Icon_guildapps Apply To Guild
Email: Password: Remember
Forgot?
Icon_sideuncollapse
Pixel
Icon_sidecollapse
Progressions
Icecrown Citadel
(8/12 - 66.7%)
Icon_done Lord Marrowgar
Icon_done Lady Deathwhisper
Icon_done Gunship Battle
Icon_done Deathbringer Saurfang
Icon_done Festergut
Icon_done Rotface
Icon_notdone Professor Putricide
Icon_done Blood Prince Council
Icon_notdone Queen Lana'thel
Icon_done Valithria Dreamwalker
Icon_notdone Sindragosa
Icon_notdone Lich King
more
Guild Ox
TakeTen - Kor'gall
10-Man Strict Achievements
2 Realm Rank:
222 Europe Rank:
556 World Rank:
Ranks by GuildOx.com
Recruitment
Below are the classes we are currently recruiting:
Closed Recruit_urgency_low
Death Knight
Closed Recruit_urgency_low
Druid
Closed Recruit_urgency_low
Hunter
Closed Recruit_urgency_low
Mage
Closed Recruit_urgency_low
Paladin
Closed Recruit_urgency_low
Priest
Closed Recruit_urgency_low
Rogue
Closed Recruit_urgency_low
Shaman
Closed Recruit_urgency_low
Warlock
Closed Recruit_urgency_low
Warrior
Apply to Guild
Guild Stats
Guild
Name: TakeTen
Game: World of Warcraft
Server: Kor'gall
Members: 42
Characters: 89
Rank (members)
Guild Master: 1
Officer: 5
Raider: 23
Social: 12
Trial: 1
Class (chars)
Death Knight: 6
Druid: 17
Hunter: 10
Mage: 10
Paladin: 14
Priest: 6
Rogue: 6
Shaman: 7
Warlock: 6
Warrior: 7
Race (chars)
Draenei: 11
Dwarf: 9
Gnome: 9
Human: 31
Night Elf: 29
Server Status
Kor'gall
Online
Online
Wowhead
Wowhead_120x60
Find items, quests, NPCs and more on Wowhead.com
Welcome to TakeTen!
We are the number one raiding guild on Kor'gall when it comes to 10-man raiding, with aims even higher.

TakeTen was founded July 12th 2009.

While we are casual in spirit, we take our raiding seriously and always come prepared. We only raid a few days a week, so we try to make sure we make the best use of each run. If you want to learn more, you can read our guild statement here.

This front page is divided into 3 parts. Left side is primarily for visitors of the guild and current members can click to hide it, while the right side is directed at our members.
Guild News
Posted: 6 days ago
Clean-up party in the Coliseum
By: Jeaz
Going over a little uncleared content TT went to the Coliseum, heroic style.

Faction Champions and Twin Valkyrs were fresh kills for the guild, but Anub'arak was hard and resisted us, for now.
Posted: 7 days ago
Kill drought ended with a save
By: Jeaz
Technically you can't call it a kill, since you save the dragon, but after a month of 2-3% wipes on Putricide Valithria Dreamwalker needed saving, so TakeTen answered the call.

Now only end-wing bosses remains, and of course the king himself.
Older News
Latest Forum Threads
In: Off-topic
Icon_gotolastpost Last Post By: Jeaz (about 7 hours ago)
In: Guild News
Icon_gotolastpost Last Post By: Jeaz (2 days ago)
In: Guild News
Icon_gotolastpost Last Post By: Jeaz (7 days ago)
In: Off-topic
Icon_gotolastpost Last Post By: Jeaz (7 days ago)
In: Off-topic
Icon_gotolastpost Last Post By: Yorkey (13 days ago)
Hottest Forum Threads
In: Guild News
Icon_gotolastpost Views: 146, Replies: 5
In: Guild News
Icon_gotolastpost Views: 132, Replies: 4
In: Guild News
Icon_gotolastpost Views: 102, Replies: 8
In: Off-topic
Icon_gotolastpost Views: 100, Replies: 3
In: Off-topic
Icon_gotolastpost Views: 85, Replies: 2
WoW Server Alerts
There are no server alerts.
WoW.com News feed
WoW.com
Spiritual Guidance: Survivability versus DPS
(Mar 10, 10)
Every Wednesday (you know, ideally Wednesday, when he's not slacking off), Fox Van Allen grabs hold of Spiritual Guidance from her holiness Dawn Moore and makes everything just a little darker than usual. Don't worry, he usually remembers to unlock the closet and let her out when he's done. Usually.

I wanted to take a brief break from the Spiritual Guidance series on raiding Icecrown Citadel (part 1; part 2) to answer an e-mail I got in response to it, because there's a really important lesson to be learned. Or a chance to complain about stuff. I'm pretty good at that.
Why is "Stay Alive" in the strats? Are there strats where I should die?
It's actually a good question. (The first part, not the second part -- we already know that only gnomes should be sacrificed on Saurfang post fix, and only then for the good luck the act brings.) Why go out of my way to state the obvious -- that your key mission is to stay alive?

Simply put: Because staying alive is just not a priority for way too many DPS players. (I'd go as far as to say that way too many of you stink at it.) And the way some raid leaders treat their DPS, it's not even surprising that this is the case.

Continue reading Spiritual Guidance: Survivability versus DPS

Filed under: Priest, (Priest) Spiritual Guidance

Spiritual Guidance: Survivability versus DPS originally appeared on WoW.com on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Blizzard: "How would we bring WoW to the console?"
(Mar 10, 10)
Sadly, the ultimate answer appears to be "very reluctantly" but it's an interesting read anyway. J. Allen Brack talks to G4 about WoW, consoles, and the barriers to entry for an MMO. The usual suspects apply, of course. WoW was designed for keyboards, consoles tend to have a short lifespan compared to the development time of a MMO, and WoW currently takes up about 15gb worth of memory while consoles like an XBox 360 have at most 20gb worth of hard drive space without buying any additions. This is no surprise, of course... they've said all this before.

What I really found interesting was that this is supposedly something they think about a lot. "In the case of WoW, we talk about it all the time." I'm the curious sort, so I find myself wondering why, given all the reasons Brack himself lists. Personally, I'd love to see a single player Warcraft property of some sort for consoles, perhaps a God of War style action game or even a Dragon Age/Mass Effect hybrid RPG. And who knows, perhaps Blizzard will come up with a way to do it despite their laundry list of reasons why they won't, they've surprised me before.

Filed under: Blizzard, News items

Blizzard: "How would we bring WoW to the console?" originally appeared on WoW.com on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Know Your Lore: The Green Dragonflight
(Mar 10, 10)
The World of Warcraft is an expansive universe. You're playing the game, you're fighting the bosses, you know the how, but do you know the why? Each week Matthew Rossi and Anne Stickney make sure you Know Your Lore by covering the history of the story behind World of Warcraft.

Each flight of dragons is vouchsafed with an aspect of creation itself to supervise. The five Dragon Aspects were granted their powers and dominion over Azeroth's life, magic, earth, time and more by the Titans who created them from the massive proto-dragon Galakrond in long vanished times past. In the past few KYL's we've covered Alexstrasza's Red Dragonflight, Deathwing's Black Dragonflight and its offshoot the Netherwing, and deceased Malygos' Blue Dragonflight.

This time we look at what might be the strangest dragons of them all. The servants of Ysera, the dragons of the Emerald Dream, the Green Dragonflight. In order to truly understand the green dragons, one would have to be able to understand the dream they all dream, but who can do that? How can one tell the dreamers from the dream?

Easy. The dreamers are great honking green dragons that will kill you. It's relatively simple. If you doubt their power or their resolve, go to the Temple of Atal'Hakkar and ask the Atali, trapped in a complex smashed into the water by the fury and might of Ysera herself. Even when they themselves fall victim to corruption, the green dragons are fearsome opponents. While Alexstrasza and her brood concern themselves with life and living things, Ysera is effectively the shepherd of what Dylan Thomas called 'the force that through the green fuse drives the flower' - effectively, that which makes life itself possible.

This is also what often gets them in trouble with old gods, blasphemous troll deities of bloodlust, and the loathsome Scourge and its malefic master. (I have been waiting to use 'malefic' in a sentence for so long now.)

Continue reading Know Your Lore: The Green Dragonflight

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Lore, Know your Lore

Know Your Lore: The Green Dragonflight originally appeared on WoW.com on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Classifieds: The most uber players of the week
(Mar 10, 10)
The Classifieds brings you weekly updates on guild happenings, raid progression rankings, player milestones and more. Have guild news or a Random Act of Uberness to share? E-mail TheClassifieds@wow.com.

Welcome to the Uber Player Edition of The Classifieds. As you know, we've been building Random Acts of Uberness, a section of the column devoted to shout-outs to the folks who've made your PUG experiences shine. With more and more submissions every week, we're inevitably approaching that time when we'll have to start editing notes for length. But not this week. This week, your stories were so inspirational, your experiences were so uberific, that we simply decided to turn over the bulk of The Classifieds to the Random Acts section and let the uberness run wild and free.

"I'm not to proud to admit it: when we're short on tanks, my husband and I will let our kid tank for us -- our just shy of seven-year-old, who diligently (and with trade chat disabled and parental controls on, his toon parked in our friends-and-fam guild instead of the casual raiding guild our mains are in) ground his teeny gnome warrior up to 80," writes Haelmari of US Eonar-A. "Tonight, we and some guildies needed a random. He wanted to play. Win/win, right?

"We lacked a healer. ..."

The uber resolution of Haelmari's situation, after the break.

Continue reading The Classifieds: The most uber players of the week

Filed under: Guilds, The Classifieds

The Classifieds: The most uber players of the week originally appeared on WoW.com on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Encrypted Text: Stealth mechanics deep-dive
(Mar 10, 10)
Every Wednesday, Chase Christian of Encrypted Text invites you to enter the world of shadows, as we explore the secrets and mechanics of the Rogue class. This week, we discuss the rogue iconic ability: Stealth.

Have you ever tried to describe the rogue class to a friend or family member? I remember when a paladin acquaintance of mine asked what rogues were all about, what their secret sauce was. The question took me off guard, because I had been playing the rogue for so long that I saw everything through rogue-colored glasses. I struggled to find a simple explanation, because we are simply such a diverse class (once you overlook the pure DPS aspect, at least).

While we could be summed up by one word, awesome, I have always felt that describing our class is a real challenge. Once I started thinking seriously about it, trying to find a class-defining moment or example, it hit me. What could be more ubiquitous than a rogue stealth run? An assassination force of shadow, rogues in their most feared form. We approach our opponents unnoticed, we strike from the shadows with great force, and we retreat into darkness before we're ever seen.

Continue reading Encrypted Text: Stealth mechanics deep-dive

Filed under: Rogue, (Rogue) Encrypted Text

Encrypted Text: Stealth mechanics deep-dive originally appeared on WoW.com on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

WoW Moviewatch: I Play as a Chick
(Mar 10, 10)
Work Warning: This video has WoW models in their underwear, and sexually suggestive themes.
I Play as a Chick is one of those videos that come with amazing coordination and collaboration between artists. Yumfries, Sharm, Wick, and Tradechat got together to create this epic piece of work, and the final product is absolutely amazing. While I can't say I'm at home in the rap genre, even I could easily acknowledge the great work these folks have produced.

The video is awesome. It's been a while since the production values of a music video were so astoundingly high that I felt someone had raised the bar, but Yumfries has definitely accomplished that with I Play as a Chick. The graphics never got boring or stale, and they seemed to constantly be creating new scenery. Even if some of the video was a bit racier than some viewers would prefer, the artistry that went into it is clear.

The song itself was equally good, with creative lyrics and an overall playful tone. The "narrative" of the song has a playful ending, with a certain tongue-in-cheek acknowledgement of the subject matter's ridiculousness.

Interested in the wide world of machinima? We have new movies every weekday here on WoW Moviewatch! Have suggestions for machinima we ought to feature? Toss us an e-mail at machinima AT wow DOT com.

Filed under: WoW Moviewatch

WoW Moviewatch: I Play as a Chick originally appeared on WoW.com on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Queue: Ghostcrawler promised me a Sea Mouse
(Mar 10, 10)
Welcome back to The Queue, WoW.com's daily Q&A column where the WoW.com team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Adam Holisky will be your host today.

I'm using that picture of a Sea Mouse in The Queue today for a few reasons. First, it's disgusting and I can't wait to see all the comments. Second, this is the stuff Ghostcrawler dealt with before he was in video games. Knowing that makes one understand why he has such a sarcastic take on trolls.

So let's get into it.

Phil asked...

"Where do babies come from?"

Continue reading The Queue: Ghostcrawler promised me a Sea Mouse

Filed under: The Queue

The Queue: Ghostcrawler promised me a Sea Mouse originally appeared on WoW.com on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Around Azeroth: The taurlock
(Mar 10, 10)
Tired of managing her totems, Naiara of on Earthen Ring is seeking a new path in life. "Ever since I won the roll on the gas mask I knew I must put my evil plan in motion!" she writes. "Never fear, this is just an ordinary mad scientist ... but this is no ordinary mad scientist! With the proper equipment, and access to Professor Putricide's laboratory, Naiara is poised to spearhead the Tauren Warlock class!"

Do you have any unusual, beautiful or interesting World of Warcraft images that are just collecting dust in your screenshots folder? We'd love to see them on Around Azeroth! Sharing your screenshot is as simple as e-mailing aroundazeroth@wow.com with a copy of your shot and a brief explanation of the scene. You could be featured here next!

Remember to include your player name, server and/or guild if you want it mentioned. Please include the word "Azeroth" in your post so it does not get swept into the spam bin. We strongly prefer full screen shots without the UI showing -- use alt-Z to remove it. Please, no more battleground scoreboards, Val'kyr on mounts, or pictures of the Ninja Turtles in Dalaran. Older screenshots can be found here.

Gallery: Around Azeroth

Filed under: Around Azeroth

Around Azeroth: The taurlock originally appeared on WoW.com on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

WoW Insider Show live today at noon Eastern
(Mar 10, 10)
Every week, we broadcast live from several places worldwide (several rooms, anyway) to present you with the WoW Insider Show podcast -- an hour's worth of WoW community discussion, covering everything from the week's top stories here on WoW.com to emails from our readers to what's been going on with our particular characters in Azeroth.

Along with your hosts, WoW.com editor Michael Sacco and contributing editor Matthew Rossi, we also feature rotating guest hosts, whether regular WoW.com contributors or personalities from other sites.

We're broadcasting early this week to allow behind-the-scenes tinkerer Adam Holisky to take a well-deserved vacation.

Today's WoW Insider Show features:
Want to participate? Join in the conversation in the chat channel on our Ustream site while the show's broadcasting! Want to have your question read on the air? Drop us a line any time at theshow@wow.com!

Just want to listen? Follow the jump.

Continue reading WoW Insider Show live today at noon Eastern

Filed under: WoW Insider Show

WoW Insider Show live today at noon Eastern originally appeared on WoW.com on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Breakfast Topic: The Icecrown raid buff and you
(Mar 10, 10)

The Icecrown Citadel raid buff has been out for a week now. For the time being, it's only a 5% buff to healing, health, and damage (and let's not forget that it will affect damage absorption spells soon). It'll continue to slowly ramp up as time goes by. I know the question I've asked myself is whether or not we should have the buff active for progression bosses. There doesn't seem to be an achievement or any incentive to take down bosses without it so it becomes more of a question of "Why not?". When we were working on Blood Queen the week before the buff was up, we've had some extremely close shaves where she hit her enrage timer at 6%, then at 2% before we killed her post enrage with 6 players still standing. That 5% damage would've easily given us some extra breathing room. Cutting through trash and taking down the early wings with the buffs up means we can cut through that stuff faster and get to the hard bosses earlier. So I know for me, I'm okay with working on bosses with it up. It's only 5%. Now I just need to figure out where to draw the line.

How about you? Have you been disabling Strength of Wrynn or Hellscream's Warsong for your raids just to say that you can do the bosses without it?

Filed under: Breakfast Topics, Raiding

Breakfast Topic: The Icecrown raid buff and you originally appeared on WoW.com on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Daily Blues
(Mar 09, 10)
Each day WoW.com will take you through all the blue posts and other Blizzard news from around the internet. From Ghostcrawler's latest posts to the lowdown on StarCraft II and Diablo III, we'll keep you informed.

Want fat purps from Ghost? Read on... if you dare.

Table of Contents

Continue reading The Daily Blues

Filed under: The Daily Blues

The Daily Blues originally appeared on WoW.com on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 23:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Daily Quest: Waiting for the Cataclysm
(Mar 09, 10)

Here at WoW.com we're on a Daily Quest (which we try to do every day, honest) to bring you interesting, informative and entertaining WoW-related links from around the blogosphere. Is there a story out there we ought to link or a blog we should be following? Just leave us a comment and you may see it here tomorrow!

If you're playing World of Warcraft -- and reading WoW.com -- I can't imagine you aren't looking forward to the oncoming Cataclysm, at least a little. New zones, new levels, new content -- and that razor's edge of fear where you're caught between the worry they're going to nerf your favorite class to the ground (baby) and the hope that the expansion will offer everything your virtual heart desires. It should come as no surprise that Cataclysm is on a lot of bloggers' minds... even when Blizzard isn't releasing very much info. So for today, some musing on Cataclysm and what the future of the game might hold.

Filed under: The Daily Quest

The Daily Quest: Waiting for the Cataclysm originally appeared on WoW.com on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 23:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Shifting Perspectives: Tree 1, Arthas 0
(Mar 09, 10)
Every week, Shifting Perspectives explores issues affecting druids and those who group with them. This week, we save the world (of Warcraft).

Originally this week's article was going to concern stomping Karazhan from top-to-bottom as a feral/resto druid, and then I got Big Bad Wolf for the opera event. Suffice it to say that the stomping took an abrupt U-turn, and I never got pictures or video of the other Kara fights that I've successfully solo'd on dozens of other occasions (though I grant they were all occasions that did not include humiliating wipes to an overgrown dog). If I weren't in the middle of a time crunch it probably would've been doable, but regrettably I will have to run a feature on how to make 1,000 gold soloing Karazhan on a later date. In the meantime, Alaron's managed to solo Big Bad Wolf successfully, but my main is in the somewhat sticky situation of not being a night elf.

With the upcoming Icecrown raid buffs going all the way to 30% damage/healing/health/absorbs eventually, more and more raids are going to find their way to Arthas. Buffs aside, a lot of Arthas' difficulty lies in execution, and I started jotting down a few notes that I hope might be helpful to other druids likely to attempt the fight. We were fortunate to get both the 10- and 25-man version down, and I got astoundingly lucky on one 10-man attempt with back-to-back selections as a Harvest Soul target while I was running a video capture. I've seen a lot of comments online that caster druids aren't well-suited to dealing with this, and that's just not true at all.

Continue reading Shifting Perspectives: Tree 1, Arthas 0

Filed under: Druid, Analysis / Opinion, (Druid) Shifting Perspectives

Shifting Perspectives: Tree 1, Arthas 0 originally appeared on WoW.com on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Blood Sport: Should racials be removed?
(Mar 09, 10)
Want to crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentation of their women? Blood Sport investigates the entirety of all-things arena for gladiators and challengers alike. C. Christian Moore, multiple rank 1 gladiator, examines the latest arena strategy, trends, compositions and more in WoW.com's arena column.

Listening Music: Fix You, the author's favorite Coldplay song. The best part of this performance, the "crowd run," happens 3 minutes into it. Watch it, if just for that.

Last Week: Last week, we discussed the racials of blood elves, undead, and trolls, oh my! The last two Blood Sport articles look at racial abilities from a perspective of effectiveness in the arena.

This Week: We'll be discussing racials, for the third (and last) week straight. A lot of arena players would rather play without racials entirely. On ArenaJunkies, there are lots of people who subscribe to a nerf movement every few weeks and add a little signature or avatar in to say "nerf Will of the Forsaken" or "nerf Every Man For Himself." What if racials got removed? Would WoW be better or worse because of it?

I have an opinion on it that I'm going to share with you -- hopefully you'll agree. So let's weigh some arguments for removing racials...

Cons (removing racials would be bad):

Identity

The forsaken just wouldn't be the same without those three translucent exclamation points. Before I played WoW, I saw a video of an orc using Blood Fury, and I was amazed. The animation looks so cool, and you can get it at level one! Every time I see a tauren shaman run to me, I instinctively jump behind a pillar. It'd be hard for me to get it out of my system that he can't War Stomp anymore.

Continue reading Blood Sport: Should racials be removed?

Filed under: PvP, Blood Sport (Arena PvP)

Blood Sport: Should racials be removed? originally appeared on WoW.com on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Totem Talk: Leveling as restoration
(Mar 09, 10)
Want to be a sultan of swing healing? A champion of Chain Heal? Totem Talk: Restoration will show you how. Brought to you by Joe Perez, otherwise known as Lodur from World of Matticus and the For The Lore podcast.

Three years ago if you had mentioned to anyone you were going to level as a healing spec, they would have scoffed at you and called you ambitious or question your sanity. It was not a very common occurrence and if someone mentioned that was how they leveled, it was often asked how long it took. Two years ago it was slightly more common to see people leveling as a healing spec. With the amount of quests and gear available for each dungeon in Burning Crusade, healers were in hot demand to go forth with a heroic party and clear these zones out. Leveling was still slow going when compared to DPS, but you could do it. When Wrath of the Lich King came out things were a lot easier for healers than in previous content if they decided to level in their healing spec, but it was still slower than if you were a DPS spec. Instances still were healer friendly, but while questing there were several NPC that you just couldn't kill without being DPS. Now things have changed and it is easier than ever to level as a healer!

Continue reading Totem Talk: Leveling as restoration

Filed under: Shaman, (Shaman) Totem Talk

Totem Talk: Leveling as restoration originally appeared on WoW.com on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Big Crits, a new WoW reality series
(Mar 09, 10)

At the end of the summer last year I had this crazy idea: to make a TV show about a raiding guild. I was inspired by the relationships and interactions in my current guild and how much they impacted me personally -- both good and bad. I fleshed out the idea over beers (many beers) with some friends. We talked about logistics, equipment, participation, but most importantly, the goal. I wanted the show to be about the people, to be about the interaction between the raiders. And I don't mean ninja-looting drama-mama QQing. I wanted to explore the things that go on in a group of people trying to work together online to accomplish something great. There's more to raiding than drama. Things like, as I'm fond of saying, "the soul crushing 1% wipes and the absolute exhilaration of taking down a new boss for the first time."

I worked on a pitch and reached out to friends & family in "the biz" but I spent most of my time trying to explain concepts such as a "raid" or a "boss" or that when I said "guild" I meant a group of MMO gamers and not an actor's or writer's union -- which made for some very confusing conversations at first. Frustrated, I wasn't sure I'd ever convince anyone this was an idea worth doing. But I knew it was.

Continue reading Big Crits, a new WoW reality series

Filed under: Guilds, News items

Big Crits, a new WoW reality series originally appeared on WoW.com on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Updates and clarifications on the mastery system
(Mar 09, 10)
We posted yesterday about some of the aspects of the mastery system, a new feature in Cataclysm that will allow players to obtain bonuses to whatever talent tree they choose to follow. Today Eyonix answered a few questions to clarify the system and how it will work with regards to specific classes and abilities:
  • 1. 28/28/20 spec. Does mastery on gear affect both highest trees or give no benefit at all?
  • 2. How are ferals and Dks as tanks working with mastery system in place? Are they to care about it for threat or do they have separate bonuses.
  • 3. How are the non-pure classes going to be balanced against those with a full 76 point passive benefit? Balance, enhancement(not so much), shadow, feral, ele, resto, holy and Ret all have this issue.
  • 4. Hybrids who use spells not improved by their spec on occasion such as heals or the extra lava burst are feeling that their non-specced spells are going to be extremely weak as compared to now.
Check out the answers after the break!

Continue reading Updates and clarifications on the mastery system

Filed under: News items, Cataclysm

Updates and clarifications on the mastery system originally appeared on WoW.com on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 18:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Lichborne: The rise of PvE frost DPS on the patch 3.3.3 PTR
(Mar 09, 10)

Welcome to Lichborne, your weekly look at the world of the death knight.

With Patch 3.3.3 on the PTR and looking closer and closer to going live, the buzz around death knights is just about where you'd expect it to be, squarely on the frost talent tree. This is especially true of frost DPS. While it once reigned supreme as a cornerstone of the famous 39/32 builds, it's fallen out of favor, and even Threat of Thassarian hasn't been enough to keep it from being consigned to the status of third rate, a pariah from any raid that already has a shaman to provide Windfury.

Blizzard's obviously dedicated to getting the tree properly buffed in Patch 3.3.3, but have they succeeded? Let's take a look at the frost tree thus far, and what we may be doing with our own builds and talents in a few weeks' time.

Continue reading Lichborne: The rise of PvE frost DPS on the patch 3.3.3 PTR

Filed under: Death Knight, (Death Knight) Lichborne

Lichborne: The rise of PvE frost DPS on the patch 3.3.3 PTR originally appeared on WoW.com on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Lawbringer: Euro-ver my head, contract law edition
(Mar 09, 10)
Welcome to the Lawbringer, your weekly stop at the intersection of law and Warcraft. I am your crossing guard, trying desperately to not get run over myself.

First, I want to apologize for being a day late, but my week was spent preparing for the Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam. Unfortunately, the test was channeling Illidian. If I get a letter in a few weeks saying that I'm not yet responsible enough to be a lawyer, I will not be surprised.

Anyway, on to this week's promised topic: European Contract Law. We'll be approaching the same topics we covered on my side of the pond: contract formation, contract termination, and unfairness. These concepts form the basis of players' relationship with Blizzard, just like they do in the US. Whether Blizzard has the right to publish information about your avatars, ban you from the game, delete your achievements, or force you to resolve disputes in a mediation are all affected by the laws of the country in which a player resides.

The first challenge in this column is that there traditionally has been no "European" contract law; these issues were decided at a national level through the home country's common or civil law system. Trans-nationalism being all the rage, however, the politicos of the European Union have formed the Commision on European Contract Law which has drafted Principles of European Contract Law. A Common Frame of Reference "toolbox" to help various European legislatures standardize the various laws of contract across the continent to match these Principles. What this means, though, is that this law is in a state of flux -- and I am not a barrister, abogada, rechtsanwalt, advokat, or avocat. Take everything in this column with a big grain of salt. And possibly a margarita to wash it down.

Continue reading The Lawbringer: Euro-ver my head, contract law edition

Filed under: The Lawbringer

The Lawbringer: Euro-ver my head, contract law edition originally appeared on WoW.com on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

15 Minutes of Fame: The Syndicate's 14 years of gaming
(Mar 09, 10)
15 Minutes of Fame is WoW.com's look at World of Warcraft personalities of all shapes and sizes -- from the renowned to the relatively anonymous, from the remarkable to the player next door. Tip us off to players you'd like to hear more about.

The Syndicate first came to our attention a couple of weeks ago, when we noted the meta-guild's 14th anniversary in The Classifieds. Its 600+ members (across both World of Warcraft and Ultima Online) enjoy ties to all sorts of intriguing gaming and charitable projects: writing strategy guides, beta testing, games consulting, raising support for military troops through gaming. A visit to their web site yields pages and pages on the group's history and projects.

Considering such massive numbers inside such a sprawling organization, you might be tempted to conclude that these gamers must be very, very "hardcore." Not so fast. In fact, The Syndicate's in-game philosophy uplifts long-standing, person-to-person relationships and group fun above all else. Outside projects such as games consulting and strategy guides focus on material for the typical gamer - that's right, not the bleeding edge. We dug up what's going on inside this gargantuan guild in an interview with Dragons, its founding GM, president and CEO.

Continue reading 15 Minutes of Fame: The Syndicate's 14 years of gaming

Filed under: Guilds, Interviews, 15 Minutes of Fame

15 Minutes of Fame: The Syndicate's 14 years of gaming originally appeared on WoW.com on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Reader UI of the Week: Nirayá's UI
(Mar 09, 10)

Each week WoW.com brings you a fresh look at reader submitted UIs. Have a screenshot of your UI you want to submit? Send your screenshots, along with info on what mods you're using, to readerui@wow.com.

This week on Reader UI of the Week, you, my adoring fanbase, get to indulge my minimalist side for one more week before I get to some quirky user interfaces. Nirayá of Proudmoore sent in this fantastic mage user interface that blew my mind, so I thought I would share. Sweet Baby Titans, is that ONE action bar? Let's find out.

Continue reading Reader UI of the Week: Nirayá's UI

Filed under: Add-Ons, Reader UI of the Week

Reader UI of the Week: Nirayá's UI originally appeared on WoW.com on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Queue: Keeping it classy
(Mar 09, 10)

Welcome back to The Queue, WoW.com's daily Q&A column where the WoW.com team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Alex Ziebart will be your host today.

We haven't kicked off The Queue with reading music in awhile, so let's change that. Once upon a time I posted some Rhett and Link for you, an internet-based musical comedy duo, and people seemed to enjoy it. So here's more! Behold, the T-Shirt War. T-Shirt War was actually my second choice behind the far more hilarious Butt Drugs, but perhaps Butt Drugs aren't as safe for work. Still, funny stuff. Butt Drugs.

The Queue is actually a bit short today, since a majority of the questions we've been receiving require rolling bones and gazing into a crystal ball to answer. If you have a non-Cataclysm question for us, please ask in the comments below!

busuan asked...

"Why is there almost no sound effect for a warrior's shouts? In Diablo II, the similar shouts come with awesome sound effects. But in WoW, warrior shouts merely generate a visual cue. If Blizzard though effect were annoying to other people, they could have restricted the effects as self-only."

Continue reading The Queue: Keeping it classy

Filed under: The Queue

The Queue: Keeping it classy originally appeared on WoW.com on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

MMO Roundup: Olympic medalists, Warhammer 40k, and more
(Mar 09, 10)
Sometimes you'd like to know that there are other MMOs out there, right? It's not all WoW, all the time! Our sister site Massively can provide you with everything you need to know about all of the other MMOs around, past, present and future. Check out this roundup of the latest news from the wider MMO world, including previews of Aion's patch 1.9 (as well as their 2.0 update), 10 reasons why you should be playing Lord of the Rings Online, the story of the EVE playing Olympic medalist, and much more.

10 reasons why LotRO is worth picking up over newer MMOs
With all of the more recent MMOs around, why should you try Lord of the Rings Online? Or how can you convince your friends to try a three year old MMO? Check out these ten reasons why the game is worth playing.
Will farmers finally be the death of WoW?
 Activision-Blizzard's annual 10k report, filed on March 1, is chock full of worrisome anecdotes about the future of their massively multiplayer behemoth as well as some interesting tidbits regarding payment models. Mobile games like iPhone apps and social networking games such as Farmville are cited as a potential risk for the company.
Massively Speaking episode 91
Massively Speaking, Massively's MMO podcast, is back this week with episode 91 as Shawn Schuster and Rubi Bayer discuss the week's MMO news. Topics include Dungeons and Dragons Online's success with their new business model, LotRO's Vol III Book 1 update, the latest Guild Wars skill balance uproar and much more.
EVE player wins silver medal at the Winter Olympics
It's not every day you run across an Olympic Medalist in your favourite MMO, much less gank them and take their stuff. For some EVE Online players, that opportunity may be closer than they think. With the conclusion of the recent Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics, it came to light that one of the medal winners is not just an EVE player but also an avid PvP junkie. Casting off the stereotype of MMO gamers as unfit and demotivated, Kjetil Jansrud is a professional alpine skier at the peak of physical fitness.

Continue reading MMO Roundup: Olympic medalists, Warhammer 40k, and more

Filed under: MMO Roundup

MMO Roundup: Olympic medalists, Warhammer 40k, and more originally appeared on WoW.com on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

WoW Moviewatch: Raid Eats 2: Cake!
(Mar 09, 10)
Bullworth is now following up the hit machinima Raid Eats with Raid Eats 2: Cake! He's certainly tipping his hat to other games (and maybe the recent announcement about Portal 2) with his subject matter, as he assures his loyal viewers that the cake is absolutely not a lie.

I actually think the sequel is better than the original Raid Eats. The camera work and storyline seems to flow a little more naturally, and the voice acting feels like it's stepped up a notch. The video is short and fun, and pleasant to watch. It's certainly not high-end story based machinima, but Raid Eats 2: Cake! is a lot of fun.

I like the segmentation and pop-in work Bullworth is doing. He does a lot to add meta-commentary by dragging in recipes from the side of the viewing screen, and I appreciate that extra little emphasis it places on his plot.

Interested in the wide world of machinima? We have new movies every weekday here on WoW Moviewatch! Have suggestions for machinima we ought to feature? Toss us an e-mail at machinima AT wow DOT com.

Filed under: WoW Moviewatch

WoW Moviewatch: Raid Eats 2: Cake! originally appeared on WoW.com on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Ask a Faction Leader: Master Mathias Shaw
(Mar 09, 10)

WoW.com's prestige in the community has afforded us the opportunity to speak with major Azerothian leadership figures on any subject, and we're letting you, the reader, Ask a Faction Leader!

We recently spoke to Sylvanas Windrunner, Banshee Queen of the forsaken, and she shed light on several key issues, including undieting, hunter training, building this city, and bouncing idly. In this installment of Ask a Faction Leader, we'll be sitting with Master Mathias Shaw, leader of Stormwind's SI:7, covert agents of the crown.

Our first reader question...


Hello Mathias,

Can you describe the feeling you got when you found out that you couldn't beat your granny?

Verenor, Warlock - Defias Brotherhood

Mathias responds:

Gahaha, that's what I like to see! Pullin' no punches, right from the get-go. Hard-hittin' questions.

Continue reading Ask a Faction Leader: Master Mathias Shaw

Filed under: RP, Ask a Faction Leader

Ask a Faction Leader: Master Mathias Shaw originally appeared on WoW.com on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Around Azeroth: Dragons in the mist
(Mar 09, 10)
Deadlylupine of on Balnazzar snapped this shot of her drake rising through the mist in Terokkar Forest. "I happened to be flying in lovely Terokkar, and my Nether Drake was just so overwhelmed with light, he had to have a celebratory roar," she wrote.

Do you have any unusual, beautiful or interesting World of Warcraft images that are just collecting dust in your screenshots folder? We'd love to see them on Around Azeroth! Sharing your screenshot is as simple as e-mailing aroundazeroth@wow.com with a copy of your shot and a brief explanation of the scene. You could be featured here next!

Remember to include your player name, server and/or guild if you want it mentioned. Please include the word "Azeroth" in your post so it does not get swept into the spam bin. We strongly prefer full screen shots without the UI showing -- use alt-Z to remove it. Please, no more battleground scoreboards, Val'kyr on mounts, or pictures of the Ninja Turtles in Dalaran. Older screenshots can be found here.

Gallery: Around Azeroth

Filed under: Around Azeroth

Around Azeroth: Dragons in the mist originally appeared on WoW.com on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

WoW.com's Weekly Comic: Byron, the Tauren Rogue!
(Mar 09, 10)
Welcome to another edition of the WoW.com Weekly Comic -- Byron the Tauren Rogue!

Our bovine hero has managed to make a getaway -- those poor cows are going to miss oggling that strapping young bull...oh well. Stormwind awaits its unexpected plundering!

Check out the full version right here, and tune in next Tuesday morning for a new page! You can also check out all the previous pages in the gallery below.

Gallery: Byron The Tauren Rogue

Filed under: WoW.com's Weekly Comic

WoW.com's Weekly Comic: Byron, the Tauren Rogue! originally appeared on WoW.com on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Breakfast Topic: Favorite names
(Mar 09, 10)
Our very own Gregg Reece is a new father, which got me thinking about names for babies. Some names are just plain awful, like my poor father-in-law named Hubert. Some names are passed down in families, with varying degrees of suitability -- naming my sister after our great-grandfather probably wouldn't have worked if he hadn't been named Hillary. There are names that leave you with pity for the poor kid saddled such bizarre parents that would inflict such names upon their kids: Kal-el Cage, Apple Paltrow. And then there are names which are just plain awesome: Magnus Magnussen, Harold Bluetooth, Rip Torn.

The Warcraft universe is full of names, some strange, some familiar. We have the parody names: Vana Grey, Xiggs Fuselighter (above), Linken. There are the homages to literature: Morgan Stern, the putative author of The Princess Bride, and Commander Falstaav, a joke on Shakespeare's Falstaff. There appear to be family names like Anduin. There are the cultural patterns that allow for easy guessing of an NPC's race -- who's the gnome? Bloodhoof or Mechatorque?

So what names from the World of Warcraft would you a) be proud to name your own children, or b) refuse to inflict upon an innocent child? Calia or Jaina wouldn't sound too far out of place in the real world, but I can't imagine meeting a Garrosh or Brann. (Especially, God forbid, a Brann Muffin.) Leave your thoughts! Warning: This is not a raffle to name Gregg's baby, as Lyssa Rhiannon has a name.

Filed under: Breakfast Topics

Breakfast Topic: Favorite names originally appeared on WoW.com on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Tuesday Morning Post: Beginning of the end edition
(Mar 09, 10)
Happy Tuesday morning, everyone! I name this week's post not in a negative sense, but in a sense that it does seem like we've officially started winding down Wrath. Specifically, we recently saw the addition of the first edition of the Icecrown Citadel raid buff. It has started at 5%, but will eventually rise to 30%, allowing more and more people to power through the dungeon and see Arthas fall at their feet. It's the end of an era, but I feel the start of a much better one.

Of course, that's not to say we're completely out of Wrath yet. We have at least 2 more patches to go, and Patch 3.3.3 PTR news keeps rolling in, as does tons of other news. You'll have the usual maintenance break from WoW this morning, 5 AM to 11 AM pacific, so you have time to get caught up. As usual, here's our list of some of the major stuff from the past 7 days or so:

Continue reading Tuesday Morning Post: Beginning of the end edition

Filed under: Realm Status, News items

Tuesday Morning Post: Beginning of the end edition originally appeared on WoW.com on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Patch 3.3.3 background downloader active
(Mar 08, 10)
The background downloader has gone active tonight with a 77.5 MB partial file for the Patch 3.3.3 patching process. Don't expect the patch to go live tomorrow, of course (if nothing else, scheduled maintenance isn't long enough), but it looks like we may be within a few weeks of some nice new patch goodness, including the rise of DK frost dual wielding, Frozen Orbs, and the abolishment of battleground marks.

For a round up of all of the changes, big and small, coming with the patch, be sure to check our Patch 3.3.3 Info page.
Patch 3.3.3 brings about small but noteworthy changes to the World of Warcraft. From a faster CoT, to putting those old Frozen Orbs to better use, to changes to the auction house -- there's several things all WoW players need to know. WoW.com's Guide to Patch 3.3.3 will keep you up to date!

Filed under: News items

Patch 3.3.3 background downloader active originally appeared on WoW.com on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 00:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Daily Blues
(Mar 08, 10)
Each day WoW.com will take you through all the blue posts and other Blizzard news from around the internet. From Ghostcrawler's latest posts to the lowdown on StarCraft II and Diablo III, we'll keep you informed.

Want fat purps from Ghost? Read on... if you dare.

Table of Contents

Continue reading The Daily Blues

Filed under: The Daily Blues

The Daily Blues originally appeared on WoW.com on Mon, 08 Mar 2010 23:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Mastery System Preview
(Mar 08, 10)
Blizzard has released a rather detailed look into a new feature coming in Cataclysm that we first heard about at BlizzCon 2009 -- the mastery system. The system will "allow players to become better at what makes their chosen talent tree cool or unique." Mastery bonuses are passive and are tied to each talent tree for every class. The more talent points you put in the tree, the more your mastery for that tree will increase. Each talent tree will have three mastery bonuses:
  • Bonus 1: Increase to damage, healing, or survivability
  • Bonus 2: Increase to a stat that's relevant to the given talent tree
  • Bonus 3: A completely unique effect to the given talent tree
The mastery statistic on gear you'll get from 80 to 85 will increase the effect of bonus #3. Mechanically, the point of the mastery system is to remove talents like "6% more damage" and regulate those effects into the entire tree.

The entire announcement from Blizzard after the break. This includes some examples of the mastery bonuses for a few talent trees.

Continue reading Mastery System Preview

Filed under: News items, Cataclysm

Mastery System Preview originally appeared on WoW.com on Mon, 08 Mar 2010 21:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Goon Squad downs Tirion Fordring
(Mar 08, 10)

Perennial pariahs Goon Squad, Horde-side on Mal'Ganis-US, have really carved out a niche for themselves in the World of Warcraft. Well, two niches. The first is a rock-solid reputation of being the foremost trolls and griefers in the MMO market, period -- a reputation perpetuated by a community that operates mostly on word-of-mouth and lovingly crafted by the guild itself. The second is providing some of the best and most hilarious WoW videos on the internet. This one is no exception -- they managed to score a victory for the Lich King by defeating the dread paladin Fordring.

It's a rare ability, possessed by Goon Squad and a few other community figures, to be able to take the building blocks of the game experience provided by Blizzard -- strictly compartmentalized and defined by sets of incontrovertible rules -- and then cobble together something wholly new and, frankly, ridiculous out of them. You're not supposed to be able to bring together two often-'shipped faction leaders for an impromptu date. You're not supposed to be able to blow the Wintergrasp fortress wall to smithereens in a minute's time. You're certainly not supposed to be able to kill the head of the Argent Crusade who, by the way, should learn to cast Consecrate.

Continue reading Goon Squad downs Tirion Fordring

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Humor

Goon Squad downs Tirion Fordring originally appeared on WoW.com on Mon, 08 Mar 2010 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Weekly Podcast Roundup: March 1st, 2010 through March 8th, 2010
(Mar 08, 10)
Every Monday evening we'll be putting out a big long list of WoW podcasts that were published the week (and weekend) before. This is the first edition of the list, so we're probably missing a few -- although our Twitter friends were very helpful in making sure we were complete as possible!

If you don't see your favorite podcast listed, just let us know in the comments. Be sure to leave a link to it and we'll pick it up next week.

All podcasts and content belong to their owners. WoW.com is not responsible for what you hear, and some of the content may not be safe for work. More after the break!

Continue reading Weekly Podcast Roundup: March 1st, 2010 through March 8th, 2010

Filed under: Weekly Podcast Roundup

Weekly Podcast Roundup: March 1st, 2010 through March 8th, 2010 originally appeared on WoW.com on Mon, 08 Mar 2010 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Patch 3.3.3 PTR: Build 11643 notes
(Mar 08, 10)
MMO Champion's got the goods on an upcoming build of patch 3.3.3.

Mounts and pets

But first, check out Lil' XT! Doesn't your Lil' KT want a lil' company? No idea where this lil' guy will come from as of yet, but it could be a future purchasable pet joining the likes of the Pandaren Monk and Lil' KT!

Both the Celestial Steed and X-53 Touring Rocket (screenshot) now have their own spells and have 310% flying speed.

Icecrown Citadel

There's been some issues with absorption effects like Power Word: Shield not benefiting from the raid buffs that Wrynn and Hellscream provide. That will be addressed shortly with patch 3.3.3.
Glyph changes

These changes could be temporary and could be reversed at any time. They're not in the official notes.

Death Knights
Priests
 Rogues


Other changes

Warlocks
  • Dark Pact now has a 100 yards range (up from 30 yards) and ignores the line of sight.
Patch 3.3.3 brings about small but noteworthy changes to the World of Warcraft. From a faster CoT, to putting those old Frozen Orbs to better use, to changes to the auction house -- there's several things all WoW players need to know. WoW.com's Guide to Patch 3.3.3 will keep you up to date!

Filed under: Priest, Rogue, Warlock, Analysis / Opinion, News items, Death Knight

Patch 3.3.3 PTR: Build 11643 notes originally appeared on WoW.com on Mon, 08 Mar 2010 18:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Photo Contest reminder: Show us your plushies
(Mar 08, 10)
The Spawn got her Wind Rider Cub on Friday and it has since been slept with, rained on and taken for a ride with Barbie. His name is now Lionel and he has become good friends with Murky the Murloc. Together they embark on great adventures and battle the nefarious deeds of the Darth Vader Happy Meal toy. (Don't get me started on the fact that McDonalds believes that Star Wars is for boys and iCarly is for girls. Seriously.)

Have you shown us your plushies yet? We have some really great entries already, but yours could be even better. You have until midnight, March 10th to send us your photos of your Plushie in the Wild and/or Plushie in Captivity. WoWTCGLoot.com has generously provided the loot codes for the prizes.

All of the contest details are after the break.

Continue reading Photo Contest reminder: Show us your plushies

Filed under: Contests

Photo Contest reminder: Show us your plushies originally appeared on WoW.com on Mon, 08 Mar 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Officers' Quarters: The A team question
(Mar 08, 10)

Every Monday Scott Andrews contributes Officers' Quarters, a column about the ins and outs of guild leadership. He is the author of The Guild Leader's Handbook, available this spring from No Starch Press.

The "A Team" -- in WoW, it's not a bunch of guys in a van who help people by . . . shooting other people. Rather, it's your best players grouped together to the exclusion of other guild members. Most guilds don't have the numbers to fill two 25-player teams, so this issue usually relates to 10-player runs. The forming of a 10-player A team can be riddled with drama. This week's e-mail asks whether allowing an A team is the right choice.

I enjoy reading your perspective on guild leadership. I'm hoping you can give us some ideas on balancing progression versus inclusion.

We are an established raiding guild that works on the top tier of content. While we are not a guild that makes server first kills, we steadily progress through the content and see hard/heroic modes on 25 man difficulty. Our raiding core is pretty solid, although there are levels of skill, from very high to adequate. We typically complete the ten man content, and use the ten mans as a base to gain experience on the twenty five mans.

Our problem mainly rests on the makeup of our ten man groups. One school wants to have the maximum number of people get in the ten man groups. This school spreads our best players among multiple groups. All of the groups have some success, but because there are weaker players included, these groups usually hit a wall on harder fights (Heroic Anub or the Wing Bosses of ICC). There is a lot of frustration on the part of our best players when this happens.

Continue reading Officers' Quarters: The A team question

Filed under: Officers' Quarters (Guild Leadership)

Officers' Quarters: The A team question originally appeared on WoW.com on Mon, 08 Mar 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Blood Pact: Be a raider not a robot
(Mar 08, 10)
Each week Dominic Hobbs brings you Blood Pact. "Alert! You are marked for extermination! Calculating force parameters... Alternative measure commencing..." ~ Void Reaver

Having been a raid leader for a long time now, I'm very keen for everyone in my raids to be aware of the strategy we plan to execute. I get pretty frustrated when people deviate from it. I'm also interested in the theory and maths involved in maximizing gear choices and spell selections. When changes to warlock spell mechanics come along I always try and calculate the impact this would have on my gameplay -- and then do some research to find out what I missed or miscalculated. I believe that entering a boss fight with these things prepared is the foundation of good raiding.

You can't live on foundations though, you need a house. Being able to execute a perfect, DPS-maximizing spell rotation on a target dummy doesn't fully prepare you for dealing with a more chaotic situation. Knowing the strategy for a fight can still leave you floundering when something forces a change to your expectations. Today I want to have a look at how to prepare for the unscripted, how to be a raider and not just a robot.

Continue reading Blood Pact: Be a raider not a robot

Filed under: Warlock, Analysis / Opinion, Raiding, (Warlock) Blood Pact

Blood Pact: Be a raider not a robot originally appeared on WoW.com on Mon, 08 Mar 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Insider Trader: End-game crafting materials 101
(Mar 08, 10)
Insider Trader is your inside line on making, selling, buying and using player-made products.

Reader Frank recently wrote me and asked for a bit of help with the "staple" products for each profession. Frank said, "Back in the days of Burning Crusade, I had a pretty good grip on the two or three raw materials that went across each of the professions. Are there equivalents to that kind of thing now in Wrath?" I assume that Frank was probably asking specifically about the crafting professions (like Blacksmithing or Tailoring), and not quite so much the gathering professions. A little surprisingly, he's not the only person to ask me about that this month.

It's a little late in the expansion to do a basic guide to Wrath of the Lich King materials, but Cataclysm is going to mean one thing for certain. Everyone will rush to get their professions to a relatively max level, so that they can immediately roll over into Cataclysm recipes as early as possible. Put that together with Frank's request and the inbound patch 3.3.3, and I figured a quick tour of each profession's most sought after raw materials might give us a little boost.

Let's take a quick tour of the crafting professions' common end-game materials.

Continue reading Insider Trader: End-game crafting materials 101

Filed under: Insider Trader (Professions)

Insider Trader: End-game crafting materials 101 originally appeared on WoW.com on Mon, 08 Mar 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

WoW Insider Show Episode 132: The Chest Hair Insider Show
(Mar 08, 10)

The WoW Insider Show podcast broadcast this Saturday, and your hosts Sacco and Rossi welcomed UI/addon columnist Mat McCurley on the show to talk about Cataclysm's big stat overhaul and the latest authenticator attacks, as well as answer some reader emails and talk about chest hair.

Get the podcast:

[iTunes] Subscribe to the WoW Insider Show directly in iTunes.
[RSS] Add the WoW Insider Show to your RSS aggregator.
[MP3] Download the MP3 directly.

Listen here on the page:

Filed under: Podcasts, Podcasting, WoW Insider Show

WoW Insider Show Episode 132: The Chest Hair Insider Show originally appeared on WoW.com on Mon, 08 Mar 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments
Donations
Help with keeping site and Ventrilo running
Shoutbox
 
Selindia: Happy Birthday Icone
 
Sephrenia: Happy Birthday Icone lol
 
Yorkey: Happy Birthday Icone
 
Yorkey: i've kinda of given him two instead now
 
Selindia: Yorkey lets take it back then.
 
Yorkey: well barkie is pretty cool, he can have two birthdays
 
Sephrenia: It's not actually Barkie's birthday until March 16th, somehting gone wrong when he registered I think smile
 
Selindia: Happy Birthday Barkie!!
 
Yorkey: happy birthday barkie
 
Naval: still missing a tank & healer for tonight's raid
 
Selindia: Gratz Kaosen
 
Phox: Grats Kaosen
 
Yorkey: happy birthday Kaosen
 
Yorkey: happy birthday Kaosen
 
Yorkey: have people gone to sleep?
 
Naval: he had a nice raid yesturday, we got to P3 couple of times (proffesor), he should be die tonight
 
Sephrenia: Happy Birthday Hocho smile
 
Yorkey: Happy birthday hoch
 
Yorkey: happy birthday harpya
 
Yorkey: nice work
You do not have the required permissions to shout
Shout History
Wow Activity
Malusvis has been demoted to rank 4.
 
Zulan has been demoted to rank 6.
 
Kaosen has been demoted to rank 4.
 
Dunnomyname has been demoted to rank 4.
 
Khadaj has been demoted to rank 4.
 
Limpanio has been demoted to rank 4.
 
Tjuvskytten has been promoted to rank 3.
 
Harpya has been demoted to rank 4.
 
Thunoid has been demoted to rank 4.
 
Kursula has been demoted to rank 4.
 
Icone has been promoted to rank 1.
 
Limpanio has been promoted to rank 3.
 
Bergans has been promoted to rank 4.
 
Ciaphus has been promoted to rank 3.
 
Celandra has been promoted to rank 4.
 
Naval has been promoted to rank 1.
 
Pana has been promoted to rank 1.
 
Imli has been promoted to rank 3.
 
Xanetia has been promoted to rank 1.
 
Selindia has been demoted to rank 2.
 
more
Who's Online
You must be logged in to use the Private Messaging System.
1 Member online.