World of Warcraft Gold Guide

Blizzard put up a preview of a couple of Tier 9 sets over at the Under Development section of the official website, and they look pretty interesting. As previously suspected, the Tier 9 armor sets seem to share visual characteristics with the same armor class. In the examples that Blizzard shows, the Horde Shaman and Hunter — both mail-wearers — are similar in appearance. Two other examples are the Alliance Priest and Warlock, cloth-wearing classes, who look largely similar.

The good news with these faction-specific armor is that the design team has put a decent effort into making the sets somewhat distinguishable from one another. For example, the Horde Shaman’s shoulders are reminiscent of the Earthfury Epaulets from Molten Core, distinct from the chitinous design of the Horde Hunter. The Alliance Priest and Warlock designs are a lot closer to each other, however. But don’t take my word for it… head over to the Under Development page and check out the previews for yourself. I’m pretty stoked and can’t wait to see the rest of the sets!

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We reported last week that a guild named Exodus on the US realm of Ysondre had come out of nowhere to topple the world first of the Heroic: Alone in the Darkness achievement, which requires that you bring down the biggest bad currently in the game, Yogg-Saron, with no help from any of the Keepers in Ulduar. But not so fast, says Serennia over at WoWRiot — over on their forums Ensidia is claiming that Exodus used an exploit, and that their kill doesn’t count at all. Apparently, having Thorim help on the fight keeps the “Immortal Guardians” in the last phase of the fight from being a problem, and without Thorim, you have to not only do the fight without his extra 10% damage bonus (each Keeper ups your DPS that much), but you have to deal with the Guardians messing up your melee classes, and oh yeah: they both heal and get healed by Yogg. Not that it’s impossible to do it, but it’s definitely not easy, and Ensidia claims that Exodus found a known exploit that allows you to evade the Guardians out completely, thus turning the last phase into a straight tank-and-spank, obviously much easier.

After that, it gets into some guild back and forth (Ensidia apparently did something that might have been an exploit on Hodir, and when people call them out on that, they say that the exploits were different — Ensidia’s tactic was just an interesting use of game mechanics, while the exploit Exodus is suspected of using is more of a cheat), but the fact remains that Exodus is clearly not a guild that anyone expected to clear what might be the toughest raiding achievement in the game before anyone else, and yet that’s exactly what they did. Ensidia says they won’t be killing Yogg for the achievement using the exploit, and that they’ve reported the Exodus kill to the devs, so we’ll have to see if the devs decide that Exodus did cheat, or if they let Exodus keep their achievements and mounts. We’re not sure how much it all matters, with world first kills not being all that important any more (and that’s exactly what the devs might say as well), but Ensidia is claiming that an exploit took place — we’ll have to see if that turns out to be true.

Thanks, Nimrod!

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Every Wednesday, Chase Christian of Encrypted Text invites you to enter the world of shadows, as we explore the secrets and mechanics of the Rogue class. This week, we talk VERY tongue-in-cheek about the upcoming addition of Axes to the Rogue arsenal.

As it turns out, my cynicism last week was completely unfounded. I had assumed Death Knights would be getting the new weapon skill that Blizzard had thrown up for grabs, and that we’d have yet another class rolling on Fist weapons. However, Rogues were the recipient of this new buff, and we’ll now be able to use Axes in the upcoming patch!

While many of the old Rogue veterans may put the kibosh on using anything that’s not a dagger, I’d like to see us take the opportunity to embrace this change. Orc Rogues will be able to take full advantage of Axe Specialization (which will actually include Fists in 3.2), and it opens up the door to an entirely new playstyle that I like to call ‘The Lumberjack‘. You’ll see what I mean, after the cut.

If you heard me on the WoW.com podcast last weekend, you might’ve caught me mentioning the absolute lack of appropriate end-game axes available for Rogues to use. Blizzard has stated that their plan is to drop more Axes in future instances, since there is one more class capable of using them. At 80, the Touch of Madness axe is really the only viable MH contender outside of PvP gear. It seems that we’ll have to wait for future itemization to appear before we’ll be able to truly brandish a pair of tree destroyers.

In addition to just being able to use Axes, Blizzard remembered to change a few talents to affect Axes as well. Sword Specialization has been renamed ‘Hack and Slash’, and allows for extra attacks on 5% of our hits. With only quick axes available, and a talent spec that favors quick weapons to activate the 5% proc for even more attacks, I think we’re looking at this all wrong. Axes are not meant to be the slow, heavy-hitting weapons of Warriors and Death Knights, but the quick and furious hackers of a mad assassin.

We shouldn’t be stealing these slow Axes from the Enhancement Shaman who call us friends. We should be creating a vortex of swirling steel that any Restoration Druid would cringe upon seeing. What if we’re intended to be using axes now, and we’re just not picking up on the signs? First, the buff to Lightning Reflexes in the Combat tree to include 10% additional Haste. Then, the ability to use Axes. The answer is simple!

The Lumberjack Rogue:
Here’s a quick link to the spec on WoWHead. It revolves around the idea of a true Lumberjack: open combat with your enemy, no stealthy attacks or dangerous assassinations. I would suggest weapons like the Last Laugh (if you can get your tanks to allow it) and the Axe of the Sen’jin Protector. The key to remember: the faster, the better. Gem and enchant all of your gear for haste rating. We’re not trying to beef up the damage of a slow hitting mace or sword, and we’re not trying to ambush someone from the shadows with a dagger through the heart. We’re making a woodchipper of death, and may the Light help anything that’s dumb enough to stick its hand and/or head into it.

Of course, there are clearly other aspects to being a Lumberjack Rogue than stacking Haste and being feared by Tree Druids from here to Tanaris. You’ve got to have the right threads! Find yourself a friendly tailor, and threaten them until they make you a nice Red Lumberjack Shirt and Blue Overalls. We would also be amiss in our duties if we didn’t set up a quest for new Lumberjacks to receive their very own axe. A quick excursion to kill the fearsome Old Whitebark will instill a hatred for all-things-leafy in our young for years to come.

While trying to find ways for Blizzard to make the Axe transition easier, I came up with a few ability, talent, and glyph ideas.

• Glyph of Deforestation – Your Fan of Knives ability, when used with Axes, causes 50% more damage to targets in Tree Form.

• Improved Kick – Renamed to “Timber!” – Gives your Kick ability a 50/100% chance to knock over the target tree.

• Path of Wood – Similar to the Death Knight’s “Path of Frost”, it allows the Rogue to walk on water, by creating rolling logs in the water that he or she will then jump on. Players must remain running in order to maintain their balance.

• Item – Goblin Shredder – Ride a Goblin Shredder around! This mount is only available to Lumberjacks. This is a very fast mount.

• Glyph of Chainsaw – Your Killing Spree, when used with Axes, now instantly kills your target, but no longer retains any of its previous effects. During this kill, the camera will zoom in for a close-up as you cut your enemy in half and as you are showered with their sawdust.

• Bearded Vanish – You instantly grow a huge beard, and enemies are unable to recognize you. You are unattackable for 10 seconds, or until you cut down another tree.

The innovation doesn’t stop there. Many forum posters have been begging for years to see Woodworking introduced as a new profession. We could craft bows and shields, and training weapons that speed up the Weapon Skill leveling process (which we’ll all have to trudge through with our new axes). Is it coincidence that the Lumberjack is introduced just as the Resto Druid is (back) at the height of arena prowess? I believe we have been sent by Blizzard to end the Tree tyranny at the highest ends of PvP play. No more sneaking around to ambush our prey. No more crowd control or fancy footwork to outmaneuver our opponents. All that we need are a pair of axes and Slice and Dice activated.

Conclusion:
While we still may be a few patches off of true Lumberjack viability, I believe it will be catching on shortly. If you’re leveling a new Rogue, there are a ton of Axe options available that were previously designed for Hunters and Warriors. It should help you through some of the weapon ‘dry spots’. There’s even a great starter axe at level 80 from the Sons of Hodir, which can help you get straight into Heroics with a solid blue MH. Here’s to hoping we’ll be drinking maple syrup and hanging out with our giant blue oxen in an upcoming patch!

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Despite his sometimes-crass way of getting his point across, Ming is one of the best PvP bloggers around these days. When the Patch 3.2 patch notes revealed the upcoming change to resilience, I was hoping to hear his take on it. He delivered! If you haven’t seen the patch notes, Resilience in Patch 3.2 will lower incoming damage across the board in addition to its protection against critical strikes. By Ming’s estimates, after all other factors have been taken into consideration, the change will bring a net difference of an added 10% damage reduction in the upcoming Season 7.

That number probably doesn’t seem like a lot to people who don’t set foot into the arena at all, but for people who arena seriously and competitively, it will be a game changer. The developers’ stated goal is to slow down the pace of the arena, and this change will do exactly that. An extra 10% buffer on survivability has the potential to absolutely be the difference between a one minute game and a five minute game. It has the potential to be the difference between a gib and a last second defensive save. As has been stated, it’s possible to die in the span of one GCD, and that’s not fun. If this change can extend one GCD to two or three GCDs to allow for reaction time, the arena just might end up more balanced than it has ever previously been, unless you pretend Mace Stun didn’t exist in the middle seasons of The Burning Crusade.

You really shouldn’t take my word for it, though. I PvP, but I’d never claim to be a highly rated anything. There’s a reason I was waiting for Ming’s take on it. Go read what he has to say, and be bolstered by it. The arena might actually be truly fun again.

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Two Bosses Enter … but only One Boss Leaves, in WoW.com’s series of fantasy deathmatches. This season’s bosses hail from the five-man instances of Wrath of the Lich King.

It’s the day that time stood still: Chrono-Lord Epoch (The Culling of Stratholme) versus Volkhan (the Halls of Lightning). Who’ll stop who (/snicker) in this week’s five-man Wrath boss deathmatch?

Here’s the setup:

• Assume that the Chrono-Lord and Volkhan share similar levels, health pools and a comparative overall damage output (including Volkhan’s golems).
• Prince Arthas Menethil is not a part of this encounter.
• This match takes place in neutral territory (although we’ll allow Volkhan an anvil to create his golems).
• Don’t get caught up in game mechanics and what actual players might do in each encounter.
• Focus on the three S’s: style, story and scale.

What do you think would happen during this battle? Post your theory on how the action will go, then cast your vote for who you think will be left standing at the end.

Chrono-Lord Epoch
Tick tock, tick tock… Not quick enough! Let’s get this over with.
Chrono-Lord Epoch, the third boss in The Culling of Stratholme, is sent by the leader of the Infinite Dragonflight to unravel time by altering key events — in this case, events in Old Stratholme. He disrupts enemies in battle by slowing and stopping time.

• Curse of Exertion
• Time Stop
• Time Warp
• Wounding Strike

Read more about fighting Chrono-Lord Epoch, and review comments from players who’ve fought him.

Volkhan
Is it you who have destroyed my children? You… shall… pay!

Volkhan, a Fire Giant in the Halls of Lightning, resides in the Iron Crucible and forges molten creatures. The Sons of Hodir consider him a threat to their existence and send recruits (players) to destroy him in the quest Diametrically Opposed. During battle, Volkhan creates Molten Golems at the forge which he then Shatters for immense damage, once they have been “frozen” down to no health.

• Temper
• Heat
• Shattering Stomp
• Molten Golem
  • Blast Wave
  • Immolation Strike
  • Shatter

Read more about fighting Volkhan, and review comments from players who’ve fought him.

The smackdown
As usual, you should assume that the foes share similar levels, health pools and a comparative overall damage output. They fight on neutral territory. We will not be allowing Prince Arthas Menethil into this deathmatch.

What has time wrought in this match? Come up with a convincing scenario that will sway other readers to vote for your victor of choice, and then show us your stuff in the comments

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We here at WoW.com are on a Daily Quest to bring you interesting, informative and entertaining WoW-related links from around the blogosphere.

• Mend Pet has Ten Do’s and Don’t’s of Misdirection.
• The Hunter blog QQ Pwn More takes a look at Survival versus MM for Ulduar fights.
• Another great Honors Code post, the 969 Paladin Threat Rotation.
• Amongst other things, World of Ming has some tips on how to maintain your interest in WoW.
• Ever wonder what the WoW Devs do during maintenance? Ghostcrawler tells all.

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Robin Torres writes WoW, Casually for the player with limited playtime. Of course, you people with lots of playtime can read this too, but you may get annoyed by the fact that we are unashamed, even proud, of the fact that beating WoW isn’t our highest priority. Take solace in the fact that your gear is better than ours, but if that doesn’t work, remember that we outnumber you. Not that that’s a threat, after all, we don’t have time to do anything about it. But if WoW were a democracy, we’d win.

I have played on a PvP server for years, so I can tell you with authority that I cannot recommend choosing a PvP realm if you have limited playtime. PvE servers have it so much easier as far as questing solo in contested territories. I can only imagine how much easier it would be to quest in zones like Hillsbrad Foothills and Stranglethorn Vale without the fear of being ganked every few minutes. And as you can see above, my time in Borean Tundra hasn’t been exactly gank-free.

But there are at least three reasons to join a PvP server as a casual player:

1. You love PvP. Captain Obvious says that if PvP is your idea of fun, no matter how much time you have to play, then a PvP realm is for you.
2. It feels more authentic. It’s like you are constantly involved in the Horde vs. Alliance conflict. After all, the roots of the game are in the Warcraft series of real time strategy games where you try get your stuff done while in constant danger from your enemies. If you play on a PvP realm for a while and then go PvE, it feels a little like cheating.
3. All of your friends and family are playing on a PvP server. If you have established WoW gaming friends and they all choose a PvP realm, it’s hard to be the lone PvE holdout and miss out on all the camaraderie and group fun.

I’m on my realm for both reasons 2 and 3, though mostly the latter. The Spousal Unit up and rerolled on a PvP realm, also switching from Alliance to Horde, while I was suffering from morning sickness for a few months. (In-game travel of any kind set off the nausea. I got a lot of Civ playing done instead.) Over time, I have picked up some tips and tricks to enjoying myself while braving the dangers of player-killing.

The Buddy System
Most PKers in quest areas go for the easy prey. If you are questing with a buddy, you are less likely to have to take time out to defend yourself and more likely to be successful if you do. Questing with a friend, family member or significant other is also a great way to mix WoW time with together time.

Keep your Defense Channels activated
The Defense Channels get really, really spammy, but the information they contain are invaluable. When you are choosing where to quest for your playsession, the World Defense Channel will tell you where not to go. When you are questing in the wild, the Local Defense Channel announces when to avoid the town. Some people will also use Local Defense to coordinate defensive efforts. (Yay! A channel that functions as originally designed!)

Call out the gankers
Using Local Defense preferably, or a combo of that channel and General, you should always notify the zone of the whereabouts of gankers. High levels often come to questing areas to eke out revenge for current or past deaths and will be happy to come to your aid. Announcing the PKers also warns fellow questers of possible attacks incoming.

Camp a high level character nearby
If you are leveling an alt and have another character that is at or near max level, then camping your high level at the local inn is great for revenge as necessary. Or you could ask a guildie with multiple uber-geared characters to park one of them nearby for protection when he or she is available. I am fortunate that The Spousal Unit enjoys taking breaks from activities when not raiding to come and thump meanies who are picking on me. Awwww. Friends and guildies who are in the middle of instances, however, cannot take vengeance breaks for you, so always check their whereabouts in your Friends and Guilds lists before asking.

Quest trouble zones at higher levels
Highly contested zones like Hillsbrad Foothills and Stranglethorn Vale are best explored when the quests and mobs are green to you. In general, this philosophy makes questing faster, but it is also helpful when you need to defend yourself with mobs around. Green mob aggro is of course not as dangerous as yellow or higher mob aggro, when in an impromptu PvP battle.

Quest trouble zones during off hours
Scheduling your playtime during quiet hours on your server is a double edged sword. On the one hand, there are fewer gankers. On the other hand, there are fewer defenders. In general, however, a highly contested zone is less gankeriffic when there are fewer players on the server overall.

Always have a backup plan
When you are planning what you are going to do in-game (which I highly recommend), make sure that you have a backup plan. When I’m following Jame’s Leveling Guides, I get sent to Hillsbrad Foothills a lot. But sometimes, questing there is just not feasible. There are usually other zones with quests that are appropriate for your level. Do some research and keep backup quest hubs in mind for when your preferred zone is overrun by conflict mongers. Battlegrounds, profession leveling and Achievement hunting are all good substitute activities, as well.

Keep your alts battle-ready
Being an altaholic really comes in handy on a PvP realm. If you are finding that leveling your level 25 character is just too frustrating, you can pick up your level 35, or maybe your 45 — you get the idea. Make sure any non-bank alts that you are remotely interested in playing are ready to go, so that you can play your second choice right away instead of having to deal with the tedium of inventory management.

There is no real death penalty in WoW
Death is kinda inconvenient and it costs a little bit of money, but it really isn’t that big of a deal. Of course, I still have the scars from dying in the ancient days of EQ, so I’m a bit biased on the subject. If you are one of those people who takes each death personally, then you are going to find your fun severely diminished when playing on a PvP realm. Death is a regular occurrence over level 20 or so on a PvP realm, no matter how leet your PvP skills are and I really don’t think this admirable achievement is possible on a PvP server. So just accept it and move on — and if you can’t, then transfer. It’s not going to get any better.

My backup plan after a charmingly named gnome Death Knight kept teaching me a lesson in humility was to just give up and knit. I want to get my druid to max level, but sometimes I just want to relax more. WoW is only a good way to spend your hard earned leisure time if you are actually reducing stress instead of increasing it.

It’s all about fun.

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Although this comes a little late for a few players, not everybody is raiding Ulduar yet, and those that are haven’t necessarily cleared it. To help appease your curiosity about what creatures lurk within the latest raid, or if you simply want to know a bit about the background of the guys that have been handing you purples recently, check out Blizzard’s latest web feature, the Bosstiary.
It’s an interactive map of Ulduar (same graphics as the in-game map), and if you click on any of the boss icons, it pops up a little paragraph about the boss. For instance, did you know that Auriaya is Ulduar’s archivist? Makes sense - librarians love cats. Also, apparently Kologarn was created by Ignis. I guess Iggy must have been a big Monty Python fan.

I think this is a neat way to learn a little more about the story behind the bosses. I hope they continue doing this for raids to come.

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A couple months ago, we asked if you could add one new game mechanic to WoW, what would it be? This morning, I’d like to ask what you’d pick if you could add one new feature. Some common requests:

• Player/guild housing
• Ability to be in multiple guilds simultaneously
• Ability to start a character at a higher level than 1 (like Death Knights)
• Mounted combat
• Cosmetic gear (ability to have one set of gear equipped, and another set displayed)

I’m sure there are more commonly desired features that I just haven’t thought of yet.

Me, I’m really excited about the PvE arenas that I hope are coming in patch 3.2. Aside from that, I suppose I’d like to be able to start alts at a high level. I like leveling well enough, but 1-40 is simply tedious. Characters haven’t really come into their own yet, and those zones are pretty underdeveloped. What new feature would you want to add to WoW?

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Blogger and WoW.com friend Pixelated Executioner has introduced a brand new blog project — he’s working with a few other folks in the community on a new blog called Nourish, dedicated to providing some fun and relatively easy WoW-related recipes for real food. It all originally started over on Twitter, where a few of them decided to come up with some WoW-themed dish names, but eventually it escalated into the idea of an actual set of recipes, with the added bonus of getting some WoW players some real homemade food to eat as well (you can only go so far on Doritos and Mountain Dew, after all).

There’s only two recipes so far (both submitted by another friend of ours, Cadistra of WoW, Eh?), but that spice bread does look pretty tasty. If you’re a foodie or just have been looking for a way to use something other than the microwave in your kitchen, it seems like a great place to start. And if you need more than the few they’ve got up so far, don’t forget our old Well Fed Buff column — it’s retired now, but we’ve still got plenty of great WoW-related recipes to try making there as well.

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