World of Warcraft Leveling Changes

There's a thread on the official WoW forums that talks about the upcoming changes to leveling in World of Warcraft. Here are the relevent quotes from Drysc:

"The leveling curve and quest experience decrease/increase (respectively) will not be in the 2.2 patch, which is technically the next patch. If you're asking will it be in the patch after that, we haven't announced exactly when the feature will be included just yet."

"The increase stops at 60 for both reduction in XP required for each level, and quest XP increases, so if your alt is 60 then you should just level them now. "

"I don't believe a percentage increase has been stated. Reputation has not been reduced relative to level difference since (I think) patch 2.0, and that applies to all reputation gains anywhere, not just starting areas. I don't think hunter pets will be an issue either."

"There's no change to loot or quest rewards. I know some classes have higher training costs than others at some level gains, and if it looks like it's an issue we can make adjustments to those prices."

This is great news as far as I'm concerned. I consider myself to be a casual player so with these changes I'll be able to accomplish more in less time, which is fantastic.

Even with the upcoming faster leveling, I still think the Ultimate World of Warcraft guide is a good deal. There may be less EXP required per level, but the guide still helps me maximize my experience gain. With its 1-70 leveling guides for Horde and Alliance and the gold making guide, this is the best WoW guide I've found. Plus it is always being updated, so it will never be out of date and has a money back guarantee. When you factor all that in, it is easily the best deal you'll find for World of Warcraft.

World of Warcraft Armory - Warcraft III Memories

When I'm not updating the World of Warcraft Armory here, I sometimes play some video games. I'm sure this comes as a shocking revelation. And, as is still of little surprise, I enjoy Warcraft III. In fact, I just got done reinstalling Warcraft III on my Mac so I can give it another run through.

So it was with much joy that read this little summary of an interview Tigole did in Leipzig. It was basically the same thing you've seen repeated in all the interviews the last few days, but there were a few new things in there.

The most exciting for me tie into Warcraft III. Ever since the new expansion was announced, I've been anxious to play it. Now, I know I've got a while to wait, but patience is not amoung my virtues.

I can't wait to see Arthas in action and explore Northrend. I haven't read anything about actually being able to fight Arthas, but I certainly hope you can't, because I really don't see how this could be reasonably pulled off. I mean, this guy is supposed to be the biggest, baddest guy in all of Azeroth, so I'm not sure how I would feel about even a 40 man raid pulling him down.

But one thing I am certain I want to see is the upcoming new Stratholme Caverns of Time instance where you'll get to fight Mal'ganis. It will be pretty much reenacting the level from Warcraft III where you're fighting alongside Arthas and have to torch the city before the undead infection can spread. I can't even begin to say how much fun that should be.

Of course, for this instance you'll have to pretty high level and need some good gear, too. The best way to prepare for the upcoming expansion is to get the Ultimate World of Warcraft guide. Its got tons of great class info, a 1-70 leveling guide for Horde and Alliance, plus an excellent gold making guide. Plus, unlike traditional paper guide books, this one is constantly updated, so you never have to buy a new copy for the new info. All that, plus a money back guarantee. It is what I use here at the World of Warcraft Armory, so go check it out!

Making Your Own WoW Macros

Over here at the World of Warcraft Armory, we're big fans of simplicity. To be blunt, WoW is a game, so I don't want to have to work at it. Call me crazy, but I like some leisure in my leisure time.

So that's why I thought this article is great. It covers the new, simplified macro system. It also shows you step by step how to set up some cool macros. The old macro system involved coding in Lua, which is something I know nothing about. And since I knew nothing about it, I didn't use it.

But this new system looks much easier, especially with the help of this article. So I think tomorrow night, I'm going to spend some time coming up with some macros to help automate some of the repetitive actions I use all the time.

If you're wondering why the system isn't all Lua anymore, it is because this new system allows Blizzard more control over what can and can't be done in a macro. Basically, people were doing some bad things with macros, some things that Blizzard really didn't want done. The problem was, they couldn't do much about it, since it was built into the game. So, they removed that functionality and replaced it with a bunch of slash commands. But, in the process, they've added more cool stuff for us to be able to macro while removing the ability to do the stuff they thought was game-breaking.

Head here to read the full article, but be sure you've got some time, because it is a long one.

While you're clicking links, check out the Ultimate World of Warcraft guide. I helped me a ton with a 1-70 leveling guide for both Alliance and Horde, class guides, gold earning stategies (they're fast, too!) and tons of maps, quests, and equipment guides. Plus, it is constantly updated at no additional charge. Check it out!

Rogues To Get Some Love?

Its no secret that here at World of Warcraft Armory, I loves me some rogues. So since I just read an interesting article about a big rogue post on the European official forums, I figured I should share it. It is a big list of concerns for the rogue class. As you know, this is something I would be quite interested in.

Now, most of the concerns are dealing with PvP, specifically being able to be tracked after using Vanish, and just the general nature of losing the spot as top damage dealer.

It is a tight rope that Blizzard has to walk when dealing with... balancing. Man, I didn't realize where that sentence was going when I started with the tight rope analogy. Sorry.

Anyway, Blizzard has to balance all the classes for two completely different systems in PvP and PvE. To me, it looks like one of those variety show acts where they have to keep all the plates spinning at the same time. That just can't be easy. They fix something for PvP and now the PvE players are calling the class overpowered. So they adjust things the other way and now PvP folks are crying foul.

I've spent a lot of time on both types of servers and I can understand the issue from both sides. But I think I have to come down on the side of PvE, if only because that's where 95% of the game is. Even on a PvP server, you have to deal with PvE to get to high enough level to really enjoy the PvP. So it doesn't make sense to me to overly worry about PvP if you're doing it at the expense of PvE balance.

Please notice I didn't say to not worry about balance in PvP. Of course I think they should do their best to balance PvP, but if it comes down to brass tacks, the devs have to come down on the side of PvE.

If you've got an opinion on this issue, I'd love to hear it and write about it here at the World of Warcraft Armory. If you've never played PvP and want to give it a shot to see what the fuss is about, you might want to get this guide to level up as quickly as possible, because the higher level PvP is where the fun is at.

Why I'm Always a Rogue

If you've read the first post here at World of Warcraft Armory, you'll notice that I'm always playing a rogue. I've tried some other alts, I've got a gnome warlock for example, but in the end I always come back to the rogue. I get asked a lot why I don't play something else, so I figured I might as well just write it out and never explain it again.

First, I need to say that I always play a rogue. I'm not just talking about WoW here, either. If the game has a rogue/thief/scoundrel type character, that's what I pick. I've always liked the concept of an adventurer that gets by on his wits and skill. A warrior is fine, but at the end of the day, he can just hack away at something with no finesse because he's got the HP to back it up. A rogue doesn't have that luxury.

I do like the fact that MMORPGs tend to make the rogue a high DPS character. I don't think a rogue needs to be a DPS machine to be fun, but it certainly adds an interesting aspect to the character. Especially when you factor in having to manage aggro, since rogues never have a ton of hit points.

But really, when someone asks me why I like rogues, I only have to say one word. Batman. To me, he's the ultimate rogue. He lurks in the shadows, observing and studying and not attacking until just the right time. Batman is just a normal human in the middle of fights between superpowered demi-gods and he always prevails. To me, that's what being a rogue is all about.

No matter what class you play, though (but it really should be a rogue), you'll find some cool tips and tactics in this guide. You'll also get leveling tips, learn how to make some fast gold, plus you'll get tons of maps and quest info.

Welcome to the World of Warcraft Armory!

Welcome to the World of Warcraft Armory (this message for those of you that didn't read the headline).

I just wanted to take a little bit of time to let you know about me. I've been playingWorld of Warcraft for a couple of years now. I started out on Alleria with a human rogue. Then, I moved to Florida and a bunch of co-workers played, so I started over on Daggerspine with a troll rogue. Once Burning Crusade came out, I rerolled a Blood Elf rogue. Are you sensing a pattern here?

Really what I want to do with this blog is to have some useful information for other WoW players. I know you can find basic info at any of about a million other sites, but I like to think that my writing style and sense of humor will be enough to keep you coming back. Plus, if you're like me, when you can't be playing WoW, you like to read about it.

I also think that since I've played on both PvE and PvP servers, I'll be able to provide a perspective on both aspects of playing World of Warcraft.

What I'm not going to do is try and make a comprehensive list of quests, equipment, whatever. This is a site for discussion and opinions. I may talk about quests or equipment as part of a general discussion, but I won't tell you all the quests that start in the Barrens.

One thing I can suggest is a good leveling guide. As a newbie to both PvP and the Horde, I found this guide to be invaluable to me. It gave me all the tips and strategies I needed to kick some serious ass. If you're wanting to get an edge in your WoW, check it out!

So, again, welcome to the World of Warcraft Armory and I hope you keep reading!

Rob