Fishing for Rogues

I do A LOT of fishing. Not because I find it relaxing or am an avid angler. Rather it is because, as I have stated over and over again, I am cheap and fishing generally provides me with buff food for little more than time. (Beyond that I hear the Omega 3's are great for you.) When I was a skinner, my diet tended more towards the red meats (Ravager Dog or Warp Burger anyone?)  Even after that I wouldn't turn my nose up at a good Mega Mammoth Meal, but I hated leaving behind the evidence of my presence. Fishing doesn't do that.

The irony of this expansion is that very few of our best foods do not come from water sources. Even those you have to hunt down (Baked Turtle, Seasoned Crab, Salted Eye from sea eels and Crocolisk Au Gratin) live in or near the water. Yeah, you could have a Basilisk Liverdog or the Grilled Dragon, but sadly the Dragons mostly give you scales when you skin them and really who wants to eat LIVER? You can make it look like a hot dog all you want but it is STILL liver.

Now beyond all the foods already named there are others we can specifically fish up. The fresh water Boiled Mountain Trout from Mt Hyjal's streams and lakes. Lavascale Fillet and Lavascale Minestrone both come from fishing the lava pools in Deepholm. Skewered Eel is made using Fathom Eels which can be found along the coast of Uldum or Tol Barad making it one of the more plentiful sources out there for us.

There is one difficulty with all these, they do require you to also know how to COOK. However if you have never managed to learn this basic skill you may still be in luck. Many guilds are pursuing their guild achievements Set the Oven to "Cataclysmic" and Time to Open a Restaurant. So you might be able to persuade another guild member to cook them all up for you, since unlike the Wrath recipes they don't require any special spices.  Even better if you state you are working on the That's A Lot of Bait achievement. (Of course this only works if your guild actually CARES about the achievements and the feasts they unlock.) Unlike the Fish Feasts of Wrath these new feasts cater to our most desired stat, like the Fortune Cookies.

For some of you even all of this is not enough persuasion to consider taking up fishing. There have to be additional perks like Non Combat pets or mounts. Well, if you haven't learned by now they already have those in game and have had them for years. There is one overwhelming problem however. The fish all seem to know that when I catch them I plan on eating them. So when it comes to the more "vanity" items you get from fishing, I can't seem to catch any of them to save my life. Now this is only true for Daraia, none of my alts seem to have this curse, but Giant Sewer Rat?, Mr Pinchy? and the very bane of my mount collection the Sea Turtle? They all have played least in site for YEARS while my alts somehow manged to pick them up not even trying. I have some information for you all though, I do know for a fact that you can at least get the Sea Turtle from fishing the high end fishing pools. Tol Barad Eel pools. I love you.

4.0.1's changes to the Glyph system for Rogues

Glyphs are PERSONAL enhancements that a player places on their character created within the profession called "Inscription". The practitioners of which are called "Scribes".With 4.0.1 the original design of the glyph system is getting a complete reworking. No longer will it be a simple two type style but will expand to encompass three distinct types of glyphs. (Originally I was going to post this yesterday but a surprise post by the blues made me question some items I had seen on the PTR so I held off.) Many of the original glyphs we had before are still in effect, and any of those you used for your previous specs you will find you already know when you log in. However there have been a couple of new ones added that you may want to pick up so lets review what the changes are, what new glyphs have been added how how this all translates into what we will need to do as we set up to play.

The three types of glyphs are Prime glyphs which deal with our damage output, Major glyphs which augment abilities and spells to granting greater utility, and Minor glyphs which grant minor conveniences.  We are granted three of each at specific level sets, the first set is at level 25, the second at level 50 and the third at level 75 for a grand total of 9. There is also a regent you will need to know about that the first time I saw it I had a major blast from the past. It is called "Vanish Powder" (Now the blue post called it "Dust of Disappearance" but this isn't accurate.) This powder allows you to change out glyphs. Once you have learned a glyph they go into a side panel (They will be lit up to show that you know them, shaded to indicate that you can learn them but don't yet have access to them.) Now I don't foresee us as being a class that frequently changes out our glyphs but some having a stack of 5 on you should get you by. This powder can either be purchased from a scribe or at an Inscription vendor, as a stack of five will only run you 32s this is no hardship.

Minor Glyphs are located in the center of the new glyph interface. They are the smallest of the glyph have circle with no decorative feature around the edge. They are located at the bottom of the glyph list, only one specifically has changed for us this patch. Now I have my personal preferences on these so I will start with those as I go over each.

Safe Fall - This glyph allows you to fall further without taking as much damage. Now there is some debate as to how MUCH further the distance is but I know that several of the event bosses we will be facing for Cata have "tossing" mechanics and this was a nice feature to have as I took NO fall damage while using this glyph.

Distract - Increases the range of distract by 5 yards. With Cata CC is going to be coming back in a big way (basically because we are not all going to be over geared for the instances for a while). So having the extra range to get in and place saps can come in handy.

Poisons - This allows you to apply your poisons 50% faster. Really just for all those impatient us out there. (You know that describes that vast majority of us.) This one may catch some people by surprise because it is actually a new/old glyph. Originally this was the Glyph of Vanish but it was converted into this so you may already know it even though it is new.

Pick Pocket - Increases the range of picking pockets by 5 yards. Now I personally use this one rather than Poisons but that is because I have a MAJOR problem with sticky fingers. What can I say I like presents? Though I am still rather bitter that Arthas doesn't have any pockets.....

Blurred Speed - Allows you to walk on water when you cast Sprint. With Sprint's cool down now reduced to 1 minute from 3 minutes this may increase in popularity with a great many Rogues. I know quite a few who enjoyed playing "Jesus" all the time.

Pick Lock - Allows you to instantly open a locked box. Now this is nice if you are a rogue who does nothing more than open all your guild's locked boxes or stands on the local mail box hawking your skills. However since frankly the amount of those lovely things has greatly diminished in recent years *cry* so has the usefulness of this glyph.

Major Glyphs are located in the middle section of the glyph interface, they are the same size as the minors but have a decorative border similar to a gem socket. Choices in this area are really going to depend on what you are doing with your character. Are you raiding? Pvping? Leveling? Along with this will be what spec you decide to go with as your primary. Only one major change here the others are all glyphs we are already familiar with. So I will start with the change then give the others in no particular order.

If you look in the list of glyphs it will list "Vanish" as a learnable glyph Major Glyph but this is in fact an error. As was stated in the Minors "Vanish" as been converted into the Minor glyph "Poisons" so while it is listed as a learn able glyph it is in fact unavailable.

Ambush - Increases the range of  Ambush by 5 yards. With the resurgence of Subtlety as a viable spec this glyph may actually see some use.

Blade Furry - Reduced the energy regeneration penalty by 50% while Blade Furry is active. For Combat Rogues this is a very good glyph to have.

Blind - Removes all damage over time effects from the target. It is basically our version of Polymorph, minus all the cute, cuddly shapes. This is a new glyph added this patch. For Pvp there is no doubt this is a very useful one to consider.

Cloak of Shadows - When Cloak of Shadows if active you take 40% less physical damage. Again another nice Pvp glyph.

Crippling Poison - Increases the chance to inflict your target with Crippling Poison by 20%. Ok, something nice to say about this glyph....um....yeah...coming up empty here. It helps fill your low level glyph slot? Honestly I can't think of a single reason to use this glyph, EVER.

Deadly Throw - Increases the slowing effect of your Deadly Throw by 20%. Pvpers MAY like this but to be honest I can think of better ways to use a Major slot. Ever since they removed the interrupt ability from Deadly Throw the usefulness of it has been limited.

Evasion - Increases the duration of Evasion by 5 seconds. Again another Pvp, or Rogue Tank glyph. Leveling rogues may also like this one, at least ones who have a difficult time understanding the choose your fight play style of rogues.

Expose Armor - Increase the duration of Expose Armor by 12 seconds. Now this glyph can be very useful if you tend to run 10 man raids without a warrior. While it may not increase your PERSONAL dps it can certainly impact your groups over all dps. It may not be a bad idea to consider keeping a little Vanish Powder just for this glyph and those situations.

Fan of Knives - Increases the radius of your Fan of Knives by 50%. Ah, FoK our AoE loveliness....use this farming, use this for trash, use this to get in trouble with tanks, no wait forget I mentioned that last part....

Feint - Reduces the energy cost of Feint by 20. This glyph's significance has changed due to the change to feint itself with this patch. Before Feint scaled as you leveled up really being a pretty useless ability until you got to higher levels and granted not only the treat reduction but damage reduction from AOE. Now that ability is granted at even lower levels making it a tasty

Garrote - Increases the duration of Garrote's silencing ability by 2 seconds. This glyph has undergone some changes. Originally it increased the damage dealt over the duration of the effect now it only effect the silencing ability, as a result this glyph as really been significantly nerfed. Some Pvpers may like it but I can think of other openers which could be more beneficial.

Gouge - Reduces the energy cost of Gouge by 15. This is a glyph that has undergone some change. Originally it allowed you to use the ability without target needing to be facing you, as that requirement has now been removed the glyph was changed to be a reduction in energy cost for the move itself. As this can also be used as in interrupt it is another major which individuals may find themselves using for specific situations, however not one I see many using regularly unless perhaps as a Subtlety Pvp rogue.

Kick - Increases the cool down of Kick by 4 sec, but this cool down is reduced by 6 second when your kick successfully interrupts a spell. Another glyph that has undergone a great many changes, going from a Vigor/Assassination energy rewarding form to its present wild card. If you time it right you can reduce your kick cool down by 2 seconds, if not, you could be increasing it by 4.  So just how much confidence do you have in yourself? Are you feeling lucky?

Preparation - Your Preparation ability also instantly resets the cool down of Kick, Dismantle and Smoke Bomb. A must have for Subtlety Rogues.

Sap - Increases the duration of Sap against non-player targets by 80 seconds. So if you get this glyph you can sap a non-player target for about 2 minutes and 20 seconds. This is NOT a Pvp glyph obviously but again as we are going into Cata and will be dealing again with the need for CC, this may be a glyph you should look at depending on the situation.

Sprint - Increases the movement speed of Sprint by 30%. About the only time I see this get used is in Pvp. Specifically in Warsong Gulch or Eye of the Storm. If you want wings on your feet, this is the way to go.

Tricks of the Trade - Removes the energy cost of Tricks of the Trade but reduces the recipient's damage bonus by 5%. This is another glyph that was modified. Originally it would extend the duration of ToT by four seconds. Now depending on what you used ToT for you will either consider this a blessing or a curse. Personally I used it more often as a way to offset my threat so I welcome this change with open arms. Those who traded ToT with others will miss the damage exchanges though.

Prime Glyphs are the newest addition and are located on the outer most section of the glyph interface. The largest and most decorative of the sockets, these Glyphs contain both old favorites as well as some new additions with interesting results. I will begin with the newest additions and then go on to the others.

Revealing Strike - Increases the Revealing Strike's bonus effectiveness to your finishing moves by 10%. Revealing Strike use to be called "Ghostly Strike" and was a staple for Subtlety rogues. It has now been granted to ALL rogues, but does that make it useful to us all? It all depends on the situation. Some Combat Rogues are finding it useful to throw it into their rotations, breaking up the constant SS spam before their finishers, add this glyph as well and it could equal a dps increase but I see it as more of a Subtlety glyph than anything else.

Vendetta - Increase the duration of Vendetta ability by 20%. This is another one that is based on a new ability (and if you also have a Death Knight might cause you a little frustration as they used the same name for two COMPLETELY different things). This glyph and ability are basically replacing the unlamented "Hunger for Blood" VERY yummy for the Assassination rogues...your going to want this.

Adrenaline Rush - Increase the duration of Adrenaline Rush by 5 seconds. No change here. Same glyph as before just a Prime rather than a Major. Combat Rogues may find it useful as they level.

Backstab - Backstab critical strikes grant 5 energy. Ok, another not really very useful glyph here. MAYBE a Subltey rogue could use it but I can think of a whole bunch of much better ones.

Eviscerate - Increase the critical strike chance of Eviscerate by 10%. As attractive as this glyph looks for Combat rogues there really are better glyphs out there to use over it.

Hemorrhage- Your Hemorrhage ability also causes the target to bleed, dealing 40% of the direct strike's damage over 24 seconds. This is another Subltey Rogue glyph, however it really only preforms well in a raid setting. Now with the changing we are seeing in Cata Subltey Rogues in Raids may NOT be a thing of the past so this glyph may see some use again, only time will tell.

Killing Spree - Increases the bonus to your damage while Killing Spree is active by 10%. Sigh, have I mentioned recently I LOVE this move? Ok, I LOVE this move. It is just FUN, there is such an element of danger when you use it. Yeah, Combat Rogues, this is a glyph you are going to want to have.

Mutilate - Reduces the cost of Mutilate by 5 energy. The bread and butter of the Assassination Tree, no question you want to pick up this glyph to increase your efficiency.

Rupture - Increases the duration of Rupture by 4 seconds. At one point this glyph was very beneficial and a must have for Combat Rogues as Rupture was a staple of our rotation. At this point I think it is still to early to call if we will get Rupture back as a major feature or not.

Shadow Dance - Increases the duration of Shadow Dance by 2 seconds. This is another FUN move found at the Top of the Subtlety Tree. If you have never taken the time to play around with it DO. It has undergone a great deal of reworking over the past few years since it was first introduced. Some swear by this glyph while others pass it by in favor of others it really comes down to personal play style.

Sinister Strike - Your Sinister Strike has a 20% chance to add an additional combo point. For Combat this is a bread and butter Glyph...lets be honest, why is the tree even CALLED Combat? We should just call it "Sinister Strike Spam" or SSS for short. But then we would just sound like a bunch of snakes and the Hunters would be trying to tame us like they do the Druids...

Slice and Dice - Increase the duration of Slice and Dice by 3 seconds. Now I personally like this one and find it very useful, I have used it for a long time and so far haven't found a replacement as it allows me to extend my dps time before I have to worry about refreshing Slice and Dice as Combat or Subtlety.

So there you have it, the new changes and the glyphs we currently have available to us. If see anything updated about the Vanish glyph bug I will try to report it but so far it just seems to be there taunting us with its yumminess.

Quest Extinction

When I first heard they were going to bring the King of Stormwind back I never ONCE considered the fate of Marshal Windsor. I know many hated this chain but I LOVED it. By the time Burning Crusade came around I had it down to such a science I could get a guildie attuned to Onyxia's Lair in just over three hours. Escorting Marshal Windsor to Bolvar was a rite of passage. I remember running it once with a guild mate on their first Alliance toon and their awe at the amount of lore we had as compared to the Horde for going after the Brood Mother. New players will never be able to understand why old Veterans tear up at the end of the Wrathgate chain. Why the sacrifice Bolvar makes at the defeat of Arthas so touches Alliance players. All of that from one quest chain now extinct.

As we get closer and closer to Cataclysm, seeing more hints at how greatly the world we have wandered is about to change a disheartening idea came to mind. How many quests I once enjoyed will go the way of the Dodo? Now Blizzard has let us know that they are basically completely erasing ALL the old world quests and re doing them. This could mean anything from they completely start over from scratch to they rework old ones to better fit what is going on in the present world.

So I have to quest the fate of some of my favorite quests. Will young Pamela and the terrors of Darrowshire no longer touch us as the Plaguelands are reworked? While this quest chains rewards are not spectacular all those who completed the Battle of Darrowshire were touched by it. I have lost count of how many Machinima have been made using this single quest as inspiration. Even a fantastic song by Cranius continues to touch with memories. Many of the comments coming from those in the Beta discuss the many changes effecting those zones.

Near by there is also Nathanos Blightcaller....once the only human Ranger, trained under Sylvanas while she was still a High Elf, now the leader of the Horde forces in the Eastern Plaguelands and the Banshee Queen's Champion. Blizzard has already stated that this Stead will be going away. While this is not surprising as few people take the time to complete his chain now a days since they can no longer find individuals to help, I find it sad because his story is so unique. Sure he may be coming back in a greater position with the introduction of Forsaken Hunters but he will only belong to the Horde, the Alliance may lose any connection with his fascinating lore.

Thousand Needles is getting flooded, is there any way that the Raceway participants will survive? (Yes, yes I know leaks have already answered this one.)  Should we all get our chickens now in preparation or will rumors come true and Magus Tirth relocate to a new home? What about Lonebrow's Journal? This quest chain was something only hardy questers usually discovered. I admit this was the ONLY reason I ever ventured into Razorfen Kraul. Having spent the majority of my childhood hanging out on a farm entering a dungeon that stunk of pigs was not my idea of a fun time. However the lore contained there in about the Horde was rather interesting.

Will the Southsea Pirates get washed out of their hidden cove in Tanaris? Recently revealed pictures of Gadgetzan show it as beach front property. I personally always liked Haughty Modiste and would be sad to see her go. Even Stranglethorn Vale is getting a rework, what will happen to the Bloodsails and Steamwheedle Cartel?

At this point I am taking alts and running through some of these beloved quest chains one last time. What about you? Are there any quests out there you would be sad to see go? Any that have already disappeared whose loss you feel keenly? One of the problems with Beta, even closed Beta is it is like block buster movie with a limited release. Those that see it keep telling us all about it wither we want to know the details or not. They forget that not everyone else has the option viewing it at their leisure. I don't mind if they mention how well the actors were cast or the costuming but when they give me the whole story line...it spoils all the fun of watching it for myself.

Gear vs Skill

For a very long time now people have equated gear with skill in WoW. If you were running around in raid level gear then you must have raid level abilities right? Well, yeah to a point. In Vanilla WoW having high level gear was not so much about SKILL as TIME. If you wanted to sport epic level gear you needed to have hours a day to focus on either PvP, raiding or at the very least earning money. Forty man raids were HUGE investments. To rank up in PvP battle grounds took not only WINNING but countless hours for battle time.

When Burning Crusade was introduced so was a level of play that was more "casual friendly". While you could STILL tell just by looking who participated in end game raiding or intense Pvp, those who may have had the time in College had now moved on to jobs and family.  This change allowed many of them to continue to push the envelope without having to completely sacrifice real life. Raids could now be done with only 10 or 25 people in just a few hours a night. A badge system was introduced in which you could obtain gear from doing Heroic dungeons only. By the end of Burning Crusade you could also obtain raid level gear with out ever setting foot in an actual raid. The concept of "farming Heroics" was born.

Enter Wrath and suddenly EVERYONE is able to sport raid level gear without ever setting foot in an actual raid. For some this was extremely annoying as they could no longer tell just by LOOKING at an individual what they were capable of. Raids suddenly became puggable so you no longer had to dedicate HOURS of  game time to seeing content. But there was a problem here. As gear became more accessible being KNOWLEDGEABLE about what to do with that gear didn't necessarily scale.  Many people today use gear score to determine if someone is capable of a raid but you can still have individuals in GREAT gear who fail to  perform to that level. This is because they never learned how to work as part of a team or the finer points of playing their character. Case in point I was in a VOA the other day with a mage who had a gear score of at least 2300 but was doing UNDER 1000k dps. Quick leveling and lack of knowledge shows.

The good thing about the over abundance of gear is that raiding guilds no longer have to deal with individuals who cause difficulty for their teams. They can EASILY find someone equivalently geared OR gear up someone else who is a better fit without adversely effecting their raid schedule. If the only reason a person has kept a raid spot before this was they provided a specific desirable buff, raid leaders can now look instead at getting someone in there who pays attention and knows what they are doing without causing drama.

While gear has its place it will only get you so far. Blizzard has leveled the playing field in a way. Those who started playing this game 5 years ago no longer have to "retire" from raiding because of time constraints. At the same time your ability to utilize your characters will get you MUCH further. Sure a lot of pug leaders will ask your gear score to see if you are at a specific level Blizzard has stated an instance is designed for. By doing this they can usually ASSUME you SHOULD be capable performing. At the same time individuals like Gevon can push the envelop by attempting those SAME instances with individuals "Undergeared" but TALENTED and COMMITTED enough to get every last bit out of them.

Now not all people enjoy this type of game play. Personally I PREFER to go into an encounter blind, figure it out with my team mates and over come it. However I know that MANY in my guild do not....they don't like "failure" they want "easy wins", to go in knowing that success will come QUICKLY. Delayed gratification is a foreign and uncomfortable concept for them. I remember one former guild member telling me "three wipes is to many". My attitude is "No, look at wipes as learning opportunities." If you want to sing the song of progression, the chorus is full of wipes. There was a time when raid leaders couldn't rely on places like Tankspot and Bosskillers to educate players before they ever see an encounter.

Now when you are PUGGING you can't EXPECT people to have that dedication, there is no "team" there. I HAVE been a part of a few that WERE able to press on and over come but they are rare and most of us were at least FAMILIAR with one another. So pugs will generally take the EASIEST manor in which to judge, which translates into gear score and achievements. Why? Because they want the GUARANTEE of success. Nothing annoys me more than when I see a pug leader who demands a specific achievement and gear score only to discover that they themselves do not meet it. All they are looking for at that point is to have others carry them through and your raid is most likely due to failure.

When it all comes down to it I really do believe that Blizzard is attempting to make SKILL more important than GEAR. As gear becomes more available to the average player, more are capable of enjoying the instances and raids they have designed. On the other hand TALENTED players can go further by pushing the envelope more rapidly than in the past. We have become jaded by forgetting that we have been playing this game for a long time too. WE have developed tools that allow us to learn more rapidly as well in the form of spreadsheets, Addons, and Blogs. I can't quite buy the line that Blizzard is totally making the game easier. While they ARE making it more ACCESSIBLE to the player base that has CHANGED over the years,  many of us have grown beyond the stage where we have endless hours to spend raiding or pvping and all that demands. (Like cash for repairs.) The raids they have introduced are also requiring a GREAT deal more awareness and movement by the player base. How many raid encounters can you think of where all you do is stand there and "pew pew" away?

I know some of the self proclaimed "hard core" gamers will disagree. As far as they are concerned WoW has gotten TO EASY! I can easily live with them disagreeing with me as I will never qualify as an "Elitest Jerk" cracking hard modes shortly after they become available. My style is to get to the end but enjoy the journey there. Consider this though, when Yoggy and the Lich King were first introduced how many of those "Top Players" PRACTICED on PTR every time they could or at the very least were checking out every BIT of information they could find on those encounters before hand? In addition to that how many of them did "alt runs" first so that their timers were not adversely effected while they learned an encounter?  How much is it that the game has gotten easier verses the top players have gotten SMARTER and more able to find ways to get around the limits Blizzard sets?

Recently Blizzard announced that 10 and 25 man raids will now share a lock out. In addition to this both 10 and 25 man raids will share the same loot table. They also stated that we can expect to have several raids available to us when Cataclysm begins, all of relatively limited length, say 5 or 6 bosses total each. If you go with the thesis that it is more about SKILL than GEAR then Raid Leaders stating "we will be looking at taking our BEST players rather than scrounging to fill a raid" further pushes this idea. "Terribad Ninjas" are going to have a MUCH harder time finding raids to scam especially as the number of Pug raids dramatically decreases. Being a member of a guild is DEFINITELY going to be something people will see as a necessity. Hopefully these two changes alone will assist individuals in discovering enjoyable game play as they progress. The idea of being able to have raids filled with people you ENJOY and that know what they are doing certainly has great appeal doesn't it?

Cataclysm Raid Changes

Blizzard dropped a bombshell today in their release of changes to how they are planning to handle both loot and raid progression in at least the first portion of Cataclysm.

combining all raid sizes and difficulties into a single lockout. 10- and 25-player modes of a single raid will share the same lockout. You can defeat each raid boss once per week per character. Normal versus Heroic mode will be chosen on a per-boss basis in Cataclysm raids, the same way it works in Icecrown Citadel. Obviously the raid lockout change doesn't apply in pure Icecrown terms though, as this change goes hand-in-hand with a few other changes to raid progression in Cataclysm.

In other words you will only be able to do a raid once a week per toon and will need to decide if you want to do it in 10 or 25. This is going to KILL the 25 man pugs we are seeing today and also greatly limit the amount of gear and badge framing we see in more progressed guilds.

We're designing and balancing raids so that the difficulty between 10- and 25-player versions of each difficulty will be as close as possible to each other as we can achieve. That closeness in difficulty also means that we'll have bosses dropping the same items in 10- and 25-player raids of each difficulty. They'll have the same name and same stats; they are in fact the exact same items. Choosing Heroic mode will drop a scaled-up version of those items. Our hope is that players will be able to associate bosses with their loot tables and even associate specific artwork with specific item names to a far greater extent than today.

Dungeon Difficulty and Rewards
10- and 25-player (normal difficulty) -- Very similar to one another in difficulty; drop the exact same items as each other.
10- and 25-player (Heroic difficulty) -- Very similar to one another in difficulty; drop more powerful versions of the normal-difficulty items. 

Not that long ago there was a huge debate on Wow.com regarding just this issue. Eliah Hecht brought forth the premise that 25 man raids should not drop better loot than 10 mans. Well he is getting his wish. Now we have to see if the response is as predicted. The end of 25 man raiding. There reason for this change is as follows:

We of course recognize the logistical realities of organizing larger groups of people, so while the loot quality will not change, 25-player versions will drop a higher quantity of loot per player (items, but also badges, and even gold), making it a more efficient route if you're able to gather the people. The raid designers are designing encounters with these changes in mind, and the class designers are making class changes to help make 10-person groups easier to build. Running 25-player raids will be a bit more lucrative, as should be expected, but if for a week or two you need to do 10s because half the guild is away on vacation, you can do that and not suffer a dramatic loss to your ability to get the items you want.

It is this next bit that has me holding out for hope though.

We recognize that very long raids can be a barrier for some players, but we also want to provide enough encounters for the experience to feel epic. For the first few raid tiers, our plan is to provide multiple smaller raids. Instead of one raid with eleven bosses, you might have a five-boss raid as well as a six-boss raid. All of these bosses would drop the same item level gear, but the dungeons themselves being different environments will provide some variety in location and visual style, as well as separate raid lockouts. Think of how you could raid Serpentshrine Cavern and Tempest Keep separately, but you might still want to hit both every week.

It sounds like when Cata hits we will have several SMALLER raids available to us. So you could potentially do one each night OR if you were like some guilds I know, clear all of them in a single night then run alt nights the rest of the week.

We do like how gating bosses over time allows the community to focus on individual encounters instead of just racing to the end boss, so we're likely to keep that design moving forward. We don't plan to impose attempt limitations again though, except maybe in cases of rare optional bosses (like Algalon). Heroic mode may not be open from day one, but will become available after defeating normal mode perhaps as little as once or twice.

Not exactly clear on what they are going for here. They like gated encounters but not the limits? I am guessing they are going for like they did with ICC, you can't hit heroic until you have cleared it on normal.

In terms of tuning, we want groups to be able to jump into the first raids pretty quickly, but we also don't want them to overshadow the Heroic 5-player dungeons and more powerful quest rewards. We'll be designing the first few raid zones assuming that players have accumulated some blue gear from dungeons, crafted equipment, or quest rewards. In general, we want you and your guild members to participate in and enjoy the level up experience.

This bit sounds like the "introductory raids" are going to play out like Nax did. Those who hit 85 will be able to step right in wearing their higher level raiding gear and whatever crafted or Heroic items they pick up on the way. The big question is going to be: Are guilds going to even bother trying to form up 25 mans and the headaches those can produce when they can get the same items with fewer players?

The response of course has been a similar to what Mr Hecht encountered. For smaller guilds this could be a blessing. Larger progression guilds may find themselves in trouble and even worse the unguilded. At this point I can't see how you will be able to raid WITHOUT being a part of a guild. Perhaps this is part of the point as they are also reworking the ways guilds function in Cata as well.

If you haven't taken the time to check out the original post by Blizzard and the ensuing responses it is located here.