Yes I too like the holiday events.

It would be nice though if WoW would add some new ones even keeping some of the old would be ok but they tend to do the same thing every year and every holiday save for the newest additions. Of course next year they won't be new just the same.  Even the loot drops are the same and useless. I say useless because the same thing drops over and over and over and things like mounts or weapons or a needed quest item are more than rare they are super rare.  Then those repeat drops cannot be DE or sold so they get to lay and rot.  I would love a sleigh ride or some other things to do.

I think things like this are needed to help break the grind up a bit and give the players fun things to do. Keeps the boredom down some for sure.

The crafting and building are ideas I would like to see. I really think it would  be nice to have crafting that is truely useful and profitable. Building a home or place for business such as store to see crafted items in would be great and fun.

As for a game within a game I have no use for it.

I am sure to some degree crafting and building is in some games but not the way it should or could  be.

Originally posted by Serebren

Wow, all that and not one word about gaming hardware.

 

WoW players would likely benefit from a better graphics card, in the event they want to explore other games.  RAM is an issue for many gamers, and who doesn't want a better CPU?

 

Me, I'd like a 52" plasma screen with 1440 x 900 or better resolution.

Well the problem with buying gaming hardware would be if looking at getting someone a better graphic card, more memory or things along that line have to know if the cpu can handle it and if it is memory what kind.

That is why I suggested a Visa gift card because it can be used anywhere you can use Visa. 

If you have to ask them all the details then no it would not be a surprise. Yes you can feel around around and try and find out the info you need to purchase and surprise them but will most likely alert them to something going on.

Another way to do it if you just want to surprise them is get a Visa gift card. That way they can use it anywhere that takes Visa. Problem solved.

Like has been mentioned if you are getting them anything for computer or gaming make sure and ask. Better to ask and get what they will  use. I know our son is 14 and games on MMO's but he also likes his PS so we ask what he wants and go from there. I for one don't want to waste  money on a gift he doesn't want and his taste in games for the console runs different from mine. :)

Very nice article Jon.  I have been in a few betas and I can say for the most part it is the best time for communicating with the devs and others behind the scene so to speak.

I have been in a couple it wasn't that way but for the most part it has. I suppose that has a lot to do with me liking to do beta. I get to be where changes are made and the game develops and fine tunes a bit. It is fun and gives one a really good feeling.

Originally posted by Jaedor

Originally posted by 133794m3r

I find it really odd that you cite males as the majority in wow especially using the blood elves as an example. Even though the night elves are almost wholey female. Not only the npcs but also the players are female. So that alone makes females teh more dominant group in the game.

 

Maybe on your server the female night elf population far outweighs the male, but I'd venture a guess that your experience is unique or your assertion a bit short-sighted. Certainly it isn't the case on my server, where the night elf population looks to be about 60:40 male:female.

I was going to point out the Night Elf has more female NPC's than male. Although on the server I play on there are probably more male players than female or it seems the mix is that way.  But if your count was done in pretty much any of the Night Elf cities or towns the female far outweigh the male with NPC's.

However, in playing Atlantica most of the NPC's are male.                                          

{mod edit - go easy on the return key}

I am not sure why I keep entering contest that I never even come close to winning but I do. At least I can where some are not that lucky. Good luck all.

Originally posted by bizzaro1

lol, funny how this became flaming.

 

to all you civ's trying to make broad stroke assumptions about the military bcz of your friends brother or w/e, take ur head out.  i find the military a valid comparison to mmo's bcz each is a microcosm that mirrors its demographics and behaviors. in the military mens drama is settled with the standard 'might makes right' while womens drama can kill productivity and esprit de corps. for clarity, not all womens drama is related to men or sexuality, and in my experience most is actually mutually exclusive of men, but it still is a detriment to all those around it. for extra clarity, even ugly chicks get laid in the military cz there are so few of them, so competition over a man isnt generally an issue. but being desired by men is. that is a female deal and as strange as it is to hear it, has nothing to do with men. to put that in perspective, a women who wants to be desired by many men may not actually be with any of them, but she will make sure all her g/f's know she is desired.

to compare to mmo, might always makes right. this holds true for individuals [think pvp over resource nodes or good grinding areas] and for guilds/groups [think 100 member guild kos'ing a 20 member guild]. knowing this to be true in almost all situations, when you add the dynamic of relationship crap, female or in the past 2 or so years the prevalence of men pretending to be women online, the group which contains this drama is the weaker because the shared goal is not always the same anymore. dominance over other groups/areas/guilds is now weakened by those who must 'protect' the chick/fake chick. weakens the whole system and the chat drama irritates the hell out of me when it exists. i am not szaying the girl needs to be 'protected' as i have witnessed very capable female gamers, but dumbass little boys now want to play white knight and forget about the raid.  if you have 3 new people that you are teaching an instance for the first time, 2 drama idiots, and the leader trying to share direction/instruction, guess what everyone hears...yep, all the drama and none of the instruction. wasted raid and  very probably the 3 new recruits to your guild will move on to guilds that dont have that drama.

the original topic was regarding the effects of love in the game but really was a diatribe and an outlet for the author to share her own experiences with us as if validating her life. inappropriate, and frankly, poorly written. however, the debate spawned from the article was worth the irritation of having to read her 'one life to live'.

one last word, and i cant say this strongly enough. unless you have served personally in an armed force, you have absolutely nothing valid to say about it in my eyes. your comments elicit scorn at the best of times and ridicule at all others. man up and serve for a couple of years and then you can comment on the lifestyle, the social dynamic, and the feelings of those in bdu's. having a friend or brother serving is not license for you to speak intelligently about those who protect your fat ass.

Very well said. I like the last paragraph best of all. If you have never served in the military then STFU. It is a whole different life and group of people that risk their lives for others to have freedom.

Originally posted by SaintViktor

Seems all gameplay servers are down. Everytime I go to login, it kicks me out when trying to connect to Shandris server.

Yes, having the same problem .  Ah tis after 6:00pm est and still no WoW availability. Seems the servers that do show  are locked.

Originally posted by streea

The article is a bit confusing... at the end it's stated that "It boils down to this: relationships online aren't any prettier than real world relationships," yet the entire article spends its time trying to explain online/MMO relationships as if they're somehow different or cause different problems. It's not a strange concept... a lot of people just don't know how to think outside of their comfy box, so they react to it as if it's strange or new.

But it's not strange, and especially not new. My grandparents "met" during WW1. And by met, I mean that my grandmother started to send letters to soldiers overseas (there were programs that would "hook" women up with men fighting so that they didn't feel so alone or isolated) and one of those soldiers was my grandfather. They exchanged quite a few letters and, when he came back, he proposed to her within a week of meeting her face-to-face. They were together until they died.

THEN it goes on to say how "if a relationship does work, count yourself among the lucky few." Lucky few? Unless someone out there has done a study specifically comparing the success rate of real-life dating vs internet dating vs MMO dating, I have to call BS.

In the case of my grandparents, I don't consider them part of the "lucky few," because that wasn't uncommon at all for their time. It was just an easier way for some to meet people. Just as online dating isn't uncommon for our time and is just easier for people who have trouble finding others with similar interests.

The truth is your grandparents were born in a time when divorce was not an easy out and when people said "I do" it was for the duration, good, bad or otherwise.  Were they one of the lucky few? If they had a good and happy full filling life together then yes they were because many didn't but they still stayed together.  My parents were married for years but it was anything but a happy life. 

I have know a few of those couples and yes it is very frustrating to say the least. You need only one and have to take both or be without the one needed class. Then I have seen many times where you talk to one and the other answers for them. Again very frustrating and annoying.

I have know many who met and played together in game and then met in RL and many more times than not they don't last. Then the strain of it overflows into the game and some of those times I have seen one just simply quit the game because of it. Rather hard to play when there is constant reminders of a failure.  I have known maybe one or two that have lasted.

My husband and I both play and it is great! We didn't meet in game. We can group together or not and neither of us are jealous or worried about the other. We enjoy the game and when he was raiding hard and I wasn't it wasn't a problem. I admit  it isn't all roses but we manage to work through it. We have even been in different guilds with no problem. He is usually more social with conversations and the like than me which is funny cause in RL I am not quiet at all. lol 

This was well put out to just some of the highlights of problems that can occur. Yes people can overcome many things but it depends on the person.  As to long distance relationships: I would say that for some they work well while others due to what someone else said won't work at all.  I have known some of those and oddly enough they seem to lead to more solid RL relationships.

Originally posted by Elikal

Personally I always like Dark Elves more, because they are less ethereal and more hands on than the classic Wood Elves. I just don't like the Drow, the D&D depiction of Dark Elves, because esentially an evil society is absurd. It could not exist. I like the version of the Tamriel Dark Elves from Elder Scrolls. I still wait for the ideal Dark Elves in some story, a race which is a mix of Romulans and Klingons in Elvish, if you like. Warriors and moody beings, but not evil. (I am just a bit pissed about the racism in the idea all good Elves are blond and white skinned and dark skinned Elves are evil. Thats just rubbish.)

What most authors and games fail to depict is that an Elf is something much different than merely a human with odd habits and pointy ears. An Elf is essentially an alien, a very powerful being who lives very long, and the only reason they are not perceived as dangerous is because they acquired some wisdom through the length of their lives. An Elf should always be something potentially very very dangerous and very good to have on your side, and not some mockey of tree-huggers and flower pickers.

To say it is absurd to have an evil society is just not true. In real life there are evil societies that are real. For whatever reason their beliefs, ideals and way of life is considered evil. Yet they are there. Many may not ever know them nor even know of them but they are real.

I personally like the Dark Elves. They add an special element. At the same time some can choose pull away from their evil ways and if they work hard they can be accepted in other societies. This was the way in EQ and I played a Dark Elf Enchanter and did so. It is a challenge and for the Enchanter a bit easier to accomplish but was fun in the doing.

Elves are magical creatures and although they can be powerful they are very aloof with others. Their hatred for some races runs deep while they will tolerate others.  Many see themselves as superior to others. I love the elf race but I think WoW over did it on the ears. Elves should be beautiful to the eye and the ears should not look like a freak overgrowth. WoW fails on that account with the Night Elf . The Blood Elf if beautiful but the ears look like freakish overgrowth as well. How beautiful can a creature of such long standing history be beautiful with ears that look as though they are mutated.

Elves are not human they are something more magical and beautiful than a human could ever hope to be. Being close to nature and being able to live with and understand the world around them. The forests are their home and where they are one with nature and all that dwells within.

I have looked at the video's and check out the web site. Really hope I get  a chance at this one.. Looks very interesting.

Thank you. I look forward to that one as well.  I will stick with the spec I have until I gain the proper gear.

Putting it that way I can understand why you didn't go with fort.  Makes perfect sense.

I play a priest and shadow spec is my favorite. My second spec is Holy but I rarely ever play it. My spec currently is your second 13/0/58. I do raid and find the VS very useful. My dps is not where I want it to be yet but gear has greatly improved that. I haven't been playing for as long as you as I got stuck playing DK/tank due to the guild I was in needing a tank and at the time I was playing around with the DK.  Which has fell by the wayside as I returned to the Priest which I have always loved playing.

Your article is really great for someone just starting with a Priest/Shadow. I began with the first spec you showed and it is true the VE has saved me a few times. I was actually shaky about dropping it for VS but with better gear and more xp with my priest and a very helpful GL I gave it a try and have not been sorry.  It is also true in the beginning you tend to watch your timers a bit too much but as you learn you learn not to.  Moving in a fight is not near as much of problem for us as it is for a Mage. Most of the spells a Mage uses have a cast time so that means they need to be still where as we SP can cast our dots while moving and continue keeping dps up some. Sure it will not be as high as it would standing still but still there. 

I can see where the last spec would be great but I think I need to work on getting my dps consistent before I give it a go.

The only glyph I use different is instead of the sp I went with the fort one. 

There is couple of things you mentioned in using to help dps that I am going to work at getting more in my rotation to bring my dps up.

I loved this article and look forward to the next. I do hope you give some ideas on rotation of spells as I know that is also a big part of good dps.

Thanks

I don't PvP much in part because to really have a chance at survial you really need a lot of resil which means I would need to get yet another set of gear.  I haven't finished getting my os of Holy gear yet. ;)

Originally posted by dterry

I'll probably get flamed for this but....

 

1.) No trading between characters/accounts at all. You sell or give your item (acquired by crafting or looting) to an NPC or an NPC auction house and they resell it to another player at a fixed rate(or variable based on in game availablity of the item at the time of sale) - and then send you back the money.

2.) Force antivirus on the client - same as business VPN solutions - if your not running AV or it is not up to date,  then you fail the logon.

3.) Run your own scan after the AV check - looking for keyloggers or IP/MAC spoofing software on the client. - Do this in the open - not hiding it from the client.

4.) Ban people caught in RMT based on IP/MAC/credit card information.

5.) Enforce password complexity.

 

For starters...

Back when Blizz Con was going on many accounts got hacked. The guild I was in the GL and one of the officers got hacked as well as the GL's gf's acct. .  Bliz was swamped with tickets, emails and phone calls during that time. Most of the stuff for the guild bank and the other toons was restored but they did not ban the gf's acct. instead they monitored it. Getting info that was needed to get to the one that had hacked the accounts. I know the stuff from the guild was taken by diff toons on each of these accounts and then disbursed of.  They finally restored the gf's toon returning it to her. But as someone has said yea sometimes they do that. 

No one could stop the hacker by changing access to the guild bank as the GL was the only one that could change that and that account was hacked. Only the GL and his toons were allowed total access to all the tabs and the officer that was hacked was allowed access to all but one tab, so not much could be done. Even though there were many reports about others that were hacked Bliz said they could do nothing until the owner of the account reported it. I find this rather stupid because we knew some of the peeps were gone on vacation or to Blizz Con and were not accessing their accounts. When sent a tell the tells were ignored never responding to them. I mean if they had banned the accounts then when the owner got back they could have taken care of things but no they did nothing until  the owner contacted them.  This has over the years happened many times. I just don't understand why when they get many tickets or calls saying someones account is being hacked they can't at the very least  ban it until the owner of the account calls. No they were not monitoring the accounts either since the owner was not available to complain. So by the time the owner returned the dmg was done and the hacker was long gone.

Trust me hackers aren't scared off either as many of us sent tells saying we knew they were hacking the account and had been reported. Why should they be? I mean they know nothing is going to happen until the owner reports it. Does make you wonder though if they maybe knew the owner through playing the game or maybe even msgs posted on a board. I mean when peeps are going to something like Blizz  Con they tend to chat/brag freely about it. I don't know but I know that was a really bad weekend with hackers.

I don't know if there is any solid way to stop the farmers. I mean they seem to have more ways to get around things. WoW has put in the thing being able to report them but I really don't know if that is even followed through with or is just something so we can say we are reporting them. When it is a level one and by the time you report and do a /who they have logged.  Now there was one not long ago that was on a high lvl char spamming for a good hour but there again like has been mentioned it was prob a hacked account and they didn't care or someone that was really brainless doing it maybe for some gold. Who knows?

I am sure there are things that could be done that would really put a hurting on those farmers, but I am also sure they would find a way around it in time. Maybe the best solution is to just not indulge in their services or buy their gold or items. I have noticed it seems they are spamming items in trade chat now and when you send a tell to find out how much for an item(thinking it is someone besides a farmer selling) you get a reply back sending you to a website to buy gold and items. hmm is there no end to what they will do? When this happens I do a report and gone on my way. I don't want to support them but makes me wonder if I may have purchased something through trade or the AH that was one of the evil ones. Yes to me they are evil.

The whole thing in a nutshell as I see it when it comes to beta testing, it is only as useful as those doing the testing.

If you have a bunch of testers that have no clue about gaming as a whole and what they are looking for or at or a bunch of kids that just want to play before anyone else then no it is not useful and is a waste of time for the devs and staff.

If it is people that realize it is beta and don't put the game down and report their findings and even their suggestions then by all means it is going to be useful.

Then if the team and devs working on the game listen and do what is needed and even take suggestions into consideration then the whole process can be useful. Realistically  all suggestions and ideas may not be able to be put in but maybe if the team is listening it might at a later time. I myself have done some beta testing and I go in with the thought this is beta and I expect to find problems and bugs. As a tester I report what I find and if it is something I am not sure of then I put it down to find out.  It is really annoying to hear peeps in general chat complaining because things don't work right and comment the game is not any good.. of course they don't work right that is why it is called BETA. /shakes head       /face palm

Some very good points made in your article. It is true f2p do seem to update and add things much quicker and the point made is good. There is a lot of f2p games out there and seems more arriving regularly. So yes the market is a tough one.

I have tried a few of them and I have noticed things seems to move at a much faster pace when it comes to updates and new things. They are not without problems but it sure seems they get them cleaned up a lot quicker than the subscription games do.

It is a whole lot easier to change a game when you are not spending so much in the playing and expansions.

If memory serves me correctly EQ started selling Plat to eliminate the farmers. So yea anything is possible. My big question there is though doesn't that effect the economy they all seem to scream about?

I mean if you log on one day and find you are missing a large amount of the hard earned gold you have earned and put in a ticket and they say we see you had and earned and did not spend it. We don't know what happened to it but we can't give it back because it would hurt the economy. Then doesn't selling gold or plat do the same thing? Oh wait I think I have it "if we sell it it does not hurt the economy because we are making money (RL) off it". 

So yea if it puts money in their pockets then I would say we can expect about anything as being possible. So for anyone who thinks it is unfair or doesn't have the funds to get it oh well tuff.

Originally posted by Frobner

I would like to point one or two things out when it comes to devs and nerfing.

 

Nerfing is ok - as long as its done professionally.  And it has to be consistent - both over time and over classes.

 

Lets take an example of the big guy.  WOW.

Many players are aware that some classes have turned up to be "overpowered" and BLizzard has gone hard in with the nerfing bat.  WOTLK hit DKs and Palas pretty hard.  But that does not tell all the story. 

First off - Who didn't know that a Class that would have both tankinga and high damage in all 3 specs would be overpowered ?  All but BLizzard right ?   And who didn't know that a high dps spec with healing abilty would be overpowered ? Yes - again .. all but Blizzard it seems.

But ... The thing is - it was overpowered in ONE part of the game - that is PVP .   And for that the PVE players that played these classes were paying big time.  This has happened time and time again with WOW.

The other issue is that very often - things are nerfed very suddenly... while other things... when needing the oposite direction - are not dealt with for months -or even years. 

Again - good example of this would be Ret paladins who were, like the devs put it - thought off as lvling spec in TBC - and patch after patch after patch - nothing was done to correct multiple issues that came up.  It directly showed the lack of intrest the developers were showing in their own game design.

But then came WOTLK and things turned 180°.   Even without testing - nerfs were thrown in regularly on Ret palas to balance PVP (and again without thinking of PVE) - or even off other pala specs that got hit even harder cause of the changes..

IN the previous expansion- alot of classes had been hugely overrepresented in PVP for entire duration of TBC - like druids who dominated the Arena healing without anything beeing done to balance it. 

Now... I played alot of classes in WOW - so I can compare the treatment and how the lack of intrest from the developers were really obvious when it was time to act on buffing - but did it in a flash when it needed a nerf - without testing and seeing the effects of other part of the game.  And thats only one class and one spec that has taken the full swing.  

Thats not how things should be done - and it came to the point where I desided a game that had such development team  - does not deserve my sub. 

I think you hit some very good points. First it is unrealistic to buff up other classes as that would take a great deal more time to do than to nerf one or even two. 

On the other hand the truth is or appears to be that the nerfs in WoW are more toward PvP and not PvE. Therefore if you don't PvP or do so very little and don't have good PvP gear then you are going to die and be an easy target for one who does PvP.  So those that PvE get nothing and in some cases neither do the those that PvP.  Of course obtaining even fair PvP gear any more would mean PvPing regular and in all aspects of it.

With all this in mind I sure don't see them going in and bringing all of the Alliance classes up to equal standard so that PvP would be more balanced. I don't understand it maybe they like it one sided and maybe .... I don't know to me just seems unfair. But at the same time it is very important to know and play your class well either way. Taking time to try out different specs and rotation finding what suits you and your style of play.

I had mentioned the Pally which is up and coming and the DK which was recently done. Truely the Druid hasn't been hit all that hard and neither has the Shaman.  Rogues were said to have as well as the warlock but with the constant stun locks of a rogue till you die or are near death and the fears that seem to go on forever I don't see where they have done much in that area IMO. 

It is good if you have chosen a little gnome for a tank and find that it is a huge mistake after obtaining level 80 and you can't see what you should. To change to a bit larger race that makes it better for you to be a tank.  /shrug  or you could just eat deviate fish and save your money. ;)

Many reasons peeps would want to change race I suppose but $25 is rather steep IMO to pay to change your race. Many want to give Horde/Alliance a try and can do so then go back after a given period if they don't like it. There is a cost other than the money though in changing so I caution you too look at the whole picture before leaping.