New items to customize racial abilities

A thought occurs to me the other day about a new set of items that could be o0implemented into WoW, without too much difficulty which could breathe a bit more strategy to the game, that of race specific items. This idea was spawned from the thought of how similar characters of the same class, yet different races are. Take for example a gnome warrior and a tauren warrior. Both can use the same weapon and armor despite the gnome being 1/4th the size of a tauren and both can use all the abilities exclusive to warriors. The only difference is the racial abilities they can use. For this discussion let us focus on just war stomp and escape artist. Imagine an item, a ring or perhaps a trinket, that is used exclusively by a particular race. The tauren could equip said item, and perhaps the war stomps cool down is reduced by 30 seconds, or has a 12 yard range instead of 8. The gnome could equip a similar item and could perhaps be immune to all snaring effects for 3 seconds after it was used, or it can remove all slowing effects such as crippling poison or slow.
This would change the way people pvp dramatically. In an arena battle, people would no longer say "Ok, we have a warrior, a rogue and a priest" and would instead say "Ok, we have a gnome warrior, human rogue and a dwarf priest." This could easily give people to further customize their character the way they want. Inscription is going to give many people a way to fine tune the abilities of their class, my idea is to give people a way to fine tune their race! Perhaps Blizzard does not even need to make these items a trinket or any slot currently available, but they could create a new slot for each character. Perhaps make them a "tattoo" slot on our character tab which could be applied in the same way gems are socketed into some items. I for one think this is an idea with no negatives and can only improve the customization, and therefore the quality of the game.

WoW Haiku

It is time to spread my wings and show my sensitive side, and therefore I share my WoW haikus.

Rogue:
You stealth and then stab.
All clothies die by your blades.
I hate all of you.

Priest:
A prayer heals all wounds.
They do not touch little boys.
With a word they shield.

Warrior:
You crush all with strength.
Platemail is your very best friend.
You are a meat shield.

Shamans:
Frost shock is king.
Fear all the mighty totems.
Windfury for the win.

Hunter:
Have bow and arrows.
Let the pet do all the work.
Feign death, live again.

Mage:
Lords of fire and ice.
I feel like mutton tonight.
Dresses are manly.

Druids:
Guards of the forest.
Bears and cats and even trees.
They are all hippies.

Warlock:
Great wings of shadow.
You harness death and decay.
I want a felguard.

Paladin:
Wear lots of armor.
Uh oh, a fight is coming.
Bubble, hearth, and log.

Postives and Negatives of "Welfare" Epics

Recently my friend brought up a point about how unfair these so-called "welfare" epics are for people who have been PVPing a long time, and how people just getting into PVP, or brand new 70s are essentially being handed epic PVP items without putting in the time and how every time a new arena season starts, the older arena items get easier and easier to get while the newest items get harder due to the recent personal ratings needed to achieve some of the items. I thought about this a bit and came up with a positive and negative argument to this topic.

Why making it easier to get PVP items is a good thing:

1. No need to play the catch-up game: Many people who are new to level 70 could easily feel they would never, ever catch up to hardcore PVPers. I started late in the game and for two solid months I was demolished in BGs and arenas alike. I very nearly gave up the entire PVP experience until a couple good friends forced me to go with them, and only then did I start warming up to the experience as PVP gear trickled in. I wish I could cash in honor and metals for good PVP gear and not have to play catch up from when I first stepped into the arena. For those new to level 70 they can easily slip into PVP without having to spend months and months just to earn gear to pose a threat.
2. You can start to PVP with an alt relatively quickly: I think of how long it took me to get my first 70 into PVP and the thought of doing the same for my alt? No thanks. Almost every person I know designates one character to PVP due to the sheer amount of time it would take to raise an alt to that level as well.
3. High end PVPers will never truly be caught up to: PVPers who think new characters will catch up to them gear wise are just wrong. My friend brought up the floor/ceiling analogy. Every time the floor is raised gear wise, the ceiling rises in an equal proportion. Therefore, people who continue to PVP will always have their gear at a significant advantage over those just starting. For example, at the moment its fairly easy to get Season 1 gear via running BGs, yet those hard core PVPers have season 3. As soon as a new season starts, perhaps season 2 will be available by honor points, and hard core PVPers will have season 4 gear. As long as they do not stop playing for a period of months, their gear will always be better then the casual/ new PVPer.

Why making it easier to get PVP items is a bad thing:

1. "I just purchased the latest, best item which took 3 months and this newb's item is almost as good as mine": It is a valid concern, but I look at it the same way how computers and electronics effect all of us. Everything is evolving, things are becoming more powerful and cheaper and there is no way to stop it. Many of us have spent huge amounts of money on top of the line computers, only to have it become obsolete within a matter of months to something more powerful and cheaper. Get over it.
2. "I have earned everything I own and never got a break, why should they?": Another valid point, but the grim reality must be known. People who get into PVP easier means more people enjoy PVP, which means more people playing WoW. Blizzard wants as many subscribers to WoW as possible and the way they are making it easier to start into BGs and arenas means more people will want to play and keep their subscriptions which means more money for Blizzard. There is a word to describe this. It is called "Capitalism" and it is how businesses are able to make and distribute games like WoW.

WoW could use a few new weapons.

Perhaps we have all gotten a bit stale and it seems we hav been able to make 100 versions of a two handed sword, yet we seem to have been a little lax about coming out with a few new weapons, so I have come up with a short list of things I think could be easily added to the game.

1. Whips and Chains: It worked for Simon Belmont, why not us? besides, it would be a graphic similar to chain lightning but to one target at a time.
2. Boomerangs: We have Linken's Boomerang, why not more so they are as common as throwing knives.
3. Slingshot: For some reason I think this would be a great ranged weapon for rogues and warriors when they are starting out. No ammo needed much like Blind for rogues since the 2.3 patch.
4. Flail: Handle + Chain + Spiked ball = Awesome. The Witch King of Angmar likes it. Are you saying your better then the right hand man of Sauron?

Breaking the News Softly

Over the past week I had an epiphany, and to my dismay it was not one that was positive. I was on my druid, and I watched a druid tank an instance, and it suddenly hit me like a sock full of hot nickels, I suck at being a druid. I figured that if i took the time to level a character to 70, I would be at least competent, and perhaps even good at that class. Boy was I wrong. This fellow tanked, kept agro against 4 adds even when the POM Pyro mage ripped it from him, and even changed forms to innervate the healer at times, and did it seamlessly. I have trouble keeping agro off 2 enemies even when pounding Lacerate and Growl. So after my realization, I wondered why no one ever told me this! be honest, I am a big boy, just come up to me and say, "Look bud....You suck. Give it up and go roll another character and try not to suck at that one too." Ok I have too many friends who are way too classy to say that, but it begs the question, how DO you tell someone that they need to work on their skill level?
This is a very touchy issue. I am not suggesting you comment to the person that they need to stop sucking, but I so not really know how to approach them in making a suggestion. We have all been with a player who just does not get "it", and you have seen similar classes play circles around them, but how does do you suggest they try a different tactic, or perhaps suggest they seek advice from another one of their class who you deem more skilled? You can easily lose a friend or two if you handle this improperly. An honest suggestion could easily escalate into "Hey, if you do not like the way I play, go to hell." when all you wanted to do was help. You meant no hurt at all and only tried to help yet they take it as a personal attack. I wish I could give advice, but truth be told I have no idea how to go about this subject and have always bitten my tongue. But if you do ever need to vent your frustrations to someone, look for my character Avanti and tell me I suck. I know I do!

WoW Movie Idea

Since World of Warcraft is having a movie made about it, I was a tad dissapointed to learn it would be completely CGI and have no real actors. So I came up with a cast to cover the 9 main classes in WoW in kind of a dream casting call.

1. Mage: James Callis. Best known for playing Gaius Baltar in BattleStar Galactica. This guy has a cool look, can easily play the intellectual role and make the viewer feel stupid, has a great accent, and has played a character who is just a tad insane, like every good mage is.
2. Priest: Christina Aguilera. Why? because everytime I see her I thank god.
3. Warrior: Vin Diesel. Face it, Riddick is cool and he has the look of a bad ass. Just look at The Pacifier. Actually.....Don't look at it.
4. Warlock: Christopher Walkin. DUH. Dude took down an F-16 with a pistol.
5. Rogue: Steve Buscemi. He is creepy, yet awesome. And since he already looks undead, think of how much you could save on make-up.
6. Druid: Hayden Panettiere. Can you think of anyone else you would rather see dressed up in leaves and flowers then her?
7. Shaman: Keith David. Best known for his awesome voice and kicking the crap out of Roddy piper in "They Live" I just want to hear him get in a fight and scream "Frost Shock!!"
8. Paladin: Sean Bean. Guy was killed off in the LOTR trilogy befor ethe first movie even ended and he was a bad ass. Plus we know he can pull off wearing plate.
9. Hunter: Orlando Bloom. She knew how to use a bow and arrow in the LOTR movies and was an elf there too. Plus she is kinda cute.....Wait, what do you mean she's not a she?

Bonus: Death Knight: Chuck Norris. Did you ask why? Then you do not know Chuck Norris. Remember, Chuck Norris coutned to infinity. twice.

Too much WoW.

10 ways you know you play too much World of Warcraft.

#10. You see a little person (aka a midget) walking down the street and cannot decide if they qualify as a dwarf or a gnome.

#9. You drive past roadkill and get the urge to skin it.

#8. You call your friends on a saturday night and claim you are LFG.

#7. You visualize IRS agents as undead rogues. First they kill you, then they feed on your corpse.

#6. You refer to vending machines as mages.

#5. After a long day at work, you tell your coworkers you can't wait to hearth.

#4. You reffer to your job as your daily.

#3. instead of laughing at a friend's joke, you actually say "LoL"

#2. You celebrate your birthday by yelling "DING!" at everyone.

#1. You have downed Gruul more times then you have kissed a girl.

Grim Batol

Often I have wandered away from the beaten paths in Azertoth and found areas that seemed abandoned by other travelers. As a new player to Wow, I simply thought I had yet to discover their importance and would unravel their mysteries eventually. As time passed I forgot many of them, much like the french fry you drop between the seats of your car. You tell yourself you will get it when you get home, but after buying the gallon of milk and remembering you have to Tivo a show for your girlfriend, you go on with your life and forget about it until months later when you drop your wallet and glancing over you see a shriveled yellow finger pointing at you accusingly as if asking, "Why did you forget about me?" So in answer to all those accusing fingers I have rediscovered over time, I decided to write this blog in hopes of giving those abandoned, adventureless areas a little attention, and maybe breathe a little life back into those lonely areas that held such wonder this new wanderer so long ago.
The first visit in this blog will be to the grand city that never was, Grim Batol. As a young mage, I was killing gnolls in the Wetlands when I saw something that struck awe into my heart. It was the first dragonkin I ever saw. Now, even though I was young I was not stupid, and any creature that had a skull in it's portrait meant I was to stay away. Behind it, standing magestic, was a fortress built into a mountain. I tried to run around a bit, avoiding the dragonkin as I tried to find a path to make my way up, but it was to no avail. I vowed to come back to it and to unlock it's secrets as I went back to kill gnolls. Fast forward a few months and I was level 60, having raided Molten Core, Black Wing Lair, and eagerly awaiting to crush the instance Naxxaramas, which was scheduled to open up any time. I was flying on a gryphon when I looked down and suddenly saw Grim Batol, the vow I had made months before, popping into my head with as much vigor as a fat man with a chocolate bar who finally unscrewed the peanut butter jar. I ran to it, and zigzagged past the elite dragonkin and passed the final gate and ran up to the gates of Grim Batol and then.......Nothing. The door was closed and no matter how many times I pounded on it, yelled "Open Sesame!" and even curling into a fetal position and crying, it would not open. Blizzard has yet to announce anything on this area, and many speculated that it would be open when the Burning Crusade was released, and some even ventured to guess that when Wrath of the Lich King was released, the doors of this fortress would open as well, but that looks less and less likely each day. If these grand old gates do open, it will perhaps be opened in a patch of it's own, much like Zul'Gurub was. So until this date I will hold onto my vow to discover the secrets inside, and I add a new vow. I will not let this mysterious fortress slip from my memory again, since those mysteries are what fueled my love for this game to begin with.