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Mionee checks off soloing Cataclysm raids, begins bloodying Mists
Evidently, the EU realms are a hotbed of death knight creativity and initiative. While he might be among the best-known players for his crazy soloing accomplishments, Raegwyn is hardly the only DK to crack the code of soloing endgame content. Mionee, a savvy and seasoned death knight from top EU guild Envy, is also making name for herself from soloing a few little things. What kind of things? Everything from Deathwing, Ragnaros, and a challenge mode dungeon down to older content such as Yogg-Saron/0 keepers and the Lich King. "The only normal mode encounters that cannot be soloed right now as a DK are Kalecgos in Sunwell Plateau, Valithria Dreamwalker in Icecrown Citadel (unless you're a draenei with Gift of the Naaru), Conclave of Wind in Throne of the Four Winds, as well as Hagara the Stormbinder and Spine of Deathwing in Dragon Soul," Mionee muses. "That leaves quite a lot of soloable encounters. On a more general note, what's left to solo are the heroic versions of some encounters, or the 25-man versions of bosses that have only been soloed in 10-man." "To give a rough estimate," she continues, "by the end of Wrath of the Lich King, I was doing Mount Hyjal; by the end of Cata, I had completed nearly every possible heroic encounter from Wrath (a few exceptions aside); and right now, I have completed everything in Cata aside from the three above-mentioned encounters." Mionee gives us the inside scoop on soloing some of the game's toughest content and answers the question of whether death knights are really overpowered, after the break.
The Anvil of Crom: Sex, violence, and the solo gamer
OK, those of you who clicked on this week's issue of The Anvil of Crom hoping to read a sordid expose filled with tawdry, titillating screenshots from Funcom's M-rated Age of Conan MMO might be disappointed. I know, I know, a headline like that is a dastardly writer trick. Blame it on the fact that I happened across an old Natalie Wood film with a catchy title while scrounging about for this week's topic. At any rate, I will be mentioning violence, as it's hard to talk about Age of Conan without it. Hopefully that will earn your forgiveness. Really though, I'm itching to spend a bit of virtual ink on the solo gamer, particularly as he or she relates to Funcom's sword and sorcery epic, so join me after the cut for a look at how the lone wolf fares in Hyboria.
Are MMOs killing the single-player game?
Listening to the Penny Arcade podcast, Downloadable Content, as I am wont to do when playing something, the topic of discussion turned to how World of Warcraft has ruined Mike for playing single-player-only games because no matter what treasure is received, or secret unlocked, it's an offering on display only for himself; it cannot be shared, and therefore lacks the proper cachet. At least, that was my understanding; I may be mistaken. Check it out yourself.Regardless, the concept is sound. The rarity of your epic loot is rendered almost meaningless in a single-player venue. And perhaps the heady thrill of true PvP combat makes solo play less appealing. Being a Soloist myself, this is not too much of an issue to me, but what do you all think? Do single-player games have to work harder, innovate more, to deserve your dollar? Is the future of gaming, as Raph Koster seems to think, MMOs?
The Soloist: I've Got a Hench
Here's something I never missed before in WoW, but now I wish it could be implemented. I was leafing through the manual for my newly-purchased Guild Wars box (at $5 it was a steal! Thank you, random sidewalk sale!) and it mentioned the ability to purchase henchmen, or mercenaries, to travel with you on your adventures.Now, WoW has its similarities -- Hunters get pets, as do Warlocks -- and of course you have your guilds or PUGs. But here's the thing: leveling up a pet and outfitting it with new abilities is a pain. It's not how I want to spend my in-world time. And even though it's an MMO, I'm a lone wolf -- I don't want to group with people to play. In fact, this is the inaugural post of a recurring feature I'm calling The Soloist -- posts about playing MMOs alone.So, why can't I buy or rent mercs in WoW? Just think of all the times you weren't able to enjoy a quick raid because none of your friends or guildies were available. Or perhaps you have a random playing schedule and just can't coordinate even so much as a PUG. Maybe you just don't like the social aspect of MMOs in general. Whatever the reason, developers ignore the solo player at their peril! The funny thing is, Blizzard made mercenaries available in Diablo II, and that's kinda MMO, innit? C'mon, guys, help a lone agent out. Give us henchmen!
Sirius' Stiletto 100 in the wild
See that? No, not the big honkin' speaker dock, but the Stiletto 100 just casually hangin' out in the wild. The dock we already know as the Soloist from Directed Electronics but this is a first live-shot 'round these parts of the WiFi-enabled Stiletto 100 from Sirius. Besides playing live Sirius broadcasts, the $349 device is expected to offer 100 hours of storage and the ability to download and store MP3 and WMA files. If that September launch holds up then we can expect the unboxing rituals to commence any day now. [Via Orbitcast]
Directed unveils Soloist universal media dock
If you've ever dreamed of morphing your Sirius boombox and iPod speaker system into one incredibly convenient unit, you're obviously not alone. Directed Electronics has raised the curtains on its Soloist universal media dock, which apparently hopes to be an end-all solution to folks who don't want a separate sound system for every media player they own. Although this is labeled with the ever-trendy "universal" tagline, it's clear this NXT-powered device was created with Apple's cash cow and Sirius subscribers in mind. The Soloist utilizes SurfaceSound flat panel speaker technology, and packs a subtle 10 watt-per-channel Tripath amplifier into a thin, black housing. While the system will definitely support the iPod and Sirius varieties, an untold amount of other interchangeable cradles will supposedly be included. Just in case your DAP is shunned in the cradle department, an aux-in port is provided along with a headphone jack and a Sirius in-house antenna to boot. The portability crowd will be a bit bummed that the Soloist only plays when connected to an AC outlet, as a battery compartment is MIA, but you will be able to wake to your favorite tune or Sirius station thanks to the built-in alarm clock, which could possibly make dragging yourself out of bed at least slightly less excruciating. This surprisingly well-featured device might not replace your high-end speaker systems, but if consolidation becomes a necessity, you can snag the Soloist for $149 this September.
