has served us well, gave those of us who’d never seen it the chance to do Naxxramas, it gave us the awesomeness of Ulduar, the trash-free Trial of the Crusader and the cool Icecrown Citadel. But its time has come to an end, in a matter of months we’ll be sitting down to try the first raid of Cataclysm.

*deep breath*

I hate to be the bearer of bad news… But the first Cata raid is going to be pretty easy.

Now before you get your panties all up in a bunch and hit the forums to QQ allow me to explain now only why it will happen, but why it must happen.

Out with the old, in with the new

HELLO SHARON!!!!!

Expansions are a time of great upheaval. It’s when Blizzard ups the marketing game and draws in new players and old players who previously quit. New people come in and old people go out. This is just how the cycle goes. So a while after we all reach level 85 we’re going to have a whole bunch of brand new players on their first character, none of whom have ever been in a raid before. To expect such players to handle a raid of Icecrown’s difficulty is ridiculous. How are they going to learn?

Typical forum trolls have their own answers to this

Troll – They either learn to play or GTFO!

Teaching works like this: You give the student information, then present the student with challenges with difficulty relative to their experience and knowledge of the information. World of Warcraft acts like this also. The information presented is in the form of normal dungeons and the easier heroics. The challenges are then the entry level raid, where they take the lessons learnt and apply them in a bigger setting (did you ever notice that a lot of Wrath boss mechanics are copies of the heroics?). Each subsequent raid is increasing in difficulty so players apply the experience gained in these new settings with higher demands on their skill and attention.

Without this method of information followed by application; learning does not happen.

Troll – Go back to Kara!

I have a Warlock friend who solos Kara regularly for the cash. Level 70 raids are not a challenge to a level 80, even less so to an 85. Lower level content is unsuitable for training and teaching as you can make so many mistakes and still kill bosses, that there is little need for the player to improve.

Admittedly this was a problem with Naxxramas, it was too easy, so players didn’t improve then ran head-first into the much more difficult Ulduar and struggled on the earliest bosses. This is a good demonstration of why an entry-level raid is needed. Naxx taught the players little, so Ulduar was too hard. Had Naxx been a bit more challenging, Ulduar wouldn’t have been perceived as so difficult early on. If there was no entry-level raid we’d see more of this with players going from fairly easy normals and heroics and slamming their head against the wall of the first raid. It’s not fun for anyone.

Scaling difficulty

If the first Cata raid was the difficulty of Icecrown Citadel then only the Wrath players would stand a chance of downing anything. We have gained experience throughout Wrath that will make an ICC level raid a ‘good challenge’ but to a new player ICC would be impossible. The next raid would then need to be above ICC in difficulty, the next raid above that. Then a new expansion hits and the first raid has to be even harder than the final raid of Cata.

Can you see why this gradually increasing difficulty fails? The player base changes every expansion, old players leave and new players join, so the player pool who has the necessary experience to handle this increasing difficulty gets smaller and smaller. Ultimately only the best guilds in the world will be able to raid, which is great for them and sucky for the other 99.9% players in the world who can either do Battlegrounds or quit.

Ctrl+Alt+Del

Expansions are an opportunity to hit the reset button. Our epic purple gear gets reset as we level in greens once more. Our class experience gets reset as we adapt to the changes the expansion brings. The difficulty gets reset, giving an opportunity for new and returning players to learn the game as well as granting the experienced players the chance to experiment with their specs and gear in a less harsh environment.

This is a good thing. This resetting is a good thing. It is what gives Blizzard the opportunity to do heavy class refits and add new professions and spells without worrying how it will impact the current series of raids.

By resetting the difficulty each expansion it gives players the time they need to (re)learn the mechanics of the game, their class and the new raids.

Summary

Expansions bring change, not just to the game but to the player base. The difficulty of raids must also change in response to this new player base or you risk alienating new players and ultimately the game withers and dies.

Constant increasing of difficulty is a bad idea, this game is for everyone not just the world-first guilds, that includes the players who have just joined us. So every expansion’s first raid must be the new entry-level designed to teach mechanics of raids to new players.

The reset button gets hit every expansion, this puts everybody on an almost equal footing in gear and skill. No matter how good a player you are now, you will have a lot of relearning to do when Cataclysm hits and your gear and class change.

Related posts:

1. Devil’s Advocate: Emblems of Triumph
2. Devil's Advocate: Epic not really Epic
3. Devil’s Advocate – Easy Raiding

More content planned for

the next couple of weeks, and any reader contributions would b

e amazing! Have a great Bank Holiday and watch this space!

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2. Angels of Ares
3. Upcoming Site Changes

Who we are

Hello, Aeternum is a new guild recruiting for 25 man progress in ICC25, we had 10/12 already in 10 man after only 9 days and are now hoping to expan

d!

Our goals will be to get into heroic modes in ICC10 and kill The

Lich King in 25 man as soon as possible while still having fun.
We are quite laid back, but very dedicated, with a few unique characters and we enjoy what we do, while keeping our serious faces on.

Our raid days are Monday, Thursday, and Friday starting at 19:30 and finishing at 00:00, members are expected to keep a high attendance. We use a simple version of DKP as our loot method (5 DKP per hour, 5 DKP pr progress kill & with an item cost of 25). We might add a raid night or two when we start 25 man.

What we offer

We offer a laid back, but very serious and dedicated raid environment. You can ask any of our members, we have a pretty relaxed environment on Vent, and it seems like it’s working : ) Hopefully we’ll be able to offer 10 and 25 man ICC hard modes very soon!

What we want

We’re looking for serious and dedicated raiders able to keep a high attendance. You should know your class and be able to help others if required. We appreciate people that are active on Ventrilo, giving tips and ideas to boss tactics. You should really be able to handle a joke, since there is quite a lot of them in Aeternum, while still keeping your serious-business face on!

Recruitment

Well, we update our front page with the required classes all the time, so just keep an eye on http://aeternum.giomanach.com/ to see if we need your class!

But remember, we will always consider every application even if we’re full on your class.

Leadership

Guild Master – Nagisa
Co-GM – Twurp
Officer – Elco/Levitas
MVP – KamíkazéRich Text AreaToolbarBold (Ctrl / Alt + Shift + B)Italic (Ctrl / Alt + Shift + I)Strikethrough (Alt + Shift + D)Unordered list (Alt + Shift + U)Ordered list (Alt + Shift + O)Blockquote (Alt + Shift + Q)Align Left (Alt + Shift + L)Align Center (Alt + Shift + C)Align Right (Alt + Shift + R)Insert/edit link (Alt + Shift + A)Unlink (Alt + Shift + S)Insert More Tag (Alt + Shift + T)Toggle spellchecker (Alt + Shift + N)▼
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“Ooooh, this fire looks awesome! Let’s stand in it!”
Who we are
Hello, Aeternum is a new guild recruiting for 25 man progress in ICC25, we had 10/12 already in 10 man after only 9 days and are now hoping to expand!
Our goals will be to get into heroic modes in ICC10 and kill The Lich King in 25 man as soon as possible while still having fun.
We are quite laid back, but very dedicated, with a few unique characters and we enjoy what we do, while keeping our serious faces on.
Our raid days are Monday, Thursday, and Friday starting at 19:30 and finishing at 00:00, members are expected to keep a high attendance. We use a simple version of DKP as our loot method (5 DKP per hour, 5 DKP pr progress kill & with an item cost of 25). We might add a raid night or two when we start 25 man.
What we offer
We offer a laid back, but very serious and dedicated raid environment. You can ask any of our members, we have a pretty relaxed environment on Vent, and it seems like it’s working : ) Hopefully we’ll be able to offer 10 and 25 man ICC hard modes very soon!
What we want
We’re looking for serious and dedicated raiders able to keep a high attendance. You should know your class and be able to help others if required. We appreciate people that are active on Ventrilo, giving tips and ideas to boss tactics. You should really be able to handle a joke, since there is quite a lot of them in Aeternum, while still keeping your serious-business face on!
Recruitment
Well, we update our front page with the required classes all the time, so just keep an eye on http://aeternum.giomanach.com/ to see if we need your class!
But remember, we will always consider every application even if we’re full on your class.
Leadership
Guild Master – Nagisa
Co-GM – Twurp
Officer – Elco/Levitas
MVP – Kamíkazé
Path:

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3. Aspire

ings you wish you really owned. Duel some persistent yet curiously cowardly mages outside Stormwind, try out other classes, run about spamming owl macros, whatever tickles your pickle. You could even do some arena, though I hear that’s a controversial approach.

Playing enough ranked games nets you a cool non-combat pet, but actually being good at it could get you a title. If there’s a reason for not taking part (*cough* apart from the £12 entry fee *cough*), I just can’t think of it. Look out for Shootygoose,Holygoose and Hittygoose!

Oh yes, and if you’ve forgotten how to turn off the annoying newbie popups, it’s in your interface menu under “help”. Don’t spend 2 days looking

for it like a certain priest did.

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em> Lets see what our unlikely hero of the Horde got up to when he was just a little calf.

The Bonzo Chronicles part 7 : Written by Bonzo himself

WARNING: Some rude words

Farming wool today. I’m on my seventy-ninth centaur, and I have one and a half stacks of wool.

This shit is as scarce as a porn movie’s plot.

I’m only level sixteen, and I have a lot to learn. Like the fact that the Barrens is a harsh mistress.

One minute you’re chugging along enjoying the sunshine down the length of the Gold Road, and the next thing a group of elite elves on goddamn tigers ride up and pull your nostrils out through your arse with a sharpened spoon.

My friends are so many levels above me it’s sickening. They’re always doing their own thing, so I lead a pretty lonely existence.

They tell me it’s worth sleeping at an inn overnight, but I can’t see the point of that – it wastes so much time getting back into the action the next day.

I did try it once in Orgrimmar, but that bastard Gamon slapped me six ways fucked up when I bumped into him. And they call the place a safe haven. Pff.

So now I sleep rough, and sod the harpies slapping me when I wake up. They tend be economical on the clothing front though, so a scratch or two in the morning is probably worth it.

I’m wondering if I should give up the wool idea and go find Itchyscratchee or whatever the hell it’s name is, when I get an incoming message on my pager.

Vanillarouge: tank WC?

Bonzo: Excuse me? Who are you?

Vanillarouge: need atnk . u intresred?

Bonzo: What the hell are you talking about?

Vanillarouge: wc fs!!1

Bonzo: Are you retarded? Stop bugging me.

Vanillarouge: fuck u fcukin nub dik

Bonzo: Buddy, I have no idea what you’re saying, but I will find you on tinternets and I will kill you something fierce if you don’t fuck off with the utmost expedience.

[Vanillarouge is ignoring you]

How do they do that? The ‘ignore’ thing? I keep seeing it. And I’d certainly be using it a lot if I knew how to…

[You whisper Malborn]: Hey Mal. How do I ignore someone?

Malborn: Sorry Bonz, just at final boss in SM at the moment. I’ll get back to you.

Bonzo: SM? That’s Scarlet Monastery, right? And final boss? Wow. You were level 1 only three days ago…

[Malborn is ignoring you]

So I kill a few more centaurs.

Suddenly Diet shows up. Diet started in Bloodhoof Village on

the same day as I did, about a month ago.

But Diet has slept in inns. Diet has an idea of how to progress, like he has some kind of manual on how to do this or something. I’ll bet he cheats. Fcking haxxorz.

And Diet is riding a KODO!

He’s all, ‘Hey Bonzy, check this out, isn’t it teh coolest? ’ And all that kind of shit.

I’m trying really hard to keep it together. I have three centaurs beating on me, one of them with a hyena that’s biting my nuts, and this Diet guy is jumping all over my fucking head on his new mount and I can’t see SHIT.

Bonzo: dier could yo uimovbe please ei can’t se e whasts foing on…..

Diet: What’s that Bonz?

Bonzo: WAAAAAAASSSSDDDDDD== fuckssake!!!!!!!!!!!!

Diet: What’re you on about Bonzo?

Bonzo:

Diet: Bonz? Where’d you go?

Bonzo: I’m dead.

Diet: Lol! Nooooob!

Bonzo: Well I had four mobs smacking me, and one Tauren on a kodo trying to burrow up my arse instead of helping. So yeah, a bit noobish I guess.

Diet: LMAO!

…

Hey! Do you mean me? Was that sarcasm?

Bonzo: Possibly.

[Diet is ignoring you]

I get another message on my pager.

Vanilladrood: Hey. You want to tank for our party?

Bonzo: Er… maybe.

Vanilladrood: We’re at the entrance to Wailing Caverns. Can I invite you?

Bonzo: Go ahead.

[You have joined a party]

Bonzo: Ohai everyone. ^^

Vanilladrood: Gogogo.

Bonzo: What?

Vanilladrood: GO!!

Bonzo: Go where?

Vanilladrood: Don’t tell me you’ve never been here before..?

Bonzo: First time for everything eh?

Vanilladrood: Just head left and tank, I’ll keep you alive.

Bonzo: Wow, cool.

Vanillarouge: y arnt we movin ?

Bonzo: Hey, I know that name…

Vanilladrood: Bonzo, please just go – we’re in a hurry.

Bonzo: What’s the rush?

Vanillahunt0r: wtf ? is goin on???!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11

Bonzo: I’m trying to ascertain what I need to do – this is my first time here.

Vanilladrood: JUST ATTACK SOMETHING!

Bonzo: Geez, ok, relax a bit…

[Bonzo charges]

[Carnage ensues]

[Your party wipes]

Vanillarouge: WAT TEH

FUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bonzo: That went well, I thought. All things considered.

Vanilladrood: You ran through a group of elites and into a boss who was surrounded by more elites. What’s wrong with you?

Bonzo: Er… nothing. Why?

Vanilladrood: Where’s your shield?

Bonzo: What’s a shield for?

Vanillawarlock: mate u suk. gtfo

Bonzo: Why the animosity? So we died. Just res and do it again.

Vanillahunt0r: we died coz ur a dick. Fck off

Vanilladrood: Alright, calm down. Let’s try that again. Bonzo, seriously – can you equip your shield please?

Bonzo: Er… I don’t have one.

Vanilladrood: You don’t have a shield?! How do you tank without a shield?

Bonzo: I’ve never tanked before.

Vanilladrood: What?!! Do you even know what tanking is?

Bonzo: When we hit stuff and get loot?

Vanilladrood: oO

Bonzo: Ohei, those patrolling mobs are back. Is everyone here?

[Bonzo charges]

[Carnage ensues]

[Your party wipes]

Bonzo: Ok, I’m getting the hang of this now. Woo, this is fun!

[You have been kicked from the party]

[Everyone on the server is ignoring you]

Back to farming wool. And then the night elf patrol appears as if on cue, and pwns me all the way back to the Crossroads.

I love this game.

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1. Tales from the Dream: MOAR Bonzo!
2. Tales from the Dream: Bonzo meets FAILPUG
3. Tales from the Dream: Bonzo Returns

What is gold DKP

Gold

DKP raids are raids where instead of rolling on items people bid for them with gold, there is no main spec or off spec you bid for an item you want.

For example: a tanking shield drops and you’re a Retri pally you can bid freely for the item. This goes on with all the items until the raid is completed or called.

What happens to the gold?

The gold is split evenly between all 25 raid members once the raid has finished, I as raid leader do not receive any extra gold item for running the raid, I’m just there to make it happen and to have a chance on picking up the odd item.

What keeps track of the bids?

The raid leader has an add on called gold raid manager, once an item

is dropped the raid leader takes the items and then adds them to the addons menu.

The addon then starts a countdown from 5 in raid warnings and players bid for the item, stating their bids in raid chat. Once a new bid is registered the countdown will start at 5 again giving people more time to bid on the item. Once the count down has finished and there is a winner of the item, the player trades the Master looter the gold in exchange for the item.

The raid leader can state a maximum raise amount, (for example you can only raise the bid 50 gold at a time) so peeps aren’t wasting time raising the bids by a copper each bid.

Example below

Death Verdict drops from ToC 25

Player 1 bids 500 gold

Current bid 500 gold 5 sec count down starts

Player 2 bids 700 gold

New 5 sec countdown starts

Player 3 bids 1000 gold

New 5 sec countdown

Player 1 bids 1010 gold (since raise is under minimum amount bid is ignored)

New 5 sec count down

No new bids player 3 wins for 1000 gold and trades ML.

This is a pure example, on one run I saw DV go for 8k gold which was very nice for all raiders, and that’s were the fun is, the more items go for the more money you get at the end.

The add on will also keep track of all money from all items and show to the raid in raid chat what the current pot is and the players share.

Another Example

Current raid ToC 25

Northrend beast pot 2000

Lord Jarzusasaa (can’t spell his name) 3000

Faction champs 3000

Total gold 8000

25 players = share of 320 gold per player

Rules for the Raid

There are some rules that do apply for these raids and some which players may think are a great way of making sure they don’t fail.

1. All raid members must stay to the end of the raid, this is when the master looter states the raid is over, if you choose to leave the raid beforehand you forfeit your share of the gold and a new raid member will be drafted in to replace you, the replacement will receive the share of the pot that the player that left would have received.

2. If a player should bid on an item and win but not have the gold to pay for it, they will be removed from the raid and replacement drafted in, there is no IOUs or I’ll give you the gold tomorrow, you pay when you win, full stop. The item is then re auctioned off, it does not go to the 2nd highest bidder as the items price would have been inflated by the non paying bidder and would then be unfair on that 2nd place bidder.

3. As stated before, there is no main/ offspec all items are free for all, you can bid on any item that drops, even BoE, what you do with the items is up to you.

What stops the raid leader being a Ninja?

Well, first my reputation will be at risk, I don’t want my name blasted in trade for being a ninja, I also value the guild I’m currently a member of and would be on a swift end of a kick if I was to. I am a genuine player that wants to bring a new thing to ED, and see how it goes.

When am I going to start this?

I’m going to start with a ToC 25 normal on Sunday 23rd of May with invites going out at around 15:00 game time and start hopefully at 15:30. I want to start with a short raid and see how it goes. If the raid is a success then I may move to ICC 25 and see how those go.

Obviously I will not be taking my main character to ICC 25 runs though as main runs with guild, this would most likely be done by one of my better geared alts.

Gear Requirements

Obviously if people go to ToC 25 with 25 newly turned 80 with terrible gear then it will be a wipe fest, I will be setting a fresh hold of poor geared players per raid and there will be 5 spots, and these will be a first come first serve basis.

The main rule I will be using though is achievements and not gear score, I do not want to 23 peeps in raid waiting for me to explain tactics on vent to one person, the Toon you come with must have the achievement or you tell me your main (if your main has it) to check up.

Drama

Once bidding for an item has finished and the add on announces the winner no more bids can be made, no matter how much people moan about it.

If anyone kicks off they will be removed, any moaning about failing you’ll be removed, and moaning about peoples gear score you’ll be removed. The lower geared people are most likely to pay some decent gold for items as they’ll need most upgrades.

This is meant to be a fun raid watching bids go up, getting your hand on that item you’ve been after for months and when dropped you rolled one. And a nice pot of gold to share at the end.

One last thing is I would ask people taking part to be patient during the raid while the add on and loot is set up.

I like the sound of this where do I sign up

If you want to take part /w me in game, if I’m not free an in game mail will do and I’ll add you onto calendar invite list. Just let me know the name of your character, class and spec you want to join the raid with and I’ll get back to you, and what sort of gear you are in (just state 232 and above or under 232)

My toons you can catch me on are:

Everlightly (my main)

Raiine

Tackleberry

Darkcobra

Ok, well that’s all. hope to here from loads of peeps soon!

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2. Tales from the Dream: Bonzo meets FAILPUG
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have a name that looks cool but probably means ‘Sanitary Towel’ in Swahili. I’m here to write about the world-class raiding community from a personal point of view as most people have become tired of being curled in the foetal position in a darkened corner while I rant. Hopefully you will enjoy this rather mild introduction to these articles and will be prompted to read the next ones as they come out. Please be assured that it will most likely only get worse as it goes on so have a stiff drink at the ready and let us begin!

World firsts and what makes those who achieve them different?

World firsts are pretty much the ultimate accolade of the PvE part of WoW. They’re not only representative of being the first to achieve a boss kill but they also show the dedication and determination of the players who have achieved it.

As you would expect, not everybody can expect to get a world first. Primarily as only one first place can be claimed but also most/all of the players who achieve them have been subjected to the rather intensive application process.

One of the most striking parts of this process is when you begin reading the application form. Many, if not all, of the world-class guilds require their raiders to have ‘good control over their personal lives’. This level of dedication rules most players out there and then. Some may read this as being ‘you will have nothing in your life other than the

game’ and that is simply not the case (it’s a very common misconception in fact), it just means that come patch release day you will have time booked off work (or something similar) so that you are available for a prolonged period to start clearing the new cialis online content.

Having control over your personal life is by no means a guarantee that you’re in, it’s merely preamble! As you fill in the form you will be asked very probing questions about your spec, gear choices and glyph choices as well as other things associated with the way that you play. Some guilds will even expect you as a raider to be an active member of the theorycrafting community (Ensidia being one example of such a guild).

Provided you have passed all of these initial hurdles and have made a good impression you are likely to be offered a trial with the guild. In the words of Nefarian; ‘Let the games begin’! As you raid with your new guild you will be watched by the class leader(s) for rotation as well as by everyone in case you make some subtle yet colossal mistake. As this is the world-class level, you will be held EXTREMELY accountable for mistakes and actions, particularly since the introduction of limited attempts.

If you do a good job and pass your trial then congratulations! You are now a world-class raider! As you would expect that is not necessarily an end to the proving yourself. As you’re now bearing the banner of the guild your behaviour etc. will reflect upon them as well as yourself as well as continually fighting with your fellow raiders for spots.

Just being in a world class guild doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going to get a world first (shockingly it takes work) and leads to the interesting bit of world firsts; the race.

The best examples of world firsts are from the Wrath of the Lich King expansion as only recent kills are recorded on the various websites that track guild progression.

The obvious suggestion for a world first would be the Lich King 25 man heroic. As this fight was subject to the limited attempts it is not very fair to use it as so many factors could ensure an attempt was lost before it was started properly. However for the sake of those who may not know or keep tabs on these things; the first 3 Lich King heroic kills were claimed by Paragon (EU-Lightning’s Blade), For the Horde (EU-Nazjatar) and Ensidia (EU-Tarren Mill).

Ulduar was the final raid of the Lich King expansion that was not prey to limited attempts and so probably serves as the best example. Supposedly it took Ensidia over 300 attempts to get Firefighter on 25 man (which earned them the world first on it) which is impressive/demented depending on your view point. Throughout the Lich King expansion there hasn’t been one guild that has consistently been getting world firsts it has been a series of guilds. Some have come and gone, others have remained at the forefront and some have appeared from absolutely nowhere and stolen kills at the last moment! The table below very briefly sums up who got what world first (for hard modes) in Ulduar just to illustrate how varied the winners were.

As you can see it was very varied in the end and as far as I am concerned this is a good thing as it keeps things interesting. It would be pretty boring to just see one guild getting all of the world firsts, let’s face it. ‘No king rules forever’ being a particularly applicable quote.

Next time I will be writing about what some of these world-class guilds are prepared to do to get a world first. That’s right everyone! I am mounting my very high horse and will be speaking about cheating! Gareth, get my ruler! There are some hides to be tanned!

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Everybody wants their WoW account to be safe right? It’s not

like anyone ‘wants’ their account to be hacked, to lose their characters, gold and gear and be forced to spend hours on the phone to Blizzard’s Support Line. Yet how many of your accounts are actually safe?

I’m not trying to scare you or anything, but for most of you reading this your attempts to stay safe are woefully inadequate. I’m going to tell you why and what you can do about it.

But Nec I really try and keep my account safe…

I change my password every so many weeks…

This is completely useless. It’s not even 1% helpful. It is not helpful with WoW or with email or anything else. The only person inconvenienced by regular password changes is you, the user.

If a keylogger gets your password, it’s not going to think “Score, got the password, I’ll just wait 5 or 6 weeks before sending it.”

The hacker who gets your password, isn’t going to think “Ahh another password, I’ll just set it down here and access it in a month or so.”

Of course not, they’re going to send the password immediately and hack your account immediately. They’re not going to sit on it for a while, they’re gonna strike while the iron is hot and loot your account. They’ll probably do it when you just logged in, so you’ll get disconnected, try and reconnect and get the terrifying “Incorrect password” alert. You never had time to change your password.

Changing password effectiveness is Zero.

I run a virus scan every x days…

The chances of this working is really sketchy at best. Virus scanners are a resource hog, they eat your processor, so most people don’t scan whilst they’re playing WoW, they’d scan late at night when they’re not using their PC and tell the scanner to shut their PC down when it’s finished. Of course this scan takes place a couple of hours after you had surfed the web, possibly picked up a keylogger and then went into WoW for your raid night. Oops, they got you.

Some virus scanners scan the websites you’re on and the files you download as they’re being downloaded, I know AVG Free does this. That is why the chances of this working is sketchy as opposed to non-existent. The scanner may detect the keylogger early on before it has a chance to do anything. Then again, it might not.

Scanning regularly gets rid of any keyloggers that may be on your machine, but by that point you’ve probably already been hacked so it’s too late.

I don’t click on any dodgy links either.

Not every keylogger relies on you clicking links. It’s a common belief that if you get a keylogger it’s because you clicked on a dodgy link, went to a fake W site or a gold buying site. This isn’t always the case.

Do you see adverts on many sites you frequent? The banner on top of message boards, the ads to the side of Facebook, even Google adverts? You know the ones I mean? They’re used frequently by virus makers, especially the ones for cheaper sites that are forced to be ad supported with flashy animated banners. It’s called a drive-by-malware-attack. The moment the ad loads on your screen… BAM! You’re infected. You clicked nothing, you did nothing, you still got keylogged.

Effectiveness of not clicking links is like a 50/50. You won’t get caught by your own stupidity, but the unpredictable nature of what ad is going to pop up next on your favourite messageboards still leaves you vulnerable.

Help me Neccy Lockenobi! You’re my only hope!

Here are some ways you can keep yourself safe when playing WoW.

Don’t buy gold

Did you know that gold-seller sites require that you register an account to buy? Did you know you just used the same email as your Battlenet account? Probably used your same generic password too… oh dear. You just gave them your WoW details without realising it. They just tried them, it worked, you just lost your account. They probably installed a drive-by keylogger also, so when you do get your account back they nab it immediately once again.

Don’t buy gold. Their sites are the dodgiest of dodgy.

Updated anti-virus

While not a guaranteed solution, it does help, especially if you use a virus scanner that scans everything going into your PC as well as websites you load. But they won’t detect anything if it’s not fully updated.

Furthermore, don’t run two anti-virus programs on the same PC, each will prevent the other from working properly. So remove that Norton anti-crap before installing AVG or Avast or whatever you prefer.

Use a unique password

Most people use the same password for most sites. So if you get keylogged, they have access to your guilds forum, your facebook, your twitter, your email… and by extension of the mail in your inbox… your online banking. Give WoW a unique password. It won’t stop you being keylogged, but it’ll stop them getting access to everything else you do online.

AdBlocker/NoScript

If you’re using Internet Explorer as your browser, stop using Internet Explorer as your browser. It’s like an old hooker, cheap but filled with disease. Get Firefox and install the addons NoScript and Foof, this will give you a more secure browser, stop ALL scripts running on websites unless you give them direct permission ‘and’ will block the majority of adverts on every site. Drive-by-malware just ceased to be a threat. Yes I was kind enough to provide you direct links to Firefox and the addons in question. So no excuses.

Be careful with your email

The hackers greatest weapon is player stupidity. They will send you an email that looks like an official Blizzard mail and they will tell you that your account has been suspended or you’ve been invited to the Cataclysm Alpha/Beta. It will look all shiny and pretty (sometimes it looks awful) but there will be noticeable flaws.

Spelling will be poor, blizzard mail is spellchecked and proof-read, hacker mail is not. If you see regular spelling errors be suspicious.

Cataclysm Alpha is not for players. It’s for Friends and Family of Blizzard. The Beta has not started yet and when it does you’ll be informed cause it’ll be all over the Internet on official WoW sites.

They want you to go to a link, the link looks odd. batt.elnet? With a dot in the middle and misspelled name? Really? Fake address. Log into World of Warcraft properly by typing the address in your browser and not clicking a link. You’ll then find out if anything is wrong with your account as it’ll say “Account suspended” or whatever in the Account Status.

Get an Authenticator

If you have an iPhone the authenticator is free. If you don’t have an iPhone, the physical authenticator is free but you pay the shipping charges. Blizzard lose money on every authenticator sold because they use the Vasco system, a system BANK Authenticators use! This is not a cheap security system they put into effect but one of the most expensive on the market.

Currently only a single virus (EMCOR.DLL) can bypass the authenticator. It does this by keylogging you, sending your account name, password and authenticator code to the hacker and sending a false code to Blizzard, you then get the “Incorrect password blah blah” message, the hacker now has ~30 seconds to get into your account or the key is useless. A virus scan on your end and relogging in will boot him and prevent him from doing anything else. He can’t change your password or he can’t get into the account (he’ll have used the authenticator code), if he gets into your account he can’t change the password. Damage therefore will be limited.

The authenticator itself is easy to set up and easier to use. When inputting your password you have a third box for an authenticator code. You push the button, get the code, type it in and hit Login. You’re now logged in and quite safe as once a code is used it cannot be reused.

Conclusion

Losing your account is always painful. This is something we’ve put so many hours into and as a result are emotionally bound to it. Keeping your account safe isn’t that difficult a thing to do, so there’s no excuse for not trying. “Blizzard should make their game safe” is the whine of a moron, keeping your PC clean and your web-surfing safe is your responsibility, not Blizzards.

Blizzard have put on offer a top of the range security system called the Authenticator, available from their online store for a cheap price.

Europe Blizzard store authenticator.

US Blizzard store authenticator.

ITunes store authenticator for iPhone.

If you don’t have an authenticator, you are gambling with your account, you never win but can lose big. It’s a lottery not worth buying a ticket for.

Related posts:

1. Public Service Announcement: Your Account is NOT Suspended
2. Devil's Advocate – Do I want WoW to stay as the dominant MMO?
3. Devil’s Advocate: Vanilla Servers

ago!) Recent Alliance defector Awoken has issued a call to arms on both Horde and Alliance sides for some good old fashion World PvP funnage. In his own words I present to you Awoken!

So like I used to be this big asshole alliance guy:

Used to roll with a bunch of assholes also:

We used to do some asshole world PvP raid stuff back in the day:

I had reached the pinnacle of assholeness…but there was still one final, unspeakable act of assyness to commit….

On

horde we’re mature, we’re patient and caring – when hunters ask for a good PVP spec in trade, we never reply with “RESTO!11″. When we even smell an outbreak of [Anal] jokes in Trade chat, we’re on it. Misuse of trade chat, achievements or gearscore? We’re on it, armed with polite whispers. We’re so nice that it took me one hour to convince a Warlock and Moonkin to dance around this AFK Draenai – a BLATENT act of defiance against the Alliance of this server. But they did it. You know why?

WE’RE PISSED

You little alliance punks think you can just walk up to Orgrimmar and start killing people! How many times have we told you damn kids to stay off our damn lawn. HOW MANY TIMES? WELL IT’S ONE TIME TOO MANY!

The horde have had enough. No more giving good spec advice in trade chat. We don’t even care about [Anal] jokes anymore. I think we’re so damn pissed we’re going to start asking for at least 4k gearscore + achievement for VOA FREAKING 10 MAN.

It’s on now. Scores of you damn kids fell in Ironforge and Stormwind. Your shitty dwarf king lies dead. And it’s not over, we’re going to settle this with an oldskool outdoor battle.

WE CHALLENGE YOU TO:

A 40 vs 40 Outdoor PVP battle!

Date: Sunday 16th May 2010
Time: 5PM Server time sharp
Place: See the map

I shall restate the rules CLEARLY:

1.) Alliance are to take the flight path to Astraanar in Ashenvale and then run through the Talondeep Path to end up

on the CORRECT side of the battle. If you fly to Stonetalon Peak not only will you look RETARDED as you awkwardly attempt to run to the correct side of the fight, but we will also leave because we will assume you are trying to flank us.

2.) Before the battle we will log Alliance and do a /who Stonetalon. If there are more than 40 (we shall account for retard hangerons) we will leave. So if there are like 80 level 80 alliance in Stonetalon, we’re gone. Feel free to do the same for us.

So as the coolest WoW boss ever once said…

Let the games begin!

Related posts:

1. For the HORDE! /moo
2. More from Bonzo, our unlikely hero of the Horde
3. The History of ED

Who we are

We are one of the longest established guilds on Emerald Dream. We viagra no prescription are a mature and highly dedicated raiding guild and we look to supplement our core of

ra

iders. We raid ONLY three times a week and are one of the top progressing/achieving guilds on the server.

What we offer

As we have been around for so long we also have a large social core to the guild, made up of family members, ex-raiders, ex-members that missed “home”, there is always green spam in your chat box to lighten up those dull days when you just want to relax and farm…or fish for the more daring types.
r.

What we want

• you must be able to understand and write coherently in English
• you must have a “can do” attitude
• you must treat the other raid and guild members with the respect that they will show you
• you must be 18 years of age or more
• you must be able to take a joke(!)

Recruitment

If being an Angel appeals to you, and you think you fit what we

are looking for, then please visit www.angelsofares.eu, or if you would like to talk to someone online, feel free to contact Thifyx, Armine, Nofearo, Trmin, or Crimsonstar in game.

Leadership

Crimsonstar, Trmin, Ness, Nofearo, Thifyx.

Related posts:

1. The auditors *cough* spawn of satan are almost gone
2. Erudite
3. Asylum