Project Lore

Last week my planned piece was interrupted by news of the awesome Heirloom Items.  The article was almost further delayed by International Talk Like A Pirate Day, but Juggynaut handled that topic.  So without further delay is my first Designing A Dungeon post. The goal of these posts is to try to come up with creative dungeon ideas, from a gameplay stand point.  Feel free to link in any boss fight designs, lore, art aspects or things of that nature, I will simply be speaking from a overview gameplay standpoint.  That also means that these dungeon ideas won't be concerned with petty details like “guild ruining”, just creative semi-original designs.  If you have encountered a dungeon like the one I am talking about in another game (or perhaps the Wrath of the Lich King beta), by all means mention it!

PvP Racing Raid

I thought of this dungeon shortly after Blackwing Lair was released and yet it still has not been implemented anywhere I know of.  Players who dislike blending of PvE and PvP probably won't be a big fan of this design but I think it sounds like a lot of fun. The idea is to have a short, linear, indoor, raid instance.  For the sake of the instance's longevity it should be created to be the hardest instance in the game for sometime.  Therefore, it would have to be a launch instance or part of a large content patch. After downing the “end boss” players will be able to open a gate into a giant PvP Arena - think the Coliseum - to fight an outdoor raid boss.  Here's the catch, the outdoor boss is outside the instance and actually an outdoor boss.  This encounter would naturally have a loot table that is a bit better than the instance and the boss should have a very large model. The design basically forces raids to race to finish the instance as fast as possible so they can get to the outdoor boss.  The encounter with the outdoor boss would be designed to take a fair amount of time to complete.  This would promote the epic struggle of two or more raids going after the same boss, while having to deal with each other.  That kind of battle is the ultimate goal of the design. The racing would definitely be an aspect that only very hardcore guilds would concern themselves with but I believe the hardcore deserve a little more “exclusive” content.

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The first major raid instance to be added to World of Warcraft is getting modified once again. The encounter with Onyxia will not be changed but the process to get to her will. Blizzard Poster Valnoth updated the community via the beta forums that the attunement requirements for Onyxia's Lair will finally be lifted. Valnoth failed to mention when the change would go live – patch 3.0.2 or Wrath's launch – but did give us a good reason for the change. The modification has been made due to lore presented in Wrath that will see the return of King Wyrnn to Stormwind. With Onyxia's, Black Temple's and Karazhan's attunement processes removed, the next two oldest raid instances take over as the most annoying. Once the change is made, Blackwing Lair and Molten Core will have the longest attunement processes in the game (although longer ones may be added later). It should be noted that this is actually a temporary change. Blizzard plans on reinstating Onyxia's attunement process by adjusting the questline to fit with the Wrath timeline. However, those changes will not be made in time for Wrath's launch. I have been doing Onyxia on and off for a few months in an attempt to get all my main characters an assortment of cheap 18 slot bags. But the removal of the attunement process will allow a few more of my characters to get the bags without going through that incredibly long process. If anyone else out there needs some 18 slot bags on the cheap that isn't already attuned, make sure you start grinding them during this window of opportunity. My question to you is, do you think she will Deep Breath more after the change?

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A few weeks ago WoW Insider did an article on a pair of users hooking up their treadmills to World of Warcraft.  Yesterday they added to that piece with numerous stories from their readers about how they work out during their WoW playtime.  Apparently a lot of players do the treadmill/walking thing while strolling around Azeroth with some losing 10, 20 even 100 pounds! The stories got me thinking.  What the hell do I do when I play WoW?  Growing up in the age of multi-tasking causes me to get bored with one thing quickly.  Some would call that ADHD but I just consider it being efficient! Most of these things I do while just messing around in World of Warcraft or during downtime.  However, there are many that I have done while raiding, for better or worse.  Some of my more common WoW sidebars are:

• Browsing the web/checking e-mail/WoWHead etc (dual screen ftw).
• Writing/researching articles for my various websites.
• Drinking/eating.
• Working at my day job.
• Playing other games – I played Paper Mario (N64) start to finish during Molten Core downtime.
• Playing with my ferrets.
• Watch TV, movies and sports (especially the NFL).
• mIRCing.

I have never done any exercise to speak of while actually playing WoW.  Unlike the people mentioned in the WoW Insider stories, I usually do mine while waiting for something in WoW.  Case in point, I bought a few dozen stacks of neatherweave cloth to transmute into bandages.  I spent the time it take to make 400 bandages jumping rope and doing push-ups.  I think I managed one push-up... The most fun I ever had with one of these distractions was playing WoW at a party.  And I don't really mean a LAN party, I mean a party with tons of drinking, stupidity and breaking of things.  At this party a few friends and I (okay so we did have some computers hooked up, it was a Guild party after all) managed to raid Molten Core and Onyxia.  What made it fun is that we all switched classes, playing different accounts - after they logged us in of course.  Coincidently, we ended up playing classes we had never raided with before.  We had also been drinking and were distracted by everyone else around.  Hilarity and newfound respect for each other ensued. What do you guys do outside of WoW to kill the downtime?

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Yesterday, we were one of the first to announce the official release date for Wrath of the Lich King.  The faithful day is just over two months from now, since this month is actually September.  A few hours after the announcement, Blizzard updated their page with the addition of the expected Collector's Edition of Wrath of the Lich King. Here are the goodies included in the Collector's Edition for those who may have missed the announcement:

• A 208 page book entitled The Art of World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King chock full of never-before-seen images.
• An exclusive non-combat baby frosty wyrm.  (This also unlocks an achievement)
• Behind-the-scenes DVD featuring developer interviews, the Wrath of the Lich King cinematic with commentary, and more.
• The official 21 track soundtrack CD.
• A Northrend mousepad.
• Two WoW TCG March of the Legion starters decks and two exclusive cards only available via the Collector's Edition.

The normal edition of Wrath is coming in at a $39.99 price point while the Collector's Edition is receiving a steep 75% market up to $69.99. The Collector's Edition of the second expansion is now equal in price to many full titles.  At first I was pretty upset at this.  For me the last two items are basically worthless perks.  The soundtrack and DVD are more of a one shot deal, as the information in the DVD probably isn't worth seeing a second time.  I addressed my appreciation for Blizzard's game music previously, and my opinion stands. In the end this means that I would simply be paying $30 for the art book and the non-combat pet.  I am not sure of the sell rate of collector's editions but if Blizzard manages to sell WotLK CE to even 5% of its subscription base then the “rare” pet is actually owned by over 500,000 other players.  Not that exclusive. But honestly, who am I kidding?  Of course I am going to get the Collector's Edition.  It isn't like any sort of whining would get Blizzard to change their mind anyways, it's to close to release for them to change production. That being said here is some items I would appreciate far more:

• Allowing purchasers to download and install the title ahead of time – think Steam's pre-loading service.
• Small action figures of the universe's main characters.
• An exclusive item other than a non-combat pet.  A spiffy cloth map that I could frame in my "nerd room" would be awesome.
• An invitation to a future Blizzard title's beta phase.
• A collectible t-shirt in sizes other than XXXL.

With the exception of the t-shirt item, all of these are fairly straight forward additions.  Allowing pre-loading would be the most exciting feature for me.  Heck, that way you can order the item online, sans tax and possibly shipping, and still start at launch.  That ability and the art book alone would have me paying the mark up and viewing the rest as just gravy. So are you as big a sucker as I am?

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A few things happened this weekend that have me worried about my PvE excursions for the week. As you can see by our chilly site, Blizzard Entertainment has officially announced Wrath of the Lich King's release date. Wrath is officially set to launch November 13, just shy of two months from now. Why does the launch of the second expansion have me worried? Simple. With a new expansion coming so soon, many players will go into a coma of sorts. Most will simply cut back on their playtime.   Perhaps in a squirrel like effort to store it up for Wrath's inevitable push to level 80. Then there are the players who will no longer see a point in putting the time in, when any activity they pursue will change drastically in a months time. Especially when the change will make all those efforts fruitless. Many guilds will take a break from their normal schedules and perform some house cleaning as they wait for the new content. The launch of patch 3.0.2 – which hit the PTR this weekend as well – will keep many people interested but I doubt my guild will be performing any Karazhan badge runs again. That is one half of the battle though.  So what was the other thing that has me worried about my PvE plans? Well, a little game called Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning has gone live. The game isn't actually out until September 18th but Mythic Entertainment and Electronic Arts have a head start program if you pre-order the title. If you ordered the Collector's Edition, one of the bonuses is getting the server to yourself for two days.   That started on Sunday morning.  Then the people who pre-ordered the normal edition join you for two days before the game launches to everyone. I know many of my guild mates are interested in WAR, so if they aren't put off by the closeness of Wrath then they may head there to check out the title. Blizzard's recent timing of various announcements - a new round of beta keys, PTR character copying enabled and official release date – are an obvious diversion tactic from WAR as well. Thinking about it further I am not worried about raiding anymore.  Now I am just hoping my main's guild still exists two months from now.

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I already had a nice blog entry written for today but something was announced yesterday that all of you should definitely know about. Well, a few things were announced but Juggynaut already covered the PvE to PvP Paid Transfer news. I am against it, that is my two cents. In lieu of starting a new column this Friday I just had to talk about the so called 'Bind on Account' items, more properly known as Heirloom items. This new development is ripe with awesomeness, even if it is mainly for the alting people out there. Details on the Heirloom or 'Bind to Account' items:

• Purchasable via dungeon tokens (similar to Badges of Justice)
• Can be transferred to characters on your account (ie cannot be traded)
• Only transferable to characters on the same realm
• Items scale with level (see inset picture)
• Scaling will make the item equivalent to a blue item of the characters level
• Heirloom armor will transform based on the character who wears it. Therefore, a level 80 plate piece can be worn by a level 1-39 character who wears mail, but gains the ability to wear plate at level 40.

Future changes:

• Additional Heirloom items aimed at high level alts to come in the future
• Additional ways to earn heirloom items

Best of all this information has been confirmed by Tigole and Verimonde! They even confirm that the goals of the items are to get people to play other classes and support people that love to play alts. Hardcore or casual, I would think that both camps would approve of this move. Don't worry, that blog entry that was bumped for this should return next Friday.

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Oh sweet jumping Jesus.  Patch 3.0.2 is apparently creeping up on us sooner than I expected.  Blizzard Poster Zarhym announces that the bridging patch is going to be a large one.  Not that we expected anything less, considering the size of the pre-TBC “Before the Storm” patch.  I already touched on some changes that were announced when the patch was first revealed but the news of the impending download calls for an update. For starters, Zarhym warns us that this patch will be big.  So big that the flying skull wants all users to activate their Background Downloader to prepare to download the data that has been finalized.  It is also mentioned that the downloader should be downloading faster in general now.  Seems that they tweaked their torrent system a bit. The process should be enabled shortly. Even though we received the warning, Blizzard has still not added any patch notes to their site.  It's likely we will see some patch notes this week to elaborate on all the known changes. We also have some anecdotal evidence to hint at how soon the patch may be coming.  First off, the PTR forums have been wiped, which usually occurs before a patch heads to them.  I should mention that much of the new stuff has been tested on the beta realms extensively, meaning a PTR session could theoretically be skipped.  Secondly, the Launcher is now displaying a Wrath of the Lich King splashscreen.  Nothing groundbreaking or concrete, but evidence nonetheless. Here is some of the stuff we already know is coming with the new patch:

• Massive alterations to the way raid buffs/debuffs work
• A built in Guild Calendar
• New class spells and talents
• Stormwind Harbor
• Barbershops
• Two new Arenas
• Inscription profession
• Hunter pet changes and additions
• Zul'Aman bears no longer awarded

Get to work on those bear mounts guys.  I will be content with waiting for a Polar Bear though.

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Hardcore. Casual. Newb – however you spell it. These are all terms that are tossed around a lot in World of Warcraft. Our own glossary defines hardcore as the following, oh wait, we don't have a definition. We do have various incarnations of newb though, newb, newbie, noob. All the definitions are the same, a new player or a derogatory term to “suggest that a player is not very good”. I have never tended to agree with the classic definitions of hardcore and casual gamers though. Just because you spend a lot of time gaming does not make you hardcore in my mind. The flip side is true as well, only playing WoW five hours a week doesn't necessarily make you casual in my book. The labels should not be linked to the time spent on just the game but on the experience as a whole. I was hardcore in the traditional sense before The Burning Crusade hit the live servers. I would eat up any and all information on the game while spending more than a few hours a day in Azeroth. Like many hardcore raiders of vanilla WoW – including most of my guild – I drifted off into the sunset when TBC hit. No longer do I raid multiple times a week, or spend more than three hours in front of the screen commonly. But I still consider myself to be a hardcore player. Why do I consider myself hardcore if I only play the game for a few hours ever other day? Because I still dedicate myself to the experience. I have created long standing goals for the game, I spend massive amounts of time reading the background lore, staying up on the latest happenings in Wrath or the PvP scene.  Oh, and I also write about it.  WoW isn't simply a game for me, or the other hardcore players out there. It is THE game. So if the hardcore make it a part of their life, what would casual be then. Casual players to me are the ones who are in it for the short term gains. Mainly, these are the players who just hop on to kill time or chat with friends. They never bothered with the quest text, they don't knit pick over who the first Death Knight really is, they just play the game for something enjoyable to do. Of course, there is no 'a square is a rectangle but a rectangle is not a square' restriction. A player from the casual group can become hardcore at any time and a hardcore player can become casual just as easily. It is all a matter of how serious you take the game, in my opinion.

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The yearly celebration of all our fallen heroes is upon us! That is right folks, the Harvest Festival started yesterday and will run through Saturday. The Harvest Festival isn't as exciting as some of the other seasonal events, like the Midsummer Fire Festival or Children's Week, but it is worth checking out if you haven't been apart of it previously. I will be bringing my new level 30 character over to Ironforge to crash the festivities and grab some of that free food and drink. After having my fill, my buddy and I will be making our trek out to Western Plaguelands and honoring the first Paladin of the Knights of the Silver Hand, Uther Lightbringer. The quest is an easy one – and worth a lot of XP – but Uther is quite possibly the most deserving of the recognition since it was Arthas, the first Death Knight, that felled him. For the hordies out there, you guys need to head to Ogrimmar for your side of the festival. Your champion is a more complicated individual than the pure of heart Lightbringer. Grommash Hellscream, best friend of Warchief Thrall and drinker of Mannoroth's blood is the target of horde affection. By drinking the blood of the demon, Hellscream aligned the horde with the Burning Legion.  In the end he redeemed himself, but paid the ultimate price to break the curse and free his people. If you wish to lean more about the fallen heroes head over to the Uther Lightbringer or Grom Hellscream WoWWiki pages. Grom is also a feature in two of the Warcraft novels, Warcraft: Lord of the Clans and Rise of the Horde, both by Christie Golden. Uther has not had such treatment.

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Love it or hate it, the Refer-a-Friend promotion seems to have been a big hit for Blizzard.  I have numerous acquaintances that have either signed up, signed up a friend or signed up themselves.  Surely, they must be getting very close to the 11 million mark with the new marketing scheme?  The benefits – mainly the 300% experience gain, including quest XP – are so high that it made my close friend resubscribe just to level a Hunter for the first time.  Seriously, he had no reason other than “it'll be easy.” Seeing as I was his only remaining friend who still plays World of Warcraft on a regular basis, we decided to link our accounts.  The free month will certainly be worth it so I figured what the heck.  What harm can come of some saved money, and a new level 70 character?  Or two.  Lack of sleep, that's what. My friend came over yesterday to watch the football games and we started questing while the Eagles trounced the Rams.  Then the second game came on...and the third.  It was 3:00 AM and I had to wake up in three hours to get ready for work.  What the hell? How did I let this happen again?  The class may be new to me (never leveled a Priest all the way) but the game isn't.  Why did I get sucked in again? After thinking on it for awhile, I came up with a conclusion.  The reason I got sucked in so entirely was because of the grind.  With the new 300% XP bonus, I was burning through those first 30 levels so fast that the “I will just finish this level” mentality was able to remain viable for much longer than normal. At this rate I should have a level 70 character in under five days played.  That is being a little on the safe side since I am already level 30 with just about a day played.  For those looking to get another character to 70 for Wrath, I highly recommend finding a friend to play with.  Or just /follow on a second computer.  The time you save on leveling is likely worth the two-month subscription fee and purchase of the battlechest. You mount collectors will surely want the Zhevra.  It is meh for me though.

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