on behalf of Cairne Bloodhoof and the Thunder Bluff Bluffwatchers Homeguard

We love knockbacks. Don't change a damn thing.

[Mirajj]

Nov. 4 News Addendum

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In the wee, quiet hours of the morning, Crygil quietly slips in to end the WotLK Beta. No muss, no fuss, no end event, no warning, no nothing. Just no more Beta. A little disappointing, really.

[Taelas]

Knockbacks are annoying as hell.

[Sheep]

From a tanking perspective, they're about as fun as being feared or stunned early in the pull. Either way, you're losing a couple of mobs who are bee-lining for the healer.

Of course, this is from a very limited sample of a shaman who seemed to enjoy seeing mobs fly around, and so used his knockback whenever it was off of its cooldown: at the beginning of every pull, coincidentally.

[Mirajj]

Nov. 11 News

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The biggest news is, of course, that it's a mere couple days to the launch of Wrath of the Lich King. Everyone is focused on doing those last few quests. Making those last few raid pushes. Hitting those last few BG's or Arenas. It's coming, and it's huge!

To start it off, I extend congratulations to the Terenas branch of Lurkers, who put down Illidan just in time for the xpack! They were even given a MH Warglaive for their troubles.

There is a new world event taking place, as both Orgrimmar and Stormwind are under attack by Frost Wryms and Abominations. The various faction leaders are busy repelling the attacks, and the event is quite something to watch. Head off to Orgrimmar or Stormwind Harbor to check it out.

PvP Gear in Wrath takes an interesting turn. It looks like S3 will not be available for honor, and S4 will be keeping it's ratings requirements. It's a move to keep such gear at a limited availablity as you will 'get better gear levelling to 80." An interesting move on Blizzards part, I think. PvP tends to come specially itemized for PvP. Is Blizzard saying that questing items will have that sort of requirement, or that everyone will hit 80 in PvE gear, and be on a level, controlable playing field?

Its' an age old question, one that those who mainly play on a PvE server just can't understand, and what those who play on a PvP server can't seem to explain. "What's the joy in ganking?" Volumes could be written about this, and it seems that you are either for or against it. There doesn't really seem to be a middle ground. But some insight is offered in the 222+ comments that accompany that article. Perhaps some enlightenment will be found there.

Now, for a topic that's a bit of a pet peeve of mine:Levelling/Questing Addons. That is, addons that direction you to quest drops, areas where the mobs are, even going so far as to put a directional arrow up for the really challenged. The way I look at it is, check the quest out. Read it (not just the summary, the whole thing) and you'll be told where to go, and what to get/do when you get there. Pretty straightforward. I've now been in both betas, and there are some unclear quests out there...but that's what the feedback button was for. I used it liberally. When I needed to. The quests I saw (going through 4 zones) were all pretty straightforward, and if you read the quest, pretty easy. Some of them were a bit trickier, but that was due to the mechanics of the quest, not difficult semantics. In the 4-ish years I've been playing, a quest has only stumped me a handful of times. A quick question in /g cleared it up, too. But there are others who swear by them. That they couldn't level without them. That they do it the 'proper' way on their main, but then use addons to level their alts faster. I do admit that has me a bit boggled...the quests don't change. Once you've done them, you will know what to do on any toon doing that quest. So, what's your take on levelling/questing addons?

[NiteFox]

Nov. 11 News

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There is a new world event taking place, as both Orgrimmar and Stormwind are under attack by Frost Wryms and Abominations. The various faction leaders are busy repelling the attacks, and the event is quite something to watch. Head off to Orgrimmar or Stormwind Harbor to check it out.

Worst addition to the game. Don't know wtf Blizzard were thinking.

While Thrall is off kicking ass and being awesome, he asked me to fill in for him.



Do you know how boring it is to sit on your ass all day handing out stupid RFC quests to dribbling newbies? This isn't what I signed up for. Thanks for ruining my fun, Blizz.

/ragequit

[Bob the Beholder]

Now, for a topic that's a bit of a pet peeve of mine:Levelling/Questing Addons. That is, addons that direction you to quest drops, areas where the mobs are, even going so far as to put a directional arrow up for the really challenged. The way I look at it is, check the quest out. Read it (not just the summary, the whole thing) and you'll be told where to go, and what to get/do when you get there. Pretty straightforward. I've now been in both betas, and there are some unclear quests out there...but that's what the feedback button was for. I used it liberally. When I needed to. The quests I saw (going through 4 zones) were all pretty straightforward, and if you read the quest, pretty easy. Some of them were a bit trickier, but that was due to the mechanics of the quest, not difficult semantics. In the 4-ish years I've been playing, a quest has only stumped me a handful of times. A quick question in /g cleared it up, too. But there are others who swear by them. That they couldn't level without them. That they do it the 'proper' way on their main, but then use addons to level their alts faster. I do admit that has me a bit boggled...the quests don't change. Once you've done them, you will know what to do on any toon doing that quest. So, what's your take on levelling/questing addons?

I use an addon with a levelling guide. Not because I can't figure out the quests or don't know where to find things, but because I have four 70s, and all the grind up to at least 60 for me is just a time sink. I know the quests, I've done them over and over and I just don't care to spend much effort planning out my levelling. So I use an addon with a built-in levelling guide so that I know I'm wasting as little time as possible, and don't have to spend time remembering which quests are where, and planning out which zones to go to and when.

Generally, once in Outland, the quest density is high enough that even though I have seen it all before, for the most part, a guide is just pointless, because you can basically just wander off in a random direction and stumble into more quests than you could find in some entire zones in Azeroth. So I generally turn it off.

Also, in Northrend, I will not be using levelling guides or addons, because I have not seen it all before, and, from all I hear, the quest density of variety of levelling routes is even better than Outland.

[Sheep]

All realms have been down all day. They were briefly up, though I didn't get the chance to hop on and see the in-game mail problem myself. Blizzard has been steadily retreating on its ETA for when the servers will be back up, and I don't think there is an estimate currently.

WoW Insider has the whole story. (Don't believe the title of the news item!)

http://www.wowinsider.com/2008/11/11/realm...ht-back-online/

[NiteFox]

All realms have been down all day. They were briefly up, though I didn't get the chance to hop on and see the in-game mail problem myself. Blizzard has been steadily retreating on its ETA for when the servers will be back up, and I don't think there is an estimate currently.

WoW Insider has the whole story. (Don't believe the title of the news item!)

http://www.wowinsider.com/2008/11/11/realm...ht-back-online/

This bodes well for Europe, since usually if there's any problem with the US maintenance, it's replicated ad verbatim the next day across Europe. Every time. With a similar timeframe as to the US downtime.

Even if the US team has a fix that would save us all a lot of grief and pain in a few minutes, the EU dev team would probably refrain from applying it. It's like Blizzard have a policy on equal opportunity misery.

[Mirajj]

Nov. 18 News

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And already, there is a ton of news.Many of us stood in lines, waiting for our copies. Others just sauntered into the stores at some point and were able to score copies. Which is an interesting debate. Is it worth it to pre-order your copy? Not a single person who didn't pre-order had a problem getting a copy, and some even got their hands on Collector's Editions, which, as a pre-orderer, I couldn't do. So, it begins to beg the question, is pre-ordering worth it for a major release?

Wrath hasn't been out that long...and already all the PvE content has been beaten. The super uber guild (who haven't even released their super uber name yet) that has been formed out of both Nihilum and SK-Gaming has already (2-4 days into the xpack) beaten everything there is to offer on the PvE end. Yes, in 3 days they leveled to 80 and blew all the raid content away. This is going to do nothing but spark up the casual vs hardcore argument big time. While they are paid to play WoW (must be nice) they have kind of shot themselves in the foot here. There's now nothing really for them to do for how long? It took 2 years to get WotLK out, and the next xpack is probably about as many years on the horizon. Sure there will be content patchs. They already have a list of some of what's coming. But...still, that's not much for them. If they can do this, that fast, will anything patched in be of a challenge, unless it's 'broken' when patched in? This is...quite the time in WoW. Folks can say that they knew Naxx as it's a recycled instance, or that the challenges for the truly hardcore lie in the undermanning Achievements. But if TBC was "way too hard" and excluded the casual players, has/will WotLK swing the other way, and open the door for anyone in a pug to go in and beat up major content? And, while the hardcore are a 'smaller' player base, if this is the case, Blizz will likely lose them somewhere before they can 'toughen' things up again enouigh for them. So...where IS WotLK heading?

Robin Torres asks "What's your favorite part of WotLK so far?" and I think that's a good question. I find myself reveling in the 'newness' of it all. New places to go and see, new things to do, new quests to quest, new gear to Dressing Room and look at, and just so much to see and do. How about you? What's your favorite part so far?

The world's first level 80, an EU warlock named Nymh, (No, not the movie maker of the same name) talks about what he's done. Thing is, and this came up last xpack too, but, while the method he used isn't really 'cheating', is it 'fair'? Basically, he'd tag mobs, and his friends would kill them, so he'd get the xp without the same kind of work of someone doing it 'solo'. It's not nearly as bad as those who have several people level the same toon up, but does it really 'count'?

Mike Schramm deals with a question all of us likely have (or have our own answer to) that we've had to deal with in the last few days. What's the proper protocol for tapping a camped mob? How do you know what order folks showed up for? Does it matter? Just FFA and whoever scores the tap 'wins'? How do you deal with this kind of situation nicely?

How are folks' realms holding up? Aside from the massive queues (with reports up to 1900 people on some) how are things? I have found that my realm is pretty stable and secure. There are a few odd hiccups, and there is some more lag than usual (of course) but all in all, the realm is doing pretty well for being a popular and original one. Memory may have blurred it, but this seems a lot better than the TBC launch. So, what's going on, on your realms?

I'll end today's news on an amusing note. And old, old 'bug' has made it's way back to the forefront. It seems that once again, Blizzard has issues with tall ladies, and has decided that female Tauren who teleport to the Lake Wintergrasp PvP zone from Dalaran are going to dedicate themselves to the defence of the teleport zone...because they are too tall to fit through the door leading out. Shades of MC Windows, anyone?

[Tal]

The world's first level 80, an EU warlock named Nymh, (No, not the movie maker of the same name) talks about what he's done. Thign is, and this came up last xpack too, but, while the method he used isn't really 'cheating', is it 'fair'? Basically, he'd tag mobs, and his friends would kill them, so he'd get the xp without the same kind of work of someone doing it 'solo'. It's not nearly as bad as those who have several people level the same toon up, but does it really 'count'?

Psst its Nyhm (http://www.youtube.com/user/phrog801);). And it would appear that fame (and asshats) have driven him out. I liked Nyhm's stuff and wish him only the best of experience in WoW. Sorry the jerks got to you Nyhm.:(

[Delc]

Robin Torres asks "What's your favorite part of WotLK so far?" and I think that's a good question. I find myself reveling in the 'newness' of it all. New places to go and see, new things to do, new quests to quest, new gear to Dressing Room and look at, and just so much to see and do. How about you? What's your favorite part so far?

The art, hands down. The new zones are stunning. The only zones that haven't just totally floored me so far are Borean Tundra, and Grizzly Hills (I haven't see Howling Fjord, or Wintergrasp yet). Compared to classic it just doesn't look like the same game.

Also, phasing (areas change as you complete quests) has to be the best addition to the game. So far most of the places I have noticed it, it has been small things, NPCs move, or new flight masters become available. But the Wrathgate is amazing. If you haven't done it, go do Dragonblight quests until you find it (no clue which chain it was).

[Treesh]

Edit: Reading comprehension ftw. Move along.;)

[Quark]

Robin Torres asks "What's your favorite part of WotLK so far?" and I think that's a good question. I find myself reveling in the 'newness' of it all. New places to go and see, new things to do, new quests to quest, new gear to Dressing Room and look at, and just so much to see and do. How about you? What's your favorite part so far?

Storm Peaks questing. The Sons of Hodir line sets up for an epic 3.1 (Ulduar patch). Though I haven't finished Icecrown yet, that started out really well.

The zones mostly get better as you level up, and I really enjoyed questing at the end.

[Mirajj]

Nov. 18 News

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...for something completely different. Playing WoW as a Pacifist. No killing by your own hands. Sounds impossible right? Wrong. Noor has gotten to 70 (after nearly 60 days) going that route. That's sure something else.

[Mirajj]

Nov. 21 News

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Does torturing someone make you a bit queasy inside? How about helping to make a plague designed to kill whatever it comes into contact with? Does someone else's callous reaction to a mistake you may have made hurt? Are you ok with slaughtering untold numbers in your quest for what you feel is right?What about the helpless, those who ask for mercy, don't fight back? Is it alright to kill them?

Morality issues are cropping up with renewed vigor in Wrath. There is a vocal minority who feel that Blizzard has gone too far now, asking the above of it's players. Have they? There are many sides to this argument, with folks saying that it's an adult game for adult players, so thank god for a little mature content. Or how come someone has been able to hack and slash through untold numbers of enemies for whatever reason, but when it comes to torturing some information out of someone, that's not ok? Some folks say that as long as the person you are attacking can attack back, then it's ok. Some roleplayers are having a lot of issued with the new Death Knight starting zone, and some of the things asked of you there.

It's a moral grey area, of sorts. It's been said that the PC's are being taken down the same path offered Arthas himself. What would you do to save those who you love and care about, or what would you do to save the world from evil? Still others say that Blizzard is just running out of quest ideas and is now trying to shock it's player base. Some folks are quite up in arms about this, what they feel they are being forced to do by Blizzard, while others say that it's just a game and if, for some unknown reason, doing a quest in a game for adults makes you feel uneasy, that you should either not do the quest, or just log off and find a 'softer' game more suited to your tastes. Some folks say that this is just a game, and it's not like they can fling fireballs around, drain souls, shoot with nearly unerring accuracy or take ears for trophies out of the game, while others really empathize with what their characters are/have to do in the game.

Personally...I can't see where all the fuss is. But then, I don't really empathize with my toon. I'm playing to be around the friends I've made and see a great storyline unfold. I enjoy getting into complex fights, and seeing how the world of Azeroth is developing. When I did the torture quest, I blew through it without really a second thought, as I saw where and how it fit into the picture of the overall story. Azeroth is a world at war with a madman who's driving goal is to see everyone dead so he can resurrect them from the dead to serve him. I could see doing whatever is needed to stop him, and worrying about whether or not you could sleep at night when the threat is over.

So...what do you think? Has Blizzard gone too far? Are they trying to give us the “Arthas' experience”? Are they running out of ideas? Is the darker direction you may have seen in WoW driving you from the game? Is this “just” a game, and what we do/how we act doesn't matter?

[Jester]

I did have somewhat of a laugh at the New Hearthglen series of quests. While it wasn't a big deal to me, it was somewhat disturbing how what little roleplaying identity I had with my character went out the window. He became something like the nameless hero of Grand Theft Auto 3, an obedient yet opportunistic mercenary who will do anything without qualm, so long as you pay him in the end.

I wonder how these things are going down on RP servers?

-Jester

[Mirajj]

I did have somewhat of a laugh at the New Hearthglen series of quests. While it wasn't a big deal to me, it was somewhat disturbing how what little roleplaying identity I had with my character went out the window. He became something like the nameless hero of Grand Theft Auto 3, an obedient yet opportunistic mercenary who will do anything without qualm, so long as you pay him in the end.

I wonder how these things are going down on RP servers?

-Jester

As I understand it, that's where a lot of the problems are 'coming' from in the first place. Though when I tossed the question out into guild, I found that a lot of us (and we aren't an RP guild) had very differing opinions on what made them uneasy, and what they did about it.