Project Lore

The Only Advantageous Aspect Of Being Short Is Ruined By Nameplates! After slightly redeeming myself in raiding last night - assuming you consider Vault of Archavon raiding - I was able to participate in my first Wintergrasp in a long time.  The battle was nothing special - Alliance fell apart and lost, shocking - but my main mode of defense made me realize something.  Why the hell are we able to see nameplates for the other faction? The ability to recognize the opposing side isn't new, and people, yours truly included, have been griping about it since day one.  Yet we can still locate baddies thanks to their nameplates.  I'm not complaining about being able to identify one troll rogue from another.  Or being able to learn someone's name that I am standing next to.  I am referring to one's ability to identify a target as hostile when the only identifying marker is the nameplate.  That means without it, I would be clueless as to who they are without further investigation. During my hold of a southern tower I completely abused the mechanic.  I sat at the top of the stairs, waiting for the nameplates to show up.  Show up they did, through the many layers of floors.  The markers popped up ages before the attached target was near the top level, so I simply went into stealth and waited.  I'm not sure if the unsuspecting horde were able to see me or not.  If my streak of kills is anything to go by, they had no idea that I had just committed first degree murder. There are numerous other cases where your nameplate can give you away (see screenshot), or outright get you killed.  I know it's a thing of small concern to those who don't bother PvPing, but Blizzard prides itself on the small details.  In my opinion, the nameplates should only come up when you're close enough to engage - say 40 yards - and have the person targeted.  That would tidy up some of the forms of abuse, such as the edge Solidsamm had, and still be informative. I'm sure the PvPers out there have some good stories on how they took liberties with the mechanic, so let's hear them.  Perhaps nameplates explain how some of the apparently random kills came to be?  What's your best explanation for the plates existing as they do?

Click to read more ...

An Unfriendly Paladin Shows Me My Place I've never been a big PvPer in World of Warcraft.  Sure, I've had my fair share of battleground victories - especially when they were first introduced - but I never took it seriously.  I never specced for it, I never bothered to know the best counters to this or that, I just didn't care.  It isn't that I think it's stupid, PvP just is not what draws me to WoW, and yet I rolled on a PvP server.  I made that call over four years ago without knowing if I would like the ability to camp players or not.  I don't regret the choice, I made the executive decision to keep my options open, just in case.  It may not be my favorite thing to do in Azeroth, but it has brought me hours of fun and hilarious stories. Case in point; Attacking a druid doing Threat From Above with my lance equipped.  Yeap, I totally had the advantage there.  The only reason I went after the Horde player who was attacking Chillmaw was because the humanoid cow stole my tap.  I wanted revenge for the slight against all of my people who are all too often overlooked.  Needless to say, I got nothing be a ghost screen thanks to my trusty Argent Lance.  Newbed it up there didn't I? We rogues are known for finishing off low health players before disappearing into the shadows or even more extreme, PvPing everything that moves, but that isn't me anymore.  Once upon a time I attacked the Horde with reckless abandon.  I'd roll in with half my health and start tearing into a mage, I'd sap one character only to take on two more, I was cocky.  Those were the days when I had the best gear available, the best daggers, the latest Tier of armor and the most disgusting trinkets a rogue could strive for.  This could have easily been a Fond Memories post, but it's not about the fun I used to have, but the difficulties I come across now. By no means is my toon in the position he used to be.  Solidsamm is still equipped with a few blues and even a green trinket (!) because he can't buy a good roll in heroics.  Seriously, I have tried to buy one.  With such awful gear the little Gnome is no longer the terror he once was.  Rather than being a cocky, fearless, burstDPSing machine, Solidsamm has "matured" into a "tactical master" who selects his battles carefully (read scaredy cat).  In essence, the vertically challenged rogue has been relegated to believing that he is seriously outgeared in most scenarios. Sure, there's a good chance that Solidsamm may go down because he's undergeared these days, but I still PvP when the opportunity arises.  Especially with the boredom that is now stemming from my insert-stupid-number-here consecutive days doing the Argent Tournament quests.  How do you roll inPvP?  Do you dive right in hoping for a heal here and there or do you selectively chose your battles?  Do you bother trying to figure out what gear the opposition has - a visual check - or do you expect to outskill them regardless?

Click to read more ...