So, what did you think of Tier 11 normal mode (pre-nerf)? Some found the difficulty to be just right while others weren't impressed with (what early on were) one-shot mechanics.
I thought some of the new raid mechanics, like sound on Atramedes and corrupted blood on Cho'gall, weren't bad. Halfus, changing up from week to week, was a good plan to try to help keep things interesting. Three council fights. Chimaeron tested healers and their ability to adapt.
Props for trying to make things a bit fresher in some areas, although I'm not a fan of "interrupt on CD or die" mechanics. General Vezax already did that. It's not hard, but it's not really "fun" either, IMO. Seen it once, you're good to go.
Throne of the Four Winds had such a nice look to it, especially compared to Blackwing Descent and Bastion of Twilight. Swimming through the air killing Al'Akir let's you get a really good look at the place. It's quite grand. The council fight is easy but just good fun. Al'Akir was fairly challenging at first, taking some time to get a feel for it (perception in phase 3).
What was your favorite raid boss in Tier 11?
How far did you get in hardmodes?
Monday, July 25, 2011
WoW Cataclysm: First it was Heroics, now it's Raids
Going from faceroll Wrath heroics to the new Cataclysm dungeons was a bit of culture shock for some players. Yeah, well, it's an expansion. That's how it works. We went from over-geared toons that we knew inside out to under-geared newbs relearning our classes. And, yes, the difficulty was ramped up a bit, as it very well needed to be.
Ghostcrawler's famous "Wow, Dungeons are Hard!" blog, explained why things needed a push but it wasn't well-received by all. Some thought he was saying L2play, if not in so many words. Soon heroics were nerfed.
On the World of Warcraft forums, many players were upset about these nerfs especially after having read that blog (apparently, Ghostcrawler has been nerfed a bit too). Players that like a challenge talked of "slippery slopes" stating that soon raids would also be nerfed.
They didn't know the half of it. While it's expected that content will be nerfed late in an expansion, the force of the nerf bat on T11 this early was pretty extreme. This is especially true since with easier access to gear, content nerfs itself.
A raid made up of alts and pugs can now clear all of Tier 11 in a couple of hours.
Ghostcrawler's famous "Wow, Dungeons are Hard!" blog, explained why things needed a push but it wasn't well-received by all. Some thought he was saying L2play, if not in so many words. Soon heroics were nerfed.
On the World of Warcraft forums, many players were upset about these nerfs especially after having read that blog (apparently, Ghostcrawler has been nerfed a bit too). Players that like a challenge talked of "slippery slopes" stating that soon raids would also be nerfed.
They didn't know the half of it. While it's expected that content will be nerfed late in an expansion, the force of the nerf bat on T11 this early was pretty extreme. This is especially true since with easier access to gear, content nerfs itself.
A raid made up of alts and pugs can now clear all of Tier 11 in a couple of hours.
World of Warcraft: New Guild System in Cataclysm
The guild leveling system was a new feature in the Cataclysm expansion. While many changes were made to the original vision of the system, there are still some pretty nice perks. Originally it was going to be more like choosing a spec. Points would be placed in a guild tree to choose specific rewards. This was later changed to just give rewards at certain guild levels instead.
Some of those rewards have also been changed since implementation, since they were abused. Imagine that. For example, Have Group will Travel (mass summon), was used to cheat in raids and bypass trash or other bosses, so now it only works near the entrance. It could have saved guilds a lot of run back time during progression, but of course, someone had to exploit it.
Mass rez is nice though. If one raid member lives, he or she can rez the others. Go, go hunters with feign death.
As with any new feature, not everyone likes the guild leveling system. Keep in mind that none of the perks are really game-breaking if you don't have them, but some are definitely helpful.
You can see a list of Guild Perks at Wowhead.
Some of those rewards have also been changed since implementation, since they were abused. Imagine that. For example, Have Group will Travel (mass summon), was used to cheat in raids and bypass trash or other bosses, so now it only works near the entrance. It could have saved guilds a lot of run back time during progression, but of course, someone had to exploit it.
Mass rez is nice though. If one raid member lives, he or she can rez the others. Go, go hunters with feign death.
As with any new feature, not everyone likes the guild leveling system. Keep in mind that none of the perks are really game-breaking if you don't have them, but some are definitely helpful.
You can see a list of Guild Perks at Wowhead.
World of Warcraft, Cataclysm: Max Level Characters
So, how many max level characters do you have? I have five level 85 toons.
How many of those do you play regularly? I play two of mine more than all the others, and occasionally play a third.
My main and my favorite alt are pretty well-geared. The others have ok gear but just aren't as much fun to play any more.
How many professions do you have at max level? Between my toons I have mining, engineering, herbalism, alchemy, and skinning. Enchanting and tailoring are nearly maxed. As for secondary professions, all my 85's have cooking maxed and one has fishing (and only one will EVER have fishing). One has first aid.
I tried to do archaeology. I really did, but I just can't make myself do it.
How are your toons coming along?
How many of those do you play regularly? I play two of mine more than all the others, and occasionally play a third.
My main and my favorite alt are pretty well-geared. The others have ok gear but just aren't as much fun to play any more.
How many professions do you have at max level? Between my toons I have mining, engineering, herbalism, alchemy, and skinning. Enchanting and tailoring are nearly maxed. As for secondary professions, all my 85's have cooking maxed and one has fishing (and only one will EVER have fishing). One has first aid.
I tried to do archaeology. I really did, but I just can't make myself do it.
How are your toons coming along?
WoW Cataclysm: Leveling to 85
It didn't take long to hit 85; in fact many players out-leveled the quests in certain leveling zones before completing them all. Getting from 84 to 85 was (obviously) the longest level but the Crucible of Carnage gave us a nice chunk of XP and a nice starter weapon.
Some players really enjoyed the leveling experience while others, not so much. It was new, it was different, and phasing was added to make it look like your heroic efforts were actually making changes in the world around you. Neat!
Some didn't care too much for the "on rails" questing experience as they prefer to explore and wander from quest to quest at will rather than do the linear thing. Others weren't thrilled with the phasing (including the bugs it created) because it kept them from playing with friends and guildies that were in different phases.
Keep in mind that it's hard to keep 11 million people happy, but I think both sides have fair points. What did you think of the questing to max level experience?
Some players really enjoyed the leveling experience while others, not so much. It was new, it was different, and phasing was added to make it look like your heroic efforts were actually making changes in the world around you. Neat!
Some didn't care too much for the "on rails" questing experience as they prefer to explore and wander from quest to quest at will rather than do the linear thing. Others weren't thrilled with the phasing (including the bugs it created) because it kept them from playing with friends and guildies that were in different phases.
Keep in mind that it's hard to keep 11 million people happy, but I think both sides have fair points. What did you think of the questing to max level experience?
WoW Cataclysm: Anybody seen Deathwing?
So, Cataclysm dropped and the rush to hit 85 ensued. Heroics were "hard" and people cried, and then they were nerfed. The grind for gear continues.
The great foe, Deathwing randomly killed people, giving them the achievement Stood in the Fire. Have you gotten this achievement on any of your toons?
My mage alt was killed early on while inside the neutral auction house in Tanaris. I didn't even know what happened at first , and then the achievement popped up. That's the one and only encounter I've had and haven't seen Deathwing since. Many others are asking where he's been?
Have you seen Deathwing?
The great foe, Deathwing randomly killed people, giving them the achievement Stood in the Fire. Have you gotten this achievement on any of your toons?
My mage alt was killed early on while inside the neutral auction house in Tanaris. I didn't even know what happened at first , and then the achievement popped up. That's the one and only encounter I've had and haven't seen Deathwing since. Many others are asking where he's been?
Have you seen Deathwing?
WoW: Real World v. Azeroth
It's been a long time. IRL stuff got out of hand and started messing with not only my WoW time but my writing time as well. So, how have you been? A lot has changed since we visited here at World of Warcraft Corner.
I was pretty surprised to see that my last post was from the Ulduar days. I didn't realize it had been that long. Ah, but the memories of Ulduar are awesome. It was the best raid in the Wrath of the Lich King expansion, IMO. I doubt will ever see something as grand again.
So, a lot has happened since those days. Lots of big changes. I'll spare you the IRL stuff but a lot has changed in game as well, both personally and overall.
Towards the end of Wrath, I quit the guild I had been in for over a year and my husband and I started a raiding guild of our own. We went 11/12 HM in ICC.
Love it or hate it, Wrath was an expansion like no other (how I miss BC).
I was pretty surprised to see that my last post was from the Ulduar days. I didn't realize it had been that long. Ah, but the memories of Ulduar are awesome. It was the best raid in the Wrath of the Lich King expansion, IMO. I doubt will ever see something as grand again.
So, a lot has happened since those days. Lots of big changes. I'll spare you the IRL stuff but a lot has changed in game as well, both personally and overall.
Towards the end of Wrath, I quit the guild I had been in for over a year and my husband and I started a raiding guild of our own. We went 11/12 HM in ICC.
Love it or hate it, Wrath was an expansion like no other (how I miss BC).
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