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Rajah
Member Since Nov 24th, 2009

Blog	Comments
WoW	208 Comments

Recent Comments:

The Queue: Rule of Two {WoW}

Feb 20th 2012 5:23PM @murmaiderxx: This is how it has worked for quite a while. The check to see if you are in a raid party is done when you go through the entrance portal. As soon as you enter, the other player is free to leave the party and go about his business. You can continue inside the raid instance just so long as you don't leave for any reason, including dying.

WoW Moviewatch: How to Win at Guilds 2 {WoW}

Feb 18th 2012 7:00PM I laughed AND cried. It's funny and sad because it's so true.

Blizzard opposes Valve's DOTA trademark application {WoW}

Feb 13th 2012 6:07PM This is roughly analogous to Hyundai filing to claim ownership of the term "automobile" and Ford countering with "nobody owns that word."

Encrypted Text: Examining the rogue's assassin ancestry {WoW}

Feb 8th 2012 5:19PM If you want to find the spiritual beginnings of the Rogue class, you have to go considerably farther back than D2. Try the D&D Thief.

Ol' Grumpy and the Dragon Soul nerf {WoW}

Jan 19th 2012 6:05PM The power to give it a few more weeks is entirely in your hands! Replying that the nerf is totally optional is not at all a cop-out response; it is precisely on point. As you've noted, your guild is in perfect agreement that you do not want or need the nerf yet. Then don't use it, it's that simple. To be honest, I don't think you are in the target demographic for the nerf. As has been stated numerous times, the nerf is aimed squarely at those guilds who feel they have hit a roadblock and cannot progress further without assistance.

I have yet to read a cogent comment supporting the position that it is too soon for this nerf and why the ability to eliminate the nerf completely is unacceptable. Please help me to understand your objections.

Ol' Grumpy and the Dragon Soul nerf {WoW}

Jan 19th 2012 5:37PM It doesn't defeat your point, Bynde. lmnick was assuming that your post had something to do with why they are nerfing Dragon Soul. But of course your post is not making that point at all. Both Blizzard's stated reason and Rossi's understanding of it, as laid out in this article, are very clear that the reason for the nerf has to do with wanting to cut down the roadblocks affecting guilds currently having difficulty progressing through normal and heroic mode Dragon Soul. These nerfs affect no one else.

The value of Bynde's post is that it points out how diverse the WoW community is in terms of duration of experience playing the game, time commitment, knowledge, and skill. Some people have been playing since vanilla, some since BC, some began during WotLK, and yes, some first picked up WoW after the launch of Cataclysm. Some have been raiding since Molten Core while others have yet to see the inside of a raid. Some play 40 hours every week, maybe more, while others may be limited to just a couple hours.

The point is, Blizzard has a large and varied customer base and it's in their best interests to meet the needs of the largest segment of that population. It would not be a good business strategy to cater exclusively to the wishes of the minuscule hardcore segment by stubbornly refusing to nerf content that only a few percent are able to get past. Of course, your definition of hardcore depends heavily on where you stand. Even people like Rossi, who acknowledges thinking of himself as a "middle-of-the-road raider", would be considered by most to be about as hardcore as they come. Anyone who completed heroic Firelands prior to the release of patch 4.3 and who entered Dragon Soul normal mode on the day it opened wearing item level 391 gear is part of a tiny sliver of the player population, the top 1 or 2 percent at most. The same comment could be made about those who finished heroic ICC prior to the release of Cataclysm and I would expect this would also hold true for those who complete heroic Dragon Soul before the release of Mists of Pandaria. Even those who see all of a normal mode raid while it remains current content are in a small minority.

Blizzard has shrewdly learned from the experiences of Firelands and ICC and retained the best features of those nerfs for Dragon Soul. First, they've made it entirely optional. Second, they're making it progressive, nerfing in steps until they feel enough has been done. Third, they are nerfing enemy health and damage rather than buffing player damage. These are very smart steps that should go a long way toward doing the greatest good for the greatest number of players.

Encrypted Text: How fast can you get Fangs of the Father? {WoW}

Jan 19th 2012 4:28PM @Sam: Lil' Tarecgosa

Dragon Soul normal and heroic nerf begins Jan. 31 {WoW}

Jan 19th 2012 2:15PM @Moonfaxx
"My complaint is that Blizzard nerfing content means they're making it easier for ME and MY guild, and I don't want it to be easier."

Then your complaint is completely unfounded. You and your guild simply need to talk to the NPC at the beginning of the raid and choose "no nerf, please". Everything will then be just as hard as it has been.

Gold Capped: Tracking the most frequently bought and sold items {WoW}

Jan 17th 2012 3:06PM This idea is long overdue and it's great to see someone tackle it. Way to go, Fox!

I agree with others that this could benefit from more detailed and reliable data. The question is how best to obtain it. My first thought is that it would be great if the Wowhead client could be modified to gather gold transaction data. This addon already has significant penetration into the player population and I suspect it could be upgraded to record AH purchases and sales. Alternatively, a new lightweight addon could be written specifically to collect this data sample and upload the data much like the Wowhead client does. If this could be promoted enough so that the sample sizes on each realm become meaningfully large, the economic picture would become pretty sharp.

I've never considered data based on what's listed on the AH to be very useful. The UJ and AHspy really show you only what has not sold. Sure, you can make some inferences, but it's still guesswork. Ultimately, all that really matters are completed transactions.