Assaulting the RTS Brain Bunker

The past few evenings, I've been greatly enjoying a playthrough of the Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War II demo. DoW2 is a recent real time strategy game release for Windows machines only.

Those following my Twitter feed will know that I'm a Mac-only cat these days. So, to give DoW2 a whirl, I installed Windows 7 (Release Candidate build) on my iMac via Boot Camp. It was a very easy install, and has been running without a hitch.

Anyway, back on topic, even though DoW2 is a RTS game, there are a lot of RPG elements to it. Loot drops are scattered throughout the maps, offering upgrades and customization for your heroes' gear. Similarly, progress earns you points which may be spent to increase attribute scores and open up special abilities in the process - very similar to Mass Effect's system.

In a departure from most RTS games, there is no base building in DoW2. None. Instead, players immediately tasked with tactically directing up to four discrete squads of Imperial Space Marines and managing their special abilities. Moreover, the "hero" character that leads each squad can't be permanently killed, which keeps the story moving, but they can be incapacitated temporarily during a mission. The individual troopers can be squished messily however, decreasing the strength of your force.

The short version is: this game is a RTS game for people easily frazzled by RTS micro-management, and/or those that tire of the base building click-fest. People like, you know, me. Plus, we're talking WH40K here, so the setting is bitchin' and bombastic. My only complaint is that the 1P story mode is Space Marines-only. You don't get to play as Orcs, Eldar, or the Tyranids (Genestealers) in the campaign mode. (All the races are available in multiplayer, however.)


Storm that Bunker, Soldier!

So, enjoying this "RTS lite" has caused me to wonder whether I might be able to break my real time strategy game brain-block. For some time, I have found myself disliking RTS gameplay. I even attempted to play through Warcraft III a while back, having enjoyed the storyline vicariously via WoW. Unfortunately, I just couldn't get into it. It was fun in the beginning, but as the difficulty ramped up with each mission, the old cerebral sweats and stuff-to-click overload started to kick in.

Thing is, I used to really enjoy playing Warcraft and Warcraft II with friends back in the day! So, why this "new" dislike of RTS gaming? I think all the base-building and arms-race-style play is a big factor. Sometimes this mechanic feels stressful and a little too much like work. These days, with all my day-to-day responsibility, I like a game that allows me to mentally chill. It's what drives me to play, really. To be really honest, after a week of no gaming, Lance can be a very stressed-out puppy.

In any case, now I'm all RTS-curious. Since I traded off my Warcraft III Battle Chest through Goozex a while back, I downloaded the demo this morning, and I'm going to give it another shot tonight. Maybe I can break this mental blockade once and for all. I need to figure out whether to buy Warcraft III, or if my RTS tolerance is unbreakable, to just accept my handicap and scoop up Dawn of War 2.

Moreover, seeing as Starcraft 2 is looming on our horizon like a hulking, alien mother ship, and considering that I've never played through the original, I'm also thinking about giving Starcraft a shot too. If I do prove amenable to RTS gaming again, I'd really like to experience the SC1 storyline before #2 launches. I'm just very skeptical about what Starcraft will look like on my 24" iMac. I mean, the max resolution is 640x480 for cripe's sake. It's going to be like Super-Aliased Lego Starcraft. We shall see when I grab the demo tonight...

Edit: Follow-up post found here.

Charity Auction for Child's Play

Brigwyn over at The Hunting Lodge blog is organizing a Children's Week auction for the Child's Play charity. Please click the links above and participate! Donate an item to the auction, bid on an auction, or just make a cash donation - it all helps!

For those not familiar with Child's Play, this is a charity started by Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik of Penny Arcade webcomic fame. The organization donates games, toys, and books to sick kids in childrens' hospitals all over the globe.

The cool thing about this charity is that your donation doesn't just go into some nebulous pot and end up who-knows-where. You literally choose which hospital you'd like to contribute to, and an Amazon.com interface opens, showing you a list of the specific items the kids staying there have requested.

This is not your typical bullshit, bloated, waste- and embezzlement-laden "non-profit" megacharity. The exact item(s) you donate go right from Amazon to the kids. The charity has been a tremendous success - it's now in its fifth year, and the 2008 holiday season saw almost $1.5 million in goods sent out to suffering kids.

WoW gamers - help a sick kid forget about their pain for a while. Giving 'till it doesn't hurt FTW!

Azeroth, Through Four Fresh Eyes

So far, questing across the Eastern Kingdoms with my son has been a wonderful journey. Any activity that fosters time spent together is fantastic, and it’s great to share with him this hobby that I love so much. I’ve been surprised, though, at the degree of new perspective I’m encountering personally in the process.

Not only do I get to enjoy his enthusiasm and wonder while exploring new areas in the game, but we’re both learning how to play new classes and characters. This neophyte status places me not only in the role of teacher, which I expected, but also as a beginner in many ways.

Zack happens to be playing a Hunter, and since that’s my main character’s vocation, I’m in a position to teach him all the facets of that class as we stomp about the world combating evil-doers. However, I’ve also had to learn to be patient with him as he hones his techniques and strategies. In my 70-some odd days played as a Hunter, I’ve become somewhat familiar with the role...

A writer doesn’t need to concentrate on holding her pen as she scribbles – she is able to focus instead on crafting meaningful sentences, paragraphs, and chapters. I'm finding, however, that taking a step back and teaching someone how to hold their pen and form letters one at a time requires an entirely different mindset. Someone somewhere is saying “patience, Grasshoppa” – and I’m the grasshopper, not Zack.

I’m also delving into a new role – that of a Feral Druid – and the dual tasks of both learning to play this class and play it well with a hunter partner are keeping adventures in familiar locales fresh. The ability to effectively tank, deal damage, and heal at any given time – and at the proper times – offers a great dynamic challenge to me as a veteran player. I’m at the bottom of the learning curve, staring up like a yokel tourist new to the big city – and I like it.

Families that Slay Together...

Well, I finally succumbed again to Azeroth's siren call and logged back onto World of Warcraft to explore the Wrath of the Lich King expansion's new continent of Northrend.

I must say that WotLK offers the most engrossing and innovative WoW quest content to date. Blizzard has also managed to reduce the drudgery a bit as well, and I'm finding that professions and faction reputation are leveling up much more organically. Less grinding and farming, more questing and story FTW.

My renewed relationship with WoW has borne some even more important, albeit less expected fruit. About a week ago, I decided to open a separate account for my 12-year-old son. He's played WoW on my account for years, but we were never able to play together. My wife had always been very (understandably) resistant to paying for a second account, but given Zack's sudden (but highly welcome) decision to actually put forth some significant academic effort this year, I felt that a reward was due. I also made it quite clear that the arrangement works both ways - he only gets to play if his grades warrant it.

With his own account, he's now able to play with school friends (after finishing his homework), but more importantly, to stomp around Azeroth with his dear old Dad. It's been a great bonding experience to actually play with him, and not just discuss our separate adventures. We're currently questing our way across Loch Modan, he as a Dwarven hunter and I as a Night Elf druid (Feral-spec, naturally, given my love of shapeshifter folklore). Hopefully, given the triple-experience buff we're enjoying due to Blizzard's Recruit-a-Friend program, we'll both be sporting new level 60's in a few months.

The real Achievement, of course, is finding one more way to spend time with my son. Now that's an Epic quest worth pursuing.

More Spiff/Coulton WoW Video Love - Uh, Literally...

First off, I'd like to apologize to the incredibly long list of people out there that (don't) read Ditlog for the lack of content. I was hoping that Ditlog would generate a little more buzz and interaction, but seeing none, I've been less than motivated to spend time writing.

Moreover, I'm working on content for a new podcast, so my creative energies have been channeled in that direction. Basically, we're crafting an instructional, episodic World of Warcraft audio program. Expect the content to start out basic, with tips and advice for all the new players out there. As the show progresses, we will delve into more and more advanced strategy. Look for an announcement here with more info soon.

Anyway, back on track, I just wanted to point out that Spiff has released yet another great WoW machinima music video for one of Jonathan Coulton's great tunes, this time First of May. Warning: the song lyrics and especially the video content are very adult in nature - probably not work-safe, and definitely not kid-safe. Enjoy!

Spiff's WoW-based Jonathan Coulton Music Videos

Using captured and choreographed World of Warcraft footage, Mike "Spiff" Booth has created some great music videos for a few of Jonathan Coulton's funny, geek-centric songs, including "Skullcrusher Mountain" and my absolute favorite, "re: Your Brains". Check them out on Spiff's YouTube page, and be sure to visit Jonathan Coulton's site as well of course, if you haven't already.

Back to WoW

So, after almost exactly a month, I re-started my WoW account. Sure, Oblivion has been a lot of fun, and Guild Wars wasn't too bad, but I guess I just missed Azeroth. WoW is like the video-gaming version of a favorite, comfy pair of jeans.

I'm still going to have to try to find things to keep me intersted until the expansion, but the new short battleground queues have me very curious about PvP, and I'm also exploring the two Undead starting zones (new to me) with Darkken the rogue, who's now level 10 and sleeping soundly in the inn at Brill.

Now, if I only had a murloc pet...

Until We Meet Again, WoW

I made a decision yesterday afternoon that might come as a surprise to those who know me well. I decided to cancel my world of Warcraft subscription. Azeroth and I have had a long, torrid love affair. At this point though, I think it's time for us to start seeing other people.

I still love the game - I always will. (It's not you, WoW, it's me...) I just realized that I'm slogging away again and again at the same content. Basically, I've been running the same instances over and over with my sights set on one helmet and two swords. Is that reward along really worth 2 or 3 months of my video gaming life?

At this point in my WoW career, I've been most everywhere and experienced most everything. Barring the two Undead race starting zones, and several endgame dungeons, I've basically experienced everything that Blizzard has to offer, multiple times.

The problem with endgame content is that organizing a play session is not trivial. In general, I need to schedule a session at least a week in advance with my friends, and we're talking two weeks' advance notice for raids. My life is very busy, and this kind of rigidity is very inconvenient. I hate it when my wife comes in and I can't just hit "pause" to talk with her, because 39 other people are depending on me to pay close attention to the game. Or if my family wants to make spontaneous plans, and I have to say, "uh, sorry guys - I have a raid tonight."

I'm tired of the pressure to play that the $15 subscription places on me. I don't want to feel guilty for playing other games.

I've been playing this game for a year and a half straight, almost exclusively. My Xbox is covered in dust like some ancient Egyptian artifact, and the games that I have purchased since building my new gaming rig remain largely lonely and untouched.

I bought Oblivion and Battlefield 2, both outstanding games, and there they still sit in their boxes, barely used. I want to play Half Life 2. I want to play F.E.A.R. I want to try Crysis when it comes out, and Spore just looks yummy. I want something new.

That said, I'm sure I'll be back to WoW when the expansion come out. Content is really the only thing I'm missing right now. I still love the community and the camaraderie of a guild. I just need a change of pace.

So, for my friends that I've pulled into the game, especially Tarrek and Peric, I apologize for dropping out of the game that I pushed you so hard to join. Blizzard saves one's characters indefinitely though, so I know that Erilar will be waiting to join you in our climb to level 70 when Burning Crusade launches.

I'd also really like to figure out some other games to jump in to. I'd love us to all settle on a single shooter that we could occasionally play together like we did WoW. Maybe Half Life 2 or F.E.A.R or Battlefield 2?

I'm also planning on checking out Guild Wars (the original release subtitled "Prophesies", not the newer one called "Factions"). It's a "lite" MMO, with no monthly subscription fee. I figure it would be a sandbox we can jump into like we did with WoW, and my son and I could also play together without feeling like we're draining our bank account by wantonly paying for two subscriptions.

Anyway, farewell Azeroth, and sorry to those I recruited and am leaving behind. I'm sure we'll meet again in Outland.

Making Money in World of Warcraft

As a busy gaming parent, the acquisition of prestigious, expensive items such as Epic mounts in World of Warcraft seems like an unattainable goal. If you're like me, you might get to raid Molten Core or Zul'Gurub a few times per week (if you're lucky), but raiding has never made anyone much cash, has it...

Seeing as a raid here and there is pretty much the only WoW playing time I get, the normal (but time-intensive) money-making methods such as running the 5- and 10-man endgame instances, soloing Scarlet Monastery, or farming for crafting raw materials, are just not an option.

So, how else can an enterprising Night Elf make a quick gold piece? No, I'm not referring to dancing nude for tips on top of the mailbox outside the Ironforge bank! Instead, I have discovered that the Auction House is the answer to my gold flow problems. Just like playing the stock market, it is possible to make a considerable sum of money on the AH by the time-honored approach of buying low and selling high.

Normally, one does not give away their most precious money-making schemes for fear of losing their edge to bandwagon-jumpers. Seeing as how 90% of WoW players play on servers other than mine, perhaps I won't lose out too badly by being a nice guy.

Before you run off in a lather to log on to your favorite toon, be warned. An unprepared AH prospector will walk away with only moths in his pockets if he is not careful. Read on, Sir Warbucks.

I use several tools to help me quickly identify good deals and verify that they should be a "safe" purchase. The first is a fairly hefty WoW addon called Auctioneer. This handy tool performs scans of the Auction House, cataloging price info about each item. One merely has to mouse over a particular item, whether in one's inventory or in the AH itself, and an enhanced tooltip appears describing such useful data as the average price that the item goes for on the AH, how many times it's been scanned by Auctioneer, and how much an NPC vendor would buy the item for.

Each time you scan, another snapshot of the AH prices is processed by Auctioneer's statistical algorithms, and the more accurate Auctioneer's prices become. Auctioneer can certainly be fooled by instances of outrageously-priced items, but in general, it is fairly good at identifying good deals.

But, you say, I don't want to spend all day pouring over every item on the AH looking for a good buy. Fear not, faithful financier. Auctioneer includes a Search Auctions function that does most of the work for you. This search function is even implemented as an added tab within the AH screen itself - how convenient! Simply specify whether you're looking for sweet deals on auctions soon to expire, or juicy low buyout prices. By changing several filter options, one can literally say, "hey Auctioneer - find me all Blue or rarer items with buyouts that should, upon resale, net me 10 gold or more per transaction". Viola, this great addon spits out a sortable list.

Now, as I'd mentioned earlier, Auctioneer can be temporarily fooled by crazy-high prices. Example: let's assume an overzealous seller places several extra-high 50g buyouts on a Nightraven crossbow, and that you had scanned a few times during that period. The following day, when a more reasonable seller puts a Nightraven up for the typical 25g price, Auctioneer might consider that "normal" buyout price for the crossbow a sweet deal. In reality though, if you jumped on that 25g buyout, you'd be lucky to sell it for that and break even.

So how do we make sure that Auctioneer isn't feeding us bad tips? I use two simple cross-checks:

My primary cross-check is a web site called Allakhazam. Using this site's search tool, one can peruse long-term pricing of one's target item. Allakhazam's excellent item price database shows all kinds of great AH statistics - median, average, and most common prices, and even a histogram. The only downfall to Allakhazam is that the data has been gathered across all servers and server types. Still, I have found it to be largely accurate, which isn't suprising considering that the sample size is typically very large. Allakhazam's data is typically based on thousands of sales of the target item, over a period anywhere from around a month to as short as only a few days!

OK, so Allakhazam says that my target item (say, our Nightraven crossbow) sells for a median price of 25 gold. How do I double-check that my server follows suit? Simple - my second price cross-check is to consult the AH itself. Once you find a potential deal, switch to the AH Scan tab (the built-in Blizzard AH scan that you've always used when looking for items). Check to see if any other instances of your item are for sale. This method will catch several potential problems:

First, if there are lots of other auctions for the same item, and several foolish sellers are unloading their swag for less-than-typical prices, you'd have a hard time selling your item.

Finally, it is possible that your server's market is simply a bit different than the "average" market predicted by Allakhazam's data. Perhaps one guild has been running UBRS non-stop and the AH is saturated with drops from that dungeon. Supply and demand will drive local prices down temporarily, etc.

The only other reality check that you need will be common sense. For example, this morning, I found a piece of mail armor that seemed to be a great potential buy. Upon second glance however, I noticed that the stats were basically Int and Spirit. No hunter is going to be very interested in that piece - it's actually a shaman item, hence the extra-low price. I never would have sold it for the attractive Allakhazam median price, which also takes into account Horde-side pricing.

Good luck, and strike gold!

The End of an Era

This is a bit of a personal message, but I needed an accessible public place to host it. I'm leaving my current WoW guild, and doubtless the following post won't last long on the guild forums, but I wanted my friends to be able to read my goodbye. Read on if interested:

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Unfortunately, this is a goodbye message to my good TA friends - you all know who you are. I'm sure most of you aren't even aware of what went on over the weekend, seeing as all the posts have been summarily deleted. Like all successful dictators, some of the TA officers have learned that censorship is a useful tool for control.

Seeing as this post will most likely be deleted as well, anyone interested will be able to find it at http://ditlog.blogspot.com.

Bascially, Tarrek, a very good RL friend of mine, was booted from the guild yesterday for publicly speaking out about Arv treating Grizzard poorly in a TA forum discussion (regarding BDS boots and the dispensing of Core mats from MC). Grizz, true to form, had done a fine job of defending himself, but apparently Tarrek felt that there was more to be said.

I suppose that one could argue that such a post was the equivalent of jumping on the pile when the ball carrier is already down. Me, I see an honorable man calling for another to think before he acts, and treat others with respect. The fact is, Arv's post *was* needlessly insulting, no one should have to put up with that kind of response, and it sure as hell wasn't the first time.

So, only one point that I really want to get across here. Status as a guild officer does not imply ownership. Officers are simply guild members who have volunteered their time to help organize the guild's efforts. Yes, this level of commitment probably deserves some inherent level of respect. However, respect is also earned. Myself, I've found that respect is best gained by treating others with respect. Apparently, several of the officers feel that their station allows them the right to throw their weight around, bullying and insulting others. I've had my fill of such immature behavior and am excersizing my right to move on. What do you expect Arv - that every time you feel like acting like a pompous, insulting jackass, the guild members are supposed to roll over and show their belly or risk a /gkick? Not this night elf, pal.

So, what are the choices I'm left with?

1) Look the other way while a good friend was kicked out of the guild for saying something that needed saying. Forsake my honor and dis a good friend just for the continued opportunity to raid with TA?

2) Continue to say what needs said and stick by a true friend.

Guess which one I choose.

Twilight Alliance, cut out the elitist crap. Treat everyone like friends and valued members of the guild, regardless of skill level, cliques, or time spend raiding. Folks, if you're being treated poorly, you don't need to bite your tongue. Everyone deserves respect. The guild is a collection of players contributing a goal, not a band of followers waiting for the owning officers to drop them some crumbs.

There was a time when this guild was about friendships, and camaraderie - good friends gathered together to enjoy a common interest. It used to be that TA was a home for WoW players with Real Lives I'm sad to say that those days are past. Time spent raiding is now valued much more highly then friendship.

So, some advice to the remaining TA members: [spaghetti western music plays] There's a new sherrif in town. You best keep your mouth shut and not step out of line, because he can slap leather and /gkick faster than the eye can see. Do what you're told, and no one will get hurt. Be sure not to make a mistake while raiding, or he'll dress down your n00bie butt over Vent for all to hear. But suck it up, and get on his good graces, because only the "insiders" get to go on the cool raids. You've been warned.

Was that melodramatic enough? LOL Anyway, to all my friends - I'll miss you guys, and you can always reach me via in-game mail. I hope you'll add me to your friends list, and hopefully we can get some 5-man action going sometime (especially when that new 5-man instance comes out in 1.11!). Good luck in the future.

To the rest of the "original five" - Gor, Eloi, Cynt, Mav - I miss the way things were. I know it's hard with the level of organization required for the 40-man efforts, but try to work towards keeping the original spirit of the guild alive.

See you all online.

WoW: WTF?

As you may have noticed, my posts have remained few and far between as of late. No, I’m not sick yet again. Or am I? Does an emotional addiction to a MMORPG qualify as an illness? Let’s delve deeper.

Basically, the reason that I haven’t been writing much is that I’ve been spending pretty much every minute of my solo free time either playing World of Warcraft, or scheming and reading about World of Warcraft. (I still set aside as many evenings to spend with my lovely wife, so don’t think me completely hopeless, faithful reader.)

Why is this game so enticing that I have played it for more hours than any other single video game I’ve ever been exposed to? My /played command for my main character, Erilar, now displays as just shy of 25 straight days of playing time since I bought the game last December. Assume roughly a year of ownership, and that averages out to 1.6 hours of WoW per day, every day, during 2005. Comparing such a schedule to the roughly 20 hours required to complete the typical video game, I have to wonder what insidious magicks ensorcelled the contents of that unassuming little brown game box.

Why do I find it relaxing, after a long day’s pursuit of life’s responsibilities, challenges, and obstacles, to delve into a virtual world rife with virtual responsibilities, challenges, and obstacles? Why is it so rewarding to brave three hours of dire, mortal (imaginary) combat in the company of twenty other happily delusional gamers for only the off chance at a random die roll on a single piece of shiny, new (albeit completely pretend) armor? But it is! It is, damn it all.

What could be so charming about Blizzard’s creation that would keep players coming back, again and again ad nauseam? Certainly, Blizzard has followed the model of their previous successes, namely choosing an existing game genre, surgically removing all of the annoying hiccups and wrinkles, and polishing the resulting project to an edge one could comfortably shave with.

So what were they left with upon completing this same operation on the quirky beast known as the MMORPG?

• A vast, breathtakingly beautiful, immersive world drawing on all the rich lore, art, and nostalgia revolving around the previous Warcraft titles.
• A MMO intentionally designed around reducing (or anaesthetizing us from) all the tedium, repetition, camping, grinding, and slogging that was all genre forerunners. A game where the casual player literally receives a tangible progression bonus for playing less than the typical slavering MMO fiend.
• Intricately play-balanced character classes, races, and factions.
• A rich, engaging fantasy RPG setting, loaded to bursting with interesting quests, unique and powerful items, sporting a friendly and useful item crafting system, and boasting a cunningly woven, entertaining epic story line.
• An open, customizable interface allowing fan developers to create tools to further enhance their experience.
• An ever-present prickling, tangible gnawing sensation that the most amazing spectacle of natural splendor yet witnessed, haunted by the most challenging, heinous beasts one has yet faced, guarding artifacts and weapons of the utmost eldritch power and might, lie just around the next bend in the road, beyond the next copse of trees, or over the next yawning mountain pass.

I am convinced though, that the crux of this cybernetic siren’s call lies in the latter. WoW is not about the big payoff. WoW instead keeps one coming back, again and again and again, in anticipation. Anticipation of the completion of that next quest, the exploration of that next dungeon, the achievement of that next character level, the conquest of that next big raid boss, or the receipt of that next player ability or Epic drop. WoW is not about the now, but rather the what is to come. I can’t wait.

Crickets!

Woah - over a month since my last post! I haven't lost interest with the blog, just lots of extenuating circumstances. See, for me the creative process takes a lot of energy. Perhaps my inspiration threshold is higher than others or something. Is that just an eloquent way of saying that I'm lazy? The latter might be more accurate!

The long version: Cold #3 of the season (or the 3rd return of the same one?) really kicked my butt. I'd been skipping gaming sessions, not playing World of Warcraft, going to bed early instead of hanging out watching DVD's with my wife, etc. Just pretty much sucked out my motivation and energy. Antibiotics and one week later, I'm feeling pretty much myself again.

Factor #2, for the last week or so at least, was finally hitting level 60 in WoW. I'm still on my level 60 honeymoon, and loving the WoW. Being able to finally hang out with my guildmates that I'd fallen so far behind is just great.

Without a wonderful group of people to hang out with, a MMO could be a boring game. Raiding with the Twilight Alliance bunch though? What a great group of folks. We're a casual guild, but we attempt some difficult game content. Most guilds would look at me, a recent level 60 with my crap gear and, admittedly, rusty instancing skills, and say "yeah, maybe you'd better stay behind for a while."

Not these guys. I'm welcomed into the raid, and everyone does their best to help me to learn and progress. The family atmosphere we have is really amazing. We've got a great diverse bunch, including lots of women (which I think is really refreshing), and just generally a hilarious bunch of gamers.

My most recent example? We were raiding Zul'Gurub last night, and one of eeeevil bosses that we slew, Bloodlord Mandokir, dropped the third best bow in the game - Mandokir's Sting - as treasure. Most guilds run a points system, and only give out epic gear to the best of their players and/or the ones that contribute the highest amount of hours raiding. Not my guild. These guys really want to help out everyone, working very democratically to pull the guild up by its collective bootstraps. They happily presented this bow to me (as the sole hunter on the raid but still the newest level 60 in the bunch), with well wishes. Great bunch of folks. No, they don't need to worry about me putting my time in to "pay back" for this bow - I'll be there simply because they are the kind of people that they are.

Pajama Party

Last night, two friends from my gaming group and I made our second foray into the Deadmines. (Sorry you couldn't make it, Ken!) WoW is becoming a wonderful tool for us - busy, "responsible" adults all - to keep in touch and blow off some steam. It took me several months of convincing them to check out the game, but I think I've finally set the hook, as it were. Except for James, that is.

[Jedi mind trick] You really want to start playing WoW, James! [/Jedi mind trick]

These friends and I, working folk all, with significant relationships, children in tow and/or in progress, and the general busy lifestyle of the young American adult, are finding that an occasional in-person mid-week gaming session is becoming more and more difficult to schedule, especially if said session were to include more than two or three of us. What a wonderful thing that the four of us were able to have dinner with our families, take care of the chores de jour, get the kids tucked into bed, and still easily jump into our desk chairs, in our respective comfy evening attire, for a session of wonderful gaming bliss.

No mad dash out to the car in the chill and rain, no spouses miffed due to our absence, no sleepy drive home through the gloomy night, but rather twenty more minutes of lovely sleep. No, faithful reader, last night when we broke up for the evening, the vile villain Van Cleef's head tucked firmly in our knapsack as proof of our victory over the forces of evil, we simply logged off the server and stumbled upstairs into our warm beds. Thanks, Blizzard!

Training Cats and Dogs: Part Deux

Ok, I have to apologize. I'd never intended Ditlog to devolve into a episodic, stream of consciousness journal of the Misadventures of Erilar the Hunter. I mean, who wants to read that? It's like the old geek joke about hanging out at the gaming convention and the slightly disturbingly weird uber-geek who won't stop following one around and talking about his character.

In any case, the point I've been meandering towards is this: Ditlog is still an experiment. To anyone out there that's actually reading this, please hang in there. As I've stated previously, I created Ditlog as a working experiment. At this point, Ditlog is an merely a instrument designed to congeal my muddled thoughts and half-formed ideas about a website by simple evolution.

So, without further befuddlement, I'd like to present this entry as I probably should have the first time through:

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I've been spending some of my WoW time lately beefing up my hunter's pet. With the release of patch 1.7, hunters have been blessed not only with the long-awaited revamping of our Talent trees, but also the addition of a bevy of interesting new pet abilities.

Due to the wide variety of choices now available, I've been spending many a lunch hour scheming about the exact combination of abilities I want to train Erilar's trusty nightsaber with. In the process, I stumbled upon two very helpful hunter pet resources.

Petopia is a smashing new website that details the types of trainable beasts available, their individual characteristics and advantages, and an informative top-50 list. Petopia does a great job of outlining all the pet abilities now available, complete with a guide to what animals an aspiring hunter can learn each from. Finally, Petopia has collected a comprehensive collection of images detailing all the different varieties of each species. Truly, a valuable resource for gun- (and bow-) toting Azerothians everywhere.

Not to be outdone, WoW enthusiasts Rocket, Bindar, and Rooke have developed a highly-useful pet training calculator which allows one to plan out the own Stupid Pet Tricks to the nth degree. This web app even customizes the training points and pet skills available to a hunter of a given level. Pink pencil-tip erasers world-wide have issued a press release to the developers thanking then for saving hundreds of their brethren from an untimely and dusty demise.

My recent efforts have snared me two new abilities for Erilar's hunting companion. The first, Dash, has actually been available in-game for some time now, but after some quality Petopia time, I decided that it was for me. Dash allows your pet a brief 15-second burst of speed - from a 40% bonus at lower levels to a whopping 80% at the highest. I'm interested see the skill's utility in chasing down runners, but at this early stage I've been getting a real kick out of seeing my new wolf take off like a rocket towards target mobs, with a satisfying Superman-like woosh, when given the command to attack. Cool factor:10, Usefulness: TBD.

Prowl is one of the new 1.7 pet abilities. It allows pets of the feline variety to enter stealth mode, like a rogue or druid in cat form. Their speed is reduced to 50-60% of normal, but their first hit scored (breaking stealth) yields a total of 120-150% of normal damage. Quite cool. It seems that leaving this ability on autocast will not be practical, as the animal then moves too slowly to keep up with his/her master, but it will be an interesting addition to hunter tactics.

I intend to collect the Furious Howl skill next for my new wolf. This nifty ability imparts a 10-second buff to each party member's next attack. I can't wait to see what Blizzard has in store for the pets that were left out in 1.7 - particularly bears and spiders!

Training Cats and Dogs

Played another great WoW session a few days ago, but didn't have time to blog it. After upgrading my gear, I needed to spend some time on my trusty companion, Zuel the hunting cat.

I first headed down to Stranglethorn, to a little island off the east coast called Jaguero Isle. There lurks an elusive kitty appropriately called the Jaguero Stalker. These black panthers train hunters the new pet skill Prowl 3, so I had to train one for myself to pass the skill on to good ol' Zuel.

I then headed off to the Hinterlands, and snuck into an elite troll fortress called Jintha'Alor. That was pretty thrilling, considering that since I was on a pet taming mission, I didn't have Zuel along to back me up. At level 55, I can't handle too many lvl 49 elite trolls mano-a-trollo, so my stealthy entry was certainly exhilarating. I finally made it to the top of that troll-infested ziggurat and trained myself a Vilebranch Raiding Wolf (51 elite).

This lithe, black canine teaches hunters the Dash 3 pet skill. I'm still currently adventuring with this wolf, now named Wahya, trying to get him loyal enough to teach me his very-cool Dash ability. I really like this pet, and I think I'm going to hang onto him as permanent fixture of my stable.

I have to interject a great trick here that my 9-yr-old son, also a WoW fanatic, discovered just the other day. A freshly-tamed pet can now immediately be taught the Growl skill, since Growl now costs zero training points. This makes grinding to raise the new pet's loyalty much more enjoyable, compared to constantly struggling with aggro! I might be mistaken, but I'm pretty sure that at some point, Growl used to cost training points and a fresh, new pet was incapable of learning it. Great tip!

One last pet-centric topic. Hunters, be sure to check out the great pet website, Petopia. This site is lovingly-done, and contains all sorts of useful info regarding hunter pets, all wonderfully accompanied by crisp images of each pet type. Anyone "shopping" for a new pet, or wanting to trick out their current pet (pun intended) with some new skills, should definitely check it out.

Next on the agenda: take griffin to Feralas to train a Longtooth Runner to learn Howl 3 for Wahya. What's a wolf without Howl?!?

The Edges of Blackrock

Well, last night was another great session of WoW (see yesterday's post for even more goodness)! Spent the evening questing in Burning Steppes, and actually finished picking up all of the pre-requisite quests for Blackrock Depths. First endgame dungeon, here I come!

After returning from their successful Zul'Gurub run (in which they took down the two first bosses), Jandari also kindly made me my second Dawn's Edge with the materials I'd sent him. To top it all off with a flourish, I spent about half of the evening's loot on double Demonslaying enchantments for my shiny new axes. See above for a pic of Erilar showing them off. You go, elf!

I know, I know, Demonslaying sucks stat-wise. Well, they look sweet, and I'm actually really saving up for Icy Chill, but each of those enchants costs almost twice what one of these axes does...

Whirl of Warcraft

I've finally found some time to spend playing WoW the last two nights. I've been working on the house like a dog, and was starting to get twitchy.

Monday night, I tackled my level 52 hunter quest in Azshara - searching for the furbolg hunter trainer out in the sticks, hunting some wild stags for him, and then finally scouring the coastline for a decent spawning ground for the Wavethrasher hydras. The last phase involves killing a green dragon in Sunken Temple, so I hope to hit that with some guildies soon. Not much xp (too much searching around), but got to explore all over Azshara. Those nagas and satyrs need to spruce the place up - the place is a wreck!

Last night was the highlight. I'd finally scraped up the cash and scoured the auction house for the raw materials for my first Dawn's Edge axe, and my awesome guildie Jandari said he would have it made for me and in the mail by the time I returned to Ironforge at the close of the night!

I'm now working on gathering my quests for Blackrock Depths, so I first picked up all the easy ones (Ironforge, Kharanos, and Steamwheedle Port). Then, before heading to the Burning Steppes, I wanted to knock out the series in Searing Gorge.

I had no idea that I was going to have so much fun! I began the night soloing. The questing was a little slow - all drop quests and the mobs were pretty far apart, spawning in discrete lava pools and such. Hint: when working on The Flawless Flame, the Heart of Flame quest items only drop from the fire elementals! The Golem Oil drops from any of the golems or elementals, and can be gathered pretty quickly.

I spent a while bopping around the Cauldron area doing Forging the Shaft, even exploring the vast underground area dug into the side of the Cauldron. Really huge back there - pretty cool. Helped some folks take down an elite dwarf boss called Overseer Maltorius, too. I kept pulling aggro, since I was the highest level dps character, so really had to do some dancing to keep my hide intact! There's a huge golem down there called Obsidianas, or something like that - I need to figure out how to activate that thing so I can duke it out with him!

Finally though, the crowning jewel of the night was The Flame's Casing. It's a rare drop quest, and the enemy are these lvl 47-50 elite Twilight's Hammer cultists. I started out soloing. I could handle the mobs, but the heavily-armored ones were pretty tough to take down since the fights were so long, and my trusty nightsaber companion, Zuel, was having a hard time of it.

So, I gritted my teeth and decided to take a chance and LFG for some companions. My typical experience with a pick-up group involves a frustrating collection of adolescent jokers who play poorly, whine about treasure drops, and make the session a frustrating exercise. To my surprise, I ended up with a group of three other skilled, honorable, and fun players and we had a total blast.

My new post-1.7 talent spec (31 Survival /20 Marksman) is working out great. I'm critting so much more often, but not enough to pull too much aggro - just right. Plus, if I do get the creep's attention, I've got so a great collection of new melee-mitigation and aggro-management powers to bring to bear.

The Symbol of Ragnaros drop turned out to be very rare, and we had to wade through an army of elites to finally find one, but with such a great group, it was a blast. We also discovered a cool, virtually hidden area where an NPC gives out the Prayer to Elune quest. Being an upstanding night elf, Elune and I are tight, so I picked that up, of course! The drop for that quest is also frustratingly rare, but hang in there - you'll get it! There was even a mage handy to teleport me to Darnassus to turn in my Prayer quest.

Between the two quests, we fought a great platoon of elites, and my xp showed. I gained half a level to hit 55, and a quarter towards 56 on top - hoody hoo! Even though the drops weren't spectacular, I did earn enough cash to fund the raw materials for my second Dawn's Edge! (All I need now is four affordable Blue Sapphires, but the price has been through the roof lately.) A most excellent night, in all!

WoW Companion

I wanted to turn folks on to a cool website/program called WoW Companion that lets one upload the data from their World of Warcraft character(s) and display them via the web. WoW Companion uses a Java app to autogenerate (and then host) a webpage that looks like the character pane from WoW.

It even lets you browse their skills, reputation, honor, and even talent choices (the button for talents is at the bottom of the page). My only disappointment was the lack of a character portrait, but still a very neat app for the aspiring and zealous WoW geek. Note that the function to display patch 1.7 data is still in beta, but seems to work just fine.

Check out their installation instructions for the gritty details.

Here's a link to my main toon, Erilar the night elven hunter! Cool...

One Point Seven!

It's patch day, kiddies, and I'm happy - my main's a hunter!

The GeezerHorde Grows!

Zug, zug! World of Warcraft players from my RL gaming group, along with folks from Geezer Gamers, have started a Horde guild on the Windrunner WoW server. We're up to 9 players and growing, not too bad considering we've only been at this a few days.

We were all looking for a group of players to hang out with when RL friends were not available. Our main characters' guild, Twilight Alliance, is great, but is really geared toward the level 60 endgame, and we were all having trouble finding folks to group with our lower-level alts (or mains!).

Tarrek and I had decided to roll some Tauren to play duo when Zilanderan wasn't around, and Zil was already working on getting a group of the Geezers together for the same goal. (He plays a lot of Halo 2 with those gun-toting geriatrics.) It's all gelled nicely, and we bought our guild charter last night.

We're looking for like-minded members, so if you're of the mature, married, homeowner, parent kind of crowd and are looking for a group of players who will understand that you have to go AFK for a while because the baby woke up, look us up. Again, we're Horde faction on Windrunner. Send a /w to our guild leader, Brrainzz - he's the most likely to be on. The guild name will not be locked in until we get our 10th signature, but I think we're going with GeezerHorde. I'll be starting us a website and forum on GuildPortal just as soon as the name is inked.

Strength and honor!