The Queue: From Hell's heart I stab at thee...
by Adam Holisky 
Feb 12th 2009 at 8:00PM
To the last, I will grapple with thee...
From Hell's heart, I stab at thee!
For hate's sake, I spit my last breath at thee!
Iceeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee Stooooooone!
Dyluck asked...
"I was wondering, do the EULA and TOS really change each patch?"
It doesn't. The last change to the End User License Agreement (EULA) and the Terms of Use Agreement (TOS/TOU) happened back on July 29, 2008. Grelk mentioned in reply to your question that Blizzard has released a new product, essentially, and that they need you to accept all that stuff for the new version – which makes sense.
We'll have to take a look the next time a change in the agreements comes around, probably after a major (3.1, 3.2, etc...) patch or closer to the next expansion.
Chris asked...
"Is there any way to reorder your list of characters on any given realm?"
Nope. And I wish there was too. I just picked up an iPod touch today and I'm having fun playing with various apps. Lots of dragging and dropping, something that Apple has been all about for 15+ years now. Too bad WoW doesn't emulate this.
Delshay asked...
"What are the best money making dailies for level 80s to do? They don't seem to pay out as well as the Isle of Quel'Danans dailies and the others we had at level 70."
There are two ways to look at doing daily quests. Which are the quickiest, and which reward the most money? I've found that the proper balance occurs in the daily quests out in Sholazar Basin with the Oracles.
I can knock off 3 of those in about 30 minutes, which is quite fast and get around 50 gold in the process. Some people are having a lot of luck out with the Sons of Hodir daily quests, and they get so quick at them it only takes about an hour to do them all – netting around 100g or so.
The important thing to remember is that each server is going to be different. Some will be more populated at certain times of the day than others. Test around a bit and try to figure out what works where you play. Don't be afraid to experiment! Once you find a quiet time to daily work, you'll be making money very very quickly.
Sae asked...
"Any word regarding when/if/how our gold ol' Riding Crops will be making a return?"
None, and I wouldn't expect any either. Plans for the riding crop seem to have fallen by the wayside. I wouldn't be surprised to see some sort of inscription that ups riding speed, or some sort of potion/flask, but that's really all I see in the future. By all accounts Blizzard really wants to get away from "must have" craftable items and the like, and this is just part of that.
Finally...
Let's go off-WoW for a minute and talk about an offhand comment I made yesterday about EVE Online's crafting system.
EVE Online is a space based MMORPG. It's a huge game, all on one server with about 250,000 to 300,000 subscribers. There are anywhere from 25,000 to 50,000 connected at any one time. The game takes place in a gigantic universe, where you explore, mine for goods, wage epic battles, and fight against the evils of the galaxy. The learning curve is horrendous. While I think to really understand and be successful at WoW theory crafting you need a grasp of basic calculus, in EVE it is doubly so. It's not a game for kids or people who's interests change every day. It is a serious, hard core, real consequences game. Make one mistake and you'll find yourself set back months or years of gameplay. And I'm not kidding either.
Nearly everything in the EVE universe is crafted by players. You learn things to make by gaining patterns, or blueprints, and then farm the materials needed to make the item. Rinse and repeat a few million times and you've got yourself a shiny new starship. The difference between WoW's and EVE's profession system lies in how the crafting systems actually work. It might take a few days to farm up mats a new shield you want made, and then it's just a matter of clicking one button. In EVE (and to be honest, in EQ2 as well), crafting anything beyond the most basic item requires tons of planning and farming. We're talking weeks and months here, not days.
Many players who become familiar with different MMOs point to EVE and EQ2 as prime examples of what a fun and challenging crafting system can be like. It would be amazing to see some sort of advanced crafting system come to WoW, but chances are slim since the mindset of EVE (hard core is great, buh-bye noobs) and the mindset of WoW (we have room for everyone) is pretty different.
Oh, and by the way, I was not part of Band of Brothers, I was just being silly and referencing their destruction. Massively had some excellent coverage of it if you're interested in learning more.
Tomorrow I'll be doing a special edition of The Queue, tackling a single question left by a U.S. Marine in Iraq, asking how the game has changed in the year he's been deployed. Should be a good one.
Have questions about the World of Warcraft? The WoW Insider crew is here with The Queue, our daily Q&A column! Leave your questions in the comments and we'll do our best to answer 'em!Filed under: The Queue
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 5)
Kvothe Feb 12th 2009 8:11PM
"I've found that the proper balance occurs in the daily quests out in Sholazar Basin with the Oracles.
I can knock off 5 of those in about 30 minutes, which is quite fast and get around 50 gold in the process."
How can you possibly do 5 Oracles dailies in one day? I thought only 3 are available each day.
Adam Holisky Feb 12th 2009 8:15PM
Blarg, typos. I've been starting at numbers all day.
equinn Feb 12th 2009 8:15PM
He can do it. He's magic.
BigBiker05 Feb 12th 2009 9:09PM
See how he makes another typo in his typo response? Classic!
Psy Feb 13th 2009 1:20AM
And just to show off the grammar nazi that I am...
"Which are the quickiest, and which reward the most money?"
Quickiest isn't a word. The correct term is "quickest" (a lone i in there, eh?). But don't feel too bad, LOADS of people do it:
http://www.google.co.nz/search?q=quickiest
percinho Feb 13th 2009 3:49AM
Chuck Norris manages six, and he does them quickier than anyone else.
Angus Feb 13th 2009 8:46AM
I think you might be able to do 5.
Do the 3, kill a liche, go do 3 more.
Doing it in half an hour... not so sure.
I hate the oracle ones. My wife is grinding them and they are HORRIBLE. The buff quest for them is about worthless. A priest with that buff is just as dead as a priest without it. Their trap one apparently had (or has) a bug where you need to tag them to get to loot them, and the vehicle one is only okay. The shinies quest takes a while and skill can't really speed it up.
The frenzyheart, meanwhile, have a quick quest to grab chickens (like really fast if you are good) and their buff makes a priest dangerous in melee (weird to see). They traps are pretty effective (cycle through them and everyone dies.) The vehicle one is pretty fast.
If you are looking for speed, go with the jerks in frenzyheart hill.
Blake Feb 13th 2009 10:59AM
And none of you grammar/spelling nazis picked up on:
"It's not a game for kids or people who's interests change every day. "
Who's means "who is." "...whose interests" would be the proper usage in this situation.
Sylvans Feb 12th 2009 8:13PM
The 10 Grizzly Hills Dailies are a fast easy ~100g
Kemikalkadet Feb 12th 2009 10:00PM
Thanks for reminding me, i'd completely forgotten that they existed.
rosencratz Feb 13th 2009 1:58AM
Gott say i'd reccomend the Sons of Hodir ones when grinding up the the Glyphs and such that they sell there. It's always nice to get two birds with one stone. (money+rep)
So by a similar token since maxing out sons rep I've moved onto the 6 Ebon blade quests and the Troll Patrol quests. With the Ebon blade dailies there's essentially no reason to wear their tabard into dungeons which mean syou can concentrate on Kirin tor or Wyrmrest and the same could be said for the argent ones but they seem a little too slow to me.
Generally these should earn you a pretty penny. The only problem is their distance from each other. Alternatively the 6 Ebon Blade ones ARE in Icecerown where there are dozens more dailies on the floating ships and the secret domed camps.
rosencratz Feb 13th 2009 2:11AM
I tell a lie, The argent crusade rep gains from the Troll patrol bunch is quite respectable. It'll take a couple of week to grind revered to exalted i believe with both Ebon and Argent but the main purpose is for the cash aswell ofcourse.
Morticis Feb 13th 2009 2:50AM
For the past week or so I"ve been grinding Icecrown for my epic flying skill. I do a total of 18 quests that nets me around 330g not counting the greens I sell of and what I loot. I spend2-3 hours depending on traffic and how many mine nodes are up.
3 at Shadow Vault
3 at Deaths Rise
3 at Ymirheim (two in the trench one from the goblin behind the house.)
2 at the Greentech landingpad
7 at the Airship
Stridez Feb 12th 2009 8:25PM
Yeah I thought there's only 3 dailies, more must be unlocked when ya hit revered.
And the Sons of Hodir quests only take longer than half an hour if you don't have epic flying, or if you're not specced for killing stuff. Or if you're drunk.
Thrusting Hodir's spear can be a PITA tho, it's always a close thing for me
Richard Feb 13th 2009 3:26AM
For Thrusting, it helps to cast any HoTs or damage mitigation right after you hook the Wyrm. On my mage I put up Mana Shield (or Ice Barrier for frosties), on my tree druid I cast regrowth, rejuv and lifebloom. Priests could put up a shield, warriors can pop Shield Wall, pallies can bubble. All of it helps absorb the wyrm's strikes so you can skip dodging and keep whacking the wyrm with 4 (when off CD) and 3. The only time I die now is when the RNG decides I miss 4 finishing strikes in a row just because. :P
Mauxe Feb 13th 2009 10:19AM
Hodir's spear is just a pattern - like anything else.
(I don't even know what the abilities are called so I'll wing it..)
-Start off with the big thrust as soon as your buttons pop up.
-Use grip a few times until you see the message that you are being swiped at - then hit the second buton (dodge?).
-Immediately hit the big thrust (button4) if it is up.. otherwise the jab (button3).
-Keep hitting grip a few times with a jab thrown in for dmg.
-Repeat the dodge/thrust(or jab) rotation until phase 2.
-You should not really take any damage at all if you are paying attention to the swipe messages.
-Phase 2 involves continually hitting button1 until you have built up to 20, then hitting the big thrust (button2). I don't wait for the button to refresh..just keep clicking to 20.
Notatroll Feb 12th 2009 8:23PM
I find the various vehicle-based quests to be really time efficient, such as the various shooting/bombing/dragon flying ones. Even Aces High is quick once you have the hang of it. Also little or no risk of death-based downtime with most of these.
On my server I seldom see anyone doing them when I'm there, so that also removes the delay and/or annoyance caused by competition for resources.
I like that in a lot of the places where you do get a lot of players at the same time after daily mobs, Blizz seem to have tuned the respawn rate just right. Again, that's just how I find it on my server. It might be worse on others.
Mohrlock Feb 12th 2009 8:25PM
As a collective effort we should all open GM tickets stating "The Ice Stone has melted!" and see how they like it! It's one of the most frustrating things I've ever had to deal with in WoW. (P.S. Gold sellers & beggars always make the top of my list!)
I do have a question though :P
My main is a Prot Warrior & I haven't got my ass into gear to get geared for Naxx or anything (ZOMG I KNOW!)... After alot of hunting around I noticed there really aren't any epic chest pieces you can attain drop-wise pre-raid. I'm definitely not interested in crafting the Icebane chest but was wondering if there are other alternatives?
Raptor Feb 12th 2009 8:40PM
Really? An emote that requires you to do nothing and affects nothing at all is the most annoying thing in WoW?
You must be new here. Welcome.
Mohrlock Feb 12th 2009 8:43PM
Not quiet new hear Raptor ;) When you're holding several conversations and this keeps popping into your chat log; yep that's frustratingto me.
Each to there own... mind me for having an opinion hehe