More Heroics getting the Nerf Hammer!
I have been running Heroics almost religiously since the new and improved Dungeon Finder was released by Blizzard. Rewards are great, the action is fast, and it provides a nice steady income of gold. The down side is some of the dungeons themselves. Oculus was a big group breaker and would “pop” too many times, but was fixed by Blizzard Bribery.
The new one I see pop way too often is Old Kingdom. I have been getting O.K. once a day for the last week and half? Coincidence or maybe some evil Night Elf Hunter plan, well maybe. Either way Blizzard has decided to bring the nerf hammer down and address some player issues. Here is the quote from Blizzard;
Ahn’kahet, the Old Kingdom
With that said, we plan on making some changes to The Old Kingdom in the next minor patch. For instance, Elder Nadox will only get one Ahn’Kahar Guardian and Jadoga Shadowseeker will only use her Ascend ability once during their respective encounters. In addition, a couple of the stagnant groups of bad dudes between the Befouled Terrace and The Desecrated Altar will be removed, while some of the roaming groups will have their pathing altered. These changes are not to make this instance easier, but rather to make it a slightly quicker run and more in line with some of the other Wrath dungeons.
Nexus
I think you mean Anomalus. Yes, he will use his Create Rift ability less often. [...] we’re continuing to learn that time and difficulty aren’t synonymous measurements. For instance, Anomalus could use his Create Rift ability 20 times before you could kill him if we wanted to make it so. This would increase the encounter’s difficulty by a negligible amount, the hardest part of which would be staying awake.The Culling of Stratholme
We plan to do something to allow players a quicker start to this dungeon, however, the fix to the scripting is more complicated than the changes we’re making to some of the other dungeons and likely will not be ready for the next minor patch.
I, for one welcome these changes. Anything that makes these old dungeons speedier, not necessary easier also makes them more fun. With cataclysm rumored to be out later this year, I foresee many improvements and changes coming our way.
More Heroics getting the Nerf Hammer!
I have been running Heroics almost religiously since the new and improved Dungeon Finder was released by Blizzard. Rewards are great, the action is fast, and it provides a nice steady income of gold. The down side is some of the dungeons themselves. Oculus was a big group breaker and would “pop” too many times, but was fixed by Blizzard Bribery.
The new one I see pop way too often is Old Kingdom. I have been getting O.K. once a day for the last week and half? Coincidence or maybe some evil Night Elf Hunter plan, well maybe. Either way Blizzard has decided to bring the nerf hammer down and address some player issues. Here is the quote from Blizzard;
Ahn’kahet, the Old Kingdom
With that said, we plan on making some changes to The Old Kingdom in the next minor patch. For instance, Elder Nadox will only get one Ahn’Kahar Guardian and Jadoga Shadowseeker will only use her Ascend ability once during their respective encounters. In addition, a couple of the stagnant groups of bad dudes between the Befouled Terrace and The Desecrated Altar will be removed, while some of the roaming groups will have their pathing altered. These changes are not to make this instance easier, but rather to make it a slightly quicker run and more in line with some of the other Wrath dungeons.
Nexus
I think you mean Anomalus. Yes, he will use his Create Rift ability less often. [...] we’re continuing to learn that time and difficulty aren’t synonymous measurements. For instance, Anomalus could use his Create Rift ability 20 times before you could kill him if we wanted to make it so. This would increase the encounter’s difficulty by a negligible amount, the hardest part of which would be staying awake.The Culling of Stratholme
We plan to do something to allow players a quicker start to this dungeon, however, the fix to the scripting is more complicated than the changes we’re making to some of the other dungeons and likely will not be ready for the next minor patch.
I, for one welcome these changes. Anything that makes these old dungeons speedier, not necessary easier also makes them more fun. With cataclysm rumored to be out later this year, I foresee many improvements and changes coming our way.
New Year Brings New Bribery…ahhh I mean Updates.
The new dungeon finder for World of Warcraft has been a large success from Blizzard. Most of the player base seems to approve. The new tool has given dungeons a new level of accessibility to Heroics. Of course some dungeons are not as popular as others. If you guess Oculus you are correct. For some reason the majority of players hate Oculus, however I know a few out there actually enjoy it. I have joined many random dungeon groups to have the group unanimously yelp “Oh no not occ…” or “Oh Fuuuudddgggeee! (except he didn’t say Fudge). As usual Blizzard has noticed this trend and implemented a bribery system to those brave or foolish enough to endure it. Here is the post from a dev:
To encourage players not to shy away from the many invigorating adventures to be had in The Oculus, we have applied a change to enhance the rewards players are provided when selected for this dungeon via the Random Heroic option in the Dungeon Finder. Once Ley-Guardian Eregos is defeated, one loot bag per character will be provided in his chest in addition to the current rewards. Each loot bag will offer players rare gems, two additional Emblems of Triumph, and a chance of being rewarded the Reins of the Blue Drake. These fine treasures could be yours should you honor your fellow party members by besting the challenges contained within The Oculus! Keep in mind, however, that these extra loot bags will only be awarded to each party member if Oculus is selected by the Dungeon Finder when players choose the Random Heroic option.
So get out there and accept your bribery like a true warrior.
New Year Brings New Bribery…ahhh I mean Updates.
The new dungeon finder for World of Warcraft has been a large success from Blizzard. Most of the player base seems to approve. The new tool has given dungeons a new level of accessibility to Heroics. Of course some dungeons are not as popular as others. If you guess Oculus you are correct. For some reason the majority of players hate Oculus, however I know a few out there actually enjoy it. I have joined many random dungeon groups to have the group unanimously yelp “Oh no not occ…” or “Oh Fuuuudddgggeee! (except he didn’t say Fudge). As usual Blizzard has noticed this trend and implemented a bribery system to those brave or foolish enough to endure it. Here is the post from a dev:
To encourage players not to shy away from the many invigorating adventures to be had in The Oculus, we have applied a change to enhance the rewards players are provided when selected for this dungeon via the Random Heroic option in the Dungeon Finder. Once Ley-Guardian Eregos is defeated, one loot bag per character will be provided in his chest in addition to the current rewards. Each loot bag will offer players rare gems, two additional Emblems of Triumph, and a chance of being rewarded the Reins of the Blue Drake. These fine treasures could be yours should you honor your fellow party members by besting the challenges contained within The Oculus! Keep in mind, however, that these extra loot bags will only be awarded to each party member if Oculus is selected by the Dungeon Finder when players choose the Random Heroic option.
So get out there and accept your bribery like a true warrior.
Dungeon Finder
The newly updated Looking for Group (LFG) Tool in World of Warcraft is,… well Wow! Pardon the pun, but the tool is just that good. In the old days, raiding was the only way to access high level dungeons to attain epic gear. Blizzard realized that only a small, (very small population) of players actually had the chance to enter these epic encounters. Blizzard decided to make these encounters more accessible to a broader audience. Throughout this year and last they have made improvements that would allow the average player a chance to enter these dungeons. The greatest innovation, in my humble opinion, has been the LFG tool or now known as the Dungeon Finder.
The Dungeon Finder supports cross realm groups, teleporting directly into the dungeons and a few other features. Here is a breakdown of those features;
Dungeon Finder
- This feature has replaced the Looking For Group tool and provides all-new dungeon party creation functionality.
- Players can join as individuals, as a full group, or a partial group to look for additional party members.
- Groups using this tool will be able to teleport directly to the selected instance. Upon leaving the instance, players will be returned to their original location. If any party member needs to temporarily leave the instance for reagents or repairs, they will have the option to teleport back to the instance.
- Players can choose the Random Dungeon option.
- The Heroic Wrath of the Lich King Daily Random Dungeon option will award two Emblems of Frost no more than once a day.
- The normal Wrath of the Lich King Daily Random Dungeon option will award two Emblems of Triumph no more than once a day.
- Continuing to complete Wrath of the Lich King Heroic instances using the Daily Random Dungeon option will award players two additional Emblems of Triumph each time.
- Daily Heroic and normal dungeon quests have been removed. These quests have been replaced with weekly raid quests (see the “Quests” section for details).
- Level-appropriate rewards will be offered to players who choose the Random Dungeon option for pre-Wrath of the Lich King dungeons.
- Players can be placed in a group for a random dungeon no more than once every 15 minutes.
- Random Dungeon rewards will be placed in each player’s inventory automatically upon completion of the dungeon (final boss killed). A pop-up notification will display any rewards earned through the Dungeon Finder.
- Instead of choosing a random dungeon, players can also choose specific dungeons appropriate for their level range. Multiple instances can be selected at one time. The feature no longer limits the choice to look for only 3 dungeon groups at one time.
- Pick-Up Groups
- Cross-realm instances are now available and use an improved matchmaking system to assist players in looking for additional party members. As with Battlegrounds, the realms in each Battlegroup are connected.
- As part of the matchmaking system, some of the more difficult dungeons will have a minimum gear requirement. Players also need to meet the requirements for dungeons that require attunement, such as keys or quests. If a player does not meet the requirements for a particular dungeon, a lock icon will be displayed next to that dungeon. Hovering over this icon will display the requirements which have not been met.
- Only conjured items and loot dropped in a dungeon for which other party members are eligible can be traded between players from different realms.
- A Vote Kick feature will be available in the event a member of a party is not performing to the expectations of the other members.
- Players who leave the group prematurely are subject to a Deserter debuff preventing them from using the Dungeon Finder for 15 minutes.
- If an existing group loses a member, the leader will be asked if he or she wants to continue the dungeon. Choosing to continue will automatically place the group back into the Dungeon Finder queue.
- A Player will not be placed in a group with people on his or her Ignore list.
- Players who take part in groups who have one or more members who have been matched with them randomly from within the Dungeon Finder will receive extra rewards, up to and including the coveted Perky Pug non-combat pet. The more random players with whom one groups, the faster the pet can be obtained.
- The Need Before Greed loot system will be the unalterable default looting system for pick-up groups in the Dungeon Finder and has been updated.
- Need Before Greed will now recognize gear appropriate for a class in three ways: the class must be able to equip the item, pure melee will be unable to roll on spell power items, and classes are limited to their dominant armor type (ex. paladins for plate). All items will still be available via Greed rolls as well as the new Disenchant option should no member be able to use the item.
- Players will be able to roll on items with a required minimum level higher than a player’s current level.
This system provides access to better gear through the badge system for almost all the player base. This is a step in the right direction, as well as slightly addicting. Have fun and good luck in your travels.
Dungeon Finder
The newly updated Looking for Group (LFG) Tool in World of Warcraft is,… well Wow! Pardon the pun, but the tool is just that good. In the old days, raiding was the only way to access high level dungeons to attain epic gear. Blizzard realized that only a small, (very small population) of players actually had the chance to enter these epic encounters. Blizzard decided to make these encounters more accessible to a broader audience. Throughout this year and last they have made improvements that would allow the average player a chance to enter these dungeons. The greatest innovation, in my humble opinion, has been the LFG tool or now known as the Dungeon Finder.
The Dungeon Finder supports cross realm groups, teleporting directly into the dungeons and a few other features. Here is a breakdown of those features;
Dungeon Finder
- This feature has replaced the Looking For Group tool and provides all-new dungeon party creation functionality.
- Players can join as individuals, as a full group, or a partial group to look for additional party members.
- Groups using this tool will be able to teleport directly to the selected instance. Upon leaving the instance, players will be returned to their original location. If any party member needs to temporarily leave the instance for reagents or repairs, they will have the option to teleport back to the instance.
- Players can choose the Random Dungeon option.
- The Heroic Wrath of the Lich King Daily Random Dungeon option will award two Emblems of Frost no more than once a day.
- The normal Wrath of the Lich King Daily Random Dungeon option will award two Emblems of Triumph no more than once a day.
- Continuing to complete Wrath of the Lich King Heroic instances using the Daily Random Dungeon option will award players two additional Emblems of Triumph each time.
- Daily Heroic and normal dungeon quests have been removed. These quests have been replaced with weekly raid quests (see the “Quests” section for details).
- Level-appropriate rewards will be offered to players who choose the Random Dungeon option for pre-Wrath of the Lich King dungeons.
- Players can be placed in a group for a random dungeon no more than once every 15 minutes.
- Random Dungeon rewards will be placed in each player’s inventory automatically upon completion of the dungeon (final boss killed). A pop-up notification will display any rewards earned through the Dungeon Finder.
- Instead of choosing a random dungeon, players can also choose specific dungeons appropriate for their level range. Multiple instances can be selected at one time. The feature no longer limits the choice to look for only 3 dungeon groups at one time.
- Pick-Up Groups
- Cross-realm instances are now available and use an improved matchmaking system to assist players in looking for additional party members. As with Battlegrounds, the realms in each Battlegroup are connected.
- As part of the matchmaking system, some of the more difficult dungeons will have a minimum gear requirement. Players also need to meet the requirements for dungeons that require attunement, such as keys or quests. If a player does not meet the requirements for a particular dungeon, a lock icon will be displayed next to that dungeon. Hovering over this icon will display the requirements which have not been met.
- Only conjured items and loot dropped in a dungeon for which other party members are eligible can be traded between players from different realms.
- A Vote Kick feature will be available in the event a member of a party is not performing to the expectations of the other members.
- Players who leave the group prematurely are subject to a Deserter debuff preventing them from using the Dungeon Finder for 15 minutes.
- If an existing group loses a member, the leader will be asked if he or she wants to continue the dungeon. Choosing to continue will automatically place the group back into the Dungeon Finder queue.
- A Player will not be placed in a group with people on his or her Ignore list.
- Players who take part in groups who have one or more members who have been matched with them randomly from within the Dungeon Finder will receive extra rewards, up to and including the coveted Perky Pug non-combat pet. The more random players with whom one groups, the faster the pet can be obtained.
- The Need Before Greed loot system will be the unalterable default looting system for pick-up groups in the Dungeon Finder and has been updated.
- Need Before Greed will now recognize gear appropriate for a class in three ways: the class must be able to equip the item, pure melee will be unable to roll on spell power items, and classes are limited to their dominant armor type (ex. paladins for plate). All items will still be available via Greed rolls as well as the new Disenchant option should no member be able to use the item.
- Players will be able to roll on items with a required minimum level higher than a player’s current level.
This system provides access to better gear through the badge system for almost all the player base. This is a step in the right direction, as well as slightly addicting. Have fun and good luck in your travels.
World of Warcraft: Cataclysm (Now, believe the hype!)
Anaheim, Calafornia - Blizzcon 2009: Recently there has been some speculation on if the leaked information surrounding Blizzards latest World of Warcraft expansion “Cataclysm” was official.
Today Blizzard released details of it’s world changing expansion Cataclsym.
Some of the new features of World of Warcraft: Cataclysm include:
- Two New Playable Races: Adventure as one of two new races–the cursed worgen with the Alliance or the resourceful goblins with the Horde.
- Level Cap Increased to 85: Earn new abilities, tap into new talents, and progress through the path system, a new way for players to improve characters.
- Classic Zones Remade: Familiar zones across the original continents of Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms have been altered forever and updated with new content, from the devastated Badlands to the broken Barrens, which has been sundered in two.
- New High-Level Zones: Explore newly opened parts of the world, including Uldum, Grim Batol, and the great Sunken City of Vashj’ir beneath the sea.
- More Raid Content than Ever Before: Enjoy more high-level raid content than previous expansions, with optional more challenging versions of all encounters.
- New Race and Class Combinations: Explore Azeroth as a gnome priest, blood elf warrior, or one of the other never-before-available race and class combinations.
- Guild Advancement: Progress as a guild to earn guild levels and guild achievements.
- New PvP Zone & Rated Battlegrounds: Take on PvP objectives and daily quests on Tol Barad Island, a new Wintergrasp-like zone, and wage war in all-new rated Battlegrounds.
- Archaeology: Master a new secondary profession to unearth valuable artifacts and earn unique rewards.
- Flying Mounts in Azeroth: Explore Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms like never before.
Now, it’s time to believe the hype. Do I want to play World of Warcraft again? I considered it for 10-30 seconds, I have a soft spot for goblins.
See you ingame,
Frank
World of Warcraft: Cataclysm (Now, believe the hype!)
Anaheim, Calafornia - Blizzcon 2009: Recently there has been some speculation on if the leaked information surrounding Blizzards latest World of Warcraft expansion “Cataclysm” was official.
Today Blizzard released details of it’s world changing expansion Cataclsym.
Some of the new features of World of Warcraft: Cataclysm include:
- Two New Playable Races: Adventure as one of two new races–the cursed worgen with the Alliance or the resourceful goblins with the Horde.
- Level Cap Increased to 85: Earn new abilities, tap into new talents, and progress through the path system, a new way for players to improve characters.
- Classic Zones Remade: Familiar zones across the original continents of Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms have been altered forever and updated with new content, from the devastated Badlands to the broken Barrens, which has been sundered in two.
- New High-Level Zones: Explore newly opened parts of the world, including Uldum, Grim Batol, and the great Sunken City of Vashj’ir beneath the sea.
- More Raid Content than Ever Before: Enjoy more high-level raid content than previous expansions, with optional more challenging versions of all encounters.
- New Race and Class Combinations: Explore Azeroth as a gnome priest, blood elf warrior, or one of the other never-before-available race and class combinations.
- Guild Advancement: Progress as a guild to earn guild levels and guild achievements.
- New PvP Zone & Rated Battlegrounds: Take on PvP objectives and daily quests on Tol Barad Island, a new Wintergrasp-like zone, and wage war in all-new rated Battlegrounds.
- Archaeology: Master a new secondary profession to unearth valuable artifacts and earn unique rewards.
- Flying Mounts in Azeroth: Explore Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms like never before.
Now, it’s time to believe the hype. Do I want to play World of Warcraft again? I considered it for 10-30 seconds, I have a soft spot for goblins.
See you ingame,
Frank
Diablo 3 the Last Non-MMO Diablo?
Let’s face it, single player RPGs are a dying breed. Even games like Diablo that have online game play are still a single player game at heart. Sure you can join a instance with a few other people to run through quests, farm for item drops or trade, but there is no persistant world. There is nothing that binds players together except for the BattleNet chat channels and it certainly is not a “Massive Multiplayer” game, emphasis on massive.
While it seems most RPGs are taking the MMO route there have been some within the last few years that remain as single player games. Fallout 3, Mass Effect, Kingdom Hearts series, Zelda, Final Fantasy to name a few. However others like Star Wars: Kotor have been announced as MMOs. The Elder Scroll series has also been rumored to make the jump to MMO as well as the next Fallout game. The Final Fantasy series went MMO back in 2002, although single player FF games continue to be made. Other RPGs such as Baldur’s Gate and Ultima just seems to have disappeared.
With the Diablo series only a very small percentage of players choose to play offline, the rest of us play online through Bnet. The way the game is currently setup Blizzard has to limit how many people join an instance. If you never played Diablo basically the more users that join an instance the more the monsters get scaled up in power and health. So if you have 100 people in one instance it would just become a mess. I’m a little rusty since I haven’t played D2 in a few yrs, but I think the limit was 10 or 12, I could be wrong.
The only thing stopping Diablo from becoming a MMO is a persistant world, all the other elements are already there. With the success Blizzard has had with WoW, I just don’t see them releasing Diablo 4 as another single player online RPG.
We all know Blizzard is already working on a new-gen MMO. Whether it’s going to be Starcraft, Diablo or a new IP is anyone guess, but I doubt we’ll be seeing a D3 and Diablo MMO that soon together. My money is still on a SC MMO.
On a side note, didn’t I do nice job editing the D3 logo 
Diablo 3 the Last Non-MMO Diablo?
Let’s face it, single player RPGs are a dying breed. Even games like Diablo that have online game play are still a single player game at heart. Sure you can join a instance with a few other people to run through quests, farm for item drops or trade, but there is no persistant world. There is nothing that binds players together except for the BattleNet chat channels and it certainly is not a “Massive Multiplayer” game, emphasis on massive.
While it seems most RPGs are taking the MMO route there have been some within the last few years that remain as single player games. Fallout 3, Mass Effect, Kingdom Hearts series, Zelda, Final Fantasy to name a few. However others like Star Wars: Kotor have been announced as MMOs. The Elder Scroll series has also been rumored to make the jump to MMO as well as the next Fallout game. The Final Fantasy series went MMO back in 2002, although single player FF games continue to be made. Other RPGs such as Baldur’s Gate and Ultima just seems to have disappeared.
With the Diablo series only a very small percentage of players choose to play offline, the rest of us play online through Bnet. The way the game is currently setup Blizzard has to limit how many people join an instance. If you never played Diablo basically the more users that join an instance the more the monsters get scaled up in power and health. So if you have 100 people in one instance it would just become a mess. I’m a little rusty since I haven’t played D2 in a few yrs, but I think the limit was 10 or 12, I could be wrong.
The only thing stopping Diablo from becoming a MMO is a persistant world, all the other elements are already there. With the success Blizzard has had with WoW, I just don’t see them releasing Diablo 4 as another single player online RPG.
We all know Blizzard is already working on a new-gen MMO. Whether it’s going to be Starcraft, Diablo or a new IP is anyone guess, but I doubt we’ll be seeing a D3 and Diablo MMO that soon together. My money is still on a SC MMO.
On a side note, didn’t I do nice job editing the D3 logo 
