srsbusiness

Cataclysm is NOT Just a Clever Name
Early yesterday Blizzard announced upcoming changes to raiding in Cataclysm. Insolence over at Pwnwear.com posted a great thread with all of the requisite blue text, if you’ve been living under a rock for the past 24 hours I highly recommend taking a look before reading further (link). I decided to finally weigh in after giving some careful consideration to the blue posts, clarifications and getting some perspective from other bloggers.

Now let’s get to the heart of this thing…

There’s a Thin Line Between Entertainment and War
First, there’s things I definitely like and wholeheartedly support: namely the change from the currently clunky Emblem mechanic to a points based system similar to what we’ve been seeing in PVP. This streamlined system honestly excites me, also the mention that we’ll have some interchange and the removal of rating from many items (including weapons) was also great news. To be honest, I would’ve used an arena Axe most of this expansion for a full EH set over most of the weapons I’ve gotten. But the idea of grinding out arenas to raid has always been a no go for me.

The cycling of tiers in this system (as described by Bashiok in this thread) is also something I feel I can really get behind. It’s intuitive, and keeps people competing while also trimming the fat from the system. Throw in the mention of trading PVP points for PVE and vice versa, and you get a resounding “F Yeah!” from me, along with all of the requisite high-fives inherent with such exultant expletive.

There’ll Be No Shelter Here
There are a few things that concern me however, the leveling of the playing field creates a few problems. Essentially, it comes down to reward: with loot being the same in both instances, and assuming that you get the same type of points (though amount will vary) I wonder where the incentive comes in. It’s hard to argue the merits of twenty fives when you take logistical concerns under consideration along with the rest. It’s a question of “Risk vs Reward”, a concept I’m sure many fellow Goblins are familiar with.

Now, please understand this is not meant as a QQ or anything resembling it. This is a simple question, with loot being equal and all other rewards being pretty much equal, and difficulty being the same (I’m not sure how, but ok), why bother doing 25s? It’s a sentiment expressed over and over again on various blogs. And a question I want to address, largely because I’ve actually been hit with this question by guild mates while raiding last night.

The Thin Line is Everywhere
There really is a lot going on behind the scenes for a raiding guild. It takes a LOT of work to keep it going, and even more to make it successful. So the question is valid, is it worth the logistical headaches to do twenty fives for the same loot? The short answer is, maybe.

For starters, there’s a lot of information we don’t have just yet. Blizz has remained tight lipped about legendaries in this new environment (let’s face it, we all want a legendary weapon). Will they be available in both, will they be available only in twenty fives? We just don’t know yet. Similarly, we don’t know exactly what the “higher” loot ratio that they’re talking about will be. Some theories point to a five boss raid dropping 2 items per ten man, with the same bosses dropping 6 per in twenty five man versions. This of course would be a higher ratio per capita meaning your raid force would get more loot per week, per person.

There’s also talk of aesthetic bonuses: special mounts, titles, etc for twenty fives. And of course, the guild achievement system that is going live at the same time may also hold some incentive. But, I’m not sure how well that would go over. The problem is that the change in philosophy seems to be making both equal so that it’s just a choice of which you prefer. Unfortunately, things don’t work that way. If twenty five man raiders are perceived as being given something extra, I think a lot of the ten man enthusiasts will cry foul. And of course, if both are absolutely equal and it’s just a question of which do you prefer… then I can see it eliminating a lot of interest in twenty fives for a lot of people.

In the end, it’s not an easy question to answer. And one thing Blizzard did get right, the answer to this problem is probably going to be different for everyone. For myself, I would definitely prefer to continue as a twenty five man guild. There’s more than nine people that I truly enjoy raiding with, it comes down to my personal feelings for my guild. I’m proud of it and it’s members. I’m proud of our accomplishments: chief of which is managing to kick the living shit out of raid bosses with a group of people I would have no problem sharing a beer with in public. I’ve been in various guilds, in several MMOs. And honestly, I’ve never been in a guild with people I liked as genuinely as I do in Face on Fire. It’s a rare thing we have, and something I would let go of only grudgingly. So, before I get completely side tracked in the awesomeness that is Face on Fire, let me just say in honor of them “F Yeah!” and move on…

In the end though, like many things in Cataclysm I think it’s just too early to tell. I’m sure that people will leave when Cataclysm drops. It happens, there’s going to be turnover with any expansion… How much, and who is anyone’s guess. Some people will re roll or switch mains (hell, we’ve already had two raiders switch mains recently). Things are going to be “different”, it sounds trite and maybe a bit of a cliche but: forget everything (well, most of it anyway) that you know about raiding and inter personal relations in guilds. These things are going to be changing, and it’s the right time for it. The game itself is changing with Cataclysm, it’s normal to be scared. Just don’t panic. Try to keep an open mind, and if you’re still more than just “concerned” repeat this mantra, “They know what they’re doing (I hope).”

Thanks for reading…

The Bloodscalp Report
According to ye olde spreadsheet I’m making approximately 21000g per week. That’s an average of 3000g per day, at this rate I’m right on track to hit my goal in three weeks, two if I push it. The market itself has been chaotic to say the least, Eternal Belt Buckle has been a long time staple for me, it doesn’t make tons of gold. But what it does do is make steady, consistent gold. Prices however have been fluctuating madly on these, as a result I haven’t been selling them as reliably as I have in the past. I have however started selling Scroll of Enchant Weapon – Mongoose. Interestingly, these scrolls have readily taken the place of the Buckles.

So, I’m continuing to fire off a handful of Buckles at a time. I’m making them super cheap, and people are still buying them but the competition has gotten a little stiffer and as a result I’m not selling as many per cycle as I’d like.

Gems are of course continuing to sell, Dragon’s Eyes are generally down to double digits, which is a shame… but, they had a good run. I’m selling more Primordial Saronites lately too, since I don’t need anymore Emblem gear at all. Prices across the board are going down, which is fine by me. Material costs drop along with my sales price, but my profit margin remains. The Glyph market is likewise running rather smoothly, again it’s not the old 3K per day it once was. But, it’s actually worth the trouble to list glyphs again.

My spending hasn’t been too ridiculous, though I did complete my purchasing of Pristine Black Diamonds last night. I’m still looking for Librams and farming turn in mats, but all in all my quest for Insanity goes well. I’ll certainly be complete by the time Cataclysm drops, the way things are going I should get Insane done roughly around the time I complete Shadowmourne.

Anyhow, that’s it for the gold report this week. Thanks for reading…

I mentioned last week that I’d taken a new job, well I’ve already left that job. Why? Because, I was sold on one job and given another. It happens, but you don’t expect it when you’re going to work for the city. So, I’m back at my old job. The pay is a little less, and the benefits are non existent. But, at least I know what to expect when I go to work.

The Bloodscalp Report
This week I brought in a little over twenty thousand gold, at my current rate I’m expecting to hit the cap in about four weeks (assuming I don’t go nuts spending). That said, I have actually been buying things lately. Namely, Pristine Black Diamonds and Libram of Focus / Libram of Protection. Now, I’m not going nuts on these. I’ve set a price 200g if I find the item(s) for this price or lower, I buy. The Librams I’m not AS concerned about buying, since they’re a little easier to farm than the Diamonds are. I’ve also been hitting up trade chat, guildmates, etc in the hunt for more Diamonds. As of this writing I need exactly thirty more to complete this part of my Insane in the Membrane achievement.

Ravenholdt rep is almost done, I just need to spend a couple of hours farming boxes with my rogue, Cicatriz. But I’m waiting on Ravenholdt for now, it’s essentially done. What I’m actually working on is the Goblin Cartel rep, I’m now focusing on making 2-4K rep per day with the Goblins. Which should put me at exalted in a couple of weeks.

As for what I’m actually selling?

Right now it’s more of the usual, Glyphs have seen a marked rise in profits as mentioned in a previous post. The reason being that a very tenacious competitor has been expunged. This was a Chinese gold seller, and I don’t say that lightly. The character in question no longer exists and none of his fellow guild members exist anymore either… so I’m thinking Blizzard probably took notice and put the hammer down. But, the point is: Glyphs are actually moving again.

That said however, they won’t continue to sell forever. In my opinion, the glyph market is going to trend down the closer we get to the Cataclysm launch. The sky isn’t falling, but prices definitely are. And it’s not just glyphs, gems are dropping again (think pre 3.3 levels) same for other items commonly sold. Unfortunately, I don’t see this changing. We “might” see a small upsurge in prices with the release of the new Ruby Sanctum encounter. But seriously, it needs to be said… the End is Near!

But this isn’t a bad thing, the end of an expansion is the beginning of new opportunities. For one, there are items that we can stockpile that will still sell when Cata releases and there will be all new craftables in Cata that we’ll be making money with. So, don’t start crying yet. Keep selling what you can now, and start thinking about what stock you want to unload and what things you think will manage a profit when Cataclysm does drop. It might be a little early to really start stockpiling, but it’s not too early to start researching possibilities. Thanks for reading…

A couple of blog posts recently have started me thinking about the way we interact with people in Wold of Warcraft. Cozmo over at GTFOOTF posed an interesting question with his post on friends. Saate over at Saate.net made a post as well about maturity and the veritable mine field that is the common populous of WOW. Now, I’m sure there’s some Goblins out there that will immediately discount the concept of friendship; however, there are several reasons why you might reconsider.

That’s What Friends are For
Like it or not, WoW is a social game. When real life acquaintances have asked me “what is WOW?” I tend to explain it by saying it’s a chat room with a video game built around it. I believe it’s absolutely vital that we never forget that the game itself exists around this interaction via chat. Now, your level of involvement in that chat will of course vary, but without this interaction the game loses a lot of it’s depth (try playing on an underpopulated Emu server sometime and see how long you enjoy it).

As Goblins we depend on other people, they’re the ones who buy our stuff. As a raider, they’re the ones who DPS the baddie, tank the boss, or heal you! And of course, if PVP is your thing… well, you kinda can’t PVP unless there’s other players. My point is that other people are essential to the process. Of course, it’s a mixed bag when you wade into the deep end with random people.

Every Friend Was Once a Stranger
There are interesting social issues when dealing with anonymous people in a virtual system like WOW, for one you can’t take them at face value. The male Orc Warrior might be an Asian Girl from South Dakota or a thirty something IT professional from Dallas (some guy). Chances are though, it’s a dude. So most of us assume it is until proven otherwise (some will never believe it’s a female). One of the more interesting things about interacting in a virtual system is that it’s a chance for the Id to run wild. I would posit that most of the time in games like WOW, it does.

To put it in simpler terms, think of that legendary scene from Reservoir Dogs

If You’re Wondering Who the Asshole is, it’s Probably You
If you que up for a random dungeon you’ll be a sane person with four random people. They may be friendly geared players, but they’re just as likely to be horrible in nearly every way imaginable. The problem of anonymity is exacerbated by the LFG tool, because you’re grouping with people in your battle group, not necessarily your server. When a point of contention arises you have two or more people fighting and neither is willing to back down because they are (largely) anonymous and they “think” they’re right. Most people assume they’re sane, competent, and correct. Someone willing to admit their faults is generally a deviation from the norm.

Within the confines of this virtual system it’s hard to form lasting bonds (or find anyone you’d want to form one with), at best it’s a crap shoot. You’re just as likely (if not more likely) to encounter a failure as you are to encounter a winner. With Cataclysm approaching it’s important to consider your friends list, do you have “farmers” to supply you with mats? What about people to group with as you grind your way through the new instances (non tanks especially should probably make friends for faster ques).

Unfortunately, there’s no easy answer to finding friends in WOW, just adhere to the basics: look for pugs on your server and keep an open mind. Doing older pugs like Ulduar Hardmodes, OS3D, TOC/TOGC etc will keep your ICC raiding open and expose you to more potential friends. If nothing else, you’ll be able to work on a new mount or achievement(s) before Cataclysm launches. And you might find some more truly epic examples of failure to talk about after…

Thanks for reading.

The Quest for Shadowmourne is a long one, it’s nine quests in one chain with a large amount of grinding and collecting. The numbers involved can be quite daunting, but honestly that’s the easy part. The Infusions are easily the most challenging parts of the chain, requiring finesse and coordination with your guild. This is true for either a tank or DPS trying to complete the quest. As I’ve been working on the quest chain since it was released and am now in the home stretch I decided to write up a Walkthrough for the quest which can be seen linked to the right of the blog, or by following this link [ I is Legend: the Quest for Shadowmourne ]

All that being said, I wanted to take a second to officially thank my guild for their hard work. Last night my buddy Rukar and I both completed the Frost Infusion step of the quest chain, putting us in the home stretch for Shadowmourne. I’ll be collecting Shadowfrost Shards first, then Rukar.

Last night we were short a number of people (for the third week in a row) and several people stepped up to fill the raid (even one of our top DPS logging a healer alt to make it happen), we breezed through clearing everything but Blood Queen and Lich King before raid time was up. With the exception of some very bizarre RNG issues on BQ we had one helluva night for raiding. Congrats and thanks again for kicking so much ass.