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Breakfast topic: April Fools' Day!
Blizzard is notorious for playing pranks on its customers on April Fools' Day, including the pandaren as a fifth race in Warcraft III, the 2005 "Burgercraft" fast food chain idea, and the two-headed ogre and wisp racial ideas in WoW. My personal favorite is Caydiem's "Evil Patch Notes 1.11", which is still one of the best pieces of WoW satire out there. Now, as the end of March quickly approaches, we have to wonder what Blizzard will pull this time. They have a lot of options. How about "The Great Sea" expansion, which would be entirely underwater? Better make friends with some warlocks and shamans quickly. Or an announcement that due to "overly rapid raiding progression," all trash mobs in Karazhan, Serpentshrine Cavern, and Tempest Keep will have their HP and numbers doubled? It would be neat to have some in-game changes, but that's unlikely. I'd love a joke where for one day, you have to CHANGE history in the Caverns of Time and see that the world would actually be a better place if you killed Medivh or Thrall. Then the next day, whoops, back to preserving the timeline! What do you think Blizzard is going to do for April 1? What sort of pranks and tricks do you think would be neat to see?
Breakfast topic: what do you dread?
Yesterday we talked about what new game features you might be looking forward to. Today let's consider the flip-side -- changes we might see in the future that you hope will never happen. When you can't be sure what Blizzard might have planned for the game, it's easy to fear for the worse. More class nerfs? Hundred player raid content? More bugged, unbeatable encounters (at least until Blizzard hotfixes them)? Or perhaps something completely different -- what game change do you most dread seeing?
Breakfast Topic: what are you looking forward to?
We've heard a lot lately about the changes -- many negative -- that came with the 2.0.10 patch. But let's look on the bright side for now, and talk about upcoming changes (or possible changes) that we're looking forward to. The next expansion? The mythical hero class? Guild or player housing? Or perhaps you're happy with the game just as it is and would be happy with more of the same. Me, I'm waiting for class balance to do another 360 and put priests on top of the world again. (Yep, some days I'm just a hopeless optimist!)
Breakfast Topic: Favorite quests
Yesterday we talked about the most annoying quests you'd found in Azeroth and Outland -- so today we're talking about the opposite. Let's hear about the most interesting, most rewarding, and most out and out fun quests you've found in the game since the expansion's come out. My own personal favorite remains a fairly early quest in Terokkar Forest. Exploring the Cenarion Thicket for other quests, you're likely to run into the half-crazed Warden Treelos, who requests that you slaughter a beast he calls Naphthal'ar. Of Naphthal'ar, Treelos tells you:If you can, convince it to come down for tea. But, by all means, get it to stop staring at me!And once you have slain the beast, Treelos mourns:It's for the best, really. If it cannot civilly accept an invitation then it has no business attending.That little interaction makes me giggle every time I recall it, and -- for me at least -- makes an otherwise simple "go here, kill this" quest a memorable favorite.
Breakfast Topic: Most annoying quest
Prior to the release of the Burning Crusade expansion, if you asked any player what the most annoying quest in the game was, you would probably have overwhelmingly received the answer, "Deep Ocean, Vast Sea." No, this isn't some high level epic quest -- it's just an underwater quest that seems to involve an inordinate number of murlocs. (And in my personal experience, if the murlocs don't get you, then you're likely to drown.) However, with the expansion release, and countless new quests in Outland, that may no longer be the case. (And there are, after all, murlocs in Outland as well!) While I can say that anything with murlocs ranks high on my annoyance scale, I can't quite decide on the most annoying of the new quests in the game. (And, even if I could make up my mind, I'm not sure it would be any more annoying than "Deep Ocean, Vast Sea.") So I'm asking you, dear readers, what's the most annoying quest in World of Warcraft today? And is it an old Azeroth quest or a new Outland adventure?
Breakfast Topic: Your least favorite class to play
We're always talking about our favorite classes, favorite specs, favorite gear. And if we're not, we're cursing shammies and pallies for how they treat us in PvP. But before you found your favorite class, the one you love and adore and will play until the end of time, you may have had a different experience with another class. It may just be a mild disappointment, or it could be outright hatred, but I'm sure there's a class we've all tried playing that just didn't satisfy us the way we thought it would. Some of us may even have multiple classes that we can't stand. In the spirit of sharing, I'll go first. You know that Draenei shammy I've been leveling up? He's 64 now, after a month of play. I don't like him. I really don't like him. Here's what bugs me - and I should've known, as it's the same thing that bugged me about my paladin for the longest time - there's no one clear path for the shaman to take. Hybrids, by their very nature, must require some ability to either focus on one subset of their abilities, or accept being mediocre at a number of things. I can't stand this. I'll never be the best healer, nor the best tank, nor the best DPS. Sure, I can do any of those things, but not as well as a single-purpose class. So, how about you? What class did you really give a good attempt to, but now can't stand? Or what class did you leave behind simply because your new class is more fun? Get your rants out here!
Breakfast Topic: Favorite zone
Everyone seems to have their favorite places in Azeroth (and now, Outland!). Zones you always look forward to leveling high enough to play in -- and zones you dread leveling high enough to play in. My own favorites are Duskwood (when playing Alliance) and Ghostlands (when playing Horde) for their immensely creepy feel. And my least favorite? That would have to be Stranglethorn Vale, the zone where, with every character I've played thus far, I give up on my obsessive need to complete every quest in a zone. What about you -- have any particular favorites or least favorites?
Breakfast Topic: What's in a name?
Players on each realm are required to have unique character names -- which can be an annoyance if you didn't create on the day the realm opened. Whenever a new realm is launched, common and popular names are quickly used up, and at some point naming becomes an annoyance. (Even more of an annoyance when people attempt to take a name they want by inserting special characters -- I've yet to figure out how to invite some of them to groups.) For my part, my most often played characters are "Lizzy" (uncreative, I know, but I created soon after the realm launched and grabbed it), "Blush" (which seemed to me the perfect name for an undead rogue), "Raawr" (a druid, and the only spelling I could find that worked), and "Coraline" (a book character whose name never seems to be taken). So what's your character name -- and how did you pick it? Do you have some uncommon standbys that are usually free? Do you abuse the random name generator until you find something you like? Do you just hit random keys on your keyboard?
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Breakfast Topic: What's the noobist thing you've ever done?
We were all newbies at some point, weren't we? And none of us started out knowing everything there is to know about the game. And in learning, I'm guessing each of us made some mistakes that we'd look back on and shake our heads sadly, wondering how we ever made such silly choices. I'll start off with my own story -- and you can add yours in the comments. My first character to level 60 was a warlock (well back before warlocks were the flavor of the month), and it was certainly a learning experience. And, yes, I was one of those warlocks you would see running around with a fiery enchanted sword. I know, it's terrible and wrong, and I hang my head in shame to think of it, but at the time I didn't know any better. So what about you -- have you had any particularly noobish moments in WoW?
Breakfast Topic: Key bindings
I hate my mouse. Really, I do. I try to do as much as possible from the keyboard, both in and out of WoW. I have key bindings for just about everything, either in WoW's key bindings interface or using Bongo Bars. If I'm not going to have a key bound to a button, I don't usually bother making it, because I know I'm not going to mouse all the way over to click it. It's much easier to just type "/cast mind blast" than it is to figure out which is the mind blast button, move my hand to my mouse, position the cursor over the button, and click.But that's just me -- I know a lot of people who play very well clicking all of their spells. I can't imagine it, but apparently it goes on anyway. However, clickers, you are not the subject of this breakfast topic. My question for you today: what are your favorite key bindings? What are the first hotkeys you set up when you first roll on a new realm -- or do you just go with the defaults? My first hotkeys are always "\" for run-lock (because my laptop keyboard doesn't have an easy num lock) and "B" for whatever bag mod I'm using, or for open all bags if I'm not using one.[thanks, Dr. Funbags, for this suggestion, even if I'm pretty sure you just sent it in to see if I would really write "thanks, Dr. Funbags"]
Breakfast Topic: I can't believe we survived that...
As a healer, my very favorite game moments are the ones in which, after a particularly messy pull, the rest of the party stops for a moment to say "Wow, how did we survive that?" Not that "good healing" is necessarily the answer -- as in my experience, a typical how-did-we-survive-that moment requires timely action on the part of multiple party members. My most recent how-did-we-survive-that experience came during a Scarlet Monastery run yesterday. A friend of mine was after a drop from Mograine, but it was an odd hour and there were few people around interested in groups. So with a level 40 paladin and a level 43 druid, we decided to duo the cathedral. Neither of us were sure we could take out Mograine and Whitemane at the end, but figured that trying was better than sitting around doing nothing. And while I think we both burned nearly every cooldown, in the end, to our own surprise, we emerged victorious. So with that said, what's your best story of surviving despite the worst odds?
Breakfast Topic: Best advice for a newbie
I'm sure we've all had this problem. You've got a friend who's just picked up the game and suddenly you're hit with a barrage of questions. What's the best class? What's the best race? What do you mean I shouldn't play a Night Elf priest? (No insult to Night Elf priests in the audience -- but you have to admit it's not the best race/class combination.) And once they do manage to create their first character and explore the newbie zones, you're in for another round of questions. What sort of weapon should I use? How do I add buttons to my hotbar? What do you mean my rogue shouldn't focus on intellect gear?Ah, newbies and their endless supply of questions. But I'm sure we were all there at one point, and so I'm asking you -- for the benefit of all players who have ever had to help a new player get started -- what's your best advice to a newbie?
Breakfast Topic: What level are you?
The race to level 70 has come and gone -- the first 70 in the world, the first 70 in the US, first 70 on my realm, your realm, and everyone else's realm. Not there yet? That's okay -- having a penchant for reading quest text and other such silliness, I'm not there either. But before I ask you, I suppose I need to 'fess up myself and admit to my own levels: a priest at 63, a rogue at 61, and a paladin at 29 (this last taking up the majority of my time lately). And now it's your turn -- what levels have you reached since the expansion release?
Breakfast Topic: Looking for...
In the time it takes you to read this post, another hundred players will have posted on the official forums about the shiny new looking for group interface that rolled out with the 2.0 pre-BC patch (on the 9th of January). Blizzard told us to give the new LFG tool a chance -- after all, the system can't work if no one utilizes it -- but nearly a month later the steady stream of complaints hasn't stopped. At this point, are you still willing to give Blizzard's LFG system a chance, or have you resorted (like so many others have) to searching for groups over whatever channels are available to you?
Breakfast topic: Best new ability
I was playing the Burning Crusade at the house of a friend when I hit level 66. I went to the trainer and saw my new skills available for purchase. A deep chuckle began in my throat, quickly progressing to maniacal laughter. My friend, a warlock, looked over my shoulder to see what was so funny. He rolled his eyes when he saw what I was laughing at - I was about to purchase Cloak of Shadows. "Don't be so happy. It's going to be nerfed soon," he said. All I could say was "Then we better duel really, really fast. Ready?" I am very happy with Cloak of Shadows, and have put it in the row of "Emergency Kill Quick Buttons" along with Berserking, Evasion, Adrenaline Rush, and every trinket that increases attack power when activated. I've also been having fun with Deadly Throw, which allows me to be a jerk to mages and hunters. Envenom is ... well, Envenom sucks. Every class seems to have at least one really awesome new ability. Whether it's the mage's Ice Lance (most often heard being said to rogues, as in "Just wait until we have Ice Lance"), the priest's Shadow Word: Death, or the warlock's Ritual of Souls (which isn't that great but will at least stop people from opening trade for healthstones), players have something really exciting to look forward to as they ding new levels. What ability are you most looking forward to, or if you've already gotten to 70, what ability do you like the most?
Breakfast Topic: Why stay in general chat?
I see lots of complaints both here and on the official forums about General Chat, and how people are tired of other players asking the same questions, over and over and over again. I don't know about you, but when I create a new character, the first thing I do, even before getting the character added to my guild or getting my interface set up, is /leave general. Maybe I was just brought up in the "don't complain about what you can't fix" school, but why doesn't everyone who complains leave general? Have you ever left it and gone back because you missed it? (Picture Credit: Mankrik)
Breakfast topic: The mystery of WoWdar
A friend of mine was at a party a few days ago, and someone he'd never met watched up to him and posed a strange question: "Do you play World of Warcraft?" "Yeah, how do you know?" my friend said. "I could just tell," said the mysterious stranger, and they proceeded to talk about the game. Have you ever been able to "tell" a WoW player in real life? (And no, it doesn't count if they're running around in a "Booty Bay Lifeguard" t-shirt and greeting people with "Lok'Tar!") Struck up any friendships like this? When is it appropriate to talk about WoW in public, anyway?
Breakfast Topic: Your first weekend in the Burning Crusade
As we wind into our first weekend since the much anticipated release of the Burning Crusade, I wonder what everyone's up to. Some people around the world are already hitting level 70 -- a feat, which, with my leveling speed, astounds me -- and I've even seen the first level 70 on my home realm. Of my immediate circle of friends I have a few people of lower level who haven't bothered to buy the expansion yet, several pushing their mains as far as they can, others starting anew with Blood Elves or Draenei, and yet others who can't decide which alts to play. With a priest at 62, a rogue at 61, and a new paladin at 14, I think I fall into that last category. So what have you been up to since the release, and what does the weekend have in store for you -- in Azeroth or Outland?
Breakfast Topic: What are you doing once you get your hands on the expansion?
It's nearly time! By this time tomorrow we can all have our hands on an official copy of the Burning Crusade. And once you've got the game box in your hands, what do you plan on doing? Rushing into Outland with your favorite level 60? Rerolling a new Draenei or Blood Elf? Inquiring minds want to know!
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Breakfast Topic: Chronic rerolling
My friend Jack (name changed to protect the innocent) is a chronic reroller of the worst variety. New server comes out? He is there! He quickly levels until about 35 or so, then another batch of servers hit, and off he goes. He really enjoys the uninflated AH prices, the lack of high levels making him feel inferior when he strolls through Ironforge and the general chaos of the early days of a server. He even admits to enjoying the lame level 25 guild drama. I mean, he pays fifteen dollars a month, and he should be able to play any way he wants. But on the other hand, chronic rerollers can leave some servers barren after the initial rush. If you check out any of the various WoW census sites, such as Warcraft Realms, you will see some servers barely chugging along. Do chronic rerollers contribute to that? So what do you guys think? Does Blizzard encourage chronic rerolling with constant new server releases? Wouldn't it be easier to slap the recommended tag on low population realms and get those servers some new blood? Or does it not matter, and they should cater to guys like Jack just like they try to cater to other player types?
