World of Warcraft at Ten Ton Hammer

Welcome to the latest World of Warcraft newsletter from Ten Ton Hammer. The Overpull, where we gather most of the things we should and a few we probably shouldn't.

In this section we'll look at the hits and misses taking place in the game. 

From the good news/bad news Arena dept,. Rogue-Mage-Priest - the dreaded RMP - has become the exception, not the rule as Paladins and Warlocks show top representation in the Arena Tournament. Each are featured on 6 of the top 10 teams.

On the flip side, zero Warriors or Druids have cracked the top ten.  Holy Paladins are in for a big PvP nerf-bat beat down, so we'll see how this changes over the next few weeks assuming the patch goes live at some point..

Speaking of patches, the odds-makers in Vegas show a 2:1 spread that tomorrow is Patch day for the 3.1 patcheroonie. I wouldn't plan a raid for tomorrow night if I were looking over the calendar.
 

Ah the good old days. Some we miss, but most we just appreciate (for the fact that they're gone!).

I remember when threat was a much bigger issue than DPS. We spent a heck of a lot more time watching threat meters than damage meters before it was "fixed."

Things that I'm glad I no longer have to worry about:
Aldor vs. Scryer
Gnomish vs. Goblin Engineering
Poison Making Materials (Rogue)
Random Drop Recipes (I do miss have something special though)
Reagents for class special spells - no more light feathers (thank you glyphs)
Blue Pill vs. Red Pill (oh wait, nevermind)
   

Giddy with excitement or wringing your hands in nervousness? Is the patch going to hit this week, and if it does how will it effect us? Call this edition of The Overpull the Paladin special as you'll note more Paladin tidbits than other classes. Well that and it is my main character class and obviously the best class in the game.

The Arena Tournament is in full swing and shows us that the new team composition to beat is the Paladin - Death Knight-Warlock which make up 4 of the top 10 current teams. The top spot goes to Hunter-Mage-Shaman though. Who knows where this will shake out, especially since there are some hefty changes coming in the patch. Do big changes in the live servers (i.e. Patch 3.1) cast a shadow of doubt on wins prior to the patch? Sort of like performance enhancing buffs? If we see Holy Paladins drop from the top ten teams, I believe we'll have a good indicator.

I'm excited that Protection Paladins are getting some nice buffs, but I have to curb that joy as my alternate spec (Holy) will be getting a taste of nerfbat pie. Oh well, it'll all work out because I enjoy playing that class.

That reminds me of this week's question: Does your enjoyment of a class solely rest on where it falls on the damage meter? We all want to be number one, but when you find yourself struggling to keep pace with other DPS classes does it really decrease your enjoyment? I've not played a pure DPS class in end-game so the top of the damage meter is some mythical place I'll not see. However; I find the discussions intriguing when Rogues and Mages quit to play Death Knights or <insert other class here> because the old grey main just ain't what she used to be.

Don't hit send on that full-of-hate reply just yet. I understand people getting their bloomers in a bunch when the nerf-pendulum swings their way. If you're only true desire it to be tops of the damage meter, then I believe you'll have to keep one of every DPS class at your beck and call though. The pendulum swings, and sometimes wildly (sorry about the start of Lich King Warlocks, but you're bouncing back nicely). Other times there is no nerf, but other classes get some game-changing buffs (*couch* Retribution Paladins). In the overall scheme of things though, does that make or break the overall enjoyment of the game? Either you like your character for all of the effort and fun while doing all you can, or you just see it as a means to topping the damage meter. Which is it?

If you're that out of sorts with your damage production, the good news is that you can always use Refer-A-Friend to get to max level in about a week (of solid 24/7 playtime). I got my character to 80 in around 7 days played and my friend will be shattering that record as I'm sure many others have. So if you're tired of some other class kicking sand in your damage meter's face, then go do something about it.

And we'll leave off this week with a deep thought from Jack Handey Jenkins:
"I can picture in my mind a world without war, a world without hate. And I can picture us attacking that world, because they'd never expect it."
On my server we call that world "Darnassas." For the Horde y'all.

So many questions, thankfully Jack Handey is here to bring it all home. So is the DPS meter really your fun meter? Is tomorrow patch day? Will Paladins fall out of favor after they stop throwing out instant heals for almost 20k?  Stop by and let us know?


Until next week, have fun and thanks for reading,
Medeor