What does Epic look like?

Given that a large portion of the player base didn't actually start the game until WOTLK and even some started half way through, it's not surprising that there should be a small bit of skeptism when you hear reports of things being difficult again in Cata.

There are many comments of praise when we read that heroics will actually be heroics and progression will run like this:

Below is the basic progression map. Obviously your mileage may vary, i.e. If you're Paragon or Premonition you will be able to skip some of the below and/or mix and match at your discretion.

*Normal Dungeons/Crafting/Questing to get full set of 85 blues (non-heroic) to do Heroic dungeons.
*Heroic dungeons to get full set of 85 Heroic blues to do Normal mode raids.
*Normal raids to get full set of 85 epics (non-heroic) to do Heroic mode raids.
*Heroic Raids to get full set of 85 Heroic epics, which will presumably help a bit on Sinestra and the next tier (when released with patch 4.1.0)

*Badge vendors to help fill in gaps at all tier levels.

*No real gating to speak of for ship.

*Sinestra opens after Cho'gall is defeated on HEROIC mode. No timers or attempt limits, but she will pound you relentlessly. She has better than Heroic epic level gear (half a tier better).

Heroic blues? Players these days are inclined toward purples because, well, purple was blue as we end this expansion. Vendor gear isn't even blue and very easy to get. My lock had T9 before even setting foot in ToC.

Then you hear of people on test wiping (oh my!) on heroic 5 mans until they figured out the strat. And some actually liked the abuse.

And think back to the transition from BC to Wrath and the travesty that was Naxx. One long, winged trek that upper end guilds destroyed and was left to twiddle their thumbs.

The arguement is not casual verses hardcores now. I see it as veterans verses cadets. Especially for those of us who have played in vanilla (I rolled a priest because I heard druids couldn't heal end game), things being challeging and with a learning curve actually harkened back to a different era of MMO's. Everquest was still a juggernaut with it's insane camping and farming, mass key quests, and progression locks. Gamers these days were barely in Junior High when I started my first MMO (Ultima Online, in case you were wondering), and those of us who grew up and got lives certainly don't have the time or energy for a game with so many time sinks.

But we don't have to go back that far for a sense of challenge and awe. Burning Crusade, for all the boring asthetics and uninspiring bosses (more on that later), had some meat to it. I would even argue that Ulduar gave us that, too. I still shudder when I think of Heroic Mimiron! Then it seemed the crew jumped ship to work on Cataclysm and things kinda went downhill.

I for one am hoping that things stay somewhat difficult. But I don't envy the devs in their job to keep things difficult but still acessible.



One of my favorite things about Northrend was the fact that the villian was everywhere. The first dungeon for most of us was UK and BAM, Arthas is giving out orders and displaying his power. He's telporting here and there and reminding us, goading us if you will, that we are in his domain.

Even side NPCs like the various dragonflight including Chromie, the only gnome I like, made regular appearances.

Burning Crusade was very "meh" for danger. Every boss was locked away somewhere and I never got a sense of urgency like I did for Wrath. Mag was step in the right direction but would have been better if, say, Lady Vashj used a hologram to speak to a Naga chief in Zangarmarsh. I am sure there were better examples, but if there are, they didn't last long enough to instill any sort of emotion.

For those who don't care about lore, I am sure it's all meaningless. Some of us still like that immersion (again, another era) and feeling like we are part of a storyline speaks to an emotion commitment to a game.

I was worried that without such an iconic foe such as the Lich King, would I get the feeling of a real villain in Cata? One movie and an achievement won't make me a believer yet, but I do have high hopes that Deathwing and his army will make me feel inspired!

Checklist

One thing we have learned from past expansions is the significance of preparation. This could mean stockpiling supplies or cleaning out the bank of crap.


Tradeskills

So Kir is a JCer, miner, fisher and chef. Now, if I didn't have mining, I would be stock piling epic gems like crazy. However, knowing that I will be stopping at every node I come across, finding gems won't be a problem. Same with cooking, since fishing and killing things for materials go hand in hand with making food. I can't bring myself to do the dailies so I will just level cooking and fishing together.

I suggest taking a look at your own person time and energy. Since information is still slow to come in for various tradeskills, it may be hard to map out a good leveling plan.

If you fish, save fishing hooks and water walking potions. Since I am not in beta, I don't know how annoying it will be to try reaching certain pools, but it doesn't hurt to be prepared.

If you don't fish but still cook, it may be worth it to do the cooking dailies if you stopped. Things like Hearty Rhino and Mega Mammoth Meals look to be good until 450 skill but still need spices.

If you use ores, the prices aren't super low yet (at least on my server) so it may be worth it to mine several stacks if you are able. Otherwise, wait for the clearance sale at your local auction house as Cata gets closer.

Herbs are probably still at crazy prices, like they are for my server. Again, if you can get your own flowers, great. Otherwise, bribe a friend or watch the AH.

Books of Glyph Mastery seem to be a hot item as well. I wish I understood inscription better to give any insight.

Bank

Most people have a bank alt for dumping stuff in. Now is a great time to go through it and get rid of things have become obsolete recently to make room for the new stuff. Clear your main bank of outdated things (like any idols you were hanging on to because of their now defunct perks) and start moving some old tradeskill items to an alt.

It looks like the first new bag will be 22 slots, same as the current Glacial bag. Some folks have the cash and already have larger bags. Others have tailor friends or alts. With all this in mind, you may or may not want to wait on upgrading your bags.


A note on Scrolls

Since they changed scrolls to work as a battle elixir, it may not be a bad idea to stock pile those along side foods and potions. Always helpful when working those early dungeons and questing to have a little boost until the better stuff is available.


Changes!

As you may have noticed, I changed the banner. However, as you may have also noticed, I suck at formating and such. While I tweak with things a bit more on the blog, bear (ha) with me.

In the meantime, what are you doing to get ready for leveling?

Sexy wings, Cynical Brit, and a survival guide.

News has been trickling in that the release of Cata will be December instead of November. For some, this is great news because they have more time to purge their banks, level those alts and complete those achievements. For others, it means another two months of stalling in ICC.


As a reminder of the expansion blues, one of our members last night made a telling comment.

He has 33/50 shards for his legendary. When it was pointed out that he didn't have much more to go, he replied something similar to I'd rather see new content than finish the sword.

Ouch.

Yay Tree Bark Jacket!

I have been trying to keep up on the talent changes and new abilities in the mean time. I kind of feel lost, much like I did when WOTLK was arriving. Of course, Keeva is going to save the day with a guide to 4.0.

As confusing and scary as it may seem, it is important to pay attention to the writing on the wall and begin to adjust your play style. For myself, I know I use rejuv like it's bottomless, but in a raid I use all my spells just some more than others depending on the encounter (For example, nourish was my top spell last night on Dreamwalker but not so on Sindi). I know there are some druids who just Rejuv and WG. Others never really thought about when to roll LB and when to let it pop. With Blizz leveling the field once again between all types of healers, it is also crucial for us to be mindful of where we can excel and make the best use of our tools. If there is one thing that stands out with being a player of a druid is that we are flexible and quick to adapt. Hmm... game imitating life or the other way around?

Tier 11

Despite being in favor of changing our tree form model opposed to making it a cooldown, I do care about what the armor looks like. It could be that I spent months and many hours getting my first set which gave me a dead bird on my head. Then antlers and horns and more dead animals.

But, check this out!



Oh Blizz, I know this is just to help appease me and my anger over losing a permanent form. I have to admit, you had me at the wings. In your face wings. With sexy feathers floating down. Still a dead bird on my head, but the animation is HOT. What I don't quite get is three different colors. I see silvery green, brown, and dark blue sets. Everything is subject to change so I will keep an eye out for it, because I am obsessive like that.

Finally, if you follow MMO champion at all, you may have noticed Cynical Brit and his Cata videos. I am a new fan and highly encourage you to check his Youtube channel here. I respect those who want to remain spoiler free. I initially watched his Worgen vids largely because I knew I wasn't going to have time to make one right off the bat- not when I have a goblin to make! And a new troll! If you don't watch any of them, watch the Heroic Wipe video :)

New Expansion Blues

Maybe you are in this situation:

Cata beta is trickling in, SC2 is in full swing, and you have done ICC for almost a friggin' year. Real life stuff starts to invade, seeing the opening created by your waning enthusiasm.

Maybe you are in school and spend a little more time on homework than you did in the spring. Maybe you are a working stiff and decide that you are too tired to have dinner in the 15 minutes between getting home and the raid starting and just say "Screw it!"

Or, maybe you aren't dealing with any of the above and are pissed off that not enough people are showing up to the raids.

Either way, the expansion blues are hitting guilds hard right now, even my own.

The sad thing is, I haven't been online in a month to really feel it's effects. I am one of those people that is pissing off others (though I hope not! I have a very legit reason for not being online).

Last week, I was suckered in to doing a boss fight (sucked is the right word, as in, I sucked) and stayed to listen to officer chat.

Recruitment is a good ole standby route to take in order to fill our thin ranks, as long as there are enough good folks left playing on the server to recruit. Then there is hope- hope that people will come back from their breaks and be ready to tackle the expansion.

With the tenative release of November 2 it is still a long way to go while dealing with low attendance numbers.

Are you hit with the blues and if so, how are you handling it?

Will you stay Tauren/Night Elf?

They are hoping to add race changes along with faction changes in the near future. Which got me thinking... do I want to stay a cow?

The alliance kind of got lucky here and have their new race, the Worgen, able to be druids. This is a yummy blend of all that is shapeshift-y and I think it's cool. On the Horde side of things, Trolls will be able to rock it with the claws, feathers or leaves. (See the chart for more a visual look at the class/race combos)

I believe they said that they were looking into different looks for the new races as they shapeshift into druid forms. It would be a stretch to have a troll druid have horns in Cat form (tusks now on top of the head?) so having a unique look makes sense.

Am I on board with Trolls being druids now? Kind of. I wish it were Orcs, as being tied to the elements seems a smoother transition to being tied with nature. However, Trolls are one of the oldest races in Azeroth (and the least played) and a sense of evolving past their cannibalistic ways seems like a good move.

Will I go troll? I might. If anything, for the booty shake over the Electric Slide.

What about the rest of the Druids? Any thoughts so far about changing? No pun intended...

I'm not sure where to begin.

Let me first say that I have been super busy with Real Life, that thing that I do while not blogging or playing games. Fall term is fast approaching, and people at work have been taking vacations so I pick up shifts to cover for them.

Of course, the expansion announcement has pulled me out from under my rock to comment.

I have mixed feelings so far about how this will all turn out.

New Races

I am saddened that Horde doesn't get Worgen, but for the lore it makes sense. If it turns out as well as I hope it does, using the phasing system for these new races will help better connect with their stories and how they fit into their respective faction sides. Especially, for Goblins. It's not like these guys are new and shiny, but the phasing while leveling should give those who roll them a greater understanding of how the heck they got to Kalimdor and why Thrall said "Ya, come join us."

Old Zones are New again

A complete re-do on all the Old World zones is intriguing. More so when they announced that it will affect everyone, regardless of if you bought the expansion. This, I can get behind. I personally feel like I would be playing a new game again after seen the trailer (Barrens split into two parts, Desolace actually with grass instead of desert, for example).

Of course, flying. When BC came out, I predicted that we would be flying in Azeroth within a year. I was waaaay off. But the chance to fly will finally be reached with the expansion.

The game is going to be completely redone. Not just with zones and new dungeons, but also class/race combos and game mechanics. They are redoing how we gain higher ranks of spells and how stats fit into the game play.

My character screen is full, like my inventory

Leafshine makes a good point. Need more character slots. Seriously.

Bold move

Despite feeling both excited and so boggled that I can't wrap my head around many of the changes, I think (today anyway), that Blizzard is doing the right thing by changing the game. It's five years old, and possibly will be six when the expansion comes out (just speculating, don't quote me on that). There needs to be something done in order to bring new life into the game. This is beyond an expansion but a re-imagining of the world we play in. Shifted lowbie areas, new quest hubs, new mechanics all will send folks for a loop (put down the quest helper and learn to read quest text again!). As someone who openly admits she needs something new to look at, hence my Aion beta playing, the New World of Warcraft might entice me to keep playing for a little while longer.

Lore, lore, more lore

I am deep down a RPer. I can't help it, after years of table top RPG and many FFs and the like before even picking up my first MMO, I am invested in the lore of my games. So, imagine my shock when I read about the new, new horde. As a member of the Horde and a Tauren, I feel a sense of loss and confusion. The lore will have to strongly encourage me, as a player to get behind the changes.

I probably will add more of my 2 cp later as more things develop. Read about the announcments at MMO Champion, World Of Raids, the Official Site and a blog near you.