The „New Expansion“ Survival Guide

So Cataclysm will be released soonish. We’re all looking forward to it with varying expectations – but to be fair, anyone still reading WoW Blogs this late in the expansion either loves the writing style or is still interested in the game. As you ended up here, I’d like to pretend it is the former, but I’m not that silly.


As the bold survivor of two expansions in WoW and several others in different games I feel uniquely qualified to present a guide to surviving the new expansion. Of course, not actually knowing the date or the design changes they did this time round to solve some of the more common problems isn’t going to help – but I shall not be deterred.

There are a few things to expect that you may or may not have experienced yet, and there are also a few suggestions on what to do (see how I hooked you right there? I should go into used car sales, really).

So… what will happen that affects your playing experience?

1) Queues

Unless you bought a sparkle-pony when they first were released, the last time queues were actually a concern was on Icecrown Citadel release day. 8th of December 2009, with patch 3.3.0. What does it mean? Well… look forward to a lot of people you have not seen in a while logging on. Cities are going to be packed, chat channels will be fuller than usual (any – from trade to guild) and the servers are going to be full of life. The queue times on Icecrown Citadel day were up to one hour on my servers, I’d expect this to be actually longer during primetime for the Cataclysm launch.

Suggestions: Log in early and be prepared to wait. TV, books, drawing with crayons or eating salted peanuts are all acceptable pass-times while you wait for the counter to tick down. Most of us are aware that patience is not a strong virtue for most WoW players – better get used to it, because this’ll not be the only time you are waiting.

2) Crowding

New content is going to be full. This ties in with the point above, obviously, but worse so. Unlike on content patches the amount of people swarming the new content is not going to be limited by some artificial gear restrictions – everyone will be able to go and try out new things.

This applies both to the new starter areas and the new 80-85 leveling zones. Back in the TBC launch people tried to roll a Draenei or Bloodelf to escape the horror of Hellfire Peninsula – with very limited success.

“Kill stealing” for quest relevant mobs is going to happen. If the last two expansions are anything to go by, this’ll continue for weeks, possibly months into the new content.

On the bright side: Blizzard was aware of this and things were improved in WotLK over TBC already – two parallel zones for instance, quest drops that fell on the ground and could be used by anyone on the quest (the Halberd from Kaw the Mammoth Hunter comes to mind), spawn speed depending on the number of players in the area. I am looking forward to the new additions – but basic human idiocy will not be completely deterred.

Suggestion: None really. You’ll have to live with it. There are two possible ways to solve this a little: grouping with anyone that looks like they are on the same quest and “kill-stealing” yourself. The second suggestion is quicker and arguably more efficient; the first might lead to some conversation – the whole point of a multiplayer game. I usually set out on the moral high ground, not wanting to drop to their level, but human behaviour has been known to take its’ toll and I may (possibly) have spammed an insta-attack occasionally.

Keep in mind that the levelling progress of a large number of people follows a bell-curve. Assuming “I’ll log off for half an hour, and then the idiot will be gone” is not going to help. Yes, “that person” is going to be ahead of you, but someone else will take his place.

4) New stuff (tm)

Quests, items, craftables, mounts, achievements… the list is probably endless. This is considered a good thing by many (me included, by the way). It also means old stuff will be old – in almost all cases that means it’s worth less.

Time to start cleaning: My bank has already undergone “periodic maintenance” – two bags are still reserved for mementos, everything else is either sold, going to be sold, going into last minute crafting or is “current gear”. My backpacks are going to suffer the same. Currently I lug around several different armour sets (general tanking, general dps and subsets like “frost resist” and “expertise heavy”). There are also quest-related things like a tournament lance etc.

My plan is to start into Cataclysm with a set of dungeon gear (tanking), a levelling gear (fury dps) with all of the optionals gone. From current reports I’ll have a few potions, but not many – there is bound to be new ones and my current raid gear is better than the average, so I’m less likely to die than average.

New gear will ruthlessly replace old gear. I know my raiding epics are shiny, but if the green drop that turns my carefully assembled set into a clown suit is better, it’ll be used. Note: I am not willing to enchant levelling items, so I will make careful note of all the stats (which lead to a rather large amount of TBC epics still being better than WotLK quest drops at level 80 – they were rapidly replaced by “level 80 blues” with enchants).

4a) Crafting materials old and new

Crafting materials are a special case – personally I’m going to get rid of everything. There are guides around suggesting to stock up on materials now while they are cheap, either to rake in profit from newly levelling goblins and worgen or from materials that retain their value and/or can be used for max level crafting.

It’s a bit of a gamble. Sometimes material lists change for an expansion. I seem to recall plans to level blacksmithing by making eternium rods with very cheap materials which worked in the WotLK beta but were useless in WotLK “the game”. Eternium rods were patched to turn grey at 375 blacksmithing.

Changes like this are quite possible (and I’d consider them likely). More room for new things.

4a-i) The auction house.

This will be changing drastically in price after the expansion. If you are playing it regularly, you’ll just notice changes and live with them. If you are not interested usually, you’ll find that most prices will be amusingly/disgustingly high after the new expansion.

New materials will sell for insane amounts at the beginning (I remember frostweave (at the start of WotLK) and netherweave (at the start of TBC) to be insanely expensive). This means levelling a crafting profession will be very costly at the start. Consider carefully whether you consider investment something you can recover from max level crafting, or if you’d rather spend the time harvesting your own materials.

Harvesting them does not make them free – after all you could sell them on the AH yourself for great amounts of shinies. If you enjoy farming new mats while you level along – this might be for you, though. And I can only recommend Chases guide to gold making in all its forms.

5a-ii-alpha) So … a summary?

It’ll be full. It’ll be freaky. It’ll be a whole new game. Things will have to be learnt again, learnt completely new and there is always the option to just bumble along and see what happens. In all likelihood all of those will work. Blizzard does design the game to be accessible to a wide spread of players. No one will die all the time – even if you just got to level 80 last week and are wearing a lot of greens. You just might have to play more carefully – and possibly learn more about the new game than the overgeared people.

Have fun – and I found that a cup of tea really helps with watching the idiot factor as a bemused spectator instead of as a victim.

Battle for Gnomeregan – Meh!

I hope the title didn’t give it away. I am not too terribly impressed with the Battle for Gnomeregan (week 1?) for the moment. The quests at the start (the ones available to any level) were cute. I liked the gnomish drill sergeant showing us all the valuable skills required of the infantry.

Okay, so maybe they were not the most encouraging lessons, but no matter. The “fly around and throw things at tiny targets” mission was okay – it could have been more Death-Star like if there was some incoming fire, but oh well.

And then there is the motivational speech – brilliance in itself, mostly for being so utterly rubbish. It reminded me strongly of the “40 motivational speeches in under 2 minutes” thing.

The final event of retaking the Gnomer? Not so much.

It seems Blizzard either prepared this a long while ago (hmm… this voter says nay) or didn’t listen to any of the comments about the Wrathgate questline. Basically (and sorry, spoilers ahead here): You join the mechanized army of High Tinkerer Mechatorque, approach a fortified position outside the entrance, blow up some turrets, walk towards the tunnel, destroy waves of adds driven forth by a small nuclear device, jump down into the lift-shaft (without getting specifically told you have a parachute – but you do) and then battle some more things until the High Tinker disarms another nuclear device.

Sure … the dialogue was fun. I really rather enjoyed it (What? You left it on the factory default?...), but once again players get a ridiculous damage buff and are healed by Deus Ex Gnomish-Machina every second for more than they can possibly take damage.

I only played this from a tank perspective, but this is not fun. Sure, it might be okay as dps. I don’t mind seeing big numbers bubbling up above my head, I have to admit. It’s also nice not to actually have to worry about drawing aggro – especially as the wildly random composition of each “expedition group” does not necessarily have a tank. But seriously?

My numbers for shield slam are still pathetically low. I am basically watching a guided movie – and walking behind a bunch of people. On the second try (I had to go afk during the first and was subsequently killed in an un-ressable-position – that was nice as well!) I just didn’t even bother fighting any more.

If this is the case, why not just show me an in-game movie instead. Something with better acting and more drama. Something like the Wrathgate film, which was good, not like the Invasion of Undercity, which was tedious and boring.

Stop bloody taking the game out of the game!

Thank you. And I’d really like to hear a healers comment on this one. Is it just as bad for you?

Your Soul belongs to the Lich King

Just a little heads-up. Because I am a curious person. And I keep hearing my raid leaders say "Whatever you do, when you die on the Lich King fight, do not release until we tell you to" (and yes, you can hear the 'bold' in there).

When you all die and the Lich King starts doing his little ressurection spell there actually is a "release" button on your screen.

Looks like this:

But when you try and actually press that release button you get that message there: "Your soul belongs to the Lich King". So unless you miss the ressurection, you're actually safe. No one can fuck up mess up this part. And from there on out, it's all smooth sailing anyway.

P.S. Sorry if I spoilt it for you. If you somehow managed to get this far into the expansion without learning that you get killed at 10% and then ressurected I am amazed. I feel with you. And I truly am sorry for ruining it. But hey... we sometimes learn things even though we do not want to - like "sex can lead to babies" and "fire is hot". Disappointment is just another part of life, eh?

Who does the Lich King remind you of?

Well that is a serious question right there - and how did it come up? By accident, I assure you.

My lovely wife asked me what our baby was watching downstairs - and me, being the good husband that I am, answered instantly (while still reading Tams post) with no thought about what I was actually replying to, what the question was or anything else (It's like that "Does this dress look my bum look fat?" questions - you are not afforded time to think, you are required to answer instantly with a resounding "No! Of course not!").

My reply? "The Lich King"

Which .. err.. was not technically true. Our baby does not have a privately made home video of a WoW-celebrity in the video cassette player (there - showing my age again, ah well).

What he actually was watching was Winnie the Pooh.

Now admittedly, there are some differences. However, just to prove that I was not totally demented, let me offer a list of things where Winnie the Pooh and Arthas, the Lich King are very similar.

5) Both rely excessively on one item for their power (or stoutness) - Honey and Frostmourne, not neccessarily in the order of the two listed figures.

4) Both are shown wearing the same old suit forever. Arthas in his black armour since his first appearance in Howling Fjord, Winnie in his grubby red t-shirt.

3) Both have a tendency to mock their devout servants recklessly and possibly without noticing. In the case of Arthas we are talking about the "You have served me well, Drakkuru, by leading these heroes here" line, in the case of Winnie we're talking about the "This could also be named Pooh and Piglet corner, if it wasn't longer and thus not as good".

2) Both are a bit stout. Seriously.

A little less "letting your minions do all the work for you", a little more exercise, perhaps?

1) And finally: Both speak with a voice as if they had a cold. Examples? Sure... here is the official WotLK trailer, and here is Winnie, stuck in a hole.

I wonder ....

Why I have trouble roleplaying in World of Warcraft

One of those confessional posts ... without much current action. I had to do one eventually, didn't I?

Right.. let's start with the rambly backstory. I play MMORPGs for a while now (as pointed out once or twice before). The first one I picked up was Ultima Online which had no quests, no endgame and non-consentual pvp. There was technically no reason to do anything - of course back then there were also no chat channels, so you could only use it as a chat client as long as you were on the same screen as the person you were talking to. Roleplaying was about as effective as it is now on the Roleplaying Servers in WoW - some people did, others did not. There were no rules, and I have not heard of an instance where Origin had to install a Goldshire Patrol.

There were a few other games coming out later that I tried, starting in the proper three-dimensional playstyle common now - Everquest, Asherons Call and others come to mind. Graphics were getting better (compared to Ultima), but they were far from what we are used today. No surprises.

(Picture taken from here)

I already found it harder to play in those games - and didn't quite grasp why. Of course the usual excuses come to mind: wrong people, getting older, outgrowing a phase, etc.

Interestingly enough, my roleplaying phase came back with Star Wars Galaxies.

And it was good fun. There was all sorts of things you could do. They even had professions in the game that were completely useless in combat - pure traders, entertainers and image designers (yes, there was basically a hairdresser profession). Of course many players mixed and matched those with combat classes - if they were not going for the optimized flavour-of-the-month design (tri-master in pistoleer, smuggler and bounty hunter comes to mind).

Now that I am again finding time to wonder about "what's going on" in World of Warcraft I may have stumbled upon another reason I personally find it hard to roleplay.

See...

There is a certain amount of munchkinism hidden in my friendly shell. I do love to optimize my characters and used to spend hours brooding over three character points at the end of a pen-and-paper session to find the optimal point to spend them. Depending on the game not even in something combat related (Combat in GURPS? Eek. You might actually get hurt!).

With time that also allows me to spin a backstory, to basically grow with the character. At the start of a game there will be a rudimentary backstory, but all the details, all the colour come with the game itself. After a while the character may have become quite powerful (or started there, for something like a Superhero game), but it's only with time that the story comes together.

Now this does transfer to online games as well. As long as there is a good amount of character development, a story is easy to find. And suddenly I find it more and more difficult to "justify" the story.

Let me post two pictures to point out what I mean:

An armed and armoured dwarf. Fabulous hairstyle, pornstar moustache. It's all there. This is not quite best-in-slot gear for a tank, but not too terribly far off either. Look at all those lovely big ... numbers! Mind and eyes up here, please!

Almost 4000 stamina, enough health to last roughly 48175 1-damage hits and 33k armour. A veritable brick wall.

The same dwarf, the same fabulous hairstyle but this time covered with nothing more substantial than a tabard. Again, I'd like to direct your attention away from the amazing physique and towards the numbers.

Only 174 stamina left (a 23rd, roughly), 9700 health (rounding generously - a fifth) and 218 armour (a 150th of the dressed amount). Not so much "Brick Wall" any more - more like moderately pudgy dwarf with a tabard draped over his shoulders.

Just because I can, there is also a screenshot of a new dwarf.

Again a drop in power: only 23 stamina left (1/8th of the amount at level 80), 70 health (a 140th, roughly) and 34 armour (1/6th).

So what does that show me? Well, I gained quite a generous amount of health from merely leveling up. Anything else completely pales in comparison to the amount of stats that my little dwarf gained from his gear. It's not the character that gets stronger, it's the equipment.

Still nothing new there - how does that tie in with me being unable to cyber up some hot chicks in Dalaran roleplay the character properly? Well, improvements gained from gear somehow are less "real". To me, at least (There, that's the cunningly hidden spilling the beans on my state of mind).

It won't change - not in this game, anyway. The whole design is based on this "items" thing. Makes sense, if you are trying to get people to raid the same content over and over again.

It does affect more than games, though...

However much I like the Brent Weeks "Night Angel" trilogy, the main character only becomes as good as he is at the end by an artifact (or seven - let's not spoil everything here). I find it harder to identify with the character than with someone more gritty, who can just pick up a different sword and fight just as effectively. For a good example, I'd recomment Logan from the "First Law" trilogy by Joe Abercrombie.

What does that mean for me as a person? Well, probably that I'd rather be able to fight well (in the mud, with naked elf chicks, with a sword) than to swing a "singing and dancing sword of superiour enchantedness" that mocks my slightly excessive weight and low stamina when I draw it.

So ... errr... let's try a quick summary: I don't like games/books/films that are based on items - I prefer personal power. The kind that cannot be stolen in the next village by a cruel thief/gamemaster.

Yep.

Too many buffs!

So there is now (err… rather... a while ago, but that is beside the point) talk about spreading a few of the more iconic buffs around – mages will be shamans and such.


Now one of the curious developments also combines the effects of Blessing of Might and Wisdom. Nerf enhancement shamans and retribution paladins, says I! But overall, the effect might not be all that large. It is a good start, however, to a rather major problem.

Now I’m not sure how much of an eye you keep on your buffs during a fight. Maybe you are one of those players who use an add-on (like BuffMore) and just react to red and green light*. There are many, many buffs up there (err.. or over there, or wherever you placed yours). Too many of them. More than 10, easily, and with the latest “conversion” of some buffs to permanent (that 5% crit for everyone from fury warriors not just cats? That one!) they are always present.

This seriously reduces the visibility and impact of short-term reactive buffs. Of course there are add-ons that take care of this: Power Auras (for a shiny and popular choice) or TellMeWhen (lightweight and .. err.. rather ugly) come to mind. Those remind me when my Sword and Board is up, my arcane missiles are free or my next exorcism will be instant.

Is this really necessary? I mean, what is the benefit for me as a player of buffs. Sure – they do improve my performance (sometimes by much less than I previously thought – thanks PewPewLazers), but in the end the situation is like this:

You enter a group/raid/sparkling adventure setting and every buffs. All their buffs will be applied. Especially the ones no one really needs, because otherwise you’d forget them when they come in handy (Hello Shadow Protection! – my BuffMore also tells me you are unexpected). Our raid leaders (thank you) will remind people if they forgot a buff – thanks to add-ons, by the way, not because they memorized the icon of every single one of the 2076529 buffs that should be present.

Gah!

For the next expansion I’d want a different system. A system that allows three different situational buffs. In every 5-man instance you are awarded “Small Unit Tactics”, in every 10-man raid you are granted “We’re an army now” and in a 25-man raid you’ll have “Large Scale Combat”. Those buffs combine all those piddly little stupid things into one global buff (much like the charming presence of our King in the entrance to ICC does, maybe). All other buffs are removed. Gone. Good riddance.

And then we can focus on keeping an eye on the important things that actually change during combat. Short term buffs that really make a difference. Like Timewarp (err… Bloodlust).


* On that note: Why does my BuffMore tell me that “Defensive Stance” is an unexpected buff. Was I supposed to be a tank-spec when I first installed it? Does it default to DPS classes? What the hell is going on here!

GM Support at my worst

Yeah no, that is no spelling error. See... it's like this. About two weeks ago I thought I'd jump onto my little warrior once more and bash some heads in. After all... a fully heirloomed up cow-of-doom should have a fun time.

Logged in, found my favourite axe in my bags, and off I trundled. It was only after the first few fights that I noticed my studly bare chest and the rippling six-pack.

Which ... err... made me go and look for my armour. Seems they not in the mail of any of my other characters. Nor in the mailboxes. And I checked all the platewearing classes. Suspicion aroused, I even made my deathknight finally walk down into "Whateverville" to the mailbox. Didn't steal the horse even - mail was more important. No armour.

So ... I sent a GM ticket. Asking if I had lost my heirlooms in the mail. And got a reply back that they would not reimburse items that they could not determine I had lost. Meh.

So .. I sent another mail. With more detail - oh yes!

And look, I got a reply within minutes. A reply basically saying "you are a silly bugger, go and check your characters properly". Which is ... well deserved. I might have to look into an addon that gives me a searchable inventory for all my alts.

And not Arcinventory. I hate it.