Away for a few days

I'll be away till Saturday on a little vacation but I'll put pen to paper and have a few articles ready to go when I return. The lack of content lately can largely be attributed to me (and everyone else) actually playing the game I like to write about it.

The Price is First (But is it Right?)

It is strange what can happen in just a week, even in a fantasy world inhabited by Panda's and blue space goats who fight alongside brilliant men who are typically found in your backyard. This time last week we were all eagerly awaiting the release of Mists. It turns out some of us were awaiting it more than others.

The Beta for Mists was unique in comparison to previous editions for upcoming expansions. This time around the number of participants was hugely increased thanks to Blizzard's Annual Pass which for a subscription commitment of 12 months, players were guaranteed access to Mists Beta servers. I applaud the move as both a wise business decision and a factor in improving the release product which found its way into our virtual lives not five days ago.

It did provide another benefit for a select group of players. With the introduction of each expansion there has always been a leveling race; players would compete in an annual (sometimes biannual) race to reach the level cap first and claim the glory of a Feat of Strength. Previously, a select few lucky enough to gain invites to Beta were at a huge advantage in being able to plan their leveling route and highlight which methods were more effective than others. Those that did not have Beta access were going in almost blind and it made for some unbalanced races. It did however make for some absolutely brilliant competition on servers where nobody interested in racing for the realm first titles got Beta access... the races were longer, more unpredictable and thrilling.

What gives me the right to make such a claim? Well, unless you've stalked me in-game or spent a little long searching my armory profile, then you wouldn't know that I was once a successful leveler. If I depart from strictly Saurfang events for a brief moment, then I remember back to the release of Wrath of the Lich King. At that stage <Ajantis> was still on the server of Aman'thul and our beloved home of Saurfang was at that stage unborn. With the release of Wrath, I logged in three hours after servers opened and casually started making my way through the first few zones. I quickly gained momentum and halfway through 72 I decided to make a go of it.

To my advantage was the obvious fact that very few people had attained Wrath Beta access and the simple reality that in leveling to 80 it was going to take significantly longer than it did to get to 90 in Mists (the five extra levels helped, but the general effort required was more). I ended up taking a 6 hour sleep on the first night and made it to 80 mid way through the 3rd day of release. I lost realm first by a good 6 hours to a Paladin who nobody ever heard of again (a dedicated leveler who had no real interest in the long term game). Back in Wrath (for those who were not playing the game then) they had realm first achievements for specific races (before race change was enabled) and I managed to get the one for the Forsaken. It was a fun time and I enjoyed myself but there were substantial differences between my approach and the one taken by many this week on Saurfang. I quested the entire way and was far from 'hardcore' in my efforts. I did no research and made no attempt to exploit. It was good, old fashioned and very naive.

So, getting back to Saurfang and the events of Tuesday release, the server first titles all went within a very short time frame. The amount of experience needed to level was in my opinion far too low. Coupled with the amount of intensive research put into the race by some players, the levels fell with little fanfare or credible resistance.

I had initially planned to do an interview with the first player on the server to reach level 90, but I rapidly changed my thinking upon reading this thread and having a few conversations with well placed individuals in-game. I have been deep in thought about how to approach the whole controversial affair, and if I even want too.

Eventually I decided I wanted to address a few points, but on topics not already covered by others. So, here are my views on the subject

• On playing to the "spirit of the game". The final word is that the achievements earned by some of the first to reach 90 will remain with them. The method in which they reached their goal is ultimately okay within the game rules, due to the basic fact that Blizzard have deemed their particular strategy permissible. While I don't wish to take a particular side and say that what was done was 'cheating' or simply 'immoral', I also don't agree with the adage of 'winning at all costs'. Of far more interest to me is the attitude of the players to this game; it means very different things to very different people. Are we to remember ourselves and each other for the achievements we gained, or the manner in which we scaled the heights themselves? Either way, we are concerned with the opinons of others and we are forever subject to individual taste and fickleness alike

• On the "pride of the server" notion. Reading through the thread on the Realm Forums, there is one thing that is undeniable; there is feeling and passion amongst the top players on the server. Oh boy is there some feeling! Raiding has not yet begun in earnest and already the gauntlet has been laid down. For now the interactions are mostly amicable but there is a real sense of competition about and it will be interesting to see if the varying approaches to the levelling race are continued in the raiding scene.

So, things didn't turn out as planned for many people and there will be a bitter taste in the mouths of some for months to come. While most will turn the page and focus on far more important aspirations, I guarantee that the perceived injustices of the last week will continue to stoke the fires of some players well into the foreseeable future.

What an interesting time to be a Saurfangian. 

The Histories: Cataclysm (Rated Battlegrounds - Part 4)

The Histories are a series of articles that recounts past periods of World of Warcraft, experienced from my point of view on Saurfang playing my mage Nastre.

With the end of Season 9 the ABC (Ajantis Battleground Crew) was extremely well placed. Starting from nothing, the team had enjoyed a pretty respectable first season with a large number of 2000 rated players with many going onto further honours at 2200 and above. Players who had at first been skeptical of the concept were now very interested (after the hard work had been done in laying the foundations, it's natural to have people suddenly wanting a piece of the pie). The team swelled in size and in the first few weeks of Season 10, we had over three full 10 man rated battleground teams in operation. To think of that number, it's quite incredible. While 25 man raids were dying and recruitment seemed a near impossible task, the ABC had enough members for a full raid with plenty to spare.

In hindsight, the success of the team was it's own worst enemy. It had two consequences, both of which I take the blame for. Firstly, it got to big for me to control without burning me out. Leading a group of 30+ is difficult but not impossible. Doing it with three separate teams, constantly mixed, when I can only be in one team at a time... very difficult, maybe impossible. I also was disappointed at a lack of maturity from some members, who refused to play with others or made it extremely uncomfortable when they did so. Perhaps my expectations were too altruistic. Regardless, in hindsight I should have capped numbers and learned to say 'no' more often.

The second consequence was burn out. I've suffered from it in the past (a story for another time) but with my retirement from raiding, Rated Battlegrounds were intended to be a one night commitment from me in which I could still contribute to <Ajantis> in some format. It rapidly became a victim of its own success and I failed to control my own commitment. In the end I felt exhausted and lost my enjoyment for the game. It resulted in my second break from WoW and it would last until just a few weeks ago.

The ABC continued on, albeit in a largely diminished form. Here is a report on the ABC post-Nastre era from Infarct, who took over leadership of the group (and did a great job, all things considered).

Toward the end of Season 10 and the start of Season 11 started tumultuous with leadership changing 3 times with it finally resting on Infarcts shoulders. The reluctant leader with a few diehard devotees established a team with some new faces.  

As with all new teams and new roles namely for myself stepping into the healer role and Uthred and Swirly taking the offensive lead we faced a new challenge in establishing ourselves as a successful team. Challenges we faced was cohesiveness and often had to call upon non regular players to fill our ranks on occasion. 

With content exhaustion and struggle to maintain a regular team I was proud of the fact that most of the regular team was able to achieve on average 1800 rating with some individuals breaking into the higher brackets as well. With Brute as our toughest Flag carrier to ever grace the battlefield we dominated Warsong Gulch and Twin Peaks, however with the reintroduction of Eye of the Storm and the multitude of strategies and one small victory on a node would result in a one sided event, this was considered our toughest Battleground to be successful. 

Over the course of Season 11 we saw the rise of the dreaded, brutal and unrelenting “Dot Cleave” teams which was made possible with Legendary armed DOT Casters (Laser Chickens, Affliction Locks, Fire Mages and Shadow Priests) with Heroic Cunning of the Cruel combined with the on demand burst from the Death Knight and Legendary armed Rogue. Towards the latter half of the season majority of the teams consisted of this makeup and would often dominate the matches with overwhelming damage to the whole team which would inevitability overburden the healing team with blanket silences.  

With this nasty trend of DOT Cleave teams and content exhaustion we decided to call it a day for Rated Battlegrounds for Cataclysm.  

However, it is time for the ABC to rise again! I have begun setting up the team to return to the fields of Warsong and the lightning struck rock faces of Eye of the Storm in an attempt to see Saurfang represented again in the Rated Battleground format. This time I am limiting the team to a roster of 12. Interest has been massive from within the guild and I'm going to have to say 'sorry' to at least 15 people. It is a decision that will hurt, but it must be done to avoid the problems of last time. With a smaller team I also hope we can push for ratings of a much higher nature.

Expect to see more of us in the future and I promise to report on matches and developments of interesting nature on this blog from time to time.

Out with the Old, in with the New

So Mists of Pandaria is due to go live in just under 30 minutes. For now we say goodbye to Cataclysm and hello to Pandaria. Must say it feels good to have a new continent to explore.

In terms of this blog I will take the customary break from writing until the Friday of this week. I'll try be online and get a little play done this week but my time is limited. I will try record some footage on fraps from the Tuesday night, things should be rather exciting.

As for the blog, I did not get the chance to talk to In Another Castle or As Is Tradition. What I will try and do is speak with them in the weekend and maybe get their interview done, with a couple of "what are your first impression" questions.

For those who are curious, the blog has exploded in popularity. The first weekend saw the blog get a maximum of 92 hits on the Saturday. The weekend just been saw the blog get over 230 hits on Saturday night with strong showings on Friday and Sunday as well. With it being live for just over two weeks there have been over 1,500 unique visitors from a massive variety of countries (hello to my brahs from Hungary!)

If you enjoy reading this blog, please do recommend it to your friends. I can't wait to write about our adventures in Mists and I will endeavour to keep providing interesting and proper conversation for you to browse at your leisure.

PS: I'll be leveling flagged the whole time in Mists, so... bring it. I'm ready, are you?

The Interviews: Saurfang PVE with Ajantis (Horde)

The Interviews are a series of one-on-one conversations between myself and the GM's/Raid Leaders of the guilds of Saurfang that are likely to feature in the race for PVE supremacy. They are designed to provide an insight into the community before the release of the Mists of Pandaria expansion and to generate interest in what is likely to be a fascinating next few months.

Next on the interview list is a guild that is obviously close to home for me. I spoke with Medissalyn who is the GM of <Ajantis> (Horde). Ajantis has been a premier guild on Saurfang ever since the birth of the realm, but went through a tough time in Cataclysm. Signs are positive however that the current group of members are ready to lead the way into a new age.

Nastre: Mists of Pandaria is mere sleeps away. What's the general feeling in the guild like heading into the fourth WoW expansion?

Medissalyn: The guild is humming with excitement. I feel most people are completely 'over' Cataclysm, and in particular Dragon Soul.

Seen enough of that raid for a lifetime?

Very much so. Although I personally enjoy some of the encounters, many of them (Spine and Madness) are tedious and horrible to constantly complete.

Well we can only hope Blizzard follows through with their promise to release content more regularly in the future. As a guild what are your ambitions for MoP in terms of raiding accomplishments?

 Ideally to improve upon our end ranking at the conclusion of Dragon Soul. In terms of specific targets we ended Dragon Soul ranked 385 in the world for 25 mans, so anywhere between 300-350 would be nice. Lower is always good though.

Give an overall impression of the Saurfang PVE scene and who you consider your main rivals for server first kills.

In the 10 man scene I feel <Blizzard Mentor Horde> may reign supreme, followed by <In Another Castle>. However, as Cast said in his interview IAC could nab some early server first kills due to their earlier raid times. I can't comment on the other 10 mans too well as I have no idea about them.

In 25 mans I believe Ominous have moved back to the 25 man format but I am unsure as to how they are going so I can't give a good answer for that. However I have confidence in Ajantis' raid team and I feel we can come out on top in MoP

A diplomatic and fair answer. The 10 man vs 25 man debate. What are your thoughts on the merits and future of each format?

For me the two formats have too many inconsistencies to be compared properly. This isn't a "my difficulty is harder than your difficulty" statement, it simply shows that the two can not be compared properly as they aren't in the same classification. 

However it is undeniable that 25 man raiding took a dive in the last expansion. Many guilds (including Ajantis itself) almost died and went to 10 man raiding. I feel that the logistic side of management is the primary reason for this movement.   

I might be biased, but I think you and the other officers have done a wonderful job to navigate what was a tough expansion for Saurfang's oldest topflight raiding guild. It appears everyone agrees Ajantis is in a much stronger position for MoP than it was in Cataclysm. Surely you take heart from that?

I do. Tier 11/12 were difficult times for various reasons that you know about. When I was handed the GMship in the later portion of Firelands, I was not confident in the guilds ability to go forward in the future of the game. However, we had a startling turnaround come Dragon Soul. There were challenges aplenty with an almost entirely new roster (Mhorac was the only consistent healer). We managed to overcome our obstacles and the guild is now in its strongest position since the kill of Heroic Lich King in Wrath. 

I'm proud to say that the officers and I turned the guild around, from a time when I wasn't sure we could do it.

 You have to choose one player from Saurfang, past or present, Horde or Alliance, and who is not currently in your guild to take in your raid (any class). Who do you take and why?

Tough question - I would say Eternal, but he is still techinically in Ajantis. I don't know all that many people on Saurfang. Probably Lithh as a lot of people who I would nominate are still in guild but retired in Ajantis. Lithh was a holy paladin in Ajantis in Tier 10, great healer, great guy. Last we talked he had become an officer in < Ascension >

He was a major asset in the Heroic Lich King kill for sure. Last question, describe your guild and what you hope to achieve in MoP in three words

Discipline, Focus, Intelligence.

Awesome Medi, that's a wrap. Very professional and well spoken interview, thanks for your time.

The Interviews: Saurfang PVE with Ominous (Alliance)

The Interviews are a series of one-on-one conversations between myself and the GM's/Raid Leaders of the guilds of Saurfang that are likely to feature in the race for PVE supremacy. They are designed to provide an insight into the community before the release of the Mists of Pandaria expansion and to generate interest in what is likely to be a fascinating next few months.

Tonight I had the chance to interview one of the Alliance guilds who will leave their mark on Mists of Pandaria in a big way. I had the pleasure of speaking with Jackripster, GM of the raiding guild <Ominous>. <Ominous> has a proud history on the server and are guaranteed to continue this legacy into Mists and beyond. Here is what Jack had to say when I threw some questions his way.

Nastre: Mists of Pandaria is mere sleeps away. What's the general feeling in the guild like heading into the fourth WoW expansion?

 

Jackripster: Everyone’s really pumped for MoP, i guess thats a standard reply. But i think extra so for us going back to 25s from 2 x 10 man teams for the last tier in Cata. Having farmed Dragon Soul as 25s for the last few months it was great getting the players together from each team. We took a bit of a risk with two teams, we had concerns it could divide the guild but to the players credit they all supported each other all the way through. All players showed commitment to their team and guild, they both cleared the heroic content in good competitive time. I think our second team were second alliance which we’re proud of. It made our decision going back to 25s relatively easy.

 

Personally I think it's great you are going back to 25 man raiding. Wonderful to see a top tier guild return to the bigger stage. As a guild what are your ambitions for MoP in terms of raiding accomplishments?

 

As people would know that have raided with us, our No1 priority has always been to clear heroic content in good time. Its important to us we do that with a mature group that values the time and commitment of their teammates. If we achieve those goals and hopefully strengthen our squad along the way we’ll be more than happy.

 

Noble ambitions for sure. Give an overall impression of the Saurfang PVE scene and who you consider your main rivals for server first kills.

 

We dont really focus on server firsts. Dont get me wrong we play hard and keep an eye on the rankings, we’re a competitive raiding guild after all. But as long as we give our best and clear heroic content in a competitive manner we’ve achieved our goal. If that ends up a server first then great, but being 25s we’ll probably keep just as close an eye on Oceanic standings amongst other 25 man teams. Basically we concern ourselves more with whats in our control and because of that we dont worry too much about what other guilds are doing. Theres many great teams that could achieve server first.

 

As a side note our server has gone from strength to strength, it was pleasing to see our player base support various guilds as they helped lift Saurfang’s oceanic ranking. Good luck to all our raiding guilds! 

 
With a genuine response like that it's not hard to see why <Ominous> has the respect and good reputation amongst the server! The 10 man vs 25 man debate. What are your thoughts on the merits and future of each format?

 

Well at the start of Cata i knew 25s would struggle, we debated for sometime about making the switch to 10s for cata. We stuck with 25s to start with and as expected recruitment was brutal. It was no surprise to see 25 man guilds falling over everywhere. For many players the dream of doing it their way with their own guild would be strong, putting further pressure on 25 recruitment which was already tough. My gut feel now from talking to players, watching player movement and some encouraging dialog from Blizz i feel 25s might see a small resurgence. I think more of the player base realises smaller raid teams has its advantages but also disadvantages, including often not having players around outside of normal raid hours. In short 10s will remain strong while we see a bit of a shift back to 25s.  

 

I have read the same 'encouraging dialogue' you speak of. I wonder what design changes Blizzard will end up making? Maybe separate Server First titles for 10s and 25s? Anyway, next question. You have to choose one player from Saurfang, past or present, Horde or Alliance, and who is not currently in your guild to take in your raid (any class). Who do you take and why?

 

Cmon what sort of question is this? Nastre for awesome interview skills! Seriously though, there been so many quality players its hard to pick purely on skill. But i would give you the nod tbh. Pretty much all Ajantis players who have played with us have said your ability to raid lead and problem solve quickly was outstanding. I [know] just how hard and how valuable that is particularly in a 25 man setting while maintaining high person performance.

 

Agreed. Until you have to run on auto pilot and still do an excellent job in your role while devoting 90% of your energy to the likes of strategy and impromptu decision making, it's hard to understand what raid leaders have to do.Last question, describe your guild and what you hope to achieve in MoP in three words

 

Clear heroic content

Clear and concise! Thanks for your comments Jack, many Alliance players were looking forward to hearing from you and I'm sure they won't be disappointed. Best of luck for <Ominous> in Mists and hopefully we can catch up down the track. 

The Interviews: Saurfang PVE with Lotion (Alliance)

The Interviews are a series of one-on-one conversations between myself and the GM's/Raid Leaders of the guilds of Saurfang that are likely to feature in the race for PVE supremacy. They are designed to provide an insight into the community before the release of the Mists of Pandaria expansion and to generate interest in what is likely to be a fascinating next few months.

The next in my series of interviews was with Jepsen, the Guild Master of the relatively young guild <Lotion> (Alliance). After a turbulent beginning, the guild has settled nicely and boasts a roster more than capable of challenging for the number one ranking on the server. They also hold strong PVP ambitions, which pleases this writer even more...

Nastre: Mists of Pandaria is mere sleeps away. What's the general feeling in the guild like heading into the fourth WoW expansion?

Jepsen: It's hard to express how excited people are, I'm not sure if it comes from boredom of Dragon Soul and Cata or the fact that MoP looks so promising, but people can't wait. One particular person has told me how "keen" he is literally over one hundred times.

If I was to suggest this person was a certain Paladin that cried tears of joy when he killed Heroic Lich King on 25 man difficulty, would I be correct?

Haha, yes.

As a guild what are your ambitions for MoP in terms of raiding accomplishments?

We have talked a lot about the potential to get realm firsts. Many of our members have achieved them before and know the feeling and we would love to relive that more than anything. Personally it is not so much about being the best, but the thrill of the achievement and knowing you just spammed the server. But we realise there is strong competition from other guilds and we won't be surprised if we aren't first, but it is a nice aim to have.

Nothing like server spam to get the juices flowing! Give an overall impression of the Saurfang PVE scene and who you consider your main rivals for server first kills.

I would say our biggest competition would come from Blizzard Mentor Horde, there team is looking very strong and we eagerly await a competitive battle. In Another Castle have been very silent from our perspective, we don't know much about them but from what we have heard they will be competitive. We just don't know HOW competitive.

Lastly, for Horde <Photonics> is a bit of dark horse with a number of ex S-Key members. They are working on a team with the potential to be amazing and smash everything, or fall apart soon after MoP releases. They are a big unknown. No way to tell yet, but definitely a group to keep an eye on.

As for Alliance <As Is Tradition> is a strong team but they have lost a few members and may be struggling. The 25 man guilds will have an awesome race but I'm not sure how they will fare against the 10 man guilds. Getting 25 players together is a mission, but I would not rule them out completely.

So in the race between Ajantis and Ominous for 25 man glory, who are you backing?

Well I love an underdog story so it would be awesome to see Ominous pull ahead but as of right now I think Ajantis has a better group and more synergy. I know Ominous take a lot of friends to their 25 mans.

Good points, I know that race in itself will prove a talking point in months to come. The 10 man vs 25 man debate. What are your thoughts on the merits and future of each format?

When I came back to Cata, I didn't even consider 10 man raiding to be worthwhile. I barely considerd it real raiding, but after doing DS I realise it has its own individual challenges. A 25 man is far harder to manage with the inflated roster but there are advantages in terms of cooldown usage and a wider buff pool. This makes some encounters easier (but some harder as well).

While a 10 man is far easier to manage, you can carry 1-2 people in a 25 man, which you just can't do in a 10 man. Losing a player after using the single Battle Resurrection available can often mean a wipe during progression. Whereas I know from Wrath we managed many kills with 23-24 people alive.

It seems many are framing it as a battle between the individual challenge and larger team environment with 10 vs 25 mans. Would you concur with that comment?

Yeah, I'd agree with that to some degree, but I wouldn't take away the  individual challenge from 25 mans as well.

Cast mentioned the idea of a 15 man raiding format. What do you think of the idea? 

Yeah, when I read that in his interview I thought that was a great idea. 15 mans would be an ideal combination of ease of management stacked with the epicness that 25 man raids bring. A setup of 2 tanks, 4 healers and 9 dps would be awesome.

Next question. You have to choose one player from Saurfang, past or present, Horde or Alliance, and who is not currently in your guild to take in your raid (any class). Who do you take and why?

You already know what my answer will be <3 I've never raided with someone who influences the likliehood of a boss going down more than yourself. You inspire a raid like no other. Failing that because of your schedule, Id go with Quann (Hunter from Ajantis). 

That means a lot coming from someone of your calibre mate, really does. I hope to see the "new blood" write their own stories in Mists, will be fascinating to watch from my perspective.

Last question. Describe your guild and what you hope to achieve in MoP in three words"

Wow, that's hard. We have PVP ambitions as well as PVE.

For PVE, "Oceanic Top 10". It would be great to see Saurfang back in that elite bracket. It's more of a realm goal than just a guild one however. As long as someone from Saurfang can do it.

For PVP, "Gladiator, HoTA, Tealc"

Perfect summary. Thanks Jepsen. Lotion is a guild of ambition and it's going to be one of the must-see in the weeks ahead. Best of luck for MoP and hopefully we can do another interview a few months down the track.