World of Warcraft Cataclysm

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• Goblin Confessions Vol. I: I have been mulling over the idea for this post for sometime. It has been started over a half a dozen times in Word and probably 15 or 20 more inside my head. There is a bit of reluctance about this post because it may offend some of those who were involved. While this isn’t my intention I am sure some feelings might get hurt. My guess is that some of you will know exactly what I mean when I say I am a Goblin at heart. Once Gevlon introduced me to the term I realized immediately that is what [...]
• Lowbie Fun: I spent a little bit of time in WoW over the weekend. I managed to get my warrior up to level 31 without much trouble at all. I spent the majority of that time running as DPS but as soon as I hit level 30,1 purchased dual specs and built a tank spec as well. The majority of that time was in the low level instances. I have done some questing but not as much as I had anticipated. I must say that I am surprised at how quickly I am able to get a group at these low levels. [...]
• Mogging – Umm… Okay.: I am not sure how widespread or popular the term “Mogging” has become but apparently this is the blogosphere’s way of referring to WoW’s transmogrification feature. Don’t get me wrong I think matching armor is the bees knees (did I say bees knees?) but the term mogging kind of bothers me. Rift also has this feature and I do think it is pretty cool but”mogging?” Really? Okay Okay, I get it. There are some really hardcore WoW players out there and the last thing you want to do is call it like it is. Let’s be honest with ourselves shall [...]
• Questions Questions Questions: I can remember just before I left WoW, I was working on a gear set that met the required minimum for raiding with face on Fire (Now Devastation). My memory is a bit fuzzy but I am sure that there was a minimum ILVL as well as proper gemming and enchanting. I am also positive there were some hit requirements for DPS players. As I recall, at the time the only way to reach some of the requirements was to run the heroic versions of the new 5mans released at the beginning of Cataclysm. I also remember that those heroic [...]
• Bored With WoW? Change Your Approach!: I recently read a post over at Big Bear Butt where he mentioned that he was once again excited about playing Wo W. He created a couple of alts on a new server and was embracing not having a max level toon to support his new characters. He is now playing as if the game is all new to him, and in most aspects it is. Cataclysm brought WoW redesigned zones, new quests and new races. It is basically a new game. My approach to Rift has been the exact same thing. I have embraced it as whole new  experience. [...]
• Come on in, the water is fine!: She came like a wolf in the night, silent and unexpected. Not only was she able to slip in un-noticed, when she presented herself it was with an air of innocence and need. Her request was simple enough, “Can you help us?” Who am I to refuse? With ample time and humble ability, I offered my service. Soon enough I was whisked off to parts unknown to me and I was surrounded by them. Certainly they were mistaken. This is a place for heroes and I am no hero. They offered me food and drink and told me tales of [...]
• The Reason Tanks Are Hiding: A couple of things occurred to me during my playtime over the weekend. The primary of which is the lack of Tanks within the game. There has always been a shortage of Tanks in WoW, but the LFG tool surely puts a spotlight on the issue. Khaas had post recently about Tanks that highlights a few reasons for the shortage; I myself have one that he didn’t include. In WotLK those players with Tank off-specs would not think twice about activating that spec to run a 5man or jump into a PUG raid. By doing this they were afforded access [...]
• What About The Casuals?: Since its creation, WoW players have always labeled one another. We have all seen these labels used in the chat channels as well as the forms. Hardcore Raiders, Newbs, Elitists, Casuals, M&S and FailPlayers. Cataclysm has brought use a new label for a new type of player, the “wandering casual.” The wandering casuals are the players I wrote about in my last post. They are solid in their skill but limited in their time. In previous expansions as well as Vanilla, they were the true casuals. These players were never on the bleeding edge of the game, but there was [...]
• WoW Is No Longer Fun?: In WoW there are casual players (newbs by elitist standards) and then there are casual players. It is this second group that I am referring too. These players are well informed, strong players who maintain a light play schedule. They consider themselves casual due to their time commitment, not their attitudes towards the game. I have a strong suspicion that the Cataclysm 5man instances have turned the bulk of these players away from the game. Some bloggers are distraught over the  exodus of their friends. Some think it is due to the “death of 25man” , I have a different [...]
• Wrath Style Heroics? Almost: Awhile back I asked if Cataclysm heroics were going to be equal to WotLK heroics. I was wondering if we would soon be face rolling the content like we were at the end of Wrath. Since that time I have played a bit more and the answer has become clearer. The answer is yes but with a few caveats. Recently I have been in a few heroic runs that were pulled Wrath style. The success of these runs hinged on a competent healer, focused DPS and avoidable damage. While focused DPS plays an important role, avoidable damage and a competent [...]
• My Impressions Thus Far: ************ This was supposed to be up yesterday. It never posted.**************** Day one of Cataclysm brought a few interesting things. Not the least of which was whining about replacing purples with greens. There was plenty of weeping about the gear reset by more than one of my acquaintances. Yes there was a tinge of regret replacing my nibelung with a green staff. That tinge lasted about 2 seconds though; the superior weapon eased my pain. I racked up just over 500k XP from the stacked quest I had in my quest log. It took about 20 minutes to turn them [...]
• No Fire Immunity: While on the hunt for a new vanity item that was introduced with the shattering, I bumped into a trio of exceptional quests. Theses quest, or I should say proof of the achievements attainable through these quests should be a standard question on any raiding guild application. All three of them are low level quests that are in the same area and are given by the same NPC. Even the trip up the mountain teaches a skill that most raiders will need throughout their raiding career. To sweeten up the deal a bit more, you can re-visit and re-do them [...]
• More than a game?: Is your group ready? In relatively short order WoW as we know it is going to change. Of course the shattering has ushered in the beginning of the visual changes but I am referring to the game play changes. I as well as countless others have talked about how the game mechanics are changing. Have you done all that you could to adequately prepare your group? It is important to remember that not everyone you may be playing with came up during WoW vanilla. It is also important to note that some of them may not have played at their [...]
• Be Ye Not Confused: The barmaid over at the Pink Pigtail Inn is a bit perplexed about Blizzards drive for bigger guilds. She is puzzling over the fact that the announced changes to raiding (25′s versus 10′s) flies directly in the face of the Guild leveling changes. Why would Blizzard kill 25man raiding and then encourage larger guilds? Standing on the outside looking in I can see why things are being done, but only in my own perverse way. Let’s start with the obvious, Blizzard never really killed 25man raiding. 25′s still give more loot; the quality is now equal to 10′s. What is [...]
• Can’t Hang huh?: As the background loader ushers in the last patch of WotLK, I realize I am astonished that it is here. As strange as it seems, at one point and time I was resolved to the fact that farming ICC25 for honor would be the extent of my ICC experience in WotLK. With that being said, I have been looking to the end of the expansion for quite sometime. I mentioned a last week that I was going to try and raid again with Face on Fire. As much as my mind and wanted too, my body just isn’t going to [...]
• Cataclysm Cuts: There was a bunch of Cataclysm information released at a recent press event. The news that is resonating the loudest in the community are the items that have been cut from the expansion. It seems that Path of the Titans and Guild talent points are not meant tor this world. There is some speculation about why they were chopped and I have to throw my hat in with those that are thinking it is about shortening the time till release. This makes sense and is the simplest explanation. Unfortunately with Path of the Titans gone, all of the hyped player [...]
• Cataclysm Leaks: Even though I am absolutely sure GTFOOTF will never be considered an official WoW fan site I have decided to shy away from the leaks. It has nothing to do with some moral high ground or some devious plot to score a Beta invite. I just do not want to try and keep up with it all. I really do not want GTFOOTF to be another WoW related re-post site. I am even going to stay away from the Boomkin related talent speculation. I understand that this is an Alpha TEST and things will change. Discussing things that may never [...]
• Looks that confuse me.: The images from the Alpha are flooding in at a tremendous rate. Finally we are beginning to see what our new world will look like. While the majority of us will not have a full appreciation of the new Azeroth for a few months, as it stands right now, visually I am confused. We have to be honest when we talk about WoW graphics. The game has never been on the bleeding edge of gaming graphics and that is okay. One of the nice things about the game has been its accessibility to just about any computer. You don not [...]
• Why Everyone Was So Mad Last Week: I think one of the reasons so many people became upset with their favorite bloggers over the past few days has to do with one word, definition. The announced raid changes in Cataclysm had the blogging world buzzing. Nearly everyone on my reading list was talking about it. All those articles also brought hundreds if not thousands of comments. Some of those comments were flames directed squarely at the bloggers. Why the all flames? It was because some of the readers felt slighted. Some of the readers felt attacked, abandon or persecuted by their favorite bloggers. All of this emotion [...]
• Clarification and My Final Thoughts on Raid Changes: To quote an angry reader “Wow.. ..just wow.” The split in the WoW community is huge on this raid change topic. There are some very polarized views on the topic but it is those people in the middle who will feel the change the most. This post is about those people but before I get to the meat of the topic 1 will have to clarify a few things first. #1 This blog has been and will be aimed directly at FailPlayers. That alone should give most of my regular readers a frame of reference about my opinions. I write [...]
• The “Death” of 25Man Raids: Blizzard ignited a firestorm with the raid change announcement. It has been a long time since so many in the community have voiced such heated opinions on a topic. Some of the post and comments on the subject are filled with venom, elitism and passion. These reactions are fueled by the perception that the authors themselves have been attacked. In order to establish the point of this post I am going to have to take you on a trip down memory lane. I need you to think back, way back to the dinosaur era of WoW, that’s right I am [...]
• More On Cataclysm Raid Changes: There is a growing concern over the raid changes announced on Monday. Most of those concerns center on one thing, the perceived death of 25 man raids. A number of bloggers wrote about how they were uncomfortable with the news because they could see 25 man raids becoming less popular. While I can empathize with their concerns about their preferred method of raiding changing I am still confused at their justifications. A lot of what I am reading has the same underlying tone to it. None of these bloggers will come right out and say it but it is there [...]
• Cataclysm Raid Changes – Clams On The Half Shell!: The raid change announcement is welcomed news around here. I have long despised the fact that 25 man raids get better loot than 10 mans. For me it never made sense but my argument has always fallen on deaf ears. For the time being at least it looks as though my raiding prayers have been answered. With 10′s and 25′s sharing lockouts and gear I believe we might see a dramatic shift in the way guilds approach raiding. Today the only way to get the “top level gear” is to run 25′s. In Cataclysm the loot will be exactly the [...]
• Cataclysm Boomkin Edition Part Duex: There have been a few questions answered so it calls for additional post. No DoTs benefiting from haste and crit? Most hots and dots, including druid ones, will benefit from haste and crit. The exceptions are things like Deep Wounds and Ignite, which are already tied to crit. How will the Eclipse Bar factor in how much it shifts? Damage Done? Cast Times? Cast Completions? Mana Costs? We’re going to try a few different things and see what feels the best. Spells cast is the simplest system, but we also get a little more dynamic system if it was damage [...]
• Cataclysm Changes – Boomkin Edition: Well the Druid accnouncement came last night and I must admit I am a bit underwhelmed. It will take me a bit more time to dissect it in a way that I am comfortable with it but the long and short of it is below. Mastery Passive Talent Tree Bonuses Balance Spell Damage Spell Haste Eclipse Wild Mushroom (Level 85): Grows a magical mushroom at the target location. After 4 seconds the mushroom becomes invisible. Enemies who cross the mushroom detonate it, causing it to deal area-of-effect damage, though its damage component will remain very effective against single targets. The [...]
• Druids Will Shine in Cataclysm: Will Druids be the new must have class in a raid group? If Blizzard doesn’t vary to far from the healer’s mana replacing the enrage timer and they don’t tinker with ONE specific Druid spell then I say yes. Druids will become the class to have in the raid. Why, you ask. Simple, Innervate will become the new Bloodlust. Sure Bloodlust will be important but Innervate will be essential. A well timed Innervate will be the difference between a wipe and success just like a well timed Bloodlust is now. This leaves us with a few questions thought. Will there [...]
• Cataclysm Warning: The class changes for Cataclysm have the blogger world ablaze with excitement and speculation. I will admit that some of the announcements have me a bit tickled as well. One of the more intriguing themes I am noticing is the fact that healers will be the determining factor in any boss fight. More specifically the healers mana will replace the enrage timer. This is a very interesting turn of events. While managing mana has always been a major priority for all NonFail healers, now the apparent success or failure of the encounter will be directly aimed at the healing classes. [...]