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Professional Skillsets
Just a few weeks ago, I was lucky enough to attend an event called "Afroshoto", held at Boardners down in Hollywood. The event featured a small invitational Super Street Fighter 4 Tournament—8 total players, single elimination—as well as a small concert by a group called the Miles Mosley Band (which I recommend highly).
It was all in all a very successful event, especially for a Sunday night, which is hardly a major bargoing night. The band was excellent, the tournament was impressive (and watching Justin Wong go all the way with
Makoto
, my character of choice, was nice), and it was awesome as always to be at a public gaming event.
The band leader said something interesting, though, as they were setting up. I can't remember well enough to quote exactly, but the sentiment was something like this:
For the first time in history, technology has advanced to the point that the toys of our childhood have evolved enough to remain our primary form of recreation as adults.
This stuck with me, long after the event itself. The more I think about it, the more I realize not only how true it is, but how
important
it is.
Live
Azeroth, Revisited: Scarlet Monastery in Cataclysm
With the upcoming
Cataclysm
expansion now going through its beta phase, I thought now would be a perfect time to take a look at some of the classic dungeons that everyone loves and see how they will be changing.
The first dungeon we're taking a look at is
Monastero Scarlatto
. While technically only one instance, it has been split up into four wings: Graveyard, Library, Armory, and Cathedral. The four wings have seen no physical changes, but each has received a nice makeover in mob and quest locations.
Note: This is from a Horde perspective, because that's what character I had available. The Alliance version is slightly different.
WARNING: IF YOU DON'T LIKE SPOILERS OF ANY KIND, DON'T READ THIS.
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Throne of the Tides Impressions
About couple of weeks ago I posted
blog
about how one of the new Cataclysm dungeons, Blackrock Caverns, felt. If you are interested in it, go ahead and take a look - I found it a pretty cool instance. Not as cool as the one I am about to present to you here and now though. You can read my shorter description
here
.
The Throne of the Tides is an 82-84 dungeon, supposedly the second one in the Abyssal Maw - the first one still unnamed and with 0 info about it. If you follow the normal quest flow, you will find the entrance to this dungeon during your last quest in Vashj'ir, after a colossal battle featuring Neptulon the Tidehunter himself. As you approach the giant whirlpool beneath Vashj'ir, you get sucked in, everything swirls around you, and - tadaaa - you drop in the elemental realm of water. Pretty cool looking place, by the way. But let's talk content now!
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Cataclysm Dungeon Bosses
A couple of builds ago Cataclysm alpha testers saw the first "real" achievements from the new expansion - achievements different from the random funny placeholders and the standard exploration achievements. I am talking about the dungeon (and some raid) achievements. And although they were cool in and of themselves, to me there was something else intriguing hiding inside them - the knowledge of what the different instances will be called and what kind of bosses they will feature. From this we could even gather some very basic and preliminary information about who (or
what
) those bosses will be. Interesting stuff for me and other players eager to learn more about the expansion.
So! Let me get to the good stuff and present you with a list of all the bosses in the Cataclysm dungeons, as well as with some short description and links whenever they are available. Keep in mind, only Blackrock Caverns and Throne of the Tides are available for testing (even if some of us managed to sneak inside the Stonecore), so information beyond those 2 (3) will be
scarce
virtually non-existent. Also, keep an eye out for a similar blog for raids!
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Blackrock Caverns Impressions
The latest news on the Internet - Cataclysm closed beta is hitting us good! But we all know this. What's more important is that since the NDA has been lifted, we'll be showering you with tons of new information, blogs, guide pages, videos, screenshots, and dataz.
Fewyn
just posted some good stuff about the
UI Changes
in Cataclysm (and you should check it out if you haven't), so I decided to go a different route - do a dungeon, see how it feels, give a few screenshots, and a bit of an overall opinion about how the experience is.
Right now the only two dungeons available for testing are
Blackrock Caverns
and the
Throne of the Tides
. So I went to my good old friend, the Dungeon Finder, and said "Yo dawg, you heard I like dungeons? Give me a random one!" And so the
Blackrock Caverns
popped...
Live
Cataclysm Preview: Grim Batol
Blizzard has just posted an official preview of one of Cataclysm's new 5 player dungeons...
Grim Batol
.
Grim Batol was once home to the Wildhammer clan of dwarves. Eventually, the Dark Irons led an attack on Grim Batol, and in the process tainted the fortress forever. Now occupied by the Twilight's Hammer, brave players will venture forth into the fortress to stop the nefarious plots of the fortress' new master...
You can view the full preview on Blizzard's website.
http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/cataclysm/features/grimbatol.html
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Blizzard Changing Vote Kick Option in Random Dungeons in 3.3.5
Blizzard has many changes in store for 3.3.5 and Zarhym has revealed a minor but interesting change that will be made to the existing Vote Kick option when in a random dungeon. They have made many changes since the Dungeon Finder's release, and their newest rework of the option to remove problem players sounds like it could be a sure hit, but that will depend on how people use this new power.
For players who use the Dungeon Finder and do not use the Vote Kick tool often, there will no longer be a cooldown on kicking a player. This will allow users who are doing many random dungeons and not abusing the tool to easily be able to remove problem players without hitting this "You must wait blah blah blah" limitation. For players who often kick players / abandon groups, the cooldown will be reinstated. Blizzard has not yet released any details on exactly what sort of internal timeframe this decision will be made on, but Blizzard does state that the limitation will deteriorate over time allowing a player who previously frequently kicked players to work their Vote Kick cooldown back down to nothing after time of "good be
Live
Cataclysm: Halls of Origination Preview
The
Halls of Origination
is a new dungeon located in Uldum for level 85 players. Inside this lovely new instance you'll find familiar features from both
Uldaman
and
Ulduar
but with a new dash of Egyptian style structures and art. As you progress through Uldum you will eventually happen across the infamous explorer Brann Bronzebeard (of course), who will enlist your help exploring these new halls and eventually uncovering the titan's ancient secrets.
You can read the whole preview on the official Cataclysm
website
.
http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/cataclysm/features/origination.html
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Cataclysm PvE Badge and PvP Point Changes
Blizzard just posted changes to the badge system in
Cataclysm
... they are going to become Hero and Valor points! Basically the PvP point system being applied to PvE raiding.
Hero Points
will be earned from most dungeons (much like
Emblema del Trionfo
) and
Valor Points
will be from high-tier raids (like
Emblema del Gelo
).
While there will be a maximum cap of Valor Points you can earn each week I personally think this could be one of the better changes to come to the badge/emblem/point system since the introduction of them in The Burning Crusade. So what does everyone think of the changes?
On the PvP side,
Conquest Points
will replace Arena Points as the complement to Honor Points. Personal rating requirements will also be removed from almost all items, including weapons.
You can read all the details in the original blue post, available after the break.
Live
Treadmill Mode
Personally, I prefer
Advance Wars: Dual Strike
over both
Advance Wars 2
and
Advance Wars: Days of Ruin
(Never really played the first
Advance Wars
), and I'll tell you why.
In Advance Wars: Dual Strike (AWDS), as you play, you unlock skills (+8% attack, faster movement through woods and grass, etc.) that you can equip on your commanding officers before a match. If you get all the highest level skills, and equip them on your two commanding officers, much of the normal campaign becomes incredibly easy. I'm capable of playing through it without paying too much attention, and using it to unwind when I don't want to have to think about anything too hard.
On the flip side, it also has the hard campaign, which assumes you have the best possible COs and the best possible skills, and is still designed to give you a challenge. None of the other Advance Wars games had this ability t
Live
Oculus Loot Improved!
Oculus
recently had a hotfixed deployed that will make it more attractive for players to stay and finish the dungeon as compared to the usual occurrence I have seen of leaving the second the loading screen lets you.
Once
Guardiafaglia Eregos
is defeated, a loot bag will be provided to each player present. Each bag contains 2 additional
Emblema del Trionfo
, a chance at rare gems and a chance at obtaining
Redini del Draco Blu
. Note that this bag will only drop when you get the dungeon when selected
randomly
with the Dungeon Finder.
Also,
Redini del Draco di Zaffiro
will now have a chance of dropping from both 10- and 25-player
Malygos
.
Read on after the break for the original post.
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Algalon vs. Arthas?
You know, I've long since glossed over the concerns of various power levels of bosses in WoW. The fact that
two
random
worms
somebody caught in the hills of Northrend can kick the butt of
C'Thun
stopped bothering me a long time ago, so I don't think that's the problem I have with the placement of the
Algalon
fight.
So, with the fight with Arthas finally on the horizon, I've been thinking a lot about the road leading up to it: specifically Ulduar, and the fight with Algalon the Observer, and something about it just rings false with me.
Live
New Icecrown Citadel Bosstiary for 5-Man Dungeons
Blizzard has also posted a brand new
Bosstiary
!
It's a handy set of maps, with interesting little lore tidbits with each boss. No screenshots yet, though, and nothing for the raid instance. Hopefully that stuff is coming soon, eh?
They say that knowledge can be a greater boon than even the most powerful spells, or armor, or weapons. The battles that lie ahead beyond the gates of Icecrown will test your mettle like none before, and you will need all the help you can get. So arm yourself with knowledge, and discover the truth about the dangers that await you within the Frozen Halls in our new Icecrown Dungeon Bosstiary:
http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/underdev/3p3/dungeon-bosstiary.html
Live
Tier 9 Compendium
Icecrown Citadel knocks on the door, Arthas is likely getting dressed like Santa, and a new Tier set is coming out. Looking at the names of the sets, they don't seem anything
special
- so I thought* it's probably a good idea to post some extensive explanation about the
last
Tier. Why? Because it is actually interesting from a Lore perspective.
Remember, back when Tier 9 was released, how a lot of people were excited about Alliance and Horde not only having different sets, but having those sets named after famous members of the respective faction and class? I don't know about you, but I was really excited to be a part of the lore on that level. And because of this inspiration, this blog was born - a compilation of relatively short summaries of all those heroes' and villains' stories. Read on!
*Not really. Read the note after the break.
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Blue Pugs Round 3!
That's right, you get a third opportunity to go PUGging with a blue poster!
This one is
Wednesday, November 18th, at 4:00PM PST.
Since our first two tests went so well, we’d like to invite everyone out again for round 3! Come join the fun on the PTR and instead of getting the PUG blues, you could end up grouped with a blue. Members of the Development Team (including the encounter designers themselves), the QA team, and the Community Team will be on the PTR to test out the new dungeon system and want you to come join in the fun.
To have a chance to group up with one of us, just queue up for a random heroic through the Dungeon tool. We will be playing both Alliance and Horde and since the Dungeon tool allows players to group cross-server, it doesn’t matter which of the two PTR realms you join from.
Join us Wednesday 11/18/09 at 4:00pm PST.
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More Blue Pugs!
Apparently the previous episode of
PUGging with the blues
went so well, they've decided to do it again.
On Wednesday, November 11, 2009 at 4pm Pacific Standard Time, the Blizzard dungeon team will be testing out their own new LFG feature on the PTR—so all you have to do is hop in the queue, and who knows? You might get the chance to personally ask Ghostcrawler for that pony he promised you.
For a chance to group with the Blizzard team members, you need to use the Dungeon system and choose the "Random Heroic" option. All employees will have the <GM> tag next to their names and be able to choose whichever class, realm and faction he or she wants.
Source:
http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=21043884910
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PUG with Blizzard Employees Today on the PTR (Nov 4)
Have you ever wanted to join a PUG with members of the World of Warcraft development and community teams? Well now's your chance!
Zarhym
announced
on the official forums that blue posters will be on the PTR today (Nov 4) at 4 pm PST (7 pm EST) to test out the new dungeon system.
For a chance to group with the Blizzard team members, you need to use the Dungeon system and choose the "Random Heroic" option. All employees will have the <GM> tag next to their names and be able to choose whichever class, realm and faction he or she wants.
Source:
http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=20677335365&sid=1
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Disenchanting in Dungeons in Patch 3.3
In addition to the
3.3 Dungeon System Preview
Blizzard posted earlier, they've also elaborated a little bit on how the new
disenchanting system
works.
This should alleviate enchanters of having to pick up the items and then later on having everyone roll for them at the end of dungeons. Along with this comes the cross-realm-instance Dungeon System that will have a few restrictions on trading, so the only way to pass out enchanting materials from a Disenchanted item will be through the new roll disenchant system.
You can read the original post and more information on this feature after the jump.
Live
3.3 Dungeon System Preview
In the upcoming 3.3 content patch the current
Looking For Group
system is getting a much needed overhaul with many new features and even some rewards (such as a pet) too!
There are some great features planned, such as the ability to join as a group or go solo, Cross-realm instances, and the ability to be teleported to the instances similiar to how it is done in battlegrounds currently. One of the features that looks really promising is the daily random dungeons, which will pick a random dungeon (heroic or normal) and if you defeat the final boss you will receive either 2
Emblem of Frost
on heroic mode or 2
Emblema del Trionfo
on normal mode.
More on the dungeon system after the jump.
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3.3 PTR Patch Notes Updated! New LFD/LFR Details!
Fresh in the light of the new
Paid Race Change
feature on live servers, Blizzard have updated their PTR patch notes (which included the inevitable nerf to
Volontà dei Reietti
). This just in - human racials still overpowered! :D
The
3.3 Patch Notes
have been updated, this time with some
major
changes to the Looking For Dungeon / Looking For Raid system along wth a few minor changes (oh, did I mention a
Volontà dei Reietti
nerf?). Also, we'll finally be able to get that
Perky Pug
pet! Check out the changes in the new PTR build after the break!
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