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Posts with tag level-90

Rolled back druid has World First level 90 reinstated

Rolled back druid has World First level 90 reinstated
WoW Insider readers who have been around for a few months may remember the strange story of a druid. On the same day as the expasion released, a druid by the name of Fs hit level 90. He was subsequently rolled back to level 87, as the linked article was updated to reflect, and many cried foul, asserting that he had cheated, that he had somehow made use of an exploit to get through the levels at such speed.

Athene sat down with some of the guys who had helped Fs to 90, and chatted with them about how they'd done it. They asserted that it was simply related to a buff that was put onto them by some mobs in Townlong Steppes, shamans to be specific, which they'd used to farm mobs for XP. They said they'd done nothing else, but the fact that Blizzard rolled Fs back didn't really support them.

The latest development in the story happened late last night, when Blizzard Community Vaneras posted the following:


Vaneras
After some lengthy deliberation on this topic and evaluation of all facts, we've decided to overturn our decision on this matter. We will be re-instating Fs's achievements. Our apologies to Fs for any frustration this has caused.


So it seems from this that, actually, the claims were true, there was no exploit, no cheating, and the achievement was legitimate. Fs's achievements have also been reinstated on the armory. Almost 7 months down the line, congratulations!

Filed under: News items

Who here has the most level 90s -- and why?

Breakfast Topic Who here has the most level 90s
Let's talk alts, people. How many 90s are you altaholics running these days?

I guess it's pretty interesting to poke around for big, flashy totals -- and yeah, it would be cool to recognize the player with the highest number of 90s -- but I'm really more interested in how and why you pushed all those characters to the cap in the first place. Are you chasing the whole concept of one level-capped character of each race or class? Perhaps you've been building an empire of craftspeople. Or maybe you just really, really, really like the leveling game. What drives you to level 90 again and again?

How many level 90 characters do you have?
0 to 12550 (25.9%)
2 to 34008 (40.7%)
4 to 62363 (24.0%)
7 to 10596 (6.1%)
11 or more324 (3.3%)


Are there any of you out there who've actually leveled an entire character select screen full of characters to level 90? If you have more than a handful of 90s, what's your motivation for level-capping so many characters?

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion

Lichborne: What do I do at level 90? And 2 other burning death knight questions

Lichborne 3 common death knight questions
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Lichborne for blood, frost, and unholy death knights. In the post-Cataclysm era, death knights are no longer the new kids on the block. Let's show the other classes how a hero class gets things done.

Reading a guide is all well and good, but sometimes, even after you read, you still have questions or need clarification. This week, I've taken 3 questions I see death knights ask a lot at various places around the web, and provide some advice and clarification.

Why don't tanks need so much hit and expertise?

If you've been reading the column, you've probably noticed that I have de-emphasized hit and expertise when discussing blood death knight tank gear and strategy. This is for a very good reason. Certainly, active tanking is the rule of the day in Mists, which means in theory that tanks should want hit and expertise so their abilities land. In theory, if your Death Strike doesn't land, you don't get the healing or the blood shield, right?

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Filed under: Death Knight, (Death Knight) Lichborne

Encrypted Text: Shuriken Toss' unlikely popularity

throwing
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Encrypted Text for assassination, combat and subtlety rogues. Chase Christian will be your guide to the world of shadows every Wednesday. Feel free to email me with any questions or article suggestions you'd like to see covered here.

I'm not very happy with how the rogue talents turned out in Mists. Rather than new utility or cool features, we saw our old abilities given back to us, except that they were made mutually exclusive. The level 90 tier was particularly disappointing, as it focused on improving our quality of life instead of adding new functionality. Paladins get Boundless Conviction for free, and yet we're paying for Anticipation. I have yet to meet someone using Versatility. Couldn't we just see Redirect's base CD lowered to 30 seconds and call it even?

The worst talent of the bunch seems to be Shuriken Toss. Why would you use an ability that's significantly weaker than Mutilate? The surprise is that assassination rogues don't care about how much damage Mutilate does; mutilate is only their 7th-highest source of damage. Shuriken Toss, on the other hand, generates more combo points per energy than Mutilate. Shuriken Toss still procs Deadly Poison, which makes up 40% of our overall damage. Rogues across a variety of gear levels are reporting Shuriken Toss results that are at or near Mutilate's performance. Update: Due to last night's PTR updates, Shuriken Toss will no longer proc Seal Fate when in melee range. As such, Shuriken Toss will not be viable after patch 5.1 goes live.

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Filed under: Rogue, (Rogue) Encrypted Text

Realm First! Level 90 Derevka on his race to the level cap

USWhisperwind Realm First 90 Derevka on his methods etc crap title
WoW Insider previously featured Derevka's tips on how he was preparing for his Realm First! Level 90 race, with gaming endurance tips, and having got that coveted achievement, he's returned to answer a few questions about how he did it.

Why did you want to get Realm First Level 90?
Why? Mainly because I had never done it before and lots of people in my guild were getting really excited about Mists and all the hype... It was hard not to get all wrapped up in the excitement! Besides, it was something I had always wanted to do and just wanted to see if I could do it. And I'll show a little bit of hubris here: its always nice to see your name go across the screen in realm spam.

What did you do to prepare in advance?
Well, I had leveled to 90 on the beta. That said, I did that leveling very early on in beta so I knew there was going to be a number of changes (as well as bug fixes) that i didn't experience. I was familiar with all my class changes, so I knew I was going to be comfortable with both healing and DPSing in Shadowform.

Perhaps the two best things we did to prepare was to formulate a strict strategy with our 5 man team and to plan our dungeon time. Our 5 man leveling team had a rogue, Torima, who had quested a lot on beta and has a phenomenal memory so he somewhat became our de facto guide through the maps and quest chains -- he actually remembered some quests that were dead ends or particularly painful in getting RNG quest drops: if the quest was skippable, and ate up too much time we didn't do it -- such as the Yak quest out in Dread Wastes.

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Filed under: Interviews, Mists of Pandaria

Arena of Annihilation provides a quick and easy blue weapon at level 90

Arena of Annihilation provides a quick and easy blue weapon at level 90
Ever since Nagrand, the latest version of Ring of Blood has been a great rite of passage. Once you're close to max level, you beg, wheedle, or cajole 4 friends, strangers, or even enemies to join you in fighting a series of elite mobs, with the final reward being a blue weapon that will serve you well until you get something better from a heroic dungeon.

Luckily, this tradition continues in Mists, and it's even easier to get started. Once you're 90, head to Kun-lai Summit and the Temple of the White Tiger. Gurgthock will be standing next to a gong just outside the temple proper, and he'll give you a quest to enter the Arena of Annihilation, with the reward being the choice of a couple weapons tailor made for your class.

Once you get the quest, what you'll want to do is queue for the Arena of Annihilation scenario. Open the Dungeon Finder Interface (The hotkey should be "I" by default) and choose the Scenarios option. Choose Specific Scenarios from the drop down menu, check the box next to Arena of Annihilation, make sure no other boxes are checked, and hit Find Group. Within moments, you'll be in the Scenario and well on your way to your weapon. Once you defeat the final boss, Wodin the Troll-Servant will be waiting right there in the scenario to reward you.

The weapon will be a nice, solid rare weapon of ilvl 450. It's not as good as a heroic dungeon drop, but if you just dinged 90, it's bound to be better than the quest green you're likely using, and it'll help boost your item level so you can run heroics that much faster.

It's open warfare between Alliance and Horde in Mists of Pandaria, World of Warcraft's next expansion. Jump into five new levels with new talents and class mechanics, try the new monk class, and create a pandaren character to ally with either Horde or Alliance. Look for expansion basics in our Mists FAQ, or dig into our spring press event coverage for more details!

Filed under: News items, Mists of Pandaria

Blood Pact: Zone into Pandaria with 85-90 leveling tips

Blood Pact Zone into Pandaria with 8590 leveling tips MON
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Blood Pact for affliction, demonology, and destruction warlocks. This week, Megan O'Neill delights in getting off her night-shift work at 3am Eastern -- just in time for Pandaria leveling!

There are things I'll do and things I won't do when it comes to playstyle and gear advice.

I'm not going to tell you that there's a best spec for leveling. There are many ways to level and Mists of Pandaria is all about doing what you want to do, so following what I do may not be best for you. I'll have you know that I think leveling is far too easy still, so I tend to pick the inefficient or harder ways of doing things on purpose just to keep it interesting.

I'm also not going to debate which faction first with people. The gear choices are as varied as the leveling choices, and are meant to be mixed and matched as your drop luck will do for you. I will, however, point out the reputations you'll want to at least reach for reasonable raiding preparations.

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Filed under: Warlock, (Warlock) Blood Pact, Mists of Pandaria

Maximising your gaming endurance for that precious realm first

Realm First racer Derevka with endurance tips for launch day ANY
Derevka, of Tales of a Priest fame, is looking to add a string to his bow by joining the race for Realm First level 90. He's already one of the top Discipline priests out there, and will be engaging in the leveling battle along with his guild, Something Wicked.

Mists' launch is at 3.00am in Derevka's local time, and anyone who has tried to engage in a Realm First, or even World First race before will know full well that it's a long hard slog. This time around is no different, with a massive 97.5 million XP to get through from 85 to 90. We will be speaking to Derevka after his race attempt to get the low-down on all his innovative tactics and tips, so be sure to check back for that.

But today's post concerns you, the player. Staying up for as long as it takes to get from 85 to 90 is not something anyone does every week, and it can be a real endurance test for body and mind. As gamers ourselves, who understand what it's like, we would never tell you not to do it, so we're going to talk instead about ways you can do it better. How can you increase your endurance and mental acuity for the race to 90?

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Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Mists of Pandaria

Encrypted Text: Preparation vs. Shadowstep

rogue wings
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Encrypted Text for assassination, combat and subtlety rogues. Chase Christian will be your guide to the world of shadows every Wednesday. Feel free to email me with any questions or article suggestions you'd like to see covered here.

The new Mists of Pandaria talent calculators are designed to promote tough choices. None of the new rogue talents are awful, and all of them will see play at some point. Deadly Throw and Shuriken Toss could be useful to attack distant targets. Paralytic Poison and Nerve Strike could allow us to reduce our target's outgoing damage significantly. The battle between Versatility and Anticipation will likely be decided on a fight-by-fight basis.

The truth is that all of these choices pale in comparison to the ultimate decision in the new rogue talent tree: Preparation or Shadowstep. Burst of Speed is certainly interesting, but it doesn't have the history of Prep or ShS. Subtlety's two signature spells are facing off in a battle of utility abilities. Putting both of these abilities on the same talent tier is sadistic, but we have to cope with the reality of this decision.

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Filed under: Rogue, (Rogue) Encrypted Text

Mists of Pandaria Beta: Level 90 flying and where to get it

Mists of Pandaria Beta Level 90 flying and where to get it
Level 90 has been unlocked on the Mists of Pandaria beta servers, which means that beta testers can now reap the rewards of being max level -- specifically, flying! Flying is a trained ability obtained in the Vale of Eternal Blossoms, one of the last zones you'll visit on your leveling journey. The Vale of Eternal Blossoms houses two large shrines, mini-cities of sorts. There's one for Alliance and one for Horde. Each city flanks the impressively gorgeous Mogu'shan Palace and includes a host of vendors, stable masters, and trainers of every variety. This is where you'll want to head when you're ready to take to Pandaria's skies.

Horde players are taking up residence in the Shrine of Two Moons, while Alliance players are just across the valley in the Shrine of Seven Stars. Each shrine houses a Skydancer who will teach level 90 players the art of flying in Pandaria for 2,500 gold. Considering that flying in early The Burning Crusade set you back a whopping 5,000 gold, this is pretty cheap in comparison. Remember, though, as with all beta content, the price is not set in stone until Mists of Pandaria is released.

Having spent most of five levels happily exploring Pandaria, I can't wait to finally see it from the skies.

It's open warfare between Alliance and Horde in Mists of Pandaria, World of Warcraft's next expansion. Jump into five new levels with new talents and class mechanics, try the new monk class, and create a pandaren character to ally with either Horde or Alliance. Look for expansion basics in our Mists FAQ, or dig into our spring press event coverage for more details!

Filed under: Mists of Pandaria

2012 Arena Pass registration now open

Image
Last night, Blizzard annouced that registration has opened for the 2012 Arena Pass! Players registering will have access to arena geared level 85 characters, as well as a host of epic gear to choose from as they battle their way to the top. Gold is no object on the Arena Pass realm. You can have whatever you want, including training, respecs and gear.

The top 1,000 players will earn an exclusive Vanquisher title for their live realm character, and all players will receive access to an exclusive level 90 Arena Pass realm after they upgrade their account to Mists of Pandaria. What's more, players who participate in 50 or more rated Arena Pass games on one character and with the same team by the end of the six weeks will be eligible to receive the Armored Murloc pet for their live characters.

You can create up to three level 85 characters, all of which will be started at level 85 with a "hefty sum" of gold, parachuted in to a starting zone. Once you have your level 85, you'll need to get on board with a 3v3 team, which, as on live realms, can have up to six players on their roster.

The first two weeks are for practice, to allow players to meet, form teams, and get some matches in that won't count toward their eventual ranking, although teams will gain rating as normal. After the first two weeks, all ratings will be reset to zero, and for the next two weeks, there will be a -150 rating penalty for team roster changes. Teams will build ranking from the third week until the end of the six-week period.

In the final two weeks, rosters will be locked down and no changes will be permitted. If you want to change team rosters around in the final two weeks, you'll need to start a new team.

Good luck!

Filed under: PvP

Encrypted Text: Shuriken Toss breaks all the rules

shuriken toss
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Encrypted Text for assassination, combat and subtlety rogues. Chase Christian will be your guide to the world of shadows every Wednesday. Feel free to email me with any questions or article suggestions you'd like to see covered here.

Raise your hand if you remember fighting against Shazzrah. I'm not talking about our recent bout with Shannox or even our old fights against Mother Shahraz. Shazzrah goes way back, to WoW's very first raid instance, Molten Core. Due to the frequent AoE explosions that Shazzrah unleashed, rogues couldn't engage him without being slaughtered immediately. While the rest of the raid fought the boss, I joined the other rogues in my group crushing Blindweed and making some food next to the Cooking Fire.

As a melee class, our biggest weakness for years has been that we can only deal damage to nearby targets. It's limited our ability to swap targets effectively, our ability to avoid point-blank AoE attacks, and our ability to attack any target that's not on the ground. Rogues, along with other melee classes, have actually been benched because of these limitations. These shackles and restrictions have bound our class since its inception.

Shuriken Toss has the chance to change all that. The new level 90 rogue talent slated for Mists of Pandaria might redefine what it means to play a rogue.

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Filed under: Rogue, (Rogue) Encrypted Text

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