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10/26/2010

All the World's a Stage: Top 10 RP hot spots in Cataclysm

by Dawn Moore Oct 17th 2010 at 8:00PM



Mr. Gray isn't here today. I heard some sort of rumor that he was competing in a chili cook-off, but that could be entirely fictitious when you consider the sources (he who shall not be named ...). As such, I jumped on the opportunity to cover his column for the weekend so that I could return to my RP roots. Taking over WoW Insider for a good four hours on a Sunday is also pretty fun.


Anyway, I jumped on the chance to write this column today because I actually used to type out an emote or two on my old server, Sentinels. Oh, the good old days of being a tyrannical cult leader; how I miss them! These days, though, I don't do much RP other than a little bit to weird out my fellow guildies (you must make an offering to the god of raiding before you pull a boss!). Despite this, I still feel very inclined to RP, and as I travel around the Cataclysm beta I often found myself thinking, "Wow! This would be a great place to RP!" So I've written this article with my top 10 picks for new RP hot spots in Cataclysm.



10. Hyjal


Do you ever notice that night elves don't RP in Darnassus? Sure, maybe a handful of them do, but not many of them. I blame it on the communal housing in their capital city and the fact that said capital city is about as far away from everything else as it could be. Fortunately, we now have Hyjal, which is just about as far away as Darnassus, but it's a hell of a lot cooler.


Obviously a quest zone, especially a high-level one, won't be a great hang-out spot, but I could definitely foresee its being used as a destination for many pilgrimages. Traveling to see the great tree of Nordrassil would be a big deal to any night elf or historian. Blood elves (especially magisters) may also find the spot significant, seeing as the Well of Eternity (from which the Sunwell originated -- Edit: Or not. Read this comment here for details) sits just under the tree. The druid burrows are also nearby, as well as a night elf prison similar to the one where Illidan Stormrage was once locked up. There are even night elf wardens, dressed in the same garb we previously saw on Maiev. The very beautiful Ysera is also there.


To top it off, Nordrassil is huge. You could live up there and do Avatar RP if you wanted to. Dawn cringes. There are a ton of branches you can fly up to and have a picnic on if you like, and if you wanted to go further from there, have at it.



9. Azshara waterfalls


The addition of flying mounts in the old world has given us access to so many new things, and these falls are just the start. These waterfalls are located along the mountainous borders of Azshara, close to Winterspring, and they're quite a marvel to look at. I encourage you to try standing in the mist at the base of them; it's beautiful.


Now, I may be dead wrong on this, but don't people like to RP next to waterfalls? Back in the days of AOL chat room RP, I know that one of the most popular RP hang-outs was the waterfalls of Rhydin. You could find all sorts of people just lounging about, taking in the view and barging into each others' storylines. I don't quite see that happening in WoW, but at the very least, I could see this being the spot for a romantic getaway or vacation with a few friends.



8. Orgrimmar: Valley of Wisdom


Orgrimmar got a major facelift this expansion, and the Valley of Wisdom is definitely the most different compared to what it once was. This is now basically the tauren district, which I think is wonderful for the handful of tauren RPers who (at least in my opinion) have the most trouble fitting into the Horde RP scene. The changes to the city now make Orgrimmar the epitome of diversity, and with so many races having a reason to be here, I hope tauren will be able to RP more in tune with their race's lore, rather than finding a way to fit themselves into that patch of grass in Silvermoon City.


The other good thing is that the Valley of Wisdom is tucked off away from the main traffic areas of Orgrimmar. You'll be able to avoid the non-RPers pretty easily over here, while still enjoying an interesting area in the capital city.



7. Dwarven hovels (The Wetlands)


Do you remember flying up to Ironforge from Menethil Harbor and seeing all those little hovels? Well, now you can finally get to them, and they're a lot more expansive than I realized. There are a few structures up here, plus some paths and farms, and there is a locked gate that leads to what I assume is Ironforge. Each home is stocked with the typical dwarven fair: weapons, booze and more booze.


I'm not sure how much farmer RP exists on the typical RP server. I have a fondness for it, but it usually turns into recluse RP so I guess it will just depend on what you're into. Even with a handful of NPCs around, I think these hovels are definitely nice locations for player housing; they're close enough to a city to be convenient, but far enough for them to be a little more private than that one house. You know what I mean -- that one house in a city that has no NPCs in it, and every RPer from Gilneas to Tanaris claims it as his own. Yeah, you know what I'm talking about.


6. Orgrimmar: Valley of Spirits


Orgrimmar again, but this time it's the Valley of Spirits, which is now awesome. The whole valley got overhauled so that it now not only has some really amazing troll architecture but also a goblin slum (not pictured) nearby. Just like the Valley of Wisdom, the troll district and goblin slums are far enough away from the main stomping areas of Orgrimmar to keep the RP mood intact. The whole thing has an amazing ambiance and I think troll (and goblin) RPers might really dig it here.


Overall, I have high hopes for Orgrimmar as an RP spot in Cataclysm, but it's really hard to tell what people are going to be into. I oftentimes find that people want to RP their own stories and just use WoW as a medium, rather than wanting to RP as characters that fit into the existing world and lore. There isn't anything wrong with that, granted, but I think that kind of trending is what has left Orgrimmar so dry up until now. It's also possible that it's just harder or less interesting for the average RPer to play a character who is so vastly different from himself, and the tribal and communal life that many Horde races exhibit is pretty far from the life of the average WoW player. Still, maybe these new areas will inspire players to try playing some of the lesser RPed races in Azeroth. Let's hope!

Tags: cataclysm-rp, featured, guide, guide-to-lore, hot-spots, hotspots, lore, lore-guide, role-play, role-playing-guide, rp-guide, world-of-warcraft-lore, wow-guide, wow-lore, wow-role-playing, wow-role-playing-guide, wow-rp, wow-rp-guide, wow-rping

Filed under: RP, All the World's a Stage (Roleplaying)


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10/25/2010

Addon Spotlight: 4.0.1 updated favorites

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Addon Spotlight focuses on the backbone of the WoW gameplay experience: the user interface. Everything from bags to bars, buttons to DPS meters and beyond -- your addons folder will never be the same. This week everything broke, so let's fix it.

Addon Spotlight is going to do things a little differently this week. We've just come off a fresh, new patch, with loads of new abilities, content and system mechanics. Rather than focus on one or two addons this week, I want to give my readers a rundown on some of the crucial addons we all know and love, making sure you know what to update, considering some addons are taking the drive out of the car, so to speak. In addition, I'll give you some alternatives to addons that might not be functioning perfectly right now, tell you which addons are just being naughty and try to get you back on track before the weekend.

Classic damage and threat

Many addons have had Cataclysm variations and updates in the works, but most didn't get pushed out until late Wednesday night. Many people reported errors across the board as addons were mashing up against one another, ruining some people's nights. Recount, Omen and Skada have all been updated for 4.0.1, covering all of your damage and threat tracking needs. Be careful, DPSers, because some of your numbers might be awesome, but your poor tank is going to be very sad all night.

Download Recount at [Curse].
Download Omen at [Curse] or [WoWInterface].
Download Skada at [Curse] or [WoWInterface].

Raids and boss encounters

Those crazy fools over at Deadly Boss Mods, BigWigs and Deus Vox Encounters have got your back with an update for 4.0.1 that is stable, working and guaranteed to make your raid night go a little bit smoother. Raiding Tuesday night was a giant pain, with everyone's user interfaces on the brink. Having boss encounter addons ready to go after a new patch is a huge boon, considering most of the encounters in Wrath of the Lich King feel a little bit different with all the new changes. Update your boss encounters and make your fellow raiders a little bit happier.

Download Deadly Boss Mods at [Curse] or [WoWInterface].
Download Deus Vox Encounters at [Curse].
Download BigWigs Bossmods at [Curse] or [WoWInterface].

Action and cast bars

The two big names in action bars, Bartender4 and Dominos, both updated fairly quickly with 4.0.1 capable builds of these most important addons. I'm a Dominos man myself, so I can speak confidently when I say it's running fine with zero problems. I had one personal mishap with a profile issue, but it was all over quickly and the problem was solved. My Bartender4-savvy friends tell me that Bartender is keeping it real, rocking it old school and generally having an awesome night on the town after that horrible break-up with Samantha. That could have also been my buddy Rick. Either way, it involved bars.

My past recommendation of Castbars exploded on patch day. Without a working cast bar, I was not in a happy mood. I shifted over to Quartz, the reigning cast bar addon that I had proposed an alternative to a while back -- but lo and behold, I have totally refallen in love with Quartz. It's working great for the new patch and has even changed a lot of my own cast bar behaviors. You won me back, Quartz. That's a tough sell.

Download Bartender4 at [Curse] or [WoWInterface].
Download Dominos at [Curse] or [WoWInterface].
Download Quartz at [Curse] or [WoWInterface].

Unit frames

Unit frames are a staple of player interfaces, and thankfully, many of your favorites are working perfectly fine under the new 4.0.1 regime. Shadowed Unit Frames, my personal favorite, was not updated for 4.0.1 and was giving me some trouble. Shadowed, the creator, has recently announced that he is leaving the project and handing it over to the very capable hands of Antiarc and Nevcairiel. If you can't wait for an updated SUF, however, Pitbull and Stuf are both extremely capable and feature rich unit frames. I switched over to Stuf for a while until SUF is back up and running, and the customization options in Stuf blow my mind every time I use it. If you want complete and utter control over your unit frames and have the patience to sit with it, Stuf is your man. Pitbull really doesn't need an introduction, because it's great and everyone already knows it.

Update: SUF does have updates for 4.0.1, released after I had written the round-up. You can find the latest version of Shadowed Unit Frames at [WowAce].

Download Pitbull at [Curse] or [WoWInterface].
Download Stuf at [Curse] or [WoWInterface].

Healing UIs

Healers, rejoice! Not all is lost in your worlds, despite all of those new healy ... things ... going on. Something about mana? I don't know! I think that there's a tree involved. Anyway, Blizzard released this patch with a brand new raid UI that is a somewhat-capable facsimile of Grid, which is currently updated but experiencing a few issues that should all be fixed up soon. Vuhdo and Healbot users, have no fear, because your favorite healing augmenters are ready and raring to go.

Blizzard's new raid UI tries to be Grid for everyone, but misses the biggest boon of Grid -- customization. Sure, it's better than what was there before, but raid frames and healing interfaces are clearly the domain of the addon creators. With the newest raid frames, Blizzard seems to be acknowledging that.

Download Vuhdo at [Curse] or [WoWInterface].
Download Healbot Continued at [Curse].

Personal addon staples

Finally, I wanted to let you guys know about a few of my personal staples that, really, I have a hard time living without. Everyone knows Postal, the ubiquitous mail addon that makes the in-game mail system tolerable. It's been updated for patch 4.0.1, even after some hair-raising moments last night where Postal gave me a few issues. I might have cried.

Arkinventory is another addon that is finally updated to 4.0.1, but for a while on patch day I was getting some errors. Thankfully, that all seems to have gone by the wayside, and even better, all of my previous settings were perfectly intact. Rejoice!

Finally, OmniCC has a new, special place in my heart, as I adjust to my new life as an arms warrior in PvE as well as the new tanking changes. Seeing cooldowns on Rend, for instance, neatly displayed on my enemy's target frame is something I couldn't live without. OmniCC is updated and doing what it does with a stable and solid build.

Download Postal at [Curse] or [WoWInterface].
Download Arkinventory at [Curse].
Download OmniCC at [Curse] or [WoWInterface].

Double finally

Finally-finally, don't forget to update the two best addons ever, Addon Control Panel and ButtonFacade, both sparkly and shiny and patch-4.0.1-resistant.

Download Addon Control Panel at [Curse].
Download ButtonFacade at [Curse].

For a list of all addons updated for the new 4.0.1 patch and Cataclysm, hit up Curse for a comprehensive list.

Good luck with your interfaces, everyone. Next week on Reader UI of the Week, we'll discuss and highlight some of the UI packs that have updated for patch 4.0.1, so if you have a favorite UI pack that's stable and patch-ready, email me and let me know.
Addons are what we do on Addon Spotlight. If you're new to mods, Addons 101 will walk you through the basics; see what other players are doing at Reader UI of the Week. If there's a mod you think Addon Spotlight should take a look at, email mat@wow.com. Tags: 4.0.1, action-bar, action-bar-mods, action-bars, add-on, add-on-configuration, add-on-guide, addon-configuration, addon-control-panel, addon-guide, addon-unit-frame, addons, addons-4.0.1, button-facade, cast-bar, cast-bar-addon, cast-bars, castbars, featured, guide, heal-addons, healer-addon, healer-addons, healer-ui, healers, mail-addons, omnicc, postal, unit-frame-addons, unit-frames, update-4.0.1, updated-addons, wow-add-on, wow-add-on-guide, wow-add-ons, wow-addon-guide, wow-addons, wow-guide

Filed under: Add-Ons, AddOn Spotlight


View the original article here

All the World's a Stage: Top 10 RP hot spots in Cataclysm

by Dawn Moore Oct 17th 2010 at 8:00PM

Mr. Gray isn't here today. I heard some sort of rumor that he was competing in a chili cook-off, but that could be entirely fictitious when you consider the sources (he who shall not be named ...). As such, I jumped on the opportunity to cover his column for the weekend so that I could return to my RP roots. Taking over WoW Insider for a good four hours on a Sunday is also pretty fun.

Anyway, I jumped on the chance to write this column today because I actually used to type out an emote or two on my old server, Sentinels. Oh, the good old days of being a tyrannical cult leader; how I miss them! These days, though, I don't do much RP other than a little bit to weird out my fellow guildies (you must make an offering to the god of raiding before you pull a boss!). Despite this, I still feel very inclined to RP, and as I travel around the Cataclysm beta I often found myself thinking, "Wow! This would be a great place to RP!" So I've written this article with my top 10 picks for new RP hot spots in Cataclysm.

10. Hyjal

Do you ever notice that night elves don't RP in Darnassus? Sure, maybe a handful of them do, but not many of them. I blame it on the communal housing in their capital city and the fact that said capital city is about as far away from everything else as it could be. Fortunately, we now have Hyjal, which is just about as far away as Darnassus, but it's a hell of a lot cooler.

Obviously a quest zone, especially a high-level one, won't be a great hang-out spot, but I could definitely foresee its being used as a destination for many pilgrimages. Traveling to see the great tree of Nordrassil would be a big deal to any night elf or historian. Blood elves (especially magisters) may also find the spot significant, seeing as the Well of Eternity (from which the Sunwell originated -- Edit: Or not. Read this comment here for details) sits just under the tree. The druid burrows are also nearby, as well as a night elf prison similar to the one where Illidan Stormrage was once locked up. There are even night elf wardens, dressed in the same garb we previously saw on Maiev. The very beautiful Ysera is also there.

To top it off, Nordrassil is huge. You could live up there and do Avatar RP if you wanted to. Dawn cringes. There are a ton of branches you can fly up to and have a picnic on if you like, and if you wanted to go further from there, have at it.

9. Azshara waterfalls

The addition of flying mounts in the old world has given us access to so many new things, and these falls are just the start. These waterfalls are located along the mountainous borders of Azshara, close to Winterspring, and they're quite a marvel to look at. I encourage you to try standing in the mist at the base of them; it's beautiful.

Now, I may be dead wrong on this, but don't people like to RP next to waterfalls? Back in the days of AOL chat room RP, I know that one of the most popular RP hang-outs was the waterfalls of Rhydin. You could find all sorts of people just lounging about, taking in the view and barging into each others' storylines. I don't quite see that happening in WoW, but at the very least, I could see this being the spot for a romantic getaway or vacation with a few friends.

8. Orgrimmar: Valley of Wisdom

Orgrimmar got a major facelift this expansion, and the Valley of Wisdom is definitely the most different compared to what it once was. This is now basically the tauren district, which I think is wonderful for the handful of tauren RPers who (at least in my opinion) have the most trouble fitting into the Horde RP scene. The changes to the city now make Orgrimmar the epitome of diversity, and with so many races having a reason to be here, I hope tauren will be able to RP more in tune with their race's lore, rather than finding a way to fit themselves into that patch of grass in Silvermoon City.

The other good thing is that the Valley of Wisdom is tucked off away from the main traffic areas of Orgrimmar. You'll be able to avoid the non-RPers pretty easily over here, while still enjoying an interesting area in the capital city.

7. Dwarven hovels (The Wetlands)

Do you remember flying up to Ironforge from Menethil Harbor and seeing all those little hovels? Well, now you can finally get to them, and they're a lot more expansive than I realized. There are a few structures up here, plus some paths and farms, and there is a locked gate that leads to what I assume is Ironforge. Each home is stocked with the typical dwarven fair: weapons, booze and more booze.

I'm not sure how much farmer RP exists on the typical RP server. I have a fondness for it, but it usually turns into recluse RP so I guess it will just depend on what you're into. Even with a handful of NPCs around, I think these hovels are definitely nice locations for player housing; they're close enough to a city to be convenient, but far enough for them to be a little more private than that one house. You know what I mean -- that one house in a city that has no NPCs in it, and every RPer from Gilneas to Tanaris claims it as his own. Yeah, you know what I'm talking about.
6. Orgrimmar: Valley of Spirits

Orgrimmar again, but this time it's the Valley of Spirits, which is now awesome. The whole valley got overhauled so that it now not only has some really amazing troll architecture but also a goblin slum (not pictured) nearby. Just like the Valley of Wisdom, the troll district and goblin slums are far enough away from the main stomping areas of Orgrimmar to keep the RP mood intact. The whole thing has an amazing ambiance and I think troll (and goblin) RPers might really dig it here.

Overall, I have high hopes for Orgrimmar as an RP spot in Cataclysm, but it's really hard to tell what people are going to be into. I oftentimes find that people want to RP their own stories and just use WoW as a medium, rather than wanting to RP as characters that fit into the existing world and lore. There isn't anything wrong with that, granted, but I think that kind of trending is what has left Orgrimmar so dry up until now. It's also possible that it's just harder or less interesting for the average RPer to play a character who is so vastly different from himself, and the tribal and communal life that many Horde races exhibit is pretty far from the life of the average WoW player. Still, maybe these new areas will inspire players to try playing some of the lesser RPed races in Azeroth. Let's hope!

Tags: cataclysm-rp, featured, guide, guide-to-lore, hot-spots, hotspots, lore, lore-guide, role-play, role-playing-guide, rp-guide, world-of-warcraft-lore, wow-guide, wow-lore, wow-role-playing, wow-role-playing-guide, wow-rp, wow-rp-guide, wow-rping

Filed under: RP, All the World's a Stage (Roleplaying)


View the original article here

WoW Priest Leveling Booklet - Take advantage of a Leveling Addon

-----> Dugi's World Of Warcraft In-Game Guide

The general public looking for a WoW Priest Leveling Brochure are going to be generally looking for ways they can level a clergyman even as speedy when possible.

This is as a result of so much agree the present magnificence is the overall toughest to level in the overall game. The truth serves as a sensible WoW leveling addon makes buying further toon to the general level cap relatively easy.

Even as high as no matter what skill build to manipulate since your advanced priest, I counsel trying out them all 3 at the same time as you level thus you'll request a feel as whatever you'll want to try the same time at the level cap.

-----> Dugi's World Of Warcraft In-Game Guide

A smart starting time may be the general Shadow tree because you are really visiting be restricted since aid at more mo

dest levels.

Middle levels are usually beautiful smart for testing the Holy tree as a result of you're going to have more survivability with higher level help out spells plus you'll in all probability would like to walk additional dungeons. You'll be able to get into groups lovely rapid while a healer plus the forty-60 range serves as terribly easy to get well five-man groups.

I forever suggest more modern WoW priest try out the overall Strength of will tree once you buy closer to the overall level cap because it serves as the so much amusing talent build in.my opinion. The present spec works well for the reason that dungeons, tank healing in ten or twenty five man raid groups and is merely a blast inchPVP.

Up of procedure all of the overall talent builds because the present class are extremely powerful and amusing at the level cap. The overall Shadow create will pull some beautiful unwell wear for the reason that players who perceive the way to play around the general class.

-----> Dugi's World Of Warcraft In-Game Guide


View the original article here