World of Warcraft Blog

If you’re a World of Warcraft gamer then you most likely also recieved this newsletter via email. It gives details on the game and up-and-coming events. Exciting times up ahead for us gamers!

I for one did not know I was signed up to receive a newsletter. Did we sign up for these, or do World of Warcraft enjoy sending us rather useless information? There was a rather big outrage (not quite big enough to describe it as ‘huge’ unfortunately) when Blizzard sent all it’s WoW players information on the Recruit-A-Friend Program. Basically, everyone seen it as a ploy to gain more subscribers and were not happy that they were being used for minimal benefits. Did you notice they have never sent out any emails since now?

Did you also notice that it’s not asking for money this time?

Does anyone else find it worrying how many ‘just turned’ age 14 players there seems to be in World of Warcraft now? They are polluting the level 1-40 stages of the game and are making it not-so-fun for the normal ages player. How I know this? They are everywhere! They contantly need to group up with someone, they actually ask “asl?” and seem to be poor at the game.

That is not to say all young teens are bed at the game. I have come across a few who seemed to know what they were doing. I am just complaining about the population of players who dominate the levels above and stay there! They will get a character up to about 33, and then give up and start a new one.  Maybe they know that the game will become a bit too serious for their liking if they level up some more, or maybe they simply don’t have the attention spans.

I don’t know… Perhaps it’s just my sever, although I do doubt that very much.

It seems I witnessed something special today. Apparently, the first group of people on my server achieved the achievement no one can do on their own. Yup, they killed the other factions ‘top guys’. They achieved their achievemnet (great wording) and as most people know, this achievement actually gives a pretty cool reward.

That’s right, the received their mounts! And incase you have not noticed, I am trying to keep this post as impartial as possible. That’s because I don’t want to appear one-sided to Alliance or Horde, hence me not mentioning who defeated who or what mount was achieved. Sorry about that!

However, a screen shot was taking in ‘a city’ with ‘these mounts’ and it looked pretty cool. They had positioned themselves around a particular momument and it looked nice. If it makes it to the screen shot section on the World of Warcraft website then I will have no option but to post it…

Mostly because I will be in the background somewhere! Hi Mom!

I posted a few weeks ago about how I was thinking of making the carpet. I was put off it a little, but I was too stubborn to pass up the opportunity to look silly. However, after reading up about the Magnificent Flying Carpet (great name, right?), I was told that it is in fact a vechile mount, which means it does not perform like a regular mount. I had to investigate!

And here’s what I found:

1. Your mount has health (much like a pet does) and appears under your character portrait.
2. You have to dismount, before making any actions on the mount, which takes time. You are also unable to dismount and still keep runing, you have to stand still for a second.
3. Your mount has a dismiss button in the left corner of your screen?!
4. When you use your mount, your angleview shifts, so you just see what’s in front of you.
5. If you log-out during your flight and then return, you will dismount and say ‘hello’ to the new dead you!

We have been reassured that vehicle mounts will no longer be vehicle mounts in the next patch or so (maybe as soon a 3.1) which is good news. I guess I’ll go ahead and make it, see how it is, and if it’s terrible then I’ll be forced to wait until Blizzard decide to change it. It does look nice though!

Strand of the Ancients is the new Battleground in World of Warcraft. I have personally only played in it a few times, and I really enjoy it! I’m not the hugest fan of PVP in the world, but I must admit I like this new addition.

I enjoy the fact that there is (ironically) very little PVP combat involved within. It is more a case of player versus machine, PVM if you like. Seriously though, we kill their tanks and then they kill ours. We knock down doors and then they do the same. I know I’m not exactly selling it. I think you just have to experience it for yourself. It also has a nice little moment at the beginning when you travel in a rather fast boat. Talk to the guy steering them. He is very, erm, general in what he says…

I also noticed that there tends be a little less “omg your all noobs!” (notice the incorrect spelling of ‘your’)…Yes, it is fun indeed.

No matter what character you play within World of Warcraft, they all have their unique way of telling us that something cannot be used. Some common sayings would be “I can’t cast that yet”, “That ability is not ready yet” and “Not enough mana”. All equally annoying, I’m sure you will agree…

I’ll be sitting there, spamming a certain spell by hitting it over and over again (as you do) and my character will be screaming out these sayings. I had a friend watching me play the other day and they asked if it annoys me. I actually had to ask them twice what they were on about. Apparently I have learned to zone out these sayings and I just concentrate on the game. I know fine well that the spells are not ready, I just like to try!

Does anyone notice these anymore? Do they annoy you or do you just, like me, zone out?

“Blow hard until I say stop” is probably a saying most people are familiar with (in whatever context you wish to consider it in). That’s right, it’s what the police say when you are being breathalysed. But what if your addiction could be put down on paper and looked at? On a scale of 1 to 100 (with 100 being ‘cannot live without’), how many World of Warcraft players do you think would be under 80? I for one would say ‘not a lot, Dot’…

I feel I would be about 82. I can sometimes live without it (like all of today and yesterday, for example). In terms of WoW, 2 days without it means I practically don’t play anymore! Joking aside, being so high does not really shock me that much. After so many years you kind of have to accept that you will have your up ands downs, but at the end of it all you will always return. As for the rest of you, it’s nice to know there will be some who are below me (especially for the young teens out there), but at the same time I know there will be a lot above me.

I guess as long as you are in control and not letting it take over you, then it’s all good! Just remember to allow it to aid your life, not become a hassle in your life that you must play (no matter how much your guild begs you to)!

So, anyone willing to admit their number on the ‘WoW Scale of Doom’?!

Any day now money will be taken out of my bank account. No, I didn’t buy a fancy car, or house, or boat for that matter. I simply happen to be a World of Warcraft player. Obviously, when everyone signs up for WoW, they are aware of the charges. Sure, blizzard are kind enough to give us a month (and perhaps 10 days) for free, but if this enough? Is it really fair that we get charged for having fun?

I guess in many casses the answer is ‘yes’. Blizzard are a company after all, and we, as the gamers, as using something which belongs to them. Therefore, I guess it’s only fair that we pay them. However, when we consider what we are paying them for (laughs and fun) it all seems a little bizzare. Would you expect to be sitting in a bar and everytime you laughed the barman would come over and charge you $50? It would be silly, but World of Warcraft is just an extreme of this situation. The more we enjoy the game, the more we pay to keep on playing!

I still love it though

This post may be a little random (”when are they not random?” I hear you ask/shout). Anyway, today, right smack bang in the middle of a quest, Mr Lich King himself appears! I almost wet myself! After looking through his eye and killing many of his (dare I say ugly) followers, I finally got to meet the man himself! And what a fine man he is!

Actually, after all the hype I was a little concerned about his height. I know, that’s rich coming from a Gnome… He was just a little, you know, on the short side. He made up for it in numbers though. The ’size’ of his HP amazed me!

But shortness aside, I was pleased to see him. He appeared, he said some stuff, then he left. I got a great screenshot of me ‘loving’ him. I’m such a fangirl! It’s not quite a kiss, but I’m hoping that will come on our second date

I’m not sure how familiar anyone is with Warhammer Online. Basically, it is a game that is very similar to World of Warcraft, however players are able to achieve max level without ever doing anything on their own. And yes, I do realize this is also possible on WoW, however with Warhammer Online it is actually encouraged!

And that’s where the idea for this post came from. Public Quests are unique to Warhammer Online and have caused a lot of discussion in the MMO world. They are quests that trigger when you enter a certain area, and you can choose to take part in them or simply watch from within. Often there will be a few dozen players taking part with you, with everyone helping each other to achieve the over-all goal of completing the quest. Now, since Warhammer Online is a relatively new game, I was wondering if any WoW players would be interested in this?

I know from a personal side that this would certainly be a nice brake from all the gold grinding I have been doing lately. However, if battlegrounds are anything to go by, I think there would be a lot of internal arguing, name calling and hissy fits to witness. Say for instance the quest was failed; It’s never the fault of any of the loud mouths, is it?

I don’t know… It seems like many of these new online games have almost ‘ripped off’ World of Warcraft’s playing style. They simply take everything that is good about WoW, and add their own little spin. They are probably quite pleased with themselves too. However, I have no doubt that Blizzard will get their own back and start borrowing from them. Basically, something that was once unique to Warhammer Online will soon be unique to Warhammer and World of Warcraft.

WoW Public Quests anyone? Who are we kidding, we all know it’s going to happen sooner or later…