Blog Posts from "Discursive Digressions" - Gameriot.com

The Evolution of Arena on Cyclone-EU

no.spam@gameriot.com (Bromsius) — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 11:22:36 -0400

Note: this article was originally written in October 2008

BG3, Europe's premier battlegroup, home to teams like Nihilum, SK-EU, x6tence and Mousesports, is the place to be for competitive arena. Cyclone's defining moment was SK's "European battlegroup project" at the beginning of Season 3 which aimed to encourage a US-style "BG9" on the continent. As Kolja 'Phixus' Verhage (the former manager of the Nihilum PvP teams) says, SK's campaign "really just made Cyclone known to the 'average joe', most of the really skilled players/teams were already planning to move to Cyclone long before that." Indeed, according to 'Kzn', a Horde Mage playing on Cyclone from Season 1, "most other Euro bgs were worse!" During qualifying for the first Blizzard arena tournament Warders, the earliest European 5v5 team to be sponsored, were saying that Cyclone was a much better place to practice than on the event realm. Kzn also felt that "based on the movies I saw of other 5v5 teams they [Warders] were kind of right."
      "A lot of other battlegroups seemed to evolve the same way bg3 did in terms of damage centric comps (4dps, double warrior/mage etc) but I don't know of any others where hunter/mage as we played it showed up because hunter/mage against damage spamming 2345 was a dominant comp." Kzn also feels that his hunter/mage setup in 5v5 really changed the way arena was played on Cyclone, "Bg3 would have developed very differently, I think, if we hadn't been there because we demonstrated that, at least in Season 1, it was viable to run a pure drain comp." However, at this time Europe was quite far behind the US. 2345, 2346 and 4dps line-ups were invented across the Atlantic and European's lack of success in arena tournaments really showed how much the continent was lagging competitively in Season 1 and 2.

Things began to change, nevertheless, at the end of Season 1 when Phixus and his warrior teammate, 'Ferluci', began to try and convince skilled teams from other battlegroups to move to Cyclone. Ferluci began a thread on the forums and made a website "with some info/arguments to try and pull more people to Cyclone," says Phixus.
      "There were several options; Blackout, Cyclone, Misery and maybe 1-2 more I don't exactly remember. In the end we chose Cyclone because the conditions here were the best overall. One, several "pro" teams, Warders, Nashwan (Sponsored by Fourkings) etc and two, the Alliance - Horde ratio was in the Horde's favour which was very important to us because we wanted to have more outdoor PvP." The project was moderately successful. Many teams moved to Cyclone (especially the Stormscale realm) during Season 2 but it was still some way behind Bloodlust in America. What really hyped Cyclone, however, was the first 5v5 tournament organised by 'Seita', a Tauren Hunter playing on the team 'Knockout', at the beginning of Season 3.

The tournament was significant for two reasons. Firstly, just before it began SK Gaming announced their "European battlegroup project". Sebastian 'Gosey' Siler, SK's "WoW-coordinator" who had the original idea of throwing SK's weight behind a US-style BG9 in Europe, said that this "was perfect timing, in my opinion, and we tried to help out as much as possible to cover the tournaments and progress on Cyclone." This initiative, along with the 5v5 tournaments, in one sense completed what Phixus and Ferluci had started. As Gosey argues, "WoW is extremely hard to follow if you're not playing yourself, and having to choose one of the top teams from 20 different battlegroups is probably not the easiest. So I saw it as a vital part for WoW to grow as an esport."
      The tournament was additionally important because 'Avada Kedavra's' team won it running the 'Eurocomp' which was to become not only one of the dominant 5v5 setups in Europe, but also in the US. Ming had already been hyping Zom's 5v5 comp of Rogue/Warlock/Mage/Priest/Shaman and Avada Kedavra merely showed that with a Druid instead of a Shaman, the setup was even more powerful. Up until now Rogue's had been considered quite weak in 5v5 but the Europeans were actually showing the Americans that the class was viable and Eurocomp countered the traditional 2345 and 2346 setups. It is interesting to note that the BG9 5v5 tournament in the US which took place after Cyclone's second 5v5 competition was dominated by Eurocomp. Thus, not only had Cyclone become the best place for PvP in Europe, it was also now influencing how the game was played on other continents.

This change meant players and teams began to be noticed much more within Europe. Cherez clearly showed that Hunters were a viable class in an arena setting. As 'Trigz', an Undead Mage in Zom's 'Zombies' guild on Stormscale, reckons, "before Cherez I believe a lot of people said that hunters sucked at arena, Cherez himself has stated that hunters were fine before they removed the dead zone." Again this revelation was not just confined to Europe. At MLG San Diego Nihilum Cake Squad, with Cherez's Hunter/Priest/Druid composition, completely took the Americans by surprise. The European team obliterated everything in their path before succumbing to Frag Dominant's double melée setup in the final. The team was also notable for Hydrá's playstyle, "No one had ever seen a Priest play that aggressive. This led to people changing their tactics/approach of Priests in general," according to Phixus. Additionally some mention should be made of Sonny, also famous for his attacking playstyle. Trigz argues, "I think he did change the way people tried to play Druid across the world and I don't think anyone ever reached the same results playing as offensively as he has."

Whether it was Kzn innovating with his team's Hunter/Mage 5v5 composition to Nihilum's HPD setup, Cyclone has become the most highly influential and highly competitive battlegroup in Europe today. Indeed, without Cyclone and Phixus and Gosey's attempts to create a "BG9" of Europe, PvP on the continent would be much the poorer. The whole project has made it possible for Europeans to compete with the best across the world, something that was seriously lacking before the mass migrations in Season 2 and 3. Europe's PvP future lies with Cyclone!

The Genius of the official WoW Forums

no.spam@gameriot.com (Bromsius) — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 16:08:47 -0500

Last week I brought to your attention a number of thoughtful and articulate posts from the geniuses of the official WoW forums. The last seven days have also witnessed a wide variety of exceptional threads that make me proud to play a game filled with intelligent and intellectually gifted players:

"Also, just because someone isn't physically good at the game, doesn't mean they know less than someone else mentally. An example would be that a footballer can play the sport, which a manager can't but the manager knows more about it (This isn't 100% true in every case ofc, but as an example). Just because he can play (Can he? or just got carried and because he had a high rating people get overly excited as they do here) he might know nothing compaired to some 1300 rated player who can grasp it mentally but not physically"Â - Anara - Magtheridon-EU

You're certainly on to something here Anara. The best players are a cut above the rest not just because of their clever tactics and quick reflexes but they are also fine specimens physically. Glick didn't get to where he is today without spending hours building impressive muscles using a finger treadmill. HydrÃ¡'s success was due to his all important knuckle-sandwich wrist rotations and Neilyo is a rogue hero mainly because of the time and effort he's put into bend-over-backwards bridges. If you want to become a mainstay of the e-sports scene you can't just have the knowledge, the skill or the clutch moves to become e-famous like Hafu, you also need to be in tip-top physical shape. Â

"So, we have again god mode healers. I was trying as frost to kill a priest more than 6 min. He has this imba spell, mana drain, and plenty of heal so its imposible. Same story with any medium gear healers.
Why?
Why a dps can't kill a healer? What kind of dps is this?
As for me, I respec again arcane. But the problem remains. A healer must not be in position to survive 2 dps's burst. In fact one dps must be in position to kill him. Other wise he is not a dps...."- Thiella - Chromaggus-EU

Yeah all those people who have been complaining about burst damage in arenas are obviously morons. Healers are so overpowered right now the only reason I manage to kill them as an arcane mage is because some players are just awful. WotLK arena is turning into mana wars all over again and mages suck just like they did in TBC. In addition priest's "imba spell" is ridiculous; I can't do anything against this "imba spell". Will Blizzard please nerf this "imba spell" as soon as possible! The "imba spell" is ruining WoW!

"And now, these ungrateful morons are still complaining about the game, they are still saying that the game is going to fail, that everything is ruined.
BUT THEY HAVEN'T NOTICED THAT BLIZZARD GAVE THEM MOST OF THE THINGS THEY ASKED, THEY HAVEN'T NOTICED THAT SOME OF THE THINGS THEY ASKED WERE THE VERY SAME THINGS THEY WERE LATER GOING TO COMPLAIN ABOUT!" - Gilpendragon - Vashj-EU

I'm tired of the constant whining too Gilpendragon. Throughout TBC everyone was complaining about class balance and RNG in arenas. Now that all of these problems have been sorted in WotLK they still have the nerve to grumble. Also I like your use of the caps lock key. It really gives your forum post extra authority and intellectual rigour.

"As it stands at the moment DK's are getting major nerfs to both their survival and damage output. don't mind nerfs when it actually means balance, but nerfind a class to the ground and leaving some of the other OP classes untouched is not balance. If they are going to gimp DK survival by that much, they should leave the damage in-tact or vise-versa, because the nerfs we are getting at the moment are going to make Unholy a completely useless spec, and affect other specs as well." - Anjali - Stormscale-EU

It's unbelievable really that we're barely a few months into WotLK and Blizzard already hate DKs.

"Paladins-insane have to kill twice. Come on Blizzard you nerf us DK because some children screams nerf DK. Wake up please paladins are very much OP now.
I have no issues with having to kill a player in game but paladins are juts to much.
First they have their bubbles, stuns and heals fine i can cope with that. But everytime i manage to bring them down they just use lay on hands and voila they have full health.
So I have to kill them once again--->me dying." - Orchon - Bronze Dragonflight-EU

Yep and the fact that you have to kill a DK twice, cope with their aoe heals and deal with their own individual stun is completely underpowered right?

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Season 5 is a write-off already; Get ready for the Worst WoW tournament of all time!

no.spam@gameriot.com (Bromsius) — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 18:27:17 -0500

In the midst of collapsing financial systems, failing banks and bankrupt organisations, we've also seen a crumbling arena, the complete breakdown of any semblance of class balance and the annihilation of skill in pvp.

As the spectre of recession looms over global finance, the insane power of burst damage has cast a shadow over an arena system which used to be far more controlled and stable. Risky bankers, ineffective regulatory regimes and colossal debt has brought capitalism to its knees whilst ridiculous arcane mages, overpowered death knights and absurd mutilate rogues have left arena in tatters.

Now that the dust has settled on patch 3.08 we're left with pvp that is far too bursty, classes with an array of problems still to be solved, ring of valor which makes a mockery of the word "competitive" and a new matchmaking system which has given Blizzard a whole new set of difficulties that weren't even necessary in the first place.

Unfortunately we're now left in a situation where it's unlikely there will be any major changes until patch 3.1 which will be months away. Consequently, much like 2009 will be a complete write-off for any form of western economic growth, we might as well close the door on Season 5 and hang our heads in shame at the Deadly Gladiators whose titles will be about as meaningful as being the CEO of Lehman Brothers.

Even more worrying from an e-sports point-of-view is that WoW's next major tournament in Hannover will most likely be played using patch 3.08 and all the cheese that goes with it. Obviously ESL MontrÃ©al and Philadelphia were a huge joke also but patch 3.0 in TBC is nowhere near as bad as 3.08 in WotLK.

There's been a lot of talk over the last week that "arena is dead" etc etc and whilst I don't want to get into all that hyperbole will ESL Hannover be WoW's worst competition to date? After all the optimism and enthusiasm that came out of the very first MLG in San Diego last year, patch 3.08 is the best we can expect for WoW's initial tournament of 2009?

Video games linked to poor relationships... Nah really?

no.spam@gameriot.com (Bromsius) — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 19:15:54 -0500

Study shows gamers more likely to drink, smoke weed, ignore friends:

"Researchers at Brigham Young University in Utah talked to 813 university students across the US, and found that as the amount of time playing video games went up, the quality of relationships with friends and family went down."

Well, blow me down and call me Vance Phuoc! You mean to say spending most of the day blowing up pixellated terrorists is detrimental to my real-life relationships? This is news to me. I always thought the reason my friends didn't call anymore was because I let off loud farts in uncomfortable social situations and slept with my best friend's mother. This explains everything.

"'Relationship quality is one of a cluster of things that we found to be associated with video games,' said researcher Laura Walker. 'The most striking part is that everything we found clustered around video game use is negative.'"

Of course everything is negative. Video games are teaching our children left-wing, liberal values. The youth of today shouldn't be questing in Azeroth, killing zombies in Left 4 Dead or living the life of a hardened criminal in GTAIV. No, they need good wholesome activities such as watching FOX News, listening to Rush Limbaugh and volunteering at George Bush's ranch in Texas, he needs the charity.

"Statistical analyses revealed that the more people play video games, the more frequent their involvement in 'risky' behaviors like drinking and drug abuse. Daily gamers reported smoking marijuana almost twice as often as occasional players, and three times as often as those who never play."

Yep cannabis use is the norm amongst gamers. I sniff out bits of weed that are on my keyboard, eat the crumbs of "special brownies" that are around my mouse and bribe my eight-year-old brother to get me some marijuana so I don't have to take myself away from the all-important task of crushing noobs in the 2v2 arena bracket. Much like The Beatles, Rolling Stones and Jimi Hendrix created some of their best work stoned out of their minds; I take the priest class to new levels in a drug-induced atmosphere.

"The study found that nearly three quarters of male students in the study played video games regularly, compared to just 17 percent of their female counterparts. For young women, self-worth was low if their video game time was high."

You've clearly never played WoW. When 24 male raiders get a boner every time our sole female member speaks I think you'll find young women's self-worth goes up astronomically (just don't post any pictures of these lovely ladies).

"One ray of sunshine - the study found that the connection between gaming and anti-social behaviour was only 'modest', and the researchers themselves hoped that future studies would exonerate family-oriented consoles like the Wii and multiple player games."

Punching your cousin in the mouth as you go for that amazing backhand during Wii Tennis, kicking your eight-year-old brother in the balls when he's beating you at Wii Boxing and the ferocious arguments that break out over who's the best player at Wii Olympics are all extremely conducive to a family-friendly atmosphere!

Ming tries to explain Patch 3.lol...

no.spam@gameriot.com (Bromsius) — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 14:52:50 -0500

I managed to get few arena matches in before they took arena masters away and Blizzard have made some really good changes in the patch. Before now I was struggling in the 1700s and 1800s but since I now play only people same skill level as me I'm finally pushing into 2k+ even though rogues are totally underpowered rigt now. Healers are just a nightmare right now they are impossible to kill and even though DKs and hunters got nerfed I still think it's unfair I can't kill them. Fortunately Blizzard didn't phuoc up the beloved rogue class with retarded nerfs which would have made rogues suck like they did in TBC.

Hafu-chan was seen talking to another man... Glick plots revenge.

If only we could vote for our Blizzard developersâ€¦

no.spam@gameriot.com (Bromsius) — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 14:21:42 -0500

President Vance â€˜Serenniaâ€™ Phuoc, the first Asian to head Blizzard Entertainment, yesterday promised America and the world a future where skill will triumph over ineptitude.

At 12:05pm California time, Phuoc swore on the very first copy of World of Warcraft that he would faithfully execute the office of the President of Blizzard Entertainment.

Then he told the five-strong crowd which spread ten yards back from the main building that Blizzard would overcome terribads, gibfests, AP/PoM/Pyro and an arena in tatters and become a global force for skilled pwnage again. Phuoc said: "On this day, we gather because we have chosen hardcores over casuals, PvP over PvE.

"The challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will be met easily and in a short span of time. And know this, America â€“ we will not wait months and months before implementing important balance changes.

"Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking Blizzard. For everywhere we look, there is work to be done."

The crowd roared its approval. After several long years of Kalgan, Morhaime and Ghostcrawler, they were full of relief and ready to hope again.

Phuoc, the formerly unemployed 22-year-old from San Antonio, Texas, was cheered to the echo as he stepped on to Blizzardâ€™s headquarters to be sworn in as the 2nd president.

Morhaime and his hated vice-president Kalgan were greeted with boos - and chants of "Na na na na, hey hey, goodbye".

There was none of the tub-thumping, "Yes We Can" rhetoric that thrilled the crowds on the campaign trail. Phuoc was all business, determined, ready for work.

But the new president had a message of hope for the hundreds in other realms who had watched his stunning rise to power.

He told them: "Know that Blizzard is a friend of each PvPer and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of expertise and dignity, and that we are ready to pwn once more."

It was a clear swipe at Morhaime and his neo-casual allies, at the pvemongers who ignored world opinion.

And there was more punishment to come for the now former president, who must have flown back to Texas with Phuoc's words of rebuke ringing in his ears.

Phuoc said pointedly: "Earlier generations understood that PvE alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please.â€

Celebrating the Geniuses on the Official World of Warcraft Forums

no.spam@gameriot.com (Bromsius) — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 14:43:37 -0500

I'm always amazed at the number of thought-provoking, eloquent and detailed forum posts that are made on the official WoW forums. Every now and again a post is made that is so erudite it manages to capture exactly what everyone else is thinking. This blog is a celebration of those WoW players:

â€˜I do not like the idea of dual specs. I donâ€™t like it because itâ€™s a way of saying â€œyou canâ€™t tank unless you spec protection.â€ The point is I donâ€™t want to switch my spec AT ALL. I want to be able to tank as ARMS in my own unique way!â€™ â€“ Baulkiban â€“ Emerald Dream

Damn ****in right! As a holy priest I donâ€™t want to switch my spec AT ALL. I want to be able to tank Kelâ€™Thuzad, heal the entire raid and top the dps meters as HOLY in my own unique way!

â€˜Rerolling other class after next patch? When WoW came out a few years ago, priests were designed to be the main healing class, but at the moment they are far from that. At the moment druids/paladins/shamans are good healers as well and sometimes even better then priests, and they all have better armor.â€™ â€“ Deaver â€“ Aggramar â€“ EU

Exactly! Outperforming all other healers by spamming CoH is what being a priest is all about. I donâ€™t want to have to use ****in Greater Heal and all that other **** like palas and shaman because itâ€™s just not fair! Also why do they have higher armor values than me? If I take aggro from a raid boss I want to die in two hits not one ffs!

â€˜I was in WSG earlier, got berserking ready to kill some nabs but then a warrior spell reflect me for 12 000 dmg and I die. Warriors are meant to be a melee class so why do they have ranged damage too? talk about overpowered lol, come on blizz sort it out...â€™ â€“ Brrap (mage) â€“ The Venture Co

Yep warriors have been countering mages for far too long.

â€˜WOTLK - most challenging expansion: Or, at least it will be, once people realize that the game has changed and the hardmodes are now available in the form of achievements.â€™ â€“ Malicious â€“ Emeriss â€“ EU

In classic WoW and TBC raiding was a ****in joke. Without shiny achievements to stroke my epeen, Câ€™Thun, Kaelâ€™Thas etc might as well have been Hogger for all I care.

â€˜Ever wish you could post on the US forums? There's so many good threads relating to the priest class, arena and PvP there right now. It'd be nice to able to contribute instead of blissfully hoping a developer happens to read this forum.â€™ â€“ Ihavenojaw â€“ Kazzak

100% agree Ihavenojaw. With endless threads complaining about the CoH nerf, that warriorâ€™s canâ€™t tank specced as arms and rogueâ€™s whining about BM hunters I think itâ€™s a real shame indeed!

Arena: A Communist's Paradise?

no.spam@gameriot.com (Bromsius) — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 17:24:32 -0500

I'd like to applaud Blizzard on achieving something truly egalitarian with WotLK. No longer do you have to look on in jealousy at the gladiator's with their Season 4 shoulders and epic weapons, now with the latest expansion you can be competing with these very same people for those elusive titles you just couldn't get in TBC because, well, you sucked!

No longer do you have to wallow in jealousy and anger at the "pros" that used to outplay and beat you every time. Now in WotLK arena they will still outclass you but this doesn't stop you defeating them. Just spam a few buttons and that priest will be dead in no time. It doesn't matter if you counter-spelled his rogue partner or used Iceblock when youâ€™re at 95% health, you'll still win because of your wonderful AP/PoM/Pyro macro.

I'm proud of the fact that I get stomped by no-skill teams who make a litany of errors and yet still triumph because of their awesome burst damage. It just wouldn't be fair if they couldn't get their Deadly shoulders, it wouldn't be fair if they weren't able to collect their precious epics just because they were ******* awful, it wouldn't be fair if they couldn't beat me in arena because WoW should be equal. Everyone should be able to have a 2k arena team, everyone should be able to show-off their gleaming deadly weapons in Orgrimmar and everyone should be able to have some taste of success no matter how ******* bad they are at the game.

I'm proud to arena in this Communist paradise where talent, ambition and expertise are meaningless and everyone, from the absolute retards to the best players, are commensurate. We couldnâ€™t have done it without you Blizzard!

Debunking Great Myths from TBC #1: 'Healing was OP'

no.spam@gameriot.com (Bromsius) — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 18:28:19 -0500

I've seen many comments and blogs around GameRiot recently that seem to think (or at least imply) that damage was too low in TBC and healing too powerful. This was the cause for long, drawn-out matches and mana wars between the healers.

First of all arena in TBC was ten times better than it is now! I'd much rather take twenty-minute long games and Star's Tears over "I-WIN" button gibfests no matter how much I love seeing warlocks getting pummelled into the ground. Secondly, it was simply not true that healing was OP in TBC. It was druids that were OP! Not healing, not priests, not paladins or shamans but druids plain and simple. Every complaint you may have had about absurdly long arena matches and battles over which team could drink best can be laid at the feet of one class and one class alone: druids!

It was those shapeshifting night elves and taurens who made 2v2 a snorefest and gave viability to double healer teams in 3v3. Virtually no dual healer team worked without a druid, of course shaman/paladin/warrior had its day but it was the mana efficiency, mobility and lolbloomery of the former kings of arena that made blue bars more important than green bars.

In other words damage was fine in TBC, it was just druids that needed nerfs to put them on a par with other healers. This would have resulted in a much more dynamic and fast-paced arena environment with less sneaky drinking and more pew-pewing. But unfortunately proposed druid changes got lost in the cannabis-fuelled class balance meetings of Kalgan & Co.

It's a shame that in the burst-oriented world in which we now live people seem to have forgotten just how powerful druids were and how much of an impact they had on turning arena into a battle over mana. Do not let the myth that damage was too low in TBC sway you into thinking that WotLK arena is fine or dps only needs to be toned down slightly. It is much much worse than that!

If only Valve made World of Warcraft.../New interview with Darkfall Devs

no.spam@gameriot.com (Bromsius) — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 13:51:38 -0500

"WoW has been updated with a host of fixes, tweaks and new features, including enhancements to PvP for improved competitive play."

If only this was patch 3.08 rather than a plagiarism of the latest update for L4D .

A week before the release of Darkfall, Claus Grovdal, Lead Designer and Tasos Flambouras, Associate Producer answered questions from premium users on Ten Ton Hammer. The game will be available for digital download on 22nd January and the release will be staggered to give them time to deal with the large number of players they're expecting to be interested in Darkfall.

They also talk about the graphics engine, city-building, PvE and solo-play. Interesting stuff all-in-all, let's just hope they can follow-through on this highly ambitious game.

Edit: 22nd January will be the date for a "trial" version of the game. The proper release won't be until February 25th.

Why America has nothing to fear from China

no.spam@gameriot.com (Bromsius) — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 14:59:43 -0500

How to combat a potential threat from China: give them an MMO and a first-person shooter of course!

Chinaâ€™s economic growth over the last fifteen years has been astonishing. Its average annual GDP growth rate has been over 10% and has risen to become the second largest economy in the world when measured on purchasing power parity. The video game industry has paralleled this with equally astonishing growth over the last ten to fifteen years. From 1996 to 2000 sales in the gaming industry grew from $2.6 billion to $7 billion whilst between 2003 and 2006 the sector grew by 17%.

As China and video games have grown in stature, so has the possibility that they may become a â€œthreatâ€ to the West. In March 2008 Americaâ€™s Defense Department released a report entitled â€œMilitary Power of the Peopleâ€™s Republic of Chinaâ€ which argued â€˜China is spending heavily to modernize its military forces, andâ€¦ [is undertaking] anti-satellite and cyberspace activities that represent potential threats to the United States.â€™ Video games have also been under the spotlight â€“ â€˜Researchers at the Indiana University School of Medicine say that brain scans of kids who played a violent video game showed an increase in emotional arousal â€“ and a corresponding decrease of activity in brain areas involved in self-control, inhibition and attention.â€™

What is absolutely hilarious, however, is that video games are actually in the process of incapacitating and destabilising China. According to Christian Science Monitor there are 300 internet addiction centres in China who cater to around 17 million game and internet addicts. The vast majority of sufferers are 15 to 21 year old males, with WoW and Counter-Strike being cited as two of the most common causes of gaming addiction. Interestingly, Dr Tao, one of the most vocal proponents of having video game addiction recognised as an official disorder, thinks the problem is only going to get worse as cultural changes continue.

Which leads this blogger to ask: what are you all worried about? Yeah Iâ€™m real terrified of a country that canâ€™t tear itself away from the internet and 15-day Counter-Strike binges. Oh and donâ€™t forget the millions of Chinese players who spend more of their time in Azeroth than in real-life. Theyâ€™re really going to kick some assâ€¦ ^o)

I canâ€™t help but smile at the delicious irony of two American-made games, WoW and CS, corrupting and weakening the youth of China. You couldnâ€™t make this stuff up! A new country attempts to step-up and challenge American power, what do you do? Send them a few copies of The Burning Crusade and Counter-Strike: Source of course!

This whole episode is doubly ironic since video games have been blamed for causing many of societyâ€™s ills. Now we see the industry successfully protecting American power through the chaos caused by MMORPGs and FPSâ€™. Iâ€™d like to see the video game-hating bandwagon talk their way out of this one.

What is a "casual" player and what do they want?

no.spam@gameriot.com (Bromsius) — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 14:27:09 -0500

Casual players have been blamed for everything; from the way raiding has steadily become much easier since the days of classic WoW, to the ability of scrub competitors to achieve high ratings in arena. However, despite its widespread use, â€œcasualâ€ is a term that has rarely been defined or systematically explored even though easygoing playersâ€™ impact on the game is negligible. The irony of course is a casual player doesnâ€™t actually care that they are the presumed reason for pug-friendly instances and facerolling 2v2 comps, since they donâ€™t have the time or inclination to concern themselves over these matters.

I would contend that most of the arguments surrounding casual players (that they are responsible for the â€œdumbing downâ€ of WoW etc) are false since they do not reflect an insouciant playerâ€™s desires. Instead what this demonstrates is a tension between PvPers and PvErs, the latter feeling that welfare epics makes it easy for â€œcasualsâ€ to have success raiding without the necessary time and effort spent in instances, whilst the former reckon that arena is made simpler to appeal to apathetic players.

Of course they are both wrong! What Blizzard is trying to do is attract â€œmoderateâ€ players. These are people who play WoW fairly regularly and have some interest in the direction in which Blizzard is taking the game. Since they canâ€™t devote the same amount of hours as hardcore players they want to be able to acquire gear quickly and easily so they can raid or arena as soon as possible. They also want raiding to be less time-intensive and arena less complicated so they have more opportunities to be successful in these different environments.

I would put myself somewhere between a â€œmoderateâ€ and a â€œhardcoreâ€ player. On the one hand I feel that the honor grind is simply ridiculous and takes far too long, but on the other I want raiding and arena to be challenging and success should be dependent on how well you perform as a player not because you can burst a priest down in a four-second counterspell.

It is wrong to describe WotLK as â€œcasual-friendlyâ€ or that Blizzard have tried to appeal to this demographic with each expansion. Instead what we have seen is Blizzard pushing WoW more towards the â€œmoderateâ€ player-base.

Liberal College Professor goes too far: A WoW economics course?

no.spam@gameriot.com (Bromsius) — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 14:56:16 -0500

WoW and Economics: A Liberal Conspiracy?

Video games are a scourge of modern society. They turn our children into homicidal maniacs, teach them that having casual sex is normal behaviour and give explicit support to deviants such as criminals and immigrants. Unsurprisingly the Liberal establishment is seeking to jump on this degenerate bandwagon by proposing an academic course on the economics of World of Warcraft (WoW), Earthâ€™s most popular game.

For those of you who are not aware, WoW is a vile and immoral piece of entertainment that allows the player to choose one out of ten classes to battle â€œevilâ€ characters across Azeroth (the setting for WoW). Of course these bosses are not malevolent at all. They are fine and upstanding figures who merely wish to spread their righteous values around the world (e.g. WoWâ€™s latest progenitor is the Lich King, who seems to be considered worthy of assault simply because of his unwavering belief in unfettered plagues and the triumph of the Scourge â€“ cynical substitutes for capitalism and democracy respectively).

It is disgusting that Californian taxpayers may end up funding this sinister political agenda. To indoctrinate the next generation with the idea that video games are good for oneâ€™s personal development and career plans is despicable and unjust. David Friedman, the pernicious

Is he really so bad?

advocate of this so-called â€œcourseâ€, reckons that students can learn about the theories behind supply-and-demand and arbitrage through the online world of WoW. Anyone with half a brain-cell can see that this is merely a front to instil Liberal values into Americaâ€™s next generation. They wonâ€™t be learning about economics on this â€œcourseâ€, theyâ€™ll be having too much fun bringing down the Lich King and made to feel guilty about all the supposedly â€œbadâ€ things heâ€™s done.

We can no longer accept these blatant and politically motivated attempts to turn our youth into mindless, video game-playing zombies who constantly vote for Communists like Obama. The fight-back begins here!

Ret, Arcane, Mutilate, BM, Feral should never, ever be viable PvP specs

no.spam@gameriot.com (Bromsius) — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 12:12:30 -0500

It's quite amazing really how much of a turn-around there has been in popular pvp specs from TBC. Before patch 3.0 and Wrath, the vast majority of rogues were Shadowstep, mages were primarily frost, hunters usually went MM and most paladins were holy. Now that pvp is one humongous joke we have seen the proliferation of "lolret, lolmuti, lolBM" etc so players can succeed in the almighty LOL that is WotLK arena.

I can understand that for some people it's frustrating to be pigeon-holed into certain specs to be competitive in arena. Nevertheless, in my opinion, this was a good thing. In TBC there was no doubt that a rogue's subtlety and hunter's marksmanship trees required more skill on the part of the player as opposed to assassination and BM, since the latter tended to be extremely one-dimensional. You only have to look at arcane to see how retarded certain classes can become when attempts are made to give people more choice in pvp.

Blizzard, rather than making multiple specs viable through gimmicks like arcane barrage, deadly brew and berserk, should be focusing on one spec for each class that will make them an asset in arena. By giving us more options in pvp the developers effectively create additional problems for themselves by trying to balance different trees across various classes.

The fact of the matter is that retribution, feral, arcane, mutilate etc require exactly zero skill and are extremely frustrating to play against. If Blizzard were to focus on a single pvp spec for each class this would enable them to balance the game more easily and help to ensure arena ratings were an actual reflection of the ability of the player, as opposed to the two-button absurdity of their preferred talent tree.

Of course this would mean the likes of shadow priests and elemental shaman may become extinct in arena. But that's a small price to pay for a stronger and more stable arena environment.

Please Donate to the Victims of the Upcoming CoH Nerf

no.spam@gameriot.com (Bromsius) — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 11:50:38 -0500

Risin, a dwarf priest on the Ravencrest server, has been playing his char for over four years with 250 hours played. He toiled through the zones of Azeroth, helped to defeat the Burning Legion in Outlands and thwarted evil in the icy mountains of Northrend. Now he has been left demoralised and destitute with Blizzard's vile attempt to destroy a class he has loved and nurtured. "Having put in 4 years of time on this toon with over 250 hours played and countless hours raiding, reading comments like GC's really pisses me off. I really wish they would take more consideration nerfing a class to the bench especially for the sake of people who have put so much work into their toons," he said.

The contemptible Ghostcrawler showed no compassion or consideration for the victims of the upcoming Circle of Healing nerf when he explained 'Don't ask the chef "What are you trying to accomplish with this meal?" See if you enjoy the food. If it's too salty or the desert plate is empty, bring that up. I'm sorry for those players who only played a priest because they loved Circle of Healing and won't anymore, but that's going to happen if you fall in love too much with one spell and not the whole package.' This is the kind of response these innocent avatars should expect after all the blood, sweat and tears they have poured into their character?

Thistlebee, of Ner'Zhul, had this to say to GC "We look to the healer at the table next to us and he has a glass of water and a steak that is the best steak he has ever eaten (for me the met in Sea). Please cut out all the crap food we have or fix the issues with the food we keep bringing up or give us the best steak the guy at the other table has. Thank you."

Mortom, of the Boulderfist realm, was sobbing, when we visited his mother's basement in Phoenix, Arizona, arguing that "I personally believe they just have absolutely no idea what to do with the class, and care MORE about other classes then Priests. They don't hate Priests and don't care, we're just not their favorite child."

There are hundreds of people, like Risin, Thistlebee and Mortom, across the world who will suffer immensely when patch 3.08 is implemented. For the sake of humanity we have a duty to protect and help them come to terms with their painful loss.

You can help the victims of countless priests by making a financial gift to Discursive Digressions, which will provide immediate relief and long-term support through supplies, technical assistance and other aid to help those in need.

Donate now for a better tomorrow!

Thanks online gaming. Because of you I just can't enjoy single-player experiences anymore!

no.spam@gameriot.com (Bromsius) — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 11:58:27 -0500

Online gaming, and more specifically Counter-Strike and WoW, have ruined single-player games for me. I used to be happy enjoying the sights and sounds of the worlds of Final Fantasy, uncovering the complex storylines in the Elder Scrolls series and turning the cruel state of San Andreas into my very own gangsta's paradise.

Now any game where all I can do is fight against AI and work with computer-controlled team-mates bores me to death. It's just not fun anymore. I can't see what the point is in testing myself against NPCs that follow the exact same patterns over and over again. Sure, sometimes you play a game because of its engaging narrative but if I wanted to do that I might as well just read a book (not to mention the fact that video game storylines tend to be either totally ridiculous or incredibly clichÃ©)!

The funny thing is I'm not really that new to online gaming. It was only three to four years ago that I became interested in CS 1.6 whereas I had been playing the likes of Wolfenstein 3D and Sonic the Hedgehog when the World Wide Web was being cooked up in a laboratory in Switzerland. Even CS didn't stop me from enjoying Grand Theft Auto or Metal Gear Solid 3. It was when I started playing WoW around a-year-and-a-half ago that single-player gaming lost its allure. Azeroth dominated my game-time to such an extent that I hardly played anything else for well over a year. The adrenaline rush of arena competition was so intoxicating that no other game was able to compete for my attention.

Unfortunately I'm now in a situation where I just can't enjoy single-player games anymore (and considering arena is an unholy mess right now it's also deeply frustrating). I recently bought 'The Witcher: Enhanced Edition', an RPG similar in style to Oblivion, but it just seems so pointless to me. As with all solo games it's not challenging in the slightest and is just an endless series of enemy encounters whose abilities and tactics are always predictable. In short I'm not gaining anything from the experience whatsoever. At least with arena and de_nuke I have to respond and adapt to opposing players' strategies and tricks.

It seems strange that I've gone from enjoying many single-player games to now feeling completely disinterested unless a title has some sort of competitive or co-operative element. In some ways this may be a reflection of the way gaming has moved from an isolated, solo experience to a more interactive affair that takes advantage of social networking. You only have to look at the popularity of WoW, EVE Online and the Steam application to recognise the power of this kind of approach. Perhaps my disinterest is indicative of a lack of innovation within the industry. It goes without saying that computer gaming is big business now and has reached a very large audience. This inevitably means that concepts and ideas in games that are already proven to sell will be replicated over and over again leaving less and less room for vicissitude. Or maybe what I expect and demand from video games significantly changed with my forays into online gaming.

Anyone else feel the same way?

Expansion Packs that were worse than WotLK

no.spam@gameriot.com (Bromsius) — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 14:46:39 -0500

It's amazing really how WoW has actually regressed as a game with WotLK. I find it unbelievable that many of us would probably prefer the situation as it was in TBC than it is now.

However, it did get me thinking about expansion packs to great games that could be considered to be as bad, or worse than, Wrath of the Fail King. The following are in no particular order:

No doubt this will cause some controversy but I was deeply disappointed with this expansion. I don't really need to go into what made Oblivion great what with its massive world, quirky characters and excellent game mechanics. Then came the massive let-down that was Shivering Isles. An incredibly annoying main character in the Prince of Madness and some banal "go fetch" quests, whilst not quite ruining the game, did add to the sense of disappointment with the expansion. It just failed to live up to that sense of awe which was inherent in Oblivion. The realm of Sheogorath seemed so empty and lifeless it made me miss adventuring in the old Ayleid ruins of Tamriel. And that's the crux of the problem with Shivering Isles - you play the game for the immersion which is completely absent.

Any other god-awful expansions I missed?

Is Serennia close to securing a position with our overlords at Blizzard HQ?

no.spam@gameriot.com (Bromsius) — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 14:51:36 -0500

Serennia (or Nathyrra if you prefer) has been voicing the concerns of the arena community, more or less, since the WotLK beta began. Whilst he is quite a divisive character there can be no doubting our DK heroâ€™s relentless pursuit to explain and analyse problems in arena today.

It seems as if Serenniaâ€™s dogged determination may now have paid off with an opportunity to work alongside the greats of Blizzard such as Kalgan, Tigole and Furor. Here at Discursive Digressions our investigative journalists have hit upon various clues that may indicate Vance will soon be moving from his shack in San Antonio, Texas to the bright lights of Irvine, California.

Blizzard has actually adopted changes that Serennia proposed which must be a world first!? Could this be with a view to offering our DK hero a job to implement significant and wide-reaching balance improvements in the future?

We could also question why on the official forums Mr Phuoc dates the title of his post, almost like you would for a report at work? In addition why has Nathyrra gone for such a long and detailed article especially when only five days before he gave us a shorter discussion of his arena proposals?

Of course this may all be entirely coincidental and the product of our over-excited imaginations but the evidence does seem persuasive!

Another Blizzard Corker: â€œCrowd control should not dominate Arenas.â€

no.spam@gameriot.com (Bromsius) — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 14:47:33 -0500

Based on the number of blue posts weâ€™ve been seeing recently I think Blizzard is starting to realise that Season 5 massively and irredeemably sucks! Theyâ€™ve also given some interesting details regarding their design mentality including that â€œthey will always opt for easy solutionsâ€ and now they say â€œcrowd control should not dominate arenaâ€. The full quote can be found below and the source of it is here:

â€œThe best way I can think to say it is: Burst damage should not dominate Arenas. Crowd control should not dominate Arenas. Healing should not dominate Arenas. I don't think this is really news to people who have been doing Arenas very long.â€

But the point is crowd control should dominate arenas simply because it is the most effective way of differentiating between the best players. There is nothing skilful about doling out loads of damage into a single target to win nor is there anything clever about spam healing your way to victory. Potent and well-coordinated crowd control is what should be the difference between the winners and losers.

For me it is also one of the most exciting and satisfying aspects of the game. In TBC playing as a disc priest with a rogue in 2v2 against rogue/mage was probably some of the most intense matches Iâ€™ve ever played. My role was all about using LoS and SW: D to avoid sheeps whilst desperately trying to keep my partner alive. If I did get polymorphed and got behind on healing then I would trinket it and attempt to anticipate a blind and SW: D that instead. Of course the mage on the opposing team would fake cast sheep to force me to waste my SW: D and put heavy dps on the rogue to pull me out of LoS which I would also have to predict. Thus, it becomes a contest over crowd control not about how hard my enemy can damage my partner or how quickly I can spam flash heal.

You can see from this single example how crowd control and its impact compel players to think creatively and use all the tools available to them to triumph in arena. The importance of crowd control helps to negate â€œcheeseâ€ comps which are all about spamming masses of damage into a target with no subtlety or inventiveness at all. For Blizzard to say that players should be able to get away without much cc to win arena matches is ludicrous. Of course there are some classes that have fewer cc options than others such as warriors in which case they should be given additional capabilities in this regard.

It should never be acceptable for anyone to merely press a few buttons to have success in arena. Crowd control is the very thing that enables sophisticated and innovative plays to have a role. Again weâ€™ve seen another very worrying design philosophy from Blizzard. I wonder why arena is a complete mess right nowâ€¦

Want to become a CEO? Play WoW!

no.spam@gameriot.com (Bromsius) — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 14:42:45 -0500

Do you dream of one day managing a global corporation? Does the thought of looking down on the rest of the human race from your ivory tower on Wall Street bring a smile to your face? Does the idea of employing cheap Chinese labourers for less than $1 a day get you excited? Do you want to join booze cruises with the likes of Steve Jobs, Warren Buffett and Rupert Murdoch?

Well, my friend, you need to start playing World of Warcraft (WoW)!

WoW is currently Earthâ€™s most popular game with around 11.5 million subscribers worldwide. The game teaches leadership skills through a system known as â€œraidingâ€. This involves taking a group of 10 or 25 people to defeat an immensely powerful enemy boss. Critical to the outcome of the raid are â€œguild leadersâ€ who must demonstrate sensemaking (understanding the context in which they operate), relating (developing key relationships), visioning (creating a compelling vision of the future) and inventing (new ways of working together). As budding entrepreneurs Iâ€™m sure youâ€™ll recognise this as the Sloan Model of Leadership which, with â€˜Discursive Digressionsâ€™, you can experience first-hand.

We are now giving you the opportunity to test and develop your leadership skills within WoWâ€™s online world. Our programme, in partnership with IBM and Seriosity, gives you a pre-made level 80 character and a free guild with 24 other members (all from China and on a low wage of courseâ€¦ they speak English donâ€™t worry) to begin your raiding experience.

This excellent package enables you to deal with typical in-game problems. For example, guild resentment against the only female member who e-cheated on the rest of them. Flame wars between different sets of members due to win-trading on the 2v2 ladder. A main tank that acts like a complete douche and thinks heâ€™s Godâ€™s gift to WoW. Healers constantly getting emotional because everyone blames them when the raid wipes and that retard hunter who has the lowest dps of the entire group and yet always criticises your decisions.

Tested by leading experts in the world of Massively Multiplayer Online research, this fabulous offer can help you to secure a high-ranking job in the corporate field. Hereâ€™s a message from Bernard Madoff, a WoW enthusiast: â€œWorld of Warcraft allows players to develop skills and aptitudes essential for succeeding in business. If you want to become a success story like me take advantage of â€˜Discursive Digressionsâ€™ once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. You wonâ€™t regret it!â€

Blizzard: "We are nearly always going to opt for easy solutions..."

no.spam@gameriot.com (Bromsius) — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 14:09:38 -0500

Up until now I've had a twisted admiration for Blizzard's PR machine. It would probably draw a smile from most political parties' spin-doctors. Blue posts, and more specifically Ghostcrawler, give players the illusion that they can have an influence on WoW's development. I always thought it was a brilliant move by Kalgan and Tigole to get GC on board. Whilst they're busy dreaming up balance changes and content patches in a drug-fuelled haze, GC can allay players fears with soothing words on the official forums.

Now, however, our Blizzard overlords have let their guard down. Take a look at this quote below, the source of which can be found here:

"We often owe it to the community to take the easy way out, because that means faster changes and fewer bugs. But it isn't always the right decision. Elemental dps is low, and instead of nerfing everyone else we buffed Elemental, because that was a lot easier to do. We have a lot we want to do with the game. We are nearly always going to opt for easy solutions unless the outcome is a lot worse."

Laugh my ass off! I love the way GC tries to make it seem as if they're doing a favour for the community by not making drastic refinements. And it's so you can make 'fast changes' eh GC? Bull****!

I'm surprised no-one else has picked up on this considering how well it exposes developer mentality. Do they not realise that when it comes to arena we've been crying out for big changes for years? Do they not realise we're tired of small modifications and incoherent alterations? Do they not realise easy solutions have not and never will fix pvp?

Of course we all know what the easiest solution to any problem is don't we? Do nothing! Druids are ridiculously good in TBC? Do nothing! Access to PvE gear gives some players too big of an advantage? Do nothing! RNG decides outcomes in arena? Do nothing! Damage is out of control? ...Well you get the idea by now.

"We are nearly always going to opt for easy solutions..." Why am I not surprised...

WoW and The Girlfriend you just Can't let go Of...

no.spam@gameriot.com (Bromsius) — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 14:53:23 -0500

I must have broken up and got back together with Sally three times now. The funny thing is it only takes a few weeks for me to realise how much the woman annoys me. She's possessive, overbearing, domineering, dishonest, intemperate and yet I can't seem to tear myself away from her. Whenever we go out again I think about how much I've missed Sally and her various charms. She has this way of making you feel at home, relaxed, comfortable and it seemed fun to be around her once more. Things will be different this time...

One night, when I was losing arena matches because of dispel resists and rogues' absurd mutilate damage, it occurred to me that my relationship with Sally and with WoW are much alike. I must have given up playing WoW on several occasions now simply because I was just completely fed up with the game. It is dull, overbearing, annoying and flawed. But after a while I start to miss it again: the adrenaline rush of arena combat, the thrill of overcoming some retarded comp like ret pala/DK, the enchanting atmosphere of Thunder Bluff and the exceptional ambiance of Northrend. When you come back to WoW it is immediately uplifting and refreshing. I hoped with WotLK that things would be different this time...

Sally and WoW are never-ending cycles of disappointment. You keep coming back to them because you don't feel like there is anything else out there. A three month break makes the relationship seem fresh and exciting again. This time we can make it work, this time we can be happy, this time we can find the sense of bliss we've been looking for all the while. But eventually it hits you: "I can't take this anymore. I can't take your constant nagging, your habitual imperfections or your perpetual shortcomings anymore." Whether it's Sally promising you that she's "changed" or a new expansion pack, things won't be different this time...

Will we see the Death of Guild-Centred Raiding in WotLK?

no.spam@gameriot.com (Bromsius) — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 14:44:34 -0500

It goes without saying that guilds have been integral to raid progression. Due to the complexity and time investment required to defeat a raid boss, groups of players have always had to organise themselves into collective associations to down the likes of C'Thun, Illidan Stormrage and Kil'Jaeden. To attempt to conquer Blackwing Lair, Tempest Keep and Sunwell Plateau in a PuG was nigh-on impossible.

However, Wrath of the Lich King, thus far, has witnessed a variety of raid instances that simply do not necessitate joining a guild to complete. Naxxramas, Obsidian Sanctum, The Eye of Eternity and Vault of Archavon are all easily overcome with a random collection of individuals. On my own server (and I'm sure this is true of most other realms) there are always people spamming in trade chat for a few extra healers or dps to vanquish Kel'Thuzad or master Malygos. Indeed this goes on and on throughout the day so that, more or less, anyone could raid whenever they wanted. Speaking to the leader of one of the top guilds in Europe (who didn't want to be named) he told me this:

"We're actually struggling to maintain the level of commitment we had before Wrath because the content is so easy at the moment. Why would anyone want to commit themselves to specific raid times when you can go whenever you want to? It used to be the case that if a player wanted to see the most difficult raid bosses and complete the hardest content they would have to join a guild and prove themselves within that group. Now you could have virtually no previous experience raiding at all but that still wouldn't stop you from stepping into a 25-man raid to defeat Malygos or Sartharion!"

The other issue right now is that there is little competition for "world first kills". Ensidia (the merger of key elements from SK Gaming and Nihilum) are guaranteed to almost always be one step ahead of everyone else when it comes to new content, especially with their sponsorship by a "private entity in Dubai" who is supposedly the Crown Prince of the emirate.

Consequently, it would seem possible that we are witnessing the death of guild-centred raiding. If you can complete the WotLK content at a time always convenient to you why bother joining a guild? This doesn't mean that guilds will cease to exist, more that their role will be highly diminished and focused around groups of friends or those who want to have a place to find good pvpers.

WotLK is set for three more large content patches beginning with Ulduar and ending with Icecrown Citadel whilst Patch 3.2 is currently unknown. Of course it may be that these raids will be significantly harder than Naxx or the Eye of Eternity and will ensure guilds' survival. But when you consider that WoW has never been as easy as it is now and the Blizzard developers seem very keen on making content that is accessible to all, we are probably looking at a significant reconfiguration of the relationship between guilds and raiding content.

My MMO hopes for 2009

no.spam@gameriot.com (Bromsius) — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 13:53:43 -0500

So, WOTLK has shown itself to be, more or less, a complete and utter abject failure and the simple truth is Blizzard really do not care what your concerns are whether you're Serennia writing on World of Ming or a lowly casual on some backwater server.

I still believe, however, that there is hope for MMOs during 2009. First and foremost is Darkfall, the MMO which has been in development for seven years and generated around 280 pages of developer journals, articles and Q&A transcripts. This is a highly ambitious game with unrestricted PvP, advancement based on skills rather than player levels or classes, FPS-style manual aiming, complete looting and stealthing by using shadows, walking silently and using objects as cover. Whether or not it will deliver on any or all of these concepts remains to be seen but I'm considering buying it simply because of the level of detail and innovation inherent in this game. I don't think anyone can deny that simply reading what this game has to offer makes your mouth water!

Secondly, I think that there is still scope for Warhammer Online to provide some healthy competition to WoW. Reading Syp's blog on '10 Reasons Why you should give WAR a second Chance' it seems as if many of the early problems with WAR have been ironed out and that the developers are far more responsive to players' concerns. Let's not forget that WoW didn't start out as the world's most popular game and it has taken time for it to achieve the player-base it has at the moment. Sure WAR may not get anywhere near WoW's subscription numbers, but there really isn't anything to left to play for in WOTLK at this moment in time and I doubt that there will be in the foreseeable future.

My hope is that one or both of the following will happen. Either Darkfall or WAR turn out to be high-quality games which make playing WoW seem like a bad dream. Alternatively Darkfall and/or WAR begin to get Kalgan et. al. worried about securing WoW's future, consequently forcing them to make coherent, rational and sensible changes.

Of course the odds are stacked against either of those scenarios occurring. But if you care about MMOs you should hope that there is a drastic rebalancing in the MMO market!

Here's to 2008...

no.spam@gameriot.com (Bromsius) — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 11:41:49 -0500

Here's to 2008 and win-trading, arena imbalance, "nice mace stun bro", warglaive rogues, skillbloom, skillcoil, skillstring, Hunter's Ring of Valor, Neilyoing those fears, Mass Dispelling Innervate, SW:Ding Blinds, counter-comping, defeating warrior/druid, Patch 2.3.2 (yay no more AR/Prep), Patch 2.4.3 (undispellable fel armor lol), world firsts, sponsorships from Crown Princes and Serennia-gets-kicked-from-guild-again.

Here's to 2008 and MLG, ESL, CGS, Blizzcon, WWI, suspicious dcs, Celex-rage, cracked laptops, Swarm-rage, "calm down", "get on D", poor-Chumpjon-sitting-in-the-corner, flame wars, failed cut-off times for Blizzard TR ladders, amazing Koreans, "you only won cos you counter us bro", HPD invades San Diego, WLD OP-ness, Spanish counters to WLD, Hoodrych's bank account, Serennia playing paladin, Neilyo playing warrior and an unhappy break-up.

Here's to 2008 and Ming, chakras, hokages, Jasi-day, photoshopped pictures by you-know-who, Vir, Slapnuts: Epic Drops, Kyle P, Roma Victor: beige, betterthanyou: "you ragin kid", GibTehStix: anime, Vance-day, Nobbeh: "in the Kentish hood", Briyan: the "ladies of Gameriot", Rage: "dance music maestro of Brooklyn", NihilumHydra, TehJerk, Faction, random blogs by random trolls, random blogs by random top PvPers, blogs by random PvPers that complain about random terribad PvPers and WOTLK!

It wouldn't have been the same without you!

A New Year's Message from Kalgan, Tigole and GC

no.spam@gameriot.com (Bromsius) — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 14:12:05 -0500

The following was an email sent to all Blizzard employees on the 29th December, 2008 by Kalgan, Tigole and Ghostcrawler known as "The Inner Circle":

"In Blizzard we trust"

That motto has served us well over the last year followers of Morhaime. No matter what criticisms we've faced, what problems we've encountered or what difficulties we've endured, we have always done things our own way. They can say we've done nothing about class balance, failed to address RNG and dumbed down the game to appeal to the lowest common denominator but we will never be diverted from our just and righteous path! To become subservient to your player-base is a sign of weakness, 2.8 million sales of Wrath of the Lich King, twenty-four hours after release, has proved us correct once again.

It has been an exciting yet challenging 2008 for us all here at Blizzard. We thwarted competition from the blasphemous and traitorous Age of Conan and Warhammer Online whilst WOTLK provided the coup de grace in a year where we never ceased to provide amazing new content. Patch 2.4 saw the release of Sunwell Plateau, a raid instance that sated the appetite of the hardcore whilst gave something for the casuals to aspire to. The implementation of Patch 3.0 a few weeks before WOTLK's emergence gave the mongrels an achievement system and new talents to play with which also ensured they would continue to serve us through the expansion. Wrath is our finest piece of work to date, a brilliant exposition of game production and pick-up-and-play gameplay.

In addition our balance changes have worked tremendously. Patch 2.3.2 brought rogues down a notch whilst 2.4.3 gave mages and warlocks a much needed boost with undispellable frost armor and fel armor respectively. Sure some morons might say we did nothing about druids or paladins but THEY WERE FINE! It just goes to show how much depth there is in WoW when even the top PvPers can't comprehend that druids were on par with every other healer out there.

We look forward to 2009 where we must continue our unrivalled dominance in the MMO market and maintain the development of earth-shattering content. There will be pitfalls, tests, trials, complications and tribulations but as long as we keep our motto at heart, followers of Morhaime, we will never falter.

"In Blizzard we trust".

Regards,

The Inner Circle

Â Â Â Â Â Â

This e-mail and any attachments are strictly confidential, intended for the addressee only. If you are not the named addressee you must not disclose, copy or take any action relying on this transmission and you should notify us immediately.

Are Video Games Recession-Proof?

no.spam@gameriot.com (Bromsius) — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 14:57:28 -0500

I'm sure most of us can appreciate that there's nothing quite like a computer game to distract us from industries collapsing, banks failing and Ponzi schemes dismantling. At a first glance video games would appear to have escaped much of the economic gloom as global sales of console hardware and games software are expected to hit a record $49.9 billion this year according to Screen Digest, a consulting firm.

Furthermore, the industry has various layers of "recession-proofing" that enable it to escape from the economic decline occurring around it. For example, the emergence of "next-gen" consoles every few years spurs a new wave of game sales and during the cycle, as prices fall, fresh buyers are brought in. In addition gaming is considered to be especially important amongst young men who have high disposable incomes. It is not a "luxury" good to be thrown out along with expensive holidays, expensive cars and expensive girlfriends. Interestingly Alex Evans of Media Molecule, the British studio behind LittleBigPlanet, reckons that the industry has benefited from the rise of the "staycation" where gamers have a stay-at-home holiday playing Fable II as opposed to going abroad.

However, both Electronic Arts and Activision Blizzard announced losses of $310m and $108m respectively in the most recent quarter. EA has said that it will focus on fewer games and cut 6% of its workforce. I don't really feel particularly sorry for EA to be honest considering the amount of crap they produce.

Apparently the biggest question facing the industry right now is whether it can hang on to the casual gamers it has picked up, especially those who have been exposed to video gaming through the Nintendo Wii. This is because these types of gamers are the most likely to cut back in a tougher economic climate. Sales have slowed sharply in Japan where the Wii and DS are most popular.

So, who would have thought it? Video games' future resting with the casuals! How ironic that in its attempt to dumb down gaming to appeal to those who can't help but jump on a bandwagon, the industry's health may be jeopardised by those very same people. How ironic indeed!

Note: This article was based on an item that appeared in the December 20th print edition of The Economist entitled 'Play On'... and no I didn't just copy-paste!

The Futility of Protest in WoW

no.spam@gameriot.com (Bromsius) — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 16:07:52 -0500

You can probably summarise the main problems with arena as follows:

1. Class Balance
2. RNG
3. PvE gear

I'm sure the vast majority of people would agree with this synopsis. When we look at what Blizzard has actually done to solve these issues we can see that they've either done nothing at all or their changes have been half-baked at best.

Take class balance: throughout TBC druids were just too good and some classes such as paladins and shaman were hardly represented at all. Blizzard did absolutely nothing to nerf druids whilst very little was done to improve the lot of paladins to take two examples.

Furthermore, RNG aspects of the game including mace stuns, nightfall procs, dispel resistance, base resists etc were never changed at all. This was despite the fact that these kinds of abilities could be game-changing, especially mace stun.

Additionally PvPers have been saying for years now that PvE gear in arena gives the competitors who have access to it too much of an advantage. Again Blizzard has not responded to these concerns at all.

So, why do people bother making blog and forum posts regarding their proposals for changing arena (or the game in general) when Blizzard has never shown any inclination to heed good sense? Recently on GameRiot we've had two blogs from Slappywag giving us his ideas for improving arena whilst Oradol also posted some recommendations a day ago. Now I am in no way criticising their suggestions at all but I don't see what they're hoping to achieve. I'll admit that in the past I have blogged on how I think arena could change for the better but I realise now that Blizzard just do not care what we have to say. Personally I don't see what would be so hard in getting top PvPers like Neilyo, Serennia, DGFG, Azael etc around a table to discuss how arena could be improved. Nonetheless, time and time again Blizzard have shown about as much concern for their community's grievances as China has done for the people of Tibet.

Obviously what this all comes down to is a lack of competition. World of Warcraft is basically the only MMO out there right now. Of course Age of Conan and Warhammer have tried to tap into this market but the former was just a bad game whilst the latter seems to have received very mixed opinions.

WoW desperately needs a rival and the sooner the better. Only then might we see developers taking their community seriously and improvements to the game that are urgently needed.

Unfortunately this rival will probably be Blizzard's next MMO!

Continuing the 'War on Christmas' inside Azeroth

no.spam@gameriot.com (Bromsius) — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 16:13:45 -0500

We hope you all had a good Christmas here at Europe > America. It was a traditional festival for us here in Europe where we celebrated the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with plenty of merriment, plenty of alcohol and plenty of American flag-burning. It's just not the same without those stars and stripes going up in smoke!

Nevertheless, a dark shadow was cast over this holiday season with Blizzard's 'Feast of Winter Veil'. Not content with their attempts to destroy our cultural history in the public, corporate and governmental spheres, the Left has now moved into the virtual realm to continue its 'War on Christmas'.

It is quite frankly disgraceful that during the whole of this World Event there is no mention of the birth of Jesus, Christmas, three wisemen or Mary and Joseph. Instead Blizzard have chosen to describe this time of year as: "A time of change in many cultures. The dwarves and the tauren especially look to a legend of the coming Winter Veil - the blanketing of the land in snow, thus heralding a time of renewal - as a time for celebration." First of all this is not a time of "change". Instead, Christmas (not 'Winter Veil') is where we come together as families to rejoice in what we have, whether it's selling rating on the 2v2 ladder or getting that server first kill on Malygos. Also Christmas is not about celebrating the coming of "Winter Veil". Rather, it is glorifying God's gift to mankind who came to save us from our sins, whether your misdeed was ganking a level 35 in Stranglethorn Vale or leaving a Gnome Warlock to die at the hands of two Undead Rogues.

Central to the 'Winter Veil' festival is a "Supernatural being referred in many cultures to as Greatfather Winter." No, no no, no, no Blizzard. It is Jesus Christ who is the "supernatural being" central to Christmas. Have you no shame?

World of Warcraft's blatant disregard for Christmas and its importance is shocking and repulsive. We are saddened to see the birth of Jesus Christ being smothered by the blanket of political correctness. This sacrilege must not be forgotten. We call on you, brothers and sisters, to campaign against the blasphemous 'Winter Veil' and 'Greathfather Winter'. The very future of our society is at stake!

Yep, Christmas shopping with your mum is better than Arena right now!

no.spam@gameriot.com (Bromsius) — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 13:52:56 -0500

I can honestly say that as a disc priest the following are better than arena right now:

1. Listening to Christmas music (Oh my God I must have heard 'Let it Snow' by Sammy Cahn hundreds of times by now but it's still more fun than dying within the duration of a rogue's cheap shot).

2. Christmas shopping with my mum (Getting dragged around the perfume and make-up sections of department stores is better than losing to a triple cleave team of Ret pala/DK/Warrior in 3v3).

3. Leveling my shaman through the Barrens (I must have gone through this process 3-4 times by now and the uninformed morons who spam /general with their anti-EU propoganda is incredibly infuriating but it's still more entertaining than getting critted for 10k by DK's scourge strike).

4. Watching Friends, y'know the one where Ross is getting married and says "Rachel" rather than "Emily" (This really is an epic failure of a sit-com and the episode in question always seems to be on around Christmas time but it's still better than losing to a rogue/mage team in 2s who don't even need to cc to win).

5. Playing 'The Sims' (This has to be one of the most boring games of all time and yet it's still more enjoyable than dying within the duration of a mage's counterspell).

6. My neighbour's over-the-top Christmas decorations (Massive snowman on the front lawn, huge Santa Claus on the roof, a ridiculous number of lights criss-crossing the house, are all, yep you guessed it, better than Season 5 right now).

7. Completing the Winter Veil achievements (The festival crap that Blizzard put into this game is mind-numbingly soporific and they seem to have decided to continue the left's war on Christmas in Azeroth but it's still... well I guess you get the idea by now).

And before anyone starts crying about my qq post I'm still banking on arena being fine once everyone is running around in full Hateful/Deadly gear. Until that moment, however, watching the latest crappy movies they have on TV at this time of year is more worthwhile than participating in arena in its current state.