Friday, March 30, 2012

Bounding Thru Northrend

Well....not really.

We are moving through Northrend, but at a somewhat slow pace. We did gain around two level last night however.

Our group of adventurers have been leveling through dungeons and a daily here and there.

Last night we queued up for randoms....they just did not seem to be that random.

For starters, we got Utgarrde Keep the first three times we ran an instance. Then we finally got the Nexus. We did all of the quests and leveled. Then we had some issues with going into Azjol'Nerub. We could queue for it, but could not obtain the quests.....dumb, dumb, dumb.

So, another random. Lo and Behold, it was Utgarrde....again. We ran that instance and another Nexus run before calling it quits. Everyone was at least level 72 at this point, which means we will be headed into AN possibly this evening to get the quests done.

I am looking forward to unlocking more dungeons so that I do not have to run the same couple over and over again.

Thursday, March 29, 2012

Transmog Market

The transmog market is pretty strange, and I have made tens of thousands of gold off of it.

The method is easy. Find a good snatch list for green items. Run that list. Pick up the cheap ones and repost them at a significant mark-up.

Personally, I put them up for 1200 gold each.

Most people level by questing or doing dungeons these days. They either get their gear from those activities or have heirlooms. This has made a nice opportunity to sell these items.

This morning, I woke up to three sold greens at 1200 gold each. I probably bought each piece for 10 gold or less.

One thing that I have noticed is that the most visible pieces sell the best. This includes shoulders and helms.

I have been thinking about grabbing all of the Imperial Plate Recipes to make the Stormwind guard sets. I think I could see those for a very nice little profit.

Day 07 – The reason behind your blog’s name

Lol this is an easy one.

The meaning behind my Blogs name is.....Darraxus was my first character....and he is a warrior.

He has been my main since Vanilla and it will never change. He is my favorite race/class and I love playing him when I do get around to playing on high levels.

When I run my wife thru lowbie dungeons, Darraxus is the character I use.

He is also the character who I did most of my raiding on.

So....that is it. Nothing really spectacular.

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Things that Annoy me in WoW.

1) People Begging for Gold: Gold is not hard to come by. I practically shit gold. My wife had 10000 gold before she even got her flying. She then got epic flying....and now she is back at 10k on that character at level 72.

It is simple. If you are not that into the AH and maximizing your professions, then there are two things you should do. Pick up skinning and mining or herbalism. Go quest. Profit.

My wife made most of her gold from selling leather. She also made a nice chunk for selling the shit that she got from instances. Cloth, green items, recipes etc.

I bring up the begging for gold because I keep getting people whispering me asking for random amounts of gold for random shit. A level 61 DK saying they have no gear....THEY GIVE YOU GEAR THAT WILL LAST YOU UNTIL WRATH IN THE FUCKING STARTING ZONE!!!!!

2)People Who Say they Have No Gear while leveling: Seriously. You get gear for EVERYTHING. You get random ass green items from quests with the occasional blue. You get some fucking blue items from dungeons if you run them. YOU HAVE GEAR. If you dont, you are doing it wrong. You dont need top items to level. You just need to...you know....LEVEL.

3) People who complain about AH prices: If you dont like the price, dont fucking buy it. If someone is providing a service, they are probably trying to make some gold. They arent a fucking non profit organization. If you cant afford it, see point one. Go to a gold making blog. Dont fucking complain about it. Do something about it. I see this in trade chat all the time. If there aren't anal jokes, there is complaining.....or racism.

4)Don't shit on someone who doesnt know better: If someone is new and needs some help, show them some fucking compassion. Dont yell at them for sucking. They are trying and dont know what they are doing. If you try to help someone, and they are dicks, then you have every right to call them a douche hat or cock sock. If you ruin their group experience, then the game gets ruined for them. My wife still doesnt do pugs. She does perfectly fine. She is better than average DPS

Anyways, that is my rant for the day.

Day 06 – Your workplace/desk (photo and/or description)

Well, my desk is not really much to talk about.

My wife and I have both of our tiny desks right next to each other in our bedroom near the foot of our bed. To my left would be my television and to my right would be my wife's desk.

For the most part, you will find either empty water bottles or diet soda cans on my deask at all times. There really isnt much to it.

One good thing about having our desks right next to each other is that I can look at what my wife is doing if she happens to need a little bit of help.

I wish I had more to say about the area where I game, but sadly that is all there really is to it.

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Day 05 – Favourite item(s) in game

So, what are my favorite items in game?

Well, I will go down a list of my favorite things, but my absolute favorite things are shields.....and of those shields, the Bulwark of Azzinoth is the Holy Grail for me. Unfortunately, I have never gotten it or seen it drop.

I really need to get back to running BT for it. It just looks so badass. A giant spiked car door. It looks like a real shield...just as they should. The other ones I would like to have but never picked up are the skull ones from Naxxramas.

My favorite shield that I actually own is the shield from Malygos. It is also cardoor sized, but is a nice blue with a big yellow gem on it.

As far as other items and things go, I love collecting tanking weapons (Sun Eater is possibly my favorite)

My favorite pet is the Phoenix Hatchling. It took me a very long time to obtain it, and it just looks awesome.

My favorites mounts are my Magic Rooster Egg and my Vial of the Sands. The vial only because I have been able to tow my wife lowbies around. The Magic Rooster Egg because it is the most awesome and hilarious mount in the game. Nothing is more epic than riding around on a giant chicken.

I am also a big fan of the little fluff things that do random stuff. This would include the fluff items from Firelands, Iron Boot Flask etc.

Well, that is it for now.

Monday, March 26, 2012

Outland Defeated....Northrend is Next

So, we did a fair amount of instancing on out "lowbies" who are moving into non lowbie status.

We wanted to finish off all of the Outland instances before the Heroics. We had to do a bit of back and forth to be able to get the quests in each one, but we did it.

We completed Botannica, Arcatraz, Mechinar, Shadow Labs, Black Morass, Shattered Halls, and Magisters Terrace over the weekend.

In order to do the quests in Magisters Terrace, we had to get to 70. We were all sitting at 69 (except my wife who is a bit ahead of us), so we did a couple of random Northrend Dungeons. We got Utgarde Keep both times.

After that, we ventured back into Magisters terrace and took it down quite easily.

I am looking forward to our other adventures in Northrend. Once we are done with Northrend, I anticipate that our playing will slow down a bit....mostly because the Cata content feels like such a damn drag.

On the positive side, I am LOVING the quests being put in the dungeons. This makes everything so much better. You no longer have to go through long quest chains in a zone you dont want to do (ahem, Grizzy Hills).

We are all sitting at 70 currently, with my wife at 71. She will probably be at 72 soon as she is also questing on the side. She is mostly trying to stay ahead because she has one heirloom compared to everyone else having several.

Onward to the Northrend Dungeons!

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Day 04 – Your best WoW memory

So, this is a very tough one as I have A LOT of great memories. I will just list some of them.

Probably the best is when I got my wife (then GF) to get into the game. Now she really enjoys it. Then....well she hated it. It was one of our biggest issues of contention. Fights and fights over playing the game. Now we play together and it makes things much better.

I have three other outstanding memories in WoW to share.

1) My first guild: This was a random little guild called the Red Dragon Clan. We formed up and had a celebration on the edge of the Loch in Loch Modan. We shot red fireworks and we were provided with out first ever tabards. This was my first real taste of community in an MMO. I ran around kicking the crap out of stuff. I joined out guild leader in a zone I had no business being in (I think it was Burning Steppes) when I was in my 30s or 40s. I mucked around noob style and had a great time of it.

2) My first REAL guild: This was the guild that I joined and spent the next several years in. I joined House IIMKI at the end of Vanilla and we ran instances every day. This is where I learned to tank. I have friends from that guild to this day. We went into BC and eventually, everyone was kicked out for some stupid ass loot bullshit. We reformed in a guild called Reborn and became a very decent raiding guild on our server. It finally broke up for good towards the beggining of Wrath as everyone jumped ship to raiding guilds. I was one of the last to leave. That split was possibly one of my saddest.

3) Saturday Night Karazhan: This was one of my favorite times in WoW, and it was certainly my favorite raid. I led a Kara run every single week. We got friends together and plowed through it. It would take two sessions to get through it when we first started. Towards the end, we were blasting through in under 2 hours. We took all of our alts in there and had some very fun times. This was also some of my good friends first taste of raiding. I miss Saturday Night Kara.

So, those are some of my good memories in WoW.

New Glyphs for Pandaria

There are a lot of nice glyph changes coming. Some are pretty fun looking.

Death Knight (Forums)
Glyph of Anti-Magic Shell - Causes your Anti-Magic Shell to absorb all incoming magical damage, up to the absorption limit.
Glyph of Dancing Rune Weapon - Increases your threat generation by 100% while your Dancing Rune Weapon is active, but reduces the parry chance gained by 5%.
Glyph of Dark Simulacrum - Reduces the cooldown of Dark Simulacrum by (30000/-1000) and increases its duration by 4 sec.
Glyph of Death and Decay - Your Death and Decay also reduces the movement speed of enemies within its radius by 50%.
Glyph of Death Coil - Your Death Coil spell is now usable on all allies. When cast on a non-undead ally, Death Coil shrouds them with a protective barrier that absorbs up to ((0+0.495*AP)*1) damage.
Glyph of Death Grip - Increases the cooldown of Death Grip by 10 sec but stuns targets for 1 sec.
Glyph of Enduring Infection - Your diseases are undispellable, but their damage dealt is reduced by 30%.
Glyph of Icy Touch - Your Icy Touch dispels one helpful Magic effect from the target.
Glyph of Mind Freeze - Increases the interrupt duration of your Mind Freeze ability by 1 sec, but also raises its cost by 20 Runic Power.

Druid (Forums)
Glyph of Amberskin Protection - Reduces the chance you'll be critically hit by 25% while Barkskin is active.
Glyph of Cat Form - Increases healing done to you by 20% while in Cat Form.
Glyph of Claw - Your Claw and Mangle (Cat) attacks reduce the movement speed of the target by 50% for 12 sec.
Glyph of Cyclone - Increases the range of your Cyclone spell by 4 yards.
Glyph of Fae Silence - Faerie Fire used in Bear Form also silences the target for 3 sec, but triggers a 15 sec cooldown.
Glyph of Frenzied Regeneration - While Frenzied Regeneration is active healing effects on you are 40% more powerful, but causes your Frenzied Regeneration to cost 60 Rage initially and no longer convert rage into health.
Glyph of Grace - Feline Grace reduces falling damage even while not in Cat Form.
Glyph of Healing Touch - When you cast Healing Touch, the cooldown on your Swiftmend is reduced by 1 sec.
Glyph of Lifebloom - While not in Tree of Life Form, casting Lifebloom on a new target grants that target as many applications as the old target had.
Glyph of Mark of the Wild - Mana cost of your Mark of the Wild reduced by 90%.
Glyph of Master Shapeshifter - Reduces the mana cost of all shapeshifts by 90%.
Glyph of Might of Ursoc - Increases the health gain from Might of Ursoc by 20%, but increases the cooldown by 2.0 min.
Glyph of Nature's Grasp - Reduces the cooldown of Nature's Grasp by (30000/-1000) sec.
Glyph of Prowl - Reduces the movement penalty of Prowl by 100%.
Glyph of Regrowth - Increases the critical strike chance of your Regrowth by 40%, but removes the periodic component of the spell.
Glyph of Shred - While Berserk or Tiger's Fury is active, Shred and Ravage have no positional requirement.
Glyph of Skull Bash - Increases the duration of your Skull Bash interrupt by 4 sec, but increases the cooldown by 10 sec.
Glyph of Stampede - You can now cast Stampeding Roar without being in Bear Form or Cat Form.
Glyph of Stampeding Roar - Increases the radius of Stampeding Roar by 30 yards.
Glyph of Stars - Your Moonkin Form ability is replaced with Astral Form, conferring all the same benefits, but now appearing as an astrally enhanced version of your normal humanoid form.
Glyph of Survival Instincts - Reduces the cooldown of Survival Instincts by (60000/-1000) sec, but reduces its duration by 50%.
Glyph of the Chameleon - Each time you shapeshift into Cat Form or Bear Form, your shapeshifted form will have a random hair color.
Glyph of the Orca - Your Aquatic Form now appears as an Orca.
Glyph of the Predator - Your Track Humanoids ability now also tracks beasts.
Glyph of the Stag - Your Travel Form now appears as a Stag and can be used as a mount by party members.

Hunter (Forums)
Glyph of Aimed Shot - If used while your Camouflage is active, your Aimed Shot ability also reduces the target's movement speed by 50% for 6 sec.
Glyph of Animal Bond - While your pet is active, all healing done to you and your pet is increased by 10%.
Glyph of Aspect of the Cheetah - Your Aspect of the Cheetah no longer causes you to be dazed when struck. Instead, the effect is cancelled and all your Aspects are placed on a 4 sec cooldown.
Glyph of Camouflage - Your Camouflage ability now provides stealth even while moving, but your movement speed while Camouflage is active is reduced by 50%.
Glyph of Chimera Shot - Increases the healing you receive from Chimera Shot by an additional 5% of your maximum health.
Glyph of Disengage - Increases the distance you travel when you Disengage.
Glyph of Endless Wrath - While Bestial Wrath is active, your pet cannot be killed, but can still be damaged.
Glyph of Explosive Trap - Your Explosive Trap also knocks enemies back from the trap when it explodes.
Glyph of Icy Solace - Your Freezing Trap also removes all damage over time effects from the target.
Glyph of Marked for Death - Your Arcane Shot, Chimera Shot, Kill Command, and Explosive Shot abilities automatically apply Hunter's Mark.
Glyph of Mend Pet - Gives your Mend Pet spell a chance of cleansing 1 Curse, Disease, Magic or Poison effect from your pet each tick.
Glyph of Steady Shot - Your Steady Shot now reduces the target's movement speed by 50% for 6 sec if used on a target within 8 yards.
Glyph of Tame Beast - Reduces the time required to complete Tame Beast by (4000/-1000) sec.
Glyph of Tranquilizing Shot - Your Tranquilizing Shot no longer costs Focus, but has a 10 sec cooldown.

Mage (Forums)
Glyph of Arcane Explosion - Increases the radius of your Arcane Explosion by 5 yards.
Glyph of Arcane Power - Increases the duration and cooldown of Arcane Power by 100%.
Glyph of Armors - Reduces the cast time of your Frost Armor, Mage Armor, and Molten Armor spells by (1500/-1000) sec, and increases the defensive effect of each Armor by an additional 10%.
Glyph of Combustion - Increases the duration of the damage over time effect and the cooldown of Combustion by 100%.
Glyph of Cone of Cold - Increases the damage done by Cone of Cold by 200%.
Glyph of Counterspell - Your Counterspell can now be cast while casting or channeling other spells, but its cooldown is increased by 4 sec.
Glyph of Crittermorph - When cast on critters, your Polymorph spells now last 24 hrs and can be cast on multiple targets.
Glyph of Deep Freeze - Your Deep Freeze spell no longer has a global cooldown.
Glyph of Evocation - Your Evocation ability also causes you to regain 60% of your health over its duration. With the Invocation talent, this healing is reduced to 30% of your health. With the Rune of Power talent, you gain 1% of your health per second while standing in your Rune of Power.
Glyph of Fingers of Frost - Your Fingers of Frost can build up to 3 charges.
Glyph of Fire Blast - Your Fire Blast and Inferno Blast spells can now also spread Living Bomb.
Glyph of Frost Nova - Reduces the cooldown of Frost Nova by (5000/-1000) sec.
Glyph of Frostfire Bolt - Reduces the cast time of Frostfire Bolt by (500/-1000) sec.
Glyph of Ice Block - When Ice Block terminates, it triggers an instant free Frost Nova and makes you immune to all spells for .
Glyph of Ice Lance - Your Ice Lance now hits 1 additional target for 50% damage.
Glyph of Icy Veins - Reduces the cooldown and duration of Icy Veins by 50%.
Glyph of Loose Mana - Your Mana Gem now restores mana over 6 sec, rather than instantly.
Glyph of Mana Gem - Your Conjure Mana Gem spell now creates a Brilliant Mana Gem, which holds up to 10 charges.
Glyph of Remove Curse - Increases the damage you deal by 10% for 10 sec after you successfully remove a curse.
Glyph of Spellsteal - Spellsteal now also heals you for 10% of your maximum health when it successfully steals a spell.

Monk (Forums)
Glyph of Enduring Healing Sphere - When attacked, the cast time of your Healing Sphere is reduced by 50%. Stacks up to 2 times.
Glyph of Expel Harm - Your Expel Harm can now be cast on any friendly target.
Glyph of Fists of Fury - While channeling Fists of Fury, your chance to dodge melee and ranged attacks is increased by 25%.
Glyph of Meditation - You can now channel Meditation while moving.
Glyph of Rapid Healing Sphere - Increases the duration of your Healing Sphere's by 30 sec.

Paladin (Forums)
Glyph of Avenging Wrath - You are healed for 0% of your maximum health every 4 sec for 20 sec.
Glyph of Beacon of Light - Removes the global cooldown on Beacon of Light.
Glyph of Bladed Judgment (NYI) - Your Judgment spell depicts an axe or sword instead of a hammer, if you have an axe or sword equipped.
Glyph of Blessed Life - While Seal of Insight is active, you have a 50% chance to gain a charge of Holy Power whenever you take direct damage or are affected by a Stun, Fear or Immobilize effect. This effect cannot occur more than once every 20 sec.
Glyph of Blinding Light - Your Blinding Light now knocks down targets for 3 sec instead of Blinding them.
Glyph of Cleansing - Your Cleanse will remove one movement impairing effect if cast on yourself.
Glyph of Consecration - You can now target Consecration anywhere within 25 yards.
Glyph of Denounce - Increases your Holy damage by 20% for 6 sec.
Glyph of Divine Plea - Divine Plea now has a 5 sec cast time, but you receive 12% of your total mana instantly and your healing is not reduced.
Glyph of Divine Storm - Instantly heals the caster for 1% of their total health.
Glyph of Divinity - Increases the cooldown of your Lay on Hands by 0 min but causes it to give you 10% of your maximum mana.
Glyph of Double Jeopardy - Judging a target increases the damage of your next Judgment by 20%, but only if used on a second target.
Glyph of Fire From the Heavens - Your Judgment and Hammer of Wrath criticals call down fire from the sky.
Glyph of Flash of Light - When you Flash of Light a target, it increases your next heal done to that target within 4 sec by 30%.
Glyph of Focused Wrath - Holy Wrath only affects one target.
Glyph of Frugal Blessings - Reduces the mana cost of Blessing of Kings and Blessing of Might by 50%.
Glyph of Hammer of the Righteous - The physical damage reduction caused by Hammer of the Righteous now lasts 50% longer.
Glyph of Hammer of Wrath - You take 10% less damage for 10 sec after using Hammer of Wrath.
Glyph of Holy Shock - Decreases the healing of Holy Shock by 50% but increases its damage by 100%.
Glyph of Illumination - Your Holy Shock criticals grant 1% mana return, but Meditation returns 10% less mana.
Glyph of Immediate Truth - Increases the instant damage done by Seal of Truth by 20%, but decreases the damage done by Censure by 50%.
Glyph of Inquisition - Reduces the damage bonus of Inquisition by 10% but increases its duration by 100%.
Glyph of Protector of the Innocent - Word of Glory also heals you for 20% of the amount.
Glyph of Righteous Retreat (NYI) - During Divine Shield, you can invoke your Hearthstone 50% faster.
Glyph of the Battle Healer (NYI) - Using melee attacks while using Seal of Insight heals a nearby injured friendly target, excluding the Paladin, within X yards for X percent of damage dealt.
Glyph of the Falling Avenger (NYI) - You slow fall during Avenging Wrath.
Glyph of Word of Glory - Increases your damage by 10% for 6 sec.

Priest (Forums)
Glyph of Circle of Healing - Your Circle of Healing spell heals 1 additional target, but its mana cost is increased by 35%.
Glyph of Dispel Magic - Your Dispel Magic spell also damages your target for 0 Holy damage when you successfully dispel a magical effect.
Glyph of Enfeeblement - When you critically hit with your Mind Blast, you cause the target to be unable to move for 4 sec.
Glyph of Flash of Light (???) - 40 yd range, Instant, Requires Spirit of Redemption, Can't be cast in Shadowform
Glyph of Fortitude - Reduces the mana cost of your Power Word: Fortitude spell by 90%.
Glyph of Holy Fire - Your Holy Fire spell is now instant.
Glyph of Inner Sanctum - Spell damage taken is reduced by 6% while within Inner Fire, and the movement speed bonus of your Inner Will is increased by 6%.
Glyph of Leap of Faith - Your Leap of Faith spell now also clears all movement impairing effects from your target.
Glyph of Lightwell - Increases the total amount of charges of your Lightwell by 2.
Glyph of Penance - Reduces the mana cost of Penance by 20%, but increases the cooldown by 2 sec.
Glyph of Renew - Your Renew heals for 33% more each time it heals, but its duration is reduced by (3000/-1000) sec.
Glyph of Spirit of Redemption - Increases the duration of Spirit of Redemption by 10 sec.

Rogue (Forums)
Glyph of Blade Flurry - Your attacks have a 30% higher chance of applying Non-Lethal poisons while Blade Flurry is active.
Glyph of Debilitation - Your Eviscerate and Envenom abilities also reduce the target's movement speed by 50% for 6 sec.
Glyph of Expose Armor - Your Expose Armor ability causes three applications of Weakened Armor.
Glyph of Feint - Increases the duration of Feint by 2 sec.
Glyph of Killing Spree - Your Killing Spree returns you to your starting location when the effect ends.
Glyph of Shadow Walk - Your Shadow Walk ability also increases your stealth detection while active.

Shaman (Forums)
Glyph of Capacitor Totem - Reduces the charging time of your Capacitor Totem by (2000/-1000) sec.
Glyph of Chaining (NYI) - Doubles the jump distance of your Chain Heal spell, but reduces its healing done by 15%.
Glyph of Cleansing Waters - When you dispel a harmful Magic or Curse effect from an ally, you also heal the target for 4% of your maximum health.
Glyph of Earth Shield - Your Earth Shield charges are no longer depleted when taking damage, but Earth Shield's duration is reduced to 45 sec.
Glyph of Feral Spirit - Increases the healing done by your Feral Spirits' Spirit Hunt by 40%.
Glyph of Fire Elemental Totem - Reduces the cooldown and duration of your Fire Elemental Totem by 40%.
Glyph of Flame Shock - Increases the duration of your Flame Shock by 25%, but reduces the initial damage dealt by 25%.
Glyph of Ghost Wolf - While in Ghost Wolf form, you are less hindered by effects that would reduce movement speed.
Glyph of Healing Storm - Each application of Maelstrom Weapon also increases your healing done by 20%.
Glyph of Healing Stream Totem - When your Healing Stream Totem heals an ally, it also reduces their Fire, Frost, and Nature damage taken by 10% for 6 sec.
Glyph of Lava Burst - Your Lava Burst spell will always be a critical strike regardless of the presence of Flame Shock on the target, but it deals 5% less damage.
Glyph of Lava Lash - Your Lava Lash ability no longer spreads Flame Shock to nearby targets.
Glyph of Riptide - Your Riptide no longer has a cooldown, but also no longer instantly heals the targeted ally.
Glyph of Spiritwalker's Grace - Increases the duration of your Spiritwalker's Grace by 5 sec.
Glyph of Telluric Currents - Reduces the damage dealt by your Lightning Bolt spell by 30%, but causes it to restore mana equal to 50% of damage dealt.
Glyph of Totemic Vigor - Increases the health of your totems by 10% of your maximum health.
Glyph of Unleashed Lightning - Your Lightning Bolt takes 5% longer to cast, but may be cast while moving.
Glyph of Water Shield - Increases the passive mana generation of your Water Shield by 10%, but Water Shield no longer activates when you receive damage.
Glyph of Wind Shear - Increases the school lockout duration of Wind Shear by 1 sec, but also increases the cooldown by 3 sec.
Glyph of Healing Storm - Each application of Maelstrom Weapon also increases your healing done by 20%.
Glyph of Totemic Encirclement - When you cast a totem spell, you also place unempowered totems for any elements that are not currently active. These totems have 5 health and produce no other effects.

Warlock (Forums)
Glyph of Burning Embers - Increases your maximum Burning Embers by 1.
Glyph of Carrion Swarm - Your Carrion Swarm no longer knocks targets back.
Glyph of Conflagrate - Reduces the movement speed reduction of Conflagrate to 100% and increases the duration by 100%.
Glyph of Curse of Exhaustion - Curse of Exhaustion now reduces the targets movement speed by ((30+40)*-1)%, lasts half as long and has a 20 second cooldown.
Glyph of Demon Hunting - Demonic Fury now reduces damage taken instead of increasing damage dealt. In addition, while using Metamorphosis, Soulshatter taunts your target, Twilight Ward will absorb all schools of damage and Demonic Slash is shorter range and generates fury.
Glyph of Demonic Training (Voidwalker) - Maximum health increased by 20%.
Glyph of Eye of Kilrogg - Your Eye of Kilrogg is no longer stealthed and can now place your Demonic Circle. In addition, the movement speed of your Eye of Kilrogg is increased by 50% and allows it to fly in areas where flying mounts are enabled.
Glyph of Felguard - Your Felguard will equip a random two-handed axe, sword or polearm from your backpack.
Glyph of Health Funnel - Your health funnel instantly restores 0% of your demon's health, but has a 10 sec. cooldown.
Glyph of Healthstone - You receive 100% more healing from using a healthstone, but the health is restored over 10 sec.
Glyph of Nightmares - Your Felsteed and Dreadsteed can cross water while running and leave a trail of flames.
Glyph of Shadowflame - Your Shadowflame also applies a 70% movement speed slow to its victims, but Metamorphosis no longer reduces the duration of Stuns or Snares.
Glyph of Soul Shards - Increases your maximum Soul Shards by 1.
Glyph of Unstable Affliction - When Unstable Affliction is removed, it instantly deals critical damage to both the target and the dispeller, but no longer silences.

Warrior (Forums)
Glyph of Blitz - Your Charge stuns an additional 2 nearby targets.
Glyph of Bloodcurling Shout - Your Battle Shout and Commanding Shout terrify small animals.
Glyph of Bloodthirst - Increases the healing of Bloodthirst by 100%.
Glyph of Bloody Healing (NYI) - Increases the healing you receive from bandages by 20% while your Deep Wounds is active.
Glyph of Bull Rush - Increases the duration of your Charge stun by 1 sec.
Glyph of Burning Anger - You get so angry when Enraged that you catch on fire.
Glyph of Cleaving - Increases the number of targets your Cleave hits by 1, or 3 when Enraged.
Glyph of Death from Above - Reduces the cooldown on Heroic Leap by (15000/-1000) sec.
Glyph of Enduring Victory - Increases the window of opportunity in which you can use Victory Rush or Impending Victory by 5 sec.
Glyph of Enraged Speed - While Enraged, you move 20% faster.
Glyph of Gag Order - Your Pummel, Heroic Throw and Storm Bolt hits silence the target for 3 sec.
Glyph of Gushing Wound - Your Bloodthirst critical strikes are even bloodier than normal.
Glyph of Hamstring - Using Hamstring reduces the cost of your next Hamstring by 100%.
Glyph of Heavy Repercussions (NYI) - While your Shield Block is active, your Shield Slam hits for an additional 50% damage.
Glyph of Hoarse Voice - Reduces the cooldown and rage generation of your Battle and Commanding Shout by 50%.
Glyph of Hold the Line - Improves the damage of your next Revenge by 50% following a successful parry.
Glyph of Long Shout - Increases the duration by 2 min of Battle Shout and Commanding Shout.
Glyph of Mortal Strike (NYI) - When your Mortal Strike is affecting a target, healing effects on you are increased by 10%.
Glyph of Murder of Crows - Your Execute critical strikes summon a flock of carrion birds.
Glyph of Overpower - Cleave hits increases the damage of your next Overpower by 10%.
Glyph of Raging Wind - Your Raging Blow hits increase the damage of your next Whirlwind by 0%.
Glyph of Recklessness - Recklessness no longer increases damage taken.
Glyph of Resonating Power - Reduces the damage by 20% and increases the duration by 20% of your Thunder Clap.
Glyph of Rude Interruption - Succesfully interrupting a spell with Pummel increases your damage by 5% for 30 sec.
Glyph of Shield Slam - Your Shield Slam now dispels 1 magical effect.
Glyph of Spell Reflection - Reduces the cooldown on Spell Reflection and Mass Spell Reflection by (5000/-1000) sec.
Glyph of Thunder Strike - Your Thunder Clap visual includes a lightning strike.

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Day 03 – Your first day playing WoW

My first day of playing WoW.....I honestly cant remember a lot of specifics, but I can remember some of it. It has afterall be many years since my first day in WoW.

I started out as a young Dwarf warrior in the Dwarf/Gnome starting area. This was back in the day when pretty much everything in the starting zones would aggro on you. I remember thinking how big the world was even in that small sample. I was running across the map to deliver some hot cider and then I was in a cave clearing out an ice troll nussance. Or rather, they were clearing me out. I seem to remember that cave being very difficult back then. I was also a noob, so that probably did not help.

I decided to make a Dwarf warrior for a couple of reasons. In most fanstasy games (DnD, Warhammer Quest), I was a Dwarf and some sort of warrior. Since this was not the Warhammer universe, and I loved the Troll Slayer in that universe, I went with a red haired dwarf warrior. Darraxus was born.

I remember dying....quite a lot. I am sure I was killed by Yetis. I was also killed by Leper Gnomes.....and wolves....and cats.....and bears. I didnt know any better, so I just kept trucking along. I always went with the upgrade that had more armor. I did not really know what stats I needed until a bit later, although I think I was smart enough to go with either Strength or Agility gear when it was available.

It was a brave new world, and I got my ass kicked a lot. I learned less about WoW during levels 1-60 than I did in the following few weeks running level 60 dungeons.....that however, is another story (Queue Conan theme song, with background of King Darraxus pondering on a throne).

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Fun with Friends

Recently, out little group of friends has been back together in Azeroth, throwing down on out lowbies.

We started Saturday at level 58 and have since then climbed to 65 and 66.

My wife and I had been playing WoW and out friends had been playing SWTOR.

We missed running group content with each other. The group aspect is my favorite part of the game, and I love running instances with friends.

We have great times and great laughs.

Some of the laughs may include:

My wife saying a common saying wrong: "Dont look a gift horse in the foot"

Fragil the mage blinking off of an edge in Underbog only to be devoured by fish after falling in the water.

Beathe our Hunter tab pulling anything and everything in range.

I am glad out group is back together running stuff. I am thinking that we may go for Outlands and Northrend Dungeon master.

Onward to FUN!!!

Day 02 – Why you decided to start a blog

Now onto the next part of 20 days of blogging.

Why did I decide to start this blog? I am not really sure. I wanted to chronicle some of my Adventures in WoW, but I think there was another reason.

I loved reading WoW Blogs. They were so awesome. I loved reading about other peoples goings on in WoW and the way they played the game.

I figured that I may be able to bring a small amount of joy to a small number of readers.

I write because I love blogs. I know there are others out there who feel the same.

Also, thank you to everyone who reads my blog. It keeps my going in the blogosphere knowing that there may be some people out there that care to read me ramble on about bullshit :)

Monday, March 19, 2012

My Breakdown of the MOP Changes (as they interest me)

Shameless Plug for my buddy who is back blogging again. http://theindecisivegamer.blogspot.com/

- It looks like they are going to be focusing more on the original wonder of Vanilla WoW. Exploration and Horde versus Alliance.

- They are adding in seven zones instead of 5. This means that you will not have to take the same path for each of your characters. This is certainly an upgrade over the cataclysm model.

- Cloud Serpent Mount: The Cloud serpent mount seems like an interesting dynamic. You pick a color of egg to gain a pet that follows you around. After doing X ammount of dailies, you will get a mount. Then you need to do more quests to train it (whatever that entails).

- Tillers: Farmville faction of WoW. You do dailies to help them plant shit and clear out weeds. I can do that at home....but at least its in WoW. Lol.

- Many new races to interact with. There seem to be fish men, lizard men, and monkey men. Obviously people will want to play them sometime down the line.

- PVP: It looks like there are going to be two new battlegrounds and a new arena. I am sure I will check them out, but they will not be a primary point of interest for me.

- Monk: Ok, so it looks like there are some attacks that build energy. Then you use that energy to use attacks the make Chi. Then you use that Chi to use bigger attacks.....C-C-C-COMBO BREAKER.

- Raids and Heroics: There are going to be 9 different Heroics and three raids. There will be three raid difficulties just like out current system with our current raid.

-Scenarios: This sounds like a short group activity that will be in adition to instances. You can run a quick scenario with a group of anything (no tank or healer needed). I think it will be mostly random.

Pet Battles: First of all, the pet UI will show you all the pets you do have as well as the ones you dont. If you dont have it, it will tell you where you can get it. You can name your pets, they get abilities and level....and you have all of your pets on all of your characters. There will be roughly 100 random pets around azeroth to collect....my wife will be very very busy. You will be able to keep track of wins, but not losses. I think that will be good because the people who play a lot will not want to see 10 wins versus 60 losses. It is a lot more discouraging.

Challenge Modes: You do challenges in dungeons to earn prestige. You get bronze, silver and gold medals for completing the challenges in specific amount of time.

Get all of the bronze ones to gain a title and achievement.

Get all silver medals to gain some sweet class based transmog gear that may also affect your animations.

Get all of the Gold Medals to get a prestigious mount.

There will be a leaderboard to compare versus your friends and others on the realm.

11th Character Slot: Obviously this is not as good as making it so that there is not realm limit, only an account limit, but I needed at least this. My character slots are full, and I did not want to have to erase any.

Account Wide Achievements: This is not confirmed yet, but it is something that they will be working on.

AOE FUCKING LOOTING: YES!!! I was just talking about this last night. This is one of the things that SWTOR did very right. This will make dungeons so much better. It will also make running someone thru a dungeon much better. Or just farming.

Scaling Down Level/Power: They may put this function in so that you can play at the same level as your lower level friends if you choose. I believe this will be optional.

LFR Loot System: Everyone rolls on the items from a boss individually.
If you win the roll by being one of the highest few rollers, the system checks the boss’s loot table and if there is an item for you, you win it. If not, you win some gold.
This way other people cannot impact what you win, only the roll you get can.
You aren’t always guaranteed something. If the boss doesn’t have an item you can use then you won’t win anything.

This can be AMAZING. Especially if they throw it into the dungeon features. This will make gearing better as you can basically just roll for gear instead of hoping that the gear you want drops.

So far, I must say that I am PUMPED!!!

This expansion is going to be awesome. I love casual WOW and I am getting tons of it.

MOP: Press Tour Info (From MMOchampion)

Media Presentation - General
The final patch of Mists of Pandaria will be the Siege of Orgrimmar! Both factions lay siege to the city to bring Garrosh down and end his reign of Warchief.
There's a huge Horde vs. Alliance storyline. The war between the Alliance and Horde heats up as they roll into Pandaria, and it will serve as a major battleground, but things get so gnarly and out of control, and war crimes are committed by one side, it begins to spiral into crazyville.
The Mists of Pandaria storyline is split into two. The whole Pandaren arc where you will discover their continent, help solve problems, figure out what happened for the past 10,000 years and why. The second part of the storyline is obviously the war between the Horde and the Alliance.
In some ways, Mists of Pandaria is more of a spiritual successor to classic WoW, with the call to adventure. It wasn't about a giant world boss or big overarching problem, it was just about exploring. Experience this faction, see the world, engage the cultures, have an adventure, that was the spirit of the first game. In many ways Mists of Pandaria gets back into that.
The patches for Mists were conceptualized almost as a sequel to the box product, meaning that after you’ve helped the Pandaren save their land, the story kicks into a different gear. All of the heavy armor and wrath of these two great factions begin to collide, and the story really starts going from there.
This expansion is not a joke. It is not light and fluffy, although the Pandaren are fun and super zen. The conflict between Alliance and Horde is gearing up to hit a fevered pitch unlike any we have ever seen.
Why this and why now? This expansion will be a nice vacation that feels like an adventure before things ramp up in future patches.
Just because Pandaren were debuted as an April Fool’s Joke a few years back, that does not mean they are viewed as a silly and comedic idea. They have always loved Pandaren and wanted to put them into the game. Pandaren were in serious consideration for the Alliance race in Burning Crusade.
They are adding armor to creatures to give them varied appearances, something other than just simple color changes.


Media Presentation - The Pandarens
Aysa Cloudsinger is a follower of the path of Tushui, which believes in living a venerable life through meditation, rigorous training, and moral conviction. She has attained impeccable form and a refined intellect through diligent practice. To Aysa, to follow the way of Tushui is to defend what is right above all else. She believes that success in any endeavor never justifies dishonorable deeds. While the Alliance contains a diverse mix of cultures, Aysa is attracted to the high ideals and values that cement the Alliance together.
Ji Firepaw, a follower of the more direct Houjin philosophy, is adamant that inaction is the greatest injustice. He holds that it’s honorable to defend home and family no matter the cost. Outgoing, passionate, and not one for deep thought, he is always the first into the fray. Ji finds himself attracted to the scrappy practicality that defines the Horde. Although it will cost him dearly, he will decide to carry the Horde banner when he leaves the Wandering Isle.
Chen Stormstout
Warcraft III players may recall his chance meeting with Rexxar in the game’s bonus missions, where he worked together with Thrall to found the new orcish homeland in Durotar.
Later, he accompanied heroes such as Vol’jin and Jaina Proudmoore to liberate Theramore and protect the fledgling Horde from annihilation.


Media Presentation - Zones
The Wandering Isle
The isle will not appear on the map of Pandaria.
Those who follow the path of the Houjin are impulsive, quick to action, and practical. Houjin disciples feel that the ends can justify the means, and they may find like-minded compatriots in the Horde.
The followers of the path of the Tushui are more contemplative, focused on abstract ideals of justice and morality. Students of Tushui believe that a principled life is the only one worth living, and may find that the stalwart Alliance aligns more closely with their beliefs.
There are now seven zones, up from five. This was done to add more content to the game and give players a less linear progression path so that leveling for a second or third time isn’t the exact same.
The Sha
In Pandaria, negative emotions like fear, hatred, and anger take on a physical presence or dark energy called the Sha.
Unwary mortals can also become possessed by negative Sha energy, becoming embodiments of pure anger or fear.
Jade Forest
The Temple of the Jade Serpent is located here and is the first dungeon.
This temple marks a special place in Pandaren history, because this is where the last emperor defeated the Sha of Doubt and imprisoned it in the ground.
This temple is going to be completely overwhelmed by this dark energy, so you are going to have to go in and clear it.
There are four ancestor spirits that guard over Pandaria. The Jade Serpent has the temple dedicated to her, as well as a statue in the zone.
The Alliance and Horde enter from the North and the South with a small force of survivors from a shipwreck.
There will eventually be a large battle in the middle of the zone.
The Jinyu
They are a fish-man race that is found throughout Pandaria.
They are an elder and wise race, looked up to by the Pandaren.
The water speakers are an upper caste that uses the river to listen to the future
The Jinyu are recruited by the Alliance to go to escalate their war with the Hozen. The Jinyu have always been at war with the Hozen.
The Hozen
They act like a group of 14 year old boys running around together in the jungle, equipped with machine guns and weapons from the Horde.
They are also found all over Pandaria, even in one of the dungeons.
There are Jungle Hozen and Mountain Hozen, the heartier kind.
The Horde are going to work with the Hozen here and recruit this tribe to help fight their war.
We are going to give the monkeys machine guns and rocket launchers. This is a good plan; nothing could go wrong with this plan.
Cloud Serpents
They are the Pandaren's mount of choice.
You can raise your own over the course of roughly 20 days.
You first will pick an egg and color to gain a tiny pet that will follow you.
After doing daily quests with this pet, it will become a full size dragon that you can ride.
Once you can ride the dragon you must do more quests to train it, such as racing through stone pillars as the Pandaren in the stands cheer you on.
Valley of the Four Winds
It is the heartland of Pandaria, where the Pandaren farm their crops.
They grow extremely large vegetables here because there are waters that have been flowing down from Vale of Eternal Blossoms for millenia.
Tillers
This is the farmer's market here, which is the social hub of the Valley of the Four Winds.
Every day farmers will come to the market with different problems, providing daily quests.
You will help Farmer Yun fix up his overgrown farm, which will show your progression with the faction.
You can clear plots of land and plant things like cooking ingredients, herbalism nodes, gifts for the different NPCs to build your reputation. You then come back the next day to harvest what has grown.
You will be able to decorate the farm as you gain reputation. For example, you can add some pigs and slop, some other animals, and grow an apple orchard.
Stormstout Brewery
The dungeon is in the world at full size, meaning it can be used for questing as well.
Things are not going well inside, so you have to clean house with Chen Stormstout.
Krasarang Wilds
This used to be a subzone of Valley of the Four Winds.
It is a coastal rainforest with a lot of story in it.
The Mogu
They are the original rulers of Pandaria, ruling the land 10,000 years ago.
During that time they built temples all across the world, which are now ruins that you will find while questing.
Now they want their land back and are another threat that you will be dealing with the entire time.
You will come across them in both raids and dungeons.
If they get their empire back it would be bad news for the Pandaren, which is why they are such a big threat.
They are flesh-shapers and can create other creatures.
The Saurok
They are a race of lizard-men created by the Mogu.
They were designed to be smart enough to use weapons and fight for the Mogu, but over the years some escaped.
They will be found across Pandaria and in dungeons.
In one of the patches, the Alliance and Horde will roll up onto the beach along with their fleet, armor, tanks, and build a fortress on the island. Both King Varian Wrynn and Garrosh Hellscream will make an appearance.
Sometime in the wake of the Cataclysm, the mists abruptly vanished. The world will change over the course of the patches, especially this area.
In Patch 5.1 the beach on Krasarang Wilds will erupt into a battlezone.
Turtle Beach is another important historical part of Pandaria, as it is where Liu Lang, the first Pandarian explorer decided to see what was beyond the mists. He set off on the back of a giant turtle, which grew to become the Wandering Isle.
There are little historical points of interest all around the world and you will be able to visit all of them to collect the story. One of these points is the statue of Liu Lang on Turtle Beach.
Kun-Lai Summit
The zone is broken up into two separate areas, the lowland planes and the highest mountains in Azeroth.
The Yaungol
Their situation is similar to the Taunka in Northrend, as they got separated when Pandaria broke off from the main continents.
They have been forced out of their homeland by the Mantid in Townlong Steppes.
They are aggressive here because they are looking for a new place to set up their homes.
The Grummles
They were also created by the Mogu as a slave race to haul things around.
They make good guides and can carry many times their own weight.
They have a trade route that stretches across the zone called the Burlap Trail, which they will need your help with as this is very dangerous area.
The Shado-pan
The Shado-pan are the most elite warriors of the Pandaren society and they understand the threat of the Sha.
You have to earn the trust of the Shado-pan and work your way up through the ranks.
Shado-pan Monastery is located here in the outdoor world.
Vale of Eternal Blossoms
It is the original seat of the Mogu empire.
There are a set of sacred pools here that the Mogu used to build their empire.
Everyone that is here in Pandaria is fighting over the pools to take control of the power again.
Both Alliance and Horde will have their own player hub here, which will include an auction house, bank, and general vendors.
The zone will be under siege by the Mogu, who want to take their land back.
Golden Lotus
They were chosen by the Celestials to be the guardians of this zone.
There are not enough of them to fight the Mogu, so they need your help.
They don't trust you at first, so you will have to earn their trust. A different part of the valley will be under attack by the Mogu every day. When you first start working with them you will do some exploration and discovery. As you earn the trust of the Golden Lotus, they will send you to the front lines.
As you progress with them more of the doors open to a vault
As you collect the stories from the historical points of interest around the world you can bring them back to the Vale to the Lore Walkers.
The Lore Walkers are responsible for holding all the lore of Pandaria, so you can bring back the things you find and ask them about it, and they will walk up on stage and give a presentation.
Brewmasters
This faction is scattered across the world looking for rare ingredients to mix into their brews.
When you find the Brewmasters you will unlock a scenario. Doing these will give you reputation with the Brewmasters.
Kun-Lai Summit, Jade Forest, Krasarang Wilds, and Valley of the Four Winds are all filled with content and ready. Townlong Steppes and Vale of Eternal Blossoms are mostly complete.


Media Presentation - PvP
Arenas
There will be one new arena at launch.
Battlegrounds
The Temple of ?? Mogu
Located in ancient Mogu temple that located in the Vale of Eternal Blossoms.
You will have a damage buff while holding the artifact. You will also be gaining points for your team as well.
The artifact has a curse that damages you over time. The longer that you hold it, the less healing that you can take.
It is going to be difficult for one person to keep the artifact for the whole time.
There will be three point zones, with the middle one giving 3 points and the outer one giving 1 point.
Gameplay is very fast paced, very different from other battlegrounds.
Silver Shard Mine
It takes place underneath Stranglethorn Vale in an Adventure Company goblin mine.
Both the Alliance and Horde are trying to get a hold of the mineral rich resources.
There are minecarts that take off from the center of the map and head to three different supply chains. As they are on the way to the depot, you can capture them in the same way you capture points in Eye of the Storm.
Both factions try to capture the cart before it reaches the end of the line, but there are checkpoints along the line that can be channeled to switch the direction the cart will go from left to right, giving your faction time to reclaim it.


Media Presentation - Talent System and Monk
Talent System
The idea behind the talents was adding a way for players to differentiate themselves and customize their abilities and utilities.
If you came back to the game you would go to a website and find the right build for your spec, take that, and never interact with the talent system again.
Most of the new talents don't add player power directly, but instead give you a benifit that is very difficult to weight mathematically.
In the case where the talents do provide power, they are on a tier with two other talents that provide an equal amount of power. It might be different ways of measuring the power, maybe it is a random proc versus something you can press on demand.
You shouldn't feel like you have to take a certain talent if you are a healer. You can take any of the three talents and have fun with those.
The Tome of the Clear Mind is the new consumable used for changing glyphs and talents, and only costs a little bit of gold.
Monks
There are a ton of new animations for the Monk and a lot of spell effects that are in place now. Almost every ability has a unique animation. If you are in healing mode, you will be using slightly different animations than if you are in melee DPS mode.
Currently, every race except goblin and worgen can learn the ways of the monk.
The way it works now is, if you are in melee or tank mode, you have an energy bar, but there are only a few abilities that use energy.
There are a couple of attacks that use energy, which builds up a second resource, which are the white spheres there, called Chi.
They are really trying to capture the feel of a button masher fighting game where you might chain combos together.
They don't want it to feel like our existing warrior class, so they don't have a Charge, but they do have a Roll that works more like a Blink. There is another ability lets you fly until you hit the button again and then you come down.
Spinning Crane Kick is the big AoE spell.
Fists of Fury is one of your big three combo point attacks.
Windwalker is the melee DPS spec, Brewmaster is the tanking spec, and Mistweaver is the healing spec.
If you become a Mistweaver, your energy bar is replaced with a mana bar, and you can cast heals much like our other healers, but you stand toe-to-toe and do some melee damage still.


Media Presentation - Dungeons
Stormstout Brewery
The Hozan have invaded and Chen Stormstout has tasked you with clearing them out.
They are having knife fights, seeing things, and sleeping because they got into the beer. You run around on barrels trying to break up the party.
And after you defeat enough of them, Ook-ook, the boss that is up on the ledge, will come down and the first boss encounter here will start.
The second section has the Virmen, which are evil, crazy bunnies that will eat anything.
The biggest Virmen of them all is Hoptallus, the next boss. He has a furlwind attack and carrot breath that you have to avoid.
The third section has old beer that has gone bad and come alive. It has Stormbrew Alementals and spirits.
The final boss is Yan-Zhu the Uncasked a beer elemental.
Scholomance
The artists have added a lot of new art throughout the dungeon, including new undead models.
New lighting and particle effects have been added as well.
Jandice Barov still uses a lot of illusions to try and attack you, but they have been able to really punch up that encounter a lot.
Lillian Voss is now in the room full of skeletons being raised. She is here for revenge against Darkmaster Gandling, who is taunting her.
The old classroom had benches added and creepy paintings on the wall that are always watching you.
Darkmaster Gandling is the final boss, who still sends you into his rooms with undead that you must fight your way out of.
There will be nine level 90 heroics for players as well as three raids with 14 raid bosses. All of the raids are all going to have three difficulties.
In Cataclysm so much of the mindshare went into the revamp of the level 1-60 zones and the creation of the content itself, that they didn't really have an opportunity to create a lot of those new types of gameplay elements.


Media Presentation - Scenarios
To enter a scenario, you'll queue up for it a lot like you would a dungeon. Each scenario is designed to take roughly 10 to 30 minutes to complete.
Most are some slice of the world that has been carved out, to give you things to do as a group that you normally wouldn't be able to do while questing.
People were not doing group quests because they couldn’t find people in the past, so now group quests are something you can queue for.
The instancing provides the ability to make that there aren't different groups competing for the objectives and causing problems for each other.
The UI will present a number of objectives once you enter the scenario.
For example, you can help the Brewmaster create her Lightning Lager that can only be brewed while it's raining and in the middle of a thunderstorm. This is done by defending the brewery from the saurok while putting out fires.
Scenarios don't use the traditional tank/healer/dps set up, which would be slower. Combat is more similar to questing than dungeons.
There should be at least five ready for launch, but there may be more.
Scenarios will reward Valor points.


Media Presentation - Pet Battle System
For years blizzard has wanted to have mini games in World of Warcraft. They have also always wanted something more for pets but they didn't not want them to be mandatory. The pet battle system allows a perfect solution for both, and gives players something to do after dungeons, raids, challenges, scenarios, and battlegrounds.
The pet UI has been fully updated. On the left you will see a list of all the pets you have, and the ones you don’t as well as where to find those pets. When you click on a pet, you have, it will pull up a pet card with all the information on the pet
Pets will have health, levels, attack, defense, and movement speed (which is an initiative type of value) . Pets will also have 6 abilities, of which they can choose three of. It will work just like the players talent system. Two per row, can only pick one per row. You will be able to change these outside of battle. You unlock more abilities by leveling the pet up
You can name all your pets, and they will be shared across all characters.
When you enter a battle, you will see both players along with that player’s pets lined up in front of them.
You will be able to switch your pets between the ones you have selected mid fight. They also now run up to the enemy pet to attack it!
When you challenge another player in the world, it'll just kind of smoothly zoom in to this view. When you finish, it'll just pull right back on out to your normal gameplay view.
There will also be random critters and NPCs out in the world you can fight to level up your pets. As well as a queuing system to queue and fight other players.
There are roughly 100 wild pets across Azeroth to collect.
PvP pet battles are going to be a fun and causal. They do not want losing to feel like a big deal because that's really what drives a lot of people out of it. They will only track the number of wins and not the number of loses. You will also not see the other players name, and the players can not talk to one another. It should feel like your playing against another NPC (that just happens to be very smart).


Media Presentation - Challenge Modes
Challenge modes will be a new kind of activity for max level players that enjoy dungeons and raids. They will introduce a new form of competitive PvE for the first time, a new way to compete against your friends without that feeling of direct PvP confrontation. The point of challenge modes will be prestige, and not character power.
The challenge mode UI will display what dungeons you have completed challenge modes in ex: "You have completed another dungeon and earned a bronze medal in that". When you click on an instance, it will show you the different times you need to hit to earn each medal. While playing, on the right you will have a clock showing you have much time is left before you move to the next medal bracket.
You will always start off with a gold medal, if you take to much time, it will drop to a silver, and then from there to a bronze. The vast majority of players will most likely earn a bronze medal even if they are a relatively unskilled player.
Collecting all of the medal types for all the dungeons will give different rewards to players:
Collecting all the bronze medals will earn an achievement with a title.
Collecting all the silver medals will earn you visually spectacular gear that can be used for transmogrification. All of these sets have been built completely custom for each class and are unlike any other armor set that we have in the game. In addition, something that we are doing with these armor sets that we have never done before is giving them all unique effects that trigger off of something you do with your character class.
Collecting all the gold medals will reward the player with a unique epic mount called the flying Kwai-Lan, which will not be rewarded any other way. It is similar to one of those Chinese dog statues with a Mogu like head.
You will be able to look through the leaderboard at all the times on your realm as well as being able to compare them to friends and guild mates. The times will be tracked down to the milliseconds. The current plan is to save the time to 7 places.
Challenge modes will be available for the six new dungeons at launch.


Interview with Tom Chilton
No new race models yet, but they're working on it. At best, dwarves might have been ready for the MoP release.
An 11th character slot has been added.
Higher resolution textures and less texture stretching on shear surfaces has been added.
Account-wide pets have been confirmed. The rest is still unconfirmed but the next thing on the list is account-wide achievements.
AoE Looting has been added! When you loot one creature, the loot from all the other creatures in lootable range will be included in the same loot window!
Guild Perks
New guild perks are coming, if only to replace the ones that didn’t work out so well.
"Have Group, Will Travel" will be replaced for example, because the goal in MoP is to emphasize on going out into the world to do stuff.
Scaling down your level/power to play with friends who aren't level at the level cap is a feature they still want to include. It might be there for the launch of MoP.
We are excited to get players into the beta very soon, because that is going to be the true test of whether or not it is awesome.


Interview with Greg Street
There will not be an item squish in Mist of Pandaria, but it is possible that we may see it in 6.0 or 7.0 if players want it.
Monks
Monks now have a simplified/modified resource system. The Monk’s main resource will now be orbs of energy called Chi. The Tank and Dps specs of the Monk use energy so that most of their abilities do not need cooldowns, as well as Chi.
They feel the Monk’s abilities are very unique, you get to choose how you wish to combo the spells together (via spending a 3 force, 2 force, or a 1 force ability) giving them the Street Fighter button mashing feel.
Monks have some amazing animations.
Warlocks
The warlock currently has had the most changes
Destruction Warlocks now build up a fiery force, as their whole body catches on fire
Demonology Warlocks now have a bar that fills up, allowing them to control when and how long they can stay in Demon Form.
Female Voidwalkers will have a bow on their head (not really) The idea of Female Warlock pets is still on the table, however its on a rather long list. We may still see them in 5.0 or 5.1 (or a later patch)
There will be new Warlock pets in Mists. If you choose the right talent combinations, you can get a Shivan (The big six armed demons from Burning Crusade), A Wrath Guard, and a few others, such as a “Beholder” (The big orbs with eyes)
Paladins are in a very good place, they fixed some of the RNG in their rotations and added more reliable Holy Power.
Challenge Modes
Challenge modes will not have world rankings at first. They will have region rankings on their website.
You will be able to view times of friends and guildies while in-game.
The rankings for challenge mode will be metals: Bronze, Silver, and Gold. They may have some more beyond that at some point.
Challenge modes are meant to be a little harder than heroics
They feel only a few percent of players on each realm will ever get gold, and they like that.
They will be tracking times down to the milliseconds, as if you’re doing the 50 yard dash.
With the introduction of gear scaling, using this system for evenly matched PvP is something on their mind. However, gear is one of the main rewards in the game. If they did something like this, it would be a side thing.
Balancing the battleground teams is something on their mind, but they have to balance it with the increased wait time that would be a result.
They have always wanted minor glyphs to be ‘fun’ glyphs. We will be seeing a lot of new minor glyphs that do fun things such as a minor glyph that makes the Mage “Teleport: Dalaran” send you to the Dalaran crater instead of Dalaran in Northrend. A Warrior could have one that fears critters when they use Battle Shout or Commanding Shout.
They are also changing major glyphs in a way they think will surprise and amaze players.


Interview with Cory Stockton
Dungeons
The Gate of the Setting Sun is a dungeon that takes place at the Great Pandarian Wall with the Mantid attempting to break it down and the Shado-pan defending.
Mogu'Shan Palace is now a dungeon in Vale of Eternal Blossoms with the Mogu and Saurok.
The unnamed Mantid dungeon has them attacking the Ox Temple.
Raids
There will be three raids with 14 bosses at launch.
There will be two world bosses at launch.
Mogu’shan Vaults is a Mogu raid where you fight the ghosts of the Mogu.
There is a Mantid raid where you fight the local Mantid empress.
There is a Sha raid where you fight local creatures who have been made Sha and a Sha final boss.
Scenarios
Scenarios will take place at level 90 and be instanced.
They are a replacement for group quests that no one really took part in.
They will reward reputation or later on profession related skill or items.
New Talent System
The choices that you make should actually matter, make your character feel unique, and add customization.
The talents that add player power will now be easier to balance.
You might not want to swap for every boss, but you are able to if you want to.
Pre Mists of Pandaria Patch
We might add a scenario that involves Theramore and the Alliance vs Horde theme.
We might have Chen Stormstout come to the local cities and get players excited about what is coming.
The patch will be roughly two weeks before launch and bring simple rewards.
Gear Scaling Tech
If Challenge Mode dungeons go well, the tech could be used with older dungeons.
The tech could also be used in Scenarios that you could play while leveling or at the level cap.
Scholomance
The gameplay is now much better, especially Jandice’s room.
Deadmines and Shadowfang are similar but there was less freedom to upgrade the art or change the layout.
Mounts
There will be less sharing of colors. For example, the raid and heroic dungeon completion mounts will not just be different in color, they will be different mounts.
There will still be some places where mounts differ only in color, but they will be rewarded in different ways.
Armor can also be added to make them feel different in a way that isn’t a changed color.
There will be some unique mounts, so that when you see someone with it you will recognize that they have really accomplished something.
There are already more new mounts than there were in Cataclysm.
LFR Loot System
Everyone rolls on the items from a boss individually.
If you win the roll by being one of the highest few rollers, the system checks the boss’s loot table and if there is an item for you, you win it. If not, you win some gold.
This way other people cannot impact what you win, only the roll you get can.
You aren’t always guaranteed something. If the boss doesn’t have an item you can use then you won’t win anything.
It could be added to more parts of the game in the future, but LFR is a good place to start.

Friday, March 16, 2012

Day 01 – Introduce yourself

Well, what do I say in an introduction?

I do not generally get into my real life all that much on here besides talking about my wife.

I am 29 years old, married, and I love games.

I have been playing WoW since a little bit after release and have played many other MMOs over the years. WoW has lasted about 8 times longer than the next closest (which was either SW: Galaxies or Asheron's Call 2).

I played EQ, EQ2, SW: Galaxies, Asheron's Call 2, Anarchy Online, DAoC, SW:TOR, City of Heroes and Villains among others over time.

I must admit that WoW has ruined other MMOs for me a bit. I enjoyed SW:TOR a lot at first, but once I finished with my class story, it was all down hill from there.

Well.....I guess that is about it for now. On to the next day!

Thursday, March 15, 2012

20 Days of Blogging

Well, I decided since I have a bit of trouble coming up with interesting topics these days, I would steal a page from Clearcasting


I guess I will start tommorow. Feel free to take this and use it on your own blog as well. Maybe this will get the create juices flowing.

Day 01 – Introduce yourself
Day 02 – Why you decided to start a blog
Day 03 – Your first day playing WoW
Day 04 – Your best WoW memory
Day 05 – Favourite item(s) in game
Day 06 – Your workplace/desk (photo and/or description)
Day 07 – The reason behind your blog’s name
Day 08 – 10 things we don’t know about you
Day 09 – Your first blog post
Day 10 – Blog/Website favourites
Day 11 – Bad habits and flaws
Day 12 – A usual day in your life/online time
Day 13 – People (players/bloggers) that you admire
Day 14 – This upsets you
Day 15 – Your desktop background (on your computer) and why you chose it
Day 16 – Things you miss (post Cataclysm)
Day 17 – Your favourite spot (in game or outside it)
Day 18 – Your favourite outfit
Day 19 – In your bags/bank
Day 20 – If this was your last day playing WoW, what would you do?

Diablo 3 on May 15!

Hell yeah!

I have been waiting for this game for a while. I played it at Blizzcon several years ago and have been waiting eagerly ever since.

It is really about time. I have been looking forward to a good hack and slash game, especially one that I can play with my friends.

It is good mindless fun.

I have not yet decided if I am going to participate in the RMT AH yet. I will have to see.

Only two months away!!!!

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

On Bots and Resetting Markets.

As always, I have been doing my thing in the JC market. One good thing is that I have a huge stock of gems. A second plus is that I have a huge stock of gold.

I like to reset the gem markets from time to time. When gems start getting below 20 gold, I often buy them all up and repost at 220. I always sell some at this price. Even if I get undercut, I just made one sale that paid for 10-15 of the gems I just bought. Then everything after that is just pure profit.

My advice for resetting a market is do your research, and dont be afraid to do it. Unless you have someone in your market who just wants to keep things artificially low and has more money than you, there is really no problem doing this. There are one or two players who will undercut from 175 down to 30 gold. I just undercut them until they are posting below 20 and buy them all out again.

This has been made possible recently because all of a sudden, ore has just dried up.

Big time.

There went from being a dozen or more pages of auction to there being one yesterday. This is an advantage for me for the time being. I have stocked up. I have enough Carnelians left for over 400 inferno rubies not counting the procs I will get.

They have been selling like crazy recently and I have finally started turning a profit again after a while where I kept feeling like I was breaking even.

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

My Wife the Rogue

My wife is really enjoying her new rogue....a lot. Watching her play games sometimes gives me enjoyment as she enjoys things that I no longer do.

Her favorite profession is skinning.

He favorite things about Rogues.

1) Stealth: She likes being able to sneak by annoying mobs and complete her quests easier. She also likes the ability to vanish from danger should she need to.

2) Pick Pocket: She pick pockets every single humanoid. She starts by sapping her target, pick pocketing them, and the ambushing them.

3) Pick Lock: She likes being able to open boxes and chests.

I love how some of the little things excite her.

I get mad if I make less than 10k gold in a day. She is happy when she pick pockets a few extra copper off of a mob.

I really should take a page out of her playbook.

Her rogue is moving quickly along. She has made quite a bit of progress questing, and doesnt even really have to ask me if something is an upgrade anymore.

I have been running her through almost every dungeon just so she can get the quests done and some nice upgrades to help with questing. She is finding tons of weapons she likes for transmog, but no actual gear.

She was sad that she could not transmog the hat with the whirly satellite dish on top from Gnomeregan. She is keeping it in her bank anyways in hope that she will be able to someday.

It would be nice to be able to experience new things in WoW. That is one of the many reasons I am looking forward to MoP. Something new to do. Both the new content and being able to level a Pandaren Monk.

I am still trying to get my wife to write a post. We shall see.

Thursday, March 8, 2012

Bots Soon to Be Extinct?

I do not have a direct link, but I hear the Blizzard won a court case that would essentially shut down all bot companies and Blizzard would be able to sue them for operation.

This will have a monster change on the ore and herb markets. This also means that prices for all related materials will be going up.

I heard that they should be gone in four weeks. I dont know if this is true or not, but we should see a massive increase in botted ore and herbs during that time. I just bought several hundred stacks of ore for around 35 gold a stack on average.

So, if you dont care that the ore is botted, I would suggest stocking up on it now. The materials will be much more valuable in a months time (allegedly) and you will be glad you did.

On another note, I think that getting rid of botters may mean an increased instance of hacked accounts.

Make sure you have an authenticator on your account.

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

New Scroll of Resurrection

SO, scroll of resurrection is back, and has been beefed up significantly. New mount for the referer and a whole bushel of cool things for the person who signs back up including a free level 80 character.

I must say that this is pretty good. It does reek a bit of desperation to bring back players, but I like it....a lot. Blizzard really needs to do more things like this.

I sent one to my sister, and she is currently using the free play time.

More information from MMO Champion is below.

The Scroll of Resurrection is currently on cooldown, but will be resurrected soon. Once it’s available, you will be able to earn a free faction mount when you use a Scroll of Resurrection to bring a friend or former guildmate back to World of Warcraft, but this offer will only be available for a limited time. Any active World of Warcraft non-trial player can send a Scroll of Resurrection. To be eligible to receive a Scroll of Resurrection, your friend must have previously purchased at least one month of game time at any point in the past, and your friend’s account must have been inactive since March 4, 2012 or earlier.

Once your friend accepts your scroll and pays for at least 30 days of game, you unlock your choice of the following rewards:

A Free Spectral Gryphon for an Alliance character
Or a Free Spectral Wind Rider for a Horde character

And, to enable you and your friend to play together in Cataclysm’s newest content, any friend who accepts your Scroll will also receive the following epic benefits:

A single character immediately boosted all the way to level 80 -- DING!
A FREE upgrade to Cataclysm -- regardless of your friend’s original box level
An optional FREE character move -- to your realm and faction so you can play together
7 FREE days of game time -- available immediately

A few other prerequisites apply -- such as a free upgrade to a Battle.net account for players who haven’t played since 2009 or earlier -- so be sure to check out the FAQ below for full eligibility details.

We’ll provide an update once the Scroll of Resurrection is ready to be cast on your friends. Keep an eye on the World of Warcraft official Community site for more information.

Scroll of Resurrection FAQ

Basics

How do I send a Scroll of Resurrection to my friend?

There are two options for sending Scrolls of Resurrection:

While in-game, open your Real ID friends list or guild roster; any characters or accounts that are eligible to receive a Scroll of Resurrection will have a special button next to them. Click that Scroll of Resurrection button to generate the email invitation. You’ll also have the option to include a personal message to your friend inviting them back to the game.
From your Battle.net Account Management page, click on the World of Warcraft account that you would like to send the invitation from and select Referrals Rewards- Scroll of Resurrection will be an option in that menu. Once clicked, you can enter the name and e-mail address of the friend you’d like to resurrect and include a personal message along with your invitation.

Eligibility & Limitations

Who can be sent a Scroll of Resurrection?
To be eligible to receive a Scroll of Resurrection, your friend must have previously subscribed to World of Warcraft for at least 30 days and their account must have become inactive on or before March 4th,2012.

If your friend’s World of Warcraft account has been inactive since December 2009 (or longer), your friend must first associate their World of Warcraft account with a free Battle.net account before they can receive a Scroll of Resurrection. Tell your friend to see our Battle.net Account FAQ for information on creating a Battle.net account and merging their WoW account. After your friend has set up their account, you should be able to send them a Scroll of Resurrection normally.

Can I resurrect one of my own World of Warcraft accounts?
If you have at least one active World of Warcraft account, you can send your inactive accounts Scroll of Resurrection invitations.

How long is the Scroll of Resurrection invitation good for once I send it out?
Your friend has 30 days to accept the invitation. The offer will expire if not used within that time.

Is there a limit on the number of Scroll of Resurrection invitations that I can send out?
There is a limit of one Scroll of Resurrection invitation per day per World of Warcraft Account on both the web and in-game. This makes an effective limit of 2 Scroll of Resurrection invitations per day per account if you use both sending options. There is no limit on the number of lifetime Scroll of Resurrection invitations that an account can send.

Can I invite someone who has never played before with a Scroll of Resurrection?
Scroll of Resurrection can only be used on players who once had active World of Warcraft subscriptions. For a similar offer for friends who have never subscribed to World of Warcraft, please see the Recruit-A-Friend FAQ.

Sending the Scroll of Resurrection

What benefits are there to sending a Scroll of Resurrection?
You will receive an exclusive mount when your friend who accepted the Scroll first renews their subscription and pays for 30 days of game time – the Spectral Gryphon for Alliance characters or the Spectral Wind Rider for Horde characters.

How do I redeem my mount once my friend subscribes?
Visit your Account Management page and click on the Scroll of Resurrection option. Under the History/Status tab, you will see Claim Mount button when you are able to redeem the mount. Choose the realm and character on which you want to receive the mount and it will arrive in your character’s mailbox.

Note: The mount can only be redeemed on one character per Scroll.

When do I receive my mount for resurrecting a friend?
Your friend must accept your Scroll of Resurrection invitation and renew their subscription for you to qualify for the mount. In order to qualify for the mount, your friend must renew their subscription after accepting the Scroll, and pay for at least 30 days of game time.

Can I earn multiple mounts on my account?
Yes! This reward will be given to you for each friend who accepts your invitation and meets the re-subscription criteria.

Can I track the invitations I send out?
After your friend accepts, you will be able to view the status of the invitation on the History page in the Referrals & Rewards section of your Battle.net Account Management page.
Who will receive the sender reward when several people send the same person Scrolls of Resurrection?

Who will receive the sender reward when several people send the same person Scrolls of Resurrection?
Only the player whose invitation is accepted will receive the sender’s reward. If the recipient gets several invitations, it will be up to them to choose which to accept. A recipient can accept a maximum of one Scroll of Resurrection per eligible World of Warcraft account.

Accepting the Scroll of Resurrection

What benefits are there for accepting a Scroll of Resurrection invitation?
The Scroll’s recipient immediately receives a FREE digital upgrade all the way to World of Warcraft: Cataclysm. Additionally, the Scroll’s receiver can permanently boost one character to level 80 so that they can jump straight into the adventure for their 7 days of FREE game time!

Note: The digital upgrade and level boost will only be available for scrolls sent during the 90-day promotion period. Players who accept a Scroll of Resurrection that was sent after the promotion period ends will still receive 7 days of FREE game time, but will not be eligible for the digital upgrade or level boost.

I just accepted a Scroll of Resurrection. How do I level boost my character?
Log in to your Battle.net Account and click on the resurrected license. Once you’re on the Game Management page, click Claim Rewards and select the character to level along with their spec. The next time you log in, they’ll be ready to adventure in a sundered Azeroth!

How does the boost to level 80 work for the Scroll’s recipient?
After accepting the Scroll, the recipient can choose one character to boost to level 80. The character’s spec will be chosen by the recipient prior to completing the level boost and the character will also be given appropriate talents under the chosen spec. The character will be placed in his or her faction’s capital city and will be ready to adventure immediately. This means that the character will be granted all class skills and spells up to level 80, a flying mount and riding skill, and a green quality set of level- and spec-appropriate gear for leveling.

Any gear that was on the character prior to the level boost will be mailed back to the character via in game mail.

Hunter pets will not be given a spec, so level boosted Hunters will need to spec out their pets normally after logging in for the first time.

Note: Active quests may be abandoned when a level boost is performed. If a quest is abandoned in this way, you will be able to pick it up normally from the NPC who originally gave you the quest.

Can I only level boost one character? What happens if my main character is on a different realm or faction than the friend who invited me?
If the character that was level boosted is on a different realm or faction than the character who sent the invitation, you will be eligible for a free Character Transfer and/or a free Faction Change to bring you to your friend’s realm and faction.

Note: Existing limitations apply for Faction Changes and Realm Transfers under the Scroll of Resurrection system. Please see the Faction Change and Realm Transfer FAQs for details. In addition, players on an RU server will not receive a free Realm Transfer if the friend who invited them is from an EU server.

How many times can one person accept a Scroll of Resurrection?
After March 5th, 2012, accounts are only able to accept one Scroll of Resurrection per eligible World of Warcraft account– if your friend has already accepted an invitation after March 5th, they will not be able to accept another for the same World of Warcraft account, but may accept invitations for other eligible World of Warcraft accounts.

Is there a way for me to boost a character to 80 without a Scroll of Resurrection?
The ability to boost a character to 80 only comes when you accept a Scroll of Resurrection invitation.

Monday, March 5, 2012

Weekend Update

Well, as has been the norm for past weekends, there is not a whole lot going on for me in WoW.

I have been trying to get my wife to write something since she is enjoying her adventures as a rogue. I never thought that a Rogue would be a class she would be even remotely interested in.

I did my Darkmoon dailies and whatnot when they popped up. I am a few tokens away from yet another pet.

I have not even been really keeping up on my shuffle. There is a lot of work that needs to be done in that area.

The one thing I miss is running things with Friends.

Another thing that would be awesome would be more character slots. I am not interested in starting on other realms. I want to make more toons on mine.

The rest of my gaming time over the weekend was spent in MW3. I feel like I am improving slowly but surely. Practice makes perfect I guess. I still die too much though.

Friday, March 2, 2012

Happy Friday Everyone!

And Happy March for that matter.

The pre expansion blue are in full effect at this point.

The most fun I am having playing games is in MW3.

A lot of my friends are playing Star Wars. I played it, but did not enjoy it as much as WoW. Not a bad game, but the end game was severely lacking for me.

My wife has all of the pets that she can get in game outside of a few holliday ones. Now she is not sure what she wants to do.

I am looking forward to MoP. I am hoping that going forward, they can start releasing expansion as people start to feel the end of expansion blues rather than after they have been feeling that way for months.

I am really looking forward to D3. I love me some hacking and slashing.

So, an open question to the very few readers I do get here.....is there anything in particular that you would like to hear me write about.

Maybe I should do some kind of WoW experiment....like a play by play of my wife playing WoW. I dont know.