Saturday, January 22, 2011

Time to stop playing WOW and start playing Duke Nukem Forever

Yes its true people Duke is all most back! 3 of May is the big day but only time will tell!

Check it out for your self!

Sunday, January 16, 2011

The Bastion of Twilight a quick Raid Guide Cho'gall

General Boss Information




Cho'gall is a two phase boss, the second phase beginning at 25% and lasting until he's dead.
Throughout the fight you have a corruption bar, at specific points your corruption bar is filled you will gain a potentially raid damaging ability so It's important to keep you're corruption bar low by dodging the multitude of attacks Cho'gall uses to increase it.

The Corruption Bar!
A pretty annoying bar that made me move my grid to see it, if you have a really custom UI there are plenty of addons out there that allow you to move the bar (also the sound meter from the Atramedes encounter)

As I mentioned this bar, depending on the % filled of it gives you different abilities.

For every point of corruption old god damage against you is increased by 3%

At 25% you gain a magic debuff that causes you to gain 2 stacks of corrupted blood per second, this must be dispelled

At 50% corruption you begin to channell Corruption: Sickness which deals damage in a frontal cone from you, if you get this make sure to stay away/turn you back against raid members

At 75% you gain Corruption: Malformation which makes a creature on your back cast shadow bolts to nearby raid members, so just move away unless you're a melee dps/tank.

At 100% you become fully corrupted receiving 100% less healing however 100% increased damage and all spells become instant cast

Phase One (100%-25%)
This phase is pretty simple once you understand the incredible amount of abilities going on in the fight.
One of the things that should become fairly evident as soon you engage Cho'gall is his Conversion ability. This ability will "convert" 2 people (5 in 25 man) that begin to channel a spell to Cho'gall. This spell MUST be stopped, they can be interrupted just about any way imaginable, normal interrupts, fears ect. If this isn't interrupted fast Cho'gall gains Twisted Devotion which increases damage dealt by him by 10% each stack, lasting 20 seconds.
Periodically throughout this phase Cho'gall will summon a Corrupting Adherent, they need to be killed fast and away from the raid: They spawn at the portals either side of the room, the first spawning at the left, then right, then left. They need to be killed fast because if they are left alive too long they gain Festering Blood which is a nasty AoE. They must be killed, preferably far away from Cho'gall. The adherents only major ability is their Corrupting Crash which is the same as Vezax's shadow crash ability and is noted by black lines rising out of the ground. Make sure to move from them as they cause corruption!
In this phase Cho'gall will sometimes use two spells that do different things:
-Flame's Orders (seen by Cho'gall absorbing a fire elemental)
Cho'gall deals an extra ~20,000 damage per swing so make sure the tank is topped. He will also spawn fire patches on the ground similar to the fire patches from the Dragon boss in Stonecore, or that the adds on the Beauty encounter in Blackrock Caverns do. These are easy to dodge and should be avoided to prevent raid damage and corruption.
-Shadow's Orders (Seen by Cho'gall absorbing a shadow elemental)
All this does is add a shadow AoE to each of Cho'galls strikes, it deals about ~15-20k damage and during our kill it only ticked about 3 times each time he used Shadow's Orders.
Throughout phase one and two Cho'gall will cast Fury of Cho'gall which will put a debuff on the tank that lasts 45 seconds which increase damage done against the tank, so be sure to tank swap

The most challenging thing during phase one is the adds that spawn from the blood of the adherents. When Cho'gall casts Festering Blood, he spawns five Congealed Blood of the Old God with 75,000 hp (300,000 in 25 man). These will add coruption to whoever they attack so they should be kited, preferably they should be killed/frozen/slowed on the spot and nuked down by DPS as fast as possible. How long phase one lasts increases the amount of Adherents spawned and therefore the amount of blood spawned, so this acts as the soft enrage to the fight.

Phase Two (25%-100%)
In this phase Cho'gall becomes fully corrupted by the Old Gods and goes a bit mental. He fills the room a black AoE that increases corruption and deals damage every 2 seconds to everyone in the room.
He will also spawn four Darkened Creations that are tentacles, 4 in 10 man (10 in 25 man). These should be killed ASAP as they channel Debilitating Beam which reduces healing and damage done by 75% and do alot of damage.

Heroism and all other cooldowns should be saved until this phase as the longer it goes on the more damage you take and I'm sure the healers won't be happy about that

Video:




The Bastion of Twilight a quick Raid Guide Twilight Ascendant Council

Strategy Guide:





Group:
Tanks - 2
Healers - 3
DPS - 5


General Boss Information:
This boss encounter involves 4 elementals: Feludius (Water), Ignacious (Fire), Arion (Air/Lightning), Terrestra (Earth), and 1 Elementium Monstrosity (Combination of the four).
Boss Abilities:

---Phase 1---
~Feludius


His single target ability is Hydro Lance, which is cast at a random raid member and hits for ~85k damage. This spell can and needs to be interrupted. Having a designated interrupter is optimal for this.
Next is Water Bomb, which is a fountain-like ability that spews out towards the raid. If hit by these bubble-like bombs, you will become Waterlogged, reducing movement speed by 25%. To dispel this, you must move your character through Ignacious’ flame trail. (Described below)
Alongside these two abilities, Feludius will also cast Glaciate, which is a small nova-like spell cast at his current location that will freeze anyone that is still waterlogged. This is the reason you will want your ranged on Feludius. Have the tank run out when he starts casting this, because it does more damage the closer you are.
Finally, the last ability Feludius will cast is Heart of Ice. This ability is like the Storm Cloud on Hodir. It buffs anyone that comes into contact with it, and you can spread it to nearby allies. You want to have heart of ice spread amongst anyone attacking Ignacious because it will increase damage done on him.

~Ignacious
Ignacious’s single target ability is Flame Torrent. It is a frontal cone attack that deals ~40k damage per second over 3 seconds. It is always cast on his target, so have your tank face him away from the raid.
In addition to this, Ignacious will cast Inferno Leap and jump towards a random ranged raid member. When he lands he will knock back anyone within a small radius and proceed to charge back to the tank, leaving a trial of fire in his wake. This is what you use to remove Waterlogged.
His next ability is Aegis of Flame. This ability places a shield on Ignacious, at which point he will start casting Rising Flames. Rising flames is a stacking, channeled ability that increases his fire damage done. You need to burn through the Aegis in order to interrupt this ability. Have every DPS (except your Hydro Lance interrupter) switch to break this shield.
His last ability is Burning Blood, a mirror of Hear of Ice. When you have this debuff cast on a member, have that person run through the DPS on Feludius.
When EITHER one of these guys hits 25% HP, they will teleport to the balcony above triggering Phase 2.

---Phase 2---
~Arion
Arion’s first ability is called Lightning Blast, which is a giant lightning shock cast on a random raid member. This can and should be interrupted.
Along with that, he will also Disperse to a random location in the room. He will cast a Lightning Blast immediately after dispersing, so be ready to interrupt.
In addition to those two, he will place a Lightning Rod on a random raid member. After 5 seconds of having this on you, you will conduct chain lightning to EVERYONE 20yds around you. Run to the wall ASAP if you get this. This will wipe you.
Finally, Arion’s last ability is Call Winds. This creates a tornado in the room. There will be ~2 active at all times. By running into this you gain Swirling Winds. The benefit of this is to avoid Terrestra’s Quake ability, which deals ~60k damage if hit by this.

~Terrestra
Terrestra’s first ability is called Eruption, which is a group of spikes that emerge after a few seconds, from Terrestra’s current location. This deals damage and knocks players into the air. Just have your tank kite him out of this.
Along with that, he will also cast Hardened Skin on himself. This ability is a shield-like ability that will absorb 50% of all damage done up to 500,000. When the shield is broken, Terrestra will take an additional 10% off of his health.
Finally, Terrestra’s last ability is Gravity Well. This creates a small well of gravity that sucks you in and gives you the Grounded debuff. The benefit of this is to avoid Arion’s Thundershock ability. Deals ~80k damage to anyone not grounded.
When EITHER one of these guys hits 25% HP, they will halt the encounter, triggering Phase 3.

---Phase 3---
~Elementium Monstrosity
This is 100% a burn phase. Involves some kiting and major healing.
When you enter this phase, you will want your ranged to be spread out as much as possible. This is due his ability Electric Instability, which chains to nearby targets.
He will also cast Lava Seed. This sprays seeds out into the room and will detonate after a short period of time.
Additionally, he will randomly Gravity Crush a member of your raid, lifting him into the air, causing major damage, and take fall damage upon landing.
Finally, his ability Cryogenic Aura will cause puddles of frost to appear on the ground. They will expand the longer he remains in them… Kite him around the room for this. This, along with his other abilities act as a soft enrage timer.


The Bastion of Twilight a quick Raid Guide Valiona & Theralion

Strategy Guide: Valiona & Theralion 




Group:
Tanks - 1
Healers - 3
DPS - 6


General Boss Information:


This boss encounter involves 2 dragons, Valiona & Theralion.
Only one will be engaged at a time. The other one will be in the air harassing the raid until they switch.
They each do unique abilities and have pretty much the opposite mechanics. (Described below)

Boss Abilities:
Valiona: (On the ground)
While on the ground, Valiona will periodically cast Devouring Flames.
During this time, Theralion is in the air and while he is there, he will periodically cast Blackout on a random player and when dispelled, will deal ~300,000 split amongst players within 6-8 yards.
He will also cast Twilight Blast on a random raid member and splashes to other players within 6-8 yards, including melee.
Right before the phase change, Theralion will cast Dazzling Destruction which is indicated by gigantic galaxy looking swirls on the ground. If you get hit by these you get sent into the Twilight Realm.

Theralion: (On the ground)
While on the ground, Theralion will cast Engulfing Magic on a random raid member which increases damage and healing done by 100%, but also deals that damage or healing to nearby allies.
During this time, Valiona is in the air and will constantly be casting Twilight Meteorite on a random raid member, indicated by a big arrow above their head. It splits its damage amongst nearby allies.
The last thing Valiona will do right before the phase change is cast Deep Breath which deals ~15k damage and sends the player into the Twilight Realm. She will cast this in one of 3 rows in the room and is predictable.

Strategy:
Engage Valiona first and have everyone spread out as much as possible due to Twilight Blast.
When someone gets Blackout cast on them everyone needs to converge to split the damage it doeas.
Rinse and repeat these until Dazzling Destruction is cast. 6 of these will be cast and after they are done Theralion will land and Valiona will fly away.
At this time, everyone needs to stack. Melee on the tanks and Ranged on a designated player. This is due to Twilight Meteorite. In order to keep you moving, Theralion will place void zones on random players, so you will have to rotate around the outside of him as a group.
When someone gets Engulfing Magic is cast on a member, just have that person move out for the duration, then back in. If that person is targeted by a Meteorite, then have that person stop casting and stack.
At the end of this phase, Valiona will cast Deep Breath. It will engulf 1/3 of the room and will phase anyone hit by it into the Twilight Realm. It is very easy to predict this and just move out of it when it happens. The zones are selected at random.
Overall this is a pretty easy fight.

Video:

WoW Cataclysm The Bastion of Twilight a quick Raid Guide Halfus Wyrmbreaker

This is a work in progress!



First Fight: Halfus Wyrmbreaker

Below, is a guide on the abilities and one way to defeated this boss.

Tanks -2
Healers -3
DPS - 5


General Boss Information:
This boss is a tank and spank. The challenge comes from the 3 “drakes” in the encounter.
There are a total of 5 possible choices of drakes and only 3 will be available each week. (More on them below)
Each drake has a passive buff that it applies to Halfus throughout the duration of the fight, no matter whether it is active, inactive, or dead.
Once released, each drake will apply a debuff that will last for the remaining duration of the fight.
There is also a Proto-Behemoth flying off to the side. This cannot be killed and will remain throughout the fight. His whole purpose is to do constant raid damage.
Should you decide to take down any of the 3 drakes for the week, Halfus will gain Dragon's Vengeance and take increased damage, stacking for each one that is released.

Boss Abilities:
Slate Dragon: (Confirmed)
Passive – Gives Halfus his Malevolent Strike ability. This is a mortal strike debuff that reduces effectiveness of healing by 8% and stacks. It has a 30 second duration.
Active – Once released, the dragon will cast Stone Touch which stuns Halfus and NOT the raid for 12 seconds periodically.

Nether Scion: (Confirmed)
Passive - Gives Halfus his Frenzy ability which increases attack speed by 100%.
Active – Once released, the dragon will activate Nether Blindness which reduces Halfus’ chance to hit, attack speed, and damage done by 25%.

Time Warden: (Speculation – Will confirm when we encounter)
Passive - Buffs the Proto-Behemoth with Dancing Flames which allows him to cast his Fireball Barrage ability which needs to be moved out of.
Active – Once released, the dragon will activate Time Dilation which slows the speed of time which increases the time to avoid the fireballs.

Storm Rider: (Confirmed)
Passive - Buffs Halfus with Shadow Wrapped which allows him to cast his Shadow Nova ability which needs to be interrupted.
Active – Once released, the dragon will cast Cyclone Winds which increases the cast time of Shadow Nova by 500%. Up from .25 seconds to 1.5 seconds.

Orphaned Emerald Whelps: (Confirmed)
Passive - Buffs the Proto-behemoth with Superheated Breath his Scorching Breath ability which hits the raid for ~9k damage every second for 10 seconds.
Active – Once released, the whelps will cast Atrophic Poison reduces all damage taken by raid members by ~6000 since there are 8 of them.

Strategy:
Slate + Scion + Whelps:
When we engaged, engage both dragons. We blew Bloodlust on the start and tried to get the Slate down ASAP.
Once he was dead, have the MT free the whelps in order to reduce raid damage. Otherwise your healers will be OOM very fast. Burn the second drake. BoP the MS debuff off of the MT and keep tank targets until Scion is dead.
Once both dragons are dead... everyone go on the boss. Have the whelps tanked close to the boss and just have incidental damage kill them (They don't hit hard). Have the tanks taunt each time Halfus gets stunned to drop the debuff, and BOOM you have your kill.
Slate + Storm + Whelps
When we engaged, we released the whelps with the MT and had the OT tank Storm.
You MUST release Storm in order to interrupt the Shadow Nova.
AoE down the whelps and then get on Storm. Top everyone off after this and continue however you want to.
We released Slate in order to get the stun. It gives a lot of extra time to compose yourselves/lose the debuff when he's released. Kill it.
Burn the boss.

Video:



Video 2:

Saturday, January 8, 2011

The perfect mobile way to Play WOW! Razer Switchblade

Some time ago I did 2 YouTube Videos showing World of Warcraft running on a 6" PC the OQO you can see part 1 here and part 2 here . I'm at CES this week and I stopped in to have a chat to the guys at Razer. Sanjeev from Razer gave the the run down on there new Switchblade a new 9" Mini Note book made for PC gamers! When I first looked at the OQO Running wow the big letdown was the interface Razer have fixed all that with a keyboard that changes depending on what game u play! and let me tell you the WoW interface was sweet it was set up for a hunter (the class I play most) and let me yell you its going to change the way we play PC games! Razer hired the guys that developed that first OQO that I showed in my video to develop the Switchblade, With a teem of hardcore gamers and the guys that made the OQO working on this baby we are in for a treat!




From Razer:

Today, Razer made history and changed the world forever at CES Vegas by launching the Razer Switchblade. The Razer SwitchBlade is a portable PC gaming device that will be the first concept under our new Systems Category and is a landmark in the history of Razer. We are no long just a peripheral brand.




With its innovative tactile keyboard and a multitouch screen, the Razer Switchblade brings the full keyboard and mouse experience to a portable form factor. Check out the attached image for what's to come, although to get a better idea of what this is all about, check out this video about the Razer SwitchBlade.

We never stop looking for ways to get the edge and we never stop innovating. Where others seen problems and barriers, we see challenges our engineers have yet to be unleashed upon. PC gaming has always been locked to a desktop environment. Never has anyone been able to replicate the usability of a mouse and keyboard interface on the go. It wasn’t that it was impossible anyway.


Success is in our blood. The Razer Switchblade Concept carries that tradition forward.


Our Razer designers and engineers built the Razer Switchblade concept focusing on enhancing PC gaming on a handheld device. The dynamic keyboard and the multi touch interface are the linchpins that give this portable gaming device the ability to play on the go without sacrificing precision and control. We’ve changed the game, and this is only the beginning. You can see more at www.razerzone.com/switchblade