A brief update

Yesterday I talked a bit about the transfer of Bind of Account items from one faction to the other. I knew many people, myself included, would be sending over armor and weapons for their cross faction alts. I also knew those would work, that’s what the system was set up for afterall.

Now, since the patch notes were about as clear as mud about any limitations I decided to do a bit of experimenting. I looked around for what I could send to my poor neglected 73 Troll Hunter to help finally get him to 80.

This is what I have sent so far:

• Champions Deathdealer Breastplate (borrowed from the Draeni Shaman I am leveling)
• Stained Shadowcraft Spaulders  (yes I know they are leather, I don’t own the mail ones)
• Tome of Cold Weather Flight (sweet, no more ground pounding)
• Onixya Welpling (just to see if it would work)
• Greater Inscription of the Axe (OMG! It worked!)

I stopped short of swinging by the Knights of the Ebon Blade quartermaster and picking up an Arcanum of Torment to go with it, but I am sure that it will go as well.

As far as I am concerned this is the second best feature that has been introduced in a long time. Notice I said feature, not item or content. It is a close running with the new looking for group, but I honestly think this comes in second place to it.

How far of a distant second depends on how many alts you have. I have lots, and it’s a close second.

Now not only can I get experience approaching refer-a-friend without paying for it, I can fly unfettered from level 60 onward. The single greatest thing that stands out to me though is that I will never again have to do that horrible Sons of Hodir rep grind.

Actually now that I think about it I don’t really need two scribes…..

Time to send the Priest over a BOA shoulder enchant and re-level tailoring.

3.3, Thoughts from a tired mind

3.3 oh how I have coveted thee.

So much promise, so many new toys to play with.

Assuming of course I can actually get online.

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 Some folks say life “critted” them. Some are right. In my case it was more a case of life stunlocking me so I couldn’t do any of the things I really wanted to when I wanted to do them.

I had fully intended to write up a good long post about how I am experimenting with the new tools that have been given us, but I really did not get to do a whole hell of a lot last night. There are, however, plenty of changes coming for the way I do things within the game. I’ll talk about a few of them.

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First things first. Ever since the moment Blizzard mentioned cross faction mailing of heirloom items I have been stoked. I have another Hunter Horde side that I would like to get to 80 some time soon, that will help a lot.

One problem with the patch notes on the subject of mailing though, they never said anything specific about it. Was it just the armor and weapon pieces? How about the Tome of Cold Weather Flight? BOA vanity pets like the Blizzard bear? Hell, even head and shoulder enchants are BOA now, could I send one of those?

Well, on a few of those I can actually give a concrete answer. The others I will test out later today. Last night I sent over a set of chest armor, a set of shoulders, and a Tome of Cold Weather Flight. Those I can tell you for a fact work. Tonight I will try to send shoulder and head enchants along with a vanity pet and see how it goes.

.

Next on my list of things to do is work on my UI.

I logged in and took a look around (once I could finally get on) and realized it had been well over two years since I have tried playing with something even resembling the default UI. I decided as kind of a project to see just how I would adapt to it, so I turned off everything that was not nessacery.

So far I am pretty impressed with the improvements. The only thing I really miss is having the questhelper arrow under my feet. I find myself looking at the map more and more now. On the plus side I really like the way the new quest/map interface works.

For the time being I am only running Auctioneer on my banker characters. The others are all going back to the default UI with Omen, Deadly Boss Mods, Altoholic, and Identity.

The only toss up at the moment will be whether I can find a way to set up the default raid frames in such a way that I can actually heal. I guess we will just wait and see on that one.

It should be interesting, who wants to be in my first VOA pug with the new setup on my Priest?

Why there will be no Wow killer

I was reading an interesting post over at BullCopra this morning. He is looking at the comparison between Wow and EQ2.

Now I never played EQ2, so I was unable to offer a comparison for him. His post however did get me to thinking.

Sometimes that can be a bad thing. 

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Wow (or any MMO) is more about the social aspect than the game itself. If it were not, people could simply purchase solo games for PC or console far cheaper than subscribing.

Think for a moment about how much you spend to play. You are buying more than just the game, you are paying for the environment that you hang out in.

Call it a cover charge if you will, just like a bar has on live music night.

For example: myself and two of my  kids all play in my household. Thats $45 every month in subscription fees alone, not counting and average of $40 every year and a half for a new expansion and random other charges for transferring characters around and such. Even assuming nothing else I am paying $540 a year in subscription fees alone. I could pick up ten to twelve console games for the same price.

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There are quite a few times I go online just to chat. Hell, my mother in law uses in game mail to email me about out of game stuff. She knows I check it more often, especially on my banker toon.

Sometimes i’ll run circles in Dalaran,  sometimes i’ll scan the auction house, others i’ll just sit and fish.  I am not really there for the game. I am there for the interaction with the friends I have made in the virtual world. Friendships that in certain cases have spilled over into this world as well.

Until another game finds a way to move the social network over to the new game, to steal that connection that people have to one another, there will be no Wow killer.

.

Actually I take that back, there will be.

It will be Blizzards next generation MMO.

Why do I think that you ask?

Because Blizz has recognised the same fact that I just pointed out.

The are building their company’s future around keeping you with your social network. The more you can stay in touch with friends the less likely you are to go find another company’s game to go play.

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Do you think they developed the whole battlenet system just to be nice?

They are linking all your Blizzard made games under one roof.

Do you think they are spending time and money on being able to find friends and chat with them live across game platforms because they have hearts of gold?

Never forget that they are a business…. Their goal is to keep us happy and keep taking our money.

Do you really think they put in cross server instances and free voice chat because they wanted to look good for Greatfather Winter? They are simply enabling your social network.

They are moving the social network from single faction, single server, game specific to any faction, any server, any game….

Soon it won’t matter which game you are playing, you will still be able to chat with all your friends.

Just so long as you all stay playing Blizzard brand games.

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Think about it.

Playing favorites

I got to thinking this morning.

If you have been around for long you know that usually is followed by some random observation about life, Warcraft, or the state of mind I happen to be in. Today however, that is not the case.

Instead of reading the news or any other such thing I decided to look through my past posts. I have quite a few posts I really enjoyed writing. Some were funny, some were serious, some were not even about Warcraft. Hell some were not even on this blog.

Anyhow, since I spent my time woolgathering instead of brainstorming I don’t have any good ideas for todays post. On the plus side I did spend a good amount of time enjoying some of my other stuff. 

I suppose instead of just ignoring my friends on the intertubes I’ll just afflict you with  “best of” list.

Well, maybe not the best, but some of my favorites anyhow.

Not so funny stuffs:

Casually Addicted (um, yes)

What are epics worth? (whatever your willing to pay)

Will heal for food (I never feel like this anymore, thankfully)

Everything I needed to know about WoW I learned in the Barrens (yep)

Something was missing (They nerfed it to the ground, then kicked it)

Kinda funny stuffs:

This just in (Arena really would make more sense like this)

Dads kiss up points, or DKP for short (yes, it’s working)

Way beyone grumpy (a rant, but a funny one)

/Headdesk (I still do things like this, often)

Blah (all purpose patch notes)

Stories about that place thats not Azeroth:

Five hours and counting (from yet another meme)

Escape to Azeroth (like a vacation commercial, only not)

Farewell old friend (once upon a time I lived there)

What would you ask? (what the next gen’s genera is going to be)

Oh, snap! ( I hate it when that happens)

Fan fiction/ stories:

And the lights grow dimmer (my all time favorite post, it just felt right)

Blood in the water (why don’t they clean up after themselves?)

Mirrior mirror (it would  be an odd feeling)

The same, except completely different (Mmmmm…. beer)

Missing (a diferent take on Mirror Mirror, and better written IMO)

Stuffs from my other distinctly non-WoW blog what might be entertaining:

A line in the sand (I wonder what I would have done?)

Frogs (still makes me laugh)

Oh cool, I found it! (yes I know it’s a recent post, but it’s a good one)

Mans best friend (sadly only one is still with us)

A ride (makes me want to get the bike out and go)

And there you have it, the perfect post for a day when I had no idea what to write.

Melon Collie

I have been doing a good bit of thinking lately.

Yes, I know, I always start with that.

Guess what? so does everyone else, even if they don’t mention it. No thought = no post, simple as that.

Why do I always mention it?

I’ll get back to you on that one, right after I figure it out for myself.

Warning: Looking back at what I have written it does come off a little like I am simply whining and bitching. Well, I can do that if I want, it’s my blog. Just be advised my sense of humor is on vacation, it’s part is being played by a dark cloud of grumpiness. Read ahead if you like… you have been warned.

  

Anyhow, I have been thinking about where I sit in the game right now.  Not so much the fact that my priest is parked in Dalaran for instance, I mean how the game fits in with my life at the moment.

I have a lot of fun playing Wow, I truly do. I enjoy talking to the friends I have made there, I love running instances, I even love leveling alts. The issue I have come up with is that the game is crushingly boring at the moment. It seems that all the things I want to do are not going particularly well, leaving me only with grinds to do.

Now it may just be coming from the fact that many of the features that are slated for 3.3 and/or Cataclysm are things I really look forward to. The new Looking For Group feature is one in particular. Another is leveling a Druid and not having it be a night elf. I have a baby druid I am leveling up to 20 at the moment, and I am having fun doing it.

It may be that I have been leveling Mining on my Troll Hunter lately, and endlessly running in circles about the old world looking for Mithril has taken a bit of a toll on my enjoyment level. I know right now I would be glad to see Deathwing come smash the Hinterlands. I am that tired of seeing it.

Maybe if I log in later I will do my laps clockwise for a change of scenery.

 

Perhaps it has to do with the way the daily hub is set up. I really, really, really hate jousting. Some people love it, I am not one of them. I don’t like mounted combat, whether it is in the air or on the ground. I have a ton of Champions Seals on two different characters right now and can’t even use them, can’t talk to the vendor.

Some say “just keep at it and you’ll get good at jousting.”

Well, I don’t plan to do something I hate until I get good at it. All I will have accomplished is making myself despise it more.  There is a reason I leveled Inscription on two characters, I did not want to deal with the Sons of Hodir again either. Once was more than enough.

 

When it comes to getting groups lately I have actually been really lucky. Most of the times I actually had the time to run an instance I popped into guild chat and found a group in short order. The is not to say I am not looking forward to being able to pop online at three in the morning and have a group for a random heroic available.

I suppose part of it could be not really chatting with many people Horde side. Then again I am the guild leader of my own banker guild, that kinda puts the brakes on looking for a more social one. That and the fact that I don’t intend to move Horde side, I simply want to catch my Troll up to my others. It would not really be fair to even a social guild to join and then rarely be there to… you know… be social.

I will admit I am looking forward to pugging with him once I hit 80 though. I might even start giving TOC a try at 75ish.

 

I am sure that the most of this will pass once I grind my way through the next 120 points of Mining to get to 350. Once that happens I can get back to questing my way thru Northrend and seeing things from the Horde side of the fence. Grinding out one thing after another is just starting to get old though. I can guarantee you he will be sporting Aldor shoulder enchants for a long time.

 

Perhaps I need to just step away for a while. Maybe it would help.

Right now I am seriously thinking about taking a (perhaps permanent) break from Wow.

There is a lot I would like to see and do, there just seems to be a wall of grinding between me and the fun I want to have. A wall I am getting tired of bashing my head into.

We shall see how it goes over the next few days, after all I am paid thru the 15th.

Maybe it’s just the weather.

My Priests Christmas list of purple pixels

Last night I did something on my priest I rarely get to do.

I healed.

I healed not for a random group of keyboard turning, face rolling, fire standing idiots, but for a group of guildies that were having fun. Wether we wiped or not (preferably not) the whole group stayed upbeat and cheerful, even joking around as we rebuffed.

There was no finger pointing at all. Discussion about what we could do differently, yes. Bitching, no. (or at least was done with the mic off if it happened.)

It was the first time in a while that I remembered why I actually enjoy healing.

The only thing I did not like was seeing people go down faster than I could keep up.

Was the fact that we were running TOC (normal) with two of our DPS  not yet 80 a factor?

Possibly, but it is a 75+ instance. It should be doable, particularly with an 80 healer and tank.

I got to thinking this morning (sitting in a quiet office drinking coffee waiting for something to break will do that to you.) I got to thinking how I could improve myself to make runs more smooth for those whose lives are in my hands. I thought of two things I can work on.

Experience is one. I am rusty, and it showed last night. More than once I had to think about what heal to throw. That kind of thing used to just happen. I would be watching the health bars and would just be hitting the right buttons at the right time. That was missing a bit last night, although I started getting the rhythm back by the end of the second run.

The folks I ran with (did I mention they were awesome yet?) told me I did fine… but I know better. Like anything else a person doesn’t do frequently I was just a bit slow. I was a half step behind playing catch-up.

The only thing I can do about that is heal more often. Practice is the only cure for being rusty.

The second thing I can do some work on is my gear. Most of my healing set is crafted stuff I picked up when I hit 80, along with a few odds and ends I got from Naxx pugs and heroics. Lots and lots of shiny new loot has been added to the game since then.  So I sat down this morning and worked up a shopping list of sorts.

Gear I could get without running a raid instance that would be an improvement over my existing kit. I found that with a very few exceptions there is gear out there that will make my job a lot easier.

Now, being the list loving blogger that I am I decided to convert the chicken scratch in a tattered old notebook into a post. Now here is how I chose what I was putting down.

Everything listed in order of preference

Anything that has a duplicate the badge cost of something listed as better will be excluded

Everything has to be available through Crafting, Vendors, Questing, Badges, or 5 player instances.

The numbers in front of everything is more a note to me than anything else, it is the difference between what I am using now and the item in question. All figured using the Wowhead default setting for a holy specced healing priest. 

The few places where I had no real upgrade outside raiding  I went ahead and listed a few similar items to what I have that would fit the list. I know some folks might use this as reference. I also included what I am using in every slot at the moment.

See something I am overlooking? By all means let me know.

Back:

0.85 Cloak of Kea Feathers  (Valor - 25)

0.09 Whispcloak  (Tailoring BOE)

Currently wearing Kurisu’s Indiscision  (TOC heroic)

Chest:

3.51 Valens Robe of Triumph  (Triumph – 75)

3.10 Royal Moonshroud Robe  (Tailoring BOE)

1.99 Valens Robe of Conquest  (Triumph – 50)

0.70 Embrace of Madness  (TOC heroic)

Currently wearing Robes of Mutation  (Naxx)

Feet:

Currently wearing  Serene Echoes  (Naxx drop)

 -0.05 Saviors Slippers  (Tailoring BOE)

-0.22 Slippers of the Holy Light  (Valor – 40)

Rings:

2.50 Etched Loop of the Kirin Tor  (vendor, but a bit expensive)

1.51 Renewel of Life  (Valor – 25)

1.39 Band of Channeled Magic   (Valor – 25)

Currently rearing 1.02 Wicked Witches Band (Headless Horseman)

Currently wearing 0.00 The Horsemans Seal (Headless Horseman)

Hands:

2.78 Valens Gloves of Triumph  (Triumph – 45)

1.68 Valens Gloves of Conquest  (Triumph – 30)

1.55 Touch of the Occult  (Conquest – 28)

Currently wearing Spellweave Gloves  (tailoring BOE)

Head:

5.59 Helm of Clouded Sight  (Triumph – 75)

4.01 Valens Cowl of Conquest  (Triumph – 50)

1.39 Gaze of the Unknown  (TOC heroic)

0.88 Elder Headpeice  (An’kahet heroic)

Currently wearing Deadly Gladiators Mooncloth Hood  (I had the honor to spare, and no luck with drops)

Legs:

4.82 Valens Leggings of Triumph  (Triumph – 75)

3.35 Valens Leggings of Conquest  (Triumph – 50)

2.75 Legwraps of the Master Conjurer  (Conquest 39)

Currently wearing Cyanigosa’s Leggings  (Violet Hold heroic)

Weapon:

4.06 Mariel’s Sorrow  (TOC heroic)

3.07 Spectral Kris  (TOC heroic)

0.96 Warmace of Unrequited Love  (Nexus heroic)

0.82 Dagger of Lunar Purity  (TOC Heroic)

Currently using Titansteel Guardian  (Blacksmithing  BOE)

Neck:

2.25 Frozen Tear of Elune  (Conquest – 19)

1.70 Symbol of Redemption  (TOC heroic)

Currently using Titanium Spellshock Necklace  (Jewelcrafting BOE)

Off hand:

Currently using Urn of Lost Memories  (Naxx)

-0.11 Faces of Doom  (Inscription BOE)

Ranged:

0.17 Wand of An’kahet  (An’kahet heroic)

Currently using Rod of the Fallen Monarch  (Azjol-Nerub heroic)

Shoulder:

2.56 Valens Shoulderpade of Triumph  (Triumph – 45)

1.51 Valens Shoulderpade of Conquest  (Triumph – 30)

Currently using Valorus Shoulderpads of Faith  (Naxx)

Trinkets:

1.56 Talisman of Resurgance  (Triumph – 50)

0.20 Je’tze’s Bell  (BOE world drop)

0.12 Darkmoon card Greatness  - (Quest – Darkmoon Faire)

0.00 Currently using Darkmoon card Illusion (Quest-Darkmoon Faire)

-0. 07 Egg of Mortal Esscence  (Heroisim – 40)

-0.11 Tears of the Vanquished  (TOC normal)

Currently using Mender of the Coming Dawn (Quest reward)

Waist:

2.30 Sash of Potent Incantations  (Conquest – 28)

1.57 Cord of the White Dawn  (Tailoring BOE)

0.45 The Confessors Binding  (TOC normal)

Currently using Sash of Jordan  (BOE world drop, oddly enough it actually dropped for me while leveling)

Wrist:

1.72 Royal Moonshroud Bracers  (Tailoring BOE)

1.14 Bejeweled Wizards Bracers (Tailoring BOE)

Currently using Bindings of Yearning  (Naxx)

Wow what a sale

Dear readers,

I just noticed a little something interesting.

Starting today (11/27/09) and going thru Sunday (11/29) the original World of Warcraft game will be on sale thru the Blizzard store as a digital download for a mere five dollars. Apparently hard copies will be similarly priced this weekend at retail stores also.

My roving reporter/price checker lovely wife who is out shopping at oh dark thirty this black friday morning also tells me that the World of Warcraft battle chest (original game+Burning Crusade+near useless guide book) is going for twenty. Then again, that may be a local sale at one store only, I can’t confirm anything right now on the battle chest.

Been thinking about using Refer-a-friend to multi box your way to 60?

I know I have. I simply never got around to it.

Will I do it now?

Possibly.

Have a friend that you have been trying to talk into Wow for ever?

Drop five bucks and get them the first month and first sixty levels.

I know of a dad who is planning to buy accounts for his sons this Christmas. They have been using his and/or his wifes accounts up till now, but with both parents and three sons all playing they can field five mans in-house.

Am I recommending it to you?

No, not particularly. I just give information, what you do with it is entirely up to you.

I am just pointing it out to you, my wonderful readers, the same way I might point out an ad in the sunday sales flyer to a friend. This just happens to be the way I talk to you, as opposed to over a cup of coffee at the local Waffle House.

Enjoy the weekend,

-Dechion

This post brought to you be the fact that I would rather gouge out my eyes with a spork that go shopping on the day after Thanksgiving. My wife calls it Black Friday and looks forward to it for weeks. I call it National Asshat day. I am a firm believer that trade chat will be quiet at the moment, and all pugs will run like clockwork. All the asshats are already busy.

Not all the shoppers this morning are asshats, but most of the asshats will be there.

That by itself is enough to keep me at home.

Well, at least its not a gear list.

Showing a surprising lack of judgment I was invited to go hang out with the wonderful folks that make up the Sidhe Devils Gone Wild podcast. I would say they had never heard me talking before, but there is always Vent. They should have known better…

Anyhow, It was a blast. If you haven’t heard it yet you really should go check it out. I had a blast making it and got a good laugh listening to it this morning. Even though I already knew what was going to happen.

Go ahead…. go listen. I’ll still be here when you get back.

Assuming you come back after hearing me babble like a clueless noob.

Nothing to do with todays post, I just found this hilarious. I should cook mine like this tomorrow.

Oh, wow. Your back.

Either you didn’t go listen or you’re a real glutton for punishment.

 

Um… Well I didn’t really expect anyone to come back, so I guess I’ll try to throw a post together right quick.

Ooo… I know I’ll do a gear list, those are always fun.

Then again, with 3.3 dropping any day now it would be kinda pointless.

 

How about a rant? Rants are always fun.

Then again, the only thing that has ticked me off lately is getting to 39/40 turkeys for the Turkinator achievement three separate times and missing out on the last one every time. Annoying and bothersome yes, worthy of it’s very own post? Not so much.

 

I could try to drum up some interest in my non-Wow blog, perhaps by linking the post about how I found a needle that had gone missing in my house, and the hilarity that ensued . Then again, no one wants to read about that. This is supposed to be a WoW blog afterall.  

 

Well, I suppose I could just send out a happy Thanksgiving to everyone, both in-game and out.

Yep. we’ll go with that.

The great Retcon

When I first got the game and began leveling up I remember distinctly being told that the game began at 60. Raiding was where it was at, everything else was merely hurdles to overcome to get there.

Obstacles placed in the way by the games designers so that only the worthy would persevere through it all.

Raiding was the real game, everything else just got in its way.

I bought it, hook, line, and sinker.

 

I started that day looking at all the zones and quests starry-eyed, filled with wonder, like I was part of a story that was ongoing. I was happy to be where I was, discovering things as I went.

Once I bought into the game starting at the level cap that all went away.

Leveling up was no longer fun, it was an obstacle in my way. Less a lore filled joy to experience and more something to simply get through as efficiently as possible. So I turned on instant quest text, grabbed some addons, and started smashing my way through.

 

I no longer looked at each quest, I didn’t have to.

The arrow told me where to run.

The mousover told me what to kill.

The sparkles told me what to gather.

Then the arrow told me where to go turn it in.

It was fast, efficient, and boring as hell.

No one likes doing chores, and that is exactly what leveling had become.

I look back on it now and realize I was wrong.

 

The game does not begin at the level cap. The game begins at the character creation screen.

I would hazard a guess and say that 95% of the content of the game has to do with something other than the level cap.

There are stories out there, great stories, just waiting for me to be a part of them.

Unfortunately I already did them, blazing through with quests unread, just following the arrow under my feet.

I didn’t just kill critters as I quested away, I killed a huge chunk of the game for myself.

 

That’s why I am so looking forward to Cataclysm, it is going to give us something people only dream about in real life.

A fresh start.

A chance to live out the dream of  “If only I had known then what I know now.”

 

Cataclysm is going to be just that, for me at least.

I plan to roll a shiny new character, currently planning on a druid, and turning off all the helpers.

I will read the quests and follow the story where it leads me.

I am not even going to spoil the new areas by blowing through them to get to 85. With the new Looking for Group tool I can instance my way through those five levels on my level 80’s without ever leaving town.

Most of all I will keep in mind that leveling is not a chore to be done, nor is it an anchor holding me back.

It’s 95% of the game, and I plan to have fun with it.

Looks like it will be close.

A long time ago, back when dinasaurs still roamed the streets of Orgrimmar I wrote something down. Predictions for the future of Wow.

Ok, so it was not that long ago. It was August 24th, just under three months ago, but there were devilsaurs in Org so it counts.

Anyhoo, I wrote this as Blizzcon was dropping info on us like bombs from a spacecraft.

Here are my thoughts on release dates and why I think what I do. Granted these are all just guesses on my part.

Patch 3.3.0 will go live on December 8th. Just far enough ahead of the Christmas shopping season to give a bit of a nudge to the purchase of game cards as gifts. It will also put fresh content on the table right about the time other games might be found under the tree.

Cataclysm PTR will go up in late March. Pretty much whenever it’s ready.

Patch 3.3.* will be a pre-Cataclysm patch. Some new content, although not much. It will get a lot of the new art into the files and put things in motion for the world event. I also think paid faction changes to become available at this point. This will save a lot on the resources needed for launch day. I expect that to go live on or about April 13th.

Cataclysm (4.0) will ship on May 20th. This would time it just as summer will be starting and school will be ending. It will be just before a holiday weekend (in the US at least). The timing would be good towards getting folks to stick around during the summer a bit more than they have in the past.

I could be totally wrong about all this, but I called the release date of Wrath within a week of being right several months out.

 

 

 Well, now we sit a mere 19 days from the time I figured 3.3.0 would go live. Faction changes are already a part of the game, so I was certainly wrong about that. The rest though is still up in the air.

Oddly enough my background downloader started streaming a 400+ meg file yesterday. 

Last time that happened 3.2.0 dropped just over two weeks later.

I wonder if I’ll end up being right?