WoW Insider http://wow.joystiq.com WoW Insider http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/wow.joystiq.com/media/feedlogobig.gif WoW Insider http://wow.joystiq.com en-us Copyright 2015 AOL, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. View our terms of service here: http://legal.aol.com/terms-of-service/full-terms/ Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/ <![CDATA[Ask WoW Insider: Stay at home mom wants to give back to the community]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2008/07/21/ask-wow-insider-stay-at-home-mom-wants-to-give-back-to-the-comm/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2008/07/21/ask-wow-insider-stay-at-home-mom-wants-to-give-back-to-the-comm/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2008/07/21/ask-wow-insider-stay-at-home-mom-wants-to-give-back-to-the-comm/#comments

Welcome to today's edition of Ask WoW Insider, in which we publish your questions for dissection by the peanut gallery -- now with extra snark and commentary by one of our writers. This week "stay at home mom" writes in:

[Edit: The original image was of Clara from the Guild. Upon further review, I felt it did not go with the title of the article and what I wanted to be a discussion of community, as well as bringing the post to a low level. I offer my apologies. -mtc]

[Edit 2: For some reason the photo credit isn't coming through. It was taken by carf.]

As a stay at home mom, I have 16+ hours a day that need filled. Before the "omg, spend more time with your kids" posts, I have two things in my life that I truly have a passion for, my family and WoW. My family ALWAYS comes first. But let's face it, after a few diapers are changed, books are read, and naps are taken, I have a LOT of time on my hands.

I fill that time playing WoW, reading about WoW, thinking about wow, etc but I want to do more! My dream job (don't laugh) would be as an in-game GM but my husband's job doesn't let me be in an area where that is possible. I spend way too many hours a day trolling various forums; Customer Service, Guild Relations, server forums, etc. I participate in nearly all PTRs that are released. I subscribe to practically every wow related blog on the planet. But it comes down to this: How can I really help? Find a bug, it's already been reported. See a question, it's already been answered.

Didn't go to Paris -- no beta key for you! (kidding, kidding, but that's the rumor, no?) I have a huge desire to help and want to do something that will make a difference with this game and the people who play it. I feel like the places I'm used to hanging around already have all the help they need and don't need another troll spouting off the typical "wrong forum, customer support is that way ->>" kind of stuff. So, any advice on how I can take my WoW knowledge and experience and give back to the community that would actually be effective and useful?

I'm not looking for some special title or recognition, I truly want to help here and I actually prefer something with a little anonymity. Did I mention 16+ hours a day? There's only so much farming and raiding a girl can do before she goes crazy.

Stay-at-home-wow-player

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Ask WoW Insider: Stay at home mom wants to give back to the community originally appeared on WoW Insider on Mon, 21 Jul 2008 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> communitystay-at-home-momtoo-much-time-on-their-hands (Mark Crump) Mon, 21 Jul 2008 09:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[New Player's Guide: Class Psychology]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2008/07/16/new-players-guide-class-psychology/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2008/07/16/new-players-guide-class-psychology/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2008/07/16/new-players-guide-class-psychology/#comments

This week, we get to tackle a fun topic: personality disorders. I mean, how your personality type can help determine what class you might feel comfortable playing. Now, it's prudent I mention that I am not a degreed mental health professional -- heck, I'm not even a degreed writer. I tried to play a doctor on TV but was told I had a face made for writing, preferably in seclusion in a fortified compound. So, while these may do a good job at matching your personality type to a class, I'm not making any judgment on whether I think you're nuttier than a bar mix. There's also a certain amount of tongues and cheeks involved here, as well. In fact, if you pretend the guy that does the voice-overs for the "Real Men of Genius" ads is reading these you'll get an idea of how tongue in cheek they are. Aside: Holy Cow, the original Survivor vocalist does the background singing on those? I did not know that.

  • The Tank: Your job is hold the monster's attention. Your going to have decent defense, but your main job is just generating threat. You may not contribute a ton of damage towards the kill, but keeping the monster's attention focused on you will make it a smooth ride.
  • The Healer: Primarily, your job will be keeping the tank alive. Sure, you'll also be healing the rest of the party, but the tank will be your focus.
  • Damage Per Second (DPS): With the tank contributing slow but steady damage, and the healer, well, healing, it's your job to actually bring the monster down.

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New Player's Guide: Class Psychology originally appeared on WoW Insider on Wed, 16 Jul 2008 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> (Mark Crump) Wed, 16 Jul 2008 14:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[Ask WoW Insider: What does an ex-GL do?]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2008/07/07/ask-wow-insider-what-does-an-ex-gl-do/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2008/07/07/ask-wow-insider-what-does-an-ex-gl-do/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2008/07/07/ask-wow-insider-what-does-an-ex-gl-do/#comments

Welcome to today's edition of Ask WoW Insider, in which we publish your questions for dissection by the peanut gallery -- now with extra snark and commentary by one of our writers. This week Nickiter writes in:

Hi WoW Insider -

Until tonight, I was the GL of a raiding guild - a new guild, to be sure, and not terribly accomplished. But, after a night of listlessly wiping on The Lurker Below, I gave up.

Maybe I don't have guild leadership in me, maybe I do, but that's immaterial.

What I'm asking of WI and your sometimes kind, sometimes harsh, but always vocal readership, is what do I do now?

I'm a Protection Warrior in T5-level gear, aka the least in-demand class in the game for guild recruitment. I also have a Hunter... which I'm not even going to bring up.

I love raiding... PvP is a diversion, at best... What have those of you who've been in this situation done?

Reroll a Resto Shammy and find a guild to Brain Heal for? Quit 'til Wrath? Something else entirely?

Thanks in advance for your input.

- Nickiter, Smolderthorn (H)

I'm pretty much going to throw this out to the audience -- you're having problems I couldn't even dream of having, but I'm sure you're not alone in. Plus, I thought it was a good question even if I couldn't throw some snark in.

So, bring it, boys (and girls).

Got questions? Don't wait! Send them to us at ask AT wowinsider DOT com and your query could be up in lights here next week.


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Ask WoW Insider: What does an ex-GL do? originally appeared on WoW Insider on Mon, 07 Jul 2008 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> guild-leaderguild-leader-quitsguildsnew-guildsraiding (Mark Crump) Mon, 07 Jul 2008 09:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[Ask WoW Insider: Ding before Outland?]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2008/06/30/ask-wow-insider-ding-before-outland/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2008/06/30/ask-wow-insider-ding-before-outland/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2008/06/30/ask-wow-insider-ding-before-outland/#comments

Welcome to today's edition of Ask WoW Insider, in which we publish your questions for dissection by the peanut gallery -- now with extra snark and commentary by one of our writers. This week Houldlum writes in:

I'm wondering if it's possible to hit level 70 before ever heading out to Outland. I've been working through every zone trying to hit every quest, even if it's grey (they do give a bit of XP). So far I've only skipped the dungeon quests and any group quest I can't solo. My goal is to hit 70 before Outland so I can maximize the gold return from those quests... and to see if I can do it.

I have managed to get to 63 on my Alliance Rogue before I hit Outland, but I skipped several Zones.

What are your thoughts?

Thanks,
Houldlum (Falsehould, Fatherhould)

It was a light week on questions, so I'm going to dig down and use this one. Short answer: I'm pretty sure you can't. Long answser: Why the heck would you want to? Even if you got xp from anything in the Azeroth, even Cartman would think that grind was nuts.

So, anything out there -- at all -- that will give him or her xp until 70.

Got questions? Don't wait! Send them to us at ask AT wowinsider DOT com and your query could be up in lights here next week.

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Ask WoW Insider: Ding before Outland? originally appeared on WoW Insider on Mon, 30 Jun 2008 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> azerothgrindinglevelingpre-70 (Mark Crump) Mon, 30 Jun 2008 14:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[Ask WoW Insider: When to gem and enchant?]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2008/06/23/ask-wow-insider-when-to-gem-and-enchant/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2008/06/23/ask-wow-insider-when-to-gem-and-enchant/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2008/06/23/ask-wow-insider-when-to-gem-and-enchant/#comments
Welcome to today's edition of Ask WoW Insider, in which we publish your questions for dissection by the peanut gallery -- now with extra snark and commentary by one of our writers. This week Greta writes in:

Hi! After nearly two years of fiddling around with far too many alts, I finally got a rogue to 70. I'm working on gearing to be able to do heroics and maybe some of Kara with friends before Wrath comes out. My question is this: at what point is it worth it to drop money on nice gems and enchants? I'm mostly still in quest rewards and I'm still saving for my epic flyer, so I'm somewhat loath to drop the gold just yet. At the same time, I want to be a solid addition to my group and I know that maximizing gear is part of that. Any advice on when this is a practical expense?

Thanks,
Greta

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Ask WoW Insider: When to gem and enchant? originally appeared on WoW Insider on Mon, 23 Jun 2008 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> enchantsgemskarazhanrogue (Mark Crump) Mon, 23 Jun 2008 09:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[Ask WoW Insider: /roll abuse?]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2008/06/16/ask-wow-insider-roll-abuse/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2008/06/16/ask-wow-insider-roll-abuse/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2008/06/16/ask-wow-insider-roll-abuse/#comments
Welcome to today's edition of Ask WoW Insider, in which we publish your questions for dissection by the peanut gallery -- now with extra snark and commentary by one of our writers. This week Urdunai writes in:

Hey WoW Insider,
This week I have a question about rolling, as in /roll, and the proper use of it. I was recently on a run of Zul'Farrak with my Shaman, a guildmate Fury Warrior, a Healadin, and a Tankadin. The 2 *adins were dating or some such, I'm not sure but it's important to the story. The run had been going really well, and everyone was being very polite on loot drops. Whenever a Blue item would drop everyone would pass and we would discuss it. This is generally not a practice I approve of (The Need and Greed buttons are there for a reason, blizzard was nice enough to provide them) but that was the group's consensus so I kept my mouth shut and did it.

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Ask WoW Insider: /roll abuse? originally appeared on WoW Insider on Mon, 16 Jun 2008 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> ask-wow-insiderdicegrouping.lootrolls (Mark Crump) Mon, 16 Jun 2008 09:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[Ask WoW Insider: Seeking motivation to level]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2008/06/08/ask-wow-insider-seeking-motivation-to-level/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2008/06/08/ask-wow-insider-seeking-motivation-to-level/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2008/06/08/ask-wow-insider-seeking-motivation-to-level/#comments Welcome to today's edition of Ask WoW Insider, in which we publish your questions for dissection by the peanut gallery -- now with extra snark and commentary by one of our writers. This week JJ writes in:

I was wondering if you could give any advice to those who struggle with leveling. I guess you could call me a very casual wow player as I hardly have any time for it.

Recently my friend let me look at his level 70 and once I saw those in action, I have a hard time committing to leveling. When I play WoW I generally hang out around cities chilling with the other players. I just can't seem to get myself to level. I get bored very easily and I don't have a very high-level character. My highest is a level 29 hunter on a PvE but i recently rolled a warlock (level 12 -.-).

Please explain how you go about leveling. Is there a state of mind that you use to continue?

Thanks in advance

JJ

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Ask WoW Insider: Seeking motivation to level originally appeared on WoW Insider on Sun, 08 Jun 2008 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> adviceask-wow-insiderlevelingmotivation (Mark Crump) Sun, 08 Jun 2008 09:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[New Players Guide: Your first login]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2008/06/03/new-players-guide-your-first-login/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2008/06/03/new-players-guide-your-first-login/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2008/06/03/new-players-guide-your-first-login/#comments

Ok, you're done clicking sliders and choosing your race and class as part of the character creation process. You've watched the opening cinematic - you watched the cinematic, right? Did you stay through the credits to see the bonus scene? No? Good thing there wasn't one. Now you're sitting in starting area for your race, staring at the user interface (UI) for the first time and could be going, "Oh, man. What do all these buttons do?"

As far as UIs, World of Warcraft's isn't that bad actually. If you want to see a game with a horrid interface, take a gander at Second Life; that UI will scar your brain.

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New Players Guide: Your first login originally appeared on WoW Insider on Tue, 03 Jun 2008 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> guidesnew-playersuiuser-interface (Mark Crump) Tue, 03 Jun 2008 15:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[Ask WoW Insider: Any point to starting to raid before Wrath?]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2008/06/03/ask-wow-insider-any-point-to-starting-to-raid-before-woltk/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2008/06/03/ask-wow-insider-any-point-to-starting-to-raid-before-woltk/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2008/06/03/ask-wow-insider-any-point-to-starting-to-raid-before-woltk/#comments
Welcome to today's edition of Ask WoW Insider, in which we publish your questions for dissection by the peanut gallery -- now with extra snark and commentary by one of our writers. This week Kedou writes in:

Hi,

I'm wondering what people think about starting to raid (as in, starting Kara) now, with WotLK on the horizon. Is there any point?

Thanks.

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Ask WoW Insider: Any point to starting to raid before Wrath? originally appeared on WoW Insider on Tue, 03 Jun 2008 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> adviceask-wowinsiderraidingwotlkwrath (Mark Crump) Tue, 03 Jun 2008 11:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[New Players' Guide: Your life as a Hunter.]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2008/05/30/new-players-guide-your-life-as-a-hunter/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2008/05/30/new-players-guide-your-life-as-a-hunter/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2008/05/30/new-players-guide-your-life-as-a-hunter/#comments

The WoW Insider New Player's Guide is a series of features designed to help those brand new to World of WarCraft get up to speed as fast as possible. It's our way of giving back to the community, without the paparazzi mob that usually follows celebrities when they try this.

As a Hunter, your primary role will be to provide ranged damage-per-second and crowd control with your traps. Actually, I lied, your primary role will be spent convincing everyone you group with you're not one of those brainless morons that seem to end up playing Hunters.

You see, Hunters, hands down, are the easiest class to level in the game. At level 10 you get your first pet. This pet will tank for you while you stand back and hail arrows at your target. This means that your overall deaths and repair bills will be lower than other classes, while at the same time your kills will be faster since your pet adds to your damage output.

Combat with your Hunter is fairly straightforward: send in your pet, wait a few seconds for it to build sufficient aggro and then start plinking away. It's worth installing an add-on like Omen so you can tell when you're in danger of out-aggroing your pet. You will need to do some damage yourself to get xp or be able to loot the corpse, so even if you're just out farming easy mobs, make sure you hit it once or twice with your bow.

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New Players' Guide: Your life as a Hunter. originally appeared on WoW Insider on Fri, 30 May 2008 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> class-guideguidehunterjoystiqfeaturesnewbienewbie-guidetweet-this (Mark Crump) Fri, 30 May 2008 11:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[Ask WoW Insider: Casual Raiding -- does it exist?]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2008/05/26/ask-wow-insider-casual-raiding-does-it-exist/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2008/05/26/ask-wow-insider-casual-raiding-does-it-exist/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2008/05/26/ask-wow-insider-casual-raiding-does-it-exist/#comments

Welcome to today's edition of Ask WoW Insider, in which we publish your questions for dissection by the peanut gallery -- now with extra snark and commentary by one of our writers. This week Anonymous writes in:

A long, long time ago I dinged level 70. At that time I was in a guild that only had a select group of level 70 players and we tried to make the best of what we had. I had tons of fun discovering all the level 70 dungeons, and finally also the heroics, as a tank (which I rolled due to the tank-shortage). After a while our guild started to attract more level 70 players and we started raiding Kara. Something we never expected to happen since we were nothing like a raiding guild. After clearing Kara we soon moved up to ZA which we cleared with the regular 10 people we pretty much always ran raids with. After this many people started aching for 25mans, and we merged with another guild. We downed Gruul on our first try, piece of cake. Then things started to go bad. We were raiding casually, 2 to 3 nights a week of Kara and ZA. Most people in our guild were casuals (only available about 1 to 2 nights a week to raid) who were really psyched we got a chance to raid. Of course we had a base of "hard-core" raiders. They wanted more and things started to bubble up. Then came the worst news ever, our guild would disband. Our guild leader couldn't do his tasks any more due to a busy schedule out of WoW and he didn't have fun in playing anymore.

Our guild disbanded and many players moved on. I as one of the casuals got left behind. We are all very over geared for the content we were raiding due to farming ZA and Kara for so long we could easily afford the new 2.4 badge loot and of course we'd have a lot of drops from ZA. Most people were easily accepted into MH/BT raiding guilds. However these end-game (even the SSC/TK raiding guilds on my realm) have requirements if you wish to raid, you need to attend at least 3 times a week. I, and a lot of other casuals, simply can't do this due to engagements besides WoW. I've gone on a quest to find a casual raiding guild. I had no luck.

First I applied to a guild that seemed okay with my requirements, however they didn't need more tanks and denied me. After a while a spot for a tank came up, but they just aren't progressing, at all, so I declined. I couldn't bear the thought of raiding Kara or ZA one more time, I wanted 25man content. So I joined another guild, which turned out to be total chaos. Sure, I could raid there, but when they raided it took all night to down one boss, I left. Now I've joined another guild, which draws a line between "Casual" and "Raider" like many other guilds tend to do. As a casual (even though I'm geared as a raider) I won't get invited into any 25man raids apart from the "lower" content such as Gruul, which I've already seen one too many times. This guild is currently clearing MH/BT and were actually looking for an extra raiding tank, however I couldn't get invited into the raids being a casual (not even two nights a week) so they keep looking.

Now I ask you, WoW Insider, where do I find a freaking guild that makes me raid 25man content with the not so many nights a week I have? This is getting urgent, since I'm now finishing my Netherwing rep grind and have nothing else to do besides raiding in this game and it's starting to turn me away from a game I love playing.

Yours sincerely,

Anonymous.

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Ask WoW Insider: Casual Raiding -- does it exist? originally appeared on WoW Insider on Mon, 26 May 2008 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> ask-wow-insidercasualcasual-raidingguildsraidingraiding-guilds (Mark Crump) Mon, 26 May 2008 09:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[Ask WoW Insider: Making friends on a new server]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2008/05/19/ask-wow-insider-making-friends-on-a-new-server/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2008/05/19/ask-wow-insider-making-friends-on-a-new-server/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2008/05/19/ask-wow-insider-making-friends-on-a-new-server/#comments
Welcome to today's edition of Ask WoW Insider, in which we publish your questions for dissection by the peanut gallery -- now with extra snark and commentary by one of our writers. This week Matt writes in:

Good afternoon to all the staff at Wow Insider. My name is Matt, early 20's, and am having a problem making new friends on a new server.

I recently Paid Character Transfer'd to Xavius EU from Balnazzar EU, and as they were looking for a hunter for Black Temple I was recruited to a guild without an application. Although this goes against popular opinion from a few of the people on my old server, I believe that creating an application provides a formal introduction of both yourself as a character and a person. I went from raid leading and being an important member of a T5 clearing guild to a new recruit and trial member in a T6 almost-cleared guild. The step down has been difficult for me to take, and the feeling of not being able to make decisions has shell-shocked me a little bit.

My issue is, how does one go about creating new friendships and relationships on a completely new server and with a guild that contains no-one you know? Balnazzar had a thriving IRC channel, shared in-game chat channel between members of varying guilds, and a fantastic Wow Europe realm forum - Xavius doesn't seem to have any of these: the IRC channel is unfriendly and quiet, no shared channel and the realm forum is full of useless troll posts. The guild seem to forget that I've pretty much got no-one to speak to on the new server, and I've spent more time on my other two 70's on Balnazzar than my hunter. Raids are fantastic, and I know that if I was accepted into the more social aspect of the guild I'd enjoy it a lot more than I currently am, but if the situation doesn't change I will probably look elsewhere, which is a shame because the new guild is a really solid, well structured and mostly friendly place to be.

Azuredream
70 Draenei Hunter
<Destiny Awaits>
Xavius

Slothie
70 Draenei Paladin
Mithranda
70 Gnome Mage
<International Chaos>
Balnazzar

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Ask WoW Insider: Making friends on a new server originally appeared on WoW Insider on Mon, 19 May 2008 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> ask-wow-insidermaking new friendsraidingserver-moves (Mark Crump) Mon, 19 May 2008 09:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[Ask WoW Insider: WoW runs slow]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2008/05/12/ask-wow-insider-wow-runs-slow/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2008/05/12/ask-wow-insider-wow-runs-slow/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2008/05/12/ask-wow-insider-wow-runs-slow/#comments

Welcome to today's edition of Ask WoW Insider, in which we publish your questions for dissection by the peanut gallery -- now with extra snark and commentary by one of our writers. This week Nick writes in:

Hello to all the writers/columnists at WoWinsider! My name is Nick and I would greatly appreciate for your help/advice. My problem is that my PC, runs on windows XP home edition, is very VERY slow. I believe that it is because of an infestation of viruses, even though I run AVG free edition, Avast, and Spyhunter. I scan once a week and nothing comes up. My gameplay in WoW is very...laggy. If I am lucky enough, I'll get maybe, 10-20fps in Azeroth and 7-9fps in outlands/isle of quel'danas. It has been like this for a long time. I play a 70 bloodelf Mage, Evolves, on Lightbringer-US while I live in the east coast, even though its a west coast server. I understand that brings my latency up but still not as bad as 1fps EVERYTIME in shatt. I need some help to speed up my computer and maximize efficiency, any ideas/advice? Anything would help me because I'm desperate and am considering quitting WoW if this continues... :'(
Sincerely,
Nick

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Ask WoW Insider: WoW runs slow originally appeared on WoW Insider on Mon, 12 May 2008 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> ask-wow-insidercomputer-runs-slowtechnical-support (Mark Crump) Mon, 12 May 2008 09:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[Ask WoW Insider: How to avoid idiots?]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2008/04/28/ask-wow-insider-how-to-avoid-idiots/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2008/04/28/ask-wow-insider-how-to-avoid-idiots/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2008/04/28/ask-wow-insider-how-to-avoid-idiots/#comments Welcome to today's edition of Ask WoW Insider, in which we publish your questions for dissection by the peanut gallery -- now with extra snark and commentary by one of our writers. This week Benjamin writes in:

Hi, my name is Benjamin. I am a daily, if not hourly reader of WoW Insider as it is my Warcraft fix while slaving tirelessly under the oppressive regime of work. My question is this: How do you separate yourself from the idiots when trying to PuG? With Mr. Rossi's articles about never Pugging, the endless replies of concurrence, and the numerous other articles of horror stories, I see why I can never get that group together for Black Morass. Part of my issue is that my main is a Night Elf Hunter, which does not exactly inspire confidence but I can chain trap, I am learning to FD BEFORE I pull aggro, and I protect my healers. Bottom line is this, do you have any recommendations when I am hitting the LFG to distinguish myself from the numerous other "OMG, I PEW PEW AND LEWT!" folks, regardless of class? And yes, I do have a Warrior and Priest alt. =) Thank you for your time.

When it comes to avoiding idiots in PuGs, often times the answer is a line from the movie WarGames: "The only winning move is not to play."

Myself, I'm largely removed from the PuG game as well. I'll do a variation of a Pug, where myself and a couple of guildies might seek out a fourth or a fifth, but the days of me hitting the LFG tool have passed. These days, I'm more interested in a Heroic for the badges, and those can be dicey even with guildies; doing it with strangers is just too much of a hassle.

How about you folks -- any tips on how Ben can avoid idiots?

Got questions? Don't wait! Send them to us at ask AT wowinsider DOT com and your query could be up in lights here next week.

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Ask WoW Insider: How to avoid idiots? originally appeared on WoW Insider on Mon, 28 Apr 2008 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> ask-wow-insideridiotspugs (Mark Crump) Mon, 28 Apr 2008 13:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[Ask WoW Insider: What to do at level 60?]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2008/04/21/ask-wow-insider-what-to-do-at-level-60/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2008/04/21/ask-wow-insider-what-to-do-at-level-60/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2008/04/21/ask-wow-insider-what-to-do-at-level-60/#comments Welcome to today's edition of Ask WoW Insider, in which we publish your questions for dissection by the peanut gallery -- now with extra snark and commentary by one of our writers. This week a level 60 writes in:


I'm a newbie to World of Warcraft and got hooked to it quickly, after trying the 10day trial, and find myself frequently checking WoW Insider for latest news and updates.
I'm going to ding lvl 60 within the next couple of days and was wondering what is there to do at level 60 (besides upgrading to the next expansion). What can i do at level 60 that I couldn't do at levels 56+
i can upgrade my mount/armor/weapons ...... but is that it?

I like dungeons a lot, they are fun and I noticed that I've become eligible for raids at level 56, however I haven't done one yet.... so maybe that's it..... Raids.
I'm using this page as a guide http://wow.joystiq.com/2008/03/24/wow-rookie-raid-101/

I see all the cool things you can do at level 70 and I could possible get the upgrade and work my way up to it, but, what else can I do at level 60?

Sadly, the reality is you're going to need to pony up for the expansion. Oh, I could tell you of people still doing old-world raids (in fact, I answered such a question not too long ago), but, Blizzard and the players have largely left the 60-and-under content behind and moved on to TBC. Plus, if you really like instances, you'll love them in the expansion; personally I feel they're the best in the game.

Also, like it or not, Wrath is going to be launching soon-ish (in that "could be this year, could be the year after" way) and with it the level cap is raising to 80. I'd recommend sucking it up and hitting 70 before its launch.

Anyone have any advice for him if he delays getting the expansion?

Got questions? Don't wait! Send them to us at ask AT wowinsider DOT com and your query could be up in lights here next week.

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Ask WoW Insider: What to do at level 60? originally appeared on WoW Insider on Mon, 21 Apr 2008 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> ask-wow-insiderhesitant-on-buying-expansionlevel-60 (Mark Crump) Mon, 21 Apr 2008 09:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[Ask WoW Insider: Help a teacher compete with WoW]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2008/04/14/ask-wow-insider-help-a-teacher-compete-with-wow/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2008/04/14/ask-wow-insider-help-a-teacher-compete-with-wow/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2008/04/14/ask-wow-insider-help-a-teacher-compete-with-wow/#comments Welcome to today's edition of Ask WoW Insider, in which we publish your questions for dissection by the peanut gallery -- now with extra snark and commentary by one of our writers. This week a Swedish teacher writes in:

Dear WoWI,
I am a teacher in Sweden, teaching kids aged thirteen to fourteen. I am also a WoW player, something that has both pros and cons when dealing with my students. Among my students a great deal of the boys are playing WoW and most of the time, not a day passes by without they not discussing the latest content, the coolest instance and the best gear. This is a huge dilemma, especially when most of the boys don't do anything else but talk about WoW.

In Sweden, teachers today have to compete with WoW in a frustrating way. We have huge problems with students who can't focus on school due to they playing too much. Since I am a WoW player myself, I have started to think about how I could use this in school, to get my students to actually learn something. I am teaching English and it is obvious that WoW players in this age, have developed their skills a lot and this is something good.

My questions are, if the readers of WoW Insider have any constructive ideas on:
1) how I can compete with WoW and gain my students focus and concentration on school work
2) how I can use WoW in my teaching to develop their language and communication skills

What I am doing now is both a desperate try to get things back to normal, but also something that has never been done here before. have figured that I will have to use my students' interests in my teaching in order to reach them. Considering I play WoW myself, that should be easily done. But I also get dead tired of listening to them chatting every single minute about Wow and never put any effort in school work.

So I need help, suggestions, ideas from other WoW players.


Back when I was a young-un, the big distraction for me was Dungeons and Dragons. We'd sit in the back of the room drawing up dungeons on graph paper. In addition to walking uphill in the snow, both ways, to school, the personal computer hadn't been invented, much less WoW-not that that's a bad thing; I look back on my time in school and am grateful MMOs didn't exist at all, or my barely 2.5 gpa back then would have seemed honors worthy.

I can't offer any advice on #1, so I'm hoping some other educators chime in on this one. In terms of #2, it's been my observation that most WoW players need language and communication development themselves, so good luck with that.

Anyone who's taught instead of daydreamed learned able to help out?

Got questions? Don't wait! Send them to us at ask AT wowinsider DOT com and your query could be up in lights here next week.

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Ask WoW Insider: Help a teacher compete with WoW originally appeared on WoW Insider on Mon, 14 Apr 2008 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> adviceask-wow-insiderschoolroomstudents-cant-pay-attentionteacher (Mark Crump) Mon, 14 Apr 2008 09:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[Ask WoW Insider: My Girlfriend won't let me level]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2008/03/31/ask-wow-insider-my-girlfriend-wont-let-me-level/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2008/03/31/ask-wow-insider-my-girlfriend-wont-let-me-level/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2008/03/31/ask-wow-insider-my-girlfriend-wont-let-me-level/#comments Welcome to today's edition of Ask WoW Insider, in which we publish your questions for dissection by the peanut gallery -- now with extra snark and commentary by one of our writers. This week "Lovelorn in Azeroth" writes in:

WoW-Playing Girlfriend Drama

Or rather, "Here, don't level or do anything that'll give the character you play all the time any XP while I start to level a level one character that I hate playing all the time up to your character's level, and then make your character keep pace with mine! That way, everything will be super-special-awesome!"

Dear WoWinsider,

My name is [name omitted to protect the... something] elven fire mage of Area 52. Over three months ago, my girlfriend and I agreed (willingly, for the most part) that I should pause my leveling to allow her to roll up a new toon that would catch up to me, and allow us to adventure together across Azeroth on equal footing. Fine and dandy, non?

Continue reading Ask WoW Insider: My Girlfriend won't let me level

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Ask WoW Insider: My Girlfriend won't let me level originally appeared on WoW Insider on Mon, 31 Mar 2008 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> ask-wow-insidergirlfriendslevelingrelationshipswhipped (Mark Crump) Mon, 31 Mar 2008 09:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[Ask WoW Insider: Old-time raiding?]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2008/03/17/ask-wow-insider-old-time-raiding/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2008/03/17/ask-wow-insider-old-time-raiding/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2008/03/17/ask-wow-insider-old-time-raiding/#comments
Welcome to today's edition of Ask WoW Insider, in which we publish your questions for dissection by the peanut gallery -- now with extra snark and commentary by one of our writers. This week Jane writes in:

Hi there, WoWinsider. Perhaps you guys could help me. I started playing WoW about 6 months ago While I've done my share of TBC raiding, I'm fascinating with pre-TBC raids, and sometimes I manage to find a pug for them. I still didn't get to see most of MC, BWL and Naxx, even though I really want to.

The problem is it's impossible to find groups who do these raids anymore. I realize that the loot is no longer useful on most of them, but the game isn't really a greedy loot chase, right? It's about exploring and facing new challenges. Nefarian and Kel'Thuzad would still be quite a challenge for many players, and they're really cool loe [lore? ED] -wise speaking

Perhaps if you publish my mail on the advice column, the WoW Insider readers could help me find a server in which there's a lively pre-TBC raiding guild or community?

Thanks in advance.

I feel your pain. While I started WoW within a month of launch, due to a molasses-like leveling pace I hit 60 after TBC launched. I missed out on all the good raids and wish Blizzard would implement more quests that required you to go back to the Old World, especially the raid zones. It seems the only time my main leaves Outland is to run Karazhan.

However, that doesn't mean you can't still run them, or that you need to find a new server. A quick post on the official forums for your server might reveal a chat group you can join to PuG a raid -- I know Argent Dawn has at least one. If you're in a good guild, you could just ask if folks are interested in doing an old-world raid. I ran one in my guild and it went off well, and every now and then we toy with the idea of running another one but it never seems to get off the ground.

However, if you don't mind moving servers and want to hop over to Llane, you could join this person's guild - they are recruiting specifically for old-world raids.

What do the readers think? Is there much interest in old-world raiding on your server and what advice can you give Jane?

Got questions? Don't wait! Send them to us at ask AT wowinsider DOT com and your query could be up in lights here next week.

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Ask WoW Insider: Old-time raiding? originally appeared on WoW Insider on Mon, 17 Mar 2008 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> (Mark Crump) Mon, 17 Mar 2008 09:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[Ask WoW Insider: How do I get off standby?]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2008/03/07/ask-wow-insider-how-do-i-get-off-standby/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2008/03/07/ask-wow-insider-how-do-i-get-off-standby/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2008/03/07/ask-wow-insider-how-do-i-get-off-standby/#comments Welcome to today's edition of Ask WoW Insider, in which we publish your questions for dissection by the peanut gallery -- now with extra snark and commentary by one of our writers. This week, reader CS writes:

A number of months ago the old guild I had been in for nearly 2 years broke up due to varies reasons so I found a new raiding guild.
They are decent raiders, not the top raiding guild but a strong one still and our raid leader is good but I find myself on standby alot still.
If the reason is because of my lack of experience with high end raiding or something else ok but how can I fix the problem if they wont tell me that there is a problem?

It's because when you sign up for a raid, you're forgetting to give the raid leader a little baksheesh,

Seriously, the only solution is to attack the problem head-on and talk to raid leader. I was all set to talk out my butt offer some kind advice, but I remembered this question sounded familiar so I'll be lazy and point you to this write up in our raiding column, Ready Check. Marcie has answered the question better than I could.

How about you, oh others left on standby -- how have you gotten off the kids table?

Got questions? Don't wait! Send them to us at ask AT wowinsider DOT com and your query could be up in lights here next week.

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Ask WoW Insider: How do I get off standby? originally appeared on WoW Insider on Fri, 07 Mar 2008 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> ask-wow-insiderbaksheeshraidsstandby (Mark Crump) Fri, 07 Mar 2008 09:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[About the Bloggers: Mark Crump]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2008/03/06/about-the-bloggers-mark-crump/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2008/03/06/about-the-bloggers-mark-crump/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2008/03/06/about-the-bloggers-mark-crump/#comments Twice a week, our writers will tell you more about themselves, and let you get to know them and the characters they play a little better. Click here to read more About the Bloggers.

What do you do for WoW Insider?
It seems I spend about as much time convincing the leads that I'll start blogging more any day now, really. Seriously, when I topic comes to mind I write about it. I like tossing out ideas for discussion. I've also recently resurrected Ask WoW Insider from the grave.

What's your main right now?
A level 70 Night Elf Hunter. I had no idea they were as ezmode as they are -- I just missed the creature handler from Star Wars Galaxies.

For the Horde or Glory to the Alliance?
Alliance, obviously. My story is the usual one where I had a friend on the server so I rolled there. Naturally, she didn't make it out of her starter month. Once I got over the feeling of abandonment with the help of a wonderful shrink in the Mage's Tower I was fine. I actually had two characters around the same level: the hunter and an Undead priest. When I decided to level up I flipped a coin and the priest lost. I'm still working on him as an alt, though.

Continue reading About the Bloggers: Mark Crump

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About the Bloggers: Mark Crump originally appeared on WoW Insider on Thu, 06 Mar 2008 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> about-the-bloggersinterviewstaff (Mark Crump) Thu, 06 Mar 2008 20:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[Ask WoW Insider: What does a naked level 60 mage do?]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2008/02/29/ask-wow-insider-what-does-a-naked-level-60-mage-do/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2008/02/29/ask-wow-insider-what-does-a-naked-level-60-mage-do/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2008/02/29/ask-wow-insider-what-does-a-naked-level-60-mage-do/#comments Welcome to today's edition of Ask WoW Insider, in which we publish your questions for dissection by the peanut gallery -- now with extra snark and commentary by one of our writers. This week, reader Meliv writes:

Hi WoW Insider! I need some good advice. About August I leveled a mage to 60 but due to my very crappy computer at the time I could barely play in Outland so I decided to quit. However, to stop the addiction pulling me back I sold all my gear to repay some old debts and deleted my characters.

Now it's December and my situation has changed, I (kindly) asked a GM to restore my Mage and now I'm back in the game. Only problem is that I'm completely naked with no money and no gear. What should I do?

There's a joke about what naked mages, sheep, and money we'll leave on the table.

As an aside, never delete your character. As WoW addicts we tend to treat quitting WoW with the same seriousness Gene Simmons takes monogamous relationships. Instead, have a spouse or friend do it for you, That way you have someone else to blame.

You haven't said what you've got for professions, so I'll assume you have none. What you're going to want to do is earn enough money to grab two gathering professions -- it's short money so don't sweat it. If you're lucky and have a few quests that just need you to chat with an NPC to complete, wrap those.

The lazy way is to level your gathering skills up enough to get some OK gear off the Auction House and then head to Outland to run quests. Outland's quests give decent gold and items as rewards. Heck, you can even try running a few as a naked level 60 and see what happens -- it's not like you need to worry about repair bills. Just expect some odd looks. Or tips.

The forward-thinking way is to level up your gathering professions and keep leveling them through 70. That way you'll pretty much guarantee you'll have enough gold for your flying mount.

How about you, oh wise peanut gallery: Any advice for the freshly-restored?

Got questions? Don't wait! Send them to us at ask AT wowinsider DOT com and your query could be up in lights here next week.

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Ask WoW Insider: What does a naked level 60 mage do? originally appeared on WoW Insider on Fri, 29 Feb 2008 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> ask-wow-insidermaking-moneyrestores (Mark Crump) Fri, 29 Feb 2008 13:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[Fear of hackers may make me play WoW on a Mac full-time]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2008/02/25/fear-of-hackers-may-make-me-play-wow-on-a-mac-full-time/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2008/02/25/fear-of-hackers-may-make-me-play-wow-on-a-mac-full-time/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2008/02/25/fear-of-hackers-may-make-me-play-wow-on-a-mac-full-time/#comments
I use a Mac as my production machine. I don't want to get this too much into a Mac v. PC war, so lets just leave it with this: I find I am more productive with my workflows in OS X, and I have the added bonus of not worrying too much about what nasties are included in my downloads. I've been drinking Apple Kool-Aid from a sippy cup for over 10 years, so for me playing WoW on the Mac isn't some life-altering decision. My PC is nothing more than a game/media conversion console. But this whole hacking thing is making me think seriously of playing WoW on the Mac full-time. Sure, I've had WoW sessions of a decent length on my Mac, but not complete PC abstinence. In full disclosure mode, I've worked in IT for over ten years, and many of those years with a dotted-line relationship helping out our Security group. So, I've got a decent understanding of How Not Do Stupid Things On Your PC.

Back in my EverQuest days, we had "hacking" problems, but usually those could be traced back to someone doing stupid with his or her account: they used a powerleveling service or gave their password to a brother or guildie who then did something bad. With WoW, though, it seems much more nefarious. Sure, you give your password away you don't have much of a leg to stand on; I'm not going to say anyone deserves anything, but you've got no moral right to get indignant. Am I just reacting to this with a "oh noes, the sky is falling!" paranoia. Maybe. But when you hear of guild websites getting hacked to install keyloggers, peripherals shipping with keyloggers/viruses installed, it's tough to blame the user. There are always two sides to every story, but I'm getting the feeling there are a lot more true innocents in this battle, including our own Amanda Dean.

Continue reading Fear of hackers may make me play WoW on a Mac full-time

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Fear of hackers may make me play WoW on a Mac full-time originally appeared on WoW Insider on Mon, 25 Feb 2008 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> hackershackingmacosxsecurity (Mark Crump) Mon, 25 Feb 2008 15:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[Heartless gamer delays dinging 70 as long as possible; writer sympathizes.]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2008/02/19/heartless-gamer-delays-dinging-70-as-long-as-possible-writer-sy/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2008/02/19/heartless-gamer-delays-dinging-70-as-long-as-possible-writer-sy/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2008/02/19/heartless-gamer-delays-dinging-70-as-long-as-possible-writer-sy/#comments

Heartless Gamer sent in his (or hers) story of an intentional delay in dinging level 70 here. He says:

"Also, the auction house was full of bargains when I started. I easily replaced nearly every item on my character with a TBC green for just a few gold per slot. Due to the mudflation of items in TBC, I was far more powerful than most players that started TBC at it's (sic) launch. This made the first few levels relatively painless.

Unfortunately, there are a couple things that surfaced due to my late start: lack of groups and level 70 gankers."

As a recent level 70 dinger, I can certainly sympathize with taking the long route. Not as bad as college, though; I'm on the 20+ year plan there. I did a mad dash to 60 to do the TBC review (a pace that would have made Cartman proud), did the review, got burnt out and logged in again mid-summer and got to 65. Eventually the embarrassment of writing for a WoW website and not being 70 got to me and I ground it out.

"In the end, levels 60 through 69 came and went and 70 arrived. In reality, I am back at level 1. I'm just a baby 70, barely able to hold my own in dungeons five levels below me"

I feel that pain. I was a level 70 hunter in quest blues and greens, steadily holding the bottom spot in the DPS charts--I'm pretty sure the healer was ranked higher. After running some instances to get my Kara key things got a little better, but the saving grace for me was my first Kara run--the Loot Gods bestowed favor on me and I had a four-drop day in Kara, and then Murmur dropped the Sonic Spear that night. Now that I'm half-epiced, gemed and enchanted things are a lot better.

How about you? Any of you take the scenic route to 70? Will you take your time getting to 80 when Wrath launches or rush like there's no tomorrow?

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Heartless gamer delays dinging 70 as long as possible; writer sympathizes. originally appeared on WoW Insider on Tue, 19 Feb 2008 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> 70hearless-gamerlevel-70taking-ones-sweet-time (Mark Crump) Tue, 19 Feb 2008 11:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[Breakfast Topic: Are guilds like the Corleone family?]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2008/01/15/breakfast-topic-are-guilds-like-the-corleone-family/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2008/01/15/breakfast-topic-are-guilds-like-the-corleone-family/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2008/01/15/breakfast-topic-are-guilds-like-the-corleone-family/#comments
Near the beginning of the classic film The Godfather, a nervous funeral parlor owner sits near Vito Corleone, wishing the Godfather to do harm in his name. The Godfather acquiesces his request and says, "Some day, and that day may never come, I will call upon you to do me a service in return."

Near the beginning of a game night, a nervous guild member logs in and types
"/gu looking for healer for Shadow Labs run so I can get my Kara frag." There is silence for a bit, and finally the sole guild priest online says "I will grant you your wish. Some day, and that day may never come, I will call upon you to run my alt through Gnomeregan."

Guilds often revolve around the concept of "you scratch-a my back, I scratch-a yours." After all, that guildie that was there every time you needed an instance run for your Kara frags, whom are you to refuse the request when he or she needs a fifth for a heroic?

How much back-scratching do you in your guild? Are you more likely to help those whom have helped you, or are you ready to make anyone asking for help sleep with the fishes?

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Breakfast Topic: Are guilds like the Corleone family? originally appeared on WoW Insider on Tue, 15 Jan 2008 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> breakfast-topic, guilds, karazhan, godfather, vito-corleone, lucBreakfast-topic,Guilds,Karazhan,Godfather,Vito-corleone,Luca-bra (Mark Crump) Tue, 15 Jan 2008 08:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[Breakfast Topic: Attunement, hassle or not a big deal?]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2008/01/14/breakfast-topic-attunement-hassle-or-not-a-big-deal/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2008/01/14/breakfast-topic-attunement-hassle-or-not-a-big-deal/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2008/01/14/breakfast-topic-attunement-hassle-or-not-a-big-deal/#comments I recently dinged 70, finally after a long haul. Naturally, I was all hopped-up to run Karazhan until I learned I needed to first complete an arduous attunement process. Ok, I've known for months that I needed to do this, and it's not that arduous at all. It got me thinking about attunement in general, though.

Frankly, my initial reaction to any sort of flagging was negative. I started in EverQuest and its Planes of Power expansion each tier required its own flag. Once guilds got far enough along, latecomers like myself were well and truly screwed as most guilds weren't inclined to go do any back-flagging. They'd usually mumble something along the lines of "how the hell are we going to progress if we're holding newbies hands through the same zones, day after day." Thankfully, pictures of the guild leader and a goat came in handy.

Thankfully, WoW has few attunement needs--Kara being the most common. Even almost a year later my guild is more than willing to help me through the process--it seems everyone has two or three alts needing this, so groups have been easy to come by.

Continue reading Breakfast Topic: Attunement, hassle or not a big deal?

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Breakfast Topic: Attunement, hassle or not a big deal? originally appeared on WoW Insider on Mon, 14 Jan 2008 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> breakfast-topic, guilds, karazhan, attunementBreakfast-topic,Guilds,Karazhan,Attunement (Mark Crump) Mon, 14 Jan 2008 08:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[Breakfast Topic: What if guilds were like pro sports teams?]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2007/12/11/breakfast-topic-what-if-guilds-were-like-pro-sports-teams/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2007/12/11/breakfast-topic-what-if-guilds-were-like-pro-sports-teams/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2007/12/11/breakfast-topic-what-if-guilds-were-like-pro-sports-teams/#comments

Now, this post is in jest, so ease up on the "OMGTHATDNVRHAPPEN" comments, ok? Roll with me on this one.

Lets say you're in a guild that's a little deep in the rogue position and you need a healer, what with Binxie going down with career-ending spousal aggro. And let's say the guild leader knew of this other guild with a healer that's, shall we say, not having a career year. Oh, he does fine on the trash mobs, but when he needs to make that big save on the boss, he chokes. Plus, their guild leader's wife is playing again, so he lost his starting job to her. You've got extra rogues; they've got an extra healer.

Now, what would usually happen is the guild that needs a healer would poach him. Even though that guild would probably be glad to be rid of him, hard feelings would likely ensue. What if the two guild leaders could work out a trade? Say, the one looking for a healer could offer up a rogue and a hunter to be named later? Or a rogue and two alts?

What about you? Who in your guild would you trade for a used codpiece just to be rid of?

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Breakfast Topic: What if guilds were like pro sports teams? originally appeared on WoW Insider on Tue, 11 Dec 2007 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> breakfast-topicguildssportstradesunwanted-players (Mark Crump) Tue, 11 Dec 2007 08:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[Breakfast Topic: What RL sacrifices have you made for WoW?]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2007/12/10/breakfast-topic-what-rl-sacrifices-have-you-made-for-wow/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2007/12/10/breakfast-topic-what-rl-sacrifices-have-you-made-for-wow/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2007/12/10/breakfast-topic-what-rl-sacrifices-have-you-made-for-wow/#comments

There's that old saying, "Real life comes first!' Please. whom are we kidding here? We're all addicts waiting for Blizzard to patch down our next fix or release new product that will keep us up late, make us miss work, ask our spouses if it's really necessary we're at our own weddings.

This Breakfast Topic asks a simple question: What pile of complete bull... er, baloney have you spin just to play WoW? Called in sick? Told your spouse you were "working late" to play on the office LAN? Vacation time--You mean that's to go someplace? Isn't going to Nagrand "going someplace?" You said I needed to work more on my goals. Isn't getting keyed for Kara a "goal?" 'Really, Mr. Lumbergh, all of us running this instance is 'team building.' We'll even come in Saturday and Sunday to 'team build'" Bonus points if you really torqued off your significant other and you're still together.

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Breakfast Topic: What RL sacrifices have you made for WoW? originally appeared on WoW Insider on Mon, 10 Dec 2007 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> breakfast-topicpiles-of-horse-manurereal-lifesacrificeswow (Mark Crump) Mon, 10 Dec 2007 08:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[Breakfast Topic: What if your guild went *poof*?]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2007/12/09/breakfast-topic-what-if-your-guild-went-poof/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2007/12/09/breakfast-topic-what-if-your-guild-went-poof/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2007/12/09/breakfast-topic-what-if-your-guild-went-poof/#comments
I'm going through one of those cycles where I don't get to play WoW as much as I would like. This time of the year is hell on people in the review business, not to mention annoyances like Thanksgiving and Christmas. Really, can we talk to someone in scheduling and get the gift-giving holidays moved back a few months so I can clear out the review queue? So, usually when I log on I get the usual "Who are you again?" responses to my salutations in guild chat as I try and decipher if these are new guild members, or more alts that have gotten to 70 in short time.

My fear is sometime I'll log in and they won't be there. Not that I got kicked for inactivity--we've got some active military in my guild so we're cautious on these things--but that some guild-destroying drama erupted while I was gone and I'm now guildless. (Note: not affiliated with that guild; it just came up in Google.) My guild is a fairly stable guild--the guild itself is three years old, so I think we're gonna make it.

What would you do if that happened to you? Me, I'd jump servers. My guild is the only bond I have with my server as I have several RL friends on another server. Thankfully, my guild rocks that much that leaving the guild and going to my friends' server has never been seriously considered.

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Breakfast Topic: What if your guild went *poof*? originally appeared on WoW Insider on Sun, 09 Dec 2007 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> breakfast-topicguild-goes-poofguilds (Mark Crump) Sun, 09 Dec 2007 08:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[Using David Allens "Getting Things Done" system in WoW]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2007/11/08/using-david-allens-getting-things-done-system-in-wow/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2007/11/08/using-david-allens-getting-things-done-system-in-wow/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2007/11/08/using-david-allens-getting-things-done-system-in-wow/#comments I'm a big fan of David Allen's Getting Things Done. It's a simple task management system based on dumping all the crap you get into an inbox and creating lists for projects. You're probably wondering exactly what this has to do with WoW. As I've rolled GTD into production in my life, it's hard not to use it in games. So, I'm sharing this tip on how I improved my productivity in WoW.

You see, I've got a horrid memory. Always have. It's gotten worse now that I'm getting on in years. I'd be playing WoW, run back to town, repair and run off. Then I'd go, "Doh! You idiot, you forgot to get arrows." Insert repairing, getting pet food, sending stuff to my mule, and just about anything of a resupply nature in the place of arrows. I'd also forget that two quests are in the same area. As I said, my bad memory is legendary.

As part of my game review process I keep a small half-sized spiral notebook next to my keyboard so I can make notes about games. One day I noticed I'd also started using it for GTD-style tasks in games. It started subtly with a reminder to check out a different area or that I needed to test trade skills.

Continue reading Using David Allens "Getting Things Done" system in WoW

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Using David Allens "Getting Things Done" system in WoW originally appeared on WoW Insider on Thu, 08 Nov 2007 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> (Mark Crump) Thu, 08 Nov 2007 18:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[Do you have roots in World of WarCraft?]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2007/10/21/do-you-have-roots-in-world-of-warcraft/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2007/10/21/do-you-have-roots-in-world-of-warcraft/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2007/10/21/do-you-have-roots-in-world-of-warcraft/#comments The first MMO I got hooked on was EverQuest. The harsh nature of the game forced you to bond with other people. Some of those bonds have lasted longer than I played the game. I started EQ seven years ago, and while it's been at least a year since I've logged in, I still chat with people I met in-game even though they've quit as well.

Because WoW is an easier game than EQ (we can debate whether WoW is a training wheel game about as long as we can debate casual vs. hardcore), I'm concerned it might not have a long-lasting social fabric. In many ways my EQ guild was like family: we loved and fought (usually amongst ourselves) as much as most families. A guild alliance that lasted not even a year still has people stopping by to say "hi" six years after it disbanded. People stop by their old EQ guilds all the time. A lot of the time it's like old soldiers getting together to talk about a bad situation. "Say, Gan, remember that time it took us ten hours to almost clear Fear, and we wiped near the end and it and it took another ten to get our corpses? Was that a pain or what?" Shared misery can make for some long-lasting friendships.

In my EverQuest guild, I had over 2,000 posts on our guild's message boards. In my various WoW guilds I'm lucky if I have 50 over the last two years. One-third of my AIM list is people I met in EQ; zero are from WoW. How about you? How often do you talk out-of-game with other players, and will you keep in touch after you've quit the game? Is it because WoW doesn't have the hardships of other games, or am I just and old fogey remembering the good old days?

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Do you have roots in World of WarCraft? originally appeared on WoW Insider on Sun, 21 Oct 2007 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> everquestguildssocialsocial-fabricwow (Mark Crump) Sun, 21 Oct 2007 22:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[The race to 70: Why the rush?]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2007/10/16/the-race-to-70-why-the-rush/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2007/10/16/the-race-to-70-why-the-rush/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2007/10/16/the-race-to-70-why-the-rush/#comments In the responses to my post about people selling guides, a frequent comment was the desire to get to level 70 in the shortest time possible. Now, that realization did not dawn on me with those comments - when Moses came off the Mount saying, "I bring unto you these levels for you to gain and enjoy" someone likely said, "Yeah, yeah, what's the shortest way to get them?"

Before we traipse merrily down this yellow brick road, given the reputation I've quickly earned as a rabble-rouser, let me say I'm playing this one perfectly straight -- I have an honest desire to learn why some people treat levels 1-70 as a pre-season of sorts.

I'm pondering undertaking a fast leveling of my own. I've hit a not-to-uncommon issue: I met a group of people in real-life who not only play on a different server, they had the unforgivable gall to play a different side -- I'm Alliance; they're Horde. I'm very much a "the journey is a destination unto itself" kinda guy. Hitting max level for me is somewhat of a let down. I enjoy dinging, getting new abilities, etc. That side of me is combating with the desire to quickly get to max level so I can play the game with them. I definitely feel playing the game with real-life friends is the way to go. This is one of the reasons I'm looking forward to Patch 2.3. I can get my lowbie to 20 before the patch hits and then enjoy the Horde content and level quickly as well.

So, to you those who can't get to level 70 fast enough, why? And does the potential to miss out on some lower-level content as you blast past it bother you?

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The race to 70: Why the rush? originally appeared on WoW Insider on Tue, 16 Oct 2007 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> Levelingleveling-quickly (Mark Crump) Tue, 16 Oct 2007 13:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[Voice chat goes live; brains scarred]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2007/10/15/voice-chat-goes-live-brains-scarred/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2007/10/15/voice-chat-goes-live-brains-scarred/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2007/10/15/voice-chat-goes-live-brains-scarred/#comments When I first heard voice chat was being integrated right into the WoW client I was ecstatic. You see, I play mostly on a Mac and I stopped trying to get Ventrilo running when I got to the point in the instructions that said: "take one eye of newt and bowels of young chicken; combine in small bowl." Ok, it wasn't quite that bad.

D&D Online was the first time I used in-game VoIP and was amazed at how much easier it made grouping. Yes, I know, you're going, "Dude, welcome to the new millennium." DDO had a small, niche audience-at least that's the spin the marketing guy put on it when he explained the low subscriber numbers to me-so the players were fairly mature. Then I remembered the big-time game system with built-in VoIP: XBox Live.

Ah, yes. If Obi-Wan was still with us he'd say, "Never will you find a more wretched hive of thirteen-year-olds with unsupervised access to the Internet." The last time I pugged Gears of War on the Xbox, I'm convinced one of the players was engaged in something immoral with a mule and I'm not going to assume which way it was happening either. The braying and wailing blasted out of my surround sound causing the cats to flee the room and my wife to become very concerned about my own unsupervised Internet habits. It may sound like I'm taking creative license here but I assure you the only part I played up was my wife's reaction; she's already maxxed her concern about my internet usage.

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Voice chat goes live; brains scarred originally appeared on WoW Insider on Mon, 15 Oct 2007 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> (Mark Crump) Mon, 15 Oct 2007 19:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[If you can't beat the gold farmer, make everyone's life miserable]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2007/10/15/if-you-can-t-beat-the-gold-farmer-make-everyone-s-life-miserabl/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2007/10/15/if-you-can-t-beat-the-gold-farmer-make-everyone-s-life-miserabl/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2007/10/15/if-you-can-t-beat-the-gold-farmer-make-everyone-s-life-miserabl/#comments I'm able to roll with the changes. I can accept I can't bring more than 3oz. of water through a security checkpoint because an over-eager Homeland exec thought 24 was a documentary. We live in Changed Times. At least that's what the TSA guy said as he instructed me to bend over and I heard the snap of a latex glove. But this delay on receiving gold from auctions may have pushed me to take action. I'd write my Senator, but since his claim to fame is driving a good-looking woman off a bridge in Chappaquiddick (a family record his nephew beat when he flew two good looking women into the ocean off Martha's Vineyard), I don't see where he's going to help.

We all know why this was added. Those wily gold resellers came up with a fun way to get around the delay-in-mailing-gold problem by having you sell spare ribs for 5k gold. I don't know about you, but when I heard that I laughed my arse off. Talk about a way to game the system.

Changes like this make me think Blizzard hired that guy that forced NyQuil to now have the potency of children's aspirin. Really, whom do they think they are kidding here? If someone is going buy the gold to get their epic flyer it's unlikely they are going to hover their mouse over the checkout button and go: Ya know, I'd really like to just buy the 5k gold and not have to farm motes for the next five days, but, now that I think about it with the hour delay in the AH, I'll just go farm it.

Continue reading If you can't beat the gold farmer, make everyone's life miserable

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If you can't beat the gold farmer, make everyone's life miserable originally appeared on WoW Insider on Mon, 15 Oct 2007 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> auction-housedelaygoldgold-farmers (Mark Crump) Mon, 15 Oct 2007 15:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[Breaking News: Casual players hard to define]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2007/10/14/breaking-news-casual-players-hard-to-define/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2007/10/14/breaking-news-casual-players-hard-to-define/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2007/10/14/breaking-news-casual-players-hard-to-define/#comments Let's take a poll. If you consider yourself "casual" raise your hand. Yes, even you in the back-and you thought that webcam was off (and put some clothes on for God's sake).

Ok, that's quite a bit of you. Now, if you play more than 20 hours a week keep your hands up.

That's what I thought.

At the last two Dragon*Cons I've asked that same question on my panels. The numbers come out like this: 90% of the room raised their hands at the first question and 80% of them kept their hands up for the second.

You are not a casual gamer if you fall into that spectrum. Since I am laughably a games journalist, I am eminently qualified to use the word the industry uses to define "casual gamers": Peggle. We also have a word to describe people who play Peggle too much, but since AOL owns us I probably can't use it here.

When you wonder why Blizzard doesn't do enough for the casual player, or why they focus their attention on the hardcore raider, the answer is simple: Blizzard doesn't have a clear delineation between the two groups any more than you do. It used to be that casual players refused to put in the time to get ahead, while the hardcore raiders were a bunch of catassers who had no lives. WarCraft has drastically blurred those lines. Robin Torres wrote an excellent piece on the differences between casual and raiders here. Let me say I agree with her, but she was a tad too polite.

Continue reading Breaking News: Casual players hard to define

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Breaking News: Casual players hard to define originally appeared on WoW Insider on Sun, 14 Oct 2007 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> BlizzardcasualDragon*ConEverQuesthardcoreraids (Mark Crump) Sun, 14 Oct 2007 14:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[I know selling leveling guides isn't new, but who in their right mind would BUY one?]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2007/10/13/i-know-selling-guides-isnt-new-but-who-in-their-right-mind-wou/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2007/10/13/i-know-selling-guides-isnt-new-but-who-in-their-right-mind-wou/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2007/10/13/i-know-selling-guides-isnt-new-but-who-in-their-right-mind-wou/#comments So, I'm sitting here today, looking for news to steal, I mean report on. When I see a blog post about an Alliance powerleveling guide. It's an innocuous one-sentence post that says, " I found a World of Warcraft Leveling guide that includes everything you need to power level any Alliance character."

Following the link brought me to a site that claims: "World of WarCraft leveling is both an art and a science. It is an art because getting to the next level requires much creativity." To help you unleash your chained-up creativity there's a link to a leveling guide. My first reaction to that line was side-splitting laughter. Leveling in WoW requires creativity like playing Whack A Mole requires a Masters in Fine Arts.

Now, I love me some leveling guides. I inevitably hit those weird spots where a zone is too low-leveled and the one next to it is too high-leveled. Having a site that listed zones appropriate to my level range was a boon leveling up. There's one, small difference between the links in this paragraph and the one above it: mine are free. His is not.

I've got two, hopefully easy questions: what sort of a snake oil salesman sells these guides, and who in their right mind would buy something that a quick Google on "world of warcraft leveling guide" should provide for free? What do you think? Is there any way in Azeroth you'd ever buy these things? And if so, I've got a lovely bridge for sale over the Hudson River for sale.

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I know selling leveling guides isn't new, but who in their right mind would BUY one? originally appeared on WoW Insider on Sat, 13 Oct 2007 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> guideslevelingrip-offswalkthroughs (Mark Crump) Sat, 13 Oct 2007 21:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[Blizzard should focus on more Patch 2.3s, not on new mid-level zones]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2007/10/11/blizzard-should-focus-on-more-patch-2-3s-not-on-new-mid-level-z/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2007/10/11/blizzard-should-focus-on-more-patch-2-3s-not-on-new-mid-level-z/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2007/10/11/blizzard-should-focus-on-more-patch-2-3s-not-on-new-mid-level-z/#comments By now you've heard the news: Patch 2.3 will lower the XP requirements needed to level from 20-60 by 15% per-level. As an extra bonus, Blizzard is adding 60-odd new quests to Dustwallow Marsh. I would prefer they do this than add more zones specifically for mid-level content .

New mid-level content is always a hot topic, especially by people who are on their third or fourth trip to the well. We've all got those "If I never, ever, see this zone again, it's too soon" zones. The solution often bandied about is to create alternate progression paths so we never, ever, go back to Stranglethorn Vale. I'm going to put forth a different idea: Fix what is broken. This will help minimize unused zones, and maybe not spread out the lower-levels so new players can actually find groups.

Which seems to be the step Blizzard is taking with 2.3. In terms of quest progression and rewards, Blizzard hit it out of the park with TBC. You've got quest-givers nicely clumped together and often they all send you in the same direction. The cash, XP, and item rewards for completing the quests are excellent. When you compare the expansion quests against original Azeroth it becomes apparent how frustrating quests could be. It seemed like completing most of them involved long griffon rides for mediocre rewards. Quests felt like they were, well, I was going that way anyway...

Continue reading Blizzard should focus on more Patch 2.3s, not on new mid-level zones

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Blizzard should focus on more Patch 2.3s, not on new mid-level zones originally appeared on WoW Insider on Thu, 11 Oct 2007 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> analysis-opinionBlizzardLevelinglowbiemid-levelnew-contentpatchpatch-2.3 (Mark Crump) Thu, 11 Oct 2007 16:00:00 EST WoW Insider