The Starting Zone

Episode 021

Fri, 19 Feb 2010 17:59:06 -0800

Episode# 021 - Don't Be A Party Pooper (the exciting conclusion)

Fri, 19 Feb 2010 17:15:07 -0800

Episode# 21 is now live and available for download. We conclude our series on party dynamics covering the Tank, Healer and DPS responsibilities DURING a pull and throughout a dungeon

Enjoy!

The iTunes Link
The MP3 File
The RSS Feed

Episode# 21 is ALMOST ready...

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 11:55:13 -0800

Recording wrapped up last night on the epic conclusion of our party series. Oh…and two minutes of bloopers as well. Look for it on Friday!

The Starting Zone - Episode# 20

Sun, 31 Jan 2010 14:16:00 -0800

Episode# 20 is now live and available for download. We continue our series on parties by covering everything that happens BEFORE the first pull including the all important buff stage. This may not be the exciting stuff, but it’s important nonetheless so give it a listen!

SHOW NOTES:

THE BREAKING WIND

In our new NEWS FOR NOOBS segment, we cover Blizzard’s hints regarding changes in Patch 3.3.2, the New WoW Armory and very interesting data mining statistics of the highest played class/spec combination here.

For those who haven’t read it already, here are the patch notes for Patch 3.3.2 changes here.

A HELPING HAND

In our tips and tricks segment, we continue our Party Basics series, this time covering the all-important discussion of buffing your party members:

For a complete list of party buffs in the game, check out this link here.

And for all those who have buffing needs, check out this addon called SMART BUFF.

WELCOME TO THE END GAME

This week, on our WELCOME TO THE END game segment, we discuss the importance of reading up on your class. We recommend the following websites:

Elitistjerks.com - General Class Information
Tankspot.com - For Tanks
WorldofMatticus.com - For Healers

THE RAZOR’S EDGE

This week, we cover the great buffing tool (SMART BUFF). See above for the link.

GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS

We congratulate the most recent level 80 dingers.

Enjoy!

The iTunes Link
The MP3 File
The RSS Feed

Episode# 19: Don't be a Party Pooper (Part 2...kinda)

Thu, 14 Jan 2010 23:34:35 -0800

Episode# 19 is now live and available for download. We continue our series on parties by changing EVERYTHING we said last episode…thanks Blizz on the timing on that GAME-CHANGING function we now call the Dungeon Finder. Despite being a bit late, you can still find some helpful information on this great new toy for finding other parties in the game.

Enjoy!

The iTunes Link
The MP3 File
The RSS Feed

Back in the saddle again!

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 11:07:03 -0800

That’s right…AT&T came through on their fourth attempt. I’ve rejoined the land of the internet at my new place which means that we’ll finally get back to recording the podcast. Expect an episode by the end of the week!!!

Say it with me: AT&T stinks!

Thu, 07 Jan 2010 16:53:36 -0800

Alright, I know some of you may be employed by or support AT&T in some way, so I don’t want to offend you. However, AT&T messed up my internet installation three straight times…their fourth time is this upcoming Monday.

Unfortunately, without internet access, podcast recording is difficult, if not impossible…so our next recording had to be pushed to early next week.

Keep your fingers crossed that 4th times a charm!!

A word about our "advertisers"

Fri, 01 Jan 2010 10:14:08 -0800

Hey folks, just a quick heads up. To help offset the costs of hosting and recording costs, we decided (long ago) to use Google’s Adsense. Until the time that someone sees fit to support us financially, we have to use the internet’s tried and true method of ad marketing.

Unfortunately, Google’s adsense takes keywords from our website and links in advertisers automatically, without our consent. As you can imagine, one the largest ad supporters for WoW content is gold sellers.

To remove the ads, I have to manually add the website of each gold seller that advertises through google. As you can imagine, these grow and change every day. At present, I have over 30 blocked websites, but new ones come up every week and I simply don’t have enough time to police it on a daily or hourly basis.

I know that this can cause some confusion over our support (or LACK THEREOF) for gold buying and selling. In the case above, we’re asking you guys NOT to support us an to NOT click on the gold seller ads (confusing I know).

I’ll do my best to remove as many as possible. In the meantime, maybe they’ll start adding ads for things we can use.

Thanks.

The Snarl Chronicles: Issue 4

Fri, 01 Jan 2010 10:07:10 -0800

Okay, I posted this in our Guild Forums, and I thought you fans of THE STARTING ZONE might get a kick out of it.

We’ve all been there. The Event / RAID / Dungeon was scheduled a week in advance. You’re all signed up. You’ve watched videos, tweaked your gear, re-specced, posted on forums, bought stuff off AH. The day of the Event / Raid / Dungeon arrives, everyone is summoned, everyone is running inside the RAID. The RAID leader has blathered on for 10 minutes about encounter strategies! Ready Check hits and you see this run across chat….

“Gotta Hearth back to Dal, forgot to repair.” or “Gotta Hearth back to Dal, forgot my flask” or… you get the picture.

So, you wait another five minutes. Then someone else asks to go take a smoke or a bio… five turns into 10 minutes… then you have to take a BIO. Half hour later, after the RAID LEADER re-explains the fight, you’re running the instance. Does this sound familiar to anyone else?

So, I’ve devised something I like to call, The PRE-RAID / DUNGEON check list. Feel free, to cut and paste this and print it out and tape to your monitor or the back or tattoo it on the back of your hand. Seriously, I’m not kidding. Put this some place to make sure you cut down on the amount of “Oopsies, I forgot… XYZ”

PREPARATION: This isn’t the check list, it’s stuff you do leading up to the day of the RAID or INSTANCE.
1) Read about the Fight. Go to WoWWikki or WoWhead.com and read up on the bosses and what they do. Trust me, it helps everyone, and it saves you from the 15 minute Q&A with the Guild Leader prior to the first Fight.
2) Watch the VIDEOS. Especially if they are posted in the guild forums. WATCH Them not once, watch them 3 times. Seriously. I’m not kidding. We usually post TANK SPOT videos here, and they are about 2 - 3 minutes. Do it on your lunch break. Just Do it.
3) Determine your Schedule. Was the RAID scheduled for 10:30pm, but you have 12:00am Hard Out? Determine that and let your team know ahead of time, so ALTS can be lined up to replace you should the team want to go longer than an hour and a half.

GET THERE EARLY!
If you are going to run something at 8:30pm, don’t log on at 8:30pm (then get hit with a Patch download, like I did this week). Log on about 15 minutes prior, so you can get some stuff done before the RAID.

PRE-RAID CHECK LIST (out of Game): This is the stuff you do in RL before you show up at the scheduled time.
1) Do a BIO run: Remember when Dad, used to get mad on the Family Trip, when you would ask to pee, ten minutes after being on the road? Yeah, we all have that same face on when you ask to take a BIO when the READY CHECK hits.
2) Are you thirsty? If the answer is yes, get your beverage on hand early. For me, on a healthy, good day, this is water. On a good day but without much sleep, something with caffeine. On a bad day, it’s beer. On a really bad day… well, you don’t want to know.
3) Are you a Muncher? Then have your handy dandy snack food at the ready, your trail mix, cheetos, gummy worms, pita chips and hummus, brownies, severed monkey heads whatever they are, get them ready.

PRE-RAID CHECK LIST (in-game): This is the stuff you do in game before you show up at the scheduled time.
1) Do You have the right set of GEAR on?
2) Do you have your secondary spec Gear in your back?
3) Do you have your buff food? (just in case no one lays a Fish Feast)
4) Do you have your Flasks? (just in case no one brings any extra)
5) Do you have your Mana and Health Potions?
6) Do you have your Reagents? (Locks, Paladins, Priests, Mages, you all know what I’m talking about)

PRE-FIGHT CHECK LIST: This is the stuff you do before ready check hits!
1) Did you down your flask?
2) Did you eat the Food buff? (Fish Feast)
3) Are you in the RIGHT SPEC? You would be surprised.
4) Do you have the right Stance, Aura, Presence, Aspect (or whatever your Class does) on?
5) Did you Buff yourself?
6) Did you buff the party? (if there are multiple reps of your class in the party, then ask the other Paladin or whatever, what they’re going to use on the party as a buff ahead of time).
7) Did you Seal up, Paladins?
7a) Is the right Pet or Minion out, Locks and Hunters and Unholy DKs?
7b) Is the Pet or Minion buffed?
7d) Did you lay out healthstones (cooikes), Locks?
7e) Did you lay out Struddle, Mages?
7d) Do you know what Totems you are laying down, Shamans?
8) Is your health @ Max?
9) Is your mana @ Max?
10) For Tanks, is your Stam with buffs look about right?

If you have done all these click “Ready” on the Ready Check and fight on adventurere!

There are some addons that assist with this process. Some are class specific. Please, check them out and use them when appropriate.

Snarl Chronicles: Issue #4

Fri, 01 Jan 2010 10:07:04 -0800

Well, for old times sake, I lead a RAID through NAXX last night, and it was great to see some NEW PLAYERS tackle a 10 Man Raid for the first time. We forget that not many new players get a shot at a RAID leveling 1 - 60 and surprisingly it doesn’t happen very often either 60 - 80 despite the BC content available. So, some of us more experienced RAIDERS ventured in and did the Safety Dance and kited some slimes. A good time was had by all.

It’s amazing to think that with 3.3 upon us NAXX feels even less significant that it did as Ulduar and Trail of the Crusader were unleashed upon the WoW masses. However, despite the fact it’s not the prime END GAME RAID anymore, NAXX offers some excellent fights for players to learn more about their class and their play as a RAIDER.

I am beginning to understand the “It past me by” feeling the casual player or raider experiences with END GAME content. While, I’ve don a full 10 man clear of NAXX and made progress on Ulduar and TOC 10, I haven’t done a full clear, let alone much work in the world fo 25 Man Raids on any of the content outside Ony and VOA. Now with a whole new epic END GAME RAID in Citadel looming. I’m wondering if players will ever take on such a difficult fight like Yogg Saron. Makes you think. This game really does age fast. While it does a wonderful job staying fresh, that content just kind of sits there, once it isn’t new and shiny anymore. I guess that’s why their blowing it up for Cataclysm.

You Haz Forum Postings?

Fri, 01 Jan 2010 10:07:00 -0800

Do you post on forum? We all know the wonderful reputation that the official World of Warcraft forums have for demonstrating the ideals of collaborative discussion and personal etiquette. **Former Sentence Coated in Sacrasm**. Forum posts are a big part of the extended WOW community. Unfortunately, they tend to resemble trade chat more often than not. The intention of course is that you post a question or idea or thought, and a constructive dialogue begins were concept and the game is discussed. Then why does it devolve often into the lowest common denominator of knucklehead ville?

The player community in WoW could not be more diverse from the normal average aged gamers to kids barely out of their braces to old timers looking for something new. The viewpoints shared by the community reach beyond state, town, province and country. Not to mention varied degrees of education, class and wealth and political views.

Now, as a new player you may look to get some information from these forums to help you along. So, how, should you go about participating in the forums? Well, my esteemed colleague on the TSZ has a hard and fast rule, “Don’t Post”. The read only rule is a popular one. If it wasn’t then you’d see about 1000 more posts to every 1 post you currently see. Now, you may say to yourself, “But Snarl, it can’t be that bad.” Well, let me give you some hypothetical but painfully real examples of what you could see in the forums should you post something.

Say you start a question, like, “Hey, I’m a Mage, what’s the best rotation for someone between level 20 and 30.” You will usually get this response, “Noobs shouldn’t play Wow”. Now, you may get some other response in there, but the one you will remember is the one I just posted.

Say you just want to make an intelligent well thought out observation, like, “It appears that while the LFG tool introduced in Patch 3.3 does many things right, it has created less community chatter amongst the guild. I think that guilds will have to work harder to preserve the fellowship they have in-game.” This will be met by the following response, “Look at Mr. Fancy Pants Douche Nozzle, WoW Players no use Vocabulary.”

Or maybe you just want to make a witty comment, like, “Ellite Tauren Retribution Paladins will bring new meaning to the phrase, Holy Cow!” This will be met with the following post, one word, “FAIL”.

It seem sad, but WOW has a lot of TROLLS. It’s a problem, and it cannot be resolved. Ever since annonymous posting boards have been up on the internet, TROLLS have been a reality for all forms of public discourse on the internet.

However, not all forums are bad. I for one have had good luck on the elitistjerks.com forums. Despite the name, I don’t run into too many actual jerks. Have you had positive forum experiences or night mares? Let us know.

Contribute to a Segment: How do you Like 3.3?

Fri, 01 Jan 2010 10:06:55 -0800

Okay, it’s been out a whole week, we’ve seen some issues with the start up… that whole authenticator problem. We’ve seen some hotfix patches already. We’ve also seen the awesome new LFG tool. So, what do you think?

Happy New Year!

Fri, 01 Jan 2010 10:06:21 -0800

To all of our listeners, we just wanted to say Happy New Year and thanks for making this past year a wonderful experience for us. In our first year of existence, our listeners showed us that there is still a need for helpful advice out there in the World of Warcraft and we look forward to continuing along those lines in 2010 and beyond.

Thanks for your patience this Holiday season as family traveling, AT&T’s SLOW installation and this year’s flu-bug have played havoc with our recording schedule. Stay tuned for our first recording of the year NEXT WEEK!

Thanks again and have a safe and happy New Year!

Episode# 18: Don't be a Party Pooper (Part 1)

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 10:25:10 -0800

Episode# 18 is now live and available for download. We FINALLY begin our long-awaited breakdown of parties! In this first of three parts, we break down the basics of parties including what they are and how to find one as well as general breakdown of party roles. Enjoy!

The iTunes Link
The MP3 File
The RSS Feed

Where are we?

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:08:11 -0800

Just wanted to give everyone a heads up that we have NOT disappeared into podcast fade. The fact is, I’m moving at the moment and we’ve got that Turkey holiday right around the corner, so schedule are filling up fast. However, we’ve slated some time the week of the 23rd, so stay tuned!! And thanks for your patience.

Blizzard announces WoW In-Game Pet-Store!

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:56:00 -0800

In a move that surprised many, Blizzard announced the sale of in-game pets for real, cold-hard cash today. Thus far, they’re selling a Pandaren Monk and Lil’ KT (a miniture version of the bigger and badder Kel’Thuzad).

Both are going for $10 a piece and for a limited time, 50% of the proceeds from Pandaren Monk sales go to the Make-A-Wish foundation. Thus far, reviews have been mixed on this review. Though many aren’t bothered by the offering of these items for out-of-game money, there’s concern on what this may lead into.

The Snarl Chronicles: Issue 3

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:52:21 -0800

Now that SnarlStorm (my Paladin) has basically become my End Game Raider, I have been attempting to determine what will be my next class to level. I think this is a question a lot of players have, especially new players, once they get that illustrious first 80 up to Raiding.

The process for me has been a little daunting. I’ve tried every class (except a priest), I have a rogue, warlock (alliance), warrior, shaman, death knight, druid and a mage. I do want to get another toon up to 80, but decided which toon to take up has been rough on me. Do I want a similar experience to what I had with the Paladin? Do I want a fast progression to 80? Or do I want something completely different?

Leveling the DK would be an obvious choice, if I wanted basically a secondary version of what I have. A DPS / TANK toon. While, my DK is at 60 and the closest to 80, I haven’t been too hot on him, since I respecced to Blood. Perhaps I should go back to UnHoly.

The next highest is my DRUID @ 32, but for some reason, I’m having trouble getting behind the Druid. I guess, I don’t like Tauren’s that much.

My Warlock is on the Alliance side, and I have to say, I confirmed my suspicions. I just hate playing Alliance. It’s boring.

So, who won? Well, it’s my Mage. Playing a mage has been a complete change from leveling my Paladin. As a solo leveling experience, wearing plate and having the ability to heal myself made the process somewhat… well… easy. I had good defense, I could heal out in a jam, I was unkillable basically. The Mage is completely different. I can’t heal myself and I’m wearing cloth. However, the process has been really different and in a way, very invigorating this time around. I’ve learned a lot from the first trip up and that helps a lot in how I play the mage. Tanking has taught me the beauty of surviving the fight vs winning the fight, and I have applied that to my little cloth wearing friend.

Survivability is a big turn off with clothies, whether it be the priest, warlock or mage. However, in my experience to this point, the reality is that each class has a playstyle that favors a certain ability to survive. What is odd about my time as a Mage is that I am dying far less frequently than I did as a Paladin in the early stages. Mages have this great ‘escape’ artist spell early on called Frost Nova. This coupled with Blink @ level 20, gives you the ability to run away, quickly.

It’s interesting but we rarely focus on surviving and defense when leveling, favoring more DPS. But in reality, if you understand how to survive either via self heals, or retreat, I think it will make you a better over-all player later down the line. Something for everyone to think about as you’re grinding your toon.

The Snarl Chronicles: Issue 2

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 15:01:13 -0700

So, today is a bit of a slap in the face. I came into work today to find the power out. Once it was restored (around lunch), I got an IM from TAK that said, ‘Let the Whining Begin!’ and it included a link.

The link was to this post on WoW.com: http://www.wow.com/2009/10/28/patch-3-3-ptr-ghostcrawler-explains-paladin-changes/

Basically, it was an article recounting the possible nerfs that are rumored to hit Paladins in 3.3. As I read through, the usual stuff was there, increase cool downs on this, PvP is OP for Paladins, and the usual crap Paladins have been hearing for the past six months. It seems the last few patches have been about nerfing this so called OP class, so we can fit in with everyone else. However, the biggest change was a possible NERF to Lay on Hands, which would essentially prevent Paladins from casting this spell on themselves. This of course, is the stupidest proposed nerf they could have ever considered.

Now, I know why they are doing this, PvP is challenging and a lot of folks whine equal parts about Rogues and Pally’s being OP for PvP. However, with only a hand ful of players doing PvP, I often wonder why Blizzard will nerf skills that also change and directly affect PvE and more importantly RAIDING.

My main concern is there isa BEEF that LOH is OP for PvP; so, therefore, they want to change it to help out what is in my opinion a very small part of the game experience. I’m sorry, I don’t PvP that much. I do more PvE and RAIDING. And in RAIDS, I want my Tank to have the LOH bailout if I need it when I’m tanking for a group. I brought this to Tak’s attention, as we bantered about this change. If I didn’t have LOH we would not have done our first clear of the Northrend Beasts. I was able to survive that fight and keep Frost Howl off our healers and DPS long enough for them to take him down. But only because I had LOH in hand. My team benefitted from my ability to Heal myself instantenously (1 time every 20 minutes by the way).

My overall point to this argument isn’t the feasibility of LOH for Pally’s. It’s the fact that EVERY CLASS has one or two OP spells. Rogues have their Sap, Warlocks have Inferno, etc. etc. etc. We all get something we do better than anyone else. And you know what, each class should be the best at something. If Rogues and Pally’s are the most dreaded classes in PvP, I want that extra challenge as a player. I want to say, “Oh, dang, a Rogue, I have to watch out for him.” I need obstacles and difficulties to make the game fun to play. If that means one class has something OP that I need to avoid, I welcome it. I don’t bitch when I get FEARED indefinitely, I find a strategy to overcome it.

Perhaps players should start learning how to play their classes better, and quit whining about things they can easily overcome, or things that make the game more of a challenge.

I know I sound like an Elitist Jerk, when I say this, but it has to be said. Some players, just can’t play. So instead of getting better, they go onto forums and complain that other classes and players MUST have advantages over them. More importantly, I don’t appreciate the knee jerk response Blizzard has to this level of whining.

Race change is NOW Available!

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 12:43:00 -0700

WoW.com’s Mike Schramm just posted breaking news that Blizzard has now made the Race Change available for players.

Now you can take that Blood Elf Hunter you’ve been secretly hating and change him/her into a badass Orc without having to re-level!

The Snarl Chronicles: Issue 1

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 14:46:37 -0700

Hey there, this is Snarl. I was going to do a whole blog separate from TSZ about my little personal journey through WOW, and then thought… eh… this should go on TSZ.com, not somewhere else. So, I will post these little updates and asking some questions, I think everyone has asked a number of time.

Recently, I’ve been raiding a bit more with my Paladin Main. Our little guild progression group now has the re-vamped Onyxia and VOA on farm practically. So, you would think, “WOW super cool loot for everyone, right?” Wrong.

Let me set the tone for you. Everyone plans their schedule around getting onto WoW at a certain time. 10 Players meet at the stone. Everyone flasks up, double checks gear, eats the Fish Feast, asks the Paladin (me) for a different buff than they had last week, even though he has already buffed them twice, and we head in. We face the ferocity of the Brood Mother and take her and her Lair Guards and Whelplings and Deep Breath down in record time. Now, for the prize that awaits us. The DK, the 2 Druids, The Hunter, The Shaman, The two Priests, the Paladin and the Rogue wait with baited breath to see…. Warlock gear drop? WTF?

I’m sure you’ve been there. You storm the instance clear the boss and you see a piece of loot that either, all the folks already have OR no one can even use. I’ve seen this in VOA on more than one occasion. I’ve seen it on more than double digit occasions.

So, I ask myself. What gives Blizzard? I’m sure your loot table is based off some random algorithm, but can’t you at least get loot out that can be used by the folks who spent their time downing this difficult boss? I mean nothing hurts worse than watching iLevel 232 or 245 gear go to disenchant. That’s just horrendous. It’s a problem I’ve struggled with and never have I come up with a solid reasonable answer. Maybe you have an answer other than… Blizzard keeping players invested and subscriptions up. I realized that one all by myself. My issue is this is something that can be reasonably fixed, especially for class specific gear. If there isn’t a Warlock in the group, then don’t have Warlock gear drop. I’m not saying it has to be spec specific or even an upgrade, just usable by someone who spent their time in the RAID.