Posts with tag equipment

The Queue: The dating game

by Alex Ziebart Mar 18th 2010 at 11:00AM

Welcome back to The Queue, WoW.com's daily Q&A column where the WoW.com team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Alex Ziebart will be your host today.

Today's edition of The Queue is one part off-topic and two parts on-topic, but each and every part is worth it. Trust me on that one. Oh, and there's a couple more bad words than usual. You have been warned. I hope none of you are too scandalized by it.

Windswept asked...

"There is this girl I like that works at the mall, I want to ask her out but I don't know how. What would YOU do?"

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, The Queue, Cataclysm

Patch notes incorrect: Equipment Manager will not be part of patch 3.1

by Adam Holisky Apr 14th 2009 at 1:00PM

The official 3.1 patch notes for the live realms states that the equipment manager is now active. The patch preview website that went live says it isn't, and a blue post from a couple weeks ago was the first announcement that it won't be going live in patch 3.1 yet.

So then why is the equipment manager in the patch notes?

The patch notes are wrong in this instance.

Zarhym/Floating-Red-Skull confirmed as much last night, and it's important to note that there might be a few other posts like this one throughout the day. In some cases patch notes can be incorrect in the finer points of the patch. This is one of those cases.

Patch 3.1 is live and it takes us into Ulduar, delivers us dual specs, and brings significant changes to all the classes! We've got you covered from top to bottom with our Guide to Patch 3.1 and the official patch notes!

Filed under: Patches, News items

Breakfast Topic: What's the oldest piece of gear you use?

by Michael Sacco Feb 13th 2009 at 8:00AM

Man, WoW just throws so many items at us. They're greens, blues, and purples. They're vendor trash and they're enchanting mats. They all fill up our bags and our hours in the game. They drive our raid attendance and our questing time. And some, out of all of those thousands of items, mean something to us. We've all got our cherished items, ones that we can't bring ourselves to get rid of.

This breakfast topic isn't about what we don't want to get rid of, though! This is about what we can't freaking get rid of no matter how hard we try.

The General forums were graced with Blue presence in a thread asking just what the oldest item you still use is. The OP mentioned that theirs was Dabiri's Enigma, a tanking trinket they've been trying to get rid of since they day they got it back in Netherstorm. Unsuccessfully, of course.

What about you guys? What have you been trying to replace, upgrade from, or downright throw away since Light-knows-when?

Filed under: Breakfast Topics

The Queue: Sunday, Sunday, Sunday!

by Alex Ziebart Jan 25th 2009 at 12:00PM

Welcome back to The Queue, WoW Insider's daily Q&A column where the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft.

Ah, another Sunday afternoon! Well, technically this was posted precisely at noon, which isn't the afternoon. But you're probably not reading it at the exact second It was posted, so you are reading it in the afternoon. Right? Right. Now, with that settled...

Vinicius O. E. asked...

What happened to the dance studios?

Filed under: Alliance, Druid, Analysis / Opinion, Realm Status, Expansions, The Queue

The Queue: Wrap me up, baby

by Alex Ziebart Jan 14th 2009 at 4:00PM

Welcome back to The Queue, WoW Insider's daily Q&A column where the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft.

In the comments of yesterday's edition of The Queue, Gilgamesh mentioned that you're actually able to attack the projection of Mr. Bigglesworth in Wintergarde Keep, or at least, you could for a long time. It's inspired me to... tell a little story.

Once upon a time, The Queue was Ask a Beta Tester. We were still in the midst of exploring Northrend before every Joe and Jane could waltz in there, and I was a puny level 71 traipsing all over the world and taking in its beauty. Ohh! Dragons! Ooo! Yetis! Oh look, hehe, there's a kitty on the projector! Let's click on it!

Oh no! Oh nooo! It's attacking me! Oh gosh, it's just a critter, I can just 1-shot it. Unfortunately for me, it was level 80, and I was a level 71 caster. It resisted absolutely everything. I ran around Wintergarde flailing my arms in horrified desperation, hoping and praying it would leash and leave me be. Unfortunately, it did not, but I had healing spells and managed to weather its furious paws until my Prot Paladin friend showed up to tank it for me. Not my proudest moment, that's for sure.

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Expansions, RP, The Queue

Hybrid Theory: Healers, gear, and entering Northrend

by Alex Ziebart Aug 16th 2008 at 8:00PM

Welcome to Hybrid Theory, where we discuss all things hybrid in the World of Warcraft. Hybrid Theory is brought to you each week by columnist/blogger Alex Ziebart.

Remember a few weeks ago, I mentioned how if you want to be extra-cautious about preparing for Wrath of the Lich King, you should figure out a calm, easy way to farm gold that won't burn you out? After having hit the current level cap on the beta realms... I still recommend that, if you want to be extra prepared. If you're a very casual, don't worry about it too much, really. It's not that big of a deal. Leveling will get you enough for the bare necessities. If you're the type that wants to start leveling professions and gearing up immediately upon hitting the level cap though, think about going into Wrath with at least a couple thousand in your pocket, which really isn't that hard of a task.

Moving past that, though, a lot of people have asked about gear across all classes, but mostly Hybrids. Hybrids have asked because all of the Healing classes are amongst them, and if you're a Healer you may not necessarily have a set of DPS gear. My first comment on this: Don't worry. Really.

Filed under: Druid, Paladin, Priest, Shaman, Expansions, Hybrid Theory, Wrath of the Lich King

Hybrid Theory: Shadow Priests and the Wrath Alpha

by Alex Ziebart Jun 8th 2008 at 9:00AM

Welcome to Hybrid Theory, where we discuss all things hybrid in the World of Warcraft. Hybrid Theory is brought to you each week by columnist/blogger Alex Ziebart.

I really thought my excitement over Wrath of the Lich King would fade after the initial onslaught of alpha information and just come back around launch time, but that hasn't really been the case. It's been a pretty consistent type of excitement, and I pretty much devour every piece of information I can find.

We've talked about Druids already, but while I love Hybrids in general, my Shadow Priest is my main and my first love. Yes yes, I'm sure some of you still disagree with Priests being Hybrids, but I'm of the opinion that they are so I shall continue. If you want to disagree, do so in the Comments section below.

I adore playing my Shadow Priest, but I think all Shadow Priest players agree with me when I say there are some definite issues with the class on some level or another. Why don't we take a seat and see what might be on the devs' minds, eh?

Filed under: Priest, Analysis / Opinion, PvP, Raiding, Talents, Buffs, Hybrid Theory, Wrath of the Lich King, Arena

Gearing a Holy priest for Karazhan, part one

by Eliah Hecht Jun 1st 2008 at 7:30PM

Hello, fellow Holy priests! Are you interested in Karazhan, but have never gone yet? Maybe you want some Badges, maybe you want some nice epics, or maybe you just want to hang out with nine other folks and have some fun. But what to wear?

Well, the good news is you don't need amazing gear to start KZ. In fact, healing KZ can be easier than healing many heroics, in my experience, if only because you have another healer or two there to help you out. Of course, the better your gear is, the better your performance will be, but there are many easy-to-reach pieces of gear that will perform fine, and several that will perform amazingly, for Karazhan. Join me as I step through some recommended options.

Filed under: Priest, Items, Raiding, Guides

Slippery stats and spells revealed by Chardev

by Alex Ziebart Apr 26th 2008 at 2:00PM

Two aspects of my personality come into conflict quite often during my time playing WoW. You see, I love getting the most out of my gear, and pushing every little point of damage I can get out of my equipment. However, I hate doing math in my leisure time. When you really want to get down to min-maxing, you're stuck with that little math part.

Fortunately, there are tools out there to help that out somewhat. The latest tool being Chardev.org, a website that allows you to either build a character from the ground up or import yours from the Armory. Everything from gems to enchants to talents are able to be altered here, and while this isn't the first website to do something like that, it does do something differently. It allows you to see all of your stats, and the breakdown of your spells. Their damage, damage coefficients, casting time after Haste, all of that.

It definitely isn't perfect or a replacement for good math, but it's quality work regardless. The ability to refine your item searches further would help a lot. As it is right now, it just throws you a giant list of what could technically go in that slot, with no way to narrow it down. Still, seeing spell stats and how gear will affect them laid out for you is very cool. Chardev is worth at least a look!

[ via Massively ]

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Fan stuff, Odds and ends, Enchants

Hybrid Theory: Itemization, Patch 2.4 and beyond!

by Alex Ziebart Mar 22nd 2008 at 11:00AM

My original intent for this week's Hybrid Theory was to take a close look at the Badge Gear for Hybrids in patch 2.4, but that turned into a monstrous project that left my head spinning. I remained vigilant, until I saw the specific class columns were working on this themselves, starting with Shifting Perspectives. Upon hearing that, I jumped for joy and it was as if the Heavens opened up and thousands of beautiful angels embraced me against their supple forms.

So instead of filling your browser with loot links and badge prices, I'm going to talk about the future of itemization, from patch 2.4 and onward.

"We do plan to have more specs share some loot. I know it's great when the Retribution-Paladin piece drops, but that's a piece that isn't good for 26 other classes/specs, so hopefully we can make it so the item will apply to more classes/specs so even the randomness of loot won't be so much of a big deal."

-Bornakk on Wrath of the Lich King

Filed under: Druid, Paladin, Shaman, Patches, Analysis / Opinion, Hybrid Theory

Two Ring to rule them all

by Adam Holisky Feb 25th 2008 at 4:00PM

Two Ring to rule them all,
Two Ring to find them,

Two Ring to bring them all
and in the darkness bind them.

Forget The 1 Ring folks, Massively lead and WoW Insider blogger Krystalle Voecks came across The 2 Ring today via a Live Journal entry. For many years World of Warcraft players all around Azeroth have been on the look out for this seemingly missing piece of loot, and in patch 2.4 they will be rewarded via the daily fishing quest.

The ring features +22 to the primary five stats, making it (wait... let me make sure my math is right here...) 22 times better than The 1 Ring.

I'm not sure of it's use initially. It's a well rounded stats ring, so perhaps a druid or other hybrid class might be interested in it if they find themselves changing roles often enough. However for a single role / gear set, there are a plethora of better choices easily obtainable.

Of course, with that said, it makes a helluva nice ring to start off at 70 with.

Filed under: Fishing, Patches, Odds and ends, News items, RP

Some good news, some bag news

by Alex Ziebart Feb 13th 2008 at 10:35AM

Yet another fun little tidbit slipped by unnoticed in the recent frenzy of 2.4 news, but no longer! Behold, a WoW Insider exclusive!

Okay, so it's not that special and I may have exaggerated the weight of this news item just a little, but I think most of you will be happy to know that the Magisters' Terrace drops a 20 slot bag: The Sun Touched Satchel. It is unique, but it seems to be a fairly common drop off of the trash inside of the instance. I don't have statistics and percentages for you but when I mentioned it in General chat, a fair number of people spoke up to say they had one as well. Judging entirely off of that, I assume it won't take you dozens and dozens of runs to get your own.

I'm sure this is a bit of a sting in the bum of Primal Mooncloth tailors when combined with the near-free 20 slot bags from Zul'Aman, but keep in mind that the bag is unique. I don't expect this will cause the market for 20 slotters to change much, if at all. Besides, I think everyone in WoW can agree that more bag space is a good thing, no matter the source.

Filed under: Tailoring, Patches, News items, Economy

Jewelcrafting: More than just gems in 2.4!

by Alex Ziebart Feb 10th 2008 at 2:20PM

No, they didn't forget the Jewelers in the new crafted gear. Healers, casters and melee DPS all recieve both a ring and a necklace from Jewelcrafting in 2.4, and the recipes are likely drops in the Sunwell raid zone.

The necklaces(which are BoP) all come equipped with a gem slot for further customization, making them a pretty nice prize for end-game Jewelers. The materials on these rings and amulets are pretty hefty though, it won't be an easy task to make them. Everything from Primal Mights to Hardened Khorium Bars to gems from Mount Hyjal and Black Temple are needed to craft these beauties. And let's not forget the Sunmotes for the rings, and the Primal Nethers for the necklaces.

As you can see, you'll need to jump through some hoops to get your hands on these, but they seem worth it. If you want to see for yourself, check out the stats and materials after the jump. Thanks again, MMO Champ!

Filed under: Patches, Items, News items, Jewelcrafting

Darkmoon Faire Decks: An overview

by Daniel Whitcomb Feb 10th 2008 at 2:00PM

As I've mentioned before, The Darkmoon Faire is currently in Terrokar Forest, just outside Shattrath City, so if you have decks to turn in or need to refill your private stock of Darkmoon Special Reserve, now's the time to get on it. But if you're still a little bit taken aback by the prospect of gathering all those cards, or wondering if the trinket at the end will really be worth it, we'd like to help you out.

In this post, we'll be looking at both the old and new decks and listing some pros and cons of each deck so you can figure out if you want to spend the next month tracking down cards before the Faire shows up in Elwynn Forest in March, or even if you just want to blow your epic flying mount fund on getting a deck before it leaves for the month.

We'll start in on everything after the jump.

Filed under: Items, Analysis / Opinion, How-tos, Events, Quests, The Burning Crusade, Factions, Guides, Buffs, Enchants

Fear Ward and Spell Haste for facemelters

by Alex Ziebart Feb 3rd 2008 at 2:00PM

Yesterday's announcements brought two big notes that will be affecting Shadow Priests. The Fear Ward change and the fact that Spell Haste will affect the global cooldown.

The Fear Ward change, like I mentioned in my last post, is primarily a convenience change for PvE. Reupping Fear Ward every 3 minutes when you need to keep putting Shadowform back on afterwards is annoying, and a large mana drain over long encounters. However, it wasn't crippling, so not a very big deal. What this will help the most is PvP, especially arenas. Having an arena match last longer than three minutes isn't unlikely, so you will probably want to put Fear Ward back up at some point throughout the match. Being required to drop Shadowform to do it is sort of a pain, considering both the loss of damage and the mitigation Shadowform supplies you with, arguably one of the Shadow Priest's strongest defenses.

The Spell Haste change is what has me a little excited. I'll admit right away, I haven't crunched any numbers. I'm notoriously bad at breaking down raw stats, I usually just eyeball my gear and take a guess. I'm right or pretty close more often than not but don't hate me too much if my guesses here are completely wrong. If you want to see some raw numbers, you can probably check them out over at the ShadowPriest.com forum.

Filed under: Priest, Patches, News items, PvP, Raiding, Buffs, Arena

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