Now, I know last week I said in a comment that I am trying something entirely new this week. However, that plan sort of backfired when I found out my scanner is no longer in the realm of the living, and those Spirit Healers apparently don't speak binary.
I've Wanted to put this comic up since I saw the movie. If you have not seen it, you might not get this unless you watched the movie previews, or have someone explain it.
Yet Another Warlock Nerf has a terrific guide up to one of the most misused/underused pieces of gear in the game -- the PvP trinket. The cheapest version, Insignia of the Alliance/Horde is just over 2,500 Honor, so anyone can get a version of this (YAWN recommends the Rare version, which is powerful enough to be useful and cheap enough to spend honor on other things) and especially until many more specialized trinkets are available at endgame, it's a must have for anyone running PvP.
But when to use it is the question. Especially in 1v1, the best times to break out your trinket are when it will allow you to immediately avoid damage, so breaking it out for things like Sap or Polymorph (which don't actually cause damage to you) can be a waste of the cooldown. But things like Kidney Shot, Fear, and Frost Nova mean that more damage is incoming, so then is usually (there are, of course, exceptions) a good time to pop the trinket and escape the damage.
YAWN bravely goes out on a limb here and tries to provide some guidance for an activity that isn't very well governed by guidance (don't tell PvPers what they can't do!). Actions and rules are very, very situational, and so there sometimes will be times when you should trinket out of Sap, or spend your two minute cooldown on Death Coil. But as a starter guide to when to use and not use the trinket, it's a great read.
Those wacky folks of the Sleeper Cartel guild (on Perenolde) emailed to let us know they are having their annual summer party this coming weekend, July 26th at 7pm server time, and it looks to be a hootenanny. They'll have player-run quests, trivia contests, and scavenger hunts, there'll be a snowball fight and fireworks aplenty, and they're even planning to give away an honest-to-goodness epic. If you're a fan of player-run events, this is the Super Bowl -- as you can see from their last party, they do it up right. Roll Alliance and show up in Perenolde on Saturday if you want in on the fun.
And here's another player-run party: on July 27th, a couple of Hordies on Steamwheedle are planning a "Tribune of the Horde" RP event -- apparently they think the Horde needs leaders, and Thrall and the rest of the gang aren't cutting it. (see Update) So they're having a Horde meetup in ZG to talk things out -- one Horde member of each race has been chosen as diplomat, and diplomats will give their own speeches, while those in attendance will be able to ask questions and speak their mind as well.
Sounds interesting -- we always love hearing about (and hopefully attending) events like this. If you're putting one on, feel free to tip us about it, and if you go, take lots of screenshots and send them back to us so we can see what players are up to in the realms.
Update: I never did understand RP -- the people running the Horde event emailed us to say that they're not looking to replace Thrall at all. Instead, they're convening a Tribune of the various Horde races to voice their concerns and working up a scroll to take to the Warchief himself -- they're working in complete concert with the current Horde, they just want to make sure the voices of the little people (and trolls, and Undead, and so on) are heard. Our apologies for the misunderstanding, especially for the suggestion that anyone was trying to take over from Thrall. For the Horde!
I don't get to play World of Warcraft very often anymore. Real life comes up and gets in the way all the time, and then you have to sit back and listen to your friends talk about how much fun they've had in the past few weeks you've been away. So you sit, and you wait, and eventually you get time to log on again, run around, and have a jolly old time. Especially when you get to hang out with good people.
I've never had Ventrilo or any other sort of microphone attachment that would broadcast my voice across the Internet. For one point, I'd have to break down and buy a headset of some sort. Knowing me I'd likely break it within a week, so I'd actually need to buy two, but that's alright. The other reason is, I'm not entirely sure I want the ability to hear other absent minded people like me babbling to themselves, forgetting the rest of the world can hear them.
Okay, it's time to come clean. One of the writers here at WoW Insider biased. He prefers one of the factions in World of Warcraft over the other. He's tried both factions... has 70's in both... and has played out most of the quest content and raided most of the 60 and 70 raids both Horde and Alliance side, and in the end, he's come to one conclusion.
I've no doubt fooled all of you with my cunning use of the second person pronoun here (note: it was third person, genius), and... I didn't? You all knew I was talking about myself? Dang. Well, on with it: while I love my tauren warrior and have a blast playing my orc shaman, I really prefer Alliance over Horde. I personally have no difficulty leveling on one side or the other of the factional wall, but in general, I find the Horde quests can veer into unpleasant, even outright evil extremes that I don't like participating in. What's funny about this is, aside from a few quests I really don't like, I can't find any functional reason for my preference. I have met and played with good people on both factions, which is why I leveled two toons to 70 and another into his 60's over there (Consummate Vees, woo hoo!) and I really can't say that I prefer one faction's cities over the other. My two favorite races in the game are Tauren and Draenei, with Orcs and Humans as my second choices partially out of tradition and partially for stature reasons since I play warriors a lot.
I hope everyone who celebrated this weekend had a save and fun filled holiday.
This comic strip was actually brought about by a comment I saw made by a Blue, which one I can't recall as I read the thread it was made in two weeks ago and bookmarked the wrong one. The comment was more or less along the lines of if you want a good thing, don't rush it, and was made in response to people demanding new BGs.
The comic is a result of my being laid up with some sort of crazy bug all last week, and certain medications making me hallucinate. Fun, really, if it weren't for the fact I kept waking up thinking my scanner was talking to me.
See you next week!
Gallery: Barrens Chat
Barrens Chat is a weekly installment of comic insanity from around Azeroth. Barrens Chat is not edible, and swallowing may cause delirium in small children and the elderly. Barrens Chat is not intended to be used as a flotation device, so please use caution around water. If you are feeling like licking your Draenei friend might be a good idea, I'd suggest against it. Instead, come back next week for another comic.
This week I headed off to Bleeding Hollow's Horde side to talk with players about the biggest story of the past week: the opening up of the opt-in for the Wrath of the Lich King beta. The server was really busy, and in fact, someone's been busy in Orgrimmar there -- there are quite a few bits of corpse graffiti around, with names like "Pvpfails" and "Blizzsucks."
But nevertheless, I did find two willing victims interviewees for the column this week. See what we talked about after the jump.
When I started playing World of Warcraft, I decided to start off by making a TaurenHunter. Mostly because every single game I've ever played, I am usually a healer-type character. I decided that I did not want to be the healer this time around, but I was far from ready for the tank job, so I went halfway into what I figured would be a decent solo and damage support class. I was so unprepared for what playing a Hunter would be.
One of my major obsessions, however, was to find a pet that was an uncommon sight. I did not realize at the time that Echeyakee was a Horde side quest, and was really excited at having gotten a "rare pet" when a friend offered to help me tame him.
Show the world where your loyalties lie with this horde-riffic signage. The bold red backdrop is guaranteed to garner attention while the blood spatter technique would make even Thrall proud. Here is what you will need:
Wooden Frame (I used a Make Me Frameous frame from Michaels)
Wooden Letters (I used Provo Craft Carved Letters from Michaels)
I could have sworn that we interviewed Andrige here on WoW Insider, but I can't seem to find it in the archives, so I guess Resto4Life beat us to it. Phaelia has posted an interview with the artist (and machinimist) behind some of the best WoW fan art out there, and to the surprise of no one I'm sure, he seems like a fun, down to earth kind of guy.
He talks about his fascination with both the Horde and Druids, why he loves Feral, and what he's been up to lately -- he's planning to do a piece of the Night Elf bear and Tauren cat fighting each other, which should be awesome. He's also awaiting the art change in Wrath of the Lich King -- like a lot of players, he's tired of the sci fi and can't wait to get back into the old sword and sorcery style. He wouldn't turn down a job at Blizzard (who would?), but he humbly says that he's got a lot of work to do before he steps up to that level. Good for him. Finally, he shares some good advice about how to make machinima (the script for his film was actually written by a few people on IRC), and a few good ideas about Druid forms. A "Runic Wolf" -- I love it.
Nice interview, and good to hear from the guy behind the art.
Yup, it's a real-life Mooncloth Bag. SpikeHeadDesign over on Etsy has turned the 16-slotter's icon into an actual, real-life bag. Instead of actual Mooncloth, though (there are no real Moonwells on Earth, unfortunately), it's made of corduroy, cotton, a few buttons and velcro, and some kind of lace on the side (though I know my Shaman would never actually use something with lace on it, so they must all be different). Looks terrific, anyway, and it should for that price: $180.00. Still, for a handmade, one-of-a-kind bag, can't go wrong. The creator says that Netherweave is next, and it'll be exciting when we get to "Gigantique."
Alice Taylor of the great Wonderland blog has also been dutifully keeping up with WoW stuff on Etsy: she found these great Horde earrings that have unfortunately sold out (though this other design is still available). Could be the perfect gift for the jewelry-adorned WoW player in your life.
First of all, a huge thank you to Mike Schramm last week for covering my rear with his hunter comic. And it wasn't so much "kindly accepted" as it was "oh thank goodness, I'm saved" for the record, Mike. Thank you Turpster, also!
Now, back to business (or tomfoolery, I haven't decided which it actually is yet). This week brings us a comic that actually took place in the Barrens. Crossroads to be specific. So once again for those of you who complained commented that the comics should take place in the barrens, your wish has been granted.
I love this idea from Matt on WoW LJ -- he points out a few great examples of what he calls "incidental RP." The vast majority of players in the game wouldn't call themselves "roleplayers" (and lots of them might make fun of people who do), but all of us, in playing the game, are buying into the lore and the roles we're playing to a certain extent. If you've ever yelled "for the Horde!" or felt a strange hatred towards Gnomes, guess what -- you've been roleplaying.
His examples are a little more silly -- his girlfriend hates parrots (because one of them once killed her in Deadmines), and he'll sometimes answer NPCs, even though they never respond. I do the same thing -- /salute an NPC after grabbing a quest, or yelling "and stay down!" after dropping a major boss or a mob that's given me trouble. That kind of stuff is a far cry from the heavy RP that can go on in game, but just the same, it makes the game more fun. And just like good art, it puts you even more in someone else's (fictional or otherwise) shoes -- what would it feel like to be someone given a quest, or a real member of a group like the Horde? Maybe that's why roleplaying is the wave of the future.
Any other great examples of incidental roleplaying? It's another mark of how great Blizzard's game is that the setting, art, and experience of playing pushes people who wouldn't normally get into character to really think about what the person they're playing is all about.
All the red tabards on the Horde side really annoy me. How come everyone picks a red tabard? Isn't it enough that the Horde flag is red? Can't we have as much variation in our color schemes as we do in our tusk/horn/pigtail configurations? Red is so 2007.
Or maybe it's not. A study published in the Cyberpsychology & Behavior journal determined that teams who wore red while playing Unreal Tournament 2004 won 55% of the time over teams that wore blue. Another study from 2005 showed that wearing red gave an advantage to athletes in the 2004 Olympics, too. However, I'm not sure I buy the reasons given for this advantage, though. The neuroscientist who studied the Unreal Tournament matches thinks that because men turn red when they're angry this color acts as a psychological distractor. Sounds like some reaching, if you ask me.
Now, of course, in WoW we don't always wear the colors of our faction, but the predominance of red tabards on the Horde side and blue ones on the Alliance side may just put a Brutal Gladiator's Painsaw in the hands of those who claim the Horde has an advantage in the battlegrounds. But only if everyone wears red or blue. Hm. I wonder if I can change my guild's tabard color from green to red...
Gamers on the Street logs onto U.S. servers to get the word from the front on what's going on in and around the World of Warcraft.
This week there was only one choice for where to go and interview players -- the Oceanic realm of Thaurissan has been at the center of realm population issues in the last week, as Blizzard opened up transfers from PvE to PvP realms for the first time ever. I rolled a Dwarf on the Alliance side (where Horde reportedly outnumbers players at huge ratios) to see what things were like and if I could find some people with opinions on the transfers.
Things seem to be better than they were before at first glance -- we'd heard reports that only double digits of people were playing during even prime time, but when I logged on (about 6AM server time), there were quite a few people in the /who list. Ironforge was far from bustling, but I saw groups running around the Isle of Quel'danas, as well as running Magisters' Terrace.
Yet Another Warlock Nerf has a terrific guide up
I could have sworn that we interviewed Andrige here on WoW Insider, but I can't seem to find it in the archives, so I guess 
I love this idea from Matt on WoW LJ -- he points out a few great examples of 
All the red tabards on the 
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