April 2011

4.1 Arrives #WoW #WorldofWarcraft

stargrace April 27, 2011 No Comments

I wasn’t expecting the big 4.1 to hit yesterday, but hit it did along with a lot of issues which are being hotfixed this morning. As with any major patch there were all of the now outdated UI addons that had to be updated, and while most of mine are there are still some which are not. This patch added a few key things that I am really pleased to see. Number one would have to be the new looking for guild interface. While EQ2 does have a LFGuild tool – it doesn’t allow players to communicate and apply to a guild that they see in the window unless there’s an officer online currently recruiting. The tool also does not allow players to see what level the guild is, something I find very handy. I applied to a casual guild on my warlock, and left a little blurb about what I was looking for. My other characters are already in a pretty nice guild, level 25 and casual but also do some light raiding and other organized events. I wish leveling a guild solo was more of an option (a la EQ2) but blizzard makes this just about impossible, or at least impossible to earn the achievements because you need to have a group majority of guild mates in with you. Don’t get me wrong, I love my guilds, just some times I like things quiet, too.

Guild challenges were also put in, which I do not really like. There are three types, one requires you to kill one boss of a level appropriate zone and your guild bank will receive 1,000g (each week). The second is to do 7 group dungeons in a guild group, your guild bank earns 250g for that one. The final is PvP and you earn 500g for that one. My problem is that this coin just goes into the guild bank for – for what purpose? Whatever the guild leader decides? For their own personal use? To cover repair costs? I have no idea. I still feel that sort of money is a large amount – but I realize I’m probably wrong.

With this patch also came the rise of the Zandalari, two revamped instances for level 85 characters who have an item level of 346 or higher – which I do not. In fact I doubt I even come close. I am excited about exploring them eventually but for now I’ll be content to listen to everyone else talk about it.

Dungeon finder: call to arms was also implemented. This is the incentive program to get queues to move faster. There are some restrictions on it: “to be eligible for the additional rewards you must solo queue for a random level-85 Heroic in the role that is currently being Called to Arms, and complete the dungeon by killing the final boss” – so I haven’t had any experience with it yet. I do like the idea of rare mounts being a reward, but I dislike that once again WoW focuses entirely on the end game.

A LOT of class changes too place, fixes, and updates. So if you want to read up on what else changed be sure to head over to the patch notes. In the mean time I’m having fun just doing my thing. The paladin is now level 36 and I’m having no issues healing my way through dungeons. Hopefully I can keep that up, but we’ll just have to see. Happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself!

I Ain’t Afraid of No PUG #WoW #WorldOfWarcraft

stargrace April 26, 2011 3 Comments

I’m interested in seeing how the latest changes to the LFD tool bring about faster queue times (especially for DPS) – I don’t think they actually will, even with an extra incentives. What I personally think will happen is that all of those people who really want to play DPS but are too impatient to wait for groups will suddenly decide they are healers / tanks and queue up, creating larger issues for groups. Issues like not being spec’d properly, and not having the right gear. I see it all the time on my priest; tanks who are wearing no tank gear but only PvP gear, or paladins who want to heal but they’re not wearing any int / spirit gear. I’d rather this not happen but honestly I don’t hold very much faith in it.

I’ve been playing my (now) 33 paladin, who is holy spec’d with a protection off spec. I carry around two complete sets of gear depending on what I think I’ll be doing. I haven’t picked up any glyhps yet because that’s the crafting I’ve decided to pick up and I didn’t want to spend too much cash on it. I have done a lot of pick up groups on all of my characters, every time I play World of Warcraft, and I haven’t had too many horror stories. I mean, I have the usual ones where no one pays attention to the tank and runs around crazy doing their own thing. I’ve met some rude people, and I’ve voted people out (though I myself have not been voted out of a group yet). I refuse to let other people dictate whether or not I will have fun in a game. I’ve also had some wonderful groups where the players were patient and listened, and we had no issues. I typically play a healer in all PUGs, on my discipline spec’d 85 priest or my druid / shaman / paladin who are all also spec’d as healers as their main spec. I have tanked a little on the paladin, but it really depends on my mood, I’ve just never really been one to want to tank in any game it’s certainly not WoW or LFD tool specific.

This is the highest I’ve managed to level a paladin, although I have tried many times in the past. I want to stick it out for once – my one concern is my healing abilities later on when things get difficult. I have no idea if paladins can still measure up or not. I suppose we’ll just have to see!

If you happen to play on Argent Dawn be sure to look me up, I’m typically on Velours (the paladin) or Ellithia (85 priest), Minxes (83 warlock), or a handful of smaller alts. Happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself!

WoW Remote Guild Chat (Thoughts) #WoW #WorldofWarcraft

stargrace April 25, 2011 No Comments

Out of all the game apps out there (Champions, Fallen Earth, EQ2, just to name a few) I think Blizzard has the best grasp on their version. It runs smoother then any of the other apps I’ve tried, and they’re updating it to incorporate new features. Always the nomadic gamer that I am, I decided to re-activate my WoW account for a bit. I’ve never had an issue with the game but I tend to only play any game for 1-3 months and then switch (and switch back). The latest feature to World of Warcraft Remote is guild chat. Right now the feature is free for anyone who has the remote app (you currently don’t have to pay to access your characters, but only to make broker transactions and claim in-game coin etc) eventually it will be added to the $2.99/m price tag that includes the remote auction house. I’ve been pretty impressed with upcoming patches that are going to make looking for a guild easier – and I applaud Blizzard for giving more incentives to group with people from your own server (guild groups) and to entice players to get to know one another and find a good ‘home’ to run dungeons and raids with. I think the fact that their app is easy to use and (gasp) works is a huge deal. I love that you can not only see everyone online, but anyone who is connected through the app (note the green chat icon) as well as whispers. When you’re browsing other app screens a little pop up message will flash at the bottom letting you know that guild chat has updated – even if it’s just with someone new logging in. It gives me one more reason to want to be a part of a group of players – although at the moment finding a group of people in WoW that I can actually stomach for more then one day is a little difficult. I’m hoping that the latest round of updates to the LFGuild window will help this.

I don’t find the price tag all that bad. $2.99 USD on top of my monthly fee so for less then $20 a month I’m getting hours of entertainment. Plus who doesn’t like checking their characters out and broker transactions on the go! Again another reason why I don’t mind paying the $2.99 when a lot of other game apps are free is that it runs as it should. Sure, there have been outages, it happens with anything online these days (PSN anyone?) but for the most part my characters, their sales, and the armory has always been accessible to me. Plus I really love browsing for upgrades and planning what I want to work on obtaining next. There’s also a neat little area for upcoming news, and I just find it a pleasure to use.

I really think more games need to be taking a look at creating these hooks to keep people playing / interested in their games. Not only that but be sure you can release a well developed and clean product. The EQ2 app for comparison was so incredibly filled with bugs and lag that after the first month of using it I stopped. Their servers are often unavailable, and the interface (specifically for receiving and sending tells) is not very intuitive. It also had a record of every single character I had ever created in EQ2 rather then my updated character population list, which made selecting who I wanted to chat on difficult.

Now WoW just needs to add crafting via this remote app. Of course there’s something to be said for still being required to log IN to game for some things *grins*.

Happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself!