Posts with tag steel

We had an article here not too long ago about the SteelSeries WoW mouse, purportedly das ubermaus, replete with glowing fissures and lookin' all like a Templar helmet. We actually had kind of a hard time finding out just how the mouse performed -- it was advertised months before it came out, and it doesn't appear that many gamers actually got to use the mouse prior to pre-ordering it and did so based on Blizzard's official licensing of the WoW name on the product.

The few that did use it, those that played around with it at BlizzCon, actually reported to us that it felt cheap, flimsy, and about to break. That was a bit disconcerting to read, of course, and it wasn't actually an isolated incident--all of the emails we've received about it thus far have been negative reviews. Folks complained of broken buttons or strange key reassignments with the accompanying software.

Now, our sister site Engadget just released their own impressions on the device and they appear to like it, offering a large size, good weight, and robust software among their list of pros.

The inconsistency in reviews of the product thus far isn't what really bothers me, though. It's the fact that the mouse is a WoW-licensed product that performs functions that are against Blizzard's policies.

Most of the time here on Ask WoW Insider, we ask ethical questions of you, the readers, or sometimes we'll ask what you think of certain game mechanics. But this time, we've got an aesthetic question instead, from reader Lindelan.

Let me say first that Wrath is awesome!! I LOVE it! One of my favorite things is the way they designed the new armor. That being said, one thing that has absolutely started to drive me crazy is the lack of diversity in armor! I can understand having the same models while leveling, however the fact that level 80 blues look just like the blues I got at 71 is just plain lazy! Has anyone else noticed this, and do you guys think Blizzard will step it up in the future?

Lindelan

This is an interesting issue -- Blizzard got some flak in Outland for the gear being a bit too colorful. "Clown" was a word that was used pretty often, thanks to all the glowing and neon extras that came on our gear last expansion. And in Northrend, we fortunately haven't had that problem: the gear looks a little more badass, made up of dark steel and leather with pointy and ragged spikes on it.

But have we gone too far the other way? Does all of the gear look the same now? Personally, I just miss my Hunter's mail kilt from the Argent Dawn world event rewards, but I think the gear has been much better looking in Northrend. I'm just happy none of it is pink, so if I have to choose between dark blue or straight black, that's a choice I'm happy to make. What do you think?

Previously on Ask WoW Insider...