MoP streamlines enchanting rods

quick repost thoughts – MoP might bring simplified enchanting rods – nice, good idea. But hey, how about giving the upgraded versions that many characters already have some extra tweak or benefit? Like:

• Slightly faster actions according to the level of the rod?
• A different colour when enchanting and disenchanting?
• Or just a decent vender value.

…the rod structure will change in Mists of Pandaria. Over the course of the last few Mists beta patches, the developers have been combing through enchanting and reducing the rod requirements across the board; it appears that the only rod you will need to perform any and every enchant is the first one, the Runed Copper Rod.

Ref: Mists of Pandaria streamlines enchanting rods.

New mounts in Mists

MoP will bring players a huge range of mounts, and while that is somewhat expected (being that an expansion should add a ton of new mounts, pets, monster models, etc) – when wowhead gathered them into a single area to preview it really makes an impression. Two favourites – the tiger and the disc mounts. The disc means the toons can fly around like they are those irritating mobs in the Eye of Eternity.

Related articles

• Mists of Pandaria Beta: New collector’s edition pet and mount uncovered (wow.joystiq.com)

Left Binding at last, now onto Thunderfury

Apparently all you need to do is blog about missing an item, and then it will drop. Like the Left Binding from Baron Geddon, which was the last of the really rare parts of the Thunderfury legendary collection mini-game. After that post I mauled my DK through Molten Core yet again, but this time the damn binding dropped!

I literally took my hands of the keyboard and paused for a good few seconds in disbelief whilst staring at the screen when it happened. And then mashed the print-screen button to get some proof in case of emergency roll-back.

I’m stoked! Now I need to gather some enchanted elementium bars and/or their mats, which most of which can be purchased cheaply. Then its off to bug central to slap a boss around until he makes with the sword drop. So some grinds and a few odd quests and the weapon is acquired.

I’ve not been as keen to play wow as I am now for well over six months.

MoP Release – Digital or Box?

I missed this when it went live, the Mists of Pandaria release date is confirmed for 25 September 2012. Seen also in the BattleNet pages.

Sep 25 is the date, and means we have a date to aim for. It also makes more sense that the PTR and beta ramp down still have time to make changes. So yay. Happy times.

Now fans have to decide if they purchase the game, and if they do is it a collector’s edition or standard, and a digital download or a box?

The collector’s edition box this expansion contains the same as previous years. Pets, mounts, and some side material (see the screenie below). Frankly a physical copy is not very enticing, and digital is the way to go now. Sure, you miss out on the cardboard, mouse-mat, some misc tokens, and DVDs, but overall the cost in Australia is $60 vs $100 for the Collector’s edition. I can use that $40 difference on something else, and I also don’t have to put up with lining up late at night, or waiting, or even a store. At best I might take the digital collectors, but standard looks very appealing.

This does not mean that I’m unhappy with WoW as a game, not at all. It just means that after buying three collector’s editions and noting that I’ve used less and less of the items, I’m now resigned to getting the game, and not banners for StarCraft or Diablo 3. I don’t care what is added for SC or D3.

Aside – this is my post in a guild officer forum in mid June:

If 22 June is start of raid testing, then with a couple of beta builds and tuning – live in 2-ish months – say mid Sep. I can’t remember what the other expansion timeframes were but they will need a month to ship and hype.

Heh, called it. 🙂

Related articles

• World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria release date announced (pcgamer.com)
• Mists of Pandaria releases September 25 (wow.joystiq.com)
• World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria release date announced (incgamers.com)
• Blizzard Announces Release Date for MoP (geeknewscentral.com)
• Mists of Pandaria likely to have a Digital Deluxe version (wow.joystiq.com)

Ramifications of Guildie Blogs

Sal is a guildie of mine and she’s started a blog – They Call Me Sal. It is a very personal and honest set of observations about being a wow’er, and also peripheral life stuff.

Her current topic is How do you name your wow toon? I’ve ranted a bit on that many years ago, but I’ll post again now too. See further down.

Gen is a guildie, and the current GM no less (ah the endless joys of being in leadership). Her blog – Untamed Hell Cat. Gen is a tad more ranty than Sal outwardly, and loves a good joke at the expense of all of us, a meme or two, or idiots in trade chat and LFR. Like Sal’s blog it is also worth a read.

Hellcat’s post is almost too much Drood-speek for me to type – oh flame kitteh how i miss choo! Don’t take that as theme for all the content, it is a hat tip to Alamo (?name?)  and is contextual to the post topic.

So what happens when guildies blog?

As a guild we’ve gone from strength to strength, even though there have been hiccups, arguments, and dummy spits. I’m interested in how many people within the guild have blogs, and what that might say about our age and demographics. If I get some stats and evidence to assert a theory I’ll certainly post here. It is easy however for me to say that I’m opinionated and the blog helps with that.

For many years I was the only regular blogger, and that gave me some capacity to write about events, or capacity to control when I did not to write about events. As a guild member though I do not expect to see incidents of the guild posted in public (or certainly not without compassionate consideration), and now that more of my guild are writing their own blogs I feel that the shoe is on the other foot. It is an interesting change in the balance.

A blog can be a soapbox, therapy, and all sorts of things. It may spark discussion, or cause issues of it’s own.

In our guild’s case I’ve not see any drama from bloggers, and I’ve hopefully not caused offense to those we care about. So for us there have yet to be any poor ramifications of guildie blogs. I know for certain that this is not always the case, and sometimes regular posts of that style can garner huge feedback. DramaMamas on WoW Insider is such a blog. I don’t blog for feedback, I do it for the joy of writing the blog. Frankly that is reflected in the small readership, and in a strange way having a small readership means that I can also say what I wish.

So there it all is – a set of wow bloggers virtually standing on our soapboxes, talking to the masses that pass by on the internet (I was going to say, “that pass by on the information superhighway”, but I think that term is as dead as floppy disks).

blogroll updated

Quickie – Finally got around to updating the Blogroll page, with all the stuff in my WoW list. Hopefully all my reader’s blogs are there – and if not tell me and I’ll add you.

Oh, and if you want to know the Googlereader export script things is a pain to add, but instead I copied and pasted the sample in creates. Cheating, but it worked.

Nifty WoW character badge

A nifty WoW character badge creator, build by a member of the AIE community. It’s really good. Best Signatures WoW Character Image Auto-Updater.

Best of all it auto-updates, so that as you level, or change specs it will refresh. And it shows your gear and helmet preference.

What I really love is that the destination URL is not a script, it is an actual image, which means that it can be inserted easily on forums, blogs, etc.

Whine about Bindings of the Windseeker

As part of the ongoing addiction to repetition – I’ve been farming for the Bindings of the Windseeker, which are the rare drop parts of Thunderfury. Actually I’ve been farming it ever since a mate was, and I went along to make the fight go easier. After seeing that I could smash the bosses solo, I decided that it was time, and since then it has been a very long time in farming. This post is a dummy spit to share the frustration of a small drop rate item. /spit.

Baron Geddon seems to know when my DK enters Molten Core and he throws away anything useful, especially the Binding. I even checked recently that I was killing the correct boss, as it seemed impossible to still be missing the drop. Not impossible, just unlucky. One day I’ll have Thunderfury, one day.

It would be great to experience the lore of the Thunderfury creation. I still have a sense of satisfaction from having the original Hand of Rag legendary, and while greedy – Thunderfury is another of the iconic in-game weapons.

Uninspired by DKs (so far)

Most of what I’m reading is uninspiring for Death Knights in MoP, which has been said before. As the weeks pass and significant changes are not making the MMOChamp, EJs, and the other DKs I read happy. My 2c: it appears that some abilities have a cool factor, but integrate poorly into the DK mindset. By example the use of DeathRunes as a new resource linked to specific powers, rather than being a catch-all rune to grant flexibility.

To the point that I will (a) take a series look at what is being said to validate it, and (b) consider a class or game change. Class change is less dramatic, less QQ-ish, as I see adapting to my preference within a game I like is better than just quitting. That said, many other options are available apart from World of Warcraft, and perhaps a change is needed. I’ve stopped playing before and returned to WoW and enjoyed it again. It is a viable strategy for fun.

As shallow as it sounds, I’d prefer a class with far less time monitoring the resources and far more time watching the battle, moving the character, and reacting to circumstances. I was a fan of simple Warlock rotations, and loved when Rogues had macros to do smashing dps. Currently the Death Knight (and some other classes) feel far more like a set of nested IF-THEN logical processes than an Undead Knight fighting through a world of challenges. Mixing up the fluff and formulas in my head is how I view the class.

Heck it would even be nice to enjoy a fight /game rather than monitoring rune cycles. There seems to be a new design principal where each class must now have secondary and tertiary resources to monitor (DK RP, Runes, special runes).

Related articles

• MMO Champ DK Comments (typhoonandrew.wordpress.com)
• Lichborne’s DK Summary (typhoonandrew.wordpress.com)
• DK Mullet Set – pvp tier (typhoonandrew.wordpress.com)
• Breakfast Topic: Will you miss your class as it is now? (wow.joystiq.com)
• Does World of Warcraft need to be more difficult? (wow.joystiq.com)

WoW 25% discount on faction change

Via WoW Insider, the faction change cost is reduced by 25%. Huh? The purpose for this offer amid the total end of an expansion? Fark. Offer the same deal when MoP goes live and they’ll likely make far more money.

From WoWInsider:

Have you been wondering what life is like on the other side of the faction fence? Blizzard has offered faction changes for quite some time now, allowing players to flip factions at their whim. This weekend, Blizzard’s holding a sale offering 25% off faction changes. Please note that a faction change isn’t a realm change — it’s just switching from Alliance to Horde on your current realm.

However, this change does make things quite handy for cross-faction trading, plus it opens up a whole new side of questing and exploration to do. Before you jump to make the move, however, you may want to check out Blizzard’s FAQ on the faction change service and give it a read. There are a few things that switch over when you change factions, like mounts and titles, and a few things that are wiped out all together, like Argent Tournament achievements.

Right. So people are so in need of misc wow stuff that they will faction change a toon? More money than sense. Far more. Note to those people – hey give it away to charity.

Probably too grumpy with that last part. Grrrrr.

Does 300 more MoP beta keyss mean launch soon?

MMO Champion are throwing around 300 more beta keys, and given the amount of keys already out there, plus the annual pass millions – I’d say they are getting bloody close to closing the beta and giving a release date.

So does 300×3 more MoP beta key mean we’re getting a launch date soon?

I think so, but I have no evidence at all. My fervor is directly proportional to my desire to see the date. It cannot be so long now. ComicCon can end without an announcement date, but if not soon then I think Blizzard are really stretching time.

Does anyone who wants a key not already have one?

Via MMO-Champion.

Related articles

• DPS in Beta (wowengineer.wordpress.com)
• Mists of Pandaria Beta: Horde and Alliance Incarnation moonkin forms (wow.joystiq.com)
• Mists of Pandaria Beta: New Jaina Proudmoore Theramore event voices (wow.joystiq.com)

GoT 7 Kingdoms screenie

A GoT – Seven Kingdoms teaser video via Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Well the still screens look good, the video look average, and I’m very worried that this is a flash in the pan.

“… to Game of Thrones: Seven Kingdoms – which promised an MMO in which “players form alliances through Player vs. Player (PvP), Siege combat, and politics to control Westeros” – Bigpoint vanished into the seat-and-BO-flavored mists of Comic-Con. And from that primordial ooze of glorious geekery, it’s now produced one trailer. It features betrayal, war, power, and GIANT WORDS introducing each.”

Related articles

• Valar MMOrghulis: First GoT 7 Kingdoms Footage (rockpapershotgun.com)
• Game of Thrones MMO subtitled ‘Seven Kingdoms’ (joystiq.com)
• Bigpoint Announces Game Of Thrones Seven Kingdoms, Comic Con Trailer On The Way (forbes.com)
• ‘Game of Thrones: Seven Kingdoms’ first trailer (digitalspy.co.uk)

GuildOx Stats on WoW Raid Decline

GuildOx have used their outstanding stats to create a story around the frequency of raids being conducted by guilds. As could be expected, guild raids appear to be in gradual decline.

GuildOx (..) has discovered that raiding guild activity has fallen 50% since the beginning of 2012.

This is by no means a doom and gloom message for raiders. Most raiders would already accept a large drop-off in attendance and activity as a reality, and one that reflects the length of time in the game since the last content patch for Cataclysm. Not shattering news, except to see the an approximate value indicate the drop-off is around 50% since the start of 2012, and since mid April the figures really hit a steep decline.

As the stats continue we’ll likely see the population drop far further, especially in response to a release date. In previous years my (various) guilds have taken the announcement of the release date as a point in time to decide our plans, and that typically calls for an ending to raids in prep for the new expansion.

The stats do not include LFR or include content which is not current, so while the graph is an indicator it should be taken with due consideration. The real message here is not new, it is one of understanding the degrees involved which is interesting; rather than worrying that a decline exists.

The guildox writers indicate that a jump start is needed when MoP is released, which is a fair expectation and fair desire. What is uncertain is how many raiders are needed to return to Warcraft when MoP is released so that the raid community can thrive again. Population doom and gloom abound in the blogs and forums, but MoP can still be expected to sell well, as it is a Blizzard product after all and many raiders return for the new game each expansion. Will the bounce be enough to ensure a thriving raid community? Not sure.

What I’d love to see is the same graph with all the expansions plotted to demonstrate the population behaviour from say 2006 to 2012. A holistic view, with the spikes for each batch of raid content would be interesting.

Related articles

• GuildOx data shows 50% decline in raiding guild activity (wow.joystiq.com)
• GuildOx player analysis highlights the warlock decline (wow.joystiq.com)

Old Republic to Refer Friends and/or Play Free to 15

Two very interesting new options in the Star Wars The Old Republic game which were previously hinted at are to be live:

• Free Trial (play free to level 15) announcement
• Refer a Friend Reward program announcement

Both “features” are items which a few MMOs have in play, and in all likelihood these measure help add new players to the player base. It is a pretty exciting change for SW ToR and one that may increase the server pops a little. I think the recruitment drive could have happened a lot earlier, but conversely the free to play change (to level15) is something that owners may not wanted from day one, as it removes the initial splash of revenue from box purchases.

I’m interested in what effect this has, and how the current player base feel about the move?

The key free trial blurb:

Free Trial participants will experience the opening adventures of each of the eight character classes in the game. Players will explore their classes’ Origin World, and may even have the opportunity to visit their faction’s Capital World! Additionally, Free Trial players will have the chance to face off against other players in Player-vs.-Player Warzones, or join up with friends and play through a Flashpoint.

Players who have previously participated in one of the Weekend Pass Free Trials or the Friends of Star Wars: The Old Republic Trial are also eligible to join this new free trial!

For the Recruit a Friend rewards:

Active players that have passed one billing cycle can invite up to twenty five (25) of their friends to take part in a Friends of Star Wars: The Old Republic trial. During this free trial period, invited friends can play levels 1-15 with no time limit, explore each of the four Origin Worlds, and experience the opening adventures for each class as they start along their epic journey.

You can earn the exclusive Kurtob Alliance Speederby meeting the following requirements:

• Referred one or more of your friends through the Friends Trial Referral Form.
• At least one of your friends purchased the game and paid for a recurring monthly subscription or redeemed a Game Time Code.
• You must be opted-in to receive emails from The Old Republic.
• You and your friend’s account must not be banned.

All players who have already referred a friend through the Friends Trial and meet the requirements listed above will be retroactively granted a Kurtob Alliance Speeder via in-game mail.

• Level: 25
• Quality: Artifact
• Requires Speeder Piloting: Rank 1
• Speed: 110%
• Excellent protection against being knocked off

All in all interesting.

Banter about attunement

There are many blog posts at the moment about attunement; love it or hate it.

Like all things there is a benefit, and a cost to that choice – which changes as your playstyle and perspective changes. I like attunement as I can know that the player has at the very least done some content.

I dislike attunement as it means I cannot gracefully skip content to the stage my alt was/is at. There is no right answer, which is probably why attunements were removed. Too much of a grey area led to angst, which then absorbed far too much time.

Overall I like attunements more than I dislike them, and think that they could have a valuable place in world of warcraft.

While I agree that creating very large attunement paths is a barrier which is difficult for some, and could even be problematic for raiders who switch characters (or whatever) there was something great in the story aspects of the attunements.

eg. Getting the Karazhan key was interesting from a story perspective. It took a small amount of additional time and effort, but it was entertaining and interesting.

If the attunements were part of the general story, in content which was not repeat-gated (eg. one after another) then they could return with my support. Perhaps the attunement is for the 5man to raid step, rather than for each raid step?

Perhaps also start the stories and the attunement chains as the leveling experience (e.g. the Marshal Windsor UBRS key), and therefore the story plays through the experience, which leads into the raids.

Make it so that the players would be foolish not to take the opportunity (Wrath Gate questline, or the Battered Hilt quests) and you’ll see more game lovers than haters.

Related articles

• Attunements and why they must never return (wow.joystiq.com)
• Should Attunements Return To WoW? (mmomeltingpot.com)

Raiding like a noob

The fine folks in Insidious Nagrand-US (my guild) needed a 10th man for the end of some Dragon Soul hard modes, and I was lucky enough to be online at the same time.

Dragon Soul hard modes are just that, hard. Timing, patience, and a little luck are needed – and all the team needs to be pulling their weight. Like the previous tier a single screw-up can be very harsh, although I get the impression that the GunShip encounter has more tolerance for mistakes than the gimmick fights (…use magic button now…wheee…). Unfortunately due to not playing regularly for almost six months my character’s raid gear is far from the level needed for hard modes, and I didn’t know the fights well at all. I was under performing completely, and it frustrated me.

A Game of Thrones MMO

Just announced is “The Seven Kingdoms”, a free to play browser based MMO based upon the Game of Thrones setting is in development. I get why, but I’m really more interested in how large the budget will be.

To get return traffic for MMOs there needs to be a fair budget, even if the scope is straight pvp only the cost to do it well will be significant. To capture the audience from the Warcraft and Star Wars players the features will need to be present too – unless it’s not that style of MMO. Perhaps the creators will go deliberately in a new direction and not try to shadow/copy the big few. I look forward to how the MMO resolves representing the politics of the setting.