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. 

Luckily Egghell is behind us and we can focus on our future, the children. Yes, showing that once again over-lapping holidays are just too fun to pass up, Childrens' Week is here to snarl up general and trade chat with woes of battleground achievements. Am I the only one who is a little creeped out with the alien looking children carrying the flags?

Bowing to the QQ of the masses, Blizzard is already nerfing Ulduar. Really? The whole place was beaten by top guilds in 25 minutes wasn't it? At least let us try it before you nerf it, sheeesh.

In what seems to be a mantra of this article, Blizzard posters are already talking about more class changes. I just got my hot bars fixed for the seventh time since the big patch, give me five minutes with this spec please.

Another Legendary item, Val'anyr is making it's way into the game. While I'll never be able to stand in Dalaran showing off with it, I do like the way Blizzard puts these items into the game. The other day we ran Molten Core and one piece of Thunderfury dropped. A level 60 item and we all salivated over it. 

 

This week we look back at the delivery of content, and how Blizzard has changed their ways of refining and tweaking.

I don't recall Blizzard bringing the nerfbat to previous raids and instances at the rate they are with Ulduar, do you? When Dire Maul, Molten Core and other post-release instances became available, it was months (if not years) before they started the process of "tuning" the instances. I'm sure minor tweaks were implemented, but not to this degree.

I also don't recall the amount of time elite guilds spent beating the encounters on the test servers. It never seemed like that big of a deal back then. Has Blizzard created a situation where they can't fully test encounters on the PTR for fear of spoiling the content? Or did they just take more time in the old days? Does any of this have to do with Activision holding some of the purse strings?
   

Another week of WoW is behind us, or if you're an optimist, in front of us. 

Children of WoW - follow me into battle(grounds), and don't be afraid to follow around people who will give you ice cream. What kind of message are we sending? Shouldn't we have to at least find them a Nintendo DS to keep them from getting bored while they hold that flag all day?

Did you read about the huge buff Paladins are getting? Blessing of Wisdom will now grant 92 mana per five seconds, instead of the measly 91 it used to provide. Have we gotten to that point where we need to know about this change, and that it might really matter? Seriously, it's a rounding error, it doesn't need a note.

Apparently there is a tournament going on, something Argent. I wouldn't know. I have not felt the pull to even go check it out. Is that bad? I'd rather level an alt than go up there and do dailies. People have told me it's fun, and that I should go try it, but I'm overwhelmed with all of the Noblegardens, Children's weeks, and the thousands of other things we can do (yes Darkmoon Faire is going on too). I tune it all out and go level my alt. If I want to look at a hectic schedule I'll check out the thousands of things I have going on at work, and with my family. I don't want a big "to do" list in a game. I want escapism. Stormstriking a Val'kyrs upside the head with two axes is escapism.

In patch 3.2 we'll get to see the next phase of the Argent Tournament so maybe that will draw me up there. Speaking of 3.2, I am excited about a new 5 man instance. I really like the 5 man instances, especially since Blizzard has designed them for fast fun. An hour (or less sometimes) is about all you need to get your fill of an instance and take some phat lewt. I'm really looking forward to that.

It's May Day week and we're one month closer to Blizzcon. After last year's yawn fest, are you excited about Blizzcon? I have mixed feelings, but the inexorable draw of the BCon will probably pull me towards SoCal like a politician to a microphone.

Remember to wash your hands, we don't want to give the flu back to the pigs, and be sure to check in on our forums to tell us how your week in WoW is going.

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