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WoW: Legion Expansion – Blizzard Gets It Right Again

On June 8, 2017

I Love the Fel “Star Destroyer”

We are now three patches into the World of Warcraft Legion expansion (patch 7.1, 7.1.5, 7.2). I haven’t seen the subscription numbers lately but they have to be up. I know my play time is increasing quite a bit. In the previous expansions (after Wrath of the Lich King), I rarely felt motivated to log in. As much as I enjoyed Garrisons, it did become too repetitive. In fact WotLK is probably the last expansion I really enjoyed, however this expansion is quickly becoming a very close second.

I am really enjoying Legion! If you read a lot then I highly recommend reading Richard Knaak’s War of the Ancients trilogy. It is a perfect companion for this expansion and I think it has largely influenced how much I am enjoying it. In a lot of ways an MMO is like a movie, it’s only as good as the story it’s telling. Wrath of the Lich King had a great story that really felt entwined with my character and Legion is doing the same thing.

But Wait, There’s More

There is more to it than the story in the World of Warcraft Legion expansion. Several of the new features they have added is also contributing to my enjoyment. I will admit that I was skeptical at first of Class Order Halls. I thought it was going to be a step backward from Garrisons. I’ll admit that I was too quick to judge. Blizzard is doing a great job incorporating the Order Halls into the main story of the expansion. Also, I think what makes them fun is the fact that every Order Hall is different and has a different story. The garrisons were all the same no matter which class you were playing; now I’m trying to level all my alts just so I can experience each Order Hall.

The Artifact Weapons have to be a huge success. They have to be the driving force behind people completing so much additional content. I rarely set foot in Mythic dungeons but now hidden/unlocking appearances have me making the time to do a few. In fact I have probably completed more Mythic dungeons in this expansion than I have since Mythic dungeons were added to the game. The different weapon for each class specialization also has me trying different specializations. For example, I would rarely play anything other than a Fire Mage, but now I’ve acquired the artifact weapon for Fire and Frost (and I’m even considering getting the Arcane weapon).

It Isn’t Just the Content, It’s the People Too

I rarely pay any attention to Trade because of the trolls and 12 year olds causing havoc and raising blood pressures. However, there are good people and when you find those good people it does change the game. I was apart of a great raid team from Karazhan through most of Cataclysm. When Mists of Pandaria released our team broke up and several of us changed servers. Nearly everyone that moved to the same server all found new raid teams but I didn’t. Perhaps that is why I was rarely feeling motivated to log in.

Finally, when Legion came out, I joined a raid team of which couple of my former raid members were already members. It has almost felt like old times again! The people are fun and so diverse. Perhaps some people are intimidated by too much diversity in a raid team, but it becomes just a matter of adjusting to the different personalities. Eventually you learn that those different personalities are what makes things so much more interesting and fun (even when we are pissed off and struggling).

The next raid, Tomb of Sargeras, is about to open and the next patch (7.2.5) will be hitting live servers soon and I am excited! This new team is ready to face this exciting and lore filled content and soon we will destroy Kil’jaeden, just as we destroy Gul’dan.

FOR AZEROTH! FOR VARIAN!!

If zombies attack the world, everyone will run and hide. Except for us gamers, of course. We’ve been waiting for this all our lives!

The Official Trailer for WoW: Legion 7.2 Patch

By Biggs

On March 23, 2017

In Gaming, World of Warcraft

The upcoming WoW: Legion 7.2 Patch trailer is officially released. The live date for the 7.2 patch will be March 28th (next Tuesday). This does not mean that the next raid, Tomb of Sargeras, will be available so there is still time to get those Normal/Heroic Gul’dan kills. You will also still have time to get your “Ahead of the Curve” achievements for Trial of Valor and Nighthold (which goes away upon the release of the Tomb of Sargeras raid).

In any event, here is the trailer:

TBT: Lamentations of a Former Tank [gone DPS]

By Biggs

On December 2, 2016

In Gaming, TBT, World of Warcraft

So I am going to take a different approach to this week’s Throwback Thursday post (which is late again). This comes on the cusp of experiencing a struggle I’ve only heard other folks repine. I used to tank; from 2005 through Mists of Pandaria I was the Paladin tank for our raid team. Then the server population began to dwindle; finding raiders to fill spots became a struggle; long story short we switched servers and joined new raid teams. I was no longer needed as a tank so I had to become a DPS. It’s the first time I am working on progression as a member of the DPS squad. This week’s TBT is my lamentations of a former tank – gone DPS.

DPS Like Me: The Struggle Is Real!

A couple of expansions ago I remember the raid leaders constantly emphasizing the point that damage dealers need to improve their damage. I always silently thought to myself that there must be something these folks are missing because it can’t be that difficult to figure out how to do that. I will pause for you to silently curse and berate me. After my paladin, playing a shadow priest was my second favorite class so that is the class I chose to play as [ranged] DPS.

We are roughly three months into the current raid content and 5/7 in Heroic Emerald Nightmare. My gear iLevel is 860 and, while a shadow priest is supposed to be at the top of the charts, I’m barely making the middle of the pack. I am experiencing everything they were fussing about; the struggle is real! I have read the forums, tweaked my gear and my rotation but I am still struggling to break that 200k mark. Granted there are a couple of stats that I could increase but there is only so much you can do until the right piece of gear comes along.

I guess its true what they say. Sometimes you have to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes to understand their trials and tribulations.

IMO, Tanking is Easier

I will never take my DPS team members for granted again. As a tank, remembering to taunt was paramount. If you messed up your rotation, it was rarely a big deal (unless it caused you to dramatically lose threat). The rotation for a DPS has very little room for error. The adage for DPS to “Always Be Casting” (also known as the ABCs of DPS) has a lot of credence. It not only requires you to constantly cast something but deviating from your rotation can have cascading effects on your damage output. The training dummies are good for building the muscle memory for your rotation. However, they are not a reliable method of measuring your damage because you never have to move, which isn’t an authentic raid scenario.

So, to that end, while I really enjoy playing my shadow priest, I do enjoy tanking more. I’m less frustrated, less often, with my performance as a tank after a night of raiding. Some nights I dread looking at the logs; I don’t want to see how far down the damage charts I am when I know I need to be near the top. I’m not sure what else to do but keep improving my stats, keep practicing that rotation and reading priest forums (like icy-veins.com or howtopriest.com).

Tips and recommendations are welcome.
/cheers

TBT is one of those crazy Facebook trends. It stands for “ThrowBack Thursday” and often times people post pictures. I know the old adage “A picture is worth 1,000 words” but most of the time the pictures I want to post have a great story behind them. In my traditional nerdy fashion, instead of just a picture I want to provide a blog post for my TBT moments to share those great stories. I will not share stories in which the context will embarrass or incriminate myself or my friends and family.

TBT: WoW 12 Years! And Great Times!

By Biggs

On November 18, 2016

In Gaming, MMORPG, TBT, World of Warcraft

So this issue of TBT (err, Fallback Friday? yes, I’m late) is going to appeal to a much different group of folks. If you follow any of Blizzard’s games then you know this week they are celebrating World of Warcraft’s 12th anniversary. People who don’t follow the gaming industry are probably shocked that a game is still thriving after 12 years. The funny thing is, that’s really not all that inconceivable. Final Fantasy will be releasing their 15th iteration of their franchise which began back in 1987. So WoW is a youngster by comparison but, if you will allow me a small pun, WoW 12 years!

It’s not a secret to my gaming friends that I have been playing this game for a long time, however, I have not been playing the entire 12 years. Actually I didn’t start playing until about the fall of 2005 when a friend convinced me to give it a shot. The first character I ever created was a male Night Elf Hunter named Discretus. Around February of 2006 I took a break from WoW until about June of the same year. I discovered that several of my co-workers also played so I created a Human Paladin on Alleria named Anthonius. I still play that paladin to this day. I didn’t forget about Discretus, however, that toon isn’t a male Night Elf anymore. After a few server transfers and a “Bruce Jenner” transformation, that character has become a female Draenai.

Gaming Friends are Real Friends Too

Neither of my two original toons go by those specific names anymore, however my gaming friends still address me by the moniker “Anth”. So who are these gaming friends, you might ask. Yes, most of them I have never met in person, but physical location isn’t required to create and maintain friendships. In fact I believe I have covered that very concept before. We all live in different parts of the continent, with different jobs and believe different things. Be that as it may, World of Warcraft is now just one thing we all have in common.

We were all part of a guild for seven years. When the realm population became meager, most of us transferred to a new server, with a higher population. A couple of us still raid together on the same team in a new guild, but all of us still keep in touch. Social media, chat clients and Discord allow us to still chat with each other. So over the twelve years Blizzard has provided us all with something more than mere recreation. It has forged unforgettable friends.

/cheers

TBT is one of those crazy Facebook trends. It stands for “ThrowBack Thursday” and often times people post pictures. I know the old adage “A picture is worth 1,000 words” but most of the time the pictures I want to post have a great story behind them. In my traditional nerdy fashion, instead of just a picture I want to provide a blog post for my TBT moments to share those great stories. I will not share stories in which the context will embarrass or incriminate myself or my friends and family.

Dawn of the Professional eSports Athlete

By Biggs

On November 16, 2016

In Biggs On, eSports

Last August Jimmey Kimmel got on a pedastal about YouTube’s Video Game Watching Service. He couldn’t understand why people would watch other people play video games. The funny thing is, that has been happening for several years now. There are people who find just as much entertainment value in eSport championships as they do watching any other sport. I’m not here to pontificate the ^*merits of watching eSports; I’m here to talk about the dawn of the professional eSports athlete.

Notice that I never place quotes around athlete. I know many folks, especially other athletes, are probably scoffing and laughing. While that might seem like a knee-jerk reaction, who can really blame them. When you think about an athlete you think about someone physically fit (i.e. professional sports players, American Ninja Warrior, etc). In fact, even Merriam Webster’s definition says: “a person who is trained or skilled in exercises, sports, or games requiring physical strength, agility, or stamina”.

The Professional Athlete is Evolving

Regardless of the standard definition and what society imagines an athlete is, the concept of an athlete is changing. In fact, even Forbes has a article that is about redefining the professional athlete. Athletes are evolving where physicality isn’t the only thing that defines an athlete. Mental acuity is now playing a much larger role. I’ll admit that a large portion of the physical training an athlete goes through has a mental component to it.

Likewise, there is a physical component that contributes to that mental acuity for eSports athletes. Video games challenge your mind, thus training your brain to develop more awareness and sharpness. It’s not any different than training in a weight room, after all, your brain is a muscle. However, the physical condition of your body plays a role in how sharp your mind is and how quickly you can react. Do a google search for “esports athlete” and notice the predominate body type. How many of you were expecting this guy?

The only thing all these professional eSports athletes need to take it to the next level is someone to organize them … and then here comes Blizzard.

Blizzard Raised the Bar

At BlizzCon this year, Blizzard announced Overwatch League. This is going to be an actual gaming league; potentially the first ever professional eSports league. I do not know all of the details but from what I have been able to glean, its going to be pretty similar to a traditional sports league. Teams will have corporate sponsors. Players will have salaries and contracts. A player can be traded to another team. It all actually sounds very interesting. If Blizzard succeeds, it will be the first of its kind.

I go back and forth as to whether I think this will survive. At first the whole concept seems inconceivable. Blizzard is trying to create an ecosystem where gamers are paid to play their favorite competitive games. I’m really curious how they are going to convince companies to become corporate sponsors, besides the obvious companies (i.e. Steelseries, NVidia, etc). If they want this concept to expand beyond Southern California, then they are going to need support from other companies.

If Blizzard can secure enough sponsors, there will not be a shortage of players. There might be a shortage of skilled players. I want them to succeed because my greatest cause for concern are all those people quitting jobs to become the next “Fatal1ty” (aka Johnathan Wendel). As absurd as that sounds, you and I both know its true. A gamer has one of two dreams 1) work for a company that makes video games or 2) get paid to play video games. I’m not trying to be disparaging; I encourage anyone to pursue their dreams when an opportunity presents itself.

The one thing I am certain of, this will not be one of those “everyone gets a trophy” type of situation; not everyone can be a professional eSports athlete. As with all competitive sports, virtually and in reality, it will require real skill, real training and real commitment.

/TTYL

^{* Ironically I sided with Kimmel when I wrote a response to the hecklers}

If zombies attack the world, everyone will run and hide. Except for us gamers, of course. We’ve been waiting for this all our lives!

Blizzard Has Marginalized Professions

By Biggs

On November 11, 2016

In Gaming, World of Warcraft

Isn’t it ironic that after talking about the trials and tribulations of leveling professions in Legion I’m now discussing how Blizzard has marginalized professions? Perhaps more people were dissatisfied with having to always gem and enchant their gear thus why Blizzard made such dramatic changes to professions. I’ll be honest, I actually miss putting gems in my gear and enchanting my weapon. In fact the latter really bums me out because I think some enchants on our artifact weapon would look amazing!

Actually how marginalized professions has become really bums me out. I always feel like leveling your professions was all part of the leveling experience. It’s one of those tertiary tasks you can do for those times you want to be in-game, but not really in the mood to quest. Granted Blizzard hasn’t removed just lackadaisically crafting at the kiln, but now crafted items are less meaningful. This is especially true for Jewelcrafting and Inscription.

Jewelcrafting, Inscription. Gone!

Well, not really, but if your profession is jewelcrafting and/or inscription, you are probably in the worst position. There are 16 gear slots (excluding the shirt) and, between two level 110 characters, I think I have a gem slot on one item. I’m not suggesting that a gem slot needs to be on every piece of gear again, but it might be nice to see more it than ^*3.125% of the time. Inscription is mostly cosmetic. Your target market are people who like to change their shadow form or their ghoul’s appearance. The only way to make a profit using a profession is to complete the Obliterum quest chain and destroy everything you make and sell the obliterum.

Since you can use obliterum to increase item level, the traditional crafting professions (i.e. Leatherworking, Tailoring, & Blacksmithing) still have merit. You can make improvements on the higher level crafted items by using obliterum to increase their level up to 855. Enchanting is probably the only viable profession for progressing in the end game and turning a profit. As players acquire new gear from Mythic dungeons, raids or World Quests some of those items will need enchants.

I hope Blizzard is working on some big changes for professions. I would like to see them play a bigger role again. It doesn’t necessarily have to be as large of a role as it was back in Wrath of the Lich King. I’m not expecting a significant change during Legion but hopefully something clever and innovative in the next expansion. Until then mounts and pets seem to be the only real reason people even level professions.

/cheers

^{* 16 slots per toon * 2 toons = 32; 1/32 = 3.125%}

If zombies attack the world, everyone will run and hide. Except for us gamers, of course. We’ve been waiting for this all our lives!

A Geek's Cogitations, Conjectures and other Cortical Experiences

Category: Gaming Page 8 of 44