Gauss' Adventures

Retribution Pally Issues

2012-02-02T10:00:00.000-05:00

So if you some reason decided to play a paladin, and then also decided to spec ret. You may be in for a little surprise. This surprise being that you can actually do some dps. Now I am here to inform you that this is a bug and you will be returned to your lowly status of DPS joke after a bug fix goes out. At least you could enjoy your time of being able to do this

Oh wait you cannot really enjoy your OPness because a blue poster has said

We're aware of this issue and looking into it right now. It's likely we won't have further updates for you until we're back in the office in the morning PST.

Just as a reminder from the Terms of Use:
C. Rules Related to Game Play.
(i) Using or exploiting errors in design, features which have not been documented, and/or "program bugs" to gain access that is otherwise not available, or to obtain a competitive advantage over other players.

So basically if you are a Ret Pally(I really have a hard time typing that without breaking out into laughing fits) you cannot do anything of consequence until this is fixed because the bug will allow you to basically 3 man heroic content. That is you could do something and just get banned and have it taken away.

Final Fantasy Is Not Linear?

2012-02-01T10:00:00.000-05:00

So yesterday if you didn't know Final Fantasy XIII-2 came out, and if you didn't know I am a big fan of the series. Over the years playing you come to expect a story, which is extremely well written, but for the most part is a very linear progression of a game. Sure there are always moments where you can somewhat venture off, but the result is you always go back to where you should have been to progress through the main story's path. I have never had a problem with this style, but I know over the years people have seen non-linearity in other games and questioned why this sort of style was not at least somewhat implemented. Well those people got their wish and for me a die hard fan I don't mind it.

The game offers the opportunity to jump through time after you open gates to these periods. Sure there is one main story arc, but you don't have to take that path if you don't wish. The fact of the matter is you actually don't know which path is the true path so you find yourself almost searching for what is the true result. This to me is the perfectly example of time travel. You go changing the past going to the future and you actually don't know how the results of your travel will effect the world itself. Brilliantly done, and I think this installment of the game was the perfect choice to choose such a style.

Now besides the that the game has everything a Final Fantasy game has. Graphics, which are some of the best around, soundtrack development that is top notch, and an epic story. The battle and leveling system have returned from part one, which makes sense, but if you were expecting something different you won't be getting it. There are some additions and improvements to either system, but for the most part they are the same. Meaning if you played part one you won't have to learn something completely new, you just have to learn the new parts of either system.

So if you are already playing it you know exactly what I mean, and if you were thinking about purchasing it or not, hope this helps sway your decision.

You Fail At Final Fantasy If...

2012-01-31T10:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Fail Day everyone. Oh such a wonderful day of the week it is. Today is January 31st if you didn't know, and if you also didn't know it is the day Final Fantasy XIII-2 is released to us in North America. Yes I also know that I always do my Fail Posts about WoW, but today is special, because it is the day I realize I am addicted to another series. So If you were expecting a WoW Fail Day I am sorry, and it will be back next week. If you weren't well here goes.

You Fail At Final Fantasy If...

You prefer games that require little to no thought and are mindless
You have never played a Final Fantasy game
You think every game is a sequel to the previous
You don't recognize Final Fantasy's contributions to the gaming community
You don't think Sephiroth is one of it not the greatest villain in video game history
The name Cid means nothing to you
You were not aware the Hawk Strider in WoW is a tribute to the chocobo
You have never broken a remote because you died after an epic 30 minute battle that ended with you dying
You know to fear the giant flower known as the Malboro
You chuckle when Zidane says at the end of FF9 "no Cloud, no Squall shall hinder us"
You know a sword is amazing when it is called the "Masamune"
You fear and adore the use of Ultima

and finally

You were not aware the name "Final Fantasy" came from the games creators final shot at making a successful video game.

And there you have it, this week's edition of fail. When deciding what quote to go with I decided to go with one that all Final Fantasy fans would know, and one that non fans would be able to understand. So here it is

"Tell me what you cherish most. Give me the pleasure of taking it away."

War of the Ancients - Titans Tribute Teaser

2012-01-30T10:00:00.000-05:00

Well here we are again on another Monday morning. What is there to possibly do then be completely pissed off at the world that your weekend is over and it is Monday again. I know you and so do you because you are here to be part of Machinima Monday. The post of the week where I showcase a Machinima for all of you to see and enjoy. This week I have gone with a teaser for an upcoming film. It is entirely done on the War of the Ancients and how everything has been connected over time. The battles with the Old Gods and the Titans, the Night Elves, the Dragon Aspects, and so on. It should really be something when it is all complete, but until then I will leave you with the teaser. Enjoy it and click the link below

War of the Ancients - Titans Tribute Teaser

Hope you enjoyed it. Good luck on your last day of reset before the nerf which is a buff, which can be turned off.

Ask Gauss

2012-01-29T10:00:00.000-05:00

Wow, it is Sunday already, seems like the weekend disappeared into nowhere like it was nothing. It is still Sunday though so doesn't mean you woke up Monday morning and missed this week's edition of Ask Gauss. The post of the week where I get put on the spot and answer all the questions you have thrown at me throughout the week. If you are still in doubt how to ask such a question. There is a link on the top right of the page or you can just email me at Gaussafication@gmail.com. So with that out of the way let's get to it.

What are your thoughts on the blue post refering to final making PvP and PvE the best in each specific situation?

Well if you didn't see it, here it is

One of our upcoming goals in Mists of Pandaria is to make the gap between the overall DPS/healing of both PvE and PvP items smaller. In fact, we have design plans for new PvP combat mechanics that will make PvP gear and weapons markedly better in PvP than equivalent level PvE gear and weapons.The overall goal is to reduce the barrier for crossing between PvE and PvP (and vice versa), as well as to also ensure that PvP gear is the best in PvP, and PvE gear is the best in PvE. More details on these upcoming changes will be posted as they become available.

Honestly? They have tried this before, you know when they invented resilence. The problem is and has always been stat allocation. For particular classes, which don't need as many PvP stats they could get away with using PvE gear for the damage or healing bonuses. I really don't see people having to PvP or having to PvE to get the best gear available to them for their particular situation without Blizzard making gear specific. Meaning "Only usable in arenas and battlegrounds"

Turning off enchants, your thoughts?

I remember seeing recently that a Blue replied to an older thread talking about turning off enchants effects. To me if Blizzard has put in Transmogging then they have to implement this option. Many people have put a lot of effort into designing there armor that fits them and don't want it messed up just because an enchant effect. The other argument is why can I not transmog an enchant effect if I like its effect? Executioner comes to mind on. Now that might be pushing it, but you never know.

So FFXIII-2 this week.

Not really a question, but I will be all over that.

There you go, this week's edition of Ask Gauss. Hope you all got something out of it. For those waiting for it. I want to know your thoughts on turning on and off enchants and if it is something Blizzard should both implementing.

Epic Models

2012-01-26T10:00:00.000-05:00

Now this isn't Machinima Monday, but it is just something I need to share with you all. I don't know if you have heard of Vaanel Models, but epic doesn't even seem like the right word to descibe them. Now I know Blizzard has a great team of artists, and maybe they don't have the time to create each indivdual model like he has here, but they really should take a page out of his book. He designs the models with direct connections to the desciptions given to him within lore. Here are a couple I think you will be quite amazed with

Broxigar

Hakkar The Houndmaster

Sargeras

Hope you enjoyed those as much as I have, and can appreciate the work that went into them.

No Blizzcon In 2012

2012-01-25T10:00:00.000-05:00

The title says it all here is the blue post for it

Blizzard Entertainment is proud to announce the 2012 Battle.net World Championship, a major global eSports event featuring some of the best pro-gaming competition in the world. Slated to take place in Asia toward the end of 2012, the Battle.net World Championship will host this year’s StarCraft II and World of Warcraft Arena World Championship tournaments. Blizzard gamers and eSports fans from around the world will be invited to attend and witness some of the most skilled pro players on the planet battle it out for cash and glory.

We’re excited to be showcasing Blizzard eSports on a truly global stage this year. We're also heavily focused on getting Diablo III, Mists of Pandaria, and Heart of the Swarm into players’ hands as soon as possible. In light of our jam-packed schedule, we’ve decided to hold the next BlizzCon in 2013.

More details about the 2012 Battle.net World Championship and BlizzCon 2013, including specific dates and locations, will be coming in the months ahead.

So it is true there will be no Blizzcon in 2012. This may mean what they want us to believe that the games they have tabled for release will be out that much quicker, which would be a great thing. This though is not what I am actually excited the most about. Esports is becoming a very big deal and to see Blizzard playing a large role in this is something that I think should be commended. Afterall there game Starcraft II is probably without question the most popular and most competitive Esport there is. Blizzard is now going to put their own efforts into making Esports better, which will in turn make it get more worldwide attention and recognition. This is something that I think everyone should be excited for and if we have to lose Blizzcon for a year for it to happen then so be it. The results will be something that we will all reap the rewards from.

You Fail At Complaining About Power Of The Aspects If...

2012-01-24T10:00:00.000-05:00

Fail Day that's right it is here once again. The day of the week where I tell each and everyone of you how you can horribly fail. I would never do it in a way which was insulting or made you feel horrible about yourself. Ok maybe I would, but that is beside the point. This week it is all about the "Power of the Aspects" which is the new stacking nerf being added January 31st. So why don't we just get to it.

You Fail At Complaining About Power Of The Aspects If...

You have no idea that this isn't the same as ICC
You are not aware that you can turn it off
You go on and on about the game being easier and yet you will be one of the people that won't turn it off
You say this makes the game too easy, and yet you have no un-nerfed heroic kills
You replied to the official blue post with "catering to causals"
You are of the belief hardmodes should never be nerfed
You think this will make players think they are better than what they actually are just like ICC
You believe that this will lead to them nerfing PvP
You still fail to recognize it can be turned off
You want to sound smart and cool by saying just do LFR
You believe even if it is optional there really isn't an option. Basically you are the guy that says McDonalds doesn't have healthy food and eats there anyways

and finally

You think they could have came up with a better name for it

There you have it, this week's edition of Fail. Hope you all enjoyed it. Since we are talking about Dragon Soul and nerfs I guess many more will hear this be spoken

"I AM DEATHWING! THE DESTROYER! THE END OF ALL THINGS! INEVITABLE! INDOMINABLE! I AM THE CATACLYSM!"

Enjoy your last reset before the optional nerf.

Operation GnoVibrator Fury

2012-01-23T10:00:00.000-05:00

Monday Morning oh how everyone loves to hate you. You cannot hate Monday Morning though when you come here to Gauss land to see what machinima will be showcased on Machinima Monday. Now there is always a few machinima that I want to showcase in any coming week, but once in a while one comes out to jump to the head of the line. Now there are few Machinimators who I think are a cut above the rest, but Olibith is one of those. This is a play on the Anonymous and it is masterful in every which way. Enjoy as I know you will

Hope you enjoyed it. Good luck on your last day before reset!

Ask Gauss

2012-01-22T10:00:00.000-05:00

Well good Sunday morning everyone. I would like to say I was as shocked as probably many of you when I didn't see the Reader Post up. Apparently I failed at posting the right day and time to release the post. So in regards to that I will probably just make it next week's post and add a little extra from anyone who sends in something this week. To get back to what today is all about, well that is pretty simple, it is Ask Gauss. The post of the week where I answer questions that have been sent to me throughout the week. So why don't we just get right into it.

So what are your thoughts on the recent announcement of the way they will Progressively Nerf Dragon Soul?

Well first of all for those who haven't heard about it here is the official blue post.

During the scheduled server maintenance on the week of January 31, the Dragon Soul raid will become enveloped by the “Power of the Aspects” spell, reducing the health and damage dealt of all enemies in the raid by 5%. This spell will grow progressively stronger over time to reduce the difficulty and make the encounters more accessible. The spell will affect both normal and Heroic difficulties, but it will not affect the Looking for Raid difficulty.

The spell can also be disabled by talking to Lord Afrasastrasz at the beginning of Dragon Soul, if a raid wishes to attempt the encounters without the aid of the Dragon Aspects.

So basically they are combining the idea of Icecrown with the straight idea of nerfing bosses. I actually like this idea better than the Icecrown buff for the simple fact that many raiders got the idea that their abilities where actually much better than they truly were. Why was Ruby Sanctum considered harder? Well because people got into the frame of mind that they were 30% better than they actually were. In this buff idea the encounters themselves become easier without the inflation of damage and healing.

Did you read the big Diablo III post? Are we going to be lucky to see it this year?

I did read it, and I think many people are overreacting to how long such things are going to take to be put into effect. Now all things considered it appears end of April would be the earliest I would ever think we will see it. Now think of it this way, since all that time they had to deal with the Korean Auction house they were able to refine the game. Now I understand the game could have been released in its way, but most of the time we don't get refinements such as these till an expansion and we have to deal with the aches and pains for a couple years. So if it makes it less bothersome and I only have to wait an extra couple months then I am ok with it.

So how many subscribers do you think WoW lost this time?

Honestly it really doesn't even matter if they lost any.

There you have it. Thank you to everyone that sent in a question. If your question didn't get answered on here doesn't mean I didn't read or won't answer it. So keep on sending them in. With that enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Unknown Location Screenshot

2012-01-19T10:00:00.000-05:00

Screenshots let me tell you I have seen my share of them. People send me screenshots all the time. These screens could contain a variety of things. Sometimes I believe the second someone fishes up a turtle they feel the need to take a screenshot and send it my way. Other times when they have a Baggelord sighting the need to point and shoot happens once again. That actually reminds me of the disturbing picture someone sent me of someone going to town on a pile of bagels, I still have nightmares about that photo. Also though there are times when someone sees a screenshot and they send it to me to ask where it was actually taken. I don't know if this is a test to see if I know what I am talking about or if they actually want to go there and take a screenshot of their own. I tend to think it is the second most of the time because awesome looking screens are contagious. It is like if you see someone's vacation photos it makes you want to go there. You could careless if they had a good time you just wish that you went instead of them.

So with that in mind someone sent me this screenshot

and the first thing that came to mind is I don't know exactly where this is located. Now by the looks of it you could conclude that it is Silithus or Tanaris. I am going to throw out Silithus because in most of the zone the sand is darker and those actually appear to be pirates. So I am pretty sure this is Tanaris, now it really could be on the border of Thousand Needles, but still going with Tanaris. The fact of the matter is I have no idea where it actually is there. This is really weird because I know I have been everywhere in the zone, so maybe I wasn't paying as much attention as I normally do.

So how about it, where is this?

First Fangs

2012-01-18T10:00:00.000-05:00

So I know this happened a few days ago, but I am not a news blog so really it doesn't matter. First off if you didn't know Имбос of Exorsus completed the first Fangs of the Father. He now has both Golad, Twilight of Aspects and Tiriosh, Nightmare of Ages. Here is the screenshot

Now the main point about this person being the first is it is common knowledge that they server transferred to get the pieces faster. How so? Well when you server transfer raid lockout reset and can make this a possibility. You may remember back at the start of Firelands an entire guild server transferred so that they could get a world first heroic kill. Blizzard later locked the instance so this wasn't a feasible option, but the guild themselves was never punished because it was working as intended. Now, of course, they don't want people to feel as if they have to server transfer to keep up on the world first race for encounters so that entire concept has been scrapped. What about the legendaries? Frankly, my belief is if you want to waste your money to get something a couple weeks faster all the power to you, and it really doesn't both me. Now I know some of you would say what about these people getting these faster so they can get a world first faster. Now in that case it would only have an effect on the next tiers world first because in no way shape or form would you get a legendary in time to help with a current content.

Again though, I don't mind they are giving Blizzard money therefore in the long run improving the games I play.

You Fail At Forum Posting If...

2012-01-17T10:00:00.000-05:00

Fail Day! Oh that's right it is that time again. Time to make someone, anyone feel horrible for failing more so than anyone else. Yes, I know it truly is a wonderful thing isn't it. This week I went with a topic, which has been asked for on numerous occasions and I finally gave in and I am going to bring it to you. So here goes.

You Fail At Forum Posting If...

You have ever made a post of "first"
You down vote people because that is how you makeup for all the bullying you had to put up with in school
Someone completely shuts down whatever you had said and you have no real thing to say so you just reply with "you mad bro?"
A third grade student has better grammar
You searched for days upon days to find the perfect forum signature
You have to post in every new thread because you feel you owe it to the community
You were part of the "sign of beta" crew or the now converted "sign of release"
You believe winning an argument on the Internet is something worth your time
You were upset during the Real ID fiasco because now people would know you were the one the entire time
You write your post in a word processor to check it for spelling, grammar, then proof read it 10 times just because you are afraid what the trolls would say if something was wrong
Your ability to quote things is equivalent to Bagellord's Gaming ability
You up vote your own postings to give the impression what you typed actually mattered

and finally

You make all your posts on a level 1 troll

There you have it this week's edition of Fail, hope you enjoyed it. When thinking of a quote to apply to this one actually came to mind

"The world suffers yet another insignificant loss."

Good luck this reset may your wipes all have purpose.

An Inconvenient Expansion

2012-01-16T10:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Monday Morning, I know I know it is probably a horrible Monday Morning. Thats where I can step in and try and make it better. Being Monday means it is time for Machinima Monday. The day of the week where I showcase a machinima for all of you. So I did have a few choices this week with which I was going to go with, that was until I was looking on WoW Insider and they reminded me of a machinima which was created before Cataclysm. I know people are either angry or kind of put off by the upcoming expansion, but as history has told us this really happens before every single expansion. So with that in mind I decided to go with this machinima called An Inconvenient Expansion. It basically pokes fun at the whole global warming thing so sit back and enjoy.

Hope you liked it, and here is hoping your reset finishes up well.

Ask Gauss

2012-01-15T10:00:00.000-05:00

Yes it is that time of the week again. It is Sunday the day of the week where we run through all of our emotions because the weekend is just about over and we are starting to realize it. But time to stop being depressing, Sunday is also time for Ask Gauss the post of the week where I am put on the spot and answer questions that were sent to me throughout the week. So without waiting any longer let's get to it.

Do you believe that Blizzard just wants to just put this expansion out as quickly as possible and as it is in pretty much its current state?

This question has been asked in quite a few forms in the past few weeks. I assume this is because Blizzard is showcasing all their content lately. Now many are comparing this to how much was added with Cataclysm. The whole 1-60 content, but what you have to remember that truly wasn't added with Cataclysm. It was extra that was a revamp of old content, which was given to everyone regardless if you purchased Cataclysm or not. When you really look at it content added at the time of release of expansions it really isn't as much as you think. 1-2 raids, a few 5 mans and the 2-3 new features. Those features being races, or a class or something along the line of pet battles. So I really think what we have see is what we will get in regards to MoP, but that doesn't mean it is minimal content compared to past expansions, if anything it is actually more.

What do you think will happen to Mal'Ganis?

Another popular question and even more so after the last Fail post. Mal'ganis I think is a weird one because his story and lore is surrounded by the Lich King. While the other dreadlords have other connections to story arcs. Thos being directly related to the burning legion. I do think we will see Mal'ganis again in all likely hood it will be in the Argus or Burning Legion expansion, but myself and I would assume others who are involved in the lore will be rather confused how he compared to some other dreadlords will fit into the plot. Blizzard has found ways around this before and I am sure they won't have issues, but it is just something to think about.

Are you going to become a pet battle master?

I don't think so.

There you have it, questions answered for the week. Hope you all got somethings answered or at least got something out of it. For those waiting for it, next week's reader post I want to know what you think will happen with Mal'Ganis. As always thank you to everyone who submitted questions it wouldn't be possible to do this post without them. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Cross Realm Raids What You All Think

2012-01-14T10:00:00.000-05:00

So yes I realize it is Saturday and the Reader Post is supposed to be on Friday, and I would have really liked to get it up yesterday, but there was a problem. See I live in Canada and we get this stuff called snow quite often during the winter months and sometimes during these storms we lose power and sometimes even internet. Yes I know it is a horrible thing. So because of this I had to delay the post till today. So what is the Reader Post about this week? Well I wanted to know what all of you thought of the cross realm raids coming in 4.3.2. So let's see what you thought

I suppose it's a nice feature if two small guilds on different servers wanted to raid together. As long as sometime in the future it isn't just LFR. At least they're adding new features which is nice. I'm sure there must be some demand for it.

With battletags, and no need to share you real name/id, it will be interesting to see what kind of market is created with this. While it would be against the rules to trade money for such things I could see some trying to do it. Regardless though it will be interesting to see what type of groups are formed via third party sites. Imagine someone posting on the forums looking for 24 more people for Firelands and then everyone using the battletag system to get in a group with each other. To bad cross realm isn't cross region though that might add to many language problems to really be worth it. Great system to release with or around the battletag system.

This will solve a lot of issues with people who are on different servers (such as real life friends) and could even help out guilds who transfer servers but some people don't want to... They can stay on their server and still raid with the guild. Wonderful feature in my books!!!

Great addition, an in-game raid browser cross realm would make this perfect. For example once this releases i'd love to go back and do T11/T12 achievement runs but i don't know exactly anybody cross server to do it with even tho i'm sure they're out there.

This scares me. While Blizzard makes quite a capital from server transfers, if they ever decide to further extend this to current content, it would put the last nail in the coffin housing the rotting corpse of the mythological beast called Server Community. For what it is, it's fine and welcome and I'm sure I'd find myself using it soon enough. But I'm personally really disliking the direction this game has been heading ever since patch 3.2.

There you have it. Thank you to everyone who submitted something. If it didn't make it into the psot it doesn't mean I did not read it. This post wouldn't be possible if all of you did not take part. If you are interested in taking part in next week's Reader Post look for the topic tomorrow in the Ask Gauss post. Until then have a great weekend!

Pet Battles

2012-01-12T10:00:00.000-05:00

So when the pet battles system was announced at Blizzcon I was one of the people that didn't particularly care for it, but didn't object to it being in the game at all. I am still thinking of it in the same light, and I am also not one of the people spazzing out because they are developing the Pet Battles system and not something like player housing.

With all that I was browsing MMO-Champion and it was the first time that I looked and saw everything that was going into the system itself. They are really going all out on it. Also if there was ever any doubt that this is directly related to Pokemon that certainly has been shut down after reading the write up. In addition to all of this and I congratulate them for adding something large to WoW. I am thinking it might actually be too much. When you create a Mini Game within a game you always run the risk of it becoming more people than the actual game itself.

Some games actually have come close to having this as an issue. Where people stopped playing the game and concentrated on the game within the game. I am not saying that everyone is going to stop playing WoW and just partake in pet battles, but I am thinking that some of the population will.

Maybe Blizzard doesn't mind this happening, but it could be that argument that the only thing which will kill WoW is WoW itself. Not by releasing lackluster content, not by horrible balancing, but because they introduced a system that too many players decided they want to play around with instead of the game itself.

Daily Blink Resolutions

2012-01-11T10:00:00.000-05:00

I have admitted before that I am quite entertained by the Daily Blink. For those of you who don't know what the daily blink is a comic that pokes fun at all things WoW. It is written by two people who always try to one up one another. So with that information the two articles I wanted to show you of theirs are their specific New Years Resolutions. Even if you are not up to the minute on the Daily Blink you can still find hilarity in everything said. So sit back and instantly feel better about your day after reading these.

Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.

You Fail At Knowing Who Is Dead And Who Isn't If...

2012-01-10T10:00:00.000-05:00

Oh yes it is that time again it is once again Fail Day, the day where you feel amazing because you are not being poked fun at or you can to crawl into a hole in die because you are someone who is. How I wonder what a week would be like if Fail Day wasn't a part of it. This week I decided to go with an interesting topic. I always get a bunch of WoW questions being Lore related and it seems as of late there have been a lot of is such and such dead. Well now you will get some answers! Time to get to it.

You Fail At Knowing Who Is Dead And Who Isn't If...

You think there is this secret plan about Arthas not being dead and has been redeemed and is going to save the world.
You at anytime assume a Dreadlord is dead
You think Sargeras the biggest baddie of them all was ever killed by some human named Aegwynn
You think Magni is dead and is not in a crystal earthly prison
You think we won't see Illidan again
You think anyone will come back to life more than Teron Gorefiend
You believe Ner'zhul is killable
You have even considered the thought that Neptulon was killed after the Throne of Tides event
You some how someway think Gul'dan lives
You believe Sylvanas is dead, no she is undead
You think Sylvanas had Koltira killed for the truce he created with the Alliance.
You some how got the impressions from the ending cinematic of Cataclysm that the Aspects are going off to die

and finally

You believe in some way that Kael'thas being beheaded was merely a setback.

There you have it this week's edition of Fail. Talking about Death in Warcraft there is really only one person who you could quote on this

"I was the first you know..For me the wheel of death has spun many times...haha...so much time has past, I have a lot of catching up to do."

Good luck this reset, may your purples be orange!

Sex, Moonkinology and Space Culture: Fear & Loathing In Moonglade

2012-01-09T10:00:00.000-05:00

Monday Morning oh how everyone loves the. The perfect time to realize you need to take part in Machinima Mondays and see what Gauss is showcasing this week. So this is probably the longest title of any Machinima I have ever showcased. This machinima is done by Baron Soosdon who I have shown machinima of in the past most recently Ultimate Escapism. One thing to note is that the use of lighting in all of Baron's Machinima is always top notch and this one is no different. So when you watch this I would suggest making it fullscreen and turning it to high definition to get the full effects. I would not suggest watching this machinima if you have epilepsy as it could be harmful to your health. Baron describes watching this machinima is a scientifically accurate depiction of that feel when you get hit by a moonfire. So sit back and enjoy

Well hopefully you are still alive to enjoy your last day before reset.

Ask Gauss

2012-01-08T10:00:00.000-05:00

Sunday! Yes it is that day once again. The day of two views it is great because it is the weekend, but then when you realize that tomorrow is Monday and the end of your weekend has finally come. But let's forget about that, Sunday means it is time for Ask Gauss. The post of the week where I answer the questions you have sent in throughout the week. If you are unsure how to send in your questions it is pretty simple. There is a link on top of the page, which you can click in with the greatest of ease, or you can send an email directly to gaussafication@gmail.com. Like I said extremely simple. So with that out of the way time to answer some questions.

With 4.3.2 comes cross realm raids, what are your thoughts on this?

Well it is something I have expected for awhile, ever since they started with cross realm battlegrounds. The only thing I am disappointed in is the fact that you group up and join the raid finder. I completely understand why it is only the raid finder and it is not because of programming. The reason is it would completely make guilds existence pointless and would make realm transfers disappear. Why you may ask? Well you can keep your rep with whatever guild you are in and then raid with another on another realm. You can get all the benefits from being in a guild without losing your rep or having to pay for a transfer. So maybe it will be something that will eventually come into play, but I think free realm transfers will exist before that is an actual option.

So cross realm raids, is this going to lead to cross faction?

Honestly I am almost positive we will never see a raid group mixed with Alliance and Horde. I don't want to say never because it could happen eventually, but I really think this is never a direction Blizzard ever wants to go. The whole Horde vs Alliance is one of the most important parts of the warcraft universe and I don't think they will ever give up on that point.

Did you see that Best Buy poster that may have leaked D3 release?

Although I am hopefully will have to wait and see if it is true or not.

There you have it questions answered for the week. If I didn't answer your question on here doesn't mean I didn't send you an answer. Just only so much space. For those waiting for it Next week's Reader Post I want to know what you think of the cross realm raids coming in 4.3.2. As always you have until Thursday night to get those submissions in. Enjoy what is left of your weekend!

Your Wowalutions

2012-01-06T10:00:00.000-05:00

Friday! Yes it is that day of the week once again. The day of the week where we slack off and stare at the clock just hoping for the day to end so the weekend can begin. Oh Friday's the most unproductive day of the week. Friday though is also the day of the week where here in Gauss land we have the Reader Post. The post of the week where you the readers make it. I ask you a question and you send in your submissions throughout the week. This week I asked you all to send me your Wowalutions. My fancy word for your New Years Resolutions with respect to World of Warcraft. So without waiting any longer let's see what all of you have planned for the year.

My wowalution is pretty simple. I want to level a tank so I can understand why people don't play it. I want to know if it is difficult or if it jsut takes more attention. I just think this will give me a better perspective on the game in general. Something I am actually really looking forward to.

I want to get a legendary or at least partake in one of the questlines. I just think the whole process is something that screams epic. I know funny choice of words for something of the orange variety. I have never had the option, and I am always jealous of those who get to. So I am making it a point that in the next year I get to take part.

To pick a character and stick with it. But I am going to try to cut down on the alts. I have switched mains during every expansion. I swear I have alt ADD. Once I play a new toon it becomes my favourite I will level it gear it up then start another alt and then it becomes my fav. I know it just gets me no where and I always get accused of being a loot whore.

To take up healing again. I was healing ICC heroic modes at the end of Wrath, but when Cata came out, I went to Ele spec to level, and I left my guild. Since then, I've transferred servers, taken up with a new guild... But I haven't gone back to healing because, well, I've been doing most of my 5-mans in randoms. And then can be "unforgiving" of the returning healer. But I love healing, so, I want to be healing in Raids before the end of the month.

I want to know the lore better. I've been playing WoW for six years, but I haven't paid attention to much of the storyline. I have most of the books because my husband reads them, so I'm going to go back and catch up. So unlike most resolutions I think I can stick to this one.

There you have it the Reader Post for the week. Hope you all for your submissions. As always if they didn't make it into the post it doesn't mean I didn't read them, just have to keep the post so it is not a wall of text. If you would like to take part in next week's post look for the topic during Sunday's Ask Gauss post, until then have a great weekend the first of the new year!

Oh South Korea

2012-01-05T10:00:00.000-05:00

Today we are going to talk a little Diablo III mostly because I like many of you are excited for the game and also because there is quite the controversy going on, and we all know how fun those are to talk about. So even if you don't know anything about Diablo III this actually should be a good read.

For those of you who don't know Diablo III is adding something to the game know as a real money auction house or the RMAH. With this auction house you can buy gear with your own money and sell gear to make money. Pretty cool concept. Let's completely get away from the whole argument about if this is bad for gaming and talk about the stir this has caused for South Korea and the Diablo Community.

Back in September when Diablo III beta start it was stated it was going to be a short beta compared to their other recent games, because of this it was expected that Diablo III might actually be out by Christmas time. This was stopped when the CEO of Blizzard said that "soon" wasn't as soon as they wanted and an early 2012 release was expected. This was when people started digging.

Then they found out that the GRB(Gaming Rating Board) in South Korea was not going to rate the game in its current state because of the real money auction house in their eyes was a form of gambling. I am not entirely sure how that works, but that's their view. Anyways all these blogs and forum posts started to make some connections to how Blizzard was releasing material based on dates that the GRB was looking at the adjustments of the game Blizzard had made. Of course, conspiracy theories started. Why? Because Blizzard had committed themselves to a world wide release. If they couldn't release it in one country with that country being one of the most loyal to their games, well this is a problem.

Now, of course, all of this was denied by Blizzard, but there has been no reasons given why the game is actually being delayed. Especially since at Blizzcon they stated it was basically done. Remember Blizzcon was in October and it is now January. Yesterday was another review by the GRB and they postponed their decision till Friday, and to add fuel to the fire earlier in the week they said some news was coming in honor of Diablo's 15th anniversary on the 31st.

With the decision postponed the conspiracy theorist were out again and a blue poster even posted this.

This can only end in disappointment. When a final decision is rendered and game still isn't released, finally people will realize the two weren't linked, as stated. But then the game still won't be out, so still no one is happy. I suppose those are just the ups and downs you have to expect when following something so closely.

The thing is no matter what Blizzard does everyone is always going to view it as the gaming being delayed for 1 country so they can make more money on their world wide release. Or that the game is being delayed because they wont scrap the RMAH. Now I am not sure what to believe and I think anything is possible unless someone from Blizzard comes right out and tells everyone why the game is actually being delayed. Why is it a game that was practically done in October still has no release date in January? The reason people are riding this South Korean wave is because it is the only possible thing that actually makes sense for the delay. If it is the reason Blizzard cannot say because it will be a public relations nightmare, if it is not the reason everyone is going to think it is before they say otherwise. No win if there ever was one.

Enough With The Recolours

2012-01-04T10:00:00.000-05:00

So I was browsing MMO Champion and found this.

Now over time I have never really said anything about recolours and such. Sure I may have complained a lot about Burning Crusade leveling gear how it was really just the same gear we had seen for 60 levels previous with just different colours, but that was leveling gear and I could get past it. I also could understand how mounts that came out in the same expansion packs had the same model with different colour schemes. This I can deal with. I actually liked how the Proto Drakes were different colours each tier it showed that achievement aspect of the game.

I also understand how they put more time into purchasable mounts, because they actually want people to buy them. If they were recolours then people wouldn't find the need or purpose. Again I am fine with that.

Now we are at this point where the game is evolving, and they choose to release this mount as new? They haven't even said where it comes from and I pissed off about it. The only way I will not be pissed off with the creation of this mount is if it comes from Outland. If it is anything but that it is outdated and laziness. Like honestly this is the identical mount that comes out of Sarth 10 with some green on it. I would also be willing to bet if you played with this mount on low graphics you wouldn't even be able to tell it had the green glow and would look exactly like the black drake.

People complained how the drakes were reused in Wrath, and I was upset about it, but I lived with it. Now they are going back to them again? Really? Honestly? Like come on. You have some of the greatest game artists in the world and this is what you come up with. Shame..That is all it is.

You Fail At Your Wowalutions If...

2012-01-03T10:00:00.000-05:00

Fail Day yes it is here once again, and today is actually the first Fail Day of the year. With all the choices available though I think it was pretty easy what to choose for the years first edition of Fail. Every year you make New Years Resolutions and every year you make the same WoWalutions if you don't write them down, you know they still exist. So what better way to start the Fail Day year then to make peopel feel bad for those choices.

You Fail At Your Wowalutions If...

One of them was to kill the Lich King
It is to get your first toon to 85
Your goal is to be apart of a World First Guild
You have the Wowalution above and the New Years Resolution to be more active
You are setting the bar low to be better than Bagellord
It is to have more friends and you will do this by sex changing your character
You are trying to increase your cool factor by rolling a Blood Elf Deathknight
You are trying to prove you can play a skillful class so you rolled a mage
You want to be respected so you respec'd your pally ret
It is to troll trade chat more often
You wish to learn to have an entire conversation only using emotes
You want to learn how to dive in water
You think a turtle mount is an actual possibility

and finally

You are in fact Bagellord and you think you can actually achieve something.

There you have it this year's first edition of Fail. Hope you all enjoyed it. And has become custom hear is the first quote of the year by someone we should always remember

"Ish-ne-alo por-ah, may the Earthmother smile upon you."

Good luck on your first reset of the New Year!

The Day After Cataclysm Ended

2012-01-02T10:00:00.000-05:00

Monday morning how everyone loves the. You are especially loved when people realize it is a new year and they are still doing the same thing that they were doing the previous year. Oh Monday how amazing is it that you can make people feel so awful about anything and everything. So before this goes in a direction I had no intention of it going let's remember in Gauss land Monday is Machinima Mondays! The day of the week where I showcase a Machinima for all of you to see and enjoy.

This week I decided to go with a newer one from Myndflame. The guy with the crazy voices who has brought us many series including "Theory of a Deathknight", "ROFL Bear", "Illegal Danish", and so many more. This new Machinima is a cinematic which is to take place the day after the ending of Cataclysm. So sit back have a laugh and enjoy.

Hope you enjoyed it. Good luck on your last day of reset. May the new year bring you new luck!

Ask Gauss

2012-01-01T10:00:00.000-05:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Yes it is now 2012 the last year this world will see. Don't laugh it has been proven to be true... Look it up! Anyways, it is a New Year and it is Sunday, and you all should know that Sunday means it is time for Ask Gauss. The post of the week where I answer your questions right on here for everyone to see. If you are still clueless how to do this, since it is a happy day I will explain. You can click on the fancy link on the top right of the page or you can just email them to gaussafication@gmail.com. With that all out of the way let's get to it.

With a new year close to us, what was your biggest noob moment of the year?

Well this is actually very simple for me to say. I was working towards the fish catching achievements last February when I start to fish for Summer Bass. Without thinking at all I was sitting there fishing for 2 plus hours wondering why I wasn't getting any at all. This is not a rare fish it is actually a common one I thought to myself. I was thinking this was the WoW gods looking down on me just like I was fishing for the turtle, because we all know how that goes. Then I thought to myself I am a tool it is a summer fish.

So what do you have planned for the New Year?

Well I hope to have posts together for not just WoW, but other games as well for all of you that have asked. I do play other games and it is something I would enjoy sharing my adventures in other games as well as more games means more chances for great stories of encountering noobs.

Rolling a Pally come the New Year?

Drilling a hole in my head come the new year?

There you have it these weeks edition of Ask Gauss and the first post of the new year. For all those waiting for it I want to know your New Years WoWalution. It is just what you think it is, and yes I made up that word like 3 seconds ago. As always you have until Thursday Night to get your submissions in.

Have a safe and Happy New Year Everyone!

Noobs Of The Year 2011

2011-12-30T10:00:00.000-05:00

Well it Friday, but not just any Friday it is the last Friday of the year. Oh yes that is right. Normally on Friday's it is the Reader Post and today is no different except that the topic this week is the Noobs of the Year. Something which has been done every year. Where you write in and tell me who they should be. So this is really a sit back and laugh moment if there ever was one.

5)Blizzard: Now when I read everything that people where complaining about in this one it actually made sense. They wanted to vote Blizzard for Noob of the Year because they believed they were making the game easier so they actually had a chance at them completing there content. In all the Blizzard votes though there was a special mention of Ghostcrawler. So if this was an award show he would come up and get the stupid looking statue.

4)All the people who bought Guardian cubs to make gold: I was actually surprised when so many sent in about this. Sure the market crashed and your money to gold conversion isn't even close to what it should be. But there are everyday people who waste money on lottery tickets and no one looks poorly at them. Hell the governments love them for participating in a voluntary tax system. But power to the people you all get #4 this year

3)Wally the Mage: Everyone loves Wally because everyone knows a friend who is like Wally. I guy who is so stuck in his ways that he will never give in even when he realizes how completely awful a player he is. It doesn't matter if he has enough hit for a level 90 boss. He doesn't believe he has too much hit so it is just the right amount. Your DPS meter must be wrong because there is no way I should be at the bottom. I have had the pleasure of group with this player on 3 occasions. Yes I know the world hates me, but that is just me. I have had countless emails and tells informing me of being graced by the person who will forever be known as Wally the Mage.

2)Tom Brady: No not the football player, well who knows it could be. This is a player who is the definition of a player you never want to have in your LFD or LFR group. This is the player that everyone is talking about who will ruin the system. I did one blog on how running with this player in Deadmines was more painful then getting my arms and legs sawed off with a steak knife, and you all have never forgotten.

1)Bagellord: He is the Icon of Noobs. There is no one to compared and for the 3rd year in a row Bagellord has been voted the Noob of the Year. He may not even play anymore or may even play a different toon, but that doesn't mean that what he stands for will ever be forgotten. Bagellord has more than any other noob in history sparked things in his honor. Special Kind of Stupid is a phrase coming from him just being around, every time you dive in water you remember that he couldn't, he has blogs devoted to his life, guilds named after his stupidity, and of course everyone has a deathknight they haven't leveled up without realizing is a tribute to the one only known as Bagellord.

So there they are. The noobs of the year chosen by you. I cannot say I was surprised and who was going to win, but could the Gauss Nation actually exist without that of Bagellord? I am pretty sure the answer to that question is no. This is the last post of the year so be safe and have a Happy New Year.

The End Is Near

2011-12-29T10:00:00.000-05:00

So many of you may remember awhile back I did a post about a particular plant that seemed to be just a little too happy. That seemed to sing and smile too much for my liking. A pet that was so happy and so nice that it made you believe that one night you would wake up with a knife to your throat with its giant eyes looking right into yours. Many of you said I was crazy. Some of you agreed with me and my craziness. Today though our fears have come to the forefront. I give you this!

That's right. Someone was nice enough to send this to me and point out the fact that the flowers are now meeting and plotting their takeover of the world. And you all said I was crazy...

Common and Uncommon Mounts and Pets

2011-12-28T10:00:00.000-05:00

Recently MMO champion has been doing these lists that show how common or uncommon particular mounts pets, and whatever else is for level 85 characters. Now they just did the lists, but I wanted to talk about them a bit. I would suggest you take a look at the lists before I start talking about them.

Mounts: Click Here!!!!
Pets: Click Here!!!!

So it shouldn't be a surprise that the most people mounts for level 85 characters is the Abyssal Seahorse since it is part of a quest chain in one of the starter zones. What should surprise you is that only just over 70% of level 85s have done enough of Vashj'ir to actually get it. The most common mounts there isn't really one that surprises me at all, and I think that is obvious since you see them all the time.

The Rare mounts on the other hand there is some surprises. Let's ignore the Darkmoon stuff because there has hardly been any chance at that. I knew the black AQ bug was rare, but I never would have guessed it would have been that rare. I guess this could be explained that characters with this mount may have never been leveled to 85, which to me would make more sense. Another mount that I am glad to see is the love rocket because compared to other holiday mounts this seemed to be completely non existant. So this proves it is not just my horrible luck.

On the topic of pets well I don't think mr chilly should be a surprise at all along with the pug since they are pretty much automatic. Once again the common pets are what you would expect since you know there are common and you see them all the time.

For the rare ones I actually was hopping some of the pets where the profits went to charity such as the cenarion hatchling and the moonkin hatchling would be higher. The big surprise in the rare list to me is the fox as it seems to be more rare than some extremely rare TCG pets. I guess those pet farmers complaining about the drop rate of this have a good argument.

I don't know about you, but when MMO-Champion does these lists it is always interesting for me to look at them. Trying to find out if I am in the normal group or outside the box or have found or using something not a lot of people have. That's just me though. I do know people will see these and change everything they do just to be like others or try and get one of the super rares. Just do me a favour and don't go mad.

You Fail At Complaining Someone Killed A Boss Before You If...

2011-12-27T10:00:00.000-05:00

Well it is Tuesday and that can only mean one thing. It is Fail Day and it is time fore a laugh. Everyone's favourite day of the week where we feel a little guilty about laughing and poking fun at random people, but that doesn't stop us from laughing or pointing out who these people are. Oh the joy of it all. This week's Fail Day has a jealousy component to it. So sit back and enjoy because it is about to start.

You Fail At Complaining Someone Killed A Boss Before You If...

You have never killed a current tier boss
All your raiding has been done in LFR
You used an excuse of being banned
You go on and on about how they had more lockouts on past content
You always point out how many legendary staffs are in their screen shots
You start a rumor that they exploited
You inform everyone that the GM in their screenshot must have helped them with the kill
You start a conspiracy that a Korean guild had to be World First so that Blizzard could help get the Real Money Auction House approved there
You say no one cares about anyone but Paragon
You point out everyones ranking in Firelands that has killed more bosses then Paragon in Dragon Soul
You went on and on about how the LFR exploiters needed to be punished then complained when they did because they didn't get their World First Kill

and finally

You said it doesn't count because they are not from Europe

There you have it this week's edition of fail. Hope you all enjoyed it. As always here is a quote I thought fit well.

"A worthy effort... but futile."

Good luck on your new reset the last of this year.

Dragon Soul In Under A Minute

2011-12-26T10:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Boxing Day. You know that crazy day when you are absolutely mad to go to the store. When anythng and everything is packed to the extremely and all laws of personal space are forgotten. Oh what a great day to be Canadian. So with it being Boxing Day and it being Monday. I thought I would showcase a machinima, which could deal with the time restraints you will have on a day such as today. This is a machinima done by FatboyTV which is a guide to Dragon Soul in under 1 minute. The hilarity factor is much higher if you have completed the raid itself. Enjoy!

That is it. Hope you enjoyed it. Good luck cleaning up your reset today!

Ask Gauss

2011-12-25T10:00:00.000-05:00

Sunday and a Merry Christmas to you all. That is right it is Christmas to me and if it is not politically correct to say I don't give a crap because it offends me when people say Happy Holidays to me. So live with it. It is Sunday though and no matter what it means it is time for Ask Gauss so here goes.

What do you want Blizzard to give you for Christmas?

Well from Blizz all I want for Christmas is a Diablo III release date. Yes I know that is what everyone wants, but there is a reason for it. WoW wise I want Blizzard to not back down on their promise to give us PvE scenarios. I want a reason to explore the older areas of the game besides questions, and last time they were going to add something that made us go back they scraped it. Path of the Titans of you remember. So Blizzard if you cannot give me a Diablo III release date at least make me that promise.

Did you make the Naughty or Nice list this year?

Well let's put it this way. After going through all the emails I received this past year I got about 30% less hate mail. Now this could mean I am being nicer this year and people don't have to send me countless emails telling me that they hope I burn in hell. Now the other side of that is that people have finally realized I am not going to change so if I am going to say something I am going to say it. So when I make comments they are just that. So honestly I guess I cannot really make an argument for either side. The only thing I can tell say is expect the same answer from me next year.

If I said Happy Holidays to you what would you say?

I would inform you that the holiday is Christmas and don't you forget it, and shove your political correctness up your ass on your way out, oh then I would throw in a Merry Christmas :)

There you have it. Merry Christmas everyone have a safe and happy Day. If you missed it on Friday the next Reader Post is going to be your Noobs of the Year nominations. As always you have until Thursday night to get them in!

That Should Have Been A Movie!

2011-12-23T10:00:00.000-05:00

Well Friday is here and it is 2 days before Christmas. I am done all my Christmas shopping, but just going out and about now is making me think I moved to Tokyo overnight. Being Friday though it does mean it is time for the Reader Post. You know the post of the week where I give you a topic and tell me anything and everything about it. This Friday is a special edition of the Reader Post, and it has nothing to do with the topic I chose. Which is about what part WoW you would have wished had a movie part to it. So why is this special then? The answer to that is simple. It is because I was busy to the max last week and didn't have time to put the post together. So basically I gave you all 2 weeks to contribute to this. So with that in mind let's see what you came up with.

I really think the Illidan death scene needed and still does need a cutscene. I complete understand that it wasn't the "End" of TBC, but he is Illidan he is the Hero that everyone loves, which is seen with ease with the popularity of him in the new Well of Eternity instance. Please Blizzard give the fans what they want.

I believe Uldum needs more cutscenes it obviously doesn't have enough. I really think there needs to be a close up every time you swing your hammer at a Pygmy. How is this not a good idea. Gauss you have some pull make it happen.

There really should be some sort of Tribute to Carine. Somewhere that you can click on like the Deathwing thing and see how he died. How he went down with an Epic fight that he was screwed out of the victory he so rightly deserved. So many people get so mixed up with the lore and assume that Garrosh just killed a Tauren who was already on his deathbed.

It would be really awesome if they did an entrance cut scene for the other races like they did with the Worgen and Goblins. I understand that it was a new thing they just started with this expansion, but it would be a great thing to go back and do for the other races some how. I think this would get people playing more toons and experiencing the game more as well.

I really think it would be a great idea if they added visuals to the journal. Therefore not just the explanations but the actual visual that goes with it. Maybe it is just me but reading never does it for me. I always find myself going to watch videos finding out everything anyway. Who knows maybe it is just me.

There you have it. That is it for this week's edition of the Reader Post, hope you all enjoyed it. If you are interested in taking place in next week's Reader Post it is the Yearly tradition of Noobs of the Year. So vote away and let me me know who is your noob of the year. Enjoy your holiday, I will be here Christmas Day for Ask Gauss.

KIN Raiders Speak Out

2011-12-22T10:00:00.000-05:00

So if you didn't know KIN Raiders the Korean guild were able to take down Heroic Deathwing. The Deathwing encounter itself seeming much easier then the Spine Encounter. The guild themselves actually sat down and answered a few questions from Playforum, here are a couple questions I thought were interesting.

Q: The time you spent on Madness, compared to Spine, was rather short. How would you compare the difficulty between the two?A: Spine was harder. It was as if a huge wall was blocking your way. Every time you first encounter a difficult boss, you can naturally feel that way. For Madness, it was like "hey, this isn't so bad". As for the Spine, it was more like "we don't wanna repeat this next week..." But no matter what, the members that had to be on stand-by had to go through the most stress by far.

Q: In US & EU, many people are claiming that you used an exploit using SLT, which allegedly negates a debuff that lowers your health.A: Regarding that, we have received personal apologies from MMO-Champion and Paragon website (From the people that made such claims). At that time, I wasn't too concerned about it because I was focused on the next encounter. But when we finally release the video of our kill, all of the suspicions will go away.

Q: For this raid, class specs seemed very critical. Can you give us a word on that?A: For tanks, Paladins were far inferior to DKs and Druids. Thus, prot Paladins were benched. Also, enhancement Shamans and Hunters had to be benched for Madness encounter as the pets weren't attacking tendons. For healers, holy Paladins and resto Shamans were good. Other healing classes had to be on stand-by. And for caster DPS, boomkins had to be benched most of the time. I want to thank all of them for sticking around for the entire duration of the fights.

If you are actually interested in the the kill video of Spine of Deathwing you can see it here

So if I haven't said it enough a huge grats goes out to KIN Raiders for all of the hard work they put in. I know people are finding anyway to shoot them down because they are not the normal world first crew, but it isn't there fault that the likely suspects decided to exploit and fall behind. They did it and deserve the credit for it.

Z Nerfs

2011-12-21T10:00:00.000-05:00

So if you didn't know or hear this happened

Zul'Aman

Amani'shi Warbringer's damage has been reduced by 12%.
Amani'shi Medicine Man's summoned Protective Ward health has been reduced by 60%.
When an Amani'shi Scout is alerted, he now idles for 1 second before running to summon reinforcement.
Amani'shi Reinforcement's damage has been reduced by 15%.
Amani'shi Flame Casters' Fireball Volley now inflicts less damage.
Jana'lai's Flame Breath ability now inflicts less persistent fire damage.
In Dragonhawk form, Daakara's Flame Whirl spell increases fire damage taken by a lesser amount.
Daakara's Creeping Paralysis now inflicts less damage.

Zul'Gurub

Berserking Boulder Roller's Boulders now inflict less damage.
Bloodlord Mandokir's Decapitate cooldown has been increased by 5 seconds.
Gurubashi Shadow Hunters are now immune to Disarm.
Gurubashi Shadow Hunter's Shadowed Shot ability now inflicts less damage.
Gurubashi Blood Drinker's Blood Leech ability now inflicts less damage.
Lesser Priest of Bethekk's Shadowflame ability now inflicts less periodic damage.
High Priestess Kilnara's Wave of Agony now deals less damage.
Jin'do's Twisted Spirit health has been reduced.
Jin'do's Twisted Spirit damage has been reduced.
Jin'do's Shadows of Hakkar now inflicts less damage.

So people are going nuts over these nerfs. Especially with a new raid instance out so you will outgear it even further. Now to the people who raid these nerfs aren't going to matter at all. They outgear the content and really will make the instance go by quicker. When you think about this it is what you want. You don't want to spend extra time to do something you just want to get your points for and be done with. So the question is, why nerf at all? Well that is simple. The Z heroics have been added to the normal rotation so people that were ungeared for them were getting placed in them. So you could have tanks and healers who were severely undergeared for them have to take a primary role. Now this is Blizzard's fault for not still teiring the heroics, and the nerf is an easy fix for them. It is also a nerf that really hurts no one because it is not current content and the players who are going to learn from these heroics are going to be the ones doing them for the first time, those being the players who are ungeared for them.

So with that all in mind before you go to the forums and typing in all caps think about why this happened in the first place.

Happy 1 year left to live.

You Fail At Christmas If...

2011-12-20T10:00:00.000-05:00

It is Tuesday and you know what that means, Fail Day everyone's favourite day of the week. Isn't it wonderful that we can sit back and enjoy everyone elses failures, isn't the world great! This week since this is the last Fail Day before Christmas I decided to do a Fail Day special just for that. So just like always sit back and enjoy!

You Fail At Christmas If...

You think it is called Winter's Veil in WoW has nothing to do with Political Correctness
You break out into song with "You're a mean one Mister Greench"
You try to wrap snowballs and mail them to your guildmates
You don't change your mount into a Reindeer
You have no clue who Metzen the Reindeer is the namesake for
You don't buy stakcs upon stacks of snowballs and save them for random points throughout the year
You complain about the quests being the same every year, but you have no problems putting up the same decorations every year in your house
You don't have the mp3 of Greatfather Winter
Oxhorn's Christmas Tree special is not part of your holiday special list to watch every year
Winter's Veil sneaks up on you like the ending of White Christmas
You learned the cooking skill just so every year you can make gingerbread cookies
You upped your Ogri'la rep just to get the achievement needed for the meta
You like fruit cake in WoW and outside

and finally

You wish people Happy Holidays

And there you have it, this week's edition of Fail. Hope you all enjoyed it.

'Twas the feast of Great-Winter
And all through the land
All the races were running
With snowballs in hand.

The cooks were all frantic
And for those "in the know"
Swoops and owls were crashing
Like new-fallen snow.

Cookies and eggnog
Were consumed by all
As the snowballs flew freely
And drunks smashed into walls.

May your feast of Great-Winter
Be one merry and bright
And from all here at Blizzard
We wish you a fun night!

Good luck this reset. As the race to world first is over, but then you probably already knew that.

Oxhorn's Christmas Tree

2011-12-19T10:00:00.000-05:00

Monday morning and it is offically less than a week till Christmas. So really how can you not be all fired up? If you are not though I am sure Machinima Monday will. When thinking about what machinima I would showcase today there wasn't much of a choice. Oxhorn has created many great videos of the years but this Christmas special is one of my absolute favourites. If you haven't seen it you are in for something that will make you laugh and that I am sure you will share with many others. So sit back and enjoy

Hope you all enjoyed it. Good luck this reset the last before Christmas

Ask Gauss

2011-12-18T10:00:00.000-05:00

Sunday! It is that time again. It is as if a week just came and went and it is Sunday again. Well actually that is what happened. Sunday, what does that mean? Well simple it means it is time for Ask Gauss the Day of the week where I sit back choose some questions sent to me throughout the week and answer them. I know it is exciting isn't it! So without making you wait forever with my ranting let's just get to it.

So what are your thoughts on the Korean Guild getting world first Spine of Deathwing?

Well first off a big congrats to Kin Raiders for their achievement. They probably put in countless hours of work and I hope they are proud of their achievement. On what I think about them getting it? Well I think it is great for WoW as a whole. Now this isn't a guild that has came out of no where. They have been top 10 on almost all heroic kills, but regardless of that point this is important. No one wants to see complete dominance from one guild, although I am sure the one doesn't mind. It is not good as a whole when the best is always assumed, and everyone is in the running for second place. Look what happened to golf and Tiger Woods. Now I am sure everyone is saying only reason Paragon didn't get it was because of their temporary ban. This may very well be the case, but you cannot live in a world of what ifs. The more the better, a race is only a race when you don't know who is going to win.

So BattleTags, is this what Real ID was supposed to be?

In one word, yes. Blizzard wanted a way for anyone and everyone to be able to connect themselves across all their games and their forums. They didn't expect when they announced that Real ID would function in this way that so many people would go nuts. Now players will have no issue with giving out their battlenet tag. In fact mine is Gauss #1973. I have no problem giving anyone that. Giving someone your actual identity is a different story. Not just for the purposes that you don't want people to know your name because that is silly. In fact most people that know me in game call me by my real name. The issue was you wouldn't give random people your name just like you wouldn't give someone random on your street your name. So the forums was where Blizzard's dream of Real ID ended. This doesn't mean that Real ID is going anywhere it will just be an extension of the system. I am glad Blizzard will get their vision in their games even if it took longer than they wanted.

What happened to the Reader Post this week?

Well I was busy and had everything together, but wasn't able to complete it. So I will just be extending it to next weeks. Sorry for those looking forward to it.

There you have it, that is it for this week. Hope you got something out of it. One week to Christmas hope you enjoy it!

Diablo III Collector's Edition Pet

2011-12-15T10:00:00.000-05:00

Well it was announced. What is really interesting is they have announced what the Diablo III collector's edition pet it, but they still haven't told us what the release date for Diablo III is. That in itself though is a topic for another day. So you all should know because you play WoW that every collector's edition Blizzard has sold for their games since WoW has been released has came with a bonus pet you can enjoy in Azeroth. You cannot enjoy pets in Outland because you are always scared for their survival since it is a massive flying meteor.

So with all of that in mind here is the "cute" little companion coming with the Diablo III collector's edit

So maybe cute wasn't the right choice of word, but regardless it is unique and something which screams Diablo. This may be my favourite collector's edition pet, but with frosty as a close second. What do you all think? Is it too much? Do you hate the collector's edition pets?

LFR Is Now Somewhat More Idiot Proof

2011-12-14T10:00:00.000-05:00

If you had not heard many of the items in the Dragon Soul raid have now been reclassified for LFR purposes. The issue was that many players were unsure if an item was either and upgrade or if it was supposed to be used by them at all. And with how fast LFR moves it became an issue. This is the Blue Post on the matter.

As a part of the on-going evaluation of Looking For Raid and the loot system, we have recently implemented a change to the Looking For Raid Need Plus system. Weapons, trinkets, rings, neck pieces, shields, offhand items, and the Robe of Glowing Stone are now class-restricted to their intended users. With the speed at which a Raid Finder group moves through a zone, we’ve found that it makes it challenging for players to evaluate loot decisions – by class restricting these items, we hope that the natural behavior will have a more positive set of results for everyone involved. This change will not apply to normal or heroic raid or dungeon loot rules.

Raid Finder and Need Plus are both very new systems, and we’re working to iterate on these systems rapidly to ensure that everyone has the best possible experience as we learn more about how players are using the system. Please keep in mind that this system is not considered complete and we have further plans to improve upon it within Mists of Pandaria.

If you looted an item from Looking for Raid which replaced another and you need Game Master assistance to recover your old item, please place a petition with the new item name, that you can no longer use it - and the old item name you need restored. For more information on the affected items, please visit the Customer Support forums here- http://us.battle.net/wow/en/forum/topic/3729953854#1

We apologize for the inconvenience.

So what does this mean? Well if you look at the list of items that are now classified by class I think you would be quite surprised that these items were ever in question. Seeing something like this always makes me think about the people rolling on such items. Now I understand that LFR is supposed to be at its core a way to get the now raider interested in raiding, and I agree this is a great way to do it. But there is a big BUT if you have absolutely no idea what kind of gear your class uses should you be raiding at all? If you don't know what stats are good with you, how will you understand basic concepts of DPS, stopping DPS, moving in and out of crap, stacking up, spreading out, and so on and so forth. Now you would think that a raid is the only place these people can learn such a thing, but I would say instances are the best place to learn these basics. I am of the opinion players like this would make the people who are first trying out raiding dislike it because it will not give them the experience Blizzard hopes for.

You expect there to be morons, idiots, and such and such in Heroics, and yes LFR is not going to be perfect, but Blizzard if they want to expand their raiding base of players have to do everything they can to deter players who will ruin the experience from new raiders from partaking.

You Fail At Transmogrification If...

2011-12-13T10:00:00.000-05:00

Fail Day that is what day it is. You all know the day of the week where it is time to feel better about yourself because you haven't failed horribly at something. Or it could be the day where it is time for you to feel horrible because you are the person being poked fun at. Oh the hilarity of it all. This week's edition of Fail Day I decided to go with something new, because new things are the things that everyone messes up with.

You Fail At Transmogrification If...

You Transmog the piece you are wearing to the piece you are wearing
You are the one complaining about Heirlooms
You think the costs are too steep
You think it is stupid how you are not allowed to dual wield fish
You really wish Karma wasn't such a bitch for all those times you laughed at the packrats
You are farming "The Shoveler" because it is the greatest mace in the game
You spend all your gold on actually transmoging the gear and deciding you don't like it instead of just using the dressing room
You realize the months you spent farming that twill set was all for nothing
You think people won't notice your colour blindness
You think anything but the Bulwark of Azzinoth is the greatest shield in the game
You are farming mobs someone told you a version of Garrosh's shoulder pads dropped off of
You vendored all your gear in your bank before the patch came out because you had it with keeping it for this long and getting nothing for it
When you ask "where is the transmog guy?" and someone says the ethereal you haven't a clue what he is talking about

and finally

You're a Deathknight

There you have it this week`s edition of fail. Hope you all enjoyed. Finding a quote was easy this week had to go with everyone`s favourite Ethereal.

"I have such fascinating things to show you."

Good luck this reset newly nerfed spine of Deathwing on heroic.

Greatfather Winter

2011-12-12T10:00:00.000-05:00

It is Monday and it is that time of year. The feast of Winter Veil doesn't officially start till Thursday, but to me it has already started. Many of you know I am a big fan of Cranius and his song Greatfather Winter has become a Christmas Classic for me just as was intention when he wrote it. So every year I get excited and every Christmas playlist I have includes this song. Of course their also is a great video to go along with it, but here it is Greatfather Winter. I will also include the lyrics so you can feel free to sing along.

Listen children young and old
Gather 'round and you'll be told
It's tradition every year
Winter Veil is drawing near
Listen up today's the day
Father Winter's on his way
Bringing with him treats and toys
Giving them to girls and boys

Greatfather Winter won't you bring
Something for my stocking
Something shiny something bright
Some goggles I can use at night
Greatfather Winter don't be late
For that day we just can't wait
So bring us lots of treats and toys
And fill our Winter Veil with joy

See the presents at the tree
A blunderbuss for you and me
Don't you cry and don't you pout
Don't you shoot your eyeballs out
Sip the eggnog try some cake
Find the Greench for goodness sake
Fly a reindeer 'cross the sky
Don't fall off or you might die

Greatfather Winter won't you bring
A Turbo-Charged Flying Machine
Some rocket boots that make me fly
And I just want a motorbike
Greatfather Winter won't you please
We're begging you down on our knees
So bring explosives and a gun
And then we'll surely have some fun

So grab your girlfriend just like so
And kiss her at the mistletoe
If you want some epic loot
Pick her up a winter suit
Buy a pint of Winter Ale
Drink too much and you will fail
Turn yourself into a Gnome
Send a stolen reindeer home

Greatfather Winter won't you bring
A Clockwork Rocket Bot for me
Something violent, something loud
Something to disperse a crowd
Greatfather Winter can't you see
We're excited as can be
So bring us lots of treats and toys
And fill our Winter Veil with joy

Now that you are in the spirit. Good luck this reset!

Ask Gauss

2011-12-11T10:00:00.000-05:00

Sunday, yes that is what day it is. So if you are waking up and are hungover it is the morning after. Unless you had more than anyone and you in fact did miss Saturday. Being Sunday though you should know it is Ask Gauss. The day where I pick some questions asked to me throughout the week and have a go at them. If you are unsure how to ask a question it is pretty simple. You can click on the link on the top right of the page or just send the email directly to gaussafication@gmail.com. So let's look at what is on people's mind this week.

What are your thoughts on the Darkmoon Faire's new incarnation?

I think the idea behind it is great much better than the old way. My only knock against it is Blizzard has gone back to the super grindy style with this. I know they have tried to get away from this as of late as is easily seen in the fact you can do all your heroics in one day if you choose. I just think they should set a cap of what you can do each time the faire is in town and let you work towards that. I have no issue that rewards will take awhile, but just take away the everyday needs. In my opinion I really think it has to be one or the other and not both.

Have you seen the new Diablo III cinematic? And if so do you ever think we will see cinematics of that quality in WoW?

Well all I can give you to that answer is Yes and No. We do see epic quality cinematics of that quality in WoW. They are always revealed as the expansion cinematics. Do you remember the Deathwing cinematic when he broke out of the Maelstorm and destroyed the world? Now if you are talking about such cinematic in regards to trailers and in game cutscenes I really think this will never happen. WoW is an MMO and it is content based. We will continue to see Machinima style cutscenes and trailers. Blizzard already puts forth extensive work on an MMO and cutscenes as you are talking about bring nothing to the game. In a game like Diablo which is an RPG cinematics such as what you are referring to are an essential part of the game that helps progress the story.

Do you ever think there will be different difficulty options for the LFR? The content is just stupid easy on that level.

Honestly, it won't change. It is meant to be an entrance difficulty.

There you have it questions answered for the week. Hope you all got something out of it. For those waiting for it next week's Reader Post I want you to send in your ideas that a point in WoW if you could create an epic cinematic for it what would it be for? As always you have until Thursday night to get your response in. Enjoy the rest of your weekend, Monday is almost upon us.

Your Favourite Easter Eggs

2011-12-09T10:00:00.000-05:00

Friday it is. The day of the week that you always look forward to. The day you find yourself staring at the clock wondering when it is going to tick over to quiting time. It is also the day where I hand the post off to all of you. This week I asked all of you to send in your Favourite Easter Eggs in WoW. So sit back and let see what everyone has found.

Some of the best are as follows. The bankers in Stormwind are Olivia, Newton, and John, and my favourite the Wing Commanders in Alterac Valley, Mulverick, Guse, etc.

"Clam Master K" in Borean Tundra makes me laugh all the time. Of course most people have forgotten that the dashboards of the shredders have a tiny display that shows the image of Kerrigan from the old Brood Wars box. Blizzard creates these I think for their older players.

It may be just me because I was a huge fan of the show but the hatch with a plaque reading "4 8 15 16 23 42" you find in Sholazar Basin is pretty epic.

I am a huge Final Fantasy fan so maybe this isn't an Easter Egg but Aerith Primerose in Dalaran... Flower vendor to me was simply amazing.

In the Borean Tundra, there is a boar, Unliving Swine, that, when he attacks you, can give you Swine Flu. When you are Infected by the Swine Flu attacking has a chance to trigger an outbreak. Maybe it was too soon for the joke, but I thought it was awesome.

What about the ghosts of Lorderon? Thats a real easter egg. A throw back from the days when the city was assaulted and the alliance but up their best defense. In the end of course the city fell. If you have a warlock cast see invisible you can see the ghosts flying around the courtyard just outside the throneroom to Undercity. I loved waiting for people to walk by then cast the spell on them and watch them stop and look around in amazement. Of course if you sit still near the blood stain on the floor where the crown hit the floor and rolled (its near the throne to the entrance to Undercity) you can hear the ghosts of that cutscene replay (audio only) the scene that happened there. Its really wispy and creepy. One of the few places in WoW that can kinda creep you out once you realize it's there and hear it (it's kinda faint and hard to hear).

To me I have always thought Un'Goro was a giant Easter Egg. It's ALL Nintendo land. Mario and Luigi, who make you kill plants. dinosaurs could be yoshi, I believe it is the luigi guy who makes you kill the gorillas, which are donkeykongs, and who could forget Linken....

There you go that is it for this week's edition of the Reader Post. Thank you to everyone who submitted something as always this post would not be possible if you all did not take part. If you are interested in taking part in next week's post look for the topic during Sunday's Ask Gauss. Until then have a great weekend!

The New Abilities: A First Look

2011-12-08T10:00:00.000-05:00

You may or may not know that at the Daily Blink lately they have being doing these comics where it is called "A First Look". Now what this series basically is, is a gag about the new abilities coming in MoP. They are beyond funny and make me laugh no matter how many times I read them. Some days like today I just need a laugh and I go to this one, which explains everything that everyone is always thinking about every other class in the game.

Is that laughing I hear? I thought so. If you are interested in this one and others you can see them all by clicking here. Keep on laughing, driving people crazy in LFR pointing out mistakes in the CoT instances and anything else you can possibly think of, because if you didn't it wouldn't be the WoW community!

LFR Exploit

2011-12-07T10:00:00.000-05:00

Well Blizzard decided to act on what had been going on for the first week of the LFR system. People who they have found out have used this exploit were given anywhere from a 3 to 8 day ban. What this basically has done is taken away a week of raiding from players in top end guilds and in turn has made it so the ground they have to catch up to attain world first kills is a substantial one.

Here is Blizzard's official statement on the suspensions

Shortly after patch 4.3 was released, we became aware that some players were abusing an exploit to obtain loot from the same Raid Finder bosses multiple times in a single raid lockout period (one week). The Raid Finder loot mechanic is of course intended to only allow a person to roll on boss loot drops once per raid lockout period. The raid lockout mechanic has been a mainstay of the World of Warcraft rules since Onyxia and Molten Core, ensuring that no one can obtain loot from a boss more than once per lockout. Due to the nature of the exploit and the clear intent of those who abused it, they've been issued notices and given temporary suspensions from the game. We’re also working to remove all Raid Finder items from those who used the exploit.

Some would say it was Blizzard's error and therefore the players did nothing wrong. That is like saying if someone left their bank card in the machine logged in it would be ok to clear their bank account out. Yes they were not the brightest for doing this, but the players in this case knew what they were doing was wrong and should have acted accordingly.

Paragon who is always under the microscope posted this apology on their website.

An LFR Apology

There has been a lot of misinformation going around, so to clear things up, here is a truthful account of what exactly happened with the LFR and what we have to say about it:

The patch hit EU servers on Wednesday. We started off with our 5x Firelands runs to wrap up legendaries and called it a night. For Thursday, we had an elaborate plan to run a personal LFR raid for every main character to get the maximum amount of loot.

As we were doing the first few runs, we noticed an unrealistic amount of tier pieces on some guilds' armory profiles, which we thought was unattainable through normal means. We started looking into it, and found out that you can loot passed gear from bosses, regardless of save status, if you zone out and back into the instance. This did not provide the raid with any extra loot, but it did eliminate a major portion of the RNG that would have been involved in simply doing personal runs for everyone.

We acknowledge that using this unintended behavior, which was quite clearly a bug, to our gain, was wrong. The fact that others were using it as well is no justification for doing it ourselves. We apologize for doing it, and accept whatever consequences follow.

This shows that the knew it was wrong and they did it anyway. This really shows you what guilds have been doing to get world first kills. in 4.2 entire guilds faction changed just to get a 1 week ahead of everyone else. There was no ban in that case and Blizzard had to change the system. Also the entire Lich King issue last expansion. Now is this because it is competitive or because the guilds feel they have to cheat because everyone else is? The whole steroid issue in some professional sports only time will tell. Until then I think anyone who exploited this should get what they deserve.

You Fail At Understanding The Cataclysm Ending Cinematic If...

2011-12-06T10:00:00.000-05:00

Fail Day it is, and I promise today it won't be a rant. Have some real fails to take care of today that cannot go unnoticed. I want to say though there will be SPOILERS in this post if you have not seen the ending cinematic. So do not read it if you don't want to this to somewhat spoil it. Time to get to it.

You Fail At Understanding The Cataclysm Ending Cinematic If...

You had no idea who the Dragon Aspects are
You some how think when Thrall says "the Cataclysm is over" you lose the ability to do the Dragon Soul raid again.
You think by power being expended means they are going to drop dead
You believe they have no power at all
You think they will now be stuck in human form
You believe this some how makes it impossible for Nozdormu to become Murozond
You think Alexstrasza impregnated Aggra for some crazy Christan reference
You believe thrall is smiling because he is thinking "ya I tapped that"
Your first feeling after seeing it is Kalecgos got screwed
You believe they went with this idea because there was no one to be the Aspect of Earth
You think this means anything that we kill now will not be as epic because we have no Dragon Aspects
You some how believe this means that Old Gods cannot be killed because to kill their greatest minion needed 4 aspects that are now powerless
You are making jokes that the age of mortals should be renamed age of pandas
You think Nozdormu is bleeding to death when the sands are pouring out of him

and finally

You think this was all caused because the Aspects took an arrow to the knee

Really only think there is one possible quote this week

"I can feel the elements awakening...rejoicing.. the Cataclysm is over"

There you have it. This week's edition of fail. Hope you all enjoyed it. Good luck on this reset also the first week that Deathwing will be Available in LFR let the failures begin.

The Beauty Of WoW - Glory Of The Horde

2011-12-05T10:00:00.000-05:00

Monday morning. I know it is depressing. So this is why Monday is Machinima Monday. The day where you can take a few minutes with whatever you are doing and enjoy the machinima I am going to share with you. Ever since I showcased the explorer timelaspe video so many of you have been asking for another landscape video. Michellemag83 has been known for the beautiful videos made called the Beauty of WoW they concentrate on zones and the ins and outs of them and are extremely well done. If you are interested in that sort of thing I strongly recommend you check them out you will not be disappointed. I didn't choose one of those machinima those. I chose the "Glory of The Horde" you can guess which zones it takes a look at in this one. Hope you enjoy it.

Good luck on this last day before reset and probably some big LFR changes.

Ask Gauss

2011-12-04T10:00:00.000-05:00

It is Sunday the day of the week where we try and forget what tomorrow will bring. It is also the day though that I get to answer the questions you have sent me throughout the week. We call it Ask Gauss here in Gauss land. To be a part of it is very simple just click on the link at the top right of the page or send an email to gaussafication@gmail.com. So time to see what is being asked this week.

So what is the best thing you have noticed about 4.3?

Well to me it isn't an instance or a raid or a piece of gear. In the Well of Eternity instance there is an Easter Egg that Blizzard put in that can only be described as epic. After you kill the first boss and Illidan leaves you, and you have a player with the Warglaives equipped he says the following "Curious Weapons you wield...such power. You seem prepared." Really how awesome is that. That may be the greatest Easter egg Blizzard has ever given us.

Being a Lore guy your thoughts on using the current Deathwing model for WoE?

I am kind of disappointed that they did go this way. I almost think that an overly large black dragon would be better than this model. I am sure most people who play the game don't even care about it, and this would be why Blizzard in their own words didn't think it was worth the additional resources. He really isn't the main focus of the instance so I understand why they wouldn't think it was worth it. Not that I am not disappointed in the decision, but I do understand their reasoning. For those who haven't seen it here is the blue response to the issue.

I know that this might be a bit tough to swallow for some, but the use of the current Deathwing model in that scene was a matter of efficiency. A ton of work went into 4.3, and we squeezed in as much as we could, but it didn't make sense to dedicate the huge resources it takes to create a custom model for that one cameo, and we were concerned that using a generic black dragon model wouldn't have the same immediate value of recognition.Modifying the Illidan model made more sense because you actually spend some time running around with him in the dungeon.On that note, I should point out that creating custom models actually consumes substantial resources, so they're precious to us. Tyrande didn’t have her own model for seven years, Sylvanas didn’t have her own model for several years, etc. We'd love to have custom models for every character, for every scene at every point in the timeline, but the resources simply don't exist to make that happen. In the meantime, we hope that players can use a little bit of imagination and still enjoy the dungeons anyway, even if a given model isn't always a perfect reflection of the character.

I grouped with a druid named Tom Brady yesterday...

This really isn't a question, but trust me a feel sorry for you.

There you have it questions answered for the week. As always if your question doesn't get answered on here I will answer it and sometimes that takes longer than expected. For those waiting next week's Reader Post is going to be about the best Easter Eggs Blizzard has given to us throughout the years. As always you have until Thursday night to get those submissions in.

Your Favourite Voice

2011-12-02T10:00:00.000-05:00

Friday is here, which means it is time for the Reader Post. You know the post of the week where it is your submissions which make the post what it is. This week I asked you all to send in who you thought had the best voice overs in WoW. And not just tell me who, but why you think so. So shall we see what all of you thought?

I don't know if anyone can ever top Nexus Prince Shaffar from many tombs of all the raid,dungeon and instances I have been in this guy is one of the most gentlemanly bosses I have ever met! He is my personal fav as a boss.

Prince Kael'thas is the character who made quotes and voice overs popular, and even he outdid himself in Magisters Terrace. Out of any boss who has ever died there isn't one who has a death quote who can match his. All hail Kael'thas and his epic voice overs.

I do not think there is anyone more creepy or epic than C'thun. I will never tire of hearing his voice overs. It just simply is not a competition anyone else can win.

Who doesn't wish everything they said was in rhymes. The Headless Horsemen is by far the greatest voice over in the game. The only thing that sucks is he is only available around Halloween. He is the boss I always look forward to just because of his voice. I wish there were more that were as epic as he is.

How could anyone think there is a better voice than Algalon? Even when you are a part of the fight it doesn't feel a boss fight it feels like something completely different. I don't think anyone could argue otherwise especially when he says "See your world through my eyes". And then there is the speak of speeches which is probably the most epic thing ever said in Warcraft.

There you have it this week's edition of the Reader Post. As always thank you to everyone who sent in something. Regardless if they made it into the post or not I read them. This post would not be possible without your submissions. If you are interested in participating in next week's post look for the topic during Sunday's Ask Gauss post. Until then have a great weekend!

Dragon Soul End Cinematic

2011-12-01T10:00:00.000-05:00

Ok first off this post is going to have SPOILERS. So if you don't want to hear about them or see the ending cinematic for Cataclysm please stop reading. I don't want to hear about how I ruined everything for you. I said it, but will say it again. This post contains SPOILERS. That word again was SPOILERS.

Here is the cinematic

So the age of mortals is upon us? Well I completely understand that this was the perfect point in time have to the Aspects powers to diminish. Why you ask? For the simple fact that Deathwing is gone. The last tie in for the Aspects themselves. Now I think many people will misunderstand what them losing their power means. It doesn't mean that they are dead. They are still dragons and extremely powerful. They are like the other dragons that exist throughout the world. They now are not demi gods that can pretty much do anything. They have a lifespan, and will not live forever.

Also I very much enjoy that the mortal races will now just not run to the Dragon Aspects for help every time there is a problem. If you haven't realized the mortal races have done a lot to ensure Azeroth's survival. This now is the realization of everything, which has happened and everything the mortal races have done to make sure it has.

Thrall and Aggra having a baby fits nicely into the cinematic, but I am not sure it was needed. Not that I am against it at all. It basically comes full circle with everything that was done during the elemental bonds questline. I just hope Aggra isn't pregnant for years like Auduin seemed to be 8 for 5 years. As long as they don't mess this up it works.

And lastly, I think this really is a good way to be heading with Mist of Pandaria coming. Remember the entire expansion is going to be about the War between the Horde and the Alliance. With the Dragon Aspects not there to keep the mortal races in check both will be pushing back and forth to see who gains the power, and that leads us to the Pandarians who will teach us that balance is and always will be the most important thing.

4.3 So Far

2011-11-30T10:00:00.000-05:00

As many of you know 4.3 was launched yesterday, and if you didn't know then I really have no idea what to say in response to that. So with the launch let me go over a few things that I have noticed and I think are worth mention.

LFR

I haven't tried it, but I have there is a problem with invited Real ID friends from cross server to form a group. This to me should be an important part of the system and I have heard at the moment this is working as intended. Also there has been mention that double token drops from the same boss can be won by the same person. As in regular raids this was a possibly, but was always frowned upon. Again this seems to be working as intended, but I would hope Blizzard would auto pass you on loot if you have won a piece and someone else is rolling for the other you rolled on. That sentence sounds awkward, but I assume you all understand the point.

LFD

Seems for the new instances this is crash city. Will give you my opinion when I actually get a chance. From what I have been told they are working the same as the PTR with minor changes. Honestly I cannot wait to see them all put together with what has been rumored to be the best musical score Blizzard has even created.

Transmogrification

The system I have been asking for, for years is finally here. So know all of you that have been listening to me bitch about it all this time now do not have to. One thing that I have noticed is the level 60 PvP gear is not able to be transmogified(this is a word I will now use till the end of time). This was true on the PTR, but was always assumed to be a bug. I am not really sure why you would want to look like the level 60 PvP models, but it should be an option. Blizzard do the right thing and fix it.

Void Storage

Finally a way to spend gold and a way for me to not be on WoWs first edition of Hoarders. I know I am not the only one to feel this way. I also don't see the gold fees to be a problem it isn't meant to be a bank its purpose is to be a storage locker.

Well there you have it 4.3 is upon us, and now it is time to enjoy it.

Blizzard Fails At 4.3 Trailer

2011-11-29T10:00:00.000-05:00

Today is Fail day. Everyone's favourite day of the week here in Gauss Land. Today you probably know is also the day that 4.3 goes live. Because of this I had my standard Fail Day post prepared dealing with it being patch day. I was already to go ahead with it when something happened. One thing that I truly enjoy about patch days is that Blizzard releases trailers about the particular patch and what we have before us. I was excited to see what epic trailer they would have come up with. As has been in previous expansions. The Sunwell Trailer brought the entire Burning Crusade to the forefront and what we have been fighting for. In Wrath Blizzard did amazing job with their Fall of the Lich King trailer, in my opinion the best trailer of Wrath and one of the best they have ever done. So with those in mind the anticipation I had for the Hour of Twilight trailer was very high.

Then, of course, I viewed it this morning. Blizzard has never failed harder at something then they did at this. There was no voice acting at all, yes the music was mostly original, and there was some camera work done, but that is it. There was no epic feel to it whatsoever. There was nothing that made you say "Yes, I have to be apart of that!" or "Damn he is so badass". There was words coming on the screen the most fail way of telling you what was coming. These trailers have become Blizzard's way to showcase the content, and sure they show you things, but that was it. The trailer is not going to make you want to play in 4.3. It was as if it was just thrown together quickly without a thought.

Now I know many of you are saying it is just a trailer and it means nothing to the game. To answer that I would say it does mean something. It shows how much Blizzard cares and is excited about the content they are releasing. To me this shows a complete lackluster effort and a complete failure to end this expansion with what is their crowning jewel raid. If you think I am overreacting here are the 3 trailers from Cataclysm

Now if that isn't enough to show you how fail this trailer is. Here is a fan revision of the current trailer that just added sound files. And tell me that this in itself isn't 1000x better.

Enjoy your first day of 4.3 when you actually get on to get a chance to experience it. Until then you can bitch about the trailer with me.

Boom De Yada WoW

2011-11-28T10:00:00.000-05:00

Monday Morning the time everyone wish didn't exist. So with it being Monday and being Machinima Monday I decided to go with a Machinima which is older, but will want you break into song. It is by Irdeen and is a WoW version of the popular Discovery Channel song. If you have seen it I know you will enjoy just as much as you always have, and if you haven't seen it you are in for quite a treat. Hope you enjoy what will always be a machinima classic

Good luck on what could be your very last day before 4.3

Ask Gauss

2011-11-27T10:00:00.000-05:00

Sunday is upon us and you should know what that means. Yes it is time for Ask Gauss again. The post of the week where I answer some of the questions sent to me throughout the week. If you want to send in a question and are unsure how to do so it is really simple. There is a link on the top right of the page which you can click on or you can just send your emails directly to Gaussafication@gmail.com. Either way you decide to do it they get to me. So with that out of the way let's just get to the questions.
So the post you did about the new voices coming in 4.3 you said that Azshara is one of the best for hitting the character right on the head. If she is one of the best who do you think is the best?

Well as I said the other day Queen Azshara was done extremely well. I think anyone who knows anything about the character will know it would be hard to be any better than it was. Although I know some have told me they thought her voice was cheesy and overdone, but anyone who takes that route I don't think knows enough about the character as a whole. As for your question on who I think was done better? I thought about this for awhile and just kept coming back to the same one, Teron Gorefiend. Many may not know much about him, but if you do anytime you are a part of his encounter in Black Temple and he says "YOU WILL SHOW THE PROPER RESPECT" you know exactly what I mean. Here is the audio for his encounter.

With the Star Wars game coming out December do you think it will finally be the WoW killer?

Every time a new MMO comes out it is always the game that will "kill" WoW. What does this mean exactly? I take it as the MMO that will take over WoW's subscriber numbers. Everyone said RIFT was on its way to doing that. Honestly ask the question how often you hear about RIFT lately. TOR is going to be a great game. I probably won't play it because I am just not that into the whole Star Wars thing enough to devote myself to something like that. To me though no game is ever going to be the one to kill WoW. What is going to kill WoW is time. The game now is already 7 years old, there isn't going to be a game that is going to come out and just crush WoWs numbers. Time will pass and players will grow tired with the game, and will move on to something else. So to answer your question no TOR will not kill WoW it may take some of it subscribers, but that will only push Blizzard to be more active in developing their game.

What ever happened to you talking about other games other than WoW?

Not sure just been plenty to talk about WoW wise. I will get to it don't worry.

There you go questions answered for the week. Hope you all got something out of it. As for next week's Reader Post I want you to tell me who your favourite encounter is voice wise, and don't forget to tell me why either. Enjoy what is left of your weekend!

What Did You Think Of the Commercial?

2011-11-26T10:00:00.000-05:00

So it is Saturday and I know what you are thinking. Gauss don't you take Saturday off? The answer to that question is yes, but yesterday I was busy and could not get the Reader Post up so instead of skipping it for the week and ignoring all the emails I got contributing to it I decided to make the post on my day off. I know you are should be thankful for me doing so. I will give you 30 seconds to give thanks for me for doing so................... Ok that should do it. Now that, that is out of the way. For this week's Reader Post I wanted to know what all of you thought of the new WoW commercial featuring Chuck Norris, so let's hear what all of you thought.

I think it is a shame they didn't wait to use Chuck Norris till they did MoP. To me that would have been like doing the Ozzie commercial not in Wrath. Besides that I am glad they have gone back to the silly style commercials that everyone has known and loved for years. To me that is what making a good commercial is all about, making something that people will remember because it was funny.

It was a pretty goofy commercial. Seems to be pandering to the existing player base rather than trying to get new people to play. The revamped 1-60 zones combined with the dwindling player base seems like one of the worst uses of resources ever. Speaking of bad resource management, if that human character model isn't used for anything else other than this commercial that is airing before we get a new raid to fight clones of Vezzax, a boss from stonecore, a tauren male, a female worgen, and every dragon model ever I am going to pissed at blizzard.

Well I guess we will see a massive amount of hunters created now relating to Chuck Norris. Oh how I cannot wait for that. Besides that it was funny and I do hope they some how use that human model in game would be such a waste if they didn't.

Although i enjoyed it and appreciated the humor, i have to wonder what the objective was. Why use old vanilla style graphics? The game has some AMAZING areas they could have showed off while still keeping it fun. If I watched it but did not know WoW yet, there is no way I'd be enticed to play based on what I saw. If anything, I might think, "Hey nice looking game for my 5 year old kid".

A really funny commercial, he is a hunter in that he is a predator and can not lose. Hence they say he does not hunt because that means he can fail. He is obviously a monk, the reason for the tiger could have been in reference to either he doesn't need help to kill or maybe the dps spec will get a pet as ele shamans can summon the ghost wolves. Overall a funny commercial that would only have been funnier if his beard punched someone.

Personally for me, this commercial being released now, at the time when WoW is celebrating its 7th anniversary might say more about this commercial being a tribute to its subscribers who people that have played WoW before hence the nostalgia attached with it. And Chuck Norris showing off what might possibly be an updated human model as well as quite possibly some monk animations was a way to let the current WoW players get a slight hint of what was coming out next in MoP. Overall, this commercial was funny and did its job of reliving the nostalgia of what made WoW so great in the first place. Maybe the whiners are alliance cause they didn't get to experience the epic barrens chat!

There you have it, this week's Reader Post even if it is a day late. That you to everyone who submitted something and thank you to all those who questioned if I was alive or not for not posting yesterday. If you are interested in participating in next week's Reader Post, look for the topic during Sunday's Ask Gauss post. Until then have a great weekend!

Not My Turkey Day III

2011-11-24T10:00:00.000-05:00

Oh it really is something which has become rather special her in Gauss land. Where I celebrate a holiday by not celebrating it and pointing out what it has done to ruin everything. Ruin everything? I can hear the people screaming at their computer screens how I am being such an awful human being. The truth is think about it. This is the day in guild chat where you realize that too much of your guild is made up of Americans. You will sit there before raid time staring at the guild list and talking in guild chat complaining how you cannot raid because people are stuffing their faces. Then everytime someone logs on you cheer in guild chat and real life as you are that much closer to raiding, but how do you cheer? Simple you say thanks for not being American. Although there is that awkward moment when the person says they are in fact are. Then what do you do? Poke fun at him for having no friends or family? Simply ignore what he said? Think how he must be in the washroom on his laptop hiding from everyone? The memories I cannot wait to make.

Seriously though who puts a holiday on a Thursday? Is the purpose to ruin the week of ever being productive? At least here in Canada we make sense and make our holidays on Monday and Friday as to make the day before or after the holiday be a weekend. I will never understand the Thursday thing.

Also what is with the eating dinner at like 2:30 or 3. So not only do you kill the raid time you have taken that guildie who is never offline away from his livelyhood for extended hours. You know how many WoW players must be declared missing because of this?

Most of all when you do log on the last thing I want to hear about or talk about is the football game that I could careless about. But then that doesn't matter, because all the food you ate must have hindered your ability to read as the words "I DON'T CARE" have been covering guild chat for the past 15 minutes of your story. Or better yet when you are on vent you don't even realize that you have been muted for the past hour. The second option does lead to problems the following day when that brand new headset they bought on "Black Friday" doesn't even work and no one can hear them.

So Happy Thanksgiving to all you Americans who are about a month and a half late to the party, better late then never I guess.

Coming Voices in 4.3

2011-11-23T10:00:00.000-05:00

If you have never heard me say it before I will say it again, you have to play with your sound on. In 4.3 we have some great voice acting done again. There is nothing like doing a dungeon or a raid and having a quote ring through. So much so that you always remember it. Think about it, how many of these have occurred since you have been playing WoW. One of the most notable being "YOU ARE NOT PREPARED", but there are countless others.

Today though I decided to share some of the PTR voices with you. If you don't want a spoiler then don't listen to them. Don't say you didn't see me say it then send me countless emails explaining how I ruined the game for you. Some of you may be laughing right now, but I tell you now it will happen. So here are a couple I think are worth listening to.

First we have Murozond the Infinite form of Nozdormu. There seems to be quite a bit of foreshadowing in everything he says, but being the Timeless One this makes perfect sense. Done incredibly well this is going to be one of my favourite for a long time.

If you know nothing of Azshara you may think this voice over is awful, but knowing anything about Azshara you will know how amazing and perfectly done this is. I salute Blizzard extremely well at hitting this one right on the head. Something which is incredibly hard to do with a character so many people have an image in their mind of how it should be.

You Fail At Knowing What is Coming With 4.3 If...

2011-11-22T10:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Fail Day everyone! Yes, that is right it is Tuesday once again and your chance to laugh at those who are unfortunately clueless. Don't feel bad that you know more than others embrace it and point at those who fail. That is the spirit of Fail Day, and never forget that. With 4.3 closing I thought it was the perfect time to sit back and point out how little some know about the upcoming patch. So enjoy!

You Fail At Knowing What is Coming With 4.3 If...

You think there will be Pandas
You believe End Time meant that you had to buy a new game card
You are clearing out your bank of old gear because there just isn't a point to have it anymore
You keep asking if the Darkmoon Faire is in Thunder Bluff next month
You are super excited for the Abyssal Maw dungeon
You are stockpiling Valor points to spend on the new gear
You have your stockpiles of ore ready to prospect
You some how came to the conclusion that all your failures in raids by standing in Void Zones will be recorded and put in Void Storage thereby making applying to top end guilds you have no business applying to will know how awful you are
You think it is super Blizzard isn't giving us a new raid
You cannot believe Blizzard is not putting in a way to make your characters more original instead they are just putting in stupid futures with long words to confuse us
You were not aware you could expand your horrible DPS, Healing, and Tanking abilities in Heroics to a whole new level in the LFR
The words "Why do rogues always have to share their legendaries with Warriors" has come out of your mouth
You some how think a patch exists where there is not a warrior nerf

and finally

You were not aware it is the showdown with a dragon named Deathwing

There it is. This week's edition of Fail. With 4.3 coming I thought the decision of who the quote should be from was pretty obvious

"The sun has set on this mortal world, fools. Make peace with your end, for the Hour of Twilight falls!"

Good luck on which could be the very last reset before 4.3.

Wowcrendor's Compilation of Amazing

2011-11-21T10:00:00.000-05:00

Monday morning oh what a an awful morning. Mostly because it is Monday and Monday's are awful in every way possible. So when thinking about which machinima to showcase on this Machinima Monday I decided to go with something that will make you all laugh. WoWcrendor has been around for awhile and he decided to make this video. Here is his own description of it.

I have been on Youtube for almost 3 years now, have almost 65k subscribers, and have uploaded almost 200 videos. In that time-span, I have never made any sort of "1 year" video, or "100 vids" video, or even a 10k, 20k, 50k subscriber video. This got me thinking of doing something that normal people do for those occasions, such as a compilation of all their videos... so that's what I did.

Happy 2 year, 9.5 month, 64k subscriber, 179th vid anniversary of me making videos and you watching them!
Just sit back and enjoy

Good luck last day before reset.

Ask Gauss

2011-11-20T10:00:00.000-05:00

It is Sunday the first day of the week and the day of the week that is followed by the least favourite day of the week. But does anyone actually hate Sunday? I really don't think they do. Sunday in Gauss land though you should know is the day I sit back look at some questions asked to me during the week and then I answer them. So let's get to it.

I saw during the Reader Post that one was concerning epic gems, are you in favour of them being drops rather then from ore?

I was actually a big fan of the TBC system. Where they dropped in raids and later on were able to be purchased with badges. This is why. Epic gems should be treated just like epics. They should not be able to be gotten without participating in a raid which drops them or you will have to pay the price with either their hard earned badges or now would be points, or you had to by a crazy amount of gold. Prospecting allowed people who shouldn't have had access to something access to it, but that really was the model of rather and that which they are trying to get away from. So I am in favour of the Cata system although it has flaws it is much better than the wrath system.

What do you think of the 7 year anniversary award being a Tabard?

Well it being a tabard and it having an experience buff is a great idea. What i think is rather lazy is the fact that the tabard itself is not a new design. It was the tabard that was won originally during the PVP event back in Classic for those that got the highest Honor during the event. Now normally when they regift things they change the colour or give a slight design change, but they didn't really do that this time which is rather disappointing.

You going to watch the new WoW commerical?

I am not going to tune into a football game just to watch it. I will watch it on youtube afterwards.

There you have it this week's edition of Ask Gauss. For next week's Reader Post I want to know what you thought of the new WoW commercial. As always you have until Thursday night to get your submission in. Enjoy what is left of your weekend!

Importance of 4.3

2011-11-18T10:00:00.000-05:00

It is Friday once again. The day where we do just enough to get by, but not too much as to strain ourselves for the weekend ahead. The day we spend staring at the clock pushing it to tick faster, and the day that we make sure the door is locked and we are on our way home the second we are finished. Isn't Friday wonderful. Friday also though is the the day of the Reader Post, the post of the week where I take a back seat and use your submissions for the topic at hand. This week I asked you all what was the most important thing to you coming in 4.3. So let's see what everyone had to say

Epic gems finally being added finally gives a way improve our character further without upgrades. To allow for more customization. The most important thing though is that these will not come from ore and be prospected. This won't allow for Auction House junkies to gouge the price for people actually playing the game. God forbid the people actually going to use them get them. I love nothing more than reading about how all of these people stockpiled all of this ore and will be left with it all. I can do nothing but laugh at them and their greed.

Darkmoon Island is something I am looking forward too. Especially since it will be a monthly thing and by the time it gets boring it will be new again when it shows up again the following month. Brilliant idea by Blizzard and a great new way to pass time. I cannot wait.

I think this is the patch where we can finally see some individuality. Transmoging gear will allow each and every person to show off their character or character in their own way. Although I am sure many people will just go to the staples of some of the most popular sets. I have confidence that many will develop their own sets based of gear they have found over the years and I cannot wait to walk through the cities and towns of Azeroth and see what everyone has come up with.

Space. It is as simple as that. For years I have been struggling and running off a couple bag slots because I wanted to keep pretty much everything that I have acquired through my travels within the game. With Void storage coming I can finally keep everything without an issue and not have the message "bags are full" every other minute.

I really think the LFR is going to be a huge part of the game as a whole. I think Blizzard's idea to make raiding more accessible and then in turn make players more interested in raiding will make this a huge success. When LFD came so many people who never want or did dungeons suddenly were doing them. They are going with what works and trying to get more and more people to experience the most important part of the game, that being the PvE aspect. I am sure in 6 months and of course when MoP comes out there will be plenty of people praising the introduction of LFR.

There you have it the Reader Post for the week. Thank you to everyone who sent something in even those that didn't get their submission added to the post. I did read them all as always. As always if you are interested in taking part in next week's post make sure to check out Sunday's Ask Gauss post for the topic. Until then have a great weekend everyone!

For Those With Bad Luck

2011-11-17T10:00:00.000-05:00

In case you didn't know currently there is an event on the PTR where Deathwing informs you that you can now face him in the Dragon Soul Raid. He visits Orgrimmar and Stormwind and sets it aflame. Now from a lore stand point I am not sure I like this. Since Orgrimmar had to be rebuilt when the fire elementals attacked and set the city on fire. But now Deathwing is going to set it on fire and it will just disappear and everyone will be on their merry way. So from that stand point I don't particularly like it, but there is a lot of in game mechanics that lore was don't make much sense so I guess I can live with it.

The thing to remember though is this would all but guarantee everyone would get the feat of strength for getting hit by Deathwing because who isn't standing around in Orgrimmar or Stormwind? Now this kind of makes the feat of strength less awesome, but it never really was more than just luck anyway. So the people who some how are hated by RNG so much will finally get whats coming to them, a pissed off dragon is going to flyby and murder them.

Another thing to note is this could just be a PTR thing, but only time will tell if that is the case. Here is a couple videos of the event happening in either city

Jaina Proudmoore: Tides of War

2011-11-16T10:00:00.000-05:00

So you all know that I am a huge fan of the lore of Warcraft. I am also not bias, although I am Horde for life. I do not exclude myself from being up to date on all the Alliance Lore, as well. I like to be informed and able to answer any questions about the universe in general and make predictions on what could occur in the future. Why? Because sitting back and waiting for everything to happen is not fun to me. Being told and not being able to question it doesn't fly with me either. If something doesn't make sense I will say right away why it doesn't. I will also be right there to defend why something could work. Perfect example of that is the Tauren adaption to the light to become Priests and Paladins. So what does this have to do with anything? Well simple, you can now pre-order the book called Jaina Proudmoore: Tides of War.

The release date is set at the moment for June 12 2012. Now obviously this book is about Jaina and expanding of her character, but it is my opinion that this book is the precursor for Mists of Pandaria expansion. Just like Arthas: Rise of the Lich King and The Shattering, were for the previous expansions. This is the book that will give us all the background information on what is to come. Now I am not just saying this because it is the next book coming out, although I could have. The key I believe is in "tides of war". We know the expansion is going to be about the intensifying conflict between the Horde and the Alliance, but one thing to take note of is we know the Horde attacks and takes Theramore, and who rules Theramore? Well Jaina of course. This will be the event that sets off everything. Also remember where Jaina comes from Kul'Tiras, a naval nation, what is the event that the Horde and the Alliance end up on Pandaria? A large Naval battle. Coincidence? I think not.

Also this book serves as a purpose to shut up all the Alliance who are all over Blizzard for expanding on the Horde lore and never touching the Alliance. Something which is completely false, but it should shut them up. So excited, interested? Of course, but until then I will be speculating about it like crazy.

You Fail At Making Suggestions If...

2011-11-15T10:00:00.000-05:00

Fail Day once again. Seems like just last week it was Fail Day. Ok one day I will stop with the idiotic openings, but in the words of Alexandros Mograine "That day is not today". So with the patch coming soon you will notice the suggestion forums are always going crazy. You see whenever there is an incoming patch people find the need to go there are say everything they think should be added or taken out. This is my tribute to those people

You Fail At Making Suggestions If...

Your suggestion includes the phrase "this will make me l33t" in it
You really make no suggestion and it is just ranting about such and such being overpowered
You think you should get gear for just logging in
You think Dailies should give more gold so you can do less of them
You think it is too hard to make gold and they need to make it easier
You wrote a 10 page post about how Blizzard is wrong for adding a legendary dagger and need to change it to a shield
You go on and on how Blizzard cares more about PvE than PvP in a PvE game
At any point you suggest changing things back to how they were
You think certain titles are too hard to get
You think playing a mage is too hard compared to other classes
Every time there is a major patch you create a topic to state why valor points are ruining the gaming
You start your post with "I have a 2400 arena toon, but I am posting on an alt" and expect people to take you seriously and not troll you
You complain endless how the game is no balanced towards 1v1 even if every response to your post explains to you how the game isn't meant to be balanced in 1v1

and finally

You post as a Pally and think you will be taken seriously

There you have it, this week's edition of fail. Sometimes it really is special to figure out how fail people are. When looking for a quote for this week I really though this one fit well

"That one misunderstands much... and underestimates more."

Good luck this Free Loot Tuesday!

It's Not Quite Illegal Danish #1

2011-11-14T10:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Monday morning everyone! Well it probably isn't happy, but it is Monday. Monday being the day where I take the responsibility of making your day suck less with Machinima Monday. When choosing what to go with today there really wasn't much of a choice. I am a huge fan of Myndflame and have been since the beginning. The beginning was when the Illegal Danish started. Now we have this new series which has started called "It's Not Quite Illegal Danish" and all I can say about it is that it is just as epic as the originals. So sit back press play and have a good laugh.

Hope you all enjoyed, and if you are like me you cannot wait for the next part. Last day before reset good luck kicking ass!

Ask Gauss

2011-11-13T10:00:00.000-05:00

It is Sunday once again. I am awake rested and ready to go. At least it is that way at the moment. Ask me in a few hours and I would probably answer that question much differently. Anyways, being Sunday it is time for Ask Gauss. The post of the week where I get to answer questions sent to me throughout the week. So let's just get to it

With 4.3 getting close, have any good gold tips?

The thing with 4.3 is there isn't that main commodity that is going to change everything. Like any other patch people will be needing to enchant and gem their new gear. This is not going to change and this is always a tip that I will say to stick with each and every patch. The only thing I can say which will be 4.3 specific that will bring you in more gold is old gear that will be used for transmog purposes. Tier 0 and Tier 1 pieces which are perfect examples of this. Once the system becomes available those who haven't started to assemble these old sets might be looking to get their hands on them. Of course this isn't going to be a major gold maker, but it is something worth looking at.

What do you think will be the hardest thing Blizzard will be doing to make sure 4.3 is a success?

This is pretty simple. Everyone is talking about the fight with Deathwing and how it has to be epic. All this is true it has to be epic and it will be. Also how the cinematic has to be something that everyone will remember just like the Wrath ending. To me though the most important part of the patch are the 5 man instances. Not everyone raids and as that is important to the PvE community the 5 mans as the precursor to raid will define how successful the patch is for every player. If they are too easy too the masses right off the bad then people get bored with content quickly regardless of all the extras being added. If they are something to work towards then the boredness factor will not be wide spread and the begging for the expansion to be released will not happen within weeks of the patch being live.

Any thoughts on WoWCrusher?

You deserve everything you get if you steal the work of others and pass it off as your own.

There you have it this week's Ask Gauss. Hope you all got something out of it. For those waiting for it next week's Reader Post is going to what you think is the most important thing to happen in 4.3. As always you have until Thursday night to get you submissions in. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

In Remembrance Of Those We Lost

2011-11-11T11:00:00.000-05:00

Today for those of you who don't know in Canada is known as Remembrance Day. It is a day to remember those who gave their lives for their country and for those within it so they can have a better life. On this day at the 11th hour a moment of silence is held all across the country. I thought on this day the Reader Post we would apply this to those that have lost their lives in Azeroth this past year, and remember them.

Magni Bronzebeard was someone that really knew that all the world was connected. Everytime I head into Old Ironforge and see his body there turned to stone it really is a sad sight. He always knew what needed to be done. Someone who I believe could have lead the Alliance as a whole in a much better way than Varian ever could. Cheers Magni I we will never forget you.

I think it is worth mentioning the countless NPCs that were lost during the battles of South Shore and Camp Taurajo. I am not sure how the Alliance quests work with remembering those who lost their lives in South Shore but the Horde quests do a pretty good job for the Taurajo NPCs.

Old Blanchy. What a wonderful horse and NPC. For anyone who ever quested in the old Westfall they know how much this NPC meant to everyone. It was always the highlight of my low level questing experience. I also like how the new quests take it to a whole new level. So my moment for sure is for Old Blanchy.

She died die this past year, but anyone who has ever quested in the barrnes knows about Mankrik`s wife. You may have never found her or even know how she died, but she will never be forgotten. Poor Mankrik all these years having to endure the pain. I salute you nameless female orc you are an inspiration to us all.

There you have it. This week`s Edition of the Reader Post. Thank you to all who sent in something it would not be possible without your submissions. If you would like to participate in next week`s Reader Post look for the topic during Sunday`s Ask Gauss. Lastly I would like to thank everyone past and those current who have given their lives so that I may have a better one. Your sacrifice does not go unappreciated.

4.3 Sooner Than Expected

2011-11-10T10:00:00.000-05:00

There have been two things which point to this frame of thinking

and

Arena and Rated Battleground Season 10 is scheduled to end as early as November 15. At that point we will determine who is eligible for the end-of-season rewards, a process that should take approximately one week. It's very important for players who feel that they may be eligible for Arena titles and/or the Vicious Gladiator’s Twilight Drake to refrain from transferring their characters to another realm or faction until after Season 10 ends. During the break between seasons, all Rated Battleground and Arena matches will be unavailable.

First off if the PTR is already on the release and we know the current build has minimal changes this points to 4.3 being at minimum a week Tuesday. In addition the End of the PvP season points even more so to this going right out and saying that November 15th could be the earliest date the season ends. As we know 1 week after a season ends the new one begins and this means a new major content patch is upon us. So with all these things in place we could see 4.3 as early as November 22. I am not sold completely on November 22nd though as I believe American Thanksgiving is the 24th and that would mean they are forcing competitive guilds to play during holidays something which over the years they have always tried to avoid. Doesn't mean they won't do it, just means they haven't done it before. Some would say it is not because of competitive guilds, but because Blizzard employees won't be around to apply hotfixes. Either way I don't think it seems very likely, and November 29th seems much more likely, but only time will tell.

Also with Blizzard doing this they are allowing that Star Wars game you may have heard of coming out on Dec 20th its own date. Something in the past they have always tried to avoid and have released something to mess with other competing games release dates. Again there is a first time for everything. Regardless of what day it is 4.3 will be out soon so time to prepare is upon us.

Hatred In A Photo

2011-11-09T10:00:00.000-05:00

I get sent a lot of photos, screenshots, comics, jokes and anything and everything else having to do with WoW. Well actually sometimes they don't even have to do with WoW, regardless the point is I see a lot. Then the other day happened when I received this screenshot. It just wasn't any screenshot it was one that burned me down to my soul, one that made my blood boil to the point that I actually wanted to pick something up and throw it through the wall. You know those times when you are beyond pissed that you just stand there or sit there struggling at what to say in response to what just happened. This was one of those times. Every time I look at this picture I still don't know what to do. I just end up sighing just an epic sigh because it stings that much each and every time.

I know exactly what you are thinking. What could make Gauss so angry, so pissed off that he would attribute an entire post just to explain how something burned him to his core. Will get ready for it because you are about to see something, something which you may not be ready for, something which you may very well not be ready for...

Had to be a fucking turtle

You Fail At Trolling Gauss If...

2011-11-08T10:00:00.000-05:00

Fail Day! Yes, it is that day once again. Time to make people feel horrible for the benefit of a good laugh. Oh how wonderful a world we live in isn't it? This week I decided to go with a fail topic that was inspired by a commenter last week. Hope you all enjoy it.

You Fail At Trolling Gauss If...

You are actually unsure what you are trolling
You say the information is not important because you already knew it before it was posted
You are adamant it is nothing new, but yet all news sites having to do with WoW have written about it
Your argument has nothing to do with anything in the post
You missed the countless times I have made fun of my writing style while being a Mathematician
You complain about my writing but made numerous spelling mistakes while doing so
You say the blog is worthless, but according to IP tracking you checked it 20 times the past 3 days
You try to make it look like you are many people, but you must fail to realize a IP is registered every time you comment
You think stating the same thing more than once makes you look intelligent
You want people to take you seriously but you posted under a name "Goochtickler"
You believe the information is useless but yet WoW Insider decided it was worth it.
You obviously believe the centre of the universe is not the Sun but your mothers basement
You don't think I would take the opportunity to make you feel like the most special person in the world

and finally

You think I actually care when you say you will not longer reading my blog

There you have it. Hope you all got a good laugh. Quote wise why not go with everyone's favourite troll

Dis... was our land. TROLL land. We Amani was here before anyone! Da' elves and dere Alliance came to drive us out. But we never give up. We never forget... Da' elves took my eye. I cut off my own arm to escape 'dem... and now, 'de fight alongside da' HORDE?! I SPIT on da' Horde! I hate you, I hate you all...

Good luck this reset.

Outbreak Lodaeron

2011-11-07T10:00:00.000-05:00

Monday Morning once again, and what to do? Well it is simple it is Machinima Monday so there really is only one thing to do isn't there. Many times when I choose a machinima I have many lined up that I think you all will enjoy, but this week I decided to go with one that has been requested on many occasions. This was the second place winner at Blizzcon and is known as Outbreak Lordaeron. It has some great animation and voice acting and the story itself has a little bit of everything. I like it and it was very much deserving of its placement at Blizzcon. Hope you all enjoy it, here it is.

Hope you all enjoyed it. Good luck it is your last day before reset!

Ask Gauss

2011-11-06T10:00:00.000-05:00

It is that time of the week where the day ticks over to Sunday. Also it is that wonderful time of the year where the clocks go back and I get that hour of sleep back that was stolen from me in the spring. So I am awake and refreshed and what a better time to do the Ask Gauss post. For those among us who are clueless about how things work it is the post of the week where I answer some questions that were sent into me. As always it hasn't changed there is a link on the top right of the page or you can just email them to gaussafication@gmail.com. Time to just jump right in

4.3 has a ton of new features coming, over the years which do you think was the best feature added?

Any feature that has saved bag space has been a blessing. Maybe it has to do with the fact I collect everything and it makes that slight amount of space a big deal. I look to Mounts and Companion Pets changed to be in a menu rather than taking up precious space. This basically made it impossible to keep everything. Many time in BC no one carried a ground mount with them, because they just didn't have room for it with everything else they had to take with them. I think though the biggest thing they added to save shape they actually took out recently. You see when the keyring was put in keys were a huge part of the game. You needed them to go pretty much anywhere. Also the 14 slots were the common bag and 16 were rare and 18 were extremely rare. There were times you would head to a dungeon and realize you didn't remember your key to get in. Scarlet Monastery was often common for this, because it used to be a common farming place. You would stand there and wait for someone with a key to come by. Now obviously with keys being phased out the keyring had seen its time, but anyone who lived back then in the times of no keyring knows the pain I am talking about.

How are you hoping Cataclysm will end?

With Deathwing dying. I don't want no redemption nothing even close. This is a dragon that has tried to destroy Azeroth for over 10,000 years. Corrupted or not that is who he is. With the side plots with Thrall and the Aspects I am actually up for anything, although I would love to see Thrall come home to Orgrimmar and reclaim his rightful place. I actually doubt he would ever return to the Horde, and everything would be as it was. A lot has happened and you cannot just flip a switch and everything is back to how it was. On the Alliance side I want Varian to step up more and really be the leader of the Alliance, and if not him then someone else, but it needs to happen to make the plot interesting especially if MoP is going to be an all out war between both sides. That cannot happen without someone at the forefront.

What NPC do you miss the most?

Cairne without a doubt.

There you have it this week's questions answered. Hope you all got something out of it. Now since this Friday is November 11th and in Canada it is known as Remembrance Day the Reader Post is going to be about those NPCs we have lost throughout the year. So submit entries based on that. As always you have until Thursday night to get them in. Enjoy what is left of your weekend!

Fan Art Collection

2011-11-04T10:00:00.000-04:00

Friday is here everyone, and can you believe it is the first Friday in November already. I sure can't seems like it will be Christmas soon without even thinking about it. Regardless of how fast time seems to be going it is Friday, that meaning it is the Reader Post day. This week I asked for something different. I wanted all of you to submit a piece of Fan Art and tell me why you like it. It could have been your own piece or one you have seen. I picked a few of them to post on here so this Reader Post will be for your viewing pleasure.

This is probably the best piece of Artwork I have ever seen of Orgrimmar. Sure it is of the old Orgrimmar but there really is nothing else like it. The attention to detail is that of a complete masterpiece. The artist really should be proud of this.

Yes this is a little cartoony but I really enjoy this one because it shows how crazy ones bank can be over the years. Also it shows how if player housing existed how your "room" could be decorated. Anyone who has played since classic WoW I am pretty sure can pick out what everything is in this picture, which makes it that much more awesome.

I really don't think this picture needs words it is just epic because Rexxar is in it. I really wish they brought him back into the game in some way. He is connected to Chen so who knows maybe we will see him in the expansion.

When I first saw this I really had no idea what it was, but I knew it looked cool. I then looked at it more and noticed they were the same person, and not just that but then I noticed the name of it "End Time" this is Noz fighting Noz Present vs Future each pushing for dominence. Truly amazing display.

How can you not love this. Everyone always wonders where Arthas' Body is and this picture shows at somewhere it was on display, and Jaina did in fact have that moment that every lore buff thought she deserved with the man she was supposed to marry before everything went so very wrong for him. I know you and all your readers will enjoy this just for all the magnitude of lore involved in it.

There you have it that is it for this week's Reader Post. Hope you all enjoyed all of these wonderful pieces of Fan Art. If you are interested in participating in next week's Reader Post look for the topic during Sunday's Ask Gauss Post. Until then have a great weekend everyone!

Scroll Of Resurrection Change

2011-11-03T10:00:00.000-04:00

For those who do not know what the Scroll of Resurrection is besides saying where the hell have you been I can explain it for you. Over the years Blizzard has sent out Scrolls of Resurrection to inactive accounts that were quite active for a time. These scrolls could be applied to your account to give you a free month of play with the intention that it would make you want to come back and play on a regular basis. They generally did this when a new patch came out or a new expansion basically to let you see what all the new stuff was about. Blizzard is now changing how this works and let me show you a screenshot that explains it.

Yes what you see is actually true. Blizzard is giving players the options to send out Scrolls of Resurrection to players on their friends list. I am not sure if there is a limit also I am not sure if this is going to be Real ID friends only since it does require an email address or if it is any friend and Blizzard will take care of the rest. Either way I think this is a great idea on Blizzard's part. Why you ask? Well if you get one of these from Blizzard it is like them saying "Come back you will like all this new content and we would love you to subscribe again", while if a friend were to send you this it is more like "There is a lot of great stuff going on in WoW right now you should really come and play with all of us again". You are more likely to use it if it is not from Blizzard and from a friend from inside the game. Overall I think this is a great idea and Blizzard once again is thinking of the community as a whole.

World Is Over As We Know It

2011-11-02T10:00:00.000-04:00

Today is the day that WoW as we know it will die. It will stop existing because that guardian cub is now going to be available to buy. Blizzard is selling gold by not selling gold. Blizzard is allowing people to buy gold. They are going against everything that they have ever stood for. How could they let this happen? Tomorrow we will wake up and every teir of gear will be available for purchase from the newly created Armor Store. This armor will also be able to be sold on the Auction House in another form to buy and sell gold.

The following week Blizzard will open up the cooking, fish, and herb store where we can then buy all of these supplies and again we can buy and sell them on the auction house. Then in a months time we will have profession stores where we can buy levels for our professions so that we don't have to level them, we can just give Blizzard all of our money. Yes everyone this is Activision ruining Blizzard and everything we love about this game. I know all of this is true because me cousin's friend friend works for Blizzard and told him so so believe it. This game is ruined how could they let this happen.

Sorry I just wanted to see what it was like to be a babbling moron who knows nothing. I actually feel dirty almost as if I leveled a Pally to 10 and then picked ret. I know now exactly how Lady MacBeth felt when she couldn't clean her hands.

So no the world is not ending, but you may see a guardian cub on the Auction House.

You Fail At Complaining About The New Expansion If...

2011-11-01T10:00:00.000-04:00

Tuesday! Meaning Fail Day, yes that is right it is that time again. Time to sit back and poke fun at those who Fail. Isn't this a wonderful world we live it. Last week on Fail Day we made fun of people who failed at knowing nothing about the new expansion this week we will poke fun at those who keep complaining endlessly. I know I cannot wait either so let's just get right into it.

You Fail At Complaining About The New Expansion If...

You think it needs a big baddie get over it there isn't one
You're a pally because you have lost your ability to complain to Death Knights
You are going on and on about pet battles.
You are a melee Hunter
You are a range Warrior
You have said "where is my dance studio?"
You think world pvp is stupid
You think Pandaren's are for children
You think the monk class is the absolute worst idea for a class ever
You are a druid who is pissed off you are going to lose gear to monks
You think everyone will race change to Pandaren for the food buff racial
You think MoP is a stupid acronym
You are going on and on about them making WoW competitive
You think it is a complete ripoff of Kung fu Panda
You believe this is Blizzard's way to get into the Asian market

and finally

You think the game is finished

There you have it this week's edition of Fail, hope you are not one of the many that fail this week. And for this week's quote one that many forget, but one that I think works perfectly for what is to come.

"You will hear my story! You will hear it and understand...for there is a worse danger on the horizon, one which touches us as well."

Good luck this reset!

Roberto's Halloween Special

2011-10-31T10:00:00.000-04:00

Happ Halloween. Now it is Halloween so when I was looking for a machinima for Machinima Monday I wanted it to be obviously themed. This was when I decided to go with one that is older, but is also one of my favourites because it made reference to a lot of the other machinima's of the day. it comes from the series known as Snacky's Journal and if you have never watched the series I would say it is worth your time to watch and get a few laughs. The story to it is pretty simple a Murloc participates in a pumkin carving contest, and if that isn't enough to get you interested then I don't know what else I could say. So without making you wait any longer here it is.

Hope you enjoyed it. Happy Halloween everyone!

Ask Gauss

2011-10-30T10:00:00.000-04:00

It is Sunday once again. The day where we have to try and forget that it is the end of the weekend and things will soon become serious. With that in mind today is Ask Gauss. You know the day of the week were I go through all the questions and pick a few to answer. If you are unsure on how to ask a question or you just love for me to repeat myself each week it is actually very simple. There is a link on the top right of the page, which you can just click on or if clicking on random links is not your thing you can send an email to gaussafication@gmail.com. As always even if your question does not appear here on Ask Gauss I still will answer it, most of the time in a timely manner. So with that let's get to the good stuff

Pandaren racials. Any thoughts?

For those who don't know. The Pandaren racials are pretty simple. They take less fall damage, their profession buff is to cooking, they get double the buffs from food buffs, and they have this pressure point thing that can make enemies fall asleep. I really think no one has problems with any of the racials, but there are a lot of questions about the food buff change. Is this going to make all classes able in top end guilds be pandarens? It is an interesting question and we will have to see how blizzard balances it. We saw this a lot when they buffed the troll racial and all top end mages race changed. I think Blizzars might have learned from that experience though. If they can make the buff be as close to the others as possible then I think it will be fine. The problem will be that basic stat food buffs may become more attractive to Pandarens instead of Secondary stat buffs, and I really don't have an issue with that at all. Makes the game more interesting.

So I know you like Machinima and all that, but do you ever look at the fan art and if so are you ever going to share some of those on your blog?

I actually have never been asked this before, and the truth is I love the community fan art as well as the Blizzard art Gallery. I check them every update and more often than not I will download them onto my computer and cycle them through desktop backgrounds. Here is one I saw recently that I think is beyond epic created by someone named Darklogik

Really you are ok with pet battles?

Yes, probably because I didn't cry for days when I lost all my Pokemon cards when I was 8 like someone...

There you have it. This week's edition of Ask Gauss. Hope you all got something out of it. For next week's Reader Post we are going to do something different. I want you to submit fan art either that you have created or that you have seen. Could be any type, but as always make sure you submit them by Thursday night. Enjoy what is left of your weekend!

The MoP Reveal

2011-10-28T10:00:00.000-04:00

It is Friday and wow that week went by so fast didn't it? Well it did for me at least. Last week at this time we were all getting pumped up and excited for Blizzcon. All ready for anticipation for what was going to be revealed to us. That was why on Sunday I wanted to know what all of you were most excited for with everything which was revealed to us. So without waiting any longer here is what some of you said.

I am one of those weird people that are looking forward to the pet battles. When you are sitting around doing nothing this will be something that will pass the time. Not to mention the fact that you can name them and give them something directly related to your character for RP purposes.

Account wide achievements without question. You see I am an altaholic and some months I play one character and then the next patch I will play another. So my achievements are wide spread, but overall I would probably be close to the 10k level if they were all combined. So when you look at one toon which has 3k it makes me look like a noob compared to someone with 7k, which is very far from the truth.

Instance Challenges finally a balanced way to compete on the server a way for us to see who is actually better at something when gear is not an issue. I remember when you talked about them doing this for Arenas how it would help with it being a true test of skill, which is why I am surprised they didn't put something to do with them as well. I really like the idea of a leader board though, and I really hope they will eventually add this concept to raids in the future.

Pandas! Could it be anything else? Well it could be the monk class! Two things I have been waiting for them to put in the game since it started. I am also extremely happy they did not go the hero class route because I feel completely that it would destroy peoples opinion of the class itself.

No flying till make level. While they are at it they should take flying out all together. I think it takes away a lot from the game. I understand the convenience thing, but flying to me just takes away a lot from the experience of the game. I makes it so you are less involved in everything. Since that will never happen though I can settle with the fact that they are at least taking it out until level 90.

There you have it. Thanks to everyone who submitted something it is as always very much appreciated. Without your submissions there would be no Reader Post. If you are interested in participating in next week's post look for the topic during Sunday's Ask Gauss topic. Until then have a great weekend everyone!

The Pet Battles

2011-10-27T10:00:00.000-04:00

So I have never seen such uproar about something so simple that is being added to the game that people threaten to quit or go berserk over something being added to a game. Now there I times when things are being taken out or changed that has made players quite angry. Things like this although I probably didn't agree with them I understand why they may be upset. But adding a feature? Seriously?

For those who don't know what pet battles is. Blizzard is basically adding a combat feature where your non combat pets can battle. Basically Pokemon inside of WoW. There thinking is this is just something else for people to do rather than just standing around. Pokemon something I am not interested in mainly because when that came around I was already pasted those thins. Other WoW players and a lot of them I would think grew up during the craze. Regardless I am not interested in this type of system doesn't mean I will not try it and will not just mess around with it. I probably wouldn't ever take it too seriously, but it does make your non combat pets you have been collecting for years have a purpose. Now this being my opinion here is the argument against them.

Developer time has to be allocated to be spent on different things that people in different interests have been asking for. You can't stretch Dev time to buy three things for the price of one. They chose one thing, and the two other things that people have been asking for have been put off for an unknowable amount of time.

People are upset because the pet battle system is a feature that, frankly, people see as an activity that does not fit in with the scheme of WoW, and feel that the developer time could have been spent on other features that does more for the immersion and assistance for pre existing features in the game such as, for example, guild/player housing or the dance studio.

The issue that people have is that it's such a side niche of interest appeal that it really is something that stands far apart from the other features of the game and could ultimately wind up serving a very small audience that does not justify the amount of developer time that was invested in it compared to other features that could have been.

Now this does sound like a pretty good argument. Lets agree that the dance studio and pet battles are basically on the same level. I think people can agree to that. In regards to guild or player housing I don't see Blizzard adding this ever because it removes people from the community. They don't like how at the moment people are running around cities doing nothing, but waiting for raids and queues. Mists of Pandaria is bringing people out into the world again. So why would they put in a feature that keeps people away form everyone else? They wouldn't.

Now back to the dance studio vs pet battles. The dance studio although they have probably worked on it in some regard would require a lot of work to implement. With that in mind back when Mountain Dew made the WoW red/blue game fuel you could get those in game tank pets that could battle each other. With that in mind, if they already had a basic structure for this pet battle system in place, it may not take as much developer time as many seem to think it would. So they can add a brand new system with minimal coding on their part, and something that will help players pass the time. When you look at it, that is all it is a mini game to help players pass the time. It is not a way that they are slowly changing the demographic of WoW like all the crazy people think.

Two Great Things About The New Expansion

2011-10-26T10:00:00.000-04:00

So all the talk about the new expansion is about things they didn't add because they added something else. That topic I will deal with tomorrow, but today I want to talk about two things they are adding that are by far and away what I am most excited for.

End Game Questing

This isn't dailies, this isn't just quests you do when you are max level. These are zones and quests designed to be part of the story and are to be completed only by max level characters. These quests themselves will have progression to them. They will award Valor Points and gear, although less ilvl than raids they will award the same ilvl as dungeons and LFR. So besides sitting around in the capitals you now will be out in the world questing quests that are not just a joke, but ones suited for the single player. Now some have complained they are adding single player elements to an MMO, but to those people just because it is a massively multiplayer doesn't mean you actually have to be playing with everyone. This is something that can progress Lore and Story and lead you to raids and dungeons in a much more flowish way. Was by far my favourite thing they were adding with the new expansion until I heard about...

PvE Scenarios

For years I have been complaining that there are so many places in the world that are forgotten about once you are done questing there. The only other people to ever see these zones are the ones who will level. No longer is this the case. Yes these will be instanced, but you will be going to the everyday places in Azeroth. All the towns, all the zones, everything. Remember the epicness of Southshore vs Tauren Mill? Well they can bring this to us in an instanced form. Meaning no lag, meaning combat which is organized but random, and the best part is no tanks or healers will be required. It doesn't mean those classes cannot participate, but they will not be needed for anyone to participate.

Now after playing a game for years you realize there is only so may ways to create fights that have tanks and healers. Once you remove them from being needed by putting in mechanics which can be used for other things. These Scenarios are going to do this. Imagine if this moves on to raids. Where a healer, tank, or dps is just as important to the sucess of the encounter. You bring what you have to accomplish the tasks. Each one would offer a specific benefit, but each one is not particularly needed over the other. Everyone thinks back to old days of WoW and there is a phase of an encounter that screams this system. Phase 1 in the Razorgore encounter. You couldn't heal, you didn't have to tank some adds but you could, there was kitting from the dps, there was CC, mind controlling, and an orb that was required to use to kill eggs. Now because of phase 2 you needed tanks and healers, but imagine an encounter that didn't. Now I like this a lot it brings variety to everything, and a whole new element to the game as a hole.

So those are the two things I am most excited about with the coming in Mists of Pandaria. There is more that I like, but you will just have to wait and see what I have to say about that.

You Fail Knowing Anything About The New Expansion If...

2011-10-25T10:00:00.000-04:00

Tuesday, meaning Fail Day is here. The day of the week where we see how much you or anyone you know fails. All in good fun of course. I wouldn't purposely make people feel horrible about themselves now would I? When looking for a topic for today I figured Blizzcon was this past weekend and the expansion was announced so why not. So here we go

You Fail At Knowing Anything About The New Expansion If...

You did not know it was called Mists of Pandaria
The first words to come to your mind were "Pandas really?"
You were not aware Pokemon has invaded Azeroth
You are an Alliance player and have not been shedding tears for Theramore
You are still complaining they are not adding Account wide achievements
You think there is a big baddie
You think it is unfair that the Horde/Alliance got the panderen and the Alliance/Horde didn't
You cannot believe they are adding another hero class to the game
You think End Game questing is stupid
You have no idea how scenarios are any better than instances
You think them letting us fly on mounts while leveling will ruin the experience
You think the dungeon challenges will be stupid because those who outgear them will always have the best times
You still think they should have overhauled the talent system
You think rogues and warriors should just be able to throw there weapons instead of having range weapons they never use.

and finally

You have no idea who Chen Stormstout is

There you have it, this week's edition of fail. Hope you all got a kick out of it. Now a quote from our favourite Brewmaster to end it

"Ah perhaps it needs some refinement. Afterall we must learn to crawl before we run"

Good luck on this week's reset!

Warcraft II Trailer

2011-10-24T10:00:00.000-04:00

Monday, wow it seems like just yesterday it was Sunday... Ok that was an awful joke, but it was a great way to open. Monday means it is Machinima Monday the post of the week where we showcase a Machinima to all of you for the viewing pleasure. Now there really wasn't an option to pick, which I would actually show. After all this past weekend was Blizzcon and they have a Machinima contest. Also the person who won is one of my favourite Machinimators, Melvenor. For awhile now he had been talking about remaking the Warcraft II entrance Cinematic into a modern Machinima, and let's just say he did it and did it amazingly. So much so that he won the Machinima contest. So if you haven't seen it time to transport yourself back in time

Hope you enjoyed the trip back in time. Good Luck on your last day before reset!

Ask Gauss

2011-10-23T10:00:00.000-04:00

Sunday it is here, and damn that came so quickly. Seems like the weekend just started, regardless though it is Sunday, and that means Ask Gauss. Let me just say on that point, WOW I have never had so many questions sent to me the past few days. Now I know this has everything to do with Blizzcon, but still it was pretty overwhelming. I will get to them all I promise you that, but I also just want to say I will do at least one post this week about the Mists of Pandaria reveals so don't think I am ignoring all those. So with that out of the way, time to get to the questions.

WoW annual pass. How do you feel about this?

I actually think this is a great idea. For years other games have been offering rewards for those deciding to to subscribe for extended periods of time. Also they are taking Blizzard's most popular franchise and letting those people expierence their least popular. Now not saying that Diablo is bad it is awesome, but what better way to get people interested in a game then just giving it to them. There of course is the people that play WoW and play Diablo so let's take this into account. The annual pass costs $150. Diablo III will cost $60(same price as Starcraft II) and Blizzard sells mounts for $25 in the pet store. Also this totally ignores the fact that Tyrael is the most amazing character in the Diablo Universe. This means basically with that value you are getting a year of WoW for $65 a value that when you think about it is pretty insane. So I feel it is actually a great deal and something Blizzard should have done a long time ago.

So Blizzcon is over. What was your favourite part?

I thought the opening ceremonies were probably the best of any of the Blizzcon's they showcased all of their games and did it in a way which was epic in every sense of the word. The Heart of the Swarm Trailer I would argue is probably the best trailer Blizzard has ever made, but that just might have to do with it solely being about Kerrigan. I also thought Red Shirt Guy being first in line at the Lore Q&A was pretty awesome and how Metzen came right down and gave the guy a hug. There was the dance contest winner 3rd place who stole the mic from Jay like he was supposed to give a speech screaming out to his guild and no one answered, purely epic. But I have to say the best moment was girl who won the Costume Contest. That was by far the greatest costume ever in the history of Blizzcon and her winning was just perfect for Blizzard rewarding for the work done.

So MoP? What you like what you think?

In a small amount of words I like, but I will go into much more detail about this and why later in the week.

There you have it. Ask Gauss is done for the week. Hope you all got something out of it. Again thank you for all the questions and I will answer them all as quickly as I possibly can. For those waiting for it next week's Reader Post is going to be about what you like the most about he Mists of Pandaria reveal. As always you have until Thursday night to get those in. Enjoy what is left of your weekend everyone!

Blizzcon You Excited?

2011-10-21T10:00:00.000-04:00

So today is the big day, today is the day that we get to experience Blizzcon. That was why this was such an easy choice to be the topic of the Reader Post for this week. What are you excited for to see at Blizzcon 2011? That really is all the intro that is needed let's get to it.

I am looking forward to them finally saying that Mists Of Pandaria is going to be the next expansion. They have been ducking around the topic for months now and it really is the time the perfect time to just give it to us and admit it. I know this will be the expansion I just am excited to know what comes with it.

I want to see if they are going to keep leaving everything separate or finally bring all there games together. Yes I know we have battle net, but that is not what I mean. I mean a way that they recognize that yes some of us play one game but a lot of us love Blizzard games and we play them all. It is about time they realize this and give the community their gaming community something as a prize or reward for supporting everything that they do.

Frankly, I cannot wait till the contest. They are always the most exciting part of the whole event and something everyone looks back on the entire year. Yes there will be many things revealed especially about WoW, but the contests are why everyone loves Bizzcon and why they have an insane following.

Some WoW love. This Blizzcon will determine if I will or will not buy the next expansion. They need to impress me and show me that the game is not going to be the same old same old. They need to make the game seem fresh and new. If they do this I will be right there wanting to be part of anything and everything once again. I love the warcraft universe, but playing the same thing for years does get old.

I just want to hear everything new and exciting that is coming to all of us. Diablo III looks amazing so does Heart of the Swarm, and I am sure the new WoW expansion whatever it is will be the same. The hype for this event is amazing, I cannot help to geek out this much.

So there you have it. Some of the nations thoughts about Blizzcon and what they are pumped up to experience. As always thank you to everyone who sent something in even if I didn't post it. I read them all. If you are interested in next week's post check out Sunday's Ask Gauss post for the topic. Until then enjoy your weekend and enjoy Blizzcon.

Different Is Better

2011-10-20T10:00:00.000-04:00

So with Blizzcon coming up tomorrow and reading Rades post on Orcish Army Knife today about the legendary daggers being just daggers it made me think of something Blizzard could add with the new expansion without making it a game changer.

For years people have been talking about how pigeon holed you are in WoW. That you are stuck wielding a certain weapon because of a certain spec. The legendary daggers as I understand are going to make it so no matter what spec you are and the fact that you are daggers it will not matter. So the thought then comes out, what is in a weapon? For years the WoW community asked for the ability to customize their characters and Blizzard is finally giving us Transmogrification so why not bring this to the next step. So what is the other way people could customize their characters? Well simple they could pick their weapon setup which made them truly them. So if they can do it with Daggers where it doesn't matter what your spec is, why not do it with everything. Maybe a mage who is wielding a sword and a tome, would switch to a staff and a sword. Now nothing would change but the look, and why is this a bad thing? This would speak to the originally of every player in the game. The possibilities would be endless and you wouldn't see anyone and everyone looking the same. Players would come up with weapon setups that are one of a kind and it would be encouraged. Blizzard has showed us with Tramsogrification that it can be done with armor and with the legendary daggers that the weapon itself doesn't matter so why not bring it all together and promote the creativity of the Community.

Here is probably the most famous abstract wielding of weapons

A Mask For All Occasions

2011-10-19T10:00:00.000-04:00

So with the start of Hallow's End all anyone can talk about is this

The masks that used to have to be gotten only from trick or treating every hour can now be purchased for tricky treats. Now this changes completely how outrageously difficult and random the Mask for all Occasions achievement was. Now I am all for keeping achievements hard and difficult in fact I was one of the supporters for Blizzard changing the "The Exalted" achievement every expansion so that it actually meant something. So logically many of you would think I would be against Blizzard changing this achievement, but you would be wrong.

If there is nothing I hate more it is achievements or anything else in WoW related to RNG. This is why TBC DPS was up and down so much, because of procs and RNG. They fixed that and DPS for all classes is a lot less RNG based compared to how it used to be. Achievements that require you to have luck and click a button every hour for 2+ weeks are not hard they are stupid. I have no problem with achievements that cannot be done in 1 year. I actually think those achievements are great actually. You want achievements that are difficult, take time and effort, or both. Never in there do you want an achievement that is also random or luck based.

So to all the people that have this achievement I can say grats to you, but I also would think you would thank the RNG gods for helping you get it. Changing the achievement to be bought with treats makes people participate in the holiday and its events. Rather than making sure you are online every hour. This is truly what every holiday achievement should be like.

So in case you haven't noticed I still hate RNG with a passion and will continue to do so to I slay their gods.

You Fail At Preparing for Blizzcon If...

2011-10-18T10:00:00.000-04:00

Tuesday, meaning Fail Day. Everyone's favourite day isn't it. Today though is a special kind of Fail Day because it has to do with something that only comes around once every year. Kind of like how other days only come around once a year, but just this is that much more important. Now some might be disappointed that I am not again doing a Lore Fail, and I will probably go on with that next week, but like I said this is a special week. The week of Blizzcon. So time to get to it.

You Fail At Preparing For Blizzcon If...

You are just now trying to buy a ticket
You have a ticket, but forgot to book a hotel
Your first question is which not Blizzard games are going to have a booth
You decide to wear a red shirt so people mistake you for red shirt guy
You spent all year looking for lore errors within the game so you can stand up to Metzen so you can have an NPC in game
You made a youtube video asking what you should wear to Blizzcon
You have a pen and paper to right down the jokes the Jay Mohr gives so you can use them with your "friends"
You do not have a camera ready to catch a moment that will be talked about for years to come
You have been practicing your sound alike voice for the entire year and all you got is a murloc
You are the guy that broke his leg last year
You don't think they will be announcing the next WoW Expansion
You some how don't know the Foo Fighters are preforming

and finally

You keep trying to trick the system to give you a free Virtual Ticket because your mom wouldn't give you her credit card

There you have it this week's edition of fail. To keep with a tradition let's give a Blizzcon quote

"You can't kill him, that is an undead male. That poor guy. Who wants to follow the broken leg?"

Good luck on this reset. That last you will do before knowing what next expansion is all about.

Kung Fu Pandaren

2011-10-17T10:00:00.000-04:00

Monday! You know that depressing day that comes after the weekend? Yes that would be today. It is my job though to make you feel better and that is why we have Machinima Monday! The day of the week where we showcase a machinima to make your day better. This week I decided to go with one which will kind of make us think of this week's Blizzcon, and most importantly it will make you laugh, especially the end. So without making you wait any longer here it is Kung Fu Pandaren.

Hope you enjoyed it. Good luck this last day before reset and of course get ready for Blizzcon!

Ask Gauss

2011-10-16T10:00:00.000-04:00

Sunday is here if you didn't know, and let's make it a point to not realize that tomorrow is Monday and the weekend will be over. I know I probably just made it impossible for you to do that, but hey that's your problem not mine. To get on topic it is Sunday and that means here in Gauss land that it is time for Ask Gauss. The post of the week where I just pick some questions I have been asked throughout the week and throw out the answers for all of you to read. And by throw I mean type out, I don't really have magically powers and If I did throwing words would probably be the most boring power of all time. Anyways, if you don't know how to send in your questions there is a link on the top right of the page or you can email them directly to gaussafication@gmail.com. With all of that out of the way let's get to it.

Don't you think even if the exchange rate of the pets to gold isn't very high it will give the top rank guilds in the world a slight advantage?

I don't really understand why players think massive amounts of gold in WoW are an advantage. The millions in WoW are not the players in the top guilds. They are the players that have developed strategies for gold making and are applying them all the time. Some of these people spend all their time on WoW making gold. It is because this is the fun part of the game to them. I can tell you I could have a completely ridiculous more amount of gold than I do If I spent more time then just a short daily ritual on AH, and I already have more gold then I will ever need and ever use.

You see having enough gold in WoW is the important thing. The amount that will get you enchants, gems, flasks, pots, craftables, and of course repairs. Anything beyond this is practically useless besides getting vanity items. Yes they are a lot of fun to have and all, but they actually serve no real purpose in the conquest of the game. Meaning top ranked world guilds could care very little on this so called advantage you think there will be. The only people who will use these pets are the ones who think they can make a quick turnover and the other people who will try to use them will fail horribly.

What you looking forward to most about Blizzcon?

I am actually looking forward to practically everything content wise for all of the Blizzard games. I know there is going to be a reveal about the next WoW expansion. Is it going to be MoP as everyone thinks it is going to? What will be the changes that will be put in place? How will it effect and improve the game? There is also going to be a lot of info about Starcrafts Heart of the Swarm expansion and not to mention a lot of information about this game called Diablo III that is coming out in the new year. Overall lots going on and I cannot wait to see it all.

Think Mr Undead Break A Leg will return for a repeat?

He better that was the greatest moment of any Blizzcon to date!

There you have it everyone. Hope you got some useful information. Thanks to everyone who sent in a question this wouldn't be possible if I didn't get any of them. For those waiting for it, next week's Reader Post I want to know what you are looking forward to most about Blizzcon. As always you have until Thursday night to get them in. Enjoy what is left of your weekend!

How About That T13?

2011-10-14T10:00:00.000-04:00

Damn it is Friday already! Guess that is what happens when it is a short week because of a long weekend. The next weekend comes like nothing. Not that I am complaining I love the weekend! Friday though means it is time for me to let all of you take over and say your piece about the topic at hand. This week I asked you all to send in your responses to the direction of Blizzard's Art teams direction of Tier 13. So let's get to it shall we?

Speaking on behalf of the Priest Tier. Great job done by Blizzard! It is an amazing design and I can't think of anyway to make it better! Genius idea for ‘Venetian carnival style with creepy, soulless black eyes,’ every priest tier seems to be better than the last and the whole idea that the new fad of going backwards won't be done too often if they keep up this style with Priests.

I feel as though Blizzard is potentially running out of ideas. They seem to be using *similarly* looking gear as new gear. Example, season what-ever-the-hell-we-are-on compared to last season or using NPC looks for gear eg warrior-deathwing. Shaman-thrall. Although, I'm not saying these are bad things.

I hope they continue to do these sorts of preview. Explaining their methodology and aim with each tier set makes it a lot easier to see where they were going with the theme and get us to say "Oh yeah, I see what they were going for" instead of "Dude, WTF is that?!"

I feel transmogrification has changed the way the art is done. Now, I think they are more "free" of going with really great concepts because they do not have to please the majority anymore, you can just get a old tier you like and hide what you hate. I also feel, by taking theses risks, the players who will like it will like it more.

Before this Tier I didn't think they could make a Pally Set more awful looking. Then they did the Tier 13 preview for them, and then I said I don't think pally tier could look any worse then this, and then I saw that helm on a female model. I hold my head in shame, but you probably don't care because I play a Pally anyway.

I never considered that the transmogrification development would have such a wonderful impact on the way the sets are designed. The only times it feels they were totally free to do whatever they willed with the art direction of this game was TBC and more recently the elemental plane zones and instances, and those are easily my favorite sections of gameplay. While I disagree with a few parts of this particular sets this coming tier, I don't think anyone can claim that every set this tier doesn't look striking and memorable.

I don't get why so many people are complaining about the Mage Tier. It's called Time-Lords Regalia. The cogwheels actually fit it pretty well. Just look at the inside of any analog clock. The goggles I haven't quite figured those out yet, but if I had to guess the idea behind it it would be that they are used to see through time. Overall I think Blizz did a pretty good job with the design matching the name.

And there you have it that is it for this week's Reader Post. As always thank you to everyone who submitted something and if yours didn't get posted doesn't mean I didn't read it. If you would like to participate in next week's Post look for the topic during Sunday's Ask Gauss Post. Until then have a great weekend!

My Thoughts On The Freak Out

2011-10-13T10:00:00.000-04:00

Well I have been thinking for days if I was going to post this and if I did how I was going to work the post. For all who haven't guessed this post is going to be concerning this

Now how can such a little vanity pet be causing so many problems throughout the community. Well the answer to this is pretty simple. Blizzard is selling this in the pet store, which is no big deal right. In fact I have the moonkin hatchling pet from the pet store, because it was going to a good cause and I think it was actually a pet worth having.

So if that isn't it then what is it? Well the difference is while all other pets from the pet store are BoA and are given to each and every character on your account. This pet is going to be a one time use. So first off instead of $10 going to a pet which can be used on each and every one of your characters this can only be used on one. The other issue is this pet is not BoA it is BoE. Meaning this pet can be given to others who didn't buy it or this pet can be sold for in game gold.

That is where the freak out happens. This basically means Blizzard is allowing their legal form of gold selling. Now before I give my argument on this let me show you the blue posts on the issue.

TCG Loot card mounts like the Spectral Tiger have been BoE for a long time now (since patch 3.2), and that was and continues to be well-received, and as far as we've been able to tell hasn't had any adverse impact to the game or economy - despite them selling for sometimes astronomical amounts of gold.

It’s potentially worth noting that no new gold is being introduced into the game's economy with those mounts or the new Guardian Cub pet.

Our goal with the Guardian Cub is to provide alternative ways for players who don't want to spend real money to add these pets to their collection. Even though this has been available a while now with the TCG mounts, this is obviously a new kind of way to deliver Pet Store pets, and we're definitely interested to hear your feedback and ultimately see how this will play out

So Blizzard is basically saying they are completely ok with it if people do this. Now let me explain why I believe they are.

Supply and demand this is not going to be a simple and easy way to make gold, because these pets will have an infinite supply. Meaning you aren't going to be able to get value for your money in gold respects. Simple economics states the more supply the lower the cost, but the pets have a set dollar value, and the gold conversion won't be close to sufficient in order for this to be viable. Sure many will try, but many more will fail.
The gold used to by any of these is gold that is already in the system. For gold bought from 3rd parties gold is generally duplicated because it comes from a hacked account and will not be traceable. So when such and such a players gold gets restored Blizzard has to create that gold again to add to the system. This then creates inflation. This is not happening when people are selling these pets meaning gold will not decrease in overall value.
This will do exactly what Blizzard wants and give those without the ability to spend real world cash on pets the chance to spend their WoW wealth on them, and to me this is a great idea as long as 1 and 2 exist, and I don't think they ever won't

So now everyone take a few deep breaths and put down the Blizzard employee voodoo dolls, everything is going to be ok.

The Queen Is Reworked

2011-10-12T10:00:00.000-04:00

I understand this is a few days old, but since I made a topic about it being off, I only felt it right to make another when Blizzard corrected it. First off let me show you a complete before and after curiosity of MMO Champion.

As you can see her eyes have been changed to Golden as they should be. Her skin is a lot lighter and her hair is the platinum colour again as was described to us. Only thing I am not sure of is if her height is actually taller than the average elf. Since I have not been on the PTR nor play a Night Elf I cannot make this determination.

Now there has been many sides to why Blizzard did this. Some have been saying that it was the authors error when it was written in the War of the Ancients Trilogy. I don't by this for a second because Blizzard has always done a great job of making sure the details in the novels are what they should be.

The other theory is that models on the PTR are always a work in progress, and sometimes to get the content out for testing Blizzard puts in placeholder models or models that don't have all the fine details on them for when it goes live.

I actually believe this to be the case, because it has happened in the past quite a few times. For all those saying that no this is just Blizzard caving I am going to remind you all of Lore Marrowgar and his model journey on the PTR.

Model 1

Model 2

Model 3

As you can see he went through a lot of changes before his final product. One which was probably a placeholder and then some touch ups and recolourings. So am I happier with the new Queen Azshara model? Yes I am much happier than I was when it was first revealed, but who knows it still may have some other changes that will be added to it soon enough.

You Fail At Queen Azshara Lore If...

2011-10-11T10:00:00.000-04:00

Happy Fail Day everyone. I hope you all enjoyed your long weekend even if you were not privileged enough to get one. We will be continuing the Lore fails once again, but when deciding who to choose I thought I would pick someone that we will in all likelyhood get well acquainted with in the near future. I also thought that not many actually know anything about her. So without further introduction let's see how much you know or how little you do about the Night Elf Queen.

You Fail At Queen Azshara Lore If...

You did not know that she is the former Queen of the Night Elves
You didn't know she is now the leader of the Naga
You did not know that she has golden eyes a rare occurrence in Night Elven society
You were not aware that she used her beauty as a magical charm to hide her power
You didn't know that Lady Vashj was her Hand maiden
You were not aware that she feels threatened by Tyrande, because she feels her beauty rivaled her own
You were not aware that she made the decision to try and open the portal for Sargeras
You didn't know she has a minor role in the Darkshore questline
You did not know she wished to be the consort of Sargeras thinking he was the only one powerful enough to be capable
You were not aware that the naga although still refer to her as their Queen she is as revered as a God
You were not aware she admired Illidan for the "gift" Sargeras gave to his eyes
You did not know before her Naga transformation she had power that rivaled Archimonde and Kil'jaeden
You didn't know she wants nothing more than the destruction of Neptulon

and finally

You didn't know she survived the Great Sundering by making a pack with what is believed to be the Old Gods

There you have it this week's edition of failure. How bad did you fail? As is the custom her is one of my favourite Azshara quotes

"There has only ever been, only ever will be... one Azshara."

Free Loot Tuesday is upon us, Good Luck!

The Hour Of Twilight

2011-10-10T10:00:00.000-04:00

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! Yes it is my turkey day the day. Where I get to sit and give thanks to everything around me by stuffing my face till I cannot eat one more bite. Being Monday though, it is also time for Machinima Monday. The day of the week where I showcase a machinima for all of you to see and view with outright delight. So when thinking of which to choose I decided to go with one I viewed recently known as "The Hour of Twilight". This takes the title from what we all know as Deathwing's Future for Azeroth. Now this machinima is done as a trailer for that particular moment. If you don't know I am quite a fan of trailer type machinimas. The one done during BC called "World's End" is one of my favourite of all time. The reason I like this type of Machinima though is they always take specific quotes from within the game and put them into place. This is no different in this particular machinima. Now the Animations in this Machinma are not the best, but the way are put together with the quotes is done so well that I know you will watch this several times. So on Thanksgiving let's give thanks by all that has gone on in Cata to bring us to this point.

Hope you enjoyed it. Good luck on this holiday edition of your last day before reset.

Ask Gauss

2011-10-09T10:00:00.000-04:00

Wow it is Sunday already. Hard to believe my long weekend only has one more day left to it. Just means I only have 2 more days where it is ok to stuff my face, and no one will look at me weird. Now isn't this really the best part of Thanksgiving, screw the thank yous and all that other crap. It is the food dammit! So before I keep going on and on and get my largest amount of hate mail in a single day. Being Sunday you should know it is time for Ask Gauss. And it is time to answer the Reader's questions of the week. So without more constant babble let's get to it.

Do you feel having Azshara as a 5 man boss this expansion will hurt her being the big baddie come MoP?

First off although I think she will be the "big baddie" of the next expansion it has not yet been announced if that is the case. So really this is all speculation. Now with her being a boss in a 5 man remember that this is 10,000+ years in the past and although I am not too happy with her actually being a boss the whole timeline thing will be intact. At the time of the War of the Ancients Azshara was known to be more powerful then even Mannoroth and Archimonde looked to her as an equal. Now this is before her Naga transformation something which granted her even more power. So if we are to encounter her in the next expansion it will be on a level that is not even close to what she was back then. Think of it as battling Thrall before he became a shaman. Now I am confident Blizzard is using this to introduce the player base to a character that not many know about, and even though she isn't make it seem like she isn't just made up on the spot and out of thin air.

So Tier 13 models are out besides DKs but who cares. Which do you like the best?

Now most would probably expect me to say warrior, but I am not going to. It is not that the warrior set doesn't look great because I think it does. It is a set I think many will look back on and think it is one of the best designed warrior sets. The thing is though I think all of them are beaten by this

The shaman set is probably the best set looks wise Blizzard has ever made, and I am very confident in saying that, and jealous that it is a shaman set a set I will never have the ability to use. Overall though I don't think there is a bad looking t13, well I won't include the pally set because frankly no one cares about them and their sets. Most were thinking that the sets would begin to look horrible because of the ability to transmog them, but it seems they have gone in the complete opposite direction a lot of people thought they would.

Why is there no Panda's in Hour of Twilight?

ummm...really?

So there we have it. This week's questions are done and answered. Hope you all got some information out of it. As for next week's Reader Post I want to know about your thoughts on the tier 13 art designs and your opinion of the direction Blizzard is going with the tier sets. As always you have until Thursday night to get them in. Enjoy what is left of your weekend!

Noz In End Time

2011-10-07T10:00:00.000-04:00

Friday! The last day before the long weekend begins. Well a long weekend in Canada at least. This is our Thanksgiving weekend. So yes it is my turkey day! Well Monday is at least. Anyways, Friday means it is time for a Reader Post. The post of the week where you all submit responses based on the topic I gave you. This week I wanted to know what you all thought about Nozdormu being in End Time, the new 5 man instance. So let`s see what you all had to say.

Him appearing as Murozond, the leader of the Infinite, the flight that we know are meddling with the timeline "for the sake of the greater good". What I think is rather interesting is the bronze flight always sent us back to ensure that time was kept the same,but this is the first time that the players actually assist in changing the timeline, rather than preventing it. Nozdormu seemingly makes light of those actions, saying that he'll handle everything. I just think this is the foreshadow of his demise.

Its weird, the Titans showed Nozdormu his death so that he wouldn't have the hubris to think he was invincible...and he just changed the future, therefore changing his end. Weird concept or intended result?

I really had a very interesting idea. What if the newest patch is the story of not one Aspect's fall, but two? And not a cheap plot device, but a cunning act by Blizzard to tie all the ends together? Nozdormu had always known he'd go mad and die this way, no matter what choices he'd make. What wasn't clear was that it was us who assisted him all the way, both in committing the crime and taking the punishment. Just a thought I've had. Maybe I'm wrong, but looked at from this perspective, I think this patch keeps looking better and better.

It's pretty much been accepted at this point that Murozond is Nozdormu, but I'm stumped as to how this is possible give that it's been stated multiple times that Noz exists outside of time and while you will find multiple versions of a normal person in different time lines, there is and always has been only one Nozdormu across all timelines.

What if what the players witness and assist in doing is actually the very crime against the Timelord's own nature, the point in time where he learns to abuse his power, where the idea of fixing everything comes from, and that's what shatters the Aspect's mind? We know Nozdormu knows his own future, but is powerless to change it. What if, faced with the Deathwing threat, he chooses to betray his own nature and accepts his fate to give Azeroth a fighting chance? And the trip to the "End Time" is not only to show the adventurers the consequences of not stopping Deathwing, but to strengthen his own resolve before the crime he has yet to commit, accepting what it will make him, as well as the death at the hands of beings he deems worthy? To get rid of any regrets before sacrificing his own essence, for the sake of everything else, before he loses what makes him himself, his role as the Aspect? Before he takes the step that he knows and had always known will plunge him into madness?

I suspect that the Dragon Soul being brought into the present from the Well of Eternity may have something to do with Nozdormu's corruption. The Dragon Soul itself was instrumental in the Old God's corruption of Neltharion. Perhaps the contact Nozdormu will have with the artifact as he returns it to its original timeline will be enough to get the corruption rolling. I think it's an interesting idea that would bring even more things full circle in the upcoming patch.

Death by mortal hands. It sort of makes sense that he would not be able to prevent it in any way, and the easiest explanation of how all the timelines can lead to this one unavoidable result. Details will vary, but the end result "a mad dragon, slain in combat" is the same. If there were too many details, or if other details were too important, it would potentially make the fate avertable. Even the "mortal hands" bit may be debatable, but still unable to be averted. Even at the End Time, when there is no life left, his past self brings his prophetized end to him. I think this is that kind of mind blown moment everyone expects with time travel.

And there you have it. I just want to say there was countless submissions to this topic and I would have loved to include them all it just was not possible. I want to thank everyone who submitted something as it is always very much appreciated. This post itself would not be possible without all of you contributing to it. So if you would like to participate in next week's topic be sure to check out the topic during Sunday's Ask Gauss post. With nothing else left to say, enjoy your weekend everyone!

Those Things We Remember

2011-10-06T10:00:00.000-04:00

I have been asked many times what has made WoW stand out from all the other MMOs out there. The answer itself to me is not a difficult one. Warcraft's lore and story is what keeps people playing this game. Sure there is side things to do, but those who are interested in those come and go. Think about it for a second you may not read the novels or pay attention to quests, but say when a guildie starts talking and explaining what we are really doing and what you are dealing with you listen.

In WoW there are these things and those times we always remember. It could be a questline that you love doing because of the story. Many have told me that the Thrall and Aggra Elemental Bonds questline is one of those quests. They felt like they contributed to the lore of the game themselves they feel like they are directly part of the story. Other games don't have quests like this where you are developing in the story itself. You are very disconnected you are there are told to go kill these things, collect those things, and then come back to me. Yes WoW still has some of these quests, but even the way they are done is much different than even classic WoW.

This is the point when you are involved you remember. The only way you are going to remember a quest where you are told to go kill something or collect something is if it was so rare it took forever, the quest itself was bugged, or was hard. You aren't going to remember to them because of Dave and his epic quest giving skills. This is Blizzard's theory they want you to remember quests, raids, and everything else because of the story involved in everything. Think about it when you remember you can talk with others about it, and if they haven't done it they will want to. It is marketing at its best word of mouth. Of course, this can backfire in the same way, but Blizzard has seemed to avoid this for the most part.

So if I had any advice for new MMOs or even to Blizzard in WoW it is simple. Make sure that you use the story of what you are involved in to ensure that the player remembers playing it and it was a fun and enjoyable experience.