The new patch brings with it all sorts of new things to do, the most fun of which may be the Achievements system. After taking a leisurely look at the basic achievements available, it seems to me that some are better suited to a particular class than others. This shouldn't be surprising - it makes sense to me that my partner in crime, who plays a Holy priest, should be worse at getting, well, say the Wrecking Ball achievement than I might be. On the other hand, I envy the priestly ability to hit shield, Renew, choose the melee weapon of their choice, and just stand in front of baddies, pounding away. Yes, I want that Master of Arms achievement, darn it!
So what follows is a list of fun achievements which are probably more easily obtained by mages than by most other classes.
General Achievements:
Can I Keep Him? (Collect a pet...or 50)
You can work on your vanity pet achievements quite easily - most capital cities sell multiple pets for very little silver. For mages, these cities are just a Teleport away. And if you plan ahead, you can buy a few extra, sell them on the neutral auction houses in Booty Bay or Gadgetzan and more than recoup your losses. Here's a list of pets and where to find them:
Common Fauna:
Cats (4 different kinds) - Elwynn Forest, in the house close to Northshire Abbey, from Donni Anthania, the crazy cat lady
Moths (3 different kinds) - Exodar, The Crystal Hall, from Sixx
Owls (2 different kinds) - Darnassus, near the front gate, from Shylenai
Snowshoe Rabbit - Dun Morogh, Amberstill Ranch, from Yarlyn
Cockroach - Undercity, on stairs below bank, from Jeremiah Payson
Dragonhawk Hatchlings (3 different kinds) - Eversong Woods, Fairbreeze Village, from Jilanne
Prairie Dog - Thunder Bluff, near Cairne's tent, from Halpa
Snakes (3 different kinds) - Orgrimmar, Valley of Spirits, from Xan'tish
Rarer Beasts: Better yet - if you have a character big enough to brave the roads or skyways of Outland, or at least fast enough to escape the nastier monsters, make the journey to Stormspire in Netherstorm. With a little gold stored up, you can purchase pets from Dealer Rashaad, who stocks a total of 8 different companions, many of which are very inexpensive. For Alliance folks, Rashaad's your cheapest option for purchasing a Cockroach or Crimson Snake pet. And because you're a mage, you can set your hearthstone here and rely on portals to get you home, allowing you to come back at any time to buy extra pets, which can be sold for a profit on the AH.
Tastes Like Chicken (eat some foods...or 50)
Following the Teleport theme, this achievement is easy enough to do in a pinch: just port to every capital city, go to an inn, purchase one of everything and munch away. Holiday foods count too, so bob for apples and munch away on candy bars, lollipops and candy corn, all of which are easily attainable if you're working on the holiday achievement listed below.
On the Horde Side - unusual foods can be purchased from the Cenarion night elves in Moonglade, so if you can, make the trip. Alliance mages - this food is the same as what they sell in Darnassus.
A Hallow's End Achievement:
Tricks and Treats (visit all the candy buckets in Azeroth)
While it's still time-consuming to visit all the inns in a single continent, mages have a clear advantage over other classes because of Teleport. Our ability to warp from one capital city to another allows for easy switching even between continents. And for those characters who still have to walk from one destination to another - Blink is a lot faster than most travel options below level 30.
Remember, my brothers and sisters of the arcane, this Achievement is only available for another few days. Hallow's End finishes on November 1st.
PvP Achievements:
The Grim Reaper (get 30 honorable kills) and Damage Control (score over 300,000 damage in a single BG)
Mages aren't the lords of AoE spells for nothing. Find a high place, shield yourself, and blast your enemies with Blizzard or Flamestrike. Alterac Valley is probably the best place to get your damage over 300K, and it certainly doesn't hurt to be fire or frost spec'd for this achievement. Put points into Improved Blizzard and slow your enemies down, or spec for high fire crit and Firestarter to pull off some fast-cast fire spell AoEs before they can reach you to finish you off.
Quick Cap (carry and score with the WSG flag in under 75 seconds)
The new Glyph of Blink is your friend for getting across the battleground quickly, but I was still unable to do this achievement without both speed-enhancing buffs. Still, it seems many people haven't caught on to just how slippery a mage can be with all of the shields, novas, teleports, and slowing armors we have in our arsenal. Of course, it helps to have a PvP trinket for this one, and I am sure my gnome mage and her Escape Artist racial ability helped her some.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Monday, October 20, 2008
Fun & Free: Episode Five
This episode of Fun & Free covers October's holiday: Hallow's End. If you have ever wanted to change into a leper gnome or black cat, to witness dark scary rituals at the Forsaken Wickerman festival, or to have your own chance to win epic loot by killing the Headless Horseman, this holiday is for you!
Trick or Treat!
Every hour, players can talk to the innkeepers around the world of Azeroth to receive a trick or a treat. Treats consist of goody bags which may hold any number of items in them, including masks, candy, and even toothpicks. Hold on to these items - most are needed to fulfill the Hallow's End achievements, mentioned below. Tricks, on the other hand, will change your character into a different being, including bats, black cats, pirates, or other more slimy creatures. Once you've Trick or Treated, you will be unable to do so again for an hour.
Fires in Town!
Speak to the Masked Orphan Matrons in any of the starting-area towns for your faction (Brill, Razor Hill, etc.). Apparently, the Headless Horseman is on the loose again, wreaking havoc and setting fire to buildings. The matrons need players to help them out, so grab a bucket of water and make a bucket chain. Once you've quenched the fires, the Shade of the Headless Horseman will land in town. As he's a level 11 monster, he is very easily dispatched, and in his wake leaves a large pumpkin which all nearby players can loot. In return for your valiant efforts, the grateful orphans will reward you with a thank-you package, often containing wands which transform your character, pumpkins to throw at other players, or even broomsticks which make your character look appropriately witchy:
Hallow's End Achievements
There are a number of fun achievements you can complete this season. Some of the easiest include:
Trick or Treat! - pick up a handful of candy from the barrel located in any inn. Not only is this easy, it gives you free experience for every barrel you loot! Great for casual levelers.
The Mask Task - keep trick-or-treating and eventually you'll get one flimsy mask
That Sparkling Smile - use a toothpick, also obtained from innkeepers
Harder-to-obtain achievements include killing the Headless Horseman in Scarlet Monastery Graveyards, and traveling all over Kalimdor, Eastern Kingdoms and Outland to complete the Tricks and Treats of Azeroth achievement.
Edit as of 10/24: Looking to get the Sinister Calling achievement, but have a character who's too low to fight the Headless Horseman? No problem! Just make sure you complete the Stop the Fires! daily quest, and go trick-or-treating at an inn each hour. Both the Hallowed Helm and the Sinister Squashling have a chance to drop from these quests.
Hallow's End runs between October 18th and November 1st. A happy, spooky holiday to all!
Trick or Treat!
Every hour, players can talk to the innkeepers around the world of Azeroth to receive a trick or a treat. Treats consist of goody bags which may hold any number of items in them, including masks, candy, and even toothpicks. Hold on to these items - most are needed to fulfill the Hallow's End achievements, mentioned below. Tricks, on the other hand, will change your character into a different being, including bats, black cats, pirates, or other more slimy creatures. Once you've Trick or Treated, you will be unable to do so again for an hour.
Fires in Town!
Speak to the Masked Orphan Matrons in any of the starting-area towns for your faction (Brill, Razor Hill, etc.). Apparently, the Headless Horseman is on the loose again, wreaking havoc and setting fire to buildings. The matrons need players to help them out, so grab a bucket of water and make a bucket chain. Once you've quenched the fires, the Shade of the Headless Horseman will land in town. As he's a level 11 monster, he is very easily dispatched, and in his wake leaves a large pumpkin which all nearby players can loot. In return for your valiant efforts, the grateful orphans will reward you with a thank-you package, often containing wands which transform your character, pumpkins to throw at other players, or even broomsticks which make your character look appropriately witchy:
Hallow's End Achievements
There are a number of fun achievements you can complete this season. Some of the easiest include:
Trick or Treat! - pick up a handful of candy from the barrel located in any inn. Not only is this easy, it gives you free experience for every barrel you loot! Great for casual levelers.
The Mask Task - keep trick-or-treating and eventually you'll get one flimsy mask
That Sparkling Smile - use a toothpick, also obtained from innkeepers
Harder-to-obtain achievements include killing the Headless Horseman in Scarlet Monastery Graveyards, and traveling all over Kalimdor, Eastern Kingdoms and Outland to complete the Tricks and Treats of Azeroth achievement.
Edit as of 10/24: Looking to get the Sinister Calling achievement, but have a character who's too low to fight the Headless Horseman? No problem! Just make sure you complete the Stop the Fires! daily quest, and go trick-or-treating at an inn each hour. Both the Hallowed Helm and the Sinister Squashling have a chance to drop from these quests.
Hallow's End runs between October 18th and November 1st. A happy, spooky holiday to all!
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Fire & Water: Changes to Arena
Another exciting aspect of BlizzCon's PvP panel focused on two new upcoming arenas, and some fun dynamic changes featured in these new arena grounds, which are sure to change play style and strategy significantly.
Orgrimmar
My first thought on seeing this arena was: gladiatorial combat. This arena has the look and feel of a colosseum, complete with some ingenious devices the Romans would have adored. Players are even raised up to the arena floor in caged elevators. And the teams start combat very close together.
Now for the dynamic elements. The arena is divided in three sections, and at timed intervals during the fight, the lines between these sections will catch fire. The fire, as you would expect, gives players a DoT debuff should they pass through it.
In addition this arena has two pillars which move up and down, also at timed intervals. These provide periodic line of sight barriers, but can also take players up out of melee range should they stand on top of the pillars when they rise.
Dalaran Sewers
This arena is much smaller than most, and features an interesting change: players cannot stay inside the arena's starting gates, which really consist of sewer pipes set part-way up the wall of the arena. Any player who remains in these pipes after the match has started will be "washed out" of the pipe and onto the arena floor.
The arena itself is small and consists of a circular room with a raised platform in the center. The platform can only be mounted at two staircases placed at opposite ends. Two permanent barricades of boxes and barrels also face each other across the platform, providing cover.
The dynamic feature of this arena is the column of water which drops, at timed intervals, into the center of the platform. When running, this water serves two purposes - it is impassable, and in fact will give players a slight knockback if they venture too close to it - and it blocks line of sight. One more thing - mounts are not permitted in the sewers of Dalaran.
All in all, two very exciting new places in which to fight, and ones which will certainly require some new strategies from arena teams.
Orgrimmar
My first thought on seeing this arena was: gladiatorial combat. This arena has the look and feel of a colosseum, complete with some ingenious devices the Romans would have adored. Players are even raised up to the arena floor in caged elevators. And the teams start combat very close together.
Now for the dynamic elements. The arena is divided in three sections, and at timed intervals during the fight, the lines between these sections will catch fire. The fire, as you would expect, gives players a DoT debuff should they pass through it.
In addition this arena has two pillars which move up and down, also at timed intervals. These provide periodic line of sight barriers, but can also take players up out of melee range should they stand on top of the pillars when they rise.
Dalaran Sewers
This arena is much smaller than most, and features an interesting change: players cannot stay inside the arena's starting gates, which really consist of sewer pipes set part-way up the wall of the arena. Any player who remains in these pipes after the match has started will be "washed out" of the pipe and onto the arena floor.
The arena itself is small and consists of a circular room with a raised platform in the center. The platform can only be mounted at two staircases placed at opposite ends. Two permanent barricades of boxes and barrels also face each other across the platform, providing cover.
The dynamic feature of this arena is the column of water which drops, at timed intervals, into the center of the platform. When running, this water serves two purposes - it is impassable, and in fact will give players a slight knockback if they venture too close to it - and it blocks line of sight. One more thing - mounts are not permitted in the sewers of Dalaran.
All in all, two very exciting new places in which to fight, and ones which will certainly require some new strategies from arena teams.
Fortune Favors the Casual: Changes to Instances
Because I am perhaps best defined as a "jack-of-all-trades" WoW player as opposed to a hard-core PvE-er/raider, I was probably more excited than some at the news that all endgame content will be available to 10-man groups. I was even more excited at BlizzCon's Dungeons and Raids panel to discover some more exciting news about running instances, which are a considerable boon to the casual player:
- Instances are supposed to be shorter. They may look bigger (Blizzard want us to really feel how epic the dungeons are), but the days of 4-hour Karazhan runs may be over. This means shorter distance to dungeon bosses, and, as it seems in raids, bosses which are easier to get to but harder to kill, emphasizing interesting play style over marathon raiding (Naxxramas will be an exception to this, weighing in with 15 total bosses.).
- Most raids will have player-defined "difficulty settings" which will allow for adjusting the dungeon on the fly depending on experience and preference. For instance, Chamber of the Aspects has a main boss along with three sub-bosses. Players can choose to attack the main boss with all three sub-bosses (hardest difficulty) or to kill one, two, or all three of the sub-bosses beforehand, thus making the encounter easier. Raid rewards will scale depending on how these bosses are killed.
- Raid sets can be completed by both 10- and 25-man items. While items will be divided by one tier, they will be related, much like arena gear is. So a player can combine any ratio of 10-man and 25-man raid items and still achieve a complete set.
- There is no "lockout period" between 10- and 25-man raids. Players can run a 10-man raid, and then turn right around and run the 25-man version without having to wait.
- Instances do not require attunement. The one exception is the Eye of Eternity raid. All other raids and heroic instances can be entered by anyone upon achieving the appropriate level.
Pick the Losing Side: Changes to PvP
If you're like me and got into WoW "incidentally" after the free 10-day trial, you happily rolled a character on whatever realm was recommended without giving it much thought. I had played for more than 8 months before I realized there are ways to research each realm based on guild progression or percentage of Horde versus Alliance on the server.
I also didn't realize how much the number of Horde versus that of Alliance can change gameplay on a server where the ratio isn't equal. A server where one faction outnumbers the other 2:1 can have a marked effect on battlegrounds and world PvP.
As a denizen of two servers where I am on the outnumbered faction, I was a little concerned about the ramifications of opening up PvP to an entire zone in Northrend. While I love PvP, I wasn't looking forward to visiting Wintergrasp and getting continually pwned by legions of the opposing faction.
My concerns were put to rest at BlizzCon. In fact, it looks like Wintergrasp will be my new zone of choice for many reasons:
I also didn't realize how much the number of Horde versus that of Alliance can change gameplay on a server where the ratio isn't equal. A server where one faction outnumbers the other 2:1 can have a marked effect on battlegrounds and world PvP.
As a denizen of two servers where I am on the outnumbered faction, I was a little concerned about the ramifications of opening up PvP to an entire zone in Northrend. While I love PvP, I wasn't looking forward to visiting Wintergrasp and getting continually pwned by legions of the opposing faction.
My concerns were put to rest at BlizzCon. In fact, it looks like Wintergrasp will be my new zone of choice for many reasons:
- Immediate action with instant results. There is no "team play" in this zone. You don't queue to get into the battle at Wintergrasp, you walk (well, really fly) in and start fighting. And your kills are your own, so there is no one to go AFK and get a "free ride" from your hard work.
- The zone rank system resets every fight. Every fight, you have a new chance to pilot new siege engines, set new traps, and, best of all, blow up new stuff.
- The winning side gets access to very cool stuff. For 2.5 hours after winning, the victors can access special items, daily quests, even a whole dungeon with a special raid boss, available only to them.
- The outnumbered faction receives a buff to damage done and defense against damage received. Even better, this buff scales in proportion to how badly the faction is outnumbered.
Mages Come to Diablo III!
Okay, so they're technically not called mages, but I was nevertheless overjoyed, despite the name difference, to hear this weekend that the newest class to join the forces of Diablo III is going to be the Wizard. And, having experienced a bit of what this arcane magic user can do at BlizzCon, I can happily state that all is well and good with magecraft in this newest installment of one of the most iconic action-RPG games.
Like her predecessor the Sorceress, the Wizard wields potent raw magical spells which can blast her enemies to smithereens, both at close range and afar. Unlike the Sorceress, whose abilities were based on elemental magics, the Wizard's power comes from "High Magic," and consist of spells which alter or transform the world around her, including what may well be my favorite: Slow Time.
Some of the old favorites from the Sorceress' arsenal will be back, however, like Blizzard and Teleport. But even these old standbys have been revamped to offer a high level of customization because of the Rune system, which allows players to add Runes which give special modifiers such as Multistrike or Lethality, to each spell they possess.
Not only does each Rune dramatically change the properties of each spell (I for one was thrilled to see that Teleport can be modified to do damage to surrounding enemies), they also change the spell's animation. And in the case of the Wizard, spell animations are wild, beautiful, and extreme.
As far as questing goes - playing the Wizard as opposed to the Barbarian or Witch Doctor will give you a whole new line of quests to work with. It was announced at BlizzCon that each character class will interact with game NPCs differently. Also, each character will have the ability to go on class-only quests which have been tailored to their unique abilities. So when you roll up your Wizard, you are guaranteed a gameplay experience unlike any other class.
All in all, the Wizard is the class to play for anyone who wants a lot of explosions, crackling lightning, and wild arcane lights; a wonderful addition to Diablo III, and fitting evidence that all is well and good for magic users in this upcoming title.
Like her predecessor the Sorceress, the Wizard wields potent raw magical spells which can blast her enemies to smithereens, both at close range and afar. Unlike the Sorceress, whose abilities were based on elemental magics, the Wizard's power comes from "High Magic," and consist of spells which alter or transform the world around her, including what may well be my favorite: Slow Time.
Some of the old favorites from the Sorceress' arsenal will be back, however, like Blizzard and Teleport. But even these old standbys have been revamped to offer a high level of customization because of the Rune system, which allows players to add Runes which give special modifiers such as Multistrike or Lethality, to each spell they possess.
Not only does each Rune dramatically change the properties of each spell (I for one was thrilled to see that Teleport can be modified to do damage to surrounding enemies), they also change the spell's animation. And in the case of the Wizard, spell animations are wild, beautiful, and extreme.
As far as questing goes - playing the Wizard as opposed to the Barbarian or Witch Doctor will give you a whole new line of quests to work with. It was announced at BlizzCon that each character class will interact with game NPCs differently. Also, each character will have the ability to go on class-only quests which have been tailored to their unique abilities. So when you roll up your Wizard, you are guaranteed a gameplay experience unlike any other class.
All in all, the Wizard is the class to play for anyone who wants a lot of explosions, crackling lightning, and wild arcane lights; a wonderful addition to Diablo III, and fitting evidence that all is well and good for magic users in this upcoming title.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Arcane Advice
Okay, I lied. One more post before I leave for the wilds of BlizzCon (or perhaps just open a portal there). This section poses mage-centric advice for non-mages for their consideration, consternation and, hopefully, benefit.
First, I'd like to cover something which I have experienced recently a great deal in BGs. I think I can summarize it best by calling it "Shield Color-Blindness," because it usually happens in WSG when I am sporting my lovely little Mana Shield and traipsing toward the enemy flag to pick it up, or blinking right behind a flag-carrying druid in travel form, who is taking damage from enemies and looking for some more backup.
Some team-mate will see me and give me a tell like this: "shield pls".
The first time this happened, I assumed it was a mis-tell. Then it happened again. And again. It's even happened while engaging in the randomness which is world PvP.
I recently read a back-issue of Arcane Brilliance which mentioned that it's not uncommon for non-clothie WoW players to view all cloth-wearers as pretty much the same animal. This article, coupled with my own experience in PvP, led me to this conclusion: non-mages are color-blind. They have no idea that Mana Shield is a self-only cast. It cannot be cast on anyone else, at any time, regardless of whether said target has a mana pool of their own or not.
Mana Shield can clearly be identified, unless your graphics card is on the fritz, by its happy blue aura. Power Word: Shield, on the other hand, has a nice, lovely golden aura. Having played both a priest and a mage, to me, they look nothing alike, even if they do have the same casting sound effect.
I'd love to say that this mage/priest confusion only happens to me while playing my undead mage, since Forsaken can roll both priests and mages, and may look similar in the levels before we're all decked out in our snazzy PvP gear. But usually, this request occurs when I am playing my happy, bouncy gnome mage, which I find truly weird.
The second point I'd like to mention is far less of an issue, though it is nevertheless amusing, and sometimes depressing, to me. This is the assumption that any mage, regardless of level, can open a portal, and, furthermore, that said mage can therefore open a portal to Shattrath.
When leveling my mages, I frequently received tells asking for portals. This happened as early as level nine.
Stop the train, people. Only mages who have reached the venerable age of level 40 can open portals anywhere, and even then, we can only take you to Stormwind, Ironforge, and the Exodar, or Orgrimmar, Undercity, and Silvermoon, respectively. We can't even get you to Thunder Bluff or Darnassus - we have to reach level 50 before we can visit either. Okay, okay, we can port to Theramore or Stonard when we reach 35, but I don't think I've ever gotten a request for me to open a port to either of those places.
Porting to Shattrath is a whole different story. We have to reach level 65 before we can get anyone to that lovely city. By then, most players have already found the means to get there themselves, though that doesn't mean a well-placed Shattrath Portal isn't welcome at the end of a long dungeon.
Don't get me wrong. I love opening portals. Portals and all of their magical goodness were one of the top reasons why I rolled a mage in the first place. They are one of the greatest time-savers (and, when you reach Outland, money-savers) in the game and I adore them. But it makes me feel bad when I have to turn people away, especially willing people with a ready tip for my time, just because they've asked my low-level mage for a portal I cannot open. Hey, if my level 9 mage were capable of porting anywhere, I'd happily lend my services to anyone. And on a busy day, I could have made 20 gold in about 5 minutes opening portals for people trying to get to Shattrath. Just the thought of all that unobtainable gold is enough to make a well-intentioned but low-level mage cry.
When I need a port and am on one of my non-mage toons, my best recourse isn't whispering random mages, but asking the whole General or Trade chat channels for a willing soul to take the time to port me. And I always state my tip first. And if I'm trying to get to Shattrath, that tip is in gold. This strategy has gotten good reception from willing mages of the right level who are more than happy to take me anywhere I choose. It also gives mages who are busy the option to ignore me without the "obligation" of responding to a whisper.
Anyway, this is just food for thought, and information which will hopefully allow mages and non-mages alike better communication about some commonly-misunderstood aspects of magecraft. Good luck, and remember: never eat beef with a Tauren.
First, I'd like to cover something which I have experienced recently a great deal in BGs. I think I can summarize it best by calling it "Shield Color-Blindness," because it usually happens in WSG when I am sporting my lovely little Mana Shield and traipsing toward the enemy flag to pick it up, or blinking right behind a flag-carrying druid in travel form, who is taking damage from enemies and looking for some more backup.
Some team-mate will see me and give me a tell like this: "shield pls".
The first time this happened, I assumed it was a mis-tell. Then it happened again. And again. It's even happened while engaging in the randomness which is world PvP.
I recently read a back-issue of Arcane Brilliance which mentioned that it's not uncommon for non-clothie WoW players to view all cloth-wearers as pretty much the same animal. This article, coupled with my own experience in PvP, led me to this conclusion: non-mages are color-blind. They have no idea that Mana Shield is a self-only cast. It cannot be cast on anyone else, at any time, regardless of whether said target has a mana pool of their own or not.
Mana Shield can clearly be identified, unless your graphics card is on the fritz, by its happy blue aura. Power Word: Shield, on the other hand, has a nice, lovely golden aura. Having played both a priest and a mage, to me, they look nothing alike, even if they do have the same casting sound effect.
I'd love to say that this mage/priest confusion only happens to me while playing my undead mage, since Forsaken can roll both priests and mages, and may look similar in the levels before we're all decked out in our snazzy PvP gear. But usually, this request occurs when I am playing my happy, bouncy gnome mage, which I find truly weird.
The second point I'd like to mention is far less of an issue, though it is nevertheless amusing, and sometimes depressing, to me. This is the assumption that any mage, regardless of level, can open a portal, and, furthermore, that said mage can therefore open a portal to Shattrath.
When leveling my mages, I frequently received tells asking for portals. This happened as early as level nine.
Stop the train, people. Only mages who have reached the venerable age of level 40 can open portals anywhere, and even then, we can only take you to Stormwind, Ironforge, and the Exodar, or Orgrimmar, Undercity, and Silvermoon, respectively. We can't even get you to Thunder Bluff or Darnassus - we have to reach level 50 before we can visit either. Okay, okay, we can port to Theramore or Stonard when we reach 35, but I don't think I've ever gotten a request for me to open a port to either of those places.
Porting to Shattrath is a whole different story. We have to reach level 65 before we can get anyone to that lovely city. By then, most players have already found the means to get there themselves, though that doesn't mean a well-placed Shattrath Portal isn't welcome at the end of a long dungeon.
Don't get me wrong. I love opening portals. Portals and all of their magical goodness were one of the top reasons why I rolled a mage in the first place. They are one of the greatest time-savers (and, when you reach Outland, money-savers) in the game and I adore them. But it makes me feel bad when I have to turn people away, especially willing people with a ready tip for my time, just because they've asked my low-level mage for a portal I cannot open. Hey, if my level 9 mage were capable of porting anywhere, I'd happily lend my services to anyone. And on a busy day, I could have made 20 gold in about 5 minutes opening portals for people trying to get to Shattrath. Just the thought of all that unobtainable gold is enough to make a well-intentioned but low-level mage cry.
When I need a port and am on one of my non-mage toons, my best recourse isn't whispering random mages, but asking the whole General or Trade chat channels for a willing soul to take the time to port me. And I always state my tip first. And if I'm trying to get to Shattrath, that tip is in gold. This strategy has gotten good reception from willing mages of the right level who are more than happy to take me anywhere I choose. It also gives mages who are busy the option to ignore me without the "obligation" of responding to a whisper.
Anyway, this is just food for thought, and information which will hopefully allow mages and non-mages alike better communication about some commonly-misunderstood aspects of magecraft. Good luck, and remember: never eat beef with a Tauren.
On the Road to BlizzCon!
We're headed to BlizzCon! While the blog won't be updated until we get back, we'll be sure to have all sorts of yummy details upon our return!
Remember - if you aren't headed to the Con and didn't want to shell out all sorts of cash for Direct TV, you can tune in to WoW Radio for their free coverage!
Have a great Blizzard weekend!
Remember - if you aren't headed to the Con and didn't want to shell out all sorts of cash for Direct TV, you can tune in to WoW Radio for their free coverage!
Have a great Blizzard weekend!
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Mage Macros, Part One
After three generations of Outland-level toons, I have concluded that mages probably have more need for macros than your average bear. By level 60, you have so many spells for conjured items, teleportation, portals, and straight out damage spells that your hotbars are probably overflowing. So, recently, I discovered a couple nice handy macros to reduce that load a little bit, and make standard casts of portals and conjured items a little easier.
Combined Teleport/Portal Macro
Left-clicking on this macro button will teleport you to Orgrimmar. Right clicking will open a portal so you and your party can go to Orgrimmar together. (Obviously you can substitute any other major city for this macro.)
/cast [button:1] Teleport: Orgrimmar
/cast [button:2] Portal: Orgrimmar
Combined Mage Water/Food Macro
Left-clicking will conjure stacks of the highest drink you can make. Right-clicking will conjure food.
/cast [button:1] Conjure Water()
/cast [button:2] Conjure Food()
Edit as of 11/6: Mana Gem Macro
As of patch 3.0.x, mages can only have one mana gem in their possession at any time, and the conjuring spell for mana gems has been renamed. Left-clicking or using number key will conjure the highest-level mana gem available. Right-clicking will use the gem. The /use function will have to be updated as the mage learns higher-level gems.
/cast [button:1] Conjure Mana Gem ()
/use [button:2] Mana Emerald
Combined Teleport/Portal Macro
Left-clicking on this macro button will teleport you to Orgrimmar. Right clicking will open a portal so you and your party can go to Orgrimmar together. (Obviously you can substitute any other major city for this macro.)
/cast [button:1] Teleport: Orgrimmar
/cast [button:2] Portal: Orgrimmar
Combined Mage Water/Food Macro
Left-clicking will conjure stacks of the highest drink you can make. Right-clicking will conjure food.
/cast [button:1] Conjure Water()
/cast [button:2] Conjure Food()
Edit as of 11/6: Mana Gem Macro
As of patch 3.0.x, mages can only have one mana gem in their possession at any time, and the conjuring spell for mana gems has been renamed. Left-clicking or using number key will conjure the highest-level mana gem available. Right-clicking will use the gem. The /use function will have to be updated as the mage learns higher-level gems.
/cast [button:1] Conjure Mana Gem ()
/use [button:2] Mana Emerald
It's New and Improved! Mage of Warcraft!
Welcome to the new, revised, and hopefully improved version of this blog, which shall hereafter and forevermore be known as Mage of Warcraft!
This blog is a guide to many things, among them:
Looking for news on the Healers of Durotar Guild? We still have all guild policies, and some fun pictures posted on the guild blog.
This blog is a guide to many things, among them:
- mage-crafty news including macros, quests, profession guides and other arcane, frost, or fire quirkiness;
- prices on the Mok'Nathal and Ravenholdt servers of items I have gathered or created on my mage toons;
- fun quest guides for Horde and Alliance.
Looking for news on the Healers of Durotar Guild? We still have all guild policies, and some fun pictures posted on the guild blog.
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