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Guest Post: Vetting puggers -- beyond GearScore and achievements

by Jim Dalton on Jul 17th 2010 (8 hours ago)

This article has been brought to you by Seed, the Aol guest writer program that brings your words to WoW.com.

How can you tell a good raider from a bad raider?

GearScore? NO. Often times, people will rely on a numerical gear score, but this is not a good way to judge player quality. Very good players will have low gear scores when starting out, and very bad players who have been persistent or been carried can have very high scores. GearScore is not an indicator of goodness or badness; it's purely an indication of how much time and luck the person has had on that character.
Achievements? NO. Some group leaders request, "Link achievement, please," but this is not a good method, either. All this indicates is that the person was in the raid when the boss died. You don't know if they were No. 1 DPS or died three seconds into the fight, the same as they do during every fight they've ever been in.

So before you can determine how tell a good player from a bad player, you should understand what makes a "good player."

Filed under: Raiding, Guest Posts

Arcane Brilliance: Beta wishlist

by Christian Belt on Jul 17th 2010 (10 hours ago)

It's time again for Arcane Brilliance, the weekly mage column that would like you to know that yes, that is a screenshot from the Cataclysm beta, and yes that's a lowbie goblin mage. Also, the goblin on the right is Fizz Lighter, the goblin mage trainer. He's eternally flinging Fireballs at the goblin on the left, Evol Fingers, the goblin warlock trainer. The dirty lock is returning fire with an endless string of Shadowbolts. Even in screenshots, it's truly the most epic thing ever. I can't wait to see it live. And to assist Fizz with my own barrage of Fireballs. Stinking warlocks.

It's incredibly difficult for me to write about the beta for two reasons:

I'm not in the beta.
Anything I write about today is very well going to be completely different tomorrow. Or gone entirely.

So you can see my problem. I have been playing with the new 31-point talent trees almost non-stop since they were revealed. Like the crazed wizard I am, I have cobbled together approximately a billion different specs, molding them into vaguely humanoid shape and granting them life, then sending them forth to do my bidding. I call them "talent golems." I do this because I am a nerd.

Unfortunately, the next beta build will, in all likelihood, blow all of my precious creations up completely. This means that writing any sort of in-depth analysis at this point amounts to a bit of a mental merry-go-round. It's fun while it lasts, but you always end up back where you started.

So instead of wasting your time with a long diatribe on things which may or may not ever see the light of the live realms, I choose to waste it in a different way.

Filed under: Mage, (Mage) Arcane Brilliance, Cataclysm

Know Your Lore: The Eternals part two -- the Loa gods of the trolls

by Anne Stickney on Jul 17th 2010 (12 hours ago)

The World of Warcraft is an expansive universe. You're playing the game, you're fighting the bosses, you know the how -- but do you know the why? Each week, Matthew Rossi and Anne Stickney make sure you Know Your Lore by covering the history of the story behind World of Warcraft.

Last week we took a brief look at the Eternals known as Ancients -- immortal beings that were worshiped largely by the night elves, though other races also paid their respects to these ancient beings. This week we'll be moving from the demigods of the night elves to the gods, demigods and Loa of the trolls. The pantheon of Loa is vast and largely undefined, though we've seen glimpses of gods here and there, and will see at least one more of them during the Echo Isles event that will be coming sometime before Cataclysm's release. Some of the Loa gods referenced in today's article originate from the Warcraft role-playing games, and should not be taken as full-on canon as a result, however there are several other Loa that are featured in game.

To begin, the Loa are essentially primal gods, with each god representing a different animal or domain. Where the Ancients covered various types of creatures, the Loa cover various aspects of creatures -- there's a very subtle different between the two. The Loa tend to be a little darker, and some could be called "evil." In order to make this a bit more organized, I'll be sorting the Loa according to tribe.

Filed under: Lore, Know your Lore

Cataclysm Beta: Warlock specializations and talents

by Eli Khoury on Jul 17th 2010 (14 hours ago)

A familiar necrotic stench fills the air as sights and sounds fade into a fog of Fear. You tremble at the searing touch of flame that has enveloped those around you. Your hope is not that the warlock considers you a friend among foes, but that he has a use for you -- for that is the only way to survive this hell and receive his hallowed Blood Pact.

Finally, it has happened. The alpha has met its omega, the nondisclosure agreement is no more, and a freshly patched beta has released a swarm of much-anticipated Cataclysm information onto an unsurprisingly anxious and open-mouthed crowd. Standing before us are the revamped talent trees, relieved of the rot that has infested them for so long and ready for us to dissect and devour. I hope you're hungry.

Many talent changes have already been covered here at WoW.com, but what is missing is most important, not only because it pertains to what may become the most-shaken and altered class of patch 4.0, but also because their presence alone keeps the population of mages at bay. And too many mages means too much Lady Gaga, apple martinis and glittery body sprays. Ugh.

So, let's not waste a moment on pleasantries or poems, warlocks, for the time of our new arrival is nigh.

Filed under: Warlock, Patches, Analysis / Opinion, News items, (Warlock) Blood Pact, Cataclysm

The Art of War(craft): Sub-speccing for PvP in the current Cataclysm beta

by Zach Yonzon on Jul 17th 2010 (16 hours ago)

Zach sees everything through the PvP perspective of The Art of War(craft), including eating homemade brownies baked by his supremely awesome and sexy baker wife. He sees the brownies as opponents that need to be devoured in a methodical, strategic and soul-crushing manner. He advises everyone to look at all things (especially food) as adversaries that must be defeated and guarantees that success in life will follow. Probably.

A new, exciting build of the Cataclysm beta has been released, implementing the promised overhaul to the talent trees. It's still raw at this point, but we get a glimpse of the direction the developers want to take. The basic or starter abilities have been defined and although some of these may change, such as Divine Storm for retribution paladins (Ghostcrawler, lead systems designer, mentioned that it would probably go back into the talent tree), the changes feel solid and refreshing. One of the ideas the developers have is that "both the 31-point and the 10(-point) ability need to have more single-target use," which means we should get very good one-on-one abilities early on as well as at higher levels. As we mentioned, the trees are a long way off from being done, but that shouldn't stop us from taking a look at them and picturing the possibilities.

One of the cooler, less noticeable things to come out of this build are the one-liner descriptions about each of the talent specs, allowing players to quickly grasp the concept of each spec. Blizzard seems committed to keeping this model, complete with talent tree lock-outs to prevent players from straying into other trees early on. As you might have suspected, the real culprit (or at least the most notable one) behind this change is PvP:

Ghostcrawler

Whenever a popular hybrid spec comes up, it's usually because of some sneaky build that is broken for PvP by snaking down to pick up key talents in two trees. It's not because the player really wants to play as say two specs -- they are just cherry picking the talents. Since those builds almost always feel broken (as in breaking the rules) we don't want to design around them.

source

Filed under: PvP, The Art of War(craft) (PvP), Cataclysm

Around Azeroth: Local snow forecast

by Elizabeth Wachowski on Jul 17th 2010 (18 hours ago)

How good of a magician do you have to be to develop your own personal storm front? As Sylargrey of <Element of Fear> on Lothar (US-H) found out, all you need to do is wear the Sandals and Vestment of Summer with the Frostscythe of Lord Ahune. Not sure what one man wolfpack over there is doing, though. Trying to catch snowflakes on his tongue?

Do you have any unusual, beautiful or interesting World of Warcraft images that are just collecting dust in your screenshots folder? We'd love to see them on Around Azeroth! Sharing your screenshot is as simple as emailing aroundazeroth@wow.com with a copy of your shot and a brief explanation of the scene. You could be featured here next!

Remember to include your player name, server and/or guild if you want it mentioned. Please include the word "Azeroth" in your post so it does not get swept into the spam bin. We strongly prefer full screen shots without the UI showing -- use Alt Z to remove it. Please, no more battleground scoreboards, Val'kyr on mounts or pictures of the Ninja Turtles in Dalaran. Older screenshots can be found here.

Gallery: Around Azeroth

Filed under: Around Azeroth

Breakfast Topic: A little sumpin' sumpin' on the side

by Chris Cohron on Jul 17th 2010 (20 hours ago)

This Breakfast Topic has been brought to you by Seed, the Aol guest writer program that brings your words to WoW.com.

We've all been there before -- that magical moment when we let go of our loyalties to the object of our affection and simply give in to those inner desires for something new and exciting. Before we know it, we have turned away from our first love, leaving it huddled up in the corner feeling dirty and unwanted. Even if we don't personally engage in this abandonment, we are always anticipating the next story of someone else's doing it and the nitty-gritty details that come out. No, I'm not pulling headlines off the latest celebrity gossip columns again; I'm talking about your loyalties to WoW!

From old crushes like EverQuest and Star Wars Galaxies to newer flames such as Star Trek Online and Dungeons and Dragons Online, we all have games whose siren songs draw us into their grasp, away from our beloved WoW. With plenty of new and exciting MMOs on the horizon (we're looking at you, The Old Republic), now is the perfect time to start experimenting with a polygamous online gaming habit. While the frozen shores of Northrend have been nice, a trip into the Mines of Moria in Lord of the Rings Online may be the perfect thing to liven things up a bit and get that passion for your first love back.

Filed under: Breakfast Topics, Guest Posts

Phat Loot Phriday: Poisonfire Greatsword

by Michael Gray on Jul 16th 2010 (1 day ago)

"Wow," Lolegolas said. "Another sword, huh?"

Throgg looked up from where he'd been busily grooming his monobrow with his tongue. "What you mean, little belfling?"

"You have a different sword again," Lolegolas said. He tossed his flowing locks over his shoulder, revealing the glittering perfection of his chest. "You just had Kliklak's and now ... this."

"Ah, yes," Throgg grunted. "It is sword with Mastery on it, as stat. Since it no longer part of talents, I thought it must be very important to have on sword. The Poisonfire Greatsword has much Mastery! Make Throgg strong!"

"Hm, of course," Lolegolas said. "I will say that this sword seems rather magnificent. It appeals to my more savage aesthetic. It's all rough and course and manly."

"Right," Throgg said. "I got it for infiltrating a camp in the beta. Throgg is very clever, and was given the Poisonfire Greatsword as a reward."

"Do you remember anything about the lore of the quest?" Lolegolas asked. The roleplayer in him was coming out, and the blood elf was getting very excited.

Throgg's unibrow furrowed in confusion. "Lore? What? "

"You know," the blonde replied. "The lore. The story."

"Story is," Throgg answered with finality, "I got this awesome sword."

Name Poisonfire Greatsword
Type Two-hand sword
Damage 738 - 1108; Speed 3.30; ; DPS 279.6
Attributes

152 Strength
228 Stamina
Increase your Mastery rating by 152

How to get it It's a quest item in Cataclysm. You must handle the Flames from Above.
How to get rid of it It sells for 7 gold, 80 silver. Not sure on the disenchants yet.

Gallery: Phat Loot Phriday: Cataclysm

http://www.wow.com/2010/07/01/phat-loot-phriday-kliklaks-fearsome-greatsword/

Filed under: Phat Loot Phriday

Twitter developer chat for July 16, 2010, organized by category

by Gregg Reece on Jul 16th 2010 (1 day ago)

This twitter developer chat was focused on the recent beta talent tree overhaul announced for Cataclysm. Lots of information came out including drastic changes to the paladin class. A lot of the answers had to do with the fact that a couple classes aren't very done in the current beta build that everyone has been poring over.

Some highlights:

paladins will be using a new Holy Power resource system in addition to mana
all death knights will gain Runic Empowerment via trainers for all specs
no planned hard cap for the new Mastery stat
still no guild housing

The full categorized round-up is after the break.

Filed under: Druid, Hunter, Mage, Paladin, Priest, Rogue, Shaman, Warlock, Warrior, Blizzard, Interviews, Death Knight, Cataclysm, Worgen, Goblin

WRUP: Cake or pie edition

by Elizabeth Harper on Jul 16th 2010 (1 day ago)

Every week, just at the start of the weekend, we catch up with the WoW.com staff and ask them, "What are you playing this week?" (Otherwise known as: WRUP!) Join us to see what we're up to in and out of game -- and catch us in the comments to let us know what you're playing, too!

This week in addition to the eternal question of what everyone is playing this weekend, we've asked the staff the almost-as-eternal question of cake or pie ~~or death~~? It's been a battle royale in The Queue this week with Anne declaring her love for pie and Adam followed up with a cake versus pie poll in which cake maintains a solid lead. So today, we ask our writers. Their thoughts on the best bakery confections along with what they're playing for the weekend after the break.

Filed under: WoW.com Business

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