So They Did It...

So today I feel like going on a rant. Why you ask? Well Ruby Sanctum was delayed a week because they wanted it to be open to everyone at the same time. So yes of course let's release it when 40 servers are down for 24 hours. This is obviously what they were trying to do, you know be fair so it would be opened to everyone at the same time. What a load of crap. If you are trying to do one thing don't go back on it later. If your point was not to care in the first place then why hold it off a week. It just makes no sense at all. Of course I can run it today instead of yesterday, but that is not the point at all. The point is why they delayed it and when they decided to release it.

If I was not on one of the servers that was down. I would be less pissed, but this whole backdoor thing of doing it is pretty stupid. Why say one thing and do another. Is Blizzard now full of politicians or something? Now they changed all their blue posts stating why it was delayed and just changed them to saying it was delayed. So what is the deal with that? Covering up for your mistakes? Admit you made the mistake, it is that simple. Just don't try to hide it like it never happened because nothing pisses off people more than that.

Ok I am done ranting. Regardless I am going to run the instance today as probably will many of you, if you haven't done so already. Remember tomorrow is the last day to get your submissions in for this week's Reader Post. Happy dragon killing remember to "step away from the head Lee"

You Fail At Threat If...

Happy Fail Day all. So, I play on one of the many servers down today. Sucks but then I can do all that stuff that I am supposed to do. To all those people who play on servers, which are not down for the day you will either have to have yours down soon or they have already been done. The whole point is to make sure we have no issues when Cataclysm launches. So I am all for the downtime if it makes that transition easier. To get back on topic it is Fail Day and I know how people get today so shall we just get on with it.

You Fail At Threat If...

• You confuse Omen with Oh man
• Taunt is part of your rotation
• You use mocking blow on iceblocks
• Your tank has a macro to turn you into a ghoul
• You are known for saying "Give me time to get aggro guys" after MDs and ToT have gone out.
• You blow all cooldowns and let loose instead of giving the tank a second
• You are a range who gets bit first on Blood Queen
• You loose aggro to someone not even attacking
• You forget to fade
• You are healing with Righteous Fury
• You are a hunter who refuses to Feign Death
• Vanish has seemed to have vanished from your bars
• You getting Salvation is the beginning of the end
• You use your taunt because it does damage
• You deathgrip to see mobs fly across the screen

and finally

• You loose aggro as a Prot Pally

That is it for this week. Enjoy your Free Loot Tuesday if your server is up. If it is not enjoy the sun shine. If the sun is not shinning go out and sing in the rain.

The Question

So someone asked me yesterday why I keep running For The Horde. I have the achievement and I get no loot or anything from it. The answer to me was simple, I think it is fun. To be able to organize a group of miss matched people to achieve the goal is a great thing. Planning out my attacks as to make the defenders second guess what is happening to me is fun. Chanting "LOK'TAR OGAR" with people behind me as I charge into a mass of alliance is fun. Seeing those achievements pop up knowing that you were successful in what you set out to do is fun. I don't play this game for shiny lewts or achievements or any of that. I play it for fun.

Whenever I do something in this game I want to be successful at it. I'll put the work in make it happen. When I bought Wrath of the Lich King my goal was to kill the Lich King, and I have done that. Yes, I got some nice loot and some achievements and those are great extras. But that is exactly what they are. When I finish my Shadowmorne ya it will be awesome, but again just something extra. I think people forget sometimes that this is a game and it is supposed to be fun. Set your goals and know what is fun to you, and do it. Don't let people tell you what you need to do. Look at [Undergeared] they killed Festergut on 10 man this past weekend. They were told that it would be impossible to do in Blue gear. They never backed down and they did it. I wish them good luck on PP, BQ, Sindragosa, and of course the Lich King.

There doesn't have to be a reason to have fun. Just have it.

Ask Gauss

So it is Sunday, end of the weekend and time for Ask Gauss. The time of the week where I go through my stack(inbox) of questions and decide(think long and hard), which ones I would like to answer the week. Shall we see what was chosen this week?

So Llane is down for 24 hours on Tuesday what are you going to do?

Play Battleship. Well not really. Who knows? Guess I will make it a spur of the moment kind of thing and see what happens. I actually will be really disappointed if Ruby Sanctum is live on Tuesday and I am not there to try it. Although from what I have heard it will be the following week. If you question is am I going to go crazy and kill people because I can't play WoW for 24 hours. I will say probably not, but you never truly know how you will be feeling when you wake up in the morning.

How is it you can always get a group of random people to listen to you?

Well they don't all always listen. Ever been on a For The Horde when I say "Don't run up the stairs like a mindless retard?" Then only to see 10 people run up. The point is not everyone is always going to listen, but if they don't and you let people know, you mean what you say they will tend to respect you for it. There is also that carry over, because I run a lot of groups and people come back or have been told how things work. So it is not like I am some random person that people don't know what to expect. So if you are having trouble be firm on what you expect. I try to add a little joke here and there to cool the atmosphere and all is well. Keep at it and you will have people semi doing what they are supposed to in no time.

Can I get your Real ID email so I can add you?

That is not going to happen.

That is it for this week hope you all had a good weekend. Keep coming to Thunder Bluff I will keep defending while I can, and of course next week's Reader Post will be about what you do when the server is down.

Flames Fun

So today is the day I set aside to get all the flames done. Even if I got the achievement last year it is still a lot of fun going around and killing anything that may get in my way. Even if that means bring a For The Horde Raid into alliance cities to make the flames that much more fun to get. I didn't purposely get anyone lost though. I guess I was in a good mood today.

Couple funny stories of mine from the day.

So I was riding to Shadowprey to grab the flame there when I see this Alliance warlock. He wasn't flagged. I was, of course, having just done the Alliance flame in the zone. He must have seen me I was right beside him, but he kept riding to Shadowprey and I was right there with him. He then did his bit on the flame, which flagged him, of course. Then I sure as hell let the guy have it. I don't even think he had time to react to me making him kiss the dirt.

Off to Silithus, I went where this mage decided to attack and went about running away. The Heroic Throw to the face caused him to suffer such an embarrassing death. Later on this mage decided to whisper someone who was with me complaining that "You and your buddy Gauss think you are cool?". I find it funny he never whispered me because I would have told him this festival is very much about PvP and if you are going to do it especially around me expect me to charge right at you.

After killing the King in Stormwind and getting the flame we had a little fun owning the place. I would say I feel bad for that Deathknight who kept trying, but after I killed him like 6 times you would have thought he would have stopped attacking me and tried someone else.

And it is not even over yet! Look for me defending Thunder Bluff and of course I will be running around the rest of the Eastern Kingdoms tonight.

The Story Of My Class

So it is Friday and time for the Reader Post. This week I asked the question of why you decided to play the class you did. I know I have heard many stories over the years and they interested me so shall we see what everyone said?

I rolled a warrior because after 3 1/2 years of playing a paladin i just had to quit. I'm not really sure y, but i think it had to do with healing, buffing in raids with retard paladins that didn't know wtf they were doing, cleansing, DI's, and just all the other stuff my class did to support other classes. Warriors just pwn, we are "the man" we main tank huge bosses, we have great pvp dps, and great pve dps. I"m not selling paladins out saying they can't do this stuff, but a warrior will never have to heal, besides bandages and pots/healthstones lol. I hate healing moreless i guess.

I rolled a Mage because of the Big Blue Dress Video. I thought that guy was owning shit up and I want to do that.

My Blood Elf Hunter, was started because my sisters moronic fiance said "hey you should play a hunter, they get pets!". Me being new to the game didn't think to really look into what I wanted to play, so I went ahead with it. Chose bloodelves because I found all other horde races hideous, and I refused to play alliance.

I had a dream where this random guy came up to me and said you should be a shaman.

Undead because there city was the coolest looking per BC IMO, and mage because something about hurling fireballs at mobs and people makes me feel all warm inside =P

I chose a Tauren warrior because before I started playing WoW, my friend showed me the "Pat PVP" video, and even though I didn't really know what it was, I thought it was the coolest thing ever. Ironically I hate/suck at PVP.

I had no idea what druids were when I started, and they sounded cool so I chose it, and considering my friends all played alliance back on blackhand, i chose the NE. Happy with my choice over all, cause everyone knows druids are the chosen class.

Well my first ever char was a dwarf pally....until I learned that the vast majority of people on the ally side are children. So like many I came horde side. Before BC came out when I heard they were making a horde race able to be a pally it was a no brainer....and between male and female Belf...common the dance alone was reason enough, I would rather look like a movie star rather then someone with no coordination.

I made an orc warrior on Medivh because a couple friends had lvl 60's there. they came to watch me in the starting area and goofed around as I leveled. Probably got him to about 17 before another guy I worked with who played an Alliance human warlock invited me to Khaz Modan since he was only about lvl 22 so I created my Rogue. I decided to roll a rogue since I played Diablo 2 Expansion as an Assassin and really liked how they were set up with combo points. When creating my character I decided to make it female since I had stared at an orcs ass for 17 levels and decided if I'm going to be rolling behind this thing all the time I might as well make it female. After getting to 60 and raiding I have decided that I will not roll another female toon since it confuses the crap out of people.

I rolled a warrior to be OP, to dps when my class is clearly meant to tank, to let others practice CC on me, to suck at 1v1s, because MS is LOL, and of course spamstring.

So that is it for this week. Thank you all for the submissions I enjoyed reading them all including all the ones that couldn't be included due to the length the post would be. Enjoy your weekend!

I Am Not Race Changing To Goblin

I don't know how this started, but I better throw it out there before it gets even crazier. I get way too many tells and emails everyday asking me about me switching to a goblin. Why am I doing it? I thought you loved Taurens? I know the car is cool, but really?

.

So I will say it here and it should be the end of it. Well besides of all the emails I will get as jokes asking why I am changing to a goblin, but that is too be expected I guess.

.

I will say it again. I am not race changing to a goblin. Yes I will be getting the rep so I can have a race car, because I want the awesome car. I am pretty sure everyone does, sorry alliance go watch Twilight. I will probably make a few goblin bankers for obvious reasons, but other than that Gauss will be his proud noble tauren self and will stay that way. Glad I got that out there.

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Reminder tonight is the deadline to get your submissions in for the Reader Post tomorrow. If you forget it is about the reason you chose the class you did. Happy St. Jean Baptiste Day to the Quebecois among us.

How You Know The Servers Are Down

So yesterday if you didn't know there was a patch. Really I had no idea? Now many people believe this wasn't a real big issue since there wasn't anything major. Which is true game wise, but remember it was basically the launch of Battlenet 2.0. So with the servers being delayed over and over I decided to poke a little fun at WoW players in general and come up with a list to how you know the severs are down. Prepare to be offended!

• You just noticed it is summer time
• You had a meal that wasn't cooked in the microwave
• You are playing Battleship on yahoo games
• Your YouTube view counter doubles in size within the hour
• You talked to someone who wasn't on Vent
• You go to bed at a reasonable time
• You start your stories with "This one time the server was down..."
• You keep refreshing the server status page everyone 2 minutes
• You complain how your server is always the last one up
• You email Blizzard telling them you will stop playing their stupid game if the servers aren't up in an hour. You send the same email an hour later.
• You brush your hair
• You are still playing battleship
• You update your facebook statues every 10 minutes complain about how the server is down
• You look at your screenshots wondering if you will every see that place again
• The first server that pops up you make a toon on. When you get on the server there is like 200 Level 1 toons all around you.
• When someone jokes about the server being up you resemble someone who should be taking anger management classes.
• You log on after hours of waiting only to be stuck at a loading screen and disconnect

Enjoy the new patch and be careful with Real ID.

You Fail At Desecrating Flames If...

So we have a patch today, which isn't really a real patch because we don't get the instance that everyone was waiting for, because some crap about Europe not getting a fair shot at world firsts or was it because they want to test out the Real ID thing without releasing the instance. Now that was one hell of a sentence if it even was one, you all know me and English. Anyways, it is Fail Day so better get on with it.

You Fail At Desecrating Flames If...

• You think Hordies will just let you get the flame
• You run to your flight master outside Everlook only to realize I killed it
• You think I will give up chasing after you
• You think you can stealth in as low level
• You take the Zep from Orgrimmar to Thunder Bluff only to be Thunderfucked off the Bluff
• You charge at me then after realizing who you charged you run like hell
• You think you being killed gets any less fun
• You realize you are missing a flight path
• You are unaware of where the flames are located
• You don't kill the NPCs when desecrating so the flame is unable to be honored
• You follow me around expecting me to protect you
• You are doing this only to earn gold
• You don't purge all settlements as you pass through, creating a path of destruction
• You say to yourself or others "How do I get there?" while running around

and finally

• You think you are getting my Thunder Bluff flame while I am there

That good luck getting the flames. To all the people I killed yesterday in Thunder Bluff I hope you keep trying because I will be happy to keep killing you over and over. Enjoy your Free Loot no real Patch Day Patch Day.

Midsummer Fire Festival

It is upon us! Now even though it doesn't have all the awesome that Brewfest has it is still one of my favourite WoW holidays. Anything which urges alliance to visit my Horde cities is always fun. There is nothing like repeatibly killing someone will they are trying to get to a flame. This also means that more will be interested in the For The Horde runs, because it will be a free group to go and get the flames down in the capitals. There is always people around those flames looking to defend and the madness begins.

Here a few fun things to do

Group with a shaman and defend the Thunder Bluff Flame. Watch and enjoy as he Thunderfucks people off the Bluff. This increases in hilarity the more people in the group of alliance. It is funny with the priest too just not as much.

Get people to follow you around to no where in alliance cities and pretend you are lost and have no idea where the flame is.

Ninja all the loot from Ahune from random people who need the gear. Make sure to have other epics you can shard on you. Then shard those things in front of them and trade them the shards.

Open a GM ticket and ask him random questions about the festival. Examples being "Is it really safe to promote playing with fire?", "Why don't my robes catch fire when I mess up catching the torch?", and "Is there a way I can use the flame to actually set Silvermoon on fire? Because that would really make the Festival the greatest around."

Enjoy the Festival's events I know I will!

Ask Gauss

Last day of the weekend otherwise known as Sunday. The day you can get up late and no one cares. Don't give me that crap about Saturday people care. Sunday as most if not all of you know as Ask Gauss day. With the type of questions asked this week I kinda get the feeling something big happened and I have no clue about it. You know what I am talking about? You know when you are in a room talking to people and someone says something completely not funny at all and like everyone laughs but you. See now you understand, anyways kind of got side tracked. To the questions!

Is WoW a hard game?

To be completely honest, no. The game is actually built this way so that it can be played by a large variety of people. It is good for the bottom line. This is also why WoW doesn't have the best graphics engine compared to other MMOs. More people can play so they have the ability to make more money.

Now WoW does have a difficulty system so that players who want to do something more difficult can do so. WoW comes down to standing where you are supposed to, killing what you are supposed to, or healing who you are supposed to. Then of course when any of one of these things goes wrong just blame lag or Blizzard for a stupid glitch.

What are of the stupid things people have asked you?

Here is a list
Where is the mailbox in Dalaran?
Why don't I have defensive stance?
Can I have 5000g for my epic flying I know you won't miss it?
Where do you catch fish?
So you can really learn to speak common in the barrens?
So I am in Silithus now where do I find that vendor?
Do you pay me before or after I jump off TB?
Do you type out Pi every time?
Are you trying to kill me?
Why is ret a bad spec?

Why is Champion of the Frozen Wastes such a bad title?

Is this really a serious question?

That is it for this week. Keep on sending them in and I will do my best to answer them, poke fun at you for answering such a question, or question you for asking such a question. Next Friday's Reader Post will be why you chose the class you did.

The Hogger Facination

Has anyone really understood why such a fascination exists? Maybe you have to be Alliance to truly understand, but I have no clue. For those of you who don't know he is a level 11 elite located in Elwynn Forest. For many people he is the first elite encountered while leveling in the area encounter. So I guess people mindless pull him and get their ass handed to them, to create the folklore. I guess kind of like I did when I first ran into Walling Caverns.

Here are a few facts about Hogger

• He has 666 health
• He started the 40 level 1 raids.
• He is a memory of the Argent Confessor
• He was voted #24 of 47 in the list of the most diabolical video game villains of all time
• His description in division 7 reads "An unbeatable 40 man raid boss in World of Warcraft"
• During Blizzcon 2009 he was the last encounter for Premonition he was buffed up to Level 80 heroic mode and they were unable to take him down.
• There is a horde guild called [Hogger Protection] made of horde that there sole purpose is to prevent hogger from being killed
• You can check "Deaths to Hogger" in your statistics

There was this video for the Rise to Power contest

So I don't understand it at all or who or what started it, but it is there...

Sorry I Didn't Vote For Them

Happy Friday everyone! As is the custom here or at least has become one, Friday is all about the reader's contributions to create the post for the day. This week I asked you all who do you think is the best leader in WoW or who would be. I also decided to look for that special quote for each leader to show the readers point that much more. Shall we check out what some people thought?

Varok Saurfang: Many complain that Thrall is too passive and that Garrosh is too aggressive and you even said that if one of them were to become a little more like the other they would be the perfect leader. Saurfang is already that guy. He is one that could united both camps and bring glory to the horde.

"A true orc warrior - wishes for one thing: To die in the glory of battle against a hated enemy. Some of you have fought in battles. Peace has been with us for many years. Many years we sat idle but many years we battled. In those years - where strife the land and Legion and Scourge sacked our homes, killed our families - these insects dwelled beneath us. Beneath our homes - waiting. Waiting to crush the life from our little ones. To slay all in their path. This they do for their god. And for our gods? We defend. We stand. We show that as one. United. We destroy. Their god will fall. To die today, on this field of battle, is to die an orcish death. To die today is to die for our little ones. Our old ones. Our… loved ones. Would any of you deny yourselves such a death? Such an honor?"

Varian Wrynn: Despite his actions he is exactly what the alliance needs. He is tactical, strong willed and knows how to fight himself. So much so that when Malfurion formed the army to fight against the Nightmare he put Varian in charge of the army. Knowing that Malfurion has the confidence to trust him to lead not only the alliance, but the alliance and horde armies, I would say he is the leader of leaders.

"A gladiator's life is simple: You win and live, or lose and die. A king's life is more complex. The only truth for a king is that there are no easy answers."

Rhonin: Rhonin has been able to befriend orcs, dwarfs, dragons, night elves, and himself marry a high elf. He has been able to connect races more so than anyone else. In the war of the ancients he brought the races together to allow for the turn of the tide. He would be someone that all the races would stand behind if it came to that.

"You have that admirable disposition and manner of dark dress that means you must belong to Deathwing's flight. And since you're not the rabid dog or his two worst pups, I'd hazard by your grand posturing that you must be one of his prime bitches."

Tirion Fordring: He is the champion of the light. He took us into Icecrown Citadel and did what had to be done. Arthas was slain and the alliance and the horde did not end up killing one another. There is not many who could have done what he has done, and for that he should be commended.

"Rise, Darion...and listen. We have all been witness to a terrible tragedy; the blood of good men has been shed upon this soil. Honorable knights, slain defending their lives...our lives. And while such things can never be forgotten, we must remain vigilant in our cause. The Lich King must answer for what he has done and must not be allowed to cause further destruction in our world! I make a promise to you now brothers and sisters: The Lich King will be defeated! On this day, I call for a union! The Argent Dawn and the Order of the Silver Hand will come together as one! We will succeed where so many before us have failed! We will take the fight to Arthas, and we will tear down the walls of Icecrown! The Argent Crusade comes for YOU, Arthas!"

Turalyon: Yes he is a paladin, but more so a commander. He was able to still defeat the horde when the alliance's greatest champion fell for all to see. He more than anyone is someone I want to see come into the Warcraft story. No one horde or alliance has anything on him or his ability to lead. Lothar believed in him even when he didn't believe in himself. He is the real champion of Azeroth.

"You will stand trial for your crimes. You will stand in Capital City, in chains as the leaders of the Alliance decide your fate, and there you will acknowledge your full defeat. But you will not be so lucky. You will die here, with the rest of your kind, and this world will be rid of your taint forever!"

That is it for this week. I tried to include those that weren't obvious. I included Varian because I read Stormrage and I thought that little blurb would get many of you interested in it. Be sure to check back Sunday to see what next weeks topic will be.

Enjoy your weekend!

10 Mans, What Fun

Not that this is a new thing to me but I hate 10 mans. I try probably more than I should to make sure people are happy for the 10mans I setup each week. There is this thing that if you are not in Gauss' group it means it is ok for you to fail, because you are not in the "good" group. To me this is beyond crap. It makes me consider just making 1 group since the other group tends to be unproductive, or just not make 10 mans part of the guild at all. Leave them for after the raid or on off nights if you want to waste the guilds time.

Of course doing so would probably cause problems of a different sort. 10 mans, the way they currently, serve as practice or a tutorial for 25 man guilds. The content is easier and you get expierenc in most if not all situations before you do so on 25 man. Also with this being such an issue lately makes me quite fearful of Cataclysm.

Why you ask? Well if there is no incentive to do 25s then 10 mans are going to be the way to go. Which of course means the joy of making groups in terms of maximum progression for the guild. This of course means stacking groups so that they would progress the fastest. This would most definitely make people think they just aren't good enough. In turn people get upset, leave to do their own thing, or just hang around and complain how they are getting screwed over. Oh I can't wait, how about you?

Reminder today is the last day to get in your submissions for tomorrow Reader's Post. For those who don't remember or can't look back and check Sunday's post. The topic is your opinion of the best leader currently in the game. Keep on keeping on.

Everyone Wants Everything

This comic says it best

Have you ever read any of the suggestion forums it is full of crap to make someones toon the most overpowered thing in the history of WoW. Some of them are so out of whack they try to explain why something isn't overpowered and how it could be balanced. I guess this is the nature of the world we live in everyone wants what is best for them. On this not I have invented a couple of abilities for warriros one for each spec.

Ownage Copter: This talent will allow you extend the duration of Bladstorm by intercepting to targets. Each time you successfully intercept while under the effects of Bladestorm the duration will increase by 6 seconds with every successful intercept. Each time you also do this intercept will have no cooldown.

Big Number Smash: This allows you to Cleave, Whirlwind, Heroic strike, and Bloodthirst all at once. The result is what the name says lots of big numbers. This ability has a 10 second cooldown.

Titan Shield Wall: Allows you to equipped a shield in both hands and use abilities that require a melee weapon even if you are not in fact using one. This will also allow you to block and spell reflect at the same time since you have two shields of course!

Now you may think these are stupid and ridiculous, but there is someone who will read it and said "OMFG THEY NEED TO PUT THAT IN".

You Fail At Hard Mode If...

So it is Tuesday and I here there is extended maintenance. This makes me think all the little server glitches and problems for the past few months will be fixed. Then I proceed to bash my head against the wall to try and stop myself from day dreaming. As all or most of you know Tuesday is Fail Day and on Fail Day we use this time to poke fun and/or insult people who can be only referred to as "special". Shall we get to it then?

You Fail At Hard Mode If...

• You have to call Marrowgar Professor Bonestorm so you don't take the fight as a joke.
• You are still trying to up your heal numbers by standing in Death and Decay
• You admit to not being able to kite Blood Beasts because you are a clicker
• You wipe on Loot Ship
• You are one of those "I am too awesome to switch targets" DPS
• You complain you didn't get enough heals when you had 15+ stacks of Shadow Prison
• You kill people who get MC'd because it is amusing
• You get MC'd on Blood Queen
• You think hard mode trash is entertaining
• You the victim of a blood beast facial
• You are a healer and failed to heal yourself when inflicted with Mark of the Champion
• You get a closeup of the reanimated adds exploding on Deathwhisper
• You still misunderstand the term "stack up" and confuse it with "do your own thing in the corner"
• The phrase "why are we wiping on this easy boss" repeatably comes out of your mouth, because you don't understand this is in fact hard mode.
• You keep screaming "Taunt you idiot" without knowing the boss is in fact untauntable.

and finally

• You were constantly out healed by a ret pally on normal mode

That is it for this week. Hopefully your Free Loot Tuesday goes off without a problem.

Cataclysm Press Event

Well yesterday the world got one step closer to Cataclysm with a bunch of info on the outs. I'll give you my opinion her and inform you on some of the developments.

Path of the Titans Scrapped

Now I know a lot of people were looking forward to this as a way to make your character truly yours. My opinion of this is if they couldn't implement it correctly I don't want it in the game. If their is one thing I hate is like mini patch after mini patch to fix things that were implemented poorly. Does anyone remember how awful this was during classic WoW?

So instead what are they doing? Well they are overhauling inscription. There will now be three tiers of glyphs. Major glyphs as we have now used to enhance core abilities and granted a major glyph spot at the level caps. Really how they work now. Minor glyphs which are small enhancements and these will be kept the same. The change will be that they are promising that all classes will now get a use out of their minor glyphs. Lastly, they are adding medium glyphs. The way these are being explained are cosmetic changes to non core abilities, to make lets say "fun" changes.

Guilds

No talents, no currency they have been scrapped.

The talents have been scrapped, because you would have got everything anyway when your guild leveled up. So blizzard is now the one who decides the order in which you get these perks. The currency is being replaces by rewards as you earn reputation with your guild and as it levels up. Yes I said reputation. My take on it is the more you do with your guild(raid, pvp, instance, etc) the more rep you will get. One of things they have mentioned is tabards for your mounts to make them more guildafied.

They are also changing the guild UI to display the XP of the guild and the current achievements and boss kills you have. Also the guild roster will display members professions for easy access for everyone.

Raids and Dungeons

Grim Batol's Bastion of Twilight is one of Cataclysm's entry level raids. There will be five bosses, with the end boss being Cho'gall. Defeating Cho'gall on hard mode will reveal another step in Cataclysm's Lore.

Skywall's Vortex Pinnacle is another 5 man, a flying palace in the Elemental Plane of Air. Flying mounts will work, but there will be no flying combat.

War of the Ancients has officially been announced as the Caverns of Time instance. Although which timeline is unsure. This though will not be released with Cataclysm it will be a future content patch. My guess is the way Mount Hyjal worked.

Players locked to a 25 man raid will have the option to split your raid ID into three parts, so you can split into three smaller 10man raids. All three raids will pick up at the same point the 25man raid stopped. Once split, the raid cannot be made back into a 25 man. Also, while 10-man raids were intentionally easier than 25 man raids in Wrath, that is not the case in Cataclysm.

Raid IDs will not be as strict as they are now. If your raid fails but you find another raid that has killed the same bosses, you can leave your ID and join theirs. This has also been explained as you can join a raid that has closed more, just not less. Algalonish encounters are not going away; there will be many more of them for both 10 and 25man raids. At this point there is no talk of a new TRH to pretend you killed such bosses.

Lastly 25 man raids will provide more loot per player about 50% more.

Zones

WoW does Egypt is still planned. Uldum will be this place, a cat-like race known as the Tol'vir will be introduced here.

Deepholm the place where Deathwing has been resting or rebuilding, depending upon who you ask. He has broken through Deepholm and then through the Maelstrom. Maybe this means they will get into some of the lore in regards to this.

The Skybreaker and Orgrim's Hammer are in Deepholm, though the Skybreaker has appeared to hav shot down Orgrim's Hammer.

PvP

Two new battlegrounds. Twin Peaks and the Battle for Gilneas. More planned in future patches. Twins peasks will be a Warsong type capture the flag with the base graveyard and a midfield rez point.

Rated battlegrounds will only be played against other raided teams. There is also a cap on the Conquest points you can earn per week no matter how many you play. The rewards will work like Arena rewards with titles and mounts except the Battleground mount will be a ground mount.

Archaeology

Archaeology's focus will be on showing off the lore of the game and learning Azeroth's history. Players will find two types of artifacts one being Lore artifacts. The other will be cosmetic rewards. This profession will be entirely optional just like the other secondary professions.

I like this since now there won't be this mass of people searching for all these artifacts at once, and really the people that want to know the history and the story will be doing it.

Other Notes

Garrosh is acting Warchief. He has moved his throne room to the Centre of Orgrimmar and the Valley of Wisdom is now the Tauren District.

Deathwing opens a can of whoop ass on the park in Stormwind, destroying it. No word on if the druid trainer survived.

Heirloom items will be able to be used by Goblins and Worgens. That is the heirlooms that are currently in the game, but these items only work up until Level 80.

That is pretty much all the information in pointish type form. For the most part I like the changes. I am interested what kind of things I can do with the Medium Glyphs, what the Cho'gall event is and of course the need for a Tauren district.

To finish I just want to say something to a reader and a guild member of mine that has decided to end his WoW Career. Whirl keep chasing those BIG NUMBERS.

Ask Gauss

Sunday it is. Before I get to Ask Gauss I just have to mention something that I read about today.

The Grim Batol raid instance will be called the Bastion of Twilight, and you get to fight Cho'gall as the end boss! If you manage to defeat him in Heroic Mode, a horrific secret will be revealed when he dies.

I'll just let you all chew on that. So now that you are probably quite distracted after reading that, time for the questions.

So I recently heard you are both the Guild Leader and Raid Leader for your guild. Isn't that difficult to pull off?

At times it is harder than I would like. As a guild leader you are trying to build a guild where people get along and achieve the goals at hand. As a raid leader you want to assemble the best possible raid for each and every encounter. Now sometimes I find myself being more of a raid leader and not always thinking about who or what I am bringing in. Meaning will the recruits have the raid time? Forgetting about personalities and how they may crash. Also it can go the other way. Am I letting too much slack because I am concerned how they will react and not treating them how a raid leader should.

I think I have learned to balance it. Also being one has its advantages at times. I don't have to deal with a raid leader thinking he is above everyone. I report to myself basically and know exactly what does need to be done each raid or each week in the guild. While recruiting I can bring in people and can do all the checks at once and can bring in people with going through others. Not that this is always a good thing, but is helpful at times.

So like anything ups and downs, but it can work if you have the patience to get it right.

Do you think Garrosh will make a good Warchief?

One thing I want to stress is that in everything that I have read is he is acting Warchief. This I assume is because Thrall is captured. This is also part of the reasons the Goblins join the Horde. If you think though, does Thrall really have a successor besides Garrosh? Maybe this will allow Thrall to see if he would be the right person for the job. I will say though I love what Garrosh does to Orgrimmar makes it a true warrior city.

The main arguments against Garrosh is that he is the Anti-Thrall. I don't disagree that he is at all. The point being in these times that will be upon Azeroth we need someone who is more hands on. Maybe Thralls capture will teach him to be more hands on, and maybe with Thrall gone Garrosh could learn to be more diplomatic. Therefore in the end we could have 2 people that would be what the horde needs.

Do you have any advice for someone just starting out?

Make it idiot proof and someone will make a better idiot.

That is it for this week. The NDA on the alpha is not completely lifted, but there is some information being given to the press. So take a look there are some interesting developments. I will probably do something regarding these developments in the next day or two. Lastly, the next Reader Post will be who you think is the best Leader currently in the game.

Enjoy what is left of your weekend.

Old Fashion Ass Whooping

It has been awhile since I made a raid and basically when crazy ass demolishing a city. Normally it is Ironforge for the simple reason that it is the last city normally on the list during my For The Horde runs. We started there today and finished in Stormwind. I was expecting a big defence in Stormwind and was quite disappointed to find two lonely defenders. So what does Gauss do when he is disappointed in such a situation? Well if the Alliance weren't going to defend their King well, I was going to make them defend their city.


To the Trade District we went. Of course with the achievements done not everyone stays, but a good number started with us. The trek to the trade district was rather funny. Along came these slow ass defenders maybe 3 or 4 running to save their King. When, of course, they run right into the raid group. They were plowed over like they were nothing. When we got to the Trade District just took no prisoners. All flagged and all NPCs were taken down. People tried to stand up but it was obvious we had the numbers. At the 15 minute mark many got bored of the Alliance not defending and ported out. This is of course when the Alliance started massing defenders when we were down to about 18 people.

We lasted for about 30 minutes before we were just overwhelmed by their numbers. Of course it finished with the trademark teabag and laugh at Gauss. Apparently they weren't there when we were owning your city for 30 minutes. You are indeed the ones that should be ashamed. I always see it as a good day when I take down a few of the people teaming up on me before my face hits the pavement.

Thank you all who contributed to my 217 kills in Stormwind.

They Have The Best Blueberry Pie

TGIF! Yes, it is Friday, which means time for the weekly Reader Post. For all of you who haven't kept up with what this week's post is about, I guess I will have to tell you. I wanted people to tell me what their favourite settlements in WoW are. Maybe there is a reason, maybe there isn't, maybe you just go there because they have good pie. Who knows but shall we find out then?

Ironforge: Even know you play horde you have to respect Ironforge because of the Lore. Ironforge has never been taken. All other capitals have been taken and to be rebuilt or relocated. Ironforge has never been taken, never once! It is the impenetrable fortress that will be defended till the end.

Timbermaw Hold: Besides the fact that they love me in that tunnel I think it is a really cool place. Candles on the walls of the tunnels. It gives the feeling of a completely different type of culture. Also makes me excited for the day that I will be able to roll a furbolg as a playable race.

The Crossroads: Some of the best times I have ever had in WoW have been at the Crossroads. The raids that would develop out of no where. Truth be told that was also the first time I ever saw you. I saw all of these people standing around part of this guild called "The Army of Gauss" when all of the sudden people started yelling "GAUSS HAS LANDED". There had to be at least 100 people following you around like you were some sort of God. There you were inside the Crossroads all pro being Level 60 telling people how to organize and push the alliance scum back. Push them back we did all the way back to Ashenvale where we then took over their little elf city.

Halaa: Before Wintergrasp there was Halaa. The area of constant fun and games for hours upon hours. I would never not be in Nagrand and not trying to either defend it or do the bombing runs while attacking. The best part was there was always the same people over and over and you got to know them and how they would react. I enjoy Wintergrasp, but it just isn't the same.Thunder Bluff: Not only is Thunder Bluff a quiet city, where the people who are there are the people who want to be there. It is home to some of the most scenic shots in all the warcraft universe. This is why beyond doubt it is my favourite settlement.

So that is it for this week's Reader Post. Be sure to make your contributions for next week's topic and as always it will be announced this Sunday. To all you soccer loving people enjoy the World Cup. To everyone else enjoy your weekend.

Race Pride

So the World Cup is just around the corner. Now I am not much of a soccer fan, but what the world cup brings at least in Canada is this mass pride about who their team is. Flags draped off of cars, houses, doors, and of course the people themselves. Sometimes it drives me insane, but you have to respect the pride some people have. This got me thinking what would happen if WoW had some sort of event like this. Where we run around with flags from our races. It would be like the Argent Tournament except would be NPCs versus NPCs how crazy would that be. Would everyone get into it? The banners you can buy at the tournament would be draped all over. Their could be celebrations in every city. It would be utter madness, and awesomeness at the same time.

So how about it would you all get into it? Pride for your race! My Tauren Brothers and Sisters unite!

Win Your Guild Beta Keys

So if you haven't heard there is a contest. You can read about it here. It comes down to this: you write a short essay of why your guild should be in the Cataclysm Beta. Now this is an interesting idea and I like it. The thing is though, when you do something like this you are going to have to set yourself apart. Let me explain. These will be some of the things many people will write about:

• I have played the game since the beginning
• We have all played together a long time through good times and bad
• None of us have never been apart of a beta
• I think Warcraft is awesome
• We all play everyday non stop and would be great testers

If Blizzard removes all the entries that said something dealing with one of those 5 topics then they would probably removed at least 75% of all the entries. So my advice is to write about what makes your guild special compared to others. What sets you apart? Basically give Blizzard a reason to pick you. Don't follow the crowd, do your own thing. When I write mine for my guild I will be sure to share it with you all to show you what I am talking about. Of course I don't want to give anything away, because then my idea wouldn't be too original, would it?

So good luck to you all because you will be competing against myself. Reminder, that tomorrow night is the last day to get in your submissions for your favourite settlement in the game and why. I look forward to reading some more of them.

You Fail At The WoW Real Life Barrier If...

So it is Tuesday and as always time for the weekly dose of fail. I have been adding to this list for awhile now, but something else always came up before I shared it with all of you. So sit back and laugh, because I am thinking many of these are close to home for you or someone you may know.

You Fail At The WoW Real Life Barrier If...

• You ask a girl you're on a date with if she really is a girl
• Instead of asking for a ride you ask for a port
• You push your push to talk button when talking to someone in the room
• You question why would you eat food that doesn't give you a buff
• You make the auction house noise after you buy something at a store
• Your honeymoon was or will be at Blizzcon
• You can't go see that movie because "you're not attuned"
• You set your work schedule around your raiding schedule
• You complain why the grocery store doesn't use OneBag
• You have a son named Arthas
• When fixing something you complain how the parts would be cheaper if they were cloth
• You wonder if Tankspot has a strat for buying new clothes
• You ask someone to pickup something up from the vendor on their way home
• You ask someone to conjure you up some food
• You accuse people of ninjaing your parking space
• Your pickup line is "Looking for 1 more Dinner and a Movie"
• When someone asked you to come to a party you say "10 or 25?"

and finally

• When a doctor sends you to a specialist you call him a noob for not maxing his profession

That is it for this week hope it was worth waiting for. Good Luck this Free Loot Tuesday.

Maybe You Haven't Heard

I am not sure many are aware of this or know that this project is on the way so I figured I would give everyone a heads up. Gevlon the guy also known as The Greedy Goblin has a project in the works called Undergeared. The purpose of this project is to really prove that gear doesn't really matter as long as you execute the strategy. He and his guild raids 10 mans with level 80 blue gear or below. Let me link you a list of their past achievements

• Naxx
• Sartharion +1
• Malygos
• Ulduar
• ToC

Yes all of this is past content but remember they are clearing all this in blue gear. Not to mention their current progress in Icecrown Citadel.

• Lord Marrowgar
• Lady Deathwhisper
• Gunship
• Deathbringer Saurfang
• Rotface
• Blood Princes

Now maybe people will argue that they have the 20% buff, and that they do and don't deny that. What you cannot deny is that 68% of guilds have killed Blood Princes on 10 man [Undergeared] being one of them. So that is 32% of guilds some probably completely equipped with all the right gear and cannot do what they have done. I will never say they wont have the DPS for the remaining bosses at hand, or that the Healers gear just isn't enough to support Dreamwalker. I am cheering for them for the simple reason every guildie past and present who has ever said "we don't have the gear for this". Of course gear will help make up for some mistakes or mishaps you may have, but it is far from a requirement. I can now just point to [Undergeared] as the proof I need.

Keep doing what you are doing and I hope you can get another one of the "doubters" fights soon. If any reader wants more information on Gevlon's project just click here.

Ask Gauss

So it is the end of the weekend, which means it is time for this week's edition of Ask Gauss. It is a rather late post I was a little occupied today so you all will have to live with it. So after mulling through all questions in what is know as my inbox I chose these ones.

When you recruit people off server do you give them full time spots automatically?

I treat server transfers like anyone else. I give them the chance to preform and prove themselves. If they show me they can be at the level I expect them to be then they will get that spot. I give nothing out for free, everything must be earned. I tell them this straight when I recruit them. They have to earn the spot they want. It is not my concern that they had to pay to transfer and/or faction change. I find this gets me players that are not only serious, but also ones that are confident in their own abilities. These are the players I want. Someone who isn't up to the challenge won't come over and make that monetary investment. This is also why it is almost better to recruit off server this way, because you will get people who don't want to waste what they put in to come over. So win win. I think also the recruits respect that I am honest with them and give it to them straight. I don't give them baseless promises that I have no intent on keeping.

Do you play with anyone you know out in the real world?

I do. This is also a sketchy thing to do if you are serious about your gameplay. For there could be the option that you both are good players and fit well with one another. There is also the option that one of you is bad and has to put up with the other one. This situation can cause stress, because you always have to cover for the other one and find reasons why you put up with the other one. The last option is people can use the friendship in a way that can actually harm the friendship. You push one another to the limits because you know in the end you won't do anything. This can lead to what people think is favouritism. This is a very slippery slope and you should be very careful not to tread this path. Remember in the end it is a game just let your friendship get worse or make your gameplay any less fun. I really think that is the most important thing to remember.

What is the thing you say most often in raids?

Sadly probably "Just wipe it!".

That is it for the week. Keep sending along all your questions and maybe yours will be picked for next weeks. Friday's Reader Post will be about your favourite settlement in the game. Make sure you tell me why it liked or disliked.

Just Dust In The Wind

I don't know if any of you look at your statistics in your achievements page, but if you don't then you should. One thing I have realized after looking at it one thing really sticks out. I die a lot. Now I know I don't play alts or anything like that, but just take a look at a few of these numbers

Total Deaths: 6701
Total Deaths 5 Player Heroics: 647
Total Deaths in 10 Player Raids: 1325
Total Deaths in 25 Player Raids: 2967
Deaths in Naxxramas: 197
Deaths in Ulduar: 530
Deaths in Trial of the Crusader: 7
Deaths in Icecrown Citadel: 474
Deaths from Falling: 106

Now looking at those stats the ToC one is obviously messed up somehow because I can off the head remember at least 10 specific times with complete detail where I died. The stat I find the most disturbing is my heroic deaths that is one crazy number. The 106 deaths from falling is rather embarrassing. This makes me wonder as well how much time playing this game has been spent running back to my corpse. Remember these stats only start being counted at patch 3.0, who knows how many total deaths I have had over the years.

Maybe there should be an achievement for over 9000 deaths I will probably have that one in the bag by the time Cataclysm rolls around. Looking at more of these stats though might just scare me a little. Excuse me I must run back to my corpse now.

Yep That's My Fav

So it is Friday meaning time for the Reader Post for this week. This one was a little different in the fact it was more of a vote than anything else. I was interested in whom the Gauss Nation thought were the greatest characters in Warcraft Lore. For all those who voted here is your top 10. I will post a pic along with a little blurb about them(If interested you can find more information at here).

10)Sylvanas Windrunner: Once the Ranger-General of Silvermoon, Sylvanas Windrunner was murdered by the death knight Arthas and brought back as a creature of undeath. After regaining her free will she rebelled against the Lich King and the Scourge and became the founder of the Forsaken faction of undead, who are allied with the Horde. She has styled herself the Dark Lady, Queen of the Forsaken, an expansion of her original title, "the Banshee Queen".
9)Deathwing: originally Neltharion, the Earth-Warder, is one of five Dragon Aspects and leader of the black dragonflight. Thousands of years ago, Neltharion was empowered by the Titans with dominion over the earth and the deep places of Azeroth. However, driven mad by the Old Gods, he turned against the other Aspects during the War of the Ancients. Among both mortals and dragons his name has become one whispered with a feeling of fear and contempt.
8)Medivh: was the last Guardian of Tirisfal, an ancient line of protectors bestowed with great powers to do battle with the agents of the Burning Legion. He was corrupted even before birth, and possessed by the spirit of the demonlord Sargeras who used Medivh in his plan to conquer Azeroth. Medivh contacted the orcish warlock, Gul'dan, and together they opened the Dark Portal, which allowed the Burning Legion to begin its destruction of Azeroth. He was slain shortly after by a party led by one of his friends, Lothar. Shortly before the beginning of the Third War, Medivh returned as a mysterious prophet, manipulating events in order to arrange the formation of a last-ditch alliance between the mortal races on Kalimdor, guiding them to victory at the Battle of Mount Hyjal.

7)Anduin Lothar: the Lion of Azeroth, was the last true descendant of the ancient Arathi bloodline, a knight champion of the Kingdom of Azeroth (later known as the Kingdom of Stormwind) during the First War, and the supreme commander of the armies of the Alliance of Lordaeron during the Second War. He perished in combat at the base of Blackrock Mountain against the orc Warchief Orgrim Doomhammer just before the end of the Second War and the closing of the Dark Portal. He is considered one of the greatest warriors of all time.
6)Grom Hellscream: was the chieftain of the Warsong clan, and best friend and chief advisor to Warchief Thrall. He was the very first orc who drank the blood of Mannoroth, thus binding the Horde to the Burning Legion — and he would eventually pay the ultimate price to free himself and his people from the curse.

5)Malfurion Stormrage: is the greatest archdruid of all time, and one of the most powerful mortals in the Warcraft universe. He is the twin brother of Illidan Stormrage, and the beloved of Tyrande Whisperwind. Malfurion started the practice of druidism among the night elves under the tutelage of the demigod Cenarius. Following the conclusion of the War of the Ancients, he became the Archdruid of the night elves. Often he is called shan'do, meaning "honored teacher".
4)Rhonin: is the current leader of the Kirin Tor. A powerful human mage, Rhonin was instrumental in breaking the power of the orcs at the end of the Second War by freeing the Dragonqueen Alexstrasza from her imprisonment by Nekros Skullcrusher, a former orc warlock of the Dragonmaw Clan who used the Demon Soul to keep her prisoner.

3)Illidan Stormrage: He was born a night elf, and as stated by Maiev Shadowsong, became "neither demon nor night elf, but something more". He was the twin brother of Malfurion Stormrage and was in love with Tyrande Whisperwind. Once an unusually gifted sorcerer, the extent of his powers became difficult to classify due to his powers increasing in large bursts as a demon hunter and having absorbed the powers of the Skull of Gul'dan.

2)Thrall: is the son of Durotan, former chieftain of the Frostwolf clan, and Draka. As a baby, he was found amongst the bloody bodies of his murdered parents by Aedelas Blackmoore, commander of the internment camps which held orcs after the end of the Second War. Blackmoore gave him the name Thrall, which was another word for "slave" in the human tongue. Thrall is the Warchief of the restored shamanistic Horde, and ruler of the red land of Durotar in Kalimdor.

1)Arthas Menethil: Crown Prince of Lordaeron and Knight of the Silver Hand, was the son of King Terenas Menethil II and heir to the throne. He was trained as a paladin by Uther the Lightbringer, and had a romantic relationship with the kind sorceress Jaina Proudmoore. Despite his promising beginnings, Arthas became one of the most powerful and evil beings Azeroth would ever know. Taking up the cursed runeblade Frostmourne, he became a death knight, led the Scourge in destroying Lordaeron, and merged with the Lich King. Ruling as the dominant personality of the Lich King for years afterwards, Arthas was defeated in combat by adventurers of the Alliance and the Horde. Cradled by the spirit of his father, King Terenas, Arthas Menethil died, leaving the mantle of the Lich King to be taken by a noble soul who would contain the power of the Scourge.

That is it for this week thanks to everyone who voted. As always next week's Reader Post topic will be announced on Sunday.

Enjoy your weekend!

Using Lines From Movies

Movies? Everyone loves movies, don't they? I have been thinking about doing something pretty simple. I will just record some lines from movies and randomly play them to get across my point. This will not only be pretty funny this will work perfectly in the context of any problem. Let me show you what I mean.

When asked why are you swapping me out of the raid you use. This line from the Count of Monte Cristo

"It's complicated"

When all the stupid trade chat is going on and on and won't seem to stop. We look to Gladiator.

"Are you not entertained?"

Some idiot just wont get it through his head that the amount of gold they are offering is not enough. Look to Happy Gilmore.

"The price is wrong bitch"

The obvious when you are taking a bio break. Go back to the staple from Terminator 2 Judgement Day.

"I'll be back"

When there is pointless drama going on with something or another. We go to The Dark Knight.

"Why so Serious"

Standing at the gates of Stormwind and when you are asked where you are going. Look to Braveheart for the answers.

"I'm going to pick a fight"

Your raid keeps wiping for some stupid ass reason. Network has the perfect line for you.

"I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore"

Wondering how to respond when someone is asking to join your guild or arena team. Jerry McGuire has the answer for you.

"You had me at hello"

When someone dies with Necrotic Plague in the raid on Lich King. We go to Pineapple Express.

"uhhh Herpes"

Finally when whoever asked to bring their DK to the raid we go to The Departed.

"Maybe...Maybe Not...Maybe Fuck Yourself"

So there you have it have them ready. Isn't it great that movies always know what to say. Tonight is the last day to get in your votes for the Favourite characters in Warcraft Lore.