Patch 5.3 interview with Ghostcrawler
Mystery of the Unborn Val'kyr
The latest patch 5.3 news
All of the latest Mists of Pandaria newsThe Queue: You have been pwned by a grue
by Adam Holisky 
Mar 17th 2009 at 11:00AM
What is a grue?
The grue is a sinister, lurking presence in the dark places of the earth. Its favorite diet is adventurers, but its insatiable appetite is tempered by its fear of light. No grue has ever been seen by the light of day, and few have survived its fearsome jaws to tell the tale. (source)
Jeni asked...
"Regarding the shift in glyphs...what happens if you want to use a Glyph of Levitate in both specs? What if you don't care enough about your off spec to get new glyphs each time you switch specs (for instance, keep your holy glyphs when you switch specs to shadow to quest?) Does it eat up your glyphs anyhow?"
When you purchase dual specs a new glyph pane will activate that is bound to your second spec. It will be empty, and every time you switch to your second spec you'll automatically activate the new glyph pane.
It is not an optional process. You cannot choose to have use just one set of glyphs for each spec. If you want to have the Glyph of Levitate in both specs, then you'll need to include it in both glyph sets. While I know some people disagree with me, I don't really see this as too much of a pain because most of us spend all of 5 minutes buying glyphs for a spec anyways. So one time spending 5 minutes reglyphing isn't too bad.
Ian R asked...
"Do you have to beat the old Vault of Archavon to get to the new one?"
Very unlikely. Blizzard has came out clearly against any sort of attunements for Wrath of the Lich King, and requiring a raid be previously completed before being able to enter or engage in a new one is just another way of saying "attunement."
But with that said, we don't know a whole lot about the new raid, just some pics.
Randron asked...
"How do I change my picture for my comments?"
First, our comment system sucks and I'm sorry that it does. Click on your name as it appears in the comments, this will bring you to a new page. Login with your name and password at that new page. You'll see an option in the upper right hand side to change your picture.
As far as it not working correctly, it can take some time. I changed mine from some stupid gem I found initially back when I started here to an emo picture of myself. I changed the image around 3 months ago and it still isn't showing up all the time. It fails too, and we've complained about it to the people we need to complain to, but that's all we can do.
Namus asked...
"Last night while running Heroic UK with a bunch of friends (DK tank, Spriest, Resto Druid, FF Mage) and a PUG (Spriest), then this dropped from the trash http://www.wowhead.com/?item=44312 since it was our DK's first heroic as a tank it was a clear upgrade for him, so we started to congratulate him (you know, calling him lucky bastard and stuff) when the pugged Spriest started complaining that it was BoE, we all passed on the roll to give it to the DK who rolled need, the priest left party (didn't roll at all) and our druid started whispering to him asking what was the problem and he said that since the item was BoE we all should have the same right to roll on it regardless it was an upgrade for our tank, our druid replied that the usual rules are mainspec over offspec and need before greed in heroics/raids usually and we didn't even think about rolling against a class that was obviously going to use it and not just vendor it, at the end the priest called us a bunch of noobs, the druid called him a greedy bastard blah blah.
My question is: are we a bunch of noobs for giving a BoE random drop for a person that is actually going to use it? or should we have rolled for it since we all could sell it on the AH? what do you guys think?"
TLDR Version: We were running a heroic and pugged a DPS spot. When a tanking item dropped we wanted to give it to our new tank, even though it was a BoE epic. The pugger threw a fit and left, even though we were going to let him roll. Are we a bunch of noobs?
Not really. I would have done the same thing in your situation. Loot drama always amazes me as I see the following as truths:
- Loot doesn't matter in this game. It's clear the game has become about skill and encounter knowledge.
- Loot is just a bunch of pixels on the screen. People are getting angry over pixels. How about instead they turn on the news and get angry about something bad that's happening in the world.
- It's a fraken game.
- The average player spends a good amount of time in-game. How many purples and blues are they going to see in a week? The answer is a lot. The loot will drop again.
- Being a nice guy is more important than getting loot or gold for loot. The benefits from personal relationships you'll develop by being a nice guy vastly outweighs any sort of character development potential.
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: Analysis / Opinion, The Queue
Reader Comments (Page 2 of 8)
Taylor Mar 17th 2009 11:13AM
First time asking a question!
I am just getting back into WoW now that I have a bit of free time. I am trying to get to 80 on a relatively new character of mine. I am around 50 right now and I am wondering how end game will work when I eventually get there? There are heroics and raids and all these things I hear about, but I just don't understand the progression yet. Mainly, I am worried that once Ulduar launches, I will be woefully behind without gear from Naxx. I know the whole "gear doesn't matter" arguement, but I cant be in quest blues/greens and keeping up in a raid.
Thanks!
issachan Mar 17th 2009 11:44AM
The sort of gear progression we see in game roughly scales with the difficulty of the encounter in terms of gear required and the skill and awareness required.
The lowest rung of end-game would be the Normal 5 man instances; these drop level 78 blue items that are very workable for Heroic 5 mans.
Obviously the next step up is Heroic 5 mans; these drop level 80 blue items and the last boss will drop an epic item which ilvl 200 - Equivalent to any crafted epic or Naxx10 (excluding Kel'Thuzad) or OS10(0 Drakes up) loot. iLvl 200 items include Tier 7.0 sets.
At this point I would reccomend going to Vault of Archavon 10 man to try your luck at getting the Tier 7.0 pieces. Also try Obsidian Sanctum (10 man version with 0 drakes up). These places will all drop the same quality epics, which are also equivalent to 10 man Naxx items (aside from Kel'Thuzad drops).
Once you've got a bit more gear, the next step would be to go do Naxx10, as its a bit of a long one, but yields plentiful epics. The fights are "easy" per se, but still more difficult than Heroic 5 mans. The last boss, Kel'Thuzad, as I have mentioned, drops better loot, at ilvl 213.
iLvl 213 quality items can be obtained from the first 14 bosses of 25 Man naxx when you are ready. Sartharion (OS) drops them in 25 man mode as well, and so does Archavon in Vault on 25. Also at this stage, Eye of Eternity(Malygos) becomes a viable option (and drops same quality loot).
Kel'thuzad on 25 man, aswell as Malygos on 25 man, will drop items which are usually ilvl 226, and usually also best in-slot. When Sartharion's friends (Tenebron, Shadron and Vesperon) are left alive in varying numbers the loot quality (and quantity) also increases up to this level.
I've stated that Malygos on 10 man is equivalent to 25 Naxx. Ulduar 10 man will most likely be balanced for 25 man Malygos geared and skilled players. Ulduar 25 man mode, which drops Emblems of Conquest, will be a more difficult challenge, a definite progression raid for most guilds to begin with.
Quality of Emblems can be used as a rough indicator of what sort of difficulty Blizz had tuned the encounter for. As the 10 mans, except Ulduar, drop Heroism, and the 25s, save Ulduar, drop Valor emblems, we can use this to judge roughly how hard it is going to be. Mind you, there are discrepancies - Eye of Eternity(Malygos) 10 man is definitely harder than Sartharion on 10 man, yet they drop the same Emblems. Ulduar10 will be giving us Valor, so at least the logic works there.
Gear is a complicated issue, I hope that post illuminated it a bit for you. Sorry about the textwall crit too.
Balius Mar 17th 2009 12:03PM
OK, the progression really doesn't matter until you get to level 80. You can run instances or not as you see fit up until then, but you'll regear at level 80 anyway.
Once you reach level 80, you can join raids and run heroic versions of all the instances in Northrend (and Culling of Stratholme in Tanaris). You can also purchase crafted items and find other BoE epics on the AH.
While you can get into a raid as a freshly dinged level 80, it's better to run heroic instances to get AT LEAST into a set of blue quality gear itemized for your spec. You can get two pieces of Tier 7 gear from badges, and other epics from the last boss in each heroic, but at least get in full level 80 blues as a MINIMUM, and get that gear gemmed and enchanted. You're gearing at this point to reach the hit cap (unless you're a healer) and get an HP pool that can survive the raid-wide or AoE damage that comes from raiding.
Once you're in the minimum gear, you are set to start running raids (like Naxxramas, Obsidian Sanctum, and Eye of Eternity: Malygos). As a fresh new raider, you won't really be equipped to be a main tank for the raids, and you won't top damage meters, but you'll be able to handle most of the non-hard mode raiding as long as you've done your research and now where and when and how to move.
Please note that while the 25 man Naxx gear is a full step above the 10 man Naxx gear, it is NOT Blizzard's intent that you run Tier 7 25 man after Tier 7 10 man. 10 man Ulduar will be practically the same as 25 man Naxx, in stat allocation. Blizzard wants you to progress as a group through all the content, not do both versions before moving onto the next tier.
Ulduar itself will encompass the next tier; there's no attunement, but you'll probably be slightly undergeared for it if you skip the current raids entirely. The developers have said that the design goal for Ulduar is to have it only slightly harder than Naxx (and we have to take their word for that right now, since they aren't done tuning it yet), but most of the bosses have hard-modes that are meant to make Ulduar extremely challenging on an optional basis. You probably can't skip Naxx altogether, but neither will you necessarily need to be in full 25 man raid drops to start running Ulduar with your guild.
TLDR VERSION:
Get to 80
Run Heroics, buy and make gear
Raid Naxx, Malygos, Sartherion 10 or 25 man
Raid Ulduar with as many people as you went to Naxx with.
You really can't SKIP any of those steps, but you can certainly skimp on the amount of time you put into each step. How much you can get away with depends on how empathetic your raiding group is.
Taylor Mar 17th 2009 12:22PM
Wow... thanks for the detailed responses guys! I really appreciate it! I just wanted a peek at what will be facing me when I (eventually) hit 80!
Kryxx Mar 17th 2009 4:46PM
Yeah, follow what Balius said. Getting at least blue quality gear, gemming it well and enchanting it with the best enchants, will show that you're not some a-hole trying to get carried by a raid.
A friend of mine was lucky enough to get into our Naxx25 with his main, in greens, pulling 1500dps. This is very rare, of course. He then had the nerve to think that his alt should also be taken to Naxx25 as a fresh 80, because "heroics are below me." Just try not to be "that guy" and you'll do fine, I'm sure.
Irshaa Mar 26th 2009 1:35AM
I feel the Need before Greed system works best Especially since we are not hurting for Shards on my realm.
Greens on the other hand I would argue to roll on concidering a stack of Dust = 100g and 1 Greater Essence is 16g each.
So it really comes down to the value of supplies on your realm in my opinion and what the general group consences is.
bundee Mar 17th 2009 11:14AM
"since the item was BoE we all should have the same right to roll on it regardless it was an upgrade for our tank"
If the priest knew those guys were friends he may have felt like they were being biased toward the tank friend. However, a piece of loot that someone needs should go to someone that needs it, regardless of who/what it drops from. BOE or not, loot is always need before greed. My only requirement on BOEs is that the person equip the item immediately.
zombie Mar 17th 2009 11:43AM
Do your BOE's come pre- enchanted and gemmed? Thats the only way i would equip it immediatly...
Nonny Mar 17th 2009 11:49AM
@Zombie:
What if you were in greens not worth enchanting? I'd say that the epic would be worth equipping right then and there, enchanted or not.
Robert M Mar 17th 2009 11:50AM
You can't always equip the item right away. If you are a tank and some shoulder's drop that are a clear upgrade, but they lack the needed defense enchant that your current shoulders have to keep you above the cap, you don't want your tank switching into his shiny new threads right away.
With all the defense starved epics in the beginning of end game, compared to their blue counterparts, sometimes a tank has to juggle gear in their bank/bags and enchants to boost their stamina and stay crit immune.
I know the same applies to my druid and lock as well. Just because something is an upgrade from my current gear doesn't mean it will actually be an upgrade until I get it enchanted with spellpower.
Sometimes you have to trust that people know what they are doing and hope kharma steps in for those who are cheating others.
Gareth Mar 17th 2009 1:09PM
You don't need to gem and enchant it, if the person who needs it just equips it to show the group then they're not going to be able to sell it on.
Its the same deal for Jewelcrafting recipes that drop in TBC, if you need on them its fine, just learn them there and then to clarify that you aren't trying to profit from them. I run with those rules too, all loot whether BOE and BOP is for people to need on first to upgrade and greed for cash second.
Robert M Mar 17th 2009 11:56AM
@Nonny,
And what if you were not wearing anything at all? Clearly a ridiculous argument. Sometimes it is a clear upgrade and you should put it on right away, but there are times when it's not in the best interest of the group to do even when it is an upgrade.
Makros Mar 17th 2009 12:00PM
I'm pretty sure he means making them equip it right then just to ensure the item is soul bound. Then the person can use whatever is best at the time.
Atros Mar 17th 2009 12:03PM
He didn't say use the item. He said equip it, so that it becomes soulbound. If it still needs proper enchants\gems in order to become solidly usable, use the old piece. But I can see the piece of mind that they're not pulling a fast one if they equip it right away.
Quickshiv Mar 17th 2009 12:04PM
It's not the act of using it in the dungeon its equipping it so it's soulbound. The player can remove it right after it has been equipped.
Quickshiv Mar 17th 2009 12:07PM
Yay for redundant posts. I swear the ones above mine weren't there when I started posting.
Debelak Mar 17th 2009 12:08PM
It's possible he just meant that you need to make it soulbound immediately (by equipping it) and then you could switch back to your enchanted/gemmed gear.
jrizutko Mar 17th 2009 12:18PM
not sure, but i think part of asking someone to equip something right away is so that it binds to them, and you know they can't just turn around and sell it for gold when they claimed need. Its a darker view, but not entirely unheard of.
Mure Mar 17th 2009 12:46PM
my main is still only level 76 and i jest moved into a new pair of blue boe gloves. by your argument i shouldn't have needed then even tho they where a clear upgrade to what i had since they doped when i was level 75? in this case i couldn't equip the gloves right away. i'm thinking that your rule would be affective at level 80 but a bit short sited when people are still leveling.
harrellj Mar 20th 2009 9:01PM
@Mure: I was in a similar boat, I got lucky enough to run HoL as a level 75. Did I do much damage? No, but neither did we wipe. I also got 2 upgrades (hands/shoulders) that I was allowed to need on, since they were clear upgrades for me. They also weren't even able to be equipped until I hit level 78. In this case though, it wasn't necessary for me to equip them, since they were BoP.