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Healers and their extra heals
Hal over in the WoW Ladies lj forum posts a really interesting question: What is a priest's (or other healer's) responsibility on all those "extra heals"? For example, it's when a pet needs healing, or when a warlock lifetaps their way down to almost no health. To those, I'd add healing for warriors and other melee classes after a fight, when everything is dead.Personally, I'm pretty conservative. On one side, I've played a priest and a resto shaman, and I will throw a lifetapped warlock a heal only when I'm at full mana and impatient to start the fight. Otherwise, he should be eating-- I shouldn't have a responsibility to heal him after he's hurt himself. Now, some guildie warlocks I like, and I'll do it anyway. But I don't think there should be a responsibility there. As for pets, I'll heal them in a fight 1) when we need them, and 2) when I've got mana left. If I'm healing the main tank with little to spare, sorry, but your kitty is gonna die. But if your VW is the only thing between me and a melee add, I'll keep him alive. Still, I don't think any pet class should ever count on heals unless the situation has called for it. Pet classes have ways to heal their pets for a reason.On the other side of things, as a warrior, if I'm out of a fight and still hurt, I make it a point to be eating or bandaging before the priest even has a chance to look at me. With mages around and food extremely cheap, there's no reason a priest should have to waste mana in between pulls, even if it's as simple as throwing a HoT on. Carry some bandages (no excuse for not having runecloth), or eat that bread ASAP.Of course, there are lots and lots of exceptions. Most priests I know will heal me anyway out of combat. And as a priest I'll usually throw off a few extra heals before I drink, including a few to the pets. But as for responsibilities, I think there should be as few as possible on both sides. Your thoughts?
Pet Care for Shamans (a.k.a "Mike Told You So")
You laughed when I said it, readers. You said I was just whining. You called my character a "dirty Shaman." You even told me to reroll Hunter! Yes, when I suggested Shaman pets to Blizzard, you tried to laugh me off the Internet. But the new talents and spells came out this week, and lo and behold, look what Blizzard added to the Shaman class.That's right, suckers! Pets! Ok, well, I didn't get my shadow wolf, but two new totems will give Shamans the ability to summon at least two elementals-- a Fire Elemental (to "rain down destruction"-- sounds like a caster), and an Earth Elemental. I suggested we should get them for sixty seconds, but Blizz doubled that, and we will get to have them around for a whole two minutes in the expansion. Serves you all right for questioning my suggestions. Don't do it again!And there's more pets on the way-- Mages have picked up a 41 point talent that will summon a Water Elemental for them to play around with. And while the Druid (or "Drood" as I like to call them) talents haven't been officially released yet, the rumors say they'll get their very own Treant (that has some really neat talents of its own). Pets for everyone! Although maybe this is why they lowered the raid limit to 25. If everybody brings a pet, you'll have 50 entities fighting on your side. Sweet!
Korean dog translation service gets premium upgrade
You probably thought it was pretty silly when you heard that Korea's second largest wireless carrier, KTF, began offering a service last year that can supposedly discern your dog's emotions from a few barks into the phone. Well the "doggy translation" service has proven so popular, that not only did the top Korean carrier roll out its own implementation, but SK Telecom is now offering a premium version of the service that seems to give users access to a sort of pet lovers' mobile community where they can query veterinarians, make a homepage for their little bundle of fur, or purchase pet-related items online at a discount. The core service will remain the same, continuing to offer two-way translation (yes, your voice can be converted into barks as well) for about 55 breeds of dogs, although cat lovers must continue to gauge their pet's mood by the intensity of his/her hissing and scratching.[Picture credit: Telecoms Korea]
Play against your pets in virtual reality
If you've ever wanted to play something more meaningful than "Fetch!" with your pets, this research project might prove just the thing. A collaboration between the Emerging Art and Architecture Research Group and the Mixed Reality Lab, Singapore, Mice Arena allows your hamster to chase you -- in a virtual reality.By using a tank with an elastic floor, which is manipulated to reflect the digital terrain, pets can experience the virtual world first-hand. It's an interesting idea, though we're hard pressed to see a practical side to it. Still, the researchers are hoping for "unexpected results", so you never know -- we just may learn something after all.[Via Engadget]
VR video game gets your hamster in on the action
Traditional playtime between humans and their pets has generally been limited to fetch, tug-of-war, and the occasional chase around the coffee table before bedtime. Well if researchers from the Emerging Art and Architecture Research Group, or RASTER, and Singapore's Mixed Reality Lab have anything to say about it, pet owners will soon be able to kick those old fashioned games to the curb in favor of video games that let their animals get in on the action. The group is in the midst of designing a game called "Mice Arena", wherein the human player is pursued by an on-screen avatar controlled by a real world hamster, which chases a piece of motorized bait corresponding to the human's position on the in-game map. What's more, the hamster's game space -- a specially designed tank -- actually adjusts its terrain to match the on-screen action through a series of actuators underneath the floor. Future games from the collaborative -- and we'll leave the jokes to you on this one -- will incorporate decidedly less pet-like animals in the fun, with tentative titles such as (we're not making this up): "Chicken Petman" and "Jellyfishtrone."
Breakfast Topic: Non-combat pets
There are a variety of non-combat pets available throughout Azeroth--ranging from easily purchased pets to those which can only be obtained through cross-faction co-operation. While some people see them as annoyances, others are hastily trying to collect as many as they can; after all, it passes the time.I have a few of these pets, including the Sprite Darter Hatchling pictured right. However, I'm not very attached to them--the fact I can only have one out at a time doesn't help. I generally send any rare treats I find to the Auction House--especially on low alts, finding Little Timmy in Stormwind is a great way of making some quick cash.What's your stance on non-combat pets? Take them or leave them? Gotta catch them all?
Engadget Podcast 066 - 01.31.06
We may have lost the QRIO and the AIBO last week, but when one gadget company shuts a door, another opens a window: Nintendo announced the DS Lite, a smaller, um, lighter version of the DS. Microsoft also announced CableCARD 2.0 support for Vista (for a price, anyway), and one of their own, Ford Davidson, took a few to sit down with us and discuss Windows Mobile in the marketplace. And, of course, our usual dose of next-gen optical discussions continues, with a pinch of listener voicemail and a touch of gadgety democracy thrown in for good measure. Get the podcast [iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes (MP3). [RSS] Add the Engadget Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically (MP3). [MP3] Download the show (MP3). [AAC] Download the show (enhanced AAC). [OGG] Download the show (OGG). [Vote] Vote for us on Podcast Alley! Hosts Peter Rojas and Ryan Block Producer Randall Bennett Music J J J - 'Suits' in Japan Format 1:10:20, 32.1MB, MP3 Program 01:17 - Nintendo announces DS Lite 05:39 - Sony killed AIBO and QRIO 10:38 - Study finds robot pets as good as live ones 14:02 - Netflix to support HD DVD and Blu-ray 16:28 - Samsung SH-B022 Blu-ray burner reviewed 18:27 - Culprit uncovered in Core Duo battery drain: Microsoft driver 21:44 - CableCARD on Vista to require CableLabs certification 26:00 - TiVo undelete forthcoming! 28:31 - Interview with Ford Davidson of Microsoft's Mobile division 52:01 - Listener voicemail! 48:19 - Engadget Awards ending soon, and we're up for two Bloggies! LISTEN (MP3) LISTEN (AAC) LISTEN (OGG) Call up the Podcast at: 1-888-ENGADGET
How much is that Raptor in the window?
Everybody needs a best friend. Hunters in WoW have an almost endless selection of pets to choose from, as just about any beast in the game is tamable. Just like anything else, though, some pets bring more to the table than others, and with the recent changes introduced in v1.9, a slew of new pet abilities are now available to the cautious tamer.If you're looking to pick out a new pet, or just want some good info, a couple of great recources are the Hunter Pet FAQ over on the official WoW forums, and Petopia, the most comprehensive pet guide that I've seen yet, even though some of the info hasn't yet been updated for the new patch.I've always been a fan of those fancy, elite pets myself. One of my Hunters has a tamed Strider Clutchmother that can outrun almost anything, and my Orc hangs with a tamed Takk the Leaper that has been his faithful companion for over 30 levels. What do some of you other hunters look for in a pet?
