Project Lore

We know Blizzard is developing a third expansion for World of Warcraft. We know they're developing Diablo III, Starcraft II, and a nameless next-gen MMO. As it turns out, they're also developing a fifth project that will use a completely new engine built from scratch. Silicon Alley Insider reported on a post on DIII.net as they discovered a few job listings filed under "Unannounced Project," which is a different category from the "Next-Gen MMO" that has been used for Blizzards upcoming unnamed MMO. A couple of days later, there was confirmation that the job listings were for a game that had previously not been mentioned:

The job openings mentioned in this newspost is indeed a brand-new game that has not been mentioned before. 1. This brand-new game is not a World of Warcraft expansion, and it is not related to the Next-Gen MMO. 2. In the present, the brand-new game is using the World of Warcraft engine merely for testing purposes. 3. The Client Software Engineer job opening is to hire the person that will have the responsibility to develop an engine from scratch for this game.  This new engine will be built depending on the skill and interest of the person hired for this position. Whether this game is based on the three major franchises (Warcraft, Starcraft or Diablo) or a new IP, that remains unknown.

Blizzard has expressed plenty of interest in starting a new franchise, so it wouldn't be too surprising to learn that this new project was completely unrelated to their other works. On the flip side, it would be interesting to see a new Warcraft-related game. What could it possibly be? What are your thoughts? Excited at the prospect of new Blizzard games every year? Nervous that Blizzard may be spreading itself too thin? Silicon Alley Insider sees it as a great new revenue stream for Activision. I just can't wait to see what else Blizzard has up its sleeve.

Click to read more ...

So some of you have finally earned your very first title. A large block of text above your head, that says, "Yes, I've completed enough of this game to be adorned with a wall of text." Titles have always kind of been a way to separate yourself from the masses and declare yourself better than someone else. It used to just be your PvP titles, "Of The Shattered Sun", or the occasional "Hand of A'dal" (the ever glowing pre-nerf beacon that said, "I don't enjoy sunlight"). Then all of the sudden, WotLK dropped and we got a metric crap ton of titles poured upon us. Ambassador, Chef, Salty, the Love Fool, the Seeker, and Elder are all titles that have been crammed into the new world we totally have come to love. The real question is, What are the best titles? Is Champion of the Frozen Wastes the best? Does the Seeker or Guardian of Cenarius mean that you are the baddest on your block? Maybe, However I will be giving you a 5 title primer. A primer that says, "If you have one of these titles, they garner respect, admiration... or will at least keep you from getting ganked." Lets be honest, That's all that matters right? If I have X title, it makes me E-Peen way bigger than yours. Nonetheless, on to the titles (in no particular order)!

• Arena Titles (Challenger/Duelist/Rival/Gladiator): This title is one that garners instant respect. Not one of the old world "Private" titles that could be gotten much easier. The simplest PVP title meant you had to be in the top 35% of the arenas in your team bracket to achieve it. It meant you slaved for hours in PvP, and you could pretty much gank at will. It means when you turn to tap a node, people really wouldn't want to attack you. You also only keep the title for the next season of arenas. These titles are fresh, new, changing always and mean that you recently have been polishing your armor with the blood of arena noobs. If someone even attempted to target you, you would give them a rain of pain so bad they'd need a "Rambo Shower" to cleanse themselves.

• Salty: This title is maddening, but so rare to actually see in game. This title has many components, of which I'll just list a few. You have to fish up the really rare fishes from Ironforge/Orgrimmar known as Old Ironjaw and Old Crafty. You have to go to your weekly fishing tournament, Stranglethorn Fishing Extravaganza and win it which is one of the hardest things to do in game to date. Completing the entire Accomplished Angler achievement will garner it for you, but as a person who's currently trying to complete Salty -- I've found little harder than fishing up all the coins, fish, and manuals needed for it. This is still one of the rarest achievements in the game. Only 52 salty titles are given a year per server, so put that in perspective.

• The Immortal: First off this achievement is like the Highlander, except not. THERE CAN ONLY BE 25! The premise is during one lockout period, you have to fight, and kill every boss in Naxxramas without anyone dying during the boss fights. Frogger doesn't count as a boss, neither do any trash pulls. So you can make people stand out of rooms, you can even sub people in and out (though only the 25 that pull Kel'Thuzad will actually obtain the title). It's quite the achievement to get people with the same latency, the same skill, and laser like focus. Our guild has personally tried to do The Undying, and we've had a few unfortunate losses of focus that prove 10 people barely communicate. So to scale up to 25 and pull it off sets you aside as one of the baddest PvE asses that are out there. If only that title came with the highlander theme song, I'd give a kidney for it.

• Loremaster: Though this basically says you don't love sunlight, it's one hell of an achievement and title.It's 2,720 on the horde side or 2,878 quests on the alliance side. This is not only a good idea because the sheer amount of gold that you'll make but you actually learn a lot of the back story of Qarcraft. It'll feed your offsets and let you practice and hone your skills with your other spec's of your class. It's also a great way to pass time between raids. It'll really say you're a completionist. Someone who has loremaster really has a dedication to the game that you can respect and admire. I've only seen 3 people with it on my server, one of them being Juggynaut. Loremaster also awards a tabard with the infamous exclamation point. So you don't have to wear a tabard that isn't that great, and you can celebrate how much you've dedicated to the game.

• Of the Nightfall: This is the Twilight Zone achievement. This is the 10 man 3 drake up Sartharion achievement. Now dont get me wrong, the title sounds extremely weak. Ghostbeezy of the Nightfall? That is worse than being in the front row of a madonna concert and your picture being put in the newspaper. It's embarrasing like the time you were chapperoned by your parents on a date, and your father has to sing "Hooked on a Feeling" while you get driven to a bowling alley. However, the title MEANS a great deal more. It's a healing/tanking/dps check the whole way around. You really have to be on your A-game, and not a bunch of people on servers world wide have this achievement. So when you see that title pass by, you understand that person is one of 10 elite players of the guild that they represent. That title is one to be proud of.

I know, I know there are some of you saying, "What about Magic Seeker, or Conquerer of Naxxramas?" I don't count either of those as titles that even should be acknowledged. I personally enjoy having an adult life and from time to time even basking in sunlight. If you were one of these people to have those titles, while I respect your dedication... I can't include you in this list. You may or may not have a social life, in a may not sort of way. Plus so few people have the title, and even less actually wear it. It's a scarlet letter of anti-social behavior. What is your vote? Which titles do you think make you a warcraft ninja? Which titles do you strive to achieve?

Click to read more ...

Many moons ago, Bastosa and I discussed how and who we planned on getting to 80. Back then I figured I would simply keep healing my way up to level 80, pushing my priest as my main toon. While things started out that way initially, Solidsamm has returned to the forefront. After Mutilate's “from behind” requirement was removed, I jumped at the chance to try the new dagger spec that would not force me to be behind my target at all times. The freshness that came with the conversion is exactly the reason I returned my angry Gnome to main status.

There are two reasons why I knew I was going to be hooked on World of Warcraft when it was released in late 2004. First off, I have loved the WarCraft universe since I first entered it via WarCraft II: Tides of Darkness. Secondly, and probably most important, was Blizzard's reputation. The company should just make their tagline “We don't make bad video games.” While a game can have the best story ever, it'll still suck if the gameplay isn't there to back it up, enter Wrath of the Lich King.

I had a pipedream that I would level mostly through instances, but without a close friend who's main is a healer, that is pretty hard to accomplish these days. Lucky for me the quests in Wrath of the Lich King have diverse goals, interesting lore, and an attachment to the zones that keeps me interested. While grinding via quests may not be the best XP/hour (that still goes to good old fashioned grinding), it is incredibly less mind-numbing. I will save that process for leveling my fishing.

Now that many of you are well on your way, or already 80, who and how did you get there? Did you roll that Death Knight and start from level 55 or abandon that idea and go with one of your level 70s? While I have done some instances, I generally haven't gone back to them after finishing their quests. How about you?

Click to read more ...

Oh BlizzCon, how I wish to be a part of you. Yes, that is right folks, another episode in my on-going saga to join the masses at BlizzCon 2008. I am not simply going just for World of Warcraft either. Yes, I was a hardcore raider during vanilla WoW before turning casual with The Burning Crusade but that is only part of my addiction to Blizzard Entertainment's products. My first Blizzard game was actually their epic Rock N' Roll Racing. But it is hard to be addicted to a racing title from that generation for too long. It was really Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness that drew me into Blizzard and StarCraft that had me addicted. But I was by no means a great StarCraft player. Great in my high school, yeah, but nothing special outside that. Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos/The Frozen Throne was a different story though. I was an avid AT (arranged team) player, even winning a few tournaments with my brother. You won't find my name on any replays or in the Worldwide Invitational so stop looking. Just small local tournaments and one regional appearance. And like many of my generation, I learned to mouse click thanks to Diablo II. My point is, I really want to goto BlizzCon, not only WoW but all of Blizzard's properties...and the goodie bag. Despite asking for all your luck I missed out on the lottery drawing. The drawing was my last chance at receiving a ticket through the more official channels. When the BlizzCon e-mail failed to appear in my mailbox I turned into a new man. More grouchy than Oscar in Azeroth. My girlfriend was not amused. This morning at breakfast I started looking at the grey market once again. I refuse to pay the ridiculous eBay prices for my entry into Valhalla so I have found some other alternatives:

• Pixelated Executioner is offering a BlizzCon ticket for the best, original 700+ word story related to Wrath of the Lich King. However, the goodie bag is NOT included.
• Blizzard and its partners are offering an all expenses paid trip for two to BlizzCon. All you have to do is enter some information to be eligible. 25 runner-ups will receive a mix of SteelSeries (they make the Zboard line), UpperDeck Entertainment, Brady Games and J!NX swag.

So far I have only found those two contests, if anyone knows of any others please add them via the comments. Personally, I will likely enter both as they have to have better odds than the lottery system! Can't wait to read some of those stories. The WoW community is so creative that I expect some gems to come from it.

Click to read more ...