[1.Local]: The legendary Frostingmourne
by Lisa Poisso 
Jan 24th 2010 at 2:00PM
Looking for sweet, sweet sarcasm? [1.Local] is full of smart alecs. You'll get a good taste of sarcasm in this week's sampling of comments, as well as pointers to WoW's hottest topics ... Oh, and a virtual wave of reader approval. But before we dig in, how about seconds of this week's WoW-themed dessert?
MusedMoose: Dude! It's the legendary sword Frostingmourne, weapon of the Lick King!
... I'll go now.
Us, too. Let's wipe off the frosting and head past the jump for more of the week's comments.
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How not to aggro your tank with AoE Writer Matthew Rossi fired up readers with one of the week's most popular posts. "Reader UnstØppable writes in with a question I thought would benefit others," he wrote. "'Does the Bladestorm aggro problem ever get better? What I mean is, I've seen it countless times, the arms warrior enters the dungeon, the tank lets out a sigh (sometimes it's me), we pull the first group and everything goes fine, until he hits that Bladestorm button. That's when somehow he manages to pull aggro from every mob and their mom and makes both the healer's and the tank's lives hell or usually ends up dying within seconds.'" PUGgers desperate for tips to keep Dungeon Finder groups on track received the answer with unbridled enthusiasm. DraconisXC: *slow clap* (cutaia): *adds to slow clap, making it a slightly faster slow clap but not quite thunderous applause* Razortooth: *thunderous applause* Alexisonfire: *Standing Ovation* Sir7: *Shouts of encore!* nomadic0ne: *Throwing underwear on the stage!* Dane Bramage: *just stands in awe* marco: *dances naked around the fire* Walynds: /cheer Joerendous: *begins the Wave* vazhkatsi: Crowd Surfs DeathPaladin: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxvdvoQgAy8 Cyanea: *waves lighter in the air* Rmschoir: *Hits Bladestorm two seconds into a pull* Baltor: *C-c-c-combo breaker.* Joseph Smith: *hits unglyphed Starfall* ... my bad, sorry Catch the wave yourself with Rossi's tips on how not to out-aggro your tank. |
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An army of one We have to admit that the latest gold seller tactic -- armies of level one alts moving in virtual lockstep through capital cities -- is certainly eye-catching. But how do readers who've actually experienced the invasions feel about the new phenomenon? James: All these people who think this is so much fun need to endure it yourself. It nearly crashed my session! You will be very bored of this stunt very soon. And what's more, you can't even work out the name of the site ... It fails. lolikitty: An army of Orcs in front of the Orgrimmar AH, a few feet above the ground, /saluting in unison ... absolutely terrifying. I mean it. (Not to mention the spam of emotes.) Maymer: *Cue Star Wars Imperial music* IT'S A TRAP!!!!! Our ignore lists can't repel spammers of this magnitude!!!!! |
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How to fight a druid Another article that got plenty of reader appreciation this week was Zach Yonzon's look at how to fight a druid. SunwellVialist: This ... is an amazing write-up. Even though you spoil all of our drood secrets to the world, I cannot help but enjoy reading it -- and hell, it even gave me a few ideas for better surviving with my druid. FoxOfWar: I have to admit, while I am primarily a PvE player, occasionally doing Wintergrasp/Battlegrounds as tree is something so devilishly fun it's probably illegal in some countries. It's amazing just how long it takes sometimes for people to realize that their target is not dying because there's someone spamming HoTs on them 40 yards away. Druid heals are relatively flashy, after all. And really, being alive for a whole AV is just good feeling (even moreso when I was still leveling and AV actually lasted a fair bit of time). Being 15 minutes in perma-combat, spamming HoTs and staying alive for all that time is just fun. I've never played Arena, so cannot comment on that. But at least on Battlegrounds, playing a druid is fun. Excellent write-up. :) MushMush: Great article. As far as PvP goes, my weakness lies in not having played any other classes. I don't totally understand what other classes' full abilities and limitations are. Thanks a ton -- can't wait to read the write-ups on the other classes. Thanks. Don't miss the next set in the series on fighting death knights. |
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Raid, PUG habits should be kept separate "I am not arguing that you shouldn't do your best if you're running a pickup group," writes Matthew Rossi. "I'm arguing that you have no reason to hold the other four people to a standard of play they haven't signed up for or agreed to." Would you agree? Cor: As a main spec tank, I tend to tank my first PUG each day and them if I'm up for more I go DPS. I suffer a similar issue as Matt but not from the under performing players. It's the over achivers that drive me nuts. Yes, I can hold aggro from someone doing 7k AE DPS (or more in raids), but in a PUG I honestly don't want to work that hard. The difference between driving like mad through a dungeon is maybe 5 minutes? I'm no longer willing to run myself ragged trying to save people that 5 minutes. At this point, I'm done arguing with people. If someone wants to rush, I will keep up, but I put them on ignore before the final boss so I don't have to PUG with them again. I fear my ignore list is going to end up being too small. =) omedon666: I wish I knew a code method to flash this in huge letters across the screen, but THANK. YOU. My guild is small, friendly and "five-man centric", because most of us don't give a damn to sell our souls to theorycrafting or scheduling enough to raid -- and that doesn't make us lazy, it makes us, well, us. We aren't terribad. We aren't out to wreck some raider's time efficiency or "disrespect them" with our lack of mad leet raider skills (this attitude makes me furious in its audacity). We're just out for a good time in small-group, intimate content. I use blue gems not as an insult to you, but because the price difference for another four points of whatever just isn't a.) worth it and b.) required for five-man content. I hate the idea of having maggots swirling around my DK, so I don't have blood worms. I instead have on a pale horse and Mark of Blood, because I've saved groups with it and because I like flying faster when I'm not grouping with you. I still like upgrades. I still enjoy the game. But I enjoy it at my pace. So when I encounter someone in PUGs that says "I hate heroics; I'm here for emblems for raiding gear, so STFU and keep up" and then proceeds to back that attitude up with how they run the instance, yes, I will vote kick you ASAP because you are rude, wrecking at least one person's fun and doing so bringing your raiding habits into a five-man. 7k DPS is not needed to DPS a heroic. It's nice, but it's not needed. 50k health is not needed to tank a heroic. It's nice, but it's not needed. 30k mana is not needed to heal a heroic. It's nice, but it's not needed. Raiders aren't evil. Some of my best friends are raiders, but when you "step down" in content, remember that that content is as much some peoples' bread and butter as your 25-man hard modes, and those people are people, too. Thank you for this article. It's nice to know that we're not expected to just "suck it up" by everyone. Slaytanic: Ugh. Guilty as charged. I'm extremely spoiled. Being in a top-end guild on my server, I have very little patience for stupidity. I won't scream at people (being heals, I don't have time), but I currently have a two-wipe policy. We wipe twice, I bail and re-roll. There are exceptions to the rule. The other night I was in VH, and my group just got creamed by Xevozz. Normally, since this was the first boss, it's really easy to drop. But my group came to me, and asked for advice on how to beat him. I had to remind myself that I was in their very same shoes at one time, that this guy kicked my ass in regular mode. After taking the time to calm down and explain the fight (to a group young, but eager to learn), we beat him and the rest of the instance. Humbling, and ultimately fun. |
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How does the Dungeon Finder affect smaller realms? While many players think the Dungeon Finder is the greatest thing since sliced bread, some players wistfully observe that it seems to have swamped the fledgling PUG communities on smaller realms. Angelyne: I agree. While I wouldn't want to go back to the bad old days, I feel that the LFG tool has introduced a whole new level of anonymity to this game. I might as well be grouping with NPCs, for all the interactions that I see in five-mans -- except that with NPCs, you get consistent results and no chance of being jerked around. This is supposed to be a social game, yet I have never played an online game where it's so difficult to make any kind of lasting social contact. Everyone is intent on doing his/her thing, and groups will never last longer that strictly necessary. I started playing online games back in the old Meridian 59 days. I then played Ultima Online and EverQuest. All of these games appeared truly social to me. I made tons of online friends, seemingly effortlessly. In WoW, it's like pulling teeth. Maybe it's a small town/big city type of thing. Neirin: As a resident of an extremely small server (US Maiev), I actually think the Dungeon Finder has benefitted PUG opportunities. ICC PUGs are still semi-difficult to get running, but the gear crutch from heroics is frequently enough for a few experienced players to get others through ToC or Uld HMs. The real loss is the social one. Less people sitting in trade looking for a tank/healer means a lot less interaction. Since we low-pop lovers really pride ourselves on our communities, the loss of some of our interaction is pretty bad. I know a few people that xfered because they were only staying for the community and felt like it had kinda fallen apart. |
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Russian commercial rips off Lich King trailer The sarcasm was back in full force in this post on a Russian cologne commercial that bears a striking resemblance to a certain frosty scenario. Hivetyrant: If I wear this cologne, does everyone around me get a -% to dodge? Leviathon: My son, on the day you born, the very forests of Russia whispered the name Plushenko. I watched with pride as you grew into a weapon of skating. Our line has always skated with grace and dignity. And I know you will show restraint when exercising your great power. But know that the truest victory, is giving your people a fresh, lasting cologne. I tell you this, for when my days have come to an end, you shall be king of Oriflame. |
The Who is WoW.com? meme
Here at WoW.com, we've been accused of being dim bulbs before -- but this is ridiculous ...
Name: [redacted]
URL:
Subject: Bulb replacment
Looking for a Bulb replacement for train 07125 Where can i buy them.
Thank you [name] Cell (XXX)XXX-XXXXHome(XXX)XXX-XXXX
Related URL: http://
Sounds like this customer needs a good Toy Train Set.
Until next week!
Ha, caughtcha looking! Hey, don't scroll away -- come join the conversation on these and other posts around the WoW.com community. We'll see you around in [1.Local].Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, [1.Local]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Mognet T Jan 24th 2010 2:24PM
That email.
/facepalm
Zhiva Jan 24th 2010 2:26PM
How many wow.com authors does it take to change a light bulb?
Niallus Jan 24th 2010 2:38PM
Two. One to change the bulb, the other to /facepalm at the amount of comments telling them they aren't doing it right.
(cutaia) Jan 24th 2010 2:43PM
Only 1. But it takes 132 readers to comment about it.
Jester_joker Jan 24th 2010 2:43PM
2: One to change the bulb, and one to receive stupid E-mails.
Facio Patronus Jan 24th 2010 2:52PM
4?
Bvannas Jan 24th 2010 2:59PM
1 to change it, 1 to respond to claims that it was better before the change.
Mognet T Jan 24th 2010 3:08PM
Three. One to the change the bulb, another to write an opinion article about why the change was necessary, and the last to write an opinion article about why it was a bad move.
Tremelizzer Jan 24th 2010 4:37PM
Zero. No need to change light bulbs. Computer screen light is enough.
swimstarguy Jan 24th 2010 5:00PM
3
One to change the bulb
the other to say "first" when they see that it's changed
and another to flame them and downrank their comment
Clydtsdk-Rivendare Jan 24th 2010 7:59PM
How many Soviet Russians does it take to change a lightbulb?
Doesn't matter, the lightbulbs change THEM.
How many Titans does it take to change a light bulb?
Two: one to change it and one to clear out an old god infestation a few thousand years later.
How many WoW players does it take to change a light bulb?
One thousand two: one to actually change it, and one to berate the first thousand others for not having the 5k GearScore necessary to change his lightbulb.
How many Kael'thas jokes does it take to change a light bulb?
It depends if the burnt-out bulb was merely a setback or a stepping stone to a much greater plan.
How many raiders does it take to change a light bulb?
Three: one huntard to shoot (and thus break) the old bulb, one to replace it, and one to ninja all the epics found on the broken bulb's corpse.
How many gnomes does it take to change a light bulb?
Ten: Nine to stand on each other's shoulders and one to replace it.
How many light bulb jokes does it take to change a light bulb?
*asplodes*
Schadow Jan 24th 2010 3:13PM
I'm really ok with people just having fun in instances, provided they don't interfere with other people having fun, too.
But the gem comment... Ok, 4 points of something isn't much. But that's only if you have 1 gem. In my gear I have 21 gems (granted, it's nice gear). 21 x 4 is 84 points of something, which can be more of that thing than you would get on a nice piece of gear.
In my case, I'm a tank, and the difference in stam gems is 6 points. So the difference for me between rare and epic gems is about 1500 hp. That's pretty signifigant (ok, not so much since I'm 43k unbuffed which is hugely overkill for heroics, but you get the point).
More to the point for lower gear levels, if you are gemming to reach the hit cap, then it's possible that replacing blue gems for epics would free up a gem slot for a gem that would help you to do more damage, or allow to to equip a piece of gear that has no hit, but has better stats otherwise. Non-theorycrafters may not care about hit cap, but they should.
Getting epic gems is easy. You can buy them with the triumph emblems (downgraded to heroic). You can buy them with honour than you can get from turning in those otherwise useless stonekeeper shards.
The bottom line is that if you do your best to contribute (such as gearing properly), then no one can claim you are bieng carried - you're simply undergeared. If you don't give a rat's bottom about your gear, then you are asking to be carried, and people will resent it.
JKWood Jan 24th 2010 5:11PM
Good game. You just gained 3% more health from those thousands of gold you just spent.
Look, I'm all for having your gear gemmed and enchanted, but you're better off with four Heavy Borean Armor Kits than you are with one boot enchant for the same cost. For some, money is tight (I can turn over about 500g in a day's playing, which is a nice enchant and one cut gem), and so they make do with what they've got.
Sunaseni Jan 24th 2010 5:44PM
Thousands of gold? 10k Honor per gem, easy peasy with 3 Wintergrasp quests. I haven't spent actual gold on gems for a long time; you get enough Triumph and Honor to entirely gem your gear with epic gems.
Brune Jan 24th 2010 10:44PM
If a days play is making you 500g, and then 500g is buying you one gem and an enchant, I have a few recommendations:
Get a guild in which there are professions people are willing to help each other with. i.e, a guild with helpful JCs and enchanters.
Run some random dungeons! 10 triumphs is a secondary coloured badge, 20 is a primary coloured. You'll also get enchanting mats to cover your enchants.
This way, you'll be able to get your two frosts, run some dungeons and maybe even get some gear from the HCs.
Of course, it's far more efficient to run your dailies, or AH stuff (if you have the "know how") but at the end of the day, it's more fun to earn your way to the gear by doing fun heroics.
omedon666 Jan 24th 2010 8:52PM
Holy crap, my comment showed up on "Local"!
Now, to comment about the comment concerning my comment.
Two words: You buyin'?
Using blue gems in a set of armour being used only in heroics is not asking to being carried, it's being efficient with my money. I have many alts. For the cost of another "four points of whatever", I can buy something nice for one of my alts.
If I ever eyed raiding, yes, I'd upgrade to epic gems. I'd run heroics until the emblems had, by themselves, turned every blue gem I gear into an epic, heck, I might do that anyway, just as something to do.
To link this to the recent topic about "raiding mindsets in heroics" (still absolutely love that article BTW), leave your raiding mindset in ICC, and don't bring it into heroics. I pull my weight in heroics. My weight in heroics is FAR FAR LESS than what it would be in a raid. That raid level of stress isn't fun to me, so I don't raid. Sure, I could do it, but will I? Probably not. The leap in commitment from heroics to raids in comparison to what you actually get for it is... hey... look at that... like the leap in price from blue to epic gems...
nice how that ties itself up so neatly, isn't it? ;)
Brune Jan 24th 2010 3:30PM
4.
One to change it, another to make a post entitled "Lightbulb salesmen told to sell fluorescent lightbulbs only", a third to change the title of the post to "Lightbulb salesmen encouraged to sell fluorescent lightbulbs only" and a fourth one to cause thousands of lightbulb buyers to have their fittings destroyed by shoddy fakes when their "Inside sources" report that the naturally fluorescing unlimited supply lightbulbs that consume no power and never need changing are being given out on every street corner.
Rainee Sue Jan 24th 2010 3:32PM
I have no problem with people being undergeared. I have problems with people who are IMPROPERLY geared.
And I don't mean gemmed crit when they needed haste. I mean that hunter I had in a pug the other day who had Mourning Malice and the Black Heart equipped.
Sl0th Jan 24th 2010 3:35PM
Frostingmourne hungers...
Or is it the other way around?
Schadow Jan 24th 2010 6:06PM
In the tanking game, 3% more health is massive. Ask any tank if he would turn down 3% health.
Thousands of gold means nothing in a raid. All you have is what you bring with you. No boss has ever been downed easier because someone had a huge pile of gold in the bank.