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However, running parallel to Hideo Kojima's statement yesterday (about MGS4 being impossible for the Xbox 360 because the game wasn't designed for the 360 in the first place), J. Allen Brack and Tom Chilton of Blizzard both agree that WoW was always intended to be played on the PC. In a recent interview with Videogamer, they both reiterated the fact that WoW won't be heading for consoles.
Brack says that WoW was "designed to have a keyboard and a mouse" and that the controls are really - to use Kojima's word from yesterday - optimized for a PC control scheme. Brack continues: "If you think about mapping those controls and all those different type of buttons that you have to a console without a keyboard for chatting, it's a very challenging proposition."Chilton, likewise, explained that it's not a worthwhile endeavor to bring WoW to consoles;
It's really not that we have anything against consoles," Chilton said. "I mean we love console games also. And I'm sure there will be a successful MMO sometime on a console. So it has nothing to do with that. It's just more like a square peg round hole thing for our game. It just wasn't designed with that in mind.
But then... when Videogamer raised the point that Funcom will be bringing their Age of Conan to the Xbox 360 - and that they've got some technology to map the keyboard buttons to a 360 controller - Chilton simply replies that he thinks that WoW wouldn't be "a very good experience playing like that." While the PS3 has the upcoming Wireless Keypad, and the 360 its Chatpad, they aren't all that big, y'know. As Brack said, it'll be a very challenging experience indeed
Kaplan says that originally, the people over at Blizzard didn't want to call the system Achievements because Xbox 360 and Steam were already using the name. They came up with all sorts of alternatives like Goals, Accomplishments, and other titles, but at the end of it all, it came back down to Achievements.
“We sort of came around to the conclusion that all players call them Achievements," He added. That realization made them settle on the name finally. Next was brainstorming on how to go about it. Kaplan recounts that the core concept of designing their Achievements was “we wanted to focus on getting the user interface in a good presentable form and things that other Achievement systems haven’t done a good job of.â€
In terms of execution, Kaplan believes that their edge lies not only in well thought-out Achievements, but a nice interface that will be pleasing to the community's eyes. He said Blizzard welcomed mods of the interface and are fully expecting people to take advantage of it.
“Our [user interface] guys went out of their way to build the Achievement system so that the mod community can completely rip it apart and do whatever they wanted with it — the look and how the information is presented to you," he added.
Switching gear is easy though, at least compared to the painstakingly expensive task of resetting and rearranging your talents. Come Wrath of the Lich King, however, Blizzard might be implementing something that could make this process a whole lot easier. Here was Bornakk's statement regarding this possibility:
We talked about this recently at the Worldwide Invitational actually. We are looking into allowing players to basically have two talent specs that they can switch between but we are still working out the exact details so we will have to wait and see exactly how it will function in-game.
Bornakk's post leaves a lot of questions regarding the mechanics of talent-swapping. One possibility being discussed at the WoW forums is that players will be able to switch their talent builds on the field while not in combat. The switch will carry a long cooldown time to discourage possible exploits with this ability.
The other possibility that was brought up, and one I'm leaning towards, is that talent switching may be set up like a pet stable. Players will spend gold at a corresponding NPC to allow them to record one talent build. Switching talents itself will also cost a bit of money, though probably not as pricey as resetting. Those interested in joining the ongoing discussion regarding this matter may want to visit the WoW forums, via the source link below.
Lead Designer Jeffrey "Tigole" Kaplan was on the forums recently where he gave out the good news. However, like any major change, Blizzard will have to take quite a number of things in consideration: Yes, we're planning on speeding up leveling in the 60-70 range. Keep the feedback coming. We are still adjusting it. Let us know what levels you are in what areas in this bracket.
As to why this is being done, it can be assumed that these changes are being made so that more people can enjoy the new high-level content Blizzard plans on introducing with Wrath of the Lich King.
A large part of effective tanking is outside the hands of the warrior. One common fallacy held by the players of WOW is that if a tank loses control of a monster, he is a bad tank. While this very well could be true, the case could actually be quite the opposite. There is a limited number of things a Warrior can do to generate threat on a creature. Assuming that the skill, talents build are in place and the gear collected, he can build a lot of threat. There is an upper limit to the threat obtainable. When a character is assigned to tank, he will not be generating the majority of his threat from dealing damage to a target. Outside of the Warrior class, dealing damage is the best way to increase threat on a monster. Over a period of time, the threat from damage caused by another character can overcome the threat generated by the tank. In such a situation, as long as the warrior was using all his abilities to their maximum effectiveness, there is nothing else he could have done to keep the focus of the enemy. A party who knows this, and can manage their own threat makes the tanks life that much easier. At lower levels, the group tends to blame the tank if he loses control of the monster. In the end game forty man instances, the smart groups tend to blame the player who pulled the target for not managing his own threat.
Warriors are very dependant on the sort of gear they use. If the goal is to play the higher intensity raid instances, a lot of time will be spent gathering up the equipment. For a tank, there are three main things to look at while gathering gear: Stamina, Armor Rating, and Defense. Stamina gives the character ten hit points per point. That may not seem like a lot, but just like pennies in a piggy back, it starts adding up. Armor Rating lowers the incoming damage percentage. Defense ups the skill of the same name, and lowers the chance that enemies will critically hit the tank by a percentage point for every twenty five points of defense.There will be a long time when the characters will be relying on uncommon and rare equipment that is much easier to obtain.
Of the 51 talent points WOW offers its players, eighteen of those should be dedicated to the protection tree. For a tank to excel at his job, it is in his best interest to send points on the talents Defiance, Toughness and Last Stand. Neither five point talent on the first tier of talents a warrior can access truly outdoes the other, one raises the chance to block with a shield, the other raises the characters natural defense. Both are good options, yet not required for optimum tanking. On the second tier, five points in Toughness gives you ten percent more armor contribution, and at the high armor ratings a warrior can achieve this talent can decrease all incoming damage by up to five percent. Also on tier two is the Improved Bloodrage talent. This two point talent is useful, but not required to tank. It is required to gain access to the tier three talent Last Stand. Last stand increases the warriors current and maximum hit points by thirty percent for twenty seconds, great for the times when that heal is coming just a second too late. Lastly, the Defiance talent raises the threat generated by the warrior by fifteen percent. Without all these talents, the warrior is not able to tank to the best of the class is ability.
You can find the beta opt-in signups by visiting the Account Management menu on your European WoW account. Once there, you should see an added option to sign up for the beta. The screenshot above shows you what to expect once you try to sign up.
As for North America, there's also some good news. Eyonix reminded players to "stay tuned," as the beta signups for that region are coming "super soon."
In any event, what are you waiting for? Go sign up for the beta already if you're on the European realms!
Taunka ... This tenacious, stoic race knows all too well the rigors of living in the harsh and often deadly wastes of Northrend. Over time, the taunka - whom many believe to be ancestral cousins of the tauren - have adapted, but only by forcing the land and the elements to yield to their will. The taunka's relationship with nature, unlike that of their tauren brethren, has been one of constant struggle and grim perseverance.Although the taunka may seem dour or even cold to outsiders, those who come to know them will soon recognize an embattled race of survivors characterized by colossal hearts and unshakable resolve.
Head
Glyph of Renewal: This item, available for 90g once you get revered with Honor Hold or Thrallmar, gives you a one-time boost to your head item's healing and mp/5. Revered with HH/Thrall isn't too hard, and you need all the mp/5 you can get, so pick this up if you're planning on any serious healing. 10/10 PVE, 7/10 PVP.
Glyph of the Gladiator: On the other hand, if you're the arena type and find yourself a bit lacking in the two key PVP stats, you might want to pick up this stam/resil item from revered with Shattered Sun Offensive. It's pretty useless for PVE, though, so save it for your _____ Gladiator's set piece. 3/10 PVE, 9/10 PVP.
Shoulders
Inscription of the Oracle: Unfortunately for you indecisive types, you need to pick Aldor or Scryer to get these shoulder enhancements. Luckily for you indecisive types, both enchants have the same stats, just in different proportions. Lazy Scryers can pick up this enchant on the cheap at the Scryer bank for 2 Arcane Runes. It doesn't give you any healing stats, but since pally mana regen is entirely dependent on mp/5, it's worth it for the long fights. 7/10 PVE, 5/10 PVP.
Inscription of the Orb: We're actually yoinking this one from the casters. Scryers are big fans of crit rating, and as most healing pallies get mana returned for crit heals and tend to heal single targets, crit rating is important for us. Just make sure you're not neglecting other stats ... 7/10 PVE, 7/10 PVP.
Greater Inscription of the Oracle: When you move up to exalted with either side, however, it's time to ditch the crit in favor of this inscription if you're a PVEer. Crits are too unreliable to be used as a true mana regen method in long boss fights. The healing is a nice addition to the mp/5 on this item. 10/10 PVE, 9/10 PVP.
Greater Inscription of the Orb : But if you're still stuck on crit, you can upgrade your old Orb to this one, which adds dam/heal to spell crit. This is particularly good for healadins who like to throw out some damage in their spare time. 8/10 PVE, 9/10 PVP.
Inscription of Faith: The Aldor favor raw healing over crit or mana regen, and it shows in their item selection. Toss another 29 healing onto the pile for the price of 2 Fel Armaments. 8/10 PVE, 7/10 PVP.
Greater Inscription of Faith: Very similar to the Greater Inscription of the Oracle, but you lose 2mp/5 and gain 11 healing. It's tough to decide which is superior, so make your choice based on the other item rewards for the factions and not these inscriptions. 9/10 PVE, 9/10 PVP.
Greater Inscription of Discipline: Like the orb, except it trades in crit for damage and thus sucks a bit more for pallies. 5/10 PVE, 7/10 PVP.
Cloak
Subtlety: Of all the (relatively bad) healer choices for cloak enchants, this is probably the best. Most paladins don't have too much of a threat problem, considering, y'know, that our healing spells give off half the threat of others, but it can't hurt to have a little bit more. 5/10 PVE, 0/10 PVP.
Major Resistance: This is literally your only choice as a PVPer, unless you really like dodge rating or have a burning desire for more armor. It can help against caster teams (or caster mobs) without much penetration, but prepare to shell out a boatload of cash for the primals. 4/10 PVE, 7/10 PVP.
Chest
Magister's Armor Kit: For those of us who are cheap, the Magister's Armor Kit is a good placeholder to give a bit of extra mana regen when you're looking to upgrade to a better piece of armor. It can't compare to the real enchantments for these four slots, though. 4/10 PVE, 4/10 PVP.
Major Resilience: 15 resilience isn't that much, but it's pretty cheap, and the other PVP options (health? stats? mana?) don't work very well for healadins. 2/10 PVE, 8/10 PVP.
Exceptional Health: Mana is better for PVE. Resilience is better for PVP. And Large Brilliant Shards are expensive. Sure, health is always nice, but unless someone's handing these out for free, pass on it. 3/10 PVE, 5/10 PVP.
Restore Mana Prime: If you're about to argue with me that 100 mana should be here instead, I will note that there are very few dungeons, arenas, battlegrounds, or raid encounters that last less than two minutes. This is cheap and indispensable for PVE and (slightly less so) for PVP. 10/10 PVE, 8/10 PVP.
Bracers
Major Intellect: There are a lot of good choices for bracer enchants. Of the top four, this is probably the least useful. Int is nice, and this is inexpensive, but when you have mp/5 and healing itself as options, there's no point in going for this one. 6/10 PVE, 6/10 PVP.
Fortitude: Stam, stam, stam -- how PVPers love you. But stam is relatively cheap in TBC, and it's a lot harder to get some good healing and mp/5 options. Even PVPers might want to consider the other enchants, particularly considering the cost of the mats here. 4/10 PVE, 7/10 PVP.
Restore Mana Prime: 6mp/5 yet again. This is slightly more valuable in PVE, where paladins need to stack mp/5 for long fights where the tank's taking severe damage. It's really a tossup between this and healing, though, so consider what you need the most. 9/10 PVE, 8/10 PVP.
Superior Healing: 30 heal is a lot to put on an item with as small a stat budget as bracers. This is one of the best bang for your bucks in the game, particularly if you're an herbalist and are swimming in Primal Lifes. 9/10 PVE, 9/10 PVP.
Those who haven't played the old Warcraft games (especially Warcraft III and Frozen Throne) are really missing out. Knowing the past stories from the previous games really enriches the WoW experience. Going back and playing Warcaft I, Warcraft II, and Beyond the Dark Portal if you have the ability too. The gameplay is a bit cruder, but you get to run through Karazhan, the Deadmines, and even attack Auchindoin. It's fantastic stuff!
