The Queue: 2600
by Adam Holisky 
Mar 24th 2011 at 11:00AM
Welcome back to The Queue, the daily Q&A column in which the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft.
You know what that is?
That's hardcore. There are no flasks on the Atari 2600, and there's no designer there to offer you a moose when you die in the gaping maw of a ghost.
Just you, plastic, and an 8-bit image.
What I wouldn't give for those days again.
Quilip asked:
I keep falling on alligators when I'm swinging over them (and die), but every once in a while I seem to be able to jump on them. What gives?
You're jumping on the alligator's heads while they're down, right at the correct time. This is letting you live. In general though, you don't want to fall off your vine. I don't know if this holds true though for the Xbox 360 version of Pitfall, I'm only hard core and play it on the 2600.
Enderwig asked:
Please explain how level 85 raiding is more accessible.
It's probably not more accessible than it was back at the end of Wrath, but it's a lot more accessible than it was in classic WoW. Anyone with half a brain could hit ICC after gearing themselves up through mind-numbing heroics runs. But now? Now you've gotta bring a little bit of that hardcore Atari 2600 mentality to your game and push yourself to pay attention and not just rely on overpowering the content.
This is a significant change from what was years of relatively easy raiding.
But if things are too hard, just wait. The gear that will be dropping from ZA and ZG in patch 4.1 will make WoW easier overall and decrease the reliance on skill in this introductory tier of raiding. Thus, raiding will become more accessible with patch 4.1 and even more so in patch 4.2.
Sandlwalters asked:
I know in Catalcysm they got rid of a lot of the keys needed to open instances. Which keys are still need in-game?
To the best of my knowledge, only the BC heroics need keys.
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!
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 12)
Cheeselandman Mar 24th 2011 11:03AM
Dear the queue,
I've heard rumors that patch 4.1 is due to drop this tuesday, like I always do. Is there anywhere I can go to find out when the patches are actually going to drop?
fallemwarrior Mar 24th 2011 11:12AM
They are not BoA they are BoP just like wintergrasp tokens
Knob Mar 24th 2011 11:14AM
Patch 4.1 is still a long way away. The Guild Finder feature is still in its infancy and the Guild Challenges aren't even present yet. The only reason the PTR appeared as early as it did was to coincide with the Rift launch. If Rift wasn't launching, there's no way Blizzard would have released the PTR this early with most of the content missing and not available for testing.
fallemwarrior Mar 24th 2011 11:15AM
i didnt not reply to this one... how did it get here?
Btw i dont think for a while longer
The trend seems to be a few weeks after everyone thinks its comming out
Cyrus Mar 24th 2011 11:16AM
People try to deduce and infer patch dates based on things like how close the PTR looks to a completed, polished product. If on Saturday the developers announce a big change to how PvP works or give new abilities a dozen different instance bosses, it's safe to say that they're going to give it a few more days at the very least to make sure they didn't break the class balance wide open or introduce huge bugs. Conversely, if on Saturday and for the past couple days before it there have been no changes but bug fixes and minor tweaks to balance certain things, it seems pretty safe to say that the developers are getting ready to release it soon.
That being said, I'm pretty sure Blizzard doesn't announce "real" patch release dates, except MAYBE if they affect PvP arena seasons and I wouldn't know about that, so it's all guesswork. In theory someone might leak something to someone, but absent a Blizzard employee's name attached to something and confirming it himself, rumors are just rumors.
Cephas Mar 24th 2011 11:21AM
If we knew when 4.1 was going to drop, there would be a post about it on WoW Insider. The reason why you're having a hard time finding a place to tell you when the patch is actually going to drop is because Blizzard almost never says when they plan to do anything.
Arturis Mar 24th 2011 11:43AM
Actually, the patch has dropped every Tuesday since it was announced, but somebody else keeps winning the Need roll. Probably a Hunter, even though 4.1 has Spirit on it.
Keep trying, you've only got to outroll 12 million other players...
(Man, imagine how much that would suck if it were true! BoA Patch Looting. I'm going to have nightmares for even thinking up the concept...)
PaulC Mar 24th 2011 11:46AM
@fallemwarrior
I respectfully disagree.
patches are in fact BoA.
Azizrael Mar 24th 2011 1:52PM
Keep an eye on MMO-Champion. The last few patches on the PTR, he checks the version number and when it says Final, it's coming in a week or so. Other than that, who knows?
Doesn't seem like there's been much added to it in the last couple of weeks, but since there are other features being talked about they're probably working hard on those to get them ready to be broken by PTR players and completely retuned.
hicks Mar 24th 2011 1:53PM
@Arturis: There better be a Feat of Strength for winning the roll.
Draelan Mar 24th 2011 2:01PM
I have a FOOLPROOF way of determining when patches will drop.
*takes aim at calender and throws dart* Let's see... Patch 4.1 will drop on... Well, it looks like it'll drop on a very agitated looking fiery dragon. (Perhaps I should aim a bit lower next time...)
*shrug*
BigDumbFace Mar 24th 2011 10:34PM
@Fallem
"i didnt not reply to this one... how did it get here?"
Double negative. That's how.
niko Mar 24th 2011 11:04AM
i mean, just look at the hard numbers here, folks:
2600 > 360
You can't argue with that.
fallemwarrior Mar 24th 2011 11:13AM
Super Nintendo
it has super in it nuff said
MattKrotzer Mar 24th 2011 11:19AM
Gamecube.
It's like Game^3. That's a lot of game.
niko Mar 24th 2011 11:20AM
I should also add that:
2600 > 3
... you never know, someone might tell me i'm a PS3 fanboi hatin on the 360.
clearly, until someone makes a product with a number 2601 or greater, we can logically conclude that 2600 > anything else out there.
and "Super" such n such adds nothing but complexity. 2600 is all about fun, yo.
Cheeselandman Mar 24th 2011 11:22AM
BRING ME MY DUCT TAPE
....
I would like to present to the queue.... a 2600 Dreamgameboxstation.
fallemwarrior Mar 24th 2011 11:25AM
Super in binary is 01110011 01110101 01110000 01100101 01110010
O.o
GO SUPER NINTENDO
Moobs Mar 24th 2011 11:32AM
I still have one of those and everyonce in while I will pull it out and dust it off.
Brainded Mar 24th 2011 11:35AM
Niko, clearly your logic is flawed. 5200 is more than 2600, yet 2600 > 5200.
On the other hand, 7800 = 2600 + 5200, so there might have been some win there.