Fixes then....

So the other day I posted some feelings on WAR (still nothing but <3>

Hokay, so... (here is deh earf, ROUND). 

Open RvR Changes:

• Decrease Scenario RP/XP Gain by Half. You want people in the "frontiers"? Then you've gotta take scenario's down to where Open RvR is more 'profitable'.
• RvR Token-Based Loot Dungeon Accessible by only the Realm with the most Keeps locked down. Give people an incentive to RvR and take and hold keeps.... This is DF from DAoC. 
• Relics - Give the realms something to REALLY fight for. Make Fortress and The Maw the equivalent of Relic keeps from DAoC; have relics be influencial in RvR too (+5% damage, +5% healing). 
• RvR 'missions' / rewards - Since we're such a Carrot - stick -horse MMO generation now. Give defenders an incentive to defend Keeps in the form of RP's / XPs. Make Battlefield objectives = 500xp per level of character, and Keeps = 750xp per level of Character.
• RvR Kill Collectors - Make certain areas (keeps and BO's) Yield Kill-Collector "kills" for the defending realm. Turnin-able at something like 100 renown / 400 xp per kill. 
• REALM ABILITIES - Give the playerbase a REAL reason to hit rr80. Give abilities like IP/Purge/Det/Charge instead of all these meaningless, tiny passive bonuses. 
• Passive Keep Bonuses - Make each Keep controlled, over 2, provide bonuses to the realm. 

For instance.. 3rd Keep controlled - +3% Gold in RvR & PvE
 4th Keep controlled - +5% Xp in RvR
                                 5th Keep Controlled - +5% AP for the entire realm

• Zone Contribution - Take PvE out of any zone locking contribution. WAR is about War being EVERYWHERE, and is RvR-Centric. PvE Public Quests should not influence how a zone is controlled, RvR wise. Make war, and zone control, all about getting out in your RvR area and TAKING objectives & keeps, and killing people
• Bounty Point / Fame system - already appears to be being talked about. But have another 'experience' tier (BP's or Fame) that can be traded in for Potions, siege equipment, Keep-upgrade funds, etc. 

Another huge piece is Itemization. Make Renown gear like it was in Beta... I mean, the badassiest of the badass. If I'm RR11 Rank11 in Tier 1; I should be a beast to mess with, cause I've obviously put in the RvR time. Make the gear purchasable at keeps worth something. That alone will help people take a defend keeps... as it is, I've got a 22 Chosen who I haven't touched RvR gear since lvl8... because it ISNT WORTH IT. The stats are aweful, and they're 10x worse than any RNG you can get in PVE. I really hate to say it.... I hate too... but take a lesson from WoW on Itemization: make the best RvR stat-gear only earnable thru RvR, and the best PvE-Stat gear only earnable thru PvE. 

I could add a section on Class balance... so far as RDPS vs. MDPS vs. Tanks & Healers. But I think Mythic is really moving in the right direction. I think the KotBS is going to be a great addition to order in that will really give order a 'nice' looking tank with Chosen-esque aruas... and the Blackguard is going to be a great anti-magic addition to Destruciton. I think they're moving towards the right path on class balance... upcoming Open RvR changes are going to be crucial, however. 

Yes, I do realize that most of these are DAoC-ripoffs. But ya know what? DAoC RvR *worked*.. don't fix it if it isn't broke. 

Something else Mythic needs to do... Swallow their pride and merge servers. WAR only functions in a High Popuation environment... take all of the low/low servers and merge them.. and come out with only a few High/Highs. Wait Queues are fine... WoW has proven that people will wait in line to play. If they prove to be problematic, then increase server #'s 1 at a time, regulating your game-population. 

State of MMO's and the marketplace

This really isn't a WAR post... WAR will be referenced, but so will WoW and DAoC as well; I'll probably throw in some EQ and UO for spice and flavor.

Ok, so a post on VN got me thinking.. this guy posted about why WAR has kind of not lived up to some people's expectations, and just about the state of MMO's in general right now.

History lesson, and I'm not MMO history expert.. in fact, I'm probably in my MMO Mid-Life-Crisis, and not an 'old timer'.

Back in the day, the first big mainstream MMO's were Everquest and Ultima Online. These are the holy grails of MMO's... EQ *defined* the PvE Experience, and it was what Brought to life D&D and MUDs in a very real, graphical sense. It set the standard on how the combat system was to work, how Mana / Hits worked in a game environment, experience and leveling speeds, class balance and synergy and 'bosses' or raiding. Most of all functions and framework for any modern MMO's PvE experience can be attributed to lessons learned and discovery made during EQ's time as the prime-MMO... and to the naysayers: EQ must have done something right; there’s still people playing on their servers, and its about to be 2009. PvP.. this was defined by U.O... the Pace of PvP, skill level involved, skill sets required by certain classes, and roles filled in a group. Unfortunately, I never really had the opportunity to play UO, which I really regret.

So these were the basic MMO's... the crowd playing them was pretty young/green.  But as UO and EQ progressed... the player base got more mature, and more what is termed, Min-Maxed based. People wanted to know the formulas behind the game, they wanted more complexity, they wanted more depth in Combat and Content, and they wanted more skills required of the player and less repetitious (spelling?) button mashing. They wanted a defining rift between the haves and the have-nots... people who took the time to max their character, learn the strengths and weaknesses, and figure out the complexities of the games SHOULD have a distinct advantage.

 

Then came DAoC.. this was the by-product of a player base asking for more complexity. To date, I really don't think there is a more complex (save *maybe* AoC.. but I don't think so) combat and casting system. Players had to worry about multiple stats, resists, buffs, buffbots, potions, positional, reactive, realm abilities, charges, timers, procs... there was a plethora of information to see, process and react too during combat. At it's peak, DAoC saw a subscription base of about 250,000 people.. and was the first "RvR and Siege"-centric MMO to date. No one had even touched some of the Ideas that Mythic introduced in DAoC... from Keep sieges, to RvR-managed dungeons, massive RvR battles, relics... these were all new and fresh ideas introduced because of a demand from the player base. DAoC was, thru the SI expansion, Community-Centric... the community rallied behind one another... responding to Frontier calls, RvR keep sieges, relic raids and Emain-Roaming.

Fast forward November 24, 2004; World of Warcraft is released. WoW, I personally think, can be attributed to the most massive set back in gamer-thought and culture since the advent of the modern computer game. WoW introduced the MMO genre to (yes 11 million people worldwide) about 3 million new players between the US and Europe. WoW introduced a new-player 'friendly' combat system and interface, along with simplistic skills sets, easy to learn combat mechanics, minimal stats and requirement for character knowledge. While this was great for MMO exposure, it set the mind-set of the playerbase back to the EQ era. People entirely new to the genre where put off by the complexities of DAoC, EQ and UO. In terms of PvP, no one wanted any lingering or detrimental effects associated with events such as loosing or death... WoW had no death penalty and Global PvP ment little in terms of progression. There was no "realm pride".. now the community was divided into a subset of guilds, with the only commonality between players on the same 'realm' were aesthetics. Players didn't demand a combat system that rewarded skill and reaction; but one that padded mistakes and was more forgiving towards beginners. Community, complexity and.. responsibility... were tossed out the window in WoW, in favor for a larger player base and more money.

Money does in fact, drive a business. And the shift proved great for Blizzard, good for them. However, 11 Million subscribers has proven to be a paradigm-shift for the MMO genre in general. Now every MMO must compare and compete with WoW; lets face it... it's the 800lb gorilla in the room, you can't afford to ignore it.

Now, since 2004 there has been a lot complaints about WoW. Their player base hasn't shown to be terribly dedicated as it experiencing an ebb-and-flow with each new MMO release. Their players are eagerly awaiting the next-best thing. However, it hasn't been delivered. MMO companies are too set in trying to compete with WoW in Blizzard’s arena instead of thinking outside the box and coming up with something new and innovative.

I thought WAR was going to be the new innovation. I mean honestly, it's a Mythic Product. The people who INVENTED RvR, Class balance in RvR Scenarios, RvR dungeons and half of the skills found in modern MMOs. As much of a Mythic fanboy as I am, and a WAR-addict... Mythic really missed a great opportunity. They Missed the mark... they tried to take WoW, a PvE focused game... sling some new paint, new carpet and some landscaping on it, and make it an RvR game. What they said on paper really hooked a lot of people; the game had over 800K people sign up for the Beta for crying out loud. People are DESPERATE to get away from the treadmills that MMO's have become! Yet... post-release and taking a 2month look back at the game, there's too many points that they really missed the mark on; and now their subscription base is showing signs of dwindling because of it (in conjunction with a WoW Expansion pack). Mythic took the same path as Blizzard... and instead of adopting a complex combat system; they went with an AP based, low-mechanics, few-stat combat system that uses casting on the run, a lot of instas, and very few interrupts... and now they’re seeing the detrimental effects of it (trouble balancing RDPS with MDPS). And the great, seemingly innovative RvR systems they had touted, have kind of fallen to the wayside and many people see no incentive to RvR in the open and prefer the Mini-games that scenarios have become. The entire 'tiered' system subdivides the community on a 3x4 basis, per realm... so there's very little community interaction, outside of either your Guild or a Premade. RvR is essentially pointless, as the keeps and battlefield objectives play little part in terms of zone capture... PvE Questing and Scenario's play just as much of a role; so the need to go capture keeps and objectives is small. City sieges, the massive and epic battles that were touted pre-beta...turns out are a collection of PQ's, in which the opposing side race to complete PvE objectives quickly.. and that determines if the city is sacked or not; which seems backwards given its an RvR focused game. And the PvE, even for PvE, is very repetitious and boring... 

Don't take the previous statement as saying that I don't like WAR, or I'm a WAR naysayer. I'm not; I fully enjoy WAR and it's the best MMO out there right now... but it didn't really live up to its expectations, from an older-gamers’ perspective. Before we see another DAoC-esque innovation in the MMO game-space, the Collective WoW mentality is going to have to grow up. Maybe they're showing signs of it; they're not loyal to WoW by any means... but they're just not there yet. I think as time progresses, its going to become harder and harder for innovation to shine through, however, because investors are driving game development now (the game industry is a multi-billion dollar industry, achieving higher level or revenues that film now) and they've seen what the WoW model has done. Hopefully tho... a small, idealistic development company can not succumb to investor's whims and produce a quality, innovative and complex MMO and propel the mindset of the current MMO generation to the level that we should currently be at.

Mythic did it in 2000/2001... hopefully, either they or someone else, can do it again.

SUMMARY: The post was NOT really (I got off on a tangent) directed toward my feelings at the shortcomings of WAR, its moreso how WoW and it's mentality have really set back the progression of innovative MMO thought and gameplay with the advent of simplistic, forgiving combat systems, and a diluted community based around gear and self-centeredness... foregoing community and the "RP" of MMORPGS. 

Lots to Catch up on

So I haven't blogged in a couple of days... sorry =/

I've just been so stupid busy tho!  It's the end of the semester... so class is winding down, but projects and finals are winding up, so I've been meeting with my group every monday night to try and get this crap finished. 

Yes another group project. That's all KSU does. It's a "suck" buffer so that their professors can do less work, and manage the class less... Professors have gotten really lazy. I guess that's one of the Advantages to being in College for 5 years... you get to watch the professors go from caring about their class of 25... to not giving a dang about anyone in their class of 95. 

Then every tuesday I've actually GOT class... and my group is less than spectacular; and that's being as nice about it as I can. So, a group of 9... I've done the 43 page paper, I've made every deliverable except for 2, I'm the one who set the meeting dates.. and I'm the primary speaker for our presentation. Why does it always end up that way? 

Katie hit the flo' at school and had to go to the hospital... and it ends up she's got mono! =/ Which really sucks... cause Mono is gay and makes you tired and susceptible to other viruses, infections, bacteria and just all around bad stuff... it drains your body too; which is no fun. Hopefully tho, she can get some good rest.. take it easy and not work to the bone (Glawson's don't have a problem with being stubborn and being work-a-holics, do they?) and recover pretty quick. 

We got a puppy, after my last post... lol. His name is Chance, and he's a little nut. I really think he is pretty smart; well, as smart as a 10wk old puppy can be. He's housetraining extremely well already, he's only had 3 total accidents in the house (in over a week!). I really think a lot of that is due to Jack being there... he sees Jack do his business outside, so he thinks it's the cool thing to do. Jack's getting along with him well (sometimes I think Chance gets on his nerves a little) and he's a great personal trainer for Jack... hopefully all the running around and playing and stuff really helps Jack slim down a little. The schanuzer personality is just awesome... they can go from rambunctious and running around the house, to calm and laying in your lap at the drop of a hat. Both of them rode really well on the way to North Carolina.. they slept pretty much the whole way.... Chance really has taken to Jack tho. When we would try and hold him up front, he wanted to scramble over the headrest so that he could at least just see Jack; the little nutjob. 

I'm going to go off on a Warhammer / State of MMO's in general rant in just a minute.. so we'll save that for a sec. 

I guess that's about it... I can't believe its already november! Jeez, we're almost into 2009. 

Picture

I just ran across this on loldogs and thought it was awesome... so I thought i'd share

P.S.:   I'd love to get Jackson a small furry friend, a Daschund perferably.. and name him Sampson (semetrical names, what what)... then we'd have Jack and Sam! 

Should we gear up?

Ok, so the Dem's have won the house, senate and the white house.. now time to deal with the fallout.

Whats something that democrats are fans of? (all together) firearms!

So, knowing that... should we prep ourselves for the two, more than likely, years that they'll have control of all three? Last time we saw a Democratic controlled house, senate and white house was the passage of the Brady Bill, which placed massive restrictions on firearm sales and the classifications of "assault weapons"... because we all know that criminals use M4's and M-14's.... and they buy them all from legit dealers too.

Anyways, this isn't a Brady Bill Rant... I've been trying to save up, in conjunction with paying for a new computer, bills, a honeymoon, cash, over-paying bills... for something "extra". Before Nov 4th, I was thinking probably a 28" LCD monitor and give my 22" to Jill (extra 19" wide anyone?). I've talked about getting an Civilian version of an M-4 though.

Sure.. the M-4 ISN'T practical.. and YES, I already have an AK-47. Still, the thing is, I can buy a 28" monitor after January 20th... the Brady Bill was in effect for 8 years, and during that time there was a restriction on what rifles you could buy; so after Jan 20, I may not be able to buy that M-4.

Do I *need* it? No
Do I have a real use for it, practical or impractical? Not really, aside from Range time.

But.. if they told you that something you greatly desire was about to become illegal, would you buy it just so you could have it before it became unavailable for the next 8years? Computers would be a great example.... computers are *essential*, they're just a nice-to-have.. so if they were making computers illegal, would you buy one?

Remember, it's a large investment too... $900 for the rifle I'd like.

Post 'n Pictures

Man, I never thought adding just one picture or two would really contribute to the blog... but wasn't I sho' wrong. It really does add a little something extra... cr-a-zy. 

Obviously... http://failblog.org/ and http://icanhascheezburger.com/ are favorite places to hijack pictures; but google images is another... I'm trying to figure out how to get pictures off of the iPhone without having the PC-Connect cable... the stupid thing will do everything under the sun, play SNES and Sega games, track how far I've walked and calories burned, and let you edit excel spreadsheets... but attachments to emails? haven't found that yet.... thats why Blackberry >>> Apple in the business world still. The iPhone is still cool tho. 

Ok, so revisiting last night and the past couple of posts... what changes, long term, can we expect thus far out of Post 1.05 WAR. 

Scenarios are going to be a lot more diverse... this is just a flat out win-win. More scenarios = more variety, and more variety = less 'grindy' feeling to scenarios. And for the love of god, that means Less Tor Knockback. YES

Healing vs. DPS - With the changes proposed yesterday (can we call it 1.05.1?) I think you'll see healers be able to keep some being focused up a little more reliably now. If you pre-heal along with pre-hotting, you should stand a better chance at keeping someone up. 

DPSing - I think you're gonna start seeing a bigger disparity between the RDPS numbers in scenarios vs. everyone else. I mean, T2 and up, there's a degree of seperation... but I think it's just going to widen; at least it seems like it'll be widen-ing on each side now tho (with the Sorc changes). 

Survivabiltiy - I think you're going to see a nose dive for classes that are designed to "out last"... basically Tanks. If you're increasing DPS, you're negating the HP advantage a tank has over ranged DPS. I wish they'd touch on this a little more... offering tanks a means by which to increase not only their own, but their groups, survivability slightly more. Auras are a *great* mechanic to start with; especially with the introduction of the KotBS. Make Auras worth keeping up, but don't take the "omg increase dps only!" route... Increasing the delves for auras by 50% would greatly help them, while 100% increase I think is the real fix. Merge the reactive-heal aura and the heal-debuff aura together... because as it is, the debuff-heal aura offers no positive effects directly to the Chosen/KotBS and the reactive-heal offers no detrimental effects for enemy players inside its radius... so merge the two and increase the value of the HoT (15/tick isn't *anything* when you've got 6K hits). Ironbreakers and Blackguards are still going to be Ok (assumption on blackguards) in terms of survivability because of the nature of their buffs and 'buff-friend' mechanic. BO's and SM's (maybe not SM's, they whine a lot tho) I think are still ok in terms of DPS output vs. Survivability... if you're going to be a more 'offensive' tank, you shouldn't survive as long, imo. 

Melee Healers - Might propel in front of the Hybrid healers as one of the better healers in the game, definitly in a duo-situation. 350% of damage dealt is quite a shot in the arm for melee healers... couple that with a decent offense, immense survivability and group utility and you've got a solid position in a group. Add those strenghts (and weaknesses of 'bad' snares + no CC) to the strengths of a tank, and you've got an almost unstopable force.... Very much interested in running a DoK / BG Duo  (or going back to our oRvR IB/WP) after these changes. CJ, take note ;P

Revisit

So I was working on a big long post (at work, big deal) going back over the patch with a fine tooth comb, figuring out what was going to transpire, etc... when a bombshell dropped.

CJ texted me saying I had to read MBJ's latest post.

Turns out, Mythic listened to the community.

MBJ posted addressing serveral of the issues that have popped up in the 71 page thread generated from his original post over the past day. Sweeping, community-based changes that really will help keep some subs under their belt as Wrath's release date steadily approaches.

The Changes:

BW's and Sorcs will have their crit chance reduced with added combustion
Sorc's Word of Pain (Bomb-stack) will change from a 3 application w/will power buff to a single application with a resist debuff. Changed the 2sec cast Silence to an Insta to match the BW's.
IB's:
Change grudge generation from 5 / 3 /1 to 10 / 5 /3 along with lowering the required amount of grudge for a few abilities
Healers:
Decreased the Large heal from 3seconds to 2.5 and reduced the interupt/set back chance to 50%
Melee healers - increases the channeled melee heal from 250% to 350% of damage dealt.
Chosen - Acknowledge a high potential of class bugs along with altering Stats that effect some abilities (Quake, Blast Wave and Bane shield) from INT to STR.
"altering aura code" to make them more twistable
Marauders - Revise the stats that effect some abilities from INT to STR


Thank. you. Mythic.

These changes were several of which the community were asking for. Its really nice to see that they are listening to what the community is asking for.

I recant in an OBama-esque style (he too back his middle class tax cuts) on my last post. Mythic, 1.05 and 1.1 are really shaping up.

C&C.. disapointment?

If you've read the patch notes; which I know only 1 person has... then you know what I'm talking about. 

Not *the great patch to end all patches*... but 1.05 was really being touted by MBJ himself as to being something the whole community would get behind. It was going to be a massive Career and Combat patch.. with some "Tough Love" for some classes that were over performing, and some much needed Love for certain classes; All classes were getting a much needed tweak. 

Everyone on the forums knew the tough love was going to Bright Wizards. Everyone just _knew_ it.. it seemed like MBJ, himself, all but said it. 

DPS increases across the board.

Bright Wizards got a BUFF. Their DoT's, the arguably most complained about ability on the forums, got increased?! Wheres the logic in that? Yes.. firecage got adjsuted and moved out of Tier 

1... but that was across the board; Magus / Engineer's and Sorcs were effected. But a DoT buff? I 

mean, what game are they playing? Cause we're playing different ones... I'm not one to cry and whine nerf, but I mean BW's did NOT need an increase. 

Chosen - completely glossed over. I had this guy on Mordred, named Stormstrike... he was a lvl12 THANE; him and my Chosen are going to get along real well. Seeping strike got slightly increase... THANK GOD! My DoT style will tick for 19 per tick instead of 15.. WHEW. Lotta hard work put into that one, man! Completely ignore auras 

being pointless, Blast Wave using INT as the primary stat, and Str not effecting Ravage's damage at all... by all means, make sure that seeping Strike is hitting slightly harder; thats what matters! I'm mean, at least give me cool AE Hammers to cast... don't piss on my head and tell me it's raining. 

An Ironbreaker Nerf? lol.. I mean; Ok so someone has to slap my grudge friend 50 times before 

I'm at maxed grudge? Awesome! I wish I could live that long... ! 

Squig Herders and Shadow Warrior got a little love... good for them, I'm really glad. Magus and Engineer's got some love... people who play them are bitching, but at least they didn't get skipped over. 

Sword Masters and BO's... sword masters got some defensive love; which I mean... w/e. I wish they'd make Sword Masters offensive, thats kind of their deal, lore wise...but so long as they're useful. Black Orcs got some adjustments, some good some bad... but I mean come on, they're the best destro tanks atm, why seperate them from chosen even more?

Healing... this is where I really scratch my head. In a game where the TTK for RvR on a non healed target is miniscule anyways, and a game where the HPS to DPS balance is oh so fragile... you increase DPS across the board... then you nerf healing? Welcome to DPSAMMER: Age of Facerolling.  I mean seriously... its math people:  1500 / 15 seconds is more per tick than 1500 / 24 seconds... that's going from non-adjusted  300 / tick to 185/ tick... when you increase DPS across the board, 185 / tick isn't going to cut it. period. end of story. Then, on top of the HoT nerfs, you nerfed direct healing on the two AP-Based healers by further crippling them, AP wise, for their insta-small heals. I don't understand the direction Mythic is trying to push... increasing DPS while decreasing healing is going to be terrible, end game wise, for the player base. You've already got a couple of classes that underperform healing wise... Shaman and Archmage are way too Hot-ty (in a burst situation, they CAN'T cover the dps spread).. now you're gutting their HoT's along with the DPS absorbers (Zeal and RP) ability to heal... all while increasing the total DPS that players are going to be recieving. 

"B"--> 4 --> 3. B --> 8 --> 2. B -->8-->8. 

In Counter-Strike..that's a M4A1, Body Armor and Kevlar and Extra Ammo. Mythic, if i wanted to play an FPS, I'd play that... Valve perfected FPS's really. 

Don't succumb to the WoW BS!! MMO's are not ONLY about DPS output numbers! It's about sustained, organized combat!It's about getting that clutch heal in at just the right time, getting that root or snare it, or running back and punting DPS on your healers. 

Now its just a competition to see who's DPS can kill who the fastest.. and thats just BS. 

Now: these changes aren't  LIVE yet, they're going up on the Public Test. So I'm going to test, test, test and then submit feedback. 

There were some birght spots; don't get me wrong... rotating scenarios (as intended) really are nice, and the magnet fixes were apparently needed.. but for a C&C(!!!) patch, I felt underwhelmed. 

It's really kind of disapointing =(

C&C Baby!

Enough of the doom and gloom... it's time for tha WAAAAAAAAAAGH, 1.05 style baby!

Background: 1.1 was slated for sometime late Nov. to early December.. this was going to be "the" patch in terms of fixes, content, and career adjustments. I'm a WAR Faboi  but lets be honest, the game isn't "finished".. no MMO ever is. While it did have a fantastic launch, there are several issues that need to be addressed. Via various hotfixes (1.01->1.04) many performance issues have been fixed, however the Combat & C

areers (C&C) issues remained. 1.1 was to address not only C&C Issues, but also content (read: PvE Grinding issues) and Open RvR Changes to make the game feel more like War REALLY IS everywhere. Because of player demand, and the fact that Mythic is a mmo Vet., they kne

w they needed to get the combat and career fixes out first... because even if you make Open RvR as attractive as all get out, if someone feels like they're class is constantly getting pwnd, they're not going to want to play.... Classes first, Open RvR second, PvE third. Thats how it should be. 

Seventeen... yes... SEVENTEEN pages of Patch Notes. 

It's unbelievable.. Even Mark Jacobs said this was the largest patch put out by Mythic to date. 1.65 in DAoC (Left Axe Nerf) wasn't even this large... 1.05 will change the face of WAR. A Mythic is supposedly taking a very progressive approach to this whole ordeal. While there may be nerfs (Tough Love... supposedly).. Mythic is trying to achieve balance by boosting sub-par classes rather than nerfing (dimishing) over-powered classes. If everyone is overpowered, then no one is overpowered I suppose. 

I oh so look forward to reading the notes: I want to see what they do for the under achievers... classes like the Squig Herder and Shadow Warrior; classes without a 'niche' or "clutch" spot in a group. Engineers and Magus's I hope see some love in their core abilities, while insane abilities like Magnet and Chaotic rift get the Bat to the side of the face (Nerf-bat). 

I'd really like to see the proposed Chosen and Ironbreaker changes... Chosen, because I do enjoy playing mine, however I think he's about 'teetered' out...  I think he'll start seeing diminishing returns in terms of value to a group... I'd like to see major changes to the Aura system; with such a small radius and clumsy interface; I'd love to see the values of the buffs increased 50-100%.. Chosen are supposed to be the elite, fearsome warriors handpicked by T'znetnetch to wade into battle, striking fear into all those around them... and whenever someone has 554 Toughness, taking 65 pts away really isn't "fearsome".. I'm not arguing for Chosen DPS to increase; they're not MDPS. But I think fighting a chosen should *SUCK* one on one... he's a 7ft tall half-man half-beast covered h

ead-to-toe in layers of metal and spikes (with skulls attached to them) that can bend reality around them... whenever you fight that, you should hit it like a girl!

I'm looking at hte Ironbreaker...because in a month I'll be playing the Blackguard, which is the IB's mirror. Any changes they make to the IB are more than likely going to effect the Blackguard, so I'm interested in where they take the IB. I hope they don't change much, seeing as how the IB is the tank of Tanks.... the Podcast said that the BG was going to be the most Offensive of all the tanks; so I wonder how that will go over. 

I'm also looking for the Shaman / Zealot / Sorc changes:

Shamans: I think they've hit this class on the head; but I'd like to maybe see a little boost to the intial HP burst from the HP+HoT abilities; making Trisha's job a little easier... maybe a slight DPS increase, but they've gotta be pretty cautious with the hybrid healers imo. 

Zealot:  I 'd like to see an increase in the insta cast small heal. Make it worth using past T2. Also, maybe more Harbinger targeted spells; its a very cool Idea. Maybe a 2sec cast DD + Snare that only effects the bearer of your harbinger... give zealots a slight means to get outa jail, along with their  AEKB

Sorc: ... sorcs need to be brought to BW levels. Whether or not a BW is 

overpowered; meh.. but there is severe discrepancy between the mirrors.  Cast time specifically and Detonate and Playing With Fire.... the Sorc needs something to counterbalance this. Debuffs... the sorc currently is unable to debuff their own damage; which the BW is able to do via Boiling Blood.. boiling blood is a single target DoT with a 10sec recast, while Sorcs versions are short range CAE's with lower delves. I'm not asking specifically for a BW Nerf, far from it really, I just want sorcs to be on the same playing field. 

My official Response

Ok, so I've had some time to talk... so has Wall Street (down 486 today) and So has Mr. Barack Hussein Obama; he's already recanting on his Tax cut for the middle class, and he appointed Rahm Emanuel, a Democrat from IL., to his future secretary of State position. 

I liked Katie's sort of Question-Answer Style... so lets go with that:

Did I think John McCain was going to win: No, not in my heart. I had a fool's hope that maybe, just maybe, the intelligence present in every American would shine through in some epic-heroic moment.. but I figured Mr. Obama would win. I was actually predicting a Regan-esque win (97% of elec. college), but I was incorrect. McCain is an old white man, not incredibly passionate, with health problems and a poor image. McCain 'preached' long term results and rational, logical goals and aspirations... that's not what your average voter apparently wanted. 

Am I a McCain fan:  Actually, not all that much. I believe McCain is about as far "left" republican as you can get. I, like Katie, consider myself more to be a Libertarian. I want LESS government, LESS regulations, LESS Taxes. I'm 23 years old, I have a maxed contributed 401(K), a decent IRA and a hefty Buffer in my savings account; I micromanage my finances like an accountant.. I can take care of my own personal finances just fine... Government, the door is that way --> get out of my house, kkthx. 

Why Didn't I vote for Bob Bar (or a write in): Because, I more or less, was voting to try and Stop the Obama machine that steam rolled our country. McCain stood a decent chance, while still meeting some of my core values, at ceasing the juggernaut that is Barack Hussein Obama. 

Palin...Lets just say, I think Sarah Palin was severely mistreated during this whole ordeal. Palin is a smart, classy, attractive white woman who has power; and that's just unacceptable to some. I wish her the best of luck in, hopefully, her bright future in the GOP. 

Do I hate Barack (Hussein) Obama: I don't particularly hate anyone, I try not too. With my very core, I oppose essentially all that Mr. Obama stands for. I believe his campaign has so vastly polarized the nation, and he has taken such a stance, that the rift it has caused is going to cause quite a commotion. Barack is a Rockstar, plain and Simple. He's a motivational speaker with a great plan to redistribute the wealth from the workers and the consumers. I vote for Rockstars on American Idol and in Fantasy Football; I want a LEADER for my country. 

Do I fear what he will potentially do to our Country: With all of my heart, yes. Our economy is a living, breathing organism that requires great care when handling, and I do not think Barack is qualified to touch it with a ten foot pole. Aside from the economy, I believe that Obama has the ability to lead the country into a level of peril it hasn't seen. 

Am I really upset:  Yes and No. I'm upset in that I hate that this is how it's turned out, and that the next four years are going to be tumultuous at the least. At the same time, there's nothing that I can do about it... I voted, I spoke my mind, and 53% of the country (roughly) disagreed with me, so I'll take my knocks and go home. 

Am I worried: Yes. Please see my post below, from Carlton, to see why; it's 100% true. 

Obama has inheritted a strangled economy, two wars, the largest national debt in history and a nation that is extremely polarized; He'd *really* better know what he's doing, or else he's going to be up the creek without a paddle really fast. 

4191 Men and Women have died fighting in Iraq and another 553 in Afghanistan. Whether you agree with our reasons of entry, these are our American brothers and sisters; and we HAVE made a difference there. If we pull out now, all those deaths will have been in vain as the country will be retaken by the same forces who ran when we entered. We'll loose our single foothold in the most unstable region in the country; and he's already talking about an exit plan. I know people who have been in Iraq, and I know people who are going to Iraq... each and every single one of them will tell you that we're making a difference, every day, and that we can't leave now. CNN and MSN may portray different angles, but American soldiers want to finish the drill. 

The redistribution of Wealth, we should first (as the Great Ken Foster says) examine our past before applying ideas to our future. To date, there is one economically "successful" communist / socially-progressive country in existence: China. In order to preserve rule over their population, human rights violations are committed daily... This cannot be America's future. I work at least 50 hours a week so that I can provide the kind of life my wife and I want. She works and goes to school so that we can purchase our wants when WE want to. I give back; just recently we put together one of those Shoebox for kids things, I have nothing against giving back to the community.. in fact, I'm 100% for it. Include pets too, because I give a $1 every time I'm at Petsmart, thank you. But, if you take more of my POST TAX money and choose to redistribute that any way you please, regardless of the fact that I worked for it, that's stealing. 

Lets keep in mind; Robin hood didn't steal from the Rich and give to the poor; that's not how the story went. Robin hood stole from the government that oppressed and taxed its constituents to the point of destitution. 

Obama is not some white-clad Knight in Shinning armor; he's a motivational speaker with a forked tongue. He wants to take your hard earned money, and he wants to give it to someone who is either too sorry or too lazy to get up off their ass and get a job. I don't have any tolerance for someone like that... I don't get up every morning and roll out of bed because WORK is the place I just absolutely want to be. I hate leaving Jillian in the morning... but I make that Sacrifice because I want  US to have better lives. No offense Joe the Plumber or Tim the tool man, I'm not doing it for you... I really hope you work and get your wants too, but I'm not going to be your crutch. And what good is Charisma in the Whitehouse? How is Charisma presidential? So Obama is going to be able to talk at me with his devious grin, tell me its going to be OK, and some how it's going to make it OK whenever I see that 51% of my income is going to the government? I want LEADERSHIP, and I want someone who is presidential... some one who isn't afraid to stand up on the world stage and say what they stand for. I want someone who is going to have the balls to back up their statement... the world is full of bullies folks. Bullies with indescribable weapons and an insurmountable hate for our great nation. I want someone who will say "you're not going to hurt them on my watch"... not "I'd hate to piss you off and make a scene, go ahead and do what you need to do ". 

I could continue long into the night, I've got very passionate feeling about this... but, Barack Hussein Obama, the stage is set and the world is waiting... Put up or Shut up. 

I'm terrified.  

Response

So, I was going to write an elaborate response encompassing how I feel about the election results. 

I'm a conservative, so you can probably take an educated guess as to how I probably feel... but given the results from last night, I have to remember that most are incapable of calculating any degree of educated decisions... so, one of my best friends (CJ!) wrote a response to the election results over on facebook, so I just thought I'd share it... 

Hope and Change – Change and Hope. 

ok… so I am going to speak here as honestly as a can knowing that some of my closest friends are actually democrats and if you get your feelings hurt… I am sorry in advance. 

I have no idea how this bullshit actually won an election. 
Does that mean I didn’t see it coming? 
No, I knew that McCain is doomed.
McCain can’t speak to the masses. 
McCain has no charisma.

Besides, McCain wanted you to pick your fate. He wanted you to make your own decisions. He wanted you to be responsible for your own actions.

Generally speaking, when you’re voting for your public representatives you pick the lesser of two evils. 

I wanted a President not a MESSIAH.

It made me sick to my stomach to see the glazed over eyes at Barak Obama’s speech tonight. He is just a man.

What is this that Obama has that sucks you in? 
How do you honestly buy into his bullshit?

Is it because he looks nice/handsome?
Is it because he is black?
Is it because he gives nice flowery speeches?
Is it because he promises you the moon?

Sure those are all nice to have but….
Unfortunately, those are not good reasons to elect a President of the Free world.

Did I like Bush? No. He was a dumbass. 
Fortunately, on the things that mattered to me, he bumbled by. 

‘Freedom’ is a word also that Bush overused. 
He made it meaningless in speeches and we all rolled our eyes when we heard it.

This is probably his greatest offense to the United States of America.

We are free to try, we are free to dream, we are entitled to basic rights; and those freedoms people will-and have-died to protect.
We are also free to fail, we are free to not pay our mortgage, we are free to go out of business, and we are only promised the freedom of the PURSUIT of happiness.

So now Obama has promised you EVERYTHING, and you’ve bought it.
You’re happy tonight. You have accomplished the impossible.
You’ve elected a great ‘charisma’ into the White House.

Now what?

What do we know about Barak Obama as an executive leader?
Not a whole lot.
What has Obama already accomplished?
Not a whole lot.

So go ahead. Pat yourself on the back. You’ve accomplished something tonight.

But don’t preach to me.

Don’t tell me Obama is going to change things.
Don’t tell me Obama is going to bring hope.
Don’t tell me YES WE CAN.

ACTIONS…. ACTIONS…. ACTIONS…. Speak louder than words.

You’re now the commander in two wars (justified or not) and men and women have fought and DIED for America’s interests. 
Don’t you dare sell out the people of the United States of America to the jurisdiction of the United Nations and “The World”.
Don’t you dare be intimated by radical Islam in the world that would love to see every man and woman in America dead or converted

Don’t you dare fall asleep and fail to protect America.
Don’t you dare sell this country (further) out to socialism.
Don’t you dare infringe upon rights given to us.
Don’t you dare forgive the lazy by punishing the hardworking.

Taxes are taxes and are as inevitable as death, but don’t you dare let us, the American people, find your promises empty and your judgment lacking in the next 4 years. 
Too many people have given too much for you to sell it away in the name of ‘Hope and Change’
And Mr. Obama your judgment awaits you the next 4 years… And you have some VERY big promises to fulfill.

I may add something to this in a little bit; other thoughts and stuff... but I've gotta run right now. 

So we've made our bed

Now we gotta lay in it. 

So I got tagged

And I've got to toss up a post about seven things people may not know about me

1) I'm a history junkie... not like, I think history is just fun to study or whatever; i want to KNOW history. I could read books for hours on end (and I've done it) about historical stuff, and not necessarily just military related. Coach Foster, who is probably in the top 10 greatest high school teachers to have ever walked the earth, had a banner up in his room that said something to the effect of "The culture that does not learn from their history, is doomed to make the mistakes of thier past"... or something like that. I really just think that it is interesting looking back through other cultures, seeing their struggles, then seeing.... stuff really hasn't changed all that much. We still fight over the same crap today that we did 2000 years ago; except now we just do it a lot more effectively. 

2) I love numbers, which I guess is pretty standard coming from someone who programs computers 5-7 days a week. But I just think that its phenominal the power that we've given numbers now. With a keystroke (or a mistyped key) some one can go from being in debt, to being rich... or vice-versa. Simply by changing someone's zipcode in something like the DMV or Tax system, you can nulify their liscense or insurance. Its just crazy. 

3) I'm a closet physics junkie... 50% of my RSS feeds are physics and science-related. I think the LHC is just AWESOME, even if it could make Half-Life come true. While I don't agree with everything that comes out of physics (big bang... and even half of scientest don't agree with it, and 100% can't definitively explain it), I think continuing to try and understand everything around us is awesome. Things like the LHC just show the true potential of the Human brain... a 17 mile track of pipe, super cooled to 1 kelvin, with over 130 miles of wires, 10,000+ circuit boards, a server farm with over 2000 super computers crunching data, and massive electron microscopes and magnets that can detect the presence of a single electron moving at 99.999999% the speed of light; thata just a true testament to what man is capable of.. sure it might create mini-black holes that would seep into the earth and cause a Resonance Cascade or a Quasar and turn us into the sun... but risk / reward baby! ;P

4) I keep up with a Roleplaying forum.. and even run a campaign there. Yes, its true. And I've said it. lol.. Go Go Twilight 2013

5) I'd love to be a History Teacher at a highschool or College. When I'm done with computer stuff (here's to hoping to retire @ 50).. I want to go back to school / get my teaching certificate and teach part time... I'll still do computer consulting or something on the side, but I'd love to teach part time. 

6) I always wanted to go into the military. I dunno that this is a secret or not (or w/e).. but I think I would've really enjoyed that. 

7) I love being a Newlywed and being back in church. Neither are secrets or anything... but there both the best things ever, so I thought I'd mention them ;P

Peace!