Paladin Tree

I made my own Paladin Tree with Unleashed Gaming's talent tree maker. Tell me what you think of it :D

http://talents.unleashedgaming.net/?p=vt&i=22710

Resilience on a Paladin?

It's quite unfortunate to hear anyone question the impact resilience has on PvP, particularly in the arenas. Resilience is so immensely helpful to every class, especially cloth, AND especially to your team. It is true that the usefulness of resi diminishes as AC goes up, but nevertheless a Paladin, and I repeat every other class, should be wearing a decent amount of resilience, especially now when MD is only 0.5s cast time. Paladins have been, and will be targeted more and more often.

I'm sitting on 300+ resi right now, and of course the amount of health I have is rather ridiculous. My AC puts me at around 57% DR. This means I'm taking 43% damage. If I spec 4/5 Toughness instead of 1/5 and 3/3 Precision, the added mitigation reduces phyiscal damage taken by a further 2.5%, which puts melee dmg taken to 41.5%. If I include the resilience I have, my effective mitigation vs melee classes makes me only receive 30% or less phy damage.

Some of the elites on bg9 irc have been lamenting why resi doesn't somehow reduce the effectiveness of DoT damage, and they have my support. With the onset of anti-dispel talents (contagion/silent resolve/stoicism) and the number of stackable debuffs, DoTs are simply not dispellable. With that in mind, there is no sure way to mitigate DoT DPS through gear. This issue is far from making resilience 'crap', it just makes it even more important. What is most important to note is that DoTs become more useful as players get more geared lol?

Everytime I view Paladin profiles in top arena groups, I can't stop to question whether my +1200 heal is really gimped vs. those who have 1500. But when I do the math, the additional 300 heal doesn't have a consequential impact in nearly every high-end situation. +Heal is indeed very valuable when you're weaving heals in between scattered DPS, e.g DoTs, AoEs, but when MS sets in, you simply cannot say that the additional 300 healing is going to save that target. I look at their resi and most are sitting on the 200 range, or high 100s, and have significantly less stamina (up to 1.2k health) than I do. In fact, my recent armory stalking (kekeke) shows that the high-ranked Paladins are starting to wear more stam/resi.

Oh I also got my Gladiator's Salvation today and put Spellsurge on it. Oh yeah baby ^_~

Dialogue with WoW devs

I was at the Stratics WoW dialogue today, albeit being 15mins~ late. There were some good questions, but most were unnecessary (lol lore) or out-right dumb. If this is the first time you're reading a WoW dialogue (Stratics have had a few), the questions are taken and chosen before the session and posited real-time to the WoW developers. The channel (#StraticsHoC) was fully moderated, so only the ops and voices can speak. This session had around 2800 users in the channel. I was also concurrently in the #worldofwarcraft channel, listening and participating in the on-going discussion about the QnA. It was relativey funny, and very spammy anyhow. The entire dialogue lasted 90mins~

I'm going to paste some of the good questions or funny moments so have fun reading.

[06:18:00] *JamesVZ* Given the almost silly amount of what most people would consider 'useless' socket bonuses, are there plans to rework the socket system or otherwise make it more appealing? Did the socket system live up to the designer's expectations?
[06:19:14] I think we've learned quite a bit about itemizing the socket bonuses in a way that they aren't ignored. However, it is intended that the bonus be simply an incentive to match the sockets, not a mandate.
[06:19:48] However, I do think the socketing system has provided players with some great customization choices that that wouldn't otherwise exist.

[06:21:12] *Kelyas* Any plans for more world wide events such as Naxxramas, or the horrid AQ40 opening?
[06:21:27] Well if I answer yes is that a good or bad thing?
[06:21:30] =P
[06:21:38] YES, we plan to do more World Events
[06:21:49] NO! They won't be *horrid*

[06:27:55] *lizarb* One major complaint healers/tanks have is that they can not grind very well. Have you ever considered letting people have 2 specs they could swap freely between? Like the weapon swap in diablo 2. Having respec cost simply cost alot of people off from trying strange builds/tatics.
[06:28:44] Well, it's a bit different conceptually than a diablo 2 weapon swap. There aren't any plans to give players multiple specs, since that really kind of defeats the purpose of having to "choose" a spec.
[06:29:36] However, where necessary we'll add grind power to trees/specs that traditionally have a hard time in those areas. In some ways I do believe that some of the specs have gotten overspecialized over time.

[06:29:47] *Tesurly* Are the harsh keying requirements for entry level->end game raid zones going to stay for future expansions, or will some sort of backflagging option be available?
[06:30:32] First off, players will be happy to know that there are some *limited* backflagging solutions going into the game tomorrow. It's not for all zones but for a select few.
[06:30:45] omg patch tomorrow
[06:31:00] omg!
[06:31:10] Regarding the keying process, I think a certain amount of keying is cool... it allows for guilds to separate each other from one another.
[06:31:15] jeff is so fired...
[06:31:38] Most of the keying issues have become issues more because of tuning.
[06:31:49] The Karazhan key isn't terribly hard to obtain.
[06:32:00] btw
[06:32:01] Patch tomorrow =P

[06:32:35] *Krom* What sort of "average weekly time investment" do you design the end-game around? How do you determine how much time should be spent on gear acquisition, consumable farming, assisting guildmates, etc.? On that note, how "organized" do you intend for the average raiding guild to be?
[06:32:59] Personally I intend the average guild be |---------------------------------| organized (but no more or less than that)
[06:33:36] It's not so much that we design around an "average weekly time investment". We more look at having a big suite of things to do at any point in the game, whether you raid or pvp or do 5 mans or solo...
[06:34:16] I think a lot of raiders LIKE to feel useful outside of raiding -- doing 5 mans, pvp etc. When it goes too far (herb farming for example -- it's no longer fun.
[06:34:50] We hope to reduce the tedious elements and focus more on end game PvE fun for the average WoW raider.
[06:34:58] Not sure if that answers the question

[06:35:12] *little3* Retribution specced paladins are not seen as a viable raid choice as their DPS is 'low' and the support they bring could easily be done by another DPS class. Will retribution be made into a viable end-game raiding spec through either DPS increases or support increases?
[06:35:47] but then who will save the hunters, kalgan?
[06:35:48] Yes, I'd like to see ret become a bit more raid viable in terms of dps and overall utility.
[06:37:00] Right. At any rate, something we've noticed in our testing is that ret pallies are in kind of a jam where their dps isn't enough to get the put in a dps group in a raid.
[06:37:10] ... which makes their dps suffer even more.
[06:37:39] Hopefully we can get that solved in a way that doesn't cause ret pallies to rule the pvp universe.

[06:40:11] *skim-* Arena matches are becoming longer and longer as teams are gaining more cheap stamina and resilience, while mana is still relatively expensive. In future I can see non-mana classes takeing the definite upper hand as they can continue doing their task forever, unlike casters. How do you see this situation evolving and are there any plans to counter it?
[06:40:55] Well, at least the fights aren't getting shorter with gear progression like they were at level 60 right? =]
[06:41:21] One thing we've done in patch 2.1 is make water available through the honor system that players can drink in the arenas.
[06:41:33] Spam that drink button!

[06:46:38] *[DW]Ataxus* Are the developers actively evaluating the 10% Mage coefficient nerf? Also, please explain why it was implemented and why it is still in place. Many Mages aren't fully aware of this issue and it doesn't appear within the Improved Fireball/Frostbolt talents themselves.
[06:47:46] I can't say we're really actively evaluating it at this point. Melee classes are only starting to approach where they should be in terms of damage output relative to mages, so we don't expect to make fireball/frostbolt do more damage right now.
[06:48:54] The reason we don't put it in the tooltip is that bonus coefficients are already a very hidden and expert game mechanic. We don't want every new mage totally mystified by excessively nerdy information in the tooltip.

[06:59:54] *Toes* I've noticed that items from the new instances have new features such as Ignore Armor and Haste rating, what other effects are being introduced in addition to these?
[07:00:47] Yes, we have introduced a few new item effects. That's all we plan to introduce for tier 6 though.

[07:01:29] *max* Can we expect to see more raid bosses similar to the chess event in Karazhan where the entire raid can avoid dying/having to repair on a failure? As a followup, I think this was a great idea but it seemed like an implementation that was rushed; was the chess event as we see it today the same as it was in planning?
[07:01:42] The chess event was very unique
[07:01:56] We'd like to do more stuff like that but it takes a tremendous amount of time
[07:02:25] Before planning any raid encounter we discuss how hard/easy it should be based on it's relative placement and complexity within a raid
[07:02:40] We saw the chess event as more of a Reward for just getting there
[07:03:11] The trick with the Chess encounter is that it would be extremely easy to make the event overpowered and unbeatable
[07:03:24] We wanted to err on the side of having it feel like a bonus
[07:03:30] There are some changes to the event coming
[07:03:35] Medivh will use the fire cheat more
[07:04:00] but when all is said and done, it's just a fun, rewarding *intermission* event for the raid
[07:04:10] enjoy your free king's defender

[07:08:41] *Cyrex* Have you guys looked into possibly bringing life to WoW? what i mean by this is, Have you considered monthly story driven events which are controlled by GM's? ex. Invasions, war efforts, city defense?
[07:10:07] We try to have our events unfold either by players or at the hands of the designers. The game is extremely large and in many countries. Quality of play experience is absolutely king for us. I'm not sure the events would be of the quality that players have come to expect if they were being run on an individual basis
[07:10:46] Our GM's are extremely talented but we count on them for their customer service skills

[07:17:16] *Warder* With the current status of raid progression and the corresponding attunements, it is becoming more and more clear to many people that their chances of beating (or even seeing) Black Temple or Hyjal before the next expansion is out are quite low. Only the most hardcore of the hardcore, even among raiders, seem to be making significant progress. Are there any plans to making BC raiding somewhat less unforgivable
[07:17:29] Yes
[07:17:29] Tomorrow
[07:17:32] first thing in the morning
[07:18:12] 2.1.0 will go live and I think there are *many* significant changes to help with raid progression issues. If raid progression is still a problem after 2.1.0, we'll make further changes
[07:18:17] we WANT people doing the content
[07:18:23] we want the encounters to get beat
[07:18:40] i'd rather have fun, beaten encounters then a raid game full of mysteries that no one is going to see
[07:18:50] plus all your epics are getting a big buff tomorrow
[07:18:56] if all that fails
[07:19:05] there's always STARCRAFT 2 zomg?

An Artificial Moon

It's not a new theory but more and more scientists are starting to venture into the question of how and why the Moon exists. A number of explicit coincidences have fascinated astrologists. For example, the Moon is exactly four hundred times smaller than the Sun but four hundred times closer to the Earth so that both the Sun and the Moon appear to be precisely the same size in the sky. This coincidence makes possible the phenomenon of a total eclipse. Whilst we take this for granted, scientists hail it as the biggest coincidence in the universe.

The Moon also mirrors the movement of the Sun in the sky by rising and setting at the same point on the horizon as the Sun does at opposite solstices. This means the Moon rises at midwinter at the same place the Sun does at midsummer. There is no logical reason why the Moon mimics the Sun in this way and it is only meaningful to a human standing on the Earth.

The Moon also rotates exactly the same rate it is moving around the earth: 29.5 earth days. So you will only ever get to see one side of the moon. The other side of the moon is often dubbed 'The Dark Side of the Moon'.

Life as it is on Earth would be drastically different if not impossible without the existence of the Moon. There would be no seasons and no tides.

So is the Moon in fact placed in Orbit around the Earth by Intelligent Design? Well I wouldn't know for sure, but that seems plausible to me.

Masonic Nepotism

The news has been emphasizing on the resignation of Paul Wolfowitz. There is a great deal of implication in this matter, because the President of the United States, that is, George Bush, will have to nominate a candidate to replace Wolfowitz. Historically speaking the Presidents of the World Bank have been American, but there is a possibility that that might just change this time round. Believe it or not, some very reliable sources have suggested that Tony Blair might be taking the position. Fantastic. As far as we know, Wolfowitz contributed significantly to the blueprints of the Iraq War in 2003.

It wouldn't be surprising if members of the public begin to scream conspiracy. But if you look at it, Blair did receive high honors from the public while stepping down as Prime Minister, and surely the public can't back on that if Blair became President of the World Bank? It also seems surgically planned, especially after you re-look at some of the things George Bush has said about Blair's terms in office.

Rupture

I decided to try out Rupture today. It's very useful considering how horribly laggy Armory is. It has grown quite a bit since I last checked. If you want to try it, visit Rupture and create an account. Next, you're to supposedly download Rupture Messenger. For whatever reason mine isn't working. You need to download it for the add-on anyway, since it's required even if you're forced to update your character profile manually.

After downloading the application, paste the Rupture add-on folder into your World Of Warcraft/Interface/AddOns folder. Mine was automatically copied in it. If yours wasn't, then you should be able to find the Rupture folder in your installation directory. Then, run WoW and ensure that Rupture is enabled on the char screen. Type /rupture in-game to check if it's working. Now exit WoW. Check that the file Rupture.lua file exists in your WTF/Account/user/server/char/SavedVariables folder. Upload that .lua file on the Rupture website. Wala.

Add me to friends if you're done, but be warned I might reject you ha. You can view my profile here. Oh just to add an Adriana pic :p

Despair

Life's been unforgiving
Yet in all the turmoil
My heart has been saying
What I did
Were the right things

I care and know I can
Always be there for you
And I'd be there reaching
The moment
You are nearing

The feeling of despair
Frighteningly frigid
But you know I'd be there...
For you...

Underestimating
The choices we had dreamed
Now we are succeeding
Together
Ascending high

Sadly not all is fair
We were indeed short-lived
With chance still in the air
Just maybe
Not all is done

The feeling of despair
Frighteningly frigid
But you know I'd be there...
For you...

I know I'm a good songwriter.

Supermodels

I know my blog lacks pictures. It's meant to be that way. Maybe it's because I'm known for notoriety when it comes to pictionary.

I first saw Janice Dickinson (JD as she is now known) on Tyra's America's Next Top Model. She is a self-proclaimed fake, from head to toe. Some critics claim that looking at her face for too long can induce vomitting. I tried that, and it's somewhat true lawl. She has had some really f*d up bloopers. She was caught wearing a miniskirt without putting on a first layer. I really don't think I want to link it. Anyway, I watched her Modelling Show, and it was ok. The models weren't really top-class. Male models are very hard to assess. High-end brands seem to go for classy, boyish or straight-out handsome looks. Very few are looking for what Janice seems to be focusing on, which is erm, the more hunky athletic side of things.


Vincent LaCrocq, LV


Michael Camiloto, Gucci


Danny Beaucham, Burberry

But anyway, my favorite super-model is easily Adriana Lima. She's one of the Victoria Secret angels.


Gisele Bundchen, Tyra Banks, Adriana Lima, Heidi Klum, Karolina Kurkova


Adriana Lima

Deal or No Deal

I watched the premiere of Deal or no Deal yesterday. FYI, it's being show on Channel 5 every Sunday 8:30-9:30pm. I'm aware of the various international versions of the show (up to 25), and this goes to show that Singapore just isn't original. It's quite sad, but the only original gameshow we had (i think) was The Pyramid Game back in the late 90s hosted by Benedict Goh and then Darren David.

Deal or no Deal is a game very much based on probability. What happens is that there are many static prize money rewards that are hidden in suitcases at the beginning of the show. These rewards range from 5, 10, 15... 50... 75... 100... 500... 1000... 5000... 150k... and then the top prize of 250k. So what happens is that the Player will be offered an exclusive amount of cash before he gets to decide "Deal" or "No Deal". This exclusive offer is made from the HQ, which is then directed through a "phone call" to the host of the show, in this case Adrian Pang. Then, the host will tell the player how much money the HQ has offered, and the player has to say "Deal" or "No Deal". When the player says "No Deal", he gets to unveil 2 suitcases. The catch is, the prize money in the suitcase is eliminated from the game when unveiled, so you do not want to open the big rewards. If the player decides to "Deal" instead, he gets the offered cash.

The game is essentially a numbers game. The great thing is, you will definitely win something.

Butterfly

When you love someone so deeply
They become your life
It's easy to succumb to overwhelming fears inside
Blindly I imagined I could
Keep you under glass
Now I understand to hold you
I must open up my hands
And watch you rise

Spread your wings and prepare to fly
For you have become a butterfly
Fly abandonedly into the sun
If you should return to me
We truly were meant to be
So spread your wings and fly
Butterfly

I have learned that beauty
Has to flourish in the light
Wild horses run unbridled
Or their spirit dies
You have given me the courage
To be all that I can
And I truly feel your heart will
Lead you back to me when you're
Ready to land

Spread your wings and prepare to fly
For you have become a butterfly
Fly abandonedly into the sun
If you should return to me
We truly were meant to be
So spread your wings and fly
Butterfly

Am I Unfilial?

Lately, I've been troubled with turmoil in the house. I have expected a divorce between my parents but it's looming closer than ever. The mistrusts have emboldened their actions and thoughts, and it could only get worse.

Even though I may be a participant in this ongoing drama, I've been thinking whether I could wash my hands off everything. It's quite unfortunate that I'm still young and financially dependant, but as an asian living in a pro-conservative society, independence is seemingly hard to pursue and is sometimes seen as a detrimental decision. I've been dodging relatives for quite a while now, and I plan to continue doing so, not because I'm anti-social (in a way yes) but they're not people I could relate to or work with.

I find it highly unusual that my mum assumes that her 3 sons are against polygamous behaviour. I certainly don't. I doubt my brothers do. Gone are the days of strict doctrine and ethical prologues. I asked myself whether I was a 'heretic' for thinking in this manner. Barely. Marriage is indeed, or was, a social contract in the late 20th century, but this is changing. I think this is why I feel that polygamy is justifiable - I just don't believe in marriage or family. My Soul just seems too important to me.

It's a simple equation. You sign the contract, you wait for it to expire, or of course you can choose to terminate it. I guess it's the latter right now. So it bewilders me that anyone is interested in signing such a contract. I believe that the post-war American dream can be fulfilling, but a dream is barely a tangible rationale for a supposedly eternal bonding.

But of course, the person who is hurt the most would be my mum. But this is reality, and I've been brazen to be utterly remorseless in this case. She was to me ever since a kid, and it's natural that such has been characterized in me.

The grand truth is, Feminism does not work with Secularity or Modernism.

Might & Magic V

Horrible week for me. Overslept for a Maya class, had a terrible raid, rushed a proposal, slept 6 hours (+1 in class) in 2 days, had 3 meals in 3 days. Something's not too right. Time seemed to have been cut short, I'm not sure how and why. Johnny had his 23rd sometime last week, 26/4 iirc :P. He said he felt old. The word glistens. I feel old too, shit.

Within those lines I managed to play some Heroes: Might of Magic V. It's been fun for the most. Just early-game is boring, mid-game is annoying and end-game is draggy. I try to perfect my turn rotations early-game, as that would give a significant advantage for any stage of the game. I'm a bit lack-luster when it comes to controlling shit troops, they just don't deserve my attention. But I've always loved a Hero system, it was what got me sucked into DOTA; alpha. I was a Mannoroth specialist for quite awhile. Nymph was fun support too I felt. Mannoroth had the highest burst damage before Bone Fletcher was added so it was hella fun farming, and KSing of course. I'm not too sure when he was removed but I never returned to DOTA after that. That was around March 2003 anyway.

In MoMV, leveling my primary hero is my main focus. Making sure he's completely buffed to hell so he can meltfases (the only close-to-orgasmic part of the game) is fun and can be challenging depending on difficulty.

There are a number of serious flaws in the game. Melee troops are just urgh for seiges. Ranged troops happen to be the most consistent type of troops. That is erm, an overly-convenient balance mechanic and in most cases unfair. The 3 consequential numerical battle mechanics are Luck, Morale and Initiative. Attack and Defense are of course useful stats but those 3 usually outweigh any attack, defense or spellpower you can stack.

The more the amount of Morale and +Initiative your army has, the more often they're going to attack before your enemy. Conversely, the more your enemy has, the less likely you're going to attack first. So stacking morale and intiative are extremely pertinent, especially in cases where ranged troops are in the equation (which is like 50% of the time vs decent opponents). Getting the first-hit is crucial.

Luck modifies crit rate (double damage). To my surprise, +1 Luck seems to be 10% more chance to crit. Which is ridiculous because you can spec a base +3 luck, and another +3 from artefacts. I think it's possible to get up to 5 luck from artefacts, so it's quite a broken mechanic. But then again, if you don't get your turn first, you're going to incur battle casualities (which is basically what you have to avoid).

I haven't found a favorite Race per se. All of them have their own flavor: Haven, Sylvan, Academy, Dungeon, Inferno and Necropolis. It is true that the Hero-specific trait ability makes a significant difference. For example, Zoltan (Necromancer) from the Necropolis has Spellwringing, which basically stops you from recasting a spell more than once. It's ridiculous especially against spell-based heroes like those in the Academy.

For me however, complementing a full Army (possibly including hero himself) is most important. Academy's Titan/Archmage combo works well but Archmages are pretty damn squishy. Dungeon's Shadow Matriarch/Black Dragon is quite imba. Haven is quite good because of Benediction. The Hero really gives a lot of support, but that is essentially the problem - it's too Army-based. Archangels are indeed quite powerful but the rest are meh. I absolutely hate Inferno early-game. Imps annoy the hell out of me. It gets better mid-game as you get Succubi then Succubi Mistresses. End-game with Archdevils and Pit Lords are quite good to pwnfase though. Necropolis looks like one of the weaker races, but it's more interesting to play because Raise Dead is an essential component when playing Necro, and if played well, can be retardedly annoying. It's like a Shaman's Nature's Guardian/Earthshield spam. Sylvan is particularly fun because of Ancient Treants. They, are, freaking, unkillable. Otherwise, a somewhat squishy race.

The best of the best might look something like that for me.
tier1: Skeleton Archers/Peasants(each peasant generates 1 gold per day)
tier2: Blood Fury
tier3: Master Hunters
tier4: Elder Druids
tier5: Inquisitors
tier6: Ancient Treants
tier7: Black Dragons

Unfortunately, the Morale deficit will be tremendous. Overall, I love Dungeon because Assassins are overpowered for early and mid-game, and then u have Shadow Machs and Black Dragons to deal with end-game.

Top 10 Most Famous WoW Players

For whatever reason my Create and Edit sections are broken. So I'm typing from a little box that I'm not sure will display any text when I click submit. Luckily, the most wonderful tool in Word Processing, Notepad, exists. I use Notepad so often, I had over 800 txt files in a dedicated .txt folder containing theorycraft, lists, assignments, notes, addresses, phone numbers, account passwords and what not, but they all died in a harddrive crash FUCK. Anyway, I just thought whether I could come up with a list of the Top 10 Most Famous WoW Players.

I don't think I can do a near-perfect list right now because sitting on my taskbar is a Design Proposal in Microsoft Word due in erm, 10 hours. I have barely finished it which means I can't print it, which means I can't bind it. Noes. Anyway gonna give this a go.

10. "Stian" - Legendary Grand Marshal druid who tried so dearly hard to prove Druids could DPS with Starfire. Absolutely corny, and a wonderfully tragic attempt in doing so.

9. "Pat" - How can you not have watched his terrifying AB rampage, and massive exploitation of MS+DW. Oh wait why did Blizzard think having DW as heavy Arms is balanced...

8. "Drakedog" - One of the earliest Koreans to create PvP videos. At that point in time "Eos" seemed to be his American nemesis, but Eos was soon eclipsed by Asian pryde and Drakedog's amazing emo stunt. I wonder if it's an Asian thing.. Jet Li lol

7. "Faxmonkey" - Possibly the most famous Mage in World of Warcraft. And he's a trollol. He created several entertaining videos showcasing how a trick-master enjoys the game in exotic fashion.

6. Teza - You might not know the name but Teza was the admin of the WoW portal on curse-gaming.com and is the current Administrator and Reporter of worldofraids.com.

5. "Kungen"/"Awake" - Their recent spammage of world-first videos probably showed the worldwide hunger for sheer supremacy. I noticed Kungen's Armory profile getting referenced a lot on WoW forums.

4. "Fanatik" - I think he deserved his ban but I don't think he cares or not, he should have expected it, but he just loves what he does, that is, providing the WoW community with absolutely horrendous WoW graphics.

3. "Ming" - Most can't stop but hate him. I like his theorycraft but it's almost always duelistic in nature. His campaign as the Protector of rogues sounds very cheesy, but I would personally like to know how many hits his blog receives lol. Oh his recent video (that I posted about earlier) received nearly 25k downloads in a couple of days on warcraftmovies.com.

2. Team.Pandemic - Sck's video surely received tens and thousands of downloads worldwide. The video was the first so-called perspective of a Pro team, so it was a milestone. Having being regarded as the Number 1 team in World Of Warcraft and then securing the WSVG gold, places them at position 1, er 2.

1. Leeroy Jenkins - I really didn't think he was funny but if you do not already know, his video received 1.5million downloads from warcraftmovies.com alone. I guess being completely retarded is not always retarded kek

Fnatic Trashtalking

Yep it has started sooner than expected. Classic trash-talking on the first day of the first ever WoW tournament.

Ingarv from Fnatic said in an interview with Sam Lingle of AMPEDSports: "I really don't think there was anything special about playing them. I thought they were going to be way better than they were because they've played a lot more than us." I'm not too sure whether it's a deliberate taunt to psych Pandemic up, or whether Pandemic really did play not as well. It could be both possibilities because Kinnt is playing a secondary class of his choice - Paladin instead of Priest.

Pandemic is pulling off a Warrior-Mage-Paladin combo, not much a surprise because 3 other top ladder teams in the competition are using the same setup. There is however, a Chinese team playing a Warrior-Paladin-Hunter setup (team "Extra Order"). The Chinese team that plays a Paladin-Priest-Warlock has lost out of the competition.

Spiderman 3

I didn't find the storyline good. It was too cliche for the most part. Romance, betrayal, hatred, jealousy, etc, 12 Monkeys anyone? The action was fine but I just dislike people being invincible.

From a 3D artist point of view, the movie was well-done. Sandman was very interesting, but underwhelming. He asif had a 30 second cooldown per action. He did activate a combo on Spidey but not without help lol. Venom was erm, hiding all the time?

What cuts me most is the I-love-you-but-now-I-dont storyline. It just engulfed the show pretty much. The scriptwriter probably wanted to elucidate the trueness of love through the setting of the Spiderman series, but bleh. The selective nature of love was also kinda implied from the death of Harry.

The script goes to some lengths to show that even superheroes are nurtured, not created. When Parker's professor (Lizardman) gave a description of what the Alien substance was, he said something like 'a symbiotic organism' that amplifies the characteristics of the main body. While doing so, Parker was on the phone flirting with Ursula and was indifferent. The irony is weak but it's there. Ursula and her father? (Parker's landlord) are Russian, so some form of Communist deliberation can be seen here.

If you didn't know, Spiderman's suit is meant to be a literal representation of the American Flag. The comic series is supposed to reflect American heroism and patriotism (Superman as well). Many of these comics were created during the Cold War. There were a few subliminal amplifications that I managed to catch. One was when Spiderman was on his way to rescue MJ when she was stuck in a car tangled in Venom's web. He jumped pass a huge American flag that covered up the entire cinematic screen, patriotism ftl?

Another interesting message was when Peter Parker's work rival spawned as Venom. He was praying for vengeance when literally, the Anti-Christ was born... and guess which hero gets to kill Anti-Christ >_>

Rating: 5.5/10

LIVE Coverage of WSVG

LATEST UPDATES:
* Steve from AMP has said on ventrilo that WoW might not be played live at all. I'm sure the clips would be be available for view soon though.

Right now, the information I have confirms that Noktyn, Vhell and Ecilam are in Wuhan. I assume Kintt is with them as well. Sck and Reznap however are absent from this event.

Some interesting facts that Vhell has related on IRC:
* This is the first time WoW is being linked up on LAN (for competition)
* No custom UI is allowed, you can see a screenshot of his UI here
* The gear provided is pre-inputted and comes with no gems or enchants

The WoW games are scheduled to start at 2am (+0 GMT). So make sure you get http://download.pplive.com/pplivesetup(1.6.28).exe installed. It should be malware-free and hopefully will provide live pictures as you desire. As far as I know, the commentary will be purely in Mandarin and no translation will be provided.

First WoW Tournament in China

The 2006 WSVG is currently underway in Wuhan, China and will include the very first prize-money tournament for World Of Warcraft. The entire event boasts a $50,000 prize pool spread across three games. CS1.6, WoW and WC3 are the official games of the first stop in the 2007 World Series of Video Games events.

I will be providing an exclusive LIVE coverage as best as I can. There are two North American and one European Team participating in this tournament. Team Pandemic and MoB Turtle Power both are vying the first place, but Fnatic (ex Quake pros) will not watch in defeat. The Chinese have yet to play TBC, and have had very limited contact with any new content, so I'm not too sure if they're actually qualified to play in this tournament. I would be thoroughly surprised if they manage to perform well.

My latest data suggests that there are 64 teams in total - 2 NA, 1 EU, 61 Chinese. The Prize rewards are as follows:

1st $9,000 *
2nd $4,500 *
3rd $3,000 *
4th $2,400 *
5th $500
6th $500
7th $300
8th $300
* Also receive $3,000 Travel Stipend

Vhell is providing live updates to the fans at BG9 IRC (irc.gamesurge.net #battlegroup9), and I'm trying to nab some quotes and screenshots to keep you guys updated.

"How can WoW turn pro?"

I've seen people asking this question IRC and random sites, and if they don't play WoW or haven't played a decent MMORPG, then that would be appropriate, if not, it'd be disappointing to hear. It is to a large extent true that WoW is controlled by a 1.5s global cooldown, but that's barely an argument. Whether you believe it or not, WoW's game-play mechanics happen to be suitable for competitive PvP. I hope some of the things I point out might help the average Joe understand what WoW PVP truly stands for.

The 'one and only' reason that sets apart a world-class FPS team and second-rated ones is, according to pro FPS gamers, whoever is better trained. It's not difficult to understand why. The only way you can not lose, is to win; and you need to precisely plant your tactical steps straight on to ensure that victory. Just like any FPS, strafing, jumping, rotating (in WoW you can't dodge/parry/block when attacked from behind), line-of-sight, preemption, reaction, etc, are all key aspects found in World of Warcraft PVP. Except in WoW, there are extra elements. You have to consider cooldowns, not just your cooldowns, but the cooldowns of your teammates and the enemys'.

Perhaps the essential reservoir of empowerment comes from knowledge of the game. You simply cannot get a top-rated FPS player and turn him into a WoW prodigy like Corrupt (CWOW rogue), Saerdna (Korean Fire Mage), Laintime (Korean Warrior) and so on overnight. It's not possible and not plausible. If you cannot handle the fight mechanics of 1v1, it is not possible to do 2v2, 3v3 or 5v5, because it only gets exponentially more complex and more intense. It might take weeks, months or even years to train up some-one from scratch to become a top-notch player. To have the honors of being called a world-rated WoW player will be something very extraordinary. Someone who has produced numerous PvP videos with several accolades might not even be considered one, because it really isn't possible to encapsulate the essence of those forms of PvP inter-contextually. This is probably why WoW PvPers are so faithful to the PVP system.

Unlike GuildWars, or UO, or EQ, the range of possibilities in WoW is neurotic. There are so many usable spells in PvP, up to 25 probably for the average class. It is required to understand every ability of every class, and individual assessment of each each ability is required. Some players often argue that the best way to truly understand each ability is to have played that specific character. You simply cannot say you don't agree. So the permutations of perspectives, understanding and reasoning is really beyond an FPS. This is probably the best reason why DOTA is well-received today.

In terms of leadership, you cannot simply have 1 CO (commanding officer). Every player in the team should be utilizing VOIP (I don't because of technical issues and RL issues, but I should) to their best. Calling out switches can be achieved by every person if a mistake has been spotted, or if a loophole persists, or if a separate course of action can be executed due to a change in conditions.

Positioning is extremely crucial in the arena. Some players use the term 'exploit' to express the blatant use of positioning, but this is in no way a display of unfair play. It is a telltale sign of skill - preemption and reaction. In fact, top-rated players believe that the secret to winning is in positioning.

But really, it comes down to team-work. In FPS, this goes without saying. Surgical execution has to be drilled in and out, in and out, in and out. And this execution comes with a flavor; a style that is individualistic of the team. Teamwork in WoW Arena is sometimes seen as the icing on the cake. This is evidently portrayed through the ELO point system that Blizzard has chosen for the Arena.

Of course, what downplays the Arena system are the numerous flaws; both in design and execution. I personally think these are the top 10 flaws in the 5v5 Arena system.

1. Ping
2. Racials
3. RNG - Ever been feared from the top of the bridge, via the ramp, then right under?
4. Mage water
5. Scorpid pet
6. Frost trap/Entrapment
7. Counterspell/spelllock - Getting nerfed a bit in 2.1
8. Bloodlust
9. Paladin support/survivability
10. Windfury Totem

Duplicating

This is a new issue raised on BG9 IRC. The top arena groups are unhappy with the fact that arena strats are easily duplicated, so some are beginning to use play style as a gauge to a group's PVP superiority. I don't know yet if I should take sides. There is a point in the cries; but really, you can only go | | that far to duplicate an entire playing strategy.

Generally, groups that play very unconventional set-ups are mocked at and are washed off the radar screen. This is changing.

I believe it has something greatly to do with the release of Sck's video. Many teams are duplicating PowerTrip's set-up, and are pre-conditioned to believe that their set-up works. I hope I'm not saying this as a preconceived notion, but yeh their group set-up is clearly one of the best, if not the best. But of course, set-up =! play-style, but it's technically a starting-step.

How far can you go to being individualistic? You can be quite crazy. Fix Your Game for example uses lock sp priest sham mage. In Sck's vid, Noktyn was burned heavy, but he managed to stay up, partly because Bhaltayr used his spellock too early on Sck. I'm not too sure what happened to Croissant's. Burning the warrior down is becoming a norm for non-warrior groups as well.

Millenium started off the arena tournament with well, a moonkin. I'm not too sure if they were serious about that set-up; it could have been a well-coordinated publicity stunt. Anyhow, they actually won many games.

WoW Tournament Feedback

Response has been nothing more than negative. The idea was good, and WoW Arena has a lot of potential to become a WCG title, but Blizzard has done a really poor job in disseminating information and controlling their plan.

Team.Pandemic has been constantly complaining about the hour-long queues. This is happening for very obvious reasons. Most of the teams don't belong to the same time zones, and on top of that, some of the teams are deliberately avoiding the queuing hours of the 'better teams'. It's quite a joke at the moment. No.8 on the US board has a rating of 1500, because they haven't played a game. Sck summed it up nicely:

"what did you do to prepare in the 2nd stage qualifiers to get here?"
"well we kinda just made a team and logged off"

Of the nearly 40 teams that were chosen, more than half are not competing for various reasons. The top reason being 1 main member being unable to compete because of their nationality. Apparently some are not playing because they're just not good enough to compete, despite being the best in their Battlegroup. This is just the American side of things though. The Europeans don't even know how many teams there are because the Armory site for wow-europe.com isn't even being updated.

I read an interview SK-gaming had with Mackelina (Paladin) from Curse's Arena team, Log. She said that there are nearly no hunters playing on the top EU teams. I find that hard to believe. Scorpid might give them a really warm welcoming lol.

Top-8 EU teams by rating according to Mackelina:

1. Feel the Pain
2. Warders
3. Millenium
4. Log
5. Les Pores
6. Deathwing
7. Nashwan
8. Knockout

(as of 30/4/07)

Basically, most of the participants are unhappy with how the arena tournament has been unfolding. They want to be heard, but Blizzard is neither listening nor requesting feedback. Perhaps they realize it is helpless to do anything at this point in time.