Starting in 1996, Alexa Internet has been donating their crawl data to the Internet Archive. Flowing in every day, these data are added to the Wayback Machine after an embargo period.
Once again, I would really love to see all the statistics Blizzard has as to when and where players play. When a player complains that his realm, Aggamaggan, is too low population, Drysc replies that actually, Aggamaggan isn't even in the bottom 25 realms. Aggamaggan is seeing a 55% nightly population (which means 55% of the realm's normal population is logged on at night, and Drysc says Coilfang (which drops all the way down to a 30% nightly population) could use more help.
He also says that about 200 out of the 225 realms aren't even "hitting capacity" (they've had no queues on them for a month or more), and that most of the realms fall into a "middle area" of population size, where there are enough players to keep up raiding and an economy, but not so many that it's overcrowded. It's also interesting that "overcrowded" isn't actually based on any feelings the players have (at least in this estimation-- who knows what other factors Blizzard examines to keep players happy). Instead, it's all based on the number of players each realm can hold, which was increased in the Burning Crusade. So realms that were "high pop" before BC are actually "middle pop" now-- even if you feel your realm is crowded, as long as they're no queues, Blizzard says things are fine.
And Drysc can even look up the Alliance to Horde ratio on Aggamaggan-- it's currently about 1.1:1. Warcraft Realms has a pretty good guess-timation at where realms and numbers are at, but the numbers Blizzard is collecting are probably so accurate they'd make grown statisticians weep. We've gotten small peeks at what they're tracking, but like I said, I'd love to see everything they know about us and our behavior.
Okay, so maybe we aren't quite serving up [Kaliri Stew] just yet, but new information regarding the upcoming daily cooking quests, set to arrive via patch 2.3, has surfaced on Kaliope's WoW Crafting Blog. It seems as though we will finally be getting some dailies that aren't repetitive, sending us all over Outland to complete different objectives, for varying rewards, every day.
The questgiver, "Rokk" (can't wait to smell what Rokk has cooking - sorry, I had to) sent Kaliope first to Netherstorm to gather berries. The 'fruits' of this labour? Some junk items, some meat for cooking, and a new recipe.
Frequent visitors to the official WoW forums will no doubt be familiar with the Forum Interceptor that Blizzard has in place for your "protection." Briefly, any time you click a link in a forum thread that doesn't lead to a Blizzard-owned domain, a bit of JavaScript loads an Interceptor page that tells you to be wary of keyloggers and things, and that the internet is a dangerous place. Possibly useful to people under the age of ten; otherwise, it gets old fast.
Fortunately, there are ways around it. Opening a link in a new tab (middle-click) works in most browsers. But what if you don't want to think about it all the time? Shouldn't links in the forums work just like links everywhere else on the freaking internet? Yes, they should. And that's why we have Greasemonkey.
Greasemonkey is a Firefox plug-in that lets users install userscripts that do things to websites. If that sounds vague, it is; userscripts can perform all sorts of tricks. The script we're interested in, called Shelter from a Blizzard, does precisely one thing: makes links on the WoW forums point directly to their destinations, skipping the interceptor page.
If you're running Firefox, and want this magic in your very own browser, here's what you do:
Install Greasemonkey, if you don't already have it. Once you're done installing, restart your browser.
In today's online world of MySpace and Facebook, the trend seems to be against what the media has been warning the public of for years. Don't mention your name, your school, your town; wait, I meant, please join the "School X" and "Town Y" social groups!
No one wants to feel anxious about their online identity these days. We all want to connect, to play, to share information, to put ourselves on Youtube videos, post photos, and it has even become uncool to be antsy about meeting people you met online.
Unfortunately, regardless of what we'd like to believe, stalking still happens. A high school girl was recently approached at school by a man who crossed borders and travelled hours to find her. The entire article on this bizarre event can be read here, and I'll give a quick summary and analysis.
Blizzard has put a pretty neat little Flash-y WoW Atlas online, featuring clickable and cool-looking maps of almost everything there is to find (officially) in World of Warcraft. It's a pretty solid, if basic interface, so if you're just looking for the closest profession trainer, or want to know where the latest and greatest flight paths are, you're all set.
However, there is of course lots more information online about what there is to find in Azeroth. MapWoW is a pretty invaluable unofficial resource-- it'll show you not only the Alliance and Horde flight paths and towns, but it utilizes the Google Maps API to show where Herb, Ore, and even overworld Treasure Chests show up. It's not quite as groovy as Blizzard's official interface, but there's a lot of extra info too that Blizzard doesn't want to give away.
And the other problem with the WoW Atlas is that while it's up to date for the live realms, there's stuff coming that doesn't yet appear on there. Zul'Aman is seen (just like on the ingame map), but isn't listed as a real instance in the Ghostlands. And unfortunately there's no sign at all of the Sunwell, and not a single mention of Northrend. I clicked around a while and couldn't find any easter eggs, either (unlike Blizzard's other Flash features). Still, it's a neat way to see the official side of Azeroth.
Posted Oct 24th 2007 5:05PM by David Bowers Filed under: RP
In last Sunday's All the World's a Stage column, we talked about one way to get started with roleplaying, using mainly a character description made of two simple words that highlight the essential qualities of your character, without too much concern for background and details just yet. The idea here is that you can start with a basic character idea, and fill in the details later on as you get involved with other roleplayers.
Over at WoWBlues, however, Nairuil has a different way of getting started. She has a list of questions for you to answer that are designed to help you think of your character's background, as well as give you some helpful tips for what sorts of backgrounds would be inappropriate for WoW (such as the cliche "vampire" idea), all before you actually get started roleplaying in game.
Which approach do you find more useful to you personally, and why?
First of all, I will point out that I do understand why, from a balance and game mechanics perspective, no class can use every weapon. That being said, when you consider it from an RP angle, it begins to get a bit silly. Perhaps it's not fixable, but it is at least good for a (sometimes bitter) laugh.
So the orc warlock can handle the big sticks, the small pointy sticks, but combine the two and somehow, thar be probs. Sure, if this lock can hold it in one hand, then that's doable. But two? Tiny blood elf pallies can totally handle that monster, but there's something about warlockery that changes even the big orcs into weaklings.
Why can't my holy pally hold a dagger? Come on, I promise, she won't even use it; just leech all its stats. I guess pallies just aren't subtle. At all. Attempts to teach stabby stabby by the great gurus resulted in furrowed brows, a few injuries, and several panic attacks. They're going to stick with the elaborate swinging motions, thank ya. On that note, why can't she hold a staff? Pointy staff, no problem. But stickz = idk.
Super-power gamers probably know this one already, but for my part I know this is something I always struggle with. If I have an ability or item with a cooldown of more than one minute, I find myself always hesitating to actually use it; I keep wanting to save it for that emergency moment when I'm really going to need it. The problem is that those situations don't come once every minute, or even every 5 or 10 minutes. They come unexpectedly, and often that one cooldown you've been saving for that situation isn't really enough to save you.
So, as Matticus says, "Use them. Please." It makes a lot more sense to use the cooldowns on a regular basis (like, roughly every time the cooldown is up) than it does to hardly use them at all, or only in situations where it's too late. Now, if you're like me and you think about this for a while, and reluctantly agree that yes it does make sense, then you come up with another problem that you want to use these cooldowns only at moments when it'll be most effective. On my hunter, for example, I hate to use "Bestial Wrath" (and "Beast Within") unless I believe there's at least 18 seconds left in the fight, because I hate seeing myself and my pet all Big and Red with nothing to kill!
But the plain and simple fact is, people like me need to be less stingy with cooldowns. I don't mean we should blow them at moments that don't matter, of course, rather we would do better if we used them much more often, especially when they're not absolutely necessary to succeed. They can help the various sorts of grinding, farming, and trash-mob fighting go by a bit faster, and sometimes in long boss fights you can use them more than once!
Can you think of any cooldowns that you think should be saved for that somewhat rare panic-button moment (such as a rogue's "Vanish," perhaps)? Can you think of cooldowns that you see people often forgetting or hesitating to use?
It looks like a few more changes snuck onto the patch 2.3 PTRs that didn't quite make it to the last round of patch notes, and here they are.
Rogue
Shadowstep (Subtlety) can now be used at any time, not only while stealthed. Now increases the damage and reduces the threat caused by the next damaging ability. Cooldown increased to 30 seconds. Range changed to 8-25 yards. Note was updated to reflect the most recent version on the PTR.
Engineering
Engineering potion injectors no longer require engineering skill to use.
Jumper Cables XL is no longer a trinket.
The materials required for the Field Repair Bot 110G have been simplified [and it now has 5 charges].
World Environment
Gas clouds in Nagrand now produce motes of air.
Gas clouds in Zangarmarsh now produce motes of water instead of motes of life.
So if I'm reading everything correctly, Shadowstep has been changed to reduce the threat on the next subsequent move no matter what it is (previously it was just Ambush, Garrote, or Backstab), and the cooldown has been lowered from 40 to 30 seconds (still up from 15 on the live realms). How does that sound?
And being the intrepid WoW investigator that I am, I jumped on the PTR to find the new mats on the Repair Bot. They are: Adamantite Frame, Khorium Power Core, Primal Earth (3), Handful of Fel Iron Bolts (8), Adamantite Bar (6). Additionally, the bot now seems to have 5 charges, which I don't remember from before. The previous mats were Adamantite Frame (2), Khorium Power Core, Primal Earth (4), Handful of Fel Iron Bolts (6), Fel Iron Bar (18). Here's how it compares in raw materials: the new bot requires 32 less Fel Iron Ore, four more Adamantite Ore, and two less Primal Earth. That's a nice reduction in mats, especially considering it now has five charges, which effectively makes it five times cheaper on top of whatever the mats change did.
I love it when my favorite things collide. The above clip, from Monday's episode of the excellent CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother, manages to pull in World of Warcraft in an entertaining, if slightly predictable way. From trucks to TV, this game is taking over the world, one step at a time. I won't spoil it for anyone, but watch the clip. (And then watch the show on Monday nights at 8; it could use more viewers and it's really quite good.) But what is a high-level Paladin doing in what looks like the Draenei starting zone Stranglethorn?
Jane over at Game Girl Advance recently had a fascinating debate with herself on the level of immersion experienced by WoW players. While on the one hand she says that she often does other things while playing WoW (checking her email, instant messaging her friends) she also says that about 10 percent of the game requires most of her attention. Perhaps, she asks, the non-immersive nature of the game is what makes it so popular?
But then she counters he own argument, stating that WoW is extremely immersive, sucking you in for blocks of hours at a time without you ever realizing it. I suppose I would have to agree with her, err both of her really. While I spend a lot of time alt-tabbing to check email for work while I game, I also find that WoW is the sort of game that draws you in. Not the same way a movie in a dark theater does. I wouldn't exactly say that I tend to forget the world around me, unless I'm in an intense instance group or perhaps a raid.
I think that the variety of gameplay is one of WoW's keys to success. You can dive in as deep as you like when you log in. You can log in, head to the nearest dungeon, and play for hours on end, or you can quest for 30 minutes to an hour and then go do something else. The nature of an MMO means that you will spend a lot of time playing it, but WoW doesn't require you to spend all your attention on it while you play.
Uda of Blackhand sends us this shot of a heart-warming moment in Redridge Mountains. Though we're in the middle of an Alliance town, apparently little Hilary knows no hatred for the Horde. Uda found her necklace in the lake and she rewarded him with a copper and a smile!
Do you have a unique shot of Azeroth or Outland that you'd like to show off to the rest of the world? Tell us about it by e-mailing a copy to aroundazeroth@wowinsider.com, with as much or as little detail as you'd like to share with the world!
Eyonix, Blue extraordinaire, and let players know that he has spent a decent amount of time playing the game he works on. Exactly how much? Well, his /played comes to 290 days since the game's launch, which some have figured out to be on average about 6.5 hours a day. Honestly, considering the workload he's under (he says he works at least 45 hours a week) that's a surprising amount of time spent on a game you also work on.
Some people in this industry claim that once you actually start working on video games, you will stop playing them. I've met plenty of people over the course of the last year that actually tried to talk me out of living my dream using this exact premise. But here I am, six months in, still enjoying the games I write about. Now I realize that writing about a game and dealing with its quality assurance and testing, its customer service and forum management, these are two very different things. But it looks as if Eyonix still enjoys WoW, so perhaps the jading of one's soul depends on how you perceive the game you work on. Or could it be that WoW is just that much fun?
Lavinia over on WoW Ladies found a pretty funny definition for "gold plz" that got me thinking. What if we "redefined" a few WoW phrases to make them a little more "accurate"?
PUG: (noun) A group of people who probably aren't finishing an instance today.
DEATH KNIGHT: (noun) What we'll call Ret Pallys after WotLK is released.
THE BARRENS: (noun) A section of the world where those who can't play, chat.
OVERPOWERED: (adjective) Anyone who beats me in PvP.
Those are all right, but I bet you all could come up with even better ones. Choose a term from WoW and "redefine" it to better describe what our world is really like.
Once again, I would really love to see all the statistics Blizzard has as to when and where players play. When a player complains that his realm, Aggamaggan, is too low population, Drysc replies that actually, Aggamaggan isn't even in the bottom 25 realms. Aggamaggan is seeing a 55% nightly population (which means 55% of the realm's normal population is logged on at night, and Drysc says Coilfang (which drops all the way down to a 30% nightly population) could use more help.
Okay, so maybe we aren't quite serving up [Kaliri Stew] just yet, but new information regarding the upcoming daily cooking quests, set to arrive via 
In today's online world of MySpace and Facebook, the trend seems to be against what the media has been warning the public of for years. Don't mention your name, your school, your town; wait, I meant, please join the "School X" and "Town Y" social groups! 
Blizzard has put a pretty neat little Flash-y 
In 
It looks like a few more changes snuck onto the 
Lavinia over on WoW Ladies found 
