The World of Warcraft Thread

[blktour]

I still just pvp and do dailys

[Scorps]

been getting into BT and Hyjal lots now, but none of the mage gear wants to drop...oh well

[Reese]

Originally Posted by ObieX

Illidan really isn't that bad of a fight, you guys will get it eventually. The biggest problems you'll probably have are with the tanks in phase 2 and people controlling their agro during transitions for the next step.

I think the most drastic thing we do for him is to make all the mages (myself included) respec to frost just for this fight. No matter how much they bitch and complain about it (and they will) you *really* need improved blizzard and lots of it for the squids that come out when Illidan is in demon form.

The Eyeball squids were our problem tonight. They just absolutely weren't going down fast enough at all. We managed to get them all killed only once.

[ObieX]

We rarely, if ever, have a problem with them these days. Improved blizzard goes a LONG way with stopping them. Permafrost, Frostbite and Arctic Reach are good talents to pick up for the mages as well as improved blizzard. It really is a massive change in the ease of the encounter if you make your mages respec just for this.

My guild pays the cost of repsecs when they're required so its not such a big deal.

[Scorps]

Originally Posted by ObieX

Illidan really isn't that bad of a fight, you guys will get it eventually. The biggest problems you'll probably have are with the tanks in phase 2 and people controlling their agro during transitions for the next step.

I think the most drastic thing we do for him is to make all the mages (myself included) respec to frost just for this fight. No matter how much they bitch and complain about it (and they will) you *really* need improved blizzard and lots of it for the squids that come out when Illidan is in demon form.

So AoE Fire spec will not work? because I know people who have downed him and there mages never changed spec and most are Arcane/Fire, like myself.

[ObieX]

Well i'm not saying that. I'm sure you can get a lot of stuff to work. But improved blizzard slows down the squids so much that they're basically stuck in the opening salvo of AoE and die within a few seconds. you never have to worry about chasing them down cuz they never get more than a few feet away from Illidan. Without some kind of slows on them they jet out so fast from the aoe that you have to switch off to single target dd and that can open up a can of worms that doesn't need to even be in the tacklebox to begin with.

As a side note, I'm also arcane/fire and hate to respec for anything. But the change to this fight is just so huge that its well worth it.

[Scorps]

Humm I will keep that in mind for when my guild get to him

[0energy0]

i stopped playing WoW after 10 months...

[snowy]

We (SO and I) took a break for quite a while, but now that it's summer and we're a lot less busy with work/school/etc we're playing again. We need an outlet for all the stress of moving, and playing a couple hours a day seems to be helping. We rerolled on an entirely new server for us--does anyone play on Daggerspine?

I love warlocks, and I finally got a cool voidwalker name--Phantaz.

[redlotuss9]

This dropped for me last night in Karazhan:

A Clue

I have now officially won the game.

[Scorps]

LMAO

[Baraka_Guru]

I'm downloading the trial right now. I've never played it.

Tips?
Hints?
Talk me out of it?

[snowy]

Sorry, I won't talk you out of it, Baraka. I enjoy it too much. Just be aware of the limitations of the trial account; they can be incredibly frustrating. Right now the Midsummer Festival is going on--check it out.

Oh, and fishing is fun!

[Baraka_Guru]

Originally Posted by onesnowyowl

Sorry, I won't talk you out of it, Baraka. I enjoy it too much. Just be aware of the limitations of the trial account; they can be incredibly frustrating. Right now the Midsummer Festival is going on--check it out.

It's 10 days; I'm not expecting much. I'm a longtime player of online fantasy RP, just not in an MMORPG format. I'm going to be eying up the RP servers. What's the Midsummer Festival?

[snowy]

It's the current holiday event, and it's centered around fires/bonfires for obvious reasons. In capital cities you can learn to throw fire at a target, then learn to toss torches, and outside smaller settlements you can honor the bonfire for XP and a reward. Mostly, though, it's about the buffs--if the bonfire is burning in the zone you're in, you get Bonfire's Blessing, which gives you a chance to inflict some major fire damage on your target. You can also go dance around the ribbon pole near the bonfire (which will be located outside whatever the settlement is in your starting zone) to get a buff that gives you 10% extra XP.

As for the RP servers--good luck. They're kind of a mixed bag--you never know what you're going to get.

[Baraka_Guru]

That sounds pretty cool. I like the sound of the WoW complexity; much more than NWN, which is bound by D&D rules.

As for the RP servers--good luck. They're kind of a mixed bag--you never know what you're going to get.

Meh, as long as I can avoid as many Timmys* as possible.



* "timmy": Term used by older gamers to describe immature or younger gamers. Usually this is in reference to their attitude during gameplay or in lobbies. This attitude is usually include Racial slurs Unprovoked profanity or general poor behavior. Other activities by a Timmy may include playing music over communicators or just yelling nonsense. In game play a Timmy may team kill or glitch and exploit game bugs. This term is in reference to the South Park character.
Timmy: "You guys Suck you are a bunch of N^&*%$ J^*^!" ****MUSIC BLARES THROUGH HEADSET**** (Source: urbandictionary.com)

[bad jane]

Originally Posted by Baraka_Guru

I'm downloading the trial right now. I've never played it.

Tips?
Hints?
Talk me out of it?

biggest tip is if you aren't picking a server to play with friends/family select a server that shares your schedule for peak hours. otherwise, you may find yourself really frustrated later when the things you want to do require you to stay up really late or get up really early.

biggest hint is a double, 1) learn about addons and 2) learn about resources. the ui kinda sucks straight out of the box but you can improve it a thousand times over with addons. i like wowinterface and wowace. there are a lot of great out of game resources available depending on what you are interested in, but for general game stuff, wowwiki.com and wowhead.com have the answers.

i really enjoy the game so i'm not gonna talk you out of it either it's a time suck, but there are great communities to be found as well if the social aspect holds anything for you. there are guilds (clans) centered around every facet of game play but more interestingly, there are a lot of guilds that have created communities that go beyond wow. i know a number of people who've transfered servers or rerolled just to join specific guilds because of the community they created.

[Halx]

Hmmm talk you out of it...

http://www.andrewgonsalves.com/artic...rcraft_4_times

[ObieX]

Meh, as long as I can avoid as many Timmys* as possible.

hehe hmm....

http://www.wowwiki.com/Timmy_the_Cruel

[Cynthetiq]

here's something to be released over the weekend.

View: BLIZZARD® AUTHENTICATOR OFFERS ENHANCED SECURITY FOR WORLD OF WARCRAFT® ACCOUNTS 2008 ANNOUNCED
Source: Blizzard
posted with the TFP thread generator

BLIZZARD® AUTHENTICATOR OFFERS ENHANCED SECURITY FOR WORLD OF WARCRAFT® ACCOUNTS 2008 ANNOUNCED

BLIZZARD® AUTHENTICATOR OFFERS ENHANCED SECURITY FOR WORLD OF WARCRAFT® ACCOUNTS 2008 ANNOUNCED

Keychain token generates unique codes used to help prevent unauthorized account access

IRVINE, Calif. –- June 26, 2008 -– Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. today introduced an optional extra layer of security for World of Warcraft®, its award-winning massively multiplayer online role-playing game. Designed to attach to a keychain, the lightweight and waterproof Blizzard® Authenticator is an electronic device that generates a six-digit security code at the press of a button. This code is unique, valid only once, and active for a limited time; it must be provided along with the account name and password when signing in to the World of Warcraft account linked to it.
This optional security measure will be available at the 2008 Blizzard Entertainment Worldwide Invitational, which takes place June 28-29 in Paris, France. In addition, the Blizzard Authenticator will be made available for purchase via Blizzard's online store in the near future for a cost of $6.50.

"It's important to us that World of Warcraft offers a safe and enjoyable game environment," said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. "One aspect of that is helping players avoid account compromise, so we're pleased to make this additional layer of security available to them."

To learn more about the Blizzard Authenticator, please visit http://www.blizzard.com/security-token.

About Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.
Best known for blockbuster hits including World of Warcraft® and the Warcraft®, StarCraft®, and Diablo® series, Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. (www.blizzard.com), a division of Vivendi Games, is a premier developer and publisher of entertainment software renowned for creating some of the industry's most critically acclaimed games. Blizzard's track record includes ten #1-selling games and multiple Game of the Year awards. The company's online-gaming service, Battle.net®, is one of the largest in the world, with millions of active users. Return to the Press Release Index

[Shauk]

I hate this game, I'm playing it again.

ahhhhh! why!?

[Baraka_Guru]

Thanks for the tips and cautionary tales.

I'm nearing the halfway point in my trial account. I'm a level 13 troll hunter with a pet boar. I've been through Durotar (and Orgrimmar) and some of The Barrens.

Pros:

• The world is huge and varied enough to pique my sense of adventure, and you don't need to spend your whole night getting through it.
• The areas look nice despite the somewhat dated graphics.
• There is character skill and item complexity enough to keep me interested.
• There are many players.
• There are many quests.
• It's cool to be able to play tauren, orc, troll, and undead characters.
• It runs fairly smoothly.
• Blue-skinned troll chicks are hawt.

Cons:

• Seems to lack character diversity (partly due to the class limitations).
• The combat/encounter system is something to be desired.
• It's difficult to get a real sense of fellowship when you're in a party with all that running around.
• Characters seem to float and flit about the screen with no real attachment to the world. Maybe it's all the running around.
• Not much roleplaying going on in the roleplaying server. (I've been spoiled by NWN online.)
• It costs $15/month, which is $15 more than the NWN server I currently play.
• Generally, it hasn't whisked me away to a world of magic. There's something missing. I'm a big roleplaying geek; maybe this isn't the game for me.

Mind you, I haven't had much beyond a noob's experience. But this is a trial, after all. What do you guys have to say about this?

[Shauk]

A trial account on a horde character is a sure way to not be interested, probably one of the larger complaints from the horde community is that there isn't really a great story to suck people in on the horde side. But if you play alliance up to the early 20's. EVERYONE knows van cleef.

[Baraka_Guru]

Originally Posted by Shauk

A trial account on a horde character is a sure way to not be interested, probably one of the larger complaints from the horde community is that there isn't really a great story to suck people in on the horde side. But if you play alliance up to the early 20's. EVERYONE knows van cleef.

...van who?

Thanks for the tip. Maybe I'll spend the second half of my trial on an Alliance character? Any tips in that respect? I tend to fall into the dwarf paladin type in other games. Anything of particular interest in character types other than that?

[Apokx]

Originally Posted by Baraka_Guru

...van who?

Thanks for the tip. Maybe I'll spend the second half of my trial on an Alliance character? Any tips in that respect? I tend to fall into the dwarf paladin type in other games. Anything of particular interest in character types other than that?

Depends on what play style you're into. We could discuss what you might like, or what classes are actually like. I like Paladins, but leveling one sucked compared to say a Hunter (which I would say is the easiest class to play in any situation). The Paladin however, has 3 specializations. Holy, Retribution and Protection.

Holy is built for healing yourself and other players. They have the lowest damage output of the 3 (with one exception).

Protection is the "tanking" spec (they take damage and keep the attention of monsters while other players deal damage or heal).

Retribution specializes in single target damage (some of their attacks deal holy damage, which isnt mitigated by armor and players do not have a "Holy Resistance" statistic).

That's a very basic outline of what each "spec" does. There is more to each skill tree, and even hybrid builds but it helps to have a better grasp of the game before worrying about those.

Besides all of that, if you were someone with game experience or a person I personally knew, I would tell you to pick another class. Paladins are pretty terrible right now, and arent likely improve until the expansion is released(if at all, Kalgan is a dbag).

[Shauk]

Paladins are still heads and tails better than they used to be, thats for sure. 5 minute single buffs in 40 man raids anyone?

ugh.

[Crack]

Originally Posted by Shauk

Paladins are still heads and tails better than they used to be, thats for sure. 5 minute single buffs in 40 man raids anyone?

ugh.

Better than making mage water for the entire 40 man. I swear to god, one night, I was the only mage there, and I made so much water, the rest of the raid was literly 2 bosses in before I was done.

[Baraka_Guru]

I liked the hunter class so far. Night elf hunter good?

[Shauk]

Night elf hunter is probably one of the most common race/class combos because of shadowmeld. But if you plan on going "Hardcore" at any point in pvp, you'll want the dwarven racial "Stoneform" so you can basically laugh at rogue poisons. (since a rogue can tear up a hunter at close range)

overall though, play what feels right to you. Not everyone has to min/max to the extreme for the best case scenario (otherwise alliance would have zero warlocks)

Just please tell me you didn't name your hunter Legolas

[snowy]

Originally Posted by Shauk

Just please tell me you didn't name your hunter Legolas

Or even worse, one of the many perversions of Legolas: Legeles, Legelas, Legilas, on and on and on...

[Baraka_Guru]

I made a girl elf. Her name is Tyrithiel.

But, alas, my WoW days are done, and, aye, they were short lived.

WoW has failed me. I've been spoiled by quality and rewarding roleplaying on NWN online, and with NWN2 going online with my community in the coming months, I have something better to look forward to. [Imagine an open-ended fantasy-based stage play, where you can make up your own character and develop it in a richly character-based world, and the world's the stage. This is what I play. It's like D&D in the Internet age--Web 2.0, to be exact.]

It's just that the NWN community is pretty much open source. User-built communities rock if you find the right one, and I've really been enjoying this one for more than a year. And it being free, I can't see myself spending much time in something like WoW unless I got something else out of it. I'd probably play it if it were free, as an alternative to roleplaying. I just don't see the $0.50/day value.

Ah, well, I gave it a try. Thanks again, guys.

[Apokx]

Originally Posted by Crack

Better than making mage water for the entire 40 man. I swear to god, one night, I was the only mage there, and I made so much water, the rest of the raid was literly 2 bosses in before I was done.

Mages can summon water for 40 people with a single spell now. Ritual of Refreshment. It counts as both food and drink. Mages can't complain about being water boys now.
(Not sure if you still played and knew that or not, if you did just ignore it)

Baraka, you should probably just skip the MMO genre. You sound like you want less gameplay and more storyline. Pretty much impossible with WoW, especially by yourself.

On the other hand, I've heard of people roleplaying Paladins and leveling them up just to "fall" and become a Death Knight when the expansion comes out. Stuff like that on the RP servers.

[Baraka_Guru]

Originally Posted by Apokx

Baraka, you should probably just skip the MMO genre. You sound like you want less gameplay and more storyline. Pretty much impossible with WoW, especially by yourself.

On the other hand, I've heard of people roleplaying Paladins and leveling them up just to "fall" and become a Death Knight when the expansion comes out. Stuff like that on the RP servers.

Agreed. I guess instead of being an MMORPG player, I'm a "CMORPG" player: communal multiplayer online role-playing game. I like the community aspect of knowing most of the players and DMs, and knowing they have full control over the gaming experience.

In this case, the community takes role-playing seriously, but ensures it's about having fun. The difference being that the fallen paladin who becomes the blackguard can be your fault as a lawful evil cleric looking for servants in the name of the goddess Loviatar, The Maiden of the Pain, only to have this paladin regain his honour due to another player's quest to restore him. (All of this happening over the course of a few month's real-world time.)

I don't see this kind of thing happening in WoW in the same rich detail (if at all). I've spent entire game sessions with not a weapon drawn...only talk and non-combat actions. It's about role-playing above all else. Some of those sessions are the most rewarding even if a DM doesn't catch what you're doing and reward you with an "RP" XP bonus.

[Shauk]

unfortunately, the game doesn't really have a community or an immersive story until you step foot in to the raiding content.

[Xazy]

Quote of some stuff from the new expansion

Druid

* Entangling roots will be useable indoor.
* Nourish will be a new healing spell, healing for more hit points for each HoT effect on the target.
* There isn't any plan to change cyclone


Hunter

* All kind of pets will have their own talent tree. A tanking talent tree, a DPS talent tree, and an utility talent tree. Each kind of pet family will have its own talent tree and its own unique ability.
* The shot clipping will be removed from Steady Shot, you'll be able to use it without "interrupting" your autoshot. Hunters will be able to just smash their button.
* There are going to be new pets in WotLK.
* The skill points for each pets are being changed to the new "Pet talents" and will disappear.


Priest

* Divine Hymn will be a deep-holy talent protecting your party from attackers, any attacks done to you or your party will cause the attacker to be afflicted by sleep.
* The 51 point talent for Shadow Priests is Dispersion : You disperse into pure shadow energy, reducing all damage taken by -90%. You are unable to attack or cast spells, but you regenerate 6% health and mana every 1 sec for 6 seconds.
* Guardian Spirit - Calls upon a guardian spirit to heal and watch over the friendly target. The spirit heals the target for 642 every 2 sec, and also prevents the target from dying by sacrificing itself. Lasts 10 seconds.


Mage

* Mages are getting a Frostfire bolt dealing Frost-Fire damage to make elementalists more viable.


Shaman

* Totems are being "condensed" into a smaller amount of totems, for exemple Strength of Earth and Grace of Air totems will be merged into the same totem
* A new weapon enchantment will be available "Earthliving Weapon". It will increase the healing power of the Shaman.
* Flametongue will give spell damage bonus to the Shaman.
* Totems are being moved to physical school, you can't counterspell anymore.
* Totems will also affect raid members, not just the local party.
* Shamans are getting "Hex", a polymorph-like spell on a medium cooldown allowing them to turn an enemy into a frog. The enemy cannot cast or attack but is still in control of his character.
* Windfury won't be a weapon enchant anymore and will be changed to a buff. You will be able to use it in bear form or with poison.


Rogue

* Rogues will get a talent called "Fan of Knives", an AoE ability allowing them to attack all enemies within a short range. It will be some kind of "emergency" ability and you won't be able to spam it.
* Sap will now work on more targets, humanoids, beasts, dragonkins, demons. "Anything with a skull and a brain inside of it".


Paladin

* Retribution paladins itemization will be moved to the same item as Warriors/Death Knights
* A new reactive healing spell will be added - Hand of Purity.
* Paladin's short-term-blessings no longer overwrite long-term-blessings.


Warlock

* Demonic Circle will allow warlocks to scribe a circle in the ground to teleport to it later with another spell.
* The 51-Point demonogy talent is a Demon-Form, this will allow you cast AOE Shadowbolts


Warrior

* Titan's Grip is a new Fury talent and allows warriors to wear 2 hand weapons with a single hand.
* Protection Warriors are getting a spell called "Shockwave" allowing them to damage and stun all the monsters in front of them.
* Bladestorm will be a new Arms talent whirlwinding all enemies in range every x seconds for a few seconds.

[Shauk]

http://wotlkwiki.info/index.php/Main_Page

[Apokx]

Shaman changes were definately needed. I'm wondering if making Windfury a buff means it will be dispellable.

[Crack]

Originally Posted by Apokx

Shaman changes were definately needed. I'm wondering if making Windfury a buff means it will be dispellable.

I hear Hex does not break on damage...

[Reese]

Hunter's getting some love!

Battle Shout affecting raid = AP to Pet
Stength of earth and Grace of Air combined means AGI+STR to pet and AGI to me.
Windfury affecting pet...
Steady shot doesn't interrupted Auto shots means no more haste cap, less dependence on specific weapon speed. Latency becomes less of an issue for maintaining highest possible DPS..

Plus we're finally getting an Attack/Defend BG! Woot.

[Apokx]

Originally Posted by cybermike

Hunter's getting some love!

Battle Shout affecting raid = AP to Pet
Stength of earth and Grace of Air combined means AGI+STR to pet and AGI to me.
Windfury affecting pet...
Steady shot doesn't interrupted Auto shots means no more haste cap, less dependence on specific weapon speed. Latency becomes less of an issue for maintaining highest possible DPS..

Plus we're finally getting an Attack/Defend BG! Woot.

Congrats Hunters on being even easier to play. One of the Hunter abilities currently being tested in the alpha is a vanish type ability. Removes physical/spell debuffs and gives them improved invis.