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The Daily Grind: How many deaths before you call it?
The first time, okay, it happens. The second time is a bit worse, but again, these things happen to the best of us. Then comes the third death, and the fourth, and you start to wonder if you're actually playing the game or participating in some sort of bizarre computer-controlled death match where the server just wants you to go down in flames time and again. And almost everyone, in the right circumstances, will decide that it's one death too many and leave for greener pastures. In the case of games with a harsh enough death penalty such as EVE Online, even the threat of death can deter people. We all have guidelines we use for determining when something is a lost cause, be it a group activity with friends or just a quest that doesn't want to play nice. What are yours? Do you have a set number of deaths, or something more game-specific such as losing a certain fraction of experience in Final Fantasy XI? If you're in a group, do you talk about it when you join, do you just quit when the limit is reached, or do you warn people and make excuses?
The Classifieds: The Spectacular Wipe Club
The Classifieds brings you weekly updates on guild recruiting, rankings, splits and merges, progression and more. Have guild news or a Random Act of Uberness to share? E-mail TheClassifieds@wow.com. Huzzah! We have a winne -- err, loser to announce! Proudly claiming the lead in our Spectacular Wipes Challenge is the stalwart PUG from US Thrall-A shown in the Sarth-3D video, above. "This was a zerg attempt prior to release of 3.1, the first done Alliance-side on Thrall-US," writes submitter Popalicious. "While we don't all come from the same guild, most of us were friends and some of us had been guilded together prior to the release of BC (though I think the hunter in this video was a total PUG none of us knew at all, heh). I was the only one who had successfully completed Sarth+3 on 10- or 25-man in the group, so it was kind of awesome fun to see the spam when we finally did get it down. I was proud of us for sticking it out, but the QQ over Vent when this wipe came up ... 'OMG one more poison proc and he would have died!', 'One more tick of Ret Aura ...' After this wipe, one of the rogues went back to Zangarmarsh and farmed up some Firebloom, convinced it would be that one little extra push we'd need. But sadly, it just wasn't meant to be that night. We did complete it successfully the next week with almost the exact same makeup." This group's 223-hp spectacular wipe easily bests <Spectacular Death>'s 1,475-hp gem. Can your boss wipe beat that? Send in the best of your worst to TheClassifieds@wow.com. Now let's crack open The Classifieds ...
How many wipes does it take to end a raid?
This is probably a good question to revisit since we're heading into a patch where lots and lots of us will be running pickup raids and groups. Souldreamer on WoW Ladies LJ asks: "just when do you give up on a raid?" It's a good question, and unfortunately, the answer probably depends on the raid itself. If, going in, you're not sure just how much DPS the raid can do, and your healer says he's actually specced prot, and you were planning on going to bed anyway, one wipe is probably enough to call it. On the other hand, if you've dropped a few bosses and have an issue with the tank losing aggro for a second on a boss, you'll probably go back for another few wipes just to see. Do any of you have an actual policy? I tend to not get involved in PuGs at all if I think there's a chance they won't make it -- there are too many fish in the sea, and too many other things for me to work on rather than beating my head up against a boss. But maybe it would be good to set up a rule that most of us can agree on, something like, "three wipes and you're out." That might save a lot of time and frustration in the new Dungeon system.
Guildwatch: The dreaded 0% wipe
So close, and yet so far. The screenshot you see above? It was a wipe. The whole guild died off on Kel'Thuzad... at 9.5k health, low enough for the mod above to list it at 0%. Yes, Benediction on EU Turalyon experienced the dreaded 0% wipe -- we hope you never have to see it, and we hope, just like them, that victory comes soon after if you do. They downed him on the attempt right after that one.Lots more downed news after the break in this week's Guildwatch. To submit your tips (we do have a backlog currently, so it may take a week or two to get them in), send them off to wowguildwatch@gmail.com. And there are so many ninjas on the realms lately that unless they're exceptional or otherwise guild-related, we probably won't be listing them here. So if some random dude stole a blue out of your 5-man PuG, you'll have to look for vengeance elsewhere (the forums, maybe?). Enjoy the column!
Breakfast topic: Bunk in my trunk
I'm sure we've all had someone dash ahead of us when we're out gathering to take our mining node, our herb, or even our skin. It's frustrating when it's a member of the opposite faction who does this. On a PvP server, you might kill them, on a PvE server, your only recourse is a /rude. It's more annoying when it's a member of your own faction and you can't even kill them. Ultimately the same is also true of Daily Quests and some quest mobs. Whenever recourse's are scarce, bad blood settles in. I have never seen a quest that brings out the worst in players than "Junk in My Trunk" in Utgarde Pinnacle. For this quest you must gather items laying around the instance. There are not enough for a full group on the quest to pick therm up on the same run, so many people jockey to be the first to get their junk. The first time I ran that instance I was amazed at how greedy people would be. The tank would pull but the healer was off picking up a silver bar or a bauble. You guessed it, wipefest.
The Guild: Christmas special 2008
Yes, The Guild is back with another Christmas special this year, and this time it's a retelling of "The Night Before Christmas" with a decidedly MMO spin. St. Nick is a level 90 rare spawn, apparently, and the guidies have to be careful -- not only does he have a few mean adds (including a reindeer with a Shiny Nose buff), but he's got more than one phase to get through, too.Very cute. The video should be on Xbox Live and the Zune marketplace as usual, and we should be very close to having the rest of the guild's episodes sitting right on The Guild's site as well, so stay tuned for that. Maybe next year we'll be able to see some of St. Nick's dropped loot tables.
Breakfast Topic: Honorary wipe
Well so much for the honor wipe. As you can already see from the comments on that post, players have all kinds of opinions about this -- some believe that Blizzard should have gone through with the wipe, giving everyone a clean slate as the expansion started. Some players disagree, saying that honor is honor -- if you earned it, you should keep it. Some players are unhappy that the prices for level 80 items are going to be raised as part of the non-wipe, leaving new players in the dust. And even other players are just angry because they listened to Blizzard, and already spent the honor they thought they were losing anyway.So the question this morning isn't how you feel about the Honor non-wipe, since odds are you've already expressed that. But it is: where do we go from here? Are you going to step up Honor farming in the hopes of picking up new, expensive items right away at level 80? Or are you just done with the system completely, and planning to worry about what's available at level 80 when you get there?You should keep in mind that for all of the gnashing of teeth, we still don't know for sure how rewards will worth in Wrath -- Tigole has even said that tuning is still happening, and so any tweaks Blizzard may make might actually turn out to make the whole thing easier on everyone. But now that you know the Honor isn't going anywhere, what's your plan before the expansion?
"It wasn't me": Account sharing and excuses
Technically, account sharing is a bannable offense, no ifs, ands, or buts. If your brother, best friend, coworker, or Fred from the soccer league who sometimes drops by your house after practice for a couple cold ones want to play some WoW, they have to get their own account. If they play on your account, and Blizzard finds out, they can shut you down for it.
Ready Check: On wipes and wiping
Ready Check is a weekly column focusing on successful raiding for the serious raider. Hardcore or casual, ZA or Sunwell Plateau, everyone can get in on the action and down some bosses. It's not easy, though... Wiping. That wonderful process whereby your raid becomes nothing but a pile of corpses, and you have to pick yourselves off the floor and start again. It's an essential part of raiding, whether you're dying to well-known content or progression bosses, and some people are even rumoured to enjoy it. However, repeatedly wiping on something for various reasons can really lower your raid's morale, and presents an interesting problem for any raid leader.Let's take a look at the problems and challenges arising from wipe nights, or even a failed try or two at something on farm.
The epic raid AFK
There are few things more frustrating in the game than a person going AFK in the middle of a fight. Sometimes there are good reasons, and sometimes the reasons are...less than adequate. But no matter what, we all have an epic AFK story that makes us laugh and cry all at the same time.The ultimate AFK (so far) in my WoW career happened while we were on Illidan last week. Uly, a good Mage in our guild, was standing with the ranged group dpsing Illidan during phase 1. He was a little high on threat, so he switched to his wand. Nothing wrong there.So he's standing there, wanding away as I'm moving Illidan across the terrace to avoid the fire. It looks like he's doing his job. He get the parasites."Uly," the raid leader calls out.A second goes by."Uly, move," calls the class lead.Another moment."Oh $!@# he's AFK."
Hail Mandy: The Druid's Soulstone
We've all wiped in an instance from time to time. It is significantly easier to keep going when a rezzer has a self-rez ability so the group doesn't have to waste time running back to the instance. Soulstone and Reincarnation are wonderful things. The Druid's Rebirth spell can also be used occasionally to save the party the walk of shame back to the instance. I call this maneuver the "Hail Mandy." I started doing this when I was multiboxing my Paladin and Druid. When the Paladin, who was tanking, died and the Druid was going down, I would cast rebirth on the Pally. Then after the Druid was killed and the mobs reset, I would accept the rez. This allowed me to raise both characters and start back up on my merry, dualboxing way- just like using a Soulstone.
Breakfast Topic: Wipeout Poll
It's amazing to me exactly how hard instances can be. Not the mobs, but the group. We've all been in ugh-PUGs before. Some players don't understand how to use their class or play nicely in an instance. That's only on regular dungeons; heroics have their own set of potential disasters. Sometimes you just have to give up. Putting a group together for instance can be extremely difficult, and sometimes you have to take what you can get. While there are many excellent tanks out there, the shortage on my server makes for slim pickings. Folks who think that pulling aggro off the tank is an honor make up another problem. I am occasionally guilty of trying to heal and DPS at the same time. I'll admit to causing a wipe or two because of it.
The Daily Grind: Your best wipe?
Pretty well anyone who has ever been in a party quest, or on a raid in an MMO has a story of this nature to share. In time they become the center of in-jokes in your group of friends, or guild. The truly spectacularly silly ones can even go on to become Internet history. Today, we'd like to hear about your funniest wipes! Just what went wrong? Or, for that matter, what went right when it came to making them so funny?
Snug systems and clean screens
Similar to the Touchpen Leashes we featured last month, Freedom's drawstring pouch ties onto the back of your Nintendo DS, tagging along with your handheld until you undo the convenient clasp. The case's thin fabric -- available in black, red, blue, and white -- doesn't look like it'll protect your DS from anything more serious than a few scratches, but it also serves as a screen and system wipe. Double your features, double your fun! Check out more photos of the case and its color variations after the jump.Freedom's Cleaner x Pouch sells for 680 yen (approximately $6.20), but we haven't seen the product listed at any non-Japanese retailers yet. We'll keep an eye on the usual import shops, and we'll let you know if we see these pop up!
Hori summons an accessory set to complement Final Fantasy IV's release
Another major RPG release for the DS, another Hori accessory set. This latest bundle for Final Fantasy IV's 3D remake comes packed with a trio of items you can buy to showcase your fanboyism and poor money management skills -- a protective system case, an extendable stylus, and an attachable screen wipe bearing the image of a chibi Rydia, FFIV's green-haired summoner. Like the game, this kit won't be available in Japan until December 20th, but import shop Play Asia is already taking preorders, charging $17.90 plus shipping. Gather your party, stock up on potions, and travel past the post break for more images from this official accessory set.
One Shots: The black dragon in its natural habitat
Ingmar sends in this excellent shot of the dragon Onyxia in World of Warcraft, one of the game's earliest raid bosses. Forty level 60 players had to complete a lengthy attunement quest to enter Onyxia's lair and fight her, often finding themselves burned to a crisp by her fire attacks or overwhelmed by the young dragon whelps who would come to their mother's aid. Ingmar tells us that this attempt was a wipe, but "not because I was taking screenshots instead of paying attention to the raid." Hey, Ingmar, you don't have to explain yourself to us -- we've always found that being dead provides the best opportunity to take lovely screenshots of the world around you.Do you have your own shots from a particularly gruesome raid wipe? One Shots wants to see them, so we can all remember the glory days of dying to Onyxia and Ragnaros. We only post what you send us -- so send your screenshots and stories to oneshots@massively.com. You may see it featured here tomorrow, same time, same place. %Gallery-9798%
The Soloist: Why I do it
After this post, I had it in mind to think through why I prefer to solo, and whether the reasons why are valid ones, given that I'm playing in a genre meant to provide a social experience. I'm going to try to list as many reasons as I can think of in favor of grouping and playing with buddies, and provide a counter-argument if I can. Bear in mind, this is not me telling you that you should go solo; this is just me trying to 1) explain why I do it, and 2) understand for myself whether my reasons hold water.Enough said; excelsior!
Calling the wipe... and what happens next
World of Matticus has an interesting piece up about a touchy subject in raidleading: calling the wipe. It's a tough job leading the raid. Everyone's there to down the boss, yes, but especially when learning a fight, a raidleader has to balance a lot of different priorities-- are potions used or not? Who rezzes after a wipe? How are the healers balanced? And when things go really bad, they have to decide, sometimes on a moment's notice, whether to call a wipe and reset the encounter, or try to push onward. Everyone knows what's possible-- everyone's seen a fight where the last Mage left is able to get one last fireball off and finish off the boss-- but the raidleader has to look at reality and make that call.Now, Matticus is actually pretty gung-ho about things-- he says not to wipe unless you're down to your last healer and you've only got one rez left. I agree that there are times when soulstones should be popped (if we have enough locks, we'll usually soulstone our main healer, and so if aggro ever gets lost, he pops right back up again), but if you're on the first attempt of the day, there's nothing wrong with saving a few rezzes and repair payments. Especially in a place like Gruul's Lair on High King Maulgar, where it's easy to get out when things go south, there's no reason to fight when two tanks drop on a bad pull. Just run, save the money, and come back when HKM has reset.But Matticus is dead on about what happens after a wipe is actually called.
A sacrifice for the victory!
Xalit has a good question in the WoW LJ: which boss do you always die on? Being a Shaman, I'm pretty good at not dying (in boss fights where we don't wipe, at least)-- I'm far enough away from the battle to avoid crazy AoE, and the fact that I don't top either the heal or the DPS meters means I'm pretty far down on the aggro lists.But even more common than me dying every battle is our main healer. He always seems to bite the dust during a battle, whether we win or wipe-- even on a trash fight, he's usually the first to go. And our guildleader, a DPS Mage, was the butt of a joke for a while in the guild-- we laughed that he had to die for us to beat the boss. If he didn't die, the boss didn't get the sacrifice he needed, and we didn't get the loot.I don't know that it ever got to the point where we were actually killing him during the fight just to make sure a down happened, but I'm sure it was joked about. Are there any fights you've been to where, even with a victory, someone just can't stay alive for some reason?
Ask WoW Insider: To wipe or not to wipe?
Our own Barb, who usually runs the Friday afternoon Ask WoW Insider column, is off speaking prestigiously at a very prestigious conference (go Barb!) today. So instead, I'm going to step in, and put your considerable brainpower, dear readers, to work deciphering what I think is a pretty philosophical conceit. Ken asks, very succintly:A quick one for you, the boss is down but everyone died... Is it a wipe?What do you think? You kill the boss, but everyone in your UI is dead. I'll even make it tougher-- everyone who had a soulstone or an ankh in the fight has used it, so the only way you're going to get that loot is if someone runs back. Wipe, or not a wipe? Is it possible to both wipe and down a boss, or does "wipe" expressly imply failure? And if not, what do you call both death and success?If you've got a question, silly or serious, pensive or practical, that you'd like to ask the readers of WoW Insider, sent it to ask AT wowinsider DOT com.
