The Queue: Procs and more on Patch 3.1

Good morning, ladies and gents! Or afternoon for some of you. Probably evening for a few others! It's morning for me, though. That's all that matters, isn't it? Indeed. Adam is out of the office today thanks to a blizzard murdering his internet connection, so I'll be covering for him even though today is technically his turn to do The Queue. Lazy such-and-such, letting weather get in his way. Grumble.
Ian R. asked...
Do you think the first couple of bosses in Ulduar can be PUG'd on easy mode? Like Sartharion and Vault of Archavon?
I would say yes, but only if you get a group of people who are comfortable doing vehicle fights. If you get a group of people that are going to throw hissy fits because they can't figure out how a vehicle works, Flame Leviathan is going to be a massive cockblock since it's the first boss of the zone. If you can get a group that can handle that, they can probably handle a number of the early fights on easy mode. You probably won't be able to clear the place, but you'll definitely get some bosses down.
Phaelan asked...
Any idea when the Wintergrasp Portal in Dalaran will be fixed?
No.
Hollywood Ron asked...
Will the drops from Uldar 10 be upgrades from Naxx 25?
Yes, actually, but only very slightly. It's not a full 'tier' of gear higher than Naxx 25, it's about half a tier higher. Basically, the gear in 10-man Ulduar will be upgrades from 25-man Naxx, but so small that it's not really that important for you to go and pick it up.
25-man Naxx to 25-man Ulduar is a full tier higher, 25-man Naxx to 10-man Ulduar is around half of a tier higher.
Tharesar asked...
What does "proc" mean?
Well, there are a few different theories as to the etymology of the term. One of them suggests that it stands of "Programmed(or Programmable) Random Occurrence" which is something that is programmed to happen with a degree of randomness. Another theory is that it came from old MUDs, derived from "spec_proc" which was short for "special procedure." Special procedures are actions or activities assigned to players, items, or places within the MUD that triggered when something else happened. For example, you interact with an object, which triggers an effect on another object. Either way, it's shorthand/an abbreviation that sort of became a word itself.
I'm pretty sure you don't care about the etymology, though! The MMO term 'proc' pretty much stands for anything that can be triggered with some degree of randomness. Let's say you have an enchant on your weapon that has a 2% chance to proc on a melee swing. That means it has a 2% chance to trigger, and there's a somewhat random element to it.
Erinorofdarkspear asked...
Question about Heirlooms -- Wouldn't it make sense, that, if you were to be leveling multiple alts at the same time, to buy the Heirloom cloth shoulders so that all of your characters can wear them? What I am thinking of is just mailing them to each of my alts as soon as they are done resting, and when rest xp is up, sending it on to the next one. What do you think, oh fellow Alex?
If you're leveling a lot of alts all at once and don't have enough Emblems/Stone Keeper's Shards to buy multiple sets of Shoulders, yeah, just passing the Cloth shoulders around would work fine. Your gear wouldn't be optimal, but if all you're interested in is the 10% XP boost? Sure. That works. The only drawback is that you don't get great stats for all of your alts on Cloth shoulders, but that shouldn't be much of a problem at low levels.
asmus asked...
How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if the woodchuck was nerfed 10% by Blizzard?
Sixty-seven point five.
Filed under: Patches, Analysis / Opinion, Raiding, The Queue
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Reader Comments (Page 4 of 7)
Jay in Oregon Mar 11th 2009 12:56PM
I look forward to trade chat spam like:
"Join the [Foobusters of Kalimdor] today! We have Break the Bank, An Army of 80, Team Twilight Vanquishing, Trauma Team, and Too Many Cooks guild achievements. No ninjas plz."
Amaxe Mar 11th 2009 1:59PM
Hmm, well that would help show a guild's credentials I guess?
Jeriel Mar 11th 2009 4:04PM
That is AWESOME to build guild loyalty. Maybe then people would think twice before guild hopping. I was playing Guild Wars before this and the guild itself had a rating, like arena teams in WoW.
uncletouchy Mar 11th 2009 12:17PM
As a mage I have some questions about trinket timings. Does a trinket affect a spell that I have already cast but is still traveling to the boss? Ex. If I go through my 6 sec pyroblast cast time then pop my trinket as it's flying to the boss will it increase the spell power on my pyroblast? Also, does it affect DOTs after they've been cast on a target?
Brad Mar 11th 2009 12:38PM
*sigh* get out of TBC and join WotLK where we have a wondrous 5 second cast time on pyroblast (http://www.wowhead.com/?spell=33938), but I know for a fact that it will not affect the dots applied to a target before trinkets. Check out the discussions going around about living bomb.
Balius Mar 11th 2009 5:04PM
It is my understanding that once a spell leaves your hands, buffs to you no longer effect it. DOTs are effected by changes to the target (Curse of Elements, etc) but not spellpower buffs on yourself. I'm not CERTAIN that a spell you cast that hasn't yet hit doesn't gain your bonus spellpower, but I'm reasonably confident that it's considered cast as soon as it leaves your hand, travel delay be damned.
CannibalChris Mar 11th 2009 12:21PM
proc = Positive Result on Chance
At least that's how I always took it.
Pope Jamal Mar 11th 2009 12:34PM
"If you get a group of people that are going to throw hissy fits because they can't figure out how a vehicle works, Flame Leviathan is going to be a massive cockblock since it's the first boss of the zone. "
Since you used the term "cockblock", I guess I'm justified in asking: Are you fucking serious?!?!
Or, maybe you'd understand this better: "Fisher-Price: My First Blog " like a motherfucker!
rosencratz Mar 11th 2009 12:37PM
You realise you failed to make any real discernable point?
Are you angry that they said a swear?
bundee Mar 11th 2009 2:43PM
Take a chill pill Nancy
Pope Jamal Mar 11th 2009 6:07PM
Amateurish: lacking professional skill or expertise;
"a very amateurish job";
"inexpert but conscientious efforts";
"an unskilled painting"
TLDR: In in poor taste to use the word "cockblock" when addressing the public. It's part of the reason the internet is so fucking "tacky". Because people like YOU think it's cool to just be all "Frat Boy" about everything. I guess here's what we'll see next week:
Q: Dude?
A: Brah!
Q: But Dude!?
A: Braaah!
Q:ZOMG Dude!?!?
A:Braaaaaaaaaaah! *highfive*
Farthing Mar 11th 2009 12:59PM
When I first started playing, my favorite weapons, and more rarely armor, all had fun procs or use effects(ex: Sprinter's Blade, Gigaflux Reactivator). Why do so very few quest and dungeon rewards have effects like this in Burning Crusade and Wrath content?
nbcaffeine Mar 11th 2009 1:13PM
Certain procs (like random stuns, etc) can be very imba beyond the stats per item lvl. That's my best guess why.
Balius Mar 11th 2009 5:07PM
Either the extra effect was too powerful and the items were then imbalanced against other items of the same item level, or too weak and people would have rather had stats.
Goo Mar 11th 2009 12:58PM
am i the only one who thought that using c***block was inappropriate? i have an 11 year old friend who reads these articles, and i'm sure thats something he is not allowed to say...
skreeran Mar 11th 2009 1:01PM
WoW is rated T.
So people who blog about it generally assumed you're, y'know, a teenager.
If you are younger than that, read/play at your own risk.
Deathofmoo Mar 11th 2009 1:02PM
Maybe you shouldn't be "friends" with 11-year olds, dude. That's against the law in most states.
Seriously, I kid because I love. But not 11-year olds, that ain't right.
Daniel Mar 11th 2009 2:22PM
I happened to mention WoW to my 9 year old nephew a few days ago as an offhand comment about something. I was surprised that he knew what I was referring to. Since there is no way on earth his parents would let him play it, it must be something he is hearing about from his friends. So I have no doubt that pre-teens are playing the game.
bundee Mar 11th 2009 2:40PM
Your 11 year old friend shouldn't be on the internet unsupervised.
skreeran Mar 12th 2009 9:38AM
@Daniel
I know for a fact that preteens play. My six year old brother plays a gnome warlock. But just as parents can choose to let their children play violent and mature games (I know a 11 year old who plays GTA), it is the parent's choice to let them play. By purchasing a game that is rated above their age level, they are basically saying "I feel that my child is of the maturity to participate in T (or in other cases, M) rated content."
Wowinsider is aimed for teens and young adults, if you are a preteen and playing a T rated game, that is your responsibility.
It's like the old argument to just get rid of violent or sexual media. Honestly, when there is a given warning (in the form of a rating) it's the parents responsibility to make decisions for what their child watches, not the people who produce the product.