Howdy folks,
I finally ironed out the bugs and officially launched my Warhammer Online blog, called The Greenskin last week. If you click on this comic, it will take you to my contest page, explaining how you could win an MMO Calendar and WAR beta key.
Cheers!
I recently created a new blog (almost live… pesky technical glitches) dedicated to EA Mythic’s upcoming MMORPG Warhammer Online: The Age of Reckoning! Please take a moment to stop by and have a look around! 🙂
Find the latest Warhammer Online news, advice, opinions, and webcomics at The Greenskin!
I have the stories penned for at least 12 weeks worth of The Greenskin webcomic, but I’m a terrible drawer, so it may take a week or so before I start getting them up for everyone to enjoy! 😛
UPDATE 1: APPARENTLY I FORGOT SEASON 3 GEAR. I’M ADDING IT NOW. PLEASE STAY TUNED! 🙂
UPDATE 2: ALL THE NEW SEASON 3 GEAR IS IN! 🙂
Back by popular demand, here’s version 2 of the Ultimate PvP Gear Guide for Shadow Priests (World of Warcraft). As with version 1, this guide showcases only the best armour, weapons, and accessories that can be gained solely through PvP (ie. purchased with honour and battleground/arena marks). PvE drops need not apply! 😉
This set aims to provide:
Now, on to the good stuff!
Buying this full set will cost you:
Weapon – Vengeful Gladiator’s Gavel (3,150 arena)
Offhand – Vengeful Gladiator’s Endgame (1,125 arena)
Wand – Vengeful Gladiator’s Touch of Defeat (1,000 arena)Boots – Vindicator’s Dreadweave Stalkers (17,850 honour, 40 eye of the storm)
Chest – Vengeful Gladiator’s Satin Robe (1,875 arena)
Gloves – Vengeful Gladiator’s Satin Gloves (1,125 arena)
Head – Vengeful Gladiator’s Satin Hood (1,875 arena)
Legs – Vengeful Gladiator’s Satin Leggings (1,875 arena)
Shoulders – Vengeful Gladiator’s Satin Mantle (1,500 arena)
Back – Sergeant’s Heavy Cape (9,435 honour, 20 arathi basin)
Belt – Vindicator’s Dreadweave Belt (17,850 honour, 40 arathi basin)
Bracer – Vindicator’s Dreadweave Cuffs (11,794 honour, 20 warsong gulch)
Neck – Vindicator’s Pendant of Dominance (15,300 honour, 10 eye of the storm)
Ring – Vindicator’s Band of Dominance (15,300 honour, 10 alterac valley)
Ring – Vindicator’s Band of Salvation (15,300 honour, 10 alterac valley)
Trinket – Medallion of the Horde/Alliance (16,983 honour)
Trinket – Battlemaster’s Audacity (30,000 honour, 40 alterac valley)
Meta (x1) – Chaotic Skyfire Diamond (crafted)
Red (x3) – Glowing Shadowsong Amethyst (crafted)
Orange (x1) – Potent Ornate Topaz (8,500 honour)
Orange (x3) – Potent Pyrestone (crafted)
There you have it! Please leave your questions or feedback in a comment below!
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Here’s a list of all my other Shadow Priest articles:
Duels.com is a free, fun, web-based MMORPG with elements of social networking; think World of Warcraft mixed with Web 2.0.
I don’t know whether to call it a game or a social network because elements of both worlds are seamlessly integrated in this addicting new service. Your goal is to raise up a new character (avatar) from level 1 throughout the ranks by challenging other players and in-game monsters, while completing various quests from your taskmaster. In a sense it’s your traditional RPG but presented on the web through an engaging user interface and there are many ways to network with friends and declare war on enemies. Combat is determined by mathematics, based on your current weapon(s), armour, scrolls, skills, stats, abilities, etc. The ultimate goal similar to all MMORPGs: get to the highest level with the best equipment.
The game is very addictive if you’re a fan of RPGs, which might be a problem because they’re currently having server issues and intermittent downtimes. If you’re like me, you’ll be itching to log in and check on your duel status!
The game is very friendly to the casual player, reminiscent of the old play-by-email games like X-Com or Risk. You can log in, check your current status, spend any gained points, upgrade your equipment, challenge a bunch of people, start a quest, and logout again in mere minutes. Then you check back every hour or so to see how you’re doing. For the twitchy gamer, you might find the pace a bit slow because your progress is dictated by your duels and it may take some time for people to accept your challenges. If no-one is fighting you, there’s not much your character can do but sit there and wait.
This is an excellent time to read the user guide or contribute on the forums!
I do wonder how they plan to monetize their service [UPDATE below]. After only two days and a couple server upgrades/additions, they’re still experiencing game lag. They have nearly 50,000 people signed up right now with no signs of slowing down. I can imagine this will be pretty costly to keep going if they expand at their current rate…
Anyway, I only have couple hours experience on Duels and I’ve definitely made a few mistakes here and there, but I’ll rate this game a 4/5 for the fun factor and casual friendliness!
My only suggestions would be to redesign the user interface to not be so graphically intensive, as that is most definitely contributing to the server issues. Also, the Battle list showing all available opponents within your level range could use a bit of a redesign to allow for advanced searching and sorting (ie. show only monsters, show only level X opponents, show only path of the Y opponents, etc.). Finally, I wish it would save certain preferences with cookies or within your profile (e.g. always hide offline members when in the Battle screen, always default to text combat summaries rather than animated combat, etc.).
UPDATE: Duels.com has three account types. The first is free, and the other two are noble ($9.95 monthly) and patron ($25.00 annually) memberships. The free account gives you the very basics, which signing up for one of the other two accounts grants you additional inventory space, stipend gold per month, free backpacks, special badges/markers for your character, etc. They also sell Noblestones for real life cash, which can be used as in game currency to buy things like gold, extra backpacks, scrolls, character respecs, etc.
This is a listing of items that will best-suit your shadow priest in both PvP and Pve. The main factor these items are judged by is how much + spell/shadow damage they will give your character. My older posts about shadow priests can be found here:
Let’s cut to the chase; here is the BEST set of gear you can get for spell damage as a shadow priest!
Google Spreadsheet (listing all items ranked by spell/shadow damage rating as well as my recommended combination)
or
Screenshot (showing my recommended set with the best damage gear)
You can use the Google spreadsheet to make your own set by copying and pasting items from the left tables into the conversion table on the right. The screenshot shows my recommendations for the top damage gear your priest can get. This table does NOT account for enchantments, gems, or imbuements. The listed stats are the base stats I got from WoWhead and Thottbot between July 10 – July 17, 2007 and I’m sure they’ll become outdated within a patch or two, or perhaps another expansion in the future.
Some of these items are extremely hard to get, but they are the best of the best! I will link to the top three to four items in each slot by category (PvP, Drop, Vendor, Crafted) where applicable. I have also tried to provide the most accurate cost, reputation, and drop rate information possible.
Main Hand
Offhand
Wand
Head
Shoulders
Chest
Hands
Legs
Feet
Back
Belt
Wrist
Neck
Finger 1
Finger 2
Trinket 1
Trinket 2
There you have it! These are some of the top ranked items in Warcraft, ranked by spell/shadow damage. I hope this helps you decide which items to get for YOUR set! Please leave your questions and comments below! =)
If I was a game developer (possessing actual skills in game development!) with infinite resources, this is the game I would pursue publishing for 2008/2009 release.
This idea draws on many influences ranging from the X-COM/Syndicate strategy games to MUDs to MMORPGs, to FPSs!
Subterfuge – Think GoldenEye meets World of Warcraft (WoW). This game would be a true hybrid FPS/MMORPG using real world intelligence service agencies (CIA, KGB, SS) acting as opposing factions. I want a game that plays like Unreal Tournament (UT) or Counter-Strike (CS) in terms of adrenaline pumping, shoot-em-up action but also has the rich storyline and character development process from games like WoW or Everquest. Each faction would have different goals and mission objectives opposed to their “enemies.” The game wouldn’t be level-based per say, but rather skill/rank-based as you perform training missions (e.g., protect this power plant, wipe out that armoury, or bandage up X civilians) in a PvE/PvP environment. You’d start off as a shaky recruit and end up as a seasoned veteran in your field of expertise. Gear upgrades would work on a training basis as well, similar to America’s Army (e.g., run through various training programs to achieve mastery of the 9mm handgun) and don’t forget unarmed/blade training for close-quarters combat.
Single player and group missions have obvious applications and I’d like to see one vs. many scenarios as well. Group situations would call on various members who specialize in different combat types (explosives, sniping, machine guns, medics, communications, vehicle operation, etc.) to work together as a team to complete the mission. There wouldn’t be an expansive world map like you’d find in WoW; instead you’d have a community of avatars (who can communicate with each other) running around a mission control centre (a vast base where training takes place and troops are deployed similar to Orgrimmar in WoW). When you or your group is/are deployed, you will be transported via a loading screen to an instanced area similar to the battleground maps in CS/UT/WoW, except much larger. Instead of spending a lot of time on a “world map,” effort would be spent on creating mini-map scenarios. The obvious benefit is that these map modules can be easily developed and implemented into the game via patches in a more timely fashion (say 2-3 new scenarios every month or two as a free upgrade).
The economy of this game is statistics, server-wide rankings, and rewards for single-player/group prowess. In terms of end-game content, one can specialize in multiple areas that interest them, but over time, if their skills aren’t used consistently, they’ll depreciate. The “time sink” will be staying at the top of your game, while learning new skills, achieving higher rank, and obtaining new weapons/armour/ammo/etc.
The initial release would be land-based but obvious expansions would bring the combat to air and sea.
Currently, Sony is developing an MMORPG for PS3 called The Agency, which may bring some of these elements into existence, for the console no less. Keep your eye on it, because if it implements even half of these ideas I think they’ll have a kick-ass game on their hands!
My two previous articles listed the best gear you could obtain solely through PvP (at 60 and at 70 with the burning crusade). Unfortunately, Blizzard made the BEST gear available mainly from PvE and crafting, so to really amp up your spell damage and other stats you’ll need to grind in PvE… for a long time.
My other posts about shadow priests can be found here:
The gear listed below is probably unattainable for most people but it gives you something to shoot for. Even if you only manage to get some of this equipment, chances are it will really boost your overall performance. Every item in the list is the TOP spell damage item your Shadow Priest can use, which in some cases sacrifices other important bonuses such as stats, + spell hit, + crit, + spell penetration, etc. You could probably create a more balanced suit by mixing and matching items from this list with items of your own choosing and chances are, they’d be easier to get… For example, look at this setup (Paradox’s profile of EU WoW @ the Armory), which isn’t too far off my “best” set shown below.
The table:
The links:
Main Hand >> Gladiator’s Spellblade
Wand >> Wand of Qiraji Nobility
Offhand >> Khadgar’s Knapsack
Head >> Collar of Cho’gall
Shoulders >> Mantle of the Mind Flayer
Chest >> Will of Edward the Odd
Hands >> Handguards of the Avatar
Legs >> Battlecast Pants
Feet >> Boots of Blasphemy
Back >> Ancient Spellcloak of the Highborne
Finger >> Cobalt Ring of Tyrigosa
Finger >> Seer’s Signet
Neck >> Manasurge Pendant
Trinket >> Eye of Magtheridon
Trinket >> Icon of the Silver Crescent
Waist >> Girdle of Ruination
Wrist >> Bands of Nefarious Deeds
The breakdown:
Stamina – 302
Intellect – 261
Spirit – 22
Spell Damage – 821
Healing – 791
Spell Critical – 82
Resilience – 16
Spell Penetration – 20
Spell Hit – 15
Spell Damage bonus (when resisted) – 170 for 10 seconds
Spell Damage / Healing bonus (use) – 153 for 20 seconds
It would appear the the base stamina and intellect from this set are moderately weak so I’d suggest enchanting bonuses into your armour for these stats. I’d also enchant the Spellblade for an additional +30 spell damage. And again, I suggest mixing and matching because in many cases, these items give up great utility just to have the top spell damage ratings.
My other posts about shadow priests can be found here:
This is a new listing of “ultimate PvP” gear for level 70 Shadow-Priests that can be gained SOLELY through PvP (ie. bought with honour and battleground/arena marks). Additionally, I’ve included a list of gems to place into your socketed gear. This set aims to provide a high:
Achieving a higher stat-sum is possible through raiding or rep-grinding, but that’s not the focus of this template. This is pretty much the best of the best you can get from slaughtering player-controlled enemies rather than fancy shmancy dragons or 1000 demonic underlings!
The Chart!
Stat/Effect Summary!
The Links! (…some are Horde-specific but Alliance has equivalents)
I hope this helps! If you can find anything that fits better, please leave a comment!
My other posts about shadow priests can be found here:
Here’s a quick table of the ultimate PvP-set for level 60 shadow-priests gained solely through PvP itself!
// UPDATED ENTRY WITH TBC @ LEVEL 70 //
You can make a better setup if by getting all T3 or a mix of T3/PvP gear, however, if you hate raiding like I hate raiding, you might be interested in alternative gear bought from PvP vendors. Iit will take you a while to nab the full set but you’ll get it a lot quicker than a T3 set, I guarantee! You need roughly 160,000 honour and over 300 tokens (the tokens come much easier than the honour – buy the speedy mounts/tabards/etc. with extras) but this gear will make you a PvP force to be reckoned with. It should only take a few weeks of casual play (make sure you hit up your BG-holiday weekends for extra honour).
Let it be known this is for level 60 shadow-priests only. You could make a better set for holy/disc priests using a different mainhand and offhand as well as a few different accessories, but most of the gear is still the same. Also, I’m using the Horde versions of the items because, well, I’m a baby-eating Undead! Alliance has equivalent gear under different names/links.
One final tip, I suggest stopping XP at level 59 to take advantage of being top dog in AB/WSG. Chances are, your enemies will have roughly the same sort of gear you do and you won’t get completely decimated in 1v1 battles like you will in weaker gear at 60 vs. twinks. Enjoy!
ITEM LINKS TO THOTTBOT
Accessory
Armour
Weapon
Hola, you might have read my earlier review of the new MMORPG guild website hosting service, MMO Guildsites here: https://brainclutter.wordpress.com/2006/12/21/hosting-an-mmorpg-guild-website/.
Well, in the past few weeks they’ve made 3 awesome updates that just amped-up the service:
Firstly, the new Community page, is an excellent social, value-added element to their main website. This is the page you go to if you want to see what guilds are currently signed up with MMO Guildsites. It only displays “paid” accounts — trial sites are still hidden. You can sort guilds by name, date created, and game (WoW, EQ, etc.). You can also search by keyword. As an extra feature, you can also click the “members” tab and it will list the profiles of all “players” from all guilds. You can sort members by name and date added as well as search by keyword.
At the time of review, MMO Guildsites had 26 guilds and 644 members.
Secondly, they’ve updated their image policy. The original policy only allowed users to upload a certain number of megabytes per month per payment plan (Standard – 100MB, Pro – 250MB, Premier – 500MB). Their new policy elimintates the monthly cap and introduces a TOTAL cap for your guild site:
These new caps should be more than sufficient for guilds of any size. For instance, you can upload a total of ~10,000 x 100KB images in the Standard plan. To augment this new image/gallery policy, they’ve also added a new sideblock feature that will display a random image from your guild’s gallery every 10 seconds (think: Ajax slideshow).
A sideblock is a drag/drop feature you can place into your guild’s website to display information to site visitors.
Finally, they also added a Google AdSense sideblock feature as a direct result of a user feature-request. The coolest part about this? All revenue from the sideblock will go directly to the guild! The settings allow users to enter their personal AdSense information and all income generated from usage skips MMO Guildsites and goes directly into the user’s pockets. The site management makes it clear that guild members not be encouraged to click their own links because Google keeps a keen eye out for improper use of AdSense and will promptly ban exploiters.
Depending on the amount of traffic your guild page sees, this sideblock could potentially supplement the monthly fee of hosting your site with MMO Guildsites – but don’t cheat… you’ll get caught!
What feature would I like to see next? A Google Map API that displays all guild members as points on a world map. It’s a bit fluffy, but I think it would add another “social” element to their site.
Oh, and again, if you want to read my original review of their site, click HERE!
Cheers.
Brain Clutter 