Psyae's WoW Et Cetera

PSYAE.COM

2007-03-20T16:36:00.000-05:00

The Revolution is upon us!

Or something.

I've MOVED to:

psyae.com

Please address all further inquiries there, thank you verymuch and havaniceday.

Tunic of Assassination AND Abacus of Violent Odds with One Kill

2007-03-19T11:24:00.000-05:00

So, we were planning on doing some raiding last night, but, as usual, we lacked a certain absolutely needed class. It's always tanks or healers. Last night, we were lacking healers.

Sometimes a smaller guild really doesn't do better. Ah well, we'll pull through.

I split up the guild so that we could do some supplemental instances. Sent one team into Steamvaults and the team I was in decided to head to The Mechanar.

Yay.

Well, I had never been there. Turns out, it was lots of fun. Although the robots were immune to my poisons (and I hadn't brought sharpening stones), there were enough blood elves to go around to even out my damage.

It didn't take us too long to get to the final boss, Paletheon the Calculator. He was a toughie. Actually, it wasn't him, it was these little ghostie adds that he kept summoning. They were ripping through our clothies, and there wasn't anything I could do about it. We were cloth-heavy that night: Warrior, Rogue, Mage, Mage, Priest. A great team, though, with superb players, so we got through stuff I'm sure was designed to kill us. Always helps to have some extra CC, anyway.

Well, as we're hacking away at the Calculator's health (oh, he's a blood elf, btw, not some robot), these ghostie things totally shred everyone in the group but the warrior and me. So, no healing, just a bit of tanking and dps, and we finally take the bastard down!

But, we had three casualties, so we waited for them to come back.

Lo and behold! The elevators were BLOCKED with the pink laser doorblocker thingies! WTF! The mages and priest couldn't get back to get their part of the key for that funky quest line, AND, we hadn't looted yet, so they couldn't even get access to the loot. Or, actually, one of them couldn't, because she released too soon after dying (thinking that mega-warrior Kyosan and mega-rogue Psyae wouldn't be able to defeat mega-calculator). That was irrelevant, anyway, because, after figuring that our teammates wouldn't be able to return, we looted, and....

The Tunic of Assassination AND the Abacus of Violent Odds (like, the ONLY reason for a rogue to even be in Mechanar that far) dropped!!! Wow, I was so excited and stuff.

Well, the Tunic is my first Assassination piece, and it's definitely an upgrade for my pvp set. I can't wait to spend all my money on some gems for it. Hah.

The Abacus is a great dps upgrade. We went to Shattered Halls afterwards to get some rep for our warrior (rep = heroic keys), and I got to test it out. Basically, the trinket gives 10 seconds of insanely high haste rating every two minutes (the cooldown). I'm going to be playing with macros in the next few days to try to maximize my usage of the trinket (like linking it to cheap shot or something, so that if it's not on cooldown, I'm using it every time I make an opening, which is probably something around 2 minutes). If anyone has better suggestions about that, lemme know.

Here are the Thottbot linkies to my lewts. Woot!

Tunic?

Abacus?

(I haven't gotten that thingy that lets you see items on mouseover, and not even sure Blogger lets you do that. Maybe I'll figure it out one day.)

THE ORDER

2007-03-12T16:36:00.000-05:00

Like, when you finally get to level 70 with the majority of your guild, and you've geared up a bit, but not a lot, and you're all working on getting attunements, keys, reputation, oboy...

What order should you really do all this stuff in?

Okay, lemme tell ya.

You should start by writing this stuff down. Even if it's on a post-it, it's helpful, because you can easily lose track of your goals, and it's also exciting to see those goals progress and realized.

There are two "tracks" you should focus on. A personal and a guild track.

Your personal track can be timed according to your own schedule, and progression varies tremendously from person to person. Personal tracks involve a few things:

-single/small group quest lines in each area
-professions
-reputation via repeatable quests

Allot yourself a certain amount of time per week to accomplish these things, and do them in a logical manner. Also, have backups and variety to keep you from getting bored. It's also a good idea to have backups in case you planned on farming one day, but find that your favorite farming area has been taken over by gankers. Stay and suffer, or go finish some of those quests? It's good to have choices. Also note that when you're doing these quests, most of them chain quests, you really don't "need" a guild, and you don't always have to keep bugging guild mates to fly from Netherstorm to Shadowmoon Valley to help you kill a few demons, especially when there are plenty of other "soloists" hanging around trying to accomplish the same thing. Be resourceful and social, and you'll accomplish a lot more with less burden on your guildies (who will feel obligated to help you, but regretful that you couldn't do more to help yourself).

When you get to the 5-man quests, *then* start asking the guild. Why is this a good time to do so? Because if your guildmates were anywhere as resourceful as you, they have also done the chains up to the 5-man quests, and have been biding their time with other progressions till more guidies get the quest. Don't freak out if you announce in guild chat that you need to do that quest, and no one responds. It happens. If you have an event manager addon or a forum or anything like that, use it. Be patient. Perhaps you've gotten the 5-man quicker than your guildies. Perhaps they're genuinely busy. Ask at times when there are plenty of guildies online to choose from, and ask the ones in the same or nearby areas (ask them with /whispers, and they'll be more likely to respond).

Personal progression is important for many reasons. It gives you an opportunity to upgrade your own items with quests or professions. It allows you to get instance quests. And it gives you a break from doing the same thing over and over, whatever that may be. Also, don't forget that you can progress solo (or with a few friends) in Eye of the Storm pvp, or arena pvp, both of which offer huge gear upgrades for relatively little effort. (you just have to be patient!)

Your guild track is generally managed by your guild leader and/or officers. There are so many instances, it can quickly get overwhelming, and officers and guildies can get confused about where the guild is headed, and why. Not only that, but the guild leader can often get off track. It's important to communicate the goals of the guild, and to make course corrections as needed.

Guilds should focus on having members available and assembled for the instances that correspond to level, gear, and experience. When you first get to Outlands, the order is:
-Ramparts
-Blood Furnace
-Slave Pens
-Underbog
(plus Caverns of Time, Tempest Keep, etc.)

When most of the guild is at 70, the focus could shift to "end game" material.

Current starter end game stuff consists of Gruul's Lair and Karazhan. Gruul's Lair contains two bosses, and is a 25-man raid instance. Karazhan is a 10-man instance with 12+ bosses/minis. The alternative to those instances are the Heroic instances. Heroics are "upgrades" to the earlier 5-man instances, requiring Revered reputation with the factions generally controlling the area of the instances.

What I originally tried with my guild was getting keyed for Karazhan as quickly as possible (which includes a lot of instances I haven't mentioned), and working on acquiring gear to take on the Heroic instances. We took Attumen with ease, but got stuck on Moroes. Well, 5% away from not being stuck, but with extreme difficulty. After much investigation, I realized that in the Outlands, having a *single* guild focus is unrealistic. Here's what I currently think is the right way to do things:

-get keyed for Karazhan asap (yep, it's worth it)
-run Attumen runs every week (two epics each time)
-get everyone revered with Honor Hold and Cenarion Expedition asap (same time as keying for Karazhan, if possible)
-run Ramparts, Blood Furnace, Slave Pens, Underbog at Heroic (you can do ONE run per instance per person per day).

Each Heroic boss is guaranteed to drop an epic.
Each Heroic bosses drop Badges of Justice for each teammate, which can be used to purchase very nice epic upgrades.

Once your guild gets to a comfortable level of gear (this is very subjective), then try Moroes.

Moroes is the *bridge* for Karazhan. Basically, if, without flasking and over-potting, you cannot take Moroes, then your gear is probably not sufficient. (Yeah, player class/role configurations are also very important, and obviously tweak those before you totally give up.)

I plan to take the guild up against Moroes once per week to test our relative gear strength level. During the week, I'll be pushing everyone to get their Heroic keys and to conquer the Heroic instances to gear up.

Once we take Moroes, I'll combine Heroic instances and Karazhan.

Once we've defeated about 3-4 Karazhan bosses, I'll throw in a Gruul's Lair run.

Fun!

Hope DST didn't kill you guys like it did me!

-Psy

The Cycle of Hatred

2007-03-08T09:45:00.000-05:00

Someone in the TN official forum was jokingly complaining about the "Cycle of Hatred", which basically consists of the misapplied revenge taken on an unsuspecting member of the opposite faction.

Let me 'splain.

Beezlebot is farming clefthoof hide in Nagrand, minding his own beezwax. He's an alliance rogue, let's say. Over the course of a few hours, half a dozen horde have passed by. Most have ignored Beelzebot, some wave, some even stop and help for a few minutes.

Then, right as Beezlebot makes a kill, some horde hunter rolls up and dismounts. Well, considering what's already happened, Beezlebot thinks nothing of it, loots the beast, and then starts to skin it. Lo and behold! Horde hunter, Bucshot, sits back and aimed shots poor Beezlebot. Beezlebot tries to recover, but is immediately hit with a concussion shot, slowed by some pet, dazed and confused, and couldn't get to the hunter if he tried, which he did, and very quickly dies. Not much you can do with farming gear on vs. a hunter with a full pvp set who gets the first shot at you.

What, personal recount? Pshaw, naw, I'm just makin all this up, right?

Anyway, by the time Beezlebot gets back to his corpse (which takes a while in Nagrand), Bucshot has long since left to go find other victims. Beezlebot is like, damnit, and I always leave farming horde alone, damnit, that isn't fair. Damnit, I want some revenge.

So, Beezlebot creeps around, or flies around, and finds some other lowly horde, and GANK.

Thus it begins.

That lowly horde only saw exactly what Beezlebot saw. Some random alliance ganking him.

So, that lowly horde does the same thing in return, but not to Beezlebot. To some other alliance.

And soon, it's a vicious cycle that keeps repeating. Why? Because there's always at least one true, heartless, relentless ganker, and that's all it takes.

I'm not complaining about ganking. Just saying.

Well, in my case, I'm kinda like Beezlebot. But I make slightly different "revenge" choices.

Nagrand has some pretty intense PvP, if you haven't noticed. It can be fun and strategic.

Well, Bucshot, my friendly hunter that did, indeed, gank me, was nowhere to be found. But... there were plenty of horde to be had at Halaa. It was horde-owned, and they only had 1 guard left, which meant that they'd be trying to protect it.

So, I snuck on over to a wyvern post, and capped it.

Now... Nagrand pvp. For a rogue.

I'm not going to give away my strategy, sorry.

It's just too good.

Let me just leave it at this:

I did go flying once, to try to drop a few bombs and maybe hit Bucshot, but I couldn't find him.

When I returned, as I expected, there were a few horde waiting for me.

What I didn't expect was that there were six horde waiting for me!

Well, I didn't last long.

But, I returned. Ultimately, the score ended up something like this:

They killed me: 2 times
The number of total kills (and tokens) I got from stealthfully killing them: 13

I win.

The moral of the story?

I redirected my thirst for revenge at horde who were anticipating combat, and who offered a real challenge. It was much more satisfying for me to take out same-level horde who were engaged in pvp (especially when I was killing one of them when two other of them were trying to kill me) than it would have been if I had merely found some horde farming, and ganked that horde.

So, I ended at least my potential cycle of hatred by strategic redirection.

Karazhan, Gruul's Lair, Swords Again

2007-03-08T08:55:00.000-05:00

So, Forge, my guild, is "in" Karazhan.

yay.

Well, they're not in at this very moment, of course, but we're trying some bosses in there, and doing fairly decently.

Here's how it went down:

I got all the keyed people together. 16 at that point. Hard to make two 10-man teams with 16, and hard to fill one and not have 6 angry players. Well, I can't satisfy everyone. I made the best 10-man team I could, more or less to set the par. If the best 10 guildies can't take the first boss, then perhaps we shouldn't be in there. If I took anyone other than the best 10, then if we failed, I would have too many factors, and would have to try it again, anyway, with the best 10. Regardless of why I do the things I do, after a few quick trips through the insanely fast respawning trash mobs (that hit much harder than the boss), we took down Attumen, on our 2nd or 3d attempt. Either way, not a bad way to start.

We then made our way through the "back" way to the banquet hall, which takes you through the kitchen. Let me tell you. Avoid going that way. It's a nightmare. Too many mobs, and the chefs really know how to carve you up. Either way, our biggest problem was the non-crowd-controllable mobs. Stewards, valets. They really suck.

After a very arduous clearing of the banquet hall, we laid out a plan to take down Moroes, the Boris Karloff impersonating undead rogue host of the phantasmagorical party. He proved infinitely more difficult than Attumen. So much so, that after about 3 wipes, having to re-clear our way at least once, we suspended activities for the evening, and went to think about how we could defeat him.

A few days later, we were back. But this time, we decided to clear the stairwell direction, which led us through a corner of the ballroom. This was a much better way to go, as we only had to clear a handful of mobs before clearing the banquet hall. Our plan was this: we would shackle the "heavies" of the minions, we would ice trap the paladin, and we would kite/dps the holy priest. Then we'd kill the paladin, then one of the shackles, then the other, then Moroes.

Well, with shackles breaking all over the place for a variety of reasons, and with our healers getting one-shotted by stray minions, and with a variety of members getting garroted to death quicker than they could announce it, we didn't last too long. So, we modified our approach. Now we'd kill the priest and then paladin, but we'd keep the other two shackled while we worked on Moroes (ultimately reducing the number of garrotes he could issue).

5%

That's what we got him to. Ugh. So close!

We tried a few more times, and tried again another night. No success. I'm really not sure what the problem is, other than the fact that we all need to gear up a bit more.

We'll try him again, but I want to get everyone some gear from Attumen while we're at it, and try some of the beasts in the meantime.

Oh, and post-script, the 6 who didn't go with the main group found 4 pugs willing to go, and they took down Attumen as well! Woot!

Gruul's Lair.

I plan to take the kids into Gruul's Lair this coming Friday to see how we all fare. Just for the first boss, of course. But he drops some phat lewts, as they say, and it's important that the guildies are getting a challenge as well as an opportunity to gear up a bit.

I think we're going to get slaughtered, myself.

But that's me.

I'm pessimistic and cynical.

Naw, I'm not. I'm optimistic and rational.

And schizophrenic.

I'll let you know how Gruul's Lair goes.

Swords Again

When I was doing Molten Core back in the day with a companion guild, I got some nice sword that dropped. Well, as you all know, I'm totally addicted to my mace spec. However, I wasn't really getting the kind of damage I needed for a raid group with my Mass of McGowan and Cold-forged Hammer, or whatever I was using. They were old, and it was a pain to get any mace upgrades (like it is now, mostly). But this new sword had some very nice dps stats. So, I grabbed my second best sword, which was sitting in the bank, and slightly altered my spec, with an eye for pve. (I usually travel around with a more balanced combat spec, which allows me some survivability in pvp, but still lets me kick ass in raid instance damage). And, it worked. My damage shot up so much, it was sick. But then, Blizzard released their firm grip on high level pvp items, so I spammed pvp until I could get the Grand Marshal one-hand maces. Yeah, two of them. Scroll down, you'll see them. Anyway, they were wonderful, and helped me get over the curve of not being sword or dagger specced. I've used them up to just the other day in the expansion without too much problem.

Of course what that really meant is that my damage in groups was decent, but not up to par with what I thought it should be (like, #1). Not only were all the mages out-damaging me, but the friggin druid tank was out-damaging me!!! Well, I can't have that.

So, like any WoW addict, I started to farm for Aldor rep. Then I figured it'd take me about a year to farm to exalted, at the rate I normally farm. So, I bought it. It cost about 1000 gold to get from 3600 in revered to 21000, which hit exalted. I bought up all the marks of sargeras and fel armaments the auction house had to offer, and BAM, I was exalted. That felt good. No more forced farming.

Why'd I pick Aldor? Vindicator's Brand. So, bought that for a hefty amount, and then grabbed my next best sword, Revenger, modified my spec again slightly to account for swords, and then skilled up.

So far, I'm impressed with my damage output. It's quite high, and I think in the right setting, I can be #1 again. (but not in those instances that require a ton of aoe damage, or where I'm getting CCd all the time).

So, now, I'm working on gathering up gear from instances and raids, and slowly increasing my arena points in order to get my Gladiator maces and switch back to my fave!

woot

etc.

70! (Everyone Does This, So I Guess I Should, Too)

2007-02-23T09:12:00.000-05:00

Well, this actually happened a few weeks ago, but I've been slacking. I have a lot of new screenshots of some pretty cool stuff from the expansion that I plan to upload and display. Be patient.

I guess while I'm here, I'll give you all a guild update.

We've been getting to level 70 at a fairly decent pace, most of us while trying to enjoy the new content and immerse ourselves in the new storylines and plots. In the meantime, I've been prodding my guildies into getting attuned to Karazhan, which requires visits to the Caverns of Time, Sethekk Halls, the Shadow Labyrinth, Steamvaults, and Arcatraz, to name most. It's a lot of work, but we've been managing fairly well. I have some goals and deadlines set up, and hopefully we'll be "raiding" Karazhan by March 2.

While doing that, some of us have been trying to manage some arena teams and games. I made a 2v2 team with a feral druid last week. We managed to get about 370 or so arena points in a week. We figure if we keep an average of 300+ arena points per week, we'll be getting some decent gear upgrades soon enough.

My issue is that I am a combat mace spec rogue, and I've been using the Grand Marshal maces from the original game. There are few mace upgrades. The absolute best ones require the wielder to be a macecrafter. I'm not one. The next best (somewhat easily available) maces are acquired via the arena. For those of you who know anything about combat maces, you'll appreciate the fact that, for once, Blizzard thought about mace spec rogues by making two separate arena reward maces, one designed perfectly for main hand (slow, high damage range), the other for off-hand (fast, low damage range, high dps). The issue I have now is that my maces do about 60dps each. Almost all the new weapons in the expansion run from 70 to 100 dps easily. My raid damage has dropped tremendously, since I'm still using my old maces. I'll post here again if/when I get new maces. Should be fun.

Also, I'm implementing a new loot system in the guild. The old one we used was a modified Suicide Kings system, which works well for a nice, tight group, but doesn't account for a lot of variables. Ultimately, it relies a lot on luck, which I don't like so much. I prefer raw merit plus other deservedness factors. My new system is a DKP-style system. I'll lay it out briefly here:

Everyone in an official raid who is present and assists on a raid boss kill will immediately acquire 5 points for a mini-boss, 10 points for an end-boss. The loot master will link all of the items and then adjust everyone's points to reflect the boss kill. The loot master will then link a single item and ask for bids. It's a silent bidding process. Anyone who wants the item may whisper the loot master with a bid that is at least 2 points (there are no negatives in this system). Whoever has the highest bid will win the item, and will be charged the equivalent of the second-highest bid plus one point.

So, if Bob and Nancy bid 10 and 5 points respectively for an item, Bob will win the item and pay 6 points. It's kinda like Ebay.

The points are immediately accounted for on our dynamic loot chart. There are rules for ties, and if no one wants to bid, which are all very simple and straightforward. The object of the system is to provide a modicum of guaranteed reward for those who regularly attend raids, but a lack of excessive burden on the guild loot officers.

I'll let you know how it works out.

Valete, amici et amicae!

The Burning Crusade

2007-01-31T18:57:00.000-05:00

Well, hi!

I tasted the water, with hesitancy, but once the sweet succor upon my lips did touch, away myself I could not pull.

Translation: I bought TBC and I love it.

Just as an update, a few weeks prior to the expansion, I pvp grinded to get myself those Grand Marshal maces and three GM set pieces. Yes, it was quite worth it. I'm still using all my GM gear, mixed with my old Lt. Commander gear, and it's helped immensely in the expansion. The first couple of things I upgraded: rings, ranged weapon, neckpiece. I pretty much have everything else, and I swap individual pieces to max out certain attributes depending on what I'm doing.

And, yes, I'm still combat mace spec. Apparently many rogues are now reverting/converting to combat mace in order to level, as I once did, a very very long time ago. I stuck with it. I love combat maces, and will never change. It's my destiny. Oh well.

Oh, it also goes well with my play style, and is fun as hell to play.

And, yeah, I main tanked the second boss (the big lobster) in the Slave Pens. Seriously. It was awesome.

Guild update: I gave my guild (Forge) an ultimatum: We're a raid guild, prepare to raid, desire to raid, have the dedication and competency to raid, or kindly depart. Perhaps too harsh, but I'm really a softie. Obviously we're not raiding just yet (not enough 70s), but we're leveling at a fairly steady rate, and are starting to get through the required quests for the level 70 instances. Oh, and guild retention was about 98%.

Expansion: Once I set foot through the portal, and ever since, I was thoroughly impressed. The size and complexity of the expansion was well worth the two year "gap." Honestly, I don't believe in the theory that all MMORPGs should come out with an expansion every year. I think that's too quick. Blizzard has done an absolutely wonderful job for the past two years coming out with patches full of new content. This expansion is like icing on the cake, plus another cake. And maybe a case of beer.

Why is it impressive?

- it's HUGE
- flying mounts
- easy and quick quests that give you a taste, but don't burden you too much
- hilarious movie/etc. references throughout the expansion
- a variety of world pvp (not all are that well implemented, but at least they're trying)
- arenas
- two new races (which I haven't even begun to fully explore)
- max 25-man instances (this is the best feature)
- many new 5-10-man instances (second-best feature) that don't take five+ hours each

In short, clear and fun goals that can be completed in one sitting, thus catering to absolutely every player type. I can log on, get in a 5-man group, and run any of the 5-man instances in under an hour, have a lot of fun, get some gear, log off, and have a real life, too. Thanks, Blizzard!

[Editorial note: Of course I don't log on for merely an hour! But, if I did, I'd still be happy with the game.]

As my guild and I progress and explore/conquer, I'll update the blog.

Woot.

Guild Update & Boss Checklist

2006-10-11T11:43:00.000-05:00

Here's the quick version of how my current guild situation looks:

-started a guild early on in a server's life, made it family oriented, casual, but also catered to those who wanted to level
-when enough people started getting to level 60, they felt the temptation to join already existing hardcore raid guilds to see end-game content and get nice gear
-I saw friends disappearing, but I couldn't join them, since I felt an obligation to my guild
-my guild had become a "feeder" guild
-I didn't like that
-so, I made my own raid guild while keeping the old guild as is, and (here's the kicker) I let my old guild continue to be a feeder guild, but feeding to my own raid guild
-when we started, we were still having trouble with places like UBRS
-now, about three months later, we farm Hakkar, have beaten Kurinnaxx, Rajaxx, and Buru, and we're working on Ossirian, Onyxia, and MC
-at the same time, the family oriented, casual guild still exists and is thriving.
-anyone in the raid guild who needs a break from raiding can semi-retire by moving to the casual guild, and move back into the raid guild in the future, if desired
-the guilds are "sister guilds", and we share a chat channel
-raiders from the raid guild often help out the casual guild players do quests and level, and friendships are made and perpetuated (instead of divided between different guilds), and that, in turn, helps the raid guild because some of the casual guild players will eventually advance to the level they need to join the raid guild, and those friendships have already been forged
-anyway, it works, but needs a lot of devotion from everyone, especially the guild leader

So, here are the bosses we've taken as a guild (which includes members from our sister guild):

ZG:
-The 5 priests (see the movie at here)
-Hakkar

-Bloodlord Mandokir
-Edge of Madness: Renataki, Wushoolay
-Gahz'ranka

AQ:
-Kurinnaxx
-Rajaxx
-Buru

MC (in conjuction with a separate guild, about 50/50):
-Lucifron
-Magmadar
-Gehennas
-Garr
-Baron Geddon
-Shazzrah
-Sulfuron
-Golemagg
-Majordomo

Our goals right now are:

ZG:
-Jin'do
-The remaining EoM bosses
-Farming Hakkar once per reset

AQ:
-Ossirian
-Moam
-maybe others
-Farming Ossirian (for my damnable mace!)

MC:
-guild-only start farming everything in there
-Rag (whew, wish us luck, but we'll probably be able to use the Ony and Hakkar buffs to help)

Onyxia:
-Kill, then farm Onyxia (hopefully once a week)

My raid guild has about 50 members, and I keep the numbers low, quality high.

The sister/casual guild has over 150 members (including alts), and we have about 10-15 potential high levels who can help the raid guild.

What we're really looking forward to is the expansion and the 25-man raids. Although we don't have all the fancy BWL and Naxx gear, I think the quality of our members will allow us to start on those instances immediately and effectively.

Well, that was exciting. More updates will come when we kick something else's ass.

PsyKitty

2006-10-03T10:40:00.000-05:00

What's that, a new Molten Core mob?

Naw... it's just PsyKitty!

My UI Now - Minimalist

2006-09-14T13:57:00.001-05:00

I went back to minimalistic. I like it.

Psyae's Profile

2006-09-12T10:49:00.000-05:00

Let your curiosity finally be satiated.

Link goes to my main PVE configuration. I'll eventually get around to updating it to show my pvp, boss fight, fire resist, and all that other crap. If you do the dropdown, you can see my entirely impossible wishlist. Hah.

Enjoy!

Psyae's CTProfile

Rogue UI Analysis

2006-09-07T09:47:00.000-05:00

I've had a day or two to play with my UI and to try to tweak it a bit. Honestly, although it looks cool, I hate it. It's way too cluttered and over-informative for me. I actually reduced significantly the number of addons it was using, and it's still overwhelming.

But, it was a great test for me, to see what I really rely on when fighting.

I practiced dueling a few different foes, and I examined everything while fighting in ZG (where I'm normally very familiar with what goes on). Here are my results:

I had trouble forcing myself to look at the new health meters. Not only that, but having the enemy health meter adjacent to mine is absolutely insane and confusing. Also, having the health meters significantly separated from the mana/energy/rage meters made the latter meters 100% useless. When you're a rogue fighting a warrior, it helps to know how much rage the warrior has. If you're not careful, it could be used quickly to beat the crap out of you. (I will stunlock or blind, or whatever is needed to keep a warrior from being able to hit me when the rage bar is high). I found I was relying mostly on the default target icon to watch for combo points, health, etc. I know this is mostly because I'm used to it, and haven't trained myself out of it. However, I'm not sure it's not an entirely bad system. It really doesn't take up a lot of room, and certainly doesn't clutter my screen. Yes, my eyes get pulled away from the action, but not so significantly.

The one thing I found quite interesting was that my eyes kept flipping to blank spots that used to be occupied by icons. I use the icons to determine when I can do certain moves, like eviscerate, when I have enough energy. So, it works like this: I see that I've got sufficient combo points, by looking up intermittently at the target icon, and then I look down to see when the eviscerate icon isn't greyed out, and then, when it's available, I spam it. Noticing what I was trying to look for led me to narrow my expectations of what my UI should be like.

Here's what I looked for:

-lit riposte icon
-lit eviscerate icon
-lit gouge icon (only in pvp)
-stun bar (to show how long my sap, gouge, CS, KS, blind, etc. would be)
-stealth icon (to see when I could stealth/re-stealth in a pause in combat)
-enemy health
-enemy mana/energy/rage
-enemy's target (this is especially good in boss fights. if you see you're the target of your target, you'd better use some anti-aggro asap)
-combo points on enemy
-various cooldowns (blade flurry, etc., but not as often as what's mentioned above)
-once in a while, I'll look at my own health and energy, but I've done this so long, I can "feel" it instead
-certain limited opponent cast bars/timers: ice block, perception, but rarely, and only in pvp

I have an idea that I can combine all of those things into one place on my screen, and then leave the rest for visuals. I get a lot out of what I can see, and when I have stuff all over my screen, it doesn't help a bit.

I think I'm going to try for a minimalist approach next (very close to what I was using before (like, nothing)), but more organized and tailored to what I need. Instead of adding a bunch of stuff all at once, and then weeding out the unnecessaries, I'm going to trash everything, then start from the bottom, adding what I absolutely need. I think that'll help my frame rate a bit, as well.

I'll keep you posted on what my UI evolution.

Rogue UI

2006-09-06T12:13:00.000-05:00

So, I've been using pretty much no special UI since Cosmos went all funky about a year ago. I tried Titan, but for me it's only good for leveling (and maybe money grinding).

I looked around a bit for other UI addons, maybe to spice up my play style a bit. Refine it. Confuse it. I dunno, whatever. I grabbed a compilation addon by Oki (I think that's right), and kinda pick and chose what to put into it and how to set it, and here's what I'm currently playing with. See if you like it. (trying to make the image clickable to show full size. wish me luck)

Screw it. Here's the link: LINKY TO UI PIC

Rogue Review Review

2006-08-25T13:55:00.000-05:00

Okay, since I'm a rogue and all, and the rogue review just came out, and I've actually applied my talent points, oboy, I figured it'd be appropriate for me to comment on this newest patch.

I'm taking excerpts from the patch that I want to talk about, ignoring the rest.

Hey, this might be fun.

Cross-Realm Battlegrounds - Blah. Haven't tried it yet, but I hear it's good for some. I'm disappointed that they didn't incorporate the "no degradation of honor" yet. Waiting for the expansion, my arse.

World PvP - Blah. I played around a few towers in EPL, but it's basically, can you stand there? Yeah? Okay, it's yours. Wait, holdon. It's more like, can you stand at an old, run-down, useless, abandoned tower with absolutely no strategic advantage whatsoever in the fight against the scourge OR the opposing faction? Yeah? Okay, it's yours.

The deserter debuff will now continue to expire even while you are offline. - As it should.

Rogues
Due to significant talent changes, Rogues will have all talent points refunded and can be respent. Training costs for all talent spell replacements have been significantly reduced.

Eviscerate: Manual of Eviscerate (Rank 9) now drops somewhere in the world.
Garrote: The damage from this ability has been increased approximately 50%.
Relentless Strikes: This ability will no longer trigger when your finishing move does not hit your target.
Sap: Enemy rogues will now always lose stealth when you Sap them.

Bla blah blah.

Okay, briefly, they screwed over rogues. Again. Badly.

First, for most other reviews, there was a major talent overhaul. I'm not necessarily saying it was bad that they didn't overhaul the rogue talent set (they did change a few things), but the things they changed were mild, and they didn't really address major issues that have been brought up over the years this game has been around. For instance, no realistic fist weapon talent.

They also let rogues down by ignoring the lack of rogue-specific game content. They should have established a "rogues' guild" faction that might rival the current Ravenwhatever faction that's currently worthless. They should have infused some life into a new series of rogue quests allowing all manner of rogue to accomplish things that no other class could, and that highlight unique rogue abilities. Lockpicking, pickpocketing, trap detection, stealth, all combined could make for a few very fun, complicated, and worthwhile adventures with very little added work on the part of the developers. How come the last time I got to use that stuff was when I was getting my poison quest at like level 20? So disappointed that they could put all that work into a week of the lamest scourge invasion imagineable, and not add a few decent rogue quests. Shame on you, Blizzard.

Ah, no, but Blizzard knows how to treat its customers. Instead of giving to rogues for their review, Blizzard TAKES AWAY! Remember a few patches ago, when they "fixed" that coding OVERSIGHT that made our poisons DISAPPEAR every time we went in or out of an instance? You know, the one that made battlegrounds a logistical nightmare of trying to restock poisons constantly because you either win or lose every five minutes, which means a five hour night runs you about 60-70 poisons? Yeah, that BS. Remember that it took Blizzard a YEAR to "fix" that little problem, while concentrating more on expanding end-game content for 40-man raid groups, pretending to cater to the casual player by making us go through high level instances... with a raid group.... to get cheap-ass upgrades to gear that most 60s start collecting at about level 55? Anyway, if you remember or acknowledge any of that, just realize that Blizzard has turned you away, happy, and ambushed/backstabbed/blinded/ambushed/backstabbed/backstabbed, and generally just screwed you over while you were busy setting up your "new" talent points. Yes, indeed, Blizzard reneged and re-established the loss of poisons lack of code. Why? Because of some technology thing. HUHWHA? It's like... if mages all of a sudden couldn't make water, and Blizzard said, sorry, you never actually "could" make water. That was just a temporary fix on a bigger problem, and by allowing you to make water now, it has the potential to do something technological that will cause other things not to work right... we think. So, we'll let you make water again when the EXPANSION COMES OUT YOU'DBETTERGETITORYOU'LLBELEFTOUTANDWILLNEVERBEABLETOMAKEWATERAGAINHAHAHAH!

Bastards.

Okay, that rant temporarily over.

I don't usually discuss my talent spec in public. Or generally anywhere. I like to keep it hush. Well, I used to. I almost don't really care nowadays. I guess my fear of being scorned for my odd ways has dwindled along with how much I really care. Since I can't even access any of the talent trees from work, nor my character profile, I cannot post them all yet. However, I'll tell you that my spec is currently 20/31/0.

If that means anything to you, then great.

I'm still mace-specced, which, since I have maces, is the way to go. My unbuffed attack power is like 839 or something, and health is 3800 or so. The nice thing about my build is that although my attack power isn't as high as I would like, I have some nice gear that gives me extra swings, and my talents actually add a lot of dps. I can also survive a bit longer than many other pve rogues due to my higher health.

Yeah yeah, I'm not all decked out in epics, so stop right there with any potential criticism. I'm working my way up the ladder just like all the other peeps who work 10-11 hours a day, and play significantly less. I also refuse to join a teen-run all-out "raid guild" whose aspirations include seeing who can insult other guild members most with racist, sexist, crude comments, and who will get their first ever view of a real-live used pair of panties.

Speaking of which, why does a single "item" get called a "pair"?

Anyway, so I'm sticking with my sister guilds, and we're currently conquering ZG. I think my new talents will help a lot, and I've already seen a boost to my dps. Since I'm always on top of the damage charts (when I'm not too preoccupied), I think this will be even better.

I'll post detailed info about my spec and gear whenever I pick the best publicly accessible gear/spec/whatever online character profile thingy. ANY SUGGESTIONS?

Site Analysis

2006-08-22T11:09:00.000-05:00

Thanks to Google and Roguespot. :)

My Guilds & Some ZG Stuff

2006-08-22T08:38:00.000-05:00

Yeah, my guild situation is interesting and unique. I know I don't talk about it much, but it's important to note my current situation.

Here's the briefest (is that a word) explanation:

- Main guild was Pathos Hammer
- Guild was a 180 member "feeder" guild
- We were not doing high-end content
- Dismayed level 60s were leaving to go gear grind with @ssh@t guilds
- I could have perpetuated that state of being... and I would have probably quit in a fit of depression
- Instead, I formed a sister guild, Forge, designed specifically to allow level 60 Pathos Hammer members who wanted end-game stuff an opportunity to maintain continuity with Pathos Hammer
- Of course, everyone told me it wouldn't work
- Everyone loves telling me how things won't work
- It worked.

- So, I run two guilds now.
- Pathos Hammer is effectively run by a council, and really gets along because of our philosophy of friendship, family, and forgiveness. Oh, and fun.
- Forge gets along because I'm strict, we have scheduled end-game runs, the members are wholly devoted to end-game stuff, and we can act more like adults (it's family, but more like when the kids go to sleep)

So far, we've been running ZG about twice a week. Once in a while, we'll go take out Kurinnaxx in AQ20. He's a breeze.

When we started trying ZG, it was a mess. We managed okay with Venoxis (the first boss we tried), but were having a hell of a time with the bat boss. But, through persistence and the Forge spearheading the events, we started learning these bosses. We were told that we would have hella trouble with the bat boss. We got her in a few tries. We did have a lot of trouble with the spider boss. But we were able to overcome that obstacle, as well. After a few weeks, we eventually made our way to the tiger boss. We one-shotted the tiger boss. (that means we killed the guy the first time around, none of us ever having even seen him before!!!)

We were amazed.

Yeah, sure, the panther boss gave us a fit. But sometimes you gotta wipe 5 times on a boss to learn it. We learned it. We beat it. That's what makes it all fun and worth it. Learning, overcoming.

Okay, so we took down 5 ZG bosses. Tried Hakkar. Oboy, we sucked at Hakkar! Hahah. Can't beat him yet, but we're working on it. I'll let you know when we've knocked that smirk off his scaly face.

In the meantime, feel free to download and watch the video I made of us taking on the 5 bosses. (Yeah, my Venoxis movie was kinda screwed up, so I did what I did in the video on purpose). Heck, watching these movies, you might get an idea of how to beat some of these guys! Hah.

Right-click, and save as:

Teh Moovee

20,000

2006-08-09T16:52:00.000-05:00

No, not leagues under the sea.
No, not my annual bonus. ( I wish!)
No, not how much the U.S. deficit is in hundreds of thousands (which would be 20,000,000,000), but probably close.

Yes, it's the number of unique visits to Psyae's WoW Et Cetera since I long ago implemented Site Meter. Yey.

More specifically, as of when I just now checked, I've had 20,418 total individual "visits", which doesn't count revisits by the same IP address.

Yey.

Celebrate.

Yey.

Oh, hey, new pic. This will look cool:

1.12 and DKP Capitalism

2006-07-26T09:30:00.000-05:00

Alrighty. Some ... people... have been complaining that I haven't updated my site in a while. I guess I've been a little busy.

I've also been kinda out of topics. Yeah, everyone's covering the new 1.12 whatever patch and the rogue review, as well as the contention regarding alliance shamans and horde paladins. I hope to the gods they don't actually name their classes that, since "paladin" has a very specific connotation, especially in the World of Warcraft game history, that wouldn't really make much sense in the context of a Blood Elf.

Shamans? Eh. Not so much a history, and not so narrowly interpreted.

Obviously, talents and skills will be different, with similar themes. I'm not worried.

(Although I wish Blizzard would come up with something unique instead of ripping itself off).

Okay, well, you asked for it. Here's what I think about the rogue review:

1) 90% of what they're doing constitutes a "fix" to a vast number of problems that have been plaguing rogues since day 1, and should have been fixed much earlier, in earlier patches.

2) Classes that have already undergone reviews have been seriously upgraded. I played a warlock prior to the warlock review, and it was so difficult, I nearly quit the game (survivability was zilch). I even posted a guide here on how to pvp against warlocks as a rogue. It was something like: rush the bastard and just kill him. Now, I'm lucky if I survive a warlock encounter. They're tough as nails, and quite often top the pvp kill charts (aren't DoTs fun?). Anyway, what do rogues get? A slightly fiddled-with talent tree that really doesn't do all that much. How about a nicely revamped talent tree, some friggin tier armor that doesn't look like all the other tier armor (how many friggin shoulders have to look exactly like shadowcraft shoulders? even random, non-set ones look identical!), and maybe, just maybe, some rogue-specific quests that require a bit of stealth, pickpocketing, assassination (without having to fight through an army of mobs first), thievery, whatever? Heck, I just ruined #3 on, because I said it all right there.

3) Re-read #2. Also, read my mind. I'm not feeling very verbose today.

Thought of the day:

Is the capitalist society of today the equivalent of joining a classic DKP system WoW guild that has been running instances for 200 years?

Let me elaborate on what I'm talking about. DKP = dragon kill points, which is a system whereby members of a group earn points by attending instance raids. They can then spend these points to "purchase" dropped items. The higher the number of points a member has, the more that member can outbid other members for an item. The classic system allows stockpiling of these points, and "old" guilds tend to have members with so many points, that new members literally can never catch up in order to bid on anything at all.

So, does that mimic capitalist society? In other words, when you, a n00b in the world, tries to get into business, do you even have a chance in hell to acquire the kind of wealth the lead aristocrats possess based on years and years of being in the same "family"? I could name some names, but I'm sure you can figure out a few.

If this is the case, is there a way to beat the system? Should there be?

Your thoughts?

Battlegrounds, the Epic

2006-06-19T17:10:00.000-05:00

I get a lot of references to my multiple battleground strategy posts located here and elsewhere. Unfortunately, they are so spread apart, they're difficult to analyze as a whole. So, this post will be a culmination of all the battleground strategies that I have written, and perhaps notes from other commenters regarding those strategies.

Ayæ in Warsong Gulch. [Note: Psyae is Ayae is Psyae]

I decided to visit Warsong Gulch Sunday evening while I was in the top half of level 29. It was this Ayae’s first visit to a battlegrounds, and, I’m sad to say, not much different from all of “my” visits there previously. I think I played about four games. The first one I don’t really count because I came in about ten minutes after it began. Subsequently, I think the Horde came out on top, 2-1.

I will say, though, that although the Alliance were all over the place (as usual), and lacking in uniform determination, there were enough pockets of Alliance that had a keen idea of what to do that we held our own very well throughout the games, even with different groups of Alliance and Horde. The trend I’m noticing in at least level 20-29 Alliance groups in WSG is to split the group into three. A defense group, consisting of 3 or 4, an offense group with 3 or 4, and the remainder acting as midfield offense/defense. Of course, I immediately volunteered for midfield. Later today, I’ll post some statements that were made about me by random people, and some screenshots of the scoresheets as well as the map of the field (showing the status quo scattering of our troops). I think they’ll be very informative if not humorous.Speaking to strategy: I’ve posted on this before, but will update. I’ve been on both sides of the field, Alliance and Horde, and, regardless of what you believe, they’re nearly the same in most regards. The differences you “think” you see are mostly based on random groupings in BG. If there is an overabundance of offensive-style horde in a few games that you play, your immediate reaction is to assume the horde are more organized, and offensively aggressive. The same goes for just about any random grouping and your subsequent impressions.

There are four primary WSG strategies that I have observed in mass use. I will explain them all, and give a few comments on each.

1) All Offensive, D on return
2) Hannibal
3) All Defensive, one flag runner
4) Mixed O/D

1) All Offensive, D on return: This tends to be what most groups start out doing, at least up until the first flag cap. It’s similar to a race, and the way WSG is set up, it seems one of the more obvious tactics. As soon as the gates are opened, everyone heads out the right-hand side (graveyard side), runs along that side of the field, en masse, to the opponent’s base, either runs up the tunnel or takes the ramp, grabs the flag, and runs back. This often takes place without any combat until the return. At this point, a few things may happen. One of the flag-bearers may get intercepted by offensives returning to base, and then the team that loses the flag has to turn around and chase the opponents back into the opponent base (which usually ends in a loss). Or, both offensive teams may clash in the center, losing both flags, wiping out most of each team, and having to start from scratch. Or, finally, both teams pass each other again with little loss, and it becomes a game of return your flag from your opponent while trying to keep theirs.
All in all, this is a tactic that tends to be tried only once, at the beginning, and, unless you have a powerful force, is not often attempted again.

2) Hannibal. This is a Horde favorite, whereby 7 or so teammates huddle together rather tightly, and, as a group, stomp their way across the field, pick up the opponent flag, and stomp back. Usually these groups have had lots of experience doing this, and/or they teamed up before entering BG. They provide constant support (healers constantly healing (not tanking), mages slowing, warriors tanking/destroying, shamans doing it all, etc.). If done correctly, this is the most effective strategy I have ever seen in BG. Generally, it’s based on the fact that at any one time, there won’t be more than two or three Alliance within sight of one another at any given time. Thus, a tight, stomping force like that can easily take down two or three opponents at a time, moving quickly (or slowly if they want), and just acting like one huge unstoppable tank. All the while, a few individually stronger players are left to defend the flag. Sometimes I’ve actually seen this tactic done without flag defenders, and they still win. Most of my observations of Hannibals were done in the 40-60 range of WSG, so that’ll give you something to look forward to!

3) All D, one flag runner. This is a tactic I’ve seen done on both sides to varying degrees of success. Usually a druid or shaman will bolt to the flag while a strong contingency of defenders await the initial onslaught (see #1) of the opponents. While most of the opponents are rushing, this leaves the opponent’s flag somewhat defenseless, allowing for the stealthy grab and rush back. If the timing is right, all the offensive party from the opponent will have been killed by the defenders, thus giving the flag runner an open field to return (or at least to hide out in till things settle down). This has also been accomplished by a rogue and healer combo, or just a solo rogue. (yes, I’ve pulled off my share of these with a variety of setups, mostly solo). The object here is to keep the opponent distracted while your stealthy runners do their job.

4) Mixed O/D. This is what I was describing earlier, where each player is “assigned” a duty. Optimal layout tends to be around 3D, 3M, 4O. But that varies depending on opponent strategy and strength. Although this seems to be a good overall strategy (at least for testing the strength of your opponent), it’s not great for using throughout the entire game, because if your opponent ends up doing the exact same thing, it usually comes down to the flip of a coin. What I’ve seen happen is just an exchange of some opponent players (”You take D this time, I’ll go O”), and it shifts the balance enough so that although you thought you were winning, you’re scratching your head, wondering how you lost.

There are many different strategies that can be employed in BG. Stick with what works, but only when it’s working, then switch! And, don’t be afraid either to take charge or demand organized leadership — that is what I’ve seen as the #1 BG downfall (everyone doing their own thing).

Comments on This section:

Windpaw Says:October 31st, 2005 at 1:07 pm e
The complete lack of any idea of what you’re getting into is both one of the most exciting, and most frustrating aspects of the battleground experience.

I can say with pretty fair certainty though, that when you show up in the assembly area in AB or WSG and hear 10-15 people yelling for invites - and no one is inviting - you’re in for a stomping.

As the players on [Twisting Nether] mature, I’ve been enjoying a much more balanced BG experience. I find myself on the winning side about as much as I find myself on the losing side, and only rarely are we getting pWnD into oblivion the way we were in the beginning.

Just this weekend, Sequoia jumped into back to back AB sessions - and each one was completely different.

In the first, the Alliance was like a ravening wolf. We were using the ‘all offense all the time’ strategy that I prefer and kept the Horde off balance and rezzing in their graveyard for most of the session. We won with a comfortable 800 point spread.

The very next session was a mess. The Alliance was split apart with a few people guarding the mine and the rest running around in ones or twos trying to assault fixed positions held by mobs of Horde. The loss was embarassing - made more so by the fact that it was one of those rare groups of players that really didn’t care if they lost or not.

Psyae Says:October 31st, 2005 at 1:51 pm e
I’d like to make it clear that Windpaw is discussing AB strategy with “all offense, all the time.” This is a tactic I think I discussed briefly either in a post or with Windpaw at some time. The concept is simple, but challenging to pull off. Your team basically acts like the Hannibal I mentioned in the WSG tactics, sticking together tightly, supporting each other, and attacking/taking over each flag one-by-one, but without “holding” them. If you’re quick enough, you might be lucky to have only one or two bases in contest. Depending on the opponent’s strategy, you could win before they know what’s going on, or, if they’re doing the same thing, it could be a test of stamina. If you are faster, and keep your team alive longer, you can catch up and overtake your opponent. Once you do, you’re nearly guaranteed to win.

The problem, as in all bg strategy, is getting everyone to work together and support each other.
Something I’ve noticed, as well. The one-player tank idea (I haven’t mentioned yet) actually has some limited success in WSG, as I’ve shown on my personal blog, and as Ayae in TN showed in her first few runs. However, in AB, I’ve never seen it happen. Yeah, I’ve taken over a flag or two solo in AB, but within seconds, I’m surrounded by opponents, losing what I’ve “gained.”

The other obvious AB strategy is advance, capture, defend, extend, capture, defend, extend, etc. If you took elementary math, you’ll quickly understand why this is often a losing AB tactic. It spreads your team too thin, and allows for any medium contingengy of opponents to take any of your bases with ease. Recovering from a base loss is difficult if you were relying on it, which, using this method, you most assuredly are.

In a few weeks, after Windpaw and I run a few more ABs, we’ll collaborate on an AB tactics post, and hopefully come up with some alternative successful strategies.

Elzandra Says:October 31st, 2005 at 2:11 pm e
So, Ayae, you are saying that it wouldn’t be effective to hold, say, the Blacksmith, Stables and Mines?

I was thinking that if you could keep just those, parking everyone at the stables while keeping a few defenders at the smith and mines you might do better than the run and capture strategy.
If you can assemble a good mobile “Hannibal” force to travel to either the mine or smith as necessary, while having one mounted person ready to scream for either the mill or farm if the numbers count shows too many horde at the upper areas to defend properly, wouldn’t that work as well?

The only time I have won in AB there was no strategy, but we seemed to naturally fall into defending those three bases. I have never seen that happen again. Usually it’s “run in circles scream and shout” time with some pitched battles at the stables.

I also find that many don’t play their class well. Everyone is looking to melee and no one supports each other. I have written about the lack of attention to the cloth wearers; as a Ret pally it makes much more sense for me to chase them down, unless a hunter is paying attention (my damage isn’t good enough to try for the rogues and warriors..especially not at 52 in the 50-59 bracket).

Healing, buffing..I try to do that at the same time, but I don’t dare sit and *just* do that. They have us dead before I run out of mana.

But, I don’t really know what I should be doing. Advice?

Windpaw Says:October 31st, 2005 at 2:35 pm e
In my opinion, regardless of what location you manage to take - the holding force should be nigh non-existant. If you have teams of 7 and 8 on the move, you’re much more capable of dominating whatever force the ‘other’ side has left behind to ‘defend’.

Since both teams are on the move you get excellent coverage across the field. I’m still in the 30-39 BG which means that there are no mounts. The rapid assault forces that we muster in order to retake or defend a contested objective are full of Hunters using AOC and Druids in Travel form. The key point is that they are a *force* and not solo.

The only defense that seems to work in the BG games I’ve played is the short term defense that comes from contesting and taking a location. You hit say - the “Mill” and scare off the defenders. During that time there is a lull of a few minutes where bad guys will trickle in and put up a fight.
These are folks that have been lured in from other areas. They were pulled in by all the calls for help coming from the Mill. So - being bored playing static defense and wanting to help - they run full tilt to the mill, arriving in pairs or one by one.

Once they show up - what they don’t realize is that the folks calling for help are already dead and the zone is already under enemy control.

So - from the George Patton school of warfare - the assault force that just took the mill only sticks around long enough to repulse the initial counter-attack. Once that is done - they’re already on the move and targeting their next objective.

While I call it ‘all offense all the time’ - there *is* a defense going on. A very fluid, and very mobile one. It’s much like playing constant ‘mid-field’ in WSG with your whole team. Your defense comes from a rapid fire offense that keeps the enemy off-balance and the ability to respond quickly and in force to threats.

As a Pally - you should be a critical member of one of those assault forces moving about the battlefield. You can do damage and heal and with your multiple seal based buffs, you are what is called ‘a force multiplier’. In other words you make *everyone else* stronger. The key for you is to find a purposeful team that seems to have a clue. Stick with them and support them. When they assault, you assault. When they move - you move with them. If they fix their position and try and dig in - despair….

Pally’s like Druid’s are a class that works as glue - binding units together. If the team you’re working with doesn’t have a healer - fill that roll as they slam into Horde defenses. Nothing is more frustrating than trying to take down a bad guy whose health bar *never* goes down.

Psyae Says:October 31st, 2005 at 2:55 pm e
I’m not saying that a partially defensive strategy is necessarily bad. I’m just saying I haven’t really seen it work that well in AB. Mind you, I have a lot more experience in WSG (as do most of us, since AB is so new). Ultimately, any strategy is useless unless everyone on your team is applying it and doing their respective jobs.

As for what role specifically you should be playing, again, it depends on the overall strategy. If there is NO overall strategy (par for the course), then I suggest finding a niche. In other words, just observe where and how you’re needed, and go for that. My other suggestion, perhaps more practical, is to buddy up with someone. I admit, I do fairly well on my own, but when some bored paladin/druid/priest finds me and decides to be my personal guardian healing angel, I’m a nearly unstoppable machine. Watch any skirmish, and you’ll see why. 99% of the time, most of the skirmishers target the BIGGEST, BADDEST guy running around out there. Who is that most of the time? The Tauren warrior. Why is that the stupidest tactic? Twenty paces back, there is a priest or shaman, usually undefended, usually left alone, constantly keeping Mr. Warrior alive. Yes, it’s quite true that rogues target and attack cloth-wearers with an instinct as keen as a hound chasing a fox. But a great fallback of many small groups is that they don’t quickly target the healing classes and eliminate them first. If they did, the warriors would fall so much more easily. [thanks to Windpaw for also pointing this out as I was writing this and juggling work simultaneously] — as Windpaw indicates, it works both ways.

Paladins are undoubtedly the most “annoying” Alliance class: they have at least two somewhat lengthy “immunity” powers, which they can use to protect themselves while they heal critical teammates, or heal/buff themselves. I’ve been up against a pair of Paladins before. Well, I beat them, but the point is, if they were supporting a DPS class, or if there had been one pally and one DPS class (rogue, warrior, mage), I would have been screwed (assuming they were working in conjunction). Rogues rely on taking enemies down FAST. If the rogue gets an opponent down to 3%, and before the rogue can take that fatal strike, the opponent pops back up to 100% health, you’ve pretty much beaten that rogue (or at least pissed the rogue off).

Try going duo with a reliable ally for a few games. See how it feels. Hopefully the teams you get will be better organized. However, if not, you’re still getting a boatload of HK if you’re covering one of the higher DPS players. (play a few games, look at the scores, then team up with one of the top 5 in subsequent games). You don’t even have to “tell” them what you’re doing. Just be there. Trust me, they’ll be grateful when they rip through legions of horde, and whoosh, are fully healed to take on the next onslaught.

[and hey, Windpaw, no fair changing your comments after you post! yeah, I saw that!]

Windpaw Says:October 31st, 2005 at 6:31 pm e
Hey - no harm no foul Read bad after I put it in - made more sense to edit for clarity
Back on target - I agree fully with your post - In switching from Sundance (full DPS combat/assasination spec Rogue) to Sequoia (Feral/Restoration based Druid) was a shock.

Life on the battlegrounds and in PvE as a rogue was a very simple combination of rapid fire hammer blows followed up with the odd interupt or three.

With a Druid - life is different. First off - until I level a fair bit more or put a lot more points in my Feral tree - there just aren’t any interupts. No 3-4 second gouge, no cheap-shot, and no kidney-punch.

At the moment the best Sequoia has is a single stun attack in bear form and it has a 20-30 second cool down (forever). I’ve got that stun talent pointed out to give me a 5 second buffer - but in bear - where your attack speed is *slow* - you’re usually using it to give yourself a chance to shift out and heal - vs. do more damage.

I won’t even go into ‘rooting’ people. Rooting is fine against melee classes, but rooting a Shadow Spec Priest, Warlock, Hunter or Mage is an exercise in futility.

Adopting a druid has forced me to change how I fight and how I behave on the battlegrounds.
With Sundance, I can operate *very* independantly. With Sequoia - I team up or I perish…(though admittedly there is much less‘perish’ going on now that I have travel form!)
The struggle with Druid is that you’re so adaptable - it’s easy to get stuck in one mode. I often drop into cat mode and *stay* there during PvE because the cat does such great damage. Problem is, in 1 on 1 fights - it will never out damage a *combat* spec rogue…or at least not *yet*)

The key to playing the class effectively is to learn *all* the play styles and know when to shift.
When I’m fighting and thinking clearly - I win a lot. But if I’m off my game at all a mistake happens and I’m a wisp. So many ways to skrew up. I can shift out of bear or cat too soon and waste mana. I can stay in caster too long and waste mana. I can forget to use ‘natures grasp’ or forget to root (just once) and it’s lights out.

With Sundance if I flubbed a move or missed an evis I always had the ability to vanish and restart the fight on my own terms.

Harder to do that with Sequoia.

Two things I learned in last nights duels.
1) Fear and Silence Suck. Dueling Romodi without a useable spell interupt ability has opened my eyes as to what path my next 10 talent points are going to take. By the time I’m done - he’ll be ribbons of bloody cloth with a confused look on his face

2) Ayae’s gouge/cheapshot/kidneypunch and kick suck. In bear form I have nearly 2000 armor - but because she can keep me stunned - she can hack through it eventually and get to the creamy druid inside. Because she knows I have to shift out to heal - she simply waits and KICKS my heal down just as soon as she see’s my hands turn green. I may *never* be able to out damage her - and I’ll not have a mana pool big enough to kite her for about another 8-10 levels.

The only answer is to be able to root her more often and more effectively early on. She can’t KICK what she can’t get to. Since she could easily kick my ‘roots’ spell too - the fastest way I can counter is to up my ‘natures grasp’ talent - an instant cast ability - and remember to use it.
Ultimately (getting back to the subject) - the Druid - like the Pally is more than just the sum of its own parts. Put Ayae and Sequoia together and you’ve created a monster. Together they can stealth, DPS, HEAL, and Interupt, AND Tank. Elzandra and Ayae together would be the same way.

A good duo that know how to play their class is darn near unbeatable.

Vzl Says:October 31st, 2005 at 10:14 pm e
Windpaw,
Some druids use their hearthstone prematurely when shifting out to caster form. This makes a green glow similar to a heal spell and fools many a rogue to kick early. Additionally bash makes a great precursor to shifting out and a full heal with healing touch. Just don’t let Ayae read this…

Psyae Says:November 1st, 2005 at 8:56 am e
Hmmph.

Anorn Says:November 1st, 2005 at 10:20 am e
what i find funny, and sad at the same time, is that when i play WSG with my horde toons we never have a plan. I’ve played about 10 WSG games in the last week. 10-19 bracket (may or may not matter). We have completely crushed the alliance in every single match. I dont think they’ve ever even scored on us.

We always seem to have a couple in base, majority in mid, and a couple runners who charge in at seemingly opportune times.

I log in with an alliance toon and get in WSG, and there’s all this strategizing. We end up getting crushed.

What’s the deal?

Psyae Says:November 1st, 2005 at 10:54 am e
Strategizing is useless if no one’s listening.

There’s also a lot of luck involved if there’s no strategy. Luck being, did you happen to get in a BG with individuals who individually know what the hell they’re doing? If so, you might pull off some amazing wins.

The issue really comes up when you’re stuck with a mixed bunch — a few excellent players, a bunch of mediocre players, and a handful of rotten players [mind you, I’m talking PVP here; it doesn’t really matter if they can RP or PVE when you run through those gates]. I’ve been in some of those horde groups, Anorn, just like you, where you have a handful of outstanding players, a few good defenders, and the rest just muddle about in the middle. Certainly, we won quite a bit. However, our Alliance opponents were so spread out, so disorganized, and even more so, so unqualified as pvp players, that the majority of my team could take out the opponent 1 of us vs 2 of them.

Honest to goodness, I played a game where I took the flag (score was 2-0, our favor), and literally pranced all over the battlefield. I sat down in the middle. I sat down on their end. I sat down on my end. I ran up to my opponents and yelled at them. The rest of my team also sat down, not fighting at all for about ten minutes. Needless to say, no one killed me, no one returned the flag. They didn’t even take their flag!!! We did nothing to stop them, but they couldn’t even kill me when I wasn’t defending myself!

Why do I tell this story? Because, like I said, you often get the luck of the draw as for the composition of the teams. Your mediocre team might look godly in a series of fights, but you might be fighting an opponent team where 90% of their players have never been in the battlegrounds before, or happen to be near the lower levels of the range [something I’ve not mentioned yet, but is a HUGE factor], or a myriad of factors leading to your amazing winning streak.

And, bam, it could (and often does) hit you here and there, that there’s an opponent team you just can’t beat. So, you have 1) easy wins, 2) back and forth wins, 3) consistent losses. Each of these is based on a combination of many factors including team makeup, average levels, individual experience, time of day, day of the week, weekend/weekday, bg level range, and strategy.

Why do I bother with this tirade? Because if you can’t control the other factors (which, most of the time you can’t), then at least try to control ONE factor: Strategy. You’ll boost your chance to win.

Windpaw Says:November 1st, 2005 at 12:02 pm e
Vzl - that hearthstone idea is dandy - I hadn’t thought of that at all.

Bash is indeed my ‘prep to shift and heal’ move. I’ve talent pointed it out for a full 5 second buffer (enough to shift and throw down a regrowth or a full Healing Touch (which is talented down to 3.5 seconds)

The problem with it is that the cool down is such that you really only get *one* bash. Don’t mess it up and don’t miss. If you do - chances are you’ll be dead before the cooldown finishes.

Against a combat rogue or a warrior or Pally, part of me wants to bash - then shift - then ROOT. Then run the hell away and heal. Against a high dps ranged class - it’s bash and hope the heal finishes. My heals are talented out such that I can avoid a great deal of interuption - but I’ll need a few more levels before they’re flawless.

rae Says:December 11th, 2005 at 12:25 pm e
I would like to posit some issues with the above mentioned AB strategies, the “all out offense” tactic.I was actually a big fan of this plan when I first started playing, mostly because I was a rogue in a new bg where people didn’t know what the hell was going on. I could do as a pleased^^But now that AB has been out for a while, this strategy is known, and simply won’t hold up against a decent team.First, if the oponant has even one good rogue on their team, the system is screwed. A rogues optimal roll, in my opinion, is stealthing to ungaurded or lightly gaurded flags and “spoiling” them. That is capping not necessarilly to take it over, but to prevent the oponant from getting points for a time. One or two rogues (or anyone, really) simply moving behind the attacking mob can cap everything as soon as they leave it. AB is about holding flags, not killing toons, so really a spread out force has a large advantage in that they can cap more flags more rapidly.Secondly, even when the above issues are covered (leave one or two bhind to cover capped flags) the all attack strategy loses its potency as toon mobility increases. i.e. mounts. After 40 the speed with which defenders can reach contested flags is massively increased, and at 60 with epic mounts the response time is almost nothing. A team with epics and even half their wits about them can decend on a contested or assaulted site in seconds. having two fairly large attacking forces is nice, but if their entire team can respond to an assult rapidly, and then respawn just steps away from the fight, the attacking forces are going to have a huge disadvantage.The system which I have come to support is based on the old “hold three” principle, but with a few tweaks. First, the three should be carefully selected to be easy to move between. For horde, the mill, smith and farm are an optimal configuration, due to the way the paths and bridges are situated. It is extremely easy for a large defensive force to remain mounted somewhere between these three, say at the south bridge, and move instantly to defend against any attacks. You need only one static defender at each base, freeing up the rest of the team to act as a hammerblow where it is most needed. Additionly, one to two rogues or druids should be moving through the back ranks, spoiling the other two bases if they are ever left undefended, picking of meding cloth wearers, sapping random toons, and generally causing havoc co-op style. this combination of distraction, mobility, and co-ordinated defense of the inside lines Napoleonic style makes, in my opinion, for optimal winning conditions.

Psyae Says:December 12th, 2005 at 9:29 am e
I agree. The Hannibal zerg strategy is actually really good against unmounted, newer players without decent stealth characters. I also agree that all strategies should be based upon the strengths of your team and the weaknesses of the opposing team, and that each game can require an on-the-fly change in strategy. It takes a good team that follows orders and a good leader to implement such impromptu changes. Without it, I’ve seen games that originally appear to be wins turn into terrible losses.

Recently, I’ve seen a strategy employed by a very good raid leader. The strategy was the classic take three, defend three, provide some offense and cover when needed. However, this leader was excellent at picking individuals in the group and assigning them new tasks on the fly. This allowed maximum flexibility, and we won a number of battles in a row.

Thanks for your comments, rae!

annlovelace Says:January 9th, 2006 at 10:06 am e
As an alliance priest going into the battlegrounds. be it warsong gulch or arathi basin, i have observed one stratagy that the horde continually use that the alliance do not, and it is really simple.

the horde protect their healers, and more than that, they attack alliance healers on site, and will ignore other classes to take down the healers, knowing that without their healers, the other alliance fighters will fall to a concerted attack.

alliance need to adopt horde tactics and use them against the horde, and this is one that is easy to implement, and surprisingly effective. a small group that defends its healers properly will tear through a much larger group in fairly short order.

using a stealthed rogue to protect the healer is also a great tactic, as the horde WILL attack the healer. effectively the priest is acting as bait.

if you have ever been in a party that has wiped seconds after your healer has gone down, you will understand just how important defending your healer is when in a party. the battlegrounds is no different.

so use horde tactics against them. protect your healers to the death if neccesary, and take out their healers on sight, ignoring other classes until the healers go down.

whether you are attacking or defending, the above tactic is essential if you want to win in the battlegrounds consistantly.

__________________________________________________

Quick note on Tactics:

As for tactics, I do a few things regularly:

I always go after the enemy flag-bearer. Not surprisingly, this usually gets me killed before I can even get one HK, but I believe it greatly benefits my team, because I can get to places fairly quickly, and without being noticed, if I don't want to be, and I'm often the first one on the scene, in the middle of the field, facing the enemy flag-bearer and about 5 of his team following closely. I don't wait. I just CS him, and try to slow him down. The more I cause them to pause in the middle, the greater chances my team has of getting there in time. Once the enemy gets back to their base with the flag, it's very difficult to recapture it because of the complexity of the base, and because the graveyard is right there.

[Depending on who has the flag and what kind of support the carrier is getting should greatly determine who you choose to target. If a warrior has the flag and is being escorted by a shaman and a priest, you will almost never win by targeting just the warrior. Cripple the warrior, if possible, and take down the healers asap. Then kill the warrior. Warriors go down very fast without healing.]

Now, reverse that, and there's where my numbers rise quickly. I also hunt people just like me. The soloists who chase after MY flag-bearer. They tend to come in groups of 1 or 2, and are easy to take down. Since I'm there fairly quickly, I'm usually the one who gets the HK and killing blow, and often my teammates are too far to get any HK credit. The third tactic is just basically being in the mix of things when there are huge clashes. I often get ignored, and can take down all the casters before I'm even noticed. This is all while my team's tanks are taking the biggest hits by their team's tanks. But after I take out the casters, I focus on their melee players like rogues and warriors and since they've now lost their support, they're much easier to take down. The only real dilemma I have when deciding what to do is to choose whether to initially focus on hunters or casters. I sometimes hit hunters first because it's like a two for one. You take down the hunter, and the pet goes with him. Honestly, it just depends on what the casters are doing. I almost always hit priests first. It's so annoying to go toe to toe with a warrior, and just as you're about to strike that killing blow, he's at full health. I don't like that. Not one bit. It's, of course, the fault of the priest. Just one ignored priest on the sidelines can turn the tide of any battle. (Priests... run.)

When I was doing BG regularly at lvl 50, I was nearly always at the top of the rankings. Other than what I just told you with those tactics, I really don't know why.Oh, one other thing. Back when I was 50, some other player (druid, maybe?) shouted, Psyae, I love you! I'm like, wha? He responded, every time I'm in trouble, you're always there! I think that's another "tactic" I overlooked. It's recognizing when a fellow teammate needs help, and saving that player. It's less of a tactic, and more of intuition or something, but I've been on the receiving end of attacks where I know my fellow players could have assisted me, but for whatever reason did not. This type of support is absolutely necessary if you're of the "must win" mindset. It's also good for guilds who raid a lot.

Arathi Basin Notes

In AB, there are two main strategies that seem to work: 1) capture and hold 3 bases 2) capture and hold 3 bases, then make offensive strikes to take the weaker of the remaining two, lose it, then take the other, lose it; rinse, repeat Although #2 might seem silly, both methods are viable, depending on your overall raid group makeup, and more specifically your small team makeup.

Most AB groups go with the default 5/5/5, with each team loosely assigned to go cap and defend a base. Two or three usually end up defending while the others go run off to find their personal fortunes elsewhere (often dying quickly as a result). Theoretically, if you can cap and hold 3 bases the entire game, you will win, albeit slowly. Assuming you have five fairly strong players on each base, and the horde can't organize a full assault, you can generally hold out. If the horde do launch a full assault, that leaves their other base open, and you can just move your newly dead there, and wait again for the next assault.

So, there are two main arguments that I see people yelling about in /raid while this is being attempted. One is, "no one move from your base, total D on three, and we win, don't go try capping other bases!" The other is, "yes, we need to hold, but we also need to keep the horde on D on the bases they have now so they can't mount a full assault!" Of course, I cleaned up the arguments a bit. Both, perhaps surprisingly, are right! But if you were the leader, which one would you do? (assuming anyone would listen to you). Well, that's where a guild raid comes in handy. You know your group's strengths and weaknesses, and you can assess the strength of the opponent. Based on how easily you've been holding the three bases, you should be able to determine whether you can afford to take people off of defense to mount small assaults to keep the horde on defense. I don't know how many times during those games that I was either assaulting or defending the blacksmith (take the blacksmith, it's worth it!) and just watched 4-5 horde standing, unmoving, at the farm flag. They weren't moving because if they did, and they came to help their comrades try to take the blacksmith or the mill, they knew that one of us would sneak back and ninja their flag while we mounted a small assault at their front door. This, I'm thinking, is great! I have a guaranteed minus four horde trying to pound me!

Enough of that. On to tactics. (strategy = big picture, tactics = small picture) Take a guess, if you dare, what I shout about most to the people who play nearby me? Go on, guess. No, it's not "HEAL ME!" Ah, "Morons!" is a good guess, but that's not it. Ah, finally, you got it. It's "KILL THE PRIEST!!!!" Every skirmish I get in, everyone does what they always do. They attack the warrior first, then the rogues, then the shamans, then maybe the druids, and then the priests. Oh, but wait. By the time they get the warrior to half health, we're all dead. Because the warrior has like 3-4 totally untouched healers! Arrgh! The horde has the same damn problem! Hah! As soon as I got with a healer that actually saw me as an asset that shouldn't be left to die immediately upon horde attacking (rare!), just a handful of us decimated every single horde attempt to retake the farm and the blacksmith.

The farm was my favorite. There were horde swarming us. Every single one of them was trying to tap the flag. Every time someone tapped it, I tapped them. I did the unroguely thing by switching targets just so I could get all the horde near the flag interrupted. When I interrupted them, they figured they needed to get rid of me first. So, instead of tapping the flag again, they went 1v1 with me. GOOD! Why was this good? They totally ignored the druid who "found" me and kept me from dying. End result? None could even come close to matching my DPS, so all I did was focus on one, whack him till he was dead, then the next, then the next, all the while staying barely alive thanks to the druid. I didn't have to think about running away, or how I hadn't had a healing potion in days, or anything. I was totally uninterrupted, and nothing survived. Why did this happen? No one attacked the druid! Hah! See, the moment a horde puts the heat on my healer, I'm SOL. I would have taken down one or two of them, but then I'd be done unless I could get to the druid and protect him. Surrounded by horde, that would be difficult.

We just need to reverse this mentality and totally focus on eliminating healers. There was one undead priest in a few of the games I kept hunting. She should have died about 20 times by my hands alone. However, every single ally around me totally ignored the priest and concentrated on every single other horde. Okay, given the choice, do you fight a druid in bear form or a priest? A shaman or a priest? A shaman in wolf form or a shaman in humanoid form? A shapechanged druid or humanoid druid? A shapechanged druid or a priest? Pick any combination, and your answer should always be the same (with some exceptions).You take out the humanoid healers first.

Priests first, druids second, shamans third. Priest are 100% healers, and have the mana to do so AND protect themselves, but they cannot withstand a bashing by 2-3 melee classes. Once they're out of the way, at least one of the shapechanging classes will have to convert back to humanoid in order to do any healing. Ones that are already in humanoid form are there for one of two reasons 1: crowd control or 2: healing. If a druid or shaman shifts back to humanoid, what do you think they're about to do? Ever duel a druid? Yeah, HEAL. Either themselves or an ally. Take out the humanoid druids first. They're surprisingly soft. Shaman are a bit meatier, but they heal a lot less than druids. Take them out next. In a skirmish, I've literally ignored one warrior, one shaman, and one druid who were all trying to pound on me just to get a priest. Since that time I actually had some support, I took down the priest. Then the druid, then the shaman, then the warrior.

Since priests love to run away, the warrior had a hard time landing shots on me and couldn't build up enough rage to make a difference, and the other classes just couldn't keep up with the druid that was healing me and my dodges. What we ended up with was a tank. And my gear sucks, too! hah What would have happened had the warrior, shaman, and druid ignored me and gone after my healer? We'd all be dead and we probably wouldn't have even gotten the priest. So, it's not as if my tactics were perfect, but they took advantage of the horde doing the same thing wrong that we always do.

Remember: Healers first. Then semi-healers. Then soft targets. Then hard targets.

On my oldest server, there was this tauren warrior who became the most notorious on the server. He was very good at pvp on his own, but he also attracted a following. He got to the point where he had a 4-10 priest escort everywhere he went. Entire parties of equal level alliance were slaughtered just by him and his priestly following. The priests all had assigned themselves duties within their group, so that they weren't double-healing each other or wasting mana otherwise, but each priest had another priest to watch out for. Basically, if you saw this guy, you ran. And ran, and ran. I don't know anyone who didn't hate him.

Dunno where that was going. But shows the relationship between melee classes and priests, and the importance to cut that link quickly.

*** Oh, one other tactical thing: Sometimes I rez and then run to the "happening" scene and there's a skirmish going on. Before I get even close to anyone, I've targeted all the horde in the skirmish. I'm looking for: -healers -anyone 30% or lower in health If I see a healer, I determine whether that healer is in an actively healing capacity in the skirmish. Then I determine whether anyone has engaged the healer. If no one has, then that healer is the most dangerous enemy in that skirmish, and that's my target. Even if I don't kill the healer, I've perhaps saved my teammates a few seconds and given them the opportunity to finish off their quarries without the enemy being fully healed all of a sudden. Then they can come help me finish off the healer. If the healer is preoccupied already, I look for a target with low health. (or even a low-level target). These I can usually take out with just a few hits, no matter what their class, as long as they don't have a supporting healer. So, if I've determined they're not going to be healed, I jump right in and finish them off. Am I breaking my earlier rule about healers first? No. Modifying it, perhaps, but the rule of take out the "weakest" comes into play, since even the weakest do full damage. If I'm sure I can take out a weaker opponent, I will do so quickly so my teammates can get some relief and focus on the other opponents. Remember, I only do this if I can either kill in one hit, or if the enemy healer is fully preoccupied and won't be able to heal anyone.

posted by Psyae at 11:55 AM

Comment:
Pluto's Dad said...
I know this is an old article but..as a priest, somewhat ironically I often find myself shouting to the raid "kill the priest!" So often I get ignored and heal over and over until the enemy is dead. I find, if I stick to heal-over-time spells, I REALLY get ignored, they don't even notice unless they see a big jump in health.The only time I get targetted is if I'm playing against an organized guild raid. They know what they're doing usually.Though yesterday, in a PUG I was quite happily suprised when the others on my team actually protected me when I got targetted. That almost never happens in PUGs.
Wednesday, May 03, 2006 2:47:18 PM

Arathi Basin Notes #2

I have some observations about my multiple AB runs last night. [Ed. note: although the events took place a long time ago, they mirror just about every series of AB runs I've been on, so applies perpetually]On two occassions, we lost by a slim margin, due specifically to overreaching.

One of the most important things an AB leader needs is flexibility. Just having one set plan and enough players following that plan is often sufficient. However, when the plan is interrupted by an overwhelming force of opponents, the leader needs to quickly amend the plan, and bark orders accordingly. For example, if the plan is to take the stables, mines, and mill, and hold, but the alliance mill raiding party is taken by surprise by a superior number of horde at the mill, the alliance leader should (knowing the number of those horde) order a tactical retreat, regroup, and perhaps assault another base (farm, blacksmith) based on information provided by those who can scout those areas.

Back to overreaching. Often, both forces are just about equal, and each side toggles between holding two and three bases. In many of these cases, it's vitally important to defend what bases are held. The horde holding three bases to our two is not pretty, but the horde holding three bases and assaulting one of our only two is devastating. This happened a few times last night, but not because of the horde's superior or outnumbering forces. It happened because of individual overreaching.

There are two types of overreaching. Individual and group. Group overreaching is when a leader makes the decision to attack a fourth base when possessing three. Individual overreaching is when a roving band of independents decides to attack on its own. Group overreaching sometimes nets an extra base, but mostly results in the loss of one currently possessed. The net result is a loss. This is because the game does not rely on the number of bases you hold at any one time, but instead how long you hold onto those bases. A tradeoff (lose one base, win another) is necessarily a loss because it takes an entire minute to fully cap.

During the first base's conflict time and the new base's down time, the team is not gaining any resources from either base. Whereas, if the team had merely held the base it possessed with good defense, there would be an uninterrupted flow of resources. Obviously there are times when taking another base is strategically optimal. for instance, if it's determined that an overwhelming number of horde are desperately trying to capture an already held base, the alliance team can just shift focus, grab the most undefended horde base, and not suffer heavy losses. The one thing I heard most in those games, and the one thing I know that killed any chances of our winning was the report that this "roving band of adventurers" (usually about 2-5 players spread all over the map) repeatedly gave. Throughout the game, they were rarely near any of our held bases. They were hopping all over the place, looking for horde weak points. This is FINE, if that's part of the plan or a decision made based on a reasonable belief that the horde had major weak spots. But here was the report: "Blacksmith only has 5 horde guarding it!" What this means is that one of the roving band believes it's strategically sound to move our current base defenders forward to attack a currently held horde base, defended by 5 horde (that they can see).

What ends up happening is that the roving band thinks it's sufficient to take the base on its own, and fails to do so in the most miserable fashion. At the same time that that roving band is getting slaughtered, our undefended stables get taken, and the horde mount a massive assault on the mill while a few other horde pester our mill defenses. Net result? We end up with one base. Horde ends up with 3-4. What this roving adventurer fails to realize is that 5 horde at one horde-held base equals 10 horde somewhere else. If you don't know where those other 10 horde are, you'd be foolish to risk losing your currently possessed bases in order to try to gain a fairly well defended horde base.

Just think about the roving band of HORDE adventurers: "Hey, the stables have... uh... no defenders! Let's nab it and move on.".... "Holy crud, not only did we just totally get the stables for free, but there are like only 2 guys at the mines, and one of them looks like he's running away somewhere else!" NAB. "What, they're mounting an assault on our well-defended base? Let's distract them by attacking the mill! Everyone to the mill!" That's an awful scenario.

The second time I found myself leading our raid group, we captured and held the stables, mines, and mill within moments, and were definitely pulling ahead in points. However, there was a group of 3-4 of us just randomly wandering around, giving reports like I said before, and acting totally on their own initiative, getting killed quickly by horde defense, and roaming again. At the same time, everyone I asked to stay at the stables ignored me, and ran to the mill (where there were already 5-6 of us) or to wander on their own. The mines were underdefended, and some of the stable defenders ran to the mines. Leaving... zero people at the stables! I even asked people BY NAME to stay at the stables. I indicated repeatedly that we needed at least three defenders on each base, and THEN the rest could toggle offense/defense based on the situation. No one wanted to defend the stables.

I can't count the number of times the stables got ninjad. What's that, you ask? It's when one or two players sneak up and snag the flag without any or with little opposition. It's a win/win situation for any side that can ninja a flag successfully because it interrupts resource flow, and causes the opponent unnecessarily to reinforce that base with defenders. Sometimes a ninja can turn into a win. I ninjad the mill last night (different game) when it was totally surrounded by horde. I figured, what the heck, at least I interrupted the flow. They came runnin after me (because I was purposefully leading them away from the flag), and I died with all of them pounding on me at the bottom of the hill. This was surprisingly more successful that I had imagined because another alliance team was mounting an attack on the mill from the other side, and since the flag was in contest, the horde couldn't respawn there. By the time I rezzed and got back, we were in full possession of the mill, defending it well.

Speaking of defending. I have learned to LOVE defending. I think it may be the new offense! Hah. My favorite places to defend are the stables and mill. And I consider myself pretty good at both. By myself and sometimes with another rogue, I successfully defended the stables against about 10-15 ninja attacks, and some duo attacks. This didn't take much effort at all. I mostly just stood there, hidden in the nearby bushes, waiting. However, my abilities allowed the leader to focus other people on offensive raids. (Like I said, flexibility!)

Stables are pretty straightforward. Not much terrain to deal with. The mill is a different story, and most people defend it rather shoddily. The absolute worst thing I see people do is rush from a well-defended, terrain superior position at the top of the hill (facing the farm) down to the bottom to intercept horde raiders. This is a total waste of defense resources, for one, and it's also a great danger to the mill flag. It prompts others who would normally have stayed at the top of the hill to go "rescue" the over-impulsive defender at the bottom, and soon few if any are left on the plateau at the top. This allows a druid or rogue to sneak up and ninja the flag. Once that flag is tapped, folks, all the defenders dying at the bottom of the hill cannot rez at the mill! It's vitally important to keep that flag from being tapped.

Just as important as when you are raiding a base, and need to tap the horde flag to insure no horde can spawn there. I use that tactic myself all the time. When a good number of people are with me on a mill raid, I stealth when I get to the top and ignore all the fighting, I'm sure much to the dismay of my teammates. But they don't realize that I'm actually increasing the chances of a victorious capture. While everyone is occupied on the ramp up to the hill, the mill horde defense rushes to the edge of the hill to attack the raiding alliance. Maybe one stays behind for a second or two to check out the flag to make sure it's not getting ninja'd (most players are so impulsive, the very moment they get to the flag, they tap it. you should wait if the situation warrants it so you don't have to fight (ask Seq about the waiting game)), then the impatient horde runs to help his teammates "defend." Only seconds have elapsed, so it's unlikely any have actually died on the ramp yet. I look, I make sure I'm free (and I use the flag itself to block the horde view of my name floating above my head), and I tag it. I rarely get interrupted, and if I do, it's usually only by one horde, and that quick skirmish usually ends up in my favor. Once I tag that flag, the horde loses all its rez defense for the mill. That means every horde we end up killing on that ramp must rez somewhere else! I rush to the edge, and help finish off the horde, knowing the horde won't suddenly appear at my back. This is an awesome tactic. TAG that flag, and make them work to defend it!

Back to defense. Imagine the situation is the same, but the sides are switched. You're defending the mill flag, but you don't have anyone AT the flag. It only takes 10 seconds, and BAM, you just lost it. The reason I stand at the top edge of the ramp isn't necessarily to intercept raiders. It's to determine when the mill is being raided, by how many, what levels, and what classes. I then can pick my personal target and indicate to the other defenders what that target is. By the time the raiders get to the top, we're ready for them. We can start attacking them at the top edge, but it's vitally important to slowly guide it to the area of the flag. I've defended the farm flag against a horde raid group because every single one of them was trying to tap the flag (a good idea in general), and I kept hitting them each in succession. I don't care if all I need to kill that ONE horde is hit him three more times. If the OTHER horde tapping the flag succeeds, I've just lost all my defense on that base AND potentially interrupted resources (depending on the state of the flag).

Worst case scenario is when the horde are trying to "defend" that flag because we tapped it, and all they have to do is re-tap it to get rez privileges at that base.

Now I can "sum up."

Generally:

-follow the plan
-listen to the leader (even if the leader is "wrong", you'll still likely do better than roaming around)
-don't roam around unless that's your job
-defense is a good offense when you're playing the resource game
-defend your "flag", not the entire map (don't rush out of the range of your fellow defenders or they just might stand there and watch you die)
-play for the win, not for HK
-communicate what you observe so that the leader can make informed decisions (you say "5 horde attacking mill", buddy says "5 horde defending farm", guy at mines says "3 horde attacking mines" - leader knows only 2 horde at max are defending blacksmith, and it might make a decent target)
-although you can report observations, don't make your own strategic decisions, that's for the leader
-although you don't make strategic decisions, you DO make tactical decisions based on your assigned task (i.e., you don't initiate a raid on another base if your task is to defend mill, but you can make decisions about where your party should be placed at the mill, what raiders should be attacked in what order, etc.)

posted by Psyae at 1:32 PM

Arathi Basin Notes #3

Being Revered in Arathi Basin (nearly exalted), I have seen just about every strategy employed there. I've talked about a few earlier, but I want to share some of the more recent strategies, particularly the ones that seem most effective, especially with higher level groups.

[note: from Alliance perspective, but can be applied either way, in theory]

1 - Inverted C Zerg:-Despite the name, this is a rather simple strategy that has seen some success in the 40-59 range. I don't see this as viable in the "epic" 60 range, but it might be worth a shot against a horde pug. Alliance immediately rush the Mill, leaving one to cap stables. It's likely the Mill will be captured by the zerg quickly. The zerg then proceeds from the Mill to the Blacksmith, and then reinforces the captured bases while sending a roving offense to harrass the Farm or Mines. Pros: This is a great strategy to pull on an unsuspecting pug. It guarantees two bases within a few seconds of the game beginning. Some might say at least two bases are guaranteed anyway, and that might be true, but not in this quick timeframe. The original Ally strategy was to send half to the mines, half to the mill, and leave a few at the stables. In that situation, it's likely either the mines or mill will be targeted by the horde, and, even if the allies succeed, they have to fight with reduced numbers over a longer period of time to do so. Yes, they "could" feasibly cap both the mines and the mill, but not if the horde send only one or two to the blacksmith, and all the rest to counter the allied offense on the mines/mill. With the Inverted C Zerg, the allies guarantee a quick cap on stables and mill, and then have a huge offensive force to attack the blacksmith, instead of a scattered force often seen in more basic and pug strategies. There's always a chance that the horde underdefend the blacksmith because traditionally it was an "automatic cap" for the horde. Cons: Lately, the horde anticipate early attacks on the blacksmith, and defend it accordingly. Plus, the horde has become more keen on a "roving" team (more on that later), and can cause a lot of trouble for the zergers early on. The slight flexibility of the zergers being able to switch to the farm or mines if necessary (neither a great pattern) is probably not enough to provide sustainability throughout many games. Also, if the strategy is used against the same horde team, the allies could find themselves with absolutely no bases (e.g., horde zergs mines, stables, and mill (their own inverted C), and traps the alliance in a major blacksmith battle, while annoying the newly risen at the allied graveyard. This has the potential to be avoided if the allied stables defender keeps a sharp eye on the mines/bs path, an alerts the zergers to a major incoming force).

2 - The Modified Left Hand Middle Finger-Eh, I don't know why I pick these titles. This is a variation similar to the inverted C, but, as the title implies, the initial focus is the blacksmith. Two full teams hit the blacksmith immediately, while two smaller teams hit the mines, stables, and mill simultaneously. Usually, the mines team consists of two players, and the stables/mill team consists of four. One will stop at the stables, while a stealth team checks out the mill, and caps it early if possible. If the horde send a barrage to the mill, that team backs off and defends the stables. This is a "get three quick" plan, that's fairly effective if the blacksmith is capped early. If the blacksmith cannot be capped, chances are, it's a losing battle. Whichever faction grabs three bases first can usually hold out longer. Some basic principles of this strategy are that after the first wave, the bare minimum defense on each held base is two, optimal three. One of the first teams is a roving patrol (epic mounted), and goes where the action is. The stealth team can divide itself between defending the stables and trying to ninja the mill or farm, depending on how organized the enemy offense is. Pros: Compared to the inverted C, this strategy hits the smithy hard and fast, often before enough horde can arrive to fend off the epic mounted allied offense. It's flexible. Blacksmith, stables, and mines is the optimal configuration, but if the mines are overrun, it's not hard to mount a successful mill offense. Cons: Absolute teamwork is essential. Just one or two slackers or "individuals" or wannabe backseat leaders will crash the entire system. If the blacksmith is not taken within the first two minutes or so, things are usually bleak, and it's hard to catch up (having devoted all those forces to one base). Overreaching (in any strategy) can be fatal, especially against an organized opponent. Learn the names of your opponents and figure out what kind of strategy they're likely to employ, and whether you'd be better off sticking with a solid three, or going for a 4-cap against a loose pug group.

[Wow, friends. This post is insanely long. Worry not. I'll be editing it over time. Enjoy!]

-Psy

What is a Rogue?

2006-06-19T11:52:00.000-05:00

What is a Rogue?

I've been playing a WoW rogue for quite some time. I've also played my share of rogueish characters in other games, such as the main character in Thief and a monk in Neverwinter Nights. My Oblivion character is pretty much a combination of a WoW rogue and the expert marksman in Thief. So, I guess you could say, I prefer that type of character.

However, I haven't really come across a nice, succinct history and definition of the elusive rogue. So, this being a rogue-centric blog, I felt I should at least make a humble attempt. My short history will not center on WoW rogues or other gaming rogues, but will try to detail real life rogues of various kinds.

Our first stop is the Wikipedia disambiguation page for "rogue", which includes the following potential definitions:
_______________________
A rogue is set apart from the normal order, and acts in an independent manner. This can apply to individuals, states, or other actors.

Rogue may refer to:

Rogue (Dungeons & Dragons) or thief (character class), a common character class in RPG games, usually criminals or thieves who specialize in stealth and subterfuge
Rogue (comics), a member of the X-Men in the Marvel Comics universe
Rogue (band), a 1970s British pop-rock trio
Rogue (computer game), a 1980s dungeon-crawling, ASCII-based computer game
Rogue (film) a 2006 Jet Li movie
GoldenEye: Rogue Agent, a James Bond video game
Rogue class in World of Warcraft
Rogue Entertainment, a software company
Rogue River (Michigan)
Rogue River (Oregon)
Rogue River (tribe), a Native American group.
Rogue (musician), the vocalist with darkwave band The Crüxshadows
Rogue Wave (band), a band signed to Sub Pop and headed by Zach Schwartz (aka Zach Rogue)
The Rogues, a group of The Flash's enemies
The Rogues (band), a Scottish band from Texas
Rogue Ales is a microbrewery in Newport, Oregon.
Star Wars: Rogue Squadron, a Nintendo 64 video game
A plant that is of a different type from the rest of the crop - see Volunteer
A rogue elephant
A rogue state
A rogue planet
Rogue Herries, a 1930 novel by Hugh Walpole
Rogue Male, a 1939 novel by Geoffrey Household, and a 1976 TV film adaptation of it
Rogue Guitars, a brand of guitar
_____________________

I particularly like the Rogue Ales, they taste pretty good.

If you notice, Wikipedia lists multiple rogue links. 24 to be exact. How many of these describe any historically true rogues? None, unfortunately. Thus, I'll have to go elsewhere.

(Although, I actually know personally the musician Rogue of The Crüxshadows, and a few of his bandmates. Rachel's nice. Might even remember me from Epitome. If you see her, tell her Palus says hi.)

OMG! I just looked her up on their website, and she plays WoW! Hah, what a trip.
_______________________
Yikes, Looks like Merriam-Webster really doesn't like rogues:

Main Entry: rogue
Function: noun
Etymology: origin unknown
1 : VAGRANT, TRAMP
2 : a dishonest or worthless person : SCOUNDREL
3 : a mischievous person : SCAMP
4 : a horse inclined to shirk or misbehave
5 : an individual exhibiting a chance and usually inferior biological variation

- rogu·ish /'rO-gish/ adjective
- rogu·ish·ly adverb
- rogu·ish·ness noun

At least we now know that the origin is "unknown." Or so it says.

And, Dictionary.com:

rogue

n.-An unprincipled, deceitful, and unreliable person; a scoundrel or rascal.
-One who is playfully mischievous; a scamp.
-A wandering beggar; a vagrant.
-A vicious and solitary animal, especially an elephant that has separated itself from its herd.
-An organism, especially a plant, that shows an undesirable variation from a standard.

adj. -Vicious and solitary. Used of an animal, especially an elephant.
-Large, destructive, and anomalous or unpredictable: a rogue wave; a rogue tornado.
-Operating outside normal or desirable controls: “How could a single rogue trader bring down an otherwise profitable and well-regarded institution?” (Saul Hansell).

n : a deceitful and unreliable scoundrel [syn: knave, rascal, rapscallion, scalawag, scallywag, varlet]

Cambridge has an interesting entry:

rogue Noun [C]1 OLD-FASHIONED HUMOROUS a person who behaves badly but who you still like:"Come here, you little rogue!" chuckled my uncle.The women all think he's a loveable old rogue.

Well, I've done a bit of research. Maybe about 10 minutes worth. But, with the Internet age, that's enough, right? When it comes right down to it, "rogue" is more of a concept than anything. DnD changed the name of "Thief" to "Rogue" in order to broaden the class, or at least the concept of the class. It's basically anyone who operates outside the norm.

Funny, I guess that means with all the overabundance of rogues in WoW, Rogues *are* the norm. So, they're not rogues any longer. What shall we call them, then? Swashbucklers? Adventurers? Stealthies?

Okay, here's something for my readers to do: Taking into consideration the current state of affairs in Azeroth, come up with a rogue quest series that starts at level 50 and continues through level 60, with periodic gear and attribute upgrades, and a nice end-game rogue challenge that will result in some great gear. Concentrate on using rogue abilities that all rogues can learn, and try to incorporate challenging feats that take some skill and that are rogue-specific.

Then we'll take all the halfway decent entries, and send them to Blizzard with a note: If we could do it, why can't you?

Hmmph.

With so few overall classes, and such a big game, you'd think Blizzard could have designed a bit more class-specific content. I mean, for the rogue set gear upgrade quests, what part of it is rogueish whatsoever? Nada!

Blizzard did have a potential avenue with the secret rogue society thing, and acquiring the badges for reputation... that... doesn't get you anything. Blizzard can still jump in and fix this, and add to it, and make a really awesome world for rogues to play around in. But, for now, all we're good for is ganking, opening doors, and, if we're even invited to instances, opening lockboxes there. Let's get some neat rogue stuff, Blizzard! And not: fight through an army of mobs, and kill a mob you couldn't possibly kill solo, oboy, and get some crappy gear for it.

How about: sneak through an army of mobs, figure out which random mob has the key to a door that you have to watch the patrol carefully to avoid getting detected while unlocking and opening (it's optional to unlock it with your lockpicking skill, but it takes twice as long as with the key) (oh, and some mobs you pickpocket might have some nifty items, but the instance is YOU specific, so you can't farm them over and over), sneak into the barracks to find an officer's lockbox, open it, get some letter, do some forgy thing with it, put it in reach of the commander without getting caught, and get the hell out of there. One screw up, and you've sounded the alarm (yeah, amazing how a guy 10 feet away from you fighting his buddy might actually see you), and you'll have to try it again later.

That could be one. Add another one later: Assassination. There's a traitor among us in Stormwind, and he's plotting the escape of a notorious enemy of ours. The traitor has arranged that the enemy be locked up in the Stormwind stockade. You'll have to sneak in there and get to him without alerting any of the escaped prisoners, and then assassinate him before he can motivate the prisoners to riot and escape the stockade entirely. Be warned, though, once you start to attack him, you'll have only moments to kill him before he shouts out for help, alerting the nearby prisoners who will undoubtedly rush to his rescue, and possibly your demise.(apply similar facts for Horde rogue quest).

Wow, that'd be an easy one to make. Wouldn't have to change much of what's already there, and what a neat challenge. What a surprise that'd be. Assassination? Who woulda thunk a rogue would be interested in that?

Bah. Come on, Blizzard, help a poor bored rogue out.

Yeah Yeah Yeah, Stop Complaining

2006-05-31T09:11:00.000-05:00

Okay, so I took a short hiatus after I got commander. Wah.

Rank decay is a bitch! After only a few weeks, I'm already down to Knight-Champion. What a bummer. Not only that, but Blizzard, in all it's money grubbing kindness, has declared that in the next patch, you can upgrade your PVP gear.

Wassat? Wassat you say? Blizzard also mentioned that if you got rank 12 or 13 ever in your miserable non-working pos existence, you wouldn't have to repurchase upgrades? It'd be... what? Autoeffinmatic? Wow! What a deal. Ruin your life, and you get free armor upgrades!

But what about all the months I put into getting rank 10. What do I get out of it?

"You gotz ta go grind up to get that gear again, buddy, if yez wanna upgrade."

There's been a lot of contention about this issue.

Most of it, unfortunately, is based on two factors.

1 ) People don't know how to write.

2 ) People don't know how to read.

So, someone asked the Devs in the real game forum, "So, will former rank 9 players be able to purchase upgrades?"

The Dev responded, "You must be able to purchase the pvp gear in order to get the upgrade."

What the morons in the forum interpreted this to mean is that you had to re-grind up to rank 9 to be able to purchase pvp gear, and then upgrade. However, if you were ever rank 9, and you lost rank, you can STILL RIGHT NOW go to the vendor and purchase rank 9 pvp gear. What that means is that you can get the upgrade even if you're rank 8... or 7. Or whatever.

But there's this assumption running rampant right now that anyone who wants to purchase an upgrade must be at that rank or higher. Besides a misinterpretation of the Dev's response, where'd this notion come from?

Apparently it came from players who have been testing the new patch in the Test server.

One of them, at least, has reported that a current rank 8 could not purchase rank 9 gear, even if that same player had previously been at rank 9.

This would mean that, as rumored, everyone needs to re-grind to rank 9, despite having that rank previously.

However, I haven't seen any patch notes indicating that Blizzard was specifically implementing a change in purchasing power of the former ranked. Rumors are all I've heard, and misstatements and misinterpretations from both sides on the Forum (which is truly a place of vileness anyway).

So, this lack of purchasing power could really be:

- a glitch
- a result of the character transfer process, somehow eliminating the "highest rank held" buying power ability
- a non-patch related tweak that the Devs are just playing with
- an intentional part of the new patch

A simple answer to this question would put at ease literally thousands of very pissed off former rank 9 players. Players who are, this week, re-grinding just in case.

What makes me sad is that in the official forums, players keep begging the Devs to "answer the question." Unfortunately, most of the players are too bereft of intelligence to be able to form the proper question in the first place. I should feel sorry for both sides of the issue, but I'm too busy working for the $15 per month pay-to-grind fee that should take care of most of my worries anyway.

Commander Psyae

2006-04-04T07:45:00.000-05:00

Nuff said.

[though I think "Planning Cell" of Pathos Hammer ought to be changed ASAP... hint hint]

Lieutenant Commander Psyae

2006-03-15T16:00:00.000-05:00

Long titles like that are sucky for rogues. Know how many times I've successfully hidden behind trees, rocks, bushes, while waiting for a DOT to wear off, and wasn't seen? Plenty (before these damned titles). Now? It's more like:

Gee, wonder where Psyae is hiding.

AB Notes Actually Being Read!

2006-03-13T11:08:00.000-05:00

As I've mentioned previously, I like to see who is visiting my blog. I recently discovered that a certain guild alliance website had a link to my site, but since I'm not a guild member there, I didn't have access to the private forum where the post with the link was made. I registered for the general forum, and emailed an administrator, asking him to relay the content of the post (if possible), so that I'd have an idea of what was being said about the blog. (I don't get a lot of direct feedback). He was kind enough to copy/paste the post for me, and, because I can't seem to get enough self-plugs, I'll relay it here.

This is the response I was given:

We have a PVP and Battlegrounds forum in which that post originated. One of our officers started the thread and titled it "Awesome red on AB Tacticss..." The content is as follows:

Read this and comment please....

http://psyae.blogspot.com/2005/12/arathi-basin-notes-2.html

and this...

http://psyae.blogspot.com/2005/12/arathi-basin-notes.html

The first reply came from one of our most experienced PVP players who wrote..

"Excellent reads.

I would have put more emphasis on the leadership part of things, as good leadership could prevent such things as undefended stables, and unsuccessful and underdefended assaults. However, getting a good feel for tactics, and why they work or don't work, is helpful for getting a crew to anticipate orders, and coming to the point where a crew can go into autopilot without the leader having to say much.

Also, beware the antithesis of overextending. Opponents should be kept on the defensive as much as possible in order to prevent them from mounting any successful offense. Learn your opponent, know your position, and determine if it's possible to take four or five."

We play on the Burning Blade server and have recently really been having a ton of success in the battlegrounds where we used to get stomped on a regular basis. We've been gathering strategies and ideas from all over the place and these guys obviously felt your notes were insightful.
Thanks!

So, if you're on Burning Blade, and have an interest in this guild, take a look over at: http://www.legendsguild.org/

Looks like a good guild to be in for some great pvp action.

[Note, I've got an Arathi Basin Notes #3 up!]

WoW: Entertaining, Fun, or Addictive?

2006-03-10T16:02:00.000-05:00

If it relieves boredom, does that mean it's entertainment? Does that mean it's good? If it's addictive, can it still be fun? If it's not addictive, is it no longer entertaining or fun? These are some of the questions running through my mind, and I am hoping my query here and the responses given will help me get closer to the solution.

Chances are, you started playing World of Warcraft (or a similar game) for a fairly simple reason. You needed a new distraction. You were bored with some game you had been playing, or you were game-hopping unsatisfactorily, hoping you'd finally find *The One*.

If the game you picked is WoW, and you play more than 20 hours a week, I have some news for you. It's not a distraction any more. It's a part-time job. Yes, I've written a few posts on how WoW is a time-sucker, and I've noted how much of a lot of other stuff you could get done with that time instead of playing WoW. However, this article isn't a rant about that. It's more of a reflection upon what we consider entertainment.

More succinctly put, when you play WoW addictively (in other words, you tend to put aside anything that's not burning your house down in order to play, at least for as long as you can), are you being "entertained," or are you "under the influence"?

Yes, that's a metaphor, likening WoW to drugs. Or, more precisely, likening playing WoW to taking drugs. Even deeper, wanting/needing to play WoW to needing a fix.

Addiction is a compulsion to repeat a behavior. To be addicted is to "devote or surrender oneself to something habitually or obsessively." Yes, you can be addicted to a substance, or a habit, like gambling.

There are scores of papers and statistics out there concerning addiction to playing video games. Although I'm sure these are fascinating, I'm not concerned with their results (as if I'd trust them). My query transcends both issues (drug and game addiction). However, since, I hope, most of us aren't drug addicted, we can analyze our own feelings about the game-related aspect.

I'm not really saying that we're addicted. I'm merely saying that many WoW players have symptoms of addiction. This is something you'll have to evaluate for yourself, and try to be honest. For some of us, it's no big deal. We'll shrug and admit that we play too much. For others, it will be a bit more difficult. Denial. I'm curious to discover how entertaining we really find playing WoW, or how "fun" it is, as opposed to "addictive."

I'd like to gather some information from a sampling of readers for further evaluation, and would appreciate your assistance.

Do what you can to self-evaulate, and then see if any of the following statements describes your behavior: (you can use the numbers in your reply with a "yes" or "no". feel free to skip any you don't want to answer)

1. When I'm not playing, because I can't (at work, travelling, etc.), I sometimes get anxious thinking about playing.

2. When I finally get to play, I feel a sense of relief.

3. While playing, if I get tired, I push myself to keep playing a little more.

4. I keep pushing myself to play until my eyelids get so heavy, I can barely keep them open. Then I know it's time to quit.

5. I tell myself I'm not going to play as much next time, but I end up playing the same amount anyway.

6. When people (in the real world) try to communicate with me while I'm playing, I tend to block them out or just not hear them, and it's always more important that I finish whatever I'm doing before I can devote any attention to them.

7. If I'm getting attacked, and one of my children, or my spouse, or someone close to me wants to look at something and says so with a slight sense of urgency, I have to finish my fight first or else I might die.

8. I think about WoW more than I think about sex.

9. I read more online material about WoW than I read regular books.

***

Now, put these words in order of what best describes your day-to-day WoW experience. And be honest.

-Time-consuming

-Entertaining

-Frustrating

-Challenging

-Fun

-Laborious

-Tedious

-Exciting

-Demanding

-Enlightening

-Boring

-Addictive

******

I'm posting this on two blogs, and I will compile the results and chart them on an additional post, where I'll discuss what I think about the results.

Feel free to reply anonymously. Thanks for your help!

WoW Blogger Guild

2006-03-07T10:44:00.000-05:00

If you're a WoW Blogger, or a blogger who happens to play WoW, apparently we've started a WoW Blogger guild on Sen'jin (Alliance). Read all about it Here and Here, and check out our forum Here.

Thanks to Aeigelus for starting it up.

Arathi Basin Notes #3

2006-03-06T12:37:00.000-05:00

Being nearly Revered in Arathi Basin, I have seen just about every strategy employed there. I've talked about a few earlier, but I want to share some of the more recent strategies, particularly the ones that seem most effective, especially with higher level groups.

[note: from Alliance perspective, but can be applied either way, in theory]

1 - Inverted C Zerg:

-Despite the name, this is a rather simple strategy that has seen some success in the 40-59 range. I don't see this as viable in the "epic" 60 range, but it might be worth a shot against a horde pug.

Alliance immediately rush the Mill, leaving one to cap stables. It's likely the Mill will be captured by the zerg quickly. The zerg then proceeds from the Mill to the Blacksmith, and then reinforces the captured bases while sending a roving offense to harrass the Farm or Mines.

Pros: This is a great strategy to pull on an unsuspecting pug. It guarantees two bases within a few seconds of the game beginning. Some might say at least two bases are guaranteed anyway, and that might be true, but not in this quick timeframe. The original Ally strategy was to send half to the mines, half to the mill, and leave a few at the stables. In that situation, it's likely either the mines or mill will be targeted by the horde, and, even if the allies succeed, they have to fight with reduced numbers over a longer period of time to do so. Yes, they "could" feasibly cap both the mines and the mill, but not if the horde send only one or two to the blacksmith, and all the rest to counter the allied offense on the mines/mill. With the Inverted C Zerg, the allies guarantee a quick cap on stables and mill, and then have a huge offensive force to attack the blacksmith, instead of a scattered force often seen in more basic and pug strategies. There's always a chance that the horde underdefend the blacksmith because traditionally it was an "automatic cap" for the horde.

Cons: Lately, the horde anticipate early attacks on the blacksmith, and defend it accordingly. Plus, the horde has become more keen on a "roving" team (more on that later), and can cause a lot of trouble for the zergers early on. The slight flexibility of the zergers being able to switch to the farm or mines if necessary (neither a great pattern) is probably not enough to provide sustainability throughout many games. Also, if the strategy is used against the same horde team, the allies could find themselves with absolutely no bases (e.g., horde zergs mines, stables, and mill (their own inverted C), and traps the alliance in a major blacksmith battle, while annoying the newly risen at the allied graveyard. This has the potential to be avoided if the allied stables defender keeps a sharp eye on the mines/bs path, an alerts the zergers to a major incoming force).

2 - The Modified Left Hand Middle Finger

-Eh, I don't know why I pick these titles. This is a variation similar to the inverted C, but, as the title implies, the initial focus is the blacksmith. Two full teams hit the blacksmith immediately, while two smaller teams hit the mines, stables, and mill simultaneously. Usually, the mines team consists of two players, and the stables/mill team consists of four. One will stop at the stables, while a stealth team checks out the mill, and caps it early if possible. If the horde send a barrage to the mill, that team backs off and defends the stables. This is a "get three quick" plan, that's fairly effective if the blacksmith is capped early. If the blacksmith cannot be capped, chances are, it's a losing battle. Whichever faction grabs three bases first can usually hold out longer. Some basic principles of this strategy are that after the first wave, the bare minimum defense on each held base is two, optimal three. One of the first teams is a roving patrol (epic mounted), and goes where the action is. The stealth team can divide itself between defending the stables and trying to ninja the mill or farm, depending on how organized the enemy offense is.

Pros: Compared to the inverted C, this strategy hits the smithy hard and fast, often before enough horde can arrive to fend off the epic mounted allied offense. It's flexible. Blacksmith, stables, and mines is the optimal configuration, but if the mines are overrun, it's not hard to mount a successful mill offense.

Cons: Absolute teamwork is essential. Just one or two slackers or "individuals" or wannabe backseat leaders will crash the entire system. If the blacksmith is not taken within the first two minutes or so, things are usually bleak, and it's hard to catch up (having devoted all those forces to one base). Overreaching (in any strategy) can be fatal, especially against an organized opponent. Learn the names of your opponents and figure out what kind of strategy they're likely to employ, and whether you'd be better off sticking with a solid three, or going for a 4-cap against a loose pug group.

What Makes a Good PVPer?

2006-02-28T16:40:00.000-05:00

Someone on my guild (Pathos Hammer) posts asked a good question: What makes a good PVPer?

He really wanted to show that there's no actual "pvp skill," but that everyone could succeed at pvp. I partially agree. I think everyone can improve in pvp, but there are variables many of us just can't adjust in order to excel at pvp. Here's the response I gave:

Let me dissect the issue first. Let's take a computer AI. Take, for example, two human AI rogues, built exactly the same way, same level, same stats, same gear. Everything is exactly the same. Now have the computer make them duel. Who will win? Is it 50/50? Yes. Why? The laws of statistics tell you it's 50/50. It has to be. It's literally random because both opponents will have exactly the same code to draw from and have exactly the same chance of winning each fight.

But. What really happens? Who knows. Rogue A might win 9 out of 10 times. Anyone know what the odds are that the rogue will win the next match? If you answered 50/50, you're right. Just because one has consistently won doesn't mean the odds change. The chance stays the same.

But that's a computer. Now take those same exact human rogues and let two real live people play them. Oboy! The factors involved now are insanely complicated and absolutely impossible to fully determine. But let's have at a few before we start into "good" and "bad" pvp skills.

First, and unfortunately one of the most fundamental factors since the advent of computer-based pvp, is which player has a slower connection (i.e., more latency). This factor is compounded by a number of things: cpu speed, computer memory, hard drive speed, hard drive I/O, graphics card, video settings, sound card/settings (better believe it, I've won matches and defended flags by using sound! (sit in the WSG flag room and listen... you can actually HEAR enemies dismount upstairs coming from the ramp to the middle section)), ethernet card, router, modem, Internet connection, ISP speed/reliability, distance from WoW hub server, number of other players accessing that hub server, and many more subtle factors. You might think, aw, that's BS! But I've been playing pvp for years and years, starting with serial connections between pcs, 300 baud dial-up modems, and beyond, and I'll tell you, the difference between a 100 and 400 latency is the difference between 1st and 4th place in the Olympics (depending on what game you're playing, of course).

Second: Gear. Not in-game gear, but real gear. Player using a N52? A cordless mouse (which adds its own latency), a low or high-tech keyboard? A fuzzy monitor, or top of the line? How is the person's desk set up? Laptop while sitting up in bed? PVP combat control room desk setup? Something in between? Each of these characteristics comes into play during combat, and is often ignored and overlooked by many players. How many times have you tried to turn 180 degrees, and your mouse hits your keyboard, and you instinctively lift it up, reset it, and move it again? That, friends, takes time and effort. Each of these factors has an impact on your ability to stay in control in pvp.

Third: Physiology. Needless to say (but apparently needed here), assuming both players have the exact same technology, there's a chance one of them taps the right sequence of keys just a bit faster or more correctly than the other. One will get that timing just right, while the other is off. Sure, with a couple of decent players, they may trade off on who gets that gouge in first, when both go for it simultaneously. What makes the better pvper? Consistency. What else? Ability to stay in control of the I/O (keyboard, mouse, etc.) while under stress: you get sweaty hands? constantly hit the wrong key? use a lot of point and click on your hotbars instead of setting up macros? Another physical factor is more basic: have you had enough sleep? Studies show that sleepy drivers are more dangerous than drunk ones, and cause just as many highway accidents. What's that tell you about your in-game reaction time based on sleep deprivation? Nutrition? Other health habits? Although there are raver kids out there, high on Jolt, beating the crap out of everyone in pvp, it's all part of the factor.

Fourth: Mental state. Had a stressful day at work? With the kids? With anything? Having your subconscious nag at you while trying to pvp can be a killer.

Fifth: Knowledge. Are you playing a game for the first time? Playing a class for the first time? Just reset your talent points? Just changed all your gear? Just advanced into a new level bracket? How much do you know about your opponent? Did you know that orcs are resistant to stuns? Do you know what all of your enemies' pvp trinkets do? Did you know that different classes get different types of pvp trinkets? Include in this factor "perception." Have you counted to yourself the number of seconds since that undead priest cast psychic scream? If not, how will you know when he'll be able to do it again? Better pvpers culminate a collection of knowledge about the game, characters, and gear, and their own observations of the actions of opponents while playing.

Sixth: Experience. If all you ever played before WoW was Starcraft, you might be great at setting up overall strategies and executing them, but you might not be so great at being able to turn constantly to face a slippery rogue, intent on getting a backstab in. By my count, I've had about 21 years of pvp experience, which includes all forms of pvp: DnD and other tabletop games, computerized jet fighter combat games, real life combat simulation games (such as lasertag, paintball, and SCA), all varieties of modern pvp games (quake, quake TF, unreal, cs, uo, swg, coh, etc.), and ten years of Marine Corps training and experience. I'm not saying I'm the best pvper out there. I get my butt kicked all the time. But I'm the type who can tell you exactly why I got my butt kicked. Exactly what I did wrong each time, and I often return the favor the next time around, having learned from my mistakes.

Seventh: Luck. Only the unlucky hate luck. I can't stand it. Luck is what makes one AI vs AI win 9 times out of 10, even though there's a 50/50 chance every round. Luck is what makes your gouge miss three times in a row. Luck is what gets you killed in two hits, or saves your life at the last possible second. Luck is something that cannot be calculated or relied upon. Just hope you're lucky.

Eighth: Percentiles. Some might throw this in with "luck." It doesn't belong there, because luck, by definition, cannot be improved. What can be improved is chance. We started off with the basic template of AI vs AI having the exact same stats. But what if one got a +1% to dodge item instead? Does that automatically make him win each round? Not by far. But does it change the 50/50 chance? YES. It does. By definition, it must. It might be by less than 1%, considering all the factors involved, but it's an advantage that cannot be overlooked. "Good" pvpers (or at least the wary ones) will research and implement as much as possible gear that increases those odds in that person's favor. The mere fact that someone happened to have acquired some of that gear and equipped it does not mean that player is a "good" pvper. Not by far. Gear, in itself, does not make anyone a "good" pvper. It merely gives that person a better chance that something will happen in that person's favor. This includes having stocks of potions, scrolls, and other buffs.

Ninth: Build. This came close to falling under knowledge, but I felt it needed its own category. The more you've played a particular class, and the more you've studied it, the more you will know about what talent builds are effective for you. You probably won't really find one that's best until you've reached level 60, which is why most talent guides out there are based on that level, but there are plenty of resources out there with vast amounts of information and statistics about each talent and each build. Some will say to start out with a cookie-cutter build, and go from there. Others will say just put points in what you use anyway. There's no real answer except that the best pvpers really know how not to waste these precious points on stuff they don't need or won't use. And, they use these skills all the time, with the determination to win each fight.

Tenth: Nature. You're not going to like this one, but it can't be helped. Although I'm a firm believer that everyone can become better at pvp, I'm also quite confident that not everyone can be the best at pvp. Whether or not you interpret either to mean "good" at pvp is up to you, but in every human pursuit, there are always people who are better and people who are not so better. In other words, if you've maxed out 1-9 above, and you're still not kicking pvp butt, then you might just be at your max. At least in the game you're playing. I know some people who rule in one game, and get beat miserably in another, even though the games are very similar.

This doesn't mean you should hang up your sword, though. The nice thing about WoW, as well as most MMORP games is that much combat relies on teamwork. If you've noticed, most of what I've said so far seems centered around the individual. It is. It's mostly a "how can I improve my individual pvp ability?" guide. However, there's an additional set of factors that apply to group pvp combat. Even if you're totally lousy at individual pvp, you could be one of the best team supporters ever.

Team pvp factors should start with the 1-10 above. To be a good teammate, you should know your class as much as possible. Perhaps you're not a "natural," but if you know your class and you know your teammates' classes, you're much better off. I'm not going to list the team-based factors here, but if you follow what's above, you should be able to figure it out.

There are many factors you can probably think of to add to the list, and, heck, you should mention them in the comments. But my space and time are limited, so I spouted out the first "top ten" that came to mind.

[post script: someone near and dear to me commented (unfortunately not here) that I should include "common sense" into the factors list. I partially agree. I actually think it's already there, as the ability to perform most of the factors decently. I perceive "common sense" in two ways. First, "a culmination of certain bits of helpful knowledge that the majority of people in the society in which you live possess." I think this is what most people are really talking about when they say, "Hey, boy, you ain't got no common sense!" If you lack this type of common sense, you are often deemed "out of it" by other members of society who are "in the know." It's not just straight knowledge, but a certain demeanor, and it's impossible to infuse someone with this type of common sense, but apparently it exists. In my above factors, this would be the culmination of bits of knowledge and experience from most or all of the categories in such a way that you "fit in," perhaps even better than most. I'm not sure, though, that having common sense makes someone a "good" or even "better" pvper, but lacking it certainly hurts one's chances. My second common sense definition focuses more on the "sense." It's one's ability to perceive, interpret, and act upon sensations. Yes, this refers to your "common senses" - seeing, hearing, tasting, feeling, and smelling. It's my firm belief that some people can "fake" having the first type of common sense by focusing on the second type of common sense. In other words, if you're more observant of your surroundings, and you can manifest efficient reaction to those observations, then you appear "keen," and "aware." Not bad things. This type of common sense is embodied in a combination between Physiology and Knowledge. It's really the intent or ability to be a good observer, and the link between those observations and your physical ability to act upon them. So, in essence, I'm saying that I've embedded common sense in my factors without explicitly saying so. Till now. :) ]

And that is what makes a "good" pvper.

Not Quite Caesar's Sister...

2006-02-07T14:48:00.000-05:00

I was in Western Plaguelands last night, working on grinding to level 58, and had just taken out a mob to test the xp rate. I had a few windows open and was looking at my stats (while not stealthed, doh!), when I hear that sound we all love that sounds like our necks breaking (cheapshot), and I'm like, aw, crap, I'm screwed. It turned out to be a level 60 undead rogue with full pvp gear on. I actually hit my FRAPS recorder button a few seconds into the fight, and I'll be posting the movie tonight (as soon as I get some appropriate music for it). For now, though, please enjoy the play by play of the combat log.

My guild is currently analyzing the details of the combat log in our forum. If you'd like to do the same, I challenge you to tell me what I did wrong, what I should have done, what my opponent did wrong, and what my opponent should have done. I can come up with about 3 to 5 things in each category. Let's see how many you can come up with!

[the ultimate answer is that I should not have won this fight. the other rogue underestimated me, and lost because of it]

THE VIDEO

(right click and save target/link as for best performance)

Note: since I was not anticipating an attack, I had to hit my record video button a moment or two after Octavia started attacking me (which again shows how improbable it was that I won, since I had to take the time out to hit the button!), so it doesn't start at the very beginning. Also, since the fight actually lasted less than 45 seconds, the full-speed video runs by in the blink of an eye. Therefore, I reduced it to half speed so you can see what's happening (some of it is pretty cool stuff that you don't normally get to see because things are happening in a blur in real time). Finally, I'll give you bonus props if you can name the band playing the soundtrack, and extra super bonus props if you know the name of the song.

Psyae and the Portal

2006-01-20T09:35:00.000-05:00

Ganking what is.

2006-01-11T13:00:00.000-05:00

Ganking what is.

I've been asked this question many times (in proper English), but since someone actually used the above phrase as a search parameter (really!), ultimately discovering my blog, I'll indulge and try to answer it, and perhaps embellish a bit.

First of all, perhaps a bit of history.

In traditional role playing games, it was rare that players ever actually killed each other. The goal was to work together in nearly every situation to accomplish the task the dungeon/game master set forth. Killing your cleric was probably not a good idea, even if you really didn't like the cleric.

On the other hand, there evolved games that were pure player versus player competition, such as Warhammer. The entire game was designed like a giant Stratego or Chess board. There was very little content other than pure war.

Eventually, these concepts merged, albeit clumsily. One of the first graphic MMOGs was Ultima Online. It took place in a fantasy world with plenty of individual and group questing to satisfy the classic DnDers. However, it added a component that distracted and discouraged many players. It was the ability for players to kill other players. UO limited a player's ability to kill within the borders of a city (supernaturally speedy guards destroyed anyone trying to kill another player within the borders), but left the huge expanse of land outside the cities to the brigands. Since most people when UO came out were playing on various low-speed dial-up connections, the latency issue added to the mess when groups of players combined forces with the sole purpose of killing everyone not in their group.

UO and the players tagged these types, and anyone else who killed another player, as "player killers" (PK, PKs, PKers, and other variations, for short).

When a player ventured out of town, as was essential to get anything done, and gets killed by such players, that player had been "PKd." I know many players who abandoned UO entirely because of the rampant PKing.

One could argue all day whether PKing was "right" or "wrong," but at that time, most UO players would likely say that, at minimum, the PKing there was unbalanced and it detracted from the joy of gameplay. Especially when dying had dire consequences: loss of experience, loss of items, loss of questing/gathering time, etc.

Regardless of the ethical implications of player killing, it was widely held that the term "PK" brought negative connotations. Not surprisingly, some players were even proud to wear the PK tag. It was a sign that they were aggressive and were always up to a challenge (as long as they had a distinct advantage).

Thus, PKers were often of higher levels, or sufficiently protected within PK groups before heading out on killing sprees. However, when an individual player of an even or lower level tried to kill another player, the PK term wasn't as often applied. Perhaps "idiot" was more commonly used. So, it seemed that from an early point, there was a fundamental PK quality of "having a distinct advantage."

Here is how Wikipedia currently defines Player Killing:

Player killing, or PKing, is nonconsensual and usually random. An aggressor attacks an opponent without agreement to any set of rules of engagement or combat. This can include raiding spawns, camping towns, and any other action which constitutes griefing another party. It also can be applied to group versus group, or GvG, combat where one group has an advantage usually due to larger in number. In Ultima Online, before the release of the Renaissance expansion which added a Trammel facet where PvP was not allowed, a rift formed of those who enjoyed PKing and the Anti-PKs, who do not and protected Trammies.

Now we've entered the age of "ganking." According to Wikipedia, ganking is ...

used in relation to Player vs. Player games where a group of 2 or more people gang up and kill another player, especially if they have an unfair advantage over the person being killed, and is an abbreviation for Gang Kill. Popularised by the MMORPG World of Warcraft, it is now often used in any situation where the person being killed is at a significant disadvantage to the person killing, as in "That horde just ganked me!".

Like many terms, "ganking" has become universally overused, and has lost much of the fundamental definition. If, in fact, it is short for "gang kill," it literally does not apply to those times players are killed by individuals, regardless of the level difference. The concept, however, is the same. When a level 40 player kills a level 15 player, it's equivalent to a "gang" of level 15 players killing that lone level 15.

Some players have narrowed the definition by requiring that it apply only to certain situations. For instance, if the situation is apparently even (like two level 20s meeting on even ground with no assistance, and no distractions), despite the fact that one player will win, it is not a "gank." However, when a player waits till a target player has lowered health while fighting computer AI mobs, and then kills, many will call that a "gank," even if the ganker killed multiple targets.

Regardless of its "proper" usage, "ganking" is always used as a derogatory term, even if proudly used by one's self. For instance, I've heard players attest to a ganking thus: "Ah, man, I just ganked a whole party of grey horde!" Meaning that the player, being at least ten levels higher than the horde party, attacked and killed the horde party, most likely when the party was otherwise occupied fighting mobs. Although bragging, the player likely understands that what was done was generally thought of as negative, at least by the targeted players.

However, what players in WoW have been bred to understand is that regardless of what the opposing faction does, it must be wrong because they're on the other side of the wall. Whereas anything one does against the opposing faction must be justified, merely because of the existence of the opposing faction. This dynamic has quietly revolutionized MMOG gaming and offered up a new definition without a suitable term. The definition is: acceptable ganking from the perspective of one's own faction, but unacceptable from the opposing faction.

Of course, there are those who would disagree that "ganking" an opposing faction member is ever justified. There are guilds that enforce no ganking rules, and rules that prohibit killing any opposing faction member below a certain relative level. How, then, can we define the phenomenon whereby in general, a faction (not merely a "PKing" guild) feels justified performing the equivalent action as defined by "ganking" merely because it is performing it against an opposing faction, and, at the same time, feels that it violates some fundamental or ethical principle for the opposing faction to return the favor in kind?

I challenge anyone to re-define this phenomenon more accurately, if necessary, and to coin a new term for it.

ESA Suit

2006-01-10T12:18:00.000-05:00

Dmitri Williams on Terra Nova was an expert witness on the ESA v. Blagojevich case. I'll let you read all about it there, but it's quite interesting. I commented with a question: Was Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich planning on appealing the ruling? I guess I was being lazy because this is something I have the capacity to research myself. News agencies reported, after the initial ruling, that the Governor did plan on appealing. However, I don't take the media all that seriously. So, I did my own bit of research, and discovered that, indeed, the Governor has already filed an appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. I located the docket and posted the summary on Terra Nova, but I felt the full docket should be shown. Yes, it's publicly available information. However, I did have to pay for the service that allowed me to search for and save the information. I plan on checking the status of the case every few weeks and updating this post accordingly. Enjoy! (Thanks, Dmitri!)

****************************************

US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
Case Summary
Court of Appeals Docket #: 06-1012 Filed: 1/3/06
Nsuit: 3950 Constitutnlty. St Stat-Fed Que
Entertainment Softwa, et al v. Blagojevich, Rod
Appeal from: United States District Court

Lower court information:
District: 0752-1 : 05 C 4265
Ordering Judge: Matthew F. Kennelly, Judge

1/3/06 Private civil case docketed. [06-1012] [1939591-1]
Transcript information sheet due 1/13/06. Appellant's brief
due 2/13/06 for Rod R. Blagojevich. (hudk) [06-1012]

1/3/06 Filed Appellant Rod R. Blagojevich docketing statement.
[06-1012] [1939595-1] (hudk) [06-1012]

1/3/06 [06-1012] ROA from No. Dist. of Il., E. Div. due 1/24/06.
(hudk) [06-1012]

1/11/06 ORDER: The court orders these appeals CONSOLIDATED for
purposes of briefing and disposition: [1940452-1] DW
[06-1012, 06-1029] Appellant's brief due 2/13/06 for Rod R.
Blagojevich in 06-1012, for Lisa Madigan in 06-1029
Appellee's brief due 3/15/06 for IL Retail Merchants in
06-1012, for Video Software Deale in 06-1012, for
Entertainment Softwa in 06-1012, for IL Retail Merchants in
06-1029, for Video Software Deale in 06-1029, for
Entertainment Softwa in 06-1029. Appellant's reply brief
due 3/29/06 for Rod R. Blagojevich in 06-1012, for Lisa
Madigan in 06-1029. (See order for further details.) (kell)
[06-1012 06-1029]

Search Results Responses!

2006-01-03T13:31:00.000-05:00

Some new search terms used to find my site, and my responses:

My absolute favorite so far:

-nasty shows that come on 713 tonight

*no joke, this was a real search that somehow led to my site... sigh

-two guilds sharing chat wow

*Two ways I know to do this. You can create your own chat channel, and even password it. You can also create an entirely new chat window just for that duel chat (to keep it separate from your normal chat). In the alternative, you can use a voice chat program like Ventrilo or Teamspeak. However, be wary that most of those services limit the total number of users at any one time.

-party mod damage readout spell

*Not sure what the "spell" is, but I use CT_Mod, and the additional CT_Raid mod that both work very well at keeping track of raid group member damage. Since you said "readout," I imagine you were looking for more, and there are plenty of damage recording mods out there to choose from.

-why jump when attacking in wow

*Hah, interesting question that my friends and I comment on sometimes. I've seen plenty a mage, rogue, or other class jump around like mad either because they've had too much Jolt soda, or they think it's actually effective at pvp. It certainly is effective against players who use their keyboard keys to rotate, but otherwise, I believe it's just rather annoying. Of course, the alternative is the hunter's Jump Shot.

-tactics paladin vs rogue

*I've had some run-ins with paladins, and the best way to handle them is a combination of kicking and kiting. Paladins are less susceptible to poisons, but I use double crippling anyway. My goal is to reduce the paladin's mana by quickly reducing the paladin's health, and making the paladin burn off all her cooldown shields. Most importantly, once the pally hits a shield, get out of dodge! Literally run the other way and keep out of the aoe radius until the shield wears off. It's likely you'll be able to re-stealth, and open upon the pally as if you just started the fight but with the pally at half mana or less. Especially if you've taken the time to bandage while the pally is shielded and self-healing. For especially good paladins, you'll likely have to pop a few cooldowns, yourself, but don't pop a vanish within aoe radius, or you'll have wasted it. Paladins can hit aoe the second they hear the vanish sound.
*(oops, just realized this searcher was probably looking for a strategy for paladins to beat rogues! Response: hah! It'll never happen! Just kidding. I suggest finding a paladin-specific blog (there's one on my links list) or forum. And, maybe begging a rogue to let you kill her?)

-w5g fl + @g mo + ds au + to fl + ag pic + kup
(editing it so that people won't come to my site looking for the actual mod)

*This is obviously an exploit, and, unfortunately, it's been a common search that results in hits to my site. I do not at all support or pursue exploits of any kind, and I quickly report anyone I suspect of using one (with good evidence). Exploits ruin games. Period. They destroy economies and unbalance the fairness of the game world. It's hard enough with damn shamans running around. Why add to the chaos by exploitation?

-king of stormwind

*The bastard who crashed TN this weekend.

Your Search Results...

2005-12-23T10:14:00.000-05:00

On this blog, I use something called Sitemeter, which can tell me which links referred to this site. Most of the links I'm familiar with, and many times I will click a link to discover another WoW or game-related blog. It's a great opportunity for me to see who is reading this blog and perhaps what they might be interested in reading in the future, especially since I get more readers than commenters (and I can't read minds!).

What I get on a fairly regular basis, though, are search parameters on Yahoo, Google, blog search engines, and others. Most are obvious, "rogue + tactics." But many are humorous. My goal is to post the ones I find interesting, and keep it regularly updated. My other goal is to try to discern what the seeker was looking for, and perhaps adding to my list of future posts something addressing that issue. (In other words, these searchers will be brainstorming ideas for me).

I sound so cheap!

Anyway, I'm going to try to put the list in the right hand column in the near future, but will keep them here for now. Enjoy!

Search terms:

wow heck

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What's Your Poison?

2005-12-22T16:43:00.000-05:00

Recently, a guildmate and old friend of mine who recently rolled up a rogue and is now quickly leveling asked me what poisons I prefer on my weapons. He mentioned that sometimes he uses wounding poison to reduce opponent healing. I responded:

Up till recently, I always used instant poison on one weapon and crippling on the other. Actually, I still use that for pve.

Pvp, I now use double crippling. I hate the last second healing saves, too, but moreso I hate it when my target slows ME down and I can't slow my target down because they resist my poison (or my poison doesn't proc quickly enough). In BG, any type, it's vital to slow them down, for your sake and the sake of your comrades. It can also give you another route of escape. (hit them till crip procs, then gouge, then run away!... when gouge ends, they're still crippled, and chances are, you'll be long gone and maybe even get an opportunity to re-stealth before they get to you).

My friend also mentioned deadly poison. What most rogues will tell you is that using deadly poison actually works against most rogues because it will interrupt certain stuns (like gouge). Sure, some rogues use gouge just for the split second break it affords (I've saved teammate lives by gouging, giving that one tick of a second so a heal can finish), but most use it 1v1 and either bandage, re-stealth, escape, or use that few seconds to our great advantage. Deadly poison is a d.o.t. (damage over time) and ruins that. About the best thing it can be used for is against other rogues, since it will interrupt stealth. However, in battlegrounds and most pvp situations, other factors tend to be more important, like slowing your opponent down.

When I'm escorting lower level guildmates through lower level instances, I usually double up on instant poison to max out my dps. Depending on the instance and the level difference, I might coat one weapon with crippling just to keep the runners in check.

Arathi Basin Notes #2

2005-12-20T13:32:00.000-05:00

I have some observations about my multiple AB runs last night. [Ed. note: although the events took place a few weeks ago, they mirror just about every series of AB runs I've been on, so applies perpetually]

On two occassions, we lost by a slim margin, due specifically to overreaching.

One of the most important things an AB leader needs is flexibility. Just having one set plan and enough players following that plan is often sufficient. However, when the plan is interrupted by an overwhelming force of opponents, the leader needs to quickly amend the plan, and bark orders accordingly.

For example, if the plan is to take the stables, mines, and mill, and hold, but the alliance mill raiding party is taken by surprise by a superior number of horde at the mill, the alliance leader should (knowing the number of those horde) order a tactical retreat, regroup, and perhaps assault another base (farm, blacksmith) based on information provided by those who can scout those areas.

Back to overreaching. Often, both forces are just about equal, and each side toggles between holding two and three bases. In many of these cases, it's vitally important to defend what bases are held. The horde holding three bases to our two is not pretty, but the horde holding three bases and assaulting one of our only two is devastating. This happened a few times last night, but not because of the horde's superior or outnumbering forces. It happened because of individual overreaching.

There are two types of overreaching. Individual and group. Group overreaching is when a leader makes the decision to attack a fourth base when possessing three. Individual overreaching is when a roving band of independents decides to attack on its own.

Group overreaching sometimes nets an extra base, but mostly results in the loss of one currently possessed. The net result is a loss. This is because the game does not rely on the number of bases you hold at any one time, but instead how long you hold onto those bases. A tradeoff (lose one base, win another) is necessarily a loss because it takes an entire minute to fully cap. During the first base's conflict time and the new base's down time, the team is not gaining any resources from either base. Whereas, if the team had merely held the base it possessed with good defense, there would be an uninterrupted flow of resources.

Obviously there are times when taking another base is strategically optimal. for instance, if it's determined that an overwhelming number of horde are desperately trying to capture an already held base, the alliance team can just shift focus, grab the most undefended horde base, and not suffer heavy losses.

The one thing I heard most in those games, and the one thing I know that killed any chances of our winning was the report that this "roving band of adventurers" (usually about 2-5 players spread all over the map) repeatedly gave. Throughout the game, they were rarely near any of our held bases. They were hopping all over the place, looking for horde weak points. This is FINE, if that's part of the plan or a decision made based on a reasonable belief that the horde had major weak spots.

But here was the report: "Blacksmith only has 5 horde guarding it!" What this means is that one of the roving band believes it's strategically sound to move our current base defenders forward to attack a currently held horde base, defended by 5 horde (that they can see). What ends up happening is that the roving band thinks it's sufficient to take the base on its own, and fails to do so in the most miserable fashion.

At the same time that that roving band is getting slaughtered, our undefended stables get taken, and the horde mount a massive assault on the mill while a few other horde pester our mill defenses.

Net result? We end up with one base. Horde ends up with 3-4.

What this roving adventurer fails to realize is that 5 horde at one horde-held base equals 10 horde somewhere else. If you don't know where those other 10 horde are, you'd be foolish to risk losing your currently possessed bases in order to try to gain a fairly well defended horde base. Just think about the roving band of HORDE adventurers: "Hey, the stables have... uh... no defenders! Let's nab it and move on.".... "Holy crud, not only did we just totally get the stables for free, but there are like only 2 guys at the mines, and one of them looks like he's running away somewhere else!" NAB. "What, they're mounting an assault on our well-defended base? Let's distract them by attacking the mill! Everyone to the mill!"

That's an awful scenario. The second time I found myself leading our raid group, we captured and held the stables, mines, and mill within moments, and were definitely pulling ahead in points. However, there was a group of 3-4 of us just randomly wandering around, giving reports like I said before, and acting totally on their own initiative, getting killed quickly by horde defense, and roaming again. At the same time, everyone I asked to stay at the stables ignored me, and ran to the mill (where there were already 5-6 of us) or to wander on their own. The mines were underdefended, and some of the stable defenders ran to the mines. Leaving... zero people at the stables! I even asked people BY NAME to stay at the stables. I indicated repeatedly that we needed at least three defenders on each base, and THEN the rest could toggle offense/defense based on the situation. No one wanted to defend the stables.

I can't count the number of times the stables got ninjad. What's that, you ask? It's when one or two players sneak up and snag the flag without any or with little opposition. It's a win/win situation for any side that can ninja a flag successfully because it interrupts resource flow, and causes the opponent unnecessarily to reinforce that base with defenders.

Sometimes a ninja can turn into a win. I ninjad the mill last night (different game) when it was totally surrounded by horde. I figured, what the heck, at least I interrupted the flow. They came runnin after me (because I was purposefully leading them away from the flag), and I died with all of them pounding on me at the bottom of the hill. This was surprisingly more successful that I had imagined because another alliance team was mounting an attack on the mill from the other side, and since the flag was in contest, the horde couldn't respawn there. By the time I rezzed and got back, we were in full possession of the mill, defending it well.

Speaking of defending. I have learned to LOVE defending. I think it may be the new offense! Hah. My favorite places to defend are the stables and mill. And I consider myself pretty good at both. By myself and sometimes with another rogue, I successfully defended the stables against about 10-15 ninja attacks, and some duo attacks. This didn't take much effort at all. I mostly just stood there, hidden in the nearby bushes, waiting. However, my abilities allowed the leader to focus other people on offensive raids. (Like I said, flexibility!)

Stables are pretty straightforward. Not much terrain to deal with. The mill is a different story, and most people defend it rather shoddily. The absolute worst thing I see people do is rush from a well-defended, terrain superior position at the top of the hill (facing the farm) down to the bottom to intercept horde raiders. This is a total waste of defense resources, for one, and it's also a great danger to the mill flag.

It prompts others who would normally have stayed at the top of the hill to go "rescue" the over-impulsive defender at the bottom, and soon few if any are left on the plateau at the top. This allows a druid or rogue to sneak up and ninja the flag. Once that flag is tapped, folks, all the defenders dying at the bottom of the hill cannot rez at the mill! It's vitally important to keep that flag from being tapped. Just as important as when you are raiding a base, and need to tap the horde flag to insure no horde can spawn there.

I use that tactic myself all the time. When a good number of people are with me on a mill raid, I stealth when I get to the top and ignore all the fighting, I'm sure much to the dismay of my teammates. But they don't realize that I'm actually increasing the chances of a victorious capture. While everyone is occupied on the ramp up to the hill, the mill horde defense rushes to the edge of the hill to attack the raiding alliance. Maybe one stays behind for a second or two to check out the flag to make sure it's not getting ninja'd (most players are so impulsive, the very moment they get to the flag, they tap it. you should wait if the situation warrants it so you don't have to fight (ask Seq about the waiting game)), then the impatient horde runs to help his teammates "defend." Only seconds have elapsed, so it's unlikely any have actually died on the ramp yet. I look, I make sure I'm free (and I use the flag itself to block the horde view of my name floating above my head), and I tag it. I rarely get interrupted, and if I do, it's usually only by one horde, and that quick skirmish usually ends up in my favor.

Once I tag that flag, the horde loses all its rez defense for the mill. That means every horde we end up killing on that ramp must rez somewhere else! I rush to the edge, and help finish off the horde, knowing the horde won't suddenly appear at my back.

This is an awesome tactic. TAG that flag, and make them work to defend it!

Back to defense. Imagine the situation is the same, but the sides are switched. You're defending the mill flag, but you don't have anyone AT the flag. It only takes 10 seconds, and BAM, you just lost it. The reason I stand at the top edge of the ramp isn't necessarily to intercept raiders. It's to determine when the mill is being raided, by how many, what levels, and what classes. I then can pick my personal target and indicate to the other defenders what that target is. By the time the raiders get to the top, we're ready for them. We can start attacking them at the top edge, but it's vitally important to slowly guide it to the area of the flag.

I've defended the farm flag against a horde raid group because every single one of them was trying to tap the flag (a good idea in general), and I kept hitting them each in succession. I don't care if all I need to kill that ONE horde is hit him three more times. If the OTHER horde tapping the flag succeeds, I've just lost all my defense on that base AND potentially interrupted resources (depending on the state of the flag). Worst case scenario is when the horde are trying to "defend" that flag because we tapped it, and all they have to do is re-tap it to get rez privileges at that base.

Now I can "sum up."

Generally:

-follow the plan

-listen to the leader (even if the leader is "wrong", you'll still likely do better than roaming around)

-don't roam around unless that's your job

-defense is a good offense when you're playing the resource game

-defend your "flag", not the entire map (don't rush out of the range of your fellow defenders or they just might stand there and watch you die)

-play for the win, not for HK

-communicate what you observe so that the leader can make informed decisions (you say "5 horde attacking mill", buddy says "5 horde defending farm", guy at mines says "3 horde attacking mines" - leader knows only 2 horde at max are defending blacksmith, and it might make a decent target)

-although you can report observations, don't make your own strategic decisions, that's for the leader

-although you don't make strategic decisions, you DO make tactical decisions based on your assigned task (i.e., you don't initiate a raid on another base if your task is to defend mill, but you can make decisions about where your party should be placed at the mill, what raiders should be attacked in what order, etc.)

Arathi Basin Notes

2005-12-19T11:55:00.000-05:00

In AB, there are two main strategies that seem to work:

1) capture and hold 3 bases

2) capture and hold 3 bases, then make offensive strikes to take the weaker of the remaining two, lose it, then take the other, lose it; rinse, repeat

Although #2 might seem silly, both methods are viable, depending on your overall raid group makeup, and more specifically your small team makeup. Most AB groups go with the default 5/5/5, with each team loosely assigned to go cap and defend a base. Two or three usually end up defending while the others go run off to find their personal fortunes elsewhere (often dying quickly as a result).

Theoretically, if you can cap and hold 3 bases the entire game, you will win, albeit slowly. Assuming you have five fairly strong players on each base, and the horde can't organize a full assault, you can generally hold out. If the horde do launch a full assault, that leaves their other base open, and you can just move your newly dead there, and wait again for the next assault.

So, there are two main arguments that I see people yelling about in /raid while this is being attempted. One is, "no one move from your base, total D on three, and we win, don't go try capping other bases!" The other is, "yes, we need to hold, but we also need to keep the horde on D on the bases they have now so they can't mount a full assault!" Of course, I cleaned up the arguments a bit.

Both, perhaps surprisingly, are right! But if you were the leader, which one would you do? (assuming anyone would listen to you). Well, that's where a guild raid comes in handy. You know your group's strengths and weaknesses, and you can assess the strength of the opponent. Based on how easily you've been holding the three bases, you should be able to determine whether you can afford to take people off of defense to mount small assaults to keep the horde on defense.

I don't know how many times during those games that I was either assaulting or defending the blacksmith (take the blacksmith, it's worth it!) and just watched 4-5 horde standing, unmoving, at the farm flag. They weren't moving because if they did, and they came to help their comrades try to take the blacksmith or the mill, they knew that one of us would sneak back and ninja their flag while we mounted a small assault at their front door. This, I'm thinking, is great! I have a guaranteed minus four horde trying to pound me!

Enough of that.

On to tactics. (strategy = big picture, tactics = small picture)

Take a guess, if you dare, what I shout about most to the people who play nearby me?

Go on, guess.

No, it's not "HEAL ME!"

Ah, "Morons!" is a good guess, but that's not it.

Ah, finally, you got it. It's "KILL THE PRIEST!!!!"

Every skirmish I get in, everyone does what they always do. They attack the warrior first, then the rogues, then the shamans, then maybe the druids, and then the priests. Oh, but wait. By the time they get the warrior to half health, we're all dead. Because the warrior has like 3-4 totally untouched healers! Arrgh!

The horde has the same damn problem! Hah! As soon as I got with a healer that actually saw me as an asset that shouldn't be left to die immediately upon horde attacking (rare!), just a handful of us decimated every single horde attempt to retake the farm and the blacksmith. The farm was my favorite. There were horde swarming us. Every single one of them was trying to tap the flag. Every time someone tapped it, I tapped them. I did the unroguely thing by switching targets just so I could get all the horde near the flag interrupted. When I interrupted them, they figured they needed to get rid of me first. So, instead of tapping the flag again, they went 1v1 with me. GOOD!

Why was this good? They totally ignored the druid who "found" me and kept me from dying. End result? None could even come close to matching my DPS, so all I did was focus on one, whack him till he was dead, then the next, then the next, all the while staying barely alive thanks to the druid. I didn't have to think about running away, or how I hadn't had a healing potion in days, or anything. I was totally uninterrupted, and nothing survived.

Why did this happen?

No one attacked the druid! Hah! See, the moment a horde puts the heat on my healer, I'm SOL. I would have taken down one or two of them, but then I'd be done unless I could get to the druid and protect him. Surrounded by horde, that would be difficult.

We just need to reverse this mentality and totally focus on eliminating healers.

There was one undead priest in a few of the games I kept hunting. She should have died about 20 times by my hands alone. However, every single ally around me totally ignored the priest and concentrated on every single other horde.

Okay, given the choice, do you fight a druid in bear form or a priest? A shaman in lion form or a priest? A shaman in lion form or a shaman in humanoid form? A shapechanged druid or humanoid druid? A shapechanged druid or a priest? Pick any combination, and your answer should always be the same (with some exceptions).

You take out the humanoid healers first. Priests first, druids second, shamans third. Priest are 100% healers, and have the mana to do so AND protect themselves, but they cannot withstand a bashing by 2-3 melee classes. Once they're out of the way, at least one of the shapechanging classes will have to convert back to humanoid in order to do any healing. Ones that are already in humanoid form are there for one of two reasons 1: crowd control or 2: healing. If a druid or shaman shifts back to humanoid, what do you think they're about to do? Ever duel a druid? Yeah, HEAL. Either themselves or an ally. Take out the humanoid druids first. They're surprisingly soft. Shaman are a bit meatier, but they heal a lot less than druids. Take them out next.

In a skirmish, I've literally ignored one warrior, one shaman, and one druid who were all trying to pound on me just to get a priest. Since that time I actually had some support, I took down the priest. Then the druid, then the shaman, then the warrior. Since priests love to run away, the warrior had a hard time landing shots on me and couldn't build up enough rage to make a difference, and the other classes just couldn't keep up with the druid that was healing me and my dodges. What we ended up with was a tank. And my gear sucks, too! hah

What would have happened had the warrior, shaman, and druid ignored me and gone after my healer? We'd all be dead and we probably wouldn't have even gotten the priest.

So, it's not as if my tactics were perfect, but they took advantage of the horde doing the same thing wrong that we always do.

Remember: Healers first.
Then semi-healers.
Then soft targets.
Then hard targets.

On my oldest server, there was this tauren warrior who became the most notorious on the server. He was very good at pvp on his own, but he also attracted a following. He got to the point where he had a 4-10 priest escort everywhere he went. Entire parties of equal level alliance were slaughtered just by him and his priestly following. The priests all had assigned themselves duties within their group, so that they weren't double-healing each other or wasting mana otherwise, but each priest had another priest to watch out for. Basically, if you saw this guy, you ran. And ran, and ran. I don't know anyone who didn't hate him.

Dunno where that was going. But shows the relationship between melee classes and priests, and the importance to cut that link quickly.

***

Oh, one other tactical thing:

Sometimes I rez and then run to the "happening" scene and there's a skirmish going on. Before I get even close to anyone, I've targeted all the horde in the skirmish. I'm looking for:
-healers
-anyone 30% or lower in health

If I see a healer, I determine whether that healer is in an actively healing capacity in the skirmish. Then I determine whether anyone has engaged the healer. If no one has, then that healer is the most dangerous enemy in that skirmish, and that's my target. Even if I don't kill the healer, I've perhaps saved my teammates a few seconds and given them the opportunity to finish off their quarries without the enemy being fully healed all of a sudden. Then they can come help me finish off the healer.

If the healer is preoccupied already, I look for a target with low health. (or even a low-level target). These I can usually take out with just a few hits, no matter what their class, as long as they don't have a supporting healer. So, if I've determined they're not going to be healed, I jump right in and finish them off.

Am I breaking my earlier rule about healers first? No. Modifying it, perhaps, but the rule of take out the "weakest" comes into play, since even the weakest do full damage. If I'm sure I can take out a weaker opponent, I will do so quickly so my teammates can get some relief and focus on the other opponents. Remember, I only do this if I can either kill in one hit, or if the enemy healer is fully preoccupied and won't be able to heal anyone.

Ring Around the Rosie

2005-12-06T11:37:00.000-05:00

Back when I used to play a dagger rogue (before I learned "the way"), I incorporated a tactic I learned from watching undead rogues kill me and my friends. I'm not sure what term is used for this tactic, so for now I'll just call it "ring around the rosie."
The method is simple to conceive, but for some, difficult to apply. The rogue literally runs circles around the opponent, facing the opponent the entire time.

Let me create a crude graphic to demonstrate.

...*.*.*.*.*
..*........*
.*..........*
*.....X.....*
.*..........*
..*........*
...*.*.*.*.*

Okay, that's sufficiently crude. The X is the opponent, and the asterices represent the path of the rogue. Remember, always facing X. Using a mouse and keyboard combination, assuming the rogue is going clockwise, requires a constant "turn" to the right while holding down the left sidestep button (default A). All the while, the rogue needs to be hitting appropriate attack keys. Sequoia's rogue mod allows him to hit only one attack key, but potentially execute two or more different attacks, depending on whether cooldowns are over, or other circumstances are allowing. That mod would be very helpful here, because keeping along the circular track requires a bit of adjustment (requiring more key taps), especially if the opponent is moving.

The object of this tactic is twofold. First, it allows a rogue to have a greater opportunity to hit with backstab. As rogues find out early on, pve mobs almost never turn their backs on players after being aggroed. So, getting behind a pve mob is somewhat of a challenge, but facilitated by using gouge, kidney shot, distract, or other tricks. PVP, on the other hand, requires players to track (turn to face) targets on their own (for the most part). This opens up a great opportunity to get behind opponents. I wrote a comment on Terra Nova's blog about this:

Quote:
There are a suprising number of WoW players who, for whatever reason (new to PVP games, laptops, etc.) do not use the keyboard/mouse combination to move about, or are just very inexperienced at it. In dueling and PVP combat, I have used this to my advantage in many situations, and my ability to run straight through my opponent has been a key factor in my tactics. I will often engage my opponent, run through, and quickly 180 so that I can fight facing my opponent's back. These players have a tough time turning around to face me, and by the time they do, I've already gone through them again, forcing them to start rotating the other direction. Attacking one's backside has numerous advantages: for a rogue, it's obvious, and for everyone else, melee attacks can't be blocked or parried from behind. In addition, when I attack casters, I often interrupt spells that require line of sight by quickly stepping through the caster at the last second. There are also advantages I've used against PVE mobs related to lack of CD.

Besides all the potential (inevitable) griefing, if WoW were to implement CD, most of these combat tactics would not be usable. Of course, I'm not advocating one way or the other. I'm merely saying that it does detract from the realism of close combat.

Another similar issue is the ability of some types of spells and projectiles to ignore certain objects in the game such as trees, walls, mounds of dirt, etc., and how some have taken advantage of these tricks to the point where they're considered bugs or exploits in the game.

**

The blog topic was concerning the tangibility of objects in WoW and other games (i.e., the ability or inability for players to "touch" or block each other physically).

The second reason for using this tactic is to create confusion and make the rogue harder to hit. Running around in circles requires an opponent to spin around in circles (or at least root the rogue in place) just to be able to hit the rogue.

I haven't used that tactic in real combat for a long time, but tried it out last night in WSG. The reason I tried it out was because I was getting my butt kicked, and needed to figure out why. Thus, I used the time-honored method of troubleshooting. I'll skip my methodology for now, but I had determined that my combat rogue tactic of just standing there, and occasionally sidestepping behind my opponent was not effective enough when I'm literally surrounded by horde. I needed to increase my lifespan so that I could at least bring down one or two of the vile things before I fell. You'll find that, perhaps to conserve mana, many casters will default to melee when in close encounters. I was fighting against shamans, mages, rogues, warriors, druids, and priests all at the same time.

As you know, I tend to focus first on healers. This distracts at least one caster, then, but leaves a lot of melee hunting me. I found that if I just stood there, not moving much, I didn't last very long. The warriors could just stand there and pound on me, and the rest had an easy time targeting me and pounding on me. So, I started running the circle. And, surprise, it was effective! And I don't even use daggers!

What happened is that my target was, as predicted, confused, and had a great deal of trouble facing me. This already saved my health a great deal of turmoil. In addition, anyone wanting to pound on me had to run around, trying to hit me. Since I consider myself very good at running this circle, it gave those without that experience a bit of trouble, and they were often too far behind or on the other side of the circle, and it probably reduced the number of hits I took by 1/3 to 1/2. In BG, that's impressive, and prolonged my life significantly.

Now, I can't say it's very effective in all situations, so I won't. You must know when it's appropriate, and when it's inefficient. But that's part intuition and mostly experience. I suggest to all rogues out there, and even other melee classes, give it a try and see how it works. If you don't like it, keep doing it till you're decent at it before giving up on it. It may come in handy. It's also good in dueling, especially if you're playing against a hybrid melee/caster like a druid.

Needless to say, I came out in the top 3 of the scoresheets anyway, once getting 110 HK and highest among both alliance and horde, although the horde won. So, I must be doing something right!

Praise from Van Hemlock

2005-11-16T10:48:00.000-05:00

Lately, I've been busy as one of the leaders of Pathos Hammer on Twisting Nether, along with Tomas and Elzandra. I've also been co-writing on Tomas' blogsite, rofkahr.com. Thus from what little attention I retain from having devoted time to that as well as my WoW time, I've lacked the opportunity to provide regular updates to WoW Et Cetera, much to the dismay, I'm sure, of my regular readers.

However, it's nice to know that someone out there not only appreciates my dedication, but also advertises for me! (for free, no less!) Can't beat that with a stick! Maybe a mace. But not a stick.

Van Hemlock (see link to right) recently "introduced" his list of "Monster-Hunters," among them is Psyae's WoW Et Cetera. Here's what he had to say about this blog:

Psyae’s WoW Et Cetera: A long running World of Warcraft blog run by Psyae who, like Aggro Me, often opens her scope out well beyond the mere game itself. Some fascinating article-type posts there, in an accessible style that doesn’t require two years of prior WoW experience to appreciate.

Thanks, Van Hemlock!

I believe in an earlier post here, I introduced his site, and actually referred to it on some posts at rofkahr.com. I'll just briefly say, though, that I enjoy his site and look forward to his fairly frequent updates about his goings on in the virtual world. Recently, he's been experimenting with Second Life, a virtual world somewhat Sims-like, but with much more flexibility. Van Hemlock has some coding background, I believe, and he's been taking it slowly. Although I've considered venturing into the Second Life world, my lack of extensive coding experience has given me pause. I think at this point, I prefer to read Van Hemlock's account of his experiences there.

Again, thanks for the plug!

[look forward to an upcoming article on the pangs of starting and maintaining a guild in WoW]

Quake CTF vs WoW

2005-11-04T09:21:00.000-05:00

Back in the day, I primarily played a sniper in Quake CTF (Capture the Flag). I played it like a rogue with a one-shot, one-kill distance weapon. In CTF, as a sniper, you had to use the shadows, nooks, and crannies for your hiding spots so that you could take out that scout speeding across the bridge to snag your flag. (or, if you were an "offensive" sniper, you'd be out on the ledge, exposed, dancing back and forth to avoid getting hit, yourself, or even invading the enemy fort).

If you've never played Quake CTF, it's a simplified version of Warsong Gulch. Just imagine you're a hunter, and while standing on the top of your base, you are within range to shoot an enemy standing on the top of the opponent's base. That's how close it was. The earliest and most basic map had two walled forts, divided by a bit of very flat earth and a "river," spanned by a short bridge. There were two access points into each fort, and they were identical on both sides. You could cross the bridge and enter one of two front doors, and then either take the middle ramp down or jump down the "elevator" shaft, then wind your way to the flag and hike back up the ramps. Or, you could take the underground tunnel, which led from basement to basement, under a fairly vast amount of water (you cross the river this way, but underneath).

This setup guaranteed fairly quick rounds and constant action. There were a few common offensive and defensive techniques, one of which was to let a single scout rush into the enemy base, snag the flag and rush out (scouts were fast... too fast!). This somewhat reminds me of letting the rogue in WSG snag the flag, grab the speed boot in the tunnel, then when that wears out, kick in sprint. (I've done that a few times).

I suppose the primary difference would be relative lifespan. In Quake CTF, it was pretty easy to kill or be killed. Scouts get taken out by snipers in one shot, but they're hard to hit. Snipers have pretty shoddy armor, and if cornered are toast. Soldiers are the hardest to kill, in respect to armor. Of course, when you die, you instantly respawn in your base, and have at it again. Dying was par for the course. It was capping and killing that led you up the scoresheets. I was decent enough a sniper that my kill tally kept me near the top of the ladder more often than not.

The Questions of the Day are, What Quake CTF Class did you primarily play, and what WoW Class do you currently play? Is there a connection? Also, which Quake classes line up the best with WoW classes?

Quake CTF Classes:
Heavy Weapons Guy
Scout
Medic
Sniper
Soldier
Pyro
Demoman
Spy
Engineer

WoW Classes:
Rogue
Mage
Priest
Warrior
Warlock
Druid
Shaman
Paladin
Hunter

Here is the info for each Quake CTF class, to help in the determination:

Scout
Special: Displays the status of each team's flag on CTF maps
Speed: Very fast
Health: 75
Armor: 50
Weapons: Single-barrel shotgun, nail gun and crowbar
Grenades: 3 caltrop canisters and 3 concussion grenades
Abilities:Disarms detpacks set by enemy demomen by touching them; Unmasks spies by touching them

Sniper
Special: Toggles the sniper rifle zoom
Speed: medium
Health: 90
Armor: 50
Weapons: Nailgun, auto rifle, sniper rifle, and crowbar
Grenades: 2 hand grenades

Soldier
Special: Reloads your currently selected weapon
Speed: Slow
Health: 100
Armor: 200
Weapons: Single-barrel shotgun, double-barrel shotgun, rocket launcher and crowbar
Grenades: 4 hand grenades and 1 nail grenade

Demoman
Special: Detonates all your pipebombs
Speed: Medium
Health: 90
Armor: 100
Weapons: Single barrel shotgun, grenade launcher, pipebomb launcher, and crowbar
Grenades: 4 hand grenades and 4 MIRV
Abilities:Can set large explosive "detpacks" to clear new entrances to enemy base

Medic
Special: Selects the medkit
Speed: Fast
Health: 90
Armor: 100
Weapons: Medikit, single-barrel shotgun, double-barrel shotgun, and super nailgun
Grenades: 3 hand grenades and 2 concussion grenades
Abilities:an heal teammates with the medikit; Can automatically heals himself over time

Heavy Weapons Guy
Special: Selects the assault cannon
Speed: Very slow
Health: 100
Armor: 300
Weapons: Single-barrel shotgun, double-barrel shotgun, assault cannon, and crowbar
Grenades: 4 hand grenades and 1 MIRV grenade
Abilities:Doesn't get blown back as much by explosions

Pyro
Special: Selects the flamethrower
Speed: Medium
Health: 100
Armor: 150
Weapons: Single-barrel shotgun, flamethrower, incendiary cannon, and crowbar
Grenades: 1 hand grenade and 4 napalm
Abilities:Wears flame retardant armor, making him impossible to set on fire

Spy
Special: Shows the disguise/feign menu
Speed: Medium
Health: 90
Armor: 100
Weapons: Tranquilizer gun, double-barrel shotgun, nailgun, and knife
Grenades: 2 hand grenades and 2 hallucination gas grenades
Abilities:Can disguise himself to look like any class, team or both; Can feign death loudly or quietly

Engineer
Special: Shows the build menu
Speed: Medium
Health: 80
Armor: 50
Weapons: Railgun, double-barrel shotgun, and wrench
Grenades: 2 hand grenades and 2 EMP grenades
Abilities:Can build automatic sentry guns; Can build ammunition and armor dispensers; Can repair teammates armor by beating them with the wrench; Can create ammunition

So, what do you think? What's the best matchup?

NiN Update

2005-11-03T10:11:00.000-05:00

Well, the concert was a smashing success.

After some band opened for 30 minutes, the Queens of the Stone Age re-opened for about an hour. Then, after a short wait, we were treated to Trent, himself. NiN played for two straight hours, with no breaks longer than 10 seconds. Trent covered nearly all of his (what 4?) albums, mostly concentrating on earlier stuff, but definitely hitting some of his "With Teeth" songs. Near the end, he incorporated a neat overhead projector movie overlay with images of animals, violent humans, and other politically charged visuals while playing some of his new presumably protest songs.

He satisfied all the NiN fans by closing with Trent's likely most well-known song, "Head Like a Hole," in which he let the clamoring audience chant the chorus, "Head like a hole, black as your soul, I'd rather die than give you control... (x2)... bow down before the one you serve, you're going to get what you deserve (x2)." For NiN fans, I don't think you could ask for a better show, unless you wanted Trent to jump into the mosh pit or something...

Nine inch gNomes?

2005-11-02T10:31:00.000-05:00

What do Trent Reznor and WoW have in common?
Not much, really. Only that my absence from WoW tonight will be excused by my attendance at the NiN concert at the Washington, D.C. MCI Center.

Envious?

I hope so.

[Actually, if you'd been paying attention the past dozen years or so, you'd know that Trent created the original Quake soundtrack and was the (original) sound engineer for Doom 3. He was also apparently fond of playing some of those games. Perhaps he's got a character on WoW! Heck, maybe I'll ask him tonight.]

Battlegrounds Tactics

2005-11-01T11:13:00.000-05:00

Check out the Battlegrounds Tactics post I started on Tomas Rofkahr's blog (in which I dutifully co-contribute).

There are some interesting comments so far, and more input is encouraged, as the battlegrounds issues are becoming increasingly popular with the advent of newer battlegrounds and lower level requirements. Have some of your own BG strategies? Feel free to share! See you on the flip side!

Thinking With Her Fingers

2005-10-31T16:51:00.000-05:00

I can't thank her on her blog for plugging mine (she recently nixed comments), but I'll return the favor by plugging her blog here.

Excerpted from her profile: Torill Mortensen, an associate professor at Volda College in Norway, has a journal-blog. Her journal discusses, among other things, media studies, reader-response theory, Multiple User Dungeons (MUDs), role-play games, academic weirdness and online communication. I'm looking forward to more of her writings. Perhaps she'll even contribute some of her own comments here!

Feel free to visit her at the link on the sidebar or at Thinking With my Fingers.

Time is Not on my side.

2005-10-23T15:35:00.000-05:00

Lately, I've been losing interest in playing WoW. I started playing during the stress test over a year ago. About the same time I was tiring of City of Heroes. I had been playing that for about a year, and was quickly becoming tired of the monotony that is CoH. Although it's interesting to make new characters and design their funky outfits, the quests are carbon copies of each other, just scaled based on level. Some of the powers are neat, like flying, super jumping, mind controlling, but also get tiring. How many times have you jumped to the top of the tallest building? How many times have you flown over an area of the city? Yawn. How many times have you seen the insides of the same warehouse, the same cave, the same... well, I think you get my point.

Unfortunately, I've found that WoW has its own mundane traps. It's the same in every game. It's the "grind." For the first few weeks, you grind levels. Then you grind for items. Grind for reputation. Grind for elite items. Grind for elite mounts. Grind for gold. Grind for sets.

The only exception to this I've seen was on a roleplaying server I joined. Many individuals and some groups there were genuinely interested in role playing. It was interesting, and gave me some hope. But when I mentioned in my newfound (now ex-) guild (on the RP server) that maybe we should get together and do some guild roleplaying, I got the same response from nearly everyone in the guild, including the leader: "Sorry, too busy leveling."

How many times have you heard that? Me? Too many.

Has the social aspect of the game been ground down to level and item grinding? If you can't help me get my set items, bugger off!

Well, this rhetoric isn't really the point of my topic. It's more of a background. It's based on opinion and point of view. Many players have an entirely different experience playing these games.

However, my true point is not opinionated. It's all based in fact, with numbers, even. It's an analysis of the number of hours I've been playing WoW (since retail), and what I could have been doing during those hours if I hadn't played online games. The time period covered is about one year. Basically since the day retail came out last November till today.

Protected Character Name (Level): /played Time [total minutes for character]

Lightning's Blade:

M1 (31): 3 days, 15 hours, 23 minutes [5243m]
M2 (1): 0 days, 15 hours, 40 minutes [940]
Y (42): 8 days, 22 hours, 29 minutes [12840]
P (60): 28 days, 21 hours, 38 minutes [41580]

Nathrezim:

A (17): 0 days, 20 hours, 0 minutes [1200]
B (6): 0 days, 16 hours, 45 minutes [1005]
P (59): 19 days, 21 hours, 29 minutes [28649]

Shadow Council:

V (3): 20 minutes [20]
A (44): 10 days, 0 hours, 48 minutes [14448]
M (4): 0 days, 2 hours, 46 minutes [166]

Twisting Nether:

A1 (10): 0 days, 8 hours, 52 minutes [532]
L (22): 1 day, 22 hours, 15 minutes [2775]
A2 (23): 1 day, 9 hours, 24 minutes [2004]

Total minutes: 111,402

Total hours: 1,856.7

Total days: 77.3625

Average daily hours: 5.09

Total number of 40 hour work weeks: 46.42

If I make $5 net per hour: $9,283.50

If I make $10 net per hour: $18,567

If I make $20 net per hour: $37,134

This shows why I'm considering quitting WoW. And maybe all RPGs.

A few main reasons. One, I could be making an extra 10 to 37 THOUSAND dollars per year. (Yeah, that's if I spent all that time working). But I do have mad skills, and can do a certain amount of freelance work.

Two, just think of what else I could be doing with all that time, and the potential benefit I could gain... tangible benefit!

That's my problem with these online games. No real benefit. Other than entertainment. I mean, for entertainment, it rocks. It's interactive, ever-changing, and obviously holds my interest. But do I really need that much entertainment?

Let's compare this entertainment to some other activities:

How many 2-hour movies could I have seen in all that time? 928
If it takes me about a week to read an average book, about two hours per day, how many books could I have read? 132
How many 1/2 hour walks through the park? 3,713
How many four-hour kayak rides? 464
How many three-hour plays could I have seen? 618
Number of foreign language courses (6 hours per week, 6 weeks) I could have taken? 51
Number of professional articles I could have written (2 hours per day for 1 month)? 30
If I averaged just $5 net per hour for working during those hours, how much extra cash would I have in my pocket right now? $9,283.50

What’s my point here? I really have to rethink my habits, my life, my choices.

Class Surplus, Personal Preference, & Peer Pressure

2005-10-21T08:54:00.000-05:00

So, I'm perusing Van Hemlock's blog, which, I might say, has some fairly amusing anecdotes, and I strongly suggest you take a look at his site (link on sidebar). Wow, run-on from hell there.

His most recent post deals with a dilemma I'm sure we've all encountered: play the "cool" and powerful class, or play the "underdog" class that's most often lacking and therefore begged for on my server?

In his situation, he truly enjoys playing his warrior, but there is an overabundance of warriors on his server, and a dreadful lack of healing classes. He loves the warrior, but feels the peer pressure to roll a priest or shaman so that he can be more useful in instances, and in greater demand.

I responded to his post thus:

You know, I've tried a handful of classes, but when it comes right down to it, there usually seems to be just one that really "fits."

My first, during pre-beta stress test, was a Night Elf Hunter. I enjoyed it while it lasted. It was a great way to explore and always have a companion. But when retail finally came out, I had to go with Warlock! Shot that little warlock all the way to 60.

But, I think ultimately, although it was nice having such range and power, it didn't suit me. I didn't feel very comfortable in my warlock outfit.

So I tried some other stuff. Found the wicked, evil Rogue.

Of course, it fit.

But having looked at the statistics, and noticing for myself the deluge of other rogues in the WoWverse, I begin to wonder if the way the class itself is built is why so many people are drawn to it. As some stats describe, the "mechanics" of Rogues are the most appealing. I wonder if that's why there are so many rogues, or if it's something about the darker, shadowy nature of the rogue, and that as a rogue, you can move around just about anywhere without being seen.

Funny how those same statistics describe rogues as one of the least exploratory classes.

Not me! I get around!

I, like you, at one time thought I should drop the rogue/DPS routine and roll a priest. My first attempt wasn't so bad, but nothing could really compare to the rush of being able to defeat an opponent quickly and efficiently. With my priest, it took forever to kill anything worthwhile, and, as the rumor goes, partying tended to be tedious, although interspersed with some exciting moments. Yes, I fell back on the rogue.

But the ultimate question: Is it me? Or is it the class?

I Eat What I Am

2005-10-19T11:59:00.000-05:00

So, I popped on as Ayæ (TN, level 20) last night for a few minutes.

The halloween decorations, though at first nice, were so repetitive and oddly placed, that they kept screwing up my video. It was nearly as choppy as landing in IF on a Saturday night.

I did think the costumes were funny, though. The moment I arrived, standing dumbfounded in the Westfall Inn, I received a party invite, and in a flash and puff of smoke, I was suddenly a human ninja! Hah! Well, that wasn't anything new, but throughout the night, I saw alliance in the guise of skeletons, skeleton raiders, ghosts, pirates, undead pirates, ninja, and many more. I also spotted a few very cool looking "flimsy" masks. My favourite was the flimsy female orc mask on a male night elf hunter.

Well, not wanting to waste my precious time on such twiddles, I quickly pickpocketed the spikey undead guard at the creepy tower in southeast Westfall, completing the poison quest I started a week ago.

Made my way to Darkshire, where I gathered all of the quests I could to begin my Duskwood circuit (where I basically start at level 20 and run circles around Duskwood, performing and turning in quests so efficiently that by the time I'm done, I can get 5 levels in one night). I've done this with at least three other characters, so it was like *autorun* and sit back to wait for me to get back to Raven Hill. A long run.

However, this time turned out a bit different. Within a few hundred long strides of my departure from Darkshire, BAM! Before I could blink, two level 30 undead rogues came out of nowhere and had their way with me. As I collapsed to the ground in painful death, they faded back into the shadows.

Although this made me angry, I did respect the fact that they didn't taunt me afterwards, laugh, or make other rude gestures. As a rogue, myself, I only use those for enemies that have done something to deserve it.

Fortunately, by the time I got back to my corpse, a great number of alliance had arrived, scouring the land for the rogues. Amazingly, the rogues were spotted, and chased down (I was in the pack, but couldn't manage to land a blow). And eventually the rogues fell.

So, why do I bring this up?

Many a day ago (over a year, actually), I began my retail life as a lowly warlock, trying to make my way through this wonderous land. If anyone at all is a sneaky rogue's dream, it's a solo warlock. This same situation had ended my poor warlock's life more times than I could possibly count.

So, naturally, I wanted some revenge. I made a human rogue. I leveled it to 42. Now, at that time, I hadn't learned about being a combat rogue, and my silly rogue was wielding weak daggers, and I still got my butt kicked.

What I ultimately wanted to do was to be the same kind of road brigand that repeatedly ambushed me.

Did that ever happen? No.

Even though I made an undead rogue and quickly advanced to level 59... I don't recall ever ambushing anyone ten levels below me. As a matter of fact, I nearly always targeted higher levels, for the challenge as well as the HK.

So, what happened? Why didn't I pursue the path that led me to the rogue path in the first place?

I believe it's because each of us plays with a moral and ethical style that closely mimics what we'd really do in real life in those situations. Yes, most of us playing aren't criminals, murderers, thieves, or even honorable heroes. But what would most of us do in a world of virtual lawlessness?

Yes, I hear your argument already.... "I'm Role Playing!" You say. I can't deny that I've role played some pretty nasty characters, especially as a game master (it's required!). But ultimately, the characters I play the most, for the longest time, and the ones I enjoy playing (and really have an affinity for), rarely have prinicples and ethics far from my own. I don't stand around frequently traveled paths and gank people because that's not honorable.

Ah, yeah, you got me! You're saying, sneaking up on AFK characters in Southshore IS honorable???

Hah! Well, I guess the difference would be that more often than not, those characters I attacked were higher levels, had epic armor, and quite often reacted immediately upon me attacking. -- Meh. Not enough justification for you? Too bad.

Well, if it's not the "honorableness" of the situation that keeps me from doing things that make most people hate rogues, what is it?

Philowha?phical

2005-10-12T09:09:00.000-05:00

I'm going to get a bit... deep here.

I say "deep" because my limited vocabulary hasn't introduced me to the proper word.

I just have a query.

What if you snatched all the gamers in the world. I don't mean the Capcom gamers. I mean the RPG, MMOG, etc. players. Snatch them all up and have them use their time and energy on a single goal.

What's the single goal? I dunno, it could be anything. Save the rain forests. First woman on Mars. Heck, first woman anything. Clean fuel/energy. Doesn't matter. As long as it's something that will otherwise take humanity way too long to develop.

So... considering the world now has... well, a LOT of gamers. What would be the consequence?

Of course, I'm talking about snatching the "time and energy" that the gamers are currently using to play games. Not to do their normal, everyday paythebills jobs.

What could we accomplish?

(Yeah, we're suspending some disbelief here, that gamers would ever get together and do anything at all other than game or talk about gaming)

Let's say you got a legit invitation to be part of such an organization. Gamers United for Peace. Gamers United for Real Space Exploration (GURSE?). Gamers Involved in Making Peace (GIMP?). Whatever. Let's say you didn't have to leave your comfy computer chair to contribute. All you needed to contribute would be: ideas, coding, calculations, a monthly "fee" (donation), and any other bit of time/expertise you could muster.

Let's see. That's... well, around half a million WoW subscribers. Let's just guesstimate: one million worldwide gamers wish to contribute. They'll pay a measly $15 per month, and contribute about 2-4 hours per day, plus about 10-20 on average on the weekends.

Wanna do the math here? Let's ignore taxes and other crap, and assume we're operating as a non-profit organization. That's $15,000,000 per month. Plus, on the low end, 80,000,000 "man hours" per month. That's $180,000,000 per year in cash, and 960,000,000 hours per year. On the high end, 1,920,000,000 hours per year. (yeah, that's about 2 billion). We'll work with the average: 1,440,000,000.

Let's compare that to your "average" job. Say, a 40-hour work week (ignore vacations and whatnot), nets approximately 1,920 hours of work per year for a single worker. That's 1,920,000,000 for a million workers. How about income? A bit tougher, but we could take the national average (I know it'd be much different worldwide), and it's about $32,000 per year (single male householder with no children, as per U.S. Census, 2004). That's $32,000,000,000 total income per year for one million workers.

Obviously, there's a huge difference in "income." Since the monthly donations by our gamers are so small. You might, at first, think that's a bad thing. I mean, we won't have nearly enough money! Actually, it's a great thing! Consider the budgets of government agencies and how much goes into paying salaries. Obviously a lot. So, what's the net result with our analysis? We create as much workforce as a million average regular workers, but instead of us being "out" $32 billion per year, we're making $180 million per year.

Considering how the government is notorious for slacking off when it comes to actual work, and for spending money so flippantly, that it resembles a black hole, you must admit that a system based on "volunteers" is much more desirable.

Of course, if you're reading this, you're probably asking why any gamers would be so stupid as to "pay" to "work." Well, that's an issue, certainly, but consider all the "grinding" gamers do just to get a little farther ahead than their fellow gamers. Just to get that nicer set of gear. Or better ship. Or better anything. All those hours of mindless grinding. With a few hours of bang'em'up pvp or something to keep you interested.

So, just make the work on the "project" interesting and, most of all, rewarding. Those who "grind" more will get their names on plaques. Or cash rewards. Or a chance to do live projects with prominent scientists or others in advanced fields. Maybe job offers. Who knows? The options are endless.

What do you think? Any fundamental flaws in this concept? Any ways to make it better? Will it/ could it work?

Movies Gallery of sorts

2005-10-11T10:54:00.000-05:00

If you've seen some of my movies, and/or want to see more, I've got a website you can go to on a regular basis for updates without actually needing to see me announce it or post specific links. I'll post the link to the website here as well as on the sidebar. It's best to download the movie you want to watch, and then watch it locally. They aren't that big, so the downloads should be relatively quick.

Yes, you can HIRE me to film you! Okay, you don't need to pay me, but if you put in a request, I'll pop on your server (in any game I own), film you, edit it (music your choice or you can leave it up to me), and I will post it on my site for a limited time. If you have a guild raid you want to go on, and want it filmed, no problem. The best servers for me, obviously, are the ones I'm already on, but I can be bribed to make a new character on a different server. Just contact me for details.

Movies: Psy's Movies

Doh! Where the Eff Are You, Psy???

2005-10-10T08:46:00.000-05:00

I bet you're wondering, Where the hell did Psyae get off to? It's been like... years since she posted!

Bah... Okay. I bet you're not.

Well, I've still been WoWing (way too much). I hooked up with Tomas and pals from rofkahr.com, and made a character on some RP server, Scarlet Crusade, or Simple Clowns, or something with SC. I never get these servers right in my head. Not enough room, ya know.

So, I power-leveled a rogue there fairly quickly, named Ayae. I didn't even bother trying the æ, even though there were plenty of people with funky shyte in their names. I just didn't want to deal with another forced name-change / arrogant GM issue. Bah.

Ayae is a damn fine rogue. Got her to 40 quickly, and with her beautiful mount, have risen to a lovely 44. Well, then the damn bastages that I went there for in the first place started scattering all over, and wanted to try out some newfangled RP/PVP or PVP/RP or whatever server. Like, what's the difference? (hint: NOTHING). It's a PVP server, through and through. Don't be fooled by rumors that they "enforce" RP there. It's bogus. Anyway, it's not an entirely bad place. It's neat, though, because it's just like it was on the very first day of retail, when everything was fresh and new, and YOU got to help form the world. So, it's like that again. The economy is weak, but the prices aren't entirely overbearing yet. Which means stuff is more affordable, but it also means you can barely sell your stuff for over vendor price. It's a challenge... you have to survive mostly on your own abilities.

Which, of course, is the benefit in being in a decent guild with inside trading.

Speaking of guilds... bah.

So, the SC guild I was in kinda fell apart. I'll leave out the details.

Anyway, Tomas and I thought about starting a guild. So, he did so. But on Twisting Nether, the PVPRP server. Bah... Well, I hadn't power leveled anything there!

(Interlude: What if. What if I had pooled all of the time and energy I've put into various characters scattered over at least 4 different servers, and then put all that time and energy into ONE character on ONE server? Man, I'd be like... Goddess PSYAE! Bow down before my might, mortal!... Ah, dreams)

Back to the feature presentation:

Okay, so, now I'm like #2 in this new guild, and it's not bad. I like it, I like Tomas. What don't I like? ME! Yeah, I made a decent rogue, but as Tomas put it, I just wasn't karmically attached to it like I had "connected" with Ayae. So, I pretty much had decided to dump that whole TN idea and shift back to SC. (heck, I nearly jumped back into Psyae's rotting skin for a jump at some epic sets!)

So, I created my own guild in SC, and it had a pretty good start. But I felt bad about Tomas. He had some good points about taking advantage of the opportunity to help develop a new world (server). Plus, my new friends kept shifting back and forth. I figured I could do the same.
I came up with a neat little trick. I made a clone of Ayae on TN! Just to see if it karmically fit, you could say. I decided that if I couldn't get comfortable on TN with that, then I'd drop TN entirely. Well, turns out, this clone is not only karmic, but also better than the original Ayae! Woot. So, the plan worked, and now I'm torn between being a high officer in one guild and the leader of another. Sigh.

And then... I did something REALLY bad.

I downloaded, installed, and signed up for...

Eve Online.

Ohh, it burns, it burns!!!

Don't worry, it'll take me at least a month or two just to learn the controls of the game. And there's no way I'm quitting WoW till I get a full epic set.... SOMEWHERE!

I plan to update this blog with regular reports of my adventures on all realms. However, one of the reasons for my recent hiatus is the fact that I got a "new" job that restricts a lot of my Internet access, so I have much less time to do updates. But I'll increase my efforts. Who needs sleep, anyway?

Plus, now that I'm a favorite link on Kill Ten Rats, I have a slew of new people to impress with my lyrical prowess! W00t!

Hah

Evil Query

2005-09-13T10:21:00.000-05:00

When I ran NWN servers, there were players struggling with the concept of "evil." They really didn't know how to play evil characters. Basically, they polarized good and evil: evil characters killed anything and everything with wanton abandon; good characters didn't. That was it! What's missing? Well, character, for one thing.

Consider some "evil" characters (antagonists, perhaps) in any medium, and try to identify:

1) which one you liked best (or thought did the best/most convincing job of being evil);

2) what quality or qualities of this person made the character evil;

3) whether the character had any redeeming qualities;

and
4) whether the character was more convincing as the antagonist than the character who "played" the protagonist. (i.e., did you "like" the bad guy better?)

Also, if you're up for it, name your favorite bad guy actor/actress (or character).

To Share or Not To Share?

2005-09-09T11:52:00.000-05:00

Dr. Psychrates would like to query the audience again.

(can you tell that I'm a fan of the Socratic Method?)

Something about being in an MMORPG guild has always consistently irritated me. It's the intra-guild system (or lack thereof) of barter and exchange. Before I go down this road and ask the real question, we should briefly review some common social/economic structures.

The two that quickly pop into most heads are capitalism and socialism (sometimes bundled with communism). For our purposes, we're going to avoid the politics and history of these oft rivaled concepts, and focus more on the broader theory. Capitalism is, as Wikipedia defines it, "an economic system in which all or most of the means of production are privately owned and operated, and where investment and the production, distribution and prices of commodities (goods and services) are determined by the influence of market forces (in a "free market"), rather than by the state. Those in control of the means of production in capitalist societies have generally run them for monetary profit."

The virtual opposite concept, socialism, is a system of society or group living in which there is no private property; or a system or condition of society in which the means of production are owned and controlled by the state; or a stage of society in Marxist theory transitional between capitalism and communism and distinguished by unequal distribution of goods and pay according to work done. [Thanks to Merriam-Webster Online].

What we're concerned with here is distribution of wealth, and reward for work done. In a pure capitalist economy, people are rewarded with the profit made from their own work (merit). If you work less, you get less. If you work more, you get more. The drawback, as many note, is that if you cannot work, or cannot work more, due to something beyond your control, is it not the duty of those who have the ability to work to assist you? Too philosophical for us, so we'll skip it. In a pure socialist economy, everything is equally shared, regardless of how much work you put into something. Think of it as not ever seeing a paycheck from your job, but instead, the government sends you a stipend. Let's say you're a rocket scientist, and a genius, and have one of the most difficult and challenging jobs in the world. Your stipend would be the same amount as the stipend given to the person who took your order and cut your ham at the local deli. The drawback with this concept is that it supposedly does not promote exceptionalism or free thinking because there is no reward. (Imagine spending three hours doing your VC quest, and when you get back to turn in his head for your reward, the quest-giver thanks you for your assitance to the State, and your reward will be equally distributed to the entire populace, here's 3 silver, don't spend it all on Thunderbrew Lager. Kinda makes you never want to do anything outstanding any more at all if no matter what you do, you'll get the same pay for it. Think about this.)

So, what kind of economy is WoW, you ask? It's a modified capitalist/marketplace economy. But, as with most societies and economies, there are micro-economies within. Yes, I speak of guilds. If a guild sets up its own system of barter and exchange within itself, it can use whatever economy theory it wishes. If it works. So, let's examine some pros and cons of some potential guild economy builds, and perhaps come up with something workable.

The "Do it yourself" build: This is the most common. There's really no organization or formality involved, and it's just the guildies occasionally offering green items (maybe a blue here or there) to the guild in guild chat before the guildie goes and auctions it. It's not as if this system either "works" or "doesn't work," because it's not really even a system.
-Pros: don't have to worry about leeches, ninja guildies (those who join guilds just to get good stuff, and then leave quickly), or keeping track of anything at all (no need for a treasurer!)
-Cons: new guildies tend to feel left out if they don't get some free stuff early on (doesn't have to be "hey, n00b, here's your brand new full Blackened Defias set, minus the chest, a stack of 14-slot bags, and 20g to get you started on your first day!", but maybe, "hey, n00b, here's a gold to get you started... should be able to buy some decent starter stuff with that, and here's a complementary bag or three so you don't have to keep dropping stuff")

The "We do it all" build: This is the socialist, and least common build. This is a very formal, entirely opposite of the previously mentioned guild. It's so uncommon because when you're dealing with game players, it seldom works. Most players don't give a care about the economy, and if they come upon a purple item, to hell if they'll hand it over to the guildmaster just to maintain a weekly stipend of a few gold and some potions.
-Pros: everyone gets something, and the more the guildies work overall, the more overall everyone gets
-Cons: you are not guaranteed to receive the equivalent of what you put into the pot. (good for n00bs, bad for vets)

The "We do it some" build: This is an interesting build that I've actually seen, and seen work (for the most part). It's a mix between the first two. It works like this: You don't have to give everything you get to the pot, but you do have to supply an amount to the pot in proportion to your level, then the pot gets redistributed in reverse proportion to level. Get it? Hah. Example: You have three players in the guild. Bob (Level 10), Joe, (Level 20), Biajooka (Level 40). Bob must give to the guild 50 silver per week. Joe gives 1 gold. Biajooka gives 2 gold, 50 silver. That's a weekly pot of 4 gold. The guildmaster keeps a portion of the gold for the guild bank (in case of emergency, or a loan *more on this later*) and redistributes the pot, needy first: Bob gets 1 gold, 50silver, Joe gets 1 gold, Biajooka gets 50 silver. This method is good because you don't have to fork over actual items. Your items are YOURS, and you can use the AH to your heart's content, or be nice and offer them to guildies first. It's your choice. The other nice thing is that those ninja/leech guildies don't get a lot up front. You actually have to produce to receive. You miss a tithe, you lose your stipend (more money in the bank). You miss two tithes, you get warned. You miss three, you're out of the guild.

Other builds mix and match, like requiring you to relinquish all green items, but you can keep blue/purple, or any other combination. Most use the principles already discussed.

One of the major drawbacks of not having any system is the emergency/loan situation I referred to earlier. Let's say a long-time guildie sees a kick-arse blue Axe in the AH for an insanely low buyout (seller must be a moron, desperate, or apathetic), but the guildie is a few (or a dozen) gold short to get it. (this doesn't apply to 300-900 gold AH items, of course). It's nice if the guildie can ask for a guild loan to cover it. Thereafter, all that guildies subsequent stipends will go directly into paying off the loan, supplemented by whatever the guildie can afford to pay in time. Yes, it requires a level of trust and loyalty. Yes, it requires some accounting. However, it's a nice benefit, and if you think about it, the more you help individuals in the guild, the better the guild.

Anyway, stopping here for now. Anyone have ideas about what you think the best guild economic structure would be? Have you seen some others that work? That haven't worked? Why did they work or not? What could they have done to improve the system?

I'd love to hear what you all have to say.

Ayae

2005-09-08T11:31:00.000-05:00

Yeah, I've got a "twin" on an RP server. Sue me.

Matteroffactually, I kinda like it. Ask me why later.

But now I want to introduce Ayae. Throwin in some screenies and whatnot, just to get them out. Also, Ayae's got some pretty impressive movies. Here be the linkies:

1
2
3

[Ayae gets to meet the king. Or is that the king? The nasty lady in red says the king's on vacaction at his Redridge ranch house. So, who's that little brat? Hmmm.]

[Ayae caps her first flag. First of many. Did I ever tell you I used to play Quake CTF? Addictively? Mostly sniper, but sometimes I played a scout. Flag runner. Hmm. Trendy.]

Well, while I'm at it, I guess I'll post my scoresheets for my first 9 or so BG games as Ayae. (Yeah, I sent them to Tomas, but he's been busy.) They're neat to look at in general, but there are some very specific things about them I want to address in a strategic capacity. I want to show that despite our slim winnings, we were exercising some pretty bad habits, and really only got lucky that we went up against a weak team that was only slightly less organized than we were. As you can see, the last stat sheet shows quite a different story, and we'll get to the difference between them later. Perhaps one of my loyal reader will see what I'm talking about. (I left out the "s" on purpose.)

Here they are:

Ganking Revisited

2005-09-01T08:44:00.000-05:00

My friend, Tomas, recently posted on his blog a query about our best or worst times involved with Ganking. [HERE(as Tomas would say it)]. I'd also like to pose a question, and hopefully open some discussion, about the moral, ethical, political, social, environmental, and any other -al concerns about Ganking.

For instance, one of the responses I've given in the past when confronted about ganking is: "We're at war, right? When you see an armed enemy combatant in the middle of a war, do you wave at him, smile, and go your merry way? I don't think so."

Or, for short: "If it's red, it's dead."

There is an expansive story line leading up to the time period in which we inhabit Azeroth, and a deep political climate that, I believe, transcends most of our day-to-day understanding of this so-called war.

From what I can tell, these two great factions, the Alliance and the Horde, are in a situation akin to a modified cold war. There are disputed territories that each is trying to obtain either covertly or more forcefully. There are "terrorists" that are loosely connected to the factions, that stage assaults against key targets of the opponent's innermost territory. Of course the leaders of the factions disavow any "orders from above" related to these fanatics.

So, all this is going on with or without you. But, what I want to know is, from a role playing perspective -- your character's perspective, perhaps -- how do you address the opposing faction? In other words, do you see them as people just like you, trying to make a living and survive in a harsh world, who have been thrown into a conflict not of their making? Or do you see them as inherently evil and hostile, and must be stopped at all costs? Or perhaps a combination. When it comes down to it, these deep thinking decisions ultimately affect how you deal with a "ganking" situation. Are you one of those who kills everything on sight? Do you practice some discretion? Do you kill only if attacked or threatened, or by necessity? I assure you that over a certain amount of gameplay time, you have developed your own ideals, whether or not you acknowledge them or even realize they exist. These fundamental ideals (perhaps based on real life experience and ideals) guide your hand at nearly every turn in the game.

So, the underlying questions:

1) What have you observed about your own in-game "ganking/fighting" characteristics, and can you relate them to something more fundamental in your own ideals, or the role-playing ideals of the game?

2) Do you think Blizzard is akin to a passive creator deity that designs a world, and sits back to let us, the players, decide the course of things (as in how violent or peaceful a particular server is based on the resident players), or do you think Blizzard is more manipulative, and seeks to force us to be more violent, finding new and improved ways to encourage ganking, raiding, etc.? Take into consideration the Battlegrounds and Honor patches, and whether the intent was to lessen wanton violence (and concentrate it more on "proving grounds" or keep it more even (less higher vs. lower character ganking)), and whether the results coincide with that intent, or whether the intent was to increase overall the violence in the game?

3) Do you think players should have more influence in the political climate of the game? In other words, do you think Blizzard would be willing to have players take on more political/social roles, and actually affect the conflict (e.g., striking peace accords, trade agreements, etc., perhaps in quests), or is that just too complicated? I allude to Star Wars Galaxies as an example of how players can create and live in their own political communities. It's a bit "too" much in SWG for a game like WoW, but could it / should it be done in WoW to a lesser extent?

Let's leave it at that. I am hoping my loyal readers will address at least question #1, and perhaps ponder the others for the time being. I know it's a lot. I'll be thinking up my own response, as well.

Valete, amici et amicae!

[an extra point if you can guess what battle, time period, opponents, or anything else is depicted in the picture above]

Molten Core

2005-08-31T11:38:00.000-05:00

Well, my guild wanted to do a Molten Core materials run last night, just to grab some whatever that drops from the first couple of mobs. We wanted close to 40 in the raid group, and ended up with about 25. I believe there were about 20 of us actually in the core when we began.

This is a lesson. Learn it well.

THE MOVIE(right click, Save As for best viewing)

Don't make this mistake. Molten Core is no joke. I believe we lasted under 30 seconds, being utterly slaughtered by the FIRST TWO guards. Within three seconds of our attack, we started to see people die. I died in the second wave, and the healers at the back, who were quickly no longer at the back, were the last to go. They held out amazingly long, but not long enough.

If you're going to do MC, do it right. Be prepared, have a full team that is organized, and agree LONG beforehand the most important thing: WHO IS IN CHARGE. From the earliest days of raiding the Crossroads when I was a wee n00b player (along with everyone else there, because it was beta) to the Molten Cores of today, the thing I see destroy any group the quickest is leadership gone awry. The very moment that a second player starts to shout out orders is the very moment you better start watching your butt and perhaps rethinking the whole raid thing.

It's vitally important to have cross communication on these raids. Healers can't always tell who needs healing. Tanks may not know when they need to aggro a mob that is harassing a healer. This is the type of info that should be displayed boldy in your chat box, or shouted loudly in your Ventrilo ear. But when you see CHARGE! at the same time as FALL BACK! You're in trouble.

My advice: if you're going to lead a group (and LEAD a group, I mean), and you're using typing for your chat, you need to have everyone understand that you and only you will be giving orders (unless you've delegated team leaders or whatnot), and you should try to adjust the chat parameters so that your directives are more easily seen. Some do this by yelling (very annoying, and can interfere with other raids). Some by restricting raid talk to only leaders (possible, but you must have something established for folks that need to exchange information -- can be mitigated by balancing out the teams). I'm sure there are other ways, and mods that can help, and this is what's important. One of the things that created a problem last night was that we weren't sure who the leader was (don't be afraid to shout it out periodically -- if they can't handle your leadership, they are free to leave), and more than one person kept trying to tell us all what the "go" signal was. So, a "go" signal was given, half the team advanced, the other half stood there, puzzled, then ANOTHER "go" signal was given by a different player, then someone started spamming orders and "go" signals, and by that time, I think we all pretty much knew it was over before it even began.

Okay, tired of this rant.

Oh, another thing. The leader grouped us all in parties by class. So, there was a party of only shamans. A party of all warriors, etc. BAD idea (IMHO). One of the most well-known MC raid guilds out there did a very nice writeup of MC strategy, and one of the things they emphasized most was party setup. Now, I may have missed something, but I don't recall anyone ever advising filling each party exclusively with one class.

Bah!

MOH MOVEES!

2005-08-31T11:11:00.000-05:00

That's right, I can't stop!

You can find my latest slashterpiece at:

http://www.nihilexnihil.com/rex.wmv

Turn up the volume, and enjoy.

I'll be making them with better quality soon, but I just wanted to get this one closer to 10 meg. It's nearly three minutes long, I believe, so I had to sacrifice a lot of quality. Hopefully it's still entertaining. Let me know.

Check out the New Look!

2005-08-30T21:27:00.000-05:00

I've finally updated what I look like on a semi-regular basis. There it is, over on the right.

Oohboy.

COOKIES!!!!

2005-08-29T15:50:00.000-05:00

(If you bake them, they will come)

FTWeekend Vote!

2005-08-26T10:37:00.000-05:00

Okay, I want to theme this weekend. I have two choices. BG or Raid Instances.

Let's go over the brief pros and cons: (Yeah, I did this before, but no one reads it anyway)

BG:

+I can get some exciting pvp footage
+I might get my old rank of Sergeant back, or even better!
+Reputation with the factions = nice gear

-No money
-No drops
-Potential lengthy wait time

Instances:

+I can make fairly good money
+I can level up to 60
+I might get some good drops

-Getting into a group
-Might take a very long time to complete an instance, and I can't take breaks like in BG
-Chances are low that I'll get any good gear

Well, those are some of the pros/cons on my mind. So, based on that, and whatever other tips you might have, what do you think I should concentrate on this weekend?

Friends, Anyone?

2005-08-26T01:22:00.000-05:00

Screenshot of the day. Can anyone guess where this is?

My Visit with the King of Stormwind

2005-08-26T01:11:00.000-05:00

So, I heard the King of Stormwind wanted to see me. Well, I headed right over!
What a lovely, bright city they have over there!

The townsfolk greeted me warmly.

The guards smiled as I passed.

Hmm, but I think this jerk thought I was "acting suspicious" or something. He blurted out something about the Law of Patriots or something, and then sicced his nasty guards on me while proceeding to stab me in the back. What a way to treat a diplomat!

Yes, it's obvious there was just some... error in communications. They really didn't mean to stab me 70 times in the head with their steely knives. Next time I go back, I'll remember to bring cookies...

Blog Spammers

2005-08-25T13:07:00.000-05:00

Okay, I switched the setting that showed this blog in the public Blogger.com listings. Hopefully that will cut down on the anonymous spammer trash I've been getting a lot of lately.

Note to spammers: Quit it, wankers.

I'd make threats, but why warn them of the damage I'd likely inflict upon them.

MOVIES!

2005-08-25T08:40:00.000-05:00

Yeah, I know you all love movies. So, I've been making some of my own (and am hopefully on the right track to improving them and reducing file size). Right now, I'm on a 10 meg per minute kick. The quality is decent, enough to see what's going on, etc., but a little grainy and sometimes hard to see the text. But that's okay. It's the action that counts, right? Anyway, so, here are a few examples of my first movies. I'm "locally" hosting them, so you don't have to worry about mirror sites, pop-ups, or other nasty stuff. Unfortunately, that limits me to 10 meg, but I also have a gmail account (which lets you email an ungodly amount of data), so when I start to develop more, I can just email them. Or... doh. I can just set up an FTP site for my devoted readers. Anyway, I'll let you know more on that later. Till then, we're stuck with shorter (but still entertaining) movies. (Careful, they have audio, so if you're at work, plug in your headphones and jack up the volume, or just turn your speakers down some. You'll eventually want to hear them in full volume anyway, so watch it again at home!)

http://members.cox.net/puzzlebox/prehistory.wmv

http://members.cox.net/zephlon/jed.wmv

[Note about the jed movie: It's a duel between Psy and Jedix. I'm lvl 58, he's lvl 60. We agreed to use beginning game weapons, so I bought two lvl 1-5 daggers (that do about 1-3 damage), and he bought one. He used the low level dagger in his main hand, but for some reason kept his glowy nice epic (or blue, I forget) dagger in his left. I didn't realize this until I watched the movie for myself! Also, our rules included no stealth.]

Enjoy!

*More to come soon!*

BG, Part II

2005-08-24T10:27:00.000-05:00

So, today I tried Warsong Gulch for the first time since lvl 50. Now I'm in the 51-60 category. Lotta 60s, lemme tell ya, but a few aspiring 55s. I think I did fairly well, considering my first time. Check out the final scoresheet...

Hangover Recap

2005-08-24T07:19:00.000-05:00

Whew. Last night was a doozie. First of all, I got slightly intoxicated because I get to work from home today. "Work." Yeah, that's a relative term. Don't worry, though, I'll get something done, I'm sure.

So, the events as I nearly recall them:

1) Bizarostormy, an old guildmate of mine from way back when I was on a different server (the guild there disbanded, came to the server I'm on now, started a new guild, it pretty much disbanded, and my mates are scattered all over... sorta), invites me to join the guild Billtrollo (another former guildmate) recently joined, called Dark Demise. It's supposedly a heavy MC and instance guild, which is exactly what I was looking for. So, I tell Biz okay, and I'm in, and then I'm told 90% of it consists of old ex-guildies. bah! Hate you, Biz. Not really. Well, somewhat. Anyway, I don't mind so much, because it turns out the guild IS very instance heavy, but seems to help out in just about anything needed. There are a good number of players in it an any particular time, and there were constant "invites" to go to this or that instance. So, I'm sure I'll endure for now. Although I liked the relative quiet of guildlessness.

2) I get invited to go to Strat Live. This is my absolute #1 very first invitation to a raid instance. So, obviously, I couldn't turn it down. Plus, I mistakenly believed it was a guildie who invited me (me not having learned all the names of the various guildies yet), but I didn't care either way, since I wasn't really there to get anything specific, but just to have fun while downing more alcohol. So, it's a mixed group, and Billtrollo is there, at first, till he rolls on something he needs, and everyone freaks out. The leader supposedly let everyone know what the rolling rules were, but I didn't even know. They were rather mean to Bill, so he left. Calling him n00b and shtuff. That's rude. Anyway, I didn't think Bill did anything wrong. They should have made it more clear what their rolling rules were, which apparently were this: BOE = everyone can roll. BOP = NO ONE rolls. So, if someone sees a BOP and the roll window pops up, everyone passes. Then they have time to determine whether anyone needs the item. And those who need it will roll /random 100 for it. If no one needs it, the enchanter will pick it up, DE it, and then everyone will roll for greed, and whoever wins gets the shard. If there's no enchanter, it's just a random roll for greed for the item. This is actually not a bad system, but only works if everyone on the team actually knows that's the system being used.

The more common rolling system (and the one I and apparently Bill believed them to be using) is BOE=G, BOP=N 1/1. I'm not sure how everyone actually displays it each time, but it works something like this: any green item (Bind on Equip) is up for grabs whether or not you need it. Meaning anyone and everyone can roll for it. On a Bind on Pickup (usually blue/purple) item, if you need it, roll for it (don't need to type N, because you just don't roll if it's G), but in a single instance, you can only actually get ONE blue and ONE set item. For instance, if you rolled for and got the first blue item that popped up, you cannot roll for any more BOP items throughout the rest of the instance unless it's a set item. If it's a set item, and you roll and get it, you can't roll for any BOP items from then on, period. Might seem a bit confusing at first, but it must work, since this is the system that most people that I've seen use. If you know of others, feel free to comment and post them. The more you know!

Anyway, so, with one player short, we did wipe once, but fortunately we had a warlock who had SS on the rezzer. We made it to some big baddie named, uh, Balnazzar or something, and kicked his behind.

Before we did, though, the team leader changed it to master loot. What this means is throw all those rolling rules out the window, because it's totally up to the leader of the team as to how the items are distributed. So, the leader linked each item, one at a time, and let us argue over whether we needed it or were just greedy for it. Well, some very nice ROGUE shoulders popped up, and I guess I was given some ability to roll for them, which I did. I was SO pissed that I rolled an 8. However, somehow, and I was so drunkish at this time, I had no idea what was going on, I ended up with them anyway!!! Woot! Yeah, they're not ShadowCraft (which is what the other rogue in the group wanted, and probably the only reason I ended up with them), but here they are:

Nice, eh? Anyway, that was only half the night!

Oh, one thing before I move on. If you're doing a raid group in one of these instances, don't get all slap-happy about trying to do your quests. Unless the quests are raid group specific, you won't be able to do them. I used to do some trick where if you're on a needed boss, you drop out of the raid group right before the boss dies, then you achieve the quest, and pop back in the raid group. I heard they disabled that. Confirm? So, no quests were done, but I didn't much care. I had funish and got goodish stuffish.

3) "Raided" Southshore. What I mean by this is that 1 on 1 or 1 on 2, I kicked some major booty in SS, but I wasn't in a raid group. I refuse (and last night had to refuse multiple times) invitations to pvp raid groups (outside of BG). The reasons for this are twofold. First, EVERY time I've gotten into a PVP raid group, some MORON kills a civilian, and I get a Dishonorable Kill. If you look at my honor right now, I have 4 DK. Meaning I've been in exactly 4 pvp raid groups. Never again!

The second reason is more tactical. It deals specifically with rogues. If you're in a raid group, chances are you're also in a team. If your teammates are in combat, so are you. What's this mean? You can't stealth. So, forget, for instance, sapping, then stealthing, and then doing some other rogueish thing. This makes rogues very vulnerable, and I know few good rogues who get into raid groups. Plus, generally, raid group tactics are chaotic at best, and rogue tactics often go an entirely different route. I'm almost always on the OTHER side of the enemy, looking for healers and people recovering near the back of enemy lines. Anyway, I still get plenty of HK on my own, since I'm constantly looking for higher levels to gank. I know what you're probably thinking, "I hate rogues!" Yeah yeah, well, I actually have some "honor" in my ganking decision-making. I have a system. If you're grey to me, I ignore you unless 1) you attack me, or 2) you assist someone in attacking me or someone in my faction. Easy enough. When I go to Southshore to gank, I sneak all the way to the inn just to find complacent higher levels, and gank them right in the middle of town. Yeah, I know. You hate rogues.

Well, it looks as though, despite BG stealing all the pvp, the back and forth between TM and SS is livening up.

QUERY: (answer this or suffer much wrath)

-What is the music (if any) you play most often when playing WoW, or are you still a n00b, and listen to the WoW built-in music?

Yeah, I Rock.

2005-08-23T17:38:00.000-05:00

Yeah. Well. The "Bah" was from the tribal feather POS I got for loot. What a waste.

Owch. Silithus Bites!

2005-08-23T16:38:00.000-05:00

I forgot how much Silithus hurts (and why players rarely come here).

Your first quest here is probably the one where you get to "free" these druidic spirits by killing them. Well, right before they die, they let out a death wail, which lets out some nasty giant buzzing insects (lvl 55) that really rip you up. Owch.

[ed's note: I wrote this back in October. Obviously things have changed significantly in Silithus since the AQ patch and whatnot, so this doesn't exactly apply any more.]

MAP

2005-08-23T11:52:00.000-05:00

One of the things that pisses me off most about WoW is not really WoW's fault. It's mine. Surprised? Well, I'm sure we all wish we jotted down important info that we could use later, since it's "later" when we figure out we need it most, and get pissed at our earlier selves for being so lazy. One of the things I always forget to do is make or find a flight path map so that I don't end up flying to TM only to discover I can't get to Kargath from there. Flying is not nearly as quick as you think it ought to be, but ask Theo after he tries walking from STV to the Undercity about how long the alternative takes, and you'll appreciate the flight paths. Of course, that doesn't mean we shouldn't be more efficient about it. So, free of charge, out of the goodness of my blackened coal heart, I'm supplying a map of both kingdoms. It's rather big. But, anyway, it's got the credit built in, so don't thank me. Of course, you could send me money. :)

[Note: if you right-click the map, and save target as, you can save it to your own computer and zoom in. it's pretty detailed upon closer inspection]

Guild Ideas

2005-08-23T10:21:00.000-05:00

Well, I've been guildless now for 28 levels. (Yeah, just made 58 last night, thanks).

So, while walking from CVS where I got some much needed pain killers, I considered a few humourous guild names/concepts. I've thought about starting my own little guild, but have always rejected the idea because I really lack the time and energy required to lead one. I've been offered a few guild memberships, but they were all startup guilds. I'm really looking for something of a more end-game calibre so that I can start collecting my 733t gear. WOO, I'm gonna buy a TUB of this Icy Hot stuff and just lie in it forever...

Well, although mega end-game guilds are what I'd prefer, I like the idea of a theme-based guild. I'm sure you've seen them. Conjurers R Us. Gnomes United. Crap like that. Well, those weren't real examples, but they're out there. So, I was trying to think of a few that I might actually consider, at least temporarily, just for the fun of it. Here are some I had. Submit any ideas of your own!

"I Hate Rogues"
-I thought this might be funny, considering I have three of them, and it'd be over the head of one. Of course, it's true, which is why I made one. Actually, it's more like a love/hate relationship. I hate all other rogues. Love my own.

"I Hate Gnomes"
-Nuff said.

"Rogues Not Rouges"
-An editorial comment for a rouge guild. Oops, meant "rogue" guild. ;)

"Will Gank For Food"
-Yeah, lame.

(By the way, if you decide to post some, use a space to separate the < from words, or the blog will consider it HTML coding and not publish it). -- okay, better yet, don't use < at all, since it just totally deleted all of the names I came up with!!!! ARRRGH

Ugh. My head hurts. I can't think of anything good right now, but I'd love to see what you guys have. Perhaps we can start a fun hangout guild (yeah, I suggested this before, but was ignored) with a funky theme.

On Dasher!

Shtuff

2005-08-23T05:24:00.000-05:00

This is at Shadow Hold, which is in Felwood. I had to escort this lovely NE lady from out of Shadow Hold, and then fight her dead ex-boyfriend (A lvl 53 elite). It's actually a fun quest to do solo. You first have to find some red key, which is a random drop from one of the shadow freaks who hang out around the hold area. I just thought her comment about needing a golden lasso was funny. Anyone here other than me get the reference?

This green kitty, temporarily mine, was also a Felwood quest character. After determining that certain moonwell water would cause an interesting contamination if ingested, some undead npc wants you to take her mutated kitty and drop it in the well. It enlarges quite a bit, and looks very cool. I wish I could have it as a pet. Sigh.

These two pics show the end of one of the Shadow Hold bosses. This guy has two succubi bodyguards (who obviously were overpaid). He's pretty easy to kill. If you're a rogue, just sneak up on the ledge behind him, drop down, sap him, kill the succubi, do some first aid, then kill him, making sure you don't let him cast anything. If you're not a rogue, just do your little thing that you do. You know... that thing. Anyway, I thought their death poses were nice enough for a screenshot.

Monday Blues

2005-08-22T08:26:00.000-05:00

Here are some exciting recaps of weekend events:

-Made lvl 57. Woot. (Nearly 58 now, actually)

-Soloed a 52 Elite Dragon in Burning Steppes, and made it look easy... while also being attacked by a scorpid.

-Got owned by a 60 warlock. Well, owned is an ambiguous term. Let's just say the jerk waited till I was at half health and in battle, then cast so much crap at me that by the time I got to him, I was a burning heap of bones.

-Got owned by a different 60 warlock and his pal, the lvl 60 priest, and their little buddy, the lvl 52 druid. Something I must note for you rogue strategists out there about warlocks. A few months ago, they modified warlock abilities and whatnot, and reset all warlock talents (as they're doing to hunters). This was months after I stopped playing my 60 warlock, and I haven't even allotted those talent points yet. So, there are some new little tricks that I don't know about warlocks that'll get you killed even quicker. Great. The thing that really got me was Curse of Exhaustion. Well, let me tell you the story from the beginning. It's rather funny, so please read. So, this weekend, I finally get the urge to check out Felwood. I run through it, mapping it out, and start on some quests. There's this quest to kill some Furlbog boss at the southern end of Felwood. He's not that tough, lvl 51-54? Anyway, so I'm wandering around looking for him, and I see these two lvl 60 dolts running around in circles, killing lower level furlbogs. And it looks as if they're taking on some heavy damage. I can't see why. I'm about to go try to gank the warlock, since he's at half health, but I notice he's got a felhound, which means he and his teammates have Paranoia. Bad for rogues. Now, I would have gone anyway if they were in the middle of combat, but at this point they were already resting. I decided to wait them out. (the 52 druid shows up later). So, they're doing their thing, and making their way to the boss I have to kill. They start resting just outside the boss range, and, of course, there are some furlbogs guarding the bossy. I sneak behind the boss and wait. My plan: wait till they aggro one of the guards, then CS the boss, kill him fast, take the quest loot, vanish, and make my way outta there! I've done this kinda thing before, and it's a great way to piss some opponents off.

I wait.. I wait... I wait. Finally they attack, I CS, take the boss out (one of the guards actually aggroed me instead of my quarry), and take the quest loot. By the time I've done this, the 60s are ON ME (probaby thinking WTF!?!?). I vanish before anyone can attack me, but OOH no... for SOME reason, a lvl 60 warlock can CURSE me in the 10 seconds my vanish is still ticking. Uh... WTF, Bliz? Not broken, my arse. (P.S. vanish is broke). Anyway, I always have a backup. I evade, sprint, and head away from my attackers. (I wasn't in the mood to fight a warlock and priest lvl 60 duo. no way I'd win with my gear. Attack priest? Warlock fries me. Attack warlock, priest heals warlock. Lose, lose). Well, so, I'm running. Now, I've run away from many opponents before. It's not at all cowardice for a rogue to run. It's a ROGUE. Of course every single friggin opponent has some SLOWDOWN skill. Quite annoying. I'm used to being frozen by mages, or crippled by hunters. But this? This was new. Suddenly it struck me, while I was "running" that my opponents were not only gaining on me, but beginning to PASS me! WTF??!? So, I take a second to look at whatever dots I had on me, and I see one I've never seen before (the aforementioned curse). I'm like... crap. So, of course, I'm dead before I know it. I stalked them again afterwards, but they had increased their party to... gee... 5 lvl 60s. Fighting lvl 51-54 furlbogs. WTF???

So, here's one of my many issues:

I believe that Bliz has actually nerfed rogues, but not by tweaking rogue skills. They did it by tweaking all the other classes' anti-rogue skills.

Everyone has the opportunity to see a rogue: catseye elixir, perception, detect hidden, paranoia, etc.

Everyone can slow a rogue down so the rogue can't melee or run away.

Ugh. Know what? I'm tired of writing this rant. Not like anyone's going to read it, let alone respond. But, if you are reading this, and you know of other anti-rogue tweaks, please add them in comments.

Oh, another issue: it seems that about 90% of the mobs have some sort of stun ability if you're running away. I believe this is on purpose so that Bliz can stop players from over-kiting. There have been earlier MMORPGs where a talented kiter could always stay out of melee range, and kill much higher level opponents with ease. This is also why Bliz implemented EVADE, so that you couldn't constantly kite a creature, or lead it endlessly or to guards or something like that. Just Bliz trying to be anti-exploitive.

PVP or FARM?

2005-08-19T09:15:00.000-05:00

So, someone rather close to me asked me this morning whether, when I hit 60, I was planning on spending all of my time (what little of it there is) on farming instances for 733t gear, or in battlegrounds, building up rank and buying gear that way.

Good question.

The answer is, I have no clue. There are pros and cons to both directions. Let's just assume that I really only have one choice, for now, due to time considerations.

Let's Pro/Con the options, shall we?

FARM

Pros
-end-game content
-if you don't get exactly what you want, you pick up a lot of sellable items along the way, and you may get the opportunity to buy what you want
-rare/unique BOP items that you can't get anywhere else, including set items
-questing. you can complete some interesting and difficult quests that give you decent rewards
-reputation. some of the instances will boost your reputation with certain factions (someone check me on this, please)
-cameraderie. if you go with a guild or a regular group, you get GOOD, and fly through the instances [as opposed to BG, where you are often grouped with strangers who tend to strategize differently, if at all]
-if you're a weak solo player, it shouldn't matter one bit, because you are ALWAYS covered by your team (unless they're nitwits, and you should leave a team of nitwits early on, anyway)

Cons
-forced to party with others who might ninja or just roll better
-running the same instance so many times that it gets boring
-LFG!
-running instances with those you don't know can be disastrous
-you're always fighting against the gods of chance. 0.001% chance to drop your set item? bah!
-PVP only when you're trying to get into the instance and opposition is standing outside, bored
-might have to respec to PVE for some of the harder instances, such as MC, where I hear they hate rogues in parties [do you know how many times I've been in Orgrimmar, seeing LFG, 60 Rogue, MC, strat, scholo, BRD, anything!... that's just sad]

PVP

Pros
-unlike farming, your chances of getting the item you want based on reputation are nearly guaranteed (as long as you dedicate your life to BG)
-PVP. 'nuff said
-you get to display a cool rank, and be regarded with esteem by your mates
-you get reputation AND rank simultaneously, both of which can earn you some nice gear
-if you're a weak solo player, you generally have a team to cover you

Cons
-you can get the item you want on your first instance run, but it takes hundreds of BG runs to get your rep anywhere near getting anything decent
-if you pause, you start losing rank (more quickly than you'd think)
-randomness of teammates [sure, this happens in instance runs, too]
-if you're a weak solo player, you might NOT have a team to cover you (they might be all over the map!)

Okay, that's all I can think of right now. PLEASE PLEASE comment and add to these so that I can make an informed decision. If you've had experience, or if you just have some intuitive thoughts, I'd like to see them. I will be spending my time on one or the other primarily, so I'd like to know what you think.

Maces, Daggers, Swords, oh my!

2005-08-19T09:04:00.000-05:00

So, for the heck of it, I dug around through my bank and grabbed a few older daggers that are still halfway decent, and decided to skill up in daggers, just to do a comparison.

What I'm looking for is:

Mace / Mace

Mace / Dagger

Dagger / Dagger

I want to see what ends up being the most efficient when it comes to dealing overall DPS. Right now, my mace build rocks (check two posts down). Now, I know that since I'm combat specced, my results will be skewed, but as I spent the last day or so building up my dagger skill, I was actually surprised at how much damage the daggers were doing with my current spec. I'm seriously considering keeping my build as is, but adding a weapon switch macro to take advantage of BS and other fun dagger stuff. I'm predicting that I'll ultimately choose Mace / Dagger, or even keep with Mace / Mace, and not bother with switching for BS moves, primarily because I haven't taken improved BS, which makes loads of difference. However, I do have increased chance of crits with BS, so it might even out. We shall see. Once dagger skill gets up to Maces, I'm going to post the damage meter screenshots from all three arrangements.

To do the test, I'm fighting lvl 50-52 scourge at Felstone Field. I'm going to use time as the factor, rather than number of hits, since obviously the daggers would skew the data in that respect. While I was playing around with double daggers, just to skill up, I was enjoying the fast pace of my movements. Made me feel more rogueish. The maces tend to make me feel like some warrior on speed. They're slower, but I love the KLUNK sound as they hit. I think I'll enjoy bouncing back and forth between the two weapon types, but I just don't think the daggers will ultimately give me as much joy.

After my dagger tests are done, I'll work on doing sword combo tests. The issue with swords is that they tend to be slow. Nearly as slow as maces. Since maces do more damage, I don't bother with swords. There are, of course, exceptions, but I don't have a great selection of swords personally. I'm poor! More soon.

Shadowgrim outside the UC Airport

2005-08-18T06:00:00.000-05:00

1697 ! Personal Best!

2005-08-18T05:55:00.000-05:00

Here I am, picking on my new friend, Shadowgrim. But that's not the point. Check out the damage on my crit! Woot!

Kill Ten Minutes

2005-08-17T09:42:00.000-05:00

I found a cool blog called Kill Ten Rats, which I have linked on my site. I commented on Ringthree's post, which questioned what makes WoW so popular, as to earn it 3.5 million worldwide subscribers. I felt inclined to post my response here, as well, and hope Ringthree doesn't mind. Instead of answering his question here, I'd prefer you just respond to my answers. If you want to answer the question for yourself, as Tomas did, just go to Kill Ten Rats.

Why WoW is popular enough to have 3.5 million subscribers:

1. More people on the planet = more potential subscribers.

2. More people have computers now than ever before. Many have more than one in the household.

3. Re-playability. Multiple servers, multiple characters, and two major factions to choose from make this a game that players can play from start to "finish" multiple times without repeating a lot of quests. (Yes, many quests are shared between factions, but each faction has about three major group areas of quests to choose from, which gives players more choice in leveling and character development than any other MMORPG out there today (as far as I know)).

4. Uncomplicated. Although some recipes/patters/whatnot require material from other professions or rare material, the profession part of the game is smooth and anyone can do it with ease. Also, the interface is efficient and simple, and allows for players who execute actions mostly with the mouse (clicking everything from actions to moving) to play well and enjoy the game.

5. Modifiable. What other MMORPG endorses players' ability to modify the UI (as long as it's not exploiting) in numerous ways with third party software?

6. Grinding is significantly reduced, although still present. The mechanics of the game require much more human interface and manual progression than a game like SWG, for instance. Example: I bought SWG, and determined quickly that without being maxed out in a set of skills, I was rather worthless, let alone poor. So, I quite easily programmed a mouse macro to replicate production, and literally slept while my character grinded. When I finally became a Master Blacksmith, the in-game economy was so disrupted by material farmers that I couldn't sell a thing I made for any amount of profit. Major flaw? NPCs never bought anything. The economy was 100% based on PC trading. Bad idea when most of the players are ages 10-20, and don't know or care about the economy. WoW, on the other hand, has a similar problem with the AH. However, you can still survive by selling to the NPCs, and you won't die if you can't get that Calibrated Boomstick that some dolt has for 999g at the AH, since, unlike some MMORPGs, most of the best stuff is not made, it's dropped.

7. Light death penalty. Players don't like being punished if they die, regardless of how they die. Though, everyone admits that some punishment is absolutely necessary. WoW has the lightest death punishment I've seen, but it's nicely balance. What a player loses upon death are two very important things, but not enough to frustrate the player into quitting -- time and wealth. It takes time to run back to one's corpse. When you're raiding, or in an instance, exploring, or anything, time is an important factor. Also, the minor at first, but continued and more costly in the future annoyance of having to repair your items is a suitable punishment for death. What WoW nicely avoids is punishing levels for death, or automatically taking a percentage of gold, or random items, or whatnot. Sure, that would undoubtedly happen IRL, but we play these games to avoid RL, right?

8. Finally, lack of anything better. I've played my share of MMORPGs throughout the years, and I'd have to say that, although not perfect, WoW has certainly learned from the mistakes of earlier MMORPGs, and, in general, the "feel" is right.

I'm Batty!

2005-08-17T06:06:00.000-05:00

Combat vs. Subtlety, the age-old Rogue question

2005-08-16T15:09:00.000-05:00

This will be a continuing post, so keep an eye out for updates.

Currently, I have three rogues. 56 UD, 42 Human, 17 Orc.

My first two rogues, I began as most others do, with a pair of daggers, building up all my ambush/BS, etc. skills. My human was the first, and I discovered early on that in pvp, I was quite weak. I rarely won an even match, and often lost against lower levels. Of course, I attribute a high percentage of the blame to my own lack of experience playing a rogue, and not knowing the tricks I needed to survive.

I started Psyae the same way. And fared slightly better. Then, when I hit about level 31, someone suggested that I switch to maces. Now, I had heard of rogues using swords exclusively, but maces??? That, I thought to myself, would be insane. Well, perhaps boredom hit me, because I set out to find the best mace I could (which I'm still using at lvl 56!), the Bonesnapper, and another mace to see what would happen. Thus far, I'm thoroughly satisfied. Of course, I had to respec, but no biggie. Now, in duels, the only ones who can really beat me at my level are Shamans and Hunters, but not many of those. Well, and one rogue friend of mine, when he gets lucky.

I will eventually add to this post some MATH! That's right, for those of us anal twits who need to see the raw numbers of the differences between certain builds, I am going to do my homework, and research what's out there in all the myriad fora to find the ultimate data on whether getting dagger spec will actually increase your damage over the course of a decade by as much as .03% Impressive! Actually, I do like the math stuff, but I will iterate what many have told me, and I thoroughly believe: unless you are a POWERGAMER, and must have the ultimate best of everything (which means you play 10+ hours daily, and 48 hours on the weekend), then find a STYLE that you like, and build your character around it. (this actually goes for all classes). Otherwise, regardless of the perfect talent build you found and implemented, you won't actually see those numbers go up because you and your character are not in synch! Odd concept? Not really. Example: Let's say you exclusively play rogues, and your buddy lets you play his epic armored, perfectly specced MAGE for a few BG rounds. Guaranteed you get your arse kicked. But wait... you have everything perfect! Nah... "perfect" is relative. Start with YOU and what you enjoy, then go from there.

That being said, let's talk about the advantages and disadvantages of the two most common rogue builds, combat and subtlety. I'll start a list, then comment on some of the entries in the list, and I'll come back and add to the list later.

Combat Pros
(earlier levels = 0-58ish)
-more damage at earlier levels
-less costly at earlier levels (instead of having to skill up every time in BS, ambush, and a myriad of other skills, you pretty much pick SS and Evis)
-better weapons at earlier levels
-more unique (how many rogues do you see running around with two HUGE hammers?)
-swords, maces, and daggers are all good (you can main hand a sword or mace, and offhand a dagger, or many other combos; subtlety rogues tend only to use daggers or dagger/sword)

Combat Cons
-high damage, but slow to hit (i.e., don't miss!)
-no/low lead-in damage (i.e., most combat rogues go for CS, which doesn't do any damage at first, but gives you 2 CP; this gives classes like the mage, that can blink, a distinct advantage even if you hit first; whereas the subtlety rogue does an insane amount of damage up front. if you're doing combat, you must have patience, and deal with the fact that you don't really show your stuff till you get a 5CP Evis)
-lack of end-game weapons? (I'll get back to you on this, but there are some nice maces/swords out there)
-sucky 7th tier talent

Subtlety Pros
-more stealthiness earlier on = easier questing, easier soloing, and pvp survivability
-imp sap, anyone?
-with new patches, many more end-game daggers do nice damage and have some awesome attributes
-preparation

Subtlety Cons
-if you miss your opening, or don't get another opportunity to BS/ambush in a fight, your overall damage is reduced significantly
-many more keys/macros/combos, etc. to keep track of. (if you're clumsy at the keyboard (like me), you might have a tough time dancing all about like a subtlety rogue needs to; however, practice makes perfect)
-spelling "subtlety" quickly while in combat

more soon!

Now, you may ask, why in hells did you make another rogue after Psyae? Good question. It's because I want one of each. I'm greedy. I started my new Orc rogue out with daggers, but it was taking SO long to kill stuff, that I grabbed the first sword, and finally mace that I could. I think ultimately my Orc rogue will end up being my combat rogue, and Psyae will respec to Subtlety. The fact is, from my experience, it seems much easier to solo pve (and kick some quite surprised butt in pvp) with a combat/mace build until you get to about lvl 57, where you can finally start collecting all your sets and epic gear and whatnot, that I just don't have the time or effort to do. Also, it'll be a great opportunity for me to enhance this post, actually having both builds simultaneously.

Take Your Medicine!

2005-08-15T16:21:00.000-05:00

Questionnaire
(not that anyone ever comments here)

Feel free (I encourage you!) to leave comments with answers. Answer what you want.

1. If you could have two "super powers," excluding godlike powers (like omnipotence), what would they be?

2. If someone paid you to quit your job/school/etc. to play a game for a living (but one and only one game), what game would you choose?

2.b. What if you had only a dial-up connection?

3. If you could be any WoW character in real life for a day, which would it be?

3.b. What would you do with your day?

4. What's better: teleportation, flying, or telepathy?

4.b. For commuting to/from work? ;)

5. Do you think there would be more or less violence in the real world if everyone who dies can either resurrect at the graveyard (with a loss of some cash) or can run back to their corpse? Why?

6. Do you think online role playing games has improved the sociability of the world?

6.b. If not, do you think it's made it worse, or do you think it can be improved with more role playing games?

7. Would you classify WoW more as a role playing game, a "shooter," an action game, or... pick one of your own.

8. Ask me one!

Contest #1 : Where the Heck am I?

2005-08-13T18:59:00.000-05:00

Since I'm usually pretty bored, I like to travel places in game and see stuff rarely seen. This is a screenshot from one of my trips. If you can identify with close approximation where this place is, I'll give you a cookie. Or something. Or at minimum acknowledge you.

Psyae's Throne

2005-08-13T12:57:00.000-05:00

This is a somewhat earlier shot, I believe was in Angor Fortress. Reminds me of Conan. Only, a girly Conan. But cooler.

World Clock (Well, some of the world, at least)

2005-08-12T14:02:00.000-05:00

Speaking of World Trees, I mentioned on Theodred's blog that he should install some sort of world clock, so I'd know when, in UK time, I'm posting.

Well, far be it for me to actually have any patience whatsoever. So, I scratched up some HTML from here and there, and assembled my ownish world clock! Just scroll down all the way (yeah, I write a lot!), and check it out. If you want me to add a time zone that's not there, just add a comment here, and I'll see if I can manage it. At least I included more than two continents!

Jump from the World Tree?

2005-08-12T07:08:00.000-05:00

I'll try to post a screenshot every day. This is one from the stress test (pre-open beta), where my little hunter seemed to have found the edge of the world. Of course, it's just the edge of the World Tree (Teldrasil), and my contemplation about what would happen if one were to fall from this particular tree was eventually answered many months later by an entirely different character. I'll post that screenshot soon. Enjoy!

Gaming Marathon?

2005-08-11T08:52:00.000-05:00

Raise your hand if on some weekend, you've ever played WoW (or similarly addictive game) for more than 8 hours in a row, interrupted only by "afk bio"? Okay, keep your hands up if more than 12 hours? More than 20? More than one full day?

Now, consider the recently deceased South Korean man, who spent supposedly 49 hours (some reports say 80) playing "battle simulation computer games," and then died of a heart attack. Let's first think of what 49 hours really means. Let's infuse it into a typical work week. You wake up at, let's say, 6:00 a.m. (to make things simple). Do your little coffee/breakfast jig while looking for clean undergarments, and finally at about 7, you're off to work. That's one hour. Due to your 2-hour commute, you arrive just in time to check your email and rush off to a meeting. Despite the coffee, you keep nodding off during the boring meeting, and catch your drool just before it hits your shirt. Finally, it's over, and you find the longest possible path back to your desk. It's 11 a.m., and it seems like the day will never end... and it's only just begun! That's only 5 hours so far.

Somehow, after tedious filing and finding ways to pass the time at work, it's time to go home, 5:30 p.m. At 7:30 p.m., you're shedding off your clothes and throwing in a microwave meal. Perhaps you grab a soda or beer, and turn on your PC. You check your email, even though you did so just before you left work. You never know when someone has something urgent to tell you. Like, Deal with confidence, we are Visa Verified; or exclusive brands; or 60 second Auto Loan App. All Credit Types Accepted; or New Weight-Loss Craze Sweeping the Nation; or Hi VIAGRA VALIUMM CIALISS; or one of my favourites, Make all your dreams come true. [Yes, I avoided the more vulgar of the spam; why do we have to put up with that crap, anyway?].

Finally, you get your favourite game loaded (is it Tuesday? is there another damn patch? ugh, gotta download that!), and get started. You nearly forget about your microwave meal that's been sitting, waiting for you for about an hour now, and while you're in flight to some remote destination, you take the time to run go get it. It's 9 p.m. You've offed your meal in two gulps, but supplemented it with loads of calories from your drink of choice. You take a quick glance at the clock, it's 9:45 p.m., and curse because you can't even get ONE level in the little time you have to play. You blink. It's 10:45. How did that happen? I just BARELY got on! Now someone's asking me to join them in ZF or whatnot. Well, I know that'll take 3 hours. Yawn. You think about how miserable you'll be at work tomorrow if you stay up past midnight. You pass on the ZF, cursing again, because you know it would have gained you another level. You blink, it's 11:45. Now how did THAT happen? You decide it's about time to call it a night. But, of course, you need to get to the AH to sell your stuff. Hey, it'd make it quicker to get started tomorrow night, right? So, you fly there, and bother to brush your fangs while in flight. You put your stuff up for auction (even though no one will buy any of it because you have it on an 8-hour timer, and put them up at midnight!), and then pop your monitor off, and climb into bed, where your spouse grumbles, turns over, and kicks you.

You get to sleep at about 12:30 a.m. About five seconds before the buzzer on your alarm goes off at 6:00 a.m. Now, how did THAT happen?

From the time you woke up, to the time you finally fall asleep, that's 18.5 hours. This guy played a game for one of those entire cycles... plus another entire cycle, and then just over half of another entire cycle. So, basically, two and a half of your normal, waking days, this man was playing a game, non-stop.

The question you have to ask yourself, after you acknowledge it was insane of him to do this, is, do you envy him?

DEMOTED!?!?!?!!?

2005-08-10T15:08:00.000-05:00

I distinctly recall reading on the official WoW website that rank would not be hard to gain at first, and it takes a LONG time to lose. BS!

Two weeks ago, I went on a pvp spree, going to BG two or three times a day, if possible, and before going to bed, getting as many solo kills in Southshore as possible. For my trouble, I was promoted to Sergeant a week ago. Granted, I had but a sliver of the new little ribbon that shows you how well you're progressing. All this while I was still level 50. So, after I got Sgt., I succumbed to my friends' humble requests (constant nagging) for me to level up. Well, a week later, and I'm at lvl 55, woot! But what does just ONE week of non-pvping get you? DEMOTED! Unbelievable! The nerve! Not only am I now a miserable Grunt, but I'm also only 3/4 of the way to being promoted to Sergeant (again!?!?). So, the lesson here is that you lose 1/4 of a rank every week if you don't put out 15k honor per week? BS!!! Bliz lies! (well, we all knew that anyway, but, sheesh! talk about bloodthirsty!) I went from rank 244 to rank 900-something. That's insane. I'd make some political reference about leaders who appear to be bloodthirsty, but this isn't a political blog. Still, doesn't it seem odd that the only qualification (merit?) required for gaining rank is to kill as many opponents as you possibly can in the shortest amount of time?

Well, don't look for me in AV or WSG any time soon. I'm still on my grind kick, and won't stop till I'm at the top. As a matter of fact, I was going to bring this up in a separate entry, but why not here? UIs! If you can bother to click the Add a Comment thingy down there, perhaps you can share with the class what UI you're using, as well as other UI mods. I must share the one I discovered last night! Well, originally, I used Cosmos (because that's what everyone was using back in the days just after Beta) [incidentally, I've been on WoW since the Stress Test, pre-beta; and lemme tell you, I did NOT want to buy the game at all at that time, seeing how screwed up the servers were... another story, another time]. Anyway, after about 3 patches ago, Cosmos was too screwed up to use, so I switched to CTmod, which is perfect and, honestly, much better. The only drawback is the lack of map pins, but I'm sure I can find a mod for that separately.

I recently got a damage meter mod, which will show you your and your party's damage, and other funky stats. However, be warned that if you are in a party with some jerk (like me) who likes to use the damage meter output for bragging rights, note that the meter only reads information straight from the modded user's combat box. This means that if you happen to be outside the "zone" where that user senses your combat actions, whatever you do outside that zone will not be reflected in the damage meter readout. Not much of a problem in an instance or other cramped area, but a potential arguing point in a raid group, or spread out situation, or when you die, and while you're running back to your corpse to join your comrades, the rest of them continue fighting. Anyway, as long as you acknowledge that, and also realize that the user with the mod can add party members and do a readout having PRIOR damage for that user still in the mod's memory, so if you're concerned, have them SHOW you a zeroed out meter (reset it when the party starts out, then have the modded user do a party readout).

So, last night, I wanted to grind up a level, and, like we all do, I wondered how many of the mobs I was currently killing I would need to kill to gain a level, and how long it'd take. I searched the websites for mods, and found a nice, simple one that showed me my rate of xp gain per hour and how long, based on the average xp per mob, it would take me to level. Of course, I started out slow, and it said 24 hours! Hah! But after I gained some momentum, I managed to drop it to 7 hours! Amazing! I'm not sure, however, whether it accounts for rested xp, but I didn't have any at the time, so it didn't matter. But I'll find out tonight.

While I was looking at mods in general, I recalled seeing some screenshots on another website, and in the screenshots, I saw this comprehensive toolbar thingy at the top of the screen. Interested, I researched more, and found that it's called Titan. I read a little bit, wiped up the drool, and installed it. Needless to say, it's AWESOME! Here are some of the nifty things it allowed me to do: adjust the relative size of the UI (I shrunk it slightly); see your cash; see your free vs total inventory slots; if you have the kill xp mod I talked about up there, you can see your time to level; adjust volume; adjust buncha other stuff. Most of the stuff you can see without ever having to mouse over or click on anything! But if you do mouse over, it shows you even more! This is a no-brainer! Get it! Now!

So, someone close told me last night that there was an ILLEGAL mod that allowed people to see members of the opposing faction on their maps, or something like that. Oooh, that pissed me off, but, ya know, I should have known! How many times have I been hidden OUT OF SIGHT of some Alliance dweebs who, for some ungodly reason, knew to run exactly where I was hiding!!! How evil! Of course, I do know about all the anti-rogue nerfs that Bliz actually allows (but no one admits are rogue nerfs; but they are!!!!). Hmm, I probably shouldn't give them away, but no one reads this anyway.

Okay, anti-rogue tactics:
-hunters (bah, I hate hunters!); flares and tracking (will see right through you!!!)
-catseye elixir (did I screw up the spelling on that?)
-that junk you drink to see all undead (wtf!)
-mages, perception spell
-any aoe
-a good bait technique (rogues are so gullible!)
-dots (including poisons, which is why I'm reluctant to give up my only dot poison! too late!)
-pets (for some reason, pets seem to have a greater ability to spot stealthed rogues, and I'm betting they don't have a backside detection deficiency like npcs)
-traps (did I mention I hate hunters? this also can be thrown into the bait technique category)
-any of that shamanistic/druidic earthbind stuff (rogues need to learn how to read them totems!)
-stomp stuff
-paladin flaming fire crap
-oh, I could go on and on!

If I left any out, PLEASE leave a comment so I can supplement. (and incorporate into my anti-anti-rogue talents). I know a handful of those can be included in the "any aoe" category, but I felt they should be listed separately as well.

You know, something I failed to mention about warlocks earlier, that always strikes me as quite hilarious. When I spammed BG at 50, there was at least one little gnome or human warlock who ALWAYS cast Hellfire when they got surrounded by the enemy (which usually included me). WTF??? Do any of you locks know what Hellfire is!?!? I don't care if you call yourself a destruction warlock, Hellfire is SUICIDE!!! And, of course, that's what always happened. Did I get burned? Perhaps singed a little, but overall, that spell is so ineffective, it tickles. Sure, it's aoe, sure you did some damage to the enemy (not much), but ultimately you died! What good are you to your team if you're dead? Slightly more effective is rain of fire, but not when the enemy is standing within a foot from you! Run! Get out of dodge and be a caster! If you MUST sacrifice yourself, you can spam dots on every enemy you see. You'll last longer doing that. It's quicker, and most of the dots will last long after you're dead. Sigh. Yes, Hellfire WILL unstealth a rogue. But, who cares? Like you want to piss the rogue off any more anyway?

Bah! I can't believe I was demoted!!! (at least I can still use my Sgt. gear!)

GEAR / STATS

2005-08-09T09:13:00.000-05:00

Here's my gear and stats. I haven't decided whether I'll keep this updated, or just make new posts as I get new gear (to preserve the history). (I was going to post a picture (tried a few times) but the image quality sucked, and for some reason you couldn't click on the pic to open it in a new window; so, I'm just posting everything in text form.)

Wicked Leather Headband
Head
118 Armor
+16 Agility
+16 Stamina

Woven Ivy Necklace
Neck
+6 Strength
+9 Agility
+10 Stamina

Swashbuckler's Shoulderpads
of Agility
Shoulder
108 Armor
+18 Agility

Sergeant's Cloak
Back
96 Armor
+14 Stamina
+3 All Resistances

Blazewind Breastplate
Chest
148 Armor
+3 Strength
+23 Agility
+5 Stamina
Reinforced Armor +40

Wicked Leather Bracers
Wrist
61 Armor
+11 Agility
+5 Stamina
Strength +7

Wicked Leather Gauntlets
Hands
86 Armor
+12 Agility
+11 Stamina
Agility +5

Serpentine Sash
Waist
92 Armor
+9 Strength
+14 Agility
+14 Stamina

Basilisk Hide Pants
Legs
113 Armor
+21 Agility
+8 Stamina
+3 Spirit
Reinforced Armor +40

Nightscape Boots
Feet
87 Armor
+12 Agility
Agility +5
Increases effective stealth by 1

Masons Fraternity Ring
+13 Agility
+5 Stamina

Falcon's Hook
+3 Strength
+9 Agility

Rune of the Guard Captain
Equip: +20 Attack Power.
Equip: Improves chance to hit by 1%

Insignia of the Horde
Use: Dispels all Charm, Fear and Polymorph effects.

Highland Bow
Ranged
41-77 Damage Speed 2.50
(23.6 dps)
+5 Agility
+4 Stamina

Bonesnapper
66-124 Damage Speed 2.7
(35.2 dps)
+11 Strength
+5 Stamina

Smashing Star of the Bear
62-115 Damage Speed 2.8
(31.6 dps)
+6 Stamina
+6 Strength

STATS:
Melee Attack Power 515 (495+20)
Agility 288 (115+173)
Stamina 173 (70+103)
Strength 117 (72+45)

Main Hand
Attack Speed: 2.7
Damage: 165-224
DPS: 72.0

Off Hand
Attack Speed: 2.8
Damage: 123-164
DPS: 51.2

Lvl 55! And points allocated!

2005-08-09T07:50:00.000-05:00

I got lvl 55 last night, and to reward myself, I allowed myself to allocate a few of my talent points. I finally decided on CB first, with 3 points in IIP to get there. That eats up 4 points, with 2 leftover, which I'll probably end up spending on MoD. Since it was late, I tested CB on some poor lvl 51 diseased bear in the plaguelands, and I don't think it'll be that difficult for me to use. I just have to remember that it's there now. I can't wait to use it in pvp. Of course, I was somewhat disappointed that a 5 CP Evis guaranteed to crit only did a little over 1000 hp, but I've gotten 1300 crits before, so I'll just have to see.

In general, tho, I was out and about with Jedix, who, according to my damage meter, had about 28% crit rate, as compared to my measily 18%. He says it's because of improved BS. I replied that in a group, he has much more opportunity to BS than solo (doh), but I'm sure with improved gouge, a rogue could get enough BS in to get a fairly high crit rate. The interesting thing, however, was that our overall damage was very close. So, my mace build is satisfactory when it comes to overall damage, but when Jedix hits 60, and get some mega damage daggers, that might change. Of course, when we were fighting mobs to obtain those stats, I had not yet bought CB or had IIP, so I'd like to see how the damage adds up now. Also, I was 54 when he was 55. Our gear was similar, but wait till my next post to see my gear. I'm pretty pleased with it for this level. (spent enough friggin gold on it!)

The 5 Talent Point Blues

2005-08-08T12:17:00.000-05:00

As I mentioned in the post below this, I have 5 unspent talent points, and I'm not sure where to put them. Let me iterate my thought process on this:

First of all, when I bring this subject up, the most often asked question to me is, "What's your build?" Well, that makes sense, but let me clarify the underlying question, and then the answer. "What's your build" is a combination of what you've so far developed in a character, talent-wise, what you see yourself developing in the future, and a subtle question about what your play style is. I started out like 90% of the rogues out there, as a dagger build. This is the most natural build because all rogues start out knowing only daggers, anyway.

As any good dagger rogue will tell you, it takes a lot of effort to successfully play a dagger rogue, due to the many variations of skills you can employ. ("A lot of buttons," says my friend, whereas a combat rogue only "mashes two"). You can read my earlier posts on what a misconception I believe this is, but that's neither here nor there. I do agree, however, that dagger rogues require a bit more finesse to fiddle with all those keys. Many of them use macros to swap weapons to get the most out of BS, but still be effective at SS. I tried a weapon swap macro, but never got it to work. So, I settled with using other skills and talents to make up for the lack of swapping.

Well, I met a guy who seemed to know a lot about rogues even though he was playing a warlock, and since I'm a rogue who knows a lot about warlocks, I didn't question his authority. He told me, being a dagger rogue before lvl 60 is not effective because there are no good lower level daggers (that cause mega damage). He told me to go find a particular mace (I forget the name offhand, but it's a 50-120 range mace that's best for priests because it adds to healing, but doesn't do much else), and spec for SS/Evis. That way, I'd be doing more overall damage (in main hand) with every hit. Now, Psy is my second rogue, and my first (got it up to lvl 42) I've always noticed it takes me forever to kill anything with daggers. Yeah, I get a decent ambush, but after that, it's such a pain to BS, and if you don't, you suffer a lot of damage from your enemy before you nickel and dime it to death. So, having nothing to lose, I went out in search of this wonderful mace and idea. I didn't respec at first, of course. I wanted to try out a mace, first. Well, I couldn't get my hands on that particular mace, so, I used some mace I had picked up earlier at first, kinda liked it, and then upgraded to the Bonesnapper I bought at the AH. Then I had a mace in each hand and was doing an unbelievable amount of DPS in addition to all the pain and suffering I was causing with SS and Evis. I was taking down mobs in 1/4 the time I was with daggers. (I know, all you dagger rogues are yelling right now, saying, "Well, if you KNEW how to PLAY a dagger rogue!"... all fine and good, you win, etc., but perhaps I wasn't cut out for daggers?). Anyway, THEN I respecced, and since about lvl 30 (when I started the mace fascination), I've been rocking the maces. (pvp and pve! I got Sergeant at lvl 50 just by doing a few BG runs (see the post and screenshot) and hanging out at Southshore).

So, I think with the advent of newer and better maces, I have potential to be a good mace rogue at lvl 54-60, and then maybe reconsider at 60. But, at this juncture... I have a lot on my mind. With a total of 11 more talent points to spend, I have to be careful or I'll force myself to respec early. Ungood. I'll start with the biggest issues and work down:

Master of Deception:
-I've heard (and experienced) the pros of this one, and nearly everyone tells me it's a must. My good informative friend, however, tells me that in pvp, with the addition of lag, the rogue has the advantage, even if seen, because stealth only breaks when actually attacked. Just because an opponent sees you before you're ready to strike doesn't mean stealth is broken. It just means you better strike quickly before the opponent strikes first. The opponent will also lag a bit on the client side, and perhaps see you too late. However, everyone admits they can see any non-MoD rogue from about 10 yards away, which destroys one of the rogue's best skills. The issue here is that MoD isn't really effective unless you put in the whole 5 points, which leaves me with 6. The other issue is whether to put those 5 points in now or later. If now, then I have to wait on something like Cold Blood. If later, will it hinder my opportunity to be useful in instances for sapping, and in BG or other pvp situations?

7th Tier:
-I've seen good advice on forums saying that there's no point in building up a talent tree if you're not going to use the most effective (end game) talent in that tree. I'm not so sure about this. I believe you can have a well-balanced, effective end game rogue without getting Vigor, Adrenaline Rush, or Premeditation, although the latter two are just awesome. My issue here is that I really don't want Vigor, but I really want Cold Blood. If I get Cold Blood, I'll never get Adrenaline Rush, which is pretty nice.

Cold Blood:
-To get CB, I have to either put (at least 3) points into Vile Poisons or Improved Instant Poison. I'm leaning towards IIP. I think IP will be the end-game necessity. Any opposition?

So, let's say I do this: 3 points in IIP, 1 point in CB. Leaves me with 1 unspent. 1 in MoD (virtually worthless, but I do have on Nightscape Boots). Then every level up to 60, put another in MoD. That leaves me with 2 unspent at lvl 60. I could put them in Vile Poisons, or find some other place for them. At least it's not 1. Any suggestions?

It's either that, or the reverse: 5 points in MoD now, 1 point in IIP for each level till it's at 5.

Or, something completely different! What say you?

Current Spec

2005-08-08T06:50:00.000-05:00

Although I generally dislike postings of specs, since this is my page, I felt, why not. Perhaps someone might have some creative criticism.

Rogue Talents

Minimum Required Level: 49
Required Talent Points: 40

Assassination Talents - 17 points
Improved Eviscerate - rank 3/3
Malice - rank 5/5
Ruthlessness - rank 3/3
Relentless Strikes - rank 1/1
Lethality - rank 5/5
Combat Talents - 23 points
Improved Sinister Strike - rank 2/2
Lightning Reflexes - rank 5/5
Deflection - rank 5/5
Precision - rank 5/5
Riposte - rank 1/1
Dual Wield Specialization - rank 5/5

NOTE: I have 5 unspent talent points (at lvl 54), and am struggling with what I should choose next. To make it easy, I'm posting the official list of rogue talents here. Consider the fact, also, that in addition to this build, I'll only have a total of 11 more points to spend (5 of what I have, and one per level up to 60).

Assassination - Tier 1

Improved Eviscerate - rank 1/3
Minimum Level: 10
Increases the damage done by your Eviscerate ability by 5%.

Remorseless Attacks - rank 1/5
Minimum Level: 10
After killing an opponent that yields experience, gives you a 8% increased critical strike chance on your next Sinister Strike, Backstab, Ambush, or Ghostly Strike. Lasts 20 sec.

Malice - rank 1/5
Minimum Level: 10
Increases your critical strike chance by 1%.

Assassination - Tier 2

Ruthlessness - rank 1/3
Minimum Level: 15
Requires 5 points in Assassination Mastery
Gives your finishing moves a 20% chance to add a combo point to your target.

Murder - rank 1/2
Minimum Level: 15
Requires 5 points in Assassination Mastery
Increases your chance to hit while using your Sap, Ambush, Garrote, or Cheap Shot abilities by 3%.

Improved Slice and Dice - rank 1/3
Minimum Level: 15
Requires 5 points in Assassination Mastery
Increases the duration of your Slice and Dice ability by 15%.

Assassination - Tier 3

Relentless Strikes - rank 1/1
Minimum Level: 20
Requires 3 points in Ruthlessness
Requires 10 points in Assassination Mastery
Your finishing moves have a 20% chance per combo point to restore 25 energy.

Improved Expose Armor - rank 1/3
Minimum Level: 20
Requires 10 points in Assassination Mastery
Increases the armor reduced by your Expose Armor ability by 15%.

Lethality - rank 1/5
Minimum Level: 20
Requires 5 points in Malice
Requires 10 points in Assassination Mastery
Increases the critical strike damage bonus of your Sinister Strike, Gouge, Backstab, Ghostly Strike, and Hemorrhage abilites by 6%.

Assassination - Tier 4

Vile Poisons - rank 1/5
Minimum Level: 25
Requires 15 points in Assassination Mastery
Increases the damage dealt by your poisons by 3%.

Improved Instant Poison - rank 1/5
Minimum Level: 25
Requires 15 points in Assassination Mastery
Increases the chance to apply Instant Poison to your target by 2%.

Assassination - Tier 5

Improved Kidney Shot - rank 1/3
Minimum Level: 30
Requires 20 points in Assassination Mastery
Reduces the cooldown of your Kidney Shot ability by 2 secs.

Cold Blood - rank 1/1
Minimum Level: 30
Requires 20 points in Assassination Mastery
Instant3 min cooldown
When activated, increases the critical strike chance of your next Sinister Strike, Backstab, Ambush, or Eviscerate by 100%.

Improved Deadly Poison - rank 1/5
Minimum Level: 30
Requires 20 points in Assassination Mastery
Increases the chance to apply Deadly Poison to your target by 3%.

Assassination - Tier 6

Seal Fate - rank 1/5
Minimum Level: 35
Requires 1 points in Cold Blood
Requires 25 points in Assassination Mastery
Your critical strikes from abilities that add combo points have a 20% chance to add an additional combo point.

Assassination - Tier 7

Vigor - rank 1/1
Minimum Level: 40
Requires 30 points in Assassination Mastery
Increases your maximum Energy by 10.

Combat - Tier 1

Improved Gouge - rank 1/3
Minimum Level: 10
Increases the effect duration of your Gouge ability by 0.5 sec.

Improved Sinister Strike - rank 1/2
Minimum Level: 10
Reduces the Energy cost of your Sinister Strike ability by 3.

Lightning Reflexes - rank 1/5
Minimum Level: 10
Increases your Dodge chance by 1%.

Combat - Tier 2

Improved Backstab - rank 1/3
Minimum Level: 15
Requires 5 points in Combat Mastery
Increases the critical strike chance of your Backstab ability by 10%.

Deflection - rank 1/5
Minimum Level: 15
Requires 5 points in Combat Mastery
Increases your Parry chance by 1%.

Precision - rank 1/5
Minimum Level: 15
Requires 5 points in Combat Mastery
Increases your chance to hit with melee weapons by 1%.

Combat - Tier 3

Improved Evasion - rank 1/2
Minimum Level: 20
Requires 10 points in Combat Mastery
Increases the effect duration of your Evasion ability by 2 sec.

Riposte - rank 1/1
Minimum Level: 20
Requires 5 points in Deflection
Requires 10 points in Combat Mastery
10 Energy5 yd range
Instant6 sec cooldown
A strike that becomes active after parrying an opponent's attack. This attack deals 150% weapon damage and disarms the target for 6 sec.

Improved Sprint - rank 1/3
Minimum Level: 20
Requires 10 points in Combat Mastery
Reduces the cooldown of your Sprint ability by 30 sec.

Combat - Tier 4

Improved Kick - rank 1/2
Minimum Level: 25
Requires 15 points in Combat Mastery
Gives your Kick ability a 50% chance to silence the target for 2 sec.

Dagger Specialization - rank 1/5
Minimum Level: 25
Requires 15 points in Combat Mastery
Increases your chance to get a critical strike with Daggers by 1%.

Dual Wield Specialization - rank 1/5
Minimum Level: 25
Requires 5 points in Precision
Requires 15 points in Combat Mastery
Increases the damage done by your offhand weapon by 10%.

Combat - Tier 5

Mace Specialization - rank 1/5
Minimum Level: 30
Requires 20 points in Combat Mastery
Gives you a 1% chance to stun your target for 3 sec with a mace.

Blade Flurry - rank 1/1
Minimum Level: 30
Requires 20 points in Combat Mastery
25 Energy
Instant2 min cooldown
Requires Melee Weapon
Increases your attack speed by 20%. In addition, attacks strike an additional nearby opponent. Lasts 15 sec.

Sword Specialization - rank 1/5
Minimum Level: 30
Requires 20 points in Combat Mastery
Gives you a 1% chance to get an extra attack on the same target after dealing damage with your Sword.

Fist Weapon Specialization - rank 1/5
Minimum Level: 30
Requires 20 points in Combat Mastery
Increases your chance to get a critical strike with Fist Weapons by 1%.

Combat - Tier 6

Throwing Weapon Specialization - rank 1/2
Minimum Level: 35
Requires 25 points in Combat Mastery
Increases the range of your throwing weapons by 3 yards.

Aggression - rank 1/3
Minimum Level: 35
Requires 25 points in Combat Mastery
Increases the damage of your Sinister Strike and Eviscerate abilities by 2%.

Combat - Tier 7

Adrenaline Rush - rank 1/1
Minimum Level: 40
Requires 30 points in Combat Mastery
Instant6 min cooldown
Increases your Energy regeneration rate by 100% for 15 sec.

Subtlety - Tier 1

Rapid Concealment - rank 1/5
Minimum Level: 10
Reduces the cooldown of your Stealth ability by 1 sec.

Master of Deception - rank 1/5
Minimum Level: 10
Reduces the chance enemies have to detect you while in Stealth mode.

Camouflage - rank 1/5
Minimum Level: 10
Increases your speed while stealthed by 3%.

Subtlety - Tier 2

Elusiveness - rank 1/5
Minimum Level: 15
Requires 5 points in Subtlety Mastery
Reduces the cooldown of your Evasion, Vanish, and Blind abilities by 15 sec.

Opportunity - rank 1/5
Minimum Level: 15
Requires 5 points in Subtlety Mastery
Increases the damage dealt when striking from behind with your Backstab, Garrote, or Ambush abilities by 4%.

Subtlety - Tier 3

Initiative - rank 1/5
Minimum Level: 20
Requires 10 points in Subtlety Mastery
Gives you a 15% chance to add an additional combo point to your target when using your Ambush, Garrote, or Cheap Shot ability.

Ghostly Strike - rank 1/1
Minimum Level: 20
Requires 10 points in Subtlety Mastery
50 Energy5 yd range
Instant20 sec cooldown
A strike that deals 125% weapon damage and increases your chance to dodge by 15% for 7 sec. Awards 1 combo point.

Improved Garrote - rank 1/2
Minimum Level: 20
Requires 5 points in Opportunity
Requires 10 points in Subtlety Mastery
Increases the duration of your Garrote ability by 3 sec, but reduces the damage by 5%.

Improved Ambush - rank 1/3
Minimum Level: 20
Requires 5 points in Opportunity
Requires 10 points in Subtlety Mastery
Increases the critical strike chance of your Ambush ability by 15%.

Subtlety - Tier 4

Improved Vanish - rank 1/3
Minimum Level: 25
Requires 15 points in Subtlety Mastery
Increases your movement speed while vanished by 10%.

Improved Rupture - rank 1/3
Minimum Level: 25
Requires 15 points in Subtlety Mastery
Increases the damage dealt by your Rupture ability by 10%.

Improved Sap - rank 1/3
Minimum Level: 25
Requires 15 points in Subtlety Mastery
Gives you a 30% chance to return to stealth mode after using your Sap ability.

Subtlety - Tier 5

Preparation - rank 1/1
Minimum Level: 30
Requires 20 points in Subtlety Mastery
Instant10 min cooldown
When activated, this ability immediately finishes the cooldown on your other Rogue abilities.

Improved Cheap Shot - rank 1/2
Minimum Level: 30
Requires 20 points in Subtlety Mastery
Reduces the Energy cost of your Cheap Shot ability by 10.

Improved Distract - rank 1/2
Minimum Level: 30
Requires 20 points in Subtlety Mastery
Increases the radius of your Distract ability by 3 yards.

Subtlety - Tier 6

Setup - rank 1/3
Minimum Level: 35
Requires 1 points in Ghostly Strike
Requires 25 points in Subtlety Mastery
Gives you a 15% chance to add a combo point to your target after dodging their attack.

Hemorrhage - rank 1/1
Minimum Level: 35
Requires 25 points in Subtlety Mastery
35 Energy5 yd range
Instant
Requires Melee Weapon
An instant strike that damages the opponent and causes the target to hemorrhage, increasing any Physical damage dealt to the target by up to 3. Lasts 30 charges or 15 sec. Awards 1 combo point.

Subtlety - Tier 7

Premeditation - rank 1/1
Minimum Level: 40
Requires 30 points in Subtlety Mastery
10 Energy15 yd range
1 sec cast2 min cooldown
When used, adds 2 combo points to your target. The target must become engaged in combat within 10 sec or the combo points are lost.

Jintha scenery

2005-08-05T17:55:00.000-05:00

Isn't WoW just pretty to look at sometimes?

Jintha'Alor

2005-08-05T17:50:00.000-05:00

Here's an interesting SS that shows my stats (since updated somewhat) when I was doing my first Jintha'Alor run. That place is certainly fun, and this is an exciting shot of some flying blood (whose?) and lots of action.

BattleGrounds!

2005-08-05T17:45:00.000-05:00

This is my favourite BG screenshot, back when I was lvl 50 and loving being at the top of the food chain. (if you don't know, BG in WSG segregates rounds by levels; e.g., I was in the 41-50 category)

Tactics #1 - Rogue vs. Warlock

2005-08-05T12:53:00.000-05:00

WARNING!!!

This tactics post deals with fighting PRE-PATCH Warlocks, not the modern, killeverythinginsightandbarelygetascratch warlocks. Bah. I'm leaving this post here, though, to remind us salty dogs of the good old days where we could actually win a fight. Bah.

I thought I'd start out easy with the tactics blogs. Basically, if you're a rogue, and can't solo a warlock, seriously consider picking another class.

This isn't to say that warlocks are always easy. In protective groups, they can be quite the damage dealers. As a matter of fact, I have a lvl 60 warlock! The comment I get from duelers is, "I didn't expect that much DPS from you!" Why? Destruction warlock.

Just to bring it down to basics, in case you weren't aware of the warlock specs, there are three basic types of locks: affliction, destruction, and pet-obsessed. We'll tackle each of these, and then get some general info out there as to things that all warlocks are prone to do. I usually beat warlocks of much higher levels, regardless of the situation, because I know all their tricks.

vs. Destruction Warlock:

Most D-locks are specced to fire off one instant curse, a very short casting time destruction spell, and then immolate. A good warlock will take mere seconds to do this, and then be casting fear on you before you know it. D-locks also tend to have rain of fire (sp?), which will unstealth you if you're in the aoe. The best thing against a D-lock is speed. Get to the lock, and make sure he can't cast any more. Once the two or three dots are on you, you're screwed anyway, so might as well take the caster out. I'll reiterate. Running from a warlock is a BAD idea, since you can't outrun dots. Although D-locks can deal a great deal of damage, they can't do it while being interrupted all the time. Hit hard, fast, and kick when you see the lock casting, and a D-lock shouldn't be too much trouble solo. (But, you say, what if he's got a pet? We'll deal with that later).

vs. Affliction Warlock:

It sucks to die AFTER you've killed your opponent. That's how affliction tends to work. Similarly to the D-lock, just get in there fast.

vs. Pet Warlock:

The only real defense besides fear that a warlock has is the demonic pet. For the most part, there are four that you are likely to encounter. I'm not going to bother discussing the infernal or doomguard. That'd be silly.

-Imp. with a D- or A- lock, you can fairly ignore imps. Their power is minimal, and the imp will disappear once you off the lock. With a pet-lock, however, the imp can be more troublesome. First of all, in general, realize that unless the imp attacks you, you won't even be able to target it. Fun in duels with mages who don't know that and think they'll get away with sheeping the warlock and offing the imp. Second, improved imps pack a lot more punch, and over the course of a few seconds, can do quite a bit of fiery damage (which, unless you've been doing MC runs, will seriously burn). This isn't, of course, to say that you should target the imp early or first, but depending on the situation, it might not be a bad idea. Imps generally have low health, and can be taken out in about two or three solid blows. Unfortunately, that's just the opportunity the warlock needs to cast a few more dots on you, and perhaps a shadow bolt or two. The advantage of taking out an imp is twofold, though. First, you eliminate a damage-dealer. Second, you reduce the health of the warlock by severing the blood pact that increases the caster's stamina. Sometimes, this can just about kill the warlock. Still, in my experience, it's more efficient just to attack the warlock directly, since the imp's damage is instant, and not dot, you can recover more quickly.

-Voidwalker. Don't laugh. As a warlock, I've saved my butt multiple times with a little-known feature of the voidwalker (vw). At any time, the warlock can choose to sacrifice the vw, giving the warlock a very nice, albeit temporary, shield, similar to that of a mana shield or paladin's shield. Ask how many other warlocks have survived jumping into Un'Goro. Gotta use sacrifice. Most warlocks, realizing they're being attacked, and may become stun locked very quickly, opt to sacrifice early, and try to get a running start. It's not hard to rip through the shield, since it's both temporary, and has a limited capacity for damage, so just chase. Again, ignore the voidwalker, but be careful of the warlocks who are smart enough to save sacrifice for later in the fight. The warlock might have friends coming, and would use sacrifice to prolong life just long enough for them to arrive. Also, the shield gives the lock the opportunity to freely cast (I don't know of much that can penetrate the shield in the minimal amount of time the lock needs to cast, for instance, a fear). So be wary of that.

-Succubus. If you suddenly find yourself immobile, but falling in love with that warlock you were about to decimate, it's because a succubus whispered in your ear how cute you are. This diversionary tactic is short-lived, however, because any damage done to you will instantly release you from the succubus' grip. Then you are free to attack the caster. The succubus has a timered whip lashing that does a good amount of damage, and can be near fatal if you happen to be immobilized in other sorts of ways, but, again, take out the warlock, and you take out the pet. Undoubtedly, after being frozen by the succubus, the warlock will waste little time casting some nasty little curse on you, which will free you. Some warlocks use this opportunity to cast fear, instead, or to run, or both. (have you noticed how often they run? it's true! if they don't, they die!) I generally ignore the succubus unless I just want to piss the warlock off, because these pets cost shards. Annoying things, shards.

-Fel hunter. This pet is mostly worthless, except against casters, when it comes to doing damage. A rogue definitely should hesitate to sneak up to a warlock with a fel hunter, because it provides the warlock with paranoia, which can see through your stealth. Generally, I just wait till the warlock sends it to fight something, and is preoccupied. In general, though, ignore the ugly dog and focus on the warlock.

vs. Warlock, in general.

-Fear: Most people hate warlock's fear. It's effective, but to a point. Damage has a chance to release fear, and it has diminishing returns (meaning that the more you cast it on the same person, the less effective it is; trust me, this sucks in duels with paladins or other resilient foes). Being Undead, I have a nice tool that helps me release fear immediately. However, unlike most other fear casting devices, the warlock can cast fear as many times as the warlock has mana. So, if you blow your anti-fear charm/trick/racial trait, don't be surprised if you get hit with fear again. What I do is analyze the situation. How much would it hurt for me just to let fear run out? I mean, the warlock is bound to attack me with something that will release the fear, and if I get in a bind later, I'll still have my anti-fear whatever to get me out. Since warlocks are generally weak, this tactic seems to work fine.

-Soulstone: A very good warlock can be very nasty with a well-timed soulstone. Situation: you're fighting a tough mob, and a warlock comes upon you and tries to gank you, the fool. You ignore the mob to off the warlock, and the warlock, of course, dies, but not till you've suffered quite a bit of damage from the dots as well as the mob you ignored. But, no problem, since the warlock is DED. So, you turn back to the mob, and continue. FLASH, the warlock us UP again, with a decent amount of health/mana, and casts two more dots on you, then fears you, then shadow bolts you before you know what's going on, and you didn't even have time to slam a potion! (or perhaps you already did earlier!). Owch. That could be the end of you. There are many other situations that I've seen warlocks use and misuse the soulstone, but in general, it's mostly just an instance party wipe saver, used on a priest or other rezzer. Just be wary of it if you want an extra kill under your belt, or if you're low in health around a warlock you just killed. When a warlock dies with a soulstone, the warlock has, I believe, 6 minutes to use it, or the spirit will be released. Soulstones have a 1-hour cooldown.

-Warlocks in medium/large pvp groups: This is where warlocks really show their stuff. For one thing, with the right talents, warlocks can significantly extend the range of their spells. This means that in those fun situations where two large groups of opponents are standing off, with brave players running forth, firing a shot and running back, or just a general undulation from both sides, the warlocks can target and dot the unwary, and a well-placed rain of fire will quickly end the stealthiness of any rogue ignorant enough to be huddled with the masses. What I like to do, of course, is to ignore my own group, ignore the opponent group, and sneak around to find the loner mage or recovering player in the back of the crowd, gank, and begone before anyone else notices. Hey, that's what rogues are for!

Well, you probably already knew that it wouldn't require much skill to kill a warlock, but I hope this helps a modicum, since it's always nice to learn some of the tactics of the enemy.

More soon!

-Psy

-EDIT-

Last night, I kinda experimented with a warlock one level above me. I beat him 3 times out of 4. (he wasn't in my faction, either). I was scoping out prey at Southshore (more on that later) and decided a soft target that would give me some good HK was too good to pass up, so I used the tactics above, and BAM, he was dead quickly, and I was behind a tree, counting down the single DOT timer he had on me, and then stealthed. [note: if you want to fight in SS, be wary that your dead opponents can rez very quickly and take advantage of damage they, themselves, had caused earlier]. Well, I'm normally content to leave it at that, and let him go. However, he decided to play hero and come look for me. Naturally, I couldn't have that. However, this time, he pulled out a pet--a fel hunter! Oboy! I avoided his radar range as he ran in circles, looking for me, and then he for some reason decided to mount up to, uh, make his search more efficient? To a rogue, a mounted opponent is a blessing. As mentioned above, the fel hunter is insufficient at melee, and I easily took out the warlock trying to figure out how to dismount.

The third time we fought, he pulled out a voidwalker. As I instruct myself above, I ignored the big blueberry, and went straight after the warlock, with success. However, when he summoned another VW, I decided to try something different. Note, friends, that doing something different is fine in dueling, but when you're fighting a real opponent... it may be your undoing--as it was mine. This time, I sapped the warlock, and then started to beat upon the voidwalker. I was basically just trying to annoy the warlock by making him lose a precious shard (required to make a voidwalker). However, I quickly discovered that voidwalkers make great tanks (I knew this from playing a warlock, but was never actually fighting a voidwalker), and have tremendous resistance to melee attacks, and a boatload of health. Needless to say, I had the vw down to 50% health when the warlock recovered from sap. I vanished (planning to CS the warlock), but lo and behold! Guess who saw me? Yes, the Voidwalker! And from then on, the story goes downhill. The vw had already taken some of my health, add a few dots, and quickly I was going down in flames. The lesson: do what I say up there, and beware! voidwalkers will likely see you before their warlock owners (as, I'm guessing other pets) and, if set on aggressive, they will give you away! Lesson learned!

SS/Evis Rogue is More Dynamic Than You Think

2005-08-05T10:28:00.000-05:00

Any SS/Evis rogues out there?
Regardless, I'm sure you've heard the comment, "SS/Evis is boring, all you do is stand there and spam SS."

Well, Psy is a combat rogue, and I must tell you, I do a heck of a lot more than just stand there and spam one key. Anyone who does that deserves to be ganked. Psy goes up against some pretty tough opponents, constantly challenging same level elites or multiple lower level elites. Elites are tough, admittedly, but any rogue who just wants to stand there spamming one key will quickly get slaughtered (unless that rogue's got some l337 gear, which Psy does not).

I'll give you an example: for some reason, other rogues like to challenge me to duels. Whatever. I duel, I win for the most part. What they don't usually expect, though, is a rogue with two maces (me) running around them in circles. Why, you may ask, would a mace rogue need to do that? Well, the rogues I've dueled are 9/10 BS rogues with their little steely knives. Nothing wrong with a BS build, mind you, but be prepared to get slaughtered if you don't get that perfect from-behind shot about three times in a duel. By running in circles (and sometimes just other evasion tactics), I nearly always avoid getting backstabbed, because the whole time I'm running, I'm facing my opponent. Now, I've been stopped in my tracks by a timely gouge, and then easily BSd, but that's usually the only opening I give. The most common thing said by a defeated opponent of mine is, "I couldn't hit you!" or "You dodged/parried like five times in a row!" That's the thing about rogues, and the compromise that you make: you can evade a lot, but when you finally get hit, OW, it hurts.

Compare to Pally or Warrior. They expect to be hit a lot. That why they have the nice, shiny armor. It's fun to be the tank! Actually, I've ended up being the tank in a lot of my parties because I tend to do the most damage. (Yeah, Billy, I know you caught up and passed me in damage, but let's see you take the hits I do!)

Actually, if any rogue happens to be reading this (or ever reads this), please describe for the audience how you effectively use Feint to avoid becoming the unwilling tank in a party. (BTW, if you didn't know this, healers HATE it when there is more than one tank. It's enough just to constantly heal one guy, without some other idiot (like me!) taking mega damage on the side for no good reason). And you don't wanna piss off healers. (Assuming they're any good).

And, if anyone has any other good tactics for doing mega damage without drawing all the aggro, please lemme know. I'll post good tips and give props.

Oh yeah, I had a point, right? I think if played well, ALL rogues have the opportunity to be fun and dynamic; i.e., not just some static, stand in one place rogue with only two keys. I use SS/evis, but I also use gouge (good way to cheaply build up some energy, as well as a CP),
KS (great way to save a tank or unfortunate healer/mage's life, or just to stop a runner),
blind (getting in over your head? trying to solo multiple elites? sap one, kill the other, when the sapped comes back, fight a few seconds, then blind, then you can apply bandages AND go back into stealth; all that = no wasting potions/vanish/or other timers) [my good friend, Jedix was nice enough to remind me that this tactic does NOT work in pve. If anyone has any evidence otherwise, I'd love to hear it. Thanks, Jed],
evade (don't use against a warrior.. owch... lesson learned! but great against multiple opponents),
CS (great opening for non BS rogues),
and much much more!

If you're a newer rogue, and haven't figured out all the neato stuff you have available, find a single mob 10 levels below you, and practice! Anyway, love the rogue.

-Psy