Untalented

Okay so Scofield and I are terrible at um, writing stuff. This has a lot to do with Scofield being all "Guild drama!" (and crying) and me being all like "Sleep is for the weak!" (and being weak) and also with gnocchi. Gnocchi has a lot to do with why Scofield and I are bad at getting in vent together. We are eventually going to write more SUMMARYZ of The Guild, but in the meantime I will say this: "Game On" is not funny.

I've been watching the warlock talent trees develop, and a lot of my concerns have been downsized as they start to resemble things that follow the laws of logic. Kind of. In playing with them and putting together specs I start to get annoyed that I have to have silly talents like "Mana cost reduced" and "damage reduction." I'm a lean, mean, pew-pewing machine, frown on that noise. While the trees are much better designed now, I am finding myself inversely frustrated with them. In any given tree, the number of points you are forced to invest leave you with only one or two things you AREN'T picking up.

This has led me to the conclusion that I hate talent trees. 31 point, 71 point, whatever. People poke fun at "cookie cutter" specs, which generally are what most people end up with because they give you all your damage increasing abilities. No brainer, right? Then there are utility specs, where you enhance your survivability or utility in ways to ensure you will lose the least amount of damage, which can be fun to balance between tier levels. Like a destruction spec, where you need to pick up Replenishment AND Shadowfury, so you drop a point in Backlash. These kinds of specs won't really exist in the 31 point trees. You will pretty much already have everything you want for any given situation, and you won't have to make these kinds of choices. Not that they were perfect in the 71 point trees (Try getting anyone to pick up Improved Healthstone. You cant even think about it unless you are Destruction.) but there was still a lot more variability, and I for one liked taking advantage of that. Now it is pretty much, well, everything. So what's the point?

I'm not advocating for no talent trees whatsoever, exactly. Yet. Customizing your spell enhancements will be great while you are leveling. But at the end, you aren't investing points so much as you are just training the skill set for the spec you have chosen. Accessible to new players without the help of a spreadsheet? Yes. But specialized? No.

I'll be back soon, Scofield and the funnies in tow, to make fun of Codex being an e-slut.

New Sigs

Courtesy of Demonmaster Relmesh.

Roflcopter Achievements

So yesterday Scofield and I were in vent lollygagging as per usual. I was running H-PoS for the ten millionth time and Scofield was...well, what were you doing Scofield? Anyway. Scofield and I play on different realms (its a sad story) and we were trying to decide what to name his new vent channel and my newly-transferred Paladin. We couldn't name the channel Shenanigans, because Scofield's whole life is pretty much all shenanigans. He has long held a guild rank all his own titled "Shenaniganner." Hence this blog. This had to be a special channel name for super awesome shenanigans. It was eventually designated "Nerd Rage" and if you have ever done PvP with us, you would understand.

The paladin eventually became "Succidin" because all the good names were taken. I then proceeded to take her into a Monday "Lawl-alt" ICC10, that somehow included a DK with Shadowmourne and a Priest who recently replaced Val'anyr. So there were those guys, and then there was...me. I am a Failadin.

If you were to go solely by RSS feeds, this has been a pretty redonkulous week for Succiu. I rather embarrassingly got  [Glory of the Icecrown Raider] and [The Spellweaver's Downfall] within hours of each other. [Loremaster of Eastern Kingdoms] has also been checked off the list.


My bucket list for Cataclysm includes Loremaster and as close to The Exalted as I can get. I am panting after a Heroic Lich King kill because it would be a nice thing to round off with before Cataclysm, but since that is so dependent on guild ambition (currently just starting attempts) I am not putting it on the list. I'm a Wrath of the Lich King baby, so going from zero to The End Game in one expansion would be, if nothing else, a good story. Too, there is the argument that *not* killing it will leave me feeling a little....unfulfilled, to say the least.

Epic Guilt

So The Guild: Season 4 premiered this Tuesday! Scofield and I, who are obviously batshit crazy fans, feel the need to share it with you. Watch and then read our TOTALLY UNEDITED AND FAITHFUL RECAP.

*Note: Ross and Rachel were not on a break. Make of that what you will.

THE GUILD! SEASON 4 EPISODE 1: EPIC GUILT



CODEX: Meep! It's recap time! Axis of Anarachy! Battle! Psychotic Break! Kilts! Oh and.....HE WHO SHALL NOT BE NAMED.

SCOFIELD: She can't say sex?

SUCCIU: Well this is a web series. It's rated PG-13.

SCOFIELD: No way. Clara's boobs alone make this rated PG-DD.

SUCCIU: *Meaningful glance at the bed*

CODEX: I have to come clean! What if Vork sees us /e-cybering! What if they catch us eating raw ham!

SCOFIELD: So that's what prosciuto is...

SUCCIU: Man, getting laid did not help her anxiety disorder at all. You owe me 50 gold.

SCOFIELD: You still owe me 100 for not asking questions when I had to pick you up from Lower City wearing nothing but your Playboy Bunny outfit.

SUCCIU: We'll call it a draw then.

CODEX: Stupid confidence! Stupid cute gamer boys!

SUCCIU: She clearly does not know the definition of either word. She just slept with a guy in a skirt.

BAM ITS THE SAME THEME SONG AS THE FIRST THREE SEASONS! CODEX! BALD GUY! TINKERBELL! TOKEN KID IN HIGH SCHOOL! BAZOOMAS! BAZOOMA-ED!

/something about Clara singing with an octopus on her head.

SUCCIU: Is...Bladez...wearing...a hair net?

SCOFIELD: Hey look he's cooking while on his laptop! Just like Vork used to do in Season --ooh, wait, there it is.

CODEX: Guys? I um, have some very important news. Um.

*Click*

SCOFIELD: Sudden power loss for no apparent reason. Sounds like your power company dude.

SUCCIU: /target Pepco /cast Curse of Dooooooooom

SCOFIELD: Yeah cuz that works.

ZABOOS PHONE: *OH FUCK ALERT*

ZABOO: TINFOIL! I MUST WRAP YOU IN TINFOIL SO THAT YOU CANNOT READ MY MIND! AND SPATULA! AND STAPLERS!

CODEX: Back! So as I--

VORK: Lets get a castle!

CODEX: So uh--

CLARA: Shiny! Whats that?

[2. TRADE CHAT:] NOOB READ THE PATCH NOTES

TINK: Guys Celestial Steeds, I mean Guild Halls are just e-peen strokers

BLADEZ: I don't need an e-peen. As a seventeen your old boy in high school, you know, I am the most secure person in this guild.

SUCCIU: He is wearing a hairnet still, right?

SCOFIELD: Yeah, but he sneezed on the burgers. It's cool.

CODEX: Anyway so--

CLARA: Different does not mean the same.

CODEX: I know my boyfriend is getting one.

TINK: BITCH PLEASE. Okay we have to get one.

BLADEZ: They have made "Your Mom" jokes a reality. Clearly they need to die in a fire.

TINK: Fawkes says you're his 'ho, Codex.

CODEX: Really? He promised that I'd be his lady on the street and a freak in the bed.

ZABOO: I'm a good guy! Pick me!

CLARA: How come no one ever makes lewd comments about me?

SUCCIU: Think Felicia day would be into kinky sex?

SCOFIELD: I'm betting sex with her has minimal kink.

CODEX: Probably, I am dating a guy who wears a skirt.

SCOFIELD: Isn't that cute. She thinks they're dating after just one night...

SUCCIU: Dude Clara says he peed on her, and you don't let a guy do that without some commitment.

CODEX: Plus I would never yell at him during raid time.

ZABOO: CODEX IS DATING A GUY IN A SKIRT? I MUST USELESSLY BURN MYSELF ON THIS MEAT TO MAKE A POINT!

BLADEZ: Guild Drama!

CLARA: Oooh, this is better than the Realm Forums right now.

VORK: Hey Zaboo, need a little manlove? And you owe me 87 cents for that meat.

ZABOO: HOW COULD SHE DATE A GUY IN A SKIRT?

CODEX: Guys. I NEVER DO THIS. No kissing on the mouth.

SCOFIELD: You know, when a girls says "I never do this," that usually means she does it. A lot.

SUCCIU: Oh I know.

SCOFIELD: ......

TINK: Codex I think we must have gotten mixed up. *I* am the hot girl on this show. Seriously check my contract. I signed it "Hot Asian Chick."

CLARA: Achievement Unlocked! Realm First! Best Joke of the Episode!

SUCCIU: Booooooonneeeeessstttooorrrmmm!

SCOFIELD: Just because you read it on textsfromlastnight doesn't make it funny.

SUCCIU: Hey Scofield? Wanna get [BONED 25 Player] ?

CODEX: Guys this isn't just e-Armory-- I mean, we are in love He talked nerd at me. That means something!

CLARA: Fraps or it didn't happen.

TINK: You are not nearly hot enough to keep sex interesting for a guy with a leather jacket.

ZABOO: Keep in mind he also wears a skirt. Just saying.

VORK: Okay Codex, save the e-whoring for later. I am going to regret lifting the ban on girls in the guild, they seriously inflate DKP margins....

CODEX: But I was honest and upfront about it! Doesn't that count for anything?

[2. TRADE CHAT:] Chuck Norris would say no.

*METEOR CRASH*

CODEX: Oh my gosh fire!

SUCCIU: Doesn't she know the first rule of gaming?

SCOFIELD: Watch out for Meteor Crashes in the Barrens?

SUCCIU: *Sigh* Yes.



We'll be back! Just like Zaboo's Mom's totally unexpected reappearance, we too have a respawn timer.

31-Point Warlock Talents

So the new 31 point talent trees were released today and are available in Beta. It has been stated that the warlock trees are far from finished, and after playing with the talent calculators a little bit I’m glad to know they are going to be taking another pass at them. You can read my full comments behind the cut, but the TL; DR version is that they are moving the direction of less variation in the passive parts of the game, like talent choices, and much more variation in the actual game play. The trees are a mess at the moment, but its still worth looking at them to guess at future intentions.