Cataclysmic Events? Only For The Overdramatic.

I'd throw twenty bucks at this just to keep it from haunting my dreams.
It's been a busy week, but to be honest I just haven't been bothered. All week I've been listening to podcasts discussing the various class changes coming in Cataclysm. Some players rejoiced at the changes, others complained that everyone got something good expect their class.

Well that's all well and good, but people tend to forget that these are not etched in stone. That's what the Beta is for. The Dev's will run these changes in-game and see what's going to stay the same, what needs to be tweaked, and what's going to be removed outright.

So before you fall in love with your upcoming talents, just remember this: Blizzard also promised you a Dance Studio. Nuff said.

You can find a list of the Cataclysm changes over at MMO Champion.

Space Ghost approves of this mount.

Yep, Blizzard added two more pets to their Store - Lil' KT and the Celestial Steed. Once again, the player base lost their minds. The Steed, a full-blown mount that scales with your Riding Skill (both on land and in air), was the more expensive pet this time around at $20.

You know, I'm not even going to bother discussing this thing. I've covered this same, idiotic garbage when Blizzard did this the first time. The arguments haven't changed at all, so I see no reason to rehash the same old trollop.

After looking at everything, there's not a whole lot that needs going over. The big stories of the week were either things that may or may not happen in full, or have little impact on the game.

Starcraft II Perks for WoW Players?

The word that is making the rounds is that Blizzard will be releasing a Starcraft II Collector's Edition. As is their custom, the CE will have things like Concept Art book, Soundtrack CD, a "Making of" DVD, and a USB Stick that looks like dog tags.

All this for One Hundred Dollars.

Not interested, huh? How's this for a hook - if you happen to be a World of Warcraft subscriber you also get an in-game mini-pet: THOR!

Zounds! The God of Thunder is no man's pet... unless his name happens to be Stan Lee. Make Mine Marvel!

No, not that one. The Starcraft Terran one -

No magic hammer here folks.

And people those the Monk Pet was expensive. Ouch.

Blizzcon 2010: Coming Soon?

It's getting to be that time again.

Last year, people were questioning if there was going to be another Blizzcon so soon. After all, Blizzcon '09 had just wrapped up and Cataclysm had been announced. The player base was in a tizzy as they left the convention with visions of New Barrens and Grunties dancing in their heads. Would Blizzard have another convention right on the heels of the announcement of WoW's big expansion?

That question appeared to be answered in November when a Las Vegas hotel mistakenly posted that they would be hosting Blizzcon in July of '10. The posting was quickly yanked, but it was enough to get people vibrating. It might have been a mistake, but at least it meant Blizzard had been toying with the idea of another convention.

Fast forward to February. Another posting, this time back in Blizzcon's old stomping grounds of Anaheim. Word of a October 22 Blizzcon emerged, but much like the Las Vegas posting it was quickly taken down. However, the venue still shows that weekend as "open" when every other weekend around it is booked. Seems strange, unless they have something booked and just don't want to tell folks about it.

That, and Jay Mohr tweeted that he was hosting Blizzcon - a tweet that was quickly removed.



I bring this up because it was around this time last year that Blizzcon was announced for 2009. As I said at the beginning of the post, it's getting to be that time again. Will we get a Blizzcon announcement, an official one this time, within the next month or so?

Where the Real Money Is

Walk with me while I take you on a journey.

First stop is HERE, where we learn that Upper Deck has lost the license to World of Warcraft - Trading Card Game. Blue Poster Zarhym had this to say about it on the World of Warcraft Forums:

As some of you may already be aware, we will not be renewing the World of Warcraft: The Trading Card Game license with Upper Deck. We want to assure you that we are committed to supporting the TCG, and players can look forward to new content and strong organized play support in the near future. We will share additional details about the game’s transition to a new partner as soon as possible. For those awaiting tournament prizes, we will ensure you receive them.

So Blizzard is leaving Upper Deck. Which is funny, because to hear them tell it Upper Deck dropped Blizzard due to poor sales.

The card game seems popular enough. Listen to anyone who talks about it and they seem to know a guy who knows a guy who plays. A few people will come out and tell you that they have personally tried the game but just didn't get into it. Sounds like Upper Deck's poor sales claim might have some footing after all. Locally I've tried to find packages of cards but they're incredibly hard to come by. I've even looked on eBay and found cards online. Since I don't play, I don't know if the value placed on these pieces of colored cardboard is worth it. But the loot cards that come with the game, well that's another kettle of fish.

Now let's stroll over HERE, where Blizzard gives the Make-a-Wish Foundation a 1.1 Million Dollar donation, raised by the sales of the Pandaren Monk pet found in Blizzard's own Pet Store. For two months, half the money from the sales of the Monk went to the charity. Needless to say, alot of people bought that Kung Fu Panda.

See where I'm going with this? No? Okay, let's make one more stop. Here we are at the Blizzard Pet Store itself. Don't mind the smell, Game Developers tend to kick up almost as much funk as gamers at Blizzcon. Now if you look to your right, you'll see the Blizzard Pet Store FAQ. Scroll all the way down to the bottom where the question is asked about people being able to buy weapons and such.

"As with the pets, mounts, and other items players can obtain through Loot cards from the World of Warcraft Trading Card Game, Pet Store pets are purely cosmetic and just for fun."

Back to my story about eBay. Look up the TCG cards and see how much they sell for. Now look up TCG Loot cards and see what those sell for. You do the math and figure out where the money can be made with the TCG itself.

I suspect that the TCG will go on, and I suspect that it will be Blizzard itself that will release the game. I also suspect that there won't be any loot cards to be found in any of those packets. All loot codes will go on sale in the Pet Store (or Loot Store), and any money lost on the TCG itself will be reimbursed by the Loot sales.

That's right: within the next year, you too might be able to ride off into the sunset with your very own Spectral Tiger Mount... if the price is right.

Don't Hate The Game, Hate The Player

Two posts in one day? Don't blame me, blame Blizzard.

Actually, blame the player-base who seems to be losing their minds over nothing. Again.

According to blogs and forums across the World of Warcraft landscape, Blizzard has gone and done the unthinkable. They've opened the Pet Store, which allows players to spend Real Life Money for In-Game Items!

I fire back with a resounding yawn. They did the same sort of thing with the Race Change service, and I think the Orc racial affects the gameplay a little more than watching Kung Fu Panda bust a move.

What about the Faction Change service? For lifetime Horde players, it gives them the chance to play an entire half of the game that they'd never seen before. Ditto for Alliance to Horde transfers. That affects your gameplay more than Lil' K.T. zapping critters while you fish, or whatever you people do when you have your vanity pets out.

In those particular cases, you don't GET an item for your money - the CHARACTER is the item. More importantly, those purchases will have an affect on how you play the game. It might not be on a large scale, but it certainly has a direct bearing on the game. A vanity pet, no matter how gosh darn cute you find them, will not. Ever. They're about as game-breaking as changing your Blood Elf's hairstyle.

The masses saw what the scheming Blizzard was trying to do and cried out in true Nerd Rage fashion. This is a slippery slope for Blizzard! How long until you can buy epics or gold! HOW LONG?!

According to the Pet Store FAQ:

Does this mean you'll be introducing more services like this in the future? Will you be introducing the ability to buy epic weapons/etc. in the future, for example?

As with the pets, mounts, and other items players can obtain through Loot cards from the World of Warcraft Trading Card Game, Pet Store pets are purely cosmetic and just for fun. Like other paid services we offer, such as Paid Name Changes, Race Changes, and Character Re-Customizations, the Pet Store service is entirely optional and intended to provide players another means to enjoy World of Warcraft in a way that isn't detrimental to the game and that doesn't detract from the gameplay experience for players who choose not to use the service.

Hey there, overly dramatic WoW-Player Base, choke on that. M'kay?

But... but Blizz said there'd never be Faction Changes either! Or PVE to PVP transfers! What about that? Blizzard can't be trusted!

Paranoia is fun. Don't look now, but the Black Helicopters are circling your domicile.

What? They are?

There was a market for every one of the services Blizzard offers today. That means there was a public demand for it. Public. So many Players requested/demanded/begged for these things, Blizzard decided to offer them at a price. If they were going to waste development time on these non-essential services, be it Faction Changes or Vanity Pets, there had to be a great number of people who wanted it.

Remember that when you want to blame Blizzard. The Player Base put things in motion. Blizzard simply greased the wheels. Good on them for making a buck off of people who "need" these non-essential services.

However, Blizzard also showed they money does not make them completely stupid. They realised that introducing those services would not affect the gameplay experience. Players might have lost their minds when "carebears" could level up on PVE servers and then come to where the "real" game was, but the game itself was essentially intact.

Raiding is hard! Instances are hard! The public demands epics! I wanna buy my epics!

Allowing the ability to buy epics would undermine gameplay in that it would take away any motivation for players to play the game at all. At max level, getting decked out in purples is (apparently) what it's all about. If you could just buy yourself a suit of epics, there would be no motivation to do the raids...

... or run the instances

... or get to max level

... or play World of Warcraft.

In answer to the Great Stupid Question - Blizzard will not let players buy epic gear or weapons. Ever.

However, there WILL be more micro-transactions coming, and I suspect they'll be alot more interesting than vanity pets.



Well, most vanity pets. Now where did I put my wallet?

Race Change Goes Live

What is the Race Change service?
Our Race Change service is designed to allow existing characters the opportunity to change their designated race while staying in their existing faction (Alliance or Horde).

Can I use the Race Change service to change factions?
No, faction changes are handled separately through our Faction Change service. For more information, visit the Faction Change FAQ.

How do I begin the Race Change process?
To begin the Race Change process, please visit the Account Management page, select the Race Change option, and carefully follow the instructions provided.

How much does this service cost?
Each Race Change costs $25.00 USD (not including applicable taxes). This covers a single Race Change for a single character.

Is this service taxed? If so, how can I tell if my purchase will be taxed?
Players in select states in the U.S. may be subject to taxation when using our Race Change service. This list includes, but is not limited to:
- New Mexico
- Texas

Can I change multiple characters' races at once?
No. The Race Change service only allows one change per transaction. If you would like to change multiple characters' races, you will need to pay for each one separately.

At what level can I change a character's race?
Characters level 10 and above are eligible for a Race Change. Death Knights will be unable to change their race until level 60.

Will this service allow me to customize a character and select a different name once its race has been changed?
Yes. Each Race Change purchase will also provide the target character with an included re-customization and optional name change.

Am I allowed to choose any race regardless of what class I play?
No, the new race you choose must be compatible with your current class.

Can I use this service to change the character back to its original race?
Absolutely; however, this will require purchasing another Race Change.

Will I be able to select Cataclysm races and class combinations for a character once they're available in game?
Details are not available at this time. As development continues, though, we hope to provide more information.

How often can I change a character's race?
You may change a character's race every three days.

What happens after I initiate a Race Change?
Once your payment has processed and after you have remained logged out of the game for at least 30 minutes, you will see a new button to the left of the character's name upon next login. Clicking on this button will allow you to select the character's new race, as well as customize the character's look and name. These steps will greatly resemble the character creation process.
To complete the Race Change, press the button labeled "Click to change your character's race" and confirm your selections. If you do not wish to change the character's race immediately, you may do so at a later time.

What will happen to the character's old name?
If you opt to change the character's name, the name will be locked from use on the realm for 90 days. You are not required to change the character's name, though; this is simply an option we provide included with the Race Change.

What will happen to the character's equipment when I change its race?
Equipment will be unaffected by the Race Change.

What will happen to the character's mounts when I change its race?
Mounts which are not considered race-specific will remain unchanged by this process. Race-specific mounts will be exchanged for a cross-race equivalent. You can view a full list of race-specific mounts and their equivalents here.

What will happen to the character's non-combat pets when I change its race?
Non-combat pets will not be affected by this process and will be available once the character's Race Change completes.

What will happen to the character's achievements when I change its race?
Achievements will remain unchanged by this process.

What will happen to the character's titles when I change its race?
Titles will remain unchanged by this process.

What will happen to the character's reputation levels when I change its race?
Upon changing races, the reputation level associated with the character's previous race will be switched with that of the character's new race.
All other reputations will be unaffected by the change.

What will happen to the character's quests when I change its race?
Quests which are active in the character's log at the time of the Race Change will be cleared and all quest items associated with these quests will be destroyed.

What will happen to the character's flight paths when I change its race?
All flight points are unaffected by the change.

What will happen to the character's "Friends" and "Ignore" lists when I change its race?
The character's "Friends" and "Ignore" lists will be unaffected by the change.

What will happen to the character's Guild and Arena team(s)?
A character's Guild and Arena team will be unaffected by the change.

Can I use the Race Change service if I am a Guild leader or Arena team leader?
Yes. The character's Guild and Arena teams will be unaffected by the change.

What will happen to the character's honor and Arena points?
Any honor points, Marks of Honor, and lifetime honorable kills will not be affected by this process. Earned Arena points will carry over, as well; however, any pending Arena points accrued after the last maintenance period but before your Race Change is initiated may be lost.

Where will the character be located after the Race Change is complete?
Once the Race Change is complete, the character will be moved to the capital city of its new race.

What will happen to the character's Armory profile?
Once you have completed the Race Change process, the character's Armory profile will be updated to reflect any racial, gender, or name changes. Please note that our Armory system is still in beta at this time, so the character's profile may not immediately display the updated information.

Will this service share a cooldown with the Character Transfer, Character Name Change, or Character Re-Customization services?
No. The Race Change service will not share its cooldown with any of these services.

Will this service share a cooldown with the Faction Change service?
Yes. If you perform a Race Change, you will not be able to perform a Faction Change for three days.

Can I purchase a Race Change for a character that has a pending Name Change or Re-Customization or is in the process of being transferred?
No. Before you can initiate a Race Change for a character, please complete any pending Name Changes, Re-Customizations, or Transfers. These pending transactions will prevent you from initiating a Race Change.

When will I be charged for the character's Race Change?
You will be charged immediately upon pressing the confirmation button on the Race Change page.

Is there any way to cancel a Race Change while the process is pending?
Because your payment method will be charged immediately upon confirmation, you will be unable to cancel the process once you have pressed the confirmation button and the Race Change process is underway.

Is there any way to reverse a Race Change once it's completed?
No. Once a Race Change is done, it is permanent. You may, however, purchase another Race Change to switch back to the original race once the service cooldown time has elapsed.

Patch 3.3 PTR Notes

Patch 3.3.0 - Icecrown Citadel.

Or as I like to call it, "Nothing that affects me in the slightest." I guess it's different if you're running the content. Someday maybe. Someday.

Less crying, more updating!

As far as Death Knights go, there's not a whole lot coming down the pipe in 3.3 so far.
* Rune of the Stoneskin Gargoyle: There is now a 1-handed version of this rune in addition to the current 2-handed rune.
* Talents (Unholy) - Night of the Dead: Now reduces the damage your pet takes from area-of-effect damage by 45/90%, but no longer applies to area-of-effect damage caused by other players.

Hey, Rokk runs primarily as Blood! Naturally you can see how the upcoming patch, at first glance, simply has me anxiously awaiting its arrival!

/sarcasm.

Scanning, scanning... oh hey glyphs.

# Glyphs

* Death Knights - Glyph of Icy Touch: Instead of granting additional runic power, this glyph now causes Frost Fever to deal 20% additional damage.

Wow. Patch 3.3, huh? Think I'll go fishing.

More "Inspiration" for Blizzard

Mayong Mistmoore will pwnzor ur face!


A couple of days ago, while on "Modified Duties" at work (stupid fractured elbow), I decided to make the most of the computer usage and started looking at Everquest. I mentioned in a previous post that I played EQ for years before coming to World of Warcraft, and I suppose I was feeling a little nostalgic.

Of course, since the computers are for "corporate use only", most of the sites I found were blocked. However, I did come across two rather interesting tidbits that had been added to EQ since I left. Like the Guild Hall, I predict that it is only a matter of time before these tidbits become incorporated, in some form, into WoW.

I'll pause for a moment and explain the Guild Hall concept for those who have not played EQ. Essentially, the Guild Hall in EQ is a phased zone, accessible only by your guildmates, that looks like a big Inn. There are vendors there, as well as profession aids like forges and tailoring looms. There is a pool that accellerates HP and Mana regen. Most importantly, IMO, there is the Guild Portal. Beside the portal is a Gnome that you buy Porting Shards from. Those shards are for various zones in the game. You buy the shard, hand it back to the Gnome, and it sets the Teleporter beside him for that zone. That Teleporter remains active for several minutes, or until someone else comes along and changes the Teleporter destination by handing the Gnome a new shard. Great for when you have to get a whole raid moving, or if you just want to get somewhere in a hurry and you don't have a pocket Mage to send you on your merry.

I don't know what the Guild Leveling process involves in Cataclysm, but don't be surprised if something like this comes down the pipe.

Now back to fuctions that EQ currently has, that Blizzard should steal for their own game.

The Mayong Server - This server in Everquest is what has been called the "51/50" server. Characters created on that server start at Level 51, with 50AAs (Alternate Advancement - see "Titans, Path of the" in the upcoming Cataclysm expansion). They also start out with a full spellbook (as applicable) as well as Flawed Defias Armor.

What does this mean for WoW? Well, they could create "Veteran" servers which could start much the same way. Characters created on these servers would start at, say, level 58 (much like DK's exiting their own starting zone). They would have standard gear, maybe blues, and would spawn in the newbie zone. It would be a short run to a capital city, where they would have preset flight paths (like Death Knights) that they could use to continue their adventures in higher zones like the Plaguelands, or take the portal to the Badlands to hop into the Outlands.

To keep things from getting out of hand, or to allow for all of the content to be used, perhaps only one Veteran character would be allowed per account. Once that Veteran character has been created, all subsequent characters would be level 1.

Would Blizzard go for this? Sure, why not. Players would get to try different classes at a higher starting level, but only on these select servers. If they liked them, they could pay to transfer the character to another server (Blizz <3 $$). The mechanics are in place with the DKs. This is one of those things that I'm fairly confident will come to pass at some point. After Faction Changes went live, I wouldn't put anything past Blizzard.

There was another function that I noticed, and this one I would bet cash money dollars that it will be in the game, probably sometime after Cataclysm drops. But I'll save that idea for another post, because content is fun.

Cataclysm - For All The Wrong Reasons

Well it's official - Blizzard has announced their new expansion. But I don't think they chose the right title. I think a more accurate name would be something like "Cash-aclysm" or "Cat-Alt-clism".

"Cash-aclysm" comes from the fact that they increased the race/class matrix to be more all-emcompassing.



This change simply encourages those people who want to do the upcoming "Paid Faction Change" to do so, by giving them more options, lore be damned. I don't care about lore myself, but I'm pretty sure the Night Elf Mage kinda goes against that sort of thing. Blood Elf Warrior? Really?

So for all you Hunters who want to switch to Alliance, you can pull out your wolf pet and be a wolf-man yourself! All you Pallies that didn't want to be a froofy Blood Elf, well saddle up with a slab of Tauren awesomeness! Just give Blizzard your monies and you have more selection of cute or crass, whatever floats your boat.

Now for the "Cat-Alt-clysm" name, I think that one has some legs. First, most of the changes coming in this expansion encourages people to play alts. They introduce two new races, with phased starter zones like the DK's starter zones. A nice gimmick, mentioned in their FAQ:

Yes, we are creating all-new level 1 to 15 starting zones for both races. Players will start their adventures with the worgen in Gilneas, which was sealed off behind the Greymane Wall. Goblin players will start on the Isle of Kezan and then head to the Lost Isles in the South Seas before joining the mainland. Each starting experience will be presented in a fashion similar to the death knight starting area in Wrath of the Lich King, and these starting zones will make extensive use of our new phased-terrain technology.

Next, the revamp the 1-60 zones. Why, when they've spent so much time and effort to get people to blitz through that content in the past to reach the level cap? Again, from their FAQ:

As we developed new content and expansions, we learned a lot of techniques to provide players with a better game experience--but the majority of the new content we were creating was for high-level characters only. We felt we could apply the lessons of Outland and Northrend to improve the gameplay experience while leveling in the original two continents. Imagine revisiting a familiar zone like Darkshore only to find Auberdine destroyed by the cataclysm--and then discovering entirely new towns and quests in other parts of the zone.

Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms are central to World of Warcraft lore, and we want those areas to remain an important part of the game, not just a place to train or auction. Our goal is to make questing, leveling, and the overall story more fun for new, returning, and existing players. By redesigning areas of the original continents and introducing new content that matches or exceeds the quality of Wrath of the Lich King, we can revitalize the nostalgia and coolness of Azeroth.

So they want you to make alts. They introduce the new races, hook you with the gimmicked phasing intro, then show you all the pretty new zones they've made. Know what would help the leveling process even more? Flying.

Yes. While the original Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor weren’t designed for flying mounts, we’re redesigning the continents with flying mounts in mind. However, we’re still determining whether there will be any restrictions on where you will be able to fly, at what level flying will become available, or whether you’ll need to do anything to unlock it. We’ll share more details about this in the future.

Changing flying levels again? Guess if it helped getting those DK's through the Outlands, it'll help the new number of Alts that will be starting out in the old leveling zones.

Now granted, many of these changes will affect players whether they get the expansion or not - old content changes will happen regardless. Buying the expansion unlocks the new races, new zones, and new level cap. Doesn't seem like all that much, does it? In fact, given all the changes that will be happening game-wide, the expansion itself only provides what seems like a fraction of the new content that is coming.

Rest assured, whether you buy the expansion or not, one thing will be certain: you will be a victim of the upcoming CatALTclysm whether you like it or not.

Whose Side Are You On?

A Blue post came down the tubes a few days ago from Nethaera, and in it he/she discussed their upcoming money-grab service.

http://blue.mmo-champion.com/1/18031079410-factionchange-service-in-the-works.html

We wanted to give everyone a very early heads-up that, in response to player requests, we’re developing a new service for World of Warcraft that will allow players to change their faction from Alliance to Horde or Horde to Alliance. There’s still much work to do and many details to iron out, but the basic idea is that players will be able to use the service to transform an existing character into a roughly equivalent character of the opposing faction on the same realm. Players who ended up creating and leveling up characters on the opposite factions from their friends have been asking for this type of functionality for some time, and we’re pleased to be getting closer to being able to deliver it.

As with all of the features and services we offer, we intend to incorporate the faction-change service in a way that won’t disrupt the gameplay experience on the realms, and there will be some rules involved with when and how the service can be used. The number of variables involved increases the complexity of implementing this service, but we plan to take the time needed to ensure that it lives up to expectations before officially rolling it out. We’ll go into much more detail on all of this here at http://www.WorldofWarcraft.com as development progresses. In the meantime, we wanted to let you know that because this type of functionality requires extensive internal testing well in advance of release, you may be seeing bits and pieces of the service in the test builds we use for the public test realms moving forward.

Updated* 7/1- Due to the many questions that have come up with the announcement of this new service, we wanted to take the time to answer the ones we can at this point in time.

Q. Will we be able to switch between the races on our own faction?
A.. No. Players will only be able to switch to a race of the opposite faction.

Q. Will I be able to choose the race on the opposite faction that I want to change to?
A.. Yes, but you will only be able to switch to a race that has your class type available to it. So if you play a human paladin, you’d only be able to change to a blood elf paladin.

Q.How much will it cost?
A.. We do not have further information on this at this point in time.

Q.Will I be able to switch back to my original faction but a different race?
A.. No. You will only be able to switch back to your originally chosen race.

Q.. How will the switch between reputation, gear, mounts, etc be handled?
A.. We’ll have more details for you at a later point in time, though we plan to keep these as close to a reflection of the other faction as much as possible.

Q.How often can you change your faction?
A..We do not have any information to share on this at this point in time, however we will have restrictions on the frequency by which players can change their faction.

Q. How will this affect the balance of Horde and Alliance on the realms?
A.. We are taking great care in how we implement this new service in order to maintain balance between the factions on the realms but do not have any further details to share.

Didn't Blizzard say this would never happen? Oh wait, it doesn't matter. After all, people went to their cesspool-like forum and cried (or QQ as the kids say these days). What else could they do? Game too hard? Cry and Blizz will nerf it. Think a class is more powerful than your own? It isn't that you're a terrible player. Heavens no! You're a precious little snowflake! Just bitch and complain and Blizz will take care of it.

*urgle*

Sorry, had to choke back a rant there.

Actually, maybe there is a benefit to being a switcher. After all, it's a great way to lose weight!

Instances Are Fun

A growing number of players are complaining (I'll pause for a moment so you can get over the shock of that statement) that they can't get an Instance started up. Since most of these people are 80 and working through Heroics, I don't feel sorry for them. I'm an elitist that way.

Anyhow, Blue Poster Vaneras posted this over on the EU forums -

We are aware of your feedback concerning the limit on the number of instances. This limit was set up some time ago in order to preserve the gameplay experience of players who are already inside instances. Allowing too many instances to be opened at once would eventually have a negative impact on performance, which was definitely noticed and reported right here in the EU forums. This limit is still in place today for the same reasons. However, we are working on a more permanent solution for instance performance. This can take a lot of time to plan, implement and test -- so it is not something we can resolve quickly, other than using the limit currently in place. But we do wish to assure you that we are very much aware of your feedback and we continue to monitor the situation. We will inform you about the longer term solution as soon as we have more details to share.

I've never understood Blizzard's approach to situations like this. They touted Wintergrasp as the "Ultimate Epic PVP Experience", allowing for huge armies to battle each other. They then take steps to nerf the piss out of it because too many people were using it, thereby bogging down the servers. Now too many people are starting instances, bogging down the servers. Did someone not stop to do the math? Or were they too busy rolling around in their giant mountains of subscription money to realise that they might have to slap some more system tech onto their network to handle the growing load on it?

All I'm saying is that if Blizzard doesn't poke someone down their corporate food chain with a sharp stick to get them to pay attention, the only load they'll have left is the one growing in the player base's collective pants as they cancel subscriptions in pouting protest.

Feel the Wrath

Last night I briefly contemplated picking up my copy of WotLK from EB Games. It was almost midnight, and I was driving in the cold and freezing rain hoping to buy some kind of patching goop from Wal-Mart. Seems one of the windows in the sun room decided to spring a leek at 11 at night, letting a steady stream of ice cold water piddle on the carpet.

There I am, driving around, and I see people lining up at Best Buy. I see them at Wal-Mart. I think to myself, "I'm out anyway. Why not swing by my EB and grab the game?"

That's when my inner orc spoke up. "Do you NEED it tonight?"

"Need?"

"Yes, need. Can you start a Death Knight on the server you want?"

"Well, no."

"Are you a high enough level to use the content in the expansion?"

"I guess not."

"Then buy that tube of goop, get your @ss home, and let the game wait until tomorrow. Oh, and you probably won't be in any big hurry to install it tomorrow, will you?"

"..."

Fixed the leak. Picking up the game today. Installing it when I can use the content.

That's the kicker. I'm waiting for the point where, other than being level 66 or so, I'll need Wrath content. Patch 3.0 pretty much gave me most of what I'd want (aside from zones and levels) - new talents, new professions, new pet skills.

For now, Wrath will sit on my desk as a reminder to keep grinding. Keep my eye on the ball.