Warcraft Bloggers Aggregation

Skoll Is Mine

HuntsmansLodge.com - A place for the World of Warcraft Hunter — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 03:31:23 GMT

Woot! Persistence finally paid off. After over a week of checking Skoll's spawn locations on the PTR, I finally was able to nab the new Spirit Beast tonight.�Yep... Did the old Freeze Trap routine and voila! I'm the owner of a cool new Spirit Beast. I guess I was pretty lucky since a lot of Hunters [...]

Throwing everytoon in.

Pugnacious priest's Warcraft Blog — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 01:31:44 GMT

I joined my new guild about a month ago,� but didn’t bring� my alts over because they were comfy where they were�.� One was my AH runner, and the� other my herbalist and Gm of my Alt bank, that I was semi leveling for her herbing, and now is close enough to 80 that I [...]

Doctor Pike Is In: Fixing Your Hunter DPS

Aspect of the Hare: Pike's World of WarCraft Blog — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 23:31:10 GMT

I get a pretty decent number of comments and e-mails from people asking for advice to help “fix” their DPS. The truth is, there is no giant Band-Aid that is gonna fix your DPS. However, there are a lot of symptoms we can look for to help diagnose the problem and see [...]

Pre-Raid Bear Tanking Gear Part One

Three Druid Noob — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 23:16:52 GMT

After going through the various faction rewards available, I thought I would now go through all the items available to a Pre-Raid Druid Tank. I am looking at this from my own casual point of view. In this first part we will go from Head to Hands.

Head:

[Titan-forged Leather Helm of Triumph] (40 Wintergrasp Marks of Honor)
Tank: 46931.2
[Hateful Gladiator's Dragonhide Helm] (49,600 Honor points -- basically as good as Titan-Forged, and easier to acquire)
Tank: 47806.8
[Helm of Cheated Fate] (drop in Heroic Gundrak)
Tank: 38797.1
[Headguard of Retaliation] (quest in normal Utgarde Pinnacle)
Tank: 38257.8
[Eviscerator's Facemask] (crafted, <50g) Tank: 37280.4
Even though [Eviscerator's Facemask] is at the bottom of the list, I think this is the best choice for me initially. Hopefully I will be able to run the occasional instance and may get a chance to get [Headguard of Retaliation].

Neck:

[Titanium Earthguard Chain] (crafted, mats <1,500g) Tank: 15375.2 [Chained Military Gorget] (25 Emblem of Heroism)
Tank: 14426.3
[Susurrating Shell Necklace]>/[Choker of Feral Fury] (10 Champion's Seal from Argent Tournament)
Tank: 11169.8

The [Susurrating Shell Necklace] is an easy choice to make. Depending on how much gold I have, I may look at the [Titanium Earthguard Chain]

Shoulders:

[Trollwoven Spaulders] (crafted, mats <250g) Tank: 38963.1 [Eviscerator's Shoulderpads] (crafted, mats <50g) Tank: 31055.1 For around 250G, [Trollwoven Spaulders] are the easy choice.

Back:

[Shawl of the Shattered Giant] (crafted, mats <3000g) Tank: 22212.3 [Durable Nerubhide Cape] (crafted, mats <200g) Tank: 20851.0 There is no way I could spend 3000G on a cloak that isn�t really that much better, so I will stick with the [Durable Nerubhide Cape].

Chest:

[Titan-forged Leather Tunic of Triumph] (40 Wintergrasp Marks of Honor)
Tank: 54597.0
[Darkheart Chestguard] (Knights of the Ebon Blade exalted)
Tank: 45762.8
[Polar Vest] (crafted, mats <250g -- has long-term use for your STA set) Tank: 50352.2 Emmeralds List puts the [Polar Vest] above the [Darkheart Chestguard]. I tend to agree, but I will probably end up going for both, however the [Polar Vest] will be first and I will retain it for Stamina Gear regardless.

Wrist:

[Deadly Gladiator's Armwraps of Triumph] (31,600 Honor points)
Tank: 26890.7
[Wristwraps of the Cutthroat] (800g, probably not worth it compared to Deadly Gladiator's)
Tank: 23191.7
[Dragonfriend Bracers] (Wyrmrest Accord Exalted)
Tank: 23321.1
[Eviscerator's Bindings] (crafted, mats <40g) Tank: 20419.8 There is not much in it here. I will initially get the [Eviscerator's Bindings] and then either [Wristwraps of the Cutthroat] or [Dragonfriend Bracers] depending on Gold/Faction Progress.

Hands:

[Gloves of Fast Reactions] -- BoE drop from Heroic Naxxramas (Sapphiron), currently about 1k-2.5k on the AH.
Tank: 36454.4
[Heroes' Dreamwalker Handgrips] (60 Emblems of Heroism)
Tank: 33981.3
[Handwraps of Preserved History] (quest in normal CoT: Strat)
Tank: 30573.7
[Eviscerator's Gauntlets] (Crafted BoE, <60g) Tank: 28118.1 I have to say, the Eviscerator's Battlegear is such a handy set to help gear up. I will go with the [Eviscerator's Gauntlets] until I can get the [Gloves of Fast Reactions] for a nice price.

References

The Above information was compiled from the following thread from Elitist Jerks and Tank Points are from Emmerald's Bear Mitigation List.

Razorbax

Hearthstone Tavern Episode 3 Released

LoreCrafted — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 23:16:31 GMT

I am happy to announce that Hearthstone Tavern, the World of Warcraft RP and Lore Podcast, has released Episode 3! This episode continues discussion about the Warcraft comics and manga, and further develops the ideas behind writing to help improve your characters. This episode also introduces some of the core Netherbane characters in the audio drama, [...]

Faction Transfer: the good, the bad and the ugly

Armaggedon's coming — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 20:32:01 GMT

So by now you have probably read the news that Faction transfers are on the way in the forseeable future. At first glance this is great news, I know I have muttered quietly to myself that I wish my Hunter and Druid could change faction and come and join Gnomeaggedon. At second glance it is going to [...]

Inter Server Matter Transmuter

Armaggedon's coming — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 20:32:01 GMT

Maybe if I just twink my fingers at this angle I will get the desired result… Mmm nope, that didn’t send me where I want to be. Maybe if I hold my left leg in the air, while shaking my left hand, wriggling my right fingers and chant the required phrase… Mmmm, everything looks the same, well except [...]

[1.Local]: The dead ponies edition

Wow Insider — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 20:02:17 GMT

Reader comments - ahh, yes, the juicy goodness following a meaty post. [1.Local] ducks past the swinging doors to see what readers have been chatting about in the back room over the past week.

Some readers will undoubtedly consider a discussion of Alizee and the female Night Elf dance to be beating a dead horse - but that's not actually the topic that the title of this week's [1.Local] is referring to. The dead ponies come later. (Didn't Mama always tell you to save the sweet treats for last? Mmmm, crunchy on the outside, soft in the middle ...) This week, we start out with one lucky reader's story of the Night Elf dance -- wedding style.

Mike: My wife (who plays Warcraft quite a bit) learned this dance (the one in the video) so she could dance like this at our wedding. So we gave Alizee's music to the DJ, had him play it, and she danced like a Night Elf in front of everyone she's ever known. The neat part was that all her friends liked the dance style, so she was out there on the dance floor teaching all these other women how to dance like Alizee. My friends (who also play Warcraft) and I stood watching with our jaws on the floor. If you think one chick is hot while dancing like this, you should see five or six ...

DM7000: You're a lucky man ...

Tirrimas: Where would you like your Internet sent?

Mickthathick: Pics plx!

Sounds like a celebration to remember. Come on, Mike, we're all friends here - pics, please? Tips line, Attention: [1.Local] ...

Continue reading [1.Local]: The dead ponies edition

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Features, Humor, [1.Local]

[1.Local]: The dead ponies edition originally appeared on WoW.com on Sun, 05 Jul 2009 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Wowhead Comic #21

The Wowhead Blog — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 19:46:59 GMT

Happy Midsummer Fire Festival, everyone! Uh, nevermind. I'm a bit late for that now. Oh well! Its done at least.

Here's a Festival comic written by our lovely Miyari. She raised the technicalities relating to the quests to steal the flames of the other factions main cities. So you've taken a flame, great! How? On a stick? And even then, where do you keep it, to stop it going out on your rush back to hand it into the NPC?

How about in your pocket? Well, that wouldn't be very safe now, would it? Your clothes would catch on fire..

Apologies again for the lack of comics lately, I've been incredibly busy, and I still don't have a full time comic writer!

Reminder: If you have any short WoW related comic scripts, or any comic ideas, please dont be afraid to mail them to me via feedback@wowhead.com, I do read them all, even if I dont have the time to draw them all!

By Noxychu 16 minutes ago

Reasons to share your failure stories

The Pink Pigtail Inn — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 19:16:55 GMT

Only social people want to read confessions from other players about how their failures. If you blog about how you�re sucking at a certain aspect of the game, you�re just writing crap. No, the way to go if you�re the slightest serious about WoW is to share success stories, preferably including useful information about how to get there.

Well, as you probably suspect, those ideas aren�t my own. I�m trying to make a wrap-up of a recent post by Gevlon. Despite our differences in opinion, I happen to like him. Some bloggers find this affection of mine a bit strange, not to say incomprehensible. But Gevlon is one of my most loyal supporters, being one of the first in the community to read and comment on the PPI. I on the other hand gave him support and encouragement when he started to open his own business. This has created a bond between us, even though Gevlon maybe doesn't see it, since he doesn't believe in networking. And apart from everything else, I find it stimulating to get access to the minds of people who have a completely different view than my own. Sometimes they actually have some good points and if nothing else they force me to think and to find better arguments for my own beliefs.

Attacking I suck-stories

But let's end my defense speech about why I like Gevlon and go back to the topic:

For no apparent reason, Gevlon has suddenly decided to attack a funny little post written by one of my other favorite bloggers, Ixobelle, claiming that he�s writing about his shortcomings just in order to make the �socials� love him. Gevlon also promised in his post hat he only will share his success stories on his blog, supposedly at the dismayal of the socials.

Actually I don�t think Ixobelle cares at all about Gevlon�s opinion on his blog (he would probably be slightly amused at the most if he read his post), so it really isn�t necessary that I pull my sword just to protect his honor. But I couldn�t refrain to pick up the topic anyway, since I'm passionate about how to write, how to communicate effectively and how to improve as an individual and as a group. And I don't share Gevlon's views on this at all.

If anything, I would rather take the opposite position:

I don�t care much about the success stories that are so common at WoW blogs these days. If you�ve manage to down whatever guy - from Hogger to Yogg-Saron - Big grats and good for you, but in 9 out of 10 cases it doesn�t make much of a good read and it�s quite rare that I learn much from it.

I�m more likely to read it and get inspiration from it if you before telling me about your success also share some tales about your less inspired moments. That will grab my attention and make you a trustworthy person.

How storytelling works
This is not rocket science. This is the way stories have been told for thousands of years. Look at the movies! Most of the successful ones, I would say, follow the same pattern. When you�re first introduced to the hero, you�ll probably see him in an everyday situation, which is far from perfect. You�ll see that he�s a human being just like you, and you�ll start to sympathize with him. AFTER this relationship is established, you�ll probably see him raising, being somewhat successful, and overcoming his sucking. Then there will be a little setback somehow, where everything doesn�t work as smoothly as it seemed to. But in the end the hero is likely to win.

There�s a reason why stories are told this way, Gevlon. It works. This actually goes back to my dear old rhetoric divinities, the Romans and the Greeks. They found that a good way to make the audience benevolent was start in a very humble way, pointing at your own weakness and flattering the audience for being bright and enlightened. �Humiliatio� as they called it. It�s still taught in speech classes as one of many tools to make sure that your message will come across. The most skilled speakers are actually the ones who while they�re sharing their fail stories, at the same time giving hints that will let the audience understand that the speaker in fact is awesome � he�s just too humble to notice it. This is a trick that takes a bit of skill. And of course it�s crucial that the audience don�t realize that it�s all a setup, intended to build up some credibility.

So Gevlon, if you want people to listen and learn from your FL+4 stories, you will probably be more likely to succeed if you can make them feel that you�re on the same side, that you�re humble and honest, and that you know what it�s like to fail. Once you�ve caught their attention, they�ll be much more interested to hear about your success, and actually maybe also follow your advice. You are like them. And you managed to overcome your weaknesses and win. There�s no reason that they couldn�t do it as well.

Different sorts of blogs
Another aspect of this is that Gevlon seems to forget that there�s a big diversity among bloggers. There are many sorts of blogs, just as books come in different genres. If you look at the shelves in a book store you�ll find that they offer books for any occasion. Some are for pure educational purposes. Learn to write Japanese in 30 days. 10 ways to become a better lover. How to get rich. Whatever.

Other books are biographies, true stories about fascinating people, that you can get inspiration from, even though you�ll not explicitly learn anything. And yet other books aren�t informative at all, they�re just there for entertainment and relaxation, to make you laugh or cry, to give you stories that you can come back to in your mind and perhaps share with your friends when you come to think about them in a conversation.

If you�ve ever followed the links from my blogroll you�ll probably be somewhat puzzled. There isn�t any clear red thread in my pick of favorite blogs. I read a wide range of blogs for various reasons, just like I read different kinds of books.

For instance, I�ve got a weird fascination for books about climbers other adventurers who who have been dealing with extreme situations, getting stuck at the top of Mount Everest and such. (If anyone reading this shares this taste, I'd like to point you to Touching the Void by Joe Simpson. It stands out since it's not only a good story - the guy is a talented writer as well.)

I re-read The Lord of the Rings every three years or so, not to learn anything, but because I like to escape into the world.

I read educating books about management and communications, because it�s interesting and because it�s helps me in my job.

And I adore the humoristic self biographical books by James Herriot, about the life of some vets in Yorkshire in the 40s (including a lot of �I suck� stories, which really make a funny read). Can I say that one of those sorts of books is better than the other? Do I think that I�m just wasting my time when I read books that aren�t relevant for my career? Of course not!

In the same way I enjoy reading Ixobelle�s spicy recounts from things he has experienced recently (including moments of sucking), as well as I like Tobold�s more dry, intellectual analyzing posts and Gnomeaggedon�s sweet, giggle-provoking weekend reports. They�ve all got a well deserved spot in my heart. And not necessarily because they�re telling success stories or giving useful information. There is a raison d��tre for entertainment as well!

You may consider spending time on Ixobelle as wasted, but I certainly don�t.

Sharing fail stories in game
A final thought on this: I seriously wish that more WoW players would share their fail stories, not only in their blogs, but also in the game.

If I meet a player who�s constantly sharing his success stories, never ever mentioning any errors he or she has made, I become suspicious. If I was recruiting for a raiding guild, I would see that kind of attitude as a sign that the player is insecure,e lacks self-insight and is generally pretty immature. I would rather look for players who display a sound amount of self distance and don't mind sharing less flattering stories, since they�re confident in themselves and know that they�re in the end are decent players.

I know this is a lot to ask for, and how honest you want to be depends very much on the atmosphere in the group you belong to. In some guilds I can understand that you�d probably think twice before admitting that you suck at something. However I think that establishing such a climate that players feel confident to share stories about their sucking is a very good thing for a guild.

I don�t mean that you should just laugh about whatever error you make. �WTF it�s just a game� and the shrug at it. (I guess it�s OK in a very social guild without any ambitions whatsoever in successful raiding. )

What I�m suggesting is that normal raiding guilds should strive for their players to be confident enough to admit when they suck and then direct their focus and energy towards discussions about what to do about it. The discussion should be lighthearted and yet constructive, aiming for solutions rather than for blaming.

If you use �I suck� stories the right way, they can actually be the beginning of your future success. Share it and gain an audience. Laugh at it. Learn from it. And finally head forward, a little bit stronger and wiser than you were before. And maybe even entertained.

There are many good reasons to tell the world, not only about our glorious victories, but also about our humbling failures.