season 2
Latest
The Art of War(craft): Making the jump from PvE to PvP
Let's face it, World of Warcraft is a PvE game. I know I once stated that PvP is inevitable and that everyone must go through it, but I've since been proven wrong by the rare breed of carebears who have never been flagged for PvP throughout their entire gaming lives. As much as I am loathe to admit it, Blizzard designed the game with PvP as a mere afterthought. I still don't think it's "the only real game" as Adam put it, but I think I'll write up a response to that another day. Despite the prevalence of Arenas and how its shaping the game today, anyone who isn't interested in PvP can very well skip it should she choose to. I said it was integral to the game, but admittedly probably only in my experience because it's my favorite thing to do. On the other hand, with Patch 2.4, the game has never been more casual than it is now, with more rare and epic items available to more players than ever. PvP has become more casual, too, with a new bunch of PvP quests to add to the Gold-grinder's routine. For a few players, even those who aren't particularly into PvP, the Battlegrounds and World PvP objectives are more enticing, even if only once a day. The Spirits of Auchindoun quest in Terokkar Forest might be the easiest way to earn 12 Gold ever. Because of the changes, I believe that now is the best time for people to try out PvP -- from fresh 70s to longtime carebears.
Blood Sport: No scrubs allowed in Season 4
Zach Yonzon takes over Blood Sport this week while new columnist Amanda Dean recuperates from a fever. Former columnist Vims decided he'll take his ominous laughter over to the Warlock columns exclusively.The writing is on the wall. Welfare epics are on the way out. With the new changes to the personal rating requirements -- which now includes gear purchasable by Honor -- it will no longer be possible to completely gear up through PvP without stepping into Arenas. The moment the announcement was made, everything changed for PvP and gear distribution to the player base. With the introduction of the new requirements, Arena and Honor-bought gear has become more restrictive than ever.How does this change the playing field? In two words? A lot. The good will get better, the bad will get worse, and the mediocre won't be getting anywhere. It is no longer possible to participate in Arenas casually. In fact, World of Warcraft PvP as we know it has changed completely. Clearly meant to address point selling teams, the personal rating requirement affects legitimate contenders -- or at least challengers (no pun intended) -- who play Arenas. There is no question that gear is a differentiator in Warcraft PvP. Certainly it's not the only differentiator, but the impact of gear disparity in Arenas is such that it creates an artificial barrier of entry for players who are only beginning to play it. Players who have been playing since Season 1 or 2 will have garnered enough Arena points for at least 4/5 Season 3 gear. Players who have just hit Level 70 or decided to do Arenas late are at a disadvantage. With the changes to the PvP gear system, the gear gap will grow even wider.
The Light and How To Swing It: Build you own TTRadin
Hi folks, it's me again. Somehow, Liz's computer got unplugged from the Light at the last minute and wiped her draft for this week clean. The task has fallen upon me once to swing the Light and wreak havoc upon these pages with blood and fury. Or something like that. In the wake of the admittedly lackluster (what, no giant GMs or gnome-transfigurations or demons run amuck?) second take on the TTR stress test, I've decided to write up the experience about making your own Paladin on the Tournament Test Realm, aka the TTRadin. If you haven't logged on to the TTR, now's a good time to download the PTR client and get yourself started.Paladin without the painIf you've never played a Paladin before, the TTR is an excellent way to experience some Paladin goodness without having to go through the entire leveling experience -- some parts of which even self-confessed altaholic and column co-writer Chris Jahosky admits to having a dislike for. Of course, leveling is part of the education process, so don't expect to know all the abilities and talents a Paladin -- or any class you make, for that matter -- right off the bat if you don't have a max-level character of that class on the live servers. That said, making a character on the TTR is well worth the effort and is definitely something any player can use to explore their options. Getting a taste of a max-level character, in our case a Paladin (this is a Paladin column, after all), is something players can learn from. So where do we start? We have the usual racial choices: Human, Dwarf, or Draenei for the Alliance; and Blood Elf for the Horde. Because it isn't a PvP server by definition, you can make an Alliance and a Horde character. The tournament server also isn't like the live realms in that there are no quests or NPCs aside from the trainers, vendors, and arena representatives. I haven't explored the tournament realm completely, but it's safe to assume that it's a barren world. The NPCs are all Goblins, by the way, which is a bit unsettling and bizarre. There are few things stranger than seeing little green men and women in full Tier 2.
That object is busy and other TTR tales
If you've been to the Tournament Test Server (TTR), you might have noticed a few things. Like lag the fact that your previous three characters have been deleted. According to Eyonix, Blizzard's latest push of the TTR sees a new character template whereby newly created characters will have existing sets of gear. In the previous build of the TTR, newly-created characters start out at Level 70 but are equipped with starting equipment like Acolyte's Robe or Worn Mace. Hybrid classes or classes with healing and DPS talent trees will have two to three sets of gear, based on the Merciless Gladiator sets from Season 2. Oddly enough, after creating multiple characters, it appears to me that the default gear equipped on hybrid classes is healing gear -- a hint from Blizzard to spec for healing? Maybe. One of the new features Blizzards wants to test is the random spawning upon character creation. After creating a Horde character, I would find myself randomly starting anywhere from Sunstrider Isle to Sen'jin Village. Part of Blizzard's test must also be the effectiveness of placing item vendors on a pedestal as opposed to being on the same level as player characters. Some spawn locations have the vendors on pedestals, such as Razor Hill or in front of Orgrimmar, while others have them on the ground such as Red Cloud Mesa in Mulgore. Strangely, the NPCs on the ground no longer have collision detection, as opposed to previous builds. While adding more spawn locations and randomizing them has eased congestion somewhat, Eyonix goes on to state that Blizzard plans to add more spawn locations in future builds. The same hiccups that were there before still exist, particularly the "That object is busy." response when attempting to purchase an item from a vendor. Lag will also prevent you from seeing that clicking multiple times (out of frustration, I swear) has garnered you bags full of an item you only really wanted one of. Despite these problems with lag and little quirks -- creating characters for the first time sometimes shows your character dressed in Season 2 gear and starting outfits in a mismatched ensemble -- Blizzard continues to encourage players to test the server. Hortus also popped onto the forums to say that not all the Alliance areas have received the makeover, so expect more changes soon. If you're not yet on the TTR, get on and give it a go. Hopefully, all the testing will help Blizzard get everything sorted out for the big brawl coming up on Sunday.
WoW Moviewatch: Chronicle of the Annoying Quest, Episode 21
I'm pretty sure that Chronicle of the Annoying Quest, by Bakasavant Productions, had a plot at one point. However, every episode I watch seems to veer further away from it. With 21 episodes, over two seasons, in the can, you'd think it would be getting somewhere by now.Episode 21 is a Dr. Who tribute, where a time mage sends them on an adventure after the villains. They geek out while discussing their favorite actors from the TV show. Once again, I'm left bewildered as to what will happen next and how it wraps up. It's a decent series, though![Via Warcraftmovies.com]Previously on Moviewatch ...
Season 2 Arena to sell for honor in Season 4
This wasn't exactly unexpected (Blizzard has, after all, already put Season 1 gear up for purchase), but Drysc has confirmed that Season 2 Arena gear-- that's the Merciless Gladiator gear-- will be available for purchase with regular honor as of Season 4.As usual, Drysc provides a disclaimer that Blizzard may change those plans. And of course we have no idea yet when Season 4 will drop, although the usual Arena Season timing tells us that it will likely be sometime in March of this year (possibly with the release of patch 2.4, although as usual, we have no idea if the patch will come sooner or later).But if you spent all your honor on Season 1 gear when Season 3 started, time to start saving again. Merciless Gladiator is going on sale.
PvP spending questions: Value vs. Cost vs. Time
With Arena Season 3 starting today, as you know, the Season 1 weapons and armor are now available for purchase with Honor. While some people may be able to just walk up and buy everything in the store, most of us have limited points to spend, and the right way to spend them isn't clear. In my case, for example, I find myself facing a difficult choice: Should I get a Season 1 epic weapon now, then spend my arena points on one piece of Season 3 armor? Or should I continue saving up my arena points to buy the even better Season 2 epic weapon later, and then spend my honor points on some Season 1 armor now? What is the real trade-off in terms of the relative value of items, their costs, and the time I'll have available to use them?The particular character in question is my draenei hunter that I just finished leveling about a month and a half ago. I'm having trouble finding good upgrades in any remaining quests, normal instances, or even heroics, but sometimes I still feel quite behind a lot of the other players I see in the battlegrounds and arenas. I'll probably start going to Karazhan with this character soon, but ideally I would love to be able to gear up with PvP and get into my guild's Zul'Aman raids early. I'd like to start being more competitive in Arenas as well -- sooner rather than later. At the current rate I'm going, it'll take me another two months before I have enough Arena points to spend on a Merciless Gladiator's Crossbow of the Phoenix (from Season 2). If I bought the Gladiator's Heavy Crossbow (from Season 1) with Honor today, though, would that help put me on a more even footing with other players sooner? Perhaps I would compete more effectively and gear up in other ways much faster? Or is it really worth the wait for the better weapon? (In case you're wondering, the Season 3 Crossbow requires a 1850 personal rating, so it's something I can't get without serious gear improvements.)What sort of PvP spending quandary are you in? If you're in a situation like mine, feel free to ask your question below, and see if our readers have an reply for you. Hopefully our new commenting features will help facilitate some practical suggestions.
Bad news for new Mage arena gear
With the release of the Arena Season 2 gear on the public test realm yesterday the number crunchers went to town. What they quickly found was not good news for Mages. It appears that the +INT on the new Mage armor is actually less than the Season 1 gear even though it costs more to purchase.But wait, you say, this is the test realm, surely it can be tweaked before it goes live. Blizzard responded that the gear is being looked at, but if any changes were made to its stats, it wouldn't be in time for the content patch. The mage gear is going live in its current state.When it comes to numbers, I'm easily confused, but in this case my confusion stems from this: why put things on the test server if you can't tweak it based on feedback before it goes live? I mean...isn't that the point of a test server? Can someone with a great understanding of the Testing process enlighten me?
Forum Post of the Day: Are PvP weapons balanced?
The forum is ablaze over at WoW's official European site. And it all has to do with the upcoming Arena Season 2. The patch just hit the test server this week and the dps on the new weapon rewards is...eye popping.One player wonders why should she be raiding 5 hours a night, 7 days a week for months to get a weapon that can be earned quicker in PvP? Her guild is only on Serpentshire Cavern, but she worries about her motivation to continue the grind towards Black Temple when she can acquire the same weapon much quicker by PvPing. Is Blizzard making a mistake making high end PvP gear more accessible than PvE raid gear? Do they expect players to both PvP and PvE to mix and match the best gear? Shouldn't non-raiding PvPers get their game best gear also? Tell us what you think.
Arena Season 2 rewards from the Public Test Realms
Thanks to our friends at MMO-Champion, we have an early look at the armor sets, weapons and possibly new mount rewards coming in the next content patch. Notes of interest: Weapons have the same graphic (so far) of Season 1 rewards Season 1 armor rewards have been reduced in cost New armored mounts are in the art files, but not listed as rewards yet Right now the PTR is going up and down, but you can find stats on the new rewards as well as screenshots of the armors at MMO-Champion. Keep in mind this is the first time these items are showing up on the test realms, so any and all aspects are subject to change before they go to the live servers.
Is Perplex City over? Writing staff leaves Mind Candy
If you were a fan of alternate-reality game Perplex City, which finished its first season earlier this year, we regret to inform you that Season 2 has been unofficially canned. The writing staff has moved on due to some internal issues with the game's developer Mind Candy. Adrian Hon, the lead designer of Perplex City, writes, "In particular at Mind Candy, there's the Story Team: Andrea, David, Jey and Naomi, all of whom are also moving on to different places and projects."Hon doesn't explain in detail what happened, but it looks like the brains at Mind Candy have left the building. The next season of Perplex City was to start in June and Hon even says that the puzzle cards for the season are at the offices. Hon goes on to say that he's not at "liberty" to say what went wrong, but says fans of the series should feel free to email him. With any luck, Hon and some of the crew will move on to a company that they can work with on another ARG.[Via Wonderland]
My Dream App to hold developer competition for Season 2
My Dream App, the wildly successful American Idol of the Mac software world, is coming back for a Season 2 - and they need a few good developers. But this time around, they're adding a new layer to the competition by allowing users to vote on the actual developers who will get the chance to code the winning apps. A press release and announcement on the My Dream App site states that the crew will be at the upcoming WWDC 07 in June doing video interviews with interested developers, but an email address is also provided if devs want to get a jump on things.Whether you are eagerly watching development of the apps from Season 1 (and yes, they're still making progress; this stuff doesn't happen overnight), this new season should be pretty fun. I'm definitely interested to see which developers are interested in hopping on board, and which ones the public chooses to build the app winners.
