3.1 Inscription Glyphs

Short informative post, mostly because I needed the info myself ;) Copy, paste, and give it back to the community. If you're having trouble finding the new glyphs, most of the new ones added in 3.1 are are randomly learned from the Book of Glyph Mastery, which happens to be an annoying world drop. And as with most new things, being sold for absolutely retarded prices on the auction house. Give it time though, it'll go down in value soon enough. The envenom glyph was removed just after release sadly. Deathknight * [Glyph of Dancing Rune Weapon] * [Glyph of Howling Blast] * [Glyph of Hungering Cold] * [Glyph of Unholy Blight] Warrior * [Glyph of Bladestorm] * [Glyph of Enraged Regeneration] * [Glyph of Shield Wall] * [Glyph of Shockwave] * [Glyph of Spell Reflection] * [Glyph of Vigilance] Druid * [Glyph of Barkskin] * [Glyph of Berserk] * [Glyph of Nourish] * [Glyph of Savage Roar] * [Glyph of Survival Instincts] * [Glyph of Wild Growth] Warlock * [Glyph of Chaos Bolt] * [Glyph of Demonic Circle] * [Glyph of Haunt] * [Glyph of Life Tap] * [Glyph of Metamorphosis] * [Glyph of Shadowflame] * [Glyph of Soul Link] Shaman * [Glyph of Feral Spirit] * [Glyph of Hex] * [Glyph of Riptide] * [Glyph of Stoneclaw Totem] * [Glyph of Thunder] Rogue * [Glyph of Cloak of Shadows] * [Glyph of Envenom] * [Glyph of Fan of Knives] * [Glyph of Hunger for Blood] * [Glyph of Killing Spree] * [Glyph of Shadow Dance] * [Glyph of Tricks of the Trade] Priest * [Glyph of Dispersion] * [Glyph of Guardian Spirit] * [Glyph of Hymn of Hope] * [Glyph of Mind Sear] * [Glyph of Penance] Paladin * [Glyph of Beacon of Light] * [Glyph of Divine Plea] * [Glyph of Divine Storm] * [Glyph of Hammer of the Righteous] * [Glyph of Holy Shock] * [Glyph of Salvation] * [Glyph of Shield of Righteousness] Mage * [Glyph of Arcane Barrage] * [Glyph of Deep Freeze] * [Glyph of Ice Barrier] * [Glyph of Living Bomb] * [Glyph of Mirror Image] Hunter * [Glyph of Chimera Shot] * [Glyph of Explosive Shot] * [Glyph of Explosive Trap] * [Glyph of Kill Shot] * [Glyph of Raptor Strike] For more information on each glyph see: WoWWiki.

Arthas contest closed

And now as promised, the winning numbers for the Arthas contest: * 4 : Huggles * 33 : Jawn * 47 : Michael * 49 : Azande * 59 : Bluestitches Grats to all the winners. You'll be receiving an e-mail shortly with further information. I put together a quick 10 man group of Rampage officers + raiders as witnesses for the official roll. Number 33 actually came up twice! But, it wouldn't be fair to the others to send one person two copies ;)

Arthas contest coming to a close

This is your final reminder for the contest. As well as a pre-notification of the numbers for all those who entered, so you know what the numbers are, and so I can't cheat you by changing your number later :P I got my book in the mail today, so I can at least verify that the delivery service works quite fine ^_^ Remember, you can still add yourself in, but time IS very much running out. Five numbers will be drawn from the final list tomorrow. Those will receive their free copy "soon" (tm)! Your lottery numbers so far: 1. Robert 2. Jordan 3. Eggcellent 4. Huggles 5. chad 6. André johansson 7. wesley 8. Atyan 9. shalafi 10. rwciii/at/charterdotnet 11. Samuel 12. Einh 13. Zek 14. ciddxx 15. Wolfmarine 16. Benjamin 17. pjmac459 18. Scott 19. Xenthressa 20. Pinto-Gricko 21. Cocopuff 22. Johan 23. Asrial 24. Sleeky 25. Elwin 26. 0g 27. Arapoon 28. Steve 29. Edson 30. Azezeal 31. Danny 32. Boozsha 33. Jawn 34. Arnout van der Vorst 35. Saithir 36. Exanimo 37. Vilija 38. Raymond Phoenix (email unknown) 39. Sikker 40. James 41. Matthew 42. George 43. Brian and Darcy 44. Kahi 45. Cru 46. FrostMist 47. Michael 48. Rakhman 49. azande 50. secretagentcat 51. Doodle 52. Faith Eshelman 53. Khassad 54. ElvenAvenger 55. tiggs4e 56. Draco 57. Hungry 58. Trustyn 59. bluestitches 60. Erik Mannfelt 61. Azshira 62. alloxa 63. Yoine 64. Vincent 65. Fizziksman

3.1.1 + Hotfixes - Ulduar Balanced (Nerfed)

Blue post today. Ulduar has received some more hotfixes. Also see WoW Insider's page for a full listing of the accumulated fixes to Ulduar. Most of these changes are hotfixed into live servers as of the 20'th of April 2009, the rest will become in effect as of today's client patch. * The Saronite Animus in the heroic General Vezax encounter has had its health increased. * The Mimiron hard mode has received the following changes: increased damage from Flames, increased damage from Frost Bomb (in heroic), increased damage from Water Spray, and increased the health bonus he receives from Emergency Mode. * For the trash mobs leading to Mimiron: the damage from a Clockwork Sapper’s Energy Sap ability has been decreased, the Energy Sap no longer drains mana, and the health of Boomer XP-500 has been decreased. * General Vezax’s abilities, Mark of the Faceless and Shadow Crash, may hit players in melee range depending on the situation and player setup. * Players should no longer be able to quench the Unquenchable Flames debuff from a Molten Colossus by using spells like Cloak of Shadows or Divine Protection. The Molten damage from when Iron Constructs turn molten has been reduced, the ground damage from Scorch has been reduced, and the total health of Ignis himself has been reduced. (I noticed this yesterday evening....) * For Ignis the Furnace master, Strength of the Creator will now only affect physical damage and he will have to wait for a short time to charge after casting Flame Jets. (Great change!) * All of the additional creatures spawned during the XT-002 Deconstructor encounter can now be snared in either difficulty. * It will be slightly more difficult to skip Tympanic Tantrum on XT-002 Deconstructor. (Meaning, you can't DPS her so hard that it's not cast at all between phases) * For the Hodir encounter, the damage from Champion of Hodir’s Freezing Breath has been reduced, the haste effect from Starlight has been decreased, and the timer for the hard mode has been decreased. * For the Thorim encounter, the Runic Colossus should stop channeling Runic Smash once engaged in combat, the Dark Rune Champion should no longer whirlwind after being disarmed, and the Runic Colossus should no longer melee when it charges. * The Iron Council encounter has received the following changes: the amount healed through Electric Charge has been increased, the timer to Berserk has been increased, the range of Overload has been decreased, the Lightning Elementals are no longer immune to nature damage, Stormcaller Brundir's melee damage has been decreased (in normal mode), and increased Runemaster Molgeim's damage. * The Kologarn encounter has received the following changes: the speed of the Eyebeam has been decreased, the amount of damaged required to break a player from Stone Grip has been decreased, and slightly decreased the amount of damage done by Stone Grip. * Some changes we have made to the trash mobs in the Antechamber (the area near Iron Council) are: the Devastating Leap from the Chamber Overseer is now a Stun Mechanic, Champer Overseers should no longer be immune to disarm, standing on the Flaming Rune should no longer proc Runic Explosion, Iron Menders should be immune to charm, Charged Dwarves should be immune to charm, the damage from Ball Lightning cast by Lightning Charged Iron Dwarves has been decreased in heroic difficulty, and the damage of Runed Flame Jets have been decreased. * The Auriaya encounter has received the following changes: Sanctum Sentries should no longer spawn while Auriaya is in combat and lowered the damage of Savage Pounce. * The Mimiron encounter has received the following changes: the damage of Proximity Mines has been decreased, Proximity Mines should no longer explode and damage players after they explode and disappear, the initial cooldown of Shock Blast in phase 4 has been altered so it shouldn't be cast the same time as Laser Barrage in this phase, the casting time of Self Repair has been increased, and the health and damage of Assault Bots has been decreased in heroic mode. * Emalon should no longer use any of his special abilities for a short time after casting Overcharge. * The time between Mole Machines spawning in the Razorscale encounter has been slightly increased. And some more unofficial From: MMOC Ulduar * Ignis (10) - Scorch now inflicts 3770 to 4230 damage. (Down from 4713 to 5287) * Ignis (25) - Scorch now inflicts 6032 to 6768 damage. (Down from 7540 to 8460) * Thorim (25) - Lightning Charge now inflicts 17344 to 20156 damage. (Up from 13875 to 16125) * Thorim (25) - Chain Lightning now inflicts 4625 to 5375 damage. (Up from 3700 to 4300) Ulduar Hard Modes * Flame Leviathan - Tower of Frost now increases health by 50%. (Up from 25%) * Flame Leviathan - Tower of Storms now increases health by 50%. (Up from 25%) * Flame Leviathan - Tower of Flames now increases health by 50%. (Up from 25%) * Thorim - Sif's Frostbolt Volley now inflicts 11250 to 13750 damage. (Up from 9000 to 11000) * Thorim - Sif's Frost Nova now inflicts 14138 to 15862 damage. (Up from 9425 to 10575) * XT-002 Deconstructor - Heartbreak now increases damage by 35% (Up from 30%) and health by 45% (Up from 40%) Talents and Classes All talents will be wiped yet again. Free respecs for everyone! Some class changes : * Warlock: Fel Synergy now give you a 50/100% chance to heal your pet for 15% (down from 50/30%) of the amount of spell damage done by you. * Deathknight: Death Strike will now heal the Death Knight for 5% of his or her maximum health per disease on the target, up to a maximum of 15%. * Deathknight: Anti-Magic Shell now absorbs magical damage up to a maximum of 50% of the Death Knight's health. (Down from 100%)

Ulduar

It's just a short post. Guild progress! Flame Leviathan - 25 man Razorscale - 25 man XT002-Deconstructor - 25 man Rampage (EU, Aszune) PS: We're looking for Tanks / Ranged DPS.

Ulduar on live

Book Update Not much of an update so much as a reminder, the Arthas - Rise of the Lich King Contest is still active until the 24th of April. If you haven't already added in your comment, don't forget to do so. There's 5 books being given away on RRVS, so you've got about 5 days left to enter yourself into the drawing. Big Bear Butt recently had a similar giveaway, but that one already ended yesterday. Ulduar Another week passed by, and Ulduar has been open for a few days now. Looks like several crazy no-lifes have already cleared the non hard mode bosses, so they'll be stuck picking their nose until next week before being able to start the hard modes. There's little doubt they won't be able to manage that though... Blizzard writes: Yes it is being cleared, but so far by guilds like Ensidia, Vodka and Premonition. Those are some of the best of the best, and none of them managed it in a three hour run. They will however get to the point where they can farm it, and so will you. Hard modes are a different story. Hotfixes Ulduar was totally not rushed out, totally not bugged in any way, and all fights were perfectly balanced! Can you smell the sarcasm yet? Since the release a few days ago, there have been a large number of hotfixes implemented. * Several changes to the Razorscale encounter have been made including the range and damage of the Dark Rune Watcher’s Chain Lightning being reduced, and the radius of Razorscale’s Devouring Flame being slightly reduced. * To increase the challenge, Hodir’s hard mode should need to be completed faster than before and the bonus of the Moonlight buff that NPCs provide to players should be decreased. * The damage done by Thorim and Sif in hard mode has been increased in multiple ways. * Freya has had her health and damage increased in hard mode in multiple ways. * The Ignis the Furnace encounter has received several changes. To make his individual hits less devastating, we reduced his overall melee damage by about 15% but he swings faster now. In normal mode we increased the cooldown of Activate Construct from 30 to 40 seconds. We also decreased the damage of the Scorch ground effect by 20% on both difficulties. * XT-002 Deconstructor’s health and damage has been slightly increased in hard mode. * XT-002 Deconstructor will no longer cast Light Bomb or Gravity Bomb while channeling Tympanic Tantrum. * For the trash leading up to Ignis the Furnace Master, the Magma Rager’s Superheated Winds have had their speed reduced. The normal mode Molten Colossus have had the cooldown of Pyroblast increased. * The trash mobs leading to Mimiron can now see through stealth/invisible, no more sneaking past. * In the General Vezax encounter on hard mode, the Saronite Animus’s Profound Darkness will now hit harder. * Ignis the Furnace Master should no longer melee players he is grabbing. * We have altered XT-002 Deconstructor's heart aggro radius down to 60 yards so players will no longer get stuck in combat when at the entrance to his room. * The trash mobs before XT-002 Deconstructor have temporarily been disabled. These mobs will return in the future after we have resolve the issue with them being linked. * Shattering a Construct during the Ignis the Furnace Master encounter will now decrease the number of Strength of the Creator stack buffs he has by one. You would think bugs like these would be discovered pretty easily on the PTR, and subsequently fixed. Or is the PTR only there to allow hardcore guilds to train themselves for the encounters and get a "OMG FIRST!". Sure seems like it at times. But heck, the sooner that stuff is fixed, the less likely we'll have to deal with the bugs ourselves :P Poll End One poll closes, one poll starts. Have you cleared all 3.09 content?: * Naxx Cleared - 113 (66%) * Malygos Dead - 94 (55%) * Sartharion Dead - 113 (66%) * And bored as hell... - 99 (58%) * Still plenty to do! - 57 (33%) Not much comment needed on that one I'd think. About half of you cleared everything, was bored, yet had plenty to do. Another poll regarding Dual Spec is up. Be sure to add your voice in.

3.1 Ulduar Released!

That's right 3.1 is here!
USA today, EU tomorrow.

Be sure to read the full patch notes on MMOC.

Patch mirrors can be found here as usual.

The patch is HUGE, and you've already been given the highlights some weeks ago.
So, I'll give you a few rogue snippets before I log off and jump in front of the TV for tonight while the patch is downloading. (Matrix 3 is on, and I haven't seen that one yet! /gasp)



Rogue

* Deadly Poison: The amount of damage this poison generates from the rogue’s attack power has been increased from 8% per application to 12%.
* Deadly Throw: Missile speed increased.
* Instant Poison: Redesigned to have its chance to be applied based on the speed of the weapon (frequency-based).
* Shiv: This ability can no longer generate a critical strike, and the poisons it applies cannot be critical strikes either.
* Tricks of the Trade: Will now begin following the first damaging attack.
* Wound Poison: Redesigned to have its chance to be applied based on the speed of the weapon (frequency-based).


Assassination

* Hunger For Blood: No longer stacks. Damage bonus changed to 15% for a single application. Requires a bleed effect active on the rogue’s target. No longer removes bleeds from the rogue. Now costs 15 energy and lasts for 60 seconds.
* Master Poisoner: Now also increases the bonus to apply Deadly Poison when Envenom is used by an additional 15/30/45%.


Combat

* Adrenaline Rush cooldown reduced to 3 minutes.
* Killing Spree: Now also increases all damage done by the rogue while active by 20%.
* Savage Combat improved to 2/4% increased damage against poisoned targets.
* Lightning Reflexes reduced to 3 ranks for 2/4/6% dodge and 4/7/10% melee haste.


Subtlety

* Shadow Dance now opens a new action bar when used.


Rogue Glyphs

* Glyph of Adrenaline Rush: Now increases duration by 5 seconds.
* Glyph of Backstab: Now increases remaining duration on Rupture by 2 seconds each time it is used, up to a maximum of 6 seconds.
* Glyph of Cloak of Shadows: While Cloak of Shadows is active, you take 40% less physical damage.
* Glyph of Crippling Poison: Poison chance bonus increased to 20%.
* Glyph of Deadly Throw: Increases the movement reduction by 10%.
* Glyph of Fan of Knives: Increases the damage done by Fan of Knives by 20%.
* Glyph of Hunger for Blood: Increases the bonus damage from Hunger for Blood by 3%.
* Glyph of Killing Spree: Reduces the cooldown on Killing Spree by 45 seconds.
* Glyph of Mutilate: Reduces the cost of Mutilate by 5 energy.
* Glyph of Pick Lock: Now reduces cast time by 100%.
* Glyph of Sap: Increases duration by 20 seconds.
* Glyph of Shadow Dance: Increases the duration of Shadow Dance by 4 seconds.
* Glyph of Sprint: No longer reduces the duration.
* Glyph of Tricks of the Trade: Your Tricks of the Trade grants an additional 10% bonus damage to your target.

Arthas - Rise of the Lich King Contest!

A contest?! We've never done one of those before have we? No, don't think we have. But yes, a contest. Whatsortofcontestwilltherebeprizes?! Calm down, calm down. YES there are prizes! Not a lot, but still, it's something you'll be sure to enjoy, and the effort you need to do for it is very very small indeed. I seriously hope the blog holds out under the load, we've had the CSS mess up before in the past after all... So, let's get to the point shall we? Rather than go on and on about what you have to do etc, we'll get right to the sweet bit. The prizes. Prizes! I've been allowed to give away no less than "5" books. For free. No purchase required (Though I'm sure Blizzard won't complain if you do) and no strings (That I know of) attached. What book? Well, this book obviously. Arthas - Rise of the Lich King. I haven't read it yet myself, might later. So, what do you have to do to get one? Nothing too special. All you really got to do is reply to this blog post. You'll want to make sure to leave some contact information in your reply though, so an email address is recommended. However, you don't really want to have your main wow email address up and visible on a wow related site either. (Goldsellers have a nasty habbit of prowling these) So, alternatively you can just leave a comment here with a unique identifier and/or name, or first part of your email address. Then, send your contact info to me at "bbr_tki(a.t)hotmail.com". Translate the (a.t) into a proper AT symbol. Then, out of all those who replied (I'm not expecting huge numbers, but still, it's free loot) I'll randomly pick 5. Now you may be wondering, how on earth will I pick 5 people out of 10-15 posts? Quite simple. I'll simply do a /roll ingame, while there's a whole raid there to witness it. Or if not a whole raid on that day, then at least several officers from Rampage. Note, there's no point posting more than once, only your first "valid" post counts. Also don't bother making alternative accounts, and don't bother posting anonymously. I'd like this to be as fair as possible for everyone, hence anonymous posting can't be allowed, or you'd be able to post a reply more than once. I'm sure you all understand. It's still not fool-proof, but as close as I can get it. Other than that, there's no real rules. Sure I could ask some silly, ridiculously easy question and have you post an answer to that question, but that would likely just discourage people from participating. The "contest" starts today, and ends the 24'th of April 2009. Any posts beyond that date are disqualified. After that, I'll do the /roll thing, announce which numbers "won", then pass on your e-mail address to the person that'll send you your free copy of the book. That sounds pretty straightforward right? Well, tell your friends 'n such. Sponsor The books are being made available by Simon and schuster, who also have an small quote from the book available for viewing. Chapter 4 - Book excerpt "As you can see, Your Highness," said Lieutenant General Aedelas Blackmoore, "the taxes have been put to good use. Every precaution has been taken in the operation of this facility. In fact, security is so tight we've been able to stage gladiatorial combat here." "So I've heard," said Arthas, as he walked with the commander of the internment camps on a tour of the grounds. Durnholde, not an internment camp itself, but the nerve center of all of the others, was huge, and indeed had almost a festival air about it. It was a crisp but bright autumn day, and the breeze caused the blue and white banners that flew over the keep to snap energetically. The wind stirred Blackmoore's long raven hair and tugged at Arthas's cloak as they strolled along the ramparts. "And so you shall also see," Blackmoore promised, giving his prince an ingratiating grin. It had been Arthas's idea for a surprise inspection. Terenas had praised Arthas for his initiative and compassion. "It's only right, Father," Arthas had said, and by and large he meant it, although his primary reason for the suggestion was to satisfy his curiosity about the pet orc the lieutenant general kept. "We should make sure the money is going into the camps and not Blackmoore's pocket. We can ascertain if he is taking proper care of the gladiatorial participants -- and also, make sure he is not walking the path of his father." Blackmoore's father, General Aedelyn Blackmoore, had been a notorious traitor, tried and convicted of selling state secrets. While his crimes had taken place long ago, when his son had been but a child, the stain had dogged Aedelas throughout his military career. It was only his record of victory in battles, and particular ferocity in fighting the orcs, that had enabled the current Blackmoore to rise in the ranks. Still, Arthas could detect the smell of liquor on the man's breath, even at this hour of the morning. He suspected that particular piece of information would not be news to Terenas, but he'd make sure he told his father anyway. Arthas looked down, feigning interest in watching the dozens of guards who stood at rigid attention. He wondered if they were that attentive when their future king wasn't watching them. "I look forward to the bout today," he said. "Will I be able to watch your Thrall in action? I've heard quite a bit about him." Blackmoore grinned, his neatly trimmed goatee parting to reveal white teeth. "He was not scheduled to fight today, but for you, Your Highness, I shall pair him up against the worthiest foes available." Two hours later, the tour was complete, and Arthas shared a delicious meal with Blackmoore and a younger man named Lord Karramyn Langston, whom Blackmoore introduced as "my protégé." Arthas took an instinctive dislike to Langston, noting the man's soft hands and languid demeanor. At least Blackmoore had fought in battle for his title; this boy -- Arthas thought of him as a boy, although in truth Langston was older than Arthas's seventeen years -- had been handed everything on a platter. Well, so have I, he thought, but he also knew what sacrifices a king would be expected to make. Langston looked like he'd never denied himself a thing in his life. Nor did he deny himself now, helping himself to the choicest cuts of meat, the most lavish pastries, and more than one glass of wine to wash it down with. Blackmoore, in contrast, ate sparingly, though he had more alcohol than Langston. Arthas's dislike of the pair was completed when their serving girl entered and Blackmoore reached to touch her in a proprietary manner. The girl, golden-haired and simply clad, with a face that needed no artifice to be beautiful, smiled as if she enjoyed it, but Arthas caught a quick flash of unhappiness in her blue eyes. "This is Taretha Foxton," Blackmoore said, one hand still caressing the girl's arm as she gathered the plates. "Daughter of my personal servant, Tammis, whom I'm sure you'll see later." Arthas gave the girl his most winning smile. She reminded him a bit of Jaina -- her hair brightened by the sun, her skin tanned. She returned the smile fleetingly, then demurely looked away as she gathered the plates, dropping a quick curtsey before leaving. "You'll have one like that soon enough, lad," Blackmoore said, laughing. It took Arthas a second to grasp the meaning and then he blinked, startled. The two men laughed harder, and Blackmoore raised his goblet in a toast. "To fair-haired girls," he said, in a purring voice. Arthas looked back at Taretha, thought of Jaina, and forced himself to raise his glass. An hour later Arthas had forgotten all about Taretha Foxton and his indignation on her behalf. His voice was raw from screaming, his hands hurt from clapping, and he was having the time of his life. At first, he'd felt a little uncomfortable. The first few combatants in the ring were simple beasts pitted against one another, fighting to the death for no reason other than the enjoyment of the onlookers. "How are they treated prior to this?" Arthas had asked. He was fond of animals; it unsettled him to see them used so. Langston had opened his mouth, but Blackmoore shushed him with a quick gesture. He had smiled, leaning back in his chaise lounge and snagging a bunch of grapes. "Well of course we want them at their fighting peak," he said. "So they are captured and treated quite well. And as you can see, the bouts go quickly. If an animal survives and is not able to continue fighting again, we put him down at once, mercifully." Arthas hoped the man was not lying to him. A sick feeling in his gut told him Blackmoore probably was, but he ignored it. The feeling vanished when the fighting involved men against the beasts. As he watched, riveted, Blackmoore said, "The men are paid well. They in fact become minor celebrities." Not the orc, though. And Arthas knew it, and approved. That's what he was waiting for -- the chance to see Blackmoore's pet orc, found as an infant and raised to be a fighter in these rings, in combat. He was not disappointed. Apparently, everything up until now had been a warm-up for the crowd. When the doors creaked open and a huge green shape strode forward, everyone stood, roaring. Somehow Arthas found himself among them. Thrall was enormous, appearing even larger because he was obviously so much healthier and alert than the other specimens Arthas had seen in the camps. He wore little armor and no helm, and green skin stretched tightly over powerful muscle. Too, he stood straighter than others. The cheering was deafening, and Thrall walked a circle around the ring, lifting his fists, turning his ugly face up to be showered with rose petals usually reserved for holidays. "I taught him to do that," Blackmoore said with pride. "It's an odd thing, really. The crowd cheers for him, yet they come hoping every time he'll get beaten." "Has he ever lost a bout?" "Never, Your Highness. Nor will he. Yet people keep hoping, and the money keeps flowing." Arthas eyed him. "As long as the royal coffers see their proper percentage of your earnings, Lieutenant General, you'll be permitted to continue the games." He turned again to the orc, watching him as he completed his circuit. "He...is completely under control, isn't he?" "Absolutely," Blackmoore said immediately. "He was raised by humans and taught to fear and respect us." As if he had heard the comment, though he could not possibly have done so over the thundering cries of the crowd, Thrall turned to where Arthas, Blackmoore, and Langston sat watching. He thumped his chest in a salute and then bowed deeply. "You see? Utterly my creature," Blackmoore purred. He rose and lifted a flag, waving it, and across the ring a solidly built red-haired man waved another flag. Thrall turned toward the door, gripping the massive battle axe that was his weapon in this bout. The guards began to raise the door, and before it had even opened fully, a bear the size of Invincible surged forward. Its hackles had risen and it barreled straight for Thrall as if it had been launched from a cannon, its snarl audible even over the roar of the crowd. Thrall held his ground, stepping aside at the absolute last minute and bringing the huge axe around as if it weighed nothing at all. It tore a great rent in the bear's side, and the animal roared in maddened pain, whirling and sending blood spattering. Again, the orc stood his ground, resting on the balls of his bare feet until he moved with a speed that belied his size. He met the bear head-on, shouting taunts in a guttural voice in perfect Common, and brought the axe crunching down. The bear's head was nearly severed from its neck, but it kept running for a few moments before toppling into a quivering heap. Thrall threw back his head and cried out his victory. The crowd went mad. Arthas stared. There wasn't a scratch on the orc, and as far as Arthas could tell, the brute wasn't even particularly winded. "That's just the opener," Blackmoore said, smiling at Arthas's reaction. "Next will be three humans attacking him. He's also hampered by the fact that he's not to kill them, just defeat them. More a strategic battle than one of brute force, but I confess, there's something about watching him decapitate a bear in a single blow that always makes me proud." Three human gladiators, all large, powerfully muscled men, entered the arena and saluted their opponent and the crowd. Arthas watched as Thrall sized them up and wondered just how smart it was of Blackmoore to make his pet orc so damn good at fighting. If Thrall ever escaped, he could teach those skills to other orcs. It was possible, despite the increased security. After all, if Orgrim Doomhammer could escape from the Undercity, in the very heart of the palace, Thrall could escape from Durnholde. For the full excerpt (Weird word don't you think?) visit their site. If you're not feeling lucky, then you can always simply pre-order it. Final word So, in summary. The contest runs from today (9th april) until the 24th of april. Winners will be randomly picked among those who reply to those post. Be sure to give me a way to contact you, or you won't be getting a free book obvously. Don't cut it too close, I'm living on Central European Time after all. You can bribe me, but in the end it's all up to the RNG gods whether you're the lucky number. Be sure to sacrifice some goats or sheep before the 24th. Note of warning: Anonymous posts are disqualified from entering. Make sure you use your Google / Blogger / OpenID to comment! Registration is painless and takes 1-2 minutes at most. Disclaimer: I'm not personally sending the books, so don't hold it against me if shipping messes up.

Community service day

Also known as Discover that WoW blog!

It's been a good long while since I've done one of these, but hey, blog crosslinking is part of the game and everyone does it so and then. It allows you (the reader) to discover other blogs and share information. It's also a good way to get other blogs to link to your own blog (/poke, hint, hint) and get more readers for your blog in the long run.

Either way, today I'll start with some of the blogs that I've noticed were already linking here, so as to be fair and give them a head start. Sometime later (soon - tm) I'll make a followup with new and little known blogs that you might or might not enjoy reading as well.


Linkage!

In no particular order.

* Italian wow, has been linking to us for a while trough a recent update feed.
* Beyond the tree, by Nhani. Be sure to check this one out, it's a good comic and offers regular WoW wallpapers.
* WoW Fail blog, random funnies for a good laugh. Link exchange always pays off ^_^
* Epic Dwarven Blogger, beard and all included. Frequent updates from the hairy front!
* Forever a Noob, but still pro enough to link to us :P
* Egotistical Priest, of priestly stuff and much more.
* Lienna's Log, was gone for a while, but seems to be back to updating again.
* Less QQ, more pewpew, words you'll undoubtedly hear more often.
* The Good, The Bad and the Downright Evil, rogues, warlocks and paladins!
* Kestrel's aerie, a long time favorite.
* Where's my frisbee? I don't know either tbh. The dog ate it!
* Occeta alt aholic, there's no such thing as "enough" alts.
* Pugnacious Priest, wonders how many wipes it takes to be a learning experience.
* Twisted Nether, a WoW blogcast. They're in your internethers casting your blogs!
* Liming in WoW, has nothing to do with lemons. But "hanging out" mon.
* Secret Agent Cat, stealthed and in your backpack sniffing for secrets!


Also, this little game is kind of weird.
Click, try, smash up my avatar to bloody bits. Vent some agression.

How much is your Jewelcrafting worth?

So, I was wondering. Will JC will still be good even when you can get +20 stat gems? Like 20 agi, 20 str, 20 hit. Those are limited to (1) unique however. But a few patches away from now you'll see such gems become more commonplace. Here and now, +16 stat gems You can currently stick in Bright Dragon's Eyes in your gear, these are equal to 27 stats (27 agi). Or, if you're currently using +16 stat gems these dragon eyes equate a +11 stat upgrade. Sadly they're limited to unique(3) and thus the base profession bonus for jewelcrafting is +33. If you compare this to enchanting or skinning, and most other professions that only get +32 stats then you'll see that's worth quite something already in itself. But, besides those +33 stats the dragon's eyes also give an added benefit of being prismatic. This simply means that they'll fit into and activate any color socket. Other than meta sockets obviously. For example, us rogues, druids, hunters, warriors, death knights and enhancement shamans don't generally care for blue sockets so much. They are hard to fill, and cost "dps stats" to activate. As you'll know, this generally means using a gem like this instead of a nice gem like this. So, you technically lose "half" the value of the gem, and get some stamina in return. Stamina isn't a bad thing, but it doesn't really help your DPS either. Yellow sockets aren't bad, you can use a variety of orange gems in those. And red sockets are quite easy to fill obviously. Luckily the latest technology in the area of meta gems only needs 1-2 blue gems. And you "will" want to activate those. At the same time your socket able armor pieces will award you +4, +6 or +8 in a single stat when you properly aligned the gem colors in it. In general: * Single socket items give +4 stats. * Dual socket items give +6 stats. * Triple socket items give +8 stats. But those are rare in WotLK. Meta sockets count double, so helmets can give +8 to stats. This logically also means that helmets are the best slot to "waste" a blue gem on for rogues. Now, assuming you're "giving up" a 32 AP gem to use a 16 AP + 12 stam gem to activate a blue socket you'd theoretically lose 16 AP worth of DPS. Repeat that three times and you'll have given up 48 AP (24 stats). Now, if you were maximizing your benefits from sockets and inserted those 3 blue gems in your Head, Chest and Legs you'd lose a "tiny" bit in terms of dps for using an orange gem in your legs. (8*2 - 8x1.5 = 4 : but that's details) But those are easily made up by the fact that you'd get +6 +6 +8 stats from completing the legs, chests and head socket combinations. So, 20 stats returned. Conclusion thus far, a non jewelcrafter loses 24 - 20 = 4 stats for activating the same number of blue sockets that a Jewelcrafter would. Mind, you don't need to complete socket bonusses and can simply flood your gear with red gems and a single green in your helmet, but where's the fun in that? The difference here, is that a Jewel Crafter does not lose those 4 stats, so we can legally add those 4 stats to their already marginally better than average 33 stat bonus and come out on none less than: 33+4 = 37 stats. You'd be called crazy if you weren't already a Jewelcrafter. Note this goes for patch 3.0.9 where we don't have +20 stat gems available yet. What about +20 stat gems? Well, that's where stuff gets interesting. Instead of having a 27-16 : 11 stat difference, you'd now be looking at a 27-20 : 7 stat difference. Obviously 4 stats per gem less than before. Meaning 3*7 = 21 stats as your "profession bonus". That's suddenly rather lacking don't you think? So it would seem at first anyway. The reality of it still isn't as bright as you may like it to be, but you will see blizzard had some form of balance in mind when they first gave us these gems. To get a more accurate idea, we'll have to look at the blue sockets again. This time you're losing 50% of a 20 stat gem. Meaning 3x10 stats lost. As well as +6 +6 +8 regained from socket bonusses. Mind this may vary in future patches but for now I'll keep this comparison equal to the comparison listed above. This means, 30 lost - 20 regained = 10 lost for activating the same number of blue sockets that a jewelcrafter would. So, since the jewelcrafter "wouldn't" be losing those 10 stats, he'd be looking at: 21 stats gained from the gems + 10 stats you wouldn't lose = 31 stats total. That's awfully close to the usual 32 stats that currently seems to be mainstream for profession bonusses. Still, that does mean Jewel Crafting will be less good than for example Leatherworking, Enchanting of Inscription. The future? That is, unless we also get new profession perks by that time. Blacksmithing gets two bonus sockets and since we are using +20 stat gems, that puts Blacksmithing on a solid +40 stats total by that time. No further changes needed. For Jewelcrafting however, Blizzard would need to make new dragonseyes that give +30 stats instead of +27. This way you'd be looking at 3 x +3 = 9 on top of those 31 stats. JC would be worth 40 stats total then. The same as Blacksmithing. Enchanting is easy to fix, we'd simply get 2x +20 stats (haste or whatever was spotted in beta) on our rings instead of 2x 32 attack power. And thus end up on +40 stats as well. Currently JewelCrafting is simply the best profession you can get, but it's future is an uncertain one. I don't think we'll actually see those changes I mentioned until epic gems become mainstream though. which will happen around 3.2 at the earliest, more likely 3.3. Mind you, 3.1 does have a few +20 stat gems available from a fishing quest, but since those are unique you won't be able to flood your armor with those and thus they're not going to make JewelCrafting redundant yet. The other professions Skinning is still on 32 stats. Mining is still only stamina. Engineering still sucks, hard. Tailoring is hard to measure, but generally nowhere near 32 stats worth for melee. Leather working is still on 32 compared to the regular enchant. Inscription is still on 32. Alchemy is still on 32 unless new and bigger potions are added. Herbalism is still only a self heal, you'll want to avoid it unless you pvp a lot. Conclusion If there are no new dragon eye type gems added in the next few patches, JC will turn out to be weaker than it is now, though only marginally so. Blacksmithing however will gain a very substantial boost unless things change. So, unless 3.1+ Blizzard is adding "new" benefits for each profession that puts all profession bonuses on par with each other again, I'd suggest you aim to get blacksmithing as your primary profession, and get either Inscription, enchanting, skinning or leatherworking as a secondary. This applies to rogues and most other physical dps, but likely affects all classes in a similar way.