Heya guys!! So yeah, got WoW reinstalled last evening and I have to say it was far easier than previous efforts over the past years. Whether it was a fresh install on a friends comp, or just a reinstall on mine. Blizzard apparently got their !@#$ together and streamlined the patching system.
After I installed WoW + XPac’s I started up the patcher. Normally you’d patch the game a bazillion times. It’d patch once, you’d start up the game and try to log in, and then it’d kick you out to start up another patch. No longer!! Now you start it up to patch, and it just patches itself without any interaction all the way up to being ready. Damn it was nice.
And luckily I saved my WTF, Interface, and Screenshots folders this time around (unlike before) so that I didn’t have to reset the settings or deal with redefining all of my mods.
I took a sec to read up on EJ Forums, MMO Champion, World of Raids, and a few other sites I peruse… Gotta say I’m not liking the current “ideal” 3.2 Unholy spec and rotation. No OB spec, gone… No Reaping and multiple SS’s, gone… Bleh. I’m not doing it I tell you. It’s gonna be a slight nerf to my dps, but I will not be using that rotation/playstyle. I’ll give you guys the digs later on with what I settled down with.
Also I’ll be doing my damndest to get my hands on some slow 1H weapons. I really really like the DW spec a lot. Tried it again last night (with admittedly far too fast weapons) and it still was just fun as can be.
Not sure how swift I’ll be back into raiding again. I’ve lost some credit with my guild since I was a new member before I quit WoW (being there for only 1 month, having previously quit SK where I had been for nearly 3 years). So we’ll see how long it takes me to earn my way back into their good graces.
Happy Birthday to Skeleton Jack!! Yup!! I’m another year older. Which leads me to this story. Anyone still following the site (which surprisingly is a lot of people still considering how rarely I post) would have noticed by now that I have been having computer issues. Turned out that the video card and mother board went bad at the same time. Or at least, so my tech guy thought…
My Computer Debacle…
So my roomie’s brother (Tommy) came over to work on my computer again (he does my tech work) and used my roomie’s (Garroc’s) computer to test some things from my comp to narrow down what could be wrong. In the process something got snagged on my video card (which was too big for the case) in Garroc’s comp and the cord from the motherboard to the hard drive got broken. Nice…
So since we keep old computer parts around (just in case), Tommy went and looked for an old cable. And low and behold, what did he find? An old motherboard!! Garroc had gotten an upgraded processor from Tommy about a year or two ago, but needed a newer model motherboard for it. So Tommy stored the old one for him in the closet after Garroc bought a new one. And guess what! Garroc’s old motherboard is the same model as mine. >.< Inorite?!
So for the past few weeks the motherboard we couldn’t find in stock anywhere to order just so happened to be about 30′ feet away from me the entire time…
So for the past month and half to two months now I’ve been sitting here trying to trouble shoot what’s wrong exactly with the computer. The video card was fried for a fact. We tried it in another computer and it was just boned. So then after all of that, once I had the money I got a new video card. From there I personally thought it was a power supply issue, but Tommy was convinced it was a motherboard issue. Up with me so far?
So we install the new mother board and I cross my fingers. Does it work now? Nope. /cry /sob
So then finally Tommy agrees to try an alternative power supply. And does it work then? Yup. Happiness ensues? Nope… Sighs of frustration escape because I’m refraining from throttling Tommy while screaming, “I TOLD YOU DAMNIT (insert inappropriate expletives)!!!!”
So what’s next? I go buy a new “gamer” 550 watt power supply by Thermal Take. Which is pretty f’ing sweet actually. It’s the new kind where you only plug in the power cords you need, and the cords are all wrapped in that mesh binding. Got the cords totally out of the way now and have way better air flow. Plus it’s got a 140 fan on it. It’s damn nice.
So, by this point I’m looking around at the chaos. I’ve got a new motherboard that is exactly the same as the one I had in it before. Check. We’re good there. I’ve got a new 1Gig video card that’s screamin’ hot. Check. I’ve got a new kick butt cool power supply, better air flow in my case, and everything plugged in properly. Check. And I’ve sat there like a good lil boy asking questions and learning how to do this crap on my own. Check.
We’re looking good here. Check the floor, desk, and table… What’s this RAM doing here? Where the hell did this come from? *scratches head* Garroc had 1 Gig of RAM in the old mother board that wouldn’t work on his new on. Hmmm…. Pop those babies in!! Boot ‘er up, and presto!! They work!! LED lights all working properly. New BIOS set to Raid 0 settings…reboots ensue…
*CROSS FINGERS*
And it works!! Yay!!!
So now I’m up to 3 Gig’s of RAM, holla!! Brand spanking new power supply, better air flow which I can already see my temp gauges in the computer are lower now. And a screaming video card that’s so sweet I can literally see the difference in just the printed words on the shortcuts on the desktop. Yeah, that sweet.
So I’m a happy SJ finally. Ready for gaming enjoyment!!
Heya guys!! I went back to my old guild site at Paragon and was reading up a lil bit, while perusing MMO Champion as well. And sure enough something caught my eye. In response to some debate I posted this there and figured it might be something you guys would be interested in.
Oh, and I went with the PNY GeForce GTX 260 video card. Why? Because when I finally decided to buy one I found out that one was in stock at Best Buy. So I could but that one “now”, or wait another week for the evga one. I was impatient by that point… >.< But the card is awesome!! I still have some comp issues (mother board or power supply, think I just need a new mother board), but should have that fixed by the new year.
Expansion Release Dates
Blizzard’s model for WoW is actually pretty well established by this point. I don’t remember the links from before, but it basically comes down to their financial reports each quarter and year. For example, BC’s release date was highly debated as various sources claimed varying times no matter what Blizzard or other sites said. However in their projected profits for a specific quarter of that year they had BC sales listed. Sure enough, Blizzard released BC exactly when those quarterly projection reports claimed.
Two years later the same thing happens. Blizzard issues their projected quarterly reports and there is LK for their expected sales. Both times now Blizzard released a major expansion right around the end/start of a year.
Also Blizzard stated quite some time back they they’d like to release an expansion once per year (and they were very official about it, not just a random blue post that other blue posts apologized for). But they also said that it’d be more likely to take a bit more than a year each time due to constraints with content release, etc… True to point, it’s been 2 years for each new major release.
Due to Blizzard’s move to making WoW their “cash cow that allows them to now have fun making whatever they want to without worrying about profits” I’d feel it’s very safe to say that you can expect to see Cataclysm released between November 2010 and January 2011. Past release dates:
WoW – Nov 2004
BC – Jan 2007
LK – Nov 2008 Personal projected Cataclysm date:
Nov 2010 to Jan 2011
Regardless of the speculation however it’s a pretty safe bet to assume that sometime next year someone will check out their projected sales on their quarterly reports. And when that happens you will have the release date.
4.0 Changes
When 4.0 releases you will see mechanics changes of course (such as Armor Pen, etc), but you will not see the new bells and whistles that are the hallmark of the expansion itself. With 2.0 that held true and with 3.0 that held true. There is no reason to expect otherwise at this point.
Raid/Content Release
I think it highly likely for Blizzard to continue with their previous model. With regular WoW the major story was finished, but then there was the release of Naxx in the end. In BC the major story was finished, but then there was the release of SW in the end. And now Blizz is winding up Arthas to finish this story line…and I’d bet you they will true to form release yet again another Instance after that as well.
Raid Content Comparison
I’m separating raid content into 2 categories. Primary Content where it’s multiple bosses, and Secondary Content where it’s one boss. Vault of Archavon counts as Secondary Content imo b/c they just release a new tier boss as gear progresses. Just because they house them in the same building doesn’t change the fact that it’s just a single boss release.
BC
Primary: Kara, ZA, SC, TK, MH, BT, SW
Secondary: Mag, Gruul,
LK
Primary: Naxx, Uld, Col
Secondary: Eye, Sarth, VoA, Onyxia,
My personal projections are that there will be only 2 more raid instances in LK that contain more than one boss. I think this is primarily due to the fact that Blizzard has pulled most of the original and best talent from WoW and put them to work on their new MMO (which they’ve released no information on to date). Sadly they’ve made the obvious move of less content art/work. From using Naxx again, no dungeon to explore in Col, and reusing mob models in Col as well… Hopefully the rewards of Cataclysm and Blizz’s new MMO will balance that out.
When is SJ coming back? What’s up?
I’m thinking relatively soon. Preferably before the new instance releases. Again, not promising to be back for long guys. I’m going to post for fun, and if you guys enjoy it then awesome. But for now on my posts will be based purely on desire, and not feeling like I have to. Which means they will be less frequent, but higher quality. Take it for what you will. This one for example probably shed a good bit of light on when to expect the Expansion release and future LK raid content. Take care guys!!
Wow…you have no idea how good it felt to say that, “Heya guys!!” My lead off to every post. Felt like coming home. So I’ve been out of a computer for nearly a month now. It’s sucked hardcore. Ugh, I hate it. You don’t realize how much you use a computer until you’ve been denied it for weeks!!
I’m currently pondering these three little lovlies for those interested:
Waiting to hear back from my resident computer guru on these cards, but I figured this was the perfect opportunity to hear random feedback from other gamers as to what they thought, or if they know of another good card/deal out there. Must be over 512 MG, 256 bit, 120 core processors, PCI Express card while under $300.00. Dem’s de rules!!
Death Knight Posts!?!?
No wai!?!?! Yeah actually, just not a full time deal. My roomie leveled his first alt to level 80. And it’s a wittle baybee DK!! Awww!!! Don’t mind the blood in the cradle, that’s normal!!
But he’s had to ask me several questions that I just wasn’t 100% sure about the answers anymore since I’ve not been keeping up on things. So once I get my new video card I’m probably going to reactivate WoW (for just a month, not promising more than that sorry) to say hey to some friends and goof around.
And while doing that I’ll probably put up a few posts about specs and rotations. If I’m going to do the homework for my roomie, might as well let you guys benefit some as well!! Besides, I feel the need for some PvP!!
The future of SJ WoW!!
I’m not sure there is much of one until the X-pac next Christmas 2010. The one thing about WoW I’ve missed is PvP. I’m really not missing the DKP/Raid grind at all. And it’s nice just reading a book or going out with my friends when I want to instead of scheduling around raid times.
But the new “rating system” for BG’s has me highly interested if they do it right. I had originally planned on working for Grand Marshall in vanilla WoW until I learned how the ranking system worked. Which basically meant if I wasn’t going to put in at least 40 hours in PvP a week, it wasn’t gonna happen. I didn’t want GM *that* bad, heh.
I always did really well in BG’s…phenomenally well actually. But Arena’s always posed a problem. I’d suck in many combos or just not play well with certain people. And the several teams I got into the 1900’s with always fell apart right before we made 2k+.
Supposedly in the X-Pac the new rating system in BG’s will allow people to bybass Arena if they really don’t like it (which I don’t). SO! If they implement the BG ranking system well, I will likely be making a more full time come back at that point and time.
My Champions Online Review
Initially I rated it very high. And then within a week of it’s release I stopped playing. Read: “bad sign”.
I think eventually CO will be a great game. But at initial release it needs a lot of work still. More than anything it was the “bright shiny new toy” syndrome affecting me as I ran to anything that was not WoW. Forgive me please!!
Heya guys!! So I was looking for the new Rogue Pelicula link since they killed the old one. Something to share with you guys since it’s so amazing. But I’m tired and couldn’t find it right away. So in the theme of DK’s, I figured Zombies were a decent substitute. Enjoy!!
So I skimmed through the comments and approved most of them. A few got deleted because…well…they were “trollish”. So go figure… Comments don’t automatically get approved people. It’s a case by case basis unless you keep using the same account info. *shrug*
Champions Online & MMO’s
So I played CO for some time, and it was cool. Their max level is 40 and I was at 30 within the first few days without really making extra time for the game (still working, etc…). I tried out the Beta and got active on the forums like one of my readers posted. But after about 2 weeks (Beta time included) the ”WoW burnout” returned.
So over the past week I’ve mostly ignored CO… I made like 2 1/2 levels in the past week, versus 30 in a few days…see what I mean? meh It’s a good game (CO), but the MMO grind I think is more what is bugging me. Level caps will be raised, new content will be released, mechanics will change, etc…
I’ve been hardcore MMO’ing between City of Heroes and World of Warcraft going on about 6+ years now. And that’s just the “hardcore” side of things. I played EQ2, DAoC and EQ as well from their inceptions as well, just much more casually. Is it that I need a break, or that I’m just done? No idea honestly… Atm CO is there when I’m bored and don’t feel like doing anything…
What have I been doing?
Been keeping at my D20 games on Fri and Sun like normal. Friday night is a high fantasy campaign centered around helping return an ancient kingdom (recently refounded) to newfound glory. Sunday night is also high fantasy, but deals with a city founded upon a necropolis and a rising civil war between the ancient undead families. We, the living, are trying of course to not die in the crossfire.
I’ve also been playing a lot more board games. No, not monopoly…sheesh. Things like Tomb, Android, and Runebound. There’s a ton of other ones, but those 3 are probably my favorite hands down. Turns out one of our gaming buddies spends a ridiculous amount of cash on board games… Who am I not to help him out by playing those games with him, heh.
The rest of my time is spread between movies, reading, and working out. Pretty boring, but it’s been relaxing. Really nice honestly.
WoW
So I saw the new expansion was coming out and how MMO Champion’s predictions were 100% dead on about the new races. I don’t care what people think, but that guy’s got some inside connections. No way you get that kind of information early and 100% accurate without knowing someone on the inside track. Must be nice!!
And Worgen?!?! Aw come on guys?! Who else’s first thought when they heard of Worgen were like… “WORGEN DEATHKNIGHT ZOMG!!!!” You’re second thought *should* have been how you were going to get a name change so your DK’s name would be on the Worgen DK!!
Goblins iz cool an’ all…but WEREWOLF DK F’ING PWN FACE!! Just sayin’…
Elitest Jerks
Did I pull information from there? Oh but hell yes. Who wouldn’t?!!? That’s like accusing talk show hosts of watching the news… It’s stupid. It’s an open and excellent source of information for WoW players. Use it. I did. But then I also used plenty of random wow sources, in game testing, and just random info. In the end everything that I posted here I made into my own.
I’m proud of the fact that I often changed info to what I believed was best, regardless of what EJ peeps (or commenters) said. *shrug* Take it or leave it. I’m not making anyone read this site, now or ever.
What’s next?
Who knows? I’ve been thinking about writing that book. I’ve been working on a new story and plotline for a table top campaign. I’ve got it into my head to go back and fix Realms of Wonder, a table top role playing game I wrote and co-created with a friend. And do the game right this time. I’ve considered also taking a step back and considering blogging more.
But honestly I don’t know. Right now I’m focused on work, working out, and just enjoying life. Where that leads me is up in the air atm. Hope you guys are doing well.
Heya guys!! So, what is Champions Online? CO is a new MMO-RPG releasing on Sept 1, 2009 (or tomorrow if you got into the early start like me!!). Originally this game was slated to be Marvel Universe Online, but that got scrapped by Microsoft. It was going to pull from the entire Marvel Universe history, but MS stated in 2008 that they were dumping the project because they couldn’t compete with the current MMO market.
I’m not exactly sure of the details leading to how MUO has become CO, but CO is where we are now at. Now most of you will not recognize the name Champions, but it is in fact a leading edge industry name in the super hero gaming industry. While it was not the first super hero pen and paper RPG around, it is hands down the best and most successful one in the industry (tired of the word industry yet? heh). I’ve personally played in several super hero campaigns using this pnp system, and an “anime occult-horror” campaign as well. It’s good stuff.
And that leads us to who is running CO: Cryptic Studios, lead by Jack Emmert and Bill Roper.
Cryptic Studios is the same company that originally launched City of Heroes and City of Villains (both commonly referred to as CoX). So the first good news is that they have tons of experience in how to run a super hero MMO. With Jack Emmert (Chief Creative Officer) behind the reins there is little to worry about from the start since he was the lead Dev on CoX. But to add in to that we have Bill Roper.
Bill Roper was a Director for Blizzard for almost 10 years, and a VP for Blizzard North. In addition to that he worked on the Warcraft, Starcraft, and Diablo franchises. If you are a fan of Blizzard games, then you are a fan of this man’s work. And the really good news? He is the Design Director and Executive Producer for CO!! But enough of the backdrop eh? Let’s get to the game!!
Champions Online – the Beta
I was not able to get into the Closed Beta for CO; however, I did get into the Open Beta. So I’ve spent the past 1 1/2 weeks running around in CO being a fool!!
Character Generation – 10 out of 10
When it comes to character generation, there is no game in existence that compares. CoX was the basis of this design, and CO brings it to an entirely new level. You can make demons, angels, mecha, robots, droids, super teens, spandex heroes, gothic avengers, swashbucklers, gods, ninjas, pirates, and MOAR!!!
To give you a taste of some of the possibilities I’ve got some screenshots of random players, plus a few designs of my own! Everything with “Random” in front of it are players I saw around the game. Otherwise, it’s a hero I designed myself.
Warning!! You’re gonna have to scroll down past a TON of screenshots in order to get to the rest of the review. Sorry.
Mechanized Force Beast (aka Mecha Rat!!)
Mechanized Force Beast (aka Mecha Rat!!)
Mecha Rat running
Skeleton Jill
Skeleton Jill
Skeleton Jill with Fire Flight active
Skeleton Jack in Powered Armor
Skeleton Jack in Powered Armor
Electra
Electra “Charging Up”
Electra in Electricty Form
Electra using Rocket Boots
Psi Psexy (aka Hot for Teacher!!)
Psi Psexy (aka Hot for Teacher!!)
Random Flaming Scarecrow
Random Droid
Random Cat Dude
PUG and myself tackling Tutorial End Boss
Random Fire Demon
Random Spandex + Super Monkey
Random Heroes + Super Shark?!
Random Anubis Dark Mecha
As you can see, the design possibilities are endless. Now I only took some SS’s the last day of some good designs, but all kinds exist. Mock ups of existing heroes (you have no idea how many Goku/Vegeta and Hulk clones I saw), goofy clowns, and more are all at the push of a button.
In addition to that, the fact that you can scale the size of the toons makes a big difference. You can design tiny limbs with a huge body. You could have a 3′ tall Mecha Rat, or a 8′ tall Behemoth. Want a brainiac psionicist? No problem!! You can enlarge the head for that extra gray matter!! You can also choose the stances of your toon. Like Mecha Rat who is in the Beast stance which changes how he runs and stands.
The simple truth is this. I can’t say anything to give you guys a full idea of the possibilities before you. But it’s the closest thing to freeform character design that has ever existed. And then that doesn’t even touch “Costume Unlocks”. In addition to the costume options at character generation you can earn in game additional costume pieces that are even more amazing.
Overall the Character Generation gets a 10 out 10 simply because there is nothing that even comes close to something this amazing.
Graphics - 7 out of 10
Now this may seem odd since I seem pro-Champions, but I think they missed something here. The graphics are solid. Things look really good. But they tried to capture a “4 color” comic book theme (which I’m still not 100% sure what that is supposed to mean, but they sure like saying it a lot…). In the end the game has a very cartoony feel. Which for some, is probably awesome. But for me…not so much.
Now you can’t walk into this with a crappy graphics card btw. If you play something like WoW and get lag, prepare to not be happy in CO. But fear not!!! I have for you the perfect tool to see how you will fare. Please click this link to You Gamers, for CO!! It’s a super quick and easy way to see how your computer measures up to the CO requirements. You will have to install a plugin or something, but it’s ok. I use the site, it gets a SJ /approved!!
Now, as I was saying. The graphics design in and of itself is very nice. It’s not cutting edge, but then you honestly don’t want cutting edge. Cutting edge in raid environments, or massive PvP, just isn’t desirable for MMO’s. But as I said, the cartoony feel (which they purposely went for since it’s a “super hero” game) is a turn off for yours truly.
That aside, the zone designs are fricking sweet. Open Beta only released the Tutorial, the Desert, Canada, and Millenium City initially. But they looked awesome!! NPC designs were well thought out, the zones felt realistic in size and depth, and it gave you a truly immersive feel. And the random instances (not dungeons) for quests were an awesome spin. The feel of them really brings the game to life.
Overall the Graphics gets a 7 out of 10 because the cartoony feel is a bit of a turn off. In addition to that you can run into some rough lag when in a raid, pvp, or outdoor event with a lot of PC’s and NPC’s at the same time unless you’re rolling with a current video card.
Game Play - 9 out of 10
Now let me say I don’t give out 10’s pretty much ever. The Character Generation rating of 10 is a fluke because no one can normally impress me that much ever. Imagine the hottest girl ever that you’d give a perfect 10. She’d probably be a 9 to me. Moving on…
The game play draws you in and immerses you in the feel of an epic super hero the moment you leave the tutorial. We’ll leave that as the hint that the tutorial, while fun, is not as immersive. But once you get out and travel to the Powerhouse to learn your first Travel Power!!! ZOMG, the sweetness!!!
Fly through the air, shoot past with rocket boots, tunnel through the earth, glide on your hover disc, swing though the air like a certain web crawler, leap and tumble at amazing speed, super leap like that big hulking green guy, run faster than a speeding bullet, and vanish and reappear at your destination. Leveling up for a travel mount?!? Not in this game!! Once you’re out of the Tutorial you’re grabbing your travel power and exploring the land!!
And if you caught my mentioning of instances earlier that were not dungeons, get ready for a treat. Not only are there permanent instanced missions (dungeons) in the game that you can do with your friends. But they have mission/quest lines that lead to random instances preset just for that quest. They tend to be much smaller mind you, but talk about drawing you in.
When you find out about the villain who has been causing all of the problems you’ve been trying to fix in your chain of missions/quests you actually go find their lair, beat up their minions, and nail the baddie!! And that’s just one example of how they are used.
Every time you get a new mission, it automatically tracks it for you with a short reference list on your main screen. In addition to that it places a green circle on your mini-map and main-map for the quest locations. No trying to look up on a site, frantically searching in game, or getting lost. A click of the map shows you exactly where to head for the next mission!!
And to retouch the travel powers, it’s amazing to actually fight opponents in game with these at your disposal. Fly into the air out of range of devastating melee attacks, use acrobatics to literally run circles around mobs, or quickly teleport away before you fall in battle. It’s amazing guys. Even if you fight without a travel power active, the fact that most powers can be used while moving will knock your socks off.
Overall the Game Play gets a 9 out of 10 because the game really does draw you in. It’s immersive, fun, smooth, and both easy and hard. While a lot of the content is easily soloable, the difficulty scales as you level to a very nice degree. I won’t forget when I got to 40 walking into an instance and just getting my face owned by Henchmen because I went all “Leeroooyy!!!” instead of playing smart.
Powers - 8 out of 10
The power design structure really just blows you away from the start. It’s honestly overwhelming the more and more you level up because with each new power purchased, *TONS* more become available. It’s a pretty free structure that allows you to purchase any power eventually. It all comes down to Power Frameworks.
Basically every power falls into one Framework. Each of those powers has 2 different pre-requisites in order to purchase them. Either x number of powers in the specific Framework, or y number of non-energy builder powers in any Framework. X is always smaller that Y. For example, the current top tier powers require 5 current Framework powers to purchase, or that you have 8 total non-energy builder powers. So once you have a total of 9 powers (1 energy builder – you use energy to fuel your powers, and 8 other powers) you can purchase any power in game.
Now the powers get really complicated. Certain ones from other Frameworks synergize well with other Power Frameworks. Then again, others don’t. It can get very complicated and confusing if you start off trying to buy powers from multiple Frameworks (or sets). And to boot, it becomes much easier to pick a poor synergy power that way as well. So be very careful there.
But once you understand the system, that is where all of this begins to shine. This is a truly class-less system where you design your character from the rock bottom up however you see fit. Sure there will be “cookie cutter” builds and FotM builds as time passes. But it’s not like playing a specific class and only ever having access to certain things. Whatever you make can literally do *anything*.
Add in to this the Powerhouse. Not sure what a power does? No problem. You train everything up at the Powerhouse where they have test dummies, travel power areas, moving targets, blocks to pick up and hurl, laser beams to blow you up, and MOAR!!! You can sit there for hours on end (trust me, I did just that) picking new powers and testing them out there.
So what’s so good about it? You can immediately respec that new power (at no cost so long as you did not leave the Powerhouse) and pick something else!! That’s right. Feel free to sit there and try out 20 different powers (if you so choose).
Overall the Powers gets an 8 out of 10 because the power design, and classless system, has been truly well done. Most of the powers are fairly well balanced, and the character builds are nearly limitless.
Combat - 9 out of 10
Gotta say, I *LOVE* the combat!!! Fluid, fast paced, and markedly different from anything I’ve experienced in the MMO industry. It’s easy to pick up any type of power you wish. Melee, Ranged, CC, Anti-Travel power, Escape power, Defense power, Heals, etc…
And the combat itself actually looks and feels like *real* combat. There’s not a ton of people standing in place doing nothing. You can be running around firing away at a target, dashing in and out of range while slicing them with your swords, or holding back in place charging up a massive detonation. It’s no surprise that this game will later release to XBOX 360.
You can actually line of sight a mob and their attacks won’t hit you. They will hit the environment. Where you stand, where you move, what you do…it all matters. Running behind a wall will stop a nasty charge up attack from hitting you.
Overall the Combat gets a 9 out of 10 for being truly awesome!!
End Game Content - No rating
Sadly the majority of top end content was disabled. I never got a chance to explore their raid content or their permanent instanced dungeons. These are already slated for game release, and they have been described. But I was unable to test them.
Respecs - 2 out of 10
This is the number one massive fundamental flaw of CO. The upside is their immediate respec system which allows you to respec anything purchased within the last 10 levels. So if you want to go test out something for a few missions then you’re golden. If you don’t like it you can easily replace it. But that 10 level cap is the problem.
At the moment, you are stuck and forced into anything gained more than 10 levels ago. And as everyone knows, leveling builds are nothing like end game PvE or PvP builds at all. I have an extensive forum thread post at their official forums about the matter at: Feedback – Respec/Character Generation. I highly recommend that you read it and add your own thoughts.
Overall the Respecs gets a 2 out of 10. It would have gotten a 0 except for the ease of the Powerhouse, testing new powers, and being able to test out a power for a few hours and then respec it. If a full respec system is not eventually implemented I expect CO to quickly lose thousands upon thousands of their player base within the first few months of game release.
Now the Tutorial is going to get on your nerves. After the 4th time I wanted to hit somebody. But there’s always downsides to games. Outside of that you find yourself happily leveling alts in this game. The powers play out in so many different ways, with such amazingly different feels that you will enjoy the hell out of it. Add in the “Sidekick” system which allows you to be a sidekick to another hero and you’ve got a winner here.
No more issues with your friends outleveling you (or leveling too slowly). CO has a system in place where you can set the entire party (not just one person) to the level of a designated player in that party. Got one friend who is level 30, you’re level 22, and another friend who is level 20? No problem. You set the first friend for everyone to sidekick to and BAM!!! You all count as level 30 characters so long as you stay in range of him!!
Now you don’t get the new powers, etc… But you no longer suffer level penalties for fighting that level 30 content. So there won’t be a problem with your alts either when you decide to level them. Not only will it be fun as hell trying out all of these new powers, but you’ll still be able to level with you friends if you like. They can be “de-leveled” as well. If you’re in a group of 2 level 10’s, one level 30 and one level 40 and everyone is set to sidekick to a level to, then everyone counts as a level 10 hero. It’s good stuff.
Overall the Replay Value/Alts and Level Grouping Issues gets a 8 out of 10. The Tutorial needs a method to bybass it and do other content for later characters, but otherwise this system is PURE WIN.
This is a super tricky topic simply because most of the pvp stuff was not fully enabled in Beta. Also there were no real teams of players who had been working together to learn how to PvP well as a group. But there are some serious flaws right out the door. Teleport has the potential to be brutally abused, Anti-travel powers skirt the edges of OP and too weak, CC might be too plentiful, knockback powers (which result in CC) are far too OP, and melee floats between OP and terribly underpowered depending on the build.
Basically it’s too much in flux to really determine how it will end up. But as of now it only gets a 6 out of 10, especially because the game caters more towards PvE than PvP content. However I actually have high expectations for how PvP will play out in the end. PvP in CoX was *very* rewarding and fun. I expect it will be even more so in CO.
That’s what it all comes down to for some people, and the fact is that there is no answer as of yet. And there won’t be for at least 3-6 months. Dem’s da facts bub!!
I would personally still rate WoW at a solid 9 out of 10, and CO at an 8.5 out of 10. WoW is the king of MMO’s for a reason. They are the best. That said, CO has serious potential to both rise and fall as an MMO. In the end it will come down to the following facets:
Respecs
Micro Transactions (whether they influence game play)
PvP
End Game Content (raid environment beyond 5 mans and outdoor missions)
If Cryptic does a solid job developing those 4 areas, then CO will be a massive success. If they ignore those areas, or fail to develop them well, then CO will end up just being another MMO in a long stream of products passing us by.
That said I had a BLAST in the Beta and highly recommend this game. Even if you only play it for 1-3 months, it’s *more* than worth the money. You’ve never played anything like this, and the experience it totally worth it.
Heya guys!! What’s coming soon!?! In a few days I will be posting about the DPS sims, how to make sense of them, who they will work for, and who they will *not* work for. We’re gonna talk about specs, where to find them, and how to be a better gamer.
I plan on doing an in depth post series about how to do the best DPS possible. This will be generic information that can be applied to any and all games, not just WoW. These will be the hard and true lessons that have through the years brought me to where I am today. These in turn will be applicable for all PvE content, including tanking and healing. In short, how to be the best gamer.
I will also be posting about Champions Online. I finally cheated and went and got the files from a friend, who downloaded through an alternative means. I plan to be beta testing for a few days and getting a feel for CO. As I do that I will post some about it as well.
This website is taking a shift. It will no longer be a DK centric blog. It will be a “gamer blog” that I intend to talk about my gaming life in general. WoW, CO, D20, etc… I tried my hand at a DK blog for money and I found out what it would take. While everything takes tons of work to set it up and get it going, the initial revenue return did prove to me that this isn’t what I want to be spending my time on.
While I have a keen insight into how to play any game or toon, I do not have the web/internet/computer skills required to make this a full time job by doing data mining and more. On top of being forced to out-source for all web design functions (because I can’t keep hassling my friends), it has simply accentuated the flaws and merits of such an endeavor when compared against the effort taken while examining the money gained (which wasn’t much).
That said, I am also no longer a die hard WoW fan. I also will be writing an extensive post as to why that is. It is not burnout. I know what burnout is, and this just isn’t it. Blizzard has made WoW no where near as fun as it once was, and I will share with you why using concise and clean arguments showing you the facts and perceptions leading me there.
I’m not deactivating my WoW account for now. It’s still fun on some levels. But I plan to spend more time on writing for myself, playing tabletop games, playing some board games, working out, and getting a girl. I miss the dating life. So. There. Lots of stuff to think on and expect.
Heya guys!! Sometimes you just need a break from the norm. Been patching Champions Online Open Beta (been pure misery honestly), so I’ve been looking for humor where I can find it!! Luckily it’s actually going smoother than vanilla WoW release, and it’s a beta, but it’s still frustrating.
Besides, I feel the need for some PvP!!
Forgive me please!!
