So 2010 is coming to a rapid close. But what does 2011 hold in store for us World of Warcraft players? We already have Cataclysm, what more could we ask for?
Well – since we’re all busy making resolutions and claiming we’re going to lose weight or get to the gym or something else like that, I was curious what some of us were planning in terms of Warcraft resolutions – things we wanted to see 2011 bring to us, or things we wanted to do with a new year and a fresh start. So what did I do? I asked Twitter, of course!
I want my ‘mad scientist’ of a huntress to be a Professor, of course!
…and camels! CAMELS FOR EVERYONE, EVERYWHERE! They are so cute!
And I’d really like to kill Deathwing. Not because I’m a big raider, but, damnit it’s PERSONAL this time.
Personally, I’m going to make up for only getting two toons to the level cap in Lich King. The others were all SO CLOSE.
As for me? My Warcraft resolution is to experiment with some classes that I had normally thought were practically unplayable by my play style: that means I need to get back to leveling my Shaman, and maybe try out a Druid. I’m also planning to hit the level cap with a few more characters this time around – by the time Cataclysm hit, I only had 2 level 80s and a ton of lower level alts. I’d love to have some variety, fill different needs in heroics and raids.
Perhaps my biggest resolution though is to get back to playing more often! RL just keeps getting in the way, and I want to dive back in full force now that Cataclysm is out. I’ve been away too long, and my enemies have grown soft, as it were.
What are some of your 2011 World of Warcraft resolutions? Let us know in the comments!
Now that we’ve all had our noses down in Cataclysm for at least a couple of weeks and more and more level 85s are beginning to appear all over the World of Warcraft, I have to ask the question: are you pushing your main to 85 first, or are you spending more time leveling a new race or playing a new race/class combination that you weren’t able to play before?
News has it that the World First Level 85 was earned inside of 6-hours from the game’s official launch, meaning that before most of us even woke up or slogged through the queues to get a chance to play, someone had already hit the level cap again. Granted, Realm First titles varied across servers, but it certainly seems like a number of people are rushing to the finish line so they can get started running dungeons and heroics.
Then again, there are other folks I’ve spoken to who are so busy happily leveling Goblins and Worgen to give a damn about the current state of endgame – claiming there’ll be plenty of time to hit the level cap, and there’s no sense in driving to 85 when the expansion is still brand new.
What do you think? How have you been spending your time in Cataclysm, or how do you intend to spend it when you finally install it? Shout it out in the comments.
Throngs of people lined up outside of electronics stores and game retailers, people fidgeting with the digital download to try and make it go faster, people rushing into game to get world firsts – it’s on, folks, Cataclysm is here and officially launched!
Me? I’m still waiting for my copy of the collector’s edition to be delivered before I can crack it open and install it. If you’re curious what’s inside the collector’s edition, you can check out these awesome unboxing photos over at Gearlog that we posted about yesterday. Maybe you’re waiting eagerly for the UPS of FedEx truck to come by your home or business too? Maybe you took a few days off in anticipation of the event: over at the World of Warcraft Livejournal Community there are tons of people who didn’t sleep at all last night and are already in-game and have been since midnight PST last night!
So what will you do first? Head to Hyjal and start kicking butt under the shade of the world tree? Or perhaps you’re off to Vashj’ir to beat up on the Naga? Or better still, maybe you’re starting the game from the beginning with a shiny new Goblin or Worgen? Let us know what you’re up to in the comments!
So now that the world has shattered, Deathwing is free from the elemental plane, there’s a lot of brand new smoldering gaping holes in the ground where lots of cities and zones used to be, and the battle between Horde and Alliance are themselves burning anew, how’s it going?
Seriously, earlier this week, most of us went to bed on Monday with one Azeroth – old Azeroth, the one we’ve known, many of us, for the past 6 years – and we woke up the next day to the world breaking while the servers were down. When the servers came back up, we got a brand new world, brand new zones, new character class and race combinations, and more. We essentially got a brand new game.
So how are you adjusting? Still overwhelmed with all of the changes? Already happily leveling your new gnome mage or tauren paladin? Or maybe you’re still keeping your head down and waiting for the fuss to blow over and the queues to dial down so you can get into your server? Sound off in the comments!
Okay, for those of you who read the title and were looking for the song that it matches up to, here you go. Still, while we’re all sitting here, waiting for the servers to come back up, waiting for our beloved Azeroth to change forever, and waiting for The Shattering, I figured I would ask everyone what they’ll miss from old Azeroth. You can see a lot of those responses over at Twitter if you’re following me (I’m @halophoenix,) but I asked the Twitterati what they would miss the most, and the responses were great.
I started the discussion with one of mine:
@halophoenix says: think the Crystal Caverns in Un’ Goro were the first place I saw and said “wow, that’s really really gorgeous.” #goodbyeoldazeroth
Here are a few or the responses I got:
@immamoonkin asked: “I wonder what’ll happen if I jump off this big tree.” #goodbyeoldazeroth
Which of course got her, myself, and a few other people talking about the quintessential newbie Night Elf experience: finding the branches off of the World Tree in Teldrassil and jumping off. The first time I jumped off was the first time I landed somewhere that I couldn’t wisp back to my body. I was so freaked out I thought I had broken the game. I even logged off for a while hoping I’d be able to sort it out when I came back. Yup – completely forgot about the Spirit Healer. We also discussed that first epic ride from Darkshore into Ashenvale, and the huge, towering, bright trees and winding paths we encountered.
Speaking of which, one of my friends had a minor freak-out about the event, and explained there were a number of things she’d miss about old Azeroth:
@tongarityphoon: – EVERYTHING. I don’t even know. Darnassus, Teldrassil in general. ASHENVALE. Oh my god.
– Mene hit level 20 and I was so fucking PUMPED for Ashenvale, it was BEAUTIFUL and I felt so big and strong ;;
– Oh gosh, and Blackrock Depths. THE PLAGUELANDS, those were always what made me feel like I was really reaching the high levels.
– WHAT ABOUT SCHOLO dear god I three-manned that once at level 60, pre-BC.
– AND I WILL MISS STRANGLETHORN VALE. I never thought I would say that but BOOTY BAY T_T OH GOD. And the cities. THE CITIES.
– Stormwind and Darnassus not so much Ironforge OH GOD AND ORGRIMMAR and the UNDERCITY Thunder Bluff, meh. I MIGHT CRY
– THE DEEPRUN TRAM AND THE SEA CREATURES YOU CAN SEE THROUGH THE SIDES OF IT I already miss running to Ironforge as a baby for AH
– WINTERSPRING AND ITS LUDICROUS BEAUTY
You can see she’s a little distressed about the whole “end of the world” thing, but then again, who wouldn’t be?
I have to admit, I’m right there with her though – I remember the days of having to make the Wetlands run from Menethil Harbor all the way to Ironforge as a lowbie, with crocolisks on your ass the whole way. Oh, those were the days.
I took the opportunity to remind her that Orgrimmar is currently on fire. I’m not mean, am I?
@errant_pastor said: sob. uh. everything. ;_; so many goals unaccomplished. sob
And @immamoonkin had another one for me – one that reminded me of me back in the vanilla days:
@immamoonkin chimed in: I got another: “Oh… there’s a FERAL and RESTO tree? Uh… *continues to put points in balance*” #goodbyeoldazeroth
Yeah, this was me with my first hunter way back in the day. My horrifically embarrassing n00b claim to fame? For a while there I never trained traps. I was level 60, and my hunter main couldn’t lay a trap to save his life. I looked at them as optional: I didn’t NEED them for anything, and I had gotten this far without them, so…why bother? When I went into an instance with a PUG and they asked me to lay a trap to CC a mob, I sheepishly admitted I didn’t know the skill. Yeah, you can imagine how well that went over. But it did get me to train them up right quick!
@Raevyns had this to say over IM:
– The calm green purple of the forests around Auberdine..
– Hours spent in the Barrens, killing Quillboar…
– And those loooong twilight’s hammer quests in Auberdine and Silithus…
– Being pounced by Tiny in Ungoro
I wish I could say that Quillboar were going away, or their horrific dying scream would be changing, but alas, I know from what I’ve read about the Tauren starting quests now that we’ll still hear from the Quillboar, whether we like it or not.
And oh, “Tiny.” Tiny was our name for any of the three devilsaurs that roam Un’Goro Crater – their massive hulking frames scaring the bejeezus out of characters who ventured into the crater for the first time. They’re huge, they make the ground shake, and they had a HUGE aggro range. Yup – when you’re level appropriate, those guys are seriously OP.
We waxed rhapsodic about the time in the game when you HAD to get faction with the Timbermaw to get through their tunnel, and that was pretty much the only way to progress in the game – sure you could try and do other things, but all of your level-appropriate quests were in Winterspring, and well – good luck getting there if you weren’t a Druid.
My friend Syddie took the high road though, and reminded us to not look back, but look forward to all of the new and wondrous things we would see in Cataclysm!
@thesyddiegirl said: I’m going to miss being able to somewhere and have certain memories tied to it but really looking forward to changes as well!
– There’s just too much that is new and exciting and revitalizing for the game for me to fuss about things that are going away.
She has a good point! The world will change, but now there’ll be much much more to explore and see!
So what are some of your memories of old Azeroth? What will you miss the most, and what will you be looking forward to as soon as the shattering is all finished and the realms come back up again? Let us know in the comments!
So the end is near, the elementals have started attacking, and the cultists are making their voices heard, and the authorities of the Azerothian factions and groups are busy making sure that the cultists don’t get enough of a voice to turn people to their side, or frighten the masses into panic. And in the middle of it all, you’re there to help.
Now that the world events are starting – the ones that you know already will inevitably lead to Cataclysm – what do you think? Are you ready for the expansion? Do you just want it all over with so the fun can begin? Maybe you’re not even looking at it until the expansion launches fully?
Sound off in the comments – let us know how the end times are working out for you!
So Blizzcon this year has come and gone, and not without some pretty big announcements. While there was nothing seriously earthshattering that we didn’t expect, the con did give the community some new ways to interact with Blizzard developers, outed the fact that we’ll see some new music from Blizzard soon (and in-game music will be available to buy as sheet music, too!) Cataclysm is going to be as epic as everyone thought it would be, and there are even more changes in store for us very soon.
What did you think? What are some of your takeaways from Blizzcon 2010? Let us know what you thought of the show – even if you didn’t go – in the comments!
So it might still be a little early to ask the question we always ask after every major content patch or series of changes, but we’re going to ask it anyway: How’s that patch 4.0.1 working out for you?
See that image up there? If you haven’t been paying attention, Druids lost the ability to permemently stay in the Tree of Life form, and to boot, they lost the familiar old stubble-legged tree that we’ve come to know and love. Now, when they turn into a tree, they become the model you see above (with different colors to match their character appearance) and can only stay in the form for 30 seconds. Makes staying in tree form during boss fights pretty difficult, don’t you think?
In 4.0.1 we essentially all got a brand new game. Add-ons are still largely broken for a large part, the UI and graphics have been updated remarkably, Archeology has been added to the game, and all in all the groundwork has been laid for Cataclysm to be released.
In the interim though, what do you think? How have your characters been adjusting to the changes? Any highs or lows to report? Are all of your add-ons still busted or did you make it through the changes unscathed? Sound off in the comments!
One of the things I’ve missed doing is taking part in the Shared Topic discussions over at the Blog Azeroth forums. I’ve done it before here several times, and it’s been a lot of fun; now it’s worth looking back to the WoW blogging community again for some ideas, inspiration, and engagement in between trying to cover WoW-related news and events.
So, with no further ado, this week’s shared topic is What’s in a Name?, submitted by Llani of the blog Pocket Heals, who says:
What takes the longest to choose, is the first thing people see, and is the one thing they always remember about you and your character?
Your name.
How did you decide upon the name for your character(s)? Did you delve into Norse, Greek, or Roman mythology? Did you choose a name from one of your family members? Did you mash the “Random” name generator button in vain until you stumbled upon something you liked? Is your name a play on aspects of your class, using spells or other traits? Did you play around with syllables, vowels, and consonants until you found something that you loved?
How long did it take you to come up with your name? Do all of your characters share the same ‘theme’ or naming convention? Have you ever run into someone who had a similar name? How did you feel? Does your character have a partner with “the other half” to your name (such as “Salt” and “Pepper”). Do any of your characters have a “themed” guild that goes along with your name? Do you have a nickname that your guild, friends, or significant other has given your character?
Has your character name become your online persona, or maybe the other way around?
Do you have any tips for naming your characters in WoW, or any other game? Resources, name generators, mythology websites, sources of inspiration, etc.
If you are an avid roleplayer, how was your name decided upon by family/friends? Did your character choose the name later in life or were they given it at birth? There are whole stories behind naming/birthday celebrations that I am sure are floating around out there.
So much can be said about names. What does yours say?
The first thing I try to do when I roll a new character is to see if I can name one after celestial objects, many of which have Roman or Greek mythological roots. I start looking through Wikipedia for the names of moons of Saturn, for example, or Jupiter and Neptune – asteroids with names, and stars and galaxies. I have characters name “Anake” and “Oberon” and “Psamathe,” for example. If I can find an astronomical name that sounds nice, I’ll use it. That’s kind of my first line of defense when rolling a new character – looking for celestial objects I can match a character up to that don’t sound silly or often-used, like the names of planets in our solar system or frequently cited objects in science-fiction.
Still, I’m clearly not the only person who thinks this way, since I frequently try to roll new characters and find all of the names I can think of or research are taken. If I can’t come up with anything, I start reaching farther into mythology. If I still can’t find anything, I’ll start reaching in general. For example, my current main, “Shoryu,” was named while I was watching someone play Street Fighter Alpha while trying to come up with a name for my character. I remembered a while ago from the game pamphlet that shipped with my old SNES copy of Street Fighter II Turbo that “Sho-ryu-ken,” stood for “Rising Dragon Fist,” and thought it would be cool to name my character “Rising Dragon” in whatever fictional psuedo-japanese the game employed.
My bank alt, “Iczier,” was a tribute to a really old anime series I watched years ago, called Iczier One.
In all cases, I try to find a name that would match up with the gender and the race of the character I’m rolling, even if there isn’t a consistent theme all of the time. My very first character was a Tauren Druid, and since the Tauren remind me so much of Native Americans, I wanted to find a name that wasn’t contrived or misappropriative: a stumbled on “Mahota,” while browsing a list of names on the Web.
Still, I agree with Llani: your character’s name is one of the few things people will remember about you, and the one thing they see all of the time that distinguishes you: much more-so than yoru character’s appearance or gear. What about you? How do you come up with your character’s names? Do you have any stories about how you named your main, or the theme you use for all of your alts? Share your story in the comments!
After all, there’s not a lot going on in the World of Warcraft right now, so who could blame you if you’ve been taking time off of the game while waiting for Cataclysm to ship. Have you been playing? How have you been passing the time?
A lot of other WoW bloggers I read have suggested that now’s the time to run as many randoms as possible, as many heroics as possible, and load up on badges and gear and heirlooms because they’ll all be more valuable as the expansion approaches, and they’ll all help you level from 80-85 or start new characters after Cataclysm.
I on the other hand, saddled with a mostly inactive guild that was never raiding class (we were social more than anything) and only a few friends who still play the game, have largely been taking the time off and away from the game (at least until I’m blessed by the Blizzard angels with a beta key.) until the expansion comes out.
So what about you? Has your guild been trying to max out as many characters as possible in preparation for the upcoming expansion and changes? Or have you been leveling alts as much as possible? Maybe you’ve all but abandoned the game for the time being and plan to come back when Cataclysm launches? Let us know how you’ve been passing the time!
