It feels like Cataclysm has become a euphemism for change. My favourite TV show just cataclysm’d. My car needs an oil cataclysm. “Cataclysm I can believe in”. You get the idea. It’s no surprise then to see the Web of Warcraft go through it’s own mini-cataclysm. WoW.com has gone back to being called WoW Insider,…
The Impending Release
There’s currently a lot of theorycrafting about the upcoming release of Cataclysm. Almost all commentators are agreed that it’s going to be out soon, but none of us quite agree on when exactly it’ll happen. Add to it the amount of work that still needs to be finished in the current beta, and you begin…
Inspiration for A World
I recently had the luck to visit Avebury for a weekend. It’s a fantastic place if you like to get away from it all – there’s no wi-fi, no mobile phone signal. The whole area feels like it’s some kind of Bermuda Triangle for modern data communications, which makes it perfect for those who crave…
Mementos and Keepsakes
I think that as much as I hate to admit it, I’m a creature of habit. Over the years I’ve managed to collect vast quantities of technical gubbins that I keep thinking will be useful “one day”. The gizmos that were once geek fashion items, but have since been consigned to the plastic crate of…
Getting the Guild Appeal
I don’t know if I’ve talked much about it, but a while back I was searching for a new raiding guild. I was lucky at the time – one guild came from a recommendation and responded to me making enquiries in trade chat, while the other was a guild that I had real-life friends in….
Cataclysm UI: Mage Auras
I’m a big fan of the Power Auras addon. Ever since I got to grips with it, it’s been a huge boon to my play, purely because it displays high priority information in an easy-to-digest manner. Since it arrived on the scene, it’s been a must-have for anyone looking to customise their UI. It’s no…
Mages Making Money
By most estimates, Cataclysm is two to four months away from release. With it, everything relating to crafting and professions changes again. Some materials will become junk for a time, while others will soar in value. People are also playing less, raiding less, crafting less. Demand seems to be down for materials everywhere. My gut…
Of Polygons and Principles
I’m taking a break from my regular Warcraft posts to ask a basic question – is there a game that you have chosen not to play purely for moral reasons? That’s not to say that the style of game isn’t one you enjoy, but instead that you object to the content or creative direction a…
Entering The Youtubes
Spoiler Warning: Video of new mage Cataclysm spells and Fire mage rotations. Filmed in Ironforge, so no location-based spoilers in this one. There’s more to come, so subscribe to the Youtube channel! One thing I promised to do as part of my beta coverage was produce some videos of the mage changes in Cataclysm. They…
Will My Computer Run Cataclysm?
The most common question I get asked about Cataclysm is “will it run on my computer?” Not something about mages, not what the new zones are like. Not even how I’m finding it, or how much testing I’ve done. It seems the biggest worry I come across is if people have to buy a new…