Once More Unto the PTR, Dear Friends...

So, I'm finally in :D Character copy the day before the PTR was deployed was successful (thanks to MMO Champion for the heads up) and I have 4 copies of the Druid to choose from, and one of the Lock. First thing I did was fire up the Boomer (as her HS is at the Citadel) and take a look around. It's looking like all that stone and wood I threw at the Goblins has gone to some good use.

The Newly Completed Arena. You can see inside from the back...

Of course none of this is actually functional at the moment, there's placeholders all over the place, but there is a continuation of the Black Knight quest. Picking that up forced me to go to my Quest Log, which is the first thing that seems to have undergone an overhaul:

This is a HUGE improvement: having the Quests and the description together looks just so much better and it's far easier to reference. There's a lot of little changes around the UI (they've moved the Equipment Manager and the Talent Change Preview buttons to their own sub-menu, for instance) and there is a sense that Blizzard is going through the UI and giving it a much needed revamp. One can only hope this will mean more bars in the default interface or perhaps a way of customising the layout which will be a viable alternative to all those mods like Bartender.

A quick zoom around the grounds and it's clear the monsters you're gonna fight in the new Instance are already in training to face you:

After a hard day's training, I just sleep where I fall...

There's a number of the mobs from the event scattered around the area, which gives a sense of the place becoming more than just a construction site. I look forward to actually seeing inside. Having perused the Argent upgrades, I flew north looking for the new daily Quest Hub. As I'm not a Crusader on M I can't access it, but that didn't stop me going to take a look. It's full of L80 Vykrul of the type you find in the Borean Tundra, and largely uninteresting for a non-Crusader. However, one of the mobs attacking a ship did flag up something rather interesting:


So, the North Sea Kraken is casting Frost Breath. Not only does the target bar tell us this, it's now added a little Frost Icon to indicate what school of magic the mob is using. It's a small improvement, but I think it will be significant for those poeple wanting to know what school of magic they're being pitted against. I don't think you'll be fighting this particular beast any time soon, but he does show just how much detail Blizz are putting into the details.

Next stop: Dalaran and the queue for the Isle of Conquest (which I will cover in my next post) However, it's really time I did the Gratuitous Skin pics:


M has white hair, and these are her forms. Oh I wish Blizz had done this a long time ago. I also hope this means that Owls and Trees will see similar skin improvements in an upcoming patch, coz these are BEAUTIFUL. The cat especially is such a huge improvement.

I've done some JC stuff as well with the Lock but for now I'm off to play some more IoC and see if I can get my head around what all the different nodes have to offer...

Girl Guide's Girly Girl Guide to Preparing for 3.1.

The Second Stormwind Guides before their weekly Polearm Skills lesson.
(from http://www.easington.gov.uk)

In life, there is a great deal to be said for being prepared. Of course, it's impossible to cover every eventuality, but on most days you can accurately predict what to take with you, what the weather will be like, and what you'll need to make your day run smoother. The same is of course true in game. With 3.1 possibly only a few weeks away, it's becoming increasingly simple to guess what you're going to need to make sure you're ready for Ulduar, and for the awesomeness that is Dual Speccing.

Bearing this in mind, I have put together this shoddily-constructed and impromptu guide. Enjoy!

5 Things every Girl Guide (or Tauren or Gnome) should do to prepare for 3.1

1. Read the bloody Patch Notes, you Nublet.

I cannot reiterate this enough times. Well I could, and then I'd guaranteed there'd STILL be someone who didn't RTFPN. This is a MAJOR content patch. It introduces a dungeon, an entire new questing area, debuts a new Arena season plus literally dozens of class, profession and world changes. It will forever change the way the vast majority of people play their characters. It affects YOU.

It's also available right now for you to look at. Yes, it is likely to change several times between now and release but really that's not an excuse to pretend it doesn't exist. If you want to be properly prepared for 3.1, go take a look. It will tell you what mats you'll need to collect to make new items, what new glyphs you can look out for to improve your character, what changes you'll be getting in your Talents and will mean that clams finally stack correctly. \o/

2. 5 Minutes Planning will save Hours on Patch Day.

Take a screenie of your current talents. They're going reset on Patch Day so it will be vital you have a copy somewhere, even if you don't do anything about it now. What you ought to do before the patch hits is pop over to one of the many Talent Calculators updated with the latest PTR spell builds and look at what has changed. As things are still being tested it's early days to work out where you'll be placing those points, but if you wanna be raiding or 5 manning come the night 3.1 arrives you need to have an idea of what to expect. Plus if you plan to be Dual Speccing this is a good opportunity to go look at your second spec and work out exactly what spells you'll need to be taking. Don't be afraid to steal someone else's current spec either, just remember it'll all change come the actual patch.

Don't worry either about messing up your spells on the day and having to spend gold when you misplace a point on your talent tree either. Blizzard have this covered, with their new feature which will allow you to preview your talents before you spend any gold. They think of everything!


3. Make your Money and Items for Dual Spec NOW.

Dual Spec will cost you 1000g. This not an impossible amount to make. I've just done it in five days. This will not involve you spending every waking hour at your computer either. If you have an 80 toon and you've not yet completed all your quests, then the simple act of spending some time doing those and selling your rewards (or if you're a DE-er selling the dust and shards that your rewards can become) will net a lot of cash. Go do dailies. Yes I KNOW you hate them but really it's the best way. Hey, you can do Wintergrasp and make money as well if it's all too much, or failing that spend an hour clearing out your bank and stick some stuff on the AH.

I guarantee you'll have trouble making 1000g the night before 3.1 hits. That's why you need to do it NOW.

You'd also be well advised to decide which Glyphs you'll be using for your second spec and finding a friendly Inscriber to make them. AH prices will be even more ridiculous than they already are come Patch Day: yes there will be new glyphs but for now you really don't want to be wandering around with nothing in your spellbook. Again, a bit of research will pay dividends.

If you're PuG-ging the phrase 'I'm needing that for Dual Spec' really should not be coming as a surprise to you. Of course if it's a Tank needing leather you should be ready to bitchslap them into next patch: if you're playing with friends or your Guild it might be a good idea to introduce a 'DS Rule' about now. Don't DE it, look at it and see if it has benefit. Yes, even if it is a L78 item. Start thinking about what you should be searching for.

Maybe if you have enough Elbows, it's time to actually buy some epic DS items as well.


4. Nobody Loves you if you Don't Augment.

You may be lucky enough, if you sort everything above out before Patch Day, to get to go into Ulduar for a first play at the new content. If you do, it might be an idea to make sure you have the materials you will need to upgrade any weapon or piece of armour you might snag to keep yourself in prime fighting condition. Currently there's some absolute bargains on the AH on the Enchanting Scrolls front (and there are because people like me are selling them in anticipation of the patch :P). You could go farm some content for greens and get them DE'd in preparation. I'd certainly make sure you have the cash to go buy a Sons of OhDear Shoulder enchant, and maybe a head enchant from your rep vendor of choice. You could even buy them now and stick them in the bank you sensibly cleared out in order to make the cash for your Dual Spec...

(Of course, if you also want to make a fast buck on patch day, you could start stockpiling all the stuff above to sell to the nublets players who were foolish enough not to prepare themselves beforehand.)


5. Be Ready for ANYTHING!

Now is the time to check your computer is in fighting shape. Now is the time to download the latest video drivers. Now is the time to start checking your favourite add-on sites and see if the developers are going to have a 3.1 Mod ready for you to pick up before the patch. With Blizz' new policy on addons some of these may change or stop being updated altogether. If the site's not been updated for a while it's time to find a replacement. If you're having to do all this on the day you're going to suffer delays, and frustration. Trust me, I know.


Follow these simple steps, and you will soon have your 'Ready for 3.1' badge to hastily sew onto your Swagdog Guild t-shirt. So what are you waiting for? Don't just sit here reading this mediocre blog, off you go and get ready!!!

New Kid on the Block

Not much now, but we all have to start somewhere...

So, I have a new project.

I have wanted to level a Shaman since they appeared in TBC on the Alliance side, but every attempt at doing so stalled (most in the late 20's/early 30's) It was a combination of having RL as a priority, being a GM when I was in-game and raiding, and simple inability to make it over the awkward hump when I did have the time. When Wrath hit I quietly resolved it would be something I would do, to see if being self-sufficient wearing mail was as much fun as being self-sufficient in leather has been as a Druid.

So far, it's been far more fun than I thought was possible.

It could be that I'm in a lull pre-Ulduar, that I like the simpler stuff right now (as opposed to the Elbow of Justice/Valor Farming, which does have it's moments but can get a bit wearing) or just that I have realised that what I enjoy in the game above everything else is to be useful. Hunters (as a good friend said to me only this morning) bring dps, dps and... dps to a party. They don't bring offspec healing or the ability to rez or a lot of other useful items... they are not a helpful class. To be honest, Hunters can be selfish. Not all of them, this is not a blanket criticism, but there are still many who think that they are all there is. Ironically I did a Heroic VoA on P this morning and hunters were 3 of the top 5 DPS lots. All of course were Survival.

Blizz should be shot for all they've done (and continue to do) to the class which once was fun to play but now really does seem to be a one dimensional raid tool. If you can't max the meters, you're no good, coz you can't bring anything else to the table other than damage and a bit of mana regeneration.

Hang on, when did this become a rant?

Anyway, back to the latest project.

M is L45, has Blacksmithing at 275 (Weaponsmith seemed the best bet as I can already make her epic armour at 80 via P) and has spent the last few days whizzing around Badlands, Desolace, ZF and Maraudon (top loots from both, thanks to Hubby and D for doing the runs) before spending most of yesterday zooming around getting FP's so I can dive into Searing Gorge and Felwood once I've done with the new quest hub at Duskwallow. She will, I hope, have 1000g to dual spec as Resto + dps once the time comes. I suspect Healing will be primary not simply because the Guild needs Shammies, but because I am increasingly enjoying the healing role in the end game.

I will keep you up to date with progress.

[PTR] More, More, More!

Flush with the success of yesterday, I'm back to the Argent Tournament, to see what they've fixed and what's still borked. As it transpires, a lot has been addressed in the latest PTR build.

Clear, concise and to the point on the Feeback front.

I've seen the feedback forms on earlier PTR's and this is miles better. Of particular interest is the 'Suggestion' box which gives the definite impression Blizz is listening. This cannot be a bad thing. They've fixed the borked quest I couldn't do last time (The Stories Dead Men Tell) for starters, which I was able to progress with. When I found another quest inside the starting area with objectives to track, that rather handily popped up on my screen as well. I don't remember that happening when you picked up a quest before, only when you picked up an item associated with it or completed a step. They've even taken it further:


See the little purple crystal icon that's appeared next to the Quest Text in the first screenie? I thought it was a bug but it's actually the quest item icon. Clicking on it brings up the Seer's Crystal quest item dialogue. You need to have both items for the quest text to highlight as completed.

I've never used any kind of Quest Helper before so I have no idea whether this is standard if you have such an addon, but the developments here make sound logical sense. I am going to forgo the new content altogether as the next stage and try some low level questing on M to see if this has been implemented throughout the game.

Now I have to find a squire about some unexplained disappearances...

[PTR] Same As it Ever Was

So, I tried to get into the PTR when Ulduar was active. Needless to say...



was as far as I ever got. This is the Game Gods way of telling me it's not my time yet, go grind some glods coz frankly you're gonna need a lot of stuff to sort out the 325 Alt Family 'o' Doom.

Yesterday morning however, I did get to sneak on, and went back to the Tournament. I need 15 signets to proceed to the next stage of participation (managed to get to 12 despite several quests still being borked) so hopefully at some point today I can see what happens when you finally arrive at a proper Joust. What also caught my eye whilst mooching around were the new shirts:


[Note: as you can see, arrows are still stacking to 200. One assumes this stacking to 1000 change is gonna pop up on the next build]

Blizz have really pulled their finger out on the character decoration front: new outfits for the Seasonal events, even (GASP!) new shoe patterns, and now we have shirts with your fave Alliance or Horde's Faction crest shoved on the front in obligatory Fangnome fashion. 25g seems a bit steep to be honest, but if you have 1000g lying about to become a Dual Speccer it's hardly gonna break the bank. Here I am (still headless, *sigh*) modelling the Gnomeregan version. I love them in that underground lair:


Perhaps the most interesting thing I noticed totally by accident. Blizz have started getting a bit more creative with mob tooltips. Let me show you a couple of examples:



The top mob was part of the quest 'Training in the Field' (one of the new Tournament dailies) and not only does my tooltip now tell me I need the mob for that quest it also tells me I need five more mobs to complete it. Similarly the Unbound Seer drops the quest item I require in able to complete the other quest I'm on (which is completely borked sadly) Some might think this is further evidence that the game is being dumbed down, I am actually quite pleased to see it. On brain slow days, it's going to cut down a lot of the stupid questions in Guild and elsewhere.

In it's own way, this could be one of the most significant in-game developments for some time.

Green Means Go

Odd that they gave him a hairstyle first. I'd have started with a face...

So, a load more stuff has come out overnight on MMO Champion concerning the Argent Tournament. New tokens mean new items (tabard, pet, mount, items) but rather more interestingly the ability to buy reputation with your home factions at 250 a shot. I can see this being a big draw, especially for those with late blooming toons. I also like the idea of this being like the SSO/AQ Gates where you'll need a certain number of quests done to progress. The sense of competition this instills may not be healthy in some people's eyes, but it's gonna mean that our server is one of the first to complete it. It's full of serial overachievers. Lord knows what I'm doing there...

A plethora of new vendors and tradesmen at the back of the construction area.

I really like the way that Blizz are meshing casual game elements with the more hardcore ones (I'd say PvP is hardcore, especially if you want to do it properly) but also making sure what you're asked to do repetitively every day is not utterly sleep-inducing. I think it also helps greatly that there's four years of experience and history behind this as well: RP servers are going to have a field day with this stuff, especially as it allows you to fight specifically for your home city. I sense a lot of suppressed Gnome Pride will surface, after all this is the first time you can directly champion Gnomoregan anywhere in game. The tabards, I have to say, rock. Stormwind one especially is fabulous. Any Horde worth their grunt should want to own the Orgrimmar one.

Just in case you were in any doubt where you were...

As this is smack bang in the middle of the L80 zone one assumes that this isn't going to be accessible until you've levelled. That would be nice is to think that they might extend that to at least 77 (when you have access to the flying mount) so it would offer an accompaniment to those in the later stages of levelling, especially as the rewards available with the new tokens are really rather tasty. Part of my annoyance with TBC was the fact the new content from the Skyguard, Netherwing and Ogri'la was only available once you hit 70. It would have been great to have been given the chance to start working towards a flying mount with an alternative to exploratory questing, especially one that (like the factions) gave you access to upgrades as well.

Right, let's go look and see if in the latest build they fixed the bug not allowing you to assign pet talents...

To Battle!

So, finally, summat to report from PTR Land.



If you head up to Syndragosa's Fall in Icecrown, just north from there a small circle of stones and some arches have appeared: beneath the ice you can clearly see a buried Frost Wyrm. There's a sword stuck in the ice too. Travel further still and you find the grounds for the new Argent Colleseum (above)


This looks very promising. I am going to assume this must work on some kind of phasing technology like the Sons of OhDear do. It's a series of jousting arenas, plus the construction site and two inns: one for the Alliance and one for the Horde.



Clearly it's not quite done yet with more than a fair few green NPS, but it looks very promising.





Inside the Alliance Inn there are representatives of all the Alliance races, with the flags on their backs you'll be used to if you do Arenas. I wonder if it will be possible to choose your own race or whether you'll be forced to go with your home city.


More pics and info as I pull it out of the PTR.