Back when I was a kid, one of the first videogames I remember playing was Horace Goes Skiing. I was about three years old, playing this basic Frogger clone on a computer with a dead-flesh keyboard. It was great, even though it was frustrating trying to steer this character down a virtual slalom course. There…
Mage Cataclysm Preview
On the early hours of Saturday Morning, Bashiok unveilled the planned changes for Mages in Cataclysm. Some of them represent light touch changes, while others are fundamental changes to the way the class will work. As a response, I’ve stepped through each of the key changes and highlighted the changes that they’ll bring to the…
UI Quest: Cast Bars and Cool Downs
In previous episodes of my UI quest, I’ve covered how to configure your own action bars and set up your own target frames. For this instalment I wanted to focus on two areas that are crucial to caster classes – casting bars and cooldown trackers. When used well, both of these will help to maximise…
Starting the Engine
I finally managed to get the Mekgineer’s Chopper made on Curio. I’m really pleased with it – he finally has the mount that suits him. It’s taken a while, but it’s definitely worth it. So to celebrate, I’ve been doing laps round Ironforge, laps round Dalaran, even laps round Mirage Raceway. Thing is, doing laps…
The Flow of Gold
Gold is something that we pretty much take for granted. We get rewarded when we turn in quests, we loot it from our fallen enemies. We spend it when we want to buy something from the auction house or when we want to get our equipment repaired. It’s all automatic – a few mouse clicks…
The Impossible Saronite
I’ve been setting myself goals for my characters recently in order to give me more of a reason to play them. For Curio I’ve decided to go for the Mekgineer’s Chopper, as it’s the only character I have that would suit it. As a result I’ve started this long grind of mining ores, making titansteel…
A Moment to Review
It’s been an interesting first month blogging about Warcraft. In that time I’ve covered the patch changes, UI design and addon choices, quirky graphs and diagrams, and roleplay choices and ideas. I’ve also rambled on about my in-game experiences and achievements, and how those experiences have shaped my opinions. I’m still a noob though when…
The Campaign for Cheese Sculpting
Tired of finding your bags full of Stormwind Brie? Desperate to find a use for your Darnassian Bleu? How about invoking the magical properties of Dalaran Sharp? How about making these overlooked consumables useful? Read on and discover how Cheese Sculpting could be the profession for you. Since time immemorial players have been confused by…
Finding Our Place
As we drift towards the end of Wrath and eagerly await the launch of Cataclysm, I’ve been taking the opportunity to reflect on how magecraft has fared. From the new spells the expansion brought through to the talent changes each patch, we’ve been through considerable change. And yet I can’t help but think that we’re…
Hitting the Reset Button
Videogames seem to be full of choice these days. It could be the moral choices presented by games like Mass Effect 2, or the theoretical choices of gear selection in World of Warcraft, Heck, it can even be something as straightforward as choosing a driver in Mario Kart. But if you lost your saved game…