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World of Warcraft's Warlords of Draenor is launching by December 20th
Just yesterday, World of Warcraft gave everyone a look at just how important reaching the level cap could be. Today, the game is opening up independent level 90 boosts for everyone via the in-game store, and they're still priced at $60 a pop. It's bad news if you have an army of alts you want to speed along to the level cap, but it's good news if you have that army of alts and more money than you know what to do with. A tutorial video is embedded just past the break to show you how to make use of this feature. Even if you're not up for buying one of the boosts, you might be looking forward to getting one along with your purchase of Warlords of Draenor. So when's that expansion actually coming out? According to the official site, it will be releasing on or before December 20th of this year, which means it's definitely coming out this year but leaves the field wide open in terms of when. Keep your eyes peeled for rollbacks on that date, as it's more likely that the expansion will be out long before the end of the year.
Arcane Saga launches with Steam bonus packs
Ready to start a new saga? After a brief period of open beta testing, Arcane Saga has officially launched today for players to enjoy a saga all about the arcane. Or a saga that is itself arcane. However you want to dissect the game's title, you can download directly from the official site or pick the title up among Steam's free-to-play offerings. Steam players also have the option of purchasing up exclusive item packs, so that might be an added incentive. Arcane Saga's main selling points are fast leveling, job combinations, and a competitive PvP endgame. The stated design goal is to get players into the meat of the game quickly and provide players ample opportunities to forge their own paths. No events are scheduled to celebrate the game's launch, but considering the number of free-to-play titles that simply add a full cash shop onto an open beta, the official launch is compelling enough. [Source: Netmarble press release]
Realm First! Level 90 Derevka on his race to the level cap
WoW Insider previously featured Derevka's tips on how he was preparing for his Realm First! Level 90 race, with gaming endurance tips, and having got that coveted achievement, he's returned to answer a few questions about how he did it. Why did you want to get Realm First Level 90? Why? Mainly because I had never done it before and lots of people in my guild were getting really excited about Mists and all the hype... It was hard not to get all wrapped up in the excitement! Besides, it was something I had always wanted to do and just wanted to see if I could do it. And I'll show a little bit of hubris here: its always nice to see your name go across the screen in realm spam. What did you do to prepare in advance? Well, I had leveled to 90 on the beta. That said, I did that leveling very early on in beta so I knew there was going to be a number of changes (as well as bug fixes) that i didn't experience. I was familiar with all my class changes, so I knew I was going to be comfortable with both healing and DPSing in Shadowform. Perhaps the two best things we did to prepare was to formulate a strict strategy with our 5 man team and to plan our dungeon time. Our 5 man leveling team had a rogue, Torima, who had quested a lot on beta and has a phenomenal memory so he somewhat became our de facto guide through the maps and quest chains -- he actually remembered some quests that were dead ends or particularly painful in getting RNG quest drops: if the quest was skippable, and ate up too much time we didn't do it -- such as the Yak quest out in Dread Wastes.
The Daily Grind: What's your best speed record?
At the core of most MMOs is the unspoken assumption that most things in the game can be completed by anyone, given enough time. But we gamers really don't work that way. With a higher level comes a sense that you're advancing into higher tiers than your fellow players, and the process is undeniably addictive. Star Trek Online has just released, and it's a safe bet that you're working to get your ship and crew built up as fast as possible, which might raise the question for some of why it took Picard seven years before he picked up a new ship. Even if you don't try to race for the ceiling every time the game raises the cap or goes live, there are doubtlessly tasks you've worked down to a science, quests or grinds that you blew through faster than you thought possible. Today we ask you what you consider your personal speed record. Was it leveling, crafting, working through a band of content or storyline, or even just a really quick jaunt through dangerous territory? Could you do it again if you wanted to? Was it something you were trying to do, or just a lucky collection of circumstances?
Land of Magic opens English server, offers double drop rates and double exp bonuses
Old school 2-D MMO Land of Magic has just recently made the jump from Korean only to Korean and English, and they're celebrating with two awesome bonuses -- double experience and double item drop rates!Knowing for lightning fast leveling and a never ending amount of things to do, Land of Magic is an older MMO that has graphics in the vein of Ultima Online. Players can level their way all the way up to level 400 and beyond by using a creative "rebirth" system. This allows players to level as one profession, then switch over to a new profession and keep some of the abilities of their old one. In addition, each time you rebirth your character back down to level 1, the maximum level you can achieve increases by 2. Thus, if you rebirth once, your new maximum level is 402. Rebirthing also opens up new professions, such as the Necromancer and Demon King.Should you truly have tons of time on your hands, characters who can rebirth all the way to level 900 get to become demi-gods. Literally, a demi-god.Their celebration will be continuing until May 3rd and the game is free to play, so if you should have some extra time on your hands (or lots of time on your hands) go on over and see what's up with this new Korean MMO.
Officers' Quarters: Cracking the whip
Every Monday Scott Andrews contributes Officers' Quarters, a column about the ins and outs of guild leadership.Remember when The Burning Crusade launched and everyone was in a big hurry to ding 70? Apparently some guilds are still leveling up. This week's e-mail doesn't mention whether these are new players or rerolls, but the problem is the same: What should you do when the people you're counting on just aren't leveling up fast enough? I am a member of a small guild on Gul'dan server. I sympathize with and thank K for sharing his guild problems. Our guild is a lot younger and most likely smaller than his is or was at one point, but as we progress to get our members leveled up and geared up for raiding I can already notice a slight discontent, similar to what K described. We are very casual right now and our leader is letting the guild "breathe its own air", by not imposing any strict rule. This is done to allow the players to feel comfortable as they level up. The only real rule, more of a suggestion I would say, that we ask our members to follow, is to disregard any dungeon quest and just concentrate on leveling up as fast as possible, without having higher levels running you through areas.
The fastest class to level with?
Breanni at WarcraftPets.com has spent quite a bit of time evaluating the nine classes of World of Warcraft and ranking them based on DPS, survivability, speed buffs, and downtime. The result? A very informative discussion of the classes comparative strengths and weaknesses. Breanni's list, ranked from slowest to fastest, with some comments of my own: Paladins: Excellent survivablity, but comprably poor DPS, even with a retribution build. Warriors: Good DPS, but moderate downtime (fight, bandage, fight, bandage, fight, bandage). Shaman: Reasonable DPS, but survivability and downtime issues. (How does a Shaman restore their mana? By sitting down to drink every third fight.) Priest: Spirit tap makes downtime no problem, an.d a shadow build provides great DPS -- but not as good as other classes Mage: Great DPS but poor survivability (cloth armor and low HP)and a good amount of downtime (pesky evocation cooldown). Warlock: Capable of similar damage to a mage, but with pets and more health (usually), they have much better survivability. Druid: A feral build provides great potential to do damage (cat form) and absorb damage (bear form). Combine that with healing ability, and you've got a great class to play. Rogue: Excellent DPS and pretty high survivability, too (vanish, evasion, sprint, etc!). Hunter: High damage, neigh unkillable in PvE, and if they ever do get in over their heads, they can feign death and get away without an annoying corpse run. I have to agree with Breanni's choices for the bottom and top of the list, but I think a lot in the middle could be mixed around. (I think Warlock could compete for the number two spot, personally -- but I tend to play Demonology spec, while Breanni leveled with an Affliction spec.) But enough about my opinions -- what do you think is the fastest class to level?
