Ulduar!

[sparkindarkness]

There needs to be a nod towards the new WoW patch because it is shineh.

Dual speccing is extra-shineh

The new raid? Is a whole new level of shineh. It's also visually stunning. Since Northrend Blizz has really got themselves so genuine artists for their stuff - because it's BEAUTIFUL


The new Argent Tornament thing? Well it's fun - but my canon-loving-head is having trouble understanding it. The Argent Crusade weants to find worthy champions to fight the Scourge?
The Scourge are an endless legion of undead setting out to kill us all and make us into more undead. You do not get to be picky about who you get to fight that, little Paladin. Do you know who's worthy to fight the Scourge? EVERYONE WILLING TO DO SO!!! Even if that's a farmer dual-wielding chickens that makes a disturbing bock-bock-splat sound when he fights!

And how do we prove ourselves worthy? You give us a horse and a lance and send us jousting (and we'll ignore for a second that, as a Draenei, I have an Elephant and a Mamoth and no puny human on a horsey is going to worry me, no matter how big his stick is. Hells, I have a dragon I can ride as well, the lance is kinda redundant)? Now this may have worked in medievel real world... but in WoW I have an issue:

Paladin: BEHOLD champion! Take your lance, go forth and prove yourself worthy to fight the Scourge!
Mage: Why are you giving me this stick?
Paladin: So you may vanquish the undead!
Mage: Or I could, y'know, fireball them?
Paladin: No, take the lance.
Mage: But but... I can throw fire from my hands! I can call ice from the sky!
Paladin: Doesn't count - you must learn the art of the lance!
Mage: I can INCINERATE all undead within a 20 yard radius with 2 spells and you want me to POKE them with a STICK?!
Paladin: yes, yes we do.
Mage: *burny burny*

Despite this, the mounted combat is still kinda fun :)



And to the players:
"Waaaah Ulduar is hard. Blizzard has gone over the top!"

Oh dear, memories are short. Let me prompt them a little.
"LEOTHERAS!!!!"

Right, when the flashbacks have finished you can get back off the floor. Not convinced? Ooookaaaaaaaaaayyyy...
"MURLOCS INC!"

Ah, look at all that Tidewalker twitching, there goes a few months of therapy bills. Wait there's more.
"YOU'RE THE BOMB!!! MOOOOVE!"

Oh Astromancer, still have the ability to make them foam at the mouth, how i miss that. Are we convinced? Do i have to even MENTION Kael'Thas and Vashj? Really?

Right. Naxxramas was ridiculously easy. Malygos hardly challenging and Sartharion was, at best, middling. Compared to Illidan and Brutallus and Archimond and Kalecgos they're nothing. Now, Ulduar has come out. In TBC standards it should be on par with Serpentshrine Cavern or Tempest Keep. You're whining after the second wipe? It took us 3 days of constant wiping to finally kill Leotheras and it was WEEKS before we could guarantee that he wouldn't just mince us all. Gods, it took us a dozen wipes to bring VOIDREAVER down, even Lurker wiped us his share. But suddenly Razorscale kills us and you're all whinging that Blizzard has gone over the top?

In a month you'll be whining that there's no challenge and nothing to do again. Enjoy it while it lasts. I know I am

Comments

[harald387.livejournal.com]

I think the whole 'Argent Tournament' thing makes sense in two ways:

First, it's a peaceful way for the Horde and Alliance to work out their aggression and begin working together - something that is definitely in the Argent Crusade's best interests. This is historically somewhat apt - a tournament was a great substitute for a war, and got a lot fewer people killed.

Second, it's probably aimed at getting into Arthas' head somewhat. I mean, here are the greatest champions of both the Alliance and Horde, camped on his doorstep. They're making regular strikes against his armies and beginning to work together in ways that we haven't seen since... well, since the last time the Scourge was a huge threat, really. That's got to be messing with him just a little.

As for the lance thing, have you *tried* incinerating one of those Boneguard Commanders when you're not on an Argent Strider equipped with a lance? They're *hardcore*. Lances are obviously their weakness.

Or something.

Yeah, that one just bothers me. But the mounted combat is fun!

(Bitterburr spent an hour licking frogs, and then half a day convinced she was their queen. Some days, there are benefits to playing a none-too-bright character on an RP server...)

[sparkindarkness.livejournal.com]

That's true, i have been immensely frustrated by the King fo Stormwind who manages to be an epic package of win and fail. So getting the Horde and Alliance to pay attention to the REAL problem, even if it is with a tourney, would be better than have them wasting their time sniping at each other (after all, there's a quest in Icecrown where a Horde regiment attacked an Alliance one from behind while they were fighting the Undead)


Oh and the frogs. See, I like these quests "find me a weapon" but... a daily? Really? How many women-turned-to-frogs-with-magic-swords ARE there in that lake? Is there an enchanter and a witch setting up a production line.

Enchanter: Powerful sword, check, all enchanted
Witch: I've got the pretty maiden
Enchanter: Blond, nice. Polymorph her then
Witch *casts*
Enchanter: drop her in the lake and grab the next one while I enchant another sword.

[soappuppy.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that puzzles me. How many magic swords ARE there?!? And what's really silly is standing in line to unfreeze the lady in the block of ice :)

[sparkindarkness.livejournal.com]

Billions of the things! It must be a rite of passage in Azeroth!

Girl: Mother! I'm 16 now!
Mother: I know, such a beuatiful girl too. You're now old enough for your first magic sword!
Girl: The Ashbringer! Thank you!
Mother: Now go ask your father what curses he has for you...


Personally i think there's actually a high rate brothel in Ice Crown and the Paladins keep losing their swords to highly imaginative ladies of the night

[soappuppy.livejournal.com]

*dies laughing*

Now we know the next Hero Class, don't we?

"Frostitute"....

[sparkindarkness.livejournal.com]

This wins and owns trhe internet. It is known

[drharper.livejournal.com]

The new Argent Tornament thing? Well it's fun - but my canon-loving-head is having trouble understanding it. The Argent Crusade weants to find worthy champions to fight the Scourge?
The Scourge are an endless legion of undead setting out to kill us all and make us into more undead. You do not get to be picky about who you get to fight that, little Paladin. Do you know who's worthy to fight the Scourge? EVERYONE WILLING TO DO SO!!! Even if that's a farmer dual-wielding chickens that makes a disturbing bock-bock-splat sound when he fights!

This so needs to go on metaquotes. May I?

And, I agree, duel spec is AWESOME! My squishy, druid healer no longer has to be squishy!

[sparkindarkness.livejournal.com]

By all means :)


Oh my shaman healer is now soooo happy

[drharper.livejournal.com]

Done!

[sparkindarkness.livejournal.com]

:)

[soappuppy.livejournal.com]

Mage: I can INCINERATE all undead within a 20 yard radius with 2 spells and you want me to POKE them with a STICK?!
Paladin: yes, yes we do.
Mage: *burny burny*

Gawd, yes. My druid has never looked sillier, riding a rainbow-coloured, glowing chicken, carrying a 10-foot wooden phallic symbol, surrounded by spinning geometric shapes and with a flag sticking out of her head.

And the endless "We have made you a vehicle and YOU WILL USE IT" quests. "Got your battle chicken? Okay, good. Kill this guy. Okay, good. Using the same mechanics, kill this guy. Okay, good. Using the same mechanics, kill this guy. And now this guy. And this guy. Did you just level up to Valiant? Sweet, get on this new vehicle, which works just like your old vehicle, and kill this guy, too. And this guy. And this guy. Have we mentioned that we want you to do this EVERY DAY TIL THE END OF TIME? ... Scourge? What Scourge? Oh yeah, go kill a few of those while you're at it, I guess...."

On the bright side, dual spec = da bomb. :) I wish they hadn't completely buggered druid tanking, though....(kittytree FTW!)

[sparkindarkness.livejournal.com]

My Draenei perchec on a little Silvermoon horse. At least I have the quests to ride an elekk now. But seriously - a joust between an elekk riding draenei and a Mechanostrider riding Gnome? I don't even need a lance!

See, all the vehicle quests bug me (because I could shoot them with fire instead) but not nearly as much as the "I have lost my sword for the 8th time today. Please go find another cursed maiden."



Well my druid has 2 trees. Both feral - one dps one tank. I haven't tanked much since my Resto-shaman is my main, but once or twice I have. With my huge crit the new ability's kinda nice. And feral dps? Is now sick and WRONG. Expect a nerf.

[soappuppy.livejournal.com]

I agree. My druid freed the "cursed ice maiden" again today, and within 2 seconds of having thanked me for lifting the curse and given me the sword, she froze solid again! You'd think eventually she'd get wise, and immediately jump off the ice floe and flee the second someone released her..."Yeah, you can have the sword! I left it on that cursed ice floe over theeeeeerrrrreeee....."

And my druid on her kodo just about flattened an orc on his wolf during the tournament...I stepped on him about 200 times, and still his lance kept waving about from inside my character graphic. Realism? Bah! :)

[dornbeast.livejournal.com]

Gods, it took us a dozen wipes to bring VOIDREAVER down, even Lurker wiped us his share.

I'm hearing this in "crochety old man" voice, with something like, "Ah, in my day you got yer whole team wiped out twice in ten minutes, then just when you figgered out some winnin' tactics, the server'd crash! You kids today have it easy!"

I'm weird that way.

[sparkindarkness.livejournal.com]

It works so much better in crotchety mode. "I remember when there had to be 40 of us all carefully balanced to bring down Ragnoros - and we had none of that there heroism that you get today. Alliance heroes todays, you don't know you're born!"

[midnight-mischf.livejournal.com]

>You're whining after the second wipe? It took us 3 days of constant wiping to finally kill Leotheras and it was WEEKS before we could guarantee that he wouldn't just mince us all.

Oh jeez. Gruul's Lair flashbacks... Two raid-runs a week, three to five attempts per raid... :facepalms:

And all *I* was doing was watching over Other Half's shoulder. : D

[sparkindarkness.livejournal.com]

*shudder* exactly - time and again over and over we wiped on the TBC bosses. Illidan? Illidan was a nightmare. Archimond still makes me wake with cold sweats. Magtheridon? Do not go there!