No More Hero(ics) Anymore

Tell me I am not the only person getting royally pissed off in Heroics.

Once upon a time, back in those heady days post-Expansion launch, the Heroic was serious business. You needed planning, crowd control, extra buffs and friends who could spare the time to make sure when you walked into an Instance, you came out with the end boss loots. It wasn't about finishing in double quick time it was completing it at all. In the case of Oculus, for instance, it could mean four or five HOURS worth of effort.

What the Hell happened?

I don't even get the time to apply a foodbuff or summon a pet anymore. More often than not, as soon as I accept the queue and zone in the Tank has already begun pulling. There's very little buffing AT ALL until either someone dies or the first argument ensues about a) who wants what loot and b) what bosses can we concievably skip to speed up the process. I've seen what I can only call an exploit in the Old Kingdom that circumnavigates everything except the last boss. I hardly ever do the first boss in UP any more, or anyone except Brann and the last guy in the Halls of Stone. Making instances quicker has simply encouraged people to cut corners, which is all very well until any of the ICC 5 mans appear and frankly all Hell breaks loose. Success rate on the Halls of Reflection in a PuG is 10%, on a good day I'm the last one left as the bickering starts when we all wipe on the first boss and everyone blames everyone else.

Of course, when you get a good group they are normally spectacuarly so, but still no-one suggests a second instance, it's simply about getting the Frosties and buggering off. From the early days when the PuG was King, it's now all about doing Guild runs and speaking in disparaging tones about the quality of people Cross-Server. I bet everyone's just as belittling about each other...

How can this situation be improved? Put a gate outside the instance and give people a minute to stand and prepare a la BG's? Make it mandatory to kill every boss in the Instance in order to qualify for the Frosties from the last boss? Large rubber mallets that come out of your monitor and bash you over the head each time you argue over a boss to skip? I can only hope that Blizzard Towers is keeping a close eye on the dungeon stats and working out whose being smart and who's being an idiot when it comes to dungeon etiquette. What I will say however that having the Oculus pop up as an option will inevitably result in a 20 minute flawlessly issue-free instance. Everyone knows the quickest way to get in, grab their free booty and get the Hell out again. Ironically I feel this is the Instance model for the future. I would be rather afraid if I'm right...

Needless to say, I still run the odd PuG heroic early in the mornings, normally because the quality of player seems to be a lot better in the AM. Of course all that goes out the window on the Weeekends and during school holidays... but it's no fun anymore, it's a chore, or simply a way of getting Elbows, unless it's one of the ICC Three. The difference in quality and application required is noticable. Maybe instead of making the older 5 mans easier maybe Blizzard should have made them harder, so that people were forced to concentrate when doing them...

I used to like Heroics, now I find myself wishing there was another way.

Busy Doing Nothing...

There is a fair deal of Nothing going on at the moment. There's still ICC of course (after a hard night of wiping on Putricide, we managed to get him into the 60%'s on Sunday and will be changing wings tonight I suspect) but until the Ruby Sanctum appears (and we get 3.3.3 and BG changes) it's pretty much the same old same old stuff. however there are now ample opportunities to gear the family without the need to worry about Guild runs or indeed having anyone on the FL to help out. As a quick reminder:

You should be running VoA WEEKLY. 10 and 25 man both give Two Elbows of Frosty. 25 man has the chance to drop 2 of the best bits of gear currently available in game: Top Tier 10 from 25 man, Normal Tier 10 from 10 man. That's 155 Elbow's worth of FREE goodness you have a chance of scooping, every week! Thus far I've been lucky on the Lock with the Sanctified Dark Covern Leggings. It's not just Tier either, there's the top level of Arena Gears too. Staggeringly I was the only Druid in a 25 man when the Wrathful Gladiator's Wyrmhide Legguards dropped: now I could have been a snob and turned them down because they're PvP but really... L270 gear! The Crit and Spell Power alone made them a huge upgrade. I've learnt over the years to take the items where I can find them, and these are likely to last me into Cataclysm and beyond. Remember that it's going to be either legs or gloves you get a chance at, so it is also the opportunity of a two set bonus to boot. The Mage's Wrathful Gladiator's Silk Handguards of course come with the added bonus of a PvP-style ability... pity I never need to CC in dungeons any more...

You really should be running the Daily Dungeon too for Two Elbows of Frosty. There's a seperate post coming about the heroics, suffice it to say the sooner Blizzard make killing each boss in every instance mandatory to get your frosties the better. There are some quite spectacular liberties being taken in the name of a 'quick run gogogogo'. My husband suggested that every time someone says 'gogogo' in an Instance we should all lie down for 10 seconds and shout 'DEAD ANTS!' as a reactionary gesture. If I thought it might do any good at all, I'd be doing it nearly every instance I enter...

Finally, if you're lucky enough to have a decently-populated server, the Weekly Raid Quest for FIVE Elbows of Frosty is a must-complete. I've been lucky the last three weeks, the Council of Six spending all their time in Naxx knocking off the lesser bosses, and no-one in their right mind is daring to ask for an achievement for an instance that takes less than 10 minutes to complete. That's meant 18 Frosties per Toon across the Family \o/ It means that next week, once VoA resets, everyone will get a L264 upgrade. The Hunter and the Druid were ahead of the curve (as they have achievements to flash for the more complex raid weeklies) so yesterday saw two major upgrades: the T10 Hunter chest (and 2 set bonus :D) and a quite spectacuarly gorgeous Druid belt upgrade. Looking at the 264 gear I suspect I'll be aiming to get belts for everybody (especially as you can add a third slot, thus allowing gem upgrades as we run through Cataclysm)

So, by doing very little (in relative terms) you can add an extra SEVEN Elbows per week to your two per day standard operating total. With Cataclysm still a long way away the numbers will soon add up...

The More Things Change...

From mediabistro.com

Last week was possibly one of the hardest I've ever experienced in-game.

It was nothing to do with content. It was everything to do with the people playing it... or in many cases, not. For a very long time there's been a core of people in my Guild who have done the trailblazing, they've cleared the ground for everyone else to come in and move through. There came a point late last year where it became clear that there were also those who weren't really prepared to put in the same amount of effort, but wished to reap the same level of reward. As a result my Guild agreed by concensus to implement a change: if you wanted to do progression content you would need a special rank to do so.

A number of people left last week. It may have been because of this, I'm not entirely sure, but what was clear was that everyone grasps we are about to move through a period of change. There's a lot of people currently playing alts, including people trying healing and tanking for the first time, and they are ACE. It's fabulous to see people who aren't afraid to try something new, who understand that to do something well sometimes means moving out of your comfort zone and taking a chance or two. Change is not something to fear or run away from, it should be embraced and  met head on. The benefits far outweigh the issues, after all: having more people in Guild who can fulfill any number of roles cannot ever be a bad thing.

The game will be undergoing a fairly significant period of change itself: the Old World is disappearing, stats on gear are being refined. The drop-out in raiding is already becoming apparent: I witnessed four guild adverts in IF at the weekend all spammed almost simultaneously. For many people it is time to move on, or refocus priorities. It's Spring, after all, traditionally a time for a good old clearout. For those of us who count the game as 'relaxation' in our hobbies list, it's all happened before: I remember the chaos and resentment that followed when it became apparent 40 man raiding was no more pre-Burning Crusade. I recall how people thought the game had sold out with Emblems pre-Northrend. There's always something to blame, but more often than not the Game is simply a symptom and rarely a cause. Despite what many non-gamers would have us think, the addictive nature of Warcraft more often than not is because the people playing it are lacking elsewhere in their lives.

I find it interesting that some people consider that being asked to make an effort won't be fun. I also wonder why some people view change as a bad thing, that staying the same is better than trying new things. It is, of course, because change is also a subjective thing. Leaving us to go start elsewhere is as much of a change in it's own way as staying put and doing things differently, it's all down to your perception. I sensed a new mood of optimism in Guild last night, that people are looking forward to the coming months and that we are capable not only of clearing ICC but giving the Hard Modes a good go too. Even if we fail, we can at least say we had a go, and that's enough to make me genuinely excited for the weeks and months ahead.

I'm a big fan of change. I hope that as Azeroth rumbles towards Cataclysm other people recognise the benefits of looking at the game in new ways, and maybe taking a chance on themselves and trying soemthing a bit more challenging.

Skills!

So unless you were a) not on the Planet or b) unconscious you cannot fail to have seen the news concerning the Great Stats Revamp of 2010. This is the moment where I'm rather glad that theorycrafting makes my eyes bleed, as there are many, MANY other people vastly more qualified than I am out there doing the work on what it will mean for races and specs. Of course most of this is moot until we actually get to see what this means in action, but it does give a great deal of food for thought. What I hope more than anything is that it will eliminate a lot of the confusion that comes with who rolls on what: healing items always cause confusion. Of course we all know All Loot is Hunter Loot... but still...

I am sad however. Blizzard have announced that weapon skills will be no more, and are likely to be converted to Feats of Strength. I for one will miss the total annoyance of getting a new weapon and discovering I have a skill in single figures, forcing me to run off and hit random stuff for a while until I don't embarass myself in an instance. Whether it is the melee-immune mobs in Scholomance, the Mana Fishies in the Library in Karazhan or simply any mob not likely to own you in one hit, we all have our own way of levelling weaponry. My personal favourite used to be in the Blasted Lands, but Blizzard eventually got wise to the Servants of Dave Grol and their mates and removed their 1% immune to death but still hittable (and therefore weapons skillable) ability a few patches ago. I recall one morning back before even Outland was the place to be, where myself, my husband and a bunch of Guildies all decided we'd go do some weapons levelling. At one point I believe there were half a dozen of us all together, biffing this one mob. One Guildie even went out and made a trip to buy a new keyboard whilst leaving her druid macing this poor guy. I can remember when the call would go out in General in a particular zone: 'Bugged mob at X, weapons skillable!' and within 10 minutes you'd have a small crowd of people all doing their best to take the mob out whilst simultaneously skilling anything from swords to unarmed.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for these new changes. Anything that makes the game easier to understand is fine with me. Let it not be said however that I don't understand how much fun skilling can be, and it will be a shame to see it go. There's nothing wrong with a little inconvenience, after all...

Back in the Saddle

 

The New 'Retro Cowboy' Class met with a mixed reaction... from slushpile.net

I have been unwell, as was mentioned briefly last week. It really was the most unpleasant of illnesses too. However I have recovered sufficiently to return to active duty this week. There was of course sporadic action during the illness but as a whole I sense that people are stepping back a little from the game. As Spring approaches (it's a beautiful day here) the distractions of Real Life take the right and proper preference. After all, it was a particuarly hard Winter this time around, and it is a LONG way to go until the World of Warcraft goes Armaggedon.

As Spring Cleaning begins here, I would expect the same will happen with the Family. I've already been to Be Imba this morning: the Shaman needs a Hodir enchant and a gem for her newly-purchased L245 shoulders, the secondary Hunter's Meta socket isn't working (break out the prismatic gems!) so there's a little tidying to do there, then it is high time I went through everyone's bags and had a good clear out of unwanted gubbins. After that I think we may sit down and decide who's going to do Loremaster before the Achievement becomes a Feat of Strength, who's going to do World Explorer, and what level of gear I intend to get everyone to before they are effectively placed in storage in anticipation of the Expansion.

First things first though, time for some breakfast...

Mexican Standoff

 

Who's gonna hold their nerve?

My daughter has been kind enough to pass on her sickness to me, which has meant a great deal of time in the bathroom over the last 48 hours. I have been thinking about many things, some of which are more than likely to make their way to this Blog. One subject that I keep coming back to concerns the situation with Frozen Orbs.

In the (albeit very few) Randoms I have done since the news broke last week concering the new useage for Orbs, there has been a definite increase in the number of people rolling Need. People clearly are trying their luck. It's fine and dandy when all five of us roll greed and the game gods decide, but once one person rolls Need I find myself wanting, for want of a better metaphor, to create a Mexican Standoff. I've done it three times now. I suspect, unless Blizzard are sensible and change the rules, there will be plenty of opportunities to do this in the future.

I want to know from the person why they feel the need to roll on the Orbs. I will ask them, straight out, why they've done so. I've not heard the truth from anyone yet, this much I am 99% certain of. These are people who think that Greed on Orbs does not apply to them. It should ALWAYS be Greed, or at least that was the case up until the changes were announced. In EVERY case I've seen the person rolling Need has waited until three people have rolled Greed before sticking their Need roll in. That's just wrong. So, I don't roll. I wait. Other people, who clearly are not bothered about such things (and rightly so) leave the party, and in the end it's just me and the Needer, waiting to see if I pull the trigger. I am a woman of infinite patience. I have no need for orbs, but part of me feels a righteous indigation that the person who wants it should get it when they've cheated the rest of the party. So, I'm going to roll against them. I figure, if the Game Gods decide that the Needer is wrong, then I get it and I will make sure a Guildie benefits instead.

I have won the rolls every time.

Blizzard, PLEASE make the Frozen Orb roll a Greed only one. You have basically acknowledged that the items have no real value in crafting terms. If someone is Needing on the Orbs, it's because they want to sell it right now to make money, and once 3.3.3 is implemented it will be to buy Frost Loti or Eternals to sell. Yes, I'm being overly cynical here, but REALLY, you don't need Orbs. Everyone however deserves to have an fair chance on an item that every class will shortly be able to benefit from equally. Take the Need roll away please, make it a Greed only, because with the changes Blizzard have made that's exactly what it now is.

I don't want any more Mexican Standoffs.

PTR Faffage:: Gawn Fishing

 

In amongst all the PTR Gubbins (more on the PvP aspect as it becomes available) is a change to the daily fishing quests: instead of having to fly all the way to the Frozen Sea to find a Monsterbelly, our Severed Arm can now be found inside a Slippery Eel, who's natural habitat is outside the Violet Hold. Although I appreciate the reasoning behind the change to this quest, I'm not really overjoyed at having more people, and therefore more lag in Dalaran.

You could almost hear the collective sigh of relief on my high-population server last night when the Lag is in the Air event items despawned. Friday and Saturday had been atrocious: it took me 45 minutes to log in Friday night, punctuated by multiple kicks from the server. It took 10 minutes to zone anywhere. I appreciate that the changes they made to the Festival with the creation of tokens meant that people weren't having to rely on the RNG to complete their achievements. On the downside, it made normal play totally impossible. I also realise my server (being one of the oldest in game and as a result one of the most highly-populated) is at something of a disadvantage, and add to that about a dozen of the most competitive raiding guilds in the Battlegroup all attempting to knock off Arthas and unlock their Hard Modes... it was never going to be pretty. Wandering around the PTR Dalaran was fabulous, and made me realise just how much noise this one place generates.

I think it's a smart move on Blizzard's part not to include a Sanctuary Town in Cataclysm, and instead to encourage people to make their bases in Azeroth's capitals. I'm hoping as a result we will see Portal Rooms in these cities as is the case with Shatt and Dalaran, I'm also hoping that the Dev's can come up with a way of making the Exodar and Darnassus attractive as alternative points to set your HS for the Alliance, instead of joke places to send people when your Mage pops a Portal. The more ways they find to spread the population, the easier it's going to be for those of us who have to factor lag into our equations...

PTR Faffage :: World Event Random Boss Rewards

Yes, there will be a fair bit in the coming days, just because I like to wander about and pick up stuff that I think might be interesting... like the fact that you can queue for Random World Event bosses in the Dungeon Finder (very useful if your Guildies have no interest in the Achievements). This is no secret, it's in the PTR Patch notes after all. What this doesn't tell you however is there's a reward for doing so :D

 

I have no idea what is generated from a Heart Shaped Box (nice Nirvana reference folks) but I'll assume it might be an item you need to complete the Achievement. 19 gold for doing it this way is a decent bonus as well.

I've already gone and seen the Mage on his flying carpet in Dalaran (he's selling Frost Lotus for 3 gold, I lol-ed) and I've overflown both Gnomeregan and the Searing Gorge looking for changes to the mobs there, but nothing looks different. If I find anything else to tempt you guys with, you'll see it here first!

Paaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaatch!

3.3.3 eh? Frozen Orbs on our AH ALREADY for 40g bo? New Raid Encounter???

PTR downloading RIGHT NOW... :D

More news as we get it...

Multi Coloured Top Slot!

That's the nostalgia out of the way, now let's talk about something I suspect a lot of people don't know. I certainly didn't, and it's a fact that, especially as we start moving towards Cataclysm, could be rather useful in your gemming of gears.

Ladies and Gentlemen, meet the Nightmare Tear.

Mats to make one are, as you can see, 5 Infinite Dust and a Dragon's Eye (which can be made by your friendly neighbourhood Jewelcrafter, who can also purchase the epic recipe to cut the Tear from the Cartier Shop in Dalagran.) There's a good reason it's Unique-Equipped too, because it counts as a Prismatic Gem. That is, it is a red, blue and yellow gem ALL AT THE SAME TIME. This means that if you're looking to satisfy the requirements of your Meta Gem socket in your headpiece, this baby counts as one of each kind of gem.

I've read a lot of discussion in forums about how + 10 all stats is not a great bonus for many classes (especially those who don't rely on stats like strength or spirit) but the fact remains that if you're a hybrid or you want to start stacking gems of a certain colour (in my hunter's case red for Armour Penetration) this gem means your meta isn't going to end up as redundant. I see many of the hardcore MM hunters on my server with nothing but red gems in every socket: clearly the bonuses that items give when gemmed correctly are small fish to these guys when fully buffed in Raids. However I'd hate to lose the +3% critical damage buff I get from my meta. This replacement (in my case from a green gem) makes perfect sense.

I think the placement of the gem is probably just as important, especially as Cataclysm is coming and gear will be replaced at an as yet unknown rate. I thought at first that putting it in my highest iLevel item would be a plan but then it occured to me that I should probably put it in the item that I'm least likely to lose first, so I can continue making the most use of it as the game moves on. The 245 crafted bracers from the Tournament are a perfect choice for placement in my opinion: there are very few upgrades past these in ICC or indeed anywhere else at the moment. As a LW I also get a large AP boost from a wrist enchant, so overall the gem in this socket makes for a piece of gear I'm going to be very unwilling to remove at any point in the future. Plus, if I get a new hat early on in Cataclysm, I'm already one gem of each colour towards making sure my new Meta works straight off the bat.

I intend to roll this gem upgrade out across the family as they are upgraded with 245 Bracers (Crusader Orbs on my AH are very close to dropping below 100g each, once they do I'll be buying and crafting for everyone) The benefit from a Professions point of view is that mats for the Tear are both freely available: Dragon's Eye's are a random product of the daily JC Transmute, and I have Infinite Dust coming out of my ears at the moment via Disenchantification. As a benefit to my family it's clear that this in an item I can carry to the Expansion and beyond is valuable indeed. There's nothing wrong with thinking ahead, after all...

Now, I have a Ker-Plunk set sitting in the garage, anyone wanna swap it for a Sindy Doll...? :D