January 18th, 2010 by dace

This is the second part of the “The dungeon finder in the Patch 3.3″.

If you hop into World of Warcraft right now and hit your button for the old Looking for Group window, you’ll get the new ‘Dungeon Finder’ instead. It looks kinda close to how the old one was laid out. You’ve got your role selection at the top of tank, healer or DPS. You’ve also got the option to be the leader of the party.

However, where it differs is that instead of the normal selection of your 3 dungeons, heroics, or raids, you’ve got a quest. Not only that, but at 80, it’s your heroic daily quest. All you need to do for the daily is hit ‘Find Group’ and you’re in like Wrynn. Lower level characters will get a cool goody bag which can include blue quality items for leveling and dungeon running.

Give it about 2 seconds (that was the average I was getting on the PTR, but your mileage may vary) and you’ll be told what role you’ll be filling as well as what quest rewards you should be expecting upon completion of this dungeon. I used that graphic for the opener.

Hit ‘Enter Dungeon’ and you’ll see a little ready-check window pop up. That will let you know if everyone else has hit their enter dungeon buttons as well. Check marks are the people who are ready, question marks are the people you’re waiting on. If you get a big red X on one of the members (in my case, the healer declined), then the Dungeon Finder will pop your pre-assembled team out of ready and find a replacement. You’re still at the top of the queue, so the first appropriate healer that pops up is yours. It will repeat the same ready-check procedure until it finally gets everyone assembled and ready to enter the dungeon.

Please note that at this time, you still haven’t had to talk to anyone, form any parties, or debate who is the healer and who is dps.

Once everyone is actually ready, you will be teleported directly to the dungeon. You will not pass the meeting stone, you will not fight the door boss for the right to enter the dungeon. In the default UI, each party member will have an icon for their particular role on their party nameplate. Healers are marked with the same little plus sign as in the Dungeon Finder screen, dps has a little dagger (or maybe it’s a sword), and the tank has a shield icon. The party leader even gets a little flag icon. Isn’t it cute? Thanks to this, there is no confusion about who does what. After everyone is buffed, the shield just checks to see if the plus sign is ready and pulls.

If everything goes smooth and you kill the final boss of the dungeon the quest rewards pop up in your inventory. If you leave through the dungeon entrance, you’ll be teleported back to where ever you were when you hit ‘Enter Dungeon’ and you can just repeat the process again for more loot and rewards.

January 18th, 2010 by dace

Dungeon finder is a new dungeon system introduced by the Blizzard in 3.3,why we have this cool tool. Back in the days of “Additional instances cannot be launched,” the servers were set up so that each realm had its own instance server. At least, this is how we understand it, because Blizzard doesn’t exactly share its network layout.

However, before Wrath, people didn’t run that many instances. It was something that guilds did, but not something the general player base got into. When Wrath hit and pugging became the cool new fad, the instance servers weren’t ready for it. To stop the servers from collapsing under the burden of so many instances being run on them, Blizzard implemented a cap on the number of instances that could run at one time. This made instances nice and stable, but very difficult to get into and causing the “Additional instances” problem we all came to know.

That was just a stopgap fix until they could implement their big plan. In order to fix the issue with “Additional instances” they removed all of the instance servers from being attached to a single realm and let them be available to all realms in their battlegroup. Now, if your old instance server was completely full, you just got sent to an instance server that still had slots available on it. Tada, “Additional instances” is now fixed. Again, this is a guesstimation as Blizzard won’t release that info.

This opened up a lot of possibilities for Blizzard. Since your instance servers were shared throughout the battlegroup, that means you suddenly had the opportunity to do an instance with anyone from your battlegroup. All you need is a swank interface and away you go. Okay, we’re oversimplifying, but that’s essentially what they did.

January 6th, 2010 by dace

World of Warcraft’s status in China recently became a casualty of infighting between two government agencies: the Ministry of Culture and General Administration of Press and Publications (GAPP). Now, Reuters is reporting that NetEase, World of Warcraft’s new Chinese operator following The9, is close to resolving the issue.

A GAPP official said that the situation will be resolved “very soon” and sources close to the situation have said that the Ministry of Culture and GAPP have smoothed out their differences. An official announcement is expected in mid-January.

This announcement is significant because it may allow NetEase to launch the Wrath of the Lich King expansion in China and regain lost momentum for the MMO in the region.

December 28th, 2009 by dace

There are a remarkable number of choices available to massively multiplayer online gamers compared to a few years ago, but medieval fantasy continues to be the most popular setting. In these games you create a character, don a sword or a spellbook, and venture off into a persistent online world in search of experience points. An Internet connection is required and these games typically charge a monthly subscription fee. I rely a lot on user feedback as well as my personal experience when rating these games, so if you have an opinion on the subject, feel free make a suggestion.

1.World of Warcraft

Blizzard Entertainment muscled its way into the MMORPG market back in 2004 with this game based on their illustrious Warcraft strategy series. Although it does not rewrite the book on MMORPGs, exceptional artistry, nicely paced gameplay, an engaging world, solid PvP, and a great interface made World of Warcraft a favorite among fans of this genre. It’s easily the most refined and popular game of its kind with millions of players worldwide. The Battlechest version includes both the original game and the first expansion, The Burning Crusade.

2.EverQuest II: The Shadow Odyssey

Many people discovered MMORPGs by playing EverQuest, so EverQuest II had high expectations to live up to, and it doesn’t disappoint. The graphics are outstanding, voiceovers are used extensively, character creation is very impressive, and the combat system is a cut above the rest. Since release there have been several expansions and adventure packs, and PvP servers have also been added to the game. The Shadow Odyssey is the game’s 2008 expansion, and it includes all previous expansions as well as the core game.

3.Lord of the Rings Online

Set in the mythical world of J.R.R. Tolkien, Turbine has built a MMORPG around the famous story that in many ways defined the fantasy genre. The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar lets you experience the adventure as a Human, Hobbit, Dwarf, or an Elf, and is designed to bring you into contact with various members of the Fellowship along the way. PvP is offered through “monster play,” which allows players to temporarily assume the role of monsters in an optional battleground. It’s an impressive rendition of Middle-earth that has had extensive content updates since launch.

4.Aion Online

The biggest MMORPG release of 2009 was NCsoft’s Aion, and it has been satisfying some MMORPG fans cravings for something a little different. The game introduces flying combat as a central mechanic and it’s set in a high-fantasy world with impressive graphics. Aion has many elements in common with other RPGs, but it’s a PvP-centric game where high-level play involves capturing fortresses and artifacts in direct competition with the other player faction as well as an NPC faction.

5.Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures

A gritty world with many adult themes winding through it, Age of Conan is a MMORPG intended for a mature audience. The combat system is very unique, requiring melee characters to swing their weapon in different directions, allowing complex combination attacks, and giving you defensive choices to make as well. At the game’s high levels, guilds can build cities and keeps which can be attacked by other players. Age of Conan fell a little short of expectations at launch, but like most games of this kind, improvements are implemented with each patch.

6.Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning

Mythic Entertainment’s Warhammer Online, like the famous table-top RPG it’s based on, concentrates on realm vs. realm (RvR) conflict between the forces of Order and Destruction. Every zone in the game has an area that is dedicated to RvR with several objectives in it which ultimately decide who controls the zone, culminating in a siege of the enemy’s capital city. The game has potential, but some of the siege mechanics seem a little off, and the engine tends to choke more than most on large numbers of players.

7.Final Fantasy XI

The award-winning Final Fantasy series has been adapted into this famous MMORPG from Square Enix. Three powerful nations try to protect the world of Vana’diel from the hostile beastmen. Note that FFXI is a significant departure from other Final Fantasy games, and it can be daunting for casual players. It’s also the first MMO that allows PS2, Xbox 360, and PC users play in the same universe. The Ultimate Collection. which arrived in 2009, includes the core game and all previous expansions.

8.Lineage II

Like its predecessor, Lineage II focuses on battles with other players and large-scale siege warfare. This time it’s fully 3D, with visuals powered by the Unreal graphics engine. Guilds challenge each other for control of the game’s castles in scheduled PvP events. Like most Korean games, it uses a point-and-click movement system. The North American version has a number of features to lessen the level grind a little, which appears to be paying off. The Epic Edition is bundled with all 5 earlier Chronicles.

9.Vanguard: Saga of Heroes

A huge seamless world, elaborate crafting, and a diplomacy system with which you can sway NPCs are among the features offered by Vanguard: Saga of Heroes. It’s relatively demanding compared to many recent MMORPGs, both in terms of hardware requirements and time requirements, which isn’t to everyone’s liking. There is a considerable amount of depth to the game, and it’s an ambitious project with a lot of potential.

10.EverQuest

EverQuest continues to hold a special place in the hearts of MMORPG fans, being the first 3D game of its kind to catch on in North America. It still has a large player base, and likely has more content than any of its competitors. The game is set in a mythical realm full of all the usual halflings, ogres, healers, necromancers, and monsters, featuring a remarkable level of character and class specialization.

December 25th, 2009 by dace

ead to Outland to Ogri’la (Blade’s Edge Mountains) place, get quest for bombing (Bomb Them Again!), apply the Preserved Holy and just do quest. Achievement done.
Don’t worry about not having reputation up the hill for this quest, it is not needed for just this one.
He Knows if You’ve Been Naughty

will have to wait a bit as present will be available later – when it’s right time for them (25th of December).
Scrooge (Ally) and Scrooge (Horde)

is just about throwing a snowball at Magni Bronzebeard (Ally) or Cairne Bloodhoof (Horde).Easy, if you have snowballs.

With a Little Helper from My Friends
is doable, but not really fast – 50 HK takes some time because the gnome masquared is gone moment you die. Middle of Dalaran has one device to get it, otherwise look in other cities.
‘Tis the Season

requires 3 pieces of winter clothing and Graccu’s Mince Meat FruitCake – that one you will get eventually inside package (in your mail).
Then just wear clothing and eat. And where to get the clothing? Tailoring and Leatherworking (Red Winter Clothes or Green Winter Clothes, Winter Boots and you can add Green Winter Hat or Red Winter Hat – head to Northrend dungeons, see list in Winter Veil bosses for Red Winter Hat and Green Winter Hat)
Crashin’ & Trashin’
need tank racer – again, you will get the item evetually (inside presents under christmass tree) and then just involve friend/guildie and go. This achievement is not needed for MerryMaker.
Let it Snow
needs Handul of Snowlakes which you can get by /kiss-ing Winter Revelers NPC mentioned earlier. Rest is just patience.
Bros. Before Ho Ho Ho’s (Ally) and Bros. Before Ho Ho Ho’s (Horde)

will need a bit of travelling. And Mistletoe of course.
A Frosty Shake
is easy as soon as you get hand on Snowman disguies (Winter Veil Disguise Kit will arrive in email about day after completing Simply Abominable) and Snowball. Dalaran, dance with another and you are set.
BB King (Ally) and BB King (Horde)

is usual way of dying in enemy cities – “Pelt the enemy leaders” means throw a snowball on them. It’s five of them, so plenty of work – druids and rogues have a better chance
The GOOD news about this last achievement is, that it is not required for final Merrymaker meta-achievement.