Heading to Florida

Wednesday, December 26, 2007 by C. Carter

I will be definitively AFK, and thus, not updating the blog until January 1. I am going to be in Florida, visiting Dannielle and her family.

Have a safe New Year's Eve celebration! See you all in 2008...

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The 12 Days of Winter's Veil

Tuesday, December 25, 2007 by C. Carter

Merry Christmas, y'all.

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Resilience, Armor and Defense... How They Affect Combat

Monday, December 24, 2007 by C. Carter

With the assumption that most people have far more to do in their lives than me, I have done some research into game mechanics in regards to combat stats, specifically: resilience, armor and defense. Resilience deals exclusively with PvP. The third attribute, Defense, is primarily a PvE statistic. Armor is a component of survivability for both PvP and PvE.

Resilience
Resilience is a measure of a player's ability to effect three categories of attack in PvP:
(the) chance to be critically hit is reduced by 1%, damage taken from crits that do land have their critical strike damage component reduced by 2%, and damage taken from DoTs is reduced by 1% .
The higher the rating, the greater your chance is to avoid devastating attacks.

So what is the maximum resilience rating a player can have? The short answer is there isn't a limit. However, there is a point of diminishing returns due to the maximum a critical strike damaging blow can be mitigated. According to WoWWiki, the target resilience is 492.5.

Armor
Armor is a ranking that indicates the level of resistance your character has to physical damage. Simply stated, the higher your armor ranking, the more front-end damage is absorbed before you actually start losing hit points.

Again, like with Resilience, there isn't a cap, per se, but there are diminishing returns. A full spectrum of information, including the mathematics and graphical data, are readily available at WoWWiki.

Defense
A tank's measure of worth. A high defense all but ensures you will avoid a Crushing Blow or critical strikes from a mob; tantamount to one's survivability against raid-level bosses - the less damage you take, the less healing you need and the longer the party can focus on the pwn.

Unlike the previous two attributes, Defense does have a magical number. That number, dear readers, is 350 - the cap.

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And the Winner is...

by C. Carter

Merriam-Webster has announced the word of the year - woot!

No, really... it's "woot". LAWL @ contests that go haywire and leave people WTFing.

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Karazhan Teamup Update

by C. Carter

It seems that we have, at the time of this entry, three people interesting in a part-time and casual raid agreement with [No Cop No Stop] and venturing into Kara. Two people have declined interest.

In case there is any confusion, I'd like to clarify that the voting is by no means a determination of whether or not the teamup happens; we will go to Kara, regardless of the final voting tally. The whole point was to be able to provide a rough guesstimate of what we are bringing to the raid.

In the same vein, there aren't repercussions for not wanting to go, nor voicing one's opinion to that effect. Nothing has changed in our established guild plans: we are, and always will be, a casual guild. Members are encouraged to play how they want to, with the end result being gaming satisfaction.

Brad, get your hands out of your pants.

For those wishing to go to Kara, begin researching loot. As previously stated, all drops will be on a Need Roll basis. Since much of success in Kara is dependant on momentum (like many raids, as I have experienced), it is to the best of all involved if you have a wish list handy for when drops occur. Please feel free to use the tab links at the top of our site to navigate to websites dedicated to teh phat lewts.

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Bank Contents

by C. Carter

Here is your randomly annual reminder to keep in mind the feasability of deposits into the bank. Though all deposits are appreciated, we really have no need for low-level items, such as Nightcrawlers. :)

Also remember: anyone can view the bank contents online through The Armory, as well as see the complete log of deposits and withdrawals. You will have to user your game login and password to access the information.

Oh, and by the way: thanks for the worms, Ryan! ;) lol

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DC Releases WoW-Based Comic

Saturday, December 22, 2007 by C. Carter

DC Comics, the label responsible for such titles as Superman and Batman, released a World of Warcraft-based comic in November, selling out of the first printing in record time. In response, there will be second printing released.

Those geeky enough can check out issue #0, as well as a preview of issue #1. I am relatively sure installments in the series will be available for purchase online, as well. The link!

Yes, I realize this is about a month behind. Sue me. Better yet, email me any WoW-related news items, y'all might stumble across. The link is - as always - at the top of the page.

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Patch 2.4 Info Leaked

by C. Carter

More 5 person dungeons! More 25 person raids! Upped limits on dailies! Blah blah blah...

The contents from a Swedish magazine interview with Jeff Kaplan have been leaked all over the Net in regards to the next major patch for World of Warcraft. Though I have yet to discover a release date for 2.4, I am sure it will be sooner, as opposed to later.

Of note is the lewt drops from both the 5-person and 25-person being on par with T6 sets.

For in-depth information, check out the three part article over at Acaciaizm:

Part One
Part Two
Part Three

On a final notes, it sounds like there going to be some additional "leveling of the playing field" when it comes to PvP. Could this be the 'lock nerf we have all dreamed of?
...hints that there will be balancing actions taken in regards to PvP for certain classes.

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LAWL... MS Product Improves WoW Gameplay

by C. Carter

Y'all ain't gonna believe this, but the Net is rampant with reports of Windows Media Player 11 actually improving the load-times for zones in World of Warcraft. I did some hunting around, and discovered this article from one of the more reliable WoW rumorsites.

There's been no official Blizzard response to this yet, although a likely explanation is that WMP modifies how your computer handles background applications. With WMP open, all available CPU resources apparently become allocated to WoW, leading to better performance.

I'll leave the decision up to you whether or not to actually run WMP11 tabbed out or not. For me, it's not much of an option, since I use a far more pimp media player.

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And I'm A Mage!

Wednesday, December 19, 2007 by C. Carter

Verne Troyer kicks so much ass.

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Christmas for Frequently Reported

by C. Carter

With the upcoming holidays, and people AFKing for travel, family, etc., I am sure log-ins will be few and far between. Case in point: my AFK begins Wednesday or Thursday this week, and will extend to the New Year.

I hope everyone's Holiday Wishes come true this year. Be safe and enjoy the festivities, however you may celebrate.

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Fun in Stratholme

by C. Carter

In an effort to get Ryan over the Illusion Dust hump, Dannielle, Ryan and I decided the three-person Stratholme for the DEs on the greens.

After putting the WTFPWN on Live Strat, but only getting two green drops, we headed over to Undead Strat. It was more of the same there, with little in the way of Illusion Dust generating greens, but we did complete the Baron 45 Run!

After it was all said and done, Ryan ended up with a boatload of Large Brilliant Shards and Dannielle and I earned ourselves some chest and cloak enchants.

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Possible Karazhan Teamup with [No Cop No Stop]

Tuesday, December 18, 2007 by C. Carter

Xtremedialup, from the guild No Cop No Stop, approached me a week ago in regards to possibly a join-run on Karazhan. Loot would be distributed on a "Need Roll" basis. The schedule would be light, with raids starting around 6:00 server time.

I'd like to have a tentative head count of who would be interested in going. Holler here with a comment or a vote on the sidebar, or send me a tell in-game.

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Feast of Winter Veil

by C. Carter

It's back again: Christmas in WoW. This year, Blizzard added quite a few more goodies - LAWL RP FTL, according to Brad - including new patterns.

If you're short on ideas for something to do, but just can't seem to be able to disconnect, the quests will give you something to do. They do earn you a touch of Horde Reputation, as well. Remember, you get a 20% discount at exalted with factions, now!

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After 70... The Dailies

by C. Carter

Since Blizzard made keying for Heroic Dungeons EZMode, there isn't a compelling reason to grind reputation with certain factions, unless there is a pattern or piece of gear you want. The upside is that life is easier when it comes to keying. The downside is that... uh... there is no downside, to be honest. I remember grinding endless Shattered Halls and hating life. GG Blizz - you nerfed a grind!

I've wandered off-topic.

So, along with easier-to-attain Heroic Keys, there are also Daily Quests available. Each day, you can complete up to 10 Dailies, which includes a daily Cooking Quest (if you smell what "The Rokk" is cookin!), a Battleground Quest and any number of others. All of them are good money and good rep (or honor). Some may take a little time to complete, but for the most part, it is time well spent.

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Scheduled Maintenance

by C. Carter

More server tweaks will keep all realms down for an extended period. Hopefully, there will be no extension like we have had in the past!

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Another Weekend... Another Nick

Saturday, December 15, 2007 by C. Carter

Nick, the former UnP player Polonius, has joined our ranks. Welcome our latest Paladin, Unholystench to the ranks! At level 42, he's right in the midsts of some of our other players - with the new leveling formula a bit of teamwork would be sure to elevate ya'll to 60 in no time!

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Riding Crops now Available in Frequently Reported

Friday, December 14, 2007 by C. Carter

Radd can now make a Riding Crop free for mats. These puppies retail for about 100G on the Bonechewer auction circuit, so you'll be a bit ahead of the game this way. I can cover the leather, no problem, but the rest is up to you. The mats required are:

• Heavy Knothide Leather x4
• Primal Might x1
• Arcane Dust x6
• Small Prismatic Shard x1

The Primal Might is by far the toughest to come by. First, you need to get these Primal Elements by either purchasing on the AH (expensive!) or grinding 10 motes of each, then combining to make a Primal:

• Primal Earth
• Primal Water
• Primal Air
• Primal Fire
• Primal Mana

Then you have to locate an alchemist who isn't on cooldown to transmute those five Primal Elements into the Primal Might. I am relatively certain Brad's character, Trostnation can do it, but check with him before assuming you're covered.

Those of you familiar with the Battlegrounds during the 60-69s will remember a "Little Napoleon" named Nazriel. He's an alchemist, as well. Even though he offered to transmute for free, I tipped 15G.

Happy riding!

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New Features at Thott and WoWHead

by C. Carter

Each site now allow you to copy and paste text into chat that will provide a clickable link. It's good stuff, and will help ePeen things found in the quest for phat lewts.

Check them out. Both sites have tab links at the top.

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The First to 70

Wednesday, December 12, 2007 by C. Carter

Congratulations to Braandy on being the first FR to hit 70. At least three other members are on the cusp, as well: Ielle, Wickedbad and Radd.

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Server Updates

Tuesday, December 11, 2007 by C. Carter

You can imagine my deflating sense of, "ok... now what?" when I logged in after a sleepless night wrestling with some insomnia.

As you can see, Blizzard is updating server software today and all realms will be down until this afternoon. Hopefully, this will include the Battleground servers, as well. The lag issue was absolutely silly this weekend!

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Cleaning Out the Bank

Monday, December 10, 2007 by C. Carter

Quite a few of you either opened your mailboxes this morning or have mail waiting for you in-game when you log on tonight. Quite simply: it was bloated with low level stuff and I took care of that clutter. Tab 1 is crafting materials and quest/rep items. Tab 2 is items for playing: such as potions, armor patches, cut gems for socketing, etc.

Take advantage of this resource - not so much as a place to dump unwanted items out of your inventory, but more as a way to improve your character's skills, longevity and ass-kicking factor.

The update on the coffers has us at 345 gold. Many of you have been donating gold, and it is appreciated.

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Lots Accomplished over the Weekend and Feelin' Nice...

by C. Carter

Everyone, it seemed, made a significant amount of progress over the weekend. Dannielle completed her Gladiator's Vindication and hit level 69. Brad leveled Trostnation to 68, purchased two pieces of his S1 and leveled Trostie to 43. Frank made the transition from "watching Tauren scratch their asses" at Crossroads to leveling like a man possessed and taking Vhoki to 43. Russ is closing in swiftly on 50 and Ryan will be looking at level 70 soon.

Additionally, Wickedbad and Braandy have been pwning it up in PvP alongside us, with complete domination in any Battleground we go into and making it so much fun. Those of us logged into vent Friday night can attest to how much fun Ryan was having (What's up Arnold Horshack?) after we destroyed the Alliance with a five minute 5 cap!

Our newest member, Feelinnice, comes to us courtesy to Dannielle's Fort Worth connections. James is a veteran player who brings raiding experience and a frost mage to our guild. Feelinnice is currently level 65 and James is intent on catching up with the other near-70s in our guild.

Mike had engagements in real-life that kept him away from the keyboard this past weekend, and his job takes him to Philadelphia this week, so he might not be on as much as we are used to seeing him. He'll have Dejantu back in the groove as soon as he can, though.

Speaking of level 70: Radd is currently 749553/779700 (96.1%) of level 70. I don't particularly want to hit 70 until the rest of the questing/PvP crew are there, so I will probably be in BGs while y'all are questing this week.

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Free Character Moves

Saturday, December 8, 2007 by C. Carter

December 6, 2007, specific high-population realms will be eligible for players to transfer their characters free of charge. Bonechewer is one of the eligible realms. Soon, hopefully, we'll see a reduction in ShattLag and the Battleground queue times.

The announcement can be read here.

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Two Fresh Suckers... err... Members

Thursday, December 6, 2007 by C. Carter

Be sure to welcome Braandy and Wickedbad, the two newest members of our little guild. A real life couple, they are both strong veterans in end-game and PvP, who rolled on Bonechewer after playing Alliance for an extended period of time on a different server. Sound familiar?

Braandy is a Holy Paladin (Jewelcrafting and Mining) and Wickedbad (Herbalism and Tailoring) has a tendency to melt-faces. They're an awesome duo and a great addition to Frequently Reported.

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Auctioneer Updated

Wednesday, December 5, 2007 by C. Carter

I know a few of us use Auctioneer to manage our auctions for buying and selling. The new update was posted on December 2 and is available at the official site.

For those of you not using Auctioneer, you can query an item's value in guild chat if I am logged on by typing in guildchat:

?[Item Link]
or
?(stack value)[Item Link]

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Guild Bank Update

by C. Carter

Currently, we have 200 gold in our coffers towards the third tab, which is 500. There isn't any rush to get there, with impending mount costs, so don't worry about cash donations at this time.

However, looking over the roster and comparing it to the bank contents, I'd like to put a freeze on any items level 40 and below, with the exception of recipes or World Drop blues/purples. This includes silk cloth, low level healing pots, low level crafting materials, etc. Many of these things sell okay on Auction House - you can get 30 silver for a stack of silk, as an example. Finally, absolutely no more Deeprock Salt. It is worthless and no one needs it.  :)

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Dell Releases WoW Laptops at Premium Price

Tuesday, December 4, 2007 by C. Carter

That's right, you Windowcentric WoWers, Dell has released a new laptop with all sorts of WoW eye candy and a not-too-shabby performance package options. With prices starting at $4,499 and maxing out at a shade over $8,000, though, this isn't the rig for just anybody. It comes in two flavors: Alliance and Horde. I think it is safe to assume none of us will be buying the one on the left.

          

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Bonechewer Slightly Behind on Maintenance

by C. Carter

It looks like we have a bit of a wait to play, again. And by "we", I mean "Russ and I," since we're the only stay-at-homes during weekdays.

LAWL.

Update: Amazingly enough, they were right on the button this time with the projected availability. 2:09 PM and I am logging in.

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Witnessing the Fastest 3-Cap Ever

by C. Carter

Brad, Mike, Ryan, two new BG friends and myself saw the infamous Speed Hack in action tonight in Warsong Gulch. Needless to say, it sucked the life right out of the late-evening's plans to stockup on some honor. Hopefully I get some followup on the filed complaint.

The match is listed as 5 minutes, but I believe that is the minimum length possible for a legitimate game.

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Approaching 70 and a Raid Loot Guide

Monday, December 3, 2007 by C. Carter

70 is right around the corner for a few members (check the links on Our Roster - Mains) and, eventually, we'll be raiding some. Not a lot, though. I know of a few members who grew to despise the long hours and inevitable drama of raiding hardcore.

When do we get there, loot distribution will be by consensus. DKP is retarded for a guild of our size and I am not comfortable with "God Looting". I am sure there will be plenty of epics for everyone.

To this end, I'd invite everyone to head over to Kaliban's Class Loot Lists. There is also a tab-link at the top of the page. Brad and I used it quite a bit back in the "Old Days" when we were distributing loot in ZG, AQ20, Ony and MC. It was really a great tool to have at our disposal, as well as a tasty site for working up the drool factor on the goodies awaiting us. A new addition to the site is a Class Gear Planner that seems damned fine.

With all of that said, we're needing a tank for anything... and so is the rest of Bonechewer, apparently. Just ask Dannnielle. :) Until Russ or Frank get leveled up, keep your eyes and ears open for someone to be our meat shield while we roll through the instances in Outlands.

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Vivendi Buyout of Activision

Sunday, December 2, 2007 by C. Carter

Vivendi, the parent company of Blizzard, has announced the buyout of Activision for $1.7 billion in addition to the gaming division (a la Blizzard). That's right: Blizzard will no longer be the developer of World of Warcraft content. Rather, is will be essentially be a division of Activision. The "new branch" will be called Activision Blizzard. They call it a merger.

So what does this mean for us gamers? Not too much, I hope. Though I can't but recall past incidences of game developers being bought out and anticipated projects being shit-canned. As an example, Microsoft buying out Bungie and having Marathon axed really rubbed me the wrong way.

But hey, it World of Warcraft - they couldn't mess it up, right? I mean, the motivational factor would be to develop better games for us. Right? Right?
On a pro forma basis in 2007, Activision Blizzard expects to generate approximately 70 pct of sales from owned franchises and will be the the world's 'largest pure-play online and console game publisher', the two groups said.


/groan

I sit in anticipation for the announcement of World of Guitarcraft Hero.

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Make Love, Not Warcraft

by C. Carter

I find it impossible that no one has seen it by now, but just in case here is the infamous South Park Make Love, Not Warcraft episode.
When Hitler rose to power there were a lot of people who just stopped playing. You know who those people were? The French! Are you French, Clyde?

Also, I'd like to observe that it is evident Brad was the inspiration for Ike ("I have poop on my pants.")

WARNING: Clicking the movie will take you away from the blog. The linked site is NSFW with some pix of other movies on the site - all non-porn, but questionable for work at any rate. Not that you should be reading WoW blogs while at work. Wait, I did. I digress. So, moving on, I am not responsible for anyone getting fired!


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AT&T = 3 FREE Months of WoW

by C. Carter

It's true! The bastard child of Ma Bell is trying to lure gaming customers to the post-Empire side with free gameplay for 3 months. If you're eligible (currently, only 22 states are offering) and watching the purse strings, then it is definitely worth consideration switching to their DSL service. The prices (at first blush) don't seem bad, either.

For more information, head over to the official promotion site.

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Guild Screenshots and Other Goodies

by C. Carter

The Blogger Slideshow is a PoS, so I just grabbed the code from Flickr for displaying pictures. There are five random thumbnails at the top of the site, linking out to the full sized images and access to the album.

I still would like some screenies from y'all. Email them to me, please! Just hit F13 when something happens that tickles you, send it off and I'll get it into the album.

I also added a WoW News feed in the sidebar. I am still a bit sketchy on how I feel about it. Let me know what you think.

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Battleground Woes

Saturday, December 1, 2007 by C. Carter

GG, Blizz. Numerous server bugs and crashes prevented any real honor grind over the weekend, though there was enough gained for Chris to get Gladiator's Chain Gauntlets and for Dannielle to purchased three: Gladiator's Scaled Legguards, Gladiator's Scaled Chestpiece, and Gladiator's Scaled Helm!

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