GN_Ken's blog

It's been some time I posted on here, folks. College classes can do that when you are very close to graduation.

A month or so has passed since the release of Wrath of the Lich King.

Trade - the ability to ensure wealth and prosperity throughout the kingdom. Since ancient times trade and professions have been the backbone to any empire. So much so that their presence in MMO’s is not that different. While some MMO titles introduce player-based economies there are some titles that don’t crack the potential of this concept. So how do WOTLK professions stack up with prior builds of the game? Did the development team address the concerns the community had with the profession builds from Burning Crusade? With the recent release of build 8820 on the beta servers we will take an early preview of the professions in WOTLK to see if the development team addressed some of the concerns with the player base.

So what can you do to prevent your raiding guild from falling apart? Here is a list of tips to help strengthen your guild that I will leave with you. This is all from firsthand experience.

Tabula Rasa and Pirates of the Burning Seas have been out for some time and so far were the only MMOs alternatives to the fantasy genre. Until now, the world of Ethegia invades the MMO market with their horror style world in Requiem: Bloodymare. No news about its production was ever noticed. It just came out of nowhere, like that hot stripper chick you met in Las Vegas, but yet tracks you down to where you live and it’s your wife/girlfriend that opens the door. First of all I will admit I’m not a fan of Korean style MMOs. One thing I hate about them is the steep learning curve of the game mechanics and the confusing UI interface. The Asian player base is focus on hardcore style gameplay, while North American and Europe are more casual and simple. After trying out each new Korean MMO title, they seem like a clone after another, mostly base on systems used in Lineage 2. But Requiem was different in a way that it caught my eye. It was the first in some time that did not use Orcs, Elves, Dwarfs, or pink fluffy ferries. The story of the character had nothing to do with saving the world from evil or fighting another faction in the name of a god. It was a simple task, surviving the horror infested world of undead, demons, and monsters.

We all learn to love and hate the Paladin over time. When WoW was released the Paladin was the overpowered class during the early years. I remember those times as every Horde complained about the damage Seal of Crusader put out against them. In case you were in the dark during this period, Seal of Crusader was designed to increase attack speed, but reduce damage while in use. Well, the problem was that there was a bug that prevented the Crusader from lowering the damage, thus causing all Paladin players to just spam Crusader and hack away at their targets at lightning speed. It was fixed, of course, along with other Retribution talents. But soon the Paladin felt less powerful - but not in terms that the class was fixed, but more that it felt underpowered when fighting anything. It became clear when you leveled a Paladin from 1-60 as it became long and frustrating. This plagued the Paladin until the class revamp during Burning Crusade. It did feel better when leveling, but not to the point of DPS output compared to other melee classes. With this, Paladins have been looked down on as a solid DPS class, but rather just a healer with armor. This attitude towards the Paladin has focused the class as only fitting the role of a Holy healer or as an off-tank spec such as Protection. Even joining a 5-man dungeon, the Paladin was still looked at as a non-DPS class. One of my first characters I created when WoW was released was a Paladin. Going from a DPS role down to being forced as a healer, well it saddened me. Nothing against healing and helping out, but I just don’t like being forced to heal or off-tank just to get into a party or raid cause everyone views the Paladin when it comes to melee and says, “DPS? Dude it just sucks”. With the upcoming Wrath of the Lich King expansion, I wonder, just like every other Paladin player, "How will the Paladin perform now with its new talents in the expansion for the Retribution tree?"

Professions are the backbone of any MMO but how does Inscription hold on it’s own? Currently, with the latest build in WOTLK, we finally get to see this profession take shape as we are finally able to level with ease as new designs are being added to the game.

When you log on and all you can think to do is dance in your underwear on a mailbox in Ironforge that may be a clear-cut sign that you need a new avenue of exploration. That simple act tells me that there is nothing left for you to do in game; no quests, no gathering, no creations of new toons, no raiding - is it time to move on? Maybe not.

Oh boy, fishing. You either love it or hate it. Yeah, I know fishing is boring since all you do is cast and wait for a bite - same thing as in real life fishing. It just depends if you’re an outdoor type of person. For me, and many other fishers in World of Warcraft, it’s just a relaxing pastime away from mob killing or doing PvP. But that all changed when the so-called Booty Bay Fishing Contest arrived. Sure, the contest was competitive and some people showed up, but the real peak of the contest didn’t take off until the Burning Crusade expansion came out. What was the reason? Good old mote farming. Pure Water pools around Outland became hot fishing spots to collect motes of water. Besides that, new fishing recipes for cooking were added with player buffs - a big plus for raiders. Then everyone and their mother started to show up to get that special fishing pole. Well, what's so special about this fishing pole? Just the +35 fishing skill that gives the highest bonus in the game. Many of the top buff foods and Pure Water pools are in areas that require high fishing skill, beyond the skill cap. You can use a fishing hook (aka lure) to increase your fishing skill (which increases your chance to catch fish than to get a miss), but getting gear with fishing skill is a big plus in increasing your chances.

Welcome to Dungeons and Raids. I wish more players were interested in PvP, but, heck, maybe that is just me. Boy, was everyone interested in this panel. The main stage was filled a good hour before it started. Well, as before, here is the 411 as discussed by the developers: