Project Lore

So I play an Alliance toon on Frostmane. I also play several other toons on a few servers, all Alliance. I enjoy playing humans for the most part, probably as an extension of familiar escapism, being as I am currently a human in RL. lol. But I don't hate on those who choose to play the Horde. I may hate on the Horde, and at most opportunities on the PvP servers, I will choose my battles with them wisely, but I really don't hate the RL person who plays it. I figure that's their choice. Like they say, don't hate the player, hate the game. The Horde races, and my perception of the lore of the Horde, never really appealed to me. I dabbled playing an undead lock for a few levels and a BE Pali but it just didn't feel right to me. It's just not my thing. So I ask you, all of you Horde players, why? Why do you play a Horde character? What is the allure of being an Orc or Troll or Blood Elf? Okay maybe a Blood Elf for the /dance... seriously... the BE dudes dance like Napoleon Dynamite and the Female BE dance like Britney Spears her video Toxic video - very funny. I'm seriously not h8in here. I just want to know your thoughts: what are your reasons for playing Horde? I'm just curious. Thanks

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...but so is Elemental. I've logged into the beta once or twice in order, of course, to test out Wrath of the Lich King and to provide Blizzard with bug testing and feedback. In my time on the beta server (PvP, natch), I've respec'd a few times to check out all of the new talents and changes to itemization. Enhancement seems like it will play like much more of a hybrid between melee and casting than it currently does. The itemization for Shaman has changed significantly, with Intellect giving Attack Power and Strength's effects reduced. Luckily, with my current gear, I actually gained some AP, though I lost a bunch of crit chance. All in all, I'm happy that Blizzard finally decided to make gear designed for hunters a little bit more viable for us. With the newly changed Maelstrom Weapon along with Lava Burst, spell rotations should be a little more complex than "Stormstrike and shock whenever they're ready." Unfortunately, Lava Burst isn't quite what I had initially expected. Also, the spirit wolves that get summoned with Feral Spirit are not yet implemented (NYI). For now they're just a pair of spirit wolves who do some pretty disappointing DPS. According to the beta forums, these wolves will have some special abilities, like snares and stuns. With Spectral Transformation, they will be even more powerful. It will be fun to check those out once they actually get implemented. Once I had my fill of a full on Enhancement build, I switched to Elemental. Now, while I was testing out Elemental, I used my old Restoration set. I must say, I was pretty happy with the way the team at Blizzard changed healing and damage into spell power. I a little over 1800 bonus healing just from my gear, and my spell power in the WotLK beta was in the mid 900s when I spec'd elemental. As I may have said before, I leveled from mid 60s to 70 as elemental, and stayed that way for a while. So I know how much fun it is to throw Lightning Bolts over and over, watching Lightning Overload proc with devastating results. Thunderstorm is a lot of fun, since it can be used as an extra interrupt, keeps melee at range, and returns mana. Paralysis and Storm, Earth and Fire give even more options for keeping enemies away in order to throw even more Lightning Bolts. In Northrend, I think I'll use an elemental spec to level for a while, because it's just so much fun. As for Restoration, I haven't check it out yet, since its top tier talent also isn't implemented. I also haven't had a chance to group with anyone, which is sort of necessary in order to get the full feel of a healer. We'll have to see if that ends up happening. All in all, I've tried to avoid leveling too much, since I don't want to have to go through it again (and again for Xeno). I will give all of those Alliance out there one tip in case you decide to go out and buy WotLK once it is released. Take the boat to Northrend from Menethil Harbor, not Stormwind.

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Isn't that the story of my life? This time, though, they want my friends to play a game with me. From the official World of Warcraft site:

With the new Recruit-A-Friend program you can earn an exclusive Zhevra mount, receive a FREE month of game time, and gain access to other exciting in-game benefits. From the moment your friend creates a character and starts playing you’ll both earn triple the experience when grouped together and have the ability to summon one another from anywhere in the world. Also, for every two levels of experience your friend earns, they can grant one level of experience to one of your lower-level characters.

The Recruit-A-Friend program is really stepping it up. A free month of playtime was nice, but an in-game mount? Free levels? TRIPLE XP? Sounds like they are aiming for the 20 million subscriber mark. Of course, the triple XP and free levels only work up to level 60, according to the FAQ, but this sounds like a great way to bring a friend, roommate, or SO (significant other) into the game. These bonuses should get all of your friends to the Burning Crusade content quickly. Then you can help them burn through it and get them ready for WotLK. I'm sure Blizzard is counting on you to convince your friends to pick up BC as well as WotLK, whenever that comes out.

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In this week's episode, I had the chance to play my warlock alt, Xenophontos. I've been doing quite a lot of experimenting on him, and I've been switching between specs to check out each one. I enjoyed affliction at low levels due to the nearly nonexistent downtime, so I checked it out the other day (maybe you'll see that in a future episode). My DPS as affliction is highly dependent on keeping as many DoTs on enemies as much as possible. Something that really helped my DoT upkeep was a neat little addon called Chronometer. Chronometer puts up a timer bar for each debuff you cast on your enemies. It is highly configurable, and can show debuffs on mobs other than the current target, or just those on the current target. The bar is a small bar, similar to a cast bar, in that it fills up or empties over the duration of each spell. The icon of the debuff can be shown, along with the name of the target, the name of the spell, and seconds left until the spell fades. This allows me to (theoretically) reapply DoTs immediately after they complete for maximum uptime and minimum wasted mana. As affliction, it can be tricky to juggle all those DoTs, so this makes it much easier to, at a glance, see what I should be ready to cast next. Other than just DoTs, It's great for watching curses on multiple mobs as well as crowd control spells, like fear and banish. If I time things right, I can get a new banish on just moments after it runs out, keeping whatever crazy demon or elemental I have assigned to me from smacking a healer. I've also heard it's useful for keeping an eye on other spells, like HoTs, but I don't have any of those on my shaman, so I don't worry about it much. Now, apparently Chronometer is outdated, so let me know if you guys have something that might be current!

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Part two of episode 4 has been released! Take a look as Project Lore encounters the hydra, Ghaz'an . Having trouble with the Underbog? Check out our guide. Let us know if you've got some tips for taking on this triple headed monster. Characters featured in this episode: Dorkins, Goggins, Xenophontos, Lylelovett, and Shnoobins. Subscribe to the Episodes RSS feed, the Blog RSS feed, or Twitter to find out when new episodes are out, and join our Facebook Group, Facebook Page, and MySpace. Episode 4.3 is going to be released on Thursday, so watch for it!

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Project Lore makes its way to the final boss in Heroic Underbog, The Black Stalker. Will the mother of all fen striders fall or will Project Lore get a spanking? Tune in and find out some great lore and strat on how to take out The Black Stalker in Heroic Underbog.

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WOOT! OMG... OMG... OMG... Woo-Wooo-WooooooT ! Oh yes, oh yes. I win. Okay. Maybe that was a bit too excited, but tell me if you wouldn't be doing a little happy dance if you got what I just got. So let's back it up a bit and start from the beginning. Several months ago I, like many of you, saw an interesting banner on the official WoW website. The banner promised to bring my toon to life in a real 3D existence. I clicked and the banner took me to FigurePrints.com. FigurePrints creates 3D miniature replicas of WoW toons in a plaster-like substance, sealed with resin and painted to look just like the in-game character. The technology to do this is a form of rapid prototyping that manufactures have used for years with CAD machines - great for making new car engine part prototypes and now AWESOME for making WoW figures. As you might have guessed, hundreds of thousands of people instantly wanted their very own figurines to immortalize the effort and joy received from playing the game of WoW. But FigurePrints didn't have the man / woman power to met the demands, so they initiated a lottery system to select the people who would have a chance to get their character rendered in plaster. So each person had to register, fill out a form, and wait. And wait. And pray to win that lottery and hear the words, "Let's make your toon." Well guess who won the lottery. ME! WOOT! And no there was no funny business between me and them. No favors or backroom deals to get their name here or have me yap about how cool they are. No. Fair and square I won it. Just like I won that roll oh so many months ago for my favorite trinket, the Serpent-Coil Braid. Now of course I will be paying a little RL money in exchange for FigurePrints' fine craftsmanship - a mere $125 +S&H for a truly one-of-a-kind piece of artwork that commemorates my digital WoW accomplishments. It's a small price to pay, if you ask me. Now, after a few months in WotLK, I might have to enter that drawing again. The point is this: most everyone I know who plays the game would love to have their toon immortalized in plaster and paint. With FigurePrints, this is a reality that might just come to you. Check out their gallery and let me know what you think. And when mine arrives in about a month, I'll let you know how well they did.

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Episode 4 has begun! Check out the first part as the Project Lore gang takes on Hungarfen, a spore giant. Having trouble with the Underbog? Check out our guide. Do you have tips to avoid Hugarfen's deadly mushrooms? Let us know. Characters in this episode: Dorkins, Goggins, Xenophontos, Lylelovett, and Shnoobins. Subscribe to the Episodes RSS feed, the Blog RSS feed, or Twitter to find out when new episodes are out, and join our Facebook Group, Facebook Page, and MySpace. Episode 4.2 will be out tomorrow!

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Project Lore clears the trash to get to Swamplord Musel'ek in Heroic Underbog. How will the guys do in this tag team fight with Swamplord Musel'ek and his enslaved Druid captive, Claw? Find out how to avoid a wipe when you fight Swamplord Musel'ek in Heroic Underbog.

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Project Lore continues its exploration of Heroic Underbog and comes face to triple face with Ghaz'an. Will the guy take out this multi-headed fiend or get taken out 1-2-3? Find out some fun lore and killer strat for Ghaz'an in Heroic Underbog.

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