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Ambassador title was added per player request
We asked for more titles, and darned if Blizzard didn't give them to us. Just in case you missed it over the weekend, there are tons of new titles in the latest beta build that all revolve around Achievements and Feats of Strength, from titles for the first people to level to 80 (and 450 in professions) to titles for obscure reputations and even holidays and fishing. Blizzard really delivered on the title front -- no matter what you do in game, odds are there is a title for you to aim for.And here's the best part: this is a direct result of reader requests. Zach linked to this the other day, but he forgot to point out that when Tigole posted that the Ambassador title (for earning Exalted with all five core city factions for Alliance or Horde) was coming to the game, it was in direct response to a player asking for it.Kudos to Blizzard not only for fulfilling their promise to have lots and lots of titles for players to choose from, but for doing it in a way that came straight from players themselves. These seem so simple to implement, we're glad Blizzard is being generous with them.
[UPDATED] New titles for Wrath
Blizzard promised us more titles and boy, it looks like they're going to deliver. WotLK Information Wiki and MMO Champion have dug up some information on what appears to be a plethora of new titles. Unfortunately, most of the them are Feats of Strength that can only be obtained by one person ever per server. Daunting? Most certainly. But what are titles if they aren't special?First off, though, there are a handful of titles available to more than just one person. 'Arena Master' is obtained by everyone who completes the Arena Achievements. It's not quite a Feat of Strength, but there aren't too many players who will obtain a Rating of 2200 in all three brackets. Of all the Achievements required to unlock the title, those three are about the toughest ones and if you're capable of hitting 2200 in all three brackets, the rest should be cake.One title that sounds pretty cool is 'The Hallowed', which is obtained by completing all 18 Hallow's End Achievements, the hardest of which might just be obtaining the rare Sinister Squashling. Then there's 'The Diplomat', which many players will already receive at the launch of Beta -- it simply requires getting to Exalted with Timbermaw Hold, Sporeggar, and the Kurenai or Mag'har. Obsessive questers will eventually achieve 'The Seeker' after completing a whopping 3000 quests. Finally, there's the odd and quirky 'Salty' which can be obtained by completing all the Fishing Achievements. This is a pretty tough one that has some difficult feats like getting Mr. Pinchy, fishing up Gah'zranka in Zul'Gurub and The Lurker Below in Serpenshrine Cavern, and winning the Fishing extravaganza in Stranglethorn Vale. Pretty tough feats just to be called Salty! After the jump, we'll take a look at all the titles that only one person can get.[UPDATE] Tigole supposedly confirms the existence of an Ambassador <Name> title for players who achieve Exalted reputation with all 5 racial factions of the Horde and Alliance. It's a nice little nod to old school players out there.
Engineering fun builds up in Beta
New schematics are finally in for Engineers in the Wrath Beta, with the exception of the eagerly anticipated and widely speculated upon motorcycle. Despite the glaring absence of The Hog, there are a bunch of neat stuff for Engineers from the basic -- such as the space-saving Hammer Picks and Bladed Pickaxes -- to the cool and complex, such as MOLL-E, a portable mailbox. Check out the gallery for a quick look at the new schematics in Beta and an overview after the jump. %Gallery-30265%
Breakfast Topic: Professions and Leveling
The debate over whether Death Knights should get a free hand up on their primary professions continues to rage, but what actually interests me most are some of the arguments put forth by those opposed to Death Knights getting "free" tradeskills. Some of them are saying that it doesn't matter that Death Knights have to wait, because people should wait until max level to deal with professions anyway. This is a completely alien concept to me. On any new character, the first thing I do upon hitting level 6 is run to the nearest profession trainers to learn my chosen professions. I like being able to doing something about those herbs and mineral nodes I see while I'm leveling. I can go do some tradeskilling if I start getting bored of leveling, and I can use the final product for my own leveling process, or sell the raw materials on the AH for a nice chunk of change. I can't really fathom waiting for maximum level before I started a profession in earnest. Why go back to Elwynn forest to harvest bushels of Peacebloom at level 70 when you could have done it from level 1-11 while you were there? So here's something that may be considered somewhat of a companion question to yesterday's profession question: Do you level your professions while you level up, or do you leave them until after you've leveled up?
Making/Money: Unlocking More Money
Picture this, if you will - You are in Lord of the Rings Online and have amassed just enough coinage to purchase your first house, a minimum of 950 silver. You have looked through the various neighborhood maps for each of the races to determine where you want to be, taking into consideration the proximity of the housing to a town, the proximity of the house you chose to the gate and the water feature within the neighborhood (for safe fishing right outside your door), and the amount you will have to pay in upkeep. You head to the housing broker of your choice, find a neighborhood that has that house available and purchase it. Ahh, your first property. A place to call your very own in the middle of a bustling game life. You put some nice carpets down, paint the walls, and put some locally-caught fish up as trophies. You might even put a bed in one of the rooms as an homage to real life - not that anyone sleeps in LotRO... at least on purpose. You pay a couple of additional weeks' upkeep in advance to ensure that the house remains yours. Eventually, you unlock the storage container within the house and put some of the items in that would not fit in the bank and you haven't quite decided what to do with. All is going swimmingly. Then, a few short weeks later, real life calls you away on vacation to somewhere with limited internet access (may it never be so!). You get back to heaps of work and do not have time to log in for a little while. When you finally do, there is a box on the left-hand side of your screen informing you that maintenance is now overdue on your house and you have been locked out until such time as you pay it. "Oh noes!!!" you cry, "Whatever shall I do now? I cannot get to the things in my storage container to sell them and I do not have the money to pay this outright. My house is doomed!" Ah, not so, Grasshopper. There are ways to save your house and today we explore my favorite - the crafting method.
EVE Online player establishes new profession
Players in EVE Online pursue a wide variety of professions or careers, but are not locked into any given role at character creation. This flexibility allows a character to change their play style over time, or to capitalize on niches no one else has filled. This is the case with Dylon Xavier, an enterprising Caldari pilot with Ascendant Strategies, Inc.ISD Magnus Balteus reports that Xavier "has decided to try something different; create a product that is both time and resource consuming to build, and offer it for auction to the alliance that has the funds and space to deploy it." The niche item in this case is an Outpost Platform. When launched, it will create a space station for an alliance that can handle the minimum 20 billion isk bid on his auctions. This substantial pricetag includes a freighter for transporting the Outpost Platform and materials, and turns what is normally a time-consuming collective effort into a (comparatively) rapid-deployment. He's also willing to have Chribba, perhaps EVE's most trusted player, broker the transactions, mitigating the risk involved with such large amounts of currency. With the neverending ebb and flow of territorial control in New Eden, and if alliances continue to express interest in Xavier's venture, he may well have created a new and lucrative profession in EVE Online
Breakfast Topic: Direction for professions
Over the last few days, we've been given some exciting new details for craftsmen everywhere. Haven't been keeping up? Here's a quick summary of some of the more interesting developments: The alchemical discovery system might become a feature of all professions, although it would likely be restricted to "fun" recipes. Daily quests awarding tokens to craftsmen to use at a special vendor selling recipes might be implemented. In this way, there would be a bit more individuality between players. The best items you can craft for any given slot will be available around 350 instead of 375, as in The Burning Crusade. Tailors are getting their own flying mount, the Magnificent Flying Carpet. Fishing will become more interactive. Blacksmiths will be socketing. Enchanters will be able to sell their enchants on the Auction House. Engineers are getting a form of enchants, rather than having to cart around so many items. The list goes on. In fact, there are several interesting and fun abilities and recipes on the horizon for all professions. Which changes are you most excited about? Are you thinking of switching trades because of some of the upcoming goodies? If you don't currently have a crafting profession, are you considering getting one?Edit: The best items you can craft for any given slot in The Burning Crusade came at the skill cap (375) and Blizzard now feels this was too late. In Wrath, you will acquire them earlier.
Engineering goodies in the latest beta build
Hot on the heels of flying carpets and spring-loaded cloak expanders comes word of a few more interesting crafted items in Wrath of the Lich King, especially some engineered ones, this time spotted by World of Raids in the latest beta build. Check their page for the full list, but here are some of my favorites: [Cooking] Delicious Roasted Boar - Creates a delicious roast boar platter for you and your friends to enjoy. Group food! Mages, look out. Blacksmithing gets recipes to socket bracers and gloves, each requiring four Saronite Bars and usable a level 60 or higher item. (For more new blacksmithing patterns, check out our rundown of recipes added in the latest beta patch!) Engineering: Scrapbot construction kit - Creates a mechanical vendor that buys anything. The scrapbot leaves after 5 min. I hope the mats will be relatively cheap. This is a great idea, as it's one of the best parts of the new repair bots, for when you don't need repairs. Nitro Boosts - Permanently attaches overpowered nitro boosts to a pair of boots, allowing a skilled engineer to greatly increase run speed for until cancelled. The nitro boosts can only be activated every 5 minutes. There's that rocket-boots enchant. There's also a parachute cloak one listed. Hyperspeed Accelerators - Permanently attaches hyperspeed accelerators to a pair of gloves, allowing a skilled engineer to increase their haste rating by 340 for 8 sec. The gloves can only be activated every few minutes. Gnomish Lightning Generator - Generates a bolt of lightning to strike an enemy for 2250 to 2750 Nature damage. This entire device is made of metal, and the bolt occasionally hits you. There's more cool new stuff for engineers listed at World of Raids. This might even be enough to get me to take engineering on my upcoming Paladin; it's always seemed gimmicky and PvP-oriented to me, but Blizzard seems to have realized that they need to move away from that.
This is a very fast rug
We've already talked about what was said in the latest Blizzcast: mainly profession details and music, as well as a few snippets on dungeons and raids from Kaplan (and some Starcraft II stuff). But there were some interesting pieces of information given away in an image linked on the podcast transcript page that were not discussed in the podcast, in the way of new crafted items. The image is replicated above; click for a bigger version. My favorite is definitely the Magnificent Flying Carpet. Yes, it's a flying mount for tailors, and I am pretty certain that it will be awesome. Here's everything I found in that image that I don't remember having seen elsewhere: Magnificent Flying Carpet: Requires level 70, tailoring (450). Use: Calls forth and dismisses a flying carpet. This is a very fast rug. This mount can only be summoned in Outland and Northrend. Requires artisan riding skill or higher to use. Floral Foundations: Encrypted, requires inscription (50). A small collection of rare herbs. [No, I have no idea what this is, aside from something to do with Inscription.] Spring Loaded Cloak Expander: requires engineering (425). Use: permanently modifies a cloak so it can be activated by a skilled engineer, causing them to fall slowly for 10 sec. The effect can only be activated every 5 min. This last item ties in to what Jon LeCraft (WoW's lead profession designer) was saying about engineering having items to give effects to gear, as opposed to replacing gear outright like the Parachute Cloak. Engineered enchants, basically. Overall, I continue to be more and more excited about professions in Wrath.
Blizzcast Episode 4 reveals Warcraft information and insights
Blizzcast episode 4 is now live and available for listening, and with it, of course, has come a wealth of new World of Warcraft Information. Some of it is stuff we've gotten wind for before, but there's some interesting insights into the whole game. You can listen to it here and read the transcript here, or join us after the break for a breakdown of the juiciest information from the Interviews
Morality and legality in EVE Online
One of the strengths of EVE Online is that the game's professions can be freeform. Many players take the standard route of being a miner or a mission runner. However, new and deviant professions have arisen in a kind of symbiosis with the more established trades in the game. This is the focus of an article called 'Morality and Legality', written by ISD Magnus Balteus of CCP Games. 'Morality and Legality' looks at two of the sketchier professions that sprang from EVE's more standard career paths. Mining has given rise to ore theft, which boils down to theft that has the side benefit of potentially baiting the victim into combat, even in high security space. If the ore thief or 'can flipper' is successful, he or she can make off with the ore that someone else mined plus the modules looted from the miner's ship wreck. The morality of this type of career doesn't even enter into the equation... this is EVE. CCP's unwillingness to change the game mechanics involved in can flipping means that this is not an exploit, it's a valid profession, albeit not in the mind of the miner victim.
WoW Insider Show Episode 49: Death Knights picking Peacebloom
The latest episode of our podcast is now up for listening over on WoW Radio, and in there, Daniel "BigRedKitty" Howell, Duncor the Dependable and I all break down the Wrath beta at length, talking about what we're most excited about (and what you're most excited about, too). We talked about the rumored changes coming to raiding mechanics, including the much maligned potion sickness and possible changes to crushing blows. Since BRK was on, we chatted about our Hunters (mine is almost 69, hopefully 70 soon) and what he expects for the expansion, from exotic pets to new pet talents. We talked about the new, smooth regen mechanic and whether it helps or not. And we talked at length about Inscription, how it works, and whether we were into it. I'm very into it, the other guys not so much. And of course we answered your emails -- if you have a question, comment, or insight on the show, you can email us at theshow@wow.com, and you could even hear your email on the next show.Which is going to be a good one, by the way -- as you may have noticed, next weekend is our 50th show, so we'll have to do something fun. More singing? Giveaways? Drinking by the host? You'll have to tune in and see. As always, enjoy the show and we'll see you next week.
Insider Trader: Faction recipes for leatherworkers
Insider Trader is your inside line on making, selling, buying and using player-made products.After a brief hiatus, Insider Trader is back and ready to take on the faction world. As you progress through Outland as a leatherworker, it will be helpful to know the factions with which you will need to be in high favor. Here's a quick summary: Honored: Ashtongue Deathsworn, Sha'tar, Keepers of Time. Revered: Consortium, Kurenai/Mag'har, Lower City. Exalted: Cenarion Expedition, Honor Hold/Thrallmar, Aldor/Scryers, Violet Eye.
Tinnitus: Leatherworking drums cause a debuff
Part of the allure of drums in raids has been the ability to overlap the effects of different types of drums by having several leatherworkers drumming at a time. One member might boost attack power and spell damage for party members in range, while another might restore health and mana. With the new Tinnitus debuff, any targets affected by drums are immune to the effects of all other drums for two minutes. While this sounds like a nerf, it might actually have a balancing effect. In fact, other professions are seeing similar changes. Potions will create Potion Sickness, which will prevent the consumer from using more than one in any given encounter. Players will have to rest out of combat in order to refresh the privilege. So far, this also is affecting mana gems and similar items, although it is unclear if that particular effect is a bug or not. What does this mean?
Preview of the Motorbike vehicle in Grizzly Hills
Did you doubt that engineers would be the coolest players in the expansion? This little demo of the motorbike coming (supposedly) to engineers in Wrath of the Lich King is, as our own Dan O'Halloran said when he saw it, the first movie of WoW where the death metal actually belong. The thing tools around Grizzly Hills at top speed. Maybe it's just the way it's been implemented on the private server, but if those jumps are possible on the live realms (physics? in WoW?), then vehicles in Wrath are going to be awesome.Of course, this doesn't exactly signal the return to swords and sorcery that players were hoping for in Northrend -- what does it mean if we've replaced the spaceships of the last expansion with tanks? But WoW has always had a steampunk feel, and this does seem like a natural extension. Ladies and Orcs, start your engines![Thanks, Akussa!]
Tradeskill links coming in Wrath
Another fun little addition for tradeskills and crafters straight from the Beta realms is the ability to peruse the recipes that someone else knows. It works very simply, too. The crafter links his tradeskill like it were an item. You click on that link and a regular tradeskill window pops open, minus the option to craft, create or enchant what you're looking at. You can see all of their recipes and the materials required for them.This seems like it's going to be especially useful for the tradeskills that have a large variety of things that people need. Jewelcrafting, Enchanting, et cetera. It would be much easier to link a guildmate the list of what I can do rather than look up everything they need myself. "Can you do Savagery? Vitality? Spell damage to bracers? MP5 to chest? Strength to gloves?" Maybe! Here, check and see! Linking your recipe book over the Trade channel should help sell enchants and inscriptions as well, hopefully replacing the endless spam of three paragraph advertisement macros. Okay, so maybe those macros will never go away, but we can hope can't we? By the way, you can click on the image to the right to make it bigger, in case you can't see it very well as it is.
Professional benefits in Wrath
Thanks to the information slowly (we just can't get them fast enough around here...) leaking out from the Wrath of the Lich King Beta, we already learned that the professions trend started in The Burning Crusade will continue in the new expansion. The Burning Crusade (or Patch 2.0) introduced new items or enchantments that confer bonuses exclusively the character with the profession, such as ring enchants for Enchanters or Bind-on-Pickup gems for Jewelcrafters. This was a welcome change that rewarded players with their choice of profession -- almost to the point where such profession-only bonuses compelled many to choose professions somewhat incongruous with their class. Hardcore PvP players pursued Enchanting for the ring enchants, for example, while hardcore raiders leveled their Leatherworking for the Drums of Battle. In Wrath of the Lich King, the different professions get even more exclusive goodies designed to keep professions more or less in tune with their intended classes. Eliah reported about the passive buffs for gatherers, and they seem to be in thematically tuned to some classes. Take Master of Anatomy, for example, which seems to be a benefit given to Skinners. Traditionally, Rogues, Hunters, and Shamans were the classes who pursued Leatherworking and its complementary profession, Skinning. The passive benefit to critical strikes are certainly welcome to those classes, so players who chose to stick to their Skinning will actually receive a pleasant boost in Wrath.
EVE Online exploration video tutorial
EVE Online blogger Morphisat recently unearthed a good video tutorial on the profession of exploration, by a player called SRRAE. In a vast, open galaxy like EVE Online's setting of New Eden, the option of becoming an explorer is an appealing one. However, despite the name 'exploration,' players cannot actually discover new solar systems. They can, however, find hidden content throughout space, both in highsec and lowsec. This can include hidden asteroid belts (presumably with rarer ores to mine), hacking and archaeology sites, harvestable gas clouds used in drug production, and numerous combat encounters. Admittedly, exploration is not an easy profession to pick up for beginners, but with enough skills related to scanning and covert ops, paired with a decent understanding of game mechanics and the value of a cloaking device, exploration can be lucrative -- particularly in 0.0 space. Of course, there will inevitably be times where an explorer is simply burning off scan probes in the futile hope of finding something new. Perhaps SRRAE has become a victim of his own success, as he recently lamented the downside of exploration's growing popularity among New Eden's capsuleers.[Via CrazyKinux]
Passive buffs for gatherers
We've seen some interesting things come out of the Wrath beta already for some of the crafting professions, including Jewelcrafting, Alchemy, Enchanting, and the new Inscription. But what about us humble gatherers? Skinners, Herbalists, and Miners need love too. Well, it looks like Blizz is ready to give us some of that love, at least for Skinners and Miners. Check out the following spells: Toughness (categorized under Mining) Master of Anatomy (categorized under Skinning) Note that those buffs are passive. 35 stam all the time for all grand master miners, and 25 crit rating for grand master skinners. Each of those abilities have six ranks, which I take to correspond to the six ranks of profession skill: apprentice, journeyman, expert, artisan, master, and the new grand master. This is awesome stuff, if you ask me. My analysis is that these benefits are meant to stand in for the epic BoP items that the production professions get access to. Why there is no benefit for herbalism is something of a mystery; it might not be implemented yet, or it might be absent on purpose. Natalie pointed out that it might be because several herbs already give buffs when you pick them, so that's another possibility. I think these benefits are low enough that people with maxed-out professions aren't going to be dropping them just to get the extra 35 stam, but high enough to provide a meaningful, stabbity perk for those who've just about had it with skinning their ten-thousandth beast (who am I kidding, skinning is fun). Good change, and I do hope we see something for herbalism.
Enchanted in Northrend
Being the only non-gathering primary profession that has, thus far, been implemented in the Wrath beta, enchanters should feel special. No word yet on the long-rumored ability to sell enchants on the AH, but we do at least have some interesting new enchants to look forward to. Here are some of my favorites: Enchant Cloak: Haste Enchant Cloak: Spirit Enchant Boots: Icewalker Enchant Cloak: Shadow Armor Enchant Gloves: Armsman Enchant Bracer: Expertise Enchant Weapon: Lifeward Enchant Gloves: Gatherer
