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Breakfast Topic: BlizzCon down, Warlords to go
So, in terms of big deals, that BlizzCon certainly was that. It was also one of the most diverse BlizzCon's we've ever hard - while World of Warcraft certainly had its moments (the cinematic development panel was pretty amazing) games like Hearthstone, Heroes of the Storm and the brand new Overwatch were front and center. It's not surprising, since Overwatch is the first new IP Blizzard's put out in seventeen years, and it is a departure for Blizzard in both content and type. Now that BlizzCon is over, we move on to the next big event, the one most of us WoW players have been waiting for since Siege of Orgrimmar launched over a year ago - this Thursday at midnight Pacific, we'll finally have the chance to go to Draenor and confront the Iron Horde directly. Are you excited? I'm excited. And a little nervous, to be sure. Pandaria's been my home since late 2012, and saying goodbye is always hard. Still, level 100 awaits and it's time to kick some Iron Horde in the slats. So, let's wrap this up - what excited you most this BlizzCon? Goblins vs. Gnomes? The Legacy of the Void trailer? Overwatch, with its Team Shooter meets The Incredibles vibe? Or are you just waiting for Warlords?
Breakfast Topic: How about that Overwatch?
I did not see that coming. Yesterday at BlizzCon we got an announcement very few were expecting, I think - Overwatch, a new IP from Blizzard. It looks to be along the same lines as Team Fortress 2 but with an interesting high tech future feel. I know I didn't expect it - I had thought they might announce a Heroes of the Storm closed beta (which they did) or StarCraft II's Legacy of the Void (which they also did) but this I absolutely did not see coming. Are you excited for Blizzard's first foray into new IP in 17 years? Are you a team shooter player looking forward to a new game, a complete newcomer to the genre excited by the trailer, or just wondering what all the fuss is about?
Breakfast Topic: BlizzCon begins
Today at 11am Pacific the BlizzCon opening ceremonies will begin. From there, we'll get the whole experience - the panels, announcements, e-sports, contests, etc. The people at the convention, and the people watching it at home will finally get to see what Blizzard has in store for this year's con. Will we get an announcement about a mystery game? The next WoW expansion? A potential expansion for Diablo III or Starcraft II? Hearthstone news? I really have no idea. But we'll find out in a few hours. Before that, though, it's your chance to speculate. What does the extremely near future hold?
Breakfast Topic: The pros and cons of faster expansion release
We complain a lot about the length of the last expansion patch - the point has been made that we've been in SoO for an entire year and more besides by now. But one of the things I've been thinking about lately is this - if they actually managed to ramp up to an expansion a year, that would mean buying a new expansion every year. I don't know if I want to do that. To be honest, I'm really used to the way it has worked so far - from The Burning Crusade on, we've had a new expansion about every two years. TBC released in January of 2007, Wrath in November of 2008, Cataclysm on December 7th, 2010 (it was my birthday), and Mists in September of 2012. That's a very regular series of releases. If Blizzard starts releasing expansions faster, I think we'll have to curb our expectations of what you see in an expansion to a degree, which might be all for the good - the idea that an expansion has to have a new race or class or both, for instance, would have to go. You can't possibly add one of those to the game every year. Well, I suppose that's not technically true, but the amount of work it would take to have a new one ready to go every year seems daunting. It would also mean that every BlizzCon would be about World of Warcraft now. As it's highly unlikely that Blizzard is going to have another Hearthstone or Heroes of the Storm ready to go every year, much less expansions to Starcraft II and Diablo III every single year. Whether or not that's good or bad is up to you. So, let's discuss. Leave out for now the idea of whether or not Blizzard can do a new expansion every year, and discuss instead - should they?
Breakfast Topic: I'm disturbed by this development
So I was running heroic ICC and I noticed that I had Muradin's Favor in my toybox. So I clicked on it. And frankly, I wasn't prepared for how naked I looked. I'd never really tried the thing out. Was it always this naked, I asked myself and a quick perusal of the screenshots indicates that yes, Muradin's Favor transforms your character into the dwarf equivalent of Dr. Manhattan, and it always has. Now, this raises many questions. All of them are a bit more, if you'll pardon the pun, blue than I like to work here on WoW Insider. So I guess what it comes down to is this - I am creeped out that Muradin is favorably inclined to making me get naked. Is there anything like that which creeps you out? Do you find it weird that the legendary caster staff traps the spirit of a blue dragon, a thinking, feeling creature, in it forever? Did you find skinning yeti and worgen a trifle grisly? What the heck was up with Huggalon?
Breakfast Topic: The belt doesn't match
For me, this is absolutely the worst aspect of transmog - when I have every piece I want for a matching set except one. For whatever reason, the belt usually tends to be the hardest piece for me to get, with the shoulders at number two (I've lamented the difficulty in getting a pair of shoulders since Firelands was current content) and the helmet a strong third. But at one time or another I've had to make do with all sorts of pieces that just don't match at all. The set in the header is just one example - I've killed Heroic Omnotron for weeks now, even since 6.0.2 dropped (we're in 6.0.3 now!) and still, no belt. I've needed that belt for my mog set ever since transmog existed, and it just won't drop. It's insanely annoying. How about you? Do you know my pain? That one piece of mog gear, that one mount, that one recipe or rare pet?
Breakfast Topic: Ten days to Warlords
Oh my God you guys it's Warlords of Draenor in ten days. It totally is. November 13th is ten days from now. I'd be panicking if I had the slightest idea why I should - I've done everything I really felt like doing in Pandaria by this point. There's not much else to do, really. And yet that sense of mild urgency remains - I know once Warlords drops that I'll need to try and get two of my warriors and my shaman to 100 as soon as possible to get a chance at the Molten Core anniversary LFR, for instance. That kind of bothers me, I won't lie. But enough about me (ha, as if I ever really believed that), what about you, dear friends? Are you done with Pandaria? Ready for Warlords? What goals do you have for Draenor? Did you play the beta and work out a leveling plan or are you going to wing it? Surge to 100 as fast as possible, or just take it easy and enjoy the ride? It's ten days to the expansion, what's your plan?
Breakfast Topic: Did you get what you wanted out of Hallow's End?
Six years of holiday farming finally paid off. I remember very clearly the first year the Horseman's Reins were introduced to the game -- largely because I spent hours upon hours cycling through alts with a group of friends in the wee hours of the night farming for the thing. That tradition was kept up until the holiday started to use the dungeon finder loot bag system, which meant our days of endlessly farming the Headless Horseman were at an end. We were sad about it. I was incredibly sad about it, because I'd only seen the mount drop twice, and both times it went to other people. And now I have the flying demonic horse of my dreams. Was it worth it? I don't know if the time investment was worth it -- sure, there are other things I could have been doing at the time. But the memories of those late night farming runs and the people who have since moved on and away to other things are still there, and treasured. The experience was frustrating as all get out, but it was a shared frustration with a cool group of people. I'm still glad it's over. Did you guys get what you wanted out of Hallow's End? Did you pick up the new pets, or maybe that really cool Arthas costume? Did you get the Horseman's Reins? Are you going to be farming the boss again next year? And perhaps most importantly -- do you think that Magic Broom should just be made a permanent mount already? Because I sure do.
Breakfast Topic: Don't forget the Day of the Dead
Hallow's End may be over, but the ramp up of year-end holidays has just begun. Today is start of the Day of the Dead, a three-day celebration that begins with a quest and a trip to the graveyard of your race's home city. The event is usually a quick quest, achievement, and a pet as of last year, but this year has some new additions -- a new cumulative achievement, beginning with To the Afterlife and working all the way up to Calavera, as well as five new costumes. According to a tweet by Senior Designer Jeremy Feasel, these costumes will be useable year-round. Pre-event reminder: Day of the Dead has new items this year! Don't forget to pick up a Contender's Costume, usable all year round! - Jeremy Feasel (@Muffinus) October 27, 2014 A new holiday achievement? Sign me up. What about you guys? Will you be participating in the Day of the Dead? Does the thought of new costumes to collect make you happy? More importantly -- do you think this may be the start of a new series of small, fresh updates to annual holiday events? Would you like more achievements added to holidays in WoW, or are you happy with what we've got? If you're planning on participating in this year's holiday, make sure you do so quickly -- the event ends on Monday, November 3.
Breakfast Topic: A week to BlizzCon
I've never actually been, but it's still very much a big deal here, with the prospect of new announcements, panels where the developers talk about their games, friends going to meet up (in a way it's the saddest time of the year for me, as I've never been and likely never will go) - so I'm always very much aware of BlizzCon and its approach. This year it's followed hard upon by Warlords of Draenor which is also a big deal because, well, new content after over a year of Siege of Orgrimmar. Who wouldn't be excited? I'm wondering if we'll just get news about Warlords at this year's BlizzCon, or if we'll maybe hear about something else for WoW. So now I get to ask you - are you excited for BlizzCon yet?
Breakfast Topic: Overlooked changes
I managed to not even notice the changes to Blackfathom Deeps, Razorfen Downs or Razorfen Kraul until fairly recently. When they added quest rewards and a vendor to the Blasted Lands Iron Horde event, I didn't notice that until one of my guildmates pointed it out to me. So I guess I'm admitting to not being very observant. But it does make me wonder - what changes were you all the most surprised by with Patch 6.0.2 and its successor, 6.0.3? Thrall finally noticing he's still on Azeroth? What's been the biggest surprise change for you so far?
Breakfast Topic: How do you feel about personal loot?
One of the things I disliked the most about UBRS when we got it was the personal loot system they introduced - it stripped away the way it worked before in LFR, and forced you to actually loot the boss, but you still had a chance for nothing to drop for you. I actually liked the way it was handled in LFR before, where if I got a drop I knew it immediately and could decide to use my Warforged Seal or not right there, I didn't have to run up and loot first to see if I'd gotten the drop I wanted. But since I'm aware that I often am alone in these opinions, it occurs to me that you might like the personal loot system we have now. Maybe you think we should have to loot the bosses, that it returns a certain nuts and bolts practicality to the looting process. I personally feel like there's something almost atavistic in the way loot worked before, that it would appear and we could choose to roll on it or not - maybe it's just that I've been playing WoW for a decade and my brain has accepted the dopamine rush of seeing a loot window, I'm not sure. What's your take on it? Do you love personal loot or loathe it?
Breakfast Topic: Ready for leveling
I did my first raid in a long time last night. With the stat squish and nerfs to SoO, it wasn't really a fair test of my skill, but I did okay for someone as rusty as I am. One of the things I realized was that I need the 90 to 100 leveling process to get back into the swing of my character, I think. In essence, I need the tune up time. This doesn't bother me, but it's an interesting thing to realize and I don't know how the rest of you find the process. Do you feel like you grasp your character immediately, or do you actually use the time it takes to level to get familiar with her or him again? For me I think the changes to abilities and talents are part of the issue. I'm using a specific fury spec that's all about filling up the rage bar and then dumping it all as fast as possible, and it takes some tweaking with specific talents for specific fights to really take full advantage of it. So getting to 100, having the full set of Draenor Perks and that level 100 talent is going to make a difference. (So will starting the gear treadmill all over again, I suppose.) I won't be raiding mythic, but that's fine - I'm happy enough with the idea of normal/heroic with their flex scaling. So are you looking forward to leveling 90 to 100? Or would you rather just pay another $60 and skip all that and jump straight into raiding again?
Breakfast Topic: Arthas is tall, y'all
So while running Trial of the Crusader and ICC, I keep noticing how tall Arthas and other supposedly human-sized bosses are. It's one thing for Marrowgar to be enormous, but standing in front of Arthas and having him be easily twelve feet tall has always kind of bugged me. It's bugged me ever since I first ran Tempest Keep and noticed Kael'thas was similarly embiggened by his raid boss status. Don't get me wrong, I understand they're not literally supposed to be giants - like when I talk to Jaina in Hyjal Summit, I understand she's that big for our convenience so we can find her and click on her more easily. It's just always been a bit of a disconnect for me mentally. So let's look at it this way - are there any disconnects in terms of raiding that break your suspension of disbelief - like supersized bosses, or how Nazgrim has an entire room full of adds but if you pull them outside of the room he just gives up and goes away, or how raid bosses who are fully aware of our presence like Nefarian in BWD will just sort of sit around and wait for you to get to them instead of coming to you while you're fighting one of their minions? Let me know.
Breakfast Topic: I always smile when
There are certain elements in World of Warcraft that I just love to see. A warrior in Tier 6 or 10. A draenei paladin on the special elekk mount. Rogues with Shadowcraft on. (It's just what they're supposed to wear.) Ragnaros dead, his hammer twirling up into the air. In the words of one of my favorite songs, this feels too good to be wrong - I go kill Rag literally every reset just to see that hammer flip in the air. Years in, and I'll still always smile when I hear the dwarf gryphon master say Watch your back, because it was always an in-joke for my first guild that he was saying wash your back and I remember all the jokes. I find it charming when I'm doing ICC and I hear that little gnome voice say This oughta help! I'm very fond of Nefarian telling me that he is the master there just as I kill him. There are more, but these suffice to make the point - these little moments in World of Warcraft, from the layout of the shrines in the Vale being reversed to the Brewfest Kodo, they make me smile. What are yours?
Breakfast Topic: The warm glow of another person's accomplishments
So last night my wife and I ran ICC10 heroic to get her the last couple of achievements she needed for her Bloodbathed Frostbrook Vanquisher. They were fairly annoying achievements. Full House and Portal Jockey, to be exact. But thanks to her keeping track of the adds and a solid plan for Dreamwalker, we finally got them done and she got her mount. For some reason I only like achievements when other people get them. I don't always like the work of doing them - I hate Portal Jockey and I'm not looking forward to trying Been Waiting a Long Time For This on 25 next week to get her the other mount, but I'm still glad to help - I like that we can do this stuff together, and I really like the feeling I get when I help someone else achieve a long held goal of theirs. It's satisfying. So I'm asking you for your stories of achievements you aided others in getting. Doesn't have to actually be an achiement - did you help a guildie get Shadowmourne or Val'anyr, did you run them through the Timeless Isle for chests, did you grind for bones on the Isle of Giants with them? Just any story of helping out a friend or other player will do.
Breakfast Topic: Do we have too many kinds of raiding?
Raiding is something we just do, something we've always done, it's woven into the bones and blood of World of Warcraft and I've been involved with it this whole time. It's what made playing the game hard for me during my recent health issues. So it seems strange of me to ask this, even to myself, but I have to wonder - do we have too much raiding now? We now have LFR (looking for raid), normal, heroic, and mythic raiding. That's four exclusive raid sizes, and it just makes me wonder. I doubt that people doing mythic raids are going to run LFR every week, and likewise LFR players are not likely to be in the mythic group, so perhaps it's fine - perhaps all these raid types finally give players the choice we've always said we wanted for the raid game. But I do find myself simply unable to get excited about seeing the same fight multiple times in a week. I didn't like it when I was clearing Trial of the Crusader on 10n, 10h, 25n and 25h and I'm not looking forward to running Blackrock Foundry on LFR, Normal and Heroic. (I doubt I'll do any mythic raiding in Warlords, and that suits me just fine.) So here's your chance to speak up - am I just being my usual pessimistic self?
Breakfast Topic: Is RNG good?
I spent several years trying to get the Brewfest Kodo, and I never did until this year. One of my friends has been running Siege of Orgrimmar nonstop since it debuted over a year ago and he still doesn't have his Dark Shaman transmog set. I'm sure we all similar stories of RNG, whether it be Warglaives, parts of the Bindings of the Windseeker, or a mount off of a specific boss. It comes down to whether or not you can get it to drop, and sometimes, you just plain can't. Similarly, there's BiS pieces that you may actually need to perform adequately, or tier pieces, or that one weapon to get you out of the last raid's gear. We've all been at the mercy of RNG? But is it a necessary evil, or perhaps even outright good for the game to put us through these moments? I've heard the argument about how the feeling of relief when it finally does drop helps keep us playing. I don't know how valid I think it is, but it's worth keeping in mind. Do you think it's right? Do we need that crushing stick of not getting that thing we want to keep us reaching after the carrot of finally getting it? I know one thing - now that I have the Brewfest Kodo, I never want to see Coren Direbrew again.
Breakfast Topic: Collection frenzy
There was a really interesting post over on Alternative Chat the other day that got me thinking -- it talked about the Toy Box and a little bit about a curious phenomenon called completion and how it affects players. I have to say I'm one of those players it affects, particularly in the waning days of an expansion cycle when there's little else to do. If you give me a list of things, and I only have part of those things, and there are more of those things to get, I will inevitably go out and try to get them all. Why? I don't know. But if I did, I'd doubtless have the secrets of the universe in my grasp. The same applies not just to collections, but to things like reputation bars -- if they are not completely filled, I have a curious compulsion to fill them. If I have some kind of progress counter, I need to fill up in the same way. What makes this interesting, as Alternative Chat pointed out, is that it creates a different kind of content, one that maybe isn't for everyone, but it's viable all the same. The Toy Box was created in part as a space saver, to get all those delightful little items out of people's bags and allow Blizzard to freely add more of these kinds of items at their leisure. But hey -- throw a few achievements in the mix, make a pretty UI interface for the thing, and suddenly you have another game of gotta-catch-them-all that will keep people busy for months, maybe even years. I know I'm not unique in my collecting obsession -- and I know I'm not the only one staring at my Toy Box and mentally checking off items and where to go to get the things to fill the darkened spaces. But I'm curious just how many of us there are out there. Do you like the collecting game? Are you using the Toy Box? Are you finding yourself going out of the way to track down those elusive toys you didn't realize you didn't have? Or are collections, achievement points, reputation bars, and all the rest simply things you don't really pay attention to or care about?
Breakfast Topic: We meet again, Headless Horseman
Today marks the start of Hallow's End 2014 -- and the start of yet another year of doing the holiday boss in the hopes of finally, at last, getting my hands on those Horseman's Reins. I've been doing this diligently every year since the boss was introduced, although the amount of time I spent farming him went down considerably when they changed it to the satchel system of loot. However, BlizzCon doesn't fall in the middle of the festive proceedings this year, so I'll have an extra day or three to farm. Maybe this will be the year, who knows? There are very few holidays I actively take part in anymore, but Hallow's End is one of them, just because the quests are fun -- and this year has the added bonus of adding a few toys to the Toybox, holiday items I tossed out in favor of saving bag space. Given everything else that's going on in patch 6.0.2, is Hallow's End something you guys will be doing? Did you get lucky and get the Horseman's mount already, or are you still trying to get it after all these years? Are you going to start your holiday Toybox collecting this year, and squirrel away all the cool holiday items you can get?
