Project Lore

Well folks, it looks like we have some, but definitely not all the answers regarding how the possibility of faction changes announced earlier this week could work. Wednesday, Blizzard blue poster Nethaera updated his original post on the subject with a few more details on the matter - probably because of the incredibly high number of questions (and complaints) that players posted. Several of the updated answers relate to questions regarding the race of characters who request a faction change.

Q. Will we be able to switch between the races on our own faction? A.. No. Players will only be able to switch to a race of the opposite faction. Q. Will I be able to choose the race on the opposite faction that I want to change to? A.. Yes, but you will only be able to switch to a race that has your class type available to it. So if you play a human paladin, you’d only be able to change to a blood elf paladin. Q.Will I be able to switch back to my original faction but a different race? A.. No. You will only be able to switch back to your originally chosen race.

This clarifies up several of the issues that could have resulted if Blizz didn't go about things carefully. You'll be able to decide what race you want to play in the opposite faction (and although it isn't explicitly stated, one would guess you'll also get to personalize the toon just as if you were re-rolling anew). To a certain extent. Of course, they're not going to all of the sudden allow every race to play every class. So if you're, say, a human paladin who wants to switch factions, you'll be limited to playing a blood elf. An Orc Paladin? That would just be weird. Or how about a Tauren rogue (you hear their hooves, but never see them)? Blizz will never allow us to learn THOSE secrets. Back on a serious note though, this also means that players wouldn't be able to faction change twice and end up with a toon of the same faction but different race. This seems like a pretty obvious move on Blizzard's part. But it's good that they clarified that pretty quickly for all those skeptics out there. Onward to more answered questions:

Q.How much will it cost? A.. We do not have further information on this at this point in time. Q.How often can you change your faction? A..We do not have any information to share on this at this point in time, however we will have restrictions on the frequency by which players can change their faction.

So maybe these are more like non-answers. It seems like the faction change would cost something. Will it cost RL money, like it does if you want to change realms? That seems the most likely scenario to me. But there also could be some kind of in-game cost as well.

Q.. How will the switch between reputation, gear, mounts, etc be handled? A.. We’ll have more details for you at a later point in time, though we plan to keep these as close to a reflection of the other faction as much as possible.

This part seems like it will be a HUGE pain in the ass and a ton of work for Blizzard. Basically, for every single faction- dependent item you can possibly get in-game, Blizz will have to try to match it with an equivalent of the opposing faction. Certainly, there will be many items that will match up perfectly. But there's also certain to be injustices on both sides. And that's just for gear. What about for reputation? For example's sake, say you're exalted with Thrallmar. The logical Alliance equivalent would seem to be Honor Hold. But what if the gear/mount you want is through rep with Kurenai? I foresee a related QQ fest coming. And one more important question answered so far:

Q. How will this affect the balance of Horde and Alliance on the realms? A.. We are taking great care in how we implement this new service in order to maintain balance between the factions on the realms but do not have any further details to share.

Once again, this seems pretty obvious. If anything, Blizz would probably want to use the service as a means to balance out servers that are heavily populated by one faction over the other. Maybe they'll do something similar to their character transfers out of over-populated realms: Offer free faction transfers only if you're, for example, an Alliance character on an Alliance-dominant server. Then again, would anyone WANT to switch factions under those circumstances? Well, that's it so far, and lots of questions still remain: Would faction changes be allowed on a PvP server? If so, would you be required to switch ALL of your characters' factions on that realm?  It seems like Blizzard would have to make that requirement - either that or require a server change, too, if you want to only change one toon's faction. And of course, when will all this happen? It seems like it's still a long ways off. And another thing: If you decide to faction change, then change back, would you be able to regain your old gear/rep/stuff, or would it be matched with equivalents twice, and in the process change into something new? If it's the latter, the result could lead to some exploits. And I'll add another question, since I grow attached to all aspects of my characters: Will toon names stay the same? Now that we have a little bit more information, I'd like to know what you all think of this service. How do you think this will go, once it's implemented? And what do you think are the implications of it all? Will a sense of faction pride fade? What about knowledge of the lore - would you want to switch to a level 80 toon of another race for which you don't know all the back-story? Stay tuned for more information as it's released!

Click to read more ...

Recently our Mount Runs have been able to include my viewpoint thanks to the wonders of screen capture software. A few of you who are following the Project Lore twitter have also caught a couple of my live streams of Ulduar raids on Ustream (Another raid is scheduled for tonight at 7pm PST!). Some of you have wondered what addons I use. I use a lot of them so I thought I'd just list off all of them. Also here is a screenshot with a few of them labeled (click it for a bigger size). Any questions are welcomed in the comments below!

• Align - overlays a grid to neatly arrange things on the screen
• Aloft - changes the nameplates over character's heads
• Altoholic - tracks all sort of useful stuff between alts and guildies
• ArkInventory - Organizes my inventory, bank, etc.
• AtlasLoot - Shows bosses loot tables
• Auctioneer - Scans the auction for tons of statistics and data. Way more than I can use
• Cartographer - adds functionality to the ingame map
• Clique - click casting made simple!
• CT_MailMod - lots of useful mail functions
• Deadly Boss Mods - tracks bosses' abilities and more
• Dominos - customizes action bars
• ElkBuffBars - shows buffs and makes them easier to see at a glance
• FishingAce - right click casting
• Fubar - along with tons of plugins, houses a lot of info
• Gladius - enemy unit frames for use in arenas
• Grid - Compact raid unit frames
• LootDB - shows where loot came from (a little redundant with Altoholic I know)
• MikScrollingBattleText - changes combat text
• NPCScan - finds rare mobs
• Omen - Threat Meter
• OmniCC - Shows cooldowns on buttons
• oRA - tons of cool raid functionality
• Outfitter - gear swapping and item sets
• Overachiever - some cool Achievement stuff
• pError - hides errors like "Not Enough Mana" or whatever you want!
• PitBull - Unit frames (health/mana/etc)
• PowerAuras - Very customizable to show when buffs and abilities are up/down.
• Prat - Edits the chat window
• Quartz - Casting bars
• RatingBuster - Compares stats with currently equipped items, shows differences, tells how stats affect you.
• Recount - Damage Meter
• simpleMinimap - Moves the minimap, makes it square, etc
• SunnArt - creates a viewport with nice art!
• TipTac - changes in-game tooltips
• TotemTimers - does what it says
• UrbanAchiever - More cool achievement functionality
• XLoot - Changes loot window, group loot, masterloot, etc
• ZOMGBuffs - shows who needs what buffs in a raid

Click to read more ...

I've always thought that murlocs have an odd cuteness to them (despite that crazy grrlrgglglg!!  noise they make - actually, maybe because of it!). But on the cuteness scale, nothing compares to murloc babies. As I headed back to Borean Tundra after questing through Zul'Drak and still not dinging level 77, I joined the ranks of those of us who have learned just how adorable these little creatures are. It all starts when King Mrgl-Mrgl sends you on a mission (what I would argue to be one of the cutest quests I've experienced yet in game) to rescue 20 Winterfin Tadpoles that have been encaged by the evil (or perhaps just misunderstood) Makrura Claximus (seriously, who would ever want to mistreat these little buggers?) Conveniently, while doing this quest, you also can complete Them!, a quest in which Brglmurgl (love these onomatopoeia names) asks you to kill 15 of the murloc savages. As you ravage through the encampment and open up cage after cage, you'll amass an army of murloc babies running behind you and gurgling the occasional "mama!" Later, you face off with Claximus himself after disguising yourself in a murloc costume (complete with a white flag) and parading right past his minions. I would consider the borrowed murloc suit to be another high point of the zone (if you look close enough, you can even see little heart boxer shorts peeking through the zipper opening in the back). Anyone else find it hard to believe that such a costume would fool anyone, much less another murloc? Perhaps they're not the smartest humanoids around. I seriously debated not turning that quest in so I could keep the costume. But alas, you can only wear it while in Winterfin Village  (another option - go back in time and attend Blizzcon 2007 so I can get a similar version of the suit!). I obliged and turned the damn thing in. But not before getting in a little /dance action in costume. I don't know about you guys, but all these quests have got me really wanting a RL murloc. Yes, I know they are humanoids in-game, but I can't help but think they would make for a fun pet, if you could train one to maintain its baby sweetness. I suppose I'll have to settle with Grunty, or maybe a murloc plushy -- if I can ever manage to find one that's not sold out. What are your feelings on the murloc race? Love them? Hate them? Want to eat them? I've seen some people argue in the past that murlocs should be made into a playable race in the next expansion. But I'd be content to just have one as a lovable companion!

Click to read more ...

One of the coolest things of vanilla WoW was the release of the first Old God's lair, Ahn'Qiraj.  Blizzard made a huge deal of the event, going so far as to completely re-design an original zone (it was basically unused at release).  The developers added lore, additional factions for rep grinds, more lore, not one, but two raids, and the most epic questline/launching event in the game.  The line was completable by only the most dedicated of players, only with the support of the most skilled guilds.  And if you think your Achievements mean something, try being one of a handful of people (usually only one or two) on the server with the Scarab Lord title and the super-duper incredibly rare, don't even bother asking where they got it if you don't know, Black Scarab Battletank. It's quite hard to describe exactly how crazy The Gates of Ahn'Qiraj were, but I will try anyways.  The opening of the Isle of Quel'Danas was a nerfed version of The War Effort.  In it the Horde and the Alliance had to turn in separate supplies to their capital cities.  The requirements covered everything, various fish, cloths, herbs, food, metal bars, animal hides, etc.  If it was a collectible, often profession-based, several thousand of them were required for the war effort.  Tens of thousands of gold "wasted." Unlike the Isle's opening events, the event would not progress on a timer either.  If the denizens of the server didn't contribute, then the content didn't become available.  On Magtheridon (US) the largest Alliance and Horde guilds set up trading posts in the neutral auction house to quicken the pace.  To foster additional faction support, the guild I was a part of offered free BWL and MC (best available at the time) loot to those that sent us items to hand in.  It was a massive undertaking, far more than the Isle of Quel'Dans times four, and as far reaching as the infamous zombie invasion of Wrath of the Lich King. When my guild decided to patch up our problems by running some old world content I pointed them in the direction of Ahn'Qiraj.  They bit without a second thought.  Most of the guild members wanted to run it for the achievements, which was fine by me since SolidSamm didn't have any C'Thun gear (anymore) to be retroactively awarded, but I suggested it mainly for the memories.  The Gate opening was the first, and only, time that I woke up at 6:00 AM for a video game.  AQ40 was what made me a min-maxer, it's when I first tried to compete with other members.  The raid made me a hardcore player, rather than a member of a hardcore guild.  I finally began to pull my weight, rather than being pulled. To say I was excited to run across those sands again would be an understatement.  With only one other raid member (of 10-13) having been to AQ40 before, I felt like a tour guide.  Myself and my GM, who cleared most of AQ40 back in the day, touched upon the lore as we tore though AQ20, answering questions, elaborating on how hard this boss was, or how you could graveyard zerg General Rajaxx.  After downing Ossirian we headed off to AQ40 which, thanks to Naxxramas moving, is still the most difficult level 60 raid in the game. Off the bat we received not one, but two Red Crystals, both of which I lost.  I also noticed a few changes, namely the uselessness of said crystals, now that all mounts are usable in the Temple, and a severe reduction in the amount of trash.  Certainly didn't expect them to edit another old world instance. We continued on with Solidsamm pretending to be a capable tank as we progressed to the Twin Emperors largely unfazed.  Although we touched upon the boss strategies for every encounter, more to reminisce and inform rather than being worried, this was to be the only discussion that mattered.  And matter it did. To summarize the battle, the Twin Emps will heal each other if they are within 60 yards, so they must be tanked on opposite sides of the room.  Easy right?  Complicating things a little is the fact that one is immune to physical, and the other magical damage, so a caster tank must be employed.  Oh, and there are bugs in the room that become mutated and must be killed, but they are trivial at level 80 (not everyone was 80), as should the entire encounter.  It wasn't. It turns out that the guildies and PUGs we brought couldn't follow simple directions.  People ran around like headless chickens on every single transfer, which allowed the Emperors to constantly heal each other.  After struggling with the 100% mobs for a few minutes I gave up DPSing in protest.  A few wipes later and it was over, I sad my goodbye, thanks and ran for the hills.  Without the Achievement. I'll be going back to poke C'Thun's eye at some point, but perhaps ProjectLore needs to create an AQ40 video so my pampered guildmates can visually see how the tanking is supposed to occur to show the old content to new players.  We tried the IBM approach, piling on more raids members, but that only added to the headless chicken effect.  I don't regret the repair bill or the time spent.  It was a wonderful experience to express my useless knowledge, pretend to tank and just relax during a raid.  I believe the guildies who attended would agree. Has your guild ever ran old content for soothing purposes?  How about just to check out the old school content, to see what you missed?  I think we all could use some more fun runs in this serious business. Quote of the night:  "How did you guys ever do this with 40 people?"

Click to read more ...

Dorkins continues his adventures with Juggy at Onslaught Harbor. This time he's flying high and makin gryphon riders die. Find out how in this episode of Project Lore.

Click to read more ...

It's easy to become insulated when you write for a subject-specific site like Project Lore, surrounded by like-minded colleagues and readers whose clear interest in the topics at hand is evidenced through repeated page views and lengthy comment sections. But I have, and still do, inhabit other realms of the internet, many of which I've been a part of since long before wetting my feet in the World of Warcraft. There, a fan like myself comes under fire from care-bear-hating MMO elitists and console proselytizers, and that's just the gaming forums! I couldn't imagine, for a second, what undying vitriol might be slung my way in more "public" spheres. The same old arguments await me at every turn, variations on "who in their right mind would pay 15 bucks a month for this crap?" or "it's all just one big grind!" What's even more defeating is when the hate comes from lapsed players who chime in only to pat themselves on the back for leaving the game some months ago, as if they'd just successfully completed a marathon run of treatment at the Betty Ford Clinic. Even knowing that there are at least 11 million other people out there just like me, it's hard not to let the scathing commentary get you down sometimes. What are we WoW fanatics to do? How do we counter? Do we sag our shoulders and willfully take our lumps, or do we fight back? Well, scratch that last part. Fighting back on the interwebs will only invite more catcalls and mocking derision like "Warcraft is serious business lawl!" No, that may not be an amicable solution, but you can take solace in the following: Life, like Warcraft, is a grind. We all do it. We all go through the motions, day in and day out. "Grinding" is an integral, and inseperable, part of our working lives. Allow me to indulge in a couple of generic scenarios here:

You drive to your job in the morning, bleary-eyed and sipping coffee while trying not to get run over on the freeway. Eventually, you arrive at work, and are given a set number of rote tasks to complete that day. You've done them all a thousand times before, but hey, you're earning money right? Chances are you're working with a team, and you have to coordinate with them to get these things done. Once in awhile, you might have to go to a meeting or be given a new, interesting project to work on. At the end of the day, you hope that all of your efforts might someday result in a raise, promotion, or even just a nice pat on the back. The money you've earned is spent on living expenses, and if you have some leftover, you might be able to afford that new TV you've always wanted.

Now, take a look at this:

You get on your computer, bleary-eyed and slamming your energy drink of choice while trying to avoid the ire of your significant other. Eventually, you log into WoW and figure you might as well get your dailies out of the way. You've done them all a thousand times before, but hey, you're earning gold right? Chances are you're in a guild, and you might be doing some raiding tonight. Maybe you'll clear through to a new encounter or try some fresh content. At the end of the day, you hope that all your efforts might result in some tier gear, sweet epics, or even just a few DKP. The gold you've earned is spent on repair bills from all those wipes, but if you have some left over, maybe you can actually afford to enchant your equipment or purchase that bear mount you've always wanted.

By no means are these scenarios exemplary of every person or player, but I do think that there are common experiences shared between them. But if playing Warcraft (or, really, any other video game, MMO or not) is, at its basic level, so much like our daily lives, why do we find it to be so much fun? Isn't it meant to be escapism? I'd like to quote the wonderful popular science author Steven Johnson from his book Everything Bad Is Good For You:

The dirty little secret of gaming is how much time you spend not having fun... if this is mindless escapism, it's a strangely masochistic version. Who wants to escape to a world that irritates you 90 percent of the time?

This took me aback when I first read it several years ago. I've been playing video games for most of my 25 years, but not until then did I realize that playing it truly amounted to so much work. He also provides an anecdote, which is too long to reproduce here, but can be summed up as an account of a construction worker who willingly spent months in the virtual world of Ultima Online leveling up his blacksmithing (and selling the produced wares), just so he could afford a better in-game house. I can hear cries of "madness!" and "waste of money!" coming from the far reaches of the internet now. But you and I, WoW players, do the very same thing every day (and the rest of the world does, too, whether they care to admit it or not). We parade our avatars around Azeroth, spending unquantifiable amounts of time doing the most seemingly mundane activities for the simple chance to make them look cooler. And why? The easy, and inevitable answer is: to increase the size of our e-penis. That construction worker, when asked the same question, replied with, "Well, it's not work if you enjoy it." A long, perhaps more satisfying answer, is given by Johnson himself. He goes on for quite awhile talking about dopamine and the reward center of the brain, an explanation that seems to ring true. Critics will cry that it's just further justification for MMOs being nothing more than an addictive drug, but that would be willfully ignoring that dopamine can produce positive reinforcement and applies to the "good feeling" that comes from accomplishing any task. What video games do, in a sense, is give us a shortcut to the rewards we desire. The satisfaction of killing Arthas, just like earning a promotion at work, may yet be a long way off, but at least in WoW we're treated to plenty of smaller pleasures along the way: completing a quest, a new piece of gear, an honor kill in PvP, downing a boss. Each and every turn we take in the game is a chance to earn a new reward. MMOs, in particular, promise a potentially limitless or expanding number of rewards, unlike your typical console game, which often has a concrete endpoint. We discuss Blizzard's development philosophy a lot here on Project Lore. From all of the changes we've seen to leveling and bosses, gear acquisition and the like, it's clear that they've been paying attention. Sure, those of us who've been playing the game longer will continue to balk at newbies getting a free pass on parts of the game we had to slog through, but that's a feeling that comes from latent jealousy. If we'd been afforded the same conveniences from the get-go, we'd heartily lap it up, wouldn't we? Rewards are wonderful, and they make us feel good, but I'd like to add some insight of my own: despite our frustrations, and despite lashing out at the developers, many of us enjoy grinding on some level because it is work. We play WoW because its underlying structure is intimately familiar to us, and that familiarity is comforting. But there's another wrinkle: it's work on our own terms. Normally a slave to the greater aspects of life that plague us all, World of Warcraft gives us the opportunity to have some control over what we do and where we go; what tasks to complete, in what order to complete them, and the ability to stop when you feel like you've accomplished enough. Of course, all of this rests on top of the basic fact that it is escapism. We can travel in different circles, and talk to different people, and engage in a world that is different from own in just as many ways as it is similar. To work is to grind, and to grind is to play. Next time an internet bully gives you a hard time about playing WoW, tell them to stick that in their craw and chew on it (or maybe it can just be our little secret!). As usual, thoughts or opinions are very much welcome. If you've made it this far, I'd like to think you have something to say on the subject, so please chime in and post in the comment section below!

Click to read more ...

A while back I told you all about the jump into multi-boxing which I've been observing second-hand through my husband's toons. He's been leveling up two hunters through recruit-a-friend: one on his usual account and another on the new account. I helped out a bit in the beginning, then we both cut back on the adventure for a bit. Now that the end of the three-month window of triple xp is coming up, he started the push again and got both hunters both up to level 60. In the process, he racked up 30 levels to grant to another character on his main account. Here's where the fun begins. We decided to team up to act out a bit of the spectacle that can be garnered from level-granting. So I logged on to his level 30 paladin, Horadric, on his main account. And he logged on to the newly level 60 hunter, Officetemp. We met up in Orgrimmar, just in front of the bank and mailbox where there's usually a pretty decent crowd. It started off innocently enough. Officetemp /waved. Horadric /bowed. He said, "Let's see how this works." And so it began. DING! Flash of light, woosh of sound. Officetemp: "Grats!" Horadric: "Thanks!" Not many paid much attention. On with the show. DING! DING! DING! DING! DING! DING! DING! DING! DING! [Horadric] has earned the achievement [Level 40]! Now, a crowd was starting to gather. Chatter began. Some questioned WTH was going on. Some laughed. Some congratulated. Some cheered. Others asked how many levels more would be granted. Oh, the attention. Officetemp: "Hang on, I think I still have some more." DING! DING! DING! DING! DING! DING! DING! DING! DING! DING! [Horadric] has earned the achievement [Level 50]! Now, spectators started speculating about how many more levels would be granted. Would he go all the way to 60 - the cap for level granting? DING! DING! DING! DING! DING! Horadric: "Getting close!" DING! Level 56. DING! Level 57. DING! Level 58. DING! Level 59. ..... Horadric: /bow. Officetemp: ...(silence) The crowd didn't like the suspense. Speech bubbles started popping up as some predicted that Horadric wouldn't get all the way to 60. Some seemed disappointed. Some even complained on Horadric's behalf at the cruelty to leave him hanging at level 59. Officetemp, an orc, finally speaks. And it's not pretty: "You have to work for this one. Dance, you filthy blood elf, DANCE!" Horadric, not one to be discouraged: /dance. The Napolean Dynamite-inspired number ensues. Some of the crowd seems to think this isn't good enough. "Get naked!" someone yells. A couple of spectators derobe and start getting jiggy with Horadric as he strips down, one piece of armor at a time. Toons hollar and whistle at the scene, and Horadric continues with the spectacle. Finally, Officetemp is satisfied. DING! [Horadric] has earned the achievement [Level 60]! The crowd cheers, jumps around, continues to dance, offers congratulations -- and those who guessed that Horadric would go all the way to 60 gloat in their victory. Horadric: /kisses Officetemp. The spectacle has ended, but a full-on party has started in the process. And nearly-naked toons continue to dance the night away. Officetemp logged off, and I handed the reigns to Horadric back over. It was a fun experiment in attention whoring. I was utterly satisfied that some simple role-playing combined with the awesomeness of level granting had made for a fun experience for all. The social aspect and interacting with a group of toons also was a great time. I thirst for more! Now I'm curious about what similar experiences everyone else has had? Have you had an opportunity to create a spectacle in front of a group? If so, what are some of your favorite ways to gather a crowd? Do you like joining in on group parties, or would you rather do your own thing and leave the attention-seekers to themselves?

Click to read more ...

I don't know about you guys but even though I am a far cry from the hardcore raiding base, I still live through them vicariously.  I follow the MMO-Champion's Hall of Fame, I check up on all the "top guild" websites here and there, and I even report about the major events in the top echelon of raiding.  Instead of freaking out over the conditions surrounding the King of Pop's death this weekend, I was busy reading into the death of an Old God.  None other then Yogg-Saron+0, the last undefeated Ulduar encounter, bit the dust a few days ago.  Like Jackson, as soon as The Beast with a Thousand Maws uttered his last whisper claims of a mysterious death were uttered. Turns out that the cries of shenanigans against Exodus were just, as the guild openly admits to using a newly discovered, by them, exploit after getting banned from the game.  The banhammer notice, details of the exploit and trash talking are all included in the guild's official statement.

In our many attempts at trying to figure out a way to defeat Yogg zero watcher, we found a way to use bugged game mechanics to make phase 3 easier in zero watcher then one watcher. The bug is when someone is left inside the brain room of Yogg-Saron, they can still get aggro on the adds that spawn in phase 3. That means if you have someone getting healing aggro in the brain room, they will get aggro on the adds, which cause them to evade in place and allows for all of your raids dps to be focused on Yogg. We discovered this mechanic on a wipe, and decided to see if we could actually get it to work. The first attempt after that wipe, we realized it worked, and went with it and killed it on that attempt. We also filed a formal bug report on Blizzard's website.

Blizzard's EULA clearly states that using an exploit to gain an unfair advantage is against the rules.  Exodus doesn't deny that they exploited, or complain about the temporary ban, at least not directly.  Nope, Exodus cries foul of favoritism by Blizzard amongst the hardcore raiding guilds.  The team alleges that Ensidia and Nihilum have used "clever game mechanics" before, even citing a few Ulduar examples, but haven't been meet by the same backlash from other hardcore guilds, or, and more importantly, Blizzard.  At the moment the team is riding out a 72 hour ban and it makes me wonder who at Blizzard makes these decisions.  It's obvious that the issues are handled case by case, so does that mean there is a higher up who oversees the GMs?  Or is it at the discretion of a server's lead GM?  Any readers have that much insight? The guild mud slinging really brings me back though.  In the vanilla days of World of Warcraft, whenever a new first kill was announced on Magtheridon (US) everyone would respond that "Feared killed Onyxia first."  The quip was due to a long standing debate between who killed the dastardly dragon first, Horde or Alliance.  I don't see it anymore so it must have died during The Burning Crusade's heyday, as that is when the old guild disappeared. Slap on the wrist and name calling aside, claiming that you have the right to exploit because the fight is unbeatable is an incredibly lame justification.  In case you are wondering, the exploit has already been hotfixed. What's more interesting to you, the temp ban or the possibility of unequal treatment?

Click to read more ...

As more and more information comes out of the PTR, its pretty hard to not pay attention to it. I am personally getting pumped for all the great new content Blizzard is getting ready for us. As I'm pretty sure most of you have noticed, the new loot we will be able to earn is amazing. Tons of great drops, crafted gear, and most importantly the new tier pieces. While it all exciting, with 3.2 seeming near it makes me wonder if it all is coming a bit soon. I know this may sound a bit odd coming from the guy who complained about how long we were stuck in Naxx, but I don't think we have had enough time in Ulduar. Most of my shiny new T8 epics still have that new car smell, and there is plenty of hard-mode loot I haven't even had a chance to farm. Perhaps I am just concerned that the new loot showing up on the PTR is a bit too good. With all of this new stuff available I will see little reason to go back to Ulduar. This would be a shame because I think Ulduar is an amazing instance! Blizzard managed to create a challenging instance that is full of story and has tons of replayability with the hard modes. I am not ready to leave! While I'm sure people will still be running it, finding motivated groups will be difficult with all of the best stuff somewhere else. At the very least it would be nice to still make the hard mode loot relevant. Yes, I know there will still be best-in-slot items sprinkled around in old content, but by and large we are progressing past it. While I feel most people have had a fair shot at Ulduar itself, I know many people want time to go deeper and try those hard modes. Of course you can never make everyone happy, people progress at different paces, so while some are farming Algalon, many are still in Naxx. None the less for me, this seems fast. How do you guys feel about it? Want more time, or are you ready for something new already?

Click to read more ...

World of Warcraft may not be a difficult game by any means, but that doesn't mean the MMORPG is easy.  Yes, I know that gear is collected as time is spent, money is acquired by repetitive quests, and some classes can be setup in a fashion to allow good ole button mashing victories, but that is the not difficult part.  The difficult part is managing the 'massive' feature of the game.  I of course mean the very element that's supposed to make MMORPGs so grand, the people.  Lots of them. There is a reason that managers get paid so much in the fleshy world.  People are difficult to control.  We all have brains (mmm) and each of us works best under different conditions, at different times and with varying degrees of dedication.  Take just those few details, mix in the anonymity of the Internet, and you have yourself one difficult situation to handle.  The re-grouped Warriors of Faith were handling it, and well, well until it happened, the GM got married! Before his wife reads this over his shoulder and wrings my neck through the tubes let me clarify.  The troubles had nothing to do with him getting married, just the simple fact that he was gone for two weeks.  His absence, and another main raid leader, lead to nothing for fourteen days.  Simply nothing happened, no raids, no heroic Wednesdays (those have been dead for awhile), nothing of interest.  Even in a casual guild that will lead to complaints and gquits .  And so it did.  In the week following their return, one that was marred by sloppy raiding, where it was had at all, we lost core members to transfers,unsubscribing and basic gquits. I wholeheartedly blame Canada Summer, but my GM is far to dedicated to brush off the guild's struggles on Mother Nature and human impulses.  With himself and others reaching the point of burnout he took the time to lay out the issues, and then put out a call to the members for creative solutions to our problems.  Here's what I have suggested to the leaders and other members:

• With over 200 members, let whoever wants to leave go.
• Although we are casual, trim the roster down to at least active players who login.  Personally, I believe it looks bad to have that many members, even if they are alts, and not be able to fill a 10-man.
• Get rid of members the higher-ups dislike.  Sorry, but if you dislike them, their very presence will add to burnout.
• Have members fill in the open spots in the roster with friends, alts, or other players that they know well.  Even if other players aren't willing to join the guild, drop them a line so they know that WoF is in need of some PUGs.
• Re-roll your main.  I am hard at work on leveling my priest so I can fill in the healing hole left by two members.  Although I love and enjoy my rogue, I enjoy raiding much more than not raiding.
• Go back to 10-man raiding, two nights a week.  Cutting back to 10-man should ensure that the raid is filled.  Slashing to two nights a week, say one night progression, one night farming, will give members a concrete schedule and reduce burnout.  If they want to do more, see point one.

Unfortunately not many people will go to these extreme measures.  In my humble opinion, that is all Blizzard's fault.  Unless you are already friends, there is simply no reason to stay in a guild these days, and there was little to begin with.  Blizzard desperately needs to add some sort of guild progression - larger bank, expanded tabard creation options, guild summoning, discounts with vendors for repairs and consumables.  Something. Any other suggestions?  Has summer ruined your raiding or guild yet?  Here's to hoping that Call of the Crusade gets WoF back in action.  Either way, I am in it for the long haul. These issues, headaches and ulcers are the exact reasons I would never want to be a GM again.  For the GMs out there, you never get enough praise for all the hardwork, time and effort that you do.  Allow me to just say "Thank you" to all those dedicated GMs out there.

Click to read more ...