Blizzard backs down on RealID
Well, it was nice to see that Blizzard still listens to the client! They’ve reversed their decision on making people post on the forums with their Real First/Last Name. It seemed they were headed down a slippery slope with that choice, so it was nice to see they listened to the customers and changed that concept. They’re still going ahead with trying to be the “Social Networking Game of the World”, but it appears they’re going to be more responsive to how the customer wishes to be seen while using their service.
I’m glad, too! Now I can play Cataclysm with a clear conscience. woot!
So long, WoW, and thanks for all the fish!
Due to the current RealID situation with Activistion Blizzard I’m out of WoW. I froze my account the beginning of June for a summer break, but due to the latest announcements concerning RealID (in-game issues/forum-related) I am out of WoW; possibly for good.
I’m not going to go into any kind of paranoid rant or anything, I just feel as though they are implementing this system in the wrong way. I feel it is a potential risk for privacy invastion and I cannot support a company that would do such a thing, regardless of their reasoning.
So, see ya, WoW! It’s been a great (almost) 4 years, but it’s time we start seeing other people.
Aion Signatures
So, I’m trying to find a good Aion signature generator. The following are the ones that I’ve found that I’m even remotely interested in:
Aioncard.com
aion.yg.com - Small
aion.yg.com - Large
Have a good one that you use?
Going to see if this one can be customized a bit more (I’m not crazy about the font for the Name):
aion.yg.com
Aion
During my short break from WoW I’ve decided to re-up in Aion. I have a few characters on several servers, but this time around I’m concentrating on Azphel (Elyos-side). Apparently there were some fixes to make it easier to solo after level 16 (which is why I didn’t play past the beta the first time around). Hopefully that change, along with changes in charges for flights/portals/etc., will help make the difference.
So, if you’re thinking about trying Aion out again, now would probably be a good time.
On a WoW break
So, for the first time since I began playing WoW I’ve cancelled my subscription. I finally hit a lull that was enough to make me take a break; at least until the next expansion. So, for anyone that’s actually checked here for anything; sorry, you won’t be getting anything from me for add-ons. At least not until Cataclysm hits anyway. Once the expansion hits and add-ons are updated, I’ll work on that kind of stuff.
I’m actually heading over to Aion for a bit. See ya there, maybe. 
New WoW Armory
Yes, I still suck at keeping this up-to-date. But, eh, what do ya do?
First; I’ve had some inquiries about my Mage UI and I haven’t gotten back to you. I apologize. I’ve since changed it so the version you saw previously is no longer available. I’ll re-post my new UI when I get an opportunity and I’ll just upload what you’d need if you’d like to use it. Not sure when that’ll be, but hopefully within the next week.
So, the WoW Armory has gotten a nice little update (something other sites have had for quite some time). I’ll just post what is new as it’s easier to see than it’ll take to put into words. :p
Slacker!
Yes, that’s me: Slacker! I really suck at keeping up with a blog. It’s a good thing nobody pays me to do this, otherwise I’d never get paid.
What to catch up on….
I tried out Aion because I thought it would be a fun and new distraction; it was for about 16 levels. I should write up a separate entry for it sometime. Needless to say; I didn’t enjoy it past level 16.
I then decided to purchase ‘Batman: Arkham Asylum’ which is a lot of fun. I’m taking my time and only playing it here and there. I want to get my money’s worth out of it. So far, though, it is a lot of fun. It deserves its own entry, as well.
I gave Champions Online a try over the Halloween Free Play Weekend. They should have called it the Free Download and Only Play for a Short Time Weekend. I never even reached level 2 and decided it wasn’t for me.
So where does that take us? Right back to my good old mainstay; WoW. I have 3 level 80′s now; Mage, Hunter, & Death Knight. My latest venture is tanking on my DK. It’s been interesting and fun to learn. So far we’ve only been knocking around lowbie bosses in Northrend. Once enough people in my, ultra, casual guild are high enough level we’ll start tackling Heroics, but regular instances are fine for now to help some people bang out some quests.
And, since I’ve been concentrating on WoW, again, it may be time to revisit the MODs & UI stuff. Not too much has changed, but a few MODs are looking to get switched out. We’ll see how it goes.
Thanks for stopping by! Hopefully I’ll get some entries done, soon, for Aion and Batman.
Champions Online
I haven’t heard a lot of great things about this game. I know a few people that went into the Open Beta (I could have but didn’t realize I had a key…oops), but nothing amazing for reviews.
Then last night I was checking out the CO forums and noticed there were some big changes for release day; no specifics but some people seemed rather upset about the changes. The gist of what I got was that players got nerfed to the point that they couldn’t even beat something their own level and that mobs even of a lower level were kicking their asses.
I’ll have to keep looking into it, I guess.
Altitis (again) & A New Signature Generator
Altitis
So, yes, altitis has struck again! argh!! Honestly, I don’t mind as much this time around. I can’t raid or do heroics anymore; I simply don’t have the time. Being a (relatively) new dad my priorities have shifted (with good reason). My daughter comes before WoW and any other online stuff; so playtime has diminished as has any other online stuff. And with that diminished time means focusing on other areas of my WoW-time.
Thus, altitis is back! My mage, Flasch, is 80 and upgraded enough to do some heroics and raiding, but those upgrades just make dailies go faster. My death knight, Kaellon, is 80 and not heavy in the gear department so I just tear stuff up here and there. My hunter, Kavik, is nearing 78 and currently involved in the beginnings of the Argent Tournament and a few other dailies. So, when the daily grind gets to be too much…I have to turn to an alt. I still have my lil retnoob, Vargis, on Grizzly Hills. He is currently stuck at 30; I got the mount and shelved him. :p
The other altitis stuff deals with my quest for more lore from the Alliance angle. I am a pretty die-hard Horde player, but I’ve recently become more and more interested in the lore of Warcraft. I even purchased Arthas: Rise of the Lich King recently and have really been enjoying the storyline. So, I’m getting a bit hooked on the lore and will likely purchase a few more of the books. I don’t anticipate playing the original Warcraft games (no time!), so the books are the best I’m going to get. Coupling the books with sites like WoWWiki.com will fill in the gaps for me.
So, my quest for more Alliance lore lead to my other Retnoob, a druid, and a warlock. They’re all under 15 and don’t count for much, yet, but aids in a bit of the lore research…for now. And, really, the warlock is pretty much just for the mount. My first ever WoW toon was an Undead Warlock and he only got to 26 and that was back when you didn’t get a mount until 40; so, the new lock is my reward to myself so I can have that mount I should have gotten back then and at level 20. :p Leveling has been fun and breezy since I only spend about an hour a night, at most, on any of the alts. Lessens the grind feeling, I think.
Signature Generator
My last signature generator entry was a while back and since then I tried another one and have, I think, settled on my new favorite. I’m not a huge fan of screen real estate being eaten up by huge signatures on the few forums I frequent, so I wanted to find a good signature generator that created nice, easy to read, and informative, images.
My new favorite is ToonSig. Surf over, sign-up, and start banging out some nice looking signatures. They have a lot of good backgrounds for your signature, allow for some custom text, and the regular stat type entries (only two of these though). The regular name, level, guild, are put on each signature. Server, stats, professions, etc., are selectable. Go check’em out; I’d be willing to be that you’ll like what you see.
Here are the few that I’ve made for my regularly played toons…
Thanks for reading! See you next entry…whenever that happens to be… :p
Rawr
I’ve always tried to use something like RatingBuster to be sure that I am maximizing gear on my toons. However, no matter how much time I’ve spent on the armory/forums/using mods I continued to have issues getting my Unbuffed Spellpower on my Mage up to a good level.
The other night I got passed over for a Naxx run (much to my own honesty, though) because my gear wasn’t up to snuff. Admittedly I was still in my Spellfire gear that I crafted for raiding at 70; but I hadn’t found good replacements, yet. So, after getting passed over for Naxx (I told them I didn’t want them to ahve to carry me) I took a look at my gear, again, and dropped some gold and did a few quests and crafted/was rewarded with some upgraded gear. However, my spellpower actually dropped a bit while other stats went up.
grrrrrrr…
So, I downloaded Rawr and spent some time tweaking. I re-gemmed some stuff, picked up another ring, and replaced the staff I had with a dagger/off-hand…boom… about a 40% increase in spellpower.
Rawr lets you grab your Armory info so that it can help you optimize your gear. You can swap gear around, add enchants, gems, etc., and you can watch your stats move up/down as you do the optimizing by hand or let the tool do it for you.
I have to take a closer look at it tonight because even though I’m wearing almost exactly what it suggested for optimzing my toon, my stats are off a bit. Overall, though; great tool.