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Shifting Perspectives: Pulling 101: Deeper into the dungeon

by Allison Robert on Jul 27th 2010 (10 hours ago)

Every Tuesday, Shifting Perspectives explores issues affecting feral/restoration druids and those who group with them. This week, we continue to get hit in the face.

This week, we're continuing our series on Pulling 101 with a look at what happens during the dungeon itself. I was surprised to discover exactly how much of this advice concerns rage management, but shouldn't have been; any discussion concerning how to pull as a rage tank invariably touches on how to get the most out of an eccentric resource system. A good chunk of this advice will become obsolete as of the Cataclysm content patch, but if you're leveling and gearing a bear through the dungeon finder, there are still an awful lot of 5-mans between yourself and this fall.

Filed under: Druid, (Druid) Shifting Perspectives

Totem Talk: Leveling as a restoration shaman in Cataclysm

by Joe Perez on Jul 27th 2010 (11 hours ago)

Want to be a sultan of swing healing? A champion of Chain Heal? Totem Talk: Restoration will show you how, brought to you by Joe Perez, otherwise known as Lodur from World of Matticus and the For The Lore podcast

The Cataclysm beta has been offering us many things. From talent trees being changed to revealing new voices for bosses and audio for events, there really has been something new discovered almost every day. This is not too surprising considering the world is going through a massive series of changes as well as the game mechanics themselves.

One of the things that is being watched very carefully are the changes to healing and the mechanics not only of healing output but also mana regeneration. Sadly, though, there is still a lot missing from the client, making it hard to get an idea of exactly how it will all wind up being balanced. That said, there are still a lot of changes in place for healers in the way we quest and level. New talents and spells make it a different experience than before. On top of that, there are also a plethora of quests that seem to be tailored at least somewhat with a healer specifically in mind.

If you really do not want to know anything about Cataclysm until it is released, there will be some Cataclysm spoilers after the break. If you don't mind having a few things spoiled for you, please continue to read on.

Filed under: Shaman, (Shaman) Totem Talk

Reader UI of the Week: Fizziks' UI Mk. II

by Mathew McCurley on Jul 27th 2010 (12 hours ago)

Each week, WoW.com brings you a fresh look at reader-submitted UIs. Have a screenshot of your UI you want to submit? Send your screenshots, along with info on what mods you're using, to readerui@wow.com.

Greetings, Reader UI of the Week fans, and welcome aboard the good ship Addons. Today, we travel back in time, way back, to March of 2010, when man still lived in a terrible age of despair and ignorance. We have come so far since that terrible time. A light, a blindingly bright light, shown through the heavens, illuminated one column. One column for you, dear readers, to submit your user interfaces to ...

Fizziks was one of my first reader UI column subjects and has graciously sent in a redux of his awesome-then and awesome-now user interface. I am happy to say that this is the 25th Reader UI of the Week that I have written, and am happy to have an old friend come back for this special number.

Filed under: Add-Ons, Reader UI of the Week

MMO Roundup: Last week on Massively

by Alex Ziebart on Jul 27th 2010 (13 hours ago)

Sometimes you'd like to know that there are other MMOs out there, right? It's not all WoW, all the time! Our sister site Massively can provide you with everything you need to know about all of the other MMOs around: past, present and future.

	Space combat confirmed for The Old Republic Those eagerly awaiting the upcoming Star Wars MMO from BioWare were given yet another reason to be excited recently. At Comic-Con, it was revealed that The Old Republic would feature space combat, drawing in even more potential players who had been on the fence about the game thus far.
	Study claims that women spend double what men do on virtual goods PlaySpan and VGMarket surveyed just over 2,200 people between the ages of 13 and 64 regarding their purchases of virtual goods and currency. Women are the big spenders here, particularly when it comes to in-game money. They spend an average of $50 per year, as opposed to the $25 a year that men spend.
	SOE and Blur release DC Universe Online story trailer Sony Online Entertainment has recently released a lengthy story trailer for its forthcoming DC Universe Online superhero MMORPG. Debuting early Saturday morning on GameTrailers, the massive video clocks in at over six minutes in length and features nearly all of the DC Comics notables, including Batman, Superman, Green Lantern, the Flash, Wonder Woman, the Joker and others.

Filed under: MMO Roundup

Insider Trader: Enchanting the Cataclysm

by Michael Gray on Jul 27th 2010 (14 hours ago)

Cataclysm is probably still a little bit away. Blizzard has not announced the final launch date, though, so there's really not any way to guess. Still, we're seeing more and more information slough out of the beta like so much tantalizing ice cream falling from the soft serve dispenser. The flavor of the week for professions, of course, is enchanting.

Enchanting is probably the most fundamental template for improving a character beyond levels and gear. Even though jewelcrafters have been around for two expansions, people still talk about enchanted gear as being the baseline for character improvement. It makes sense, then, that the foundation is a flagship for gear enhancement in Cataclysm.

However, with a few small exceptions, the rules about which stats get enchantments are changing. As you'll see as we go through the new enchants one by one, many of the new enchanting standards will be based on procs. We can guess this change is in the interest of making the stat bonuses more interesting and "deep," so it's going to be interesting to see which enchants different classes prefer.

As warning, though, it's beta. It's almost certain some of these stats are placeholders or subject to change.

Filed under: Insider Trader (Professions)

15 Minutes of Fame: Psychologist and games researcher John Hopson

by Lisa Poisso on Jul 27th 2010 (15 hours ago)

From Hollywood celebrities to the guy next door, millions of people have made World of Warcraft a part of their lives. How do you play WoW? We're giving each approach its own 15 Minutes of Fame.

What keeps gamers hooked on their game of choice? Chances are, it's an element of the gameplay that was teased out with the help of games researcher John Hopson. The experimental psychologist and beta program head for Microsoft Game Studios examines what makes gamers do the things they do and then designs ways to keep them happily doing just that -- most recently, in titles such as Shadow Complex, Halo 3: ODST and Halo: Reach.

All that, and he's a WoW player to the core. "I mostly play in the two semi-official Microsoft WoW guilds, and lately I've been a hardcore player in a casual's body," he notes. "My wife and I had our first child a few months ago, so we've both dropped raiding and have been levelling alts instead since that doesn't require a fixed schedule. So far, we're both up to 5 level 80s apiece. :)" We thought it was time to turn the tables on Hopson, a loyal reader and occasional commenter at WoW.com, and ask him for his perspectives on WoW from the inside out.

Filed under: Interviews, 15 Minutes of Fame

Lichborne: Festering Strike and other beta news

by Daniel Whitcomb on Jul 27th 2010 (16 hours ago)

Welcome to Lichborne, your weekly source for news, guides, tips and opinions on the death knight class.

With the latest beta build, death knights have seen yet another series of small adjustments to their talent trees, but the biggest news is the addition of a solution to those hanging frost runes in unholy's rotation: Festering Strike. What's really surprisingly unique about Festering Strike though, is the rune setup: It uses one frost and one blood rune, the first attack to do so. In this week's column, we'll discuss how Festering Strike is fitting in, as well as looking at other talent tree issues and bugs on beta.

Filed under: Death Knight, (Death Knight) Lichborne

Cataclysm screenshot of the day

by Michael Gray on Jul 27th 2010 (17 hours ago)

The latest Cataclysm screenshot from Blizzard is shown above. The Gilneans continue to look like dark Victorian versions of Stormwind humans. Edward would be proud.

If you've missed any of the previous Cataclysm screenshots of the day or you want to see a high-res version of today's image, check out the gallery below.

Gallery: Cataclysm Daily Screenshots

Filed under: Cataclysm

WoW.com's Weekly Comic: Byron, the Tauren Rogue

by Kelly Aarons on Jul 27th 2010 (18 hours ago)

Welcome to another edition of the WoW.com Weekly Comic, Byron the Tauren Rogue!

Gruuka was taken down in cold blood (because that's what rogues do), and now Evi is relishing in her minor victory (as rogues do). I wonder if Byron will take any initiative and fight back -- because, well, that's just what rogues do.

Check out the full version right here, and tune in next Tuesday morning for a new page. You can also see all the previous pages in the gallery below.

Gallery: Byron The Tauren Rogue

Filed under: WoW.com's Weekly Comic

WoW Moviewatch: Icecrown Gunship Battle: Now in Real Life!

by Michael Gray on Jul 27th 2010 (19 hours ago)

The creation of WoW movies -- whether it is machinima or live-action -- stems from the author's love of game, cinema, or just raw creation. It takes a lot of love to create a WoW movie. And sometimes, just sometimes, you manage to do something unique. Sometimes, you can do something so completely awesome that it nearly defies description.

The Icecrown Gunship Battle: Now in Real Life! is one such unique movie. A guild got together and built cardboard replicas of the gunships floating above Icecrown. They loaded these replicas with firework cannons. And then they let them do battle.

I won't spoil the ending for you. This movie is beautiful in its simplicity. Its pureness lends it elegance. It is, in a word, awesome.

Interested in the wide world of machinima? We have new movies every weekday here on WoW Moviewatch! Have suggestions for machinima we ought to feature? Toss us an e-mail at machinima AT wow DOT com.

Filed under: WoW Moviewatch