Project Lore

First things first, this post will contain some information that many players may consider spoilers.  The information presented later in this post will only be discovered by most players once Wrath of the Lich King goes live. So that is your warning. I actually haven't managed to get myself into the beta, despite my best efforts.  This is coming from someone who has been in the previous two closed-beta sessions, so I feel a bit left out now.  Thankfully, my closest World of Warcraft buddy did manage to snake his way into the beta and has kept me up to date on things I need to know.  Over the weekend he pointed me to the small image you see to the right.  As any WoW player knows, those little foot icons are flightpaths. The image only shows the horde friendly flightpaths, so you can safely assume that there are at least 50% more.  At first glance I thought this was an incredible amount of nodes for the island of Northrend.   That is until I compared the size of Northrend to Outland and the other major islands.  The small picture  does not do the new island justice since it is not to scale, but Northrend is probably two to three times the size of Outland.   For a more appropriate picture check out the upcoming World Map. But my original surprise at the amount of flightpaths still stands.  There are more nodes crammed into Northrend than either of the original islands.  What makes even less sense is that players will be able to us flying mounts in Northrend, so why the need for more nodes than before?  I guess the one saving grace is that Blizzard will not allow players to use flying mounts on the island instantly.  Therefore, players will still be forced to explore the island before taking to the skies. Oh and as proof of the island's size. the route selected in the picture – Dalaran to Borean Tundra – takes about five minutes to complete.  Just enough time to get some dual-gaming in.  Does anyone else feel that Blizzard is eroding exploration by making it so easy to get around?

Click to read more ...

Back when World of Warcraft launched in November 2004 I was a lowly Pre-Junior at Drexel University.  Let me answer your first question.  A Pre-Junior is a year later than a Sophomore but a year before being a Junior.  It was a five year program.  Really, I swear, five years.  At the time I was an aspiring Computer Science and Mathematics major, which meant that I spent a bit of time on my computer(s).  But I still had to pay the bills between my studies so I picked up an IT job for Drexel's computer department.  That is where it all began, playing WoW while on the clock. Jobs obviously, and rightfully so, frown upon the idea of playing video games while you are on the clock.  Some bosses even frown upon playing the game during lunch which is unfair in my opinion.  Why is it that I can read the newspaper, watch TV or bother other people at lunch but I can't play a video game?  Don't give me the company resources crap, it doesn't hurt the computer and at max takes about 30 kb/s of bandwidth.  My boss at Drexel was one of those bosses who hated gameplaying, in all forms, while at work.  So I had to get crafty. There are actually numerous things you can do to play WoW at work.  The most difficult is probably to get the game installed and patched.  Depending on how locked down your computer is, this can be quite a task.  You may get lucky and have free reign over your machine.  Sometimes imaging the CDs/DVDs and then mounting them with Daemon Tools, will do the trick.  Worst case, you will simply have to figure out (or reset) the administrator password, which could get you in serious trouble. As for actually playing the game, here are a few tips:

• Most important, play in Windowed mode.  WoW is highly optimized for Windowed mode, allowing you to hide it behind other applications quickly and easily.
• Having your back to the door is a major problem and should be remedied immediately.  Make up some excuse like you “need a change of scenery” or can “get more workspace” to get permission to move your office around.
• On the same track, your entire office/cubicle/desk should be set up in a fashion to provide cover for your addiction.  Use a tall printer to block line-of-sight to the screen if possible.  Put your in/out boxes in the way.  Anything you can possibly think of to slow people down, or lower their visual range.  (If you have one of those short cubicle walls, good luck.)
• Stack recent delivered items, files, books, etc by the entrance to slow people down.  If asked why you do this say “So I don't forget about them before I leave.”
• Dual monitors can help immensely.  Keep work on the screen that is most readily visible to intruders and WoW on the other screen.
• Set the task bar to auto hide so no one can see what is open down there.
• Alt + tab and windows key + D key combinations are your friends.  If WoW, WoWHead, and ProjectLore are covering your monitor real estate at the moment then hit the windows key + D and everything will be minimized (hit them again to restore).  Placing a work window behind WoW will allow you to alt + tab (switches the focused application) to it to hide just WoW.
• Set your desktop to an active desktop and place a work-related website as the background.  This will allow you to use  windows key + D and look somewhat active to a casual observer.
• I have been told that a messy desk makes you look more productive, so mess it up to hide your unproductive distraction.
• Play with no sound and no headphones.
• If you know the intruder is going to need your time or have to look at something on your machine then kill the process instead of minimizing.  To do this hit control + shift + esc to get the task manager up fast.  Select WoW.exe and hit end task.
• Setup some sort of code, distraction system or warning sign with other like minded people.  A bird call, a whistle, a ball of rubber bands being thrown 40 feet into your face.  Anything to save each other's asses is worth it.

Remember, if you get fired for playing you can only blame yourself.  I'm just trying to give you some helpful pointers so you DON'T get fired.  Do your job, then play WoW while you wait for your next assignment.  You manager's job is to manage, not yours. I know you guys have more tricks and tips for getting away with WoW at work.  Let's hear them.

Click to read more ...

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?

Click to read more ...

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?

Click to read more ...

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.

Click to read more ...

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.

Click to read more ...

I have spent the last two days poring over the various confirmed changes and future additions to World of Warcraft.  Eyes glassy and tainted with blue, I have finally been able to come up for a breath.  Blizzard Poster Gamnin kept most of us busy during Tuesday's short maintenance by posting an update to the Rogue changes and some new information on the Warrior class.  As with all changes, people are sure to be up in arms about something or other so I will avoid being 'that guy'.

Courtesy of Mick Stephenson

First we will discuss my favorite class, the rogues.  As mentioned in the comments of my previous Rogue post, Tricks of the Trade is the new level 75 ability and has been confirmed by Gamnin.

• NEW - Tricks of the Trade: The current party or raid member becomes the target of your Tricks of the Trade. The threat caused by your next attack and all actions taken for 6 sec afterwards will be transferred to the target. In addition, all damage caused by the target is increased by 15% during this time. 30 sec cooldown.
• Relentless Strikes moved to Tier 1 Subtlety tree and made 5 ranks, 4/8/12/16/20% chance.
• NEW – Overkill (Assassination Tier 7): Abilities used while stealthed and for 6 seconds after breaking stealth cost 10 less energy.
• Hunger for Blood duration raised to 30 seconds.
• Mace spec ignores 3/6/9/12/15% of target’s armor.
• NEW - Blood Poisoning (Combat Tier 9): All physical damage caused to enemies you have poisoned is increased by 1/2%.
• NEW - Filthy Tricks (Subtlety Tier 9): Reduces the cooldown of your Tricks of the Trade and Distract abilities by 5/10 sec.
• Shadowstep will no longer be usable while rooted.

The new abilities and talents sound interesting but choosing a good build seems more difficult than before.  I will reserve my anger and judgments for when we get closer to launch however.  I have never seen a point in A) getting angry over stuff that will likely be changed and B) spending so much time making a build when the trees aren't finalized.  Of course, I just had to end the list with something to piss off the PvPers.

Also of note, is that Blizzard plans to do something about five rogue Tricks of the Trade rotations.  Currently, there is no stacking protection but they are working on some way to avoid the need for it.

The Warrior changes and additions are interesting, just not as lengthy:

• Enraged Regeneration: You regenerate 30% of your total health over 10 sec. This ability consumes all Enrage effects and prevents any from affecting you for the full duration. Must be enraged to use. Cost 15 rage, 3 min cooldown.
• Improved Charge generates 5/10 rage.
• Mace spec ignores 3/6/9/12/15% of target’s armor.
• NEW - Warbringer (Protection Tier 9): Allows Charge to be used in combat.
• Furious Attacks modified to use procs per minute to nullify weapon speed differences.

I like what I heard about Blizzard's take on Shields in WotLK.  The developers hope to make the shield more of a weapon instead of just a defensive tool.  Adding that utility would make them more accurate to how they were used back in the day (see 300).

Oh and Warriors regenerating 30% of their health over 10 seconds...that is gonna be annoying in PvP.

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 ...

Mmm, finally Rogues have received a nice blue post from Blizzard Entertainment. Blizzard Poster Gamnin updated the stabbing community on changes they can expect to see in the near future. Gamnin admits that these are changes that are currently being worked on, as well as future goals. Therefore, some of these changes may not come for some time. Nevertheless, many of them have me in a twitter. Got me in a twitter:

• Removal of numerous reagents (Thieves’ Tools, Flash Powder).
• Poison skill removed – poisons available via vendors.
• Level 75 unannounced ability designed and teased as adding group utility.
• Fist weapon spec merged with dagger spec.
• Mace Specialization will now grant armor penetration when using a mace.

Much hotness:

• Cooldown reduced to 3 minutes on Evasion, Sprint, Vanish.
• Subtlety Tier 1 redesigned to be more attractive
• Fewer dagger specifics talents in subtlety to allow more diverse build options
• Hunger for Blood will remove any harmful physical effects. No longer just Bleed or Magic.

I have always fancied the dagger specialization more, just because I felt that it required more “skill”. In actuality, it just requires that you move around a lot more (and have more patience) but I will keep telling myself that that equals skill. Unfortunately, raiders have claimed that dagger builds were doing less DPS than the other specs for some time, a statement which Blizzard owned up to.  With that in mind, the merger of maces into the dagger spec and armor penetration instead of a stun proc make maces much more attractive to me.  Maybe it is time to give up my trusty blades? The removal of the poison skill makes sense, as it was simply as waste of time to create them so often. On top of that, its not like it was difficult to do or troublesome to locate the materials. For those reasons, the switch to a vendor item makes a lot of sense. But seeing as I never carried around poison mats, just a few stacks of crafted poisons, I don't see how it will help bag space. As for the hotness changes?  I did not note that Cloak of Shadows' cooldown is being raised to two minutes since I was focusing on the good.  But that makes the changes to Hunger for Blood look more enticing for the PvP players out there.  And should I make that jump to maces, it is nice to know that Blizzard will try to make the subtlety tree a viable option. Be sure to check out the blue post though. Gamnin mentions a lot of other changes and future additions that I did not touch upon.  Sadly, there wasn't enough to convince me that daggers will be taking over as highest DPS again – and I feel they should be the highest.

Click to read more ...

Some more details have been coming out about the pre-Wrath of the Lich King content patch. As you know, the upcoming patch will act as a “bridging” patch. What this means is that Blizzard will use patch 3.0.2 to introduce a chunk of the Wrath changes, before Wrath is launched. This is the same thing Blizzard did with patch 2.0.1, introducing some aspects of The Burning Crusade into vanilla World of Warcraft. That addition came just a little over a month before TBC's release. Eyonix mentioned as part of patch 3.0.2's announcement that the notes would be coming shortly. However they still have not been posted. Nevertheless, Blizzard has posted additional information through alternative means. First we have a promise from Bornakk that the game won't be broken by the patch. I still remember the horror of “Assault on Blackwing Lair” or patch 1.6.0. I never wanted to use add-ons again after how long it took for all of my add-ons to be repaired, and then the time it took to go find them.  One by one.  Thankfully, we have tools like BLASC now. Bornakk also mentions that the patch should arrive “in the coming weeks”. To back up that statement the PTR forums have been wiped. An act that always happens shortly before a new patch is tested. Zarhym brought us the first list of detailed changes yesterday, the long promised changes to raid buffs/debuffs and stacking. The changes are drastic and the post is long, so it is worth the read for the hardcore PvE players out there. The Summation:

• Most buffs/debuffs will be raid-wide (ie Warrior shouts, Shaman totems).
• All buffs are categorized in one or more of 30 categories. Most categories have only a few buffs in them.
• Buffs from the same categories will not stack, with the most powerful buff taking precedence
• Mana regeneration buffs to be assigned to 10 players with the least mana
• Numerous existing buffs and debuffs have been reworked for the new system

Blizzard hopes that the changes will allow raiders to bring whomever is available to a raid – within reason - instead of requiring a concrete template be filled. Zarhym noted that Blizzard will be fine tuning the system and changes as needed based on internal testing and community feedback. So start the feedback process.

Click to read more ...