A Rogue's Eye View

For Personal Reasons...

2009-06-11T14:35:00.000-07:00

I've decided to start a personal blog.

Now, while I know I haven't updated here in a while, life has just gotten too busy for me to be able to focus and write solid, WoW-centric blog posts all the time. Quite frankly, I just don't have the time to play it as much as I did before, and sadly, I'm no longer a Rogue.

So, while the guides here are a tad bit outdated, I will be leaving them up, and this blog will stay exactly as you see it right now. No changes, except for maybe the URL (once it expires).

But, if you do want to, feel free to follow me at the new blog, An Andy's Eye View (original name, right?). I'll be writing about anything from gaming to music, from personal life to the floor at events. Hope to see you there!

Finals? We... Well, We Do Actually Need Them.

2009-03-16T02:19:00.000-07:00

So begins finals week for my real life, college career! It's one of many, and it's something we all know and love, but luckily for me my raiding life has been on the back burner as of late.

No, not because I'm fed up with raiding (I assure you, I'm not. I loves it ever so much!). My guild has been on a break! We run Naxx on the weekend, and weeks are pretty free.

Well, short post this time, but it's roughly 2:30am on a Monday night. I've got some sleep to get to!

(I can't wait until I have time to make substantial posts here again!)

Another Week, Another Schedule

2009-02-23T00:49:00.000-08:00

Well, Sunday nights seem to be a pretty good time for me to post here. I hope that you all don't mind, depsite having a lowering frequency of posts, I like to think that they've managed to have some quality to them!

So, let me begin by saying that life as a Hunter has certainly had its perks. Sure, the name of the blog is A Rogue's Eye View, but let me follow that up by reminding you all that I'm a member of a guild -- and sometimes you have to work for the greater good. However, this hasn't been any sort of drudgery, I've really been enjoying the class. Thanks to the flakes that are Enhancement Shaman (you know who you are!) I've been Marksmanship, and it's not as bad as most would think it is.

Secondly, my guild was able to finish the Heroic: Glory of the Raider Achievement, allowing me the unique opportunity to get my Black Proto-Drake in the mail! It's nice, because now I've got a 310% mount on both of my characters. I really didn't see myself getting another Gladiator mount anyway, I've all but given up on PvP since work and school are both awfully demanding of my time. That, and I'm cheap -- I hate respeccing and I hate the idea of reglyphing.

On the most recent episode of the PC Gamer Podcast I was asked by Dan Stapleton what I like to listen to whilst I WoW! I really enjoyed this question, and followed quickly with a few notable artists on my playlist (Jack's Mannequin, Pete Yorn, Billy Joel... some goodies!), but it made me wonder -- just what do you guys listen to? Sure, I'm pretty normal. I'm one of those that tends to throw together a playlist with oodles of songs that will always churn out a good variety of songs that I'll have no problem listening to. But how many of you out there actually enjoy the in game music? Sure, it's good, but does it get repetitive? Or would you prefer just to rock to Techno the whole time? I understand the appeal, but personally it's just not my deal.

Online Surveys & Market Research

Also, you'll notice that the banner is back. Ed Olanu was nice enough to give me permission to use it again, so thanks Ed!

When The Going Gets Tough...

2009-02-09T00:09:00.000-08:00

The tough do their best to find blogging time!

I know, I said I'd be doing my best to write here once a week, but even that seemed to be a lofty goal. As is the usual story with someone my age, my schooling and working have really gotten the best of my schedule, and what little spare time I've got on weekends is spent doing social things (and WoW, of course).

So what's up in my WoW life? Well, sadly, I've made the change to Hunter (blasphemy, I know!). But, like the move I made with my Shaman, it was for the good of my guild. Frankly, we didn't have any of them, and we were completely overloaded on melee DPS, so I swapped over to ranged. And, truth be told, Hunter was something that I've always wanted to play. BigRedKitty, I now find myself in your loyal following!

Personally, I'm still writing for Maximum PC's web site, and loving every second of it. It's great to have a job where I get to learn so much more about the tech industry, and bring that very same news to other people. Good times, here on the internet.

Also, you guys might notice that the banner has changed to plain text. The reason being that I was informed by a friend of the artist, a Mr. Ed Olanu, that it was his, and I respect that. So, I just want to take a moment here and publicly apologize! I didn't mean for anything harmful to come out of it, it was really just a great piece of work.

Until next time, let me know what you guys have been up to in the comments! I hope that you're all doing well, I hope I still have a few of you regulars out there.

Is This Thing On?

2008-11-11T02:55:00.000-08:00

Hello!

I know, it's been ages since I've last posted, but I assure you I'm still alive.

What have I been up to? I'm so very glad that you asked. My life is clearly labeled with busy sections for as far out as I can see, and unfortunately that will continue to take me away from this blog. While I do still plan on posting, it won't be quite as often as it was when I'd first started it.

My blogging with MaximumPC.com has been going well. I'm very glad that I've been given the opportunity to do what I love, write, for money. And so far it's been getting me through school, so big ups to that!

As for World of Warcraft, I'm still very much a player. After four long seasons of hard-fought battles, I've finally gained my Gladiator title! It's been a great feeling flying around on my [Brutal Nether Drake].

My Guild, Sacred, took down Kil'Jaeden! Admittedly, it was post-nerf, but we did it the night of, so we feel that with what little prep we actually gave it, we didn't do too bad of a job.

And I'm personally very geared up and excited for Wrath of the Lich King (but who among us isn't?)! Sadly, Amazon.com hasn't done good on their very evident policy to ship out the game so that it will arrive on release day, so I from what I can read on my account page my release date will be November 17th... most likely ages after the rest of my guild has reached 80.

Oh yeah, and I went to BlizzCon. ^_^

While I recognize that this post is pretty sparse on information, I assure you that it's the best that I could do on such short notice. My life has been an incredible journey as of late, and it's only getting better (and in turn, busier). I'll do my best to keep writing Rogue-centric posts just as soon as I get some time, but until then, know that I'm doing well.

(Want to keep track of me? Be sure to direct your browser over to my Twitter feed! There are plenty of other great WoW bloggers out there as well that you should keep track of. They're fine folks. :D)

Hiatus, what a dirty word.

2008-10-01T12:33:00.000-07:00

It's no secret that I've been scarce in these parts lately. The fact of the matter is, life has caught up with me.

Between my job and classes starting back up, I've just got no time to blog for fun, I've only got time to blog for business.

So what am I saying? Truthfully, I'm going to be taking a bit of a break from this here Rogue's Eye View. I've got more important things in life right now, namely school and work (read: putting myself through school). It's said for me to say this, because admittedly I've only had this blog up for a short amount of time -- but I've loved every second of it.

I'll be leaving the blog alone for the time being, I won't be taking down any of the guides that I hope you all find so useful, and I won't be touching any of the other articles.

Should you find yourself being as attached to me as I was to you, feel free to follow me at my Twitter feed. Or, if you're still looking for your daily dose of Andy bloggage, be sure to check me out over at MaximumPC.com.

I hope to be back, writing Rogue-centric blog posts soon, but as for right now I've got to put it down in favor of making sure that all of my RL business is in order.

Rogue Movie Weekend: Phishy 2

2008-09-26T14:37:00.000-07:00

I'll admit, I haven't heard of Phishy. But, I'm willing to give this gentleman a chance simply due to the fact that he's rocking plenty of world PvP in this video. As someone that's been playing WoW since its release, and remembers the days of running to the Arathi Basin Battlemaster in the Arathi Mountians, I miss it.

This really is a good sight to see, and I'd suggest that you all watch it over the weekend. Oh, and he's very good too.

Download Here!

I'd also like to take a quick chance to explain the low post count as of late. Recently my classes have started back up, and I'm taking a full load of online courses this quarter. This means that I've got lots, and lots of reading to take care of in what few hours there are in the day.

I've also recently gotten a job blogging for Maximum PC, and that's taking up quite a bit of my writing time.

So here's the tl:dr version; I'm getting busier, and I've got less time. I'm not going to stop posting, but know that I'll be posting a bit less. Life catches up on all of us from time to time, and as for right now I've got to worry about school and work.

Today, I was Reminded Why I Play WoW

2008-09-24T15:04:00.000-07:00

Download Here!

If that doesn't get you pumped, I don't know what will.

Showdown LAN Was Great!

2008-09-23T16:05:00.000-07:00

Being that I was once a faithful intern within the offices of PC Gamer Magazine, I recently made long journey. I drove roughly 1600 miles from Seattle to San Francisco round trip for PC Gamer and Maximum PC's Showdown LAN 2008.

Overall, I've got to say that this was one heck of an experience. I was able to go to last year's while I was still (what I consider) a member of the staff, but this year I was able to go as a gamer. Having never actually sat down and played at a large scale LAN party before, this was really something I'm happy that I was a part of.

For those of you that weren't able to go, I took lots of pictures! Sadly, of the many that I took, very few of them were even worth looking at. I've got a flickr album with all 10 of them for you to check out, so feel free to! (I know, a lot of the images aren't that bright, but I felt like using the flash too much would have distracted a lot of people. That's just not my style.)

Your regularly programmed blogging will continue tomorrow!
(Also, side note, classes have just started up again, so if post frequency is down a bit, I apologize! I'll still be doing everything I can to make sure that I keep all you hungry Rogues out there filled with information.)

Rogue Movie: WotLK Rogue PVP Preview

2008-09-22T12:23:00.000-07:00

Vengeful Gladiator Zyz has decided to put together his experiences of the Wrath of the Lich King beta's PvP into an extremely entertaining video.

Know that this video is based entirely on the PvP of the game, so if you're looking to see any spreadsheet induced madness you'll have to look elsewhere (for now).

In the video's description, Zyz says:

This is a video of my experience in the Wrath of the Lich King Beta.
It features many of the new abilities such as Shadow Dance, Hunger for Blood, and various other changes.
Blizzard has since changed/patched abilities throughout the beta, but I still chose to include some old stuff because it was really fun.

Download Here!

We Interrupt This Sunday...

2008-09-21T06:30:00.000-07:00

...to bring u sum epix lolcats!

Kinna haz a bit-o a Rouge feeeelz to it, dun it? Enjoi da rest uh ur weeeeknd!
lulz

Rogue Movie Weekend: Jacktrapper II 2100+ Rogue/Hunter 2v2

2008-09-19T13:14:00.000-07:00

Rogue Hunter is a 2v2 team that I've actually had a chance to play in my World of Warcraft career, and this is the video that inspired it. My buddy Exploitive and I did quite well with it too, reaching 2000 personal rating in Season 3, allowing me to get my [Vengeful Gladiator's Leather Spaulders]!

So, without further adieu, I present to you Jacktrapper's Rogue Hunter 2v2 video. Enjoy!

Download Here!
For those down in the San Francisco Bay Area, be sure and come by PC Gamer and Maximum PC Magazine's Showdown LAN 2008! I'll be there, hanging out with the PC Gamer and Maximum PC crews, so stop in and say hi!

Also, feel free to keep track of me on my Twitter feed.

Have a great weekend!

Icon Trivia Answers!

2008-09-18T12:14:00.000-07:00

Thanks to all those that competed in last week's Icon Trivia!

The final scoreboard looks a little something like this:

1.) Netram // Eu.Talnivarr, with a perfect 5/5
2.) Mr. Josh Augustine, with what I'm going to count as a 4/5
3.) Relative newcomer oriniwen, with an admirable 3/5

For those that chose to compete at home, instead of with us here in the studio the correct answers were:
1.) [Bronze Setting]

2.) [Shattered Sun Pendant of Might]

3.) [Onyxia Hide Backpack]

4.) [Icecap]

5.) [Shard of the Fallen Star]

Thanks for playing! Maybe we'll have to do it again sometime?

Rogue Forums: Daggers are back!

2008-09-17T12:29:00.000-07:00

Poster Darkshaft is claiming that Daggers will be the way to go, come Wrath of the Lich King. He posts, on the Rogue forums:

For PvP at least BC put large focus on swords, maces, and fists for a rogue. The only time I ever see rogues using daggers is usually in raiding--and even then its usually as an off-hand weapon for potency and mongoose procs.

Come WotLK, I can't see a viable use for swords, maces, or fists unless a rogue is planning on speccing heavily into combat. Even then, combat still seems like more of a PvE spec then a PvP spec. Some survivability has been added to the combat spec, but for me its not enough survivability. That being said Throwing Specialization is nice for casters, but it needs a longer interrupt duration. Stay of Execution seems great for when you are close to death, but 5% damage reduction is definitely not the same as cheating death. Unfair advantage looks awesome and will probably be one of the main reasons any rogue will take up the combat tree in PvP at all--not to mention how potent it would become in raids. Prey on the Weak can go either way--useless if they have more health than you--invaluable if they have less. As a percentage Prey on the Weak would have tremendous raid potential as well.

Comparing Subtlety to Combat--I would venture that Subtlety has way more PvP potential than Combat would. And it appears that Blizzard is puting a big "we want you to use ambush" sticker on the Subtlety tree as using daggers. A tactic I am currently waiting to try out is opening with a cheap shot, using shadow dance, and spamming ambush a couple of times. Waylay is awesome and the Improved Ambush along with a reduced energy cost thanks to Slaughter from the Shadows makes it quite a deadly attack. And if they get away from you? Shadowstep and backstab. Backstab also benefits from Slaughter from the Shadows and even recieves a damage bonus with Sinister Calling. Put some points in Assassination for extra backstab crits and crit bonuses and a subtlety rogue becomes quite a deadly PvP-er.

And what about survivability? Sub rogues still have Preo[Prep] and Elusiveness plus a little extra movement speed when stealthed--helpful when trying to escape after you have vanished. Cheat Death is still there along with this odd talent known called Wrongfully Accused which would give the rogue 6 seconds to either finish off his opponent or get out before his buddy's attacks regain their full 100% potential.

I have not looked deep into Assassination--but from what I can see it has been given a small amount of raid potential (Cut to the Chase and Turn the Tables). As we all know, daggers are must if one plans to go deep into Assassination because of Mutilate. As such, poisons and staying behind one's opponent are a must and remain one of the largest reason I never went Mutilate for PvP. If Assassination had a Shadowstep ability of its own, then I believe it would be more than worth taking for PvP. Sadley, Assination lacks any abilities of its own that would otherwise aid me in instantly placing me behind my opponent. With AoE and stand-offs in AV or EoTS--trying to sneak behind one opponent while six or seven of his buddies are present becomes a chore and more often then not is rewarded by being spotted too early and swiftly killed.

I staying Sub for PvP and trading in my swords for a pair of daggers, but would like to know if any other rogues see PvP potential in Assassination or Combat that I have not mentioned. Or, any reason why Swords, Maces, and Fists would actually be better than daggers for Sub spec rogues. Those rogues would give me a run for my money. I would venture to say that my mom would get scared and say, "You're moving with your aunte and uncle in Bel-Air!" I begged and pleaded with her the other day, but she packed my suitcase and sent me on my way. she gave me a kissin and she gave me my ticket, so I put my walkman on and said, "I might as well kick it!" First class, yo this is bad--drinking orange juice out of a champagne glass. Is this what the people of bel-air livin like? Hmm this might be alright! I whistled for a cab and when it came near the license plate said fresh and it had a dice in the mirror! If anything I could say that this cab was rare, but I thought, "Nah, forget it, yo home to bel-air!" I pulled up to the house about seven or eight and I yelled to the cabby, "Yo, holmes, smell you later!" I looked at my kingdom--I was finally there to settle my throne as the Prince of Bel-Air.

Long read, I know.

But aside from throwing down the original Fresh Prince of Bel-Air theme, I think his post is pretty viable. Having had a chance to try out some of the new Dagger viable specs (such as Mutilate), it's clear that Blizzard has put a lot more thought into them.

Though, I've still preferred speccing Shadowstep. While Mutilate does some heavy damage, and the poisons are healer's nightmare, it's difficult to replace the survivability and mobility of Shadowstep.

What do you think?

Online Surveys & Market Research

Caverns of Time: The Culling of Stratholme

2008-09-17T11:55:00.000-07:00

I've finally had a chance to get my butt out on the beta servers and try out some of the goodies that a level 80 character has to offer. This offering came in the form of the new Caverns of Time instance, The Culling of Stratholme.

My buddy Kosmo (a.k.a. Molson), has been through there before, so he decided to help me out and get a group together for the instance.

Upon setting foot inside the instance, you're met with some really rich lore. Arthas, just as he does in Warcraft III, talks down to Uther and sets out to destroy the inhabitants of Stratholme.

He also appeared as if he wanted to get something off of his chest...

(Don't sweat it Arthas, we've all wanted to quote Leonidas at one point or another!)

After making our way through the initial trash mobs, we came face to face with the first boss encounter - Meathook. I'm told that in normal difficulty he's a pushover, but in heroic difficulty (the way that we chose to do it), it proved to be quite difficult.

After (admittedly) a couple wipes, we were able to take the big guy down. On top of dropping a lackluster caster belt, he dropped what appears the new badge currency, an [Emblem of Heroism].

Up next, it was Chrono-Lord Epoch. If his name sounds familiar, that's because it is!

This fight really shared a lot of the same mechanics of the Aeonus fight in The Black Morass. The gimmick of stopping and slowing time was very evident here, and this made healing seem pretty difficult. In the midst of a big damage spike, there would be a time freeze, leaving the group basically in limbo.

Up last was Mal'ganis. If you played any Warcraft III, this name should be pretty familiar. If not, then prepare for Wrath of the Lich King to give you a lesson in Azerothian history!

Unfortunately, in the heat of the battle I completely forgot to take any screens of him. If you imagine a much larger, slightly darker Anatheron you'll get the picture. I did, however, remember to get a picture of the loot!

Nobody is currently sure of what the [Frozen Orb] is used for, but if I had to guess I'd say it's going to be a new version of the [Primal Nether]. It makes sense that something like that would drop off of the last boss of a heroic instance.

All in all, the instance was a great experience. I always love to see Blizzard sticking to their lore, and making players feel as if they're part of the World of Warcraft. As for the playing part of it, I can't say that I'm completely impressed with the way that my premade Rogue felt. Sure, I understand that he's in gear that's aimed at PvP, but I wasn't hitting any harder at level 80 than I am now at level 70.

Sometimes, You Just Get Called Out...

2008-09-16T09:33:00.000-07:00

...in a joking way.

This time around, my good cross-faction buddy Randaric decided to call out those that had helped myself and a few others get into the Deeprun Tram a few weeks ago (you remember, don't you?).

I was lucky enough to be captured in one of the screens, as you can see here:

I've got to say, being mentioned on the realm forums is always fun. Especially by one of Daggerspine's most revered forum trolls!

Leveling Your Lockpicking At 70

2008-09-15T12:01:00.000-07:00

Let’s be honest, Lockpicking isn’t the most essential skill for a Rogue to have. For some reason we’re always expected to have this leveled up to the max, and are treated as if we’re lesser beings than Gnomes if we don’t. Well, allow your days of hiding to end because leveling Lockpicking is remarkably easy, and I’ll show you how!

I find that most guides have a lot of absurd twists and turns taken that involve Pick Pocketing mobs to get junk boxes, and hanging out at Scarlet Monestary for hours. While those methods are nice, they aren’t as easy as just picking the locks of boxes lying around. I’ve designed this guide with that in mind.

I personally wait until I'm level 70 to start training up professions, trade or not. Having an epic mount makes getting around the game world considerably easier, and so does the ability to tear down any mob in your way. It’s for those reasons that I'm writing this guide with a level 70 player in mind.

1 – 75/100 - Burial Chest
As one of the many players that leveled a Blood Elf toon when Burning Crusade was released, I became very familiar with the troll catacombs in the Ghostlands. If you’re Horde, raising your Lockpicking should be relatively easy here. If you’re Alliance, make sure to watch out for anyone looking to raid Zul’Aman (and don’t gank any of the lowbies, for me?).

75/100-175 - Gallywix’s Lockbox
Horde Rogues will complete their poison quest at this location in The Barrens, and generally only open up this lockbox once in their career. While this is all that’s required, you’d be cheating yourself if you left so early. This box’s lock can be picked all the way up to level 175, so hop to it!
(Note: When you pick this box, it has to respawn. So don't worry, it hasn't bugged out that's just what it's designed to do.)

175 – 225 - Dented Footlocker and Battered Footlocker
Once your Lockpicking skill is at 175 head to the Angor Fortress in the Badlands. Open the Dented Footlocker. There are also Battered Footlockers to open, however these will give you less skill overall. Be sure to watch out for wandering mobs. If there's anywhere that few can become many, it's here.

225-250 - Dented Footlocker
You will now make your way to the Searing Gorge, west of the Badlands. In the caves within the Cauldron you will find more Dented Footlockers. There are very few mobs to worry about down here, and that's a good thing. This is one of the locations where the lockboxes are sparse.

250 – 300 - Scarlet Footlocker
This is hands down the most difficult push to make when leveling your Lockpicking. You will be making your way over to the Eastern Plaguelands to open up Scarlet Footlockers in Tyr’s Hand.

The Scarlet Footlockers are few and far between so grab some snacks, and fire up Pandora Radio, you’ll be here for a while.

Should you find yourself looking to step outside of the usual, feel free to pick pocket all of the mobs around. While I don’t usually condone this, as a level 70 the chances are extremely low that they’ll see you, and the [Heavy Junkbox] you’ll get will help supplement your skill in the face of the rare footlockers.

300 – 350 - Wicker Chest
You’ve basically made it! This is the last push to getting your Lockpicking to max skill, and strangely, it’s the easiest part of the whole process (imo).

To get the last few skill points, make your way over to Zangarmarsh. Just south of the Twin Spire Ruins lies the Feralfen Village. You will find a plethora of Wicker Chests to pick, and these will bring you up to 350 in no time. The mobs in the area shouldn’t provide you with too much trouble, but if they do, killing them will be no problem.

And there you go! You've finally got your Lockpicking all maxed out. As frivolous as this time might have seemed, it's a skill that will allow you to live the dream of being the Rogue advertising his usefulness in trade chat!

But in all seriousness, don't allow this power to corrupt you. Never press anyone to tip you for opening a lockbox, because picking the lock doesn't cost you a thing - any money you make will be 100% profit. People will usually be generous enough to tip on their own if you're nice.

Wrath of the Lich King to be Released 11/13/2008

2008-09-15T00:28:00.000-07:00

That's right ladies and gents, it appears that World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King is going to be released on 11/13/2008.

It looks like Blizzard gave the official announcement to the World of Warcraft database site Wowhead. Their front page is one gigantic ad for the new expansion, and it would appear that WorldofWarcraft.com is free of any announcements (at time of post).

Here's Wowhead's main page, for those of you that don't frequent the site:

Two. More. Months.

Be sure and keep up with my countdown, at the very bottom of the sidebar!

Update: Confirmed from Blizzard. Preorder here.

Two Screens I Just Had To Share

2008-09-13T22:44:00.000-07:00

I know it's the weekend, but I finally got some time with the beta again and there are two tidbits that I just had to share!

First and foremost, I finally got to see it! Here it is in all its Northrendy goodness, the mage city of Dalaran:

I haven't had much of a chance to explore it, but it seems pretty... confusing (and laggy, but that's beta).

Blizzard has updated the Rogue PvP gear's models that you're given in the beta. Also, the prefix to each piece's name is now "Hateful Gladiator's" and "Savage Gladiator's." Check it out:

The funny part about this, is that while a few classes have gotten new gear models, many others have been left naked. As if Northrend didn't seem cold enough (Zing!).

Rogue Movie Weekend: The Hunt Part 9 - Shockadin/Rogue 2s 2200

2008-09-12T13:19:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned earlier, I'm the kind of guy that's a fan of people that break the mold.

This week's Rogue Movie Weekend features a pretty inventive 2v2 team that features a Rogue and a Retribution Paladin. I've seen a lot of cool 2v2 combos, but this wasn't one that I'd expected to see - especially at this high of a rating! This movie has a great soundtrack, and some pretty entertaining editing.

Download Here!
Enjoy, and have a great weekend!

PS> If you guys are getting tired of PvP videos, let me know! I personally really enjoy them but I can understand if they might be getting old.

Rogue Movie: 2/2 Unfair Advantage

2008-09-12T02:28:00.001-07:00

For those of you unfamiliar with it, Unfair Advantage is a new talent, deep in the combat tree that allows you to strike an opponent with the full damage of your main hand weapon whenever you dodge an attack.

While this talent seems fairly harmless, it's something that (if it's left alone) will allow us Rogues to level up faster than any class under the sun.

What am I basing that statement on? This video entirely:

Download Here!
Good. Lord.
*booting my gaming computer up right now to try this out*

(Don't worry, there will still be a Rogue Movie Weekend! This is just something I had to show you guys.)

Update: It works, but it's not as overpowered as the video had lead me to believe. Still, seeing this is always fun:

New Wave of Beta Keys Have Gone Out

2008-09-12T01:40:00.000-07:00

If you've opted in for the beta test of Wrath of the Lich King, watch your inbox. A fresh new wave of keys have gone out.

Any of you that are like me, have an account thanks to BlizzCon 2007. Use this as an opportunity to spread the wealth! I passed mine on to a friend, put a smile on his face, and let him enjoy the new content alongside me.

I'd suggest immediately getting your characters into the transfer queue, as it can take a while for them to get to their desired destinations. I posted some brief instructions on how to do so earlier in the week.

To any of you lucky enough to snag a key for yourself -- hit me up! The servers that I'm on are:

Lich King:
Skaarjonic - Rogue
Skaarjonik - Shaman
Skaarjonicdk - Death Knight

Murmur:
Skaarjonic - Rogue
Skaarjonik - Shaman
Skaarjonicdk - Death Knight

Icon Trivia!

2008-09-11T09:45:00.000-07:00

Yesterday's post got me thinking, I wonder just how many nooks and crannies of World of Warcraft have my readers covered?

I've decided to do a quick WoW Icon Trivia game! All of the following icons are real in game items. It's on you to guess as many as you can correct!

I'll have to ask that there's no cheating, but hey -- we're running on the honor system here. It's all about you, and your pride.

What fabulous prizes can you expect to win from this very prestigious, long-running contest? Well... nothing, really. But you do get a great sense of pride, knowing that you've competed (and possibly won!) on this wonderful, respected blog.

Feel free to post your answers in the comments, and let the games begin!

1.)

2.)

3.)

4.)

5.)

Now I know, nothing crazy, but it's fun! (Right?)

What Is That, Anyway?

2008-09-10T11:13:00.000-07:00

Earlier today I was checking through the WoW Wiki icon page, and I couldn't help but wonder... what are a lot of these icons even meant to represent? Sure, they look pretty, and I love the fact that they're as detailed as they are for how small the end up being in the grand scheme of things... but I'm pretty puzzled at how some of them correlate to the ability or talent they represent!

For example. Cheat Death's icon are feet dancing away from a blade? I guess, if cheating death is the Azerothian equivalent of a cowboy having his feet shot at, so that the shooter can get him to dance.

Alright, now this one's a stretch. Expose Armor, as we all know is an ability that lessens an opponent's armor, much like Sunder Armor. How does the icon reflect this? I honestly have no idea.

A poorly constructed arrowhead hitting a shark's fin?

I know that these can't be the only puzzling ones. Do you know of any that just don't make any sense to you? Don't worry about what class or item group it belongs to, let me know! Check out the list at WoW Wiki. Beware though, there's a TON of pictures that will be downloading, so make sure your connection and computer can handle it!

[And don't worry about sounding like a jerk, this is all in good fun. Throw out any suggestions you've got!]

Level 80 Premades Available for Beta Servers

2008-09-09T10:31:00.000-07:00

To those that don't know, earlier this week it was announced that level 80 premades are available to players in the beta test.

In order to copy over a premade character, you'll need to log into your account at beta.worldofwarcraft.com and make your way to the character copy section. You'll notice that there's now a second section available that lets you copy a template - go there!

The shiny, decked out with level 80 PvP gear characters will go to a new server named Murmer. I'd personally really hoped that you'd be able to transfer premades to the preexisting servers, so that I can play with my friends that are level 80. I know, I should be level 80 by now on my own (and I should still be posting of recaps of each week!). My issue was mostly that of my Shaman, and gearing him up on live severs so that I'd be of raiding caliber.

Playing a level 80 Rogue is everything I'd hoped that it would be and more. Since all of the new characters are decked out in PvP gear, the only logical thing to do is to duel! The current spec that I've been messing around with has allowed me to easily take down every class but Mage. For some reason, I just can't help but get kited like a cow by those guys!

Death Knights and Warriors have gone from something that I originally thought would be scary, to sniveling babies. This thanks to a new cycle I work on them, that consists of; Premeditation + Cheap Shot opener, Kidney Shot, all topped off with a Dismantle once KS wears off or is trinketed. Usually, there isn't much chance for them to do much after this, and if any of those are resisted, I've always got Ghostly Strike and Evasion waiting! :D

Don't get me wrong, I know full well that there's plenty of tuning that will need to be done before any of this is said to be final but it's fun to play them in the current state. Plus, being able to play a fully decked out 80 Orc Rogue is pretty neat. I've never had an Orc character, so it's pretty interesting to play from an Orc's eye view.

(Note the Gnome corpse. Yeah, that was me. ^^)