Class balance in a post-WotLK World of Warcraft
Filed under: World of Warcraft, Classes, News items
Class balance is always a touchy subject, depending on the class a person plays. But WoWRIOT has put together an impressive look a class balance in a post-WotLK World of Warcraft. After looking through much of the post, we’re pretty impressed with its accuracy and overall take on current class balance, especially as it pertains to arena and PvP.
Normally, those who actually play the game are much more interested in these kinds of balance overviews. However, the article contains an extensive look at Death Knights and everything about where their place in the game is right now. So for anybody who’s been curious as to what’s going on with the first new class in World of Warcraft, we’d say the article is definitely worth a look. For everyone who does play the game, it’s probably a good idea to at least check out your class (or classes) if only to see why you should or shouldn’t be upset with Blizzard.
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Class balance in a post-WotLK World of Warcraft originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 06 Jan 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Public Quests.
I’m not sure how familiar anyone is with Warhammer Online. Basically, it is a game that is very similar to World of Warcraft, however players are able to achieve max level without ever doing anything on their own. And yes, I do realize this is also possible on WoW, however with Warhammer Online it is actually encouraged!
And that’s where the idea for this post came from. Public Quests are unique to Warhammer Online and have caused a lot of discussion in the MMO world. They are quests that trigger when you enter a certain area, and you can choose to take part in them or simply watch from within. Often there will be a few dozen players taking part with you, with everyone helping each other to achieve the over-all goal of completing the quest. Now, since Warhammer Online is a relatively new game, I was wondering if any WoW players would be interested in this?
I know from a personal side that this would certainly be a nice brake from all the gold grinding I have been doing lately. However, if battlegrounds are anything to go by, I think there would be a lot of internal arguing, name calling and hissy fits to witness. Say for instance the quest was failed; It’s never the fault of any of the loud mouths, is it?
I don’t know… It seems like many of these new online games have almost ‘ripped off’ World of Warcraft’s playing style. They simply take everything that is good about WoW, and add their own little spin. They are probably quite pleased with themselves too. However, I have no doubt that Blizzard will get their own back and start borrowing from them. Basically, something that was once unique to Warhammer Online will soon be unique to Warhammer and World of Warcraft.
WoW Public Quests anyone? Who are we kidding, we all know it’s going to happen sooner or later…
You’re So Vain.
Since the introduction of Wrath of the Lich King, it appears us WoW players have been becoming that little bit more vain. Apparently, people complained about the lack of ‘personalization’ within the game for their beloved characters. So, in an attempt to change this, Blizzard implemented the Barber Shop. As the name suggests, it’s where women go to get their hair styled and where men (and some women) go get ride of their facial hair shaved. In the next patch Blizzard have also told us to stand by for the hotly anticipated Dance Studio. Again, as the name suggests, this is where all the cool kids (or the players that actually care) will be heading to change their dance moves. I wonder if they will allow sexes to exchange dance moves…?
I digress.
So, to top the facial hair and the slow dancing off, Blizzard have also announced their new “change everything, but not quite everything about yourself” offer. Yeah, I somehow don’t think that’s the actual title… It basically allows you to change your characters name, skin color, hair and gender! And yes, there is a catch, and this time it comes in the form of cash! These changes can be made for £15, which is surprisingly cheap for Blizzard. Go Blizzard for not trying to rip us off!
Personally, there are a few things I would like to change about my main character. However, without being able to change his race, I don’t see the need to fork out the cash to implement these changes. I completely understand why some people wish to do it though. I know a lot of guys who rolled a chick character because she was ‘hawt’, but have since become bored of being hit on by horny 12 year old boys. There are also people who have become involved in hardcore raiding guilds. They wish to continue playing but don’t want the hassle of explaining themselves. A change in name and sex would come in handy after the dreaded /gquit.
All in all, the changes that can be made to one’s own appearance are probably for the best. For one thing, they definitely make the game more ‘main stream’ towards the masses. However, at the back of my head I can’t help but think: ‘Is world of Warcraft selling out to gain more subscribers’? If we are being honest, basically every online gamer knows about and/or plays World of Warcraft. So, Blizzard has probably noticed that their only way to expand would be to appeal to another type of audience. I’m just not sure that the ‘lets play dress-up’ audience is the right audience to attract.
One Shots: Meep!
Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, Screenshots, One Shots
There are times when you just know you’ve gotten in over your head. Of course, to the resourceful player, this just means a fun challenge! One such occasion is the subject of today’s World of Warcraft One Shots, sent in to us by Greeen, who has been playing a Gnome Death Knight. Greeen writes in: This shot was taken in the Valgarde Catacombs. My first reaction was “Gulp!” ! The second one: “Attack!” The third: “Run Forrest, run!” Luckily this is from a quest where one receives a temporary immunity bubble - otherwise my little gnome Death Knight, Blues, would really have to show what she can do.…
Are you once again (or perhaps for the first time) turning to Azeroth for your adventure? If you’ve snapped a fun screenshot from your favorite game - no matter the MMO - we’d love to see it! Send it in to us here at oneshots AT massively DOT com along with your name and the game it is from. Descriptions are optional, but always welcome. Yours could be next here on One Shots!
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One Shots: Meep! originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 04 Jan 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Behind the Curtain: Take a look back
Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, Sci-fi, Fury, Culture, Events, in-game, Expansions, Game mechanics, Launches, MMO industry, New titles, Warhammer Online, Opinion, Tabula Rasa, Behind the Curtain
Brace yourself for the obligatory ‘New Year’ post. I’d resolve to lose weight, tone up and be kinder to my fellow man, but I’d be lying. Not because I’m weak and won’t follow through on them, but because I don’t need to. I’m practically perfect in every way.
Except not really. I’m lying. I also hate Mary Poppins with a cold, implacable hatred. But that’s neither here nor there.
It’s been a year of ups and downs in the MMO world. We’ve seen World of Warcraft go from strength to strength with an expansion pack which knocked the socks off of Burning Crusade. Say what you will about Blizzard, but it’s always good to see a company that’s willing and able to learn not only from its past mistakes, but its past successes. We’ve seen the long-awaitied launch of Warhammer Online, but we’ve also seen some downers, with Tabula Rasa going down the tubes, and Fury falling over. Although, not as many people were upset about Fury, given that it was terrible from start to finish.
Continue reading Behind the Curtain: Take a look back
Behind the Curtain: Take a look back originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 03 Jan 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Anti-Aliased: Top 5 things MMOs should learn in the new year
Filed under: Culture, Game mechanics, MMO industry, Opinion, Virtual worlds, Anti-Aliased
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Well Happy New Year Massively readers! Hope everything is working out for you all on this second day of the year 2009! Did you get caught up on your favorite MMO yesterday during the holiday? With the new year finally here, we have all sorts of new games in production and slated for a 2009 release. But that doesn’t mean we should entirely forget about 2008. All sorts of things have happened in 2008 that the industry and players can learn from, but what should make the classic “end of…
Continue reading Anti-Aliased: Top 5 things MMOs should learn in the new year
Anti-Aliased: Top 5 things MMOs should learn in the new year originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 02 Jan 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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One Shots: Bad santa
Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, Screenshots, One Shots
Have you captured a frightening holiday shot (and no, we don’t mean of your creepy Aunt wearing her favorite reindeer sweater) that you’d like to share with the world? We’ve got a spot just for those - here on One Shots! Just email them to us at oneshots AT massively DOT com along with your name and what game it’s from. We’ll post them up and give you the credit for scaring the rest of us.
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One Shots: Bad santa originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 30 Dec 2008 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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News flash: MMOs rule
Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, MMO industry, Warhammer Online, Opinion
Rumors of the impending death of PC gaming have been greatly exaggerated, at least if you take the word of Christopher T. Fong, who writes the Playing Games column at SFGate (San Francisco Chronicle). Fong’s latest piece “Year in review: MMOs rule. PC gaming lives.” is a very brief look at the state of play on the PC, notably the MMOs and expansions that arrived on the scene in 2008.
Not surprisingly, Fong focuses on the W’s — Warhammer Online and World of Warcraft — with a few boxing references worked in. While we all know that, in terms of subscribers, World of Warcraft is the reigning champ, it’s clear that Warhammer Online won’t be throwing in the towel anytime soon. (See what I did there?) In this writer’s opinion, each offers something the other does not. The clash between players of each respective title might not ever be fully resolved, but as Fong also states — they’re both solid titles in their own right. That being said, please feel free to boldly proclaim which game is better and why.
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One of Azeroth’s millions of citizens? Check out our ongoing coverage of the World of Warcraft, and be sure to touch base with our sister site WoW Insider for all your Lich King needs! |
News flash: MMOs rule originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 28 Dec 2008 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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One Shots: Got milk?
Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, Screenshots, One Shots
Ah, the joy of the holidays with treats and goodies to eat just about every time you look around. But what good are holiday cookies without some tasty milk to go with it? Not much! Of course, if you’re an enterprising World of Warcraft player, you can get just the right gift to go along with those holiday cookies, as our regular One Shots contributor, Johanis shows off. He writes in: Here is Johanis (in Christmas disguise) entering Stormwind. Santa mentioned he liked milk with his cookies…but this is the best he could find. Might be a farmer upset but at least Santa will be happy with me.
If you’ve given a great in-game gift, or just done something silly, we want to see! Any and all screenshots from MMOs welcome. Just email them to us here at oneshots AT massively DOT com along with your name and the name of the game it’s from. (Descriptions are welcome but entirely optional.) We’ll post it out here for everyone to enjoy, and let them know you sent it in.
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One Shots: Got milk? originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 27 Dec 2008 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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One Shots: Happy holidays!
Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, Screenshots, One Shots
So many are prepping for holidays, doing last minute shopping, or just hanging out with the family. Both in and out of game, we see folks getting into the Holiday Spirit. Sure enough, even this lovely Draenai Death Knight decided to put on some holiday gear and scowl prettily for the cameras. Today’s World of Warcraft One Shots comes in from Michelle, who says only “Merry Christmas to you all!” No matter what you celebrate at this time of year, we here at Massively would also like to wish you the happiest of holidays and the best wishes for lots of epic loot.
If you’ve got a holiday screenshot to send in, feel free; we’ll be running them up until just after the New Year! Just send it to us at oneshots AT massively DOT com along with your name and what game it’s from. Descriptions are welcome, but not necessary. We’ll post it for all to enjoy and raise a glass of spiked eggnog in your honor.
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One Shots: Happy holidays! originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 24 Dec 2008 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
