Make tons of gold with the Feast of Winter Veil

I love the Feast of Winter Veil event in World of Warcraft that starts December 15th.   It is one of the best events to make easy gold from.  You can sell small eggs, milk, gingerbread cookies for crazy prices on the auction house, and it puts tons of gold into your bank account with almost no effort.

Is this really worth 500 gold in World of Warcraft?

Today was my lucky day I guess in World of Warcraft.  I would have never thought a random drop in the Barrens would be worth so much gold.

If it wasn't for me deciding to purchase this gold making guide I would have never known how valuable this green recipe was worth.  I probably would have put it up on the auction house for 5-10 gold.  I personally thought it was a totally worthless recipe.  What recipe you ask?

It was a level 18 recipe for Savory Deviate Delight.  I still can't believe how much this recipe is worth.  I am slapping myself right now just to make sure I am not dreaming.  I need someone to slap me back to reality.  Is it really worth 500 gold?

80 or Bust

I thought I was finished with World of Warcraft the other day. I canceled my subscriptions, and was cutting my ties. It lasted a whole day.

After talking with some coworkers they convinced me to stay, and grind to 80. They said I could get geared up super fast. Also in the back of my mind I couldn't let this 90 days of triple xp go to waste. I bought the second account the least I could do is play the game.

I somehow managed to get level 20 on both of my characters today. The triple xp is nice, but it's tough to make money when you aren't killing as many mobs, and splitting the loot. They should really think about giving triple money loot to make up for it.  It is to the point where I either buy gear, or I buy my mount. I really need to find a way to make some gold.

That's a bunch of BCS

Why is Congress worried about the BCS National Champion?  Are they really wasting our tax money on this?

It would be a different story if they were changing things, and making playoffs.  The problem is it won't solve that.  It will only prevent them from calling it a National Championship game, and the winners being called National Champions.

A huge waste of time, and tax dollars.

Honeymoon is over

The honeymoon stage of my relationship with World of Warcraft has ended already.  I can't say I didn't try.  I really tried to play again, and even with the triple xp I just couldn't get into the game.

It isn't just World of Warcraft.  You can put Warhammer Online, and Aion Online right up there too.

Am I burned out on MMO's?  Why have I lost interest in them?  Do I just need a break?

Actually I find myself enjoying blogging more than playing these days, but if you don't play enough it's hard to find things to blog about.

Twitter Rant

Twitter has so many great uses for gaming, but no one seems to utilize it correctly.  Why is it that gamers refuse to accept, and use Twitter to enhance the gaming experience?

It seems that most gamers on Twitter seem to be idiots.   Why would you make a Twitter account that is basically like an automated spamming bot?

I don't care that you are currently playing a game, or unlocked an achievement, or whatever.  Your Twitter page has absolutely no personality, and is a total waste.  Just go ahead, and do everyone a favor.  Log in to Twitter, and delete your account right now.

Warhammer Item Code Giveaways Galore

Mythic announced being on Twitter now, and are giving away special item codes left, and right.

Just follow Mythic News here.

Why is the Mohawk Grenade so entertaining?

The Mohawk Grenade is so much fun. I really wonder who the brainchild is in Blizzard who thinks this stuff up. How could something so simple be so popular? Why do other MMO devs from other games never figure out what players like?


I guess maybe World of Warcraft can do no wrong. They could probably make anything fun in the game.

University of Oregon Ducks to the Rose Bowl 2010

I know. I am pushing my gaming blog to the limits. I am just excited over the huge civil war college football game last night on ESPN. It was the Oregon Ducks, and the Oregon State Beavers. A victory for either team meant a trip to the Rose Bowl. The game lived up to all the hype. I am just glad my Ducks won.

Another Dumb move by Mythic

Does Mythic think before they do anything?  Why would they have a PTS event, and the Dark Crag/Phoenix Throne server transfers on the same day for Warhammer Online?

I can almost bet that the turnout for the PTS event was horrible.  Would you rather test, or play on your new server?  I think the answer is really easy.  The excitement would be playing on your new server.  Who really cares about the PTS?

With the declining population in Warhammer the only server left will be the PTS in a few months.

The server transfers will be like all the rest of them in the past.  You will have the initial honeymoon phase for a week or two, and by two months the server is right back to its 50 people online status at prime time.

Another one BOTS the Dust

Is anyone even still playing Aion?  They just announced another 26,000 bot accounts banned in the game today.  How many subscribers are left after banning so many the last few weeks?

If your game is that infested with bots than maybe you need to start looking at why your game is a breeding ground for bots.

Why not remove the never ending grind?  I bet if you cut the grind in half the bot issue would fix itself, and you could actually work on adding content instead of wasting hundreds of man hours tracking down bots.

World of Warcraft Triple shot of XP with Whip Cream and Caramel Sauce

My adventures back into World of Warcraft is like a triple shot mocha with whip cream, and caramel sauce at Starbucks.  It is simply amazing.  The recruit a friend is my best friend right now.  I love earning triple xp.

Over the Black Friday weekend I purchased a second copy of Warcraft for a mere $5.  How can you beat that?  It also gave me a free month for my other account.  It is a win-win.

Dual boxing so far has been really easy.  I have been skipping the quests.  It seems faster just to mow through mobs.  I have no downtime which is really speeding up the whole leveling process.  I am no leveling expert, but spending just a little over an hour to get two characters to level 10 is pretty sweet.

The only downfall I have seen so far from leveling up so quick is you have a hard time earning money to buy your spells, and gearing up.  Unfortunately I don't have a main that can supply my new characters gold.

I decided to play a Warlock, and a Priest.  I have my Warlock do all the killing.  I just use Lifetap to get mana back instantly, and than have my Priest heal my Warlock back to full health.  It couldn't be any easier.

Why is it that I can do the grind in Warcraft over and over, and over again?  Why is it that in other games I hate the grind, but in I have done it about twenty times now?

Warhammer Patch 1.3.3 Rants

The patch notes for Warhammer patch 1.3.3 have now been released on the herald.  I see nothing that makes me want to log in, and play Warhammer again.  It is mostly bug fixes which makes it seem the game really is in maintenance mode.



The underdog system is finally explained in detail:

Each time a capital city is Captured the realm who successfully captured the city will lose one Underdog Rating point to a maximum of -3 while the realm who defended the city will gain one underdog rating point to a maximum of +3. Underdog Rating points will decay up or down back toward 0 by 1 point per 24 hours during which no city is Captured. Underdog Rating points greater than +1 or less than -1 each add or remove 5% to the percentage of Victory Points needed to capture zones in the Tier 4 Open RvR Campaign and also increase or reduce the Tier 4 pairing lockdown timer by one hour per point beyond the first. Additionally, Zone Domination timers are reduced to 45 minutes for Keeps and 10 minutes for Battlefield Objectives at an Underdog Rating of 2, and 30 minutes for Keeps and 0 minutes for Battlefield Objectives at an Underdog Rating of 3. New underdog rating icons and tooltips have been added to the Zone Control bar in Tier 4 to display this information.

I still don't see how this system is going to work to actually help the underdog realm.  If you are unable to take Battlefield Objectives, and Keeps how is lowering the timers going to make it any better? 

Bloom and HDR details:

The game client now allows users to turn on Bloom and HDR lighting post processing effects. Users who enable post processing will experience a visually harmonious and enhanced feel in the Warhammer world! To enable these new visual enhancements check the Post Processing box in the Customize Performance panel of the User Settings options. A new customize performance default setting has also been added, "Oooh, shiny!" which includes all the settings of "High Quality" with the addition of post processing.


Why would they add even more graphic intensity when huge rvr battles were already slideshows, and most players played on the lowest settings?  I really wonder sometimes what they are thinking.


The War Report details:

A feature that returning and existing characters will enjoy is 'The WAR Report' window. This window opens automatically when a player enters the game for the first time during a session and gives a snapshot of the action going on in the world. Separated by Tiers, the window not only gives you a list of current events but also allows you to choose one and teleport directly to the action. RVR events will take you to the closest warcamp and PVE events will take you to either the closest chapter hub or to the nearest Flight Master location which may be either a chapter hub or a warcamp depending on the event. This instant action teleport will be available for use once every 8 hours. The WAR Report window can be accessed via a toggle located on the left side of the mini-map between the Rally Cry and Scenario queuing buttons. The window can also be toggled off if players do not want it to automatically open when they first enter the game.


Didn't we already have an addon that did this?  Any bets that the Warhammer one is broken, and players continue to use the addon instead?  I really hope the eight hour cooldown for the teleport is long enough.  Are you kidding?  Every 8 hours is a joke.  Do people even play for more than an hour these days?

Three Reasons Aion Killed our Legion

I never thought that Aion would kill our legion. We were the biggest guild in Warhammer on Dark Crag. Everyone worked together, and had fun in vent. So how did it turn sour so quickly?

It is still shocking that it has happened. The remaining players in Aion are just a handful compared to the active roster we had in Warhammer. They plan on sticking it out, but I have a feeling in another month or two it will be completely dead.



Reason #1:   Legion 90 Player Cap size

The legion size cap in Aion played a big part in the demise of our legion. We no longer felt like one big family. We were split up into six different legions. It seemed okay at first because everyone was still in vent together, but it changed rather quickly.

The Legion was splitting up without the legion leadership even realizing it. I pointed it out early on, but no one wanted to listen. The legion leadership decided to make every legion split up into time zones to make it easy for everyone to be on at the same time. I tried to tell them that was a failed approach from the start, but I am just an idiot and don't know what I am talking about.

You have to have all the hardcore active players together. With the separate legions it became hard to find out who was on, and what everyone was doing. Everyone in vent started going to their own channels with their own cliques so you couldn't even ask for a NTC group or whatever because people were spread out everywhere even on vent. Our 200 man vent felt like a 10 man vent.

Eventually each separate legion started acting snobby to the other legions. It soon felt as though each legion was running as if they didn't want anything to do with the other five legions.


Reason #2:   The Grind

The grind killed a bunch of players early. After the first week or two most just disappeared without a word. By the end of the free month you could tell the activity levels dropped by a huge amount, and even more players stopped playing Aion. The legions kept getting smaller, and smaller.

As each legion shrunk in size the more unmotivated the remaining players became. You started having gaming sessions with less than five people on at the same time within each legion.

The grind was driving people to quit. You can't just grind for hours and hours, and see very little progress. The grind was terribly boring even at early levels.

As the remaining players reached 30+, 35+, 40+ they really started feeling the effects of the grind even with the Grind Optimizer. Once again players were dropping like flies.

The hardcore players like myself who forced themselves to grind it out till 50 have quit too. The game is just very boring, and when you think the grind is over at 50 you are just lying to yourself. The AP grind is probably worse than the leveling grind.


Reason #3:   PvP at level 25

The biggest lie Aion told us was that you were able to pvp at 25. Pvping at 25 is a huge joke. I would like to see anyone go out, and have fun pvping at that level. With no level limits in the pvp areas a level 25 has zero chance of killing anyone because of the hidden level of the opposite faction. Maybe if you could know you were fighting another 25 it would be different, but otherwise you better be quick at looking names up on the Aion site.

With our legion unable to really pvp at early levels, and the huge grind ahead it just didn't seem worth it. Players just gave up on Aion. No one wants to spend 5000 hours leveling to find out they hate the pvp in the game. It is easier just to quit, and move on.

Warhammer PTS event on 12/1 and 12/3 at 8pm EST

Find the full article on the Herald

We will hosting two events next week, this first one starting on Tuesday, 12/1/2009, at 8:00 PM EST. This first test will be previewing and putting the WAR Report through it's paces. On Thursday, 12/3/2009, at 8:00 PM EST we'll be conducting a mass battle royale stability test, so come on out and check out the shiny (literally!) new HDR and Bloom graphic features as you storm the PTS battlefield!

I am Secretly Back to World of Warcraft

I have officially gone back to World of Warcraft as my main mmorpg.  The secret is out.  Yesterday I couldn't pass up the cheap prices for the Battlechest during Black Friday.  I really wanted to wait for Cataclysm, but the recent boredom from Aion, and Warhammer gave me no choice.

I have to start my characters from scratch.  The good part about that is I can get the feel of the game down again.  I never thought I could ever forget how to do things in World of Warcraft, but I remember almost nothing after being away for over 2 years.  I somehow forgot all the keyboard shortcuts, and stuff.

Luckily I remember most of the beginner quests, and which quests to avoid like the H1N1 virus.  I played for a few hours last night, and my Warlock is now level 10.  The xp seems to be moving at a pretty good pace, but I am tempted to do the recruit-a-friend.  How can you resist triple xp for both characters until level 60?  It is a dream come true.

The one part I forgot about, and still drives me to want to pull a No Russia Modern Warfare 2 on people is the mana regeneration.  How could I forget the necessity on food, and water in World of Warcraft?  It is the worst downtime ever.  Luckily I have lifetap as a Warlock, but it still slows down the leveling process.  It seems a little pointless to be able to almost instantly spam your spells if after four spells you are out of mana.

It feels good to be back, and playing with other friends again.  Hopefully I hit 80 fairly quick, and can see all the Lich King content before SWTOR comes out, or I get accepted into beta.

Onyxian Whelpling non-combat pet

Why does World of Warcraft always give you cool stuff? The new Onyxian Whelpling non-combat pet is very cool.  It is all part of the five year anniversary celebration. This is the stuff that players enjoy, and keeps them subscribing month after month.  It seems no other mmorpg has figured it out yet.

Amazing Aion Vision Trailer

This Aion vision trailer is simply amazing.  It looks like they are adding weather, swimming, mount combat, taming, guild/player housing, and so much more.  The graphics are breathtaking. Aion deserves a definite two thumbs up.



 

Aion bans 16k accounts today

Pretty amazing numbers they banned from Aion today. I can't wait for the "I got banned for no reason" posts all over the Aionsource forums in the next few hours.

It is nice to see that NCSoft is taking a stance against all the bots, and RMT. They even gave a detailed explanation this time on how they banned players, and no one is just banned because they sent 5 million kinah to their alts.

Check out the full details of the bans.

Are server mergers coming soon to the US Warhammer?

The maintenance today makes me think mergers are coming. I could just be reading more into it.  Why else would they be moving all the game servers to new hardware?  The last part of the message makes me think there must be an announcement coming too.  I guess it's the wait, and see game since all the Euro servers just merged again from Bootae's post so the US servers are probably next.

Greetings!

This morning beginning at 8AM EST all game servers will be brought offline while we migrate them to different hardware. We anticipate services to be back online by 12PM EST.

Thank you for your patience and cooperation during this downtime and stay tuned to the Herald for news and information!