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I agree about only rolling on items that are made for the character you are using in that dungeon, but I also agree that it's not that big of a deal because you can gear yourself out with tokens anyway. Once you are geared up on tokens you can get into a good 10 or 25 man run and get the really good ****.

I agree about only rolling on items that are made for the character you are using in that dungeon

If I'm playing a retribution paladin - wouldn't a +spellpower shield be made for the character I'm using every bit as much as it's made for an elemental shaman?

If I have a fully ilevel 258/264 tank set on a paladin, would you really rather I show up in quest blues & greens to heal your dungeon and collect the healing loot?

Alternatively: if I have a good quality DPS set on a death knight, do you want me to show up to tank your dungeon with 22k HP, under 510 defence, and 20% avoidance or would you prefer I did 5,000 DPS on my main spec and get the run finished quicker?

I understand that people want to reduce competition for specific drops but in that situation you're better off forming your own group in advance. PuGs have no obligation to one-another, and I argue somebody going on their 'main spec' and collecting loot for 'offspec' is the responsible thing to do because it maximizes their contribution to the run.

Edited by evn.
i've been away from WoW for well over a year and i'm finally back as a prot war (used to play a Rogue)

the game a changed so much since i left

the biggest... "improvement".... seems to be the upgrade to the LFG utility

at first i was very impressed by it, i could find a group in less than a minute

then i remembered all the problems with pugging instances

now with dual spec everyone wants everything. DPS rolling on tank gear, tanks rolling on DPS gear. healers rolling on DPS gear. DPS rolling on healer gear.

it's madness

if you want prot gear come to the instance as a TANK

in the 4 years i played before i quit i NEVER rolled on off spec gear. if i came as combat rogue i don't touch daggers for the dagger rogue. if i'm there as a healer i don't touch DPS gear.

tl;dr

"i'm rolling for off spec"

kthxbye

/QQ

I take it you've upgraded to WoTLK? Do you like the new content? What about gaining XP in PvP?

Usual rule is if no-one needs for main spec, then those that want can need for off spec. Alternatively you can choose to DE, which has driven the price of Abyss Crystals down from 120g to 15g on Eonar.

On another note I noticed above; if someone turns up for FoS/HoR HC in blues they usually get kicked by vote.

I take it you've upgraded to WoTLK? Do you like the new content? What about gaining XP in PvP?

Usual rule is if no-one needs for main spec, then those that want can need for off spec. Alternatively you can choose to DE, which has driven the price of Abyss Crystals down from 120g to 15g on Eonar.

On another note I noticed above; if someone turns up for FoS/HoR HC in blues they usually get kicked by vote.

I never actually got kicked but I have 3/4 Epics and people still complained. My Gear score was around 3800 at the time. People really dont like when the tank is "under" geared. I think it really just becomes a matter of laziness for the healer who is used to coasting through content. I do have experience healing with both a priest and a paladin and I understand the want to have an easy PUG but sometimes it's just not fair to the guys who are just trying to upagrade from blue. If we don't give them a chance, who will?

I take it you've upgraded to WoTLK? Do you like the new content? What about gaining XP in PvP?

Usual rule is if no-one needs for main spec, then those that want can need for off spec. Alternatively you can choose to DE, which has driven the price of Abyss Crystals down from 120g to 15g on Eonar.

On another note I noticed above; if someone turns up for FoS/HoR HC in blues they usually get kicked by vote.

Oh, you playing on Eonar? Which side? Losers or winners (if you're playing PVP you'll surely know)? :)

I never actually got kicked but I have 3/4 Epics and people still complained. My Gear score was around 3800 at the time. People really dont like when the tank is "under" geared. I think it really just becomes a matter of laziness for the healer who is used to coasting through content. I do have experience healing with both a priest and a paladin and I understand the want to have an easy PUG but sometimes it's just not fair to the guys who are just trying to upagrade from blue. If we don't give them a chance, who will?

I (used to, before quitting) prefer healing undergeared tanks. Kept me awake while doing the mundane task of healing, especially while farming badges.. I have literally fallen asleep on the keyboard countless times.

I take it you've upgraded to WoTLK? Do you like the new content? What about gaining XP in PvP?

Usual rule is if no-one needs for main spec, then those that want can need for off spec. Alternatively you can choose to DE, which has driven the price of Abyss Crystals down from 120g to 15g on Eonar.

On another note I noticed above; if someone turns up for FoS/HoR HC in blues they usually get kicked by vote.

i got to 80 a week after LK launched

but i had to quit right after that because RL got a little crazy....

as for the content... i did everything but naxx when it was fresh

it was fun to see some of the new boss mechanics. wish i had time to put some time into raiding....

i'm actually VERY disappointed with the way that heroics have turned out

although i haven't done any of the new instances (PoS, HoR etc), from what i've seen EVERYTHING is tank and spank and trash pulls are just button mashing

i wish Blizzard would revert the difficulty back to the pre-nerf heroics from BC

i wish Blizzard would revert the difficulty back to the pre-nerf heroics from BC

Those days are dead and gone. I liked the difficulty of a 3 hour slave pens clear the week after TBC launched ("What if we use shield wall on this double defender pull?It'll be back up by the time we get to the next pair?" but most people loathed them. By the time I was being forced into shattered halls/arcatraz/shadow lab for the fifth time in a week (for attunements) I'd had my fill of them.

I'd like to see "tiered" 5-man content. 2 or 3 dungeons that drop "tier N" quality loot and tuned at TBC pre-nerf difficulty. As new raids are released, bundle those with 8 or 9 bosses worth of 5-man content (even if it's just buffing existing stuff) that drop appropriate quality gear.

For what it's worth: I had a great time doing a 5-man run of Sarth. Each week we're going to add 1 drake and see if we can't do 3-drakes as 5-man content. No drakes was a complete joke. After that it's on to 5-man Naxx.

Those days are dead and gone. I liked the difficulty of a 3 hour slave pens clear the week after TBC launched ("What if we use shield wall on this double defender pull?It'll be back up by the time we get to the next pair?" but most people loathed them. By the time I was being forced into shattered halls/arcatraz/shadow lab for the fifth time in a week (for attunements) I'd had my fill of them.

haha

ya those were good days

my personal favourite:

in heroic UB

"ok, frost mage, you're going to shoot that bog lord with frost bolts and kite him around until we kill that other bog lord. then we all run out, reset, and kill the bog lord you were just kiting"

close second was always seeing this: "LF mage for H MgT"

because the only way to do it was with CC

AoE pulls are for girls :laugh:

College Vacation + Girlfriend at work + Tuesdays = Complete and utter boredom.

Yeah but think of it this way. the extended maintenance today is because they are making the Friends and Family Alpha live :D so the beta is just around the corner.

close second was always seeing this: "LF mage for H MgT"

because the only way to do it was with CC

AoE pulls are for girls :laugh:

For laughs we used to run 5-mage H MGT. Just CC the entire pull and zerg down the mobs one at a time.

9/10 times it was more effective than trying to do it the 'expected' way.

yeah the alpha starts today wow.com and a few others have posted pics of the install disk and stuff.

WoW.com also confirmed those pics were fake. Though no one denies the Alpha starts Soon?.

According to The Associated Press, 23 year old Christopher H. Bouffard accepted $760 in 2008 from at least two people in exchange for WoW accounts. Bouffard then failed to turn over the agreed upon accounts, leading to a police investigation. He has now been charged with two counts of grand theft and one count of scheming to defraud. Bouffard is currently being held in jail until he is able to post a $20,000 bail.

While defrauding people and taking their money isn't anything new, getting busted over it while selling WoW accounts is. From what we understand, the arrest is not for the actual trading and selling of accounts, but for the fraud that went on in the process. The fraud in this case is a criminal matter with very real implications for Mr. Bouffard, whereas the buying and selling of WoW accounts is against the agreed upon Terms of Service, but not against any criminal code.

:laugh:. What a moron.

According to The Associated Press, 23 year old Christopher H. Bouffard accepted $760 in 2008 from at least two people in exchange for WoW accounts. Bouffard then failed to turn over the agreed upon accounts, leading to a police investigation. He has now been charged with two counts of grand theft and one count of scheming to defraud. Bouffard is currently being held in jail until he is able to post a $20,000 bail.

While defrauding people and taking their money isn't anything new, getting busted over it while selling WoW accounts is. From what we understand, the arrest is not for the actual trading and selling of accounts, but for the fraud that went on in the process. The fraud in this case is a criminal matter with very real implications for Mr. Bouffard, whereas the buying and selling of WoW accounts is against the agreed upon Terms of Service, but not against any criminal code.

:laugh:. What a moron.

Ya I read that early and thought it was a joke, but then I say it pop up on a news site and roughly thought 'What a moron!' too.

And to be honest, with the amount of time I have put into my account, I think I'd want a lot more than $700.

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  • Posts

    • Nope. That lack of surround sound capability (analog) won't fly with me. Sure, I use headphones most of the time, but still.
    • Creative Sound Blaster AE-X PCIe review: your headphones will love it by Steven Parker If you have been reading Neowin for any length of time, you may remember that I reviewed the Sound Blaster Audigy FX Pro back in April. I found it to be an excellent budget sound card, even though it lacked support for formats such as DTS over the included SPDIF port. Anyway, Creative reached out to me again asking if I was interested in reviewing the Sound Blaster AE-X. It is a card mainly targeted at headphone wearers, which I'll get into a bit later. Before we get underway, here is a disclaimer: Creative Labs provided a free sample without any review pre-approval. Here are the full specs of it: Creative Sound Blaster AE-X Dimensions: 179 x 126 x 18 mm Weight: 263g / 9.28 oz Platform: PCI-e DAC: ESS ES9039Q2M Connectivity Options Side: Rear: 1 x HD Audio Front Panel Connector, 1 x ⅛“ Headphone port, 1 x RCA Line-out (Left) port, 1 x RCA Line-out (Right) port, 1 x Coaxial SPDIF-out port, 1 x ⅛“ Mic in/Line-in port, 1 x TOSLINK SPDIF-in port Surround: No DNR / SNR: THD+N: 0.0001% Dynamic Range 130 dB Recording Resolution: PCM up to 32-bit / 192kHz (Stereo) Direct Mode: Line Out (Stereo): PCM up to 32-bit  384 kHz Coaxial SPDIF Out: PCM up to 24-bit 192.0 kHz Headphone Amp: PCM up to 32-bit / 384kHz (Stereo) Native DSD: DSD64, DSD128, DSD256 Output Impedance: 1Ω, Supported Headphone Impedance: 8–600Ω, IEM: 0.5Vrms, Low: 1.5Vrms, Mid: 3Vrms, High: 6Vrms, Maximum output power: 350mW @ 32Ω (High), Maximum output voltage: 6Vrms (High) Front Panel Headphone Amp: PCM up to 32-bit / 192kHz (Stereo) Native DSD: DSD64, DSD128 Output Impedance: 10Ω, Supported Headphone Impedance: 32–300Ω, Maximum output power: 40mW @ 32Ω, Maximum output voltage: 1.9Vrms ASIO: ASIO 2.3 Total Harmonic Distortion: THD+N: 0.0006% Dynamic Range: 114 dB Scout Mode: Yes EMI shielding: No (but it passed all the FCC emission tests) Operating temperature: 0–45°C Input Power: 12V⎓0.5A Warranty: 1 Year (MSRP) Price: $179.99 / £169.99 The Sound Blaster AE-X was announced at the end of May, and it becomes clear that it is mainly for headphone wearers. I should also note that the card does not support DDL/DTS encoding technology, but it is said to support decoding through the coaxial SPDIF port. I was able to test this working with the classic Windows Sound properties, but I could not get a DTS (decode) signal through my Logitech Z906, it defaulted to 3D sound whenever I played DTS content through Plex or Emby. In addition, this card only supports two channels (stereo) over the speakers. The surround support is limited to the Headphone Amp, so before I get underway, what we have here is a card mostly intended for headphone use, especially with its SPDIF In (Toslink) port where you could connect another device like a console. So what about the highlights of this card? The AE-X is powered by the ESS SABRE DAC (ES9039Q2M), which is capable of a 130 dB dynamic range. In addition, it supports 32-bit/384 kHz playback for deeper detail and clarity. The headphone amplifier delivers up to 350 mW @ 32Ω, which admittedly far surpasses standard onboard audio, offering support for studio-grade headphones. DSD256 and ASIO 2.3 are also supported. What doesn't it have? No support for What-U-Hear, Super X-Fi, or the SmartComms Kit No EMI shielding, but it passed all the FCC emission tests (from the FAQ) I also want to make it clear that I am no audiophile. For me, it's purely subjective and it should just "work" out of the box. First impressions As I said in the introduction, I was a bit sad to see that the AE-X only supports stereo output, meaning it would not be on par with my ALC1220 over my speakers, as I mentioned it seems like this card is marketed toward headphone users. Since I am not an avid gamer that would rule me out as a potential customer, but I can still test its capabilities! The card arrived in a nice-looking box, as shown above. It's quite a bit larger than the Audify FX Pro that I reviewed back in April, and at first I thought the covering meant that it was EMI shielded, but it isn't as mentioned above in the highlights section. What's in the box: 1 x Sound Blaster AE-X PCIe card 1 x 3.5 mm CTIA TRRS to Dual TRS Headset Splitter Cable 1 x Quick Start Guide Aside from the Quick Start Guide, which someone at my age (I guess) needs a magnifying glass to read thanks to the tiny fonts, Creative Labs also has the manual online, which first requires you to prove that you're human in order to access it (so I can't direct link it). Anyway, the box is mostly made up of cardboard, and the only plastic in it is the anti-static bag for the card itself. Design Top Bottom The card itself looks pretty cool and actually wouldn't look out of place in an all-white build. There's only one connector, and for some reason it is awkwardly placed on the side (front-facing) that is for the front panel audio connector, which will let you use the headphones through the front PC audio jack. Since the front panel Headphone Amp has fewer capabilities than the rear headphone port, I decided not to use it. Rear of card PCI-e interface The rear of the card is completely open and is normally where you would find the front panel connector. The PCIe interface side is completely covered, which initially made me think it was EMI shielded. I/O panel Side (front-facing) with Front panel connector On the outer rear bracket side we have the TOSLINK SPDIF in, Coaxial SPDIF out, RCA line out (Right), RCA line out (Left), Headphone out, and Mic/Line in ports. On the front facing portion of the card itself is the F-panel connector. Usage Test System Our test system consists of the following: AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D Gigabyte X870E AORUS MASTER (BIOS F12) Corsair RM1000x (2024) Thermal Grizzly Kyronaut (33x33x0,2mm) 2x 32GB Kingston Fury Beast RGB DDR5 6000MT/s CL36-38-38-80 T-Force Z540 2TB (PCIe Gen5) NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Founders Edition (NVIDIA) Creative Sound Blaster AE-X Windows 11 25H2 Pro I installed the card into the Gigabyte X870E AORUS MASTER which includes the RealTek ALC1220 onboard audio. For our subjective listening tests, I used the Coaxial SPDIF port to my Logitech Z906 speakers. For headphone tests I used the OneOdio Studio Max 2 Wireless DJ Headphones that I reviewed last month. After installing the audio driver, I installed Creative Nexus, which is a relatively new app designed for the latest Sound Blaster cards. Then I discovered the AE-X needed both a driver update from 1.00.15.0001 to 1.01.09.000 and a firmware update from 1.00.06.0000 to 1.00.06.0002, then I was set to go. It should be noted that the card did not work without the driver (not Plug and Play). As you can see above, you can manage the firmware, driver, and inputs via Advanced Settings on the Device tab. By default Nexus enabled "Direct Mode". Upon clicking on Acoustic Engine, the Equalizer can be enabled and set to four different presets, which are: Gaming Music Movies Footsteps Enhancer There's also a dedicated Scout Mode for gamers. I mainly used Tidal and Spotify in the past week to listen to some of my Liked Songs (which now total over 700) in Shuffle mode; there were no pops or interference that I could hear. I also found a 5.1 Surround Music playlist on Tidal that sounded really great over Studio Max 2 headphones. When I reviewed the Audigy FX Pro, I went out and purchased a Logitech Z906 set second-hand for €100 specifically to use with the card, but in this instance all I could get on the AE-X was the 3D output of surround sound through Coaxial SPDIF and although it still sounded great, it isn't quite as good as DTS Interactive via my onboard Realtek ALC1220. Conclusion So what have I learned? The AE-X lacks multi-channel support for 5.1/7.1 setups and drops support for modern surround technologies like Dolby or DTS, functioning strictly as a stereo output device. So to really benefit, you will need Studio-grade headphones to "hear" the benefits of this card. With that being said, I can imagine it will appeal to gamers who are switching between console and PC. By utilizing the SPDIF in port, you could just plug your headphones into the AE-X (front or rear port) and then switch between PC and Console without having to move the headphones to a different port. As I said in the Sound Blaster Audigy review, the EQ in the Creative Nexus app offers safe presets, which allows a user to further tweak the lows, mids, and highs for a personal listening experience. Of course it all depends on the headphones you hook up to it. Speaking of headphones, I kind of wish I had higher-quality Studio-grade headphones to really test this card with; I'm not usually wearing headphones in my day to day duties. The only time I will wear them is if I want to listen to music very late at night and I don't want to disturb my neighbors, so my rating (verdict) is based on this fact. Someone with a PC/Console setup and wears headphone religiously to game, and consume media will benefit much more than I from the high-quality Headphone Amps that are included in the AE-X. Once again, I do feel like Creative could have gone the extra mile to support the S/PDIF port a bit more. Why include it if you're not supporting the main popular digital formats? It seems like the decision was more of a legacy-based one, offering uncompressed 2-channel PCM audio, for users with high-fidelity audio systems and external DACs. Maybe I will be lucky enough to review a card that truly includes all these features in the future. I am sure readers with far more knowledge on audio systems than me will correct me in the comments below. I'll just say I am happy to learn what I don't know! Where to buy The Sound Blaster AE-X is available to purchase now in preorder for $179.99 on the U.S. Creative website, or for £169.99 on the Creative UK website and will start shipping to customers from June 25.
    • $80 or 90%, anything else would be financial suicide one way or another.
    • Or... just use Bitwarden. Free, and has on-prem option as well. Works both on desktop and mobile, wherever you are. The age of local password files is over.
    • Thanks
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