Hallow's End has grown quite a bit this year. Adding to the old favorites of Innkeep Trick or Treating, PvP Smoke Bombing and Wickerman raids is the new Daily Quest to trigger the 5-man Headless Horseman event in the Scarlet Monastery graveyard wing. Considering this new mob drops Flying Broom Mounts, Evil Pumpkin Pets and Purple Jewelry, you can guess that he is going to be quite popular with the players.
New guides on defeating the Headless Horseman have sprung up around the Net. The fight doesn't seem too difficult for a group of L70s, but you can get an overview of all three phases and the loot table and WoW Wiki.
Also check out this excellent Hallow's End guide that covers all the activities for the holiday and lists the reputation gains and item rewards associated with each quest. Now put on your scary face and go get some Hallow's End goodies.
2007年10月17日星期三
2007年9月20日星期四
BigRedKitty: Quit Nerfing Our Necessity
Each week, Daniel Howell contributes BigRedKitty, a column with strategies, tips and tricks for and about the hunter class sprinkled with a healthy dose of completely improper, sometimes libelous, personal commentary.
In the lovely dawn of the Burning Crusade era, before the bugs were patched, the mobs scaled-down, and the promise of ten more talent points gnawed on our brains like termites in a house made of sticks, there were some wonderful situations that required skill, patience, tenacity, and guile.
They needed, in a word, a hunter.
And you and your hunter brethren were there to fill the void, to complete the circle, to provide the key ingredients toward making those impossible dreams come true. It was glorious, it was awe-inspiring, it was waves of gratitude from the massive collection of the lesser classes crashing over the Internet and into your headphones inspiring you to greatness. You were giddy. You were excited. You were quasi-but-not-really god-like.
And then Blizz nerfed it all to Sporeggar and back again. Typical.
But the echos of past glory still exists. For many of us, those memories are fresh and intoxicating. For others, they are a myth and only spoken of in hushed tones and in quiet, dark places where we meet to plot our return to prominence.
Let's bring our pain and suffering into the light. Let's remember what has happened and what has been and talk about it openly and with pride. BRK teaches young hunters to hone skills that are not needed in today's game because the day may come when our talents are once again critical to our guild's success.
Do you remember when they were?
We used to Kite. Nowhere was kiting more necessary than Upper Blackrock Spire. To the many of you who never got to run this instance in its heyday, you'll find it hard to believe how often one would see in general chat channels,
"need hunter for UBRS, have 9/10 and gtg"
Yes, we were needed and needed big-time. General Drakkisath, the final boss of UBRS, was important back then as he dropped every class's Dungeon Set One chest armor. This was not a difficult fight as long as the raid had a hunter who could Kite.
The setup of the General Drakkisath fight was thus: Drak was flanked on each side by an elite, making it a three-mob-pull. The fight strategy was for one of the adds to be crowd controlled, either by off-tanking or other means, and Drak to be Kited away from the fight until the other two elites were killed. And what a Kiting effort it was.
Drak was fast but not as fast as a hunter with Aspect of the Cheetah. The key was to Kite Drak as far away from the add-fight as possible. This was accomplished by getting a massive initial aggro with an Aimed Shot, followed with a Serpent Sting so that every tick of the sting kept him aggro'd on you. The hunter then ran out of the room, across a bridge, and then had to pop Drak with another shot, preferably another Serpent Sting, to keep him on your tail. Drak would be kited into the ZOMG Five-Mob-Pull room, (where many a raid suffered hideous deaths,) and then the hunter would make a choice of where to take him.
If your party was sufficiently geared and had the DPS, we would take Drak into The Beast's room. This was an easier kite in that one was less likely to get lost or lose aggro, but the leap over the fire was tricky. If you hit the fire with Aspect of the Cheetah active, you'd be stunned, Drak would catch you, end of Kite. But timed properly, the fire-leap was the last hard part of the Kite and the hunter would run waaay back into the darkness that was The Beast's starting area. Once at the back of this "room", (it wasn't really a room, it was more just an undesigned area that had no floors or walls or ceilings but was perfectly safe once The Beast had been dispatched), the hunter would Feign Death and fall off of Drak's threat list. Then Drak would usually aggro on the healer back at his starting room and make a bee-line for her.
For raids that required more time to kill the adds, the hunter could Kite Drak all the way to Rend Blackhand's chamber. This was much more fun as one had to make turns and twists and not get lost while Kiting this massive dragon throughout the instance. Eventually making it to Rend's room, the hunter would run to the very back corner, let Drak get right up on his grill, and drop FD at the last possible second. Again, Drak would aggro the healer and boogie back to the rest of the raid, the hunter on his heels to help take him down.
"Drak incoming, aggro'd on Priest!" we'd call out over vent. The tank would stand and wait for Drak as he and the hunter raced back to the raid. The tank would grab aggro, the raid would burn Drak down, someone's chest armor would drop which would most likely to be sharded as shaman-gear would drop for alliance raids and paladin-loot for horde.
Regardless of the crappy gear, another superlative Kiting was cheered. Hunter reputations were made and destroyed on this boss. Lists were kept, names were recorded.
"Yeah I've seen him Kite Drak before. He's good."
"No way. He got caught on the bridge and wiped the raid last week. Find someone else."
The culmination of BRK's Hunter Class was a successful Drak Kite. One didn't graduate without this critical component of our class's arsenal firmly established in front of the guild.
(Furthermore, Kiting-skill was the test for the Epic Hunter Quest and the Rhok'delar bow. We won't go into this specific subject here; it's deserving of its own column.)
Hunters would Kite things just for the thrill of it. Have you seen the movies of a hunter kiting Stitches to Goldshire? Or how about the pre-Burning Crusade Doom Lord Kazzak burning Stormwind to the ground? Yes, that was a hunter who kited that 40-man raid boss into the city.
Hunter-skill was Necessary back then. But where is our Necessity now?
Arcatraz is a difficult instance for the unprepared and inexperienced. However it used to be much worse than it is now. After Wrath-Scryer Soccothrates and Dalliah the Doomsayer are dispatched, a party runs up the curved stairs, across a transparent bridge, and encounters an elite mechanical trash mob. He's tough to be sure, but your party has downed a couple of these already and he isn't anything new.
But there used to be two of them here, and what was the only class that could crowd-control one of them? A hunter and his Freezing Trap. Without a hunter, it was a total pain to get past this point. Tank and off-tanking was required and a healer would get taxed close to or even beyond her limits trying to keep them both alive while the two remaining DPSers would slowly burn down the mechanicals one at a time.
"need hunter for arc, have tank and healer and gtg"
Wasn't that great? The first Outland faction with whom we reach exalted was Sha'tar because we ran this instance so frequently. It wasn't a Drak Kite or anything else wildly spectacular, but it was a Hunter Instance because of this single two-mob pull.
And Blizz nerfed it, removing a mechanical. No hunter needed anymore.
Mechanar is a harder instance than Arcatraz, in our esteemed opinion. Especially the tunnel leading to Pathaleon the Calculator. But the part of this instance most people have difficulty with is the second boss, Nethermancer Sepethrea. And even she's not the Big Problem, it's her {bleep}{bleep}mother{bleeping} fire elemental adds that are the party-killers. A total pain in the @ss, this chick is.
Enter the Hunter. When we first thought of doing this boss after Pathaleon -- Kiting her butt down his tunnel, fighting her in the last room of the instance -- and seeing this strategy work beautifully, we were positive Blizz had introduced this fight in remembrance of the Great Drak Kite from UBRS. Her adds were so slow and she herself so easy to kill that the elementals would disintegrate before they completed their trek across the tunnel. Having a hunter for Serpentia was a godsend and made her destruction the easiest part of the whole bloody instance.
"need hunter for mech, have tank and healer and gtg"
And we rocked that instance over and over again, introducing people to the Serpenthia Kite and telling anybody who would listen that this fight had a History. What you just witnessed, we'd announce, is a quasi-reenactment of the Great Drak Kite hunters had to perfect in order for guilds to get their Dungeon Set One chest armor! Pride, my hunter-friends. We kited that beyotch and people got their crummy shards -- her loot-list is pretty sad -- just like in the UBRS heyday.
And Blizz nerfed it, making Sepethrea Unkiteable. No hunter needed anymore. She's bound to her stupid room with her stupid elementals and her stupid loot-list.
WTF, over?
So what's left now. Shadow Lab? Our pet can tank Murmur but that's not a class-skill we can teach or really brag about. Steamvaults? Nothing. Karazhan? Nada. Misdirection is great but there's no real skill involved with it.
There's nothing left for us. Blizz has nerfed our usefulness, our "We Need a Hunter" moments. There are no more "need hunter" posts in the general chats anymore.
We are diminished.
But there is Hope. The new expansion is on the horizon and with it new instances and bosses. Perhaps, if we are both polite and boisterous, Blizz will recognize that we've continued to train our Kiting skills, that we haven't forgotten the Old Ways or the hunters that have come before us. Bring Drak Back! we could proselytize. Perhaps we shall be rewarded for our perseverance with a mob that cries out , "Hunter Needed".
And a decent loot-list wouldn't be bad, either.
Daniel Howell continues his quest to be introduced as an NPC in Nagrand and be the starting point for the new Epic Hunter Quest as the hunter-pet duo extraordinaire known to lore as BigRedKitty. More of his theorycrafting and slanderous belittling of the lesser classes can be found at bigredkitty.blogspot.com.
2007年9月18日星期二
Shifting Perspectives: Awesome Moonkin gear - The Finale
Every Tuesday, Shifting Perspectives explores issues affecting druids and those who group with them, brought to you by David Bowers and Dan O'Halloran.
NOTE: Mages, Warlocks and Shadow Priests may be interested in these lists as well.
This last set of equipment slots are better tailored to Moonkin than the visible slots covered earlier. Because the neck/ finger/weapon/trinket slots have to cater to all dps casters, we see more pure +spell damage items and less equipment watered down with +healing. Also, the relic slot has items specifically tailored to Moonkin.
Since there are so many choices for these slots, the format of this guide is going to be more of level based list, than the conversational approach of Part I and Part 2. Each section will have a few recommendations followed by a complete list of non-raid Outland alternatives.
The best part is that because there are so many choices, you're pretty much guaranteed solid upgrades no matter your style of play (i.e. solo, group, PvP, etc.) Finally, at the end of the guide is a link to two excellent Moonkin guides for gems and enchantments found on the Balance of Power blog.
Enough build up! On to the pre-Karazhan equipment extravaganza after the jump.
Neck: Early levels present separate Hellfire Peninusla quests for Alliance and Horde, but the results are the same. For the Horde, they get the L60 Felforce Medallion (18 sta, 12 int, 15 dmg) [H] and the Alliance get the L60 Telhamat Pendant (10 sta, 10 int, 21 dmg) [A]. Alternatives:
L59 Pendant of the Marsh (13 sta, 10 int, 9 spi, 11 dmg, 4 mp5) [A/H] starts with a random drop (Drain Schematics) from the Naga in the Zangarmarsh.
L62 Lunatic's Choker (16 sta, 11 int, 13 dmg, 4 mp5) [A/H] Terokkar Forest quest reward, but you may want take bracer reward instead.
L62 Necklace of Bloodied Feathers (24 stam, 15 int, 19 dmg) [A/H] Group quest out of Terokkar Forest
L63 Dragonbone Talisman (8 int, 7 spi, 15 crit, 16 dmg) [A/H] Another group quest in Terokkar, this time killing a bone dragon
At midlevel, the L65 Torc of the Sethekk Prophet (18 int, 21 crit, 19 dmg) [A/H] is guaranteed since it is a quest reward from killing first boss in Setthek Halls. There's also L64 Earthen Mark of Power (13 int, 23 crit, 12 dmg) [A/H] from a Nagrand group quest chain or head to the Auction House to look for the world drop L63 Amulet of Unstable Power (23 crit, 18 dmg). Alternatives:
L63 http://wowhead.com/?item=24462http://wowhead.com/?item=24462(15 int, 11 crit, 25 dmg) 16% drop from Gha'zhan Normal Underbog
L64 Sigil of Shaffar (18 sta, 16 int, 21 dmg) 14%,drop from Nexus Prince Shaffar, Mana Tombs
At high level, there are many options, but only one choice: Natasha's Ember Necklace (15 int, 10 crit, 29 dmg) [A/H] a great 9 part quest chain out of Blade's Edge that can be done with 1-2 players and results in the best non-raid Balance neck in the game. If you've already done the quest and chosen a different reward (they are all excellent), there are many, many options. Quest alternatives:
L67 Pendant of the Battle-Mage (12 sta, 11 crit, 25 dmg) [A/H] Netherstorm quest chain
Mob drop alternatives:
L70 Talisman of the Breaker (18 sta, 17 int, 21 dmg, 15% silence & interrupt resist) 6% drop from Kali'dan the Braker, Heroic Blood Furnace
L68 Brooch of Hightened Potential (15 sta, 14 int, 9 hit, 14 crit, 22 dmg) 12% drop from Blackheart the Inciter, Normal & Heroic Shadowlabs
L70 Omor's Unyielding Will (19 sta, 19 int, 25 dmg) 13% drop from Omor the Unscarred, Heroic Hellfire Ramparts
L70 Warp Engineer's Prismatic Chain (17 sta, 18 int, 16 crit, 19 dmg) 18% Mechano-Lord Capacitus, Normal & Heroic Mechanar
Other alternatives:
L70 Chain of the Twilight Owl (19 int, 18 def, 21 dmg, Use: +2% spell crit for group) 365 Jewelrycrafting
L70 Pendant of Dominance (30 sta, 10 int, {YS: 2 crit}, 14 res, 23 dmg) PvP reward, 15,300 Honor Points & 10 Eye of the Storm Marks of Honor
L70 Manasurge Pendant (21 sta, 21 int, 27 dmg) 25 Badges of Honor
L70 Charlotte's Ivy (18 sta, 19 int, 13 spi, 23 dmg) purple world drop
L70 Choker of Repentance (22 str, 15 int, 22 dmg) purple world drop
Finger: The low levels of Outlands offers more options than usual for the finger slot. Horde get a solid dps ring out of the gate with L60 Carinda's Wedding Band (18 sta, 12 int, 14 dmg) [H] from a 4 part quest chain out of Helffire Peninsula. Alliance must either grind the Hellfire instances for rep to get L60 Sage's Band (15 int, 14 crit, 18 dmg) honored with Hellfire Peninusla Alliance faction: Honor Hold (Horde version: L60 Farseer's Band (15 int, 14 crit, 18 dmg) honored with Hellfire Peninsula Horde faction: Thrallmar) or hope to find L60 Witching Band (16 sta, 14 int, 21 dmg) 17% drop in the Fel Iron chest that spawns near the end of Hellfire Ramparts. Alternatives:
L60 Circlet of the Victor (25 sta, {RS: 2 dmg}, 13 crit) Hellfire Peninsula World PvP 15 Marks of Honor Hold
L62 Cenarion Ring of Casting (24 sta, 16 int, 18 dmg) [A/H] Find and release 4 captives in Coilfang instances. Two are in Slave Pens and two in Underbog.
L62 Heirloom Signet of Willpower (7 sta, 11 int, 5 spi, 23 dmg) [A/H] Short quest chain out of Terokkar Forest
At midlevel, you are guaranteed the L65 Wildlord's Band (8 int, 11 crit, 25 dmg) [A/H] since it is part of the Natasha's Necklace quest in Blades Edge. Otherwise:
L64 Burning Blade Cultist Band (24 sta, 16 crit, 19 dmg) [H] Horde only quest out of Nagrand with two pre-Quests
L65 Treebole's Hoop (12 int, 12 crit, 15 dmg, 5 mp5) [A/H] Simple 2 part Blade's Edge quest chain
At high level, everyone will get L66 Band of the Guardian (11 int, 17 crit, 23 dmg, 15 pen) [A/H] since it is a quest reward for finishing the Black Morass quest line. Quest drop alternatives are:
L67 Manastorm Band (15 int, 10 crit, 29 dmg) [A/H] Long, fun Netherstorm small group quest chain
L68 Evoker's Mark of the Redemption (15 int, 10 crit, 29 dmg) [A/H] Shadowmoon Valley group quest chain
L68 Mage's Mark of the Sha'tar (29 crit, 14 dmg) [A/H] Shadowmoon Valley large group quest
Mob drop alternatives:
L70 Arcane Netherband (18 sta, 18 int, 21 dmg, 15 pen) 20% drop from Thorngrin the Tender in Normal Botanica
L70 Sparking Arcanite Ring (13 sta, 14 int, 10 hit, 14 crit, 22 dmg) 7% drop from Epoch Hunter in Heroic CoT: Old Hillsbrad Foothills
L70 Cobalt Band of Tyrigosa (16 sta, 15 int, 33 dmg) 12% drop from Nexus-Prince Shaffar in Heroic Mana-Tombs
L70 Ryngo's Band of Ingenuity (12 sta, 14 int, 14 crit, 25 dmg) 19% drop from Wrath-Scryer Soccothrates in Normal and Heroic Arcatraz
L68 Scintillating Coral Band (14 sta, 15 int, 17 crit, 21 dmg) 17% drop from Hydromancer Thespia in Normal & Heroic Steamvault
L70 Exarch's Diamond Band (19 sta, 19 int, 25 dmg) 13% Exarch Maladaar in Heroic Auchenai Crypts
Other alternatives:
L67 Seal of the Exorcist (24 sta, 12 hit, 11 res, 28 dmg) 50 Spirit Shards
L70 Ashyen's Gift (28 sta, 20 hit, 22 dmg) Exalted with Cenarion Expedition in Zangarmarsh
L70 Ring of Cryptic Dreams (15 sta, 16 int, 19 crit, 21 dmg) 25 Badges of Honor
L70 Band of Dominance - (21 crit, 28 dmg) blue world drop
L70 Seer's Signet (22 sta, 11 crit, 33 dmg) Aldor Exalted
L70 Lola's Eve (13 sta, 14 int, 13 spi, 29 dmg) purple world drop
L70 Band of Dominance (27 sta, 15 res, 25 dmg) PvP 11.934 Honor Points, 10 Alterac Valley Marks of Honor
Trinkets: Upon entering the Outlands, both Alliance and Horde immediately embark on a long quest chain in Hellfire Peninsula that culminates in trinket rewards that won't be replaced for a long time. Both factions get the L58 Vengeance of the Illdari (26 crit & 120 dmg / 220 heal : 15 sec @ 1.50 min) [A H].
For the second trinket slot, both factions get a reward from an amazingly simple Zangarmarsh two part quest. This reward won't be replaced unless you start raiding. Alliance receive L62 Glowing Crystal Insignia (26 dmg & 104 dmg : 20 sec @ 2.00 min) [A] and the Horde variant is L62 Ancient Crystal Talisman (26 dmg & 104 dmg : 20 sec @ 2.00 min) [H].
The only non-raid trinket that surpasses the Zangarmarsh trinket requires 41 Badges of Honor (i.e. 41 heroic boss kills): L70 Icon of the Silver Crescent (43 dmg & 155 dmg : 20 sec @ 2.00 min). I'm guessing we won't be replacing the Zangarmash trinket until Wrath of the Lich King goes live.
There aren't too many options to replace your Illdari trinket. Two Heroic only drops and two Revered faction rewards:
L70 Quagmirran's Eye (37 dmg, Equip: see link) 9% drop from Quagmirran in Heroic Slave Pens
L70 Arcanist's Stone (25 hit & 167 dmg : 20 sec @ 2.00 min) 9% drop from Epoch Hunter in Heroic CoT: Old Hillsbrad Foothills
L70 Scryer's Bloodgem (32 hit & 150 dmg / 280 heal : 15 sec @ 1.50 min) Scryers Revered
L70 Xi'ri's Gift (32 crit & 150 dmg / 280 heal : 15 sec @ 1.50 min) Shatar Revered
The rest of the trinket alternatives are not upgrades to the Illdari or Zangarmarsh trinket, but are good alternatives if you missed out on those two:
L68 Starkiller's Bauble (26 hit & 125 dmg : 15 sec @ 1.50 min) [A/H] Netherstorm quest
L70 Figurine - Living Ruby Serpent (33 sta, 23 int & 150 dmg : 20 sec @ 5.00 min) [Jewelcrafting BoP]
L63 Terrorkar Tablet of Vim (22 hit & 84 dmg / 156 heal : 15 sec @ 1.50 min) [A H] Short two man quest in Terokkar Forest
L63 Ancient Draenei Arcane Relic (21 crit & 120 dmg / 220 heal : 15 sec @ 1.50 min) [A/H] Small group quest in Terrokar, fun ring event
L70 Shiffar's Nexus-Horn (32 crit, (Chance on spell crit): 225 dmg for 15 sec) 11% from Harbring Skyriss in Normal & Heroic Arcatraz
L65 Oculus of the Hidden Eye (33 dmg & Use: 900 man restore upon death of opponent in next 10secs) 17% drop from Shirrak the Dead Watcher in Normal Auchenai Crypts
Two-Handed Weapons: Early on the Horde get the advantage here with a quick Hellfire Peninsula quest that nets them L60 Totemic Staff (33 sta, 22 int, 80 dmg) [H]. Alliance have to hope for L60 Crystalfire Staff (34 sta, 34 int, 16 crit, 46 dmg) a 13% drop from Omor the Unscarred in Normal Hellfire Ramparts.
After that, there's no options until midlevel. Then there's only one option: L65 Battle Mage's Baton (45 sta, 31 int, 30 crit, 85 dmg) [A/H] from a very fun Ring of Blood event in Nagrand. You shouldn't have a problem getting a pick up group for this event as there is an excellent weapon upgrade reward for almost every class. If you are having problems with any of the fights, you can have dps help from outside your group.
The Baton will last you until high level. Then your options open up considerably. I would recommend doing the relatively short Netherstorm group quest chain that nets you L68 Ameer's Impulse Taser (27 sta, 27 int, 26 spi, 17 hit, 27 crit, 103 dmg) [A/H] If you're eventually going to raid, you can always do the Cypher of Damnation quest chain out of Shadowmoon Valley that rewards L68 Oronok's Ancient Scepter (27 sta, 45 int, 25 crit, 103 dmg) [A/H], but that's a very long quest for a reward that is comparable to the much shorter Netherstorm quest.
After that there are four more or less comparable staff upgrades:
L70 Bloodfire Greatstaff (42 sta, 42 int, 28 crit, 121 dmg) 12% drop from Aeonus in Normal & Heroic Black Morass
L70 The Bringer of Death (32 sta, 31 int, 42 crit, 121 dmg) purple world drop
L70 Warpstaff of Arcanum (37 sta, 38 int, 16 hit, 26 crit, 121 dmg) 10% drop off Warp Splinter in Normal & Heroic Botanica
L70 Auchenai Staff (46 int, 19 hit, 26 crit, 121 dmg) Aldor revered
Finally, there is this bad boy with a low drop rate and a high drool factor: L70 Terokk's Shadowstaff (39 sta, 41 int, 35 crit, 150 dmg) 5% drop from Talon King Ikiss in Heroic Setthek Halls.
One-Handed Weapons: I wouldn't call one handed Moonkin items "easy to get" as there are no questable ones and little choice until max level. Even then, they aren't easy or cheap to come by. That being said, here are the pre-raid options. In early levels there aren't many choices:
L61 Blade of Trapped Knowledge (15 crit, 68 dmg) blue world drop
L61 Diamond-Core Sledgemace (12 sta, 14 int, 51 dmg, 5 mp5) 16% drop from The Maker in Normal Blood Furnace
L63 Zangartooth Shortblade - (13 sta, 14 int, 12 hit, 61 dmg) 19% drop from Swamplord Musel'ek in Normal Underbog
In midlevel, there is only one option:
L66 Time-Shifted Dagger (15 sta, 15 int, 13 crit, 85 dmg) 19% drop from Epoch Hunter in Normal CoT: Old Hillsbrad Foothills
Finally, at high level, you can find some decent one handed alternatives.
L70 Warpdagger of the Eagle (24 sta, 15 int, 95 dmg) & Warpdagger of the Elder (18 sta, 12 int, 95 dmg, 5 mp5) green world drops
L70 Starlight Dagger (15 sta, 15 int, 16 hit, 121 dmg) 15% drop from Mennu the Betrayer in Heroic Slave Pens
L68 Runesong Dagger (12 sta, 11 int, 20 crit, 121 dmg) 18% drop from Warbringer O'mrogg in Normal & Heroic Shattered Halls
L70 Bleeding Hollow Warhammer (12 sta, 17 int, 16 crit, 121 dmg) 11% drop from Quagmirran in Heroic Slave Pens
L68 Sky Breaker (13 sta, 20 int, 132 dmg) 17% drop from Avatar of the Martyred in Heroic Auchenai Crypts
L70 Gavel of Unearthed Secrets - (22 sta, 15 int, 14 crit, 150 dmg) Lower City Exalted
L70 Eternium Runed Blade - (10 crit, 160 dmg) Crafted by Blacksmith requiring, among other things, 8 primal might
I would recommend staying with a two handed weapon until you hit 70. Then, if you have your heart set on a one handed item either commission an Eternium Runed Blade from a blacksmith or grind your Lower City faction to Exalted for the Gavel of Unearthed Secrets. You will already be at Revered with Lower City anyway if you completed your druid epic flight form quest. Pair one of those with Saga of Terrok listed below or Khadagar's Knapsack.
Off-Hand Weapons: Like one handed weapons, there are few choices for Moonkin off hand items. At the early levels the Horde get a distinct advantage with L58 Demoniac Soul Prison (6 int, 10 crit, 19 dmg) [H] a midquest reward out of a quest chain in Hellfire Peninsula. But when Horde can get the 80dmg Totemic Staff two handed staff out of HFP just as easy, it makes the Soul Prison a hard sell.
At midlevel there is only one option, but it is one of the best in the non-raid game for Moonkin off hand: L65 The Saga of Terokk (23 int, 28 dmg) [A/H]. This is a very easy quest to finish since it requires you to pick up three items in Normal Setthek Halls which you are going to run a few times anyway.
At high level, there are only two off hand items that are upgrades to the Saga of Terrok: L70 Khadgar's Knapsack (44 dmg) which requires 25 Badges of Honor and L70 Lamp of Peaceful Radiance (13 sta, 14 int, 12 hit, 13 crit, 21 dmg) a 13% drop from Harbring Skyriss in Normal & Herioc Arcatraz. Other options at high level if you don't have the Saga are:
L70 Hortus' Seal of Brilliance (18 sta, 20 int, 23 dmg) 14% drop from Warchief Kargath Bladefist in Normal & Heroic Shattered Halls
L70 Netherwing Sorceror's Charm (15 int, 15 crit, 18 dmg, 6 mp5) [A/H] The only off hand item with Mp5. Comes from the Netherwing rep quest
L67 Imbued Draenethyst Crystal (11 int, 8 crit, 25 dmg) [A/H] Short Netherstorm quest chain
L68 Star-Heart Lamp (17 sta, 18 int, 12 hit, 22 dmg) 15% drop from Temporus in Normal & Heroic CoT: Black Morass
L70 Manual of the Nethermancer (12 sta, 15 int, 19 crit, 21 dmg) 18% drop from Nethermancer Sepethrea in Normal & Heroic Mechanar
Relics: Which relic to get really depends on your style of Moonkin play. Do you pewpewpew? Then the L60 random world drop Idol of the Moon (Moonfire 33 dmg) is for you. Do you spam Wrath like a green cannon? Then head to Shadowmoon Valley for the long and involved L67 Idol of the Avenger (Wrath 25 dmg) [A H] quest.
Do you call down Starfire for the big numbers and chance of stun? Test your mettle against Grand Warlock Nethekurse in either Normal or Heroic Shattered Halls for a 1 in 5 chance of winning the L68 Ivory Idol of the Moongoddess (Starfire 55 dmg).
Finally, at the end of your druid epic flight form quest, you will not only get your coveted Swift Flight Form, but also the L70 Idol of the Raven Goddess (9 crit to Moonkin Aura).
Gems & Enchantments: For gem choices by slot and enchantments by slot, I highly recommend checking out Fiordhraoi's excellent Moonkin blog, Balance of Power. He also has some well written articles about Moonkin talent specs as well as the importance of int/mp5/spell crit/etc gear.
That's it for this week. As usual, if I missed any solid alternatives, leave a comment below. In two weeks, the beginning of pre-raid Resto gear list.
Tags: balance druid, balance equipment list, BalanceDruid, druid upgrade gear, joystiqfeatures, moonkin upgrade gear, MoonkinUpgradeGear, pre-karazhan moonkin gear
2007年9月16日星期日
Is "ugly" the new beautiful, and "evil" the new good?
I have a question for all the Horde and warlock players out there -- as well as anyone who plays their character in a so-called "evil" way. But first, let me explain where I'm coming from.
As you know, one of the main differences between the Alliance and the Horde is their sense of style. In fact, the question of what looks and feels good to players of either side may be one of the biggest areas of disagreement that actually exists between them. To a lesser extent, this sort of disagreement exists between classes as well. Warlocks give off a very different feeling from Paladins for example, and different people are attracted to each sort of "aura."
Like many players, my sense of aesthetics and beauty fits in squarely on one side of this aesthetic equation, and the other side can be rather difficult for me to understand. I play in the Alliance, and my favorite races are usually the ones that are "beautiful" and noble-looking in a traditional sense. To me personally, the Horde races are hard to relate to.
I do sometimes start up a Horde character if I have a funny idea for roleplaying him or her, but eventually something about them starts to bother me. Now that the Horde has prettier blood elves to play, I admit this helped me a lot -- I am gradually leveling up a blood elf alt in my free time -- but somehow being a blood elf in the Horde feels rather out of place, as if I'm not really part of the Horde because I'm not hunched over with a ready-to-kill look on my face.
For a long time I couldn't play a warlock either for similar reasons. The class just seemed inherently evil; summoning demons and stealing people's souls seemed wrong somehow. Even though I knew it's just a fantasy game, I still had no desire to mimic in the game something that would be abhorrent to me in real life. I often wondered: what is attractive about the look and feel of these characters to Horde and warlock players?
Now before you start pointing out to me the various inconsistencies in this sort of feeling (such as "how come you have a problem summoning demons when the whole game is about killing people?") keep in mind that this is not really an intellectual or moral issue. It's an emotional one. It's about that instant feeling you get of attraction or repulsion to something without even thinking about it at all. You just know you like it or you don't. In this case, I have one of those negative gut reactions to hunched-over monstrous player characters, as well as summoning demons and stealing souls, while many of you out there are deeply attracted to these things. While my eyeballs instinctively look at draenei or night elves and see "good," then look at trolls and undead and see "evil," many of you may look at trolls and undead and see "badass," as far as I can tell, then look at draenei and night elves and see... "goody-two-shoes" and "prissy" perhaps?
Now, nobody here actually summons demons or has rotting flesh or horns or whatnot -- far from it: you may even pray for world peace, volunteer at the soup kitchen, and sponsor a poor child's education. In real life (I assume) we all see ourselves firmly in the "good" category, or at least we "live and let live." I'm not questioning anyone's morality or suggesting that the Horde players really are evil or misguided at all. I'm just wondering, when you log onto WoW, do you like to pretend to be nasty, evil, or "ugly" in some way? Or is it not ugly to you at all? Would you insist on another word, like "badass" instead? What attracts you by the "darker" races and classes in the game? What repulses you by the "lighter" ones?
2007年9月15日星期六
Death Knights not welcome at town picnic
It's a problem: here you are, a master of your very own runed blade, a summoner of an army of undead, an immensely powerful tank and damage-dealer -- and yet no one will let you into the lore party over at Starshine Shadowstrider's house!
"Yuckie!" they say. "He got his powers from the Lich King! ...Eww!"
"But I turned against him!" you proclaim in your defense. "I wised up and came back to the Light, sorta. Okay not really but I'm still not completely bad! It's like... fighting..." your voice gradually gets quieter as party-goers stop listening, "... fighting fire with ... fire. Dammit. I'm gonna go kill Onyxia by myself! That'll show 'em."
Yes indeed. It's looking like the future's going to be pretty rough for Death Knights. As Nethaera explained, "It's most likely that Death Knights aren't going to find themselves being popular guests at the town picnic."
But Death Knights aren't alone in dealing with this sort of thing. "Keep in mind," Nethaera points out, "that Warlocks aren't generally welcomed with open arms either (depending on the culture of the race in question)." Here we have a good role model for plucky summoners of the undead: Warlocks are magic users who use the powers of the Burning Legion against the Burning Legion itself! Have not the Alliance and the Horde not gradually come to accept that just because some people happen to summon demons, cause agony, corruption and ruin, as well as steal people's souls -- that doesn't make them inherently evil, right?
So it is with Death Knights. So what if you betrayed all the peoples of Azeroth to go and serve the Lich King for a little while? So what if his taint of undeathiness is still flowing through you while you draw those unholy runes and create zombies? You can now go to Shattrath to have your picture taken with a Naaru! Your reputation should be squeaky clean.
While Blizzard may yet find a plausible reason for Death Knights to be fighting against the Lich King rather than with him, keep in mind that even if that doesn't work out, you've got one magic word that will make everything okay. Whenever people won't trust you or play with you just because it would seem that you might possibly be technically evil (on the outside)...
Arcane Brilliance: Five magetacular mods
It's time again for Arcane Brilliance, your one-stop mage shop for all your magical caster needs. Last time we spoke about the macros mages should know and love, those little additions to your game play that will make you even more uber than you already are. At the end of that article I mentioned we would next talk about the addons that mages simply shouldn't do without, and even the comments in that article mentioned a few (thanks for stealing my thunder guys.)
This isn't to say that as a mage it is required that you use mods when you play. Think of these more as the added features on your luxury sedan, the DVD player and the auto-adjusting seats. The mods I use are an extension of the way I already play, but they don't play the game for me. Try them out, see if they work for you, and let us know how it went. Like I've said before, no one can tell you how to play your class; we can only suggest things that might make playing your class easier or more fun.
Cryolysis: This beauty of a mod is a radial menu that puts every spell you need at your fingertips. The main sphere of the interface can be configured to display info on your health and mana in either numbers or percents, and show your cooldowns on evocation and mana gems.
Cryolysis also has some great alert features, letting you know when your sheep breaks for instance. It gives you a nifty readout that tracks the cooldowns on your spells. You can also have the mod automatically restock your reagents at the vendor so you never run out of that blasted Arcane Powder (not that this has ever happened to me).
Many of the features in this mod seem to be automations of macros I created on my own, for instance the /party alert letting them know you've polymorphed a target, or that you're summoning a portal that will take them to a certain city. All in all, the word for Cryolysis is concise. It coalesces just about everything you do as a mage into one simple menu. I call it beautiful.
WaterboyLoc: Until we get our Water Fountain and Feast Table spells, Waterboy is here to help you provide food and drink to your party or raid. You might think this is too simple to add to the list, but think about all the time you spend making/trading food and water for the 25-man raid, and you'll realize that Waterboy really can be a useful friend.
The menu allows you to summon your consumables and when done you drag them to the box to the right and hit trade. That's it. The addon automatically trades the water or food with your target, saving uber amounts of hassle. The interface will also let you right-click to use the products of your effort, be they mana gems, water or food. Simple, beautiful, and it this version is available with localization for those with French or German clients.
Quartz: Ah Quartz, wherever was I without you? This is one of the most useful mods I have ever loaded into my UI. At its core Quartz is a modular casting bar, and its most powerful component is its latency information. Basically Quartz lets you know when you truly stop casting a spell, based on your current latency. After you install the addon, you go in and create a stopcasting macro for each of your spells (read up on how to do this by looking at the last Arcane Brilliance.) You are then able to stop casting without actually interrupting the spell, and begin to cast the next one immediately. Quartz's latency feature can increase your spell damage by up to one-third because you are simply casting more spells.
The other feature I love to death with Quartz is the multiple casting bars. When I cast Pyroblast, for instance, Quartz puts up a bar that lets me know exactly how long my target is affected by the spell. I've gotten in the habit of looking at these bars almost more than I watch the health of the target. It's a great way to keep track of when the Frost Nova will break, or when you will have to resheep that Naga in Heroic Underbog.
Omen Threat Meter: If you've ever wondered why you keep dying, chances are it's because you're pulling aggro off your tank. A threat meter is the key to keeping you alive, particularly if you are doing decent damage. The key to Omen (or even its low-powered cousin KTM) is having everyone in your party install it. If they are running KTM Omen will read their information, but not the other way around. I find Omen to be more concise, easier to read, and certainly more accurate than KTM. It has a couple of features KTM does not, like that little trick of framing your screen in red when you pull threat off the tank.
Omen is a WoWAce addon, which means you'll need to download the WoWAce updater to get access to it, but you definitely will want to do that because our last entry is also only available through WoWAce, and you can update both with the click of a button.
Decursive 2.0: The big boy is back from the dead, resurrected with a Soulstone of fabulousness. If you have never encountered Decursive before you're in for a real treat, because here is where mage addons began. Long ago Decursive would populate a list for you of who was cursed in your party, and all you had to do was click on their names and the curse would be lifted. Blizzard found this to be too much automation for their tastes and stopped the instant decursing in its tracks. That was a sad, sad day for mages, but luckily Ace2 has provided us with a new and improved version of this very essential mod.
Decursive now has a handy set of clickable little boxes that light red when a party member is cursed, and in addition lets you know when someone is charmed. It also has an auditory alert for when sheep break, quite handy I must say. Just about everything about Decursive 2.0 is easier to deal with now, and I just about passed out with joy when I was able to use this beautiful little number again.
Well, that's about it for this Arcane Brilliance. I have to go update my addons now and then set about farming money to buy enchants for my newly finished Spellfire set. Next time look for a nice chunky discussion on bonuses to spell damage. Until then, may all the mobs you farm be melee, and may your mana pool never run dry.
2007年8月8日星期三
2007年8月7日星期二
2007年8月5日星期日
Exalted by 40: My little undead pony
When I originally started playing World of Warcraft, there was absolutely no way to get a cross-faction mount. That didn't stop the text on the tool-tip from taunting me though, saying that the Forsaken mounts were available to Orcs and Trolls and not just Forsaken. Of course, as anyone who started the game at the very beginning can tell you, exalted with any of the basic factions was a vague future idea that they said would eventually be implemented. When the cross-faction cloth trade-ins came into the game, I started slowly but surely forking over every scrap of Runecloth I had to the Orc cloth NPC. I eventually managed to hit Exalted with Orgrimmar, and was able to buy a riding Wolf for my Troll Rogue. But between 40 and 60, I spent quite a long time bouncing around on a Green Raptor, wishing I'd been able to get either a Skeletal Horse or Wolf. (As they took the Ivory raptor I had really wanted out of the game altogether, I certainly wasn't buying an epic raptor!)
Flash forward to Zangarmarsh, and my baby Blood Elf Rogue. Coming up through the ranks, I thought it would be fun to see if it was actually possible to get a cross-faction mount by no later than level 40 -- and if so, just precisely what it would entail.
The first thing I'd note for those interested in doing this for themselves, Blood Elves are the only race other than Forsaken that starts at friendly with the Undercity. In my case, this made things much easier from the word go. Now, I could have run over to the Forsaken starting area and done quests there from level one on up, but I really didn't want to miss out on the rep rewards with Tranquillien. So in my case, I leveled from 1-20 with Tranquillien, then bounced around doing content here and there until level 38, at which point I settled into the rep grind in earnest.
Starting in the Forsaken newbie area, I tore through the quests from Deathknell to Tarren Mill in easy stages over a few days. (For anyone who has a serious session planned, this can easily be done in a day at level 38, but that blasted real-life thing kept me popping AFK.) I originally intended to try to get to exalted solo, without instancing. Sadly, I wound up about 6k shy at the end, despite having run every arc across the level 1-39 content that I could find that would give Forsaken rep. So I headed to the instances, and chased down every ounce of Forsaken quest rep from Ragefire Chasm to Scarlet Monastery. Sure enough, that last bit of instancing put me over the top. I also managed to make most of the two levels I needed in running around and completing these quests so that when the time came, I was only about 1000xp from level 40. A few kills later, and I was ready to go.
From there it was simply a run back to Brill to get my Little Undead Pony. Thus, a cross-faction mount by no later than 40 via non-holiday regular questing can definitely be done. In the case of Blood Elves and Forsaken, it will require not only chasing all non-instance rep that you can get in the old world, but also at least one run through each of the lower instances to get quest completions as well. (Although I will say that at 38, you can easily stealth run Razorfen Kraul as a Rogue to get the drop for Going, Going, Guano, and I'd imagine Druids would be able to as well.) For races that don't start as friendly to one another, I'd imagine it would be harder to attain by 40, but with the rep available in other instances like Uldaman, Zul'Farrak, and Razorfen Downs, it shouldn't be too terribly difficult to attain shortly thereafter.
Have any of you managed Exalted with a different faction by level 40 just because you wanted that cross-faction mount as your first one? (Or perhaps, you disliked your racial mount that much!) Any tips or tricks that you could give to others looking to get a cross-faction mount by level 40?
(by:wowinsider)
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2007年8月1日星期三
Breakfast topic: Best voiceacting
For the longest time, I didn't even know that WoW bosses actually had voices. It took halfway through BWL for me to finally turn on the sound and listen to what my enemies were saying, and I discovered that some of the voices were actually pretty decent.
There are concurrent threads on the US and EU realm forums about the best raid boss voice acting. There are a lot of different nominees, but some recurring mentions include:
C'thun's whispers: "Your friends will abandon you," "you are already dead," "your heart will explode" ... always creepy, especially when you think it's someone in Vent, ask around, and then worry that you're beginning to hear voices.
Shade of Aran: "I am not some simple jester! I am Nielas Aran!" Good, heartfelt acting.
Anub'rekhan: "I hear little hearts beating. Yesss... beating faster now. Soon the beating will stop." The guy sounds like a serial killer.
Ragnaros: He's got the most parodied voice out there. Someone in my guild used to macro Rag and Domo's entire conversation and scare the living hell out of us by making us think we started the event. The best one I've seen so far, though, is "Raganar-Os: The only cereal with a molten core! Two scoops, Executus, two scoops! Taste the flavor of Sulfuron! By fiber be purged!"
What's your favorite boss voice in the game?
(by:wowinsider)
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Limited Edition WoW Diorama #1 available for pre-orders now
The Limited Edition Diorama that was announced at ComiCon is now available for Pre-Order from Sideshow Collectibles.
You can only see it unpainted at this time, the number to be made is not finalized and the estimated ship date isn't until at least April 2008, but at least you won't be charged until it ships.
The price is $299.99 and as Amanda reported will include a netherwhelp accessory.
The sculpture depicts a battle between a Blood Elf Rogue and a Draenei Paladin based on artwork displayed at the last BlizzCon.
From Sideshow's site:
Each piece is hand-cast in high quality polystone, individually finished and hand-painted to exacting standards. The World of Warcraft Diorama is complete with a hand-numbered individual edition number on the bottom side of the base.
Important note: There is a 1 piece limit per household, billing address, shipping address, credit card and/or person. So buying one to touch and another to keep in the box will be a bit tricky.
[via Blizzplanet]
(by:wowinsider)
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"Leaked" FAQ for WotLK
Personally, I'm pretty convinced that the forthcoming expansion is going to be called Wrath of the Lich King, mostly because the title was listed by the USK, the German equivalent of the ESRB (see update 2 here). Now we have what purports to be a leaked FAQ for the expansion, allegedly briefly visible on wow-europe.com last night. I don't know whether this is real or not, but it's certainly interesting. Here's my favorite part (my emphasis):
The death knight is the first hero class in World of Warcraft; once certain criteria are met, players will unlock the ability to create a new death knight character, which will begin play at a high experience level.
That answers the question about people having to grind the new class up through the levels. I only wish it was available for all classes. According to this FAQ, the DK will be available to both Alliance and Horde, and will "combine damage-dealing and tanking" as far as party role goes. A few other points of special interest (summarized):
Level cap raised to 80
New profession: "Inscription allows the player to permanently enhance their spells and abilities and to create mysterious items of power to use, trade, and sell."
New and existing characters will be able to customize dances (??) and hairstyle
Northrend will be about as big as Outland and will take about as long to complete.
Players will fight Arthas himself
The full FAQ is after the cut, or you can read it at the source here (scroll down for English). Please do remember to take this with a grain of salt.
FAQ for World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King
What are the features of the new expansion?
Wrath of the Lich King builds on the rich foundation established in World of Warcraft and The Burning Crusade, providing a wealth of new content for players to explore. The harsh, forbidding continent of Northrend, home of the Lich King and his undead minions, will be uncovered on the world map, and to contend with the new challenges found there, players will be able to advance to level 80, acquiring potent new abilities and talents along the way.
In addition, Wrath of the Lich King will introduce the death knight hero class to World of Warcraft. Once certain criteria are met, players will be able to create a new death knight character, which will start at a high level. Furthermore, player-vs.-player battles will reach a new level of intensity with the addition of siege weapons and destructible buildings, not to mention a new battleground. There will also be an abundance of new quests, dungeons, monsters, items, and recipes -- as well as a new profession, inscription -- for players to try out. The expansion will include some additional character-customization options for players as well. We'll be going into more detail on all of these features in the months ahead.
How will the death knight class fit into the game?
The death knight combines martial prowess with dark, necromantic energies. Players might be familiar with the death knight from previously released Warcraft games -- most recently, in the campaigns for Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos and the Frozen Throne expansion, the former paladin Arthas became a death knight and wreaked havoc across Azeroth and Northrend before fusing with the spirit of Ner'zhul to become the Lich King. The death knight is the first hero class in World of Warcraft; once certain criteria are met, players will unlock the ability to create a new death knight character, which will begin play at a high experience level. We're currently exploring various options for how the death knight will play and the types of abilities at its disposal, and we'll be revealing more information about this new class as we get further along in development.
Will the death knight have any abilities from previously released Warcraft games?
The way we portrayed death knights in past Warcraft games is certainly a source of inspiration, but we are still determining how best to capture that feel within the mechanics of World of Warcraft, and haven't made any final determinations on specific abilities.
What role will the death knight play in groups and raids?
In general terms, the death knight can be considered a type of class that combines damage dealing and tanking, but naturally it will have an array of unique abilities as well.
What races will be allowed to play death knights?
We haven't yet made a final determination about which races can be death knights. However, the class will be available to both the Alliance and the Horde.
Will there be additional hero classes in the future?
Yes, we do intend to add more hero classes in the future, but right now our focus is on the current expansion.
What is the story background of the expansion?
Players last visited Northrend in the Warcraft III expansion, when Arthas Menethil fused with the spirit of Ner'zhul to become the Lich King, one of the most powerful entities in the Warcraft universe. He now broods atop the Frozen Throne, deep in Icecrown Citadel, clutching the rune blade Frostmourne and marshaling the undead armies of the Scourge. In Wrath of the Lich King, the greatest champions of the Alliance and the Horde will do battle with the Scourge amid Northrend's howling winds and fields of jagged ice, and ultimately face the Lich King himself.
Will players actually get to encounter Arthas himself?
Players will be skirmishing with the minions of Arthas from the moment they set foot on Northrend. He will be a constant presence as players progress through the expansion content -- which will culminate in a showdown with the dread Lich King himself.
Can you discuss some of the new talents and abilities that will be available from level 70 to level 80?
As with character advancement up to level 70, players will gain access to an array of potent and exciting new abilities and talents as they make their way from level 70 to level 80. However, it's still too early to get into specifics on these.
How long will it take to advance from level 70 to level 80?
We were pleased with the pacing from level 60 to level 70 in The Burning Crusade, and we intend to take a similar approach to pacing character advancement in Wrath of the Lich King. However, the specific amount of time that it will take players to reach level 80 will vary widely based on play style.
What can you reveal about Northrend?
The first area of Northrend we're showcasing is the Howling Fjord, a region of grasslands overlooking massive cliffs at the southeastern edge of the continent. This, along with the Borean Tundra, is the front line of the war against Arthas, and players will come face to face with his minions as soon as they set foot on Northrend. Eventually, as players progress further, they will explore the Grizzly Hills, Dragonblight, and more. We'll be showing off some of these new areas in the months ahead.
What's the level requirement to enter Northrend?
Players of any level who have purchased the expansion can visit Northrend. However, all of the content is designed for players level 68 and up.
How many new dungeons will be in the expansion?
The first dungeon players will enter is Utgarde Keep, which is intended for five players around level 70. Utgarde is inhabited by the Vrykul, a Viking-like race bent on proving their strength to the Lich King, who will raise the most worthy of their warriors to serve him beyond the grave. We intend to provide a variety of dungeons comparable to that in The Burning Crusade and will be revealing more details about some of these in the months ahead.
Do you plan to continue with the 25-player model for raids?
Yes, we've been pleased with the tactics, intensity, and variety of the 25-player raid model, and plan to continue with it.
In what ways will players be able to further customize their characters in the expansion?
In addition to the numerous new character-customization options that will be available with all of the new weapons and armor added by the expansion, we'll be offering some fun ways to alter both existing and new characters with regard to dances and hairstyles, but we're not ready to go into more detail just yet.
What can you reveal about the new profession coming with the expansion?
Inscription allows the player to permanently enhance their spells and abilities and to create mysterious items of power to use, trade, and sell.
What can players expect with regard to player-vs.-player combat in the expansion?
Players will be able to take control of siege weapons and use them to destroy opposing buildings, adding a new layer of complexity to PvP battles. Naturally, we'll be providing some fun places to put these new tools to good use, and we'll be revealing more information about them in the months ahead, in addition to the new battleground content being added.
Can you give a sneak peek at the new recipes and items in the expansion?
There will be hundreds of new recipes and thousands of new items available, but we're not ready to discuss specific examples just yet.
How many zones will be in the expansion?
Northrend will be roughly equivalent to Outland in terms of size and scope.
Will there be any new cinematic scenes?
Yes, our cinematics department is hard at work preparing a new intro movie for the expansion.
Release/Availability
Do you need to own the expansion to play with friends who have it?
There will be many aspects of the expansion that will be available to all players. However, in order to experience certain content, such as Northrend, or be able to play as a death knight, players must purchase the expansion.
Will there be an open beta test of the expansion?
We have not yet determined whether the expansion will require an open beta test. If we do decide to conduct a beta test, details will be posted on the official World of Warcraft website once we've gotten further along in the development process.
When will the expansion be released? How much will it cost?
We have not yet announced a release date for the expansion set. However, we expect to announce further details, including the release date and price, on our community website in the months ahead. Please stay tuned to worldofwarcraft.com for more information.
Will there be a collector's edition?
We have not yet made any determination about whether there will be a collector's edition of Wrath of the Lich King. We'll be announcing details such as this closer to release.
Will a Mac version be available simultaneously with the PC version?
Yes. As with all of our games, Wrath of the Lich King will be compatible with and optimized for both the Windows and Macintosh platforms.
What are the system requirements?
We'll continue to ensure that the game is playable on a wide range of hardware. However, we have not made a final determination on the system requirements as yet.
Will the expansion be released globally at the same time?
We recognize that players throughout the world will be eager to experience all of the new content being added with Wrath of the Lich King, and we will make every effort to release the expansion simultaneously worldwide. However, there's always the possibility that unforeseen circumstances could delay the launch in any given region. We'll share the launch timing with players in each region as soon as the plans have been finalized.
What is the ESRB rating for the expansion?
The expansion has not yet been rated by the ESRB. However, we anticipate that it will receive the same rating that the original World of Warcraft received -- "Teen."
[thanks, Rhys]
(by:wowinsider)
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2007年7月31日星期二
Next expansion "Wrath of the Lich King?"
It's four days to Blizzcon, and Boubouille, long-time source of quality information, thinks he knows what the next expansion is going to be called: Wrath of the Lich King. Obviously this supports previous information pointing to a Northrend-themed expansion, as Northrend is home to Arthas, the Lich King himself. The original post on the MMO-Champion forums claiming this to be the expansion name also asserts that there will be a new class: Death Knight! This seems to be less substantiated, but I wouldn't be surprised if it turned out to be true. Rumors aside, we'll almost certainly know for sure in just a few days. Are you excited? I am.
As far as the Death Knight rumor goes, the WoWWiki page lends a bit of support: apparently, Death Knight (as well as Necromancer) were originally planned to be classes in WoW, but didn't make it to release. Furthermore, there exists a green called Triumphant Shield of Shadow Wrath, which is confusing as no shield-using classes (Warrior, Paladin, Shaman) can use Shadow magic. This could just be an oversight in the random-enchant-generating code, but it could also be a hint at a Shadow-wielding, shield-using class...
Update: Over at MMO-Champion, they suggest that this is accurate because the link www.worldofwarcraft.com/wrath/ leads to a "forbidden" error, whereas accessing any other non-existent page on the site will give you a "not found" error. Continue to enjoy your rumormongering, everyone!
Update 2: Again from MMO-Champion, the title World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King was found on the web site of Usk.de, which is apparently the German equivalent of our ESRB (i.e. the agency that assigns content ratings to games). It seems to have a "12" rating; although I don't speak German, I assume that means "suitable for 12 and up."
(by:wowinsider)
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Yet another massive social problem somehow blamed on WoW
What does the Australian media have against World of Warcraft? First, they profile two people who have "had their lives ruined" by WoW. Now we have this wonderful article on terrorism by Natalie O'Brien in the Australian, which includes this paragraph: "Kevin Zuccato, head of the Australian High Tech Crime Centre in Canberra, says terrorists can gain training in games such as World of Warcraft in a simulated environment, using weapons that are identical to real-world armaments. Zuccato told an Australian Security Industry Association conference in Sydney that people intent on evil no longer had to travel to the target they wanted to attack to carry out reconnaissance. He said they could use virtual worlds to create an exact replica and rehearse an entire attack online, including monitoring the response and ramifications."
Uh ... okay. I have no idea how that would come close to happening with WoW. I can see how something like that would work with Halo or America's Army. But WoW doesn't allow you to generate your own content like Oblivion or such, so you couldn't create a functional model of a city or other terrorist target. We don't have weaponry that is "identical to real-world armaments", unless you count the bombs you can drop on Halaa.
The fine people of the WoW General Forum have picked this one up, suggesting that you wait for five sunders before assassinating a political leader and make sure to take the portal to Washington, DC. What do you think of this article?
(by:wowinsider)
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2007年7月30日星期一
Grats to the winner of our Spectral Tiger Mount
We have to give a big shout out of "Grats!" to Keane, commenter #2329 and random winner of our ginormous Spectral Tiger Mount contest. We sincerely thank all 5920 of you who entered (!), but we only had one mount to give away, and Keane (above) got it. He says he can't run through Ironforge now without getting bombarded by "OMG WHERE U GET THAT" whispers. I have to say: even I'm jealous. Looks awesome.
Thanks again to all the folks at Upper Deck for helping us out with the mount-- don't forget that the actual STM card is a loot card in the new Fires of Outland booster packs, which release on August 22nd, but which you'll be able to get your hands on at the sneak preview tourneys, held all over the country August 11-12th. And of course we'll have more contests coming soon, so keep watching.
Grats to Keane, you lucky, lucky, Spectral Tiger-riding commenter, you.
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Xfire and WoW Insider, live from the BlizzCon floor
Our BlizzCon coverage continues all this week-- we're sending our staff out to Anaheim (I'll be out there on Tuesday laying all the groundwork), culminating in the second BlizzCon event on Friday and Saturday. So whether you're going or not, stay tuned to WoW Insider all week for breaking news, liveblogging events, and pictures, video, and tons of coverage from Blizzard's big get-together.
And don't forget that all of our coverage is being co-presented with Xfire. In addition to their BlizzCon info page, they've also set up a special "blizzcon2007" account, and both Xfire and WoW Insider staff members will be blogging there during the event. Also, if you have an Xfire account, be sure to add "blizzcon2007" to your Friends-- that way, you'll be able to get invites to Xfire chats later this week coming directly from the BlizzCon exhibit hall. And if you don't have an Xfire account, then get one for free!
So this is it. It's time to hear about Zul'Aman and the next expansion. It's time to see Starcraft II playable and in action. And maybe it's time to hear about that third game Blizzard is working on? At BlizzCon, you never know. Stay tuned to both WoW Insider and Xfire to find out.
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Around Azeroth: How do you drive this thing?
Reader Scroto of Illidan sends in this amusing image. I imagine the Gryphon Masters in the major Alliance cities don't look kindly upon Furbolg seeking transportation -- thus this screenshot shows an attempt at do-it-yourself Gryphon riding (or perhaps Gryphon-jacking). Do these things come with an instruction manual?
Do you have a unique shot of Azeroth or Outland that you'd like to show off to the rest of the world? Tell us about it by e-mailing aroundazeroth@gmail.com! Or perhaps you'd just like to see more of your pics from Around Azeroth.
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2007年7月26日星期四
Gamers on the street: Patch 2.2 & VOIP
In Gamers on the Street, Krystalle Voecks will be creating characters and joining random US servers in an attempt to find out what the everyday Gamer thinks about different things going on in and around the World of Warcraft. With research in hand, she'll report back here on Thursdays, to share the word from the front lines.
With all the excitement about the PTRs and pre-made characters, I thought it would be interesting to ask people what they thought about some of the upcoming changes that Blizzard is adding into WoW in patch 2.2. Interestingly enough, the majority of people that I asked admitted that they didn't even bother reading the patch notes until they were released as live. Many said this was because of changes happening so fast that it wasn't worth tracking until it was finished. Others had only heard about the frenzy to get on the PTRs, and maybe of a couple of things in the works. But after a bit of searching, I managed to get two people who were willing to take time out of their busy schedules and give me their thoughts on their "best and worst" in the upcoming patch, as well as their thoughts on Voice Over IP (VOIP) that Blizzard is building into the game and hopes to make available soon.
In pursuit of the word from the everyday gamer, I signed into one of the oldest servers in the game: Lothar. It was originally brought online when the game was released, and has seen open transfers off the realm due to over-population. According to Warcraft Realms' Census information, Lothar houses a good-sized population of roughly 23 thousand players. The server heavily favors the Alliance, with an average of 2.8 Alliance players for every Horde player.
I managed to get a few words with Angelsil, Level 70 Human Mage of the guild
WoW Insider: So what is it that you are really looking forward to in patch 2.2?
Angelsil: There is supposed to be more loot for the Violet Eye faction, which is good. It seems that right now there are kinda crappy rewards for farming Karazhan rep-wise.
WI: I love my ring, but I'd love to see more too. What's the absolute worst thing in patch 2.2 that you've seen as yet?
Angelsil: I still think that resilience is a complete waste on PvE characters [compared to other stats], as clothies shouldn't be getting hit in raids. But it seems we're going to be forced to take it on some gear. Blizzard seems to be giving it up to PvP again at the cost of PvE raiding.
WI: What do you think of the upcoming in-game Voice Over IP (VOIP) that Blizzard has planned?
Angelsil: I think it's a brilliant idea! PUGs have long suffered from a lack of easy communication. Admittedly, I don't think it will replace private VOIP, but I do think it will become commonplace in PUGs and BGs where previously we only had typed chat.
The next person I caught up with was the L70 Orc Rogue, Biata from the guild
WoW Insider: So what are you really looking forward to in patch 2.2?
Biata: The thing I'm looking forward to most in the patch is the AQ 40 enchants that are being added to Outland factions for purchase since my guild doesn't do the instance anymore. (she is an enchanter)
WI: What's the absolute worst thing in patch 2.2 that you've seen as yet?
Biata: The only thing that I'm not looking forward to in the patch is the reputation grind to exalted for the enchanting patterns. I just get bored with the grind sometimes.
WI: I can relate to you there. And finally, what do you think of the upcoming in-game VOIP that is planned?
Biata: I'm still up in the air about the proposed VOIP. It could either be a positive or negative change depending on exactly how it works. If there is a way to make it guild, group, or raid specific then I feel the implementation could be wonderful. If not, then things have the potential for going in a less enjoyable direction. As to guilds not having their own Team Server/Ventrillo servers... Again I think it will depend on what the options are for its use.
While resilience on cloth doesn't affect me, I can totally agree with some of the rest. As I'm also an enchanter, making the old enchants available is nice. The only real problem I see is that now there's pretty well very little to no reason to ever go back and even bother with that content. (Not that there are queues of people waiting to get into AQ) What are some of your best and worst of the upcoming patch 2.2? How about VOIP?
Also, if you're interested in potentially being interviewed for Gamers on the Street, send a mail to gamersonthestreet@gmail.com, with your character name and server. You might just get a visit from a low-level character asking if you'd like to give your thoughts on what's going on in World of Warcraft!
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Fishing and fun (or the lack thereof)
Fishing is probably the strangest implementation of activity in WoW-- there's really nothing like it (well, except everything-- it's basically clicking in a certain place at a certain time, and when aren't you doing that in this game?). But for all its boring qualities, players are still fascinated with it. Blizzard has hit on that weird balance of positive reinforcement-- it's boring, but gives just enough reward to keep you doing it.
And so it's not surprising that, once again, players are asking for fishing to be made "more fun." What that means, no one is really sure-- they could add better rewards, or make it a less boring minigame, or just make it require less attention (all other professions don't require any attention to be paid).
Lo and behold, Drysc actually acknowledges that there's something wrong with fishing-- something that has to do with the unquantifiable quantity known as "fun." But what it is, even Blizzard doesn't seem to know-- they added nodes to fishing to join a bit of exploration with it, but once you've found a node, it's just back to that same old clicking. Drysc suggests that real fishing is just as boring for some people, and that's why not everyone likes fishing in WoW, either.
My personal preference would be to put more into the fishing minigame-- catch different fish at different times of the day, or use different lures to attract various catches. Either that or make the skill involved something other than "waiting"-- maybe a meter where you have to click when the bar reaches a certain point. There's lots of reasons to fish, and that's why people still do it. But there's no question that sitting there waiting for the bobber to bounce needs more cowbell fun.
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The least visited instance... and why
Overpowered on the forums wonders what the least popular instance is, and I'd say his guess of Blackfathom Deeps is probably pretty close-- it's a long run away for pretty much everyone but Night Elves, and at 25-30, there's so many more quests and things to do that BFD usually gets passed up. The other good guesses, I'd say, are the "old" late game instances like Naxx and LBRS. Unfortunately, while Blizzard tells us all about the most popular stuff in the game, they are pretty mum on what players don't like, for obvious reasons.
So how do you make an instance that makes players want to visit? Relmstein walks us through his idea of what makes a perfect instance ambiance: music, visuals, interactive features (the Chess Event is one of my favorite dungeon features, although almost all the dungeon dialogue "cut scenes" are fun for me), and memorable boss encounters.
But then again, BFD seems to have all of them-- it's a very pretty dungeon (I especially like the temple at the end), and while it might be a little short on interactive features, I really like the lore and the unleashing of the monster at the end. The last ingredient, I think, to a good dungeon, is just a storyline that drives you there. I'm sure Scarlet Monastery (except the Graveyard), and Deadmines are definitely among the most popular instances, and both of those have huge amounts of lore and mystery to make them interesting. Maybe if more players realized that Aku'mai was actually a pet of the Old Gods (or, you know, if there was a quest to kill him that explained that), BFD would see more traffic.
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PTR Notes: Kill command bugged
This is a weird, weird bug. Over on the PTRs, Tig has found that every time he tells his pet to drop the Kill Command, the mob attacked also executes the spell on its target. For example, if Tig is shooting a murloc, and his pet Ganjii is in melee with that murloc, Ganjii's Kill Command will attack the murloc, and then the murloc will somehow also drop a Kill Command attack on its target (in this case Ganjii).
That's a big bug, because if you move it to, say, a boss, a Hunter could drop the Kill Command on the boss while the main tank's health is low, which would cause the boss to instantly attack the main tank, in effect wiping the raid. Not cool.
Hortus wonders if it's just against specific mobs, but that's the last we hear of Blue-- there's no confirmation that it's a known bug and that they're planning a fix. Of course, it is the test realm, so let's not get too excited-- chances are that by the time this big patch reaches the live servers, this won't still be happening. But if you happen to be hitting the Kill Command with your pet on the test realms, watch out for that extra attack.
Thanks, Colin!
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Ho Ha Dodge Turn Parry Block Spin
Daffy and his buck and a quarter quarter staff may be able to parry and block, but should mobs in WoW be able to block without shields or parry without weapons? According to Blizzard, yes. CM Drysc spins it this way:
Consistency of base mitigation abilities for mobs allows for a consistency of combat, while still allowing interesting and engaging offensive abilities, differentiating defensive abilities, and various mob characteristic design. It's a bread and butter ground work that keeps mobs consistent in their ability to mitigate damage from all players. It can definitely create some weird situations where a grub really shouldn't be able to parry, but it can.
Drysc goes on to suggest imagining that the grub quickly spins a silk sword to parry your attack. Similarly he suggests that moths parry with their "Fel Proboscis".
So, it seems we should expect all mobs to be able to parry and block us while we fight them and to daze us while we run away, regardless of their species or appendages. It's a suspension of disbelief thing. We are supposed to rationalize or ignore how these creatures are doing these things and concentrate on the fun aspects of the game. Immersion into Azeroth suffers from balancing the gameplay experience.
I would like to see more customization of the enemies we fight -- less consistency of the mobs and more classic RPG battle rules, like skeletons being susceptible to blunt weapons and bleeding attacks not working on creatures without blood. On the other hand, I've had more fun playing WoW for a longer time than any other MMO. Perhaps it is just the classic geek conflict: purist vs. fanboy (or fangirl in my case).
Does the fact that grubs can parry bother you? Would you prefer less consistency and more believability? Do you think Daffy is better as Robin Hood or Friar Duck?
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Know Your Lore: Aegwynn
Azeroth isn't an easy place to live. Aside from those damn immortal night elves, most of the characters we know and love today weren't around for most of Warcraft history. Thrall? Born after the First War. Jaina? Barely middle-aged. Arthas? Is he even old enough to rent a car?
But on today's Know Your Lore, we have a lore figure who's lived for well over a millenium. She's seen it all and done most of it, despite being a mere human woman. So put your hands together for the second-to-last Guardian of Tirisfal, Magna Aegwynn!
Who: Magna Aegwynn, Guardian of Tirisfal.
What: Human Guardian.
History: Once upon a time, a council of mages met in the woods of Tirisfal to figure out a way to keep the Burning Crusade away from Azeroth. The mages decided to imbue one protector, or Guardian, with the magical powers of the Sunwell and charge them to secretly fight the Legion. The mages empowered the Guardian through a long ritual which caused them to lose part of their power. Once a Guardian was created, he would be the only Guardian until his death, or until the mages completed a long ritual to strip the Guardian of his power and create a new one. The Guardian would be given the title of Magna and a room in the Violet Citadel.
This system worked well until the time of Magna Scavell. Scavell was an aging Guardian who took in five apprentices, all of whom wished to succeed him as Guardian. Four of the students were men and one was a woman, Aegwynn. While the male students made fun of Aegwynn, claiming that women weren't good at magic, Aegwynn studied hard and eventually learned to read the Meitre Scrolls, the spells of long-dead Highborne wizards, which few could comprehend. Because of this, the Council of Tirisfal chose Aegwynn to be the next Guardian and transferred the power from Scavell to Aegwynn through their ritual.
Aegwynn started fighting the Legion on Azeroth immediately after receiving her powers. She quickly banished Zmodlor, a demon that possessed schoolchildren, even though the Council chided her for her rash actions. She told them that she intended to take a more proactive approach to fighting demons. As she spent more and more time hunting down demons, she grew to question the orders of the Council, believing them to be stodgy and set in their ways.
Five hundred years after becoming the Guardian, Aegwynn went to the continent of Northrend to fight a group of powerful demons. The demons had tracked down one of the last surviving dragonflights and were draining them of their magic. Together with the dragons, Aegwynn defeated the demons. But as they were celebrating their victory, the avatar of the fallen Titan Sargeras appeared and told Aegwynn that the world would soon bow before the Legion, bla bla bla, generic villain speech. (Sargeras is the official Big Bad of the Warcraft universe, the source of the Burning Legion and everything else bad that's ever happened. We'll get to him later, trust me.)
Aegwynn figured, hey, I'm supposed to fight the Burning Legion, so why not take the chance and try to take out their leader if I can? She readied herself and threw every power she had at the corrupted Titan, and he died easily. No, Aegwynn! Haven't you ever been a video game character before? The last boss ALWAYS has more than one phase! But Aegwynn was proud and reckless, and she thought she'd beaten Sargeras once and for all. She dragged his body to an undersea tomb and sealed him away. Unfortunately for her, Sargeras had transferred his spirit to her body at the time of her death. He wasn't able to use her himself, though. He'd need a new body to fully possess ...
Aegwynn kept fighting the remaining demons for the next seven hundred years. But after twelve hundred years of being the Guardian, her biological clock was beginning to wind down, and she knew someone else would have to take her place soon. But instead of letting the Council choose her successor, she decided to take matters into her own hands and have a kid. After considering several candidates, she chose Nielas Aran, the court wizard of Stormwind, as her lover. Aran was crushed when he learned that Aegwynn wasn't in love with him, but had just used him as her baby daddy to screw with the Council. Aegwynn kind of felt guilty about this, so when her son, Medivh, was born, she locked the powers of Tirisfal inside him and left him to be raised by Aran. Then she went off to do ... stuff. The lore doesn't say. I like to think that she spent a lot of time celebrating her newfound freedom, kind of like a thousand-year-old Lindsay Lohan on a bender.
When Medivh hit puberty, his powers went wild, killing Aran and sending the boy into a coma. Medivh awoke later with all the powers of the Guardian, but unbeknownst to Aegwynn, the spirit of Sargeras hiding inside his mother had been transferred to his body and had also awakened at puberty. I don't even want to think about the biology of how that all happened. Anyway, Medivh acted like a nice wizard and Guardian while secretly plotting with the orcs to open the Dark Portal. It gets complicated, and we covered a lot of it in Know Your Lore: Medivh.
Basically, Aegwynn overheard Medivh plotting with demons and confronted him about it. When he refused to change his ways, she fought him and was easily defeated. Medivh drained away all her remaining power. Then Medivh/Sargeras decided to give her the What My Evil Plot Is speech, and told her that when she had defeated Sargeras, he had transferred his spirit into her body and then to Medivh, and now THE WORLD WAS DOOMED ETC. Medivh then made the classic villain mistake of allowing his prisoner to get away after the What My Evil Plot Is speech.
Aegwynn ran to the court of King Llane of Stormwind, Medivh's childhood friend. She told them of what she had heard, and Llane began to develop a plan to fight Medivh. Aegwynn, however, wanted no part in her son's death. She teleported herself to the continent of Kalimdor and built herself a nice home by the shores of Ratchet, to await her own death. But Medivh had not taken the entirety of her power. She was still unable to age at a normal human rate, and she had just enough magic left to create a scrying well to look in on her son. When she saw Khadgar and Lothar kill Medivh, her heart broke. Even with her meager magic, she devised a plan to bring her son back to life. After twenty-one years of saving up her power, she brought Medivh back, without the evil spirit of Sargeras. He decided to atone for his evil deeds by traveling around and giving annoying cryptic warnings to racial leaders about how they must band together against the Legion.
This next part comes from the novel "Cycle of Hatred." Aegwynn again tried to retire to a normal, quiet life, but was located by the mage Jaina Proudmoore. Jaina wanted Aegwynn's help to relocate some Thunder Lizards. Relocate Thunder Lizards? Dude, that's the weakest possible excuse for barging in on an old lady's privacy. Jaina's subservience got on Aegwynn's nerves, which is unfortunate, because after relocating the Thunder Lizards they both got magically sealed in Aegwynn's house.
It turns out that Zmodlor, the very first demon Aegwynn ever defeated, had been resurrected by dreadlords and had concocted a plan to reform the Burning Blade cult. Zmodlor recruited advisors from Thrall and Jaina's inner circle into the cult in an attempt to force the humans and the orcs into a war. Jaina, Aegwynn, and Jaina's colonel Lorena confronted the demon, but Jaina was taken out of the fight by the Burning Blade warlocks. In a last attempt to defeat the demon, Aegwynn infused Jaina with her own life force, and Zmodlor was banished.
Where she is now: Aegwynn almost died after giving her life force to Jaina, but she survived due to the few powers she retained from her Guardianship. She accepted the position of advisor to Jaina, but insisted that her identity remain secret to keep people, demons, and the Burning Legion from bothering her. There are two women in Dustwallow Marsh that players have thought to be Aegwynn in disguise: the hermit questgiver Tabetha and Jaina's elf companion Pained. However, she's not necessarily in the game right now.
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