I think I many have chosen WoW over Warhammer. At least for now. I can run two copies of WoW at the same time and can use my refer a friend to get some quick 60s before the expanison. On the other hand, I have Warhammer. It is great fun, but I cant really handle the immense lag and graphical slowdowns I have experienced on my older rig. Hopefully I will be getting a new one before soon which will give me a choice. For now I think its WoW.
I have been preparing for WoW as best I can. I have about 7k gold saved up on my toons and they are all geared and ready to go. I am also going to try to level the above mentioned toons before Wrath hits. I still need to get my Warrior's fishing to 375 as well. May go do it in Nagrand as the Spell Damage food sells very well and the Agility food is a bonus.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Not enought time for everything.
I dont have enought time to do everything I want to do as far as games go. I want to play Warhammer, but I also kinda want to level my Druid/Rogue combo up to 70 (they are at 15 currently). I guess I could split what time I have between them, but I dont know if that is optimal. I think what I will probably do is just stop running karazhan altogether. I dont really need anything out of there, and it seems like a gigantic waste of 3-4 hours of gaming time at this point. I could be gaining 10 level in recruit a friend or PvPing my ass off in Warhammer.
The good thing about my Druid Rogue combo is that it is on my main server. Which means I have access to cash flow and friends who will run me thru instances (it seems a bit hokie to be running two toons thru a pug at the same time).
I have plenty of cash for the expansion, but I am just torn on what to do. If I level my Rogue and Druid to 60, I can use all the level grants on my Dwarf Hunter and then transfer the Rogue to my main account I suppose.
Is anyone else having these same issues?
The good thing about my Druid Rogue combo is that it is on my main server. Which means I have access to cash flow and friends who will run me thru instances (it seems a bit hokie to be running two toons thru a pug at the same time).
I have plenty of cash for the expansion, but I am just torn on what to do. If I level my Rogue and Druid to 60, I can use all the level grants on my Dwarf Hunter and then transfer the Rogue to my main account I suppose.
Is anyone else having these same issues?
Monday, September 22, 2008
Warhammer Online and other goings on.
I havent posted in a week due to the fact that I took a 5 day weekend (and I usually post from work). During that time I did quite a few things. I got my Horde toons to 43, but I am not sure that I want to continue leveling them. I did my minimum amount of arena games for the week and saw more Warrior/Druid combos in full season 3 shoulders/weapons with season 4 helmets.....in the 1500 bracket. I also healed Kara again and got some more badges.
The main thing I did this weekend was give Warhammer a try. Unfortunately, my computer is about 5 years old with a Geforce 5500 in it. Needless to say, the game was almost unplayable. So I went and got a new graphics card and came home. Open my computer.....no PCI slot...WTF? My computer only had an AGP slot. So I take it back, and downgrade to one that costed more (lol wut?). Bottom line is that I need to get a new computer. I has gotten to the point where I cant really buy and play the new games because my computer just cant support the load.
Anyways, back to Warhammer. I rolled a Chosen and played quite a bit. I did some quests, which were alright, then decided I would rather PVP. Unfortunately, it still runs somewhat slow on my computer and I get alot of lag when too much is happening at once. The Chosen I kinda like a tank. Except they can do alot of damage without having to respec. Just switch out the sword and board for a two hander and you are good to go.
I usually did finish that high in damage etc. due to the fact that I was lagging so bad that I couldnt really chase people around. The two times that I didnt lag terribly, I finished top 4 in damage and top in killing blows. The PVP is actually a lot of fun. You can do the open world R v R areas, or you can join what is basically a battleground (called a scenario). To join a scenario you just click on the icon next to you mini map and join. Pretty easy. When you are done, it plops you right back down where you were. The best part is that you get XP for doing PVP as well. I am rank 9 (basically level 9), and PVP Renown 8 (which is basically another set of levels that can get you new skills and the ability to purchase better items with each level of renown).
So far, there are two repeatable Scenario quests that I can do over and over again. One is to kill 10 enemy players, and the other one is the complete the scenario. Thats right. You dont have to win to complete the quest. The character models are amazing, and the armor is cool looking. My chosen has a big scar over one eye and a Mohawk. Perhaps Ill post a screen shot.
Another very fun part of the game are the public quests. You can join a group (or try it solo), to do repeatable objectives and possibly earn some cool new gear. It is a random roll for who gets gear, but you get a postitive modifer to your roll based on how much you contributed to the quest. You can do they quests over and over again. I mainly did them on the Dwarf toon that I rolled on another server when my main server was overpopulated.
The Tome of Knowledge is Awesome. I keeps track of pretty much everything you have done. Exploration, killing, quests, you name it. You also unlock a ton of titles. I am currently using the title "the Fearless", but you can also choose from more silly ones like "Ow my Eye", which is a title that you obtain by clicking on yourself 100 times.
Now for the negatives. You have to have a very good system to get the best of Warhammer Online. My buddy who has a fairly new rig with two video cards in it still experiences alot of choppy and laggy moments in the game. Then there are some weird bugs. I havent noticed any combat bugs, but I have noticed some terrain bugs. One of them is that it seems like at random points, you will end up in a high place you didnt mean to get to and the fall. I also fell throught the world and died on my first trip to the Capital Chaos City.
Another complaint I have are the servers. I rolled on an Oceanic server and for the first few days, there were times when you had to wait in an hour queue to get on. That is why I rolled my Dwarf Ironbreaker on another server.
Overall, I would highly recommend the game. It is not as polished as Warcraft, but it has the potential to be as good. It is at the very least a very good alternative until Wrath comes out.
The main thing I did this weekend was give Warhammer a try. Unfortunately, my computer is about 5 years old with a Geforce 5500 in it. Needless to say, the game was almost unplayable. So I went and got a new graphics card and came home. Open my computer.....no PCI slot...WTF? My computer only had an AGP slot. So I take it back, and downgrade to one that costed more (lol wut?). Bottom line is that I need to get a new computer. I has gotten to the point where I cant really buy and play the new games because my computer just cant support the load.
Anyways, back to Warhammer. I rolled a Chosen and played quite a bit. I did some quests, which were alright, then decided I would rather PVP. Unfortunately, it still runs somewhat slow on my computer and I get alot of lag when too much is happening at once. The Chosen I kinda like a tank. Except they can do alot of damage without having to respec. Just switch out the sword and board for a two hander and you are good to go.
I usually did finish that high in damage etc. due to the fact that I was lagging so bad that I couldnt really chase people around. The two times that I didnt lag terribly, I finished top 4 in damage and top in killing blows. The PVP is actually a lot of fun. You can do the open world R v R areas, or you can join what is basically a battleground (called a scenario). To join a scenario you just click on the icon next to you mini map and join. Pretty easy. When you are done, it plops you right back down where you were. The best part is that you get XP for doing PVP as well. I am rank 9 (basically level 9), and PVP Renown 8 (which is basically another set of levels that can get you new skills and the ability to purchase better items with each level of renown).
So far, there are two repeatable Scenario quests that I can do over and over again. One is to kill 10 enemy players, and the other one is the complete the scenario. Thats right. You dont have to win to complete the quest. The character models are amazing, and the armor is cool looking. My chosen has a big scar over one eye and a Mohawk. Perhaps Ill post a screen shot.
Another very fun part of the game are the public quests. You can join a group (or try it solo), to do repeatable objectives and possibly earn some cool new gear. It is a random roll for who gets gear, but you get a postitive modifer to your roll based on how much you contributed to the quest. You can do they quests over and over again. I mainly did them on the Dwarf toon that I rolled on another server when my main server was overpopulated.
The Tome of Knowledge is Awesome. I keeps track of pretty much everything you have done. Exploration, killing, quests, you name it. You also unlock a ton of titles. I am currently using the title "the Fearless", but you can also choose from more silly ones like "Ow my Eye", which is a title that you obtain by clicking on yourself 100 times.
Now for the negatives. You have to have a very good system to get the best of Warhammer Online. My buddy who has a fairly new rig with two video cards in it still experiences alot of choppy and laggy moments in the game. Then there are some weird bugs. I havent noticed any combat bugs, but I have noticed some terrain bugs. One of them is that it seems like at random points, you will end up in a high place you didnt mean to get to and the fall. I also fell throught the world and died on my first trip to the Capital Chaos City.
Another complaint I have are the servers. I rolled on an Oceanic server and for the first few days, there were times when you had to wait in an hour queue to get on. That is why I rolled my Dwarf Ironbreaker on another server.
Overall, I would highly recommend the game. It is not as polished as Warcraft, but it has the potential to be as good. It is at the very least a very good alternative until Wrath comes out.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Weekend Pew Pew
Did a few things over the weekend.
Went into Sunday at 1643, got up to 1680something and ended the day at 1585. Faced a Rogue with brutal shoulders and weapons in that bracket and barely lost. Also faced some Gladiators. GG blizzard.
On Saturday night I actually did a Kara run as there were several people who wanted to go. I brought along the pally for heals, and despite it taking about 4 hours we cleared the whole thing. We had no Pally tank and our druid offtank only had like 14K HP buffed. I am just trying to build up money before the expansion, so I used my badges on gems and put them on the AH.
The leveling of my Horde toons is going great. I downloaded Quest Helper which is a very big help. I now have my Warrior and Druid both up to 36. The biggest problem for me is I dont have hardy any damn money. I have about 15 gold between both toons and I can barely afford the training every other level let alone a mount. I have been ganked a few times, but the last one who did I got down to 50 percent before he killed me. He was ?? level to me. I think when Warhammer comes out, I may give it a try as it looks like alot of fun.
Went into Sunday at 1643, got up to 1680something and ended the day at 1585. Faced a Rogue with brutal shoulders and weapons in that bracket and barely lost. Also faced some Gladiators. GG blizzard.
On Saturday night I actually did a Kara run as there were several people who wanted to go. I brought along the pally for heals, and despite it taking about 4 hours we cleared the whole thing. We had no Pally tank and our druid offtank only had like 14K HP buffed. I am just trying to build up money before the expansion, so I used my badges on gems and put them on the AH.
The leveling of my Horde toons is going great. I downloaded Quest Helper which is a very big help. I now have my Warrior and Druid both up to 36. The biggest problem for me is I dont have hardy any damn money. I have about 15 gold between both toons and I can barely afford the training every other level let alone a mount. I have been ganked a few times, but the last one who did I got down to 50 percent before he killed me. He was ?? level to me. I think when Warhammer comes out, I may give it a try as it looks like alot of fun.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Never forget.......
Today is 9/11. Never forget the lives that were lost. Never forget. Never forgive.
On a less serious note, I did some arena yesterday with Ben and we actually won a few games on his horribly geared rogue. All blues+one green+no pvp trinket=fail?
I also gained another two levels on my Horde toons and they are now up to 29. I dont have near enough money to get their mounts. I finished up a few quests in the charred vale in Stonetalon (that place sucks), then I headed to Ashenvale where I completed a few other quests. I should hit 30 and beyond the next time I play. I am actually hoping that I will be able to hit 40 this weekend. I took me 1 day /played to get my toons to 29. Not a bad start I think. I started these toons a week ago.
On a less serious note, I did some arena yesterday with Ben and we actually won a few games on his horribly geared rogue. All blues+one green+no pvp trinket=fail?
I also gained another two levels on my Horde toons and they are now up to 29. I dont have near enough money to get their mounts. I finished up a few quests in the charred vale in Stonetalon (that place sucks), then I headed to Ashenvale where I completed a few other quests. I should hit 30 and beyond the next time I play. I am actually hoping that I will be able to hit 40 this weekend. I took me 1 day /played to get my toons to 29. Not a bad start I think. I started these toons a week ago.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
What makes a good.....(Part 1)
I mostly just rant about my days spent on the game, but I also want to provide a bit of information that may help people out as well. So, as for the dots, it can be anything you want. Make a suggestion in a comment or via email and I will see what I can do. The first one I am going to talk about is "What makes a good tank".
Tanking can be a thankless job, but it is also one of the most difficult, scrutinized, and important. You have to be REALLY bad to be bad at DPS, but it really doesn't take alot to be a bad tank. There are several things that you can do to make yourseld a better tank.
Knowledge is King: Knowing you class and its abilities inside and out are a great start. When I first started tanking I was a terribad tank. I didnt know what a sunder was. I learned how to tank on the job, and thanks to alot of encouraging support from friends I became a good tank. I even had an in-game friend tell me that I was probably the best tank on the server with all gear being equal. There are so many tanking tools on the interwebs that it is ridiculous. Being a warrior tank, there is http://www.tankingtips.com. For Paladins there is http://www.maintankadin.com (sorry if that is wrong, I am going from memory). For any kind of tank class, my favorite resource is http://www.tankspot.com. If you arent looking at outside sources, you really arent using your homework.
Confidence: Being a tank is alot about confidence. You have to know that you can grab those 4 mobs and tank them effectively so that they dont go and 1-shot your priest. You have to know that you can get that critical shield block up at just the right time to not get gibbed by that hard hitting boss. If you are confident in yourself, it will show in your playing ability as well as the way you are percieved. People will want to run with you, which builds confidence and makes you a better tank. Confidence often leads to.......
Leadership: If you have been tanking for any amount of time you have either embraced the leadership role or been thrust into it by force. Everyone has joined that pug where the first thing they do is pass you leader. Dont pass it back, embrace it. Being a tank, it is just as important to know the fights as it is to have the gear for the fights. When you lead, you learn. When you learn, leading becomes easier. Mark the mobs with the symbols and explain to them what each one means. For example: "Ok, Im going to tank the skull and X. The skull is the first dps target followed by the X. I am going to need (mage) to sheep the moon. Rogue, stealth in and sap the star and then I will pull. Hunter, bull the square back to you and trap it. We will be running arounf this corner so that the casters have to follow." Be a leader at all times.
Rotations: Every class has it's threat rotations. Learn them, use them. For example, a warrior usually likes to shield slam, then devastate until 5 sunders are up. Once the sunders are up, you will want to shield slam and revenge every chance you get. Dont forget to throw out devastates to refresh the sunders from time to time. When you are getting high on rage and the next hit will cause rage waste, use a heroic strike (or possibly a cleave if you are tanking multiple mobs). Thunderclap and any shouts should be renewed when shield slam is on cooldown. A good rotation is important to maximize threat. Using heroic strike all the time in a limited rage situation is bad. It is a good threat booster in high rage fights, but it eats thru rage at an alarming pace, and isnt as much bang for the buck as other abilities.
Dress to impress: This doesnt mean to have the best item possible in each slot. The random loot gods can be very unkind and we should never rely on them (thank god for badge gear). Because you may not have the optimal piece of gear doesnt mean that you dont have to enchant it and gem it. Use blue or epic quality gems in your gear. Period. When people inspect you and your gear is unenchanted and ungemmed, it makes them think that you are not serious about what you are doing. Do your research and gem accordingly. Once you are defense capped, you should generally gem for stamina. Use the best enchants for each piece. 2 percent threat on gloves is better than strength. Mongoose is the top enchantment if you want a nice combo of threat boost and avoidance (as agility raises your crit/attack power as well as your dodge).
For the most part, tanking is a little bit of preparation combined with a heaping does of common sense. You either have it or dont. If you can do all of these things, you will become a great and respected tank. If you cant, well there is always PVP and Fury.
Tanking can be a thankless job, but it is also one of the most difficult, scrutinized, and important. You have to be REALLY bad to be bad at DPS, but it really doesn't take alot to be a bad tank. There are several things that you can do to make yourseld a better tank.
Knowledge is King: Knowing you class and its abilities inside and out are a great start. When I first started tanking I was a terribad tank. I didnt know what a sunder was. I learned how to tank on the job, and thanks to alot of encouraging support from friends I became a good tank. I even had an in-game friend tell me that I was probably the best tank on the server with all gear being equal. There are so many tanking tools on the interwebs that it is ridiculous. Being a warrior tank, there is http://www.tankingtips.com. For Paladins there is http://www.maintankadin.com (sorry if that is wrong, I am going from memory). For any kind of tank class, my favorite resource is http://www.tankspot.com. If you arent looking at outside sources, you really arent using your homework.
Confidence: Being a tank is alot about confidence. You have to know that you can grab those 4 mobs and tank them effectively so that they dont go and 1-shot your priest. You have to know that you can get that critical shield block up at just the right time to not get gibbed by that hard hitting boss. If you are confident in yourself, it will show in your playing ability as well as the way you are percieved. People will want to run with you, which builds confidence and makes you a better tank. Confidence often leads to.......
Leadership: If you have been tanking for any amount of time you have either embraced the leadership role or been thrust into it by force. Everyone has joined that pug where the first thing they do is pass you leader. Dont pass it back, embrace it. Being a tank, it is just as important to know the fights as it is to have the gear for the fights. When you lead, you learn. When you learn, leading becomes easier. Mark the mobs with the symbols and explain to them what each one means. For example: "Ok, Im going to tank the skull and X. The skull is the first dps target followed by the X. I am going to need (mage) to sheep the moon. Rogue, stealth in and sap the star and then I will pull. Hunter, bull the square back to you and trap it. We will be running arounf this corner so that the casters have to follow." Be a leader at all times.
Rotations: Every class has it's threat rotations. Learn them, use them. For example, a warrior usually likes to shield slam, then devastate until 5 sunders are up. Once the sunders are up, you will want to shield slam and revenge every chance you get. Dont forget to throw out devastates to refresh the sunders from time to time. When you are getting high on rage and the next hit will cause rage waste, use a heroic strike (or possibly a cleave if you are tanking multiple mobs). Thunderclap and any shouts should be renewed when shield slam is on cooldown. A good rotation is important to maximize threat. Using heroic strike all the time in a limited rage situation is bad. It is a good threat booster in high rage fights, but it eats thru rage at an alarming pace, and isnt as much bang for the buck as other abilities.
Dress to impress: This doesnt mean to have the best item possible in each slot. The random loot gods can be very unkind and we should never rely on them (thank god for badge gear). Because you may not have the optimal piece of gear doesnt mean that you dont have to enchant it and gem it. Use blue or epic quality gems in your gear. Period. When people inspect you and your gear is unenchanted and ungemmed, it makes them think that you are not serious about what you are doing. Do your research and gem accordingly. Once you are defense capped, you should generally gem for stamina. Use the best enchants for each piece. 2 percent threat on gloves is better than strength. Mongoose is the top enchantment if you want a nice combo of threat boost and avoidance (as agility raises your crit/attack power as well as your dodge).
For the most part, tanking is a little bit of preparation combined with a heaping does of common sense. You either have it or dont. If you can do all of these things, you will become a great and respected tank. If you cant, well there is always PVP and Fury.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
The Joys of a PVP server
Yesterday I got a little bit of time and gained another level on my little hordies. And I got ganked twice by a Paladin that was prolly in his late 30s or early 40s.
The first time, I had just come into ashenvale and got an escort quest. I make my way to the Silversong area, and here comes this level ?? paladin and roflpwns both of my toons. A bit later, Im killing Silversong Outrunners when I get attacked by Sharpbeak, who is a Gryphon 5 levels higher that me. Im fighting an outrunner and the Gryphon when all of a sudden here comes Mr. Paladin again an smashes me.
So, I finally get my quests done and got back to the horde city, and who do I see? Mr. Paladin killing quest givers and such. He tries to run away with a pack of guards on him and about 35 percent health. So I charge him and hamstring him. Take that you SOB. Now dont go arounf ganking toons that are 10 levels plus lower than you. Douche.
That was the last I saw of him for the evening. PVP servers can be fun at times but sometimes you just want to finish your damn quests.
The first time, I had just come into ashenvale and got an escort quest. I make my way to the Silversong area, and here comes this level ?? paladin and roflpwns both of my toons. A bit later, Im killing Silversong Outrunners when I get attacked by Sharpbeak, who is a Gryphon 5 levels higher that me. Im fighting an outrunner and the Gryphon when all of a sudden here comes Mr. Paladin again an smashes me.
So, I finally get my quests done and got back to the horde city, and who do I see? Mr. Paladin killing quest givers and such. He tries to run away with a pack of guards on him and about 35 percent health. So I charge him and hamstring him. Take that you SOB. Now dont go arounf ganking toons that are 10 levels plus lower than you. Douche.
That was the last I saw of him for the evening. PVP servers can be fun at times but sometimes you just want to finish your damn quests.
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