Bite of the Worgen
As the only person on earth to not play World of Warcraft’s Cataclysm expansion, I figured it was finally time to see what all the talk was about. I decided to start from scratch so that I could experience all the new content. I picked a Worgen mage and entered the game.
My first view of Gilneas
My very first sight was of Prince Liam Greymane giving orders to his troops. I soon learned that the city of Gilneas was under attack by rampaging Worgen and that I was needed to help in its defense. I was given a quest to go kill some Worgen, so off I went with staff in hand.
Worgen's attack
After I had dispatched some baddies, I was tasked with gathering up some crucial supplies by locating several boxes scattered throughout the surrounding area. I also had to rescue some frightened citizens from their homes. After doing all I could to help the situation here, I was sent on to the Military District to receive further instructions.
The king wanted me to find a man named Darius Crowley, once considered a traitor, but now needed to help fight off the invaders. Along the way I found my class trainer and received a new spell – Arcane Missiles. This spell is a little different from the version prior to Cataclysm. With the new version you must cast another spell before Arcane Missiles will be available. I found it to be a bit annoying after being used to casting it whenever I wanted.
King Genn Greymane
I found Crowley and some of his men guarding a wounded man. They needed help holding off the attacking Worgen for two minutes so that they would have time to bandage him. So, for the next two minutes we fought off several waves of Worgen. There were plenty of them but they were easy to kill. Even so, two minutes seemed a very long time. After the attack was over, Crowley sent me to a basement where a stash of big cannons were hidden.
My fate awaits
See that guy in the picture above? Josiah Avery is the man responsible for turning me into a Worgen. He attacked upon my arrival, and before I could kill him, he had bitten me. Lorna Crowley and her two dogs came to my rescue. She then gave me one of her dogs and had me find and kill invisible Worgen. The dog was able to smell them out, so he led me right to them.
The rescuers
After that, they needed someone to lead a large group of Worgen away from one of the main gates, so the King gave me his own horse to attempt the deed. It was quite the ride.
Ever feel like you're being followed?
Upon complete of that crazy ride, I soon learned that I was bound to repeat it again. Crowley had his cannons in place and needed help getting the enemy in range of them. I jumped on the horse with him and away we went. I was tasked with throwing torches into groups of Worgen, which would get their attention so that they would chase us. It was a very fun exercise.
Now that the enemy was in front of the cannons, it was time to see the fireworks. Crowley ordered me to take control of the cannons and kill 80 of the attacking Worgen. I was able to turn, raise, and lower the cannons so that I could aim them at large concentrations of the enemy. I also had a great time doing this.
Cannons standing ready
Unfortunately, the cannons could not kill them fast enough, so we were ordered to fall back to the cathedral that was behind us. They soon broke through, however, and we were attacked on all sides. This is where it turned bad for me. The bite I received from Josiah Avery was a Worgen bite. It quickly began to affect me and I soon turned on my friends and attacked them. The last thing I saw before blacking out was of Worgen flying in from the windows to kill everyone.
I had become a Worgen.
Human no longer
I was impressed with the Worgen starting area. I was very engaged with what was happening around me. Everything I accomplished was fun to do. The mad dashes on horseback and the firing of huge cannons enriched the experience and pulled me in. I had a great time. I hope the good experiences continue as I delve deeper in Cataclysm.
Read MoreBlizzard Backtracks on Real ID
The huge backlash against Blizzard’s plan to have players of World of Warcraft post on the official forums with their real name has caused them to change their minds about this dubious change.
Blizzard CEO Mike Morhaime posted on the forums to announce that they have changed their mind and that posting with your real name will not be required. A huge cheer was voiced by many in the community.
Personally, I wish they had kept the plan in place. I think it would have resulted in a much more civil and productive discourse about the game and I think that was what Blizzard was trying to accomplish.
Read MoreWorld of Warcraft and Real ID
The internet has exploded with the news out of Blizzard that their forums will begin using a system called Real ID. What this means is that anyone who posts on the official forums will do so with their real names. Posters will not be able to hide behind their character names any longer. The massive thread on the WoW forums about this subject is monumental.
Naturally, people are up in arms over this for a variety of reasons. The biggest reason is player privacy. If another player does not like what you did in-game, or did not agree with what you said in a forum post, they are now armed with your real name and the potential for harassment is greatly increased.
My biggest worry is for female players. We all know what female players go through with the crude remarks, verbal sexual abuse, and general idiotic in-game stalking. Now imagine those idiots having that woman’s real name. In theory, the potential of some crazy love-struck guy could track her down in real life is very possible.
I am not sure what Blizzard’s real motivations are for this change. Are they tired of the official forums being a repository of the lowest common denominator? Do they think a more civil discourse will ensue once people are required to use their real name? I don’t know, but it sure is going to be fun to watch the outcome of this one. The Real ID system gets turned on just before the upcoming Cataclysm expansion.
As a side note, parents can opt their children out of using RealID. You can find instructions on how to do that right here.
Read MoreWhat To Play?
Yeah, I am still waiting for my new computer to arrive. Not being able to play any game for more than a month is making my fingers itch. I have, however, had plenty of time to think about what games I want to play going forward. I am a litle torn on the subject.
My World of Warcraft subscription is still active, even though it is not being used right now. The easy road says to go back to playing it, but I am getting urges to play other games. I have a lifetime subscription to Lord of the Rings Online, a game I have not logged into for a long time. The urge to play LOTRO has been heightened lately by the fact that I have been listening to the LOTR audiobooks again. I do this every couple of years because I love the books so much. My only complaint with LOTRO is that I grew weary with all the quests, but if you are not questing, you are wasting your time. The experience gained from grinding mobs is a pittance compared to what you receive from a quest.
Another option is the Sony Station Pass. As you probably know, the $30 a month Station Pass allows you to play any of Sony’s MMO’s that you own the software to. Everquest will ever be my first MMO love. I played Everquest 2 for awhile, but none of my friends followed me there, so I gave it up. I also played Pirates of the Burning Sea for a short while. It grew stale fast. Star Wars Galaxies is another that I played from launch, but the game destroying NGE update had me running for the exits. I tried Vanguard again, but as I mentioned on this blog earlier, it still is way too buggy for me.
It could be because I am older now, but nothing in the MMO space gets me very excited these days. After playing so many of them, it all seems like I’ve been there, done that. I don’t see much innovation anymore. Are all the great ideas used up? I don’t think so, but you can’t tell that from the latest crop of games to be released. Conan, Warhammer, and Darkfall are more of the same tired ideas that have been used over and over again. The only thing that sets Darkfall apart is the fact that it is so hardcore that most people will never want to play it.
So what is a veteran noob supposed to do? I think I will start from scratch in LOTRO and see how it goes. I still need to decide if I stay with WoW or go with the Station Pass. My computer isn’t due for another couple of weeks, so I have plenty of time to decide.
Read MoreAlienware M17 Gaming Notebook Is Mine!
I gave myself a treat this Christmas. I bought an Alienware M17 gaming notebook computer. I have done away with my desktop computer and I now use this notebook for everything. It is a powerhouse that can handle anything I throw at it.
The Alienware M17 is not built with portability in mind. It is a desktop replacement machine that weighs around 10 pounds. Needless to say, not many jet-setters will be carrying this thing around. If you are looking for a gaming notebook and portability is not that important to you, then you need to take a serious look at the M17.
The M17 can be customized in many different ways. I chose the 2.53ghz Core 2 Duo processor. It can be easily upgraded to a quad core processor later on, so I didn’t feel it was necessary to pay the extra money for it now. I also choose to get 4gb of RAM, 320gb hard drive, 17″ screen, illuminated keyboard and more. You can really make the M17 your own.
The most important feature available on this notebook is the SLI graphics card option. I went with dual ATI 3870 graphics cards, each with 512mb of RAM, and running in Crossfire mode. That is two full video cards with a total of 1gb in video ram – in a notebook computer!
I haven’t had a ton of time with it yet, but I can tell you that this thing screams! It plows through World of Warcraft at max settings with ease. I also love how quiet it runs. Even with the GPU fans at full speed, the noise is very acceptable. I expected it to sound like a jet engine but it absolutely does not.
I’ll report more on its gaming performance as I get back into playing. I am very interested to see how it can handle Vanguard’s hefty graphics engine.
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