Recommended Posts

I disagree. I'd prefer they made heroics fun (and rewarding) instead of making them slightly faster to get through. If you run 5 heroics an hour you're still doing an hour of not-fun content.

IMO the best thing they could do would be to tune them to "Patch 2.0, Welcome to shadow labs: make yourself comfortable because you'll be here for 3 hours" difficulty and have them drop appropriate loot / frost badges.

I think they could start somewhere around the "5-manning Tier 7 raids" and scale up to "Remember when we said we'd never make another M'uru? We lied." Call it "Epic" difficulty or something. Leave "heroic" mode for badge farming 232 and have the new harder stuff assume you've got every possible heroic mode upgrade you can get.

That would be awesome. And I'd love to have it. It just wouldn't happen. So if farming heroics is how blizzard wants us to get gear (and whatever else) then making 'em quicker is there best bet.

The days of stuff requiring skill and not gear is long over and will (IMO) never been seen again. :(

As a person who has a very hard time getting into raids, I understand the need to make gear available through running not so difficult "heroic" dungeons. But I also understand that some people want to be challenged. My personal thought is that with the invention of GearScore, we have more and more people being singled out for not having leet gear and it makes it even harder for them to get into raid PUGS.

Last night I was trying to get into a regular difficulty TOC 25 man and I couldn't get in because my GS was not 5k. I even had the achievement for defeating the bosses. It didn't matter. So how are people like myself supposed to get into that content? Many people tell me to join a guild, but as I asked people to allow me to join their guild they all told me to hit 5k GS. I am running heroics all the time but heroics only get you triumph badges and at the very most I can get a few level 245 items but mostly I will have 232 with some 219 spinkled in. So what about starting my own guild? Great idea but building a guild up takes a huge amount of time and I don't know that I have the time to do that.

If the truth is that people just want challenging content, then Blizzard could easily create content that requires more coordination, but the reality is actually that people want difficult content that rewards them with significantly more powerful items... which creates a disparity of the haves and have nots. Middle ground might be to create difficult content that rewards with slightly more powerful gear or a lot rarer items such as mounts, titles, recipes, and vanity pets, customizations to armor and spell effects, unlocking new haircuts, stance and attack animations, etc. The idea is that reward for doing harder content should not necessarily be gear that creates a huge rift in the player base or the ability to access high level raid content, but perhaps content that allows the player to stand out in other ways.

I believe that Blizzard will continue to move in this direction because they have made it fairly clear that they want the people who pay their wages to be able to access the content they subscribe to. As a customer, I don't feel that being able to play through ICC should be earned through hard work and dedication, it should just be there for me to play and enjoy. This is a game after all, that I pay for. If I get to play in all the same content as the consumate raider, does that really effect anyone except those whose egos need to be massaged? I mean really, why are the high level raiders upset, and the answer always tends to be that the game has been dumbed down. What does that mean? It means that because they had the time to sit in a raid dungeon for 4-5 hours a night and coordinate difficult content, they should be rewarded with something that raises them to a class above everyone else. It's elitism in its purest form. I have enough of that in real life, trying to work my way up the corporate ladder, I don't need that in my entertainment as well.

I guess at the end of the day what I really need is for Diablo III to come out so I don't have too depend on other people to access content I pay for.

As a person who has a very hard time getting into raids, I understand the need to make gear available through running not so difficult "heroic" dungeons. But I also understand that some people want to be challenged. My personal thought is that with the invention of GearScore, we have more and more people being singled out for not having leet gear and it makes it even harder for them to get into raid PUGS.

Last night I was trying to get into a regular difficulty TOC 25 man and I couldn't get in because my GS was not 5k. I even had the achievement for defeating the bosses. It didn't matter. So how are people like myself supposed to get into that content? Many people tell me to join a guild, but as I asked people to allow me to join their guild they all told me to hit 5k GS. I am running heroics all the time but heroics only get you triumph badges and at the very most I can get a few level 245 items but mostly I will have 232 with some 219 spinkled in. So what about starting my own guild? Great idea but building a guild up takes a huge amount of time and I don't know that I have the time to do that.

If the truth is that people just want challenging content, then Blizzard could easily create content that requires more coordination, but the reality is actually that people want difficult content that rewards them with significantly more powerful items... which creates a disparity of the haves and have nots. Middle ground might be to create difficult content that rewards with slightly more powerful gear or a lot rarer items such as mounts, titles, recipes, and vanity pets, customizations to armor and spell effects, unlocking new haircuts, stance and attack animations, etc. The idea is that reward for doing harder content should not necessarily be gear that creates a huge rift in the player base or the ability to access high level raid content, but perhaps content that allows the player to stand out in other ways.

I believe that Blizzard will continue to move in this direction because they have made it fairly clear that they want the people who pay their wages to be able to access the content they subscribe to. As a customer, I don't feel that being able to play through ICC should be earned through hard work and dedication, it should just be there for me to play and enjoy. This is a game after all, that I pay for. If I get to play in all the same content as the consumate raider, does that really effect anyone except those whose egos need to be massaged? I mean really, why are the high level raiders upset, and the answer always tends to be that the game has been dumbed down. What does that mean? It means that because they had the time to sit in a raid dungeon for 4-5 hours a night and coordinate difficult content, they should be rewarded with something that raises them to a class above everyone else. It's elitism in its purest form. I have enough of that in real life, trying to work my way up the corporate ladder, I don't need that in my entertainment as well.

I guess at the end of the day what I really need is for Diablo III to come out so I don't have too depend on other people to access content I pay for.

Since the release of WoW all content has been accessible to the people who had the time and, most importantly, the skill to reach those goals.

As a child I played for travel hockey teams. Teams you had to pay fees to play on (sometimes upward of 3 thousand). Just because I made the team and payed the fee, means I get to play? No it doesn't. You have to earn your spot, you have to earn your playing time. I simply want raid content to require that you earned it and you have the skill to perform as the levels get progressively harder. That isn't the case anymore. It was made clear with the release of LK and the ease of raiding and saw it continue onto the later forms of raiding.

You payed the fee, yes you should be able to access the content you are paying for. But it shouldn't be handed to you like it is currently. You should have to work for it and prove you can make it and hold your own weight. Content now and days is easy and you can carry anyone through an instance to snag the achievements. Last night we did the new VoA boss in 25 man with mostly alts. Myself and three other were mains, the rest all alts. Alts that had T5-T6 gear still equip'd. Had Naxx10 gear unenchanted and not gemmed. Wearing quest greens from level 70-80. It took us three tries and we downed him. That shouldn't happen seeing how he drops Frost Emblems and ilvl 264 gear. Content isn't difficult and doesn't provide much of a challenge.

As far as joining a guild Nubs, I'm sure you can find a guild progressing in Ulduar that would love to have you and you can progress from there. Don't expect just because ICC is out you should be able to immediately go and raid it. The whole point of raiding is to earn gear from one tier of level to help you progress into the next.

Ensidia also has kills on LK (and quicker than BL). They also are at LK in 25 man and I'm sure we will see there kill sometime tonight or tomorrow.

Hit 71, just trying to run The Nexus now as I have 3 quests for in there and hopefully it has some more pala gear. Upgart Keep or whatever it's called is **** apart from the axe.

Quest greens are starting to outclass my BC instance blues but I refuse to change, onto instancing for better gear kthx :p

Believe it or not I'm still tearing up DPS meters, I think the Axe is helping through with +55 strength. Plus I got a trinket that causes 6 secs of crit boost when I use my judgement spell.

Since the release of WoW all content has been accessible to the people who had the time and, most importantly, the skill to reach those goals.

As a child I played for travel hockey teams. Teams you had to pay fees to play on (sometimes upward of 3 thousand). Just because I made the team and payed the fee, means I get to play? No it doesn't. You have to earn your spot, you have to earn your playing time. I simply want raid content to require that you earned it and you have the skill to perform as the levels get progressively harder. That isn't the case anymore. It was made clear with the release of LK and the ease of raiding and saw it continue onto the later forms of raiding.

You payed the fee, yes you should be able to access the content you are paying for. But it shouldn't be handed to you like it is currently. You should have to work for it and prove you can make it and hold your own weight. Content now and days is easy and you can carry anyone through an instance to snag the achievements. Last night we did the new VoA boss in 25 man with mostly alts. Myself and three other were mains, the rest all alts. Alts that had T5-T6 gear still equip'd. Had Naxx10 gear unenchanted and not gemmed. Wearing quest greens from level 70-80. It took us three tries and we downed him. That shouldn't happen seeing how he drops Frost Emblems and ilvl 264 gear. Content isn't difficult and doesn't provide much of a challenge.

As far as joining a guild Nubs, I'm sure you can find a guild progressing in Ulduar that would love to have you and you can progress from there. Don't expect just because ICC is out you should be able to immediately go and raid it. The whole point of raiding is to earn gear from one tier of level to help you progress into the next.

Ensidia also has kills on LK (and quicker than BL). They also are at LK in 25 man and I'm sure we will see there kill sometime tonight or tomorrow.

Slane,

The problem is that the vast majority of people who play this game see it differently, to them its the difference between playing a competative sport (your view) and watching a competative sport (my view). If I am paying 50 bucks for tickets to watch the Sharks beat the crap out of LA Kings, someone shouldn't come and block my view in the third period because I'm not wearing a sharks jersey. Why does it effect you if I am just handed the content?

edit:

On a side note I haven't been able to find any guilds that are doing Ulduar content except for the weeklies. Majority of guilds are doing TOTC 10 and 25 Heroic and Normal but the problem is that even those guilds are requiring 5k minimum GS just to get a chance at the raid. The other night I got in a PUG 25 TOTC and on the twins the bad ass trinket dropped, I rolled a 922 and the raid leader told me I didn't deserve it because I hadn't run the raid enough.

Slane,

The problem is that the vast majority of people who play this game see it differently, to them its the difference between playing a competative sport (your view) and watching a competative sport (my view). If I am paying 50 bucks for tickets to watch the Sharks beat the crap out of LA Kings, someone shouldn't come and block my view in the third period because I'm not wearing a sharks jersey. Why does it effect you if I am just handed the content?

That's the problem with WoW. You shouldn't be handed content, you should have earn to get the top raid instance of LK. Just like how you have to earn your 2467 5v5 arena team. It shouldn't be handed to you. That's my problem. I have no problems with them removing attunement and letting heroics be farmed so just about everyone can be in 232 gear (which is a great place to be for ToC10/ICC10 (tough but doable).

edit:

On a side note I haven't been able to find any guilds that are doing Ulduar content except for the weeklies. Majority of guilds are doing TOTC 10 and 25 Heroic and Normal but the problem is that even those guilds are requiring 5k minimum GS just to get a chance at the raid. The other night I got in a PUG 25 TOTC and on the twins the bad ass trinket dropped, I rolled a 922 and the raid leader told me I didn't deserve it because I hadn't run the raid enough.

I find the whole GS issue to be complete and utter BS. My tank gear, atm, falls short to be competitive in ICC25, but yet when I run other raids with said tanks. I do just as fine as them, in terms of TPS and raid awareness the only difference is, healers don't have such a huge cushion healing me. Which makes sense. Why take the 46k HP buffed tank when you can have the 54k HP buffed tank (all other stats also higher).

If you won that trinket and that's the level of PuG you have going on your server, you need to find a better server or/and find better PuG leaders. That's BS.

i loved WoW and played it alot from beta to release and then 10months later

but in the end i quit cause it took far to much time to do anything meaningful like raiding MC, BRS etc

basically i want to get back into it but i am no longer a student and i work the typical 9-5 but from what ive been reading from various places is

its not that much of a time sink any more and can i still get alot out of it by only putting 2 hours in every day?

can anyone vouch for this

want to be sure before i re-activate my account and start buying all the exp packs

i played on "deathwing" back in the day

basically i want to get back into it but i am no longer a student and i work the typical 9-5 but from what ive been reading from various places is

its not that much of a time sink any more and can i still get alot out of it by only putting 2 hours in every day?

It's really not much of a time sink, depending on what you want to get out of it. There's guild that put in 7 days a week for 4-7 hours on progression. Then there's guild that raid strictly 12 hours a week, regardless of progression (and can still be a top guild on a server). It all depends on what you want out it and the player you are. Couple of hours a day, via random dungeon/PvP you can get epic'd out real quick.

i loved WoW and played it alot from beta to release and then 10months later

but in the end i quit cause it took far to much time to do anything meaningful like raiding MC, BRS etc

basically i want to get back into it but i am no longer a student and i work the typical 9-5 but from what ive been reading from various places is

its not that much of a time sink any more and can i still get alot out of it by only putting 2 hours in every day?

can anyone vouch for this

want to be sure before i re-activate my account and start buying all the exp packs

i played on "deathwing" back in the day

If you are gonna play casual I think now is a great time to start back up just for the simple fact of the Dungeon Finder which makes PUGS easy to get in a short time in 2 hours you could prob run about two lvl 80 heroics a day and if you have more time on the weekend get into a guild that runs 10 mans on your schedule. Running 1-2 heroics a day will get you semi geared for the casual Raid you might attend on a weekend

It's really not much of a time sink, depending on what you want to get out of it. There's guild that put in 7 days a week for 4-7 hours on progression. Then there's guild that raid strictly 12 hours a week, regardless of progression (and can still be a top guild on a server). It all depends on what you want out it and the player you are. Couple of hours a day, via random dungeon/PvP you can get epic'd out real quick.

If you are gonna play casual I think now is a great time to start back up just for the simple fact of the Dungeon Finder which makes PUGS easy to get in a short time in 2 hours you could prob run about two lvl 80 heroics a day and if you have more time on the weekend get into a guild that runs 10 mans on your schedule. Running 1-2 heroics a day will get you semi geared for the casual Raid you might attend on a weekend

thanks for the info will give it another try

only problem is its been nearly 4.5 years since i last played so i will need to relearn everything

also all my friends on that server are probably long gone so.. im pretty much all alone :(

Please don't tell me you'd wear that in public :laugh: ?

I'd stab my eyes out before I would wear anything WoW related outside.

I already wear my alliance hat outside in public, which I may put a druid patch on the back of... soonish..

I may wear the Druid hoodie to Blizzcon if I can scrounge enough together to go.

I already wear my alliance hat outside in public, which I may put a druid patch on the back of... soonish..

I may wear the Druid hoodie to Blizzcon if I can scrounge enough together to go.

Well, props to you (Y)

I personally couldn't live with the shame and embarrassment :/

Well, props to you (Y)

I personally couldn't live with the shame and embarrassment :/

It's not bad, it stirs up some pretty interesting conversations..

EG:

Them: ALLIANCE SUCK..

Me: No.. actually, they have better lore and better quests, therefore, they are better. At least we're not stuck grinding in a desert for the first 20 odd levels.

Them: Well.. uh.. uh.. YOUR CLASS SUCKS.

Me: I didn't mention my class...:blink:

Bought myself another piece of WoW merchandise tonight:

<snipped>

Can't wait to be my Worgen druid. :)

You just convinced me to buy some WoW merchandise :)

Might get one with my guild logo on it.

It's not bad, it stirs up some pretty interesting conversations..

EG:

Them: ALLIANCE SUCK..

Me: No.. actually, they have better lore and better quests, therefore, they are better. At least we're not stuck grinding in a desert for the first 20 odd levels.

Them: Well.. uh.. uh.. YOUR CLASS SUCKS.

Me: I didn't mention my class...:blink:

Wouldn't call that interesting, more like cringeworthy :laugh:

I'm sorry to come over all condescending but WoW is such a taboo subject these days and you will be considered a loser of epic proportions among your peers

and probably among most sane people as well when you announce that you are, in fact, a World of Warcraft player. And then to wear clothes as well? I'm getting a rush of cold sweat right now just thinking about it. And yes, I am a WoW player but I'd never go around saying it like I'm proud or wear anything to tell the world ...

It's like having clothes stating you enjoy Golden Showers and Anal Beads, it's just weird and it's something you should just keep in the private of your home :rofl:

But all power to you my friend if you can wear stuff like that in public and stand by the fact you play WoW and still keep your head high - I couldn't.

A few people asked me about my UI, so here it is. You should be already familiar with setting up addons cause this is somewhat advanced stuff.

Enjoy!

That is a nice UI, I just finished updating mine tonight, ill post a screenie tomorrow when our guild raids ICC. :)

I'm sorry to come over all condescending but WoW is such a taboo subject these days and you will be considered a loser of epic proportions among your peers..

I am a first class geek / nerd already.

There's nothing more I can do to harm my self image, if they don't like me for who I am.. they're not worthy of being my friend in the first place and they can go take a flying **** off a very, very high cliff.

I don't care what people think of me, those who have gotten past my quirkiness have come to realize that quirkiness is what makes me so likable.

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Posts

    • Read this in Humor Simpson 's voice, "Out of my way Moe".
    • You still can, its just under the Transform flyout for WordArt now
    • Likely nothing will be done in corporate America, there have been countless Tesla self-driving incidents. Then again, there have also been countless human operated incidents. It's literally daily news here in Canada, to the extent that it's now odd if we get a day where a collision doesn't get announced on the radio throughout the day...
    • SKG Hand Massager with Heat OS500 hands on by Steven Parker I was offered the chance to test out the SKG Hand Massager with Heat OS500, and full disclosure, they let me keep it regardless of my findings. Anyway, I jumped at the chance due to my long hours sitting at my desk, mousing around. Apologies for the knife cut across the top of the box; that was my doing, being a bit too heavy-handed with opening up the outer packaging. First up, what's in the box: SKG Hand Massager with Heat OS500 1x Type-C charging cable User Manual 1-Year Warranty (card) In short, everything you need to get started. According to the official Amazon listing, here are the key features: Full-Hand Air Compression: OS500 wraps your fingers, palm, and wrist with multi-chamber air compression for a complete hand relaxation experience. The extended massage chamber helps cover more of the hand and wrist area than standard palm-only hand massagers Palm Kneading with 6 Modes & 6 Intensities: Built-in palm kneading rollers add a hands-on massage feel, while 6 preset modes and 6 pressure levels let you choose the comfort level that fits your day—from gentle relaxation to a firmer full-hand massage 3 Heat Levels with Cooling Fan: Choose from 104°F, 113°F or 122°F warmth to suit different seasons and comfort preferences. The built-in cooling fan helps reduce stuffiness during heated sessions, keeping your hand feeling fresh and comfortable Easy Visual Display & Smart Timer: The digital image display clearly shows massage area, mode, intensity, heat level, and remaining time at a glance. Select 10, 15, or 20-minute sessions for quick office breaks, evening relaxation, or everyday hand care Rechargeable, Cordless & Comfortable: A 3000mAh battery supports over 90 minutes of full-function use on a full charge, with convenient USB-C charging. The soft inner lining, smooth ABS/PU finish, and premium black-gold design make OS500 ideal for home, office, or gifting With all that out of the way, here are my own findings. I gave it a try on both left and right hands, and as you can maybe see from the above YouTube Short, (sorry for the shaky video), my whole hand fits in, but my wrist barely enters the Hand Massager. I was able to push through a bit more with my fingertips extending out the other end to get a bit of massaging on the start of my wrist. Usage For some reason, there is a strap that is very difficult to fasten to my wrist with one hand. I am not sure what function it has, and it isn't mentioned in the user manual. The only thing I could find was in the product images that claimed "wrist precision". Unlike the Bob and Brad Hand Massager, this device does not massage the wrist anyway, even though a "wrist mode" is mentioned, which must be for smaller hands than I have, as it is mainly intended for the hand and fingers. In addition, for its steeper price, there are no disposable gloves provided in the box, which is a bit of an issue considering the internal cover (which appears to be elasticated nylon) cannot be removed for washing; so you are left with only one choice: always thoroughly wash your hands before using it. I can imagine this thing getting a bit grimy after a period of use, and that is a bit of a shame. With that said, the buttons on the device, from left to right, do the following: Heat button: 3-level heat control at 104°F, 113°F, or 122°F Mode button: Auto mode Circular mode Soothing mode Relax mode Palm and fingers mode Palm and wrist mode Intensity button: from (First-time users) 15Ka, 25Ka, 35Ka, 45Ka, 55Ka, 60Ka (Intensive relief) Knead button: on or off (6 pressure levels) Power button: Long-press to turn on or off Cooling button: turn on or off the cooling fan Also, in the product imagery, it states there are 36 "custom modes," but nowhere is it listed what these modes are. I can only imagine that they mean a combination of all of the above settings in different intensity levels. The device itself seems to rely on a single "kneading" mechanism located at the palm area of the hand, which spins when in use, and the other massage features are mainly utilized through the air sacs, increasing and decreasing at various levels on the hand and fingers. I am not sure it offered too much relief for someone who is typing and operating a mouse for hours at a time; further testing may be required. It does feel nice, though. Finally, you may be wondering how this fits into the scope of a tech website? Well, let me tell you something: sometimes I sit for up to 15 hours working on Neowin, and although I take breaks in between, it takes a toll on my body. I think in the immediate absence of a partner to apply relief, a good massager like this Hand Massager can shed the strains of the day in just a couple of 15-minute bursts. On the official website, this has an MSRP of $99.99, but luckily for our readers, it is selling at $10 off for just $89.99 right now on Amazon. SKG Hand Massager with Heat OS500 for $89.99 (with $10 off coupon), $99.99 MSRP For me, this gets a thumbs hands(?) down. However, it could be improved by making it so that the protective covering could be removed and thrown into the washing machine, or get yourself some disposable gloves to use with it. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
    • Thanks for the info, but I'm still not sure if I need this....
  • Recent Achievements

    • Dedicated
      Almohandis earned a badge
      Dedicated
    • Dedicated
      JuvenileDelinquent earned a badge
      Dedicated
    • First Post
      DrWankel earned a badge
      First Post
    • Reacting Well
      DrWankel earned a badge
      Reacting Well
    • Week One Done
      Supreme Spray LV earned a badge
      Week One Done
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      505
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      184
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      86
    4. 4
      Michael Scrip
      78
    5. 5
      Steven P.
      76
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!