[Brizzard GM4realz]: Dear prayers your account has been found in to be serected for new Cataclysm beta game testing. Go to www.hackmeandleavemenaked.com to sign up for beta and get your free mount! or we will found you in violation and suspend your account.
If you've played WoW for any length of time you have received an in game whisper similar to this (the sad part is since the Chinese gold farmers use such crappy translation software the whispers don't look much different than I was able to exaggerate in my meager attempt at humor). In any event, I'm sure this is what everyone is thinking I mean when I say that I got invited to Beta testing for the new expansion. I have to admit that at first I thought it may have been a scam when I saw the e-mail in my inbox (my real e-mail, not in game mail). Against my better judgment I opened the e-mail and read it. I'm glad I did because it was legit and I am now an official Beta tester for the upcoming Cataclysm expansion!
I spent most of the last evening downloading and installing the beta client. It was huge! 700 megs just for the installer and roughly 20 gigs for the game client. I left it downloading all night and since the game becomes playable at 75% download, I was able to dabble a little bit this morning. As I write this it's about 90% complete.
I'm very new to the blogosphere and so I may not be up to speed on all of the unspoken etiquette rules that one should follow when posting here. For that reason I won't be putting any spoilers in my posts. There's plenty of websites that are already doing that and anything I would hope to add here would probably be old news anyway. That said, I consider it an honor to have been selected although I have no idea why on earth they would pick me. I would like to think it was because I happen to play one of the classes that will see the most change. I think it's probably much more likely however that their choosing me was completely a result of the RNG (hmmm maybe I should have bought a lottery ticket this week). What ever the reason though I will do my best to help out however I can. I will provide the developers with feedback they can use so that hopefully when the finished product finally does hit the shelves it will be enjoyable for everyone.
Two things I will say that I have noticed so far...
1) A LOT has changed. The zones most affected by the Cataclysm are barely recognizable.
2) With regards to the Worgen and Goblins races... I am very impressed with the aesthetic appearance of one race and very under-whelmed by the other. This is not surprising. What is surprising is that it is the exact opposite of what I thought I would see.
Stay tuned....
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
They want us to do WHAT?!
".... ok this next group is a 5-pull so be ready because we don't want to accidentally get the pat too. MT pick up <skull> OT pick up <X> we're going to trap <square>, sheep <moon>, and shackle <diamond>, DON'T use your AE until the first 3 are dead or we're screwed. Everyone ready?... ok pulling..."
Anyone remember hearing instructions like these from a raid leader? Been a while hasn't it. For those who have joined us since WotLK, instructions like these had to be used for trash pulls in BC raids. Yes that's right... trash pulls. I know I'm going to sound like one of those "old school" guys who talks about "back in the day" when we had to quest up hill (both ways) to get anything done and every other mob was an elite and the game so much harder but so much more fun. I assure you that is not my intent. I will say however that we have become spoiled in Wrath when it comes to dealing with trash mobs in raids and 5-mans. Target marking, kill order, and CC got kicked to the curb like last years fashion trend and replaced by round em up... spam your AoE... and watch the damage meters have an aneurysm trying to keep up. If anyone doesn't believe me just take a look at Recount from the trash leading up to Marrowgar sometime. Am I the only one who thinks 18k-20k dps is ridiculous? Even with the 30% buff these numbers are insane, especially since most of what we have to do to get there is remember to re-cast a channeled spell in the right area every 6 or so seconds. There's very little skill involved and unless you're not watching your threat the only ones who have to worry about dying are the tanks. Well times they are a changin'.
I found out a few days ago that among the many changes being made to my beloved Hunter class, we are losing Volley... (What?! Jumpin jeezus on a friggin pogo stick! They can't do that! Can they?)... Yes they can and apparently they are. That's the bad news. The good news is it looks like they are doing something similar to everyone else too. From what I've been reading so far the AoE abilities of the classes are going to either be nerfed into obscurity or they are going to become so costly from a resource standpoint that it will no longer be efficient to use them extensively. That's right kids, AoE is getting a Barry Bonds swinging for McCovey Cove home run whack with the nerf bat.
My first reaction was very much like what you just read. As I dug deeper and began to read comments on both sides of the argument I have changed my mind. This of course comes with the disclaimer that they (Blizzard) have to treat all of us equally, but I think that AoE getting nerfed is a GOOD thing. The most important reason for this is that it will force all of us to learn to play our class...again. Things like CC (that's Crowd Control... had to throw that in there since there are some players who have no idea what this concept is), kill order, and... god forbid... employing a strategy to actually kill something, will be important again. Anyone remember running Gruul's Lair back when it was level appropriate? The High King Maulgar pull? Put a fight like that at the end of one of the ICC wings and I guarantee 85% of the player base would never see the Lich King. We're just not conditioned to play like that anymore. That's not to say that there are not some challenging and interesting fights in Wrath. Unfortunately the Thorims, Yogg-Sarons, Putricides, and Lich Kings are few and far between the tank-n-spanks, and gimmick fights. Trash is no longer serious business and don't even get me started on the Trial of the Big Round Room at the Ice Crown County Fair (thanks for those Panzercow).
I don't envy Blizzard in their quest to be all things to 11million people. But I am happy to see that at least they seem to be trying to put some challenge back into this aspect of the game. Time will tell whether or not they are successful but I for one am looking forward to finding out.
Anyone remember hearing instructions like these from a raid leader? Been a while hasn't it. For those who have joined us since WotLK, instructions like these had to be used for trash pulls in BC raids. Yes that's right... trash pulls. I know I'm going to sound like one of those "old school" guys who talks about "back in the day" when we had to quest up hill (both ways) to get anything done and every other mob was an elite and the game so much harder but so much more fun. I assure you that is not my intent. I will say however that we have become spoiled in Wrath when it comes to dealing with trash mobs in raids and 5-mans. Target marking, kill order, and CC got kicked to the curb like last years fashion trend and replaced by round em up... spam your AoE... and watch the damage meters have an aneurysm trying to keep up. If anyone doesn't believe me just take a look at Recount from the trash leading up to Marrowgar sometime. Am I the only one who thinks 18k-20k dps is ridiculous? Even with the 30% buff these numbers are insane, especially since most of what we have to do to get there is remember to re-cast a channeled spell in the right area every 6 or so seconds. There's very little skill involved and unless you're not watching your threat the only ones who have to worry about dying are the tanks. Well times they are a changin'.
I found out a few days ago that among the many changes being made to my beloved Hunter class, we are losing Volley... (What?! Jumpin jeezus on a friggin pogo stick! They can't do that! Can they?)... Yes they can and apparently they are. That's the bad news. The good news is it looks like they are doing something similar to everyone else too. From what I've been reading so far the AoE abilities of the classes are going to either be nerfed into obscurity or they are going to become so costly from a resource standpoint that it will no longer be efficient to use them extensively. That's right kids, AoE is getting a Barry Bonds swinging for McCovey Cove home run whack with the nerf bat.
My first reaction was very much like what you just read. As I dug deeper and began to read comments on both sides of the argument I have changed my mind. This of course comes with the disclaimer that they (Blizzard) have to treat all of us equally, but I think that AoE getting nerfed is a GOOD thing. The most important reason for this is that it will force all of us to learn to play our class...again. Things like CC (that's Crowd Control... had to throw that in there since there are some players who have no idea what this concept is), kill order, and... god forbid... employing a strategy to actually kill something, will be important again. Anyone remember running Gruul's Lair back when it was level appropriate? The High King Maulgar pull? Put a fight like that at the end of one of the ICC wings and I guarantee 85% of the player base would never see the Lich King. We're just not conditioned to play like that anymore. That's not to say that there are not some challenging and interesting fights in Wrath. Unfortunately the Thorims, Yogg-Sarons, Putricides, and Lich Kings are few and far between the tank-n-spanks, and gimmick fights. Trash is no longer serious business and don't even get me started on the Trial of the Big Round Room at the Ice Crown County Fair (thanks for those Panzercow).
I don't envy Blizzard in their quest to be all things to 11million people. But I am happy to see that at least they seem to be trying to put some challenge back into this aspect of the game. Time will tell whether or not they are successful but I for one am looking forward to finding out.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
... the family that plays together stays together.
In truth we are not that different from any other mid-western, suburban family. We have our jobs that we go to every day, the kids have school, taekwondo, soccer, swim lessons, and all of their other various extra curricular activities. We still sit down to dinner every evening, we still help the kids with homework, and we still go to bed at a reasonable hour (most of the time).
The main difference between us and most other families is that we all play World of Warcraft. For the last 3 years game time has largely replaced TV time in our home. Obviously we don't all play at the same time or at the same level. I am a former progression raider turned casual, mom is still in our old progression guild and they are doing very well. The girl (our daughter) likes to collect pets on her level 20 hunter and nuke plainstriders in The Barrens, and the boy (the youngest) likes to spend all of my gold in the Barber Shop and on repairs because " I don't like to run back to my body when I die so I just talk to the guy."
I've been reading WoW blogs for nearly as long as I've been playing the game. There are several that I read regularly and some that I visit occasionally. This will be my first venture into the blogosphere as a writer and I am both excited and nervous. Excited with the hope that on occasion I may have something meaningful to share, nervous because I realize that I am a novice trying to break ground in a crowded niche with some very talented writers.
This is kind of like the other night when I was asked to run Ruby Sanctum with my old guild. They obviously have Halion on farm and I had never set foot in the instance before. Fortunately for me I had researched enough that I was able to hold my own and not embarrass myself. I will try to do the same here. Hope you enjoy.
The main difference between us and most other families is that we all play World of Warcraft. For the last 3 years game time has largely replaced TV time in our home. Obviously we don't all play at the same time or at the same level. I am a former progression raider turned casual, mom is still in our old progression guild and they are doing very well. The girl (our daughter) likes to collect pets on her level 20 hunter and nuke plainstriders in The Barrens, and the boy (the youngest) likes to spend all of my gold in the Barber Shop and on repairs because " I don't like to run back to my body when I die so I just talk to the guy."
I've been reading WoW blogs for nearly as long as I've been playing the game. There are several that I read regularly and some that I visit occasionally. This will be my first venture into the blogosphere as a writer and I am both excited and nervous. Excited with the hope that on occasion I may have something meaningful to share, nervous because I realize that I am a novice trying to break ground in a crowded niche with some very talented writers.
This is kind of like the other night when I was asked to run Ruby Sanctum with my old guild. They obviously have Halion on farm and I had never set foot in the instance before. Fortunately for me I had researched enough that I was able to hold my own and not embarrass myself. I will try to do the same here. Hope you enjoy.
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