The best of WoW.com: January 2009
by Allison Robert 
Dec 20th 2009 at 8:00PM
Yesterday we realized that, as of today, there are 12 days to go until 2010, so we though what we'd do is break down our favorite posts into each month of 2009.
Today, obviously, covers January. Wrath was less than two months old when the new year rolled around. While most players were still leveling their mains, gearing them up, and taking their first steps into heroics, others were already steamrolling Tier 7 or trying to steamroll things like Glory of the Raider.
January 2009
In no particular order...
The Ghostcrawler experiment: Adam's commentary on Ghostcrawler's heroic efforts on the forums seems oddly prescient given our more recent commentary.
Moviewatch: Out in the Cold: Most of the submissions we get at Moviewatch are humorous or otherwise meant purely to entertain. This one, a holdover from the 2008 holiday season, had a slightly more unsettling touch.
Why you're never going to get a blue response: More people on the official forums need to read this. Or -- with the benefit of hindsight on the intervening months -- need to have read it before proceeding to drive the developers and everyone around them crazy with "blue begging."
Running the Obsidian Sanctum death derby: Guilds that got Tier 7 content on farm often found themselves without anything to raid early in the week, which often led to using raid content in creative ways.
The role of today's priest: Raid leaders want their raiders to come in easily-defined packages, sorted according to what they do best and then deployed accordingly. Matt Low asks -- how does this work with the priest's more general-purpose approach?
On lag and communication: One of the disadvantages of raiding's newfound popularity in Wrath was the lag and instability on many overcrowded instance servers. It was this same lag that drove many a raider insane while trying for the new system of raiding achievements that, in many cases, were completely dependent on fast reactions and nobody going offline. How do you enjoy the game when it's barely playable?
The Art of War(craft): How patch 3.0.8 will change PvP: A comprehensive look by Zach Yonzon at patch 3.0.8's upcoming impact on arena, battlegrounds, and world PvP. If you never played Wintergrasp or Strand of the Ancients before that patch, you might be surprised at how much Blizzard's changed them since then.
Would you join an "anything goes" realm?: This was an unusually thoughtful Breakfast Topic with an equally thoughtful comments section. How many people would enjoy a world without rules? Answer: not that many.
Heroics as fresh 80; don't be that guy: Wrath heroics were considerably easier than their BC counterparts, and a lot of players rolled into them (or tried) shorlty after dinging 80. This article contained some sage advice from Eliah Hecht that, oddly enough, resurfaced in the programming of patch 3.3's Dungeon Finder. We're guessing Blizzard doesn't want you to be "that guy" either.
The wishing fountain: We highlighted one of the smaller, quieter touches that made Wrath such an amazing game and got people more invested in the story. Here's hoping something like the Dalaran fountain makes an appearance in Cataclysm.
Waging the war against "lorelol": As in real life, our sense of Azeroth's history is going to change a lot. Michael Sacco's suggestion? Deal with it.
Encrypted Text: Why rogues now love hunters and other HaT ironies: The new rogue talent Honor Among Thieves created some odd circumstances ingame. Nerfed? Yep.
A walking tour of roleplaying realms: You can find a lot of expertly-conducted and nuanced roleplaying on WoW's RP servers. Wowgossip also found...other things.
2009's drawing to a close, and we're wrapping up the most interesting articles we've published all year, one day at a time. Join us every day for the next twelve days with this year's best of WoW.com!Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Odds and ends, Features
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Ezlo Dec 20th 2009 8:43PM
It's really been only a year since then? Wow how the time flies!
I mean, 3.2 and the Colosseum itself felt like a decade long...
Pemberton Dec 20th 2009 9:15PM
I dinged 80 on 1-28-09 according to my Achievement. :)
RetPallyJil Dec 20th 2009 11:12PM
12-05-2008 for me. Nyah nyah (hugs)
Nick Dec 21st 2009 1:37AM
11-20-08 here :)
slartibart Dec 21st 2009 5:54AM
Only cause I just get to raise the nerd bar a bit ;)
11-19-08 huzzah! l2getalife!
Yes, I took a few vacation days to hit 80, I was so excited about the game.
EZ Dec 20th 2009 9:30PM
Nostalgia ftw. This is a good idea, looking forward to the rest of the articles.
rawrawrawr Dec 20th 2009 9:46PM
Looking back on all the Ghostcrawler stuff, I'm reminded of the pre-blizzcon 2008? speculation about Ghostcrawler's gender.
Gessilea Dec 20th 2009 10:03PM
I forgot about that! I was completely convinced that GC was female. I can't actually remember why, though. Wishful thinking, perhaps?
Lorsty Dec 20th 2009 11:17PM
@Gessilea, I think someone (who claimed they were in the alpha stage) said they knew Ghostcrawler and they knew he was a "girl" so everyone started calling Ghostcrawler "she" and everytime they referred to him as a "he" they'd be corrected, etc.
I also remember a blue post talking about Ghostcrawler's purse, so we were even misled by the blues. It wasn't until Blizzcon that we found out Ghostcrawler was not a "she".
Or something.
Adam Holisky Dec 21st 2009 12:43AM
That's correct, it wasn't until Ghostcrawler was introduced on stage at BlizzCon 2008 that we knew "he" wasn't a "she." I think it's possibly the only time in the history of the internet when a designer's gender is an actual subject of historical note.
Now that said, Ghostcrawler's Purse = Nerf Bag. That's some inside info for ya' right there, folks.
Eddy Dec 20th 2009 9:49PM
No rocket bear?
Bubsa Dec 20th 2009 10:01PM
Wasn't aware 3.3 hit in January
Gessilea Dec 20th 2009 10:03PM
Rocket bear is so awesome it rockets back in time to become the best story of all time.
Eddy Dec 20th 2009 10:05PM
Yeah, I... I wondered why this list was so short for a best of wow.com for all of 2009. Perky January. But I do believe the point still stands.
rawrawrawr Dec 21st 2009 1:34AM
Rocket Bear Here
Rocket Bear There
Rocket Bear is so awesome
It Rockets Anywhere
And anytime for that matter, but that doesn't rhyme.
Murchadha Dec 21st 2009 1:28AM
The worst was pinheads in suits getting rid of Mike Scramm.
slartibart Dec 21st 2009 8:16AM
I don't quite understand.
I know Schramm is taking his leave, but I don't understand the rest of your comment.
Lemons Dec 21st 2009 4:07AM
Well This certainly changed:
"Unfortunately, Warlocks still suck in PvP"
Whoa boy is that ever not the case anymore. They are just beastly now, only warriors are more well represented (by a very small margin). I would feel sad for anyone who ditched their warlock for a DK after hearing those words (not really...I hate every class but my own, and, by extension, the people that play them).
Looking back on wrath PvP, I think what blizz was striving for was to make every spec of every class pvp viable (a retarded goal), but what that meant was basically making each class it's own self contained unit that didn't really have to depend on anyone else. They made sure everyone had burst, everyone had cc, and everyone had survivability and I think that's what's leading to the problems that exist in PvP now. I think the prot specs epitomize everything that is wrong with that design, that's what happens when make a spec great or at least decent at absolutely everything.
I'm glad to see that in the recent blue posts they are stepping back from that approach in Cata. Making it so that each class does not have access to everything, instead, they must work together with other classes to form a fighting force rather than just running around acting like a one man army *cough* paladins *cough*.
Wrath was, I think, a little better than BC, and hopefully Cata will be a little better than wrath.
jellyphish Dec 21st 2009 12:40PM
Mien Furher! I can Valk!
Old movies+old posts=nostalgia/christmas.