Insert Topic Here

I've no idea what to blog about this week. I am welcome to your suggestions. I've had thoughts about delving into benefits the new mage races racials may bring, or about another game I've been playing. Honestly though, I've not the foggiest. I've become rather bored with gaming lately, which makes me a sad panda. I need to expand my horizons and pay my console (PS2) some attention perhaps.

I guess all of us need a break now and then from the norm. I've a good book I could read, perhaps I could..gasp...go outside...naaaah.

Blue Plz!

One of my favorite shows on warcraft radio, Blue Plz!. Sure the TotalBiscuit sounds like an elitist jerk, but it is a very amusing show and he can make an intelligent point. Some of this conversation I felt matched some of my feeling in my previous blog.

http://wcradio.com/shows/6-Blue-Plz-/episodes/1775

Why I WoW

I got to thinking, why exactly do I play WoW?

Sure, it's fun (sometimes) but it often seems like a frustrating second job. When starting a char you have to go through eighty levels, which takes far too long even with questing. I can barely stand it with RAF, having to go kill boars over and over again. Repetition is not something I am into. Then once you do reach 80, it's just another grind all over again for gear.

I guess what appeals to my nature, is being able to create characters. I have a fascination with playing a character. You can act out through this little avatar, give him a name and a history and act as if you were them. Though I mainly play one character, I have several other characters and more I want to make just because playing as them seems appealing. All these characters have their own personality, and lure to play them and be in the world with them.

If that didn't scare you off, there is another reason or two. The second one being competition. I love player vs player, and WoW is a fully fleshed out world to pvp in. Though to me it seems that it is horribly imbalanced in many aspects *cough*DK's*cough* that I'll blog about later. It is still skill based somewhat, and I find the fast paced think or die pvp situations are fun. I mostly like battlegrounds, where its not always people looking directly at you to kill, and Wintergrasp.

The last aspect is the progression of character. You fight a boss, wipe a few times, finally kill it, and get an upgrade. I don't raid too often, but I find it fun sometimes. Progression feels good, I can confirm that as I got better at Starcraft. Though lately I have lost interest in raiding, I feel the raiding for epics so we can raid for better epics is kind of redundant.

So all of this I could still find in any other MMO. Why WoW inparticular? I don't know. Honestly I prefer D&D type worlds, but this world has it's own unique flair. I guess because it is a fairly decent game, casual friendly, and well fun (sometimes). In short, there really isn't anything better.

Once there comes D&D Forgotten Kingdoms Online, I am so leaving WoW though.

Survey Says!

Apparently some Death Knight *cough*dieinafire*cough* is conducting a survey of some sorts. Since I need all the free publicity I can get, I figured I'd fill it out.

What is the name, class, and spec of your primary dps?

Tiberan, Blood Elf Mage, Arcane.

What is your primary dpsing environment? (i.e. raids, pvp, 5 mans)

40% battlegrounds, 30% raiding, 10% arena, 10% ganking lowbies. The final 10% I slack off.

What is your favorite dps spell/ability for your class and why?

The one that kills you. Oh wait, you're a Death Knight, silly me. :p I guess Arcane Barrage, it's so pretty but it's hardly ever used post nerf.

What dps spell do you use least for your class and why?

I just answered that question. Arcane Barrage, and because it was nerfed. No one uses it when standing still unless they want to lose dps.

What do you feel is the biggest strength of your dps class and why?

The biggest strength is that if someone lets me stand still for ten seconds they are dead.

What do you feel is the biggest weakness of your dps class and why?

Who the hell lets you stand still for ten seconds in pvp?

In a 25 man raiding environment, what do you feel, in general, is the best dps assignment for you?

I do my best when given the ability to concentrate on one target and just pump out dps, so the boss or highest hp target?

What dps class do you enjoy dpsing with most and why?

Er, my Mage. Why else would I play one? Though shadow priests and balance druids come close.

What tanking class do you enjoy dpsing with least and why?

What tanking class do I enjoy dpsing WITH? I guess Paladin, we share a blue bar bond.

What is your worst habit as a dps?

Dying?

What is your biggest pet peeve in a group environment while dpsing?

Morons.

Do you feel that your class/spec is well balanced with other dps?

I should kill DK's with naught but a glance.

What tools do you use to evaluate your own performance as a damage dealer?

I look at the pretty colors I am radiating for a gauge of my awesome meter.

What do you think is the biggest misconception people have about your class?

That I will give them a portal. Sorry, but you need to be this intelligent to ride my ports.

What do you feel is the most difficult thing for new dpsers of your class to learn?

Running from DK's?

What dps class do you feel you understand least?

Warriors. They should all just man up and put on a sword n board.

What add-ons or macros do you use, if any, to aid you in dps?

I use an arcane power/icy veins/trinket macro, also known as my PWN button. I also use a Blizzard/Flamestrike macro, Fireward/Frostward macro, conjuring/using food macro, conjuring/using mana gem macro, polymorph macro. I use no addons except DBM.

Strength over other stats or balanced stat allocation, and why?

Idk my bff jill haste?

Night Elf Mages Revisited

Okay, it's been a while. I have a job, been trying to level a druid in the battlegrounds, and watching anime such as Bleach. You can see I have a busy schedule. Anyways, for today I was thinking about going more in-depth regarding post Catacylsm. My topic, at least today, is on Night Elf Mages. If you are a roleplayer as I am, as well as a pvper, it brings up several trains of thought.

Once I unwrap my shiny new expansion game box, install it, and log in, in the character creation section in the Night Elf race will be the new Mage option. The thing is this. When you make this character, pick out it's looks, name, and enter the world, what are you? Are you a fledgling mage, newly learned of the practice previously forbidden by your peers? Or a Highborne?

Technically, we would have to look at what makes a Highborne. By my knowledge, Highborn is one who practices arcane magic, that is a Night Elf. Now most Highborne had certain traits, such as lightened skin and hair, from their exposure to magic. Is that really a requirement though, to be physically altered to be considered Highborne. Certainly Illidan knew magic but has dark skin and hair.

So perhaps even if you are new to using arcane magic, you can still consider yourself Highborne. However, you could also potentially claim to be originally a Highborne, one of the ones that were not killed. Though there are few of them left, you could potentially still roleplay to be one. You'd have to be quite old though, and powerful. Or, you could just be relearning your ancient heritage.

It will be an interesting time. Let's cut to the point of being a Night Elf Mage from a PvP aspect though. Playing a Night Elf Druid right now I know how useful Shadowmeld can be, even if I can stealth in cat form. Having an instant vanish is quite nice. While Mages have invisibility, unless you spec for it, it is not instant. As well it can come in handy while leveling before you get invis.

If you have warlock/hunter pets on you, a quick Shadowmeld gets them off you. As well, it can be used to confuse dumb opponents, lose LoS, interupt casting on you, and multiple other uses. Quickness, Elusiveness, Wisp Spirit..are all alright but Shadowmeld is the real winner. There are only two downsides to Night Elf Mages. Their on the alliance side, and their males are fugly.

That's it for tonight, later on I may cover the other races further.

New Mage Race Options

Once the new expansion "Catacylsm" comes out, more races will be able to become Mages. Really though, you only need one race. Blood Elves, or as I like to call them, Awesome Elves. Anyways, let us go through each new race that will be able to enjoy the experience of getting facerolled by DK's.

Orc: You're kidding, right? Who the hell would try to teach orcs the arcane arts, and how could these green creatures learn it? I know I certainly don't want them stinking up the Mage hangouts. From a lore perspective, it does not make much sense to me. Most of them are incredibly dumb, and orcs that want to use magic either have to bow down to elemental spirits, or make pacts with demons. Arcane tree should be greyed out for them.

Dwarves: They are slightly more intelligent than orcs, but not by much. Also dwarves, similar to orcs, are mostly a warrior society that fears and distrusts arcane magic. At least lorewise, they would typically not become Mages, those that did would be kicked out of Ironforge. Also they are typically too drunk to cast advanced spells, since their version of conjured water is conjure beer.

Night Elves: Well, well, well...(of eternity). Look who's coming back to arcane magic, groveling on their hands and knees? Oh no, magic is bad and we must swear it off and hug trees instead. Ha! I knew it would only be a matter of time before the race realized what it was missing. Lorewise, they did swear it off as a race, but they are the original mages, well..the highborne are. Out of all three new mage races, this one makes the most sense. I may play one as an rp character.

Then there are the two new races, Goblin and Worgen.

Goblin: Magic along with technology seems to be a natural selection for goblins. It is a source of power, something to be wielded as a gun or a tool to them. I'm not too fond of goblins, they are short and green and ugly, but I plan to make one purely as a banker alt with rocket boots!

Worgen: They don't get to be mages, and I am fine with that. Arcane power isn't something to be handed out to everyone like candy on haloween. I may level one, for the coolness factor of the worgen form, their starting city, etc. After that, I will stop as I hate the alliance so much.

Aion Gives You Wings (continued)

Okay, so my last post regarding Aion may have been hasty. I hear that flying becomes much more cooler and important later on in levels. I just could not stand the meager leveling on my Sorcerer.

So I went to the bad guys side (Elyos or something, I don't pay attention). I made a "scout" which is just another word for rogue. Of course looking like a Dark Elf. I enjoyed the scenery a bit more this time around, everything seems darker and edgier instead of happy lala land.

The quests are pretty much the same as all other mmo quests, gather ten pork butts. Though they do try to make some effort in producing a good story text in them. There is the overall story arc that progresses to your ascenscion, and then there are side quests. There is some flavor differences between questing light side and dark side, but nothing that favors one over the other.

As for the actual combat and leveling, I loved it. The melee attacks you get as you advance get flashier and more awesome looking. Soon you will be letting out bitchin' combos of dagger slashing doom. As a scout, I also got a few rogue abilities such as stealth and surprise attack. I find myself dying a lot less than on my Mage, but it still feels like some mobs take too long to kill.

I am looking forward to getting my black wings and getting to the bad guys sanctuary, perhaps a bit more than my first time. Will I loose interest shortly afterwards? It depends. If there is any particular move, or something else that I really want to do, perhaps. Also the power curve will be a deciding factor, as right now sometimes I am getting to med-low health as mobs die.

Of course except when my surprise attack one shots them.

Aion gives you wings...

..then you can't use them hardly anywhere.

I recently took a chance, and bought Aion. I logged in, selected a server, and went about creating a character. I liked the idea regarding four basic character classes that expanded out into other classes. I selected the good guys for my Mage, and the bad guys for my Rogue.

The characcter customization is pretty well done, with options for skin, hair, and eye color, scars, hair styles, different faces, body types, and even your in-game voice. I made a pale skin, blue eyed, and blue haired elf looking Mage. After going through some starting movie, I went about questing. There is an overall campaign quest line, with many side quests to do such as collect 100 pork butts.

Every creature here looks like a pokemon or digimon, I swear. As I went about questing, the carrot danging was getting that next level, getting that next spell, but most importantly, getting to level 10. At level 10, you get a quest to ascend to become a Daeva. Once you do this, you get the ability to fly that was used as a big selling point of the game. Several in-game cutscenes later, I finally ascended.

I got my wings, and entered the Sanctuary. Which of course I could not fly in. So I teleported to a city I could fly in, to find out I can only fly for one minute. If you are in the air after that, your wings disappear and you plummet to your death. No parachute, no slowfall, no nothing. Also, you can not fly over water, or over mountains. The next leveling area I walked to, you could not fly there either.

So I was walking about doing questing with my same ol spells, my same ol gear, and my same ol crappy one minute or you die wings. I could continue questing, getting more levels, getting more spells, but why? I no longer had motivation to do it, it's as if the entire goal of the game is to get to level 10, play around with wings, and get bored of it. I'm sure the spells get flashier, but all in all the carrot was gone.

So I logged out. I am considering still playing my Rogue on the bad guy side some, the quests and areas will likely differ. As well, it is a different play style, so perhaps it will give me at least another ten levels of enjoyment. I can't say though that I care enough about this genericy game to try to make it to max level. All I need is for them to introduce a flight spell to Mages in WoW.

Arcane Changes

Likely, many other Mage bloggers have already covered the details regarding this latest patch changes (3.2.2 or something like that, I don't bother to count). If you want to read them all, go check the patch notes you lazy bastard. Since I am a kind and benevelent soul, I will link you to one of my favored bloggers, Critical QQ.

Myself being a fully devoted Arcane Mage, and owning a blog, it comes to my responsibility to enlighten all on my views. All in all, I think we went two steps forward and one step back. One great leap forward for standing still (How is that possible? Magic, bitches.), in that you get to stand still even longer (Yay!) and do supposedly more dps and save more mana (Again, magic.).

It is however quite a standstill (Yes, I went there.) for those in need to move, such as when a Death Knight is on your rear (quite literally). As well, there are many PvE encounters that need either minor movement (void zones), or to move most of the fight. Since you now have so little cushion time, expect to have your dps gashed. But wait, there's Arcane Barrage!

Now don't expect me to do any math, because I'm not one of those types. I just mash my big ol PWN buttons (I macrod all my buttons) and see the fireworks as a Warlock dies. However, Arcane Barrage has went from being THE rotation, to being something you only cast if you want to lose DPS. It still is the most amazing instant cast spell there is (It sure is purty too!), but it has no place in rotations anymore.

So after going and making a hodgepodge attempt at covering what is important about these changes, my opinion on them, I have some suggestions. One, is that Arcane Barrage when cast increases the duration of the Arcane Blast debuff. This way you can cast your AB and if you have to move suddenly, cast Abarr and then get back into your AB stack. This would have to be on a time limit, otherwise you could keep the debuff on a target all day.

Either that, or make a mini rotation. Give Arcane Barrage increased damage or some other benefit, when you have one stack of the Arcane Blast debuff. This is not so great as the idea I just had above which I just thought of on the spot (Go me), but could possibly work. You know what else would work? Having Arcane Barrage with one stack of AB refresh Slow on the target.

Enough, I have to stop now or I will continue to babble out ingenious ideas for free. I should be charging you all for this! Consider it your birthday and xmas gifts.
-Vinven

Class Difference.

Currently, I play an Arcane Mage. It is quite fun as I get to shoot purple arcaney fireworks at people. My rotation is fairly simple but can be based off several variables. Now I originally started with an Elemental Troll Shaman, and still have the char. Problem is when I started shooting bolts of lightning, I realized I was just playing a not as awesome version of my Mage.

Besides different spell icons and graphics, it's mostly the same feel to me. I figure if I am going to be shooting anything from my hands, it might as well be arcane goodness. This is why I respec'd my Shaman enhancement. Not every caster class is the same I understand, but it seems that the game is trying to move forward to everyone being the same.

I'm currently leveling a Troll Priest (female, shadow), and this class has some uniqueness to it. It has dots, some dd, some channeled spells, it seems pretty diverse for a 'hybrid' class. Of course it is not quite as unique as it used to be. No one really needs a shadow priest for anything but their dps, in a world (of warcraft) filled with everyone being dps.

How do you give a class unique-ness then, without making it so that they are near mandatory? Perhaps some unique mechanics? One example, is Warlocks. They use an additional resource system (soul shards), are a pet class (one out of two in the game), and add something to the raid that can assist in making them wanted (healthstones, soulstones, summoning).

I realize now that I went from how nuking feels the same on most classes, to how each class should have something that makes them wanted in raids. My next post will be concentrated, I swear!

Class is in session!

There is this new video out (correction, it is a year old), done by a fellow mage that does me proud. It has a cute art style, very humorous, and teaches a valuable lesson. I am hoping the creator continues the series, so I can educate people with them that break sheep in group.

Emergency Kindergarten - Lesson 1, Shapes and Colors

Why skill should be more important than gear.

Just a fair bit of warning, you may find some 'QQ'.

This is what I dislike about WoW.

Order of importance in PvP.

1. Class
2. Gear
3. Skill

What I loved about Planetside, is that it eliminated 2 completely, and 1 for the most part. If you wanted to kill someone, you would have to actually aim your gun and know how to fight. Which brings me to my main idea.

I am going to make an FPS RPG. A game where you must aim, dodge, block, etc all manually via your controls. In this game, everyone is able to access the same gear as everyone else, such as via an equipment console in Planetside. From there though, they can do quests, turn in pvp points, use professions, etc to customize it here and there. That way those that just want to jump in and pvp can, but those that want to spend time to put effort in, can turn out an advantage.

Of course there is always the issue of class balance. In an FPS, everyone is pretty much the same except what gun they are holding. I guess for an example, I would have to look to Team Fortress 2. Sure there can be some percieved imbalances (Demoman, I am looking at you), but all in all the game is enjoyable via all of the classes.

So the game would be an FPS RPG with classes similar to TF2, gear system like Planetside, and combat similar to DDO/FPS's. All with asian MMO (lineage 2, aion) graphics. Yes, that is my game. In it, Mages can fly. Deal with it.

Can you ever go back?

Nostalgia is a cruel mistress, some have said.

Every now and then you look back to games you played in the past, recalling the memories of all the great times you had. You think of perhaps going back, to see if you can recreate that magic.

Don't.

Take my example. I was on Youtube the other day, when I came upon a goodbye to EverQuest video. Of course immediately nostalgia came pouring out in droves, and I went back in my mind to a time when I was a young Dark Elf Rogue, in a little city called Neriak. The experiences I had, the incredibly close friends I made, and me just a budding gamer learning about the world (..of warcraft, not).

Of course I immediately went to the EQ website, and downloaded the free trial. Eventually I got in, and hearing that music while the game loaded was like I was high. I created a Dark Elf Rogue, putting in my stats, customizing my face, and selecting my name. Then I entered the game, and I almost immediately regretted it.

The game looked old, I mean really old. There was a rat with the name "A rat" in big clunky glowing letters, and I just was amazed at how spoiled I've become with the current MMO's. The same thing happened when I tried to play my Kobold Shadowblade in DAOC again. I used to love that guy, killing casters and other rogues by the bucketload. When I logged in, I realized that movement was incredibly slow and choppy, and couldn't circle strafe at all.

I had a few nice little seconds playing EQ again. I looked in my bags and smiled to see my rations, water, and bandages right there like they always were in-game. I realized sadly though, that there was no going back to the good ol times. Even if I was to continue playing, I would not be recreating the magic. It would be a different experience all together, this time with no fresh into the world wonderment.

So please, take my advice. Cherish the wonderful memories of when you lost your MMO virginity, but don't go back. You may enjoy the game for a minute, a day, or even a week, but you will likely never recapture the magic of your first time. It's alright though, there are plenty of new games to experience now and in the future.

Cataclysmic goodness.

Let's see what is going on in WoW, shall we?

With the new World of Warcraft expansion 'The Cataclysm' coming out, (http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/cataclysm/) the entire face of Azeroth will be changing. Deathwing comes out (not from the closet) from an elemental plane called Deepholm. Personally, I don't think elemental planes need names besides 'The elemental plane of earth' or whatnot. Apparently, his coming out is quite messy (stop with the jokes), and he causes quite a stir.

Kalimdor and Eastern Kingdoms are getting a cataclysmic revamp, mostly for two reasons. The first being is for a new leveling experience. Many people will likely roll new alts with the two new races and new race/class combinations. Old-world zones will be redone, which means that they will very likely be introducing new quests and changing old ones. The second reason is that now people will be able to use their flying mounts in Azeroth, thus requiring them to change the tooltips on all flying mounts.

While this seems like some great changes, there is one drawback. There is no going back to the old world, it will be gone forever. Even those without the expansion will be seeing the changed Azeroth. So say goodbye to your favorite spots in the game, as they may be different in the future. It appears many zones will have large gaps in them with lava, for example I hear the barrens is being split in two. Other zones will merely be different, such as a desert area becoming lush with growth (last time I swear).

Myself, I don't really care too much as long as any change to Quel'thalas is for the better. The entire area is pretty much already 'catacylsmed' all over, so some improvement would be nice. I am not too thrilled about any particular part of the expansion. Flying in azeroth will be cool, I will probably make a Worgen and Goblin to play around with. I may even try the barrens again. Besides that, I will just want to level to 85 and resume casual raiding and owning peoples faces.

-Vinven

Internets

I now have a blog, myspace, facebook, twitter, and youtube account. You can read all about me and the stuff I like and get your fill of me (sounds kinky). Yay!

Email: Vinven@msn.com.

Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/vinven

Twitter: http://twitter.com/Dvinven

Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/Dvinven

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000291935626&ref=profile

Steam: My steam name is Vinven. You may sometimes catch me on it, typically playing TF2!

Xfire: My xfire name is Vinven. Noticing a trend here? I'm not talking about my overuse of excalamationitory points either! You can find me on it sometimes, playing whatever the h e double hockey sticks I feel like playing at the time. Usually though, playing World of Warcraft.

MSN: Vinven@msn.com is my MSN name, same as my email address.

AIM/ICQ/ETC: I hate AOL it can die in a fire. I have already given you tons of ways to find me and information about me, what more could you possibly want?!!11 I used to have an ICQ at one time, till I realized it was outdated and my name was a string of numbers. I'm sure there are a million other instant messengers, social networking sites, etc, but I'm going mainstream. Don't judge me!

Of course you know where my blog is, because you are here!