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Mists of Pandaria Beta: New loot frames roll into view
New loot frames! No more having to stare at your chat frames and scroll up and down to see which player won what item. Loot rolls are now condensed into a loot roll frame that appears in your screen. It lists the results of all the items that went up for grabs in the instance and who won them. If you look at the screenshot above, you can see the roll numbers next to each player and what roll types were used. The player who won the item is listed at the top. You can expand or collapse the menu to see the list of players who rolled and what roll type they used, such as need or greed. The only downside to this new feature is that I couldn't find a way to move the frame around. But hey, I'll take these new loot roll frames any day. What about you? It's open warfare between Alliance and Horde in Mists of Pandaria, World of Warcraft's next expansion. Jump into five new levels with new talents and class mechanics, try the new monk class, and create a pandaren character to ally with either Horde or Alliance. Look for expansion basics in our Mists FAQ, or dig into our spring press event coverage for more details!
The Daily Grind: How far would you go for cosmetic gear?
Massively's got so many cosmetic-gear gurus and sandbox aficionados on staff that sometimes I suspect no amount of character customization and housing and achievements and titles would ever be enough for us. We'd do just about anything for more ways to distinguish our characters in an MMO. But what about raiding for cosmetic gear? Enter OpenRaid, a World of Warcraft website that helps players organize cross-server PvE dungeon raids and premade PvP teams for the express purpose of acquiring achievements and gear to transmogrify (i.e., map the skin of something cool onto something with good stats). While I'd hope that needing to run large-scale endgame content for gorgeous weapon skins isn't going to become commonplace in future MMOs, it's still fascinating to see roleplay-oriented players playing content they wouldn't normally touch, just to collect a dress. So how far would you go -- or have you gone -- to get your hands on a sweet piece of cosmetic gear, title, or achievement? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Newer Technology Guardian MAXimus mini portable RAID solution
Newer Technology produces a wide variety of storage solutions for the Mac OS X world, and one new product is sure to be popular with anyone who needs the security of RAID storage in a portable package. The Guardian MAXimus mini is a rugged pint-sized RAID box using a pair of 2.5" SATA hard disks or solid-state disks to provide RAID-1 mirroring for mobile Mac users. Design The design of the Guardian MAXimus mini is what I've come to expect from Newer Technology. The storage solution features a rugged aluminum case measuring about 5.25" deep, 3.5" wide, and 2" high. On the front of the case is a backlit 2-line blue LCD and a set of tiny buttons that are used to check the status or change the settings of the array. There are also a set of LEDs to indicate activity and status of the two drives. The review array came with two 7200 RPM Hitachi 500 GB drives installed in a RAID-1 mirrored configuration. For maximum storage, the array could be configured as a 1 TB RAID-0 striped set. On the back of the unit are two FireWire 400/800 ports, a USB 2.0 port, and one eSATA port. When connected to a Mac via FireWire 400/800 or USB 2.0, the array is bus-powered and doesn't require external power. If you're using eSATA, you'll need to either plug in the included AC adapter or use a FireWire cable for power. Using FireWire 800, you can daisy-chain a number of the arrays for ultimate portable storage. Cables for all three interfaces are included. The array is fanless and very quiet, making just a slight noise that would disappear when filled with SSDs. Pricing of a bare Guardian MAXimus mini is US$114.99 if you wish to supply your own drives; Newer Technology also sells the array pre-loaded in mirrored configurations of 5400 RPM 320 GB ($219.99), 500 GB ($249.99), 750 GB ($319.99), or 1 TB ($394.99) hard disk drives; 7200 RPM 500 GB ($329.99) or 750 GB ($394.99) hard disk drives; or 120 GB ($449.99), 240 GB ($829.99), or 480 GB ($1659.99) solid state drives. Changing out drives requires a standard Philips screwdriver to remove two screws on the back of the case. Once those screws are removed and a small door is opened, the two drives are visible and easily accessed. Benchmarks TUAW uses a standard industry benchmark to compare the I/O capabilities of disks and arrays. The benchmark uses the AJA System Test, which simulates reading and writing video. The specific test I used was the Disk Read/Write test, also known as the DiskWhackTest, set at a video frame size of 720 x 486 8-bit and a file size of 128 MB. I tested the array in both RAID 1 and RAID 0 configuration. The test results are compared to the internal SATA drive of the test iMac. What's odd is that the RAID 0 configuration (striped set) is supposed to be faster than the mirrored set. At least in the testing I performed, RAID 1 was faster -- particularly in writing to the drive where it was almost twice the speed of RAID 0. Compared to some other FW 800 drives and arrays I've tested, the Guardian MAXimus mini in mirror mode was slightly slower in writing data but one of the fastest I've encountered in reading data. Conclusion For those who use Apple's MacBook Pro or MacBook Air notebooks in their daily work, the Guardian MAXimus mini is a perfect redundant storage companion. Being bus-powered means there's no need to drag along another power supply, and the RAID 1 capability provides a complete backup of your data at all times. Personally, I'm thinking seriously about purchasing a pair of these little arrays to replace a much larger and more problematic array in my office. The Guardian MAXimus mini won't take up as much space, won't require a separate power supply, and will certainly be much quieter. The small size means the array can also travel with me, useful for trips where I need high-capacity and relatively fast storage for video work. With the pricing, design, and performance of the Guardian MAXImus mini, Newer Technology has unleashed another winner product on the world.
RIFT's patch 1.8: Infernal Dawn goes live
Maelforge and Laethys better be watching their backs because RIFT's patch 1.8: Infernal Dawn is now live, and players are now able to head into the eponymous Infernal Dawn raid to lay the smack down on the pair of dragon-gods. On top of that, the patch will be ringing in a new world event known as the War of the Wanton Maw, which will presumably involve players fighting back against Maelforge's Wanton cult and Laethys' Golden Maw. If you're a less combative type, don't worry. Infernal Dawn is also bringing some more relaxing activities in the form of two new tradeskills. Those looking to spend a calm day on the water can bait a hook and spend an afternoon fishing, while those who want to rough it in the great outdoors can craft food and shelter with the new survival skill. For the full details on what this monumental patch is bringing to the game, just head on over to the official forums to check out the patch notes yourself. Oh, and if you're curious about what you're going up against, just click on past the cut for a look at Maelforge and Laethys in the official Infernal Dawn trailer.
G-Technologies' G-Raid with Thunderbolt drive now on sale, yours from $700
Thunderbolt-equipped RAID options from the likes of LaCie and Promise not satisfying your desire for a 10Gbps storage option? Good news, as Hitatchi's G-Technology is finally ready sell its G-Raid with Thunderbolt, which might just throw a smile on your face. We now know that you'll pay $700 for 4TB or storage, $850 for 6TB and $1,000 for 8TB. If you'll recall, the unit features a duo of T-Bolt ports for daisey-chains and two 3Gbps 7,200RPM HDDs that can be configured in RAID 0 for extra pep or RAID 1 for redundancy. That said, it'll require plug-in power, so don't expect to go mobile. Looking for more details in the meantime? Move your cursor over to the links below.
The unspoken etiquette of world boss encounters
World bosses are returning in Mists of Pandaria! You know, my uncle, the legendary General Commandicus Brutallicus, told me stories of veteran players staying up at various odd hours of the day to challenge the emerald dragons, Lord Kazzak, and others. Even though I was but a young priest at the time, he told me that going after them was a hoot and experience in itself, especially if your home was on a PvP realm. There was an unspoken etiquette among raid leaders who went after world bosses. Since world bosses are making a comeback, I wanted to share them. You can't call dibs. The first group that arrives, is buffed, and ready gets to pull the boss first. No exceptions. You can't just stroll in there and call dibs when your entire raid group wasn't there or ready yet. Heck, you can't even physically contest the boss even if you did get there first. Back in my day, anyone who cried about seeing the boss first and losing out was generally laughed at. You take turns. There was an unspoken level of respect between the top raiding guilds. Despite the hatred and the fierce competition, we never interfered with attempts that were already progress. To do so brought dishonor to the guild and would cause you to be blacklisted from the realm. In an era when realm and faction transfer never existed, it was a big deal -- not to mention, if you opened fire on one group, they would come back and wipe your attempts. This would go on back and forth before everyone got tired, but no one would give. Yes, which leads me to the next rule ... Bring two raid groups. You had one raid group which would tackle the main boss. The second raid group was there to provide cover and to engage or otherwise tie up any hostile players who wanted to wipe your raid. These tended to be the PvP contingents within the various guilds. They were the players who didn't raid but spent all day grinding Alterac Valley for Grand Marshall and all that. This second group of players would hide behind a mountain or a tree or something and wait for instructions from the primary raid leader before engaging anyone. Majority guild receives first picks on loot. This is more of a courtesy than anything else. If a raid group consisted primarily of a raiding group and it was demonstrable that they did most of the heavy lifting, they had the right to select one item they wanted out of the loot drops before opening the rest to free roll. However, since the loot method is going to change, this rule is no longer relevant.
RIFT community team livestreaming Infernal Dawn tomorrow
If you're playing RIFT, odds are good you're looking forward to the next major content update -- and if you're also a raider, so much the better. But it's one thing to read about all of the neat things that will be going on in a new raid and another thing entirely to actually see them. That's why the community team is hosting an official livestream of the new Infernal Dawn raid that's getting released this week. The run will begin at 11:30 a.m. PDT, moving through the entirety of the raid and showing off all of the bosses without spoiling the fights themselves. The community team will also be explaining the lore behind the area and the bosses and answering community questions when possible. So if you've got the time around noon tomorrow to check it out, head over to the game's Facebook page and get ready for a guided tour of the newest raid. [Source: Trion Worlds press release]
New Dark Age of Camelot video shows off relic raid test-run
Realm-vs.-realm combat pioneer Dark Age of Camelot is seeing a number of changes to the relic raid system in the upcoming patch 1.112, and last Wednesday the devs gathered a bunch of guillible cannon fod-- err, brave adventurers to help them test out the new updates with an all-out relic raiding brawl. Mythic figured that an event of such magnitude shouldn't go unnoticed, so the studio recorded the ordeal and put together a lovely little video full of an incredible amount of death, destruction, and general RvR chaos. Which faction will reign supreme in this rumble for the relic? Well, there's only one way to find out: Go see for yourself!
Report: HP's South Korean offices raided over alleged price fixing
Korea Times is a publication that isn't shy of the odd bold statement and today it's claiming that HP's South Korean offices were raided on suspicion of price-fixing deals made with IBM and Oracle. The country's Fair Trade Commission seized documents, computer records and questioned employees over alleged price-rigging on public-sector contracts. A company spokesperson said that the visit was routine, while FTC officers refused to comment about ongoing matters, but what is clear is that if any wrong-doing is found, the case will be turned over to prosecutors with the aim of commencing criminal proceedings for those responsible.
SWTOR launches the legacy patch, new operation video, and rewards for loyalists
Star Wars: The Old Republic launched Update 1.2: Legacy this morning, so now fans can do the happy dance... with their companions, thanks to the new Legacy unlocks. But fans and their companions aren't the only ones celebrating; the SWTOR community team itself released a brand-new video focusing on the Update 1.2 operation Explosive Conflict and new bonuses for veteran players. As the video explains, the recently discovered planet of Denova holds the largest supply of uradium in the galaxy. The Republic hired mercenaries to help defend the planet against the Empire, but the gang has gone rogue. Whether you are Empire or Republic, you will win one of the greatest resources for your side if you defeat Kephess and his mutinous mercs. Catch the full "explosive" video after the cut! And if you're an active subscriber, you can look forward to a free Tauntaun Ram pet. Level 50 characters will also be treated to a free month of gametime.
Maelforge and Laethys soar into action in RIFT's latest Infernal Dawn trailer
In the recent weeks, we've been inundated with information on RIFT's upcoming patch 1.8 and the accompanying new raid, Infernal Dawn. We've already gotten up-close-and-personal looks at the big baddies of Infernal Dawn, Laethys and Maelforge, but today Trion Worlds has released a spankin'-new trailer to get players hyped up to take on the dastardly duo of draconic deities. The trailer itself takes players inside the raid proper to give them a look at the many enemies they'll be squaring off against. It also gives us the first look at Laethys and Maelforge live and in action, and to say that these two appear formidable would be quite an understatement. They look, in layman's terms, like they're willing and able to mess your day/week/life right up. You can see for yourself in the full video, so why don't you go take a gander?
The Dragon Soul -- a post-mortem
Technically, as I write this, the Dragon Soul isn't actually dead yet, nor do raids really die so much as either become outdated or revamped. (Zul'Gurub and Zul'Aman stand as examples of raid content that died to be reused, while Naxxramas was used again as an introductory raid.) But since we're closing in on our fourth month running the raid instance, I thought this was a good time to examine it critically. What were the Dragon Soul's main themes? How did it function both as a raid instance and as a platform to end Deathwing's story arc? And most importantly to me, did I enjoy the ride? Dragon Soul as an experience was fascinatingly diverse compared to previous raids. It eschewed the static finding of some dark cave or towering fortress to instead create a raid wherein we traveled the world, with different environments for the bosses to suit the locations and set pieces for our transitions. One complaint I've seen is that by reusing the Dragonblight and Wyrmrest Temple, Blizzard's design team was cutting corners -- but frankly, I don't find that criticism very accurate. First off, Wyrmrest is where the dragonflights typically meet, as demonstrated by Malygos' assault during the Nexus War, so it makes perfect sense for it to be where Deathwing sends his full Twilight's Hammer forces to try and crush them.
Mists of Pandaria Beta: First look at the new raid instances
YouTube user WazopVids has dropped some of the Mists of Pandaria beta files into a model viewer and recorded the results -- our first look at the Mogu'shan Vaults and the Mantid raid zones. I must stress that these are works in progress and not running in WoW software, so take all of this with a grain of salt. However, what we have seen so far looks pretty damn promising. Check out the Mogu'shan Vaults up above and the Mantid zone after the jump.
Rusty Hearts adding 'first true raid dungeon' on March 22nd
If the name "Dead Man's Valley" doesn't give you pause while looking up places to travel on your next vacation, perhaps consider a luxury cruise through Rusty Hearts' territory this spring. The hack-and-slash MMO is prepping a major update to the game for March 22nd that will add "the first true raid dungeon" for the game. Dead Man's Valley is an eight-person raid that will represent some of the most challenging content in the game. Also coming with the update is the latest playable character: a man trapped in a boy's body (insert your own role-reversal jokes here). Edgar Grosvenor is joining the crew of Rusty Hearts as a fierce melee combatant whose skill with the scythe and magic sword are completely at odds with his schoolboy demeanor. You can see the highlights of both Dead Man's Valley and Edgar's combat technique in Perfect World's latest video right after the jump!
Western Digital MyBook Thunderbolt Duo is available now starting at $600
Back at Macworld, we laid our peepers on Western Digital's MyBook Thunderbolt Duo and were able to take a demo setup for a quick spin. Now, the dual-wielding external HDDs are officially on the market. You can snag 4TB (2x 2TB) and 6TB (2x 3TB) versions of this "über-fast" MyBook for $599 and $699, respectively. Don't forget: you can daisy chain up to six of these bad boys via the dual Thunderbolt ports on the kit's backside (if you have quite the piggy bank, of course) -- just like the four-unit set we encountered sporting 700MB/sec read and 500MB/sec write speeds in RAID 0. WD also says the storage devices are Time Machine compatible as soon as you can unpack 'em. If you're anxious to grab one of your own, hit the source link below to part with your funds. And for a quick refresher, take a gander at the gallery below.
EverQuest's massive 13th anniversary and free-to-play celebration events revealed
In two days, EverQuest will not only be celebrating its 13th (!) anniversary and adding a sizable update to the game, but also will be making the jump to a free-to-play hybrid model. Since this is no small potatoes, SOE has planned a huge array of events to celebrate the occasion. The fun begins on the Plane of Knowledge, where players can enjoy 13 special quests that harken back to the greatest hits of EverQuest's history. There's also a new raid and the return of 40 events from previous anniversaries to keep everyone busy. The update has a new feature called the Hero's Journey, which is a guidebook that will lead players through a path in EverQuest. To make things even more user-friendly, EverQuest's map system will see a major overhaul that includes the ability to show you paths to your destination. Finally, SOE has an absolutely gigantic F2P conversion FAQ that covers nearly every conceivable question about the transition, including payment options and previous status in the game. EverQuest will go F2P starting at 3:01 am EDT on Friday, March 16th.
Delve deeper into RIFT's Infernal Dawn raid with new details, screenshots
If you've ever looked at an MMO and said something like "this would be a lot better if there was lava-surfing pirate ship helmed by an amazonian captain" or "dragons would be so much cooler if they were made of gold," then you have some very particular and rather peculiar thoughts. Moreover, though, RIFT has just the instance for you. Last week we took a video tour through the Earth Wing of RIFT's upcoming raid, Infernal Dawn. Now PC Gamer has got some more screenshots and details on the new dungeon, which pits players up against the Golden Maw, the Wanton, and their decidedly daft dragon leaders, Maelforge and Laethys. Laethys, in case we haven't mentioned it yet, is the dragon of earth whose form is composed entirely of delicious gold and precious gems. It's also worth mentioning that this is a dragon whose sacrifice of choice is a pretty boy or girl who has had his or her eyes removed and replaced with rubies. So yeah, may want to take her down ASAP, guys. Unfortunately, we've still yet to get a look at Maelforge himself, but we're sure Mr. I-want-to-sow-the-seeds-of-discord-and-chaos-everywhere will show his face as the release of Infernal Dawn draws ever closer.
Poll: Which was your favorite classic WoW 40-man raid?
Classic raiding in vanilla World of Warcraft will always hold a special place in my heart because it was the first time in any MMO I had ever played that I actually got to enjoy the full raiding experience. I had stepped into the planes in EverQuest but never got to be a vital member of the team. WoW changed all of that. For me, Blackwing Lair was probably the pinnacle of class WoW raiding. While Naxxramas was exhilarating and bold with its mechanics, Blackwing Lair felt more like storming the castle. The bosses had some great dialog, the scenery was impressive, and there were awesome healing trinkets that I coveted for years. Let's not forget the epic fight with Nefarion at the end where hunter's broke bows, mages polymorphed friends into grubs, and everyone was cloaked in Onyxia's scales. Which classic WoW raid was your favorite? %Poll-73937%
Breakfast Topic: Is DKP starting to become obsolete?
I was trundling through Wowpedia the other day for some background reading on loot systems (I'm writing a follow-up to Robert's not-so-original WoW miscellany) when I was struck by a sudden thought: I literally cannot remember the last time I saw a guild on my server advertising a DKP system or common variant like Suicide Kings. They advertise what level they are and what type of players they're looking for, the kind of raid content they do if they're raiders, if they do Rated Battlegrounds, and all that good stuff. But only very rarely is DKP ever mentioned, rarer still with a 10-man raiding guild. I trawled through the guild recruitment forums to see if this was actually part of a wider trend, but don't know what to think. The 25-man raiding guilds are the most likely to say they use a DKP system or variant; 10-man raiding guilds nearly all use loot councils, at least from my (admittedly brief) survey of the current advertisements. Is this also happening on your realms, or have I gotten this wrong? We all know that every DKP system has its issues and that administrating them is one of the larger headaches for guild leaders. 10-man raiding is also more popular than 25-man raiding right now, and it probably doesn't make sense for a guild to obsessively track DKP for a 10-man where most players probably aren't rolling on the same stuff. Is DKP dying, or is it just a sign of the popularity of the 10-man model?
Super Talent teases whip-fast RAIDDrive UpStream PCIe SSD
Super Talent's developed a PCI Express flash storage system that's far faster than your current SSD yet promises to be cheaper than the company's current PCIe offerings. The RAIDDrive UpStream uses a Sandforce controller to push around 1GBps of data at twice the speed of a SATA unit. Available to buy in 220GB, 460GB and 960GB editions, it sandwiches in four RAID drives to competitor OCZ's two, and is promised to be an "upsetter" by marketing director Peter Carcione. The company's hoping to get the devices into boxes and onto shelves by the end of April, for a price that's yet to be decided. Just remember, powerful SSDs are like having a butler: desirable, yes, but also a little pricey if your surname isn't Abramovitch or Buffett.
