How do you cheat?
by Spencer Callaghan 
Sep 21st 2006 at 4:00PM
Whether you are stuck on quest, lost or curious about dungeon drops, online resources on WoW are everywhere.Some people consider using resources such as Thottbot to figure out a quest to be cheating. Personally, I will usually run through a quest the first time without looking it up and only look for help if I can't figure it out on my own in a reasonable amount of time.
There are a few well-known sites that are common among WoW players.
Thottbot: I have found Thottbot to have some of the best information but it does have its flaws. Quite often the site is busy or down and when it does work I find it very slow. Thottbot's search system also isn't the greatest, you can't search for the middle word of a quest name or item name, you must use the first word of words in order to get the proper results. Searches bring up a humongous list of hits most of which are irrelevant to what you are looking for and it can take a while to find what you are looking for...but it is there, somewhere.
I find often Thottbot has a lot of clutter as well, invalid or old entries show up in searches, a symptom of the fact it has been around since beta.
Another issue with Thottbot is its ownership. Thottbot is owned by gold selling company IGE brining up some ethical issues if you don't want to support these kinds of activities.
Allakhazam: This site has a much better look and UI, has almost as much information of Thottbot and usually works when Thottbot doesn't. The search is also much better, allowing you to search based on parts of a phrase, even from the middle. Example: searching for "a-me" in Allakhazam brings up the quest "Chasing A-Me 01" as it should, as well as the NPC A-Me 01, no other clutter or entries. In Thottbot you get dozens of entries that you must scan through before finding the right quest.
Like Thottbot, Allakhazam is also owned by IGE, it was bought out last year, apparently IGE is considering plans to consolidated the services. If you don't want to support gold sellers Allakhazam is out too.
WoWhead: A relative newcomer on the block, WoWhead just left beta status a few weeks ago. The interface, design and UI are miles ahead of the competition. Being a newcomer, WoWhead doesn't have an extensive database such as Thottbot, but it is growing everyday and will have entries for all but the most obscure searches. Being new, WoWhead has the advantage of less clutter from out-of-date or obsolete entries. WoWhead also has a built in talent calculator including the new Burning Crusade talents.
Searches on WoWhead are handled much better with a tabbed interface that categorizes results (quests, items, skills, etc.). I find that WoWhead still has issues with bringing up too much information, unlike Allakhazam, searching for "a-me" brought up hundreds of results, although they are easier to sift through, it did not put "Chasing A-Me 01" at the top.
WoWhead is owned by IGN, not to be confused with IGE, IGN is a well known video game news and information site owned by Fox Interactive Media Inc., therefore you can ease your conscience as you are not supporting gold-sellers.
Personally, I have been turned off Thottbot lately, I had used it since beta but the interface, clutter and unreliability of the site have led me over to WoWhead. I find WoWhead's user experience to be easier on the eyes, the database is really coming along, and I can sleep easy knowing I am not supporting gold-sellers.
So which online WoW resource do you use? Does the support of gold-selling influence your decision?
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Tips, Tricks, Cheats
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Mat Sep 21st 2006 4:20PM
I would have gotten frustrated and quit WoW long ago if it weren't for thottbot :)
It's so nice knowing that a quest drop is .05% and prolly isn't worth the effort.
A_B Sep 21st 2006 4:24PM
"ease your conscience"
Fox or IGE, Fox or IGE, Fox or IGE ... somebody help me out here.
In any case, I've become very impatient with my new Alt. I hardly read the description of the quest beyond the things I have to kill and how many.
Similarly, I'm very quick to hit Thottbot. If it's not perfectly obvious where I need to go, I won't wander around hoping for the best. I don't have that kind of time.
Thottbot does have obsolete entries, I find it very easy to ignore them, and I like the clean interface. It's almost Google-like in its simplicity.
Allakhazam is too much clutter. I feel it's a slower overall experience. Since I'm usually on these sites only long enough to pick up the coordinates, I rather use Thottbot.
Technically, I suppose it's "cheating", but I'm only "cheating" myself. Of course, if one wants to be so strict as to call these sites cheating, how is using a plug-in that does things for you quickly and automatically not cheating as well?
When I have Auctioneer scan the AH and tell me what to charge, isn't that "cheating" as much as Thottbot? Moreover, isn't this worse since I'm trying to beat out somebody else selling the same good?
vahlere Sep 21st 2006 4:25PM
I like wowhead but most of the time can't get past the pre-load ads making it unusable. I use all these services but usually end up at goblinworkshop.
vlad3060 Sep 21st 2006 4:42PM
to A_B
IGE is a gold selling site.
IGN/GameSpy/Fox has nothing to do with them at all. It's just unfortunate that they (IGE) decided to create a name that is quite similar to that of the better known IGN.
Cos Sep 21st 2006 5:33PM
Never heard of WoWHead before but I think it looks great, in fact i'll change over from Thottbot and give it a go for a while
Cheers
A_B Sep 21st 2006 5:37PM
I don't like Fox/Rupert Murdoch. I can't decide which I dislike more.
Actually, now that I think about it, I dislike Fox significantly more than gold farmers.
Tinsley Sep 21st 2006 5:34PM
Wowhead is not owned by IGN, they just provide the hosting in exchange for their ads to be placed on the site.
From the news section of the site: "Of course, we still retain full ownership of the site, its contents, and the direction we develop Wowhead.com. IGN is simply providing hosting services in return for running their ads."
Lori Sep 21st 2006 5:35PM
I'll give it a try if the quest gives a clue on where to go but not a very serious try. And I have found a few quests, Thunderbrews Boot Flask, for example, That are just impossible without 'cheating'. Find a specific stick in Azeroth? I also use the websites to find quests. When I discoverd our Guildmaster had taken us into UBERS numerous times without once taking us down the hall for the attunement quest near the entrance, he was removed from my frends list in about 3 seconds.
As for the websites, I mostly use Thottbot for profession informantion and Allakhazam for quests.
Michael Sep 21st 2006 5:54PM
*looks at Google ads on WoWinsider.com
I think the discussion of the merit of a site that allows WoW gold ads on their site is amazingly ironic for a site that allows WoW gold ads itself.
Joe Sep 21st 2006 5:53PM
/agree with disliking Fox more.
Besides, as long as you don't click their ads, which I've never even seen (I
Oldbear Sep 21st 2006 6:06PM
I use goblinworkshop for the good maps and thottbot for finding out what regs I find can be used for - plus drop rates (helps in selling as Auctioneer sometimes gets it wrong)...
Druid dude Sep 21st 2006 6:44PM
I like Thottbot for utilitarian searches, like where do I find such and such item, locating an NPC, etcetera.
I use Alha... Alahk... Allakh... that other site for prices. I am on Icecrown, and most prices are lower there than on Alla... that other site, but its still a good guideline on whether to vendor something or try to sell it.
I like GoblinWorkshop.com quite a bit too, and often use it for a second opinion. For example, if I am looking for the best areas to get Dreamfoil, Thottbot has too many, it doesn't really help me find nodes as much as general areas. Goblin Workshop has fewer, so in that case actually seems better to me. Although, some of Goblin Workshop's maps are a little funky looking, they still work well.
I will use the first two some times to read the comments about an item or quest, to see if it is worth the effort. I had a Hunter in his mid 40s, and a Hurricane showed up in the AH fairly cheap. So, I read both sites' comments to try to get a feel for how often the weapon's proc goes off. I decided to get the bow and have loved it every single arrow-burning shot! I wouldn't have bought it without all the user comments.
kG Sep 21st 2006 7:52PM
Allakhazam has always been deadly slow for me. Much slower than any other WoW site by far. And the heavy, ugly design doesn't help. Lame.
The only site with worse design is worldofwar.net. That's a steaming pile of brokenness. But they do have the best roundup of class and profession info (try to find out where your artisan trainer is on Thottbot). For items, though, they don't even try. They link out. Good choice.
WoWhead has the best talent calculator available online, even better than Blizzard's own 3-pane'r because it's easier to link to, has more uptime, etc. But like WoWguru and even Allakhazam, I'll look up an item and despair in the lack of comments, or sometimes the lack of useful information (i.e. mats for a recipe).
Even though Thottbot's comments are full of junk, you can usually find one or two yellowed jewels with a good strategy or tip. That makes the clutter worthwhile to me, at least until the others catch up. And I block all ads, so I'm not supporting anyone. If anything, I'm costing them by using their bandwidth. Bwahahaha..
BigD Sep 21st 2006 8:55PM
I usually wait to look up a quest until it is close to going gray and I still haven't figured out what needs to be done.
w00t thottbot.
Robert Sep 22nd 2006 1:46AM
what pisses me off, is that i use thottbot and chosmos etc. well the parts i like, and i wanna know why it hasnt uploaded in 2 months. well it says it uploads, but the sight still shows 2 months ago data. argh.
Idiot Sep 22nd 2006 6:54AM
I don't like Allahkazam because they directly support Islam. Literaly... Allah = Allah, duh... and khazam = "desires you to kill all of the American infidels." If you support Islam, you're aiding the terrorists, and that's Anti-American.
Dr. Woo Sep 22nd 2006 11:41AM
LOL @ 16
I think I'll download Wowhead's addon to provide content to their site. I'd like to support it simply because I LOVE the interface (I learned all about Paladin abilities there the other day in about 4 minutes) and I want an alternative to allakhazam (it took me about 3 weeks to get the spelling right on that place) since it's always so slow, as stated earlier.
CM Sep 22nd 2006 12:19PM
I, like so many others, run into major lag issues on Allakhazam (I also /laugh at #16 -- for oh so many reasons). Therefore, I totally dumped it from my favorites. I, like #13, block all adds - yay bandwidth. I, like my wise colleagues in #s 8 & 9 would much rather support gold farmers than Fox.
I use Thottbot. It is usually the quickest running site for me. I like wowwiki for a lot of things -- most especially instance information, i.e., quests and the like. It's one of the quickest sites due to the lack of anything related to a graphic or banner.
Ebulum Sep 22nd 2006 1:42PM
Personally, google. Usually pulls up plenty of 411 regarding any questions/answers. Sometimes end up at places that are not listed above, but give me the answer I am looking for.
Keeper of the Dumplings Sep 22nd 2006 8:48PM
I personally use Thottbot or Allakazam for all my WoW quest puzzlers. Some of those quests are really a pain without a little nudge in the right direction!
Here's a nudge toward a delicious direction!
http://murlocdumplings.com