Herb respawn rates up
by Basil Berntsen 
Feb 10th 2011 at 2:00PM
Posts with tag respawn
WoW Rookie: Pro tips for lowbie dungeon runners
by Lisa Poisso Feb 11th 2010 at 9:00PM
When you really need to know, turn to the hive mind. Readers had plenty to say last week about their trials and tribulations (and triumphs!) running the older instances of vanilla WoW and Burning Crusade. Thanks to speedy reader comments, we were able to update readers with a resolution to the looting mess that left most groups unable to complete the staff required to summon Ironaya in Uldaman. (Any other issues with tradeable objects inside instances? Let us know about them in the comments.) As the discussion wound through page after page of observations and frustrations and advice, a veritable gold mine of tips for running low-level instances emerged. This week, we'll recap those tips for new players who are making their way through the old instances for the very first time.
Filed under: WoW Rookie
WoW Rookie: The inner workings of instances
by Lisa Poisso Jul 15th 2009 at 2:00PM
Maraudon or Blackrock Depths, anybody? Instances are your opportunity to meet and work as a team with other players in the World of Warcraft. You'll combat pack after pack of minions and defeat unique, memorable bosses on your way to some of the most enjoyable play in the game. Instances, also often known as dungeons, offer your group (and later, your raid) your own personal copy of a dungeon. No players other than your own group members are able to enter an instance with you. Instances provide some of the most rewarding and well designed content, challenges and loot possible for your character.
The teamwork and cooperative effort required to down the elite mobs and tricky bosses within an instance require a new level of teamwork from your rookie character. We've touched on the basics of finding your niche within a group. Today, let's cover the mechanics of managing instances – becoming "saved" to an instance, resetting them, understanding respawn and more. (One note: this week, we'll discuss five-man instances designed for single groups along the path to level 80, not raid instances requiring 10 or more players to complete. We'll introduce raid instance concepts for fresh level 80 players next week.)
Filed under: Tips, Instances, Features, WoW Rookie
Take out the trash (timers)!
by Chris Jahosky Sep 25th 2007 at 10:30AM
Over at Blessing of Kings, Coriel recently made the case for removing the respawn timer on trash mobs in raid instances:
"When you go into a 5-man instance, you expect to clear it, even if it is your first time going to that instance. You may wipe once or twice, but the general expectation is that you will finish that instance. In this case, an instance time limit is a good idea. If you hit the trash respawn, it's a sign that something is wrong, and perhaps it might be a better idea to try again later, maybe with a different group or after gearing up a bit more.
... In contrast, in a raid boss fight, you expect to wipe a lot. That the fight is intricate enough that learning and mastering it will take multiple hours. It took us two or three evenings to refine our strategy and master The Lurker Below, and he's generally considered an easy boss in SSC."
He makes a few more good points in the article, including the fact that for casual guilds, losing time to trash mob respawns could be better spent learning a new boss. Obviously this affects more casual raiders than hardcore ones, but I think Coriel summarizes his points well and is worth a read.
"When you go into a 5-man instance, you expect to clear it, even if it is your first time going to that instance. You may wipe once or twice, but the general expectation is that you will finish that instance. In this case, an instance time limit is a good idea. If you hit the trash respawn, it's a sign that something is wrong, and perhaps it might be a better idea to try again later, maybe with a different group or after gearing up a bit more.
... In contrast, in a raid boss fight, you expect to wipe a lot. That the fight is intricate enough that learning and mastering it will take multiple hours. It took us two or three evenings to refine our strategy and master The Lurker Below, and he's generally considered an easy boss in SSC."
He makes a few more good points in the article, including the fact that for casual guilds, losing time to trash mob respawns could be better spent learning a new boss. Obviously this affects more casual raiders than hardcore ones, but I think Coriel summarizes his points well and is worth a read.
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Raiding
Breakfast Topic: Do some things just make you say "Wha...?"
by David Bowers Jul 22nd 2007 at 8:04AM
We all know this is just a game. We know this, and it allows us to overlook several things that would really shock us if they happened in real life. And I don't mean strange blue aliens with tentacles coming out of their chins, or meteors of fire raining down on top of us -- these are standard fare fantasy and we look forward to seeing them.No, the things I'm talking about are more like this:
- The big blue alien walks right through you on his way to the bank.
- Meteors rain down on some people standing by the mailbox -- but they don't seem to notice.
- Flying mounts go the same speed up and down, unaffected by gravity.
- A polearm takes up as much space in your bags as 20 bottles of water.
- Creatures you kill just respawn a few minutes later.
- Big spaulders and weapons just pass through your character's head as they move and yet there is no brain damage!
What other odd aspects of this gaming experience would you add to this list?
Filed under: Breakfast Topics, Humor
