Last week, we asked viewers if there could be a happy mix of gameplay and machinima. So far, the only person to chime in was Lex, with this video of a Deadmines run. While admitting that it's not the best example, they feel the music engages viewers and that it's cut together in an organized manner.
We'd have to agree that we're glad they broke free from the metal soundtracks, but the Jackson 5? We're looking for true art. Deadmines BBQ is just a gameplay video with a lot of barn door transitions. There has to be a better example out there than this!
[Thanks, Lex!]
If you have any suggestions for WoW Moviewatch, you can mail them to us at machinima AT wowinsider DOT com.
I, like many other players, spent the better part of the morning running the new 5man Magisters' Terrace instance (and yes -- it is "Magisters'," so there is actually more than one Magister in it), and while not everyone is thrilled with it (I know some are saying that it's too hard), I love it. I pretty much agree with AA -- it's not that hard when you actually figure out what to do with CC, and get a handle on the fact that even on normal difficulty, this is a dungeon that doesn't let up.
But my favorite part of the dungeon is just the fact that Blizzard put their money where their mouth is on this one -- for a while, they've been saying that they wanted a five man to be like Deadmines, in that it felt like the end of a long storyline. And MT (which is what I think it will eventually be called by most players, since who really runs Mana Tombs anymore?) is definitely that -- I won't ruin the lore too much, but it works perfectly as both a cap on what happened in Outland, and as a sweet preview to Sunwell Plateau. I never thought we'd meet some of those names in a five man instance, but I loved it, and we'll see more of that in Wrath for sure.
Plus, the encounters are fun. Unfortunately, there's nothing super new -- Blizzard cribbed directly from Warlord Kalithresh for the first boss and Curator for the second (boy, AoEing the little guys before that is exciting, isn't it?), but the miniboss battle near the end really does play like a little PvP-ish PvE (similar to the .5 upgrade event in BRD). All in all, I think it's a great instance, and a fun way to cap off five mans at level 70.
A comment left by Argent on my article about the maximum amount of stamina got me thinking. How does player health stack and scale against NPC health? I quoted 17,500 unbuffed health as a good target for maxed unbuffed stamina, which equates to about 22,000 health fully raid buffed (possibly more depending on group, consumables, and talent composition).
So, let's take a look at what some mobs are that have around 22,000 to 23,000 health. Remember, this is as much as a fully equipped tier six warrior will probably have in raid.
Knightless is having the same problem I'd guess quite a few players have -- her interest in her character is flagging a bit, and she's trying to figure out a way to get more involved in what she's doing in Azeroth. This is an interesting situation, because at this point, with almost any other game, the player would just leave and go find something else to play (and actually, I can say from experience that sometimes taking a short break from the game completely can rebuild your interest in it), but things don't really work that way in World of Warcraft -- responsibilities to your guild and the people you've met in game will keep you around even when your interest is low.
So what tips can we offer Knightless and others who are looking for ways to refresh their interest in the game? Rerolling is a big one -- I've always found that picking up a new class you've never played before can get you to look at a game in a different way. Running an instance that you haven't run in a while is always fun, too -- it only takes a little while to level up a character to Deadmines or Wailing Caverns levels, and both of those instances always renew my interest in playing through Warcraft. Running guild activities or contests are always fun, too -- especially since Knightless is a guild officer, she could organize some lower level runs or some "grind days," where guildies all get together in groups to level each other up.
Any other ideas for reviving a flagging interest in playing a character that you feel a need to play due to responsibilities or other connections in the game?
Twice a week, our writers will tell you more about themselves and let you get to know them and the characters they play a little better. Click here to read moreAbout the Bloggers.
What do you do for WoW Insider? I'm the writer behind Insider Trader (although as of this week, I'm inside trading it to the capable Amanda Miller), 15 Minutes of Fame, Gamers on the Street and the occasional Well Fed Buff. Behind the scenes, I'm features editor for the Joystiq MMOs, which means keeping an eagle eye on MMO nooks and crannies for offbeat stories, special series, fresh column ideas – all the chewy goodness that keeps WoW Insider and Massively readers munching on stories in between the latest news bulletins.
What's your main right now? A handful of guildies and I recently restarted on a new server with characters specifically designed for world PvP. I tried my best to start a class I was less used to playing, but I quickly found myself back in the groove as an undead priest. I've unexpectedly remained shadow specced the whole way, and I love the view from the shadows. (And so do all the guildies who have look at me in my Outlands clown gear – Shadowform lends the outfit an aura of chic style).
You may have already heard this one, but I figured it would be a good thing to post on Talk Like a Pirate Day. Our friends over at WoW Radio recently dropped a new track from Captain Dan, "rising star in the field of Pirate Hip-Hop," called "Deadmines Battle." You can listen to it over on their website-- it features some trippy beats, a little Casio jamming, and rhymes all about everyone's favorite pirate instance. My favorite part of the song, just like the instance, is Mr. Smite, of course.
WoW Radio also says Captain Dan's new album hits today (it's called Rime of the Hip-Hop Mariners, which I, being a Coleridge fan, find very funny)-- there's more tunes and information about that over on their Myspace page.
Avast ye maties, thar be some good rapping off starboard side! Now get back to yer deck-scrubbing, ye scurvy dogs, afore I keelhaul the lot of ya! Yarrrrrr!
Overpowered on the forums wonders what the least popular instance is, and I'd say his guess of Blackfathom Deeps is probably pretty close-- it's a long run away for pretty much everyone but Night Elves, and at 25-30, there's so many more quests and things to do that BFD usually gets passed up. The other good guesses, I'd say, are the "old" late game instances like Naxx and LBRS. Unfortunately, while Blizzard tells us all about the most popular stuff in the game, they are pretty mum on what players don't like, for obvious reasons.
So how do you make an instance that makes players want to visit? Relmstein walks us through his idea of what makes a perfect instance ambiance: music, visuals, interactive features (the Chess Event is one of my favorite dungeon features, although almost all the dungeon dialogue "cut scenes" are fun for me), and memorable boss encounters.
But then again, BFD seems to have all of them-- it's a very pretty dungeon (I especially like the temple at the end), and while it might be a little short on interactive features, I really like the lore and the unleashing of the monster at the end. The last ingredient, I think, to a good dungeon, is just a storyline that drives you there. I'm sure Scarlet Monastery (except the Graveyard), and Deadmines are definitely among the most popular instances, and both of those have huge amounts of lore and mystery to make them interesting. Maybe if more players realized that Aku'mai was actually a pet of the Old Gods (or, you know, if there was a quest to kill him that explained that), BFD would see more traffic.
If you missed last week's guild instance-stravaganza in It came from the Blog on Zangarmarsh, you missed out on some real fun. Most of us are pretty low level still and many of us are playing unfamiliar classes -- but I have to say we had a blast storming Ragefire Chasm and the Deadmines in all-guild groups. (And when things broke up, some of us took the party into Warsong Gulch.) But even if you missed out, you can experience some of the fun vicariously through our event screenshots. (I know looking through them brings back memories of many a nostalgic Deadmines run for me!)
And even if you haven't yet joined us on Zangarmarsh, you're still welcome to hop on for some good times -- there's no level requirements and no class restrictions and whatever you want to play, we'd be happy to have you. Our next event is coming up this Saturday, at 10:00 AM server time, when we're going to be playing hide and seek in the Undercity. (And after that? Who knows!)
The other night my guild stepped into a heroic instance for the first time.Now this isn't great news for those of you who already spend your weekend nights huggling Gruul, but it's a great accomplishment for us.Since we all have the Coilfang Resevoir key we started with Slave Pens, and I must say it was a joy to have challenge in that instance again.
It felt like I had been given the instance back, as it were.If I were to walk into Slave Pens at the normal level I would feel little interest since it's tuned for 62-64.I finally understand the method behind the heroic dungeon concept, to allow level 70 players to have fun going to those dungeons again.But what I'd really like is heroic dungeon settings for the old instances in Azeroth.Can you imagine what Van Cleef would be like at level 70?It makes me giddy just to think of it.
We only got as far as the first boss, and then the trash beat us to a complete pulp before exhaustion forced us to quit.I really was surprised how the tides shift with heroics.I have a hard time reconciling trash mobs who are impossible to kill and bosses who are manageable.Either way I am excited to have such a novel experience added to our game play.Whoever came up with the concept of heroic dungeons was brilliant. I have my first Badge of Justice, now.Only 112 to go.
I can't believe this thread went on as long as it did in a relatively unironic tone. Seriously, they made it to page three before anybody even mentioned laughing at the idea-- at least three pages of people seriously considered what would happen in a fight between Van Cleef and Arthas.
For the record, Van Cleef would do the exact same thing he does to everyone he fights-- call his opponent a lapdog, summon adds around 50%, and then die horribly. I'm calling Arthas on this one for sure. Better question: Ony vs. Hakkar (with aspects or without?). Or Vael vs. Nef (as a legendary forum thread, now lost to history in the old forums, once postulated). Or C'thun vs. Kel Thuzad! I'm going to have to go with C'thun for sure-- KT is a lich, but C'thun is an Old God, man!
So, so nerdy. And yet, if you're into the lore at all, so very intriguing. Especially with the Caverns of Time upcoming, expect to see lots more of this stuff. When you're able to get up close and personal with some of the biggest figures in the Warcraft universe, you can't help but imagine what these showdowns would be like.
Oh boy, rant time again. This one is for cloud_9 who spent a whole VC run with a friend sitting around because a higher level toon came along with them.
I hate it when that happens. I hate it when I join up with a group and someone says something like "hay gusy, my 60 friend will take us thru." I quit the group right about that point. I do love playing this game-- I like the strategy of different classes, and I like using the abilities the classes have at different levels to take on dungeons as a team. That's exactly why I hate being run through a dungeon with someone higher than me.
At least a few of you probably think I'm crazy by this point. "It's so much easier for finishing quests," I hear you saying. "Why would you refuse help?" That's exactly why-- because it's easier. I like the challenge of playing the game without help. Even wiping until my gear goes red is much more exciting to me than sitting around and watching a higher level character play for me. Yes, even Uldaman and even Gnomer. Are those places annoying after five failed runs? Yes. But even then, I'd rather go with a good yet low group than tag along with a 60.
Flame away if you want. Laugh at me for making things harder for myself if you must. But don't be surprised when, on my lowbie alt, I politely refuse your offer to powerlevel. I pay for this game to discover things for myself, not to watch someone else play.
To accompany our Levelling Locations
series, here's a rundown of the instance loot you might want to angle for in your first twenty levels. This will be of
particular interest to anyone trying the Test Realm Honour Competition, of course, as gear is a vital differentiator at
these levels.
Key: Weapons and armour in bold are blue, all others are green. Due to the low
number of available blues for this level range, they are especially desirable. To help you sort through the information,
we've divided it up by type (weapon or armour) and proficiency (weapon category, armour material). Check out the
blue items if you are looking for the best available.
I, like many other players, spent the better part of the morning running the new 5man Magisters' Terrace instance (and yes -- it is "Magisters'," so there is actually more than one Magister in it), and while not everyone is thrilled with it (I know some are saying that it's too hard), I love it. I pretty much agree with AA -- it's not that hard when you actually figure out what to do with CC, and get a handle on the fact that even on normal difficulty, this is a dungeon that doesn't let up.
Knightless is having the same problem I'd guess quite a few players have -- her interest in her character is flagging a bit, and she's trying to figure out a way to get more involved in what she's doing in Azeroth. This is an interesting situation, because at this point, with almost any other game, the player would just leave and go find something else to play (and actually, I can say from experience that sometimes taking a short break from the game completely can rebuild your interest in it), but things don't really work that way in World of Warcraft -- responsibilities to your guild and the people you've met in game will keep you around even when your interest is low.
You may have already heard this one, but I figured it would be a good thing to post on Talk Like a Pirate Day. Our friends over at WoW Radio recently dropped a new track from Captain Dan, "rising star in the field of Pirate Hip-Hop," called "Deadmines Battle." You can listen to it over on their website-- it features some trippy beats, a little Casio jamming, and rhymes all about everyone's favorite pirate instance. My favorite part of the song, just like the instance, is Mr. Smite, of course.
Overpowered on the forums wonders what the least popular instance is, and I'd say his guess of Blackfathom Deeps is probably pretty close-- it's a long run away for pretty much everyone but Night Elves, and at 25-30, there's so many more quests and things to do that BFD usually gets passed up. The other good guesses, I'd say, are the "old" late game instances like Naxx and LBRS. Unfortunately, while Blizzard tells us all about the most popular stuff in the game, they are pretty mum on what players don't like, for obvious reasons.
The other night my guild stepped into a heroic instance for the first time. Now this isn't great news for those of you who already spend your weekend nights huggling Gruul, but it's a great accomplishment for us. Since we all have the Coilfang Resevoir key we started with Slave Pens, and I must say it was a joy to have challenge in that instance again.
I can't believe this thread went on as long as it did in a relatively unironic tone. Seriously, they made it to page three before anybody even mentioned laughing at the idea-- at least three pages of people seriously considered what would happen in a fight between Van Cleef and Arthas.
Oh boy, rant time again. This one is for cloud_9 who spent a whole VC run with a friend sitting around because a higher level toon came along with them.
To accompany our Levelling Locations
series, here's a rundown of the instance loot you might want to angle for in your first twenty levels. This will be of
particular interest to anyone trying the Test Realm Honour Competition, of course, as gear is a vital differentiator at
these levels.
Subscribe
