Episode# 4: Instances, Party and Loot Oh My!

Episode# 4 is now live and available for download. It’s a big one…almost two hours in length, but there’s alot to catch up on for the week. Note: Sorry for those who may have been caught downloading the podcast EARLY on Tuesday morning. There was a “misedit” in the original published podcast and we had to take it down to save face. Everything is fixed and back online! Enjoy.

SHOW NOTES:

THE BREAKING WIND

In our new NEWS FOR NOOBS segment, we discuss the release of Patch 3.1 and ALL of the problems the patch caused. Mick and I take sides as we debate whether or not the free day granted by Blizzard (in response to all of the problems) was compensation enough for all of the problems players had to endure.

We also discuss some of the additional changes brought on by the patch including addon breakage, the hearthstone cooldown halved from 60 minutes to 30 minutes, the talent point reset and class changes.

For a solid breakdown of class changes for Patch 3.1, we suggest you visit this link. It’s a great summary of ALL of the class changes and comments on how it may affect your playstyle!

Lastly, we cover the latest news that Curse.com and Wowinterface.com have effectively blocked all addon downloads from anyone using the WoWMatrix addon client. If you’re one of the many WoWMatrix client users, it’s time to try something else!

A HELPING HAND

In our tips and tricks segment, we discuss Instances (or Dungeons), parties and raids and, most importantly, party looting etiquette. We define what an instance is (and why it’s called that?!), help to explain the difference between a party and a raid and also provide some resources on where to find instances (see links below) and how to run them with your fellow WoW players!

Check out these sites (wowhead and wowwiki) to find the where and how regarding instances.

For the party/raid discussion, we cover party roles (Tank, Healer and DPS). We also define three common party/raid terms: Aggro, Wiping and Pulling that are key to understanding party/raid dynamics.

Lastly, we discuss the delicate issue of Party Looting. We start it off with a REAL-LIFE recording of a raid-leader gone crazy (mp3 clip courtesy of Taverncast). We define two distinct different item types (when it comes to looting):   BIND ON EQUIP and BIND ON PICKUP. And we wrap up the discussion with recommendations on how to approach looting in party including some golden rules to follow.

For more details regarding looting in party, including further definitions of the NEED, GREED and PASS system, check out the following links:

THE RAZOR’S EDGE

In the tradition of The Starting Zone, we focus on addons that relate to our helping hand segment. In this episode, we outline two helpful addons that provide helpful ways in which to manage your role in a party: Omen Threat Meter (for keeping track of your threat) and Healbot (for easy management of party and raid healing).

LISTENER EMAIL

We read through our first listener email…thanks Nikkie! We discuss recommended addons for Paladins, how to find HELPFUL guilds across various servers and also recommend a site (Talent Chic) for guidance in selecting your Patch 3.1 talent specs.

MINISTRY OF TRUTH GUILD ANNOUNCEMENTS

We update the latest “dingers” in the guild, congratulate Gellicaan for winning this month’s Guild Race.

Enjoy!

The iTunes Link