WoW Insider

Breakfast Topic: How about those voices in your head?

(Nico Deyo) — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 08:00:00 EST

This Breakfast Topic has been brought to you by Seed, the AOL guest writer program that brings your words to WoW Insider's pages.

Your friends will abandon you.

The first time I heard that ringing in my ears, it freaked me out. Wandering into Ahn'Qiraj-40 and having C'Thun whispering sweet evil nothings in my ear about my heart exploding and being already dead is hardly someone wants to hear on the best of days, much less while raiding. Warcraft has had a history of strange and dreadful whispers, sometimes from places in the game and sometimes from actual items (Chained Essence of Eranikus, anyone?). And they always seem to be strange and terrifying. But what if they weren't? What if they were comforting or gave you courage?

The idea that a familiar, friendly or helpful character from WoW guiding you either by being in your head or being a part of an item you carry seems a little alien, but to me, like a warm blanket for your character. Maybe it's a certain dragon aspect watching over you, or the familiar voice of your Orc mentor telling you try again. It would inspire confidence rather than fear, congeniality rather than hostility.

Would you go along with the voice or not? Who would it be? Or do you find the idea of anyone whispering in your head (quest mechanics aside) a little weird or violating?

Filed under: Breakfast Topics, Guest Posts

Breakfast Topic: How about those voices in your head? originally appeared on WoW Insider on Sat, 08 Oct 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

WoW Archivist: Scepter of the Shifting Sands

(Nico Deyo) — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 13:00:00 EST

The WoW Archivist explores the secrets of World of Warcraft's past. What did the game look like years ago? Who is etched into WoW's history? What secrets does the game still hold?

It is sad to me that it seems the only players who have access to truly epic quest lines these days are the ones on the receiving ends of legendaries -- Shadowmourne and now Dragonwrath. If we turn back the clock to vanilla, we'd come across perhaps the most epic quest line of them all. Monstrous in its time commitment, material needs, and far more random and diverse than the chain for Thunderfury, it was the mother of all quests. Not only did it require the participation of an entire realm in order to be able to complete it, but it took the effort of at least one raid team of 40 (if not more) to coordinate and organize the energy needed to get a very small handful of people very rare and very special rewards that have yet to be duplicated by Blizzard.

This quest chain is the Scepter of the Shifting Sands.

Continue reading WoW Archivist: Scepter of the Shifting Sands

Filed under: WoW Archivist

WoW Archivist: Scepter of the Shifting Sands originally appeared on WoW Insider on Tue, 30 Aug 2011 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Breakfast Topic: World of Prankcraft

(Nico Deyo) — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 08:00:00 EST

As I flew through the air with the aerobatic ease of a football, I began to reflect on what choices I had made in my short time in the World of Warcraft. What had led me to this fate? Was it my stubborn tenacity? My ambition? A thirst for glory?

Nay. It was the priests in my raid having very little scruples and all the Dispels they could keybind to their bars on the Volcanus fight inside of Firelands. For those not in the know, Volcanus is a special boss that you summon when you are on the quest chain for the legendary staff Dragonwrath. Part of the fight requires having fiery roots dispelled off of the raid in order to continue fighting a giant flaming tree -- but do this too early and you will get punted into the air, sailing gracefully into the hot, steamy emptiness underneath Firelands. Did this happen to anyone else? No, some priest saw fit just to do this to me, a pitiful gnome mage. (Thankfully, it was no match for my Blink-and-Evocate one-two punch!)

Which brings me to my question, dear readers: Have you ever been on the butt-end of a dumb prank? Or were you the one who logged onto your friend's character and left him stranded with no gear and no hearthstone in an enemy town?

Have you ever wanted to write for WoW Insider? Your chance may be right around the corner. Watch for our next call for submissions, and be sure to sign up for Seed, the AOL guest writer program that brings your words to WoW Insider. The next byline you see here may be yours!

Filed under: Breakfast Topics, Guest Posts

Breakfast Topic: World of Prankcraft originally appeared on WoW Insider on Mon, 22 Aug 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Breakfast Topic: Where do you put all of those pets?

(Nico Deyo) — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 08:00:00 EST

This Breakfast Topic has been brought to you by Seed, the AOL guest writer program that brings your words to WoW Insider's pages.

It's really no secret that many of us WoW players are rabid pet collectors. No price on the Auction House is too high nor grind too long if we have our eyes set on something adorable or rare. But have you ever given a thought as to where your character would realistically keep all of these critters? While game mechanics defines us having just pages and pages of non-combat friends, what about if your character were real? You'd think that Azeroth would have pet grooming and boarding for miles. Stables might be a commonplace service for hunters, but I suspect those of us who rival real-life cat ladies might be in some trouble.

I've always imagined that my character, a petite and animal-loving gnome, spends a great amount of money on a pet deposit and extra housing in order to keep all of her various furry friends in check. Cages, fences and extra barns really don't seem out of place given that so many of my collection fly or wouldn't be suited to indoor life, per se. I also imagine my mage's druidic husband would help take care of some of the more calm and traditional animals.

The denizens of Azeroth must come up with some magical and inventive ways to keep their brood in check -- what would be yours? Would it be row upon row of cages, or would you just live in a giant aviary or zoo?

Filed under: Breakfast Topics, Guest Posts

Breakfast Topic: Where do you put all of those pets? originally appeared on WoW Insider on Fri, 17 Jun 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Breakfast Topic: Do you test new content on the PTRs?

(Nico Deyo) — Thu, 26 May 2011 08:00:00 EST

This Breakfast Topic has been brought to you by Seed, the AOL guest writer program that brings your words to WoW Insider's pages.

It is pretty obvious that the public testing realms are a very useful tool for Blizzard in order to determine what exactly the kinks are in the newest content it is going to roll out -- and even a way to gauge popular opinion on new builds, talents, and bosses. However, the PTR seems to only really cater to one sort of personality: a personality that enjoys seeing everything before it is even brand spankin' new, possibly a little broken (or a lot broken, as the case may be).

There have been times when I've been so jazzed about the public testing realms that I've downloaded the server and patches as soon as they are available and jumped right into trying out the freshest raids or quests, and other times, I just don't give a hoot. PTRs are often the lifeblood of up-to-date bloggers and theorycrafters, but for me, it really all depends. Sometimes I like finding bugs; other times, it just doesn't seem worth the hassle.

Do you find yourself lining up to get into the latest quests and raids on the PTR? Hitting the testing dummies? Or is it all something you'd rather digest from the front page of WoW Insider instead and leave the testing to the experts?

Filed under: Breakfast Topics, Guest Posts

Breakfast Topic: Do you test new content on the PTRs? originally appeared on WoW Insider on Thu, 26 May 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Breakfast Topic: Does WoW ever creep you out?

(Nico Deyo) — Thu, 19 May 2011 08:00:00 EST

This Breakfast Topic has been brought to you by Seed, the AOL guest writer program that brings your words to WoW Insider's pages.

If you asked the average player to describe the overall tone of Azeroth, I'd wager that a lot of them would say that it is colorful, epic, or even downright cartoonish. But in my mind, the World of Warcraft we know sometimes takes a detour from the entertaining to the downright creepy. Whether it be intentionally scary or macabre things such as giant tarantulas in Terrokkar forest or stuff that just gives you the heebie-jeebies (like the Satanic children that walk the dusty road from Stormwind to Goldshire), WoW has a lot of things that put a shiver up and down your spine.

I've seen a lot of gross, scary or weird things in game, but it wasn't until the Shattering that I had a major creepfest moment. I was flying idly over Hillsbrad surveying the damage of the area, when I noticed bears -- except they didn't look like the bears I knew from the zone prior. They were bears ... with spider egg sacs infesting their flesh. Being a major arachnophobe and having a lot of issues with parasites and the like, I took my drake out of there as fast as I could so I wouldn't feel ill.

What about Warcraft creeps you the heck out?

Filed under: Breakfast Topics, Guest Posts

Breakfast Topic: Does WoW ever creep you out? originally appeared on WoW Insider on Thu, 19 May 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Breakfast Topic: Who's your new favorite NPC?

(Nico Deyo) — Sat, 29 Jan 2011 08:00:00 EST

This Breakfast Topic has been brought to you by Seed, the Aol guest writer program that brings your words to WoW Insider's pages.

Maybe it was helping Tirion in the Plaguelands; maybe it was helping Mankrik find his wife. Everyone had a favorite NPC in the old world long before any of the Cataclysm changes took place. But now that Azeroth has been shattered and reformed, we have seen not only new faces but old favorites in new and strange ways. Questing recently (if you haven't taken the time to, you should!) has been a strange mixture of familiarity combined with entertaining surprises from characters we've never met before.

Our guild has been abuzz with people having long discussions over who is the best, as most of us have been rolling up new low-level alts to poke, prod, and explore, or even just taking our mains out to do more Loremaster achievements. Some people love various quirky characters (or outright hate them), and other people like the more serious lore figures. All in all, we've had a lot to talk about regarding the people in the new Old World.

If you've been out and about doing the new quests, who are your favorite new NPCs? Is it Zen'kiki in Western Plaguelands? Or Lunk from Searing Gorge and his adorable pacifism?

Filed under: Breakfast Topics, Guest Posts

Breakfast Topic: Who's your new favorite NPC? originally appeared on WoW Insider on Sat, 29 Jan 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Breakfast Topic: The newbs in your life

(Nico Deyo) — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 08:00:00 EST

This Breakfast Topic has been brought to you by Seed, the Aol guest writer program that brings your words to WoW Insider's pages.

Blizzard's promotion for all three expansions for just a cool $20 prior to the holidays lured not only old players back to the fold but also a great deal of people new to the World of Warcraft. It's easy to grab a friend, a relative, or coworker to try the game out with a 10-day trial, but how about dropping pizza money on three expansions' worth of content? It was an easy deal for anyone to get into, especially now that the game has been revised heavily to favor new players.

My sister had tried a 10-day trial back in the day but ended up rolling a mage and not quite getting the hang of it, despite my help. She quit after a couple days. I got her back into the game with this deal, as she and I do not live in the same state anymore and it'd be a nice way to keep up with her. With the low price and easy new questing and class skills, she picked it right back up and rolled a night elf hunter. It was nice to see her enjoying it and to have someone additional to play with.

Have you recently pulled anyone new into the game, or perhaps brought a former player back into playing World of Warcraft? How are they liking it? Is it fun to help someone new along now that the early levels of the game have been so streamlined?

Filed under: Breakfast Topics

Breakfast Topic: The newbs in your life originally appeared on WoW Insider on Sun, 16 Jan 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Breakfast Topic: Is your guild looking forward to guild perks?

(Nico Deyo) — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 08:00:00 EST

This Breakfast Topic has been brought to you by Seed, the Aol guest writer program that brings your words to WoW Insider's pages.

Cataclysm is focusing on many new things and changes to the old ways of doing things. With guild experience being on the forefront of these changes, it is no surprise that suddenly people are taking more notice of their social environment, as it may have an impact on the game once the grind for your own guild goes live. Having a group whose personnel and personality are on the same page as you might be nice if you're planning on receiving some of the benefits (like mounts, special patterns and bonuses to rezzing) immediately.

Some people are very focused on guild perks and have assembled elite crafting and leveling forces or are maintaining the same strict raid teams they've had for a while. Others don't care as much. Blizzard has made it clear that all sorts of guilds can effectively benefit over time from the guild leveling system.

Our guild is especially looking toward having enough people to be able to level up quickly, even if we won't have a bulk of our guild XP coming in from raiding achievements. This bodes well, as we've very quickly started taking on orphans from other servers, alts of people in other guilds and raid teams, and people rolling up new characters.

Does your guild care about the XP system? Are you a close-knit, small guild that will be leveling up slowly, or are you a large raiding guild that things like mass-rezzing appeal to? Or is your guild looking forward to something else entirely?

Filed under: Breakfast Topics, Guest Posts

Breakfast Topic: Is your guild looking forward to guild perks? originally appeared on WoW Insider on Thu, 09 Dec 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Breakfast Topic: Not my rainbow gear!

(Nico Deyo) — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 08:00:00 EST

This Breakfast Topic has been brought to you by Seed, the Aol guest writer program that brings your words to WoW Insider's pages.

Blizzard attempted to change the leveling process on many fronts -- easier XP, quests for dungeons at the beginning of said dungeon, and better quest flow. One of the more lively changes was quest loot being given more useful stats -- and more importantly, being made part of an overall more "matching" set. This meant that people who predominantly quest will find themselves looking put together, rather than wearing whatever scraps of material they roll over while trying to collect 20 bear bottoms. The sets may not always work with random "- of the X" drops, but overall, they look nicer and have a easily identifiable style and color scheme.

I'm quite impressed with this change. The strange mish-mash of leveling gear from questing was not only hideous to look at, it never matched and often had really terrible models with garish textures. The new questing gear looks regal and not prone to as much strange skin-baring, either. It looks like you're moving up the ranks of badassery as you are leveling up. This is a good feature! For those who are more inclined to roleplay, it gives you access to some easy outfits that you can wear around Stormwind or Ogrimmar and look trendy.

While I know this trend is going to stop dead in its tracks at Outland (which I will overcome by putting my heirloom gear back on), it is fun to see it present in the Azeroth leveling experience and further on in Cataclysm content. Are you happy about this change, or do you feel that the garish clown vomit outfits of years past were essential to people's game before the level cap?

View Poll

Filed under: Breakfast Topics, Guest Posts

Breakfast Topic: Not my rainbow gear! originally appeared on WoW Insider on Wed, 08 Dec 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Breakfast Topic: Your biggest regrets from the Wrath era

(Nico Deyo) — Sat, 04 Dec 2010 08:00:00 EST

This Breakfast Topic has been brought to you by Seed, the Aol guest writer program that brings your words to WoW Insider's pages.

Despite the fact that most of the WoW-playing population is eagerly looking forward to and enjoying the content that Cataclysm has to offer, there are still many things that one could look back upon from the previous expansion and feel sad about. Whether it was a missed opportunity or perhaps an achievement that didn't quite get accomplished, I think all of us have something that we feel sucks amid all the hubbub over Cataclysm.

I myself have quite a few things I miss, now that they are no longer obtainable. While it wasn't from lack of trying, the fact that both the Swift Razzashi Raptor and the Swift Zulian Tiger are not part of my massive mount collection is saddening. Both my friend and I went to try for them on every reset, even sometimes on multiple characters, but to no avail. Hopefully, Blizzard will bring them back in some form, but like the Amani War Bear, it feels a little unrealistic.

Second, and while not as tangible as missing a chance at something rare, the fact that I spent the last day before the Shattering doing a long, painful rep grind instead of getting out and enjoying the last vestiges of the old world will forever go down in my gaming career as my biggest Cataclysm regret. As a proud explorer and mystery hunter, I should have been out in the world those last couple of hours before the server reset, grabbing screenshots and visiting familiar faces before they were erased permanently from the landscape I've been enjoying for the past six years.

Instead of looking forward, I ask you this: What do you look back upon from your time in Wrath and wish you could have done over? Done differently? What do you most regret now?

Filed under: Breakfast Topics, Wrath of the Lich King, Guest Posts

Breakfast Topic: Your biggest regrets from the Wrath era originally appeared on WoW Insider on Sat, 04 Dec 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Breakfast Topic: Who gets to grow up?

(Nico Deyo) — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 08:00:00 EST

This Breakfast Topic is brought to you by WoW.com's guest blogger program. Want to participate in a future call for guest posts? Read up on how to contribute, and keep an eye on the site for program announcements.

As we've seen recently, it looks like there are many things, including NPCs, getting overhauls for Cataclysm. One of these NPCs is Anduin Wrynn, Varian's son, who is getting changed to look older. Several other key NPCs have also undergone just visual changes such as Jaina, Sylvanas and now most recently Tirion Fordring for the Icecrown Citadel cinematic.

This is a unique but small upgrade that Blizzard is rolling out along with all the other changes of Cataclysm in order to drastically shape what was once considered a mostly static world. While it might not be feasible to change every NPC, the fact that they are doing it at all shows a concerted effort to not just shape the terrain but the characters we interact with as players.

So the topic in mind today, dear WoW.com readers, is this: if you had the power to wave a magical model-change wand over any NPC in the game, who would you change for Cataclysm and why? What changes would be reflected? Would you age those annoying kids who run around in Stormwind? Would you give Thrall some new gear finally? Would you give Corki a dunce cap?

I personally would love to see some of the repair vendors in towns or cities wearing better armor, as it is obvious that five years of taking all our money has given them quite a more comfortable lifestyle. Stupid robber barons.

Filed under: Breakfast Topics, Guest Posts

Breakfast Topic: Who gets to grow up? originally appeared on WoW Insider on Fri, 16 Apr 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Breakfast Topic: Preparing for the storm

(Nico Deyo) — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 08:00:00 EST

This Breakfast Topic is brought to you by WoW.com's guest blogger program! Want to participate in a future call for guest posts? Read up on how to contribute, and keep an eye on the site for program announcements!

When faced with warnings of imminent change, what do you do? Do you stockpile and organize, or do you let it just happen? Cataclysm is fast approaching and preparing for it in-game can be as much a part of the process as pre-ordering a copy of the game in real life. There's several new things coming in the expansion that certainly may go smoothly if you take the time to plan for it -- two new races (worgen and goblin), new level cap, and a lot more classes opening up for the existing races. In the past, people also stockpiled things like cloth for bandages or mats for new tradeskills that were being introduced. Some players have given up doing anything in general and stopped playing WoW until Cataclysm hits.

I myself tend to be more of the planning type, especially now on the horizon of my third expansion -- I am stockpiling a lot of gold in the event of some ridiculous new transportation cost. I also recently completed Loremaster on my main character as many of my favorite quests or zones in the old world might be changed or gone entirely by the time the expansion rolls around. I also might sink a little bit of money into buying a Traveler's Tundra Mammoth. Having a portable repair-bot and vendor will ease the burdens of leveling considerably. Some new character names might have also been reserved on my server in preparation for a cute little gnome priest or worgen rogue in the future.

So what have you been doing to brace yourself for another (possibly your first) expansion? Is it grinding out badges for BOA gear for a new toon? Perhaps you are sitting around Dalaran doing nothing!

Filed under: Breakfast Topics, Guest Posts

Breakfast Topic: Preparing for the storm originally appeared on WoW Insider on Sat, 27 Mar 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

WoW.com Guest Post: What Cataclysm might mean for guild alliances

(Nico Deyo) — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 15:00:00 EST

In this installment of WoW.com's ongoing guest post program, we welcome Nico Deyo. Nico is a sometimes mage blogger and all-around nice gal who writes at Empowered Fire.

It's no secret that Blizzard is going to be changing the face of guilds in Cataclysm with guild talents, perks from being a collective entity, and rewards for using their new tools. While this benefits the majority of groups, what about those who have created something outside of the standard? They might not be a large chunk of the WoW playing population, but for the people who raid and socialize differently than the average player, the systems raise some new and troubling questions. Blizzard's particular idea of a guild is becoming the predominant social unit in Cataclysm, and those who don't fit into it might be all but left in the dust when it comes to new mechanics and rewards.

So who doesn't fit? I'm talking about two groups, mostly -- guild collectives/coalitions (several guilds who have banded together for a common purpose) or raid alliances (a very specific coalition or mixed group of people formed into a team for content). Both are two structures that have emerged socially and pragmatically to fill gaps that the traditional guild structures of yore haven't met.

Continue reading WoW.com Guest Post: What Cataclysm might mean for guild alliances

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Guilds, Cataclysm, Guest Posts

WoW.com Guest Post: What Cataclysm might mean for guild alliances originally appeared on WoW Insider on Thu, 04 Mar 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments