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15 Minutes of Fame: Vive la resistance
15 Minutes of Fame is WoW.com's look at World of Warcraft players of all shapes and sizes -- from the renowned to the relatively anonymous, the remarkable to the player next door. Tip us off to players you'd like to hear more about. When there's a dozen of Them for every one of You, life on a PvP server gets ugly. PvE progression crawls when your faction's population is so minuscule that you can't seem to assemble a PUG even during peak hours. You can't craft your way into better gear, because an anemic economy means no materials on the Auction House and no players in Trade waiting to craft with them. Log in on a night when the few of raiding guilds don't happen to be active, and you could find yourself looking at something like 40 other faction-mates online. Welcome to the Alliance of US-Cho'gall. Current player activity levels average an abysmal 1 Alliance hour for every 12.7 Horde hours played -- something like a 1:7.5 player ratio, down from 1:15 earlier this year. An incredible community effort and guild named The Resistance rallied rerollers and transfers to infuse new life into the Alliance-side of this notoriously imbalanced community. While the campaign made an impressive stab at pulling the Alliance community up by its bootstraps, the severity of the situation took its toll, and things are not so bright for everyone on the blue side of the tracks. We visited with Aleksey, GM of another Alliance guild, to find out how the beleaguered Allies are holding up and what might help this Horde-crushed realm.
The Colosseum: Daryonic from Shattered Hand
The Colosseum takes us inside the world of the Gladiator (Brutal, Vengeful, Merciless, Furious, and otherwise), to interview some of the top Arena fighters in the battlegroups. Our goal is to bring a better understanding of the strategy, makeup, and work that goes into dueling it out for fame, fortune, and Frostwyrms. We're especially focused on the people who play these games, to further shed light on the world of the PvP player. Mages in the arena are still something a little special, even if we've managed to pull away from the days of Death Knight and Paladin dominance. Arena Master Daryonic from Shattered Hand is the Mage on the battlegroup Ruin's 4th rated 5v5 team, FORTHENERDPOINTS. (At the time of this writing, he's also on the 12th rated 3v3 team titled Vs WMDs.) Like many PvP players, Daryonic has shifted his focused away from 2v2 arena toward 3v3 and 5v5. We were able hook up with Daryonic, who took the time to share with The Colosseum his views on current arena dynamics, and what might be coming next season. Check it out behind the cut.
15 Minutes of Fame: Mixlering it up in world PvP
15 Minutes of Fame is WoW.com's look at World of Warcraft players of all shapes and sizes -- from the renowned to the relatively anonymous, the remarkable to the player next door. Tip us off to players you'd like to hear more about. Safety is serious business on US Feathermoon (RP). The Guildwatch, Feathermoon's Alliance global defense network of guilds and individuals, strives seven days a week to protect Alliance towns and territories from Horde attack. Sound like something that's taken pretty seriously? That would be affirmative. Says Guildwatch leader Mixler of the group's some 400 members, "Most of the major players Alliance-side have been members at one point or another, all of the Horde PvPers have fought us, and I believe we're still the largest organization on Feathermoon." While Feathermoon is not a PvP realm (it is one of the game's original realms, created before there were such things as RP-PvP realms), world PvP is in fact a significant part of the Feathermoon experience. The Guildwatch has played no small part in developing that legacy. 15 Minutes visited with GM Mixler for an inside look at the mechanics that keep the sprawling network working like a well-oiled machine.
The Colosseum: Rheek of Blackrock
The Colosseum takes us inside the world of the Gladiator (Brutal, Vengeful, Merciless, and otherwise), to interview some of the top arena fighters in the battlegroups. Our goal is to bring a better understanding of the strategy, makeup, and work that goes into dueling it out for fame, fortune, and Frostwyrms. We're especially focused on the people who play these games, to further shed light on the world of the PvP player. Blackrock is currently the most electronically famous server for arena PvP in the World of Warcraft. We were very excited to have the opportunity to interview one of <sup fresh our turn baby>'s own druids. Rheek of Blackrock was kind enough to discuss a myriad of arena related topics and personal history. At the time of this interview, Rheek is on a very respectable 2357 rated 3v3, Team Fanatic. A somewhat unorthodox wizard cleave team, his 3v3 composition is a resto druid / frost mage / destruction warlock combination. Take a look at what Rheek had to say after the break!
The Colosseum: Crinox of Burning Legion
The Colosseum takes us inside the world of the Gladiator (Brutal, Vengeful, Merciless, Furious, and otherwise), to interview some of the top Arena fighters in the battlegroups. Our goal is to bring a better understanding of the strategy, makeup, and work that goes into dueling it out for fame, fortune, and Frostwyrms. We're especially focused on the people who play these games, to further shed light on the world of the PvP player. Crinox is a hunter on the Burning Legion server. His 2v2 team is rated 2199, while his 3v3 team is rated 2212. Crinox took the time to hook up with us, and answer some basic questions about what it's like in the Season 7 arena. Before we get into the interview all the way, though, I wanted to take a moment and mention that we're always interested in interviewing new, highly ranked Arena players. Just drop a line to gray AT wow.com. I'll follow-up with an in game mail to verify that the character is actually the interviewee, and we'll get things under way. Without further ado, let's jump behind the cut and talk to Crinox.
15 Minutes of Fame: Caitlin R. Kiernan
15 Minutes of Fame is WoW.com's look at World of Warcraft players of all shapes and sizes -- from the renowned to the relatively anonymous, the remarkable to the player next door. Tip us off to players you'd like to hear more about. I've wandered around inside the fiction of Caitlín R. Kiernan, and I'm not at all certain I'd feel safe wandering around in her version of WoW. As it turns out, though, Kiernan plays WoW much like many of the rest of us do - smacking the "brain off" button at the end of a long day, tooling around various zones with a significant other, and somehow finding ourselves utterly embroiled in the microcosms that are the lives of the characters we spend so much time with. So an interview with Kiernan turned out to be a long, WoW-centric turn that she attacked with relish. "Truthfully, I think it's one of the most interesting interviews I've done lately, if only because I spend so little of it talking about writing," she blogged. We think it's pretty darn interesting, too.
15 Minutes of Fame: Quadriplegic player attacks progression raiding
15 Minutes of Fame is WoW.com's look at World of Warcraft players of all shapes and sizes -- from the renowned to the relatively anonymous, the remarkable to the player next door. Tip us off to players you'd like to hear more about. Tales of players who succeed at WoW despite disabilities (physical disabilities, mental issues, you name it) always attract a certain amount of fascination. How is it that we can spend so much worry and effort grinding trivial hurdles while disabled players are taking care of business in situations that would Alt+F4 most of us? Worry is one thing you won't hear much of from Quadilious, a quadriplegic player (yes, quadriplegic -- you read that correctly) who's into progression raiding (yes, progression raiding -- you're still reading things correctly) in ToC-25 Heroic and Ulduar hard modes. Ever have one of those days when you wish your in-game struggles and real-life hurdles seemed a little less daunting? Have a good dose of perspective -- Quad certainly does.
15 Minutes of Fame: Mr. Big
15 Minutes of Fame is WoW.com's look at World of Warcraft players of all shapes and sizes -- from the renowned to the relatively anonymous, the remarkable to the player next door. Tip us off to players you'd like to hear more about.This guy's is bigger. Really. In fact, this interview is expressly designed to provoke e-peen envy. Because really now, if I have to interview this chap while squinting at my (admittedly not-so-tiny widescreen) monitor (because it's still T minus 5 days to my optometrist visit, and respeccing my prescription is definitely in order) in the face of this visual largesse, then all of you people need to hunker down along with me. Misery loves company, and once you get a look at this WoW setup, we'll be able to finish this 15 Minutes of Fame in green-eyed envy together. Because this is an impressive view of WoW. We're sure there are plenty of you out there nodding along right now, muttering, "Oh, that ain't nuthin', little lady – mine's easily as big as that one ..." Well, folks, I've got pictures of this one. And it's big, really big ... 133 inches worth of big, to be exact.
15 Minutes of Fame: WoW, Eh?
15 Minutes of Fame is WoW.com's look at World of Warcraft players of all shapes and sizes -- from the renowned to the relatively anonymous, the remarkable to the player next door. Tip us off to players you'd like to hear more about.It's not every day that your interview subject offers to whip up some custom artwork depicting the 15 Minutes of Fame interview process in action - but that's how WoW, Eh? creator Cadistra/Kelly Aarons rolls. She's cool like that. That's Cadistra above, chatting with my retired priestess (who's normally found flitting about Darnassus in a Festive Green Dress with my daughter, chasing Wisps and leaving sparkly trails with her Benediction [to endless whispers of "Hey man, where does that staff drop?"] - so it was time for the wench to finally get some work done, you know?).Still, our enthusiasm for Cadistra's artwork can't top her own well deserved elation over a September win in Blizzard's monthly comic contest. As part of her prize package, Kelly received three volumes of Blizzard Entertainment manga. More importantly, she'll be considered by TOKYOPOP for contributions to upcoming volumes of both Warcraft: Legends and StarCraft: Frontline -- a heady opportunity, indeed.
The Colosseum: Trendz of Hyjal
The Colosseum takes us inside the world of the Gladiator (Brutal, Vengeful, Merciless, and otherwise), to interview some of the top arena fighters in the battlegroups. Our goal is to bring a better understanding of the strategy, makeup, and work that goes into dueling it out for fame, fortune, and Frostwyrms. We're especially focused on the people who play these games, to further shed light on the world of the PvP player.There haven't been many warlocks interviewed in the history of the Colosseum. We were very excited to sit down with Trendz of Hyjal today to discuss a myriad of arena related topics and personal history.Vanquisher Trendz is currently holding down the #1 spots in both 3v3 and 5v5 on the US-Whirlwind battlegroup. His 3v3, Rival Thilaume, a wizard cleave (two spell dps casters + healer) and his 5v5, Last Game Moms Calling makes Trendz the highest ranking warlock on US-Whirlwind, even though he has no 2v2.Take a look at what Trendz had to say after the break!
15 Minutes of Fame: Lights, camera, Death Grip
15 Minutes of Fame is WoW.com's look at World of Warcraft players of all shapes and sizes -- from the renowned to the relatively anonymous, the remarkable to the player next door. Tip us off to players you'd like to hear more about.WoW players are blubbery, pasty losers gorging on Cheetos in Mom's basement? Yeah, right -- that's about as far as it gets from diminutive Canadian songbird Lights. Yet make no mistake, this 22-year-old, Juno Award-winning singer is crazy about the WoW fighter's life -- so crazy, in fact, that she has a Twinblade of the Phoenix tattooed on her arm. She's peppered her web site and blog with declarations of geekdom, interspersed with observations on the synth-rich brand of "intergalactic electropop" she's building a career on. We visited with Lights (thanks for the tip, Chris!) about her WoW-playing ways during the crazy crunch leading up to today's U.S. release of her new album, The Listening.
The Colosseum: Twixz
The Colosseum takes us inside the world of the Gladiator (Brutal, Vengeful, Merciless, Furious, and otherwise), to interview some of the top Arena fighters in the battlegroups. Our goal is to bring a better understanding of the strategy, makeup, and work that goes into dueling it out for fame, fortune, and Frostwyrms. We're especially focused on the people who play these games, to further shed light on the world of the PvP player. Twixz is a successful Arena player who launched his semi-professional Arena career during the Season 5 Arena Tournament. After placing 4th in the official Blizzard tournament with a Paladin/Death Knight/Hunter team, Twixz went on to compete in the MLG Dallas tournament as part of eMg. Twixz's team won that tournament with a Beast Cleave setup.We were lucky to have Twixz share some thoughts on the current state of the Arena. Check out what he had to say behind the cut!
15 Minutes of Fame: Habbo's Sulka Haro
15 Minutes of Fame is WoW.com's look at World of Warcraft players of all shapes and sizes -- from the renowned to the relatively anonymous, the remarkable to the player next door. Tip us off to players you'd like to hear more about.Good things seem to come in threes -- at least, they do in the case of interviews with the intriguing folks from <unassigned variable> in the UK. Recent 15 Minutes of Fame subject Alice Taylor not only provided a rousing good interview herself, but she did exactly what we ask our readers to do at the top of every column: she tipped us off to players we want to hear more about. First, she passed us along to her GM, games designer James Wallis; next, she introduced us to this week's gaming insider. If you've had the chance to read Alice's and James' profiles, you're sure to be grinning and settling into your chair right about now, in anticipation of yet another witty, savvy peek into WoW culture, gaming and geekery. You'd be right on target. Here he is, direct from Finland: Sulka Haro, the lead designer of Habbo, a popular virtual world for teens that attracts some 11 million monthly uniques.
15 Minutes of Fame: Games designer James Wallis
15 Minutes of Fame is WoW.com's look at World of Warcraft players of all shapes and sizes -- from the renowned to the relatively anonymous, the remarkable to the player next door. Tip us off to players you'd like to hear more about.Some players bound into a 15 Minutes of Fame interview like a Death Knight capering into Hellfire Peninsula. Questions get Death Gripped, ideas pop up like an Army of the Dead ... There's no stopping the flow. Take, for example, game designer and gaming professor and guild GM James Wallis. You could read his Wikipedia entry to give you a proper idea of what he's all about – or you give in and consider his own, more exuberant version of a biographical note:"Origins Award-winning game designer. Have had a game published by MIT - that was unexpected. Have written 14 books, including two Sonic the Hedgehog novels from the early 90s that I prefer not to be reminded of. Have journalisted for everyone from the Sunday Times to Fortean Times. Launched Bizarre magazine in 1996. Back in 1986, I and some friends set the Guinness World Record for playing Advanced Dungeons & Dragons non-stop (84 hours). Currently running Spaaace, the games consultancy, and Magnum Opus Press, which publishes old-school tabletop RPGs; and lecturing in game design at the University of Westminster."
15 Minutes of Fame: Games designer James Wallis Part 2
Is there anything about WoW that as a game designer you especially admire? Mostly I'm preparing for the new semester and a new intake of students on the university course I lecture on (Computer Game Development, University of Westminster).
The Colosseum: A Euneek opportunity
The Colosseum takes us inside the world of the Gladiator (Brutal, Vengeful, Merciless, Furious, and otherwise), to interview some of the top Arena fighters in the battlegroups. Our goal is to bring a better understanding of the strategy, makeup, and work that goes into dueling it out for fame, fortune, and Frostwyrms. We're especially focused on the people who play these games, to further shed light on the world of the PvP player. Furious Gladiator Euneek is one of the top Paladins in BG9. If you haven't already heard, BG9 (Bloodlust) is often considered to be one of the most competitive battlegroups in WoW. Obviously, Euneek's achievements in BG9 are that much more impressive for being in that highly skilled environment.Euneek was kind enough to answer some questions about the new Season, the changes which are affecting Season 7, and then also how he is coping with the new season. Check out what he had to say behind the cut!
The Colosseum: A basic guide to the Arena rating system
The Colosseum takes us inside the world of the Gladiator (Brutal, Vengeful, Merciless, Furious, and otherwise), to interview some of the top Arena fighters in the battlegroups. Our goal is to bring a better understanding of the strategy, makeup, and work that goes into dueling it out for fame, fortune, and Frostwyrms. We're especially focused on the people who play these games, to further shed light on the world of the PvP player. When our new PvP guru C. Christian Moore wrote about a team skyrocketing to a 3206 team rating, a commenter pointed out to our staff that all the various language, acronyms, and "points" involved in the Arena can be somewhat confusing. It can be hard to figure out what the heck we're talking about.I think that probably makes sense when you consider there's probably about ten different kinds of "points," three different ratings, a few different ranks, and two different kinds of spendable currency. (While I'm not looking to delve into all the Battleground dynamics here, you have to keep in mind that Honor Points do have a pretty real effect on the Arena.)So, this time in your neighborhood Colosseum, we're going to take a break to enjoy a basic guide to the Arena rating system, and try to clarify the difference between Team rating, Personal rating, and Matchmaking rating. Check it out behind the cut.
15 Minutes of Fame: Clint Hackleman of Myndflame machinima
15 Minutes of Fame is WoW.com's look at World of Warcraft players of all shapes and sizes -- from the renowned to the relatively anonymous, the remarkable to the player next door. Tip us off to players you'd like to hear more about.The subject of this week's 15 Minutes of Fame has actually carved out many, many more than a mere 15 minutes on his own. Clint Hackleman is known to WoW fans as the force behind Myndflame, the team responsible for such wildly popular machinima as Illegal Danish: Super Snacks, Learn 2 Play and Epic Flight Form. So who's a Myndflame fan? Blizzard, for starters. "How can something so familiar feel so foreign?" Blizzard asks rhetorically in a news update on its main site about the Illegal Danish III Prelude. "... If you're a World of Warcraft player who feels something is missing from the StarCraft universe, the creators of the Illegal Danish series have sensed your internal disturbance, bringing you a hilariously off-kilter redux of the StarCraft II cinematic trailer, now with 100% more Gnome action. It's about time!"We thought it was about time, too, to go behind the scenes with Hackleman and get the story behind Myndflame's blazing success.
The Colosseum: Retrospective, Summer 2009
The Colosseum takes us inside the world of the Gladiator (Brutal, Vengeful, Merciless, Furious, and otherwise), to interview some of the top Arena fighters in the battlegroups. Our goal is to bring a better understanding of the strategy, makeup, and work that goes into dueling it out for fame, fortune, and Frostwyrms. We're especially focused on the people who play these games, to further shed light on the world of the PvP player. We're now officially under way in Season 7. And since this is only the first week of that season, it's a little tough to know who's going to end up on top. The subtle push-and-tug back and forth of so-called Cleave teams versus the traditional Rogue-Mage-Priest will probably be the most interesting battle in the 3v3 bracket, while it's simply far, far too early to tell who's going to dominate the 2v2 Arena.It being this early in, I wanted to take some time to take a look at the past few months of Arena interviews. We've been pretty fortunate to get a good variety of folks to talk to us, and it's always good to take some time to reflect on lessons of the past. This is how we learn, after all. Or, at least, until we can all download infallible knowledge directly to our brain. Anyway, let's take a look back and who we talked to this summer.
15 Minutes of Fame: Pre-Raid Trivia pumps up enthusiasm, strats
15 Minutes of Fame is WoW.com's look at World of Warcraft players of all shapes and sizes -- from the renowned to the relatively anonymous, the remarkable to the player next door. Tip us off to players you'd like to hear more about.How do you get guild members to log in nice and early before raids, remember their consumables, build a steam head of enthusiasm and polish up their knowledge of strats and game skills? Believe it or not, it's not a struggle - it's what Relyimah of <Klatoo Verata Niktoo> on Kilrogg-US and her guildmates do for fun. If it's an hour before raid time, it's time for Pre-Raid Trivia.Most of Relyimah's trivia sessions cover the gamut of WoW knowledge, but every session is capped off by strategy questions pertinent to the encounters the raid will be tackling that evening. She calls the learning process "strat by osmosis." "All rounds are 20 questions worth one point a piece, and the five bonus-round questions are worth five points each," Relyimah explains. "I have a lot of fun writing the questions, as it makes me learn the strategy as well. I usually grab my info from WoWWiki or Tankspot.com." Winners scoop up 25 gold plus prizes such as an epic armor kit or Frostweave Bag - but the best reward, she notes, is a raid that succeeds.
