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Blog Details for "The Undead Sheep"
The Undead SheepThe Undead SheepA World of Warcraft blog from the perspective of a lowly undead mage. Articles
Activision/Vivendi to skip the next E3
2008-05-06 16:30:00 The Entertainment Software Association has many jobs. ESA's mandate is to advocate for the business interests of its members, and the list of gaming companies that belong to the ESA is long and distinguished."The ESA offers a range of services to interactive entertainment software publishers including a global anti-piracy program, business and consumer research, government relations and intellectual property protection efforts," the ESA's web site claims."ESA also owns and operates the E3 Media & Business Summit." With news that Activision and Vivendi are not only snubbing E3 this year but dropping out of the ESA altogether, there could be some cracks showing in the once-ubiquitous association. Individual issues aside, a strong ESA generally means a strong gaming industry, and the developers' moves could be an ill omen for the business of gaming. (link)
Childrens Week
2008-05-05 21:24:00 I logged back into my PvP realm to complete the Childrens week quest to get my little pet. As many of you have already noticed your little summoned orphan will follow you even when you get on your mount. If you watch, he/she will run their little legs off and even stumble occasionally. I found myself giggling with glee as my little guy tripped and fell behind and eventually disappeared. I suddenly found myself feeling guilty. Could it be? I'm "feeling" emotions for a virtual companion? Essentially lines of code, designed to follow my digital representation of myself?! Could be crossing an ethical line here.Anyways back to the giggling, I went to each point summoned my orphan and then mounted up on my netherdrake and flew off watching the little guy run, trip, and get back up again only to lag behind in vain. Yup, that's guilt I'm feeling as I giggle away. I realize that it's not me feeling guilty about the orphan, it's guilt about how I react to the whole situation. A child orp... More About: Week
Screenshot: funny
2008-05-05 16:06:00 Sometimes that ol' succubus gets a little curious and "handsie". More About: Funny , Screenshot
Is it possible to enjoy Stranglethorn Vale?
2008-05-02 21:55:00 I had no idea you could actually do quests in STV?! Coming from a PvP server it was impossible. Just running outside of Grom'Gol to fish you would get ganked by some druid. Or maybe have a paladin ride through to distract the guards while a rogue stealthed in to camp noobs getting off the zeppelin. If I had known I would have come over to Stranglethorn a whole lot earlier. Tons of quests to do all in the area between Grom'gol and Nessingwary's camp. Very efficient grind while completing several quests. As well the run through Duskwood will be a lot easier when I decide to make my way to Swamp of Sorrows.Hmm, maybe I should go back there with my rogue (PvP realm) and gank a bunch of lowbies? Payback's a bitch.Ah, STV. Who knew it could be this good? More About: Enjoy , Vale
I hate dying
2008-04-29 23:18:00 So I've been leveling this BE Warlock on a PvE server and I had the most frustrating experience to date. I died 6 times in one session. Level 34 questing in Desolace. Foolishly trying to cut across an area to go directly to Ghostwalker post, run into a bunch of 36's and even a 37 and 38 got a few shots into me. Thunder Axe Fortress, mob agroed behind me, after I took on 2 at the same time. Ethel Rethor just picking up a quest and running back to Thunder Axe the pack of 5 dogs/hyenas got me. Mannoroc Coven while closing the portals (I know the quest was orange but I did it anyways!) one of the caster demons aggroed. Magram village, the centaur with his 2 dogs/hyenas got me too. I was so frustrated that everything was aggroing I was ready to quit playing ... for the night. But I trudged on and finished up a few quests then unplugged. I hate dying. More About: Hate , Dying
WoW will run on Ubuntu?
2008-04-25 16:48:00 According to this article it can. Version 2.4 and newer. Interesting. I'm not going to convert to Ubuntu over this but it certainly opens the door for gaming on a Ubuntu machine. Here's a list of other games that are supported under the latest release: Hardy Heron.Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare v1.4Unreal Tournament 2004Day of DefeatGuild WarsEve OnlineEnemy Territory: Quake Wars
Should I give up on PvP?
2008-04-24 21:11:00 Last night I seriously contemplated giving up on PvP and concentrate on a new PvE realm. I don't mind PvP in a structured format (battlegrounds), or contested areas, in both of those situations you know what you're going to get. I dislike chaos. That's what Quel'Thalas is. Pure chaos.I foolishly decided to attempt completing daily quests over on the island and was ganked within 1 minute of jumping through the portal. You really can't get anything done without having some jerk attacking you out of opportunity. If you are a melee class you're probably more on the giving end. If you are a clothy (like my lowly mage) you're on the receiving end and have very little recourse. I realize that is part of the PvP experience, however it in these situations, I have no fighting chance. So I just have to take it. After 5 or 6 times it becomes grief.Eventually after many, many deaths I manage to complete both Erratic Behavior and Sanctum Wards. I'm not sure the gold was worth the trouble.... More About: Give , Give up
Pwned
2008-04-22 20:16:00 Talk about getting pwned. Uwe Boll won't be making a Warcraft movie anytime soon. I'm not really sure what to expect from a WoW movie. You can be sure that hardcore players will be disappointed regardless of how the movie turns out. I'd like to see some sort of cgi cut-scene compilation of the whole Warcraft lore. Wouldn't that be interesting? It would certainly be expensive. Maybe even just a historical movie short, like an intro to prominent figures in the game. Otherwise what separates a Warcraft movie from say, Dungeons & Dragons (which flopped horribly) or King Arthur? or will it be a story so compelling it will be like Lord of the Rings? I think it will either satisfy the fans and fail commercially or cause a Warcraft revolt and be a huge commercial success. I don't think it can end well for both. Although there is World of Whorecraft. Hehehe.
New necklace
2008-04-22 17:18:00 After doing a couple of EOTS and realized I had enough honor for something new and shiny. After comparing benefits of rings, necklaces, and trinkets, I decided to go with Vindicator's Pendant of Conquest. While I was in Orgrimmar I decided to hit the auction house and pick myself up a meta gem, guess it's about time I filled that spot in my helm. Goddamn gems are expensive!While I'm in the old world I'm also thinking of picking up epic ground mounts from all the races. I really would like a war kodo. Which one looks better? The one you buy from Bloodhoof village or the one you buy from PvP rewards (the marks would be a pain in the ass to get). It would be pretty funny to see an undead toon on a hawkstrider.Alternatively I could grind out reputation with Mag'har and get a talbuk. Grinding out reputation is never fun. Although the epic undead horse mount is still pretty cool looking. Probably the best looking of the old world 60 mounts. More About: Necklace
Hunter progress
2008-04-21 18:53:00 Finally broke down and decided to do some quests with my hunter in Terokkar. Those damn wolf pelts took forever, I didn't get ganked thankfully. Did Ironjaw, did the arakkoa quests, firewing, some of the quests in the bone wastes and got to 65. So I tamed a Warp Stalker. Here's a pic. From various quest rewards and drops I've changed up some of my armor. I always forget to train a new pet with growl. It usually leads to my hunter taking a bunch of hits and downtime. And then I remember, oh yeah, growl doesn't cost any training points, duh! More About: Hunter , Progress
Bring me the egg! WTF?
2008-04-17 16:44:00 Anybody do this quest? I was doing it last night it was really frustrating. I should have read up on it first, it would have saved me lots of aggravation. What I was doing was getting the buff and attempting to jump from the nearby hill. Almost making it on several attempts but just not quite enough. It is possible to do it, you just need a bit of a speed buff, either you are a hunter and have the animal handler talent, or you have a speed trinket (carrot on a stick, riding crop, etc). The extra movement boost is enough to carry you the extra few yards to land on the nest. Otherwise you can't make it.If you don't have any speed trinkets the other way is the hard way. Stand on the trampoline and jump. Do a few before so you get the direction right. Then you need to remove the buff when you are above the nest so you can drop down on to it. You will take some damage. If you have a slow fall trinket or are a mage or a priest you can save yourself from a few deaths if you miss.Get the ...
Weekend encounters
2008-04-14 17:17:00 Troll Rogue (66) - Nagrand - got ganked by a 70 gnome warlock while questing near the Killsorrow agents. Took my revenge out on a 65 human warlock who was fighting a couple of rock elementals. Sorry, but someone had to die.70 gnome mage started charging a pyro while I was grinding roc's but I noticed just in time, vanished, and then he flew away. Pussy.Blood Elf Hunter (64) - Terokkar - got ganked by two 70s, NE hunter and gnome something. "Wow, U R good!"After I rezzed I came upon a hapless 63 Draenei shaman killing wolves and low on health/mana. I dismounted and ran over to him ... and skinned his wolf. He waved, I waved. I resisted the urge to exact my revenge. (Am I going soft or what? I blame the PvE server Area 52, yes, I have more toons)Undead Mage (70) - Skettis - while doing my bombing quest I came upon yet another hapless lvl 70 draenei shaman having a bit of trouble against a few arakkoa, easy pickings. *click click click click dead shaman. As I mounted to fly away, she ... More About: Weekend , Encounters
Which alt to level? Hmm...
2008-04-11 17:36:00 Hunter or Rogue? Don't even ask me about my Paladin. Currently my hunter is at 64 and has group quests left to do in Zangarmarsh. My rogue is 66 (just dinged last night after grinding out nagas for Sporeggar rep) done with Zangarmarsh, only group quests left in Terokkar to do. Up to this point I have been trying to complete atleast 1 quest a day per toon, however it hasn't quite worked out that way given the constant pvp-ing with my mage (still need rings & trinkets).My hunter is poorly geared. At least my rogue is decked out in thick draenic armor. In terms of progress I'm finding that my hunter is well behind my rogue. When I finished Zangarmarsh I was up to or near 65. My hunter is nowhere near 65 and almost done with that zone.As well with my rogue I am more inclined to go into dangerous areas given the ability to stealth. My hunter on the other hand, despite being an OP class, I'm still not as confident. I guess rogue first, then hunter, then paladin (if I'm still play...
Blame video games?
2008-04-08 16:03:00 A bill currently under consideration in the Arizona state legislature would impose liability on persons who produce or distribute "dangerous or obscene" content (including audio, video, interactive media, and even written content) that is found to be the material cause of a terrorist act or felony. The broadly-worded proposal, which is touted by its supporters as a tool for financially punishing makers of violent rape films, is viewed with serious concern by movie producers and video game developers who fear that it will be abused.The bill defines dangerous content as material that is "found by clear and convincing evidence to incite or produce an imminent act of terrorism or a felony offense." The bill's definition of obscenity is modeled after the Miller test, which specifies that obscene content is that which, when judged by contemporary community standards, is found to be patently offensive, is intended to appeal to the prurient interest, and is without serious literary, artist... More About: Video , Video Games , Games , Video-Games , Blame
Games make you less stressed?
2008-04-07 17:20:00 Do games make you feel less stressed? I guess it depends on the game. Okaay, so does WoW make you feel less stressed? For me, I guess it depends on what I set out to accomplish during a session. For the last few days I've made my way over to the new island, Quel'Thalas, and set out to complete some of the new dailies. (So it took me a few days to finally get over there, big deal! I'm still enjoying old content)First impression: chaos. You know what I mean. Red everywhere, mobs everywhere, greens running around. Ganking rampant without recourse. Once I get my bearings I begin to do some of the quests. By day 2 I'm going from point to point without having to look up locations on WowInsider. The new dailies are great and varied. I'm piling up gold like never before.Running around the island as a mage is like running around a shooting gallery with a big bullseye on your back. Unfortunately there's not a whole lot I can do but run. Sheep, frost, blink, and run. Not much I can do ag... More About: Games , Make
Great post about Blizzard innovations
2008-04-07 17:17:00 Blizzard Entertainment, the envy of the computer game industry, has learned 11 lessons on innovation that can help almost any business.Irvine-based Blizzard used these innovation methods not only to create the world’s most popular massively multi-player online game, World of Warcraft, but also to keep the game fresh and challenging for more than 10 million players.Because many of those customers pay $15 a month to continue playing, Blizzard’s ongoing creative achievement is worth more than $1 billion a year in revenues, not counting the multi-millions it tallies from its other games, such as StarCraft, Diablo II and Warcraft III, plus trading cards, comic books, etc.This combination of creativity and profitability is much of the reason for the upcoming merger of game company Activision with Blizzard’s parent company, Vivendi Games. The new company, to be called Activision Blizzard, will be valued at about $18.9 billion. (link) More About: Post , Great , Innovations , Blizzard
Online gaming not as popular as you think
2008-04-03 18:02:00 Recent reports have all stated that more Americans are playing video games than ever before, but exactly how many people are picking up a controller in America? A new "Online Gaming 2008" report from the NPD Group finds that 72 percent of the US plays video games, a dramatic increase from the 63 percent who said they played in the previous year. The amount of people playing games online, however, is much lower than expected, with 42 percent of people saying they play games online, up only two percent from last year.Unsurprisingly, the PC plays a large part in online gaming. 90 percent of those who said they play online play through their PCs, versus only 19 percent playing on a game console or portable and three percent using a cell phone. Not only do people play online games on their PCs, they are becoming increasingly comfortable purchasing games online as well. Steam has just received Ubisoft's blessing to sell its games online, including the yet-to-be-released PC version of Ass... More About: Popular
Blizzard's April Fools Joke
2008-04-02 16:25:00 New hero class ... bard! As in bard (guitar) hero. LOL! Just imagine the procs and crits! I wanted to steal the flash file and convert it to an animated .gif but I had trouble converting it. OH well.How about the new units in the upcoming Starcraft II? Tauren Marines! er you mean terran marines? nope. (*wah, wah, wah, nice pun) Love the videos, Blizzard must have put a lot of effort into this one. More About: Joke , April
What goes around ...
2008-03-31 18:07:00 I've been leveling my rogue (up to 65) and as a rogue on a PvP server, I take every opportunity to take advantage of alliance players (gank) who are already engaged with random mobs. Especially if they are at mid health or lower, easy HK. I had come back to Zangramarsh to complete an old quest and grind out some nagas for Sporeggar rep and came across a 64 Human warrior.He was down to about 70% health and just finished a mob. Rather than heal up he went right into the middle of a couple nagas. Another mob caster had joined in. So he had 3 to deal with. I quickly debated whether or not I should get a quick ambush in or just let the mobs take him down. Actually I'd be helping him if I did kill him, no durability loss ... right? So I should do it or not do it? Hmm ...Oh nevermind, I found myself cheap shotting him, and kidney shotting him, then backing away to watch the carnage. (I swear, I didn't plan it, my fingers have a way of doing things on their own). lol danceThen I was on...
Level like everyone else you lazy bastards!
2008-03-28 15:05:00 "Donnelly reportedly decided to fight in the courts after what he describes as "audacious threats" from Blizzard. He says he was made aware of the potential legal repercussions of his Glider application after a private investigator and lawyer from Blizzard's parent company Vivendi Universal showed up at his home. "When they arrived, they presented Donnelly with a copy of a complaint that they indicated would be filed the next day in the US District Court for the Central District of California if Donnelly did not immediately agree to stop selling Glider and return all profits that he made from Glider sales," he wrote in his statement.The basic version of the MMO Glider application runs $25, and Donnelly has sold more than 100,000 keys thus far. An "Elite" subscription service is also available, which further expands on the functionality of the application by background gliding, scripts, automatic login, and, in the future, even remote monitoring." (link) More About: Lazy
Yay! I got my War Staff
2008-03-28 14:23:00 It seemed like Mount Everest. 27,000 honor through PUGs, and bickering premades almost impossible. But with a bit of luck and patch 2.4 I finally got my Gladiators War Staff . I know it's nothing to you since you already had it months ago but it's the best staff I could get without going into the arena or spending hours and hours running dungeons. Suddenly getting another 11k honor for that ring/trinket/necklace doesn't seem that bad. PVP gear: here I come!I just realized that I still have a meta gem spot open. I guess I'll break down and buy one at the AH. Now that I'm 70 and have gold, I don't need to buy stuff. Back when I was leveling and poor, I really needed gold to buy stuff. Too bad I couldn't use gold to buy PvP gear.Last night I was 1-0 in AV, 4-1 in AB. That's all I needed. Already have enough marks in WSG and EOTS so to turn in the Great Honor PvP quest. I guess I know where I'll be spending the next week."LM or BS? Hmm, LM does have a better view ..."
Patch 2.4: instant honor!
2008-03-26 16:28:00 Greatest thing since mana biscuits? It's pretty darn good. If you had told me I could have an 8k honor day, let alone in a couple of hours. Was it just me or did anyone else notice that Horde came to play BG's. Every single AV, AB, EOTS, WSG I entered Horde won. For some reason it looked like Alliance were just laying down, giving up, not even competing. No idea what's up with that. Arathi Basin's routinely ended up with Horde taking 4 bases with little resistance. In Alterac Valley, despite the starting point being moved back, Horde had little trouble holding the choke point and running over Alliance defences. Maybe this was just a one day anomaly.AND how about turning in your marks for honor? Getting that war staff shouldn't be problem now. Even for the casual player. Wee! Instant honor! More About: Patch , Honor
Patch 2.4, class changes good and bad
2008-03-25 15:37:00 Mages get some improved damage, some mana conservation, and some spell reflection help. Hmm, maybe I will put Frost ward and Fire ward (er, Molten shield) in my toolbar. Arcane fortitude is actually very tempting now, but I go back to my previous argument: if you're relying on armor to save you, as a Mage, you should pick another class. (crappy but atleast we're not shamans)Druids, HAHA! Cyclone range reduced to 20 yards from 30. Some healing buffs and mana conservation. (OP)Hunters, no more snake trap kills for you! Multi-shot fix, minor mend pet buff (I thought Blizz was going to nerf the mend pet talent?). (yet another OP)Paladins, Holy shock gets more damage but as well costs more mana. (the do it all class)Priests, some crowd control buffs, mass dispel up to 10 people now. (mind controls sucks balls)Rogues, more people to sap, yay! (should be renamed gankers)Shamans, some damage nerfs, some totem buffs. (still suck)Warlocks, nothing really for them. (fear spammer)Warriors, ju... More About: Patch , Class , Good
Building your Arcane Mage: 20 - 24
2008-03-24 17:28:00 Magic attunement? Pffft! Arcane fortitude? Useful at higher levels. Arcane impact? Not yet. Take Arcane subtlety and Arcane Focus.That's it. Not further commentary.*just a reminder, I never leveled as an arcane mage. I leveled as both fire and frost. Respec-ed many times (very costly and dumb on my part). More About: Building
Building your Fire mage: 20 - 24
2008-03-24 17:10:00 Ok, let's make this short and sweet. Fill up Ignite. That should leave you 3 points for lvls 22, 23, and 24. I have mixed emotions about Pyroblast. In theory, it's a really powerful spell. In practice, it's cast time is too long, and damage is inconsistent. Personally I'd take Burning Soul first, however if you have crit gear, then by all means. I've managed to 3 shot guys with this spell (Arcane Power, Pyroblast, Presence of Mind, Pyroblast, Fire blast combo) so it definitely does damage. It's just disappointing when you cast a Pyro, Fireball combo and the fireball does more white damage. Burning soul is a must. When a mob resists your frost nova and is beating on you, casting your fireball uninterrupted is a lifesaver.I don't know any fire mages that actually use Flamestrike, it can be useful but AOE grinding is for frost mages, not fire. "Hey what about Incerination?" Don't get excited, we will put points into that talent very shortly. You just concentrate on leveling.buil... More About: Building
Building your Mage: 20 - 31 Frost
2008-03-24 15:44:00 Big jump. Instead of doing the 5 points at a time posting I jumped ahead. The reason is that there are talents you need in your final build if you plan on going heavy frost. The way you decide to get there is your choice. Depending on your gameplay and gear, you might go with improved blizzard, or piercing ice.Icy veins is a great 11 point talent and you should take it first, then fill out the Ice shards. Find that mobs resist your spells frequently? Invest in Elemental precision. Early on I didn't find it made a big difference but 99% of frost builds include 3 points into it.Building your mage: first points More About: Frost
NetherRay to NetherDrake
2008-03-24 15:22:00 I can't believe less than a week after getting my NetherRay that I now have my NetherDrake. Once I realized how close I was with Netherwing reputation I started putting in the extra effort (ie. doing the Disrupting the Twilight Portal, doing the races, the booterang quest, searching for eggs in the Dragonmaw fortress).Once you get enough reputation you talk to some guy in the camp and he summons Illidan, then you lose your disguise, they become hostile, wasn't quite sure what to do at this point. Saw a yellow question mark over the goblin and away I went.The drake takes you all the way back to Shattrath.Then you talk to another guy and then you pick a drake. Once you talk to a drake, it's yours, so make up your mind before you start clicking on them.I picked the green one (Veridian Netherwing Drake) because the others all look the same, plus it sticks out.
This is why I rolled a rogue
2008-03-17 17:01:00 Yes, it's true. Mages are squishy and by far my favorite target when I'm stealthing around. Cheap shot, Sinister Strike, Kidney Shot, then just a regular chop and they are done. I hate jumping hunters, warlocks, even healing classes because that could lead to dragged out fight. Quick HKs, nothing messy. I guess next on the hit list would be other rogues and sometimes druids and shamans.As a mage I just avoid everyone if I can. Otherwise I guess I prefer PvP-ing other mages, I love to engage warlocks (just because I hate them) but often the dots get me in the end.On my hunter I don't do much PvP-ing. If someone's in my way my pet will get something tasty after the battle.Oh, I finally got enough reputation with skyguard and got my nether ray. I picked the blue one. Will post a pic (as if you've never seen on before, but you've never seen my toon one before! A-HA!) More About: Rogue
Anyone else download the patch last night?
More articles from this author:2008-03-13 16:43:00 I'm guessing yes, since it took over 2 hours to download a 251mb file. Fine, so I got to watch some tv (Leafs beat up the Flyers 3-2, taking both home and home games, still technically alive). So it took a long time to download, oh well. I'll be ready for when it goes live next week. Let's hope the patch fixes a lot of gameplay balance, but I'm guess not.I really only had time to do the Skettis bombing daily and the cooking daily. Got the Kaliri wing on the second kill. Also need to farm arakkoa feathers for my hunter. I really should get back to my rogue and do some ganking. More About: Download , Night , Patch 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 |
