Back! Back to the Fu... er Azeroth!

I know Marty! But we've got to go back, back to Azeroth! Great Scott!

Screw it... Lets do it!

Does anyone else feel like there is someone new at the helm of WoW? I mean we know there isn't we just saw Chris Metzen and Mike Morhaime standing up there on that stage at Blizzcon and announce World Of Warcraft: Pandas and Pokémon... we can see it's the same people, so why is it they suddenly seem to be throwing caution to the wind and letting their, previously conservative, imaginations run wild?

If Warcraft was, to date, a steady ride through a well polished fantasy world, then the man at the front just threw the leaver into roller-coaster mode and we're in for a great ride!

What I mean is this, this is what we had been told a year ago:

"We will not allow players to change their characters"

"We want every race to have a unique silhouette, so no race can ever be in both factions"

"We will never allow you to turn real money into in-game gold"

"You'll never see a 'neutral' race"

"Pandaren are a joke, you will never see them in-game"

Oh really Blizzard?

From the moment I saw the Tier 13 Rogue set, something made me think the conversations in the Blizzard offices where more and more, going something like this:

"So I've got this really cool idea for X!"

"No... that's ridiculous, it's way out there... although..."

"The players will like it..."

"I was just thinking that, hmm, screw it, do it!"

And the first conversation I imagine was "Hey boss, why don't we make Rogues look like The Goddamn Batman?!"

I think it was an awesome move. I imagine the next few going something like;

"Hey, we should totally bring in transmogrifying!"

"Ah but that would change the silhouette, but then, is that really so bad, screw it lets do it!"

Which could have been quickly followed by;

"Hey... if we don't care about silhouette, we could give both races one race, so we could focus all our development on that!" and perhaps: "So what one race do both sides really want?... oh yeah... PANDAS!"

Couple that with the Real Money Auction House in Diablo 3 and the similar (though much more reserved) auction-able Blizz' Store pet. The old school 'homage' that is WoWkémon Pets and who knows what else that we have yet to see. It's starting to look like the gloves are coming off for the Blizzard developers!

'If it's cool, make it!' is definitely a mind-set I can definitely get behind, even if I'm not sure what triggered it... Is it the increased competition of games like Rift triggered and games like SWTOR and Guild Wars 2 are threateningto be? Is Warcraft reaching the end of its planned finite development life(Level 100 is but 2 5-level expansions after Pandaria)? Or has Blizzard simply decided, in it's quest to always up the Epic, that it's going to start breaking eggs (and rules) to make it's omelettes? I certainly couldn't speculate, but whatever the trigger; it works for me. I'm on board for another year, and let's see what crazy fun awaits!

Screw it! Lets...

Swear Allegiance

Playing the Bad Guy

Like many people in a civilised society I have been brought up, to borrow a phrase: "Lawful-Good". I've also been brought up by prerequisite of an XY set of chromosomes Male, and by want of stellar placement: Human.

Because of this I have a habit of siding with the humans when choosing a character, and usually plump for male characters... that said this is role-play so I sometimes like to be a little more creative, dive into fantasy races and cultures... I have a fondness of stout tech friendly, ale quaffing Dwarves, and I've been known to try female characters when the class lends itself away from lumbering meet heads; mage, healer, or stealthy type.

So why do I have a real problem, it seems, suspending disbelief when it comes to playing the bad guys...

Give The People What They Want!

Rumours (potentially quite correct ones...) of the new expansion title, has sparked a whole range of really great analysis and speculation about what the 'leaked' title and what that might mean for the progression of the world of Azeroth, but leaving aside what we might see in the new expansion, I'm having a think about why "The Mists of Pandaria"

Could this expansion be "Give The People What They Want"...

The following is total speculation on my part and should definitely not be taken seriously at all, In the slightest...

All Azeroth's a Stage

WoW is an old game, 6 years old to be exact. It has, in this time of unequaled video gaming success, to my (mildly odd) mind, become like some great Shakespearian comedy, acquiring 7 ages of player:

All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players,
They have their exits and entrances,
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages. At first the infant,
Mewling and puking in the nurse's arms.
Then, the whining schoolboy with his satchel
And shining morning face, creeping like snail
Unwillingly to school. And then the lover,
Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad
Made to his mistress' eyebrow. Then a soldier,
Full of strange oaths, and bearded like the pard,
Jealous in honour, sudden, and quick in quarrel,
Seeking the bubble reputation
Even in the cannon's mouth. And then the justice
In fair round belly, with good capon lin'd,
With eyes severe, and beard of formal cut,
Full of wise saws, and modern instances,
And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts
Into the lean and slipper'd pantaloon,
With spectacles on nose, and pouch on side,
His youthful hose well sav'd, a world too wide,
For his shrunk shank, and his big manly voice,
Turning again towards childish treble, pipes
And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all,
That ends this strange eventful history,
Is second childishness and mere oblivion,
Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.

+50 Culture Points

The epic passage, and summary of the life of one man can be quite analogous to the growth and development of the WoW player, if you have as odd a mind as I dear sir...

The difference being, that for as long as they can, a hero of Azeroth attempts to stop the boat at a point that fits her play style.

Tiers before bedtime

I'm not doing very well this expansion, 4.0 drops and I'm levelling from 60-80. 4.1 drops and I'm not in a guild doing troll heroics. 4.2 drops and while I am now in a raiding guild, I'm out of the country for more than a week after it drops, and I chose to level in Vash'jir and have all of Hyjal to do first. Way to be a cutting edge member of the community, with your up to date news and views there Crag.

So I'm back and it's time to log in, what, I wonder... as I pick up my 2 piece Tier 11 items with JP's, is the word from the Blues and what are people talking about? Well... it seems there is some QQ'ing to be done, which is so unlike the WoW community.... yeah...

Bashiok sets the casual cat* amongst the elitist pigeons with this new(ish) line from blizzard:

Send in the bears!

Not enough tanks? Call to arms! Okay thats one idea, sure, but it dosnt stop hour long queues below heroic level, or in the soul sapping 60-80 grind... my theory? Send in the bears!

Let Beast Master hunters, tank! Oh hush your cries and bear with me on this.... bear... no? phew... tough crowd, moving on:

There is already an established template for bear tanking... druids, the one class with arguablymore utilities than a hunter already, the druid can do it all, but it wasn't always that way, and in the same vein I would petition the idea of hunters tanking is no more outrageous.

Blizzard! Why you no letz me tank?! I'm in your hitbox, pullin' your Agroz!

Hunters are taught to tank and group from level 1

No seriously, think about it, while paladins and deathknights and to a lesser degree druids, are taught as they solo their way through the lower levels, that they have a mode where they need rely on no one, they are a one man killking machine, mobs break themselves against their heroic hide, and the only one they have to worry about is themselves. BM hunters on the other hand learn from the get-go that they have to play roles in a group to stay alive... the pet goes in first, holds the agro, you don't manage the agro properly, your in trouble, meanwhile you dps, but you have to be aware of whats going on and be the healer when your pet needs it. Hunters already have the group play mentality drilled into them from the start.

Open up tanking to other play styles...

Want more tanks, don't bribe the player base with trinkets, target players for whom tanking has never been an option... All tanks at present have one play style, get all up in the bosses grill and piss 'em the hell off, well yeah thats a tank alright but melee dps isnt everyones play style... opening up the tanking role to those of us more FPS than Beat'em'up would make for a bigger pool to recruit tanks from. The first ranged tank... far from having an easier time if it, would have more to do, effectively managing two roles, the job would also be more engaging for the micromangers out there and really break up the tank'n'spank metality. Besides which the new perspective on tanking would litterally give the group a new role...

Middle managers

For the first time in the role, hunter tanking would see the role of "middle management" in a pull (no no... its a good thing in this case, honest) although the hunter isnt as instantly on the spot when pulls go south, the mobility and view of the field a hunter has, would create a dynamic less "oh shit" and more prevention and prempting problems.

Which brings me too -- how would this be acheived with minimum disruption to all? Well for a start I would limit this to the BM spec, and, of course tenacity pets (the fact the pets come in tank flavour already is a clearly a sign, right?). All that would need to change is three talents in the BM tree; an AOE threat skill for the pet, a more reliable damage mitigation or self heal for Mr. Bear, and my baby:

Lasso/Graple shot: like deathgrip and lifegrip, so the hunter throws a lasso or fires a snare and line at the target... we already use the "mob on a rope" graphics and mechanic a lot since Cata' questing, so that's a good start. Keeping things interesting though; if you lasso a friend, like lifegrip, the hunter could pull their agro-causing friend out of harm, conversly though, tag an enemy and the hunter hauls on the rope, swinging the mob toward the tanking pet... comeon' its thematic its practical, there's presedant...

it all makes sense.

Sure there would be balance to address but there always is... and yes, I realse putting your life in the huntard's hands is scary but who knows maybe a taste of responability and we might man up, no more Feign Death and 'lolz'

So Blizz', get our lassos ready, Hunters, get your shit together, it's on you this time! And in the mean time

...Swear Allegiance!

Frostmourne... hungers... for frosting!

Host with the most of Dawn Forge productions: All Things Azeroth and Group Quest (to name but a few) --Medros-- is about to earn the achievement "tying the knot" (or is that a feat of strength, oh I'm such a cynic) which while epic, I realise isnt actually news... but while the announcement itself may have come a few months ago there has been a frankly astonishing development: His fiance has agreed, yes... agreed that if he can actually raise the funds to buy it, he may cut their wedding cake, on the happiest day of their lives, with the mighty Frostmourne!

This 'aint no pastry slicer!

Thus, presumably, transubstantiating into a god of geekdom amongst us unwothy mortals... but, there is an obstical that may yet defeat our great hero; as in game, so in real life, frostmorne is both epic and rare and many matz' must be farmed to purchase this mighty weapon... the matz' in question? Dollars.

which without the waffel is my way of saying medros is rallying the wow community and listeners of his many awesome shows to give an early wedding presant of a donation to put down a deposit on, and purchase, one of the last remaining Frostmourne replicas on sale. Cutting his wedding cake with said blade and realising a dream thats been mention on the shows ever since the happy news was announced...

At the time of writing the kitty is more than a quarter full (which is awesome you guys) but there's a long way before frostmorne can hunger for cake! So if you're feeling generous and want to give an early wedding presant, head over to http://sword.allthingsazeroth.com/ check out the info, and donate to the cause!

Which just leaves me to wish Medros the best of luck in his quest, wish them both every happiness, make them promise to share pictures of cakey goodness, and of course...

...Swear Allegiance!

Rolling in the Deep... End?

So, with the start of Swear Allegiance, a certain nameless hunter (who shall remain blatantly obvious) has been after content to 'start us off'; so here I sit on public transport and write in rapid spider like shorthand*

*I'll note now, that if any of this is illegible, its due to me being unable to read my own shorthand.**

**SERIOUSLY, its like a Tarantula buggered a Spirograph in a wild night of drunken, coke-addled debauchery. Either that or I've managed to accurately graph the severity of the pothole problem on a major Yorkshire inner-city bus route.

Anywhoo, as said hunter has also pushed me into Twitter (find his antics under #Cragsdirtylaundry) which has brought about a dislike of the common underscore. I am forced into using it on my twitter handle as another is still holding the other version of my username, so for now I shall remain quiet (Unless Twitter gains WoW-like Tweet Masters!). I have to wonder what can I add to the blogsphere.

Hopefully between my nonsensical rambling and Crag bashing (That's what she said...) I'll be able to talk about our small guild, it's fledgling RP universe and a few other nonsensical yet apt topics.

So in at the deep end we go...

Remember,

...Swear Allegiance

Level 87 Elite Customer Service, (Or: Why I learned to stop worrying and kick the Warlock)

So a day after I write about total huntardy n00bishness (although as these will go up at the same time you’ll never know mwuhahaha) I fix my own dungeon based failings, only for my guildies and I to be reminded of the one thing worse than an unrepentant Huntard… bloody Warlocks!

Picking up an extra DPS on a guild run last night should have been an easy affair, but after 3 wipes and 2 kicked warlocks (to say nothing of the ones that left of their own accord after a bit of trolling), it seemed we were in agreement on the fact that one less DPS was better than one more warlock. Is there some sort of mindset that chooses to actively spend his time in game calling on the powers of the Burning Legion and skulking about in dark corridors just to see their trainers? Is it subsequently connected to a burning desire to be a total asshole when interacting with other human beings? The last Lock we had to kick before taking the boss on just the four of us, even stated he was allowed to be a bastard out of character because he was a warlock… the trolls, they’re role-playing now!

But.. (there I go doing that again) the tale of the trials in the Stonecore last night shall not be darkened by manner-less ‘Locks, oh no, tis’ a tale of great triumph… and not just our Paladin, tanking off-spec, pulling off some (mostly) stress-free tanking runs. It’s the fact I was on any runs at all…

At some point on a particularly rough and packed Tube ride home last night (that’s the London Underground FYI) I was apparently crushed or thrown against some surface solid enough to crack the LCD screen of my keyfob authenticator, it’s late night on a friday, Blizzard’s phone lines are playing a ‘closed’ message… there goes a bank holiday weekend of WoW thinks I. Not so! For I did tweet my plight, and a brave hero stepped up to take the Quest of The Broken Authenticator!

Which is to say that Blizzards EU customer service team, despite being officially off the clock according to their support lines, took up my tweet for help and after a quick details email where able to remove the now defunct authenticator from my account and set me up with the mobile authenticator app looking after my account security. Far from being locked out of Azeroth till business hours Tuesday morning, 10:30pm on a Friday evening and I’m back online. I take back my online moaning Blizz’ you’re Epic in my book.

(Said guild run touched on here inspired me to a bit of short story/RP writing, based on the characters in The Allegiance guild, I’ve got a few of these now, sitting around my hard drive… My guildies have suggested that they should appear on this blog as well, stay tuned)

…and Swear Allegiance!

Confessions of a Huntard

Heres a tip: when Warcrafts new expansion comes out don’t do what I did and suddenly fall out of favour with the character you had painstakingly leveled to 80 geared, gem’ed and glyph’ed, deciding instead to level an old level 55 alt. Dont do it – for a start you would be copying me and that would be weird – but also you will have to, as I did, play through all the old content of the previous two games before you can join all your friends in new and shiny land.

Where am I going with this? well that was my long-winded self-rant way of saying WOO MY HUNTER DINGED 85! go team…

this, of course, means its time to get ready for endgame which for many people is where the game actually starts… thus did my dwarf venture forth into the layer of madness we call… five mans! which leads to the unfortunate realisation; in my many months of race/class/role changing and solo questing… my hunter has become, a huntard! But the first step to getting help is to admit you have a problem right? Thus this blog will be a hopefully amusing look at my rediscovery of the class I love the Dwarven gun slingin’ beast mastering hunter!

But why the sudden confession of n00bishness? I hear you cry (which you shouldnt because it bad form to start a paragraph with but… so im told.) well in one word, traps… I’m crappin’ traps! (More on that later!)

To be more specific, my whole UI and playstyle has become so inefficient and suited to solo play that my first run (thankfully with Guildies) was a comedy of errors I knew what I was supposed to be doing but all my tools (and an 85 hunter has a LOT of tools) are all over the place…

the first moment of huntardiness came curtsey of my razor naga mouse -a Godsend when i was tanking as a DK, my right thumb would dance through my rotation without a care in the world setting off spreading death and diseases without a care, as long as i was setting something off and keeping everyone’s attention on me, fine. Now however, i have a mob marked and CC requested, a tank about to make the pull and dps with itchy casting fingers… it is the absolute wrong time to miss the trap launcher located at button 8 and hit 5 thus arcane shooting the owl headed cat people we had snuck up on… in the face. Worse, my hunters dexterity may be off but his instincts are spot on, so as it begins to look like wipesville population: Us, I Misdirect and Feign Death like a master, and leave my guilides fuming as I stand up and survey the devastation. “Huntard!” …indeed.

Still we made it past that one and onto the next, and the aforementioned; crappin’ traps. You see at some point while soloing in Outland, the alien oxygen doing strange things too my tiny little mind, I decided I would place all my ranged attacks (of which trap launcher is one) on the 17 buttons on my mouse, and my pet and utility commands on the number row of the keyboard.

And-so it was that I found myself in Vortex Pinnacle, mid pull, managing pet, focus, dps, and tricky fight mechanics. Because of (or more likely despite) my best efforts, we made it out the other side of some really ticked off air elementals with ease, not bad thinks I, until my friend the tank turns round and, down the headset, laughs his head off , because as my left hand wildly stabs at kill command, rapid fire, and hunters mark I’ve gone astray a few times and my dwarf is now standing in the middle of Vortex Pinnacle looking like a proverbial Christmas Tree, and Santa has delivered… my whole compliment of traps beneath me 6 times over. Worse; our every previous pull can be traced back along the colourful breadcrumb trail of beartraps… “huntard…” indeed.

So what have we learnt kids? well that while it’s certainly possible to do a quite bit of soloing with your toolbars all over the place and the practiced muscle memory of a death knight tank, this newly maxed huntard has got several UI columns to read and a bartender to have a word with before he even thinks about those purples, because his long-suffering guild-mates might get RSI from rolling their eyes at this rate.

Oh and next time you hop in a handy whirlwind jump, bring a step-ladder? you see there’s a 4 foot dwarf atop a 10 foot pile of his own traps, and he can’t remember which ones got the snakes in…

but in the meantime

…swear Allegiance!

Guild Challenges

Being a small guild, gaining levels isn't the easiest prospect. With times of only four players online at any one time, our biggest weekly contributor is often whichever alt has currently hit Cataclysm content and is blasting Naga or helping Druids with abandon.

Cue another average Wednesday evening and by chance many of us were online, so henceforth to Stonecore we did saunter, with only one pugged member (DPS). It was immensely enjoyable to have a nearly all guild run for a change. Despite a tank who'd never done the dungeon before, several changed 'Locks and a Kitty with a healing fetish (a story for next time); we pushed through and got a Guild Challenge completion plus some XP and 'phat lootz' for Crag.

Now this wasn't our first challenge completion (that was a week or two prior during another Crag boost), but it got me to thinking about their effective use for the guild. Fortunately, with these bonuses applying to any dungeon done as a guild, it was time to start the milking.

The next evening we capped out for the week on Dungeon Challenges netting us a useful 2.1 million Guild XP. While this is really just a drop in the ocean at higher levels and a negligible addition to the total for some other larger guilds, it is undoubtedly a boon for us.

When we consider the number of alts my guildies and I have, we're often running around in groups for quests or dungeons (it helps to roll a trio group each time, saves on queue time) at some point or another. This way, our lowbies get their XP and gear, plus the guild gains levels and achievements.

Now I just need 9 more targets/Red Shirts dubious Battleground Conqueror's to start another milk farm.

For those interested...

...Swear Allegiance