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WoW Archivist: Bottlenecks
WoW Archivist explores the secrets of World of Warcraft's past. What did the game look like years ago? Who is etched into WoW's history? What secrets does the game still hold? Wherever thousands of players try to complete on-rails content, bottlenecks are inevitable. For Warlords of Draenor, Blizzard is trying to be proactive about eliminating them. Back in July, CM Zorbrix posted a "targeted feedback request" about bottlenecks in the beta. Given that the introductory experience is completely on rails before the expansion unleashes players into its less structured zones, this is a real concern. WoW hasn't had the best track record when it comes to bottlenecks. As we help Blizzard loosen the bottlenecks of the future, let's revisit those of the past. The great gyrocopter jam of 2012 Blizzard's server tech has come a long way since the game's launch. Lag and crashes are no longer rampant during expansion launches. But sometimes, other problems can prohibit players from progressing on Day 1. If we're talking bottlenecks, we have to start with the most infamous one in all of WoW, which also happens to be one of the most recent. This was a problem that people saw coming. I found a thread on MMO Champion from September 2012 where a poster writes, "On Beta - everyone had to funnel through a single vehicle quest to proceed on the Jade Forest quest line. I'm a touch concerned that this is going to be way worse than any other expansion..." And this guy was totally right. OK, maybe Mists wasn't as bad as The Burning Crusade overall, but the ironically named Unleash Hell was still the biggest -- and most dramatic -- bottleneck ever caused by a single quest.
Zone location determines Living Elements transmute results
Once a day, resetting at midnight, alchemists at skill level 485 or above are able to transmute Volatile Life into a random other volatile. A little-known fact not documented in the tooltip is that if you perform this transmute in a specific zone, the result will not be random. For example, doing it in Uldum will always yield Volatile Air. This transmute, even when performed in a city, is likely the best use of the shared alchemy cooldown. For a lot of realms, none of the other cooldown-linked transmutes (Truegold, Pyrium Bar, and the pre-Cataclysm stuff) are nearly as profitable as the Living Elements transmute, simply because as a general rule, Volatile Life is always among the cheapest of the volatiles. Transmuting it to just about anything is profitable, or at least not a loss. Now that we can force it, it's going to increase drastically in profitability. Here's the list of locations and what they proc, taken from a blue post about a hotfix: Volatile Air: Uldum Volatile Fire: Mount Hyjal Volatile Water: Vashj'ir Volatile Earth: Deepholm Transmute-specced alchemists also enjoy the chance of a double proc; however, the additional volatiles are completely random. You can force the primary proc but not the secondary bonus. Based on the fairly low drop rate from the Electrostatic Condenser, air will be the way to go for a while. World of Warcraft: Cataclysm has destroyed Azeroth as we know it; nothing is the same! In WoW Insider's Guide to Cataclysm, you can find out everything you need to know about WoW's third expansion, from brand new races to revamped quests and zones. Visit our Cataclysm news category for the most recent posts having to do with the Cataclysm expansion.
Cataclysm 101: What to do first in Cataclysm
Cataclysm has already gone live in Europe, and it's only hours away now for those of us in North America. Are you prepared for it? Do you know what you need to know to hit the ground running when Cataclysm content becomes active on live realms? If you don't, we're here to help. Below are answers to some of the most common questions that have been asked about starting the Cataclysm experience. How do I learn to fly in old Azeroth? You can get your Flight Master's License in Outland or Northrend, but the much better options are Stormwind for the Alliance and Orgrimmar for the Horde. Horde players want to talk to Maztha and Alliance players want to talk to Bralla Cloudwing. Wowhead has excellent maps for finding both of them.
Around Azeroth Beta Edition: Whale shark week
Meet your new underwater Fel Reaver, kids -- the whale sharks of Vashj'ir. "No picture can really do justice depicting the sheer size of these guys, and seeing two in one spot is pretty terrifying," writes Mitska of <Whispers of the Fallen> on Shadow Council (US-A). "Their hitbox is gigantic and they are boss-level monsters, so it's not a rare occurrence to see someone fleeing for their lives after a poorly-timed AoE leads the shark to slowly chase them down. Many have tried to outswim the whale shark ... few have succeeded." Do you have any unusual, beautiful or interesting World of Warcraft images that are just collecting dust in your screenshots folder? We'd love to see them on Around Azeroth! Sharing your screenshot is as simple as emailing aroundazeroth@wow.com with a copy of your shot and a brief explanation of the scene. You could be featured here next! Remember to include your player name, server and/or guild if you want it mentioned. Please include the word "Azeroth" in your post so it does not get swept into the spam bin. We strongly prefer full screen shots without the UI showing -- use Alt Z to remove it. Please, no more battleground scoreboards, Val'kyr on mounts or pictures of the Ninja Turtles in Dalaran. Older screenshots can be found here. %Gallery-76180%
Screenshot of the day revived for Cataclysm
Zarhym just hit the forums to announce that they'll be reviving the official community site's Screenshot of the Day feature. Every day they'll be releasing a new Cataclysm screenshot, and you can see today's at the top of this post or on the official site. Today's screenshot appears to be a sea goblin in what might be Vashj'ir or the Abyssal Maw. WoW.com will definitely have our eyes glued to these daily screenshots, as they're sure to include a lot of awesome visuals. Maybe even a female worgen! We can hope, right?
New Cataclysm Preview: Vashj'ir: Surviving the Depths
This afternoon we have a new preview of another Cataclysm zone, this time the zone of Vashj'ir. Vashj'ir is partially an underwater zone that lets the players face off against the Naga. There will be both Alliance and Horde forces present, including submarines and naval ships for both factions. This is where we'll also see the five-man dungeons of the Throne of the Tides and the Abyssal Maw. Additional details on the new Cataclysm dungeons can be found here. The zone is for players level 78 to 82. Blizzard's full statement after the break. %Gallery-90929%
