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Around Azeroth: Everyone has to sleep
Silverbolt of Malygos was preparing to take down Leotheras the Blind in Serpentshrine Cavern when he noticed these bunk beds, nestled in a cobweb-filled corner. Says Silver, "The Broken in the room holding Leo captive apparently sleep in bunk beds during their downtime!" But, really, here at WoW Insider, despite the fact that we run on a 24-hour schedule of playing, researching, and writing fueled entirely by Red Bull, we recognize the fact that everyone has to sleep sometime!Do you have any unusual World of Warcraft images that are just collecting dust in your screenshots folder? Because we'd love to see it on Around Azeroth! Sharing your screenshot is as simple as e-mailing aroundazeroth@wow.com with a copy of your shot and a brief explanation of the scene. You could be featured here next! %Gallery-1816%
Guildwatch: Unannounced visitors? Preparations must be made...
Let's face it-- anybody can down Attumen. A Karazhan PUG can drop Attumen in their sleep. But Moroes is the first real boss of Karazhan. If you can get him down, you're ready to roll all the way up to Curator. Finishing that undead steward off for the first time just feels so good.News of Moroes downings and more in this week's GW, which starts right after the jump. Send us you drama, downed, and recruiting tips, as always, at wowguildwatch@gmail.com. Click the link below to read on!
Two Bosses Enter: Lady Vashj vs. Princess Huhuran
Two bosses may enter... but only one will get to leave in WoW Insider's fantasy deathmatch series. Every week we pit two of the World of Warcraft's raid bosses against one another in a battle that your votes get to decide. This week we have Lady Vashj from Serpentshrine Caverns in Outland matching up against Princess Huhuran from Ahn'Qiraj in old Azeroth. Though both of them are perfectly happy to wipe player raids, how would they fare against one another? Ultimately, that's for you to decide -- so read on!
Guildwatch: Holiday wishes
Dear Greatfather Winter: Next year, we here at Guildwatch would like a year overflowing with drama. May all the high progression guilds break up under their own weight, may people take virtual loots way too seriously, and may each and every guildleader think they're the king of the world just because they got a bunch of virtual avatars to click the "Accept" button instead of the other one. We can't think of anything better than a year full of ninjas, drama, and guild breakups to fill this column with.Oh, and all the children of the world to join hands in a spirit of harmony and peace. You know, that crap about the kids.For this week's dosage of drama, downed news, and recruiting notices, click the link below. GW will be off next week for the Christmas holiday, but we'll be back in two weeks, so send us your tips right now!
Raid Rx: Transitioning to 25-man raiding
Raid Rx is designed to encapsulate and cure the shock and horror that is 25-man raid healing. Ok, so it's mostly horror... Anyways, if you're a big fan of X-TREME Whack-A-Mole (or are being forced into it against your will) this is the column for you. More often than not, when your guild is about to work on a new boss, everyone reads the same strat covering the same information. There are handy diagrams, complete with colored ovals for where the masses are to stand, run, or more often, die. If you're lucky, you'll get a paragraph at the end that says something like "Healers: Keep the raid alive. Watch for spike damage on the tanks." Not always useful... My goal with this column is to explore what it is to be part of a 25-man raid healing team and tips to be successful at it. Much of what I'll cover will be from a healing lead's perspective, but the more everyone knows about the healing big picture, the better. I'm going to discuss what I have found through experience, so if you have Illidan questions, please give me couple of months (or more, silly holidays!) and I'll get back to you. Transitioning to 25-Man RaidingBeing my first post, I figured the best place to start is at the beginning. You have finished off most if not all of Karahzan. ZA looks cool, but you're just not that into trolls or wooden armor. (If you've already beaten it, +50DKP!) Plus, at least 24 other people you know are chomping at the bit to down them some High King Maulgar. So what do you need to do to make that happen? Here are some basics to get you started:
Guildwatch: Handing out turkey according to DKP
You know, a good raid is kind of like Thanksgiving dinner-- you all have to sit down together for a few hours, there's a raidleader who's barely in charge, there's lots of infighting and drama, and eventually, if everyone plays their part right, everyone gets their loot and gets to go home happy. It's heartwarming, really.Our weekly look at all that drama, downed, and recruiting news starts right after the jump below. And don't forget-- just like Grandma loves that cranberry sauce, we love your tips-- please pass them on down to us at wowguildwatch@gmail.com. This week, we're thankful not only for all the ninjas and loot whores out there who keep the drama rolling, but for all you tipsters who take your time to tell us about it.
Guildwatch: The march of war
Warning: The recruitment video above, for Rogues Take Zero Skill on Arthas-H, contains at least one bad word, and may also contain simulated illegal and immoral activity. Those under the age of 18 or with strong sensibilities need not watch it. Everyone else can watch a great guild recruitment video and laugh.This week's Guildwatch contains your weekly dose of drama, downed news, and recruiting notices, and starts right after the jump. Send tips to wowguildwatch@gmail.com. Just like RTZS, we're taking over the world!
Guildwatch: A thing of beauty
There is nothing like a good internet forum argument. It's like an echo chamber-- the people involved just go back and forth, insinuation after insinuation is made, subjects change completely, and there's so, so much typing and nothing gets resolved. It's beautiful in its own way, really-- and that's why we love drama so much here at Guildwatch.We've got downed and recruiting news after the break, too, and don't forget to send us your tips: wowguildwatch@gmail.com. We promise to be anonymous, so the juicier the better-- send us the best news you got!
Phat Loot Phriday: Serpentshrine Shuriken
In all of the different items we've done here on Phat Loot Phriday, we've never once featured a thrown weapon. Time to fix that.Name: Serpentshrine ShurikenType: Epic ThrownDamage/Speed: 97-146 / 1.40 (86.8 DPS)Abilties: +14 Stamina, which doesn't seem like a lot, but don't forget, this is on a thrown weapon. That's a whopping +14 Stamina you can't get anywhere else. Improves hit rating by 12 and critical strike rating by 20. And while thrown weapons used to be used only for pulling or tagging cowardly mobs, the Rogue ability Deadly Throw has changed the game. You can get some nice crits in (using this or any other high level thrown items) if you've worked up a good number of combo points on a target running away from you. Put on the HWL or Gladiator's gloves and this also becomes a spell interrupt, so you want as nice a thrown weapon as you can find. How to Get It: The Shuriken drops from trash mobs in Serpentshrine Cavern, at a rate of about 1%, so it's not super easy to come by. I'd really say the weapon is meant for Rogues, too, but I could see how fury Warriors and other classes would have an interest in it, so you might have to win a competitive roll on it, too. But spend a lot of time in SSC, be a little lucky, and you can probably pick it up without too much trouble.Getting Rid of It: Disenchants to a Void Crystal, and I bet that's where most of these things have ended up, because odds are that anyone who could really use it in PvP has already picked up the PvP version anyway. Maybe there's a reason we've never done a thrown weapon... Sells to vendors for 3g 63s 68c.
Around Azeroth: An early death
Rogue 13 sends us this excellent action shot from the Leotheras the Blind fight in Serpentshrine Cavern. Rogue 13 tells us that an early death leads to a great place to take pictures from -- on the other hand, I think an early death is a great opportunity to take a coffee break. Do you have a unique shot of Azeroth or Outland that you'd like to show off to the rest of the world? Tell us about it by e-mailing a copy to aroundazeroth@wow.com, with as much or as little detail as you'd like to share with the world! %Gallery-1816%
Guildwatch: Revenge on the old GM
Guildwatch is back again this week (as usual) with your weekly dose of drama, downed, and recruiting news from around the realms. After a slow past few weeks, our tipsters made up for lost time this week, and packed our inbox (at wowguildwatch@gmail.com if you've got tips of your own) full of dramatic drama, triumphant downing news, and interesting recruiting notices (we've even got a retro guild this week!).So click the link below to see this week's column-- you may want to be sitting down for this.
Guildwatch: The most important thing
Guild drama is a lot like falling in love. It's the most cliche thing in the world-- everyone's been through it before, usually more than once. But when it happens to you, it seems like there's nothing more important. When you're the one cursing out your guildleader on Vent for giving the loot to his friend instead of the person who rolled 100 on it (you), you feel like you're the only person this has ever happened to in this way.And that's why I love writing Guildwatch, your weekly look at drama, downed, and recruiting news from around the realms. We can't cover everything, but we can absolutely cover everything you send to us-- tips go to wowguildwatch@gmail.com. Hit the link below to see who fell not in love, but out of their guild this week.
Take out the trash (timers)!
Over at Blessing of Kings, Coriel recently made the case for removing the respawn timer on trash mobs in raid instances:"When you go into a 5-man instance, you expect to clear it, even if it is your first time going to that instance. You may wipe once or twice, but the general expectation is that you will finish that instance. In this case, an instance time limit is a good idea. If you hit the trash respawn, it's a sign that something is wrong, and perhaps it might be a better idea to try again later, maybe with a different group or after gearing up a bit more.... In contrast, in a raid boss fight, you expect to wipe a lot. That the fight is intricate enough that learning and mastering it will take multiple hours. It took us two or three evenings to refine our strategy and master The Lurker Below, and he's generally considered an easy boss in SSC."He makes a few more good points in the article, including the fact that for casual guilds, losing time to trash mob respawns could be better spent learning a new boss. Obviously this affects more casual raiders than hardcore ones, but I think Coriel summarizes his points well and is worth a read.
Guildwatch: The drama trifecta
I never, ever thought this would happen, but apparently people are actually trying to be the biggest Guildwatch drama story now. Someone emailed a tip in hoping that his drama would be highlighted here on the front page, and unfortunately, while his tip was good (a massive PvP battle after a forum flame war), it just didn't match up to this mega ninja/ gquit/ game quit from Barthilas. But better luck next week, drama queens!This week's GW starts right after you click the link below. And don't forget: the place to send all your info about drama, downings, or recruiting notices is wowguildwatch@gmail.com. Onward!
Guildwatch: A turn for the worse
I've seen some pretty harsh drama here on Guildwatch, but this week it seems like all the drama just got turned up to 11, and it's gone from being fun to just plain being lame. I don't want to ruin the fun (and hopefully next week we'll get some good old ninja looting news to laugh at), but it's just a game, folks. Hate to see people get hurt over any of this stuff.At any rate, you can find this week's guild drama, downed, and recruiting notices right after the jump. If you do have a good story to share, make sure to send it to wowguildwatch@gmail.com. Click the link below to read on.
Around Azeroth: Into Serpentshrine Cavern
Prise on Lightning's Blade (EU) sends in this amazing shot from the interior of Serpentshrine Cavern, right where Hydross the Unstable would be, if he were still alive when this screenshot were taken. Prise explains that the blue rays do figure-eights around the two columns -- and I'm thinking a still screenshot doesn't do the place justice.Do you have a unique shot of Azeroth or Outland that you'd like to show off to the rest of the world? Tell us about it by e-mailing aroundazeroth@gmail.com! Or perhaps you'd just like to see more of your pics from Around Azeroth. %Gallery-1816%
Guildwatch: Roses are red, violets are blue, I /gquit, and f#($ you
Is that title too harsh? Too bad-- drama ain't pretty! It is poetic, though, as today we've got a /gquit rant that sounds more like free verse than anything else.Click the link below to read your weekly dose of drama, downed, and recruiting notices for the week. And remember: your tips fuel this poetry corner, so send tips, anonymous or otherwise, to wowguildwatch@gmail.com.
Attunements removed from SSC and TK
Wow, this is something I never saw coming. Tigole just announced that the Serpentshrine Keep and Tempest Keep: the Eye raids will no longer require any attunement: After a lot of thought and deliberation, we've decided to remove the attunement requirements to enter Serpentshrine Cavern and Tempest Keep: The Eye. While many of our attunements in the Burning Crusade have been good progression checks, a few of the attunements have turned out to cause unnecessary stress on guilds either doing the content or attempting to do the content. With Black Temple and Battle for Mount Hyjal thriving, we want to encourage (rather than prevent) new guilds and raid groups to attempt Serpentshrine and TK. We are going to leave the current attunement quests in the game so that players can still engage in the challenge and the lore of those quests should they choose to. At a later point, we are considering adding a final reward step to those quests as well (that way those who have already completed them would not miss out on a *new* reward). We're listening to feedback from you guys constantly and your opinions are important to us. We want this game to be the best possible MMO experience for our players. Enjoy Serpentshrine and Tempest Keep =) (Please note: This change will go live later today -- it's not yet active) Presumably the idea is that the effort it takes to get the gear to compete in SSC or TK is enough of a check. Many people have complained about overly involved attunement processes in the Burning Crusade, and this is a big step in the direction of fixing that. In fact, Tobold had cited the attunement barrier to SSC as a major reason why he canceled his WoW account. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got some sightseeing to do...
Cash for kills
Money has been involved in WoW in a variety of ways since its inception. You pay to get the game, and you pay a subscription fee; some less scrupulous individuals, of course, pay for gold, powerleveling, and the like. But it doesn't stop there. A member of the guild Carpe Draconis (Aggramar-A) has started a cash bounty on Hydross the Unstable, the first boss in Serpentshrine Cavern. This is on a site I hadn't seen before called mob incentive, where site users can contribute money to causes they want to support. The reward is currently $52, and the money will be used to cover guild operation costs (Vent and guildportal hosting). Would you be more likely to work harder on a new boss if there was some money in it for your guild?Latin diversion: the name of that guild doesn't make any sense to me. If they mean "seize the dragon," it ought to be "Carpe Draconem" (accusative case), whereas if they mean take from the dragon, I'd expect it to be "Carpe ab Dracone" or "Carpe ex Dracone" (using a preposition and the ablative case). Edit: Actually, "Carpe Dracone," using just the ablative and no preposition, is better (thanks, Beaverius and Appolon). The way they have it now, with "Draconis" (genitive case), would have to be translated as "Seize the Dragon's," except it's less grammatical in Latin than English, I think. However, I'm not surprised to see it this way; for whatever reason, "Carpe [Noun in the genitive]" is a very common pattern for guild names in WoW. I've seen at least three instances of "Carpe Noctis," whereas anyone with a copy of Wheelock's could tell you "Carpe Noctem" is correct. The latter does, at least, outnumber the former, but the very existence of the former is a mystery to me. In short:
Guildwatch: Stripped bare
Getting your toon stripped to his undies is bad enough, but what happens when your guildies do it to you? That's what happened in the picture above-- click the link below to read more in this week's Guildwatch.And don't forget, the only way we get all this drama, downing, and recruiting in one place is via your tips-- send them in ASAP to wowguildwatch@gmail.com. And if you don't, be careful. Your bags just may end up full of junk!
