The Daily Blues
by Adam Holisky 
Mar 9th 2010 at 11:50PM
Want fat purps from Ghost? Read on... if you dare.
Table of Contents
Ghostcrawler
Ghostcrawler -- Mastery point thresholdIt's possible you will only get the benefit of the tree in which you've spent the most points, or will only get the benefit from say 50 points maximum with the bonus chosen from the tree with the most points in it. We'll have to see when the talent trees are more finalized and we start to figure out build strategies.
Overall, the goal is to spend points as you want, and not feel penalized for spending into another tree or feel like you have to game things by spending more points than you want in your tree. Remember these passive bonuses are designed to give you flexibility, not lock you into anything.
Overall, the goal is to spend points as you want, and not feel penalized for spending into another tree or feel like you have to game things by spending more points than you want in your tree. Remember these passive bonuses are designed to give you flexibility, not lock you into anything.
Ghostcrawler -- Mastery hybrid-tree supportImagine you spend 55 points in Retribution, so you get the maximum passive talent tree bonuses from that tree. Your remaining points you can spend where you want, in Retribution, Protection or Holy. It does discourage some kind of true hybrid build where you go partway down multiple trees, but we aren't really trying to support those, and they aren't very popular today.
The flexibility comes (hopefully) in having more discretionary points that you can spend on talents you like, rather than sacrificing raw damage, healing or tanking to do so.
The flexibility comes (hopefully) in having more discretionary points that you can spend on talents you like, rather than sacrificing raw damage, healing or tanking to do so.
Ghostcrawler -- Mastery PhilosophyIt's designed partially with new players in mind. It will be much harder to have a truly terrible talent spec because you won't be able to help but be reasonably good at your chosen role.
The mastery stat itself won't show up until high level, and even when it does, you should have more confidence that it's a stat you want instead of say trying to figure out the percent of your damage that is physical damage to calculate if armor pen is good for you or not.
I admit that adding passive bonuses at all to talent trees complicates the talent feature slightly. We hope to make up for that by there being less paranoia about picking "the wrong" spec. The wrong spec might only be a slight loss instead of a tragic loss. As a point of comparison, dual-spec complicates talents a little, but overall we think it was good for the game.
The mastery stat itself won't show up until high level, and even when it does, you should have more confidence that it's a stat you want instead of say trying to figure out the percent of your damage that is physical damage to calculate if armor pen is good for you or not.
I admit that adding passive bonuses at all to talent trees complicates the talent feature slightly. We hope to make up for that by there being less paranoia about picking "the wrong" spec. The wrong spec might only be a slight loss instead of a tragic loss. As a point of comparison, dual-spec complicates talents a little, but overall we think it was good for the game.
Other
Zarhym -- Community Interviews: EnigmaWe've updated World of Warcraft's five-year anniversary site to include a frank interview with Fraya, the leader of the Enigma guild on the Deathwing realm. In the interview, we speak with Fraya about his most memorable moments over five years of playing, Enigma's experience in high-end raiding, and where the guild expects to find itself in Cataclysm and beyond. Check out the anniversary page for our full discussion.
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While there, be sure to read our interviews with members from the guild Shadowclan, and with forum MVP Palehoof if you have not already!
http://w
While there, be sure to read our interviews with members from the guild Shadowclan, and with forum MVP Palehoof if you have not already!
Zarhym -- GM CharactersCharacters used by game masters to assist players are used for nothing else. Game masters cannot even log into these characters outside of work. They serve no other purpose than to help you, and everything they do is logged for quality assurance. You're speaking about players hacking the game. They should be reported to our in-game support department for review, though exploitative behavior in the manner to which you refer can often be detected through other means.
Zarhym -- GM IntegrityEmployees cannot use other players' accounts for personal use, nor can employees use in-game commands or powers to benefit their own characters on live realms.
The popularity of this game simply wouldn't be possible if such shady practices were condoned or overlooked. Employees using any in-game powers for work are instructed from day one that the most severe actions will take place if they're found to be abusing their powers. There is a quality assurance department that tracks all of the actions people with such powers take in-game to ensure there is no wrongdoing.
I remember the first day I started working here almost exactly five years ago. I was told that no one in the company, from janitorial staff to Mike Morhaime, is allowed to have any sort of direct in-game benefits on live realms, such as free gold, gear, etc. Not only did the message stick, it's one of the reasons I still absolutely love working for Blizzard. There are great standards and practices here exercised from the top down, and that hasn't changed since I first started. :)
The popularity of this game simply wouldn't be possible if such shady practices were condoned or overlooked. Employees using any in-game powers for work are instructed from day one that the most severe actions will take place if they're found to be abusing their powers. There is a quality assurance department that tracks all of the actions people with such powers take in-game to ensure there is no wrongdoing.
I remember the first day I started working here almost exactly five years ago. I was told that no one in the company, from janitorial staff to Mike Morhaime, is allowed to have any sort of direct in-game benefits on live realms, such as free gold, gear, etc. Not only did the message stick, it's one of the reasons I still absolutely love working for Blizzard. There are great standards and practices here exercised from the top down, and that hasn't changed since I first started. :)
Zarhym -- Dungeon Finder EgoNo, with the average smattering of players that will be formed into a 5-player group via the Dungeon Finder, I've never felt bogged down or had trouble in the average dungeon because one or two DPS are around 1,500. Based on their gear and how they act, I typically try to be more outgoing, playful and nice to them than in typical dungeon runs.
I really wish trends didn't lead toward elitism and high expectations just because some players have stretched their legs further in this game than others. Paying it forward fosters a good gaming community, regardless of whether or not the community resides on a single realm, a battlegroup, or an entire region.
I really hope you have a few friends who wouldn't mind setting up some 5-player groups to run with these fresh level 80 friends to ease them into the experience. While the Dungeon Finder provides a major convenience to players, as with all things which provide choice and reward, you'll find people abusing others purely for the biggest piece of the ego pie. It sure looks tasty, but it's bitter going down.
I really wish trends didn't lead toward elitism and high expectations just because some players have stretched their legs further in this game than others. Paying it forward fosters a good gaming community, regardless of whether or not the community resides on a single realm, a battlegroup, or an entire region.
I really hope you have a few friends who wouldn't mind setting up some 5-player groups to run with these fresh level 80 friends to ease them into the experience. While the Dungeon Finder provides a major convenience to players, as with all things which provide choice and reward, you'll find people abusing others purely for the biggest piece of the ego pie. It sure looks tasty, but it's bitter going down.
Crygil -- Female dwarves? Yes, sir!Female dwarves ARE beautiful, those who say otherwise are simply jealous of the their inherent dwarven beauty.
Blizzard News
- World of Warcraft: Stormrage eAudio Book excerpt available
- Dustin Browder Interview March 9th 2010
- Modern Warfare 2 enlists 25 million unique players, Bowling says
- Law of the Game analyzes ex-IW bosses' suit against Activision
Filed under: The Daily Blues
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Pangtong Mar 10th 2010 12:03AM
Daily Blues FTW. This column is second only to Arcane Brilliance in terms of what I visit this site for.
ladeezluvlarry71 Mar 10th 2010 4:38AM
I'M GOING TO MAKE LOTS OF JOKES AND NOT SAY ANYTHING IMPORTANT WARLOCKS ARE ICKY
ScorchHellfire Mar 10th 2010 4:38AM
Filthy mage scum... XP
Clydtsdk-Rivendare Mar 10th 2010 6:31AM
Warlock smear campaign--
DarkFinch Mar 10th 2010 8:11AM
Q. Why did the Warlock cross the road?
A. The mage kited him.
ZING!
archbaotho Mar 10th 2010 7:37PM
Q: What happened to the mage after he crossed the road?
A: He died to a 7k corruption crit followed by an insta-shadowbolt 15k crit
Double Zing.
All hail the warlock nation.
vinniedcleaner Mar 10th 2010 12:45AM
I really wish trends didn't lead toward elitism and high expectations just because some players have stretched their legs further in this game than others. Paying it forward fosters a good gaming community, regardless of whether or not the community resides on a single realm, a battlegroup, or an entire region. ~ Zarhym
Couldn't have said it better myself.
Jay Mar 10th 2010 1:11AM
Well said Zarhym -- Dungeon Finder Ego
I was relaxing on a level 22 Warlock the other day, doing Stockade because it is easy and lets me learn that class.
Boss is downed, and Warrior DPS trumpets his recount, obviously he is 1st by about 2 dps, laughs "Pwned Nubs" then immediately drops group. Sigh. Some people really are {bleeps}
We go on to 4-Man the rest of the dungeon for the great XP and experience too.
I think that's why i am enjoying dungeon running most as a healer class (almost on heroics on that one!). You have a job, if people are not overly stupid or squishy you can keep them up and no-one rubs recount in your nose after every pack of trash.
Sigh, come ICC though I am sure I will have smart-alek healers sniping about my overheals or how slow my lifebloom is ticking, or how I was .5 of a millisecond late on a decurse or some other trivial junk like that. And then, despite the raid not wiping!
Bah, Does anyone have a guild for misanthropes I can join?
Gothia Mar 10th 2010 2:24AM
I only do Lfd for my frost badges, but when a dps posts recount I will not heal him for the rest of the instance and tell him of my plans. I figure that most people that post these numbers are doing so to boast their numbers and make people feel bad.
For some reason they don't post meters during the rest of the instance and I will usually compliment them for surviving - if they do. This is an easy way to handle the epeen boys that think they have to make new players feel inferior.
Ant Mar 10th 2010 2:51AM
Kids gotta stroke their epeen somehow, I suppose lol. No worries about people leaving early or what ever, just ignore them if they bother you and never group with them again. Woooo cross realm ignore.
As for the I don't heal people who brag about their numbers guy. Lol what a bad healer you are, don't need to see the numbers to prove that. If people want to trumpet their recount numbers around and it bothers you ignore them, don't gimp the rest of the group by letting a dps die.
psychodude Mar 10th 2010 3:34AM
Although I don't see much need to posting recounts in a noob instance like the stockades I always posted recounts after a boss fight in the past, regardless of my own DPS position seeing as to how most of my runs I functioned as tank... and in case I was number 1 DPS.... well the team truly blew :p.
I do think recounts hold valuable info though, definitely if you see well geared players who end up hitting figures below expected. Amongst your guildies that usually is a good moment to suggest some tips, help someone improve. Or to tell them to stop idl'ing during their runs and focus, lol.
Of course when someone comes with something as retarded as pwned nubs there's little intention to help others, but that's more the nature of the person rather than just posting recounts per se ;).
Pryn Mar 10th 2010 5:10AM
Recount can be an immensely valuabe tool not just for raids but in LFD too, providing its used nicely. It is a way to diagnose an obvious problem and try to find a solution. Its not supposed to be a stick to beat people with.
Situations I've found it helpful are the problematic groups.... is the hunter only autoshooting? Did the rogue forget to apply poisons? Is the warlock just running around collecting UP quest items and leaving only his pet to attack? Is that dreadfully low dps warrior who keeps pulling agro off me using a taunt ability? Is the priest only casting greater heals and nothing else? Has the druid gone asleep and stopped healing me on the trash pulls?
All of these are genuine scenarios I've encountered lately when levelling a tank in LFD, and recount gave me the information to handle it tactfully and request a change in inappropiate behaviour without leaving me doubting my own performance and dropping group.
Perhaps my favourite recently was the dramatic emo healer who launched into a very abusive verbal assault insistant that the dead warlock on a trash pull was a psycho who lifetapped to 20% before charging in to mobs who heavily AoE and killing himself. It was nice to link the details of the death from recount and show that the warlock hadnt recieved a singe heal and even from the limited details on the death report he was over 70% health steadily ticking downwards. Cant argue with facts.
Its also a good gauge to use when someone starts asking if we can do some more of the more complex achievements. If the numbers dont add up, I will explain why I'm politely declining the option to wipe pointlessly with a bunch of strangers.
Recount needs to be used to diagnose a problem, not to pick on people or show off how much you overgear the content. Unless there is an issue, there's never a need to link it.
drudesa Mar 10th 2010 5:29AM
As a healer, I still keep recount up, but if someone asks for the numbers, I simply post the Damage recieved numbers, they tend to go a little quieter at that point
nread Mar 10th 2010 5:56AM
I have noticed that cross-server numbers are not consistent on the damage meters anyway. As a dps, I only post Skada numbers if someone asks, and even then with a disclaimer. There are a 100 variables that make my personal chart lean in my favor. Have everyone in a run post their meters some time; I can assure you there will be appreciable differences.
Meters should only be used to figure out ways you, personally, can improve your particular role in the game. Anyone who uses it for anything different (like that annoying guildie who I used to have that would post his non-guild raid run into guild chat every time just to e-bate himself) is severely lacking interpersonal communication skills.
Sleutel Mar 10th 2010 8:40AM
@Pryn:
You are awesome. Everyone should go read that post of yours if they haven't yet.
Neirin Mar 10th 2010 4:19PM
I luck out a bit on recount spam since my 2 primary characters are better geared than your average pug player. People tend to not spam their meters when they aren't on top.
There was one notable exception recently when I was grouped with a fellow boomkin who had just hit 80. After seeing my dps they asked for tips and saw their dps go up by almost 1k on the next fight. Everyone in the group congratulated them on such a big improvement and we all shared a warm and fuzzy feeling over the recount spam.
Jay Mar 10th 2010 1:47AM
OMG I have just had my eyes seared, I clicked the source button on Zar's post and read a few pages.
Came across: "If you are not good at this game then you fail at more than just this game." said by one hardcord elitist.
Yep, I definately need to join a guild of misanthropes. I also need to learn to never again visit the WoW forums.
Ozzard Mar 10th 2010 8:26AM
Feel free to join our social guild :-). We're united by a common dislike of recount-toting elitists with all the social skills of a... erm... of a... well, recount-toting elitist. I was going to say "all the social skills of a skunk with bad toothache", then realised how unfair I was being to the skunk.
Ametrine Mar 10th 2010 2:37AM
And this is why Crygil is my favorite blue - the guy's got damn good taste in women.
aleandaxes Mar 10th 2010 5:22AM
I second this