World of Warcraft

World of Warcrafthttp://my.curse.com/blogs/wow-en-reviews/default.aspxen-USCommunityServer 2008 SP1 (Build: 30619.63)Back in the old days...http://my.curse.com/blogs/wow-en-reviews/archive/2008/09/17/N6158Id.aspxTue, 05 Feb 2008 22:01:58 GMT045f8e2a-3b25-43b2-9769-9c60de2974e3:28783Stormwire47http://my.curse.com/blogs/wow-en-reviews/rsscomments.aspx?PostID=28783http://my.curse.com/blogs/wow-en-reviews/archive/2008/09/17/N6158Id.aspx#comments<p>I remember when Stratholme, Scholomance and Onyxia were a big deal. Back when conquering MC and Blackwing Lair were, "OMG we did it," moments.</p> <p>But not anymore. Nowadays when you find yourself in WoW, even with 10 million+ players, it seems nearly impossible to find a group to go after these "old world" instances.</p> <p>This is a shame for the newcomers to WoW, seeing as they may never get the chance to experience these instances like some of us veterans once did. Sure, they could go back when they are 70 and play through the instance, but is it really going to be as fun as it would be when the adrenaline of getting that first class set item is running through your bloodstream?</p> <p>So this brings forth a question that has been brewing and being whispered for months, "Did the Burning Crusade ruin the old world instances?"</p> <p>It seems a sad fact that you can finish your first quest in Outland and receive a green item that is far superior to the hardest blues to acquire in the old-world instances. In my opinion, Blizzard only dwarfed its own game when it added TBC, seeing as the instance content from levels 50-60 is relatively useless now.</p> <p>It is a shame really, because some of those instances and raid content were a whole lot of fun. Yeah, if you have a good guild there is a nice chance you can get enough people together to still go take Onyxia, but is the thrill still going to be there? I have my doubts.</p> <p>But all may not be lost. With the upcoming WotLk expansion on the horizon (and the drool seething from all of our gaping maws) Blizzard can still turn it around.</p> <p>Perhaps just adding new servers, while denying character transfer for a specified amount of time, could help bring back the old world content. Before the opening of the new Ghostlands PvE server, there hadn't been a new server in nearly a year, since the release of TBC. Chances of this seem low, however, as Blizzard is having enough trouble populating some of the older current servers.<br /> <br /> Still, with the addition of the new Death Knight class, many veteran players might be interested in visiting these old dungeons, just to reminisce.</p> <p>One concern to be had for instances when WotLK comes is the new level 80 level cap.</p> <p>Will instances in TBC be dwarfed and forgotten when we are introduced to the awesomeness of Utgarde Keep? Is there something Blizzard can do to bring back our old favorites like MC and Stratholme?</p> <p>What do you think?</p><div class="cb"></div><div style="clear:both;"></div><img src="http://my.curse.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=28783" width="1" height="1">wotlkinstanceswowtbcList of Social wow addons on cursehttp://my.curse.com/blogs/wow-en-reviews/archive/2008/09/17/N3679Id.aspxThu, 15 Nov 2007 23:21:26 GMT045f8e2a-3b25-43b2-9769-9c60de2974e3:33063Ziz1http://my.curse.com/blogs/wow-en-reviews/rsscomments.aspx?PostID=33063http://my.curse.com/blogs/wow-en-reviews/archive/2008/09/17/N3679Id.aspx#comments<p>Here is a list of the most Social Addons on World of Warcraft download section at curse </p> @import url('v5/styles/core/115-tooltips.css?');<div id="cu_filewidget"> <div><h3><a href="http://www.cursebeta.com/downloads/details/7529/">GuildGreet Extended</a></h3></div> Downloads Today:72 Downloads Total:42,767 <span><h4>Brought to you by <a href="http://www.curse.com/">Curse.com</a></h4></span> <h5><b><a href="http://www.cursebeta.com/downloads/details/7529/" title="Download GuildGreet Extended" class="e"> <em> </em></a></b></h5></div> @import url('v5/styles/core/115-tooltips.css?');<div id="cu_filewidget"> <div><h3><a href="http://www.cursebeta.com/downloads/details/1740/">Teamspeak Announcer</a></h3></div> Downloads Today:1 Downloads Total:17,306 <span><h4>Brought to you by <a href="http://www.curse.com/">Curse.com</a></h4></span> <h5><b><a href="http://www.cursebeta.com/downloads/details/1740/" title="Download Teamspeak Announcer" class="e"> <em> </em></a></b></h5></div> @import url('v5/styles/core/115-tooltips.css?');<div id="cu_filewidget"> <div><h3><a href="http://www.cursebeta.com/downloads/details/8643/">TriviaBot</a></h3></div> Downloads Today:325 Downloads Total:75,720 <span><h4>Brought to you by <a href="http://www.curse.com/">Curse.com</a></h4></span> <h5><b><a href="http://www.cursebeta.com/downloads/details/8643/" title="Download TriviaBot" class="e"> <em> </em></a></b></h5></div> @import url('v5/styles/core/115-tooltips.css?');<div id="cu_filewidget"> <div><h3><a href="http://www.cursebeta.com/downloads/details/3921/">WIM (WoW Instant Messenger)</a></h3></div> Downloads Today:459 Downloads Total:460,984 <span><h4>Brought to you by <a href="http://www.curse.com/">Curse.com</a></h4></span> <h5><b><a href="http://www.cursebeta.com/downloads/details/3921/" title="Download WIM (WoW Instant Messenger)" class="e"> <em> </em></a></b></h5></div> @import url('v5/styles/core/115-tooltips.css?');<div id="cu_filewidget"> <div><h3><a href="http://www.cursebeta.com/downloads/details/8943/">Whiteboard -Cont. for BC-</a></h3></div> Downloads Today:4 Downloads Total:3,261 <span><h4>Brought to you by <a href="http://www.curse.com/">Curse.com</a></h4></span> <h5><b><a href="http://www.cursebeta.com/downloads/details/8943/" title="Download Whiteboard -Cont. for BC-" class="e"> <em> </em></a></b></h5></div> <p> </p><p><br /> </p> @import url('v5/styles/core/115-tooltips.css?');<div id="cu_filewidget"> <div><h3><a href="http://www.cursebeta.com/downloads/details/6538/">FriendNet</a></h3></div> Downloads Today:2 Downloads Total:1,370 <span><h4>Brought to you by <a href="http://www.curse.com/">Curse.com</a></h4></span> <h5><b><a href="http://www.cursebeta.com/downloads/details/6538/" title="Download FriendNet" class="e"> <em> </em></a></b></h5></div> @import url('v5/styles/core/115-tooltips.css?');<div id="cu_filewidget"> <div><h3><a href="http://www.cursebeta.com/downloads/details/1147/">GuildEventManager</a></h3></div> Downloads Today:640 Downloads Total:3,781,624 <span><h4>Brought to you by <a href="http://www.curse.com/">Curse.com</a></h4></span> <h5><b><a href="http://www.cursebeta.com/downloads/details/1147/" title="Download GuildEventManager" class="e"> <em> </em></a></b></h5></div> <div class="cb"></div><div style="clear:both;"></div><img src="http://my.curse.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=33063" width="1" height="1">gamingratingdownloadsMaking competitive WoW PvP a serious businesshttp://my.curse.com/blogs/wow-en-reviews/archive/2008/09/17/N2264Id.aspxWed, 27 Jun 2007 00:07:44 GMT045f8e2a-3b25-43b2-9769-9c60de2974e3:37121Nimloth9http://my.curse.com/blogs/wow-en-reviews/rsscomments.aspx?PostID=37121http://my.curse.com/blogs/wow-en-reviews/archive/2008/09/17/N2264Id.aspx#comments<p>Lately, you may have noticed the increasing amount of publicity and promotion of competitive World of Warcraft PvP. Starting out with Blizzard's official Arena Rankings with their implementation of the <a href="http://armory.worldofwarcraft.com">Armory</a> and following up with the <a href="http://www.thewsvg.com">World Series of Video Games (WSVG)</a> in China and Louisville and <a href="http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=112404452&sid=1">Championship Gaming Series (CGS)</a>, the media's eyes on WoW as a game, let alone as a competitive E-Sport is becoming more and more of a debate in the gaming industry. </p><p>While for years already, games such as <a href="http://gw-en.curse-gaming.com">Guildwars</a> have had competitive PvP tournaments with monetary prizes, it is first now that MMORPGs as a genre is being looked at by the eyes of the world. This is mostly due to the sheer size of WoW's subscription base as well as Blizzard's enormous financial resources backing the project. </p><p>To tell the truth, I was not really into the idea of competitive "professional" gaming much myself until the mass PR around World of Warcraft PvP hit the world with storm shortly after the release of The Burning Crusade expansion - mainly because I never was much of a FPS nor RTS player - genres who have dominated the professional gaming market for years with titles such as CounterStrike and Starcraft. Perhaps another reason why MMORPG Pro-Gaming has gained so much attention lately is also because of Starcraft being another Blizzard product. In essence, the mentality many people are following is that "Blizzard has done it before and proven themselves" and they can replicate this in World of Warcraft. </p><p>In reality though, MMORPG PvP and FPS/RTS matches are completely different in nature. Not just because of the coherent design around the older genres as competitive platforms, but also because of how a match plays out for the spectator. In my mind, it is a lot easier to tell a skilled player from a random newbie in spectated FPS or RTS games simply because you are a lot more aware of what is going on at all times. In MMORPG's however, there is so much information, game mechanics and understanding that is required by the viewer to fully appreciate what is being shown. Other obstacles are the actual spectating client and broadcasting itself. Being an infant in terms of broadcasting, viewing and commenting experience of a MMORPG PvP match it is hard to accomodate the various factors that come into play by each team on a very rapid pace such as using line of sight kiting of casters, predicting and interupting spells and exceptional use of attacks/assist trains to rapidly drop a target. This does not even begin to delve into the depths of talent specs and a team's class matrix with explanation of why Team A has an advantage over Team B. </p><p>There are some websites out there that specialize in the analysis of teams like this, most notably <a href="http://www.sk-gaming.com">SK Gaming</a>, <a href="http://www.ampedesports.com">Amped E-Sports</a> and <a href="http://www.worldofming.com">World of Ming</a>. While each of these websites respectably are attacking the idea of bringing awareness and understanding to the competitive World of Warcraft scene, they are going at it in completely different angles. While SK Gaming and Amped take the more formal approach as already internationally recognized E-Sports websites, World of Ming follows suit as a more vocal and personally biased resource, often embedding racist slurs or personal attacks in his commentary, seemingly to amuse the audience. </p><p>One thing is certain though, bringing out the childish and often idiotic behavior of 'elitist' players from PvP realms in MMOs is definitely not the way to go when attempting to appeal to the masses and sparking interest around the game and its competiveness. The word "professional gamer" in this would mean: <em>an expert player, as of golf or tennis, serving as a teacher, consultant, performer, or contestant; pro.</em> When you have some of the leading websites on the internet running their mouth as if they were still teenagers, it is hard for the mass media, the audience and potential financial investors to take the venue of competition seriously. </p><p>Another thing that is equally important to keep in mind is that a transition from a hobby to a professional e-sport is not something that happens overnight. American culture in particular is very adamant about seperating 'real sports' from e-sports as an accepted form of entertainment - very much unlike our eastern culture counterparts such as China and Korea. It is only through improvements to the flaws mentioned above, through steadfast quality media representation and through the timely process of mass adaptation that WoW will succeed as an E-Sport in American society. It is also up to us, the fansites and communities, to portray this e-sport with as much professionalism as possible in order to not alienate the real target market - the audience. </p><p>I originally posted this under my <a href="http://blogs.curse.com/">Curse 'V4 Beta' Blog</a>, but due to the interest and debate it sparked at the office I decided to make it an article all of you are able to read and give responses to. I am interested in hearing what the preliminary thoughts around competitive PvP in WoW are from as many as possible so consider yourself invited to share your thoughts. </p><div class="cb"></div><div style="clear:both;"></div><img src="http://my.curse.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=37121" width="1" height="1">wowgamingpvpprofessionalcompetitiveStratics Interviews Nihilumhttp://my.curse.com/blogs/wow-en-reviews/archive/2008/09/17/N2243Id.aspxTue, 26 Jun 2007 06:57:42 GMT045f8e2a-3b25-43b2-9769-9c60de2974e3:37186JoeMcDoug0http://my.curse.com/blogs/wow-en-reviews/rsscomments.aspx?PostID=37186http://my.curse.com/blogs/wow-en-reviews/archive/2008/09/17/N2243Id.aspx#comments<p>Stratics interviews the top guild in World of Warcraft. Awake details the guild structure and Nihilum's plans for future expansion. This includes Nihilum's move towards professional PvP and upcoming video plans. Yes they will be at the BlizzCon. </p><div class="cb"></div><div style="clear:both;"></div><img src="http://my.curse.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=37186" width="1" height="1">wowstraticsnihilumBlizzard’s Wide spread ban targets today’s busy gamerhttp://my.curse.com/blogs/wow-en-reviews/archive/2008/09/17/N1766Id.aspxSat, 05 May 2007 03:15:38 GMT045f8e2a-3b25-43b2-9769-9c60de2974e3:38489AlexandraMD14http://my.curse.com/blogs/wow-en-reviews/rsscomments.aspx?PostID=38489http://my.curse.com/blogs/wow-en-reviews/archive/2008/09/17/N1766Id.aspx#comments<p>If you’re a hard working adult, parent, or student who enjoys today’s MMO’s but have no time to grind to level 70, Blizzard’s recent actions scream “Your S.O.L.” </p><p>Earlier this week Blizzard banned thousands of accounts in a matter of days. Buying, selling, trading, and even giving away your account results in banning without a second chance. Instead of innocent until proven guilty you’re simply guilty. They even use their godly powers and ban any account associate with your credit card if you chose the monthly billing option. That’s not accounting for the gamers who lost their accounts using game time cards. </p><p>Those who haven’t been banned have their accounts on a temporary lockdown until an I.D that has been notarized is faxed in and approved. Even if they get that information to Blizzard it will take time for the hold to be taken off, leaving the account dead until they deem fit. </p><p>A majority of gamers believe that buying or trading an account is cheating, giving other players an unfair advantage. Although, what if you’re a casual player as opposed to a hard core player? Not every gamer has the luxury of being able to play eight or more hours a day. Casual gamers want to experience the end game fun without spending a massive amount of time away from reality and their responsibilities. </p><p>It’s well known that trading an account is a violation of the terms of service. Even if you decide to give your account away it will result in a ban. Some will argue that it’s not worth the ban and definitely not worth losing their other accounts that had nothing to due with the violation. The customer is still paying their monthly dues and Blizzard is still generating an income. </p><p>Blizzard has yet to release a statement on why the harsh crack down this week, but few have their theories. </p><p>Marcus Eikenberry from Markee Dragon Inc, a trusted guru in the online gaming community, gives his trusted opinion. </p><p><br /> Blizzard Entertainment Inc (949) 955-1382 www.Blizzard.com </p><div class="cb"></div><div style="clear:both;"></div><img src="http://my.curse.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=38489" width="1" height="1">wow123444http://my.curse.com/blogs/wow-en-reviews/archive/2008/09/17/N1363Id.aspxSat, 31 Mar 2007 17:06:44 GMT045f8e2a-3b25-43b2-9769-9c60de2974e3:39335mkfcn0http://my.curse.com/blogs/wow-en-reviews/rsscomments.aspx?PostID=39335http://my.curse.com/blogs/wow-en-reviews/archive/2008/09/17/N1363Id.aspx#comments<p>11 </p><div class="cb"></div><div style="clear:both;"></div><img src="http://my.curse.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=39335" width="1" height="1">11http://my.curse.com/blogs/wow-en-reviews/archive/2008/09/17/N1362Id.aspxSat, 31 Mar 2007 17:01:01 GMT045f8e2a-3b25-43b2-9769-9c60de2974e3:39336mkfcn0http://my.curse.com/blogs/wow-en-reviews/rsscomments.aspx?PostID=39336http://my.curse.com/blogs/wow-en-reviews/archive/2008/09/17/N1362Id.aspx#comments<p>fff </p><div class="cb"></div><div style="clear:both;"></div><img src="http://my.curse.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=39336" width="1" height="1">