WoW Moviewatch: Zalgradis Paladin PvP 3
by Moo Money 
May 9th 2008 at 12:00PM
TotalBiscuit, of WoW Radio, is probably the most notorious commenter in the WoW Moviewatch section, so we asked him to recommend something that he actually liked. He offered up Zalgradis Paladin PvP 3. While I absolutely hated it, he had some interesting things to say about it.
Before 1.9, Zalgradis was able to do incredible things that not many were able to do as a Paladin at that time. In the film, he combined a(horrible) metal soundtrack with action bits, while other sections had scripted comedy. Thank you, TB, for reminding me why I never feature PvP!
If you have any suggestions for WoW Moviewatch, you can mail them to us at machinima AT wowinsider DOT com.
Previously on Moviewatch ...
Filed under: Machinima, Humor, WoW Moviewatch
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Oilof May 9th 2008 12:08PM
Wait, so you don't feature PvP videos because you feel the need to pick the ones that suck? There are tons of awesome videos over at www.warcraftmovies.com, stay void of youtube, bud.
Othey May 9th 2008 12:29PM
Actually what he was doing in the video was quite impressive... 2 years ago. He had a crazy hybrid spec with holy shield that was loads of fun, till Blizz gave pallys their "review" and messed things up.
I'm sure I sound like a nostalgic good ol days kinda guy, but there were many, not all, but many things about PvP back then that were good. Then Blizzard "reviewed" PvP, and in my opinion, messed it up. See a pattern?
Maybe he should feature more classic Moviewatch reviews, or make it a seperate post. Classic Moviewatch!
Sanol May 9th 2008 12:19PM
Pvp movies are not really movies, they are just a way to show how large your epeen is.
Heilig May 9th 2008 12:19PM
Um.
Maybe let's stick with more Machinima and less fraps'd gameplay. Only PvP junkies like watching PoV PvP. For most of us, it's very boring. The only good part was the beginning.
Procris May 9th 2008 12:45PM
Agreed. I too thought Zalgradis was pretty good back in the day and he certainly did things a bit differently to how paladin pvp videos were done before him.
Sadly the game as a whole has changed dramatically since Burning crusade. If someone could point me out a good paladin lvl 70 vid i'd be interested. The class to me just seems far to weak what with casters totally destroying paladins at 70.
twh May 9th 2008 1:15PM
Agreed.
You will never see this kind of stuff going on again, because Blizzard keep indirectly nerfing Paladins by giving other classes the tools which makes it nigh impossible to compete.
The fight with the hunter? Arcane shot would have made sure he never got close after wing clips and freezing traps.
Spell Steal would have done no different with the fight with the mage, and to switch to a 2-hander would not give you the needed attack power to keep going.
We don't even need to get in to Reckoning, which was a staple of Paladin PvP at the time.
The fight with the two shaman? He wouldn't have been able to get one heal off, since they'd have a more visible view of his spell casting, since the Devs added enemy cast bars to the UI.
Then, when Zalgradis went on a rogue like ganking spree, they nerfed both the Cloaking device and invisibility potions. And, of course, no more Reckbombs. :( Plus, no more bubblehearthing, thanks to the biggest p.o.s. spell in the game: Mass Dispell.
Next, when he got jumped by all those rogues, all the mind-numbing poisons they've gotten would have made getting a heal off utterly impossible.
Blah, this is just depressing me how far behind Paladins have been left.
Inscrutibob May 9th 2008 12:54PM
I love the warning "This video contain some language, so view with caution."
Some italian, some russian, ...?
It's like when someone says they have a temperature. /Everyone/ has a temperature.
Badger May 9th 2008 12:59PM
I'm inclined to agree with previous posters ... I found this pretty boring. It was edited well, but lacked some of the interesting details, like an immersing story or good voice acting, that other works of machinima posted by Moo have featured.
However, I can definitely see the focus on raw, 'undoctored,' in-game footage that TB prefers. Zalgradis didn't spend hours with Adobe After Effects or Sony Vegas the way that some other machinima creators do.
TotalBiscuit May 9th 2008 1:25PM
Ahh the nostalgia and simple sense of humor. The days when good jokes, situational comedy and slapstick took precedence over what you can do with week's of wankery in your torrented versions of After-effects and Vegas. This is not some deep storyline drama, it's a PvP video with some story elements and a few jokes, as well as a creative use of engineering.
See fellas, if you're going to critique a machinima, you have to do it objectively. There's no point complaining about the lack of deep story when it's a PvP video. As regards to voice-acting, there is no actual voice-acting. What you have is faux-ventrillo conversation, which is an entirely different thing. It's like meta-acting, the characters are acting as the actual actors would, because said actors are real players, playing their real characters.
Funny, cheesy, old-school and impressive if you remember how PvP used to be. For us old-guard players, it's a nice blast from the past.
Yeng May 9th 2008 3:34PM
Absolute garbage. I guess this will prove to everyone that TotalBiscuit's 'reviews' are not worth the screenspace they are typed on. If this is the epitome of things he likes to see in machinima, I guess that says a lot about his comments on other movies featured here. Don't try to downplay your choice by saying its just gameplay video and faux ventrilo conversation. The fact that you were given the chance to come up with a video to feature here and this is what you chose says volumes for the integrity of your comments on other machinima posted here. Thanks for confirming what most of us already knew about you.
jten11 May 9th 2008 4:31PM
@ Yen
I feel ya man. I never really like TB cause of his outrageous comments like he's God's gift to being an 'uber' Machinima reviewer, and how he tends to inappropriately backlash at people alot.
That being said his choice of video was horrible. This is exactly why I hate to hear metal in videos. Utter crap. (Yet those who hate rap but listen to that garbage called metal? It boggles the mind...)
TotalBiscuit May 9th 2008 5:46PM
Haha, it speaks volumes that all you can manage to come up with as a counter-argument is some lame, self-righteous ad-hominem. And you wonder why you don't have Moo's ear if this is the kind of tripe you come up with.
TotalBiscuit May 9th 2008 5:56PM
How about I critique your lowsy excuse for a critique aye?
Your entire comment was littered with misinformation, assertions and broad, sweeping generalizations with no actual basis in fact. Such idiocy as 'if this is the epitome of what he likes' shows an inability to read the original article, since there is absolutely no mention of this video even being one of my favorites, let alone the 'epitome' of what I like, and says precisely nothing about my 'other comments'. What exactly does it say? I propose that all you have to offer in this case are vague pseudo-intellectualisms and ridiculous remarks. None of what you just said has any substance to it what-so-ever.
There was no downplaying of my choice. Videos are to be judged objectively. Great voice-acting is in fact, counter-productive when producing a video like this. It would have detracted from the video, not augmented it. The characters are supposed to be talking on Ventrilo, not espousing flowing prose or shitting Shakespeare. It IS a gameplay video, that's the majority of the video, it's labeled as a PvP video with storyline elements and therefore must be judged as one. To do otherwise is bad form, pure and simple, which is the reason you suck at this and I don't, you can't even properly criticize what I've written, let alone what's in the movie.
You guess this will prove to everyone...? Well at least there's one element of truth to your sad excuse for a comment, 'guess'. Your entire argument is based on nothing more than guessing, and in places, fabricating facts to suit your pathetic drivel. What will this prove to everyone? I'm a self-confessed arrogant son of a bitch, and I'm a hell of a lot better at it than you are.
Sundae May 10th 2008 4:56AM
TB, easy tiger.
He did say "if". From the way this video has been presented, you were given the chance to select a video for presentation on Moviewatch and had the freedom to choose any machinima from the thousands (millions?) available. It's not unreasonable assume you like the piece, even that you count it amongst your favourites, since it was the one you chose above all others. "Epitome" was a little strong, but polemics tend to exaggerate - as you yourself are well aware :). True, nothing specifically said 'This is TB's number one favourite machinima" but working things out from the evidence is part of a critic's job and joy, and one of the reasons critics do often get things wrong.
Otherwise, yes, Yeng if you want to put the guy down, you'll have to fight fire with fire - take a postmodernist view of machinima or something, that'll get him going.
TB - You do yourself a disservice with such objurgatory replies. You have your critical stance, I don't fully agree with it, but it leads to some enjoyable debates. However I'd like to ask nicely that you give WoWinsider some respect; it's always been a bit of a haven from the official forums and their troll infested inanities. You're a smart guy, not a troll, but your inflammatory attitude leads to a lot of trolling and needless rubbish. Keep your critical bark and your fighting spirit, but rein it in with some civility, please?
TL;DR - Play nice kids.
Vegnagun bwf May 9th 2008 1:27PM
I've always loved Zalgradis. He's why I rolled my pally back in the day.
TotalBiscuit May 9th 2008 1:27PM
Incidently the vast majority of this soundtrack is screamo, not metal. Moo fails at music recognition :P
Badger May 9th 2008 1:35PM
Haha ... You should hear Oxhorn's version of 'Screamo' music. It plays during the credits of the original 'Orcs in Space.' It's absolutely hysterical.
Moo Money May 9th 2008 1:38PM
If failing at recognizing shit music is wrong, then I don't wanna be right. You're impossible! :P
TotalBiscuit May 9th 2008 1:42PM
Musical knowledge requires you to know what everything is, no matter how terrible you might believe it to be :P
Markymark May 9th 2008 1:45PM
Lol screamo, hey if i ever make a pvp vid its gonna have a bunch of genres including rap because I'm not musically biased. :P