.: cataclysm

Showing posts with label cataclysm. Show all posts

Friday

Cataclysm Fails At Having A Hook

You hear it alot. Every blogger, or player talks about a game having a hook. Without a hook a game will never be as successful as a game with a hook. So what is a hook? Does everyone have a different idea on what a hook is? Why do I think Cataclysm fails at having a hook?

I am looking at Cataclysm from a new player prospective. I have played World of Warcraft for several years, but Cataclysm is my first time back since basically Vanilla. I originally thought Blizzard was offering the perfect hook for Cataclysm by changing up some of the old zones, and creating activity in these zones.

Unfortunately I only made it to 25 with three different new characters. I just didn't feel motivated to keep progressing in the game. The leveling grind is boring. Unpopulated zones, and the new phasing makes you feel like you are Will Smith in that movie where he is like the only person alive in the world.

Why did Blizzard spend so much time with the new zone revamps, but fail to get anyone to actually populate them? What a huge waste of resources, and time.

Cataclysm needs to offer more hooks to newer players. I can't think of anything that made we want to log in. The end game seems so far away that it is easier to just quit the game than to keep grinding away levels that seem pointless.

I think every expansion is making it harder, and harder for players to reach max level. Of course leveling is easier now, but it is still many, many hours of time that means nothing to you, or your character. I can say that 85 seems like an impossible feat to reach as a new player.

I am not sure what kind of hook there needs to be, but something needs to motivate new players to reach the end game. The end game to me wasn't even enough motivation to continue on.

Do you think Cataclysm has a hook? What is the hook that keeps you playing?

Monday

Stupid and Annoying Character Names In MMORPG's

It has always annoyed me, and just the other night we were talking about it in vent. We were talking about all those names we find stupid, and annoying in Cataclysm, and other MMORPG's. What kind of names are stupid, and annoying?

The first annoying type of name are those who use all these crazy characters in their names. Do they realize they probably miss out on alot of invites, and other game related stuff? No one knows how to send a player a tell if their name has two dots over the U, or a squiggly above the A, or one dot above the E. All you end up doing is setting yourself up to playing the game by yourself, and wondering why no one responds to your region chat. I refuse to type ALT-153 to make your special character.

The second annoying type of name are those players who misspell their names, but close enough to what they want their name to be. Do you really think you are that important that if you transfer servers, or start a game four years after launch that if Legolas isn't available to you have to resort to making it Legohlas, Leggolas,Laygolas, or whatever. It definitely screams one thing to me, and that you are an idiot.

The third annoying type of name are those players who put prefix, and suffixes on their name. If Photar is taken than you try to be creative with XphotarX, XxphotarxX, or something equally stupid, and annoying.

You make a name for yourself by being a great player, and leader. Why would you want to steal someone elses name? In the real world everyone has the same names. You don't see me running to the courthouse, and changing my name to XxBrianxX because there are 2034 other Brian's in the city of Beaverton, Oregon.

A character name is just a character name. I create new ones every game I play. Do you really think someone cares that I have used the name Wasdstomp since 1998 in EQ? No they don't, and that is why I always choose a new name. It is actually fun to make new names. It would be so boring to play the same character name in every game I play.

Sunday

Why Cataclysm Lower Zone Revamp Is A Failure

The new starting zones in Cataclysm are simply amazing in the Goblin, and Worgen areas. It really gave me high hopes for Cataclysm. My characters are now all in the 20's, and I have to say I am pretty disappointed. Where is everyone?

The lower zones are still literally ghost towns. You are lucky to see one other person in the same zone. The new revamping on the zones has aggravated me more than making me excited. Most quests are the same, but have moved. I spent more time in barrens trying to figure it out than actually leveling.

I feel like content has been removed. I used to love Southern Barrens, and now it's a whole new zone. I am not even sure when I go there now. I feel lost. How do I get to Thunderbluff now, 1k needles, Tanaris, and etc? I used to be able to unlock fight paths by walking Southern Barrens and going to all these places. How is this making the lower level experience better?

After some frustration I decided to check out Tarren Mill, and Hillsbrad. Tarren Mill looks really cool now, but everything is different. I see horses roaming everywhere. No more bears, and spiders. Dun Garok is now spirits. Durnholde is empty except for five huge elite mobs. Hillsbrad is empty except all the old bosses are now elites. The Yetis have an elite. The Dalaran bubble is gone, and now a huge crater. You follow the river, and areas that were part of quests now have no mobs. It is just empty landscapes, and buildings. How is this making the lower level experience better?

I thought Cataclysm was supposed to bring life back to these new revamped zones? Instead now you can't even complete quests, because they changed everything to elite mobs. Did they think these zones were going to be populated like in vanilla wow? How can they get people in these zones again?

It is overall pretty disappointing to me. It is now feeling like the game I remember. You just spend hundreds of hours out by yourself in a MMORPG to get to the point where you can actually do stuff. Has the dungeon finder eliminated the need to quest, or grind? Why would anyone even have to leave the city?

I know plenty of players who knock instanced games like Guild Wars, but if you really look at how Cataclysm has changed over the years it is basically the same. Everyone congregates in the main city, and portals, queues, or whatever to go where they want.

Tuesday

Why Buy Gold In Cataclysm?

After resubscribing to World of Warcraft for the Cataclysm expansion I don't see why anyone would have to buy gold. My characters are making a ton of gold off some of the silliest things. Who would even imagine some of the prices I have seen so far?

I have been selling stacks of Clam Meat for over 400g. It is the same clam meat a few years ago was vendor trash. Why is it so popular, and players willing to spend so much money on it? Is there an end game recipe that needs it for Cooking? Are players so rich in the game now that 400g is nothing?

I have been selling Wool for over 200g a stack. Is wool that much in demand to level up tailoring that veteran players are willing to pay any price if it keeps them from having to farm it? It is unbelievable.

Lastly I have been selling stacks of Light Leather for about 25g a stack. Once again it is way overpriced for what it is. I will just keep skinning, and selling. I will be at gold cap without even trying.

I highly suggest the addon Auctioneer. It will prevent you from ever selling something way cheaper than it is worth. I plan on showing players how to use it very soon. I just use the basics, and can still turn 5g into thousands of gold in 30 days.

Monday

Third and Twenty

This isn't about football. This is about having three characters to twenty in Cataclysm. All three characters are fun to play in PvP. I don't want to leave any of them behind. It is giving me that diversity to keep me moving forward.

Each of my classes have its fun points in pvp. I love playing my Warlock, Druid, and Priest. I play all three as dps. After fixing my latency issues in Cataclysm I am winning many 1 vs 1 fights, and ranking near the top for killing blows. It is pretty good considering all three classes I am playing are pretty squishy.

Now here comes the dilemna. Everyone else in the guild is powerleveling one class to 85. At least if feels that way. We already have several in the upper 30's, and 40's. I am enjoying taking it slow, and mixing pvp in when it gets to the last level of each battleground bracket. Will I regret leveling all three of my characters together when the rest of the guild are doing raids, and stuff?

It is a very good question. I prefer PvP. Are most racing to 85 more PvE minded? I really want to try PvE out this time around, but it still isn't going to be high on my priority list.

I still prefer Battlegrounds, and Arenas. I am sure I will be spending most of my time doing them. I just hope I find more pvp minded players in our guild when it comes to making a true premade, and teams for arena once all my characters hit 85.

Friday

Cataclysm Players Are Idiots

Why do I think Cataclysm players are idiots? Every year World of Warcraft players fall for the same tricks of items on the auction house for the Christmas event.

Every year I can put Ice Cold Milk, and Small Eggs on the auction house for crazy prices, and players pay the prices. In previous years I have bought ten stacks of milk, and listed them separately on the auction house for 10 gold each. That is right. I charge 10 gold each, and it cost me a whole silver to buy a stack of 5. The next day I go to my mailbox full of Auction Sold spam.

It is the easiest 1000 gold you can make. Other players eventually catch on, and undercut you but it doesn't matter because you already made your gold. I guess maybe next year everyone will be smart enough to not pay it, but don't count on it. WoW gets new idiots to play every day. You will have a fresh new crop next year who will buy it from you.

The same idiots who buy the milk will also buy the eggs. Luckily I had alot of eggs in my inventory from some of the goblin quests, and killing stupid Hippographs in Azshara. I put them on the auction house for 5 gold each, and each recipe requires five eggs. Once again you are making easy money.

I look forward to this event every year so I can make thousands of gold with basically no farming required. I want to thank all the World of Warcraft idiots that support me by buying my Ice cold milk, and small eggs.

Thursday

Latency Issues Solved In Cataclysm

Fix latency issues in Cataclysm and other MMORPG's

My latency issues have been solved in Cataclysm. Since I have been away from World of Warcraft for a few years I didn't realize I was having such an issue with latency. By pure accident I accidentally moused over my latency in the game, and realized I was in the 600ms+ range. I am no computer expert so it still didn't mean anything to me. I soon realized that red meant bad.

I figured it was my wireless internet. I unplugged my wireless, and went back to wired internet. I updated my network adapter drivers, and rebooted my computer. I log into the game in the middle of the night. I am talking 3am, and my latency was still unbelievably hovering around 600ms.

I log out, and decide to find some new recommended servers to test out. I create a new character in Cataclysm on a low population server, and in the Undead starting area. I look at my latency, and it was still an issue. It was still in the high 400ms. I can't pvp with that kind of poor latency.

I try a few other suggestions from the tech support forums from Blizzard, and no real changes. I was really starting to get pissed. How am I going to crush noobs with horrible latency?

I finally check out the second and third page of Google, and I found this program that basically for five bucks a month it reroutes your server hops to be the closest. They offer a lifetime free trial that shuts off every 20 minutes so I figured it was worth a shot to see if it fixed my latency.

All I can say is WTFast program is amazing. I log into the low population server, and it shows my latency at 0. I was in shock. I log out, and log into my normal server for Cataclysm, and my latency dropped from over 600ms down to less than 50ms. It instantly fixed my latency issues with Cataclysm.

My excitement meter was off the charts. I decide to truly test my latency issues with Cataclysm, and queue for a battleground. I go into the battleground with my Druid which the day before I became really frustrated because with my latency issues I couldn't kill an AFK caster even if I tried. It was the difference between night and day.

I didn't lose my pvp touch after all. I rocked the killing blows in that battleground. I knew I wasn't that bad at pvp. So if you are having latency issues, or even want to improve your latency I highly suggest spending the five bucks a month for this. I am so impressed with it I even placed a banner ad from WTFast on this blog to make it real easy to solve your latency issues in Cataclysm or any other MMORPG

.

I Can't Decide What Class To Play In Cataclysm

It is literally killing me. I can't decide what class I am playing in Cataclysm. Every class seems great until I go in the battlegrounds, and eat dirt for dinner. Have I lost my pvp touch? Are players just that much better at PvP these days? Is it just my gear? Are the other players twinks?

Whatever the case may be it is making me very crazy. I think I am loving my class choice, and the next thing you know I want to /ragedelete it. Every class has its strongpoints, and I need to just stick one out.

I initially rolled a Druid. In PvE I am killing stuff in 1.2 seconds flat. It seems like easy mode. I love playing Feral while leveling up. I get into the battleground, and I can't seem to kill an AFK caster. It just doesn't make any sense. At low levels it isn't to tough to spam 2-3 spells.

My next character is a Warlock. Once again in PvE I am a mob killing machine. I can kill stuff so fast. I get into the battlegrounds, and Worgen Rogues can almost one shot me. The problem is that is all there is in the battlegrounds. You have Worgen Rogues, and Druids. It sucks the fun out of my warlock so fast.

I decide to go back to my main character I played in Vanilla which is a priest. I forgot how frustrating this class is to pve with. You can't kill anything in less than a minute, and even with heals you find yourself dead alot. In PvP in the battlegrounds though it seems priests are pretty deadly. I guess SWP just is a sneaky dot that kills you without realizing it. Add a little mind flay, and you are leading the killing blows.

My next character is a Hunter. I literally think they are god mode in pve, and pvp. I want to strangle every hunter I see with the string from their bows. It is to unrealistic how fast they can shoot these bows. They kill people so fast. I haven't been in a battleground yet as one, but I definitely cry myself to sleep when one decides to kill me over and over in one. You know something isn't right when they can kill three on one almost every time.

So for now I am still undecided which class to consider my main, and will be leveling up all four until one ends up being the class I have the most fun playing.

Wednesday

Do You Remember When?

Since returning back to World of Warcraft, and playing Cataclysm I hear Do you remember when constantly. It reminds me of family reunions, class reunions, old friends finding each other, and so on. You are always looking back at the great times you had.

Some of them I have heard in Cataclysm since coming back...

Remember the world pvp in TM and SS.

Remember when AV's would last hours, or even days

Remember when AV had thousand of npc's

Remember the boss NPC's in AV

Remember turtling WSG for hours

Remember in beta

Remember pvp in the tram

Remember when you couldn't afford your mount at 40

Remember when Horde didn't have Pallies

Remember MC 40 mans

Remember mind controlling into the lava

Remember Fear before pvp trinkets

Remember when you could only wear pvp gear if you kept your rank every week

Remember trying to kill the king in IF.

Remember in beta how many times you ran Uldaman

Remember when there were only like five flight paths in the game

Remember when you had to run to Hillsbrad to queue for AV

Looking back I can say Cataclysm is nothing like World of Warcraft at release. I think a book listing every patch note, and hotfix in chronological order would bring back so many memories. What do you remember from the game 5-6 years ago?

Tuesday

Things I Like About Cataclysm

Achievements. I love seeing the broadcasts of players accomplishments. They took WAR's Tome of Knowledge to the next level, and more.
Goblins. No doubt about it. The Goblin zone is amazing.
Shards. No more stinking shards.
Ammo. No more arrows.
Azshara. The zone changes are spectacular. The Goblin Rocket Exchange Way is like a massive rail system through the whole zone.
Latency Lowlifes. I love the guild full of bloggers, and our readers.
I find myself wanting to play 24/7
I actually enjoy the crafting. Currently I am doing Mining, and Skinning.
Real Live Events that give rewards you actually want, not a level 8 health potion like WAR.
Guild Perks that make gaining each level worth it. Unlike WAR's guild leveling reward system which is a joke.
Mounts that are actually unique, and cool looking. No I am not talking about the sparkling pony.

The list could go on, and on. It just seems Blizzard always knows how to implement, or improve something that someone else did. The next thing you know they will let us build houses, or guild towns Minecraft style, but always ten times better.

Friday

Goblin Zone Rocks My Warlock

Okay. I initially rolled a Troll Druid on Cataclysm launch day. The new starter area seemed pretty cool. Reality set in pretty quick though. I soon realized that most of the older zones really didn't change much. I felt myself getting in a rut, and I barely was level 12.

Now let's fast forward to today. I logged off my Druid, and decided to make a new Goblin Warlock. I thought the new starting area was going to be crazy busy, but really it was pretty quiet. I guess everyone power leveled out of the starting area already.

All I can say is the Goblin Zone rocked my Warlock from quest number one. Blizzard did everything right in this zone. You are questing, but it doesn't feel like you are questing. You are doing stuff that puts the word F-U-N into grinding levels.

I am driving this car around the starter city, riding rockets, parachuting, being a weed whacker, operating goblin gadgets in almost all the quests. It is just amazing.

I suggest everyone makes a Goblin, and experiences this new vision of a starting zone. You don't even think about your level, xp, or anything. It is like that book where you can't put it down. I keep finding myself saying just one more quest, oh wait just one more quest, and so on.

The Goblin zone is absolutely addicting.

What do you think about the Goblin area?

Picking up my buddies around town

Turning into a Goblin weed wacker

Riding a rocket while AOE blasting below

Preparing for lift off

Freefalling!

Whew my parachute opens

Holy flying chickens

Big Chicken

Hammer roaming the lake

Wednesday

My Thoughts On Cataclysm

Okay. So what do I think of Cataclysm now that I am in the Barrens? It reminds me of when I was married, and I would come home to the furniture moved around in my house. What do I mean by that?

I have to say I am pretty disappointed in the overall changes. Of course alot has changed, but it really hasn't changed. Basically all the quests are the same. There are a few new ones, but for the most part if you were sick and tired of leveling alts through the lower zones it won't be much different even with Cataclysm.

I am basing my thoughts so far at only being level 12. As I progress further I may think differently. I stopped in the Barrens tonight, and really almost every zone looks the same with some minor changes. It just seems they spread the quests out some more. Every old quest still seems to be in the game, but it just moved to a different spot with maybe some minor changes.

I don't know, but when I think of Cataclysm I think of huge changes. I think of Hurricane Katrina type of changes. It just isn't that big of a deal. The changes are probably more cosmetic, and anyone new to the game will probably love it compared to other players who have seen the same landscape for six years.

I am enjoying myself regardless. I have always enjoyed grinding characters in World of Warcraft. They make it easy to have multiple characters fully geared out. The Latency Lowlifes are growing, and I look forward to having alot of fun in the game.

Goblin and Worgen Race Changes Should Be Frozen

I don't know if it is just me, or not. I would have preferred that they not allow any paid race changes for at least 90 days. It just seems it is cheating to convert one of your other characters instantly into a Worgen, or Goblin the first day of Cataclysm.

How are you going to know all the ins and out of your race? Isn't the whole excitement, and fun leveling a character through the new Goblin, and Worgen content? Why skip a part of the game that will probably give you lasting memories?

So I am giving everyone who paid to change their race to Worgen or Goblin my middle finger.

Tuesday

No Goblin Or Worgen For Me

At least for now I am not going to play a Goblin, or Worgen. After being away from the game for so long I need some area that is a little familiar to me first. I really want to play a Druid so my choices were Troll, and Tauren. I have never really liked the Tauren so I rolled a female Druid.

I knew things were changing, but not quite as drastic as I thought. The Troll starting area is now the islands outside of Sen'Jin Village where you did alot of quests before. It threw me a curve ball.

Anyways I enjoyed scoping out some new quests, and basically a new area. I was a little frustrated at times not knowing quests by heart. The new quest helper in the game helps a ton.

I haven't been able to play too much yet. Working at 4am kind of puts a damper on play time, and as I get older I realize I can't function unless I am getting 8 hours of sleep. I managed to get level 7, and move to Razor Hill. It actually seems the same so I will be able to really get a jumpstart tomorrow in my grind to 85.

The best part about today was I didn't die once, and that is a big FU to my Bright Wizard.

Wednesday

Skaven Or Worgen?

Skaven or Worgen is the question of the day. Will the official release date of Cataclysm lure away the Skaven players to World of Warcraft to play Worgen? Is playing a Worgen still better than the implementation of the Skaven in Warhammer Online? Will patch 1.4, and the RvR packs keep players in Warhammer, and not jump ship to Cataclysm?

It isn't a tough question for me to answer. I am no huge lore buff, and I just want to play a character that is different than most other classes. So for me it is real easy to choose a Worgen over a Skaven. I just want to play a class that looks cool. I know a Worgen is a Werewolf, and Skaven are Rats, but I want to actually have a character that I can progress from level one.

I know I will be able to play a Skaven in Warhammer Online, but it won't even be a real class. It is basically going to be a temporary skin for RvR. It will have no personalization, progression, or power which seems to be the focus of the RvR packs, but Skaven will have none of that.

I have already made my decision, and I am choosing playing a Worgen over a Skaven. What is your choice?

Tuesday

What Class to Play In Cataclysm

After being years away from World of Warcraft I need to figure out what class I want to play on December 7th. I haven't really kept up on the game so I am pretty clueless on what classes to play. I have previously played a Paladin, Mage, Warlock, Priest, and a Druid.

I played my Priest the most, but after I made a Druid I told myself I would never play a priest again. I literally ragequit playing my Mage about a week or two after hitting max level. I hated my Pally, but at the time Pallies were the gimp, but I hear now they are pretty good. I loved my Warlock, but I hated collecting shards all the time. The decision seems easy to choose Druid.

That is where the problems start. I can't play a goblin druid, and I played Horde most of my time in Warcraft. Is it time I changed to Alliance, and played a Worgen Druid? I just hate the thought of not knowing the Alliance side of the game very well, but with Cataclysm I probably won't know anything on the Horde side either.

A part of me wants to see all the new Horde zones, but I don't want to play any of the old race/class combos. I want to experience a fresh new game. It is probably going to be a decision I end up making the night I log in to Cataclysm.

Are most players going to play a Goblin, or a Worgen for Cataclysm?

Monday

Why I Am Buying Cataclysm On December 7th

It seems really strange that I am talking about buying Cataclysm. The last time I ragequit World of Warcraft I told myself I would never go back. I purposely tried to avoid any of the hype for Cataclysm. I haven't read any updates on anything about the game. I just know basically everything is changing, and it will be like a whole new game.

So why is it that they officially announce the release of Cataclysm today, and I can't stop drooling all over myself? It is just crazy. I just requested a weeks vacation starting December 7th. How can just an announcement have me that excited about playing it again? Am I still addicted to World of Warcraft, and the Cataclysm announcement just made me relapse?

Will it live up to my expectations? My expectations are not really much. I want to experience the game like old times in beta, and the first year or so after launch. Those are the times I liked the most. I enjoyed the world pvp, and it was always what made the game fun for me.

I just think Cataclysm is what is going to make world pvp fun again. I remember the raids on the Barrens, the fights in STV, and Hillsbrad. It is what I want back, and I think Cataclysm will breathe life back into the lower levels. It will be like playing the game again for the first time.

I enjoyed having to watch my back every mob I attacked from opposing players wanting to gank me. It is what pvp is all about. The whole surprise factor of pvp is gone these days from most mmorpg's.

I look forward to playing Cataclysm non stop for a week. Let's just hope my boss actually approves my vacation that week, or I might be in jail from doing some real pvp on him.

Friday

Did you get what you wanted for Christmas?

Did you not get the items you wanted for Christmas? Go ahead, and buy them now for yourself.

- World of Warcraft: Cataclysm

- Microsoft Windows 7 Professional Upgrade

- 28 inch Widescreen Monitor

- Razer Naga MMOG Laser Gaming Mouse

- Warcraft Horde and Alliance Leveling guide

- Warcraft Gold making guide

- World of Warcraft 60 Day Pre-Paid Time Card

Tuesday

Last minute gift ideas for World of Warcraft Gamers

Are you undecided on what to give someone who plays World of Warcraft? Here is some last minute gift ideas.

- World of Warcraft: Cataclysm

- Microsoft Windows 7 Professional Upgrade

- 28 inch Widescreen Monitor

- Razer Naga MMOG Laser Gaming Mouse

- Warcraft Horde and Alliance Leveling guide

- Warcraft Gold making guide

- World of Warcraft 60 Day Pre-Paid Time Card

Monday

7 things to buy World of Warcraft gamers for Xmas

santas list of things to give world of warcraft gamers for xmas

Are you trying to think of things to buy for Xmas for someone who plays World of Warcraft?

Here is a great list of things that any World of Warcraft player would enjoy receiving as a present on Christmas Day.

- World of Warcraft: Cataclysm

- Microsoft Windows 7 Professional Upgrade

- 28 inch Widescreen Monitor

- Razer Naga MMOG Laser Gaming Mouse

- Warcraft Horde and Alliance Leveling guide

- Warcraft Gold making guide

- World of Warcraft 60 Day Pre-Paid Time Card

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