Ask Gauss

Sunday, Sunday Sunday! Yes it is Sunday if you didn't know. The day of the week that you realized that you wasted your weekend with nothing of purpose and you have to go back to work tomorrow. Also Sunday is the day where I get to answer a whole bunch of questions for some reason people would like me to answer.

One week of heroic being available and guilds are already at Ragnaros, is this a good thing?

Well first off we have to remember the guilds where this is the case are professional gamers. They spend their time trying and focusing to get this done. They have done the normal mode countless times on the PTR and have been developing strategies on the heroic modes for months. I think this blue post sums it up best

"I am endlessly intrigued to find players judging the difficulty of the encounters and how long lived the content is by how pro players, some of the most skilled and focused players in the world, engage the content. It's a little like judging the difficulty of juggling eight chainsaws by what the best jugglers in the world can accomplish. Sure, it might be easy for them, but when was the last time you tried it?"

So yes the professionals can get through it quickly, but that doesn't mean for a second the content itself is easy for the everyday gamer which is not part of the 0.1% of WoWs raiding population. Just remember that.

Blizzard admitted they were wrong with the PvP gear thing is this a sign of things to come?

Of all the things Blizzard has gone back on that I have argued against them doing I am glad they are fixing this. Why you may ask? Well it is simple this was a true mistake. This wasn't about them trying to get the community to earn something that should be earned or do something else to maintain a same rank or title this is about them making a mistake realizing it and fixing it. So in this case I applaud Blizzard for doing the right thing and not doing what a lot of people thought they were going to do and just give and apology.

What is your favourite Lore Moment is Warcraft?

Wow this is truly a question to think about. Maybe even make a post right to it.

There you have it. Thank you to everyone who sent in questions this week I was glad as always to answer them. Next week's Reader Post is going to be your favourite Lore moment in Warcraft, I will do my take on the topic this week as well so there is a preview for a coming post.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Rage of The Firelands Trailer

If you all didn't know the trailer for patch 4.2 is upon us. It is out a little earlier than normal. I'll let you watch it before I tell you my thoughts.

"Across the breadth of Azeroth, the Horde and the Alliance have dealt crushing blows to Deathwing's elemental minions and fanatic Twilight's Hammer cultists. Through it all, the Earthen Ring has never wavered from its tireless charge, holding Azeroth itself together amid the tidal fury and errant magical energies that churn at the Maelstrom. Yet as the elements continue their chaotic upheaval, it seems that the noble shamanic order might finally be on the verge of breaking beneath the great weight that rests on its shoulders. Even Thrall, for all of his wisdom and skill, has grown aggravated by his failure to effectively communicate with Azeroth's elements. Recently, his calls were acknowledged, but the malevolent entity that responded has only intensified Thrall's fears and doubts...."



I think this trailer is extremely well done and I am not just saying that because I am a fan of Thrall. I think the best trailers Blizzard has done have been the ones that have been set as the point of view of one person. I think this is one of the best trailers in my opinion right up there with the Ulduar, Zul'Aman and Black Temple Trailers. This also really blends well with the theme of Cataclysm because you know the destruction of the world and how important Thrall is. Also this ties in perfectly to the entire Thrall questline which is going to be apart of this patch.

 Congrats Blizzard on an excellent trailer.

Warrior Tier 12

So I know that a lot of the tier models have been out for awhile. Some of them look rather special. Have you seen the druid preview? What were they thinking on that one? It is like someone went on the acid trip of all acid trips. Anyways, it isn't often that I like the look of the warrior set, but this one I do. Of course, with there being the epic chin on this set makes it look pretty awesome. It isn't like the Tier 11 which looked like it could have passed of for a mail set. This one looks intimidating and well put together and all the colour options, whichever they pick are suited very well. At least they didn't keep that flaming mask model they had at one time, that was really hard for me to get around.

This is a set that I will not only be excited  to be wear, but will also be in a raid that I will be excited and pumped to do. Firelands looks as I have said before looks beyond amazing, and I hope it will put some motivation in people to start focusing on raiding and not just playing the game and getting their points.

Ask Gauss

So Sunday is here once again, which other than the end of the weekend it means it is time to go through my mail and answer some of it. Although, don't take that I only answer mail once a week even if you have sent something and it appears that way... Anyways, answering mail here within this post is what we call Ask Gauss. So instead of rambling on and on and on I will just go ahead and start answering.

So the Firelands is only going to have 7 bosses, and I thought what would Gauss say?

I would say that 7 bosses is probably the perfect number to an instance. You see in my opinion two of the best raids Blizzard ever made, which were challenging and had encounters, which were not just gimmicks were found in 2 raids, Blackwing Lair and Sunwell Plateau. These instances had 8 and 6 bosses respectively. Now Firelands will not only have 7 encounters to go through, but Blizzard has stated that the Ragnaros encounter on Heroic will be a different encounter as a whole and not just a harder version of the Original. This is actually great news something people have been asking for quite awhile.

The issue I think people will have with 7 bosses is it being done to quickly, which with the way Cataclysm content has gone so far I don't see this being a problem to the masses.

So Thrall is finally getting some serious time in the limelight, this good?

Well Thrall as all lore junkies know is probably one of the greatest Lore Characters this universe will ever have. He connects to both Alliance and Horde and has the feel about him that regardless of your standing you cannot help, but be a supporter of Thrall.

To me though the interesting part is Thrall is sent into the elemental planes by a member of the Twilight's Hammer. Who could this be? There is talk that Staghelm is this person and this is what pushed him over the edge. I am not really sure how this would put him into the Firelands, but I am sure everything could be explained. When thinking about someone who could have the power to do such a thing  a couple things came to mind. An Old God, and this of course I assume would be possible, but is an Old God a member of the Twilight's Hammer? Not really because Twilight's Hammer worships the Old Gods. My second thought would be Queen Azshara, who again isn't a member of the Twilight's Hammer to our knowledge, but has enough power to destroy pretty much anything. The fact of this point is Blizzard stated she would not be a boss or a major player in this expansion. So then I kept thinking. If someone was sending someone to the elemental planes they would have to have knowledge of the elements and a shaman in their own right. This got me thinking, a powerful shaman as part of the Twilight's Hammer? Who could it be? Well then it was simple...Magatha

What is a dead undead Deathknight?

A myth DKs don't die.

That is it for this week. Hope you all got the answers you seek. For next week's Reader Post I want you all to tell me who you think is behind the attack of Thrall. As always you have until Thursday night to get your submissions in. Enjoy what is left of your weekend.

Firelands Just Wow

So I said when the screenshots came out for the Firelands that I was beyond impressed with what they did with the zone. It was done in such a way that it was intimidating but not completely overdone, which to me is the perfect balance. Now yesterday Blizzard released "Through the Fire and the Flames" with this description.

Feast your eyes on the adventures that await when World of Warcraft patch 4.2 takes you through the fire and flames and into the Firelands.

Now why did they say that? Because they released these two videos


This is the daily quest preview which is showcasing the zone. What I find extremely interesting is that at one point you see the quest givers. It seems Maiev is there. Now it could just be someone dressed in the same getup, but why would Blizzard do that with such a trademark lore character?


This is, of course, the raid preview. Looks as if the bosses have encounters that don't seem too simple at least by the looks of things. Fandral looks pretty awesome, was that scorpion form? The two Magmaws before Ragnaros is a pretty interesting touch and his new model looks extremely intimidating. I remember the first time Ragnaros was sent back to the plane for us. I can only imagine how epic it will feel this time to actually really kill him on his home turf at full power.

So you see the zone and the raid. I don't know how you can say it doesn't look awesome. Through the Fire and the Flames I cannot wait.

Fandral

So if you have not seen it yet Fandral Staghelm's Cat form has been revealed as it will look in patch 4.2.



All I can say is if my druid cat form looked like this it would make me want to actually play a druid. Well probably not, but it looks pretty awesome. What I would like to know is the story and lore behind how he of all people is going to be a boss in the Firelands raid. When you think about it h really doesn't fit at all the people you would think would be in the Firelands. You think of elemantals, maybe some demons, large constructs, but a Druid? In a land of fire and destruction of a land the anti druid, we will have one of the most recognizable druids in the game. Regardless of the fact that he went mad with the Nightmare and all that he is still a druid, so I would like to know the "why".

Seeing this Cat Form makes me really interested to see the Bear, Mookin, Flight, etc. Of course, his regular human form is probably going to be something to behold as well. So Fandral the druid always in Malfurion's shadow all these years seems he finally has something to be remembered for.

Firelands

So over on MMO Champion they have some beta screenshots of the Firelands, which will be available to us as a zone and raid in the future. To a lot of peoples dismay this will be in 4.2. Regardless here is my favourite of the screenshots.

I was worried that this zone would be for lack of a better word too "Hellish" I am happy that after seeing the screenshots they did it in a way that gives the player the understanding that they are in the domain of fire, but not in this endless pool of flames and surround by lava. This was the same thing I was afraid of in Northrend that we would just have snow everywhere, but they got around that there so I should have had the same confidence they would have done it here. So I must say I am quite impressed with the screens and the look of the zone.

In addition with some data mining they have gotten 3 partial achieve icons. One of which is no surprise at all and that has to do with Ragnaros. The other two are interesting. One being with Fandral Staghelm, which is very interesting in the fact that he was transported to "safety" during the mount Hjyal questline. Even more interesting is that he was corrupted by the Old Gods specifically the Nightmare and her is hoping they bring this more to the forefront. Also I think a real druid type encounter would be quite an interesting one. Lastly is Alysra, who is the green dragon that helped you transport Fandral. Now this could either mean she is some how corrupted or gone rogue or could be Dreamwalker type encounter when she is required to be saved.

So even if we have to wait a little longer for the Firelands seeing the screenshots and this boss revelation makes me understand this will be an interesting zone and raid for sure.