The Future Looks Bright

So Blizzcon is winding down as write this. Once again I didn’t get to go to Anaheim,  so I got the Virtual Ticket again. I’m not complaining, I enjoy being able to watch all the parts when I want to.
So the big news is the new expansion for Warcraft,  Warlords of Draenor.
Holy crap! That’s all I have to say. It looks like Blizz is finally listening to what the players want. So where do I begin. Housing,  new collections, stat squish, changes to armor, and so much more.

The new housing feature, garrisons, lets start there. Blizzard knows how to do things bigger and better than most other game companies do. We are getting more than just a little house, or a dimension. We are getting a towm, or a garrison to grow and stay in. Followers and professions all there for us. Our followers can go on quests, raids, and so much more.

We are going to be going through the big stat squish also. Don’t panic though, while our stats and damage will be smaller,  it will still stay the same in terms of effect.

Armor is going to go through some major changes. No more agility verses wisdom mail. It will juat be mail…or cloth…or plate…or leather. That’s right, the armor will automatically adjust to your current spec. It doesn’t matter if you go from being an elemental to an enhancement shaman, the gear will adjust. This auto adjustment will happen with tier gear also based on your spec. The stats are changing also. Hit, expertise, dodge and parry all gone. Reforging is going away too.

There’s more to come, I juat haven’t had a chance to watch the rest of Blizzcon yet, so keep an eye out for more of what I think of WoD and the rest of all the new things that Blizzard is doing.

Blizzcon, Rift, and Pandas, Oh My

So where to begin. Right now I feel like my brain is in overdrive. Between Rift, WoW, and Blizzcon, I am going in to gaming info overload.

Rift
So, let’s start with Rift. The world event is going, slowly. I’m about half way through getting my raptor mount, and hoping to finish it soon. I’m still looking for a guild, but haven’t found one yet. Other than that, I’m enjoying the event so far.

Haunting For Pets
Meanwhile in Azeroth, Hallow’s Eve is progressing slowly. The event is almost halfway over, and I still don’t have enough tricky treats to get either pet, let alone both. I need to do more dailies, and finish hitting all the trick or treat pumpkins. If I end up getting only enough treats to get one of the two pets, it will definitely be the Halloween cat, I mean come on who can resist a black with a witch’s hat on a broom stick.

A Whole New World
So you probably heard about a little event that happened over the weekend, ya know Blizzcon, maybe you’ve heard of it.
Well, Wife once again proved how great she is. I wasn’t planning on ordering Blizzcon at first this year, so while I was out getting blood work done I was checking for updates about the opening ceremony when I saw they had announced the new expansion. Later on that day I mentioned it to her, and her response was “well did you order it yet, if not do it when you get home.” So I went ahead and ordered it when I got home.
So there were all kinds of awesomeness this year. We found out that the new expansion is going to be Mists of Pandera, and we will finally be able to play as those giant balls of fluff, the Panderans. You have no idea how excited I am about this. I have been wanting to roll a Panderan since WC3.

Not only that, but we will get to be Kung Fu masters. That’s right we will be getting the monk class, and from what I’ve seen we will be a cross between street fighter, Bruce Lee, and Jackie Chan. Every race but Worgen and Goblins can be a monk. I was a lil bummed that Worgen can’t monks, I would’ve loved to have a Kung Pow Wolf lol.

Goodbye Stat Sticks
MoP is bringing all kinds of changes with for us hunters. They are finally doing away with our minimum range. That’s right. We will no longer have a dead zone. We will be able to shoot at point blank range. We will be one step closer to finally getting pistols. Now on the flip side, we will no longer be able to use or equip melee weapons, and no other class will be able to equip ranged weapons either.

A New Tree to Bark Up
Then there’s the changes that are being made to the talent tree. They are scrapping the old talent tree system and are rolling out a new one. In the new system, you will get to choose one of three options every fifteen levels. They also rolled a lot of the old talents in to new class and tree abilities. It looks interesting, but I haven’t had a chance to play around it yet, so I’m not sure about how much it will allow us to customize our builds.

Gotta Catch Em All
The next, in my option, big announcement was the non combat pet battle system. That’s right kids, Pokemon has come to Azeroth. All kidding aside though, I’m interested in seeing how PokeWoW works out. I mean, hell, even Wife perked up over this announcement. I think it’s going to be a fun way to kill time, and just take a break from the grind.

Diablo 3 For Free
The final announcement was they are starting the WoW annual plan thingy. It’s actually kinda cool. All you have to do is sign up for a one contract. You don’t pay anything extra. So, you’re probably wondering what do you get in exchange for signing this contract you ask? Well, you get three great things. First you get a bad ass BoA mount, that looks sweet. Secondly you get a guaranteed invite in to the next WoW expansion beta. Finally, you get a free digital copy of Diablo 3 the day it gets released. That’s right three great FREE items for agreeing to pay for a game you play, and would be paying for any ways, for just signing a contract that is shorter than most cell phone contracts.

So all in all Blizzcon was a blast to watch again this year, and who knows, maybe I’ll get to go next year. So until next time don’t forget to reload, so you don’t run out if ammo.