The Build Saga: Part Four

Oh boy!  More changes!

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2x4K0

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler
Motherboard: MSI Z87-GD65 Gaming ATX LGA1150 Motherboard
Memory: Mushkin Blackline 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 780 3GB Video Card
Case: Azza Genesis 9000 (Black) ATX Full Tower Case
Case Fan: BitFenix Spectre LED 97.8 CFM 230mm  Fan
Case Fan: Cooler Master SickleFlow 69.7 CFM 120mm  Fan
Case Fan: Cooler Master SickleFlow 69.7 CFM 120mm  Fan
Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 900W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer
Total: ~$1750

The motherboard I want is out of stock... almost everywhere.  The places that I can find it have it marked up 50 to 75 dollars.  I am running into the same issue with the video card.  Anyone that has a 280X is charging 400 to 500 dollars for one, which is WAY above the MSRP.  Maybe the Christmas holiday killed the stock on these items.  There is even a 20 dollar markup on the 4670K right now.  UGH!

The Build Saga: Part Three

ANNNNNNNNND, we had to change a few things.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2x4BJ

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler
Motherboard: MSI Z87-G45 Gaming ATX LGA1150 Motherboard
Memory: Mushkin Blackline 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk
Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 280X 3GB Video Card
Case: Azza Genesis 9000 (Black) ATX Full Tower Case
Case Fan: BitFenix Spectre LED 97.8 CFM 230mm  Fan
Case Fan: Cooler Master SickleFlow 69.7 CFM 120mm  Fan
Case Fan: Cooler Master SickleFlow 69.7 CFM 120mm  Fan
Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 900W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer
Total: ~$1500

We've already had to make a couple of changes, but that's not so bad.

I had a buddy at work who I was hoping would be able to get me a discount on a 4770K ($115), but that seems to have fallen through.  I switched out the LED fans for a couple with some better CFM.  Yes, I know Noctua has badass fans, I'm not outfitting the whole case just yet.  I stuck with the Hyper 212 EVO because I just really like air cooling.  Once I can afford a proper liquid cooling solution, I'll switch.

The Build Saga: Part Two

The first list of parts.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2oaYi

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler 

Motherboard: MSI Z87-G45 Gaming ATX LGA1150 Motherboard 

Memory: Mushkin Redline 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk

Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 280X 3GB Video Card

Case: Azza Genesis 9000 (Black) ATX Full Tower Case

Case Fan: BitFenix Spectre LED 97.8 CFM 230mm  Fan 

Case Fan: Antec True Quiet 120 RED 35.3 CFM 120mm  Fan 

Case Fan: Antec True Quiet 120 RED 35.3 CFM 120mm  Fan

Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 900W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply 

Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer 

Total: ~$1525

I'm so in love with this case....

http://azzatek.com/csaz-9000b-gallery.html

The Build Saga: Part One

When I decide to build a PC I've already done loads of research.  I've weight pros and cons.  I've decided that I want to invest a bunch of cash into something that will last me a few years.  I want to try to stretch 2 to 3 years, maybe a little more out of a PC.  If I can toss in a new video card to liven it up and give it a little longer, then I'm down.  I chronicled my last "build", which was more of an upgrade with a few new things, a couple of years ago.  I decided to go through the entire process this time.

I love building PCs.  I've been probably 8 or so PCs for other people since I built mine.  I've actually buy TWO for one person and I'm pretty jealous.  I am often looked at by others as the "tech guy".  I fix stuff, I build stuff, I suggest stuff.  When I feel like I'm lagging so far behind it becomes kind of sad and annoying.  I want to have the coolest shit, but I know that I am just not financially able to do so.  I wanna make sure that my kid has a rockin' birthday and my wife stays happy and that I get to eat food and put gas in my car.  Otherwise.... I'd have 2 of the most beastmode video cards overclocked like a motherfucker and liquid cooled like a boss.  Thankfully I'm just slightly more responsible than that.

I'm going to go over some thoughts and feelings here about picking out parts.

CPU
For a lot of people this is where they would focus.  I'm not a lot of people.  Let's break it down and be honest, shall we?  And i3 will browse the web and allow me to listen to my MP3s and steam Netflix with ease.  A low-end AMD APU can do the same.  Each of those also provide their own graphics solution, which means I could save cash while browsing, rocking out, and laughing at Bo Burnham jokes.  A higher end i3 or one of the quad-core Bulldozer AMD chips can play games like a beast.  This means that with the support from some other components I don't have to blow my load on a crazy awesome CPU.

The game has changed.

We have transitioned to a place where processing power is so efficient and so powerful that you almost literally see no gain on the gaming end once you get to a certain place.  A FX-4350 (about 120 bucks) will get the same framerate in something like BF4 as a 4770K (about 320 bucks) with the same video card and components attached.  I know what you're thinking.  I'm crazy.  Well, I'm not.  This is the nature of the beast, now.  A 200-dollar price difference won't REALLY provide me a lot in the way of improvement for gaming.  When I start to do other things or stress the CPU a little more, you immediately see the difference in both architecture and power.  They do, however, view Reddit the same way.

Just because I can save a couple hundred bucks doesn't mean that I want to.  I'm a hardware guy.  I want the best.  I want the latest.  I want all of updates and neat little bonuses.  I want to have the best shit.  When you buy good shit, it will be better than the next generation of cheap new shit.  Also, e-peen.

I plan to get a 4670K or 4770K CPU for my build.  As much as I have loved AMD over the years.  It's just too little, too late.  If you are going to take forever to come to market with your solution to the competition and then announce that after this series of chips you're done with desktop CPUs, they better be the shit!  In this case they are just shit.  Period.  Doody.

GPU
nVidia vs. AMD.  Ahhh, such a fun battle.  Since AMD is leaving the desktop market they had better shine here.  The R9 series for chips are so fucking baller, I just... I can't describe them any other way.  Their pricing based on the benchmarks if shocking.  How can you offer a card that is this powerful for the amount?  Because AMD figured out that leaving you with the same card for 5 years gets boring, I'm looking at you nVidia 8800.  AMD also took a page from nVidia and decided to start rebadging, I'm looking at you nVidia 9600.

nVidia has some very nice cards, but for the price they just can't compete.  The GTX 760 and the HD7950 were a good comparison, but with the addition of the R9 280X it's just over.  The price of a 7950, the performance of a 7970.  That's the sweet spot.

I plan to pick up a R9 280X for my build.  Unless nVidia makes some HUGE price cuts, I'm just not interested.

RAM
This one used to be tricky.  I used to tell you that you better get Crucial made by Micron or you could get the fuck out.  Corsair was a solid premium brand and while I wasn't as confident, I was pleased by performance.  RAM has changed significantly over the last decade, though.  A lot more people have access to the game and that makes stuff a lot more exciting.  Some very popular and solid brands have risen and fallen.  I've had some A-Data RAM for years and it has been rock solid.  Sure, it's DDR2, but it's awesome!

I feel like Crucial has fallen in quality.  Kingston has had a lot of problems with the failure rate of their modules.  GeiL and G.Skill have made a name for themselves.  OCZ came and went (fuck OCZ, btw).  Corsair has maintained it's place a quality premium brand.  Mushkin has emerged as a quality memory provider.  All of these brands are not only successful, but all carry fantastic (or shitty) reviews.  It's a great time for RAM because there are many providers and competition is good.

The clockspeeds are something very strange to me, though.  I see RAM rated for 2400, but I'm not sure I'd ever overclock that high.  I generally get the most compatible speed for CPU.  I've been know to rock low latency RAM, but some of the speeds are extreme.  I'm actually kind of shocked DDR3 is still the standard and we haven't already moved to DDR4, maybe next generation will make that push.

I plan to grab some G.Skill RAM.  If I happen to need Low Profile RAM, I'll pick up some Corsair.  I'm still undecided on the amount.  I know 8 is more than enough, but I'd like to go ahead and get 16 now and another 16 in the near future.  Why?  Because fuck Page Files.

HDD
I don't have an SSD.  STFU.  I'm getting one.  Samsung.  840.  EVO.

I know the SSDs aren't required for gaming.  They can help load times, but mostly are just a quality of life improvement for a person who uses a PC a lot.

Motherboard
One of the most crucial components.  This is actually #1 for me.  This is placed about GPU.  This is the heart of the PC.  A lot of people tell you to not cheap out on a PSU, but you can't cheap out on a motherboard either.

I've always been a fan of MSI and Gigabyte.  I try to avoid ASUS like the plague.  MSI and Gigabyte have also offered me solid products at a reasonable prices and over the years have provided quality boards over all.  I have had trouble ASUS on several occasions.  My current boards is an ASUS and is stellar, but the board has almost no features.  The board is DDR 2, has only one PCI-E slot and doesn't offer a lot in the way of connectivity from a USB or sound standpoint.  I generally don't consider any other boards for my personal builds.  I've never used a BioStar board.  I've used ECS and I actually really liked it.  They aren't super elite or amazing quality, but they get the job done.  I miss EPOX and SOYO boards from the old days. =(

I plan to pick up an MSI Gaming series motherboard.  It has a lot of features I want and it looks fantastic.  The M Power series is very nice, but I don't need some of the features.

PSU
Mult.  Rail.  Bitches.

I've already discussed this.

I plan to pick up an Antec PSU that offers multiple 12V rails.  Probably something in the 900w range, in case I want to Crossfire down the road.

Go multi-rail or go home.

I get to kick back and relax a little these days at work.  I recently moved into a side-graded position where the workload is smaller and less hectic, which is nice for my psyche.  Don't get all butthurt just yet, I beg my supervisor for extra work and try to make his job easier.  I spend time putting thing together, coming up with fun and interesting initiatives and playing on the internet.  The last one is why I am even typing this up.

I love PCs, maybe you've noticed.  I really want to buy another PC and since my job is also begging for overtime (where I have to actually come in and get beaten and battered with "normal" work), it works out pretty well.  Sure, I put in some OT to pay the bills, but doing a little extra and adding it to the tax money will get Daddy something nice, for sure.  I spend some timve over at pcpartpicker.com and put together different builds.  Dream builds, normal builds, Intel and AMD builds, HTPC and builds for my mom.  While I was piecing one together today I noticed something strange....

Almost all of the higher end PSUs are using a single rail.  WTF?!!

For years I've sworn by multi-rail PSUs.  I don't understand the quick downturn of manufacturers making multi-rail PSUs.  =(  I'll do my best to explain the difference.

A single rail PSU (power supply unit) has ONE 12V rail that is going to carry the power to your components.  It can obviously distribute power to all of the parts and pieces, but it has a limit.  Once it hits that limit the PSU should shut down and avoid damaging your components.  Think of it like this: There is one huge keg and everyone takes from it, when it's empty the party is over.  This system isn't my sort of thing.  I want to make sure that certain parts of my PC get the power that they need and don't want to risk a short or something else potentially blowing up the PC.

A multi-rail PSU has MANY 12V rails, normally 2-8.  You get to pick where the power goes.  Dedicate one 25A rail to your GPU, dedicate another to your CPU, dedicate a third to your hard drive, RAM, optical drive, etc.  In this system you will "pop" the power supply once it hits 25A (in this situation that is the number I chose).  This general results in no damaged parts in the case of a short, whereas the single rail that goes up to 85 will have to hit that number before it turns of.  Think of it like this:  There are 4 kegs that are 25% of the size of the huge key, people take from all of the kegs and whenever the first one runs out the party is over.  It's good and bad.  I prefer this method because I have a habit of investing in quality and expensive parts (or being poor) and not wanting to spend the cash to replace them.

I wish there were more people making these kind of supplies, I really like them and I actually understand their value.  Obviously a lot of consumers don't care and a majority of the overclockers assume they will get better results with a single-rail.  While this may have been true nearly a decade ago, today things are much different and technology and engineering is a lot better.

LFR isn't so bad, but I wish I had friends.

LFR isn't so bad.  I've avoided it for the longest time because I was against it.  I didn't want to raid an instance with no information about it.  I didn't want to go with a bunch of strangers.  I didn't want to just get handed loot.  Turns out, I don't really mind any of those things.

LFR is one of the stranger things that WoW has done, but then again it makes a lot of sense.  With so few people experiencing the content earlier in WoW's life, it only makes sense that they'd want to get more people involved in what takes up a considerable amount of development time.  If only everyone had the chance to experience original Naxx or BWL.  Not to take anything away from the latest instances, but some of the original places were very fun and very good.  I've still not experienced most of what WotLK has to offer, because I've just not gotten around to it.

I decided that I needed to try it out.  I've tried so hard to avoid it, but as this expansion winds down, I decided that I wanted to see Garrosh.  There seems like there is going to be a lot of things going on in the new expansion and some of it will do with him.  He has plagued us for two expansions and I wanted to see him fall.  While I did get to see him go down, I also got to see a lot of other people go down in the process.  It's actually been kind of cool.

In the last two weeks I've managed to take down pretty much everyone except for the Empress and then another raid that is apparently after it and that I have no idea who I fight.  I cleared out the Mogu, I stomped on some trolls, beat up some orcs, swatted some bugs, killed a giant T-Rex and managed to take down Garrosh.  There were some very interesting fights along the way.  The corrupted water was hilarious.  I understand that a lot of mechanics are lessened or nerfed, but that still makes for some cool fights.  Impaling bugs is neat, filling up the bar by picking boxes or different sizes is interesting.

It may not be a proper raiding experience, but it lets me see the content and participate in the progress... to a point.  I'm going to finish up everything and make sure to down all of the bosses.  I'm sure there is an achievement for it, thought with LFR I am also sure there is an asterisk beside it.  I don't care, though.  Some 528 gear will be fine and I would gladly carry that over to the expansion.  Once I finish it all up, I wouldn't mind finding some folks and doing a flex raid or even a normal.  Which leads to.....

I still wish I had friends to play with.  LFR is great for letting me see this stuff, but I kind of enjoy the challenge.  I like dying and learning and feeling some accomplishment when I'm done.  I would love to have people to play with and do things with.  I wish that I had a schedule that allowed me to do that, too.  I hope to find a group of people and make time for a couple of days a week where I can dedicate some time to progressing through some non-LFR raiding.  I am hoping that in the next expansion that they continue combining servers to make it even easier to find a guild or group like this to hang out with.

Blizzcon 2013: Part 9 - Garrisons

Garrisons are WoW's answer to player housing. As you complete missions and recruit Followers, your Garrison can upgrade with even more features.

Expanding Your Garrison

Players can create new buildings and upgrade their Garrison.

• Players can construct a variety of buildings, which can be upgraded and expanded over time.
  • Small buildings: Alchemy Lab, Smithy, Enchanter's Study, Engineering Works, Scribe's Office, Salvage Yard, Storehouse, Tailoring Studio, Jewelcrafting, and the Tannery.
  • Medium buildings: pet stable, trading post, lumber mill, barn, and inn. Pet stable will let you breed epic pets and there is a special trainer to fight.
  • Large buildings: barracks, infirmary, armory, stable, academy, mage tower.
• Garrisons have three tiers. They level up when you have filled up all of your building plots, which can be small, medium, and large in size. Each size has a different bonus. Tier 2 for example gives you 15% Follower Recovery Time, 5% Passive Melee Buff, 5% Passive Caster Buff, 10% Travel Speed, and 15% Garrison Supplies, 10% Ore Gathering, and 5% Herb Gathering.
• Constructing more buildings improves your ability to recruit and manage followers, as well as your efficiency in completing missions.
• You can upgrade your buildings three times, like Barracks to go on multiple missions, Inns to recruit followers, and an Infirmary to speed up injured Followers. When buildings are upgraded, they become more powerful and visually elaborate.
• Players can also select a specialization for their max level various buildings, which can be changed once per day. Sample Armory Specialization is Striking Blade: Grants the player a Critical Strike buff that persists through death for 4 hours. Visit the Armory to gain this buff.
• There are many ways to get blueprints to learn how to upgrade buildings, from quest rewards to world drops to faction rewards.

Customization and Social Interactions

Players can show off Garrisons to their friends and customize its appearance:

• Garrisons can be decorated with monuments and trophies, which may be tied to achievement rewards.
• Players of the same faction can visit your Garrison if they are in your party. You can also trade Garrison resources with friends.
• Garrisons will not be phased like Tillers farms--if you have a huge tower, your friends can see it across the zone.
• Players can place their Garrison in several zones and Alliance and Horde get unique artwork for their buildings.
• A Garrison's appearance and furniture can be further customized by players selecting a certain design "spec." Layouts are also decided upon by the player.

Followers

You can meet and recruit NPC Followers in your Garrison, who can benefit your character and Garrison in various ways:

• Followers can go on various missions--some can gather profession resource,s return treasure, or other useful items like epic gear. They also bring back materials to build your Garrison.
• Followers have a character level, item level, and traits that affect tasks. Traits are affected by a follower's rarity--there are common, uncommon, rare, and epic followers. Higher rarity followers have more traits.
• Followers gain character levels just like players from 90-100. You can give them Follower-specific gear to equip, which can increase their item level.
• Followers can be acquired in several ways: naturally found in your Garrison, attracting more by building an Inn, completing quest objectives, and paying mercenaries.
• There are plans for cool interactions between Followers and zones--for example, your Follower might be out on a mission in a dungeon, get captured, and you'd rescue the Follower the next time you ran it.
• A sample follower shown at the panel was Hamfist Facewrecker, a warrior who had Dragonbane (Damage boost when fighting Dragons), Rambo (Bonus to all stats when fighting in the forest), Last Man Standing (Bonus to all stats for each dead party member if the last one alive), and Blacksmithing (Can participate in Blacksmith missions and can research new recipes for you at the Garrison.

Missions

Missions are completed by your Followers and are essential to build your Garrison further.

• Missions can be completed while you are offline.
• Missions provide resources for your Garrison as well as profession reagents, but also some useful loot for your character.
• Missions can be completed by Followers in parties--if you are offline, your Followers can still pair up with other Followers.
• As time goes on, missions can stretch out into several days or a week. Missions and Garrisons are not intended to be very time-intensive at high levels.
• Some followers might be better at some missions than others, depending on their traits.
• The sample UI showed a list of followers and a main panel of different missions. These missions take different amounts of time and followers.
• Quest missions take 15-30 minutes and are used to level up Followers. Higher level quests reward player loot.
• Scenario missions take 2-3 hours and has a high chance to reward player loot.
• Dungeon missions take 1-3 days and are guaranteed to have player loot.
• Raid missions take 4-7 days and unlock when you get 10 followers to 100. Raid missions also include transmog rewards from old raids.
• The mission UI filters missions by type and shows the amount of time a mission will take as well as desirable traits for the mission. If your follower has those requested traits, you will get a bonus.

Pulled from WoW Head.

The ability to build a base on Draenor.  This is the closest thing we may ever see to player housing in World of Warcraft.  Your friends can come and interact and visit.  This is a BASE.  You are going to do a lot of things.  You collect followers, send those followers on missions, build and work on professions.  You get to place this thing in several different zones, so there will be a change of scenario.  

The coolest part might be the Follower system that they are setting up.  You get these followers in various ways.  Those followers are then going to be able to complete tasks.  They can gear up themselves... AND YOU.  You can send them on quests for money or loot.  You can send them on dungeons.  You can even send your followers on raids.  Depending on the tasks it will take a different period of time.  A raid may take a week, a dungeon a day and a quest an hour.  You use these different things to level up and gear out your minion so that they can complete more tasks for you.  The idea is always about progress.  Think of your followers and NPCs that you have to level.  You're not growing plants anymore, you're growing people....

You have access to different things in your Garrison, too.  Professions seem like they may be the most interesting.  You can build a mine in your base.  You can then build a Blacksmith.  You can send one of your followers into the Mine and have them bring back what they get and forge it at the Blacksmith.  You can then craft things that would normally require a Blacksmith.  I'm still not quite sure how this actually plays out, but it sounds cool.  As a LWer on my Rogue I would love to be able to put in the time and work to craft an item for myself from Blacksmithing, if I'm able to get the materials.  With some thought and a nice coat of polish, this could be a stand out feature of the Garrison.

The Garrison is gonna grow with you.  You add more things over time.  Armory, Stable, Blacksmith.  They all over different bonuses and provide you with different things, it's all up to you.  Not only do you grow the Garrison, but you can move it!  Like I said earlier, you get to pick the zone that you set it up in.  You get tired of that zone... just fucking move.  Pick it up and move it.  This will also allow you to recruit more Followers and you will be able to see those Followers wandering around the Garrison to interact with.  You are also going to get monuments that you can put up.  Got a sweet achievement or did something really awesome?  You may very well get a sweet statue that you can put up at your Garrison to show off what kind of badass you are.  Maybe you put a head on the mantle over the Town Hall or Inn at your Garrison.  The buildings upgrade, too.  They look different both on the inside and outside as you grow your Garrison.

I'm looking forward the expansion and I think this will be one of the most solid features.  I'm gonna build a killer base and try to utilize as much shit as possible.  Hopefully this can be done casually and not require a shitload of extra input.  I don't mind putting in work, but I don't want to put in 2 hours a day just to hit max level Garrision in 18 months. =X  You can gate it, if you'd like, but let's just make this entertaining to everyone.

Blizzcon 2013: Part 8 - New Zones

New Zones

Draenor is a completely new continent built from scratch by Blizzard. Players may recognize some zone names from Outland, but Blizzard stressed that they are completely reworked.

·         Frostfire Ridge: Starting demo area for the Horde, who works with the Frostwolf Clan. Snow-covered plains and volcanoes.

·         Shadowmoon Valley: Starting demo area for the Alliance, who work with Prophet Velen to fight off the Iron Horde. This zone looks very different than the current version, with lush greenery and beautiful draenei architecture.

·         Gorgrond: The Blackrock clan is building a massive siege weapon here that poses a significant threat to Draenor.

·         Talador: The Auchenai Soupriests try to protect Auchindoun from demonic threats. Players may remember Auchindoun as a dungeon hub in Terokkar Forest.

·         Spires of Arak: The arrakoa fight against the Shattered Hand orcs. In Outland, the arrakoa are found in Sethekk Halls and Terokkar Forest; the Shattered Hand orcs can be seen in The Shattered Halls.

·         Nagrand: The Warsong clan occupies this zone which occupies an important place in Outland lore.

·         Tanaan Jungle: The Bleeding Hollow clan are building a Dark Portal and the Iron Horde makes its base here with plans to conquer Azeroth.

·         Ashran: New World PvP zone with many objectives, in the style of old Alterac Valley.

I am very excited to see the new zones.  I think that they all look very nice and the biggest selling point is the mystery.  I've already kind of been here before, but last time it was all exploded.  You will be able to walk down some roads that already existed.  You will see sites and things that were there before, but were changed by the events that happened before.  What an enormous mindfuck!

One of the cooler things is that they said they will be adding Netherstorm at a later date.  This seems kind of strange.  I'm not entirely clear on the backstory or lore behind Netherstorm.  I remember those painful instances and the raid that were out there.  However, based on the lore elements of this expansion.... none of that ever happened.  There are no high elves to starve the magic out of to build those.  The entire purpose of it seems like it would be completely nullified.  Why are they adding it?  What is it?  Why does it exist now?

Going up to see the birdmen is going to be incredibly annoying.  I can already tell.  I fucking hate those guys and I'm sad that I'll have to deal with them again.  Seeing Hellfire as a jungle is really going to be different, too.  Seeing Shadowmoon not covered in darkness and green won't be all that hard to take in.  I've always wanted to see the temple in all it's REAL glory and I've actually got the chance now.  It is like having the fondness for Vanilla and seeing it smashed to bits in Cata, only in reverse.  The fondness of TBC, but it put back together and cleaned up.

There are going to be differences in the zones and there are going to be problems, I'm sure.  So far the zones look very nice from a graphical perspective and you can tell that they've put a lot of work into the shading, lightmapping and other small tweaks that can be done to the engine to add more depth and appeal to the game.  From the description that was given at Blizzcon, they have been working on this very hard.  I can't wait to see it.  I can't wait to run through these places and take in some of what these zones offer.  I sincerely hope that they do a better job of spreading out the things inside of the zone.  I hope that we get to pay more attention and get to revisit it for a legitimate reason.  I hate seeing zones just become useless and empty because they would rather make a magical island I have to teleport to.

Blizzcon 2013: Part 7 - WoW Movie

Warcraft Movie

·         Duncan Jones has played the Warcraft games, World of Warcraft, and even Lost Vikings. He originally played Ultima Online.

·         Jones liked the script, but it was very Alliance centric. He thought it would be better to make it about both sides and the original Warcraft.

·         There is concept art for Draenor, Dalaran, Ironforge, Stormwind

·         The story is Orcs vs Humans. Lothar and Durotan.

·         The style of this war movie will be similar to Gladiator, gritty.

·         The first movie has to be done right, then they can think about doing more.

·         The majority of the movie takes place in the Eastern Kingdoms.

·         The lore of this time doesn't have many female characters, but the producers are pushing for including some female characters.

·         We will see a preview sometime next year, maybe at Blizzcon.

·         The Lord of the Rings movies inspired Jones to want to do this movie. He wants to match or beat them at making an awesome movie.

·         The movie will be PG13, but the PG13 rating is shifting. You can get away with a lot more now and still be PG13.

I saw Moon and I enjoyed it.  I’ve been a David Bowie fan for a long time.  I guess I’m okay with him directing a WoW movie…

I’m not sure how I feel about the “well rounded story” information, but okay.  I feel like the games have a very Horde-oriented feel and while the Alliance may have some key interactions, they get sold short in a lot of aspects of the story.  Hopefully this just means that they want to flesh out the Horde/Orc storyline and not make them seem like some zerg legion of death (even though they kind of are at this point).

I look forward to what they call gritty.  I hope that this is a very gritty and very ugly film.  I know it will have a PG 13 rating, but I don’t want that to take away from the fact that this is a WAR.  This is very literally the cornerstone of the world that we live (or play) in every day.  This needs to feel like war, it needs to feel kind of dark.  I hope that they are able to pull this off, because after being let down by Dungeons and Dragons more than a decade ago, I need another nerd movie.  If this movie is good they are even entertaining the thought of doing more.  Lay the groundwork for a solid romp through the world.  Move forward from Orcs and Humans into the Legion showing up and all the way to creation of the Lich King and turn of Arthas.  I think it would make for a great cinematic experience.

Based on location and lore of the time, I am very exciting.  I’ve been a huge fan of the Warcraft universe for years.  When siting TLoR movies as inspiration I hope that they mean more of a “hot to make a fantasy world” and not “how to walk forever and carry the fucking story nowhere”.  Here is to hoping….  I am a little concerned about forcing female roles.  While I understand the importance of a female role, if there is not one available, please don’t create one.  There are plenty of very powerful ladies that we will be able to meet if the movies progress forward.

I can’t wait for the preview.  I look forward to hearing updates about it as it takes off.  Hopefully we will see the film out in 2015.  I hope it does well and spawns 2 – 3 more movie and allows my son to enjoy them all once he is old enough.

Blizzcon 2013: Part 6 - Itemization

Itemization

·         Many stats are being removed that no longer feel like bonuses: Hit, Expertise, Dodge, Parry. Avoidance should be cool mechanics, but not as a stat on items.

·         Reforging is also gone--there is too much modification required when you currently get an item. It sounded good on paper but drags down the excitement of getting a new item.

·         Armor itemization is greatly improved. Your gear changes primary stats and set bonuses based on your spec. There is no "strength plate" or "intellect plate"--simply plate that changes based on your role.

·         Secondary stats will remain unchanged when switching between specs, and accessories like amulets and rings may have more niche itemization, like armor for tanks or spirit for healers.

·         Fewer items can be enchanted, and the goal is to have enchants feel like a bonus instead of something mandatory.

·         Meta gems and socket bonuses are removed. Many fewer items will have sockets in Warlords of Draenor.

·         Tertiary stats are being added, such as Sturdiness (no durability loss), Movement Speed (will stack), Lifesteal (% of damage converted to health), Avoidance (Absorb % of AE damage), Cleave (Increased AE damage). These will not be on every piece of gear and will take a while to farm up a complete "set." These are also considered bonus stats and aren't part of an item's regular stat budget.

·         The item squish is coming, but this will not affect players' ability to solo old raids or make players feel weak. It will not reduce the current power of relative players--Siege of Orgrimmar will suddenly not feel impossible when the item squish goes in. The item squish is to simplify the combat log so abilities don't have tons of zeros.

Now this might be my favorite news of the entire expansion.  Itemization being dumbed down a whole fucking bunch!  I know I sound like a jerk when I say it like that, but I mean it!  This is very exciting.

No longer do you have to worry about wasting loot.  Drops aren’t wasted, someone can use it.  By removing requited tank and DPS stats you allow the player to focus on the item, more than the stuff on it.  Gearing will become easier because pretty much everyone will be able to find a use for the gear.  Gearing a Paladin, Shaman or Druid just got way easier. =D  Removing the “required” stats is great, too!  When I’m overflowing with Hit and have reforged all of my gear it isn’t fun to get a piece of gear that is an upgrade WITH EVEN MORE HIT ON IT.  That sucks.

Which leads to my next favorite part.  GOODBYE REFORGING.  Now instead of having to run to reforge a piece of gear before I can even put it to good use, I can use it.  Sure I’ll want to gem it (even though they said gems will be less common) and enchant it (even though they said enchants will be only available on certain gear slots) before I go, but I don’t have to play pick the right piece to reforge for the most benefit.  Trying to mull over an equation before putting on a piece of loot is not fun.  Ever.

The addition of the extra stats is very exciting in the sense that we actually get to USE the stats.  It’s fun to use them.  I just picked up a Cleave trinket and haven’t put it on yet, but the effect seems amazing.  I look forward to finding those items.  I hope they appear more often and aren’t as rare as they want to make it seem.  I’d love to get a set of Lifestealing gear and Evasion tank some dungeons for fun. =D

Blizzcon 2013: Part 5 - Questing and Leveling

Quests and Leveling

·         You can technically buy as many level 90s as you want if you buy another copy of the game, get the level 90, and then transfer the character to your main account each time. The team has talked about putting a level 90 purchase option in the store, but it hasn’t been decided yet.

·         There will be a legendary questline again in WoD. The questline will be a little bit more custom to your class to help with the lack of class quests. Class quests are very resource intensive, so at most we might see one or two in WoD. (Maybe Shaman)

·         Leveling in WoD will be a fun and fast paced romp through the zones. The team is backing off the idea that leveling should be a long grind.

·         From 91-100, players will get buffs to their existing key abilities, instead of new abilities that bloat up the spellbook.

·         There will be no flying in Draenor until Patch 6.1.

·         Several core abilities will become passive, like Slice and Dice for Assassination Rogues.

·         At level 100, players unlock an additional talent point.

·         When completing quests, you'll have a small chance to get a rare or epic reward instead of the expected one--this adds an element of surprise.

  

Questing is one of the things that really sets WoW apart.  It is one of the more fun parts of the game, but also one of the more irritating parts.  Once you have leveled a time or two, it gets pretty boring.  They hope to fix some of that this expansion.

Blizzard wants to add life back to the game world and make players pay attention to the world of around them.  To start they have re-done an entire world that veteran players will fondly remember (or not).  They are hoping to push the quests and questing forward at a faster clip and help you enjoy the adventure from 91-100 and not punish you with crazy requirements for leveling.  During this time not only are you leveling up your character, but also key abilities are going to grow with you.  Some parts of the presentation made it seem like you may get to choose, others made it seem like it was an automatic thing that happened, we will have to wait and see just how it actually works.

At level 100 you are going to unlock your final Talent point.  This is nice because that last tier looks pretty killer, that and because you need something to make 100 feel more special than just being able to queue for shit. 

You will be able to level any of your existing characters, or a new one, to level 90 if you purchase the expansion.  That means EVERYONE will have at least one free level 90. Unless you are like me and will likely have a 90 or each class prior to then.  I guess I could make a character on a different server….

We will get to walk through another legendary questline.  Blizzard seemed to like the one in MoP and are adding something similar in WoD.  This is good.  It will give those that are playing something to look forward to as they complete content and progress through the game.  Everyone may be able to earn it and it might not be incredibly special of rare, but it allows you to feel a sense of accomplishment.  On top of this you will also now have the ability to get better gear from quests.  As you complete quests you will now have the ability to get higher tier rewards.  Maybe you get a blue instead of a green or an epic instead of a blue.  That weapon quest you always do for a blue weapon?  Maybe you get an epic.  It may last all the way to max level, who knows?!  This is an interesting and welcome change.  I was very happy with the change to how you receive gear based on spec… now I can get even better gear.  YES!

Blizzcon 2013: Part 4 - Dungeons and Raids

Dungeons and Raids

·         The new Flex loot model will work similar to how Master Loot does today, but the number of drops will scale based on the number of people eligible for loot in the group. The personal loot system won’t be removed, you will just have to opt in to it.

·         The number of drops will scale well with the number of players, as each additional player gives you a higher chance to get another drop, up to where it is guaranteed. This ensures that are no odd breakpoints that will restrict raid sizes.

·         Mythic raid lockout is boss based, static id, nothing is changing from the current Heroic lockout system.

·         The game has a Raid Browser that no one uses, so in WoD it will be expanded to support killing world bosses, doing achievements, finishing Shadowmourne, or any other activity. This will support cross realm groups and encourage people to do PuGs rather than completely random matchmaking.

Flex raids look awesome, I haven’t had the opportunity to go through them, but I really like the fact that they have been designed are they are actually being pushed to the forefront of raiding in the next expansion.  Every raid will be flex in this new system, that means you can take as many or as few as you want and the gear drops and bosses will dynamically scale depending on your group.  I am sure someone will do the math and figure out the prefect raid size, but I look forward to that.  I think that it is great that I might have a chance to raid with a guild that may not be able to field 25 every week, but can easily put together a group of 17.  In we go to conquer whatever it is and we may not leave with the most gear possible, but it allows us to actually DO that content.

I doubt I will ever see Mythic raiding, but it seems cool.  A separate tier, capped at 20 and for the hardcore.  It will obviously have the best gear, but will likely also have the highest difficulty and the least amount of forgiveness.  Get ready to sell out some cash for repair bills, folks.  Since it is on a different lockout, you could see people farming lower tiers to supplement gear at the other tiers.  However, with the new gearing system I have no idea how any of that will work out.

Raiding and Heroics have not really been my cup of tea in recent expansions, but I do enjoy both.  I love raiding with people I know and completing the task and I also really like face stomping instances for either loot or progress.  WotLK was great for getting Heroics ran, but it was also bad for the elite dickwads that ruined it for others.  Once you were geared you expected everyone in the Heroic to be as awesome as you.  Thankfully I was a healer and if I didn’t like listening to you… I controlled the group and could make sure you didn’t get any farther.

One of the coolest things in all of the raid announcements: Raid browser being used.  This thing is worthless right now.  The LFR system is so easy that no one bothers.  Adding more stuff is going to make it a lot more useful.  Reminding people it is there might also make it useful. =P  The example used of finishing Shadowmourne is actually perfect.  This shows that the browser will allow for a multitude of things, not just current content.  That should put a lot of people at ease.

Blizzcon 2013: Part 3 - New Character Models

New Character Models

·         The old Dwarf male has 1,160 polygons and was mirrored on both sides. The new model is 7,821 polygons and has higher texture resolutions. The face doesn't have to be symmetrical anymore.

·         They went 956 to 5,408 polygons on the Gnomes. 130 to 196 bones. Texture resolution was 2 to 5x higher depending on the area of the body.

·         Dwarf Female, Tauren Male, and Female Troll models are all being worked on right now.

·         All of the original races, Draenei, and Blood Elves will be getting new models for Warlords.

·         Worgen and Goblin won't be getting new models right away. The team will take a look at those models after all of the other ones are done.

·         Facial hair is animated using bones.

·         Capes are now animated using bones to flow more naturally.

·         Gnome female pigtails are now animated.

·         The team hasn’t decided how new character models will be released yet. It could have all of the completed race at launch, or they could be added every patch.

·         There will be no free re-customization for characters after new character models. (a final determination hasyet to be made.)

 Oh boy!  New faces!

I’m not really too sure how I feel about this, honestly.  I think that the game does a great job with what they have to work with.  I don’t think it is some kind of groundbreaking amazing graphical accomplishment, but the ambiance of the game has been excellent over the years.  The lighting has really helped WoW, along with the smaller details.  The first time I saw it rain in Wetlands after they added weather or the drastic change that real shadows made to the game world, just wow!  Those touches have helped the game age very, very well.

Obviously there are numbers and you can actually compare one to another in terms of how much of a graphical overhaul occurred.  I think that the new models look great and I really look forward to seeing how my characters made the transition.  I certainly hope that they give players a one-time, single-use makeover so that we can change the character if we don’t like how it was done. 

Things I would love to see:

Darker skin tones

All hairstyles potentially move

FINGERS AND TOES

More and better facial animations

I know some of these were covered and are coming, but these are the things that I really want to see in a recreation of the original models.  I’ve played this game for a very long time and some of my original characters have looked the same for nearly 10 years, it’s important that we keep that going.

While I would love to see a ton of time spent on better looking armor or a game world that is more alive, I don’t mind the new models, I just wonder how much longer this engine can really hold out with all of the modification that has been done to it.