Sunday, January 31, 2010

Saturday, January 30, 2010

Melodies (EQ)



Over the last couple of days I've been playing my Bard in EQ. I figured I may as well play some of my other characters too. The Bard is a really neat class, there's no other class I've ever played like it. It can do a little bit of everything- almost. The best thing is, these days you don't have to manually twist songs anymore (Or it would be one class I could no longer play). There is a command /melody that lets you you add the songs in a sequence you wish to be played by the numbers on the cast bar.  For example /melody #, #, #, #. So it makes the bard nicer than ever to play. And it's awesome to run so fast as a bard, no need for a mount! So many things make it fun to play, from an escape mechanic to tracking.

A while back I had sold off a few of my masks, when I stopped playing the bard as much. I regretted this, but I've had some really good luck and actually gotten them back with not much camping involved. That is another thing that is neat about the bard class- illusions.

Last night I wasn't able to find anyone on to invite me to the Shadowknight's guild, as it is very small. I did find another guild after asking in general channel. It seems to have a nice amount of people and they have been real nice so far. They seem to do a good bit of stuff too. I even got to group up with some peeps last night and kill some stuff in the BoT towers.

I was thinking of working on the Mage some. I'm still trying to settle on one. I haven't played my Beastlord or Enchanter yet. I don't think I will pick those up anytime soon. For now I am having a lot of fun, meeting new people and it's been great being back.

-kaozz

                                        
                        Who says nobody plays EQ anymore!?
  
  

Hrmm... Any relation to a murloc?
  


Fun in the tower!
  


Adventuring!
 


                                              An ant mount!

Friday, January 29, 2010

Squeaky Wheels...



In the MMO world we sometimes forget that our hobby is one tied to real money. May it be from buying the product, paying subscriptions or paying for services. It is a business and we are consumers.


The Squeaky Wheel.. Gets the Oil.
If there is one thing I like about S.O.E. it's the customer service, however I tend to like their games just as much. I have in the past had a few bad experiences, but when compared to most other companies, I would have to say that out of my many dealings overall-  it's probably the best out there.

I did have my characters deleted once, the CS rep I spoke to basically couldn't be bothered to restore(years and years ago). And I was billed for a month I didn't log in accidentally, it was my fault and the CS rep pretty much told me too bad. Those were both incidents I quit over.Were they the companies fault? No, but I felt as a paying customer I was blown off when I asked for help.

Those are just two examples. I couldn't tell you how many times they have helped me out with things that most companies would just flat out say no to. They -overall- have been great when it comes to customer service.

But over the years I have learned- I am not one to take no for an answer if I don't have to. Many games are quick to blow me off over my measly petitions. Games are products, I am a consumer. If I am not happy, I will go to another product, plain and simple.

Today I was once again pleased with the support team helping me with one of my 'issues'. It wasn't anything game breaking, but it was a big deal to me. It's the little things that make players happy. So why not bend a little to keep the player happy? So today I am a happy player because I feel as if the company I am with cares.


Squeaky Wheel gets Annoyed..
Blizzard has helped me with issues in the past that really made me keep playing also. However they don't always bend as much as I would like them to. I have had a lot of bad customer service, generic responces.

With many incidents I was sent an email stating the problem had to do with my UI.  These had absolutely nothing to do with the user interface- yet each time I asked for help I was sent the same email! I was pretty ticked offI deleted my character by accident can it be restored?- Try restoring your original UI settings by following the directions in this email...What?!


I explained that I was tired of getting the same lazy email every time I had a problem. I never got an apology, or even an acknowledgment about it either, which was even more annoying. Yes, in case you were wondering: I am a MMO princess who demands excellent service!


Reality Check!
Some players think the companies owe the players nothing. In reality we are consumers paying for a product, many people forget that money is involved. It is after all a business. Time= money. That is one thing the MMO business has known for years, don't fool yourself. So yes---  time does amount to money, no matter how much you debate it. I am paying for the time I play. Are those employees doing charity work keeping the servers up and assisting customers? They might enjoy the job, it's still a job none the less.


Roll with the Punches.. Or Roll Out?
Take a look at the NCSoft issue recently. This business had security issues with the account website causing security breaches with accounts, which were hacked and stolen. Do you think these consumers were happy? Knowing the company I doubt they are swift to move on this incident. Will these consumers think the company cares about them? I doubt it. They will more than likely move on to greener or rather -safer pastures.

Is it the players fault that the website wasn't secure? That would be crazy to say it was. The players didn't have anything to do with the problem, which was: A bug that logged people into incorrect accounts, allowing them to change passwords and steal accounts.


Moral of the Wheel's story...
While I love playing my games, I love having great customer service even more. The game can be gorgeous with the best graphics, all shiny and new or even claim to have millions playing. In the end if they don't care about the customer, it's probably not the game for me.

-kaozz

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Treasured Items (MMO)


Treasure! We all love our loot, what I am talking about when I say treasure- Treasured items: What items do you treasure the most? Is it epics? Clickies?  Mounts?

In some games gear can still be handy after we've outgrown it, maybe it has a handy clickable buff on it. In others, gear is replaced so quickly it's hard to treasure it for long. Mounts are always something that can be very coveted as they will last long after you're gear has been replaced and in some cases they can no longer be obtainable.

Do you have some cool holiday items you treasure? I know I do- across all my characters. I suppose it's the little things that make some of us happy :) Other people don't worry about the little things I suppose, the latest raid gear is treasure enough to keep them happy.

I'm curious. What would be the most treasured item you have have, or had, in a MMO? For me it's a few things. In EQ it would be epic weapons I quested for, and a few clickie items I would 'die' with out! I think in WoW a couple of my mounts, noncombat pets and... my ghost wolf on my hunter~!



-kaozz

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Animated

 Just having some fun with animations and screen shots today :)


Do you think they drive invisible cars? 

 




Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Do Unto Others..




EQ
My Shadowknight in Everquest is now sitting at 54. I decided to try to get some xp towards 55 in the hotzone for that level. I had her camped out there from the day before, upon logging in I see most everything is cleared out. Doing a slash enter I see there's a couple of 85's and some anon people. So I take it there is a power leveling session going on. I also note it's the 'we think we are too cool for our own britches- only raid guild on the server'. I go on my way and head deeper into the zone looking for a few mobs to kill. I find a room with several mobs and pull one single. Next thing I see someone has come in the room and pulled the other mobs, they stop beside me and make sure both mobs aggro me- then they leave.

Oh.. I am sorry, did I mess up your pulling of the whole zone- you greedy elf? I was fuming, not because I couldn't take the mobs- because the jerk so blatantly trained me. Now here I have been bragging on the community of EQ for the last week. However every game has it's bottom feeders sadly. With such a low population top guilds are full of them too, I suppose they take anyone these days. They all make 'gay' jokes in general chat and pat each other on the back at each others wit. If they can get away with talking crap constantly, I can too.

So being the hotheaded jerk I can be, after I killed all the mobs, I found the guy so I could see what his name was. I then proceed to send him that would make my mother cringe. Feeling much better I then decided I'd have no chance to xp there anyhow and logged out to play some WoW.

I figure if I am going to deal with jerks, I am going to deal with it where it counts. Everquest is a game where players can't afford mistreat other players. However some are too stupid to realize this.

WoW
Dire had been asking me to play and do some heroics anyhow so I figured I may as well. We ended up doing a heroic and I got some boots I really wanted. I was happy! I also ended up doing the weekly raid for a change. It went by very fast and I got a nice bit of gold and several emblems. Hey look I was second on dps- in all my old epic glory! Yeah some of my gear is dated heh, working to replace a lot.

Today I would like to try to get my 'Champion Of the Frozen Wastes' title on the Paladin. I just need EoE, so I think I will see if my brother wants to start up a raid with me. I'd love to finish up that one.

I've been thinking of us three starting up a late night 10 man casual raiding guild. We've spoke about it a little bit. I'm not too impressed with a lot of guilds out there currently. It would be very  interesting to do, see how it goes.

--------------------------------
I suppose the moral of the story is- Do unto others as you want them to do unto you... or else you might find someone an even bigger @$$ than yourself. I think I may log on my higher level and go train someone I met last night.. Just kidding!

Or am I?..
-kaozz

Offended?



The Alien has a point lol.

Monday, January 25, 2010

Is WoW Too Competitive?





Is WoW too competitive?
Even though I haven't wrote about WoW much lately I still play. I suppose just like everyone else I get bored sometimes. I also get tired of the ongoing competition, sometimes I just want to relax and play something laid back.

Gear score, dps meters and the new armory even has a RSS! 'This customization tool allows you to tailor up to five characters' activity feeds to create a custom RSS/Atom feed, and export it to your RSS reader of choice.' You can see what the character has done with achievements, boss kills and what loot they have gotten. A bit personal if you ask me. Not a big deal, but what is the need for this, stalking?

Somedays it just feels like a job. There is a less personal feel to the game anymore. While I still think it's a wonderful game offering so much, it is starting to become a competition in all aspects of the game. Whether it be PvE- Gear score or PvP- Arena Ratings.

What does this do for a community?
While WoW is still a massive game when it comes to population, there is already the anonymity problem. There are so many people, who cares if you're a jerk to a few, right? There are so many people, players are expendable? I have caught myself judging people on gear and meters. Then I catch myself. It's not fair or right to judge people on these. These tools can be used for good but they can also be abused. This can erode an already 'not so hot' community even further.

Idle minds..
This leads to my thoughts on why people are always racing on the current content. I want to get done with this heroic asap- this raid finished asap. I've done it a million times, I just want loot and emblems. People become bored. Expansions are few and far between. It just becomes a race to the finish line after awhile. It's not just in the raiding scene anymore, it's spread across the game as a whole.


Thoughts?
Do you enjoy some good competition or do you tire of it? Just some thoughts as a long time MMO gamer. Personally, I am not soured by it to the point where I won't play, I just sometimes need a break.

-kaozz

Saturday, January 23, 2010

10 Reasons Everquest Is Still Great!




Oh noes not another EQ post! But it's so nice to be playing again! Today in my feed reader I saw several posts about gear score and meters. It's nice to be away from that sometimes. I'm not saying EQ is free of this mentality. I know currently I am playing a class that is heavily dependent on AA and gear- but it doesn't feel as harsh. You can go at your own pace, stop and work on AAs. What keeps me coming back after all these years? Here's my list of 10 reasons EQ is still great to play!

1- The community. The people are nice, helpful and genuine. It's a very nice environment to play in.  

2- The wide range of classes. There are so many unique classes, it can be hard to pick what you want to play. There is something for everyone. Each class has a unique feel.


3- Alternate Advancement. Starting at 51 you can work on alternate skills. There's a vast amount of things you can work on- from run speed increase to class specific abilities. Once you reach max level you still have something to work on and look forward to. 

4- Races. There are so many races to pick from. The good thing is, even though there are factions, you are not penalized from picking a race when it comes to playing with friends. You can still play with friends no matter what you decide to play.


5- Zones and Hotzones. There is a vast world to explore. You are not going to find a bigger world in any other MMORPG to adventure in. With the 16th expansion out, you can imagine how massive it really is. 'You're in our world now'- they really mean it! Hotzones add a boost to xp when leveling there, I love these! There are also 'daily' quests for each of them with multiple rewards.


6- Content and Lore. If you are a lore buff, this game is immensely rich in lore. There is so much content to work on, you can find many ways to stay busy as you level. Even at max level you still have plenty to do. The nice thing is, in today's Everquest it's easier to catch up and join in with friends and the rest or Norrath! Plus you get to see the game that started the rest!


7- Mercs. I absolutely love mercs. Can't find a healer or a tank? Grab a merc! This makes forming groups and soloing (moloing heh) easier than ever. Mercs can't join raids, but that is to be expected. 

8- Interaction- with GM's, Guides and Developers. GM events, guides popping in to touch base with players and Developers staying in touch with the community are some nice things about this game. It shows they care and creates a fun atmosphere. 

9- Shrouds. While shrouds are not the best thing about the game they are quite handy. It's a unique system with many advantages. You can group with a low level friend or use them to fill a specific role. 

10- Epic Quests. These are truly epic, the class specific Epics. They are meaningful and rewarding. I've yet played a game where rewards feel epic.



So there you have it, my ten reasons I still love the game! I could list more.. I'll spare you readers though ;)
Till next time!
-kaozz

Friday, January 22, 2010

Fun in Norrath (EQ)




Things have been going very well for me in Norrath. My little Shadowknight is now level 45, I hope to have her at least 50 tonight. In the hotzones levels are flying by, some are better than others though. Howling Stones was pretty meh, so I will be heading off to Veksar.

I want to hit 51 so I can get run speed three. I was tempted on getting Tboots, ( I am much too lazy to camp Jboots!) but it would pretty much be a waste as I've leveled so quickly. There is a nifty little trick on getting those as any race, even if you are evil. In the past I've tried the illusion and charisma deal, with some races you are not going to be able to get past what deity you follow, to buy them. However if you bank your money for the boots in the shroud bank (potions also, SoW, Cloudy Pots ect), you can just run there as the Rogue-Goblin Shroud. Once there the merchant still won't sell to you, but you can sneak behind him and buy them. Pretty nifty little trick if you really want them.

My little guild is quite friendly, a few of us have grouped a few times now. Often I like to solo so I can blow through the content at these low levels, but I don't mind if someone wants to come along. I am trying to push to 59 for a few AAs then park her at 65 for a lot more. We even did a LDoN, you can do those with only two people if need be, a merc can count as a third.



It's been nice and relaxing for the most part. The people are quite nice, more often than not. I enjoy revisiting the old zones. I am also having a lot of fun playing the Shadowknight class. Invis, Fiegn Death, Life Taps and Snare make it quite fun. With the addition of a pet and merc it's quite easy to just go off on my own and level.

Something that has changed since I have been gone- pets. They no longer disappear when you log out, which is really an awesome change. I was quite happy to see this change. Other than that I haven't noticed a whole lot that has changed recently. It's not the game it once was, however it's evolved into something I quite like. I would say I like it more now than I ever did. It is very enjoyable to be playing again!

Hope everyone has a fantastic weekend!
-kaozz

Thursday, January 21, 2010

WoW Musings




In WoW we are thinking of making a 3v3 Arena team. I'm honestly not sure who I'd play (Paladin or Druid) for this. My brother (DK), Dire (On his Mage I presume) and I will make up the team and naturally I am the only one with healers. I'm still in the process of thinking about it, we won't start until next season anyhow.

There are some changes in resilience coming up, I am wondering how this will affect PvP. If you haven't heard anything about it, continue reading ;)

We are currently in the process of applying a hotfix to buff resilience. While some modifications may be made, we intend to have this buff in effect for the remainder of the Wrath of the Lich King expansion.

The change will double the value of resilience in reducing damage done by players. So depending on their current amount of resilience, characters might experience a 10 to 20% decrease in damage taken from other players. The critical strike chance and critical strike damage reduction components of resilience will remain unaffected by this change.

We are also aware of the possibility that this change will make healing in PvP too difficult to counter. While we are not making any immediate changes to address this issue, we have prepared some further changes that will allow us to quickly deploy a PvP-only healing adjustment if we feel it is warranted.

We will be applying this change very soon while we are between Arena seasons so we can evaluate how it works in multiple PvP scenarios for the upcoming Arena season, and as we continue to prepare for Cataclysm. As we have mentioned previously, one of the goals for Cataclysm is to have a PvP environment where it is harder to regularly achieve so much damage and healing in relatively few global cooldowns compared to what we currently have in the game. 


You can also read more about it on MMO-Champion.


I've also been curious about the Olympics and if there will be another pet. The last pet for the theme was the Spirit of Competition. WoW.com has some interesting speculations. I guess we will just have to wait and see!

-kaozz

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Good Knight?




I'm enjoying myself very much in Everquest.. I enjoy the scenery, the feel of the game and the people. I decided to hold off on my Mage for now, I will pick her up later. For now I wanted to get another feel for the game with a Knight class. I had a bit of a hard time deciding which one to play- Shadowknight or Paladin. I actually have a 52 Paladin but in the end Shadowknight won out. Snares and feign death are just too nice to pass up. I had some nice twink gear to start off with in my bank; Funi, BoC , CoM and some other nice melee goodies. Oh look, she's named Kaozz :D

I complain about tanking at times, so why am I playing a tank class? I have played up almost every class to 50+ with the exception of a few. I just wanted to do something different. Plus the class appeals to me a lot atm. I have enough characters where I don't need to make a new one, but most of my fun melee classes are on the other account.

My little SK wasn't in a guild and someone asked if I was interested. I do have two other guilds characters are in, however I didn't see anyone I knew on in those, so I took the offer on a new guild just to make more friends. The person who invited me was very kind in offering help.

It's been nice and laid back playing. I hired a merc and went out to South Ro- which is merged with The Oasis of Mar. I hit 15 there and then went to LOIO until 23. I didn't do any newbie quests past 10. It was nice just wandering off and grinding. The levels fly by, add in skinspike potions and they go even faster.

So while I've not much to report back on in my adventures, I am having fun. It's refreshing being back in the game. I've missed it more than I thought. I can't fully concentrate today so I will cut this short >< I am trying to quit smoking and feeling very agitated- the neighbor below me blasting music is just asking for me to knock their door down!

Till next time.
-kaozz





Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Home Sweet Home!




So if you haven't been able to tell, I've been a bit bored lately. I'm currently waiting on Dire and my brother to catch up in levels in WoW. I suppose I could level my Hunter with them, I just haven't been in the mood to. So here and there I've been helping them with things as they level, they are almost 80 with these two so it won't be too long.

In the meantime I've decided to spend a little time in Everquest again. It's been quite a few months since I played so I figured I'd pop in and mess around some. I actually have two accounts so I had to decide which one to reactivate. I went with my Magician's account, she's still sitting at 81. I figured I could work on her some and maybe make another alt to play around with. Or possibly trying the Mayong server again, I'm not too sure what exactly I will do this time around though.

Does this mean I am quitting WoW? No, I don't see myself quitting WoW anytime soon. It will be refreshing to play EQ again. The last time I played was in hrmm... June of last year, so I still play, sometimes- not as much. That was before I started this blog, next month will be six months for it!

Anyhow, I just feel like wandering about Norrath a bit. Hope you do enjoy hearing about my adventures within Azeroth and Norrath. As EQ was my first MMORPG, going back is always like going home.

-kaozz

Monday, January 18, 2010

Boom Boom Boom!



As long as I've been playing MMORPGs there have always been classes with distinction. In Everquest I picked a class and had a role. Some of the hybrid classes could do more than one thing such as a Druid healing or a Beastlord slowing, instead of just dps. However you never had to respec to do so, switch your gear out to be able to preform better. And.. when you can't find a healer or tank, you don't have to fill that role even if you don't want to. You pull out your merc to do the dirty work for you. There was a feeling of working as a group.

I'm not saying that is a perfect gaming world there. It has it's flaws of course. It just seems in WoW lately the lines almost blend together. DPS? It's all the same. It doesn't matter what you play to dps, it just depends on how you want to. Healing? Each healer can preform well, some better in certain aspects than others, they can all heal groups fine. Tanks.. eh hrmm. They all tank very well. Let's just say two classes are much easier at AoE tanking than the others. With the lack of needing any CC in heroics, they should all have easy AoE threat IMO.

So there are no roles besides Tank Healer and DPS anymore. I don't exactly miss the days where we needed CC, so I don't actually know where to point the 'blame'. I do miss the classes having more definition. I am starting to find that as a DPS class, it just feels like a race to the top of the chart. There are no longer needs for pullers other than the tank, no need for sheeping or trapping. Just Boom Boom Boom! Lets race through the instance! Lets race for DPS! Some days I get really burnt out with all this racing.

Raiding is a bit different, it's also a bigger race in some ways. While currently I don't raid- maybe that's part of  it- the group scene feels sort of boring lately as dps. If I am healing, it's just a race to keep them alive. Not hard at all as a Druid. I do feel for healers just starting out though.

So what are your thoughts? Do you like more of a fast paced linear feel to a game? Or do you prefer more definition to classes? Just some thoughts as I've been merely playing DPS more than heals lately. It's definitely a transition for me- I thought it would be more relaxing than it actually is.

-kaozz

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Leave My Queue!




Sometimes when I join the LFD system in WoW I get a group and here we all go,ready check time! Oops.. did someone afk? Oh noes, get back in line! Very annoying when I am playing as DPS. It happens when I am healing, though I get another group just as quickly. As DPS it can be another bit of a wait.

Why bother joining if you're not up for the wait. People who queue and go afk, or whatever it is they do, should get a debuff- just the same as deserter. Not the biggest deal in the world but it's quite aggravating some days.Tonight it happened six times in a row. Come on people, stop wasting my time!

I've been playing the Paladin some lately, it's a nice change from healing in heroics. Holy was my main spec but having geared Resto Druid makes it a bit pointless to have another healer. So I am slowly working on more gear for the Paladin. My Ret set is pretty far behind, though I did manage to get the T9 shoulders last night.

It has been fun not worrying about healing the group. I try to push my dps as well as I can, stay out of the bad stuff on the ground and all that jazz. The wait times are a good deal longer now playing on this one but it was to be expected.

Hope everyone has a great weekend and may your queues be short!
-kaozz


Thursday, January 14, 2010

King Varian Wrynn- The Misunderstood King




I see a lot of flack on the recently returned King of Stormwind. Varian Wrynn is a jerk! He's a bloodthirsty savage! Orc hater! Truth be told he is a loyal king, who goes to extreme measures for his people. He's merely misunderstood. Much like the Lich King's story I find Varian's to be one that is often not known in depth and to be of great interest. While I do not have the time to cover his whole background I want to brush up on his history to shed some light on who Varian Wrynn is, what has made him the man he is.

The King's Story
Varian Wrynn is the son of King Llane Wrynn. At the young age of ten he watched his father's gruesome death. His heart cut out of his chest by half Orc Garona Halforcen, during the first war. Garona was supposedly an ally who ended up betraying the Kingdom with this evil act. Afterward the Horde overran his kingdom. There are other events to why the Horde did what they did but that is not a story for today. The deed was done and Stormwind was broken and destroyed.

Anduin Lothar (the Champion of Stormwind) was convinced there was no hope left for Stormwind, gathered Varian and the people to return North to Lordaeron. During this time Varian made friendships with many figures we know in Azeroth's history. Some of them being  King Terenas and his son Arthas Menethil. Terenas took Varian under his wing and looked upon him as a son. If you know anything about Arthas, you know he killed his father, which was another betrayal and blow to Varian.

Skipping to the future. Stromwind is retaken and rebuilt. Varian is officially crowned King at the young age of eighteen. Stormwind was rebuilt and renewed to it's former beauty. Varian met a lovely young lady, Tiffin, and married her. They had a son, Anduin, named after Lothar. However the King's happiness was short lived. With the uprise of the Stonemasons and their leader Edwin VanCleef  (Now the Defias Brotherhood) chaos broke out in the city, as they were upset they were not paid as they should be. Tiffin was killed in the midst of the chaos. Leaving Varian and his infant son to mourn her.

Varian slipped into depression for a time, however he bounced back and declared he would create a better world, after the third war. Around this time he left to Theramore to speak with lady Jaina Proudmoore on the relations of Horde and Alliance. The King never made it, he was abducted by the angry Defias. He was taken and held at Alcaz Island. Varian manages to escape the island but his freedom short lived as the was found on the coast of Durotar with no memory, almost drowned. He was found by gladiator trainer Rehgar Earthfury.



The story is deeper than we will delve into. However upon this time Rehgar enslaves Varian as a gladiator. Varian befriends Valeera Sanguinar and Broll Bearmantle. Along the way Broll helps him with visions from his past. (Be sure to say hi to them next time you do battle of the Undercity!)Varian being a fierce contender in the ring he is nicknamed "Lo'Gosh" - meaning "Ghost Wolf"

With another vision, helped to see with Broll, Varian sees a woman and child within it. She tells him his son and people need him. Eventually they escape and make way to Darnassus. After consorting with Tyrande Whisperwind they are directed to Theramore. Jaina Proudmoore would be able to help Varian find his memory.

Upon their arrival to Theramore Jaina unlocks many memories and realizes he is the Lost King of Stormwind. Jaina at once decided she must reunite the Lost King with his Kingdom. Varian learning who he really is feels unsure, for all he wished to be was "Lo'Gosh". They set off on a Voyage to Menethil Harbor. While making way to the Harbor they were attacked by Naga. During this attack Varian regains his memory, all except a few key parts of his abduction.

There were plots and magic used upon his abduction. Which adds more sorrow upon his story. Varian tries to find what he can. Upon returning to Stormwind he has to convince his son (and people) he is not an impostor, which he does, while almost losing his son while in the care of Lady Prestor.

Lady Lady Katrana Prestor seems to have an ill effect upon the newly returned King. This charming lady as we all know is more than she appears to be, Onyxia. Yet another battle for the King, he ends up in a fight to purge her from his Kingdom upon learning her true identity.

Currently the King of Stormwind is now where he belongs. Some call him ill tempered, rash and selfish. This is a king that has been through much hardship and pain. Sorrow has filled his life, yet he still fights for his people with a love of a King.

Selfish King or Fierce Protector?
So we know his story. We know his hardships. Varian has also been known to strike first and think later though he has some moments of kindness. "Stand down, Muradin. Let a grieving father pass." High Overlord Saurfang kneels over his son's body... I'll let you find those for yourself as I've taken enough time today to skim over his history. " In my eyes he is a very interesting character and a valiant leader in the Alliance.




In tribute to King Varian Wrynn
known to some as LO'GOSH the "Ghost Wolf"
 

His miraculous return from long years of exile and hardship has ignited a new fire of spirit and courage within the Alliance.

We shall march boldly into these perilous lands holding his valor and his tenacity in our hearts.

- Highlord Bolvar Fordragon


I'll leave you with this fun fact: Varian is voiced by Chris Metzen. Ironically, Metzen is also the voice of Thrall.
-kaozz

Armoy Me!



I often play around with WoW Model Viewer and use the Armory to quickly load my characters armor sets. I was messing around today and saw that the Armory had changed. It looks pretty sweet! They've taken it to an all new height. Now you can see each character as they appear in game in 3-D.

You can set each of your characters to emote when the page is viewed. You can freeze (pause) the animation into a pose you like and save it. As you can see in the picture above, you can also copy the code to link your characters Armory. Options also include can set the quality of the picture, moving the character around and even going into a full screen viewer mode, which is really neat. There's are also options to show or hide, cloak, tabard and helm.

Now there is also a list icon available to enable the gear to show up in a list and check out the gems and enchants. A very nice touch. It was a pleasant surprise to see these changes to the Armory.

Check it our for yourself! http://www.wowarmory.com

-kaozz  


Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Time= Skill and Rewards?




Recently I was on the Everquest forums, which I peek over at on a regular basis to see whats going on. I noticed a topic basically asking why difficulty and time = fun in the game still. There were numerous "This isn't WoW with it's instant gratification!" replies. That got me thinking. Do you consider spending large amounts of time on something more rewarding than a game that doesn't require as much time?

When it comes to MMOs, especially in Everquest, people have often based the idea that more time equals you should reap greater rewards. However, not everyone has massive amounts of time to put into a game. Some have more than others. Truth be told, those people claiming to be hardcore in Everquest today have not a clue just how hardcore things were at one time when one considers time. Unless, of course, they have been playing it since the early days. Today even that game is a walk in the park considering how it once was. Hell Levels?Ugh..

While long camps and the more static environment of Everquest has always been a very easy way to meet new friends and be more social, it seems today that the game is less social than ever. With the age of the game, people boxing and Mercs- You simply don't have to, as much, anymore. So sitting camping a spawn can get very boring.

I did notice another topic asking if a LFD system much like WoW's could be implemented.While people once said EQ had the better LFG tool, everyone drools over WoW's now. The developers have noticed it but I don't think much thought is being put into that area currently. It could be a great thing even if it worked for LDoN at least. Yielding new rewards, revamping LDoN to an extent to draw players in, that surely would grab my attention. We've all noticed the impact on the new system cutting down on time getting into groups in WoW, how it's flourished. So for this area less time spent is more rewarding when it comes to forming groups.

While many people blame WoW for simplifying the MMO scene, in my opinion it's leveled the playing field. I like that my friends can now catch up in games. I think back on how much time I spent on hell levels in Everquest and wonder "What was I thinking!", but it was all we knew. Time=rewards. The more time you had, the more rewarded you were.

Now I'm not saying lets hand everyone who plays instant gratification. I actually miss some of those camps in Everquest, but when I think of how much time was spent camping for a mob that could take several playing sessions, I remember it starts to get tedious and time consuming. We forget that we play to have fun sometimes.

So what do you think? Do you feel that playing more should reap better rewards? Or do you feel that the playing field should be level for everyone? It's a touchy topic with some.This isn't a knock against Everquest either, as a long time player I consider it one of if not the most time consuming MMORPG ever, and after the years it's evolved. I still also consider it one of the most rewarding games in terms of community, lore and the games history.

-kaozz

Mechano-Mount!



Lately I've been mostly messing around on alts. With Cataclysm on the horizon I've been a bit bored at times. I also want to have a dps class, something I don't heal on. So while my Shaman and Death Knight (DK would be my second DK to 80, turns out I'm not wanting to level another one right now) have been really fun. I've leaned more towards something that doesn't have a tanking or healing spec, which would be my Lock or Hunter. I heal my share and sometimes I want to just get away from that role and just dps. I often see people saying in trade or even read on the net, something along the lines of- You want a healer or tank, go make one! Well I have, now it's my turn to dps!

So Hunter it is. Simply put, she is almost 75 and the closest to 80, so the most obvious choice in terms of getting another to 80 quickly. I don't have to get there fast, I just have to have fun, and for now, it's with the Hunter. I'm sure I'll make it to 80, gear up then decide who to level up next or who I want to start back in raiding with.

So.. I have finally gotten my computer back in business. It's behaving once again, after sitting in the corner and getting poked, prodded, scanned and formatted several times this month from her very impatient owner. I am tough on a computer, I run them into the ground my husband says lol. Hey, I'm a gamer! I do know I need some new ram, my hard drive may need to be replaced soon also. For now lets hope the ol'girl keeps kickin' it awhile longer. *Leans over and pats her*

So while I've been getting it back up and running Dire has been catching up his Mage to the Hunter. We were going to level the DK and Mage but I've not been able to catch up and I've not wanted to hog my sons computer so I decided to just have him catch up to the hunter. His Mage is currently 71.

When I have had time to play I've been PvPing. I don't really like to PvP all the time, I'm not the best. I do, however, try my best. I noticed last week I just needed ten more Ab and WSG tokens. So I decided to get those this week and grab a PvP mount- Battlestrider. I love it! I've never had one so I think it's the 'bee's knees' heh. I now have one of every Alliance mount on her. Yay ;)

I did a bit of PvP in BC with the Hunter, so it wasn't much new. I even had my old gladiator gear which I stuck on, not that it made much of a difference. I have donned WSG 'Capture the Middle'.. everyone thinks the point is to fight in the middle. AB is 'All our bases must be unattended', nobody ever likes to be on defense. Lets leave the flag room or the mine wide open and go fight. I end up on defense a lot, getting my tail handed to me by a giant zerg. Oh, It's just me and the botter here in the flag room, we have it covered! *SPLAT*... I have decided, no.. remembered rather.. I absolutely hate WSG. Majority of the players have no idea what is going on. All the action is in the middle, right?

I did have some fun games, I kicked some butt at times or got it handed to me others. I ran the flag on my Druid a few times trying it out on her, then I decided I must have a neon sign over my head to be ganged up on by everyone in the BG.. oh yeah I'm a healer. Tree Form.. I don't use it while healing in the background, it's like drawing flies to honey. I detest Tree Form while in BG's, simply because I cannot do anything except heal and attract the flies. The Druid is the only healer that changes form attracting other players to go after you.  I did carry some flags which was fun. There are other BG's I do enjoy healing in though. I'm not so jaded on healing in PvP as I may sound!

Needless to say I enjoyed PvP on the Hunter more and once I got all my tokens I went to get my sparkly new mount. I don't know if I will PvP anymore until 80, I've had enough for now.

So that's what I have been up to. Till' next time!
-kaozz

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

What Type Of Gamer Are You?




What type of gamer are you? 
I think I'm one of those who bounces all over the place. While I do like to stick with one to two games I even end up bouncing around on alts. For me it breaks up the monotony. While I enjoy raiding it's been awhile since I did so. I'll level some alts, get a nice break and get back into it again. Not casual but not quite hardcore as of now ;)

Lately I've had a hard time deciding which alt to level up next. I've had a lot of fun on them all. I have a feeling which one I will stick with though. Sometimes I wish I could just stick on one char and get a massive amount of achievements done, I may die of boredom though. So I mix it up, keep myself having fun. Healing mains can cause a burn out for me, so I try not to get to that point. I love healing but I need breaks too.

Last year I played many games. After I raided in WoTLK a bit and hit 80 on several several characters, I needed a break. So I took my adventures to other games, I had a really fun time. However I always end up going back to what I feel the most comfortable with. The newness wears off and I begin to wander away from a game when I find out it's not really a game for me.

I'm not a big PvP person but I will at times. For a mount, or just a change of pace with friends. There are sometimes reasons to bait me in ;) I like to run old instances, heroics or just help friends. I guess I am all over the place. I like to go at my own pace, though I do like a social aspect in my games. Flittering here and there, never in one place for long.

So how about you? What type of gamer are you?

-kaozz

Monday, January 11, 2010

Ol' Faithful


 
I've decided my computer hates me. Ok, maybe it doesn't hate me but soon I'm going to be up for a new one. While it's still a good machine it's giving me a lot of trouble this week,  I've had to play 'Doctor' trying to figure out what ails my machine. Right now I'm letting it sit across the room while write on my sons trusty ol' machine. Chugging along after ten years, it seems to spitefully whirl as if showing the newer flashy computer it's still got it going on. I'll let mine sit there and reflect on it's behavior! Maybe I should put it in the corner? It 'glares' across the room at me, her case reads 'Beauty' across the front, she is such a drama queen this week.

Surprisingly the old one still plays WoW fine. The video card is one I replaced.. hrmm five years ago. I remember my son running to me, upset that his computer screen was a mass of lines and blips. After changing out the card, his trusty ol' machine was running better than ever it seemed. He complains to me how badly Dalaran is on this one these days. After playing on it last night it seems to me he has made it out to be worse than it was. I won't say it's a joy ride, however it functions as it should.

That brings me to my thoughts of how I was glad WoW still ran decently on an old machine. If I had been playing EQ2 still there would be no way I'd have been able to log on with an older computer. Or one of those flashy new games, I'd be out of luck. Or rather- My ol' man would be giving up his seat at his computer- ha!

So that is what I will be up to today.. and probably part of tomorrow. There are several things that could be wrong with it, while I do have it back up and running- I want to make sure it stays that way. So I am thankful today for this old computer that keeps on chugging. In the last five years it's needed a new video card, a NIC card and received a bigger HD more recently. .. he was playing with 10 gigs for the longest time!
 
So when the time comes for my son to get my computer, I think I'll hold on to this old faithful computer, it's served us well. I've had several computers since we used this one, one blew sparks at me in a final good bye, while this one keeps on passing them by. Oh I welcome the day that I get a new computer! 

-kaozz

Saturday, January 9, 2010

Bear Hunting (WoW)




I haven't had much time to play lately. My computer had some problems and I've had to spend a lot of time working on it the last few days. It's back up and running now, so I'm once again a happy camper. I also got a hold of some great books for Christmas and took some time to read while installing and patching things.

Recently my brother has been playing his Hunter and I've been giving him tips on pets and overall class info. While we were on the topic of pets I decided to check for the rare Spirit Beast, Arcturis. He is lvl 74 and roams on the path just outside of  Amberpine Lodge between the path and the river.

I wasn't up for a long camp and flew around a bit came back and there he was! With the help of a freezing trap he didn't get a chance to do much damage (elite) and was tamed easily. All in about the span of five minutes, I consider myself pretty lucky after reading how long some people camped him. I was very excited, I am a sucker for rare pets. While he is only available to me in the bst spec I do have my ghost wolf for my marks spec. He is one pretty bear :) I named him Teddy.  I'm thinking about messing around on the Hunter some more in the future.

My Death Knight is now 64 and very fun. She can solo anything for now, which is really a nice advantage. I would like to get dual spec for her but I'll have to see who I end up playing first. The Warlock has been rather neglected. For now I may just let her gather some rested.

I haven't had time to do much on the Druid but I do need a break from Heroics at times. Leveling is a nice change from that. I still log her in for this or that, so she isn't as forgotten as it may seem, just not much to talk about with her.

Hope everyone has a nice weekend!
-kaozz

Friday, January 8, 2010

LFG (WoW)




I read a lot of blogs, sometimes I have more time to do so than others. I have noticed lately that some people are complaining about the new Dungeon System in WoW. The biggest complaint is the animosity and the impact on being social. I've been one to complain about it to an extent, I don't knock it's efficiency though. I try to keep in mind, whith the good comes the bad.

While some people may say nothing, you may never see them again, how often did you care about the groups you had in the past with the old LFG system or from the trade channel? Honestly at 80 I didn't often meet nice players, thinking back on this, I often met just as many jerks as I do now. LFG with my dps characters was actually much worse than it is now. I couldn't even find a group even on a healer and tank combo at any hour, day or night, I can now. I can actually find groups late night for a change.

There are guilds we can join to have a more social environment. I do remember not being able to do all guild runs because a tank wasn't on, which was annoying. So we spammed trade forever trying to find one. Now you queue up, one is assigned to you. Isn't that nice?

Instead of sitting in a city looking for the group to form up, it's automated for us. Groups are handed out on a silver platter, you get rewards on top of  having a group formed, gold and emblems. Yet we still complain. If it's such a horrible system there is always the option to make your own groups or do guild only runs.

I'm not saying it's prefect. There are still kinks that need smoothing out. But it's the easiest I've ever had to getting groups and I enjoy getting groups fast. While I do miss the social aspect, it was never that great in WoW to begin with.  So what really are we missing out on? 


-kaozz

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Who is the Lich King?



Sometimes I like to get into the lore, especially of the class I may be playing. Currently I am adventuring with a new Death Knight. So upon re-awakening this story line in my mind I thought I would share some lore with my readers. Maybe you know the story, maybe not. I do find a lot of people don't really know much about who he really is. While everyone knows the Lich King to be Arthas, it's not that simple. The Lich King is two minds fused together in one body, which once belonged to Prince Arthas Menethil. Let us begin...

The story is much older then where we will start, however we will begin at the point where it seems to come more into play with 'more recent times'. Many years ago Kil'jaeden (The acting leader of the Burning Legion) originally raised the spirit of Ner'Zhul to create and army to destroy Azeroth for the Burning Legion. You see, to begin with, Kil'jaeden tricked him into a demonic pact, causing the Orcs to be bound into the services of the Burning Legion. Ner'Zhul had tried to escape from the Orcish homeland, Draenor, attempting to open portals to flee to new lands.



But who was this Ner'Zhul? Ner'zhul was the chieftain and elder shaman of the Shadowmoon Clan. He was a very respected and admired figure. He had a craving for power, more than he was possible of. That has a lot to do with how the unfortunate Ner'Zhul fell into step with Kil'jaeden and the Burning Legion. But as I said we won't step that far into the past, we will leave that story for another day.

In the chain of events, Kil'jaeden captures him, then rips apart his body and twists his soul in agony, causing Ner'Zhul to beg for his life. Kil'jaeden makes Ner'Zhul an offer, one he could not refuse, his body torn and shredded, his spirit still remained. Kil'jaeden then promised Ner'zhul power over death itself and even more only to once again go into the services of  Kil'jaeden, saving his spirit. Which upon he agreed. Tearing his soul from the flesh, encasing it within the Frozen Throne, shackled within his armor and the Runeblade Frostmourne.The Frozen Throne is a block of ice from the Twisting Nether, used to preserve his spirit. Once transformed with the power- Ner'Zhul ceased to exists and thus became the Lich King.



So the purpose of the Lich King was to raise an army of scourge for the Burning Legion. Once transported to Northrend, he was to control and raise the Scourge army. The Lich King found he had many very powerful abilities he could use. Psychic and Necromantic powers that proved to grow in power at a rapid rate. The scourge seemed to nourish his needs helping the power grow all the more.

There is much more to the story, the Spider War and the conquering of Lordaeron. I will skip ahead to Lordaeron, where a young Prince Arthas fought against the Scourge. He was a proud and respected figure who loved his people. Arthas went to extreme measures (Culling of Stratholme) to extinguish anyone who may have carried the plague, to prevent them from being added to the scourge army.

Arthas seemed to slip into madness from this growing fear. He eventually traced the plague back to Northrend, planning to put an end to it once and for all. Arthas made his way there, though instead of ending the plague he fell to the power of the Lich King, helpless against it. He then was so twisted he believed the power could help him save his people from the plague.

Mal'Ganis and Kel'Thuzad were brought into the scheme to help get things in order for the Burning Legion's plans ahead. All the while Ner'Zhul  plotted with a plan of his own to be free of his frozen prison. 

Once he found the source, Arthas took it upon himself to take the cursed blade Frostmourne. "Whomsoever takes up this blade shall wield power eternal. Just as the blade rends flesh, so must power scar the spirit." Read the inscription on the dais. The 'guardians' of the tomb and long time friend of Arthas, Muradin Bronzebeard, tried to warn him away from it. The ice surrounding the blade exploded, hitting Muradin. Arthas then took the blade and left his friend for dead. It was a power he could not pass up.



Though the power of Frostmourne was mighty, Arthas paid a high price for it. He slowly lost his soul and was transformed into the most powerful Death Knight of all. He ended up defeating Mal'Ganis at the Lich King's command. He then killed and converted his own army into the Scourge. Afterwards he then returned to Lordaeron and was welcomed  home. Upon his return he killed his father King Terenas in the throne room with a sword through the heart. Afterwards releasing the Scourge into the city.

So we know who the Lich King began as and we know how Arthas fell prey to his powers. This is where it starts to get even more interesting. We will skip ahead to the burning Legion's defeat at Mount Hyjal, where Illidan Stormrage had used a powerful attack upon the Frozen Throne. Although he did not destroy it, the crack in which Frostmourne had originally been thrust was now widened.

With the crack in the throne, the Lich King's power began to seep away. He called Arthas to his side, back in Northrend, to help. Once there Arthas defeated Illidan. Then he entered the glacier holding the throne, all the time hearing voices of warning in his mind. The Lich King spoke to him saying, "Return the blade... complete the circle... release me from this prison!"

Arthas then plunged the blade into the frozen tomb, which exploded, at his feet the Thorny Helm of Nar'Zhul tumbled. This helm was crafted by demons to hold the spirit Ner'Zhul and grant him his Lich King powers. Arthas proceeded picked up the helm and placed it upon his head. Now," Ner'zhul's voice echoed within his mind, "we are one!"

Thus Ner' Zhul and Arthas' souls were fused into one, the plans fell into place. The Lich King was then formed. The body of Arthas became the vessel of the Lich King, while the two souls merged to one being.




...And that, my readers, is how the Lich King, as we know it, became.
-kaozz

OMG, Lets do the Oculus!




Ch-Ch-Changes!
There were a few minor changes this week to WoW. I was actually pretty happy with them. The nicest one would be the changes to the Oculus. Don't be so hasty to leave this dungeon now! The rewards worth it, while really it isn't a bad dungeon, it's annoying and can be made to be worse than it actually is. It has no direction it feels. However for the rewards I will surely be doing this one every time I get it randomly. I have been known to leave it, most of the time the tank leaves as soon  my pug zones in..

There was a chance for a nifty flying mount added, moar lewt per person on the last boss and two extra emblems! Some people will still leave I'm sure, it would be silly to leave this one in my opinion. So now the most hated instance may become one people are actually excited about. Ironic, we use to comment how we never saw anyone who was like "OMG! Yeah the Oculus!".. There's a first time for anything I suppose. The changes listed below can be found here.

To encourage players not to shy away from the many invigorating adventures to be had in The Oculus, we have applied a change to enhance the rewards players are provided when selected for this dungeon via the Random Heroic option in the Dungeon Finder. Once Ley-Guardian Eregos is defeated, one loot bag per character will be provided in his chest in addition to the current rewards. Each loot bag will offer players rare gems, two additional Emblems of Triumph, and a chance of being rewarded the Reins of the Blue Drake. These fine treasures could be yours should you honor your fellow party members by besting the challenges contained within The Oculus! Keep in mind, however, that these extra loot bags will only be awarded to each party member if Oculus is selected by the Dungeon Finder when players choose the Random Heroic option.

In light of this change, the Reins of the Azure Drake will now have a chance of dropping in both 10- and 25-player versions of The Eye of Eternity. 


Another change that has brought mixed reactions would be the Halls of Reflection gear requirement, which was upped. I don't have to worry about this on my Druid, however on my Paladin I can't get in. I like it this way. I want to make sure my character is ready before I set foot in that instance.

Another thing is having people in the group not caring if they are geared enough to help. So many times I've been in the instance with people claiming that 1k dps can finish it off. I beg to differ. While gear score-level isn't going to be an account of player skill it will certainly make it a bit easier on random pug groups. Lets hope this will be an improvement.

There is the question, why should heroics require raid equivalent gear to join? Now with the emblems anyone can do this instance, given they take the time to gear properly and gain the emblems. It makes it easier all around on everyone honestly. I do think this instance is rather rough but I will wait to see how things go now after the changes before I make anymore comments on that.

The gear requirement for heroic Halls of Reflection has been increased. The ghost waves at the beginning of both normal and heroic Halls of Reflection have undergone several changes that should make them easier to defeat such as preventing 2 mages or 2 mercenaries from spawning in the 5 mob pulls, a shorter duration of the spectral footman’s shield bash, and the spectral mage’s flamestrike having a longer cast time, shorter duration, and (in heroic) doing less damage. 

All of the changes from 1-5-10 can be found here


And that's all I have time for, I finally had to spend my entire day formatting and installing everything back on my machine. It's late.. Time to go find my addons for WoW, yay! Heads on over to Curse..


ZzzZZzz...
-kaozz

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Do you really have to be 'gaining' something in a game to have fun?




My buddy Pouncealot from Heals and Dots replied to my last post with a post of her own. My question was, "How do you take a break from high end?" Her reply made me nostalgic, as she's been exploring old world. She is one who isn't shy about doing as she pleases, which is refreshing. While most people will run heroics or raid until their eyes bleed (Myself included!), not too many people like to just explore or revisit old world. They hang out in Dalaran until they feel like they are burnt out. "Oh I quit WoW again.. nothing to do."

Do you really have to be 'gaining' something in a game to have fun? Sometimes my husband will duel people for large amounts of time. I use to think that he was wasting time, but he was learning about his class and other classes all the while having fun. I like to roam around and do old instances sometimes.

Lately we've been playing a lot of alts. Some of them may not make it to 80, I am sure we have a new duo headed there soon. We are having fun, no matter what we play. He decided to dust off his 64 Mage last night and we had a nice time.

Dire showed me a good spec and rotation for my Death Knight, he is far more melee oriented than I, probably an all around better player when it comes to melee. He's good at anything he plays, I sometimes envy him, he makes everything he plays look so much fun. He is a big key binder. We stood in SW beating and nuking the hell out of the dummies for awhile to see how our dps was, patting each other on the back. It was nice. Did we get anything done in game by doing so? No, but we learned about our specs some, trying different ones out seeing what fit with our play styles. We had fun. We also quested, which he is more of a drill sergeant on the leveling field sometimes!

I don't know how well the Death Knight and Mage combo will go. I may try to work on my Shaman with the Mage. I have one more spec to try out on the Death Knight before I decide.It doesn't matter what I decide to play, all that matters is that I am having fun. I already have my 80's I can play anytime I want high end.


Live a little, have some fun!
-kaozz

Monday, January 4, 2010

Change of Pace




I haven't played my Druid for awhile so yesterday I figured I'd hop into a few heroics. While it's gravy healing on her, I have to make sure I am doing my part 100% of the time. I had a few rough groups, others were great.

I grow tired from pugs quickly and don't play her as much lately, there's really not much I can get from heroics besides an offset. So I had enough of people nuking themselves to death on reflects... or better yet the SPriest that dotted herself up every time.  And you know the rest.. standing in the bad stuff.. yada yada..

It's not always bad. Though it's a good reason to log off and play an alt. Which I have many. Plus sometimes I just want to have fun and play a dps alt. I love healing on the Druid, that's what she is there for. Speaking of healing I finally got around to doing some PvP as Resto in Winter Grasp. It was quite fun. I wanted a few more shards so headed out there and we won. I had a blast.


                                             A Pug Mount!

November my Warlock is gaining some levels. While I love the class I may put her on hold for another Death Knight. I already have it made and out of the starting area. Anorexia, the starving Death Knight. Better name suited for undead but I've had the name saved for awhile, may as well use it.

I grabbed the heirloom shoulders and chest for the xp boost. I'm not going to worry about the weapon, I won't use it for that long anyhow. I am going to work on getting Dire's Hunter, Fabled, caught up with my DK. That should be a decent combo leveling. Both can solo very well, duo will be more fun.

I played WoTLK in Beta, plus I already have a 80 DK sitting naked on another server (I'm too cheap to transfer her and do a race change for one I want), so I try to rush through the starting area as it is a bit boring now. The quests are quite evil heh. Killing helpless people while they beg you for their lives, *tear*. Some of them are fun, though I don't like all the quest chains. In the end you redeem yourself and it's all in the past.



So that is what keeps me going in WoW these days. Working on something different here and there. Heirloom items are so easy to get, I love it. The new dungeon system and emblems really make things smooth.

Dire and I were talking earlier and we mentioned how easy it is to do anything with our tank and healer. Then we though, wouldn't it be nice to give your emblems to an alt? We'd group so much on the tank and healer to gear them. You wouldn't have people going in under-geared (as much) and people would be more willing to go as a tank or healer to stock up. There might not be as much of a shortage on those two roles in LFG. Sure easy mode- would you trade that to be able to find a tank and healer faster? I would. I don't always want to heal!

What do you do when you feel tired of high end? Achievements, rep farming, alts? I hope you all had a nice weekend whatever you were playing!
-kaozz

Sunday, January 3, 2010

Too Sweet!






I think my WoW characters are now diabetics from all the holiday candy and sweets given out over the last three months.  I still have candy in my bags. I even have halloween candy in my Everquest characters banks from Halloween three years ago.  *Gets ready to fend off the massive amounts of candy a month away* 


-kaozz








Saturday, January 2, 2010

Professions for Money or Fun? (WoTLK)






I'm not big on those how to make gold guides. I supposes sometimes I think, like me, everyone else has been playing WoW forever. Then I get a random question and remember there are still many newer players. I'm not really going to talk about how to make money in WoW but more so what professions are good for in different aspects may if be money or something handy. I'm just going to touch on the basics. Feel free to add to if you think I missed something I'll be sure to update it :)

Gathering- Skinning, Herbalism, Mining
Lets start with the basic money makers. Starting out a character can be tough especially on the wallet. These three are easy ways to make some easy money. Mainly you will pick Skinning and one of the other two, simply because you can only track one type of node at a time. You can take Herbing and Mining both if you want to though.

People are always wanting to power level a skill for an alt, need a quick supply or simply cannot gather the materials due to profession choices. You will always make decent money off these skills. So when starting out a new character they are great for helping you get some money packed away.

The plus side is they also add some nifty rewards. Mining gives you more hit points, Skinning adds to your crit while Herbalism gives you a heal over time. These boost to the next level as you skill up higher with the professions and have a max they reach once the profession is maxed out.

Skinning-  Master of Anatomy 
Mining- Toughness
Herbalism- Lifeblood

Cooking and Fishing
Cooking is a very handy profession, who doesn't like stat food? Fishing is a great way to fuel this profession. Plus fishing has lots of cool perks. While they both have daily quests,and have titles tied to them, fishing can award pets and a mount which is a fun little perk to boot.

You can most definitely make money off selling fish and food. While they are not the most exciting professions they are laid back and ones I enjoy a lot. Every character I have can fish and cook.

Alchemy and Inscription
These two are decent money makers, I would say if you have the gathering skill (herbalism) to boost these then you can make the cash out of them. There are always people switching specs, leveling alts and so on- who need glyphs from Inscription. Alchemy is no slouch either, potions are very much in demand especially for raiders. Also they are handy to have period.

Inscription offers shoulder enchants, Tarot Cards,  and Daily CD on-  Northrend Inscription Research.

Some perks available for the prof:
-Master’s Inscription of the Axe
-Master’s Inscription of the Crag
-Master’s Inscription of the Pinnacle
-Master’s Inscription of the Storm
 

Mixology is the perk for Alchemy. Which doubles duration on all flasks and elixirs. You can also transmute materials which is always high in demand since this has a cool down. Alchemy discoveries are on a weekly cooldown,  Northrend Alchemy Research – Spell – World of Warcraft. Plus the very nifty Indestructible Alchemist’s Stone, Mercurial Alchemist’s Stone, and Mighty Alchemist’s Stone are only made by alchemist.

Enchanting and Tailoring
In my eyes these go hand in hand. They don't have to, but when you skill tailoring up you can disenchant the items for enchanting mats. Tailoring can make money but I don't see it as a big money maker honestly. You really have to sell some high priced items to make much money from it. I am sure there are those out there that do much better than I did. A Guide to Northern Cloth Scavenging is also available to tailors, handy for getting all that cloth you need.

Tailoring offers Flying Carpet mounts as well as  Lightweave Embroidery, Swordguard Embroidery and Darkglow Embroidery.  Also three cloth transmutes – Spellweave, Moonshroud, and Ebonweave.

Enchanting is a very well rounded profession. You can sell materials, disenchant items you loot, sell enchants and so on. While I never had people wanting to tip very much I did do ok selling enchants on the Auction House. Plus you can enchant things such as your rings, things you can only do as an enchanter. This is a very nice profession for anyone.

Some self enchants:
- Enchant Ring – Assault – Spell
- Enchant Ring – Greater Spellpower
- Enchant Ring – Stamina

Blacksmithing and Jewelcrafting
Blacksmithing is one where it takes money to make money. You can make money off it for sure, be prepared to work it up first before you expect to make money from it. I've never dabbled much in this profession but I hear people do very well once they get it rolling. This one also has transmutes available to the profession and extra sockets available to you. Socket Gloves and Socket Bracers.

JC is nice simply because you never have to have someone cut those expensive gems for you. Plus you can use Jewelers gems and trinkets. I know some people who do very well from this, making money off gems, jewelry and cuts. Here are some JC only gems which are very nice. JC offers it's own dailies,  rare gem recipes (5 tokens), metagem recipes (8 tokens), and Dragon’s Eyes (1 token)  all which you can purchase with – Dalaran Jewelcrafter’s Token.

For both of these if you want a gathering profession mining is a good supplier for both of these.

Leatherworking
This profession goes well with skinning, not a must but you'll be buying the materials if you don't have that profession also. While making some really nice armor is a perk, you can make leg enchants, drums, and enchant your own bracers with fur lining. This one can also be a decent money maker if you put the effort into it.

Engineering
Engineering is one I think is more fun based for me. While it is possible to make money off some things it's not as big of a money maker as some of the others. I suppose you have to be more crafty selling parts and other things in the auction house. It offers a lot of handy tricks to the player who chooses this profession. It also offers unique ground and flying mounts. While the ground mount is very expensive to make you can sell it to other people who do not have engineering, to use it. Gnomish Army Knife is very handy so if you are thinking about picking up this prof, grab one!

Perks.. There really are a lot of perks, the items which you can use to do things you normally could not. Offering stuns from bombs to other mobs and players, pets, rocket boots, turning the 'bad guys' into chickens, and having the chance to rez another player. I could go on and on there are really so many nice perks to this one. I just wouldn't take it as a money maker as it takes money and effort to work up for the worth.

Some of the WoTLK items:
-Trinkets, Gnomish Lightning Generator, Noise Machine, and Sonic Booster.
- Portable mailbox and vendor,  MOLL-E and Scrapbot Construction Kit.
- Wormhole: Gadgetzan, Group portal to Gadgetzan.
- Your own butler- Jeeves - Bank Access, repairs, buying and selling.

Engineers also have access to the Dalaran Auction House (Located around the engineering trainer, where else!), you must be at least a Grand Master Engineer. I love this one with my Hunter!

Soo.. What to pick?
That's just a run down off the top of my head, I am not a profession expert and a lot has changed since I have messed around with some of them. However there are a lot of professions available to players- may they be fun, money or just something you really enjoy. Some people are big on min/maxing with the perks for their characters, really it's not going to make or break your character, a nice bonus for sure.

It's really up to you if you want to make money or just have something fun. I have some characters that just gather while others have some Profs because they are just cool to me and others have some that are handy for helping with making gear and money.

I really couldn't cover everything but maybe someone out there had some questions about which profession they wanted. I see questions all the time and this sparked an idea to get some information complied!

-kaozz

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