Spoiler Alert: There’s a fair bit of discussion about the new Mage talent trees. It’s limited to theory, analysis and scenario discussion. Fairly strict game mechanics focus. The most recent Cataclysm beta push brought with it the overhaul to class talent trees. It’s all part of a grand design – remove the talents that everyone…
The Growing Yet Shrinking World
One of the signs a game is on the decline is when servers are switched off. It doesn’t matter if they’re called realms, shards or any one of a number of different descriptions – mergers and closures are a sure-fire sign that a MMO’s playerbase is shrinking. No game is immune to the effects of…
Website Wizardry… Ish
Apologies for the rather pompous title, but I thought I should actually put a post up about a handful of changes that have either happened or are going to be happening to Mana Obscura over the coming days and weeks. Some of the changes have been a long time coming (well, since the release of…
Clearing My Head
Ugh, things have come to a head lately. I’ve been logging on, doing my thing and generally making my own fun. But for some reason something has been feeling amiss, like I’m dancing round the edge of a crater. I’ve been trying to work out what it is and it’s been driving me bananas. I…
Casting Your Net Wide
It’s a strange thing when your perspective of the world changes. For me, the RealID Saga of the last few days has shown me just how much the simple game of Warcraft means to people. It’s also shown me just how much people are prepared to give up to take a stand or prove a…
RealID – What The Forums?
You’ve probably already heard the big announcement about how RealID is going to be introduced to the forums. As we approach Cataclysm, the official Blizzard-run Warcraft, Starcraft and Diablo forums will be upgraded to use a player’s real name whenever they post. There’s already a huge amount of discussion on the merits of the idea…
Polymorph or Polydeath?
Spoiler Alert: Discussion of Mage talents in Cataclysm, focusing on one new talent in particular. I feel like I’m almost betraying my class by raising this discussion. We’ve been handed a gift almost, a rare glimmering tool that would be oh-so-nice to have. But I don’t like it and really hope that it doesn’t make…
My You’re a Tall One
Over in Dalaran they’ve been breeding their Gnome Mages big. I mean, really big. Bigger than a Tauren, and you have to admit that’s pretty big. Of course I’m not expecting you to take it on trust, so I’ve included a handy picture of just how big these Gnomes can get. In fact, they can…
Cataclysm: New Mage Experience
Spoiler Alert: In-depth description of changes to the Mage class, levelling experience and spell ranks and usage. I’ll also be touching on the Cataclysm talent trees. Note that as I’m not in beta the content here is largely based on recounts and information gathered from elsewhere. The floodgates have opened and the Beta has begun….
Cataclysm Gallery Time
Spoiler Alert: I’ve included some of the best screenshots from Cataclysm. I’ve weeded out all the ones that would have revealed significant lore developments, so these should be fairly safe. As always though, reader discretion is advised. Note: I’m not in Beta, so can’t tell you much about these myself! A friend of mine has…