For a little while Runzwithfire.co.uk has had a Steam group going on... um... Steam.  It's mostly been restricted to guildies, close friends and PvP buddies but we decided to throw it open so that friends of the blogsite can join to.  Why?  Because I love you all that's why; running the blog for the past 18 months has been great fun, there's been some great people, I've had the opportunity to speak to other fantastic bloggers and to be honest the people that stop by here are just all kinds of fantastic.  I'd let every single one of you date my sister...

Obviously not concurrently, some kind of rota system might be required...

Guess I best ask her about that too...

And her husband...

But it's the sentiment of adoration and respect for you all that I was actually getting at.

Anyways, if you'd like to join the Runzwithfire Steam Group you can click here (you will of course need a Steam account and you'll need to log in).  A little bit of Team Fortress 2 (I'm terrible at it), Left 4 Dead (I'm terrible at that too), Magic The Gathering (I'm god awful), Magicka (ooo now I'm good at that... the aim is to kill the other players right?), Terraria, Shogun 2, Blood Bowl, Counter Strike and Assassin's Creed; The Whatever (I think it's the 3rd one, the one where you go round and stab each other... thinking about it, that probably doesn't narrow it down much) are all on offer.

Other Plans

People did ask quite some time ago about a forum, I was a bit hesitant about it because the Mage Forums were up at Mana Obscura and I didn't want to duplicate effort.  However, time marches on, things change and I've found a decent forum module for the website.  Once I actually set it up properly I'll put it live and hopefully it will be a place for lively inputs about MMOs, Machinima, gaming in general, (game based) artwork and and general funny stuff.  I say hopefully because I know forums can sometimes die before they're even really born so we'll just see how it goes.

I'm also hoping to stick a chat client up on here.  To begin with, this will be retricted to use by Darkened's RBG team but we'll see how that pans out but hopefully it will expand to a useful place to discuss blog ideas, share general WoW/MMO conversations and have a little bit of community interaction.  We'll see how it goes.

Anyway, that's all from me for now so have fun and hope to see you in the BGs :)

Don't worry this isn't some 'I'm quitting WoW' post, that time may come and it may be soon or it may be a long time from now but it isn't now I can assure you of that.  But I can't help but be aware that my enthusiasm has waned somewhat.  I still love PvP (I've always loved PvP really) and when the RBG team gathers with our war drums sounding I get goosebumps.  I have euphoric moments in arena when we thrash a team that, by rights and looking at composition, should have easily defeated us.  I'm still playing aspects of the game and I love those aspects, but I'm picking and choosing not playing the game as a whole.  Now some people have been playing like this for a long time but it's not how I like to play.  I was mostly levelling through TBC (in the days before speedy levelling) but once I hit max level with my little Magey wagey I started in Wrath, I played every aspect of the game.  I raided, I never missed a daily heroic, I never missed out on dailies, I BG'd, I even did some arena (although then I was experimenting with it and did it to experience it and never consistently).  The idea of missing out on some Emblems of Whatever was abhorrent, I would never even dream of it.  A gentleman raider would do his duty, get his emblems and do his dailies to ensure he had the gold to make sure his gear was in tip top condition.

Now I still make sure my PvP gear is always ready to go, but my raid gear is a dusty hotchpotch of Tier 11 and 12 gear that lies mostly unused in the corner of my study (that's a euphemism for being sat in my bags by the way).  So what's changed and why?

If I had to pick a word (in a very gross and over generalised way) to pinpoint the cause then that word would be Cataclysm.

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Additionally, there is a handy little feature that alerts you to whenever an enemy player gets near an important objective, you know just in case you try to be sneaking and avoid the big roaming packs of death called the Imperial Playerbase.

Even on those servers with a slightly fairer population balance the net result seems to be one big AOE grindfest as demonstrated below.

Bioware did not think this one through... no siree... *sucks gums*... nope.

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Totalbiscuit blacked out his youtube page and posted a highly informative video about why SOPA is bad, Yogscast blacked out their page and linked back to TB’s video etc etc.  And all of this is great, I’m not denying that.  It shows a bright new future where the internet community is not divided by country or flag, where we can all stand up and speak in one voice and it showed the power the voice of the internet has when we bother to work together.  Obviously I say that in the knowledge that SOPA and PIPA could still be passed into legislation, but the White House is actively against SOPA meaning that a veto is highly likely.  Building on that, considering the very public backlash against SOPA it is extremely unlikely that SOPA at least would get the 67 votes required for a supermajority in the US Senate (allowing the Senate to supercede any presidential veto).

Wait.  You’re pissed at fellow Brits opposing SOPA/PIPA but simultaneously applauding their efforts?  WTF RUNZ????

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I have done something terrible, something absolutely heinous and I feel awful about it.  I didn't for it to happen, events conspired against me so as to make my final course of action inevitable.  It's really not my fault, I mean he would have killed me wouldn't he?  It happened on Balmorra, a planet recently conquered by the Sith Empire deep within the galactic Core Worlds.  I'd been sent there by my Master to retrieve a powerful artifact but upon my arrival I quickly learnt that this was no pacified planet.  A brutal guerilla war had been ongoing since the Republic's withdrawal as the local population was less than chipper about have a bunch of sadistic force users as their lords and ladies. On top of, judging from the state of the place, it was pretty clear that the Imperial Governor had reduced trash bin collections to once a fortnight.  Daily Mail readers would be incensed by the whole thing.  So being a responsible member of the Sith Empire I resolved to clean up the mess my fellow Sith had created, bring an end to the conflict and pick up that artifact along the way.  They'd call me Runz the Peacemaker!  Well that's the plan anyway.

You see I'm no conventional Sith.  I am Runz, a Sith Assassin with a heart of gold and an eye for the ladies.  Oh I talk big about crushing my enemies but that's mostly to impress my Dashade companion.  You see I am secretly a member of the Revanites, an outlawed cult within the Empire that believes that Revan's mastery of both the light and the dark sides of the force is the true way and will bring both power and peace to the galaxy.  Really I didn't even want to be Sith, I'd originally set my sights on being a Jedi Sage, but all my friends were being Sith and I just wanted to be one of the cool kids.  Funny, this story seems to sound exactly the same as the story of why I started smoking, oh hum.  So I spend my days trying to advance myself in Sith society, pleasing my somewhat twisted master whilst attempting to maintain some sort of moral code.  It boils down to this;

Killing defenceless civilians is bad.

Killing Rebels/Republic soldiers is fine if they're on the field of battle, they knew the risks.

Killing Jedi is justifiable if they conflict with my goals and will not stand aside, but I won't go out of my way to start a fight with them.

Killing fellow Sith is completely acceptable as they're a big bunch of arseholes who will kill me given the opportunity.  Most of the time I don't have to go out of my way to start a fight with them, it just happens and shouting "SAME TEAM, SAME TEAM" appears to have little effect on the situation.

A TALE FOR THE AGES

You'll notice that so far I've mostly been talking about me and my character and not very much about the actual game but that is for one very good reason; the story of your character is inextricably linked to the game and it's mechanics.  Many of the game's mechanics are used to drive the story, and the drive of the story propels you through the more traditional game mechanics that might otherwise be somewhat uninspiring.

Let's be very clear and get this said right at the start; for all its glitz and glammer SWTOR is essentially another WoW clone, it is another hotkey MMORPG based on statistics, gearscore and RNGs.  There's no escaping that fact and aside from some elements of gameplay it is not a player skill based game.  Granted gaming basic skills are still required, such as not standing in the fire and being able to position yourself behind the enemy to backstab but, much like WoW, a lot of your performance is more likely to be based on how good your gear is and how you've built your spec.  Those with greater spatial awareness and faster reactions are more likely to be better at the game but these personal abilities are not essential to have in great abundance to play the game well.  As long as you have an awareness of where to stand and what your abilities do, your spec and your gear will likely carry you through the rest of the way.  This is generally how MMORPGs work, we all know this so this will unlikely be a surprise to anyone.

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In the next few weeks I'm hoping to give you guys a full first impressions article of my starting bid to rule the universe but I have to say that straight off the bat Bioware has made the questing experience far more enjoyable in SWTOR compared to anything in WoW.  Yes ultimately it still boils down to kill 10 X and collect 15 Y quests, but the presentation of these quests as they built into your personal story (based on your class) is amazing.  At first I was wary, how can it be a personal story when a chunk of the server population is doing the same questline as you?  But with dialogue options, the lightside/darkside meter and the fact that your choices actually affect how your story plays out, the story feels intensely personal.  Currently I'm playing a Sith Assassin with a heart of gold but s streak of arrogance, and you know what?  Through the dialogue options I've experienced so far I can totally play that.  That feeling of personal connection with your character and the development of his/her story is something I really feel has been missing in WoW for a long time.  Now I say that as someone who is not a roleplayer, and dedicated roleplayers may feel differently.  Ultimately in WoW roleplayers can craft their entire story in their head, and not being a roleplayer I don't know how much the dialogue options restrict genuine roleplayers' immersion.  But personally, as someone who enjoys PC games with strong storylines where I can build a connection with the characters and can direct how their story plays out through various options without having to worry about generating an entire backstory, dating profile and and local dialect of obscure language for my toon, this is awesome and one of the biggest steps forward in MMORPGs I have seen.

Ultimately I still love WoW and will never abandon Azeroth but this is the first other MMO I've played that has grabbed my attention and I'm hoping that Blizzard learns A LOT about how to innovate within the genre from Bioware ahead of Mists of Pandaria.

Stay tuned in the coming weeks for my full first impressions/review article and some gameplay videos.

Runz

Welcome to 2012, did you all have a great Xmas and New Year's?  I did, Mrs Runz got me Skyrim and I have not stopped playing it since I departed the UK to go back to work.  In return I got her an iPhone 4S... my inner excited teenager did not stop to acknowledge the slight imbalance in present cost here lol.  I jest of course, this was exactly what I asked her for.  She also got me a pretty kick ass leather jacket (motorbike cut) which I'm very happily wearing.  On top of all this, my in-laws cooked Xmas dinner this year so all I had to do was turn up, eat, drink their beer, pass out on their sofa whilst my kids ruined their house, then I left.  BEST XMAS EVAH!

Sadly of course this has not left me a great deal of time for either playing WoW or blogging but the break has done me the world of good.  The end of November saw my guild establish our first ever RBG team with me being made up to officer level to organise and run it; it's been a pretty mixed bag so far.  Xmas was never going to be a great time to recruit or organise matches, in fact the Xmas disruption has had some pretty negative implications for our 3v3 team with none of us having the free time to competitively play so magnify that to 10 people and we have not been having a great time of it when it comes to RBGs.  Strangely, our best element is the element that we'd have most trouble with - Healers.  Our healers are absolutely awesome, and I'll take this moment to thank Nairne, Nasserkwt and Rudeboii for their tireless dedication to turning up over the Xmas period only to be let down by one DPS member or another.  Like I said, this isn't a dig at the DPS because it was Xmas and we all knew it would be a difficult period, but seriously the effort made by our kick ass healers went above and beyond so thanks guys.

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I just didn't want you all to think I'd abandoned the blog if I go quiet for the next month or so.  I've never had what you'd call a regular posting schedule (as much as I might resolve to myself to keep one) so you probably won't notice a load of difference anyhow lol.

In the meantime, however, I hope you all enjoy Patch 4.3 and once I'm settled in I'm sure I'll have some opinions and views to share with you guys on all the new stuff.

4.2 Best in Slot Trinkets for Arcane

These are in decending order (ie. the one at the top is best, the one at the bottom is... um... least best? lol).

Variable Pulse Lightning Capacitor (Heroic) - Comes from the Cache of the Fire Lord after you defeat Ragnoros on Heroic.

Shard of Woe - Only available on Heroic, comes from the Cache of the Broodmother after you defeat Sinestra in Heroic Bastion of Twilight.

Variable Pulse Lightning Capacitor (Normal) - Comes from the Cache of the Fire Lord after you defeat Ragnoros on Heroic.

Theralion's Mirror (Heroic) - Drop from Theralion on Heroic Bastion of Twilight.

Darkmoon Card: Volcano / Moonwell Chalice - DMC:V is acquired turning in the Volcano deck to Darkmoon Faire.  The Volcano Deck is made up of the Ember Cards (get them from Inscription or buy them on the Auction House).  MWC is purchased from Ayla Shadowstorm after completing the required Molten Front daily quests.  Why are these two at a comparable level?  Well it depends on if you're an engineer or not.  Unfortunately you cannot use Synapse Springs and MWC at the same time so it works out that if you're an engineer DM:V is the better option.  However, if you are NOT an engineer then you should take MWC.  The difference between the two is not that great from what I've seen.  Personally I take MWC over DM:V as an engineer but that is purely a personal playstyle choice and in strict theorycrafting terms I shouldn't do that but for me personally I accept the slight DPS dip for a trinket that I feel more comfortable using.

Theralion's Mirror (Normal) - Drop from Theralion on Normal Bastion of Twilight.

Probable BiS Trinkets in Patch 4.3

Like I said at the start, the jury is still out but it looks like Cunning of the Cruel (Heroic) and Will of Unbinding (Heroic) are set to be the BiS for Arcane come the new patch.

Taking a quick look at the stats Will of Unbinding (Normal) may well sit in third place depending on proc rate followed by VPLC(H) then Cunning of Cruel (Normal).  Don't quote me on this, this is just taking a rough look at the available stats and Simcraft et al may well show something different once the patch actually drops.

So there we go guys, hope this helps.

Thus far I've been fairly reluctant to talk about all the massive changes that Blizzard has planned for the Mists of Pandaria expansion, mainly because it is still so far off that any number of changes are still possible.  We can talk about the inclusion of Kung Fu Panda in WoW til we're blue in the face and just for the record; my stance on this is that if you can accept anthropomorphic spacegoats and a tongue in cheek stab at the 'cow level' into WoW Lore you can accept anthropomorphic pandas.  For me, the issue wasn't pandas.

And no, no Blizzard did not steal the idea of Kung Fu Panda for WoW, Pandaren have been about since Warcraft 3 (released in 2002) although I believe Samwise's art may well have been drawn considerably earlier than that.  Honestly, if that is your biggest talking point about Mists of Pandaria I think you're kinda missing the point of this expansion.  My interpretation of MoP is that it is to fix WoW in a way that Cataclysm was designed to do but ultimately failed at achieving and no where is that more evident than in the new talent system.

It's the new talent system, and specifically the newly released Talent Calculator, that has prompted me (or rather prodded me, with sharp pointy sticks) to talk about the MoP changes today.  But it's not the talents that are really interesting me here, it's the abilities available under the spell lists that have really got me excited and has pumped my enthusiasm for a new talent system (and the expansion in general) that previously I was kind of lacking.  I hope to go into the talent calculator in far greater depth in a later article but for the moment this revelation got me thinking a great deal about what is coming in Mists and we should all be excited about it.  (press the button to read the rest of this article)

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