Blizzard killing 25 man raids in Cataclysm!

I run a 25 man raid guild on an Oceanic server. We have to have 3-4 sub ins due to lag issues and other things, like the fact that some fights need 2 tanks and others need 3. If Blizzard run with the idea posted in the forums on 27 April (and re-posted below), I can see it killing our 25 man raids.

I like the 10 vs 25 man loot but this new idea has problems. For example if we have the same lockout for 10 and 25 man and we want to work on a new 3 boss encounter, on the first night if we don’t have 25 online we can go and do 10 man raids instead but the 2nd night if we do have 25 online but we saved to 10 on that first night, 5 people would have to sit out while 20 get to be in 10 man teams! It's no good the other way around either. If we start with 25 on the first night and then don't have 25 on the 2nd night ... more problems. Even if you have the same raid ID for 10 / 25 man you will still have the problem of having to sit out up to 14 players if you are 1 player short. Ridiculous!

Having 10 / 25 on separate lockouts gives us something to do on off nights on our main toons. Some people do not like having to tank if their main is a healer or dps. This will either force people to have multiple alts and not give them the options they currently have for their main characters.

Separate lockouts gives us more content for no extra effort from the devs. As it is now we have raid content for 3 nights of the week only, that’s with 25 on 2 nights and a 10 man on 1, leaving 4 nights of dancing in Dalaran, looking for something to do on your main.

Quote from: Nethaera:

We're continuing to refine the raid progression paths in Cataclysm, and we'd like to share some of those changes with you today. Please enjoy!


The first of the refinements being made is that we're combining all raid sizes and difficulties into a single lockout. Unlike today, 10- and 25-player modes of a single raid will share the same lockout. You can defeat each raid boss once per week per character. In other words, if you wanted to do both a 10- and 25-person raid in a single week, you’d need to do so on two different characters. Normal versus Heroic mode will be chosen on a per-boss basis in Cataclysm raids, the same way it works in Icecrown Citadel. Obviously the raid lockout change doesn't apply in pure Icecrown terms though, as this change goes hand-in-hand with a few other changes to raid progression in Cataclysm.

Depressed gamers everywhere - get over yourselves!

Over the last couple of weeks I have noticed, as I've read over the blogs in our RSS feeds, that a lot of people seem to be bored with WoW, or have complaints about things that Blizzard are doing. Even the podcasters are literally depressing to listen to!

"it sucks to pug" ... "nobody is friendly in raids" ... "everyone must min/max and it's no fun" ... "the game is too easy" ... "that mount should not be for sale" ... "vote with your wallet, don't support Blizzard"

Frankly, I am absolutely sick of it! Of the complaining ... not the game. These kids complaining about their pugs and raids need to get off their fat arses and do something else if they're not having fun! If you don't like the group you're raiding with ... find a new one! Don't like that mount that Blizzard is selling, well, you don't need to frakin buy it! No one is holding a gun to your head!

For me, the guild I run has a blast raiding. Quite often we've literally had to take a five minute break due to too many people being in fits of laughter. Sure, we're not the best raiding guild on the server, but we don't care. None of us ever need to worry about pugging 5-mans because we do it in groups together. People just expect entertainment, friends and fun to be handed to them on a silver platter. You have to find it and help make the game fun. If your GM is a dick wad, start your own guild ... set a laughter rule ... kick the qqing elitist jerks out and get back to what this game is all about ... having fun. And if it's not fun, don't blog about it, just walk away!

How not to apply to a guild!

OlgariusRulezAll — April 07, 2010 — This is my application for the best guild in Durotan-US. I play the hardest class in WoW. My rotation consists of 17 buttons non macro'd, including mongoose bite. Pal Talk me at: OlgariusRulezAll6767.

150 active WoW blogs and counting!

Just added some new WoW feeds to Gaming Face. We are up to about 150 active WoW blogs. The feed is updated about every 15 minutes, so for the latest news in the WoW blogosphere, check out wow.gamingface.net or click the GF WoW Feed up the top. If you run a WoW or MMO blog and we're not linking you, please let us know.

Come in Spinner! Celestial Steed Mount

Blizzard just added 2 new items to the pet store The Blizzard Pet Store has just been updated with a couple of fun new choices that you can get for your characters. Continuing in the theme of cute, miniaturized bosses, we have Lil' XT, and the Celestial Steed is the first-ever mount to be available through the service. Of course, the Pandaren Monk, Lil' KT, and the Wind Rider Cub and Gryphon Hatchling plushies are still available there as well.
Head over to the Pet Store to see what's available.

At the time of posting I was in Position 80368 and have to wait over 5 hours! So let's look at that for a sec 80,000 x $25 = $2,000,000 in sales in line at this time!

For all you non WoW players this is a digital ingame item, it’s a flying horse for your Avatar to fly around on.
Yes it’s a sexy mount but wow ... someone a Blizzard is getting a pat on the back right now!

Supreme Commander 2 - the Prequel in Design

I have no doubt that Supreme Commander 1 was one of the best RTS games of the last five years ... sorry, not was but still is. The expansion for it, Forged Alliance added the extra features to the game that gave it a new life. So, I was quite excited when I saw that Supreme Commander II was being launched this month. To top it off, Steam even put it on special for the pre-orders. What a bargain! But after a really dodgy product launch, the reality hit ... this was in no way shape or form a Supreme Commander 2. It's a sequel only in story but not in maps, gameplay, graphics or anything else. As I played the first missions I was baffled as to why the graphics were not as good as in Supreme Commander 1. Jumping into skirmishes, I discovered that the maps were not even a quarter of the size of those in number 1, or the expansion. None of the maps require any type of naval units either. The maps included with the game are designed in a way where you can't do anything physically practical with the ships or the ocean. There are no island maps (etc).

So, what would drive a developer to release a game that's not as good as its prequel? Why would you dumb down a game? Take out features? The answer of course is ... console. Supreme Commander II was designed for console gamers. It was dumbed down so that it will run on the Xbox. I am not dissapointed that they made a console version of this game but I am dissapointed that they tried to release this as a sequel on PC. Give me this new story line on the old engine and allow me to use all the maps from the first game and the add-on. Give me back all of the glorious graphics that made Supreme Commander 1 a truly brilliant game. If I was able to return this game, I wouldn't think twice about doing so. Unfortunately, Steam doesn't allow for refunds. I guess that's why they had it on special for pre-orders. Once the word got out about how crap with game is on PC, no one will want it. But hey ... If you're looking for an RTS game on a Xbox, this game could be fun ... but it's only a shadow of what number 1 was on the PC.

StarCraft(r) II: Wings of Liberty(TM) Beta Test Invitation!

Yep thats right they are out and I just got it in the mail!

Congratulations, this is your invitation to the beta test for Blizzard Entertainment’s StarCraft® II: Wings of Liberty™! You are receiving this email because you attended a special Blizzard Entertainment event, participated in a related contest or promotion, or have otherwise been selected to join the beta-testing process. This email contains your beta key along with instructions on how to get started.

As a beta test participant, you’ll have the opportunity to experience the multiplayer gameplay of StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty and explore the social-networking, matchmaking, and other new features of Blizzard Entertainment’s revamped Battle.net® online-gaming service. Throughout the StarCraft II beta test, you’ll be able to take part in cooperative and competitive battles as the terrans, protoss, and zerg -- and at the same time, you’ll be helping test the stability of the Battle.net service and fine-tune the game balance prior to launch. The developers look forward to hearing your feedback and seeing you on Battle.net!

I'm off to PLAY!!! will report back soon!

Make-A-Wish Foundation Receives $1.1 million donation from Blizzard Entertainment

February 17, 2010 08:30 AM Eastern Time

The Make-A-Wish Foundation® Receives $1.1 Million Donation from Blizzard Entertainment

Contribution to Help Grant the Wishes of Children with Life-Threatening Medical Conditions Around the World

PHOENIX--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Make-A-Wish Foundation today announced a $1.1 million donation from Blizzard Entertainment, a premier developer and publisher of entertainment software. The donation is based on 50 percent of the total sales during November and December 2009 of a special in-game pet, the Pandaren Monk, for Blizzard's award-winning, massively multiplayer online role-playing game, World of Warcraft®.

“This generosity is helping us bring hope, strength and joy to children when they – and their families – are facing an unimaginably difficult time in their young lives.”
On Tuesday, Feb. 16, Blizzard made the presentation during a special ceremony at the company's headquarters in Irvine, Calif. Blizzard invited 15 wish children who are also gaming enthusiasts and their families to enjoy an exclusive learning experience with the World of Warcraft development team, including an inside look at how the game is created.

“We've had a long relationship with the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and we're proud to support the priceless work they do for children,” said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. “This donation also reflects the spirit and generosity of our players – their enthusiasm for World of Warcraft and for supporting a good cause made this possible.”

I love this Song!

Boom De Yada WoW - Eng Subtitles



And
Boom De Yada - The Making

The World of Warcraft Lich King Figure by DC Direct - UGO.com

What you see here is the first image of the Lich King figure for the World of Warcraft collectibles line by DC Direct. read on : The World of Warcraft Lich King Figure by DC Direct - UGO.com