Warcraft Strategy Guide

Blizzard's take on MMOs for consoles; no WoW for consoles (Wow strategy)

admin — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 17:00:06 +0000

's J. Allen Brack and Tom Chilton, they squashed every console gamers' hopes of seeing the highly acclaimed MMO, World of Warcraft, boxed neatly inside a console. Also discussed were several other topics regarding the upcoming Wrath of the Lich King, as well as other new content for the game.

Chilton was also rather excited about the new achievement system that they will be introducing soon. It will definitely give players something to strive for and extend their gameplay even further.

When asked about the hardest challenge the developers have encountered so far, Brack answered that the insertion of the new Death Knight class was the biggest hurdle they've faced. However, with the beta phase for WotLK well underway, modifications are still being made to the new character class before its official release with the new expansion.

One of the more interesting things they discussed was Blizzard's take on MMOs made for consoles and social networks. This doesn't necessarily mean gamers should hope for a console version of WoW soon. Brack specifically mentioned while this may work with other MMOs, this setup wouldn't really work with World of Warcraft. I guess this just means we'll just have to play WoW as it was meant to be played: on a PC.

You can view the full interview conducted by play.tm by following the link found below.

Source: wow.qj.net

Dyack: EVE Online 'unparalleled' compared to World of Warcraft
Do spaceships and mining for minerals on distant planetoids beat the unparalleled synergy of orcs, humans and night elves? In the eyes of Silicon Knights founder Denis Dyack it does. During an interview conducted by videogaming247, Dyack weighed both Blizzard's World of Warcraft and CCP Games' EVE Online on what he considered the superior MMO game.

Dyack admitted to trying out WoW for nearly a month when he told himself, "You know, I've got to stop this". He then came the conclusion that compared to EVE Online, the latter had more depth in terms of content and gameplay. Here's a quote from Dyack regarding his opinion on the Sci-Fi MMO game:

I was really, really big into EVE Online. I love EVE Online, and actually for me personally I actually think it s a better game. I know it s a lot harder core, but the depth of it s unparalleled and I love it. But I have to stop, force myself to stop playing those games because it takes so much time.

He was also relieved about finally finishing the development for Too Human. He said that this meant he now has time to play games of all sorts. Anyway, that apparently is his two cents regarding what he considers the better MMO title.

Source: wow.qj.net

Herbalism Guide 1-300 (Wow strategy)

admin — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 17:30:07 +0000

Herbalism is the art of picking flowers. It is also the art of making cash, which is what we want

Herbalism is one of the few professions that will net you money with little effort. All other professions require you spending a lot of materials to level them up, thus you need to do a lot of business to even break even.

It's highly recommended that you wait until you have a mount before you start leveling herbalism seriously. Up until then just pick whatever flowers you stumble upon. In fact, forget about professions (except skinning) until you hit 55+, since you can't pick the profitable flowers until then.

The best way to level this profession is by being patient. Get a 5-10 minute route down, ride it, then log for an hour and repeat it.

1-15: Here you will collect Silverleaf and Peacebloom in the newbie zones. Easy.

15-50: Earthroot. Alliance head to Dun Morogh, Horde to Durotar. Maps: http://thottbot.com/?s=earthroot

50-85: Mageroyal. Alliance head to Loch Modan/Westfall, Horde head to Barrens/Silverpine. Maps: http://thottbot.com/?i=658

85-150: Stranglekelp. Here you have two options: Wetlands or STV. Personally I prefer Wetlands. For Wetlands swim up and down the coast a bit out. For STV either swim up the west coast from BB to the Zandalar tribe isle or swim up and down the SE coast. Maps: STV: http://thottbot.com/?m=8889 and Wetlands: http://thottbot.com/?m=9239

150-195: Liferoot. Wetlands is the best option for this part. Ride around the western swamp area; from the coast to the road leading to Dun Modr. Interspersed with the liferoot is also Kingsblood, which sells decently on AH due to it being needed for Thorium rep. Maps: http://thottbot.com/?m=9232

195-235: Wintersbite. The only place for this herb is in Alterac Mountains. When coming from the south (either TM or SS), first ride through the yeti area of the mountains, then ride through the ogre stronghold and finally ride through the ogre part of the mountains. Log and wait 30-60 mins, then repeat in reverse order. This part is pretty quickly done. Maps: http://thottbot.com/?m=19247

235-270: Blindweed. I prefer using Swamp of Sorrows for this part, since you can get a nice pattern going easily. Simply circle the central lake, log 30 mins and repeat. Alternatively ride back and forth through the northern part of the swamp. Maps: http://thottbot.com/?m=21505

270-300: Dreamfoil. This is the reason you level herbalism. Dreamfoil is used extensively in all the top alchemy recipes and sells for a pretty penny. .75-1.5G per flower depending on server. There are three main places for this herb: Azshara, Felwood or Un'goro. Try all three places and find the least camped one. Dreamfoil grows in open spaces, so stay away from rocky areas. However, Mountain Silversage (used in health pots), grows in mountains, so find a few spawn points of this herb and ride past them on your rounds.
Of the three Un'goro seems to be the least camped…but again it varies with server. Personally I use Azshara to pick my Dreamfoil and it works quite well.

Maps:
Azshara: http://thottbot.com/?m=70549
Felwood: http://thottbot.com/?m=47575
Un'goro: http://thottbot.com/?m=36626

Other herbs worth picking:

Icecap: Used in flasks and mana pots. Only grows in Winterspring in open areas. Heavily camped. Maps: http://thottbot.com/?m=28935

Mountain Silversage: Used in Mongoose pots and health pots. Grows in mountaneous regions. Un'goro is the spot for this herb. Alternatively Winterspring if you are after Icecap.Maps: Un'Goro: http://thottbot.com/?m=33245 and WS: http://thottbot.com/?m=28933

Plaguebloom: Used in Mongoose pots and various elixirs. Grows in both plaguelands and Felwood. Maps: EPL: http://thottbot.com/?m=14671 and WPL: http://thottbot.com/?m=26432 and Felwood: http://thottbot.com/?m=1011788

Gromsblood: Used in Flask of the Titans. Grows in Desolace, Felwood and Blasted Lands. Maps: http://thottbot.com/?i=5537

And there you have it. Herbalism is very good money with very little actual work. You only have to ride around When you decide to sell your gatherings, check your AH first and undercut a bit. If the bottom drops out of the market, jsut wait a few days and stockpile in the meanwhile, then sell when prices move back up.

Leveling Tanking Effectively (Wow strategy)

admin — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 21:30:04 +0000

This is a write-up on how to tank efficiently and effectively in instances.

In order to be optimal at being the tank, you need to have the right gear, and have at least 31 points into Protection Talents. Below is the talent setup I use to tank.

Talent setup:

Arms (13 points):

Tier 1
[5/5] Deflection

Tier 2
[2/2] Improved Charge
[5/5] Tactical Mastery

Tier 3
[1/1] Anger Management

Protection (38 points):

Tier 1
[5/5] Shield Specialization
[5/5] Anticipation

Tier 2
[2/2] Improved Bloodrage
[5/5] Toughness

Tier 3
[1/1] Last Stand
[1/3] Improved Shield Block
[3/3] Improved Revenge
[5/5] Defiance

Tier 5
[2/2] Improved Shield Wall
[2/2] Improved Shield Bash
[1/1] Concussion Blow

Tier 6
[5/5] One-handed Weapon Specialization

Tier 7
[1/1] Shield Discipline

Aggro Management:

There are many ways in maintaining aggro on a target. The most basic are your instant taunt abilities (Taunt, Mocking Blow, Challenging Shout), however, MB and CS have lengthy cooldowns and should be used only in the right situation. For example, if there are 2 mobs beating on a mage, Taunt one using Taunt, and switch to Battle Stance and use Mocking blow, then switch back to Defensive Stance. However, you shouldnt have to rely on that on a constant basis. Revenge gets a ton of aggro if you use it consistently, that means using shield block followed up by a revenge. On bosses, Shield Discipline and Shield Bash gives you addtional aggro and if timed out right, can pull off 2 shield bashes within the Shield Discipline duration. Concussion Blow is also a good to use when you are taking too much damage by a mob (note some are immune to stuns).

Gear / Stat Setup:

Theres 3 main aspects of tanking. Armor, Defense (Block / Dodge / Parry), and Resistance. Armor is a no brainer, the more you have, you reduce the damage inflicted on you. Defense comes from Armor that has +defense values on them; Defense is +.04% to block dodge and parry and reduces critical strike damage / chance. You will also find items that have +block, +dodge and +parry; it is up to you if you want the increased defense, or have a higher chance to block, dodge or parry (Note if you dodge or parry, you take NO dmg). The only resist you should be worried about is fire resistance, as you will need that more than any other resist for MC / Onyxia and other raid bosses.

This is the suggested gear for tanking and can be obtained outside of MC:

Head: Enchanted Thorium Helm (Armorsmith item)

Neck: Evil Eye Pendant (DM West) / Drakefire Amulet (Onyxia Key) / Medallion of Grand Marshal Morris (Random Drop)

Shoulders: Stockade Pauldrons (Random Epic) / Bulky Iron Spaulders (DM North)

Cloak: Cloak Of Warding (Tailor Item) / Redoubt Cloak (DM North)

Chest: Ornate Adamantium Breastplate (Quest reward) / Kromcrush's Chestpiece (DM North)

Bracers: Vigorsteel Vambraces (Scholo) / Fel Hardened Bracers (DM West)

Gloves: Force Imbued Gauntlets (DM West) / Stonegrip Gauntlets (Random Drop)

Belt: Brigam Girdle (UBRS)/ Handcrafted Mastersmith Girdle (UBRS)/ Unmelting Ice Girdle (Azuregos)

Legs: Warmaster Legguards (UBRS) / Legplates of the Eternal Guardian (BRD) / Wraithplate Leggings (Scholo)

Boots: Boots Of Avoidance (Random Epic)/ Corpselight Greaves (Scholo) / Ribsteel Footguards (LBRS)

Rings: Band Of The Ogre King (DM North) / Any Fire Resist ring

Trinkets: Royal Seal Of Eldre'thalas (DM Book) / Counterattack Lodestone (DM North) / Vigilance Charm (DM West) / Force of Will (BRD)

Weapon: Timeworn Mace (DM West) / Ardent Custodian (Random Epic) / Dark Iron Reaver (Swordsmith item)

Shield: Draconian Deflector (UBRS) / Barrier Shield (DM North)

Ranged: Willey's Portable Howitzer (Hu Strath) / Gorewood Bow (Quest) / Xorothian Firestick (DM West)

Macros:

These macros are "quick switch" macros to switch you into an appropriate stance, and be able to perform an ability. In order for these to work, you need to have the macro on the same hot key button in all stances (like in battle, def, and zer, have the "charge" macro on number 1 on all 3 stance bars for example).

If you are out of Battle Stance and you want to charge, you would press 1 (or where ever you put the macro at)to switch to battle stance, and then press it again to charge.

Copy and paste these exactly the way they are in here (CTRL+C to copy CTRL+V to paste in game)

Charge:

/script texture,name,isActive,isCastable = GetShapeshiftFormInfo(1);if isActive then CastSpellByName("Charge(Rank 3)");else CastSpellByName("Battle Stance()");end;

Disarm:

/script texture,name,isActive,isCastable = GetShapeshiftFormInfo(2);if isActive then CastSpellByName("Disarm()");else CastSpellByName("Defensive Stance()");end;

Intercept:

/script texture,name,isActive,isCastable = GetShapeshiftFormInfo(3);if isActive then CastSpellByName("Intercept(Rank 1)");else CastSpellByName("Berserker Stance()");end;

Mocking Blow:

/script texture,name,isActive,isCastable = GetShapeshiftFormInfo(1);if isActive then CastSpellByName("Mocking Blow(Rank 1)");else CastSpellByName("Battle Stance()");end;

Taunt:

/script texture,name,isActive,isCastable = GetShapeshiftFormInfo(2);if isActive then CastSpellByName("Taunt()");else CastSpellByName("Defensive Stance()");end;

Looting Arena Chest Once a Week (Warcraft strategy)

admin — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 01:00:04 +0000

When the servers goes down weekly, I logg of in the gurubashi arena in front of the chest. When the servers comes back up again, I logg and retrieve the chest fast. You got to have some time on your hand but that's it.

every 3 hours.

(12, 3, 9,)

if you log out at the chest the previous day, and log in at 11:00, when they open, the chest will be spawned during the maintanence at 9:00, you'll be the closest one there.

try it. it works

Wrath of the Lich King pre-release patch coming soon (Warcraft strategy)

admin — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 03:30:08 +0000

The Wrath of the Lich King expansion for Blizzard's much-loved World of Warcraft is all ready to invade the PC gaming world by storm. But before that, a new content patch is in order.

Says Blizzard, you can expect this patch to arrive in the coming weeks, and this is quite akin to what Blizz did prior to the release of The Burning Crusade.

This patch for WotLK essentially caters to the bridging of the current game content with the expansion. Gotta keep it all in the family, you know. As expected, there are, of course, exciting changes and additions, the most prominent of which are the following:

New class spells and talents
Stormwind Harbor
Barbershops in capital cities
Zeppelin towers outside of Orgrimmar and Tirisfal Glades
Two brand-new Arenas featuring challenging new layouts, terrain hazards, and moving obstacles
Guild calendar
Hunter pet skill revamp
New profession: Inscription

Do take note, though, that this is by no means the final list, so we're betting we'll be seeing some more stuff thrown our way before the patch comes out. Or if not, well, we can always check it out ourselves, right?

Oh, and do take heed, particularly all Burning Crusade players. You guys will be able to select Inscription as one of the two professions and level up to a skill level of 375 with it. On the release of WotLK, those who purchase and install the expansion will be able to continue their leveling in Inscription, as well as other professions, even beyond 375.

Watch out for the full patch notes! They're coming very soon.

Source: wow.qj.net

A Short Guide To Mana Consumables (Wow strategy)

admin — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 08:15:09 +0000

This guide wasl postet by Xien on the EU World of warcraft Prist forum. This thread can be found here: http://forums-en.wow-europe.com/thread.aspx?fn=wow-priest-en&t=139504&p=11#post1395013900

Be aware you need to have an account on a EU server to be able to retrieve this thread.

I can’t find the original source, and I don’t know who the original author is for this guide, as it was made for recruits and newer priests in the guild Restless, EU DarkSorrow (Horde)

All credits goes to who ever actually made it.

All hail!

****************************************************************************************

while in combat, as many know the BWL and AQ fights last much longer than an average 8k Mana pool, and so we must keep our mana flowing in order to keep our tanks and dps alive.
This is written as simple as possible, keeping it both short and detailed for any kind of player, both casual and hardcore alike.

What can we use:

Cooldown Set 1

Combat mana potion: http://wow.allakhazam.com/db/item.]http://wow.allakhazam.com/db/item.html?witem=18841
Restore 900-1500 Mana per use. Cost 10s Each
50s for 4500 to 7500 mana is money well spent.
(2 Minute Cooldown)

Superior mana potion: http://wow.allakhazam.com/db/item.html?witem=13443
Restore 900-1500 Mana per use. These can be bought from AH, drops from mobs 45-55 quite easily too. Also these can be crafted by guild alchemists.
2x Sungrass, 2x Blindweed, 1x Crystal Vial.
(2 Minute Cooldown)

Major Mana Potions: http://wow.allakhazam.com/db/item.html?witem=13444
Restore 1350-2250 Mana per use. These again can be bought from the AH from around 10-15g, or grinded mobs 55+. Silithus cultists are the best to grind for these potions.

Again, these can be crafted by guild Alchemists. 2x Icecap, 3x Dreamfoil, 1x Crystal Vial.
(2 Minute Cooldown)

Dreamless Sleep Potion: http://wow.allakhazam.com/db/item.html?witem=12190
Places the caster in a state of sleep for 12 seconds, during which time the caster heals 1200 health and mana. These can again be purchased via the AH or crafted via Alchemy.
Alchemy: 3x Purple Lotus, 1x Crystal Vial

Greater Dreamless Sleep Potion: http://wow.allakhazam.com/db/item.html?witem=20002
Places the caster in a state of sleep for 12 seconds, during which time the caster heals 2100 health and mana. These can again be purchased via the AH or crafted via Alchemy.
Alchemy: 2x Dreamfoil, 1x Golden Sansam, 1x Crystal Vial

Wildvine Potion: http://wow.allakhazam.com/item.html?witem=9144
Heals 1-1500 Health and Mana when used. These can be purchased via the AH, or crafted via Alchemy.
Alchemy: 1x Wildvine, 1x Purple Lotus, 1x Crystal Vial

Out Of Combat Buff Potions

Mageblood Potions: http://wow.allakhazam.com/db/item.html?witem=20007
When used grants the caster 12 mana regeneration ever 5 seconds. Effects last for 1 Hour. These can be purchased via the AH, or crafted via Alchemy.
Alchemy: 1x Dreamfoil, 2x Plaguebloom, 1x Crystal Vial

Elixir of the Sages: http://wow.allakhazam.com/db/item.html?witem=13447
When used grants the caster 18 bonus intellect and spirit for 1 hour. These can be purchased via the AH, or crafted via Alchemy.
Alchemy: 1x Dreamfoil, 2x Plaguebloom, 1x Crystal Vial

Flask of Distilled Wisdom: http://wow.allakhazam.com/db/item.html?witem=13511
When used grants the caster 2000 bonus mana pool. Effects last for 2 hours and persist through death. However, user may only be under the effect of one flask at the same

time.
Alchemy: 30x Dreamfoil, 10x Icecap, 1x Black Lotus, 1x Crystal Vial

Cooldown set 2

Demonic Rune: http://wow.allakhazam.com/db/item.html?witem=12662]http://wow.allakhazam.com/db/item.html?witem=12662
Restore 900-1500 Mana at the cost of 600-1000 Life. Runes are saviours! A very good mana boost on a seperate cooldown to mana potions. Must be used at caution when at low hp, however in BWL we should next to never be at low HP. Runes have the chance to crit, double mana return at double the life cost. Also an excellent boost. The trade off is next to un noticed. 900 Mana for 600 life can be renewed on you very easily. These are easily farmed in Felwood from Satyrs at either camp.
(2 Minute Cooldown as of 1.11)

Dark Rune: http://wow.allakhazam.com/db/item.html?witem=20520
Restore 900-1500 Mana at the cost of 600-1000 Life. Runes are saviours! A very good mana boost on a seperate cooldown to mana potions. Must be used at caution when at low hp, however in BWL we should next to never be at low HP. Runes have the chance to crit, double mana return at double the life cost. Also an excellent boost. The trade off is next

to un noticed. 900 Mana for 600 life can be renewed on you very easily. Dark Runes drop in Scholomance, which can be farmed. If a PUG is looking for a healer, give up your time and strike a bargain you will go on the condition all runes are yours.
(2 Minute Cooldown as of 1.11)

Night Dragon's Breath: http://wow.allakhazam.com/db/item.html?witem=11952
Restores 394-456 mana AND 394-456 Life. Night Dragons can be farmed very easily from Felwood.
Requires:Cenarion Beaconhttp://wow.allakhazam.com/db/item.html?witem=11511 - Explanation below.
(2 Minute Cooldown as of 1.11)

Character and Weapon Buff Consumables

Minor Mana Oil: http://wow.allakhazam.com/db/item.html?witem=20745
When applied to weapon restores 4 mana every 5 seconds. Each batch created contains 5 charges. Effects last 30 minutes.
Requires; Enchanting: 3x Soul Dust, 2x Maple Seed, 1x Leaded Vial.

Lesser Mana Oil: http://wow.allakhazam.com/db/item.html?witem=20747
When applied to weapon restores 8 mana every 5 seconds. Each batch created contains 5 charges. Effects last 30 minutes.
Enchanting: 3x Dream Dust, 2x Purple Lotus, 1x Crystal Vial

Brilliant Mana Oil: http://wow.allakhazam.com/db/item.html?witem=20748
When applied to weapon restores 12 mana every 5 seconds. Each batch created contains 5 charges. Effects last 30 minutes.
Enchanting: 2x Large Brilliant Shard, 3x Purple Lotus, 1x Imbued Vial

Sagefish Delight: http://wow.allakhazam.com/db/item.html?witem=21217
Requires cooking. Caster must remain seated for at least 10 seconds while consuming this item, after which he will receive the "well fed" buff, and be greanted 6 mana every 5

seconds. Effects last 15 minutes.
Cooking: 1x Raw Greater Sagefish, 1x Hot Spices

Nightfin Soup: http://wow.allakhazam.com/db/item.html?witem=13931
Requires cooking, Caster must remain seated for at least 10 seconds while consuming this item, after which he will receive the "well fed" buff and be granted 8 mana every 5

seconds. Effects last 10 minutes.
Cooking: 1x Raw Nightfin Snapper, 1x Refreshing Spring Water

Gathering Night Dragon's Breath
There are 4 Plants scattered around Felwood, each with a 25 minute cooldown before they can be farmed again. Each farm per plant will give you 4-7 Night Dragons. In my opinion, 2000-3500 mana restoration for free is something that cannot be missed. However, plants will Despawn from time to time, and if not cleansed, must be cleansed before

farming commences.
See: Cleansing Felwood http://wow.allakhazam.com/db/quest.html?wquest=4102 , for information on obtaining your Cenarion Beacon - http://wow.allakhazam.com/db/item.

html?witem=11511
This works in the similar fashion to the Argent Dawn commisions. Upon collecting the various hand in's, you can return them in exchange for plant salves. These will cleanse the

Night Dragons for you. The great thing about farming these hand in's is they fall from all mobs in felwood.
This is great if you are also farming Demonic Rune; http://wow.allakhazam.com/db/item.html?witem=12662
To make the farming of Night Dragon's even easier, I suggest you download Felwood Gatherer:
http://www.curse-gaming.com/en/wow/addons-2446-1-felwoodgather.htm
This displays your cooldowns, and alerts you at 5 minute and 1 minute Intervals when the plants will spawn. You must farm the plant to begin a succesful countdown.

Blizzard's take on MMOs for consoles; no WoW for consoles (Warcraft strategy)

admin — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 08:15:12 +0000

Chilton was also rather excited about the new achievement system that they will be introducing soon. It will definitely give players something to strive for and extend their gameplay even further.

You can view the full interview conducted by play.tm by following the link found below.

Source: wow.qj.net

WoW Guide: Level 19 Rogue Twink Guide (Warcraft strategy)

admin — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 11:00:10 +0000

Level 19 Rogue Twink Guide

I now own a 100% officialy completed twink rogue on Tarren Mill. I thought id make a rogue twink guide to see what everyone thinks of it.

The equipment and tactics that i use with my character may not adhere to what you think is the best but basically you are wrong lol.

My latest twink is the 3rd rogue twink that i have made, i have perfected his equipment (no expense spared) and have gained approximately 6 months of BG experience with it.

Equipment:

Head - Lucky Fishing Hat (with +100hp libram enchant)
To get this headpiece you must have 125 fishing skill, and 150 engineering if you want to make your own Aquadynamic Fish Attractor to increase your fishing by 100. Every sunday from 14:00-16:00 game time there is a fishing tournament in stranglethorn vale, during this time you can fish in sparkling pools all accross the coast of STV. You are trying to catch a lucky fish called Keefer's Angelfish, hand this in to Fishbot 5000 to receive a the hat.

Neck - Sentinal's Medallion
To get this item you must be honoured with Silverwing Sentinals, you do this by getting flag captures and winning WSG. When you are honoured travel to the alliance entrance to WSG in ashenvale. You can buy this item there.

Shoulders - Talbar Mantle
This is most probably one of the lesser know twink items, you get it by killing all bosses in Wailing Caverns and then doing the quest line the druid gives you at the entrance. I recomend the extra 30 health over the extra 40 armor.

Back - Sentry Cloak (with +70 armor)
This item is a world drop and can be bought from the Auction House.

Chest - Blackened Defias Armor (with +100hp enchant)
This is a rare drop from Van Cleef , the last boss in Deadmines.

Shirt - ???
Any shirt can be worn if you desire, there are no stats it is only for decoration, i advise a black shirt to go with the chest armor.

Tabard - ???
Any tabard is worthy, i personaly use my guild tabarb but privates tabard is just as good. Again, there are no stats.

Wrist - Forest Leather Bracers (with +9 stamina enchant)
This is a drop from low lvl areas and is the most widely used twink bracers, do not be put of because they are green, with the enchant they are the best you can get.

Hands - Scouting Gloves of the Monkey (with +15 agi enchant)
These are the best twink gloves bacuse of the 4/4 stats on them, some may argue that the 'Red Whelp Gloves' are better because they have a 20 dmg procc on them, hey are wrong because they have no stats and are therefore a risky item.

Legs: Leggings of the Fang (with +100hp libram enchant)
These legs are a rare drop from a boss in Wailing Caverns called Lord Cobrahn.

Feet: Feet of the Lynx (with +7 stamina enchant/speed enchant)
This item is a world drop and can be bought from the auction house.

Finger: Seal of Wrynn
This ring is a reward from a long quest line starting with 'The People's Malitia' in westfall keep.

Finger: Protectors Band
To get this item you must be honoured with Silverwing Sentinals, you do this by getting flag captures and winning WSG. When you are honoured travel to the alliance entrance to WSG in ashenvale. You can buy this item there.

Trinket: Insignia of the Alliance
This can be bought from SI7 in stormwind when you are ranked corporal, you get this rank by getting honor from WSG.

Trinket: Arena Grand Master
This is by far the least known and the most difficult twink item to get, you must get 12 'Arena Master' trinkets from the chest in the gurubashi arena. These chests only drop every 3 hours at 00:00, 03:00, 06:00, 09:00, 12:00, 15:00, 18:00, 21:00. There will be ther loot within these chest aswell to boost money. When you have all 12 of these talk to the goblin in the arena and hand in the quest. If you are going to get these chests solo the best times are at 06:00 and 09:00 in the morning. If you cannot get there at these time i would greately advise getting a few lvl 60's to help you.

Main Hand: Shadowfang (with Crusader enchant)
This weapon is by far the best twink weapon, do not listen to people that say that the Cruel Barbs attack power is better than shadowfangs extra 2 dps and 30 dmg procc. This is a drop from SFK from a guard with a rare spawn chance and an even rarer chance of it dropping. I think the drop rate is around 0.01%. It is alot easier to buy from AH or spam the trade channel.

Off Hand: Cruel Barb (with +15 agi enchant)
This is a rare drop from Van Cleef the last boss in Deadmines.

Stealthed Main Hand: Assasin's Blade (with +15 strength)
If you can, i advise downloading the Item Rack addon or creating a macro to equip this weapon when yu are stealthed so that you can ambush players. After you use the attack the addon will change your main hand weapon back to shadowfang. This weapon is a world drop and has an extremely low drop rate, you should therefore keep an eye out in AH and spam the trade channels.

Ranged: Venomstrike / Little Timmy'sl Peashooter (with +3 scope)
Venomstrike is a bow with 9dps and a 30+ dmg procc, it used to be 11dps with no procc but it got nerfed in patch 1.12. Little timmy's peashooter still has the 11dp with no procc, either of these weapons is a good choice, i use the venomstrik out of habbit which crits at around 180 dmg and can do 80 dmg with procc crit. This is an extremely usefull tool for if you are too far behind a runner or if you have been stunned to one place. It is a good feeling when you fight another rogue twink and they sprint off because they know they will lose, then you crit hit them with your bow and they die.

Ammo: Feathered Arrows / Sharp Arrows
Sharp arrows are a simple ammo for your lvl and add an extra 2dps to your weapon. They can be bought from any bowyer vendor. Feathered arrows however are not so simple, they are a reward from a quest in desolace. From this reward you can receive either feathered arrows for your bow or exploding shots for a gun like lil timmy's peashooter. Both of these sets of ammo add 9 dps to your weapon. The quest is lvl 30 and will not be able to be done by your twink, luckily these have no required lvl and are not BOP, they can be sent to your twink by mail or over the trade channel. They can also be sold in AH. The problem with these 2 set of ammo is the reward only gives out 200 and the quest in unique. Therefore you can only do it once with your main, if you want more arrows you will have to get help.

Equipment Enchants:
I will take a brief moment to explain my choices of enchant on both equipment and weapons. As you can see i have many stamina enchants and only a few agility. This is because my way of fighting in BG is to attack groups of 2-5 MOB's at once, therefore needing alot of hp to outlast them. If a rogue is primarily agility based then he will hit larger damage but will die extremely fast and may only be able to take on 3 MOB's. Saying this, you must even them out a reasonable bit that is why you should use agility on offhand weapon and gloves. The ibram enchants are quite hard to come by and both +100hp and +8 agility are reasonable.

Now for my favorite bit…..

Weapon Enchants!
Many would say that duel agility is the better setup for max dmg, this is perfect for when fighting fewer mobs, not great for fighting many. Using duel lifestealing is reasonable aswell but you will lack high end damage and the procc on lifestealing is only 30 hp, when your twink has over 1300 like mine does, 30hp is measley. Lifestealing and agility is a reasonable setup aswell and is very popular, however it still has lesser damage and a measley procc, but it is better than duel lifestealing or duel agility.
+5 damage is a waste of matts, ill leave it at that. Fiery weapon and icy chill are enchants for poor twinks that cant afford the higher end enchants. Now we come to a part which confuses most people. I have always argued that crusader on main hand is useless, mainly because the 15 sec +100 strength procc is wasted because a twinks fight only usualy lasts 2 seconds. However because of the setup of my twink and the fact that i do always fight approx 4 MOB's at a time, the 15 sec procc comes in usefull. This enchant is better than lifestealing because it heals 75-125 instead of 30, and the 100 strength far outweighs the +15 agility extra damage. However, you must take into account the times when crusader does not procc and the loss of damage done if you used duel crusader with no procc. I have come to the conclusion that crusader on main hand (proccs alot when used with sinister strike) and agility off hand is the way to go. Alot of high end twinks at lvl 60 use this setup and it has prooven extremely effective.

Talent Setup:
As you know at lvl 19 you only get 10 talent points to play with, i will say a little about each type of setup you might like.

Max Combat dps:
2/2 Improved Sinister Strike
3/3 Improved Backstab
5/5 Malice (Crit chance)

Multiple MOB's:
2/2 Improved Sinister Strike
3/3 Improved Gauge
5/5 Lightning Reflexes

Instant Max Damage:
3/3 Improved Backstab
2/2 Malice (Crit chance)
5/5 Opportunity

My Personal Hybrid:
2/2 Improved Sinister Strike
3/3 Improved Gauge
5/5 Opportunity

Extra Items:

Dynamite: Can be used as an initial attack if you are a sword rogue and have no stealth specific attacks.

Bombs: Used specificaly to stop flag runners or in the case of a rogue if they are rooted or frozen to the spot and cannot move, it is usefull so that u can stun the enemy for a few seconds while the stun used on you wears off.

Bandages: All good twinks will have a huge supply of heavy runecloth bandages because they can heal evern the best twinks hp in around 5-6 seconds. You should also consider having these set up with a macro so that with a press of a button you are automaticaly being healed.

Healing Potions: The best potions for our lvl will heal around 300 hp, they are quite helpful when you have only 1-2 MOB's left to kill and you are running low on hp.

Minor Recombobulator: Used to remove a polymorph effect from a friendly target, i.e if you see another twink that is sheeped and they cannot use thier insignia you use this item to help them out.

Swiftness Potions: By far the most usefull potion for twinks, it takes a bit of experience to know when to use them. Do not use them lightly because they cost a good 50s to make. If you are being attacked by hunters / warriors / shamans who of which all have slowing abilities, i personaly think that if they have a good hold on you and that they are any good that you will most probably just need to die. However if you feel you need to escape (you are carrying the flag) or you realy dont want to die, use the pot just before the stuns wear off so that u get a good few yards away before they have a chance to slow you again. I would also advise puting evasion on for this aswell because with the new patch with evasion you gain 50% dodge chance against ranged atacks aswell.

Thistle Tea: This item isn't that important at lvl 19 but has its uses, some of which i will go into detail about later in the tactics and combos section.

Sharpening Stones: At lvl 140 blacksmithing you can make Heavy Sharpening Stones extremely easily, when used on your weapons they add +4 dmg to every hit you do. They can be used on all of your weapons and lasts 30 mins.

Insignia of the Alliance: You must have a quick link to this on your screen, used mostly to rid yourself of fear, should not be used to get out of sheep if possible because sheepactualy heals you and can be ironicaly useful sometimes

Magic Dust: Use on an enemy to send to sleep for 30 sec…dmg breaks this effect.

Potions and elixir: These include elixir of minor fortitude, agility, strength and maybe a trolls blood potion.

Food: Food that adds 6 stamina and spirit when well fed should be used such as curiously tasty omelete.

Rumsey Rum Black Label: My favorite pot, its a drink that increases your stamina by 15 (150 hp), it can be stacked with minor fortitude and the food.

Buffs
After you queue up for a BG it's a good idea to go to the trade part of the city that you are in, try to search for a high lvl priest and ask for +20 stamina….if they are good they will have the improved spell which gives 26 stamina instead. Also search for a lvl 30ish+ druid to give you MOTW rank 3 which has +4 to all attributes and some +armor. When you enter the BG look for palas and locks, from palas you want an armor buff, blessing of might (attack power) and from locks you want to be in thier group so that you receive the blood pact buff. You may want some magic resistance buffs but that is a judgement call for you. These buffs are lost after death so make sure you arent the main target of fire.

Macros and Addons:

Item Rack: This programme allows you to create item sets and equip them at a touch of a button. I personally use this to change my main hand weapon (Shadowfang) to (assasin's blade dagger) when i stealth, this allows me to do an ambush. This programme will re-equip shadowfang after you break stalth. I also use this programme to change my boots from feet of the lynx with a +7 stamina enchant, to my fet of the lynx with a minor speed increase. I use 2 seperate keys to do this.

BGSwitch: This addon when activated allows you to roam other screens on your computer while you are queued for a BG. When you are called up for a BG the addon switches your screen to WoW for you to accept the invite.

EnergyWatch: This has contantly repeating ar that shows you when your energy bar is going to tick over.

StunWatch: This programme shows the duration of all stuns on you or your targeted enemy, including previously targeted enemies i.e (when you sap someone a bar comes up to show duration while you kill other mobs).

SpellAlert: This programme gives a warning in the middle of the screen when spells are being cast against you.

Tactics
Depending on what attitude you have toward BG you will play different ways. If you want a quick win then i would advise leaving the main group at mid-field and you stealthing up to thier flag, hopefully there will be no MOB's there. Firstly let your team know which way you will be taking the flag so that they can support you while you are running. If you want to farm honor kills i advise keeping all your best players under thier GY and keeping the healers a few paces behind. If the horde stand off and stay at thier GY, send 2 good players to sneak up them from behind. This will force most of them to jump down where you can begin to farm.

FYI a rogue is primarily a malee class, so you must try to be as close to your enemy as possible. In the case of a hunter getting a shot off first and slowing you, your best bet is to kill his pet ASAP, this will usualy distract him and cause him to stop attacking and run, which is where you own him. If however the hunter knows what he is doing and continues to shoot at you, try to use a sprint inbetween his stuns to reach him and kill him quick. Evasion is also useful here. Only use your bow as a last resort because the time it takes for you to get off a shaot, you leave yourself open for atack, and greately reduces the chance of you ever catching up with him.

In the case of being attacked by a mage, you should run asap to them and attack, firstly you should gauge them bacause it will be a mages automatic reaction to freeze you to the floor and get range from you. Kill these as soon as you can. If sheeped, enjoy it, whatch as your hp bar sails up and then when it wears off….see his sail in the opposite direction

Druids are reasonably easy to kill, just kick or gauge them if they look they are casting a heal or roots. If you become rooted before getting into melee combat there isnt alot you can do apart from attacking a different MOB that is in the area. You could try shooting the druid with arrows but he will probably just change to bear form anyway.

Warlocks can be very tiresome when they fear you, forget the pet, go straight for the enemy and gauge them to stop them casting. If you see them casting a shadow speel that required a charge, kick/gauge your !@#$%^&* off. They can make life very difficult for you if you are feared and your insignia is on cooldown.

Priests are a main prority when fighting multiple MOB's, same strategy as with a lock, gauge/kick to stop casting and just get them down. Keep attacking through the shields because they will break easily under a rogue twinks attacks.

Shamans are very annoying, they will set an earthbind totem and run from you mostly…just try to escape totem range before it proccs and kill that annoying sodd!

Warriors can be a problem because they do not die as quickly as other classes. I advise killing a healer if they have one then killing the warrior obviously. They will hamstring you if they know what they are doing so just keep jumping around them so that they dont get a big direct hit on you. A good fury (2X 1 handed sword) warrior can be just as good as a rogue and a hell of alot stronger. So your best bet is to not get hit.

When fighting a rogue, your attacks will miss alot more so you must just keep digging away at it, if you are up against another rogue twink you should not use eviscerate, mostly sinister strikes and a gauge if you can get one off. A good tactic is to sprint and evasion and just keep running in circles arround them getting hits as you go.

As a last resort when losing disastrously to only one MOB (very unlikely) you can sprint away or chuck on the arena grand master shield which absorbs 750-1250 dmg. With all my buffs i can get up to 1900hp and with this trinket it gives me 3000hp survivability. This should be more than enough to take on 1 twink and should be enough to take on 2. During a fight you can gauge and heal with a bandage also and use a healing pot aswell.

When fighting multiple MOB's always attack the healers first, then hunters,mages and locks. Leave the malee classes till last because they can be less annoying that the casters, plus if you are going to die you will already have 2-4 kills under your belt.

When running out of the tunnel at th beggining, stealth a little earlier that the others so that you get a look at how the first battle will pan out. Unless you have a healer with you i would advise taking out one of the back casters before even thinking about fighting in the full group, lett the noobs deal with the noobs

OK, say you run into the flag room to pick up the flag and there are MOB's in there. For exaple a warrior, priest and rogue, firstly you use magic dust on the warrior and set evasion and sprint on….gauge the rogue and try to take down the priest ASAP, if the rogue breaks gauge before u kill priest, do….not….swicth you must stay attacking the priest. hen the priest is down kill the rogue and then the warrior…..you may get a chance to heal when the warrior is asleep and all there is is the rogue. However if for some reason all doesnt go to plan and you are left with a rogue and warrior attacking you and you about to die. Chuck on your arena grand master shield and kill them both. This example is one of the harder because you have a range of classes to kill, when the classes are more of the same then this becomes easier.

When you must fight a twink and a noob at once you should gauge or incapacitate the twink ASAP and kill the noob, then kill the twink while healing if needs be.

When fighting 2 twinks always incapacitate one of them, do not try atacking both at once.

In all honesty there could be 4 defenders of the flag and you should still win, sap one, magic dust the other, evasion and sprint kill the others and then take out the incapacitaed using shield if needed.

If you pick up the flag aways talk to your team telling them where to meet you, you should check the map and see where abouts all of you ppl are. If they are near the east side you head for them down the slope, if they are middle you head for the tunnel. However if they are west, the same side as the horde GY, you do not go over thier GY but go down the slope away from your team. This is because the horde will probably be congregating near your team attacking them near thier own GY.

A paladin is very usefull to have protecting a flag runner because of blessing of freedom and heals.

Hiding with Flag:
Horde usualy hide in the same places but i will list them all here:
* Thier roof either behind the obstruction or ontop of th loggs (which still cant reach). On the loggs is anoying because you cant atack, with either melee or range.
* Balcony behind a pillar
* In small room in flag room
* Tucked in wall near the flag post
* Behind a tree on path leading to roof
* On the slope behind a mound or tree
* In thier GY on the sunken part of ground
* Behind the saw
* Behinf the machine looking thing
* Behind the wsg portal
* Behind a box near the wsg portal
* Peak above tunnel

Alli hiding places are limited:
* Roof
* Balcony
* Small room in flag room
* Near flag post by wall
* Gy behind a tent
* Gy under the wsg portal behind a pillar
* Behind bush on way to roof
* Behind the pedestal pillars on way to roof (my fav because it hides the red smoke by the bright light of the shrine).
* Peak above tunnel

Extra Tricks:

When the horde is hiding the flag and u cant find and a team mate has thier flag in your base…..go to the horde flag room and tell your m8 to drop the flag, the horde flag returns leaving the horde open to score. When you see the horde coming to score, you pick up the flag and kil thier carrier….this saves time looking for the carrier, but do not get cocky or they will score before you pick up.

When each faction has each others flag at thier desired base, send a rogue or yourself over to thier base and camp near the flag carrier. Then tell your carrier to spam dropping and picking up flag. This might eventualy bore the horde who will begin to do the same, 'Horde: OH NO THERE WAS AN ALLI ROGUE BY ME WHEN I DROPPED OUR FLAG ' hehe The rogue quickly returns the flag and your team mate scores.

One thing that has hapened to me was the horde had the alli flag and were running into the flag room ready to score, i was stealthed ready to pick up flag befor they score, the horde runs through me, i ambsuh crit him for 547 dmg ( my crit record ) and return the flag You can then pick up thier flag and the tables have turned completely

When running with the flag and a horde s running dirctly for you, head towards him and jump straight through him, as you do this hit the gauge button, this leave the horde incapacitated for a few second and you free to run with one less horde chassing you.

Try to make pre-made raid before you queue for BG, this will make farming rep and HK alot easier and can be fun for a guild event. A rogue and priest make a good team as do,druid and rogue and rogue and rogue

World of Warcraft Arena Season 4 will end soon (Warcraft strategy)

admin — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 11:30:03 +0000

forums in Europe, Season four of the Arena will end in less than two weeks, on October 14.

Once Season 4 ends, teams and ratings will carry over so that players still get to earn points and purchase gear until Wrath of the Lich King launches on November 13. Also, note that October 14 is only a tentative date, as Wryxian explains:

We re currently planning to end the fourth Arena season on October 14, 2008, and as always — this date could easily change.

This Arena Season is only ending in respect to the ladder, meaning we'll be taking a snapshot of the season's ladder and then go through our normal process to determine who is eligible for the end-of-season rewards. This process should take approximately one week.

It's very important for players who feel that they may be eligible for the arena-specific title and/or Armored Nether Drake to refrain from transferring their character to another realm between the date outlined above, and when the end-of-season rewards are physically awarded.

Source: wow.qj.net

Mana Regen for Solo Hunters (Warcraft strategy)

admin — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 14:00:06 +0000

Mana Regeneration for Solo Hunters

Introduction:
One of our MMOEdge 40 something hunters was constantly running out of Mana - stopping for drinks really slows down grinding. And a hunter's life without mana is no fun - DPS drops like a stone, no pet heals, no feign death etc. Eventually we discovered that the key to effective mana conservation is to understand mana regeneration. Although most cloth wearers know this instinctively, very few hunter guides talk about it. Here are our method(s):

Spirit and Grinding
1. Spirit is very important for grinding. High int will give you a high starting mana while a high spirit will give you a better rate of mana regeneration. Its nice to have a good bit of both but in the long run properly used spirit will keep you going further if you understand the five second rule. Our aim when grinding easy mobs is to finish each fight with the same mana you start with - no downtime at all.

The 5-Second Rule
2. NB NB Know and use the five second rule. Spirit will regenerate mana during combat but no regeneration happens for 5 seconds after a spell is cast. The five seconds timer runs from the point at which the spell stops using mana. This is important. Aimed shot for example draws mana at the end of the 3 second load up - mana regeneration happens during those three seconds but not for five seconds after. Heal pet on the other hand draws mana at the start but by the end of the channeling period the five seconds is almost up and mana regen starts quickly.

Maximise your Mana Regeneration
3. Fire special shots / abilities in bursts rather than space them out. The key to getting the most out of spirit is to maximize the amount of time for which mana is regenerating. A worst case scenario would be to fire exactly one ability every five seconds - This would result in no mana regeneration at all. The better way to do it is to use a bunch of special abilities and then wait for mana regeneration to act before firing the next bunch. Multishot with its 10 second cool down allows for a nice bit of mana regen and can be used as a timer if you finish your burst of special shots with a multi.

The Order of Shots and Abilities
4. Pick the order of your shots carefully in order to maximize mana regeneration time. Aimed shot for example should be used at the start of a burst of abilities so you are still regenerating during the 3 second load up. Heal pet on the other hand should be used at the end so that regeneration starts soon after you finish channeling.

Regen Mana Properly Between Fights
5. Be sure you are regenerating mana fully for the whole time between fights. In the time it takes to walk to a corpse, loot it, select a new target and send in your pet you can regenerate a lot of mana PROVIDING you haven't stopped your mana regeneration by using a spell during this time. This goes against the grain for many hunters who are used to using Hunter's Mark or even laying a trap in preparation for a fight.
- If you are going to open with aimed shot don't use any mana consuming ability before it or else you will delay mana regeneration for at least 8 seconds. This ban includes setting traps, changing aspect, or hunters mark.
- Do not use any special ability to deliver the coup de grace at the end of a fight. If you kill a running mob with an arcane shot then you will waste 5 seconds of valuable mana regeneration between fights. Better to use a couple of autoshots or let your pet take them down (Dash or Dive is handy). If you are really worried about a runner pulling adds then serpent sting them at about 30% health. The last few ticks of the sting will bring them down quickly and your mana regen should start five seconds after the sting was fired. Worst case if you do get unwanted adds at least by folowing these tips you will have plenty of mana to deal with them.

In Case You Pull Aggro from Your Pet
6. If your pet loses aggro and the mob targets you don't panic and spam a whole bunch of spells. We used to be terrible for this - We waste a ton of mana with raptor strikes, wing clips, scatter shots all of which just made it harder for our pet to regain aggro. Providing your pet is alive its usually better to absorb a few hits and just keep autoshot or melee attack working away - after a couple of growls your pet will regain aggro and you'll still have plenty of mana to control the situation.

Example Strategies

7. Some sample strategies that work:
1. For grinding lower level mobs: select target, send in pet, load up aimed shot, when aimed shot fires immediately serpent sting, hunters mark and multishot, then autoshot to death. Resist the temptation to fire a second burst of specials - these mobs go down quickly and you'll just prevent mana regeneration from happening during the break from one mob to the next.
2. For grinding tougher mobs: Start as above but if the mob still has a lot of health (>50%) after the 10s multishot timer has cooled down fire another burst of aimed shot/multishot. We have seen this called the hunters cycle but remember to stop at least 5 seconds before the mob dies so that you get full benefit from mana regeneration between fights. If you do use aimed shot do not use any ability before it.
3.If you realy want to set a freeze trap: Perhaps you are trying to crowd control a mob in a group of two. The main difference here is that you should abandon aimed shot if you set a trap - else you lose a lot of mana regen time. Try this: select a target, send in pet, drop a trap while pet is running, then hunters mark, arcane shot and multishot. The multishot will pull the second mob towards you and your trap.
4.Soloing Elites: Conventional wisdom has it that tough elites need to be kited but we prefer this method. Start as before with pet, aimed shot, serpent, mark, multi in that order. Then keep autoshotting until either you pet has reached 50% health or your serpent sting has run out. Then top up serpent sting and immediately cast heal pet in that order. Repeat until mob is dead. The philosophy here is to conserve most of your mana for keeping your pet alive.

Mana Efficiency of Shots
8. We want to add a comment on the mana efficiency of shots:
The exact damage per unit of mana depends on the hunters stats and the targets amour but without going into the maths Serpent sting is very mana efficient followed closely by Aimed shot. Multi shot is a fair bit less efficient and Arcane shot is generally very inefficient A true mana miser would probably avoid multishot but we find that my general mana regeneration strategy allows me enough leeway to use multishot for that bit of extra damage and faster killing. On very low level mobs which go down too quickly to allow time for mana regen you would do better to leave out multishot.

Armour and resists complicate things a little bit because aimed shot and multishot damage is mitigated by amour while arcane shot is not. In theory it might be more efficient to use arcane shot than autoshot on a very heavily armored mob. We cannot recall coming across any examples of this however.

9. We have no experience of high end raiding so we cannot vouch for the effectiveness of these tips in raids. Understanding how mana regen works and knowing the correct order of shots in order to maximize mana regen can only help we guess.