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Guildwatch: Inspiring action in all the wrong places
Pretty amazing Kael down seen above-- the server was going offline, and as you can see, with just a scant 15 seconds left, Reforged on Runetotem was able to grab all their loot. Whew!Right after the jump, you'll find this week's Guildwatch, your weekly look at all the drama, downed, and recruiting news you send us. The email address is wowguildwatch@gmail.com-- send us your tips there (anonymous or otherwise), and see them here next week. Click the link to read on.
Guildwatch: You can't trick people into gquit anymore
Or can you? The picture above comes from the terrific Wowbash, which has screengrabs of some hilarious guild chats. The one thing they don't have, however, is some crazy, off-the-wall drama arguments-- who's collecting screengrabs of those nowadays? Anyone seen any good ones?This week's Guildwatch, which has not only your drama feed for the week (we've got a famous guild disbanding this week), but also downed and recruiting news from around the realms. Hit the link below to check it out, and don't forget: send us your tips, anonymous or otherwise, at wowguildwatch@gmail.com. "Really?" GW has left the guild.
Officers' Quarters: 2.3 postmortem
Every Monday Scott Andrews contributes Officers' Quarters, a column about the ins and outs of guild leadership.It's been nearly two weeks since patch 2.3 went live, so I thought it might be helpful to talk about the impact it has had on my guild and get some feedback from other officers about their experiences. What has been the best thing in 2.3 for you? What's just plain awful? Here's my take on it.Thumbs Up: Zul'AmanZul'Aman has been a blast for my guild. Most of us enjoy the 10-player raids better than any other group size, so we were really looking forward to this one. Even though it's a bit of a Zul'Gurub rehash lorewise, Zul'Aman has a different feel to it than any other raid. The bosses aren't just standing there blithely unaware of your incursion. The dynamic trash and countdown timer make clearing the whole raid interesting instead of mindlessly slogging through static pulls to get to the bosses. The difficulty seems spot-on, if a little on the challenging side for Tier 4 guilds (but that's the intention, right?). Done right it should be a relatively quick run with some nice loot and badges for everyone. This raid will be a pleasure to run week after week. I hope future raids are more like this one!Having said that, it's been a challenge scheduling all our raids.
More details on PTR Patch 2.3.2
MMO-Champion continues to post up-to-date information from Patch 2.3.2. This time we have additional notes addressing even more class buffs: Druid Ravage (their high damage postitonal attack from stealth in Cat form) gets a boost in damage from 350% to 385% Hunter Aspect of the Viper gets a boost in Mana regen return from 50% of total Int to 55% Rogue Ambush gets a dps boost from 250% to 275% Paladin Sanctified Judgement has its seal mana cost return changed from 50% to 80% You may be thinking, yay, more dps/mana/etc., but I can't help but think what kind of brutal beatings are we going to face that justify all these buffs. Think about it. Blizzard doesn't hand out the buff candy just because a class dot shocks their own forums. They do so only when they think it's warranted. So what warrants all this goodness?My best guess is that while many players are breezing through Zul'Aman, something far more challenging is awaiting us when Sunwell Plateau arrives in Patch 2.4.There are a few more buffs and hard numbers available in the MMO-Champion post. Including the breakdown by Rank of the Shaman spell changes. Check it out for more information.EDIT: Clarified Ravage description & Sanctified numbers.
Guildwatch: Handing out turkey according to DKP
You know, a good raid is kind of like Thanksgiving dinner-- you all have to sit down together for a few hours, there's a raidleader who's barely in charge, there's lots of infighting and drama, and eventually, if everyone plays their part right, everyone gets their loot and gets to go home happy. It's heartwarming, really.Our weekly look at all that drama, downed, and recruiting news starts right after the jump below. And don't forget-- just like Grandma loves that cranberry sauce, we love your tips-- please pass them on down to us at wowguildwatch@gmail.com. This week, we're thankful not only for all the ninjas and loot whores out there who keep the drama rolling, but for all you tipsters who take your time to tell us about it.
Getting defensive about Zul'Aman tank gear
Player Faldomar of the Cenarius server has very unhappy to see that much of the tanking gear dropping in Zul'Aman is lacking in Defense. How is a tank supposed to do their job if they can't get the uncrittable benefit of 490 Defense as well as the boost to Block, Parry, Dodge and chance to be Missed?Community Manager Bornakk responds that Zul'Aman gear is not meant to be a full replacement of Karazhan tanking gear. In fact, the low occurrence of Defense was intentional. Instead Blizzard wanted to offer pieces that filled other stat gaps to compliment alternate tanking styles. Examples are Hit Rating, Stamina and Block Value.While it would be nice to have a full set of armor catering to our exact needs, the reality is that there are different styles of tanking (as well as healing, dps, etc.) Blizzard has chosen to service all those styles with their current system of modular mixing and matching. And if equipped armor doesn't put your stats where you want them to be, there is also the gem socket system to customize your toon even further.Moral of the story? Don't expect a custom suit off the rack. An outfit that is going to fit you like a second skin is going to come from attention to detail on your part.
Beating the Zul'Aman gauntlet
So far we're hearing that most guilds are slowly working their way through Zul'Aman-- while some guilds waltzed in and took over the place, others have had a few bumps in the road, but if you've taken down Karazhan, progression seems to follow about as easily as Blizzard expected.The toughest part so far seems to come right before what most guilds traditionally take on as the second boss-- Akil'zon, the Eagle god. We ran through boss strategy the other day in our Zul'Aman guide, but the problems people are having are coming from the trash mobs before the encounter-- there's a Suppression Room/Gauntlet type of run that some players are having a hard time with.So far, the strategy seems to be, first of all, to keep moving. Just like in the other gaunlet areas (the aforementioned Suppression Room, the Lyceum, and the Shattered Halls gaunlet), slowing down will get you mobbed to death. Two tanks seems to work well (one to take elites, the others to take Warriors), and a Paladin tank will not only keep mobs off of clothies, but help out with AoE as well. Keep the group together, get those eagles down first and then focus on the other targets together, and it should be a piece of cake.Have any other good suggestions for people trying to make it through the gauntlet in Zul'Aman?
WoW Moviewatch: The Gods of Zul'Aman
The arrival of a new patch used to be noted with a simple entry on the update page of the WoW's site. Now, it's heralded with its own movie trailer. Blizzard has released a short trailer exploring the story behind Patch 2.3's Zul'Aman and challenging the players with: "This is our land. You wanna stay? You stay here forever. We gonna bury you here."It's a well done trailer, especially the camera moves, sound design and music composition. But am I the only one who thought the montage of the Zul'Aman gods at the end was a little...Power Rangerseque?Previously on Moviewatch...EDIT: Oops, this was already featured yesterday on our site. Ah well, for those of you who missed it, here it is. For those of you who saw it yesterday, see it again for the first time. And I still stand by my Power Rangers comment.
Patch 2.3 on WoW Insider
Did you hear that? A sound like thousands of voices crying out in joy? It was patch 2.3-- the first content patch in a long time is coming to World of Warcraft today.If you're a WoW player, you're probably already straining at the bit to get the chance to play Zul'Aman, put stuff into your guild's bank, or get your Engineering up and build that new flying machine. Fortunately, our sister site WoW Insider, the mavens of all things Azeroth, has you covered. We've posted a huge guide to everything patch 2.3 over there, and you can find even more on WoW Insider's tag page for patch 2.3. No Hunter dead zone? New UI improvements? Wondering what Blizzard did to the old pre-60 instances? It's all there for your perusing pleasure while you're waiting for the realms to come back from maintenance this morning.The world (of Warcraft) will never be the same. Now if only they could figure out a way to make those Shamans happy...
Everything you wanted to know about Zul'Aman
Patch 2.3 drops tomorrow, and with it, what will surely become the most popular instance in Azeroth. Blizzard has yelled from the rooftops about how much players are playing Karazhan, and Zul'Aman is a brand new 10-man for groups who conquered Karazhan to find their way through.In preparation, WoW Insider has compiled everything everyone knows about the new troll city. From history, to quests, to bosses, to loot, it's all here. We've gotten great information from MMO Champion, World of Raids, WoW Wiki, our own Zul'Aman playthroughs and research, and guides all over the internet. We're all going to be headed to Zul'Aman tomorrow, so here's your chance to know everything you need to know today. It all starts after the jump.%Gallery-5517%
WoW Insider Show Episode 10: Money, Zul'Aman, and Illidan down
Episode number 10 of the WoW Insider Show has it the virtual airwaves, and you can now listen to it over on WoW Radio's website, or on your very own copy of iTunes. Mike Schramm (me), Elizabeth Harper, Ryan Carter, and of course the inimitable Turpster were all on the mic for this week's show, and we discussed a sampling of the most popular posts from the last week of WoW Insider. We all gave out our best tips on how to make some more money, money, money. We chatted about the season 3 armor sets, as well as the fact that season 1 sets are going to be available for honor Zul'Aman armor also got a short review from each of us. I was the only one who really liked the tribal feel, but then again I'm a Shaman, and we're all about getting tribal. We discussed the coming changes to lowbie items, and whether they'll help out twinks or not And we talked about Chinese Burning Crusade players and their recent downing of Illidan Oh, and our new site Massively got a nice mention as well-- unfortunately, the Murloc suit contest ended yesterday, but the site is still up and pouring out all kinds of great MMO news. If WoW isn't the only MMO you play (or even if it is, and you're interested about hearing what other MMOs have to offer), make a stop over there, and leave a comment or two, won't you?
Reasoning out 2.3 patch timing
Saupak has done about a good a job as I've ever seen of breaking down exactly when patch 2.3 might actually appear. There's a bumpy future ahead for the next two months-- it's full of holidays, vacations, and events, and so it'll be very interesting to see when Blizzard decides to insert Zul'Aman into Azeroth. Of course, the last patch dropped right when I was meant to be playing the just-released Halo 3, so there probably are no sacred cows-- Blizzard patches when they want to.However, there are a few hits. We know the patch isn't going live today. The 13th and the 20th are out, because Blizz wants to give us notice, and Thanksgiving is right around the corner. That leaves the last week of November, and the first three weeks of December (very unlikely that Blizzard would drop a patch on Christmas or New Year's, because they've got to take a break sometime). Other than that, we're looking at the 8th, 15th, or 22nd of January.Saupak's big bit of reasoning is that there were 168 days between 2.0 and 2.1, and 126 days between 2.1 and 2.2, so his guess is January 15th for the patch-- 105 days between 2.2 and 2.3. But remember that 2.2 was delayed so long because of the sound engine problems, and we don't have that with 2.3. And Zul'Aman is more or less done. So if I had to guess, I'd say we're looking at an early December patch-- either the 4th or the 11th (we've got to see an update sometime then anyway, for Feast of Winter's Veil). If we don't see it by then, then yes, my guess is that we're looking at January. Blizzard may try to squeeze it out before Thanksgiving, but I don't think that's likely. I do think they want to release it before Christmas, though-- and leave 2008 for the year of the Lich King.
PTR patch notes for Friday, Nov 2
World of Raids is reporting lots of small fixes in the latest PTR build of Patch 2.3, but with a few surprises as well. There's a good amount of class changes along with some Badge of Justice loot tweaks and a new Hunter volley animation seen above.Highlights for the class changes include: Feral Druids getting their single target and group based taunts buffed by their +hit rating; Rogues getting Hemorrhage buff as well as a redesign of Shadowstep; and Priests receiving the Focused Will buff as well as Druids getting the Natural Perfection buff even buffer than we reported on earlier.Chest spawns in Hellfire Ramparts, Karazhan: Chess Event and The Mechanar will not be lootable by anyone absent for a significant amount of the boss fights near the chests. On the upside, Heroic Ramparts and Heroic Mechanar chests will contain a Badge of Justice for every member in the party and the Karazhan cache will contain two! I can tell what two Heroic dungeons are about to get very popular.Finally, special Engineered goggles are no longer necessary to see the gas clouds in Netherstorm for mote extraction. However, the goggles will now allow the gas clouds to be seen on the minimap in addition to whatever other tracking the player currently has up.With Patch 2.3 background loading this week, one can only hope Zul'Aman will be available for all of us to enjoy soon and Patch 2.4 introducing the Sunwell Plateau will be served up on the PTR right after.[Thanks Calypso!]
Breakfast Topic: Are you tired of Trolls?
Not the Internet kind, the Zul'Aman kind. I don't know about you, but visiting yet another troll based instance isn't ringing my bell. Maybe it has to do with my 15 level grind from hell in Stranglethorn Vale back in the day. Or some bad wipes in Zul'Gurub.Either way, I want to experience something new. Not something old with better loot. Plus, as Phaelia at Resto4Life pointed out, the better loot may not be worth the public humiliation.What do you think? Are you happy to revisit a classic World of Warcraft themed dungeon like Zul'Aman, which, despite its looks, has new mechanics and bosses or are you yearning for something new like Sunwell Plateau?
Officers' Quarters: Loot whores -- Are you their pimp?
Every Monday Scott Andrews contributes Officers' Quarters, a column about the ins and outs of guild leadership. Let's talk about loot. Is any subject more controversial in the entire game? After all, the game itself is centered around loot, like it or not. Loot opens doors and conquers enemies. Without it, you'll only see a fraction of what the game has to offer at max level. Without it, you're going to struggle in battlegrounds and the arena. It's the only way to advance your character at the level cap. Currently, the best loot in the game essentially advances your character by 81 levels, to 151 (not counting certain legendary warblades). So it's no wonder that so much guild drama is the direct result of decisions about loot.
Kiss a frog, get an epic Enchant scroll
Patch 2.3's Zul'Aman contains quite a few surprises. First, there was the bear mount from the first boss in the new 10-man raid zone. Now, there's voodoo frogs that hand out epic profession scrolls.Early reports from the PTR claim that the frogs that hang out around the altar/forested area early in the instance are actually humanoids cursed by Forest Troll voodoo. Players can use Amani Hex Sticks looted from Zul'Aman trash mobs to transform the frogs back to people.Those un-cursed people leave behind money, Amani Charms or sometimes transform into vendors. For sale on these NPCs is various items, possibly including stat food, a new non-combat pet, Mojo and/or a Sealed Scroll Case that contains a random profession recipe scroll. The scroll can even be for an epic recipe.The new non-combat pet, Mojo, is a blue frog companion with a special talent. If you /kiss Mojo, he will turn you into a frog and whisper sweet nothings into your chat box. Which is why I've always been against PDA (public displays of affection.)Finally, on your way out of the zone, all the transformed humans will cheer you on your way out. And then, presumably get hexxed back into frogs for the next round of adventurers.
Shifting Perspectives: Drops for Druids in Zul'Aman
Every Tuesday, Shifting Perspectives explores issues affecting druids and those who group with them, brought to you by David Bowers and Dan O'Halloran. Patch 2.3 has hit the PTR and the new itemization has some very interesting items for druids of every spec. The new equipment is coming from three sources: the new 10-man raid zone, Zul'Aman, the Arena Season 3 vendor and the new Badges of Justice rewards. Today I'm going to focus on the Zul'Aman drops. Here's a list by boss:Nalorakk the Bear Avatar(Cat) Bladeangel's Money Belt (Leather Waist) 227 AC, +25agi, +27sta, Blue Socket, +4atk socket bonus, +21 crit, +58 atk, 77 armor negation. A solid upgrade to the Girdle of Treachery from Karazhan, but not quite as good if you can get a Belt of Deep Shadow crafted. Arguably, one of the top 3 or 4 belts in the game. Be ready to /roll against rogues for this belt for your Cat Druid.
Breakfast topic: There is only Zul
Zul'Farrak vs. Zul'Gurub vs. Zul'Aman.Bronko on the forums says "if the mobs were of equal level... go!" but I can't tell if he means which we like better or which would win in a throwdown (my hunch thinks "throwdown," since that would be so much more interesting to see). So let's answer both.I haven't played Zul'Aman yet, so it may be amazing, but I think I might have to agree with Bornakk-- the stairs in Zul'Farrak are pretty epic, especially for their level. Then again, Zul'Aman will probably have at least one or two events like that, so I'd be partial to the troll city in the Ghostlands in that case. And ZG is definitely a great 10 man 20 man (boy it's been a while since I've been there), too-- Hakkar's whispers, all the different bosses, the funny little in-jokes ("Ding!" "Grats!" is a classic, as is Nat Pagle's fishing spot), and the different animal areas make it a great instance. Hopefully Zul'Aman will match up.And in terms of a throwdown, as players note in the thread, the Blood Drinkers in Zul'Gurub make things harder for everyone else. Will the trolls from ZF and ZA know to down the other bosses before Hakkar? Or can anyone, for that matter, stand up to the might of Zul'jin himself? So who wins, ZA, ZF, or ZG?
The Naaru's new fashion statement
World of Raids and MMO Champion both have lists of new gear on sale, come patch 2.3, in exchange for Badges of Justice from the heroic instances, and now Karazhan and Zul'Aman raid instances as well. That's exciting, of course, but let's stop and look at these pics of the new gear for a moment, shall we?Now, naturally, this gear is designed to fit with the general trollish theme of the patch, which lots of people are understandably excited about. The armor looks pretty good as armor goes, and it definitely brings some new visual design elements to the game that haven't been represented in any previous armor sets. But, let's stop and consider for a moment just where this armor is coming from. It looks like trollish Zul'Aman armor, but do we find it in Zul'Aman? No, it's up for sale by the only known Naaru retailer, G'eras. Does its method of acquisition have anything to do with Zul'Aman whatsoever? Well... it might if your guild has finished raiding Karazhan and gathers the heroic badges in Zul'Aman soon, then yes; but if you still focus mostly on Karazhan or heroic instances, then you might very well acquire some of these armor pieces without ever visiting those Amani trolls even once.What we have here, ladies and gentlemen, is the appropriation of the Amani clothing design brand by the Shat'ari Naaru in Shattrath, copied illegally by G'eras, and put on sale with no proprietary settlement with trolls they are mimicking. Who knew that the Naaru could be capable of copyright infringement? If the trolls were down with that whole "I'll see you in court!" thing, their lawyers would be all over this right now.Seriously, why is a being of pure holy light selling trollish armor with skulls and tusks and voodoo dolls on it? -- or does nobody care?
Getting ready for the Test Realm
IncGamers has a great tip for those of you who were on the last Public Test Realm, and can't wait for the 2.3 PTR to come up (and I know you're out there-- you're like PTR locusts!). Make sure to, right now, delete your WoW test realm folders, so that when the new realm comes out, it'll automatically download to the right place and you won't have to worry about anything getting mixed up.In Windows, apparently Blizzard is recommending that you do a Find Folders and Files (Windows key + F) for "wowtest," and delete everything that pops up. On the Mac, everything is neat and tidy (as usual)-- it's all in the /Applications/World of Warcraft/WoWTest folder. Delete that, and you're good to go for the 2.3 PTRs.I don't know if this is really required-- it seems to me that the WoW PTR Client would likely just overwrite anything whatever you had in those folders, and your PTR download would still work. But you never know-- maybe files will be left behind if you don't delete, so it's probably best to clear everything out and start over with the new download (and I bet it'll be a big one-- this is a big content patch). Plus, you can feel like you're all ready for patch 2.3: bring on the new PTR!
