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Insider Trader: Gatherers behaving badly

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In the spirit of Amanda's genteel post on tipping etiquette (and how social networking gives you a distinct edge), Insider Trader brings you further discussion of two of the finer points of WoW trading etiquette: node/farming etiquette and transmute etiquette. Unless you're interested in building a rep as "Internet N00b Behaving Badly," you'll want to be sure you're aware of how your actions are most likely interpreted by players around you, both in the field and back in town.

It's worth noting right off the bat that attitudes about farming etiquette vary from PvE to PvP servers, and even from server to server on the same server types. You may find yourself on a rather combative server, where crotchety players will slay players of the opposite faction before allowing them to reach a node first. On other servers (even some PvP servers), Horde and Alliance respectfully yield to whoever clears the area or arrives first at harvesting points. You'll definitely want to keep your eyes open and see what other players on your server are expecting. Try reading the server forums, too, to see if ninja-farming is a frequent bone of contention.

Continue reading Insider Trader: Gatherers behaving badly

Separating the players from their classes

One of the things I've had to force myself to do is to break my one-class specific mindset as I level alts. I played a lot or warriors as I went from server to server to play with RL friends, raid with friends from my first guild, and then join a new guild in the faction I had yet to really play. As a result, for quite a long time I saw the game entirely through a warrior's eyes: what was good for warriors was good for the game, what was bad for warriors was bad for the game. Admittedly, there are a lot of warriors. But by far the vast majority of players use mana and not rage, as an example of an aspect of the game I was unfamiliar. My first abortive character in the game was a paladin that I took to level 33 before abandoning him, and as a result I seem to have a mental block about paladins: every time I start to try and level one I stall out. (My BE pally seems stalled at 48, for example, I just never seem to play him.)

It wasn't until I started my orc shaman that I started to understand how MP/5 helps, what good Int is as a stat, the difference between caster stats and healer stats, why some weapons have equivalent damage and healing while others have a lot more healing than damage (or no damage, before the most recent patch) - I've now played two shamans to 70, but that doesn't mean I really understand how the game works for, say, mages or rogues (to name two classes I absolutely cannot play worth beans) much less druids or warlocks.

Continue reading Separating the players from their classes

How to lose in Alterac Valley



It has come to my attention, as the kind of masochist who is trying to get Gladiator's gear for five level 70's before taking them into the Arenas (one team already created and one more incoming) that I run a lot of Battlegrounds now. And of all the BG's I play in, AV is the one that seems to have all that you need for a really exhilarating, awesome good time, full of close matches and hard fought victories.

Luckily my fellow players have often stepped in to prevent any enjoyment whatsoever. Out of a sense of gratitude, I thought I would compile some of the ways my fellow Horde or Alliance (depending on who I'm playing) have conspired to help keep me safely mired in a total bog of withering boredom.

Part One - We need more armchair generals, please.

Seriously, don't actually play the game. Don't make the mistake of going out there and capturing graveyards, defending towers until they burn, or even killing enemy faction players. Don't waste your time. You're a strategist. You have to share your time tested battle plans, preferable in all caps, and leave out as many vowels as you can when you do so. "Frgt IBGY, rsh RH, DON STOP FOR TWESR." While no one in the group will know who Don Stop is, much less why he seems to be running for the office of the Twesr of all Alterac Valley, you will have managed to convey your intricate strategems to the whole battlegroup. Money and accolades will no doubt follow. It is especially important to do this as a counterpoint to six or seven other people who are offering opposing battle plans in caps, how else will you convince them of the rightness of your cause?

Continue reading How to lose in Alterac Valley

My wife likes to tame wolves in swamps

One of the more interesting facets to having a wife who plays World of Warcraft (heck, she started playing in the old Beta, way before I did) is that you find yourself taking your newly 70 Draenei Shaman into Dustwallow Marsh to spend several hours popping Heroism so that she can tame a Grimtotem Spirit Guide before it dies in seven seconds. You can see how other folks did it here and we posted a how-to here, but I never expected I'd be doing it.

It's not the first time that I've found myself doing something like this. I helped sneak into Zul'Gurub to tame windserpents, I've taken my orc warrior to Winterspring to get her Sian-Rotam (and I noticed while we were there this time to get her Juju Flurry for the tame attempt that the Ursius quest is open to Alliance now) and once or twice I may have accidentally killed Lupos before she could tame him.

Continue reading My wife likes to tame wolves in swamps

Friday at the TCG World Championships

The competitors are just getting started this morning in San Diego, but here's a wrapup of everything that went down yesterday at the WoW TCG World Championship tournament there.
Lots of fun in San Diego. Stay tuned to both Ben Drago's blog as well as Upper Deck's official coverage page for more as we head towards a $100,000 winner at the end of the weekend.

Upper Deck's WoW TCG World Championships coverage begins

Upper Deck has begun their live coverage of the biggest event the TCG has ever seen: the World Championships. They are live from San Diego, as a few hundred players are battling it out in the card game for a $100,000 prize. There are other tournaments going on there as well this weekend-- the Darkmoon Faire is in town and giving away tons of great loot. And Blizzard is there as well-- they're even giving away a Dinner with the Devs, where winners of a certain tournament can sit down and talk shop with the devs: Chris Metzen, Shawn Carnes, J. Allen Brack, Lee Sparks, Scott Mercer, Cory Stockton, Travis Day, and Tom Chilton. Artists are in the house, too: Samwise, Glenn Rane, Alex Horley-Orlandelli, Jonboy Meyers, and Dan Scott will be signing cards and doing sketches for attendees throughout the weekend. Pretty rad if you happen to be as big a fanboy/girl as we here at WoW Insider are.

Ben Drago, the manager for Organized Play (who we interviewed a while back) is also blogging live from the event, and been posting updates, both small and big, from his hotel room and the tournament floor. Expect to see lots more coverage, including photos and results, from Upper Deck on the tournament over the weekend.

And we'll have more here at WoW Insider, too-- our coverage started yesterday with an interview with one of the top TCG players, and we'll be keeping an eye on the results all weekend. And even if you're not in the tournament at all, you still have a chance to win something-- watch WoW Insider all next week for results of the tournament and our very own consolation prizes.

Time shifting


I've posted before about my insomnia and how it affects my WoW play: last night was a key example, as I ground AB marks on my Tauren Warrior, then ran Durnholde Keep on my Draenei Shaman, then went back to Arathi Basin on the bull until server shutdown.

When I play in the afternoon or evenings, my PvP experience tends to be mostly positive, with the Horde winning about as many games as we lose and giving a good showing for ourselves even when we do lose. Last night was not like that. Instead, it was the Alliance rolling over us like a crimson zerg, crushing our faces into the dirt, every AB mark I managed to collect soaked with the blood and tears of a demoralized force that actually cheered on the eventual five caps as a mercy killing. As you might expect I found it frustrating enough that I took the time off to go run an instance on my Ally shammy, which went well enough... basically it was four 70's and a 69 (me) burning our way through Durnholde Keep, remarkably little strategy or tactical application of our abilities, very much the kind of 'Hulk Smash' run I usually hate. And I hated this one, too, as they talked to Thrall before I had a chance to and so I didn't get to finish the quest, so I'll have to go back there again to get that done.

Continue reading Time shifting

You don't have to tolerate racism in WoW

As with any grouping of people online, some WoW players can perfectly sociable and respectful of others, and some can be nasty, offensive and even bigoted. As the player Adaan wrote on the European WoW forums, he had the displeasure of encountering some players who use a certain racially offensive word, and it made him feel very angry.

It turns out that if you encounter such language in WoW, you can report other players for racism. Vaneras stepped in to confirm that Blizzard does not tolerate racist language, and such comments will get those players banned. Although I have not encountered racist language in WoW myself, I heartily encourage anyone who does to report that player. Dealing with racism in real life can often lead to awkward confrontations with people who refuse to admit what they were saying was wrong in any way, but in WoW, Blizzard is all set to do that for you, while at the same time helping to make sure there are negative consequences on racist behavior.

Although Vaneras doesn't mention it in his post, it is my understanding that the same also follows for other forms of discriminatory language, such as sexism. While of course there can be a lot of annoying grey area in such issues, another reason to such offenses in WoW is that Blizzard may actually have proof of what the other person said stored in their systems, and a genuine problem is more likely to receive a real consequence than might otherwise be the case.

Have any of you tried...



One of the things I simultaneously love and dread about my guild on Malfurion is that we have a lot of slightly demented, creative, think for yourself types. Case in point is Vish, who often main tanks for runs when I'm healing on my shammy. The other day, in Shadow Labyrinth, before we got to Blackheart the Inciter the following paraphrased conversation took place.

"Hey, if we don't clear this room, do these guys come when you engage Blackheart?"
"Yes they do."
"You've seen them come?"
"No, but WoWWiki says..."
"So you don't really know that they'll all come."

He had me there. I'd never actually seen it. Ten seconds later, however, I did see it when he told the party to wait in Ambassador Hellmaw's room while he ran up and engaged the Inciter. Turns out that puts the whole party in combat even if they are hiding very far away, so I made use of my handy Astral Recall spell while everyone else died a gruesome but informative death.

This made me wonder: have you ever disregarded the various guides, sources and general body of common knowledge about an instance and gone in cold? Have you ever tried something just to see what happens for yourself? I don't think we should run around seeing what that level with the skull on it does all the time, but as long as everyone in the party is okay with it, sometimes it's fun to experiment in game. It's like Mister Wizard, only he usually didn't end up having to run back to his body afterwards. Usually.

We don't need your officer chat, we don't need your guild control

Tipster Nurz from guild Hellscreams Mercenaries emailed us to mention that his guild has a very interesting policy. He claims that their intention from the start was to form a 'differently run guild', one without officer chat or hidden decision making processes invisible to the rank and file membership. So they abolished guild chat and make all decisions in a guildhall channel open to all members, discussing recruiting, member performance and other such topics openly and in front of everyone. If you visit their website, it seems to be working out for them so far.

What this makes me ponder is, are they just lucky or is this kind of transparency something you could apply to any guild? I mean, I like my current guild a lot but even so we have personality clashes from time to time, feelings are hurt, people feel slighted, runs go bad and the temptation to point a finger is always there. Are the Mercenaries simply on a countdown to some player or another going ballistic over a hurt ego or have they in fact found a way to avoid guild drama altogether by doing everything out in the open, in front of everyone? Could this work for your guild? It's tempting to imagine a guild where everyone has a say in what happens, but at the same time when I've been in dedicated raid guilds it's always been my experience that a few people who work the hardest preparing strategies and gathering the proper mats for every encounter end up running the show. Is it inevitable, or has the better way just never been found until now?

As long as it keeps working for the Mercs, more power to them. I don't know if I'd be able to function in such a guild, but I know I'm debating bringing it up with my guildmates in the future as we move into more serious raiding.

Don't name the baby Thrall

WoW is a phenomenon that extends beyond the virtual world and into our everyday lives. An excellent example of this is Bunnypasta's recent forum post. She asked players for suggestions of WoW-related names for her as-yet unborn bundle of joy.

This isn't the first time I have heard of something like this. In fact, one of my former guildies recently had a child, and gave the little girl the middle name of his best-friend's character. Now I'm not sure that carrying around the name of a rogue will influence her personality, come to think of it.

Continue reading Don't name the baby Thrall

Where did you get your WoW name?


Ippy on LJ has been thinking names of late. He asked for people to tell him how they came up with the names for their characters. Coming up with a character name is always a challenge for me. It's not that I don't have ideas, it's just that for the most part, when I start a new alt, they are a blank slate on that character selection screen, and I find it hard to pigeon-hole someone I barely know with a name that might only allow them to play a certain way or take certain talents.

As it turns out, there are all kinds of places that players get their names, from mythology to foreign languages to household pets. I currently tend to use two different types of naming conventions. I have those boring character names I have been toting from game to game with me over the years, and I have the "I should so name a druid Roflmeow" inspiration moments. Yes, I can be silly too on occasion.

In any case, I extend this question to you, the reader. Where do you glean your inspiration for naming your characters? Or are you the brave type to choose names from the randomizer and have done with?

Unconventional Group Makeup



Today was an interesting day for me in the game.

First off, I respecced to protection and tanked a Mechanar run just to help out a dude advertising in general. I didn't know him, don't know him now (don't even remember his character's name) and when I saw the group makeup - rogue, paladin, enhancement shaman, feral druid and myself - I cringed for a moment about the lack of CC and then I figured, what the heck and flew to Tempest Keep.

Quite frankly, the run went nearly flawlessly. We had one wipe on Pathaleon and that was it. I tanked, the paladin healer marked the pulls, the rogue sapped the mobs that he could, and otherwise we just dealt with it. I held aggro, we didn't die, I got a new toy to tide me over until Despair or Gorehowl finally drop or Season 3 comes out, whichever comes first. Buoyed from this experience (it was really fun to tank for complete strangers without the usual CC and just hold aggro the old fashioned way) I then went about my day.

Later, my guildmates asked me if I wanted to come along to SV. We ended up in a group with two warriors (myself, respecced back to arms/fury, and a tank), a rogue, a feral druid and a priest. One CC again, and no ranged DPS at all, just melee. This run went even better, so much so that we went back and did it again just to get some folks to revered before the patch hits. You'd think having a tank and three melee DPS on Thespia might be problematic, but it wasn't. People just ran out of the AoE without even being told.

This got me to thinking about unconventional groups. Often, people resist doing a run unless they have exactly the 'right' makeup, but I've done all of Shadow Labs witth a group consisting of a warrior tank (me) a warrior DPSing, a rogue DPSing and CCing, a priest DPSing and a feral druid healing and we did fine. Or the infamous Shattered Halls run with a warrior tanking, paladin offtanking, warrior DPSing, another paladin DPSing and a paladin healing. We called it the plate run, and no, no plate dropped.

Now, I've also done runs like these and wiped. The 'all-shaman Ramps' run did not work at all. And let us never speak again of the shaman, hunter, rogue, rogue, rogue attempt at the Botanica.

Have you ever thrown caution to the winds, ignored the common wisdom on class balance, and run a dungeon with a group of unusual composition?

Insider Trader: Death of a salesman

Insider Trader is your weekly inside line on making, selling, buying and using player-made products.

Forget the endless debate over "hardcore" versus "casual" – there's another moniker that we here at Insider Trader hold dear: "salesman." What's that? You don't know any salesmen in WoW these days? You're not alone. Times have changed since craftspeople toiled to build reputations as the go-to traders on their servers ... when Ironforge was the hub of civilization, where a few elite enchanters held court over the entire server with coveted formulae from such exotic locales as Stratholme and Scholomance.

It's a brave new world in today's Outland. Most enchanters don't enchant for the general public at all, unless you provide mats and a tip. And in any profession, with so many other players on the servers who have the same patterns (even rare patterns are generally available from more than one player) and so many easy ways to make money (hello, daily quests!), there's little reason to hang around town to build a regular clientele. Components provided or created by other professions are readily available on the Auction House – there's no need to seek out and nurture relationships with another player from a complementary profession.

Have the conveniences Blizzard has developed for today's crafters meant the death of the salesman?

Continue reading Insider Trader: Death of a salesman

Upper Deck giving $100,000 to winner of WoW TCG World Championship

Upper Deck has announced that their final WoW TCG tournament this year, the World Championship, will offer a whopping $100,000 prize. Yes, you read that right-- the top winner will take home a hundred grand. There's already a long list of people invited to the tournament, mostly from previous Nationals and qualifying tournaments, but there is still one chance left to get into the tournament, which starts on November 29th at the San Diego Convention Center. If you can come up with an Honor Ranking of 4 by then, you could enter the Honor Grind tournament on November 29th, and the top four winners of that will be invited to compete in the World Championships. So if you really want that $100,000 prize, and have never played the TCG in your life, better get playing.

But even if you don't plan on winning, the World Championship sounds like a lot of fun-- TCG artists (including Blizzard's Samwise Didier) will be there to sign cards and meet players, and there will be lots of other events and tournaments. The Crafting Redemption metagame will also be happening for the first time-- players will be able to turn in "extra" material cards to "make" special exclusive item cards for the game. And this "Thunderfury" card is an exclusive participation card for the tournament, too. Very nice.

And Upper Deck also reminds us that November is release month for the upcoming March of the Legion expansion, and they're going to hold a sneak preview of all the new cards on November 17th at a store near you. Supposedly there's a list of stores hosting the events over on their site, but I don't see it yet, so hopefully it'll be up soon. And keep your eyes open-- we've already been told the new set will have three brand new loot cards, and we've got our ears to the tracks on just what they might be.

Next Page >


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