The Queue: Is something wrong with the Alliance?

So on Tuesday, I was talking about fire safety and how important it is. I even gave everyone a rap to listen to about it. Then as I was writing this Queue in my candlelit office, my cat decided to come sit down next to me ... and stick his tail right into the candle.
He's fine -- but the smell ... my god.
Just had to share. Fire safety is important, kids.
Sarah asked:
Do you think there has been a problem with the Alliance in Cataclysm?
I'll answer this two ways. First, in terms of story development and faction favoritism, I don't think there's a problem. A good story ebbs and flows; it has high points and low points, amazing action and serene times. The Alliance is sort of in a lull at the moment, I think, and that's a-OK. In the future, it's going to pick up.
Why?
Because Blizzard writes some damn good stories, and the guys over there know what they're doing.
The second way to answer is concerning the Alliance's actual actions in game. In this regard, I think the Alliance has lost its spark a bit. It seems to be willing to roll along happy that it's defeated Arthas and Deathwing, but it has no real purpose, no drive for the future.
But you know what? I have a feeling something is going to happen that'll kick the Alliance in the pants.
Ferani asked:
Will Blizz make Reputations account wide or will they continue to make certain rewards, like the Arcanum, account bound?
That's an interesting idea, but it's highly unlikely all reputations will become account-bound. I could see some particular reputations going account-bound -- perhaps some new MoP one that's insanely hard to grind and just huge -- but I wouldn't expect it. More so, like you said, we can expect to see more account bound items, enchants, etc. ... those have worked very well for Blizzard. They walk a fine line between having an overpowered alt because of a powered main and not having to grind silly things over and over again.
Then again, even running a dungeon once or twice a week, reputations level up pretty fast, so it's not a big deal overall.
Armenius asked (with a little modification):
What is your favorite and least favorite boss mechanic of [Cataclysm]?
My favorite is heroic Morchok. The concept of the normal mode fight is so simple -- many guilds cleared it on their first try. But if you do something as simple as double everything, it becomes difficult. I love the simple-to-learn, difficult-to-master approach to the normal/heroic versions, and I think it perfectly encapsulates what WoW is all about.
My least favorite mechanic has to be the spawns in Ragnaros. They're so reliant on burst damage to get down that as a warlock, I've shed a lot of tears over it. At the time, I'd pull 25k DPS on the boss but couldn't take down a spawn easily. Kinda nuts.
Another least favorite mechanic is the healing that the first boss in Shadowfang Keep does. People don't know how to interrupt, and it's too much for a boss to be able to heal to full when interrupting still isn't something that's ingrained to the playstyle of the game. If at level 1 eight years ago, players had learned they had to interrupt heals, things would be different -- but they're not, and that mechanic is on my list of least favorites because of it.
Nina asked:
Will we ever get more vehicle boss fights?
Unlikely. Blizzard said a while ago at one of the BlizzCons (either '10 or '11, I don't remember which) that vehicle fights didn't turn out like it wanted. I wouldn't be surprised if there's limited use of the mechanic in the future, like we see in heroic Deadmines, but I wouldn't expect mass use of it again.
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Reader Comments (Page 2 of 8)
razion Jan 26th 2012 11:35AM
I think vehicles need to be only that: vehicles. Ways of transportation and movement to either give the fight flavor, or make it more exciting. Having vehicles augment your character instead of changing it makes them interesting. The flying disks in the Eye of Eternity are a great example in my opinion on how vehicles should work.
I roll my characters because I want to play them. I like being rewarded for the knowledge of *my characters*, not a 1-4 button tank I will never use again in any other situation.
clundgren Jan 26th 2012 11:40AM
I really don't mind vehicle fights if done well, but not for random bgs.
In raids/instances they are usually okay because they are just one small piece of the overall event. The exception is Malygos, where you do the last half of the fight and kill the boss through your vehicle, and I think a lot of players found that unsatisfying. I know I did. In Wintergrasp, the battle was typically huge enough and long enough that you only needed to drive vehicles if you wanted to; if not, there were others who enjoyed it more and were happy to grind down the walls.
In random bgs vehicles are frustrating because they remove much of the skill of playing your character.
Pyromelter Jan 26th 2012 12:17PM
I disagree clundgren, I think vehicles are great in BG's. The reason I feel that way is that if you are undergeared or a newbie, you can drive a tank and be useful, as opposed to just being cannon fodder for the opposite team. An undergeared teammate in WSG can be disastrous, an undergeared teammate in Strand can sit in turret and do some dps or drive a tank and help take down walls.
Aaron Jan 26th 2012 1:21PM
clundgren said: "In random bgs vehicles are frustrating because they remove much of the skill of playing your character."
Perhaps, but they also reduce the emphasis on gear, which is a good thing if you're new to PvP or trying to gear up. PvP can be really frustrating when you're both unexperienced and undergeared; in a small-team battleground like Twin Peaks or Gilneas, a new PvP'er can easily get locked into a cycle of "run to the objective, get Sapped, die, run back to the objective, get Sapped, die..." By manning a cannon or driving a Demolisher, a new player can make a meaningful contribution to the team. I think a good portion of Wrath was intended to get people to try different facets of the game (easier Heroics, entry-level raids, a dedicated PvP zone), and vehicle combat was a part of that.
Hob Jan 26th 2012 2:22PM
Vehicle fights aren't that difficult to learn. I think part of the issue is that you can't outgear a vehicle fight. A raider in the best gear possible has no advantages over a sadly undergeared alt in quest greens.
/Argent Tournament
/Oculus
noel mcleod Jan 26th 2012 2:47PM
I like vehicle fights for the reasons noted above and because, even if you suck at PvP, they allow you to contribute. I played for three years on my main and PvP'd regularly and thought that was the ONLY way I'd ever contribute as a fire mage. (WSG, I hated you). It WAS, I suck terribly at PvP as a mage. I got ALL the vehicle achievements (can't remember them but Artillery Expert was on ...). Then I levelled a shadow priest to 85, didn't suck quite so much. Respecced to Discipline and "hey, I just topped the healing chart - BOTH FACTIONS!" the last five BGs straight.
I love the demos in Strand of the Ancients - there IS a trick to driving them and the Glaives in IoC - again, there is a trick to positioning them, although I think everyone knows it by now.
Skarn Jan 26th 2012 3:21PM
One of the reasons that the Flame Leviathan vehicles worked better than the Malygos drakes is because you had time to practice with them within the raid itself. You got to use the vehicles and most of their abilities prior to the actual boss fight. There was time to sit and show people exactly how each one worked while not in a "do it right or we wipe" situation. There was a "training daily" for the Malygos drakes, but it wasn't very effective.
Schadenfreude Jan 26th 2012 4:33PM
I wouldn't mind seeing vehicle fights in the future, but what they need to do is NOT give the vehicle its own abilities. You continue using your own class abilities and buttons, and then this translates into the vehicle doing damage.
So instead of having to pick a drake and learn its particular rotation or whatever, at the appropriate phase of the fight, you get put on a drake (of a different color depending on your role-- say, red if you're a tank, yellow if you're physical dps, green if you're healing, blue if you're magic dps) and your moves turn into various breaths and swipes and whatever that the drake does. This way you can fly around and the drake will do big numbers to enemies and the healers won't let anyone die trying to do two things at once. It will feel epic, but no one will have to suddenly learn a new class.
SamLowry Jan 26th 2012 8:08PM
Didn't help at all that you were frequently stuck with the vehicle interface even after your vehicle was gone and quickest, easiest way to fix it was to zone out of the dungeon then back in.
Scuac Jan 26th 2012 11:13AM
I just finished leveling my priest, and I am puzzled by Blizzard's decision on the shoulder and head enchants. So the head enchants are BoA (I got my priest his via my main from Hyjal), but the shoulder enchants are not. Isn't that backwards?
I mean all shoulder enchants are on one faction, Therazane, while the head ones are spread among the remaining factions. You would think that if I have a main, I would make sure to get Therazane plus the faction with my head enchant (at least). Then my alt comes along, it makes sense for him to grind the additional faction that my main does not have but has his head enchant. But right now, if my main and alt don't share the same head enchant, the alt has to grind TWO factions, the one for the head PLUS Therazane. I think it would make more sense to have the shoulder enchants BoA instead of the head ones.
(Actually it would make even more sense for both to be BoA)
ravyncat Jan 26th 2012 11:56AM
I bet has to do with story reasons. Therazane hates everyone equally until they start helping her and her people out.
None of the other factions who hold enchants hate you.
That said, it is annoying to have to do their dailies on every alt unless they are a scribe.
Eyhk Jan 26th 2012 1:16PM
I just did all the rep grinds on my main for all the head enchants, and then when leveling, made sure to do Hyjal and Deepholm on all my alts just for the shoulder enchants and quick access to Fireland dailies when I hit 85.
freebeatfly Jan 26th 2012 1:32PM
The thing is, the Therazane grind is so tedious (110 quests in DeepHELL, plus the dailies), that most people just aren't bothered once they got their main through it. I know I'm not gonna be doing that again (and I've done Loremaster).
While I agree that not everything should be easy, there's a line between "Hard, but worth it" and "Please shoot me".
Chetti Jan 26th 2012 2:55PM
That DOES make more sense, from a logics standpoint. Make the hardest, grindy-est, most out of the damn way, enchant the one that is BOA. Leaving the head enchant rep be the thing that each alt has to do based on what they need. That would have been awesome.
For me, to save time (and in general having to look at deephome at ALL EVER AGAIN) I bought an extra enchant to toss in my bank.
It was a happy accident that, for me, the retired healer main that had gotten the hyjal rep/arcanum was replaced by a caster main that could also use it. I'm sure that isn't the case for everyone.
Lipstick Jan 26th 2012 2:56PM
It's sub-optimal, but if it's an alt you only play occasionally but still want an enchant on that slot, the sons of hodir shoulder enchants are still BOA can be sent to an alt. I've done this on a few alts I was too lazy to regrind the rep on.
mitch_b_666 Jan 26th 2012 11:14AM
Barron Ashbury and the Sons of Flame are your least favourite Dragon Soul mechanics, eh?
Cool choices, never would've chosen them!
byronius_prime Jan 26th 2012 11:21AM
He didn't quite say "his least favorite DRAGON SOUL mechanics" he said ->Cataclysm
Kunikenwad! Jan 26th 2012 11:22AM
I hated Patchwerk in the courtyard of Ulduar and C'thun in Blackwing Lair too.
loop_not_defined Jan 26th 2012 11:26AM
It originally said Dragon Soul, and has since been edited for clarification.
Nothing to see here folks, move along.
Faith Trust Jan 26th 2012 11:43AM
The unmodified question said Dragon Soul, that's what he is talking about