Well, I've been doing pretty much what everyone has been doing for the last week-leveling. I've never been a speedy leveler as I don't really see the point. I'm currently 98 and into Nagrand. I did not complete any of the previous zones, so there may be some back tracking after 100. Here is just a bit of a ramble about my WoD experience so far.
For all the deservedly bad press the Survival spec gets, I've loved it for leveling. The heal you get from every kill is really nice, and combined with better traps and multi dots, you can take on quite a few mobs at the same time. I'm still trying to hit Kill Shot pretty often, but I'll be going to BM here shortly anyway. If you have a hunter yet to level I stongly recommend trying SV. It may be the last time you get to use for a while. Also, the new version of A Murder of Crows is BRILLIANT for leveling. Regular mobs always die before it's done, keeping the CD available constantly. And, you get to really enjoy the graphic on a single mob up close. It really gives me a "Death From Above!" feeling when I use it. Using a flock of birds to kill bird men? Even more win. Use AMoC for leveling! Trust me.
Took me about a minute to get used to the number squish. Wish it had happened sooner. Loved no flying the first time around. Not sure how I'll feel about it after two more characters get to 100. But if we never get flying in Draenor it won't be a big deal. They have designed for it pretty well. Still don't have enough bank or stable space. I probably never will.
Loved every zone except Spires of Araak. Partly didn't like it because the previous two were so damn beautiful. But mostly it was the crazy dark part. Maybe people with high end graphics or better monitors had a different experience, but that shit was way too dark for my tastes. I can tolerate Duskwood, but I'm probably skipping whatever I can the next time I level there. Which is too bad because..
The random quest reward upgrades happen a lot more than I expected. Even before I put a Dwarven Bunker up it felt like I was getting upgrades quite a bit. I went into Draenor with a 573 item level and started getting sidegrades as early as Talador when rewards were upgraded. Dwarven Bunker for the win.
The garrison rocks harder than I expected. It's fun to be there, and a 20 minute Hearthstone is perfect for keeping it from feeling like a chore to get there and back. Love the follower system so much. Great to feel like when I need a break to sleep, work, or watch a football game, I'm still progressing in these early weeks of the content. And I'm not usually a "take it to mobile and consoles!" person, but the follower missions system has mobile written all over it. That needs to happen yesterday. Needs to.
This is probably the most fun I've ever had leveling. That may explain whay I'm not quite ready to be done doing it on my favorite character.
Wednesday, November 19, 2014
Monday, November 3, 2014
It's Time To Fix The Stable
Having to go to town to switch hunter pets has annoyed me for a while. Now that I'm playing Beast Mastery as my main spec, it seems downright out of date. I'm going to stop you before you tell me how bad it used to be, and how I shouldn't be complaining at all. I was there for 3 total slots and having to learn pet abilities. And at this point in WoWs life, going to a stable master located only in major cities is just as outdated as seeking out a pet just to learn Growl (level 3). Or having only one spec.
The hunter stable hasn't been updated in any meaningful way since October of 1010. 49 months. That's almost as long as SoO has been out! Sure, we have gotten more slots. That is great. Personally, I would rather have a smaller stable work better than one where I can put all 600 pet skins in a window. The way our stable works now is inconvenient, outdated, and seemingly arbitrary.
What is the thinking behind being able to "carry around" five pets? Why five? There are 10 buffs/debuffs in the game, and there used to be more. OK, so it's not about buffs. Special abilities (Ancient Hysteria, etc.)? Maybe. There will be at least five of those in WoD depending on what you count. But the limit has been five since before Direhorns were in the game so..Frankly, there is no good reason I can think of to limit us to five pets out in the wild. It is just an arbitrary limit that will be forcing many, many hunters back to town in the next expansion. And it will force the rest of our group to wait while we do it.
Personally, I think we need a way to summon at least 25 pets these days. Why 25? I think a way for hunters to distinguish themselves is by having a complete stable of pet buffs and special abilities. I really enjoy checking the composition of a 5-man group, seeing what we need, and bringing that buff. Even if nobody notices, I get some small satisfaction out of "min/maxing" my pet. And if it makes the run a little quicker, all the better. So, to cover all the buffs, debuffs, and most special pet abilities we would need 15 slots. I say we need 25 because of a different quality of life change that we have had for years now: Dual Specs.
Remember, this whole idea of fixing the stable came out of my preparing to play BM for the first time since Burning Crusade. I'm actually pretty excited about it. That said, I know there will be times I will want or need to play another spec. Under the current stable, I'm going to have a strange mix of exotic and non-exotic pets, or go to the stable master every time I swap specs. When I'm BM, I'm going to want exotics. If I carry around 5 exotics, any time I switch specs I have no pet! Factor in not knowing which buffs I'm going to need until I zone into the group finder, and the whole thing becomes a mess. All the convenience of a second spec is negated if I still have to hit the stable master in town to use it. Some of the convenience of a flexible raid size is also lost if hunters need to keep porting in and out to get specific pets.
The hunter stable system is a relic of a game we don't play anymore. Regular trips to town used to be part of the WoW experience. All classes had to go there for reagents, repairs, to change talents, and of course good old ammunition. The only one of those systems that even still exists is repairs, and they remain more for economic reasons than anything else. Thanks to pets and expensive mounts, we don't need a town to repair, get and send mail, or even transmogrify. Hell, we don't even need to go to the bank anymore to use crafting materials that are stored there. But we still need a stable master? I don't think any other class still needs to go to town for basic game play.
There are lots of potential solutions to this situation. I want the stable fixed so desperately as I move forward as a BM hunter that I would be thrilled to get any of them. We could:
The hunter stable hasn't been updated in any meaningful way since October of 1010. 49 months. That's almost as long as SoO has been out! Sure, we have gotten more slots. That is great. Personally, I would rather have a smaller stable work better than one where I can put all 600 pet skins in a window. The way our stable works now is inconvenient, outdated, and seemingly arbitrary.
What is the thinking behind being able to "carry around" five pets? Why five? There are 10 buffs/debuffs in the game, and there used to be more. OK, so it's not about buffs. Special abilities (Ancient Hysteria, etc.)? Maybe. There will be at least five of those in WoD depending on what you count. But the limit has been five since before Direhorns were in the game so..Frankly, there is no good reason I can think of to limit us to five pets out in the wild. It is just an arbitrary limit that will be forcing many, many hunters back to town in the next expansion. And it will force the rest of our group to wait while we do it.
Personally, I think we need a way to summon at least 25 pets these days. Why 25? I think a way for hunters to distinguish themselves is by having a complete stable of pet buffs and special abilities. I really enjoy checking the composition of a 5-man group, seeing what we need, and bringing that buff. Even if nobody notices, I get some small satisfaction out of "min/maxing" my pet. And if it makes the run a little quicker, all the better. So, to cover all the buffs, debuffs, and most special pet abilities we would need 15 slots. I say we need 25 because of a different quality of life change that we have had for years now: Dual Specs.
Remember, this whole idea of fixing the stable came out of my preparing to play BM for the first time since Burning Crusade. I'm actually pretty excited about it. That said, I know there will be times I will want or need to play another spec. Under the current stable, I'm going to have a strange mix of exotic and non-exotic pets, or go to the stable master every time I swap specs. When I'm BM, I'm going to want exotics. If I carry around 5 exotics, any time I switch specs I have no pet! Factor in not knowing which buffs I'm going to need until I zone into the group finder, and the whole thing becomes a mess. All the convenience of a second spec is negated if I still have to hit the stable master in town to use it. Some of the convenience of a flexible raid size is also lost if hunters need to keep porting in and out to get specific pets.
The hunter stable system is a relic of a game we don't play anymore. Regular trips to town used to be part of the WoW experience. All classes had to go there for reagents, repairs, to change talents, and of course good old ammunition. The only one of those systems that even still exists is repairs, and they remain more for economic reasons than anything else. Thanks to pets and expensive mounts, we don't need a town to repair, get and send mail, or even transmogrify. Hell, we don't even need to go to the bank anymore to use crafting materials that are stored there. But we still need a stable master? I don't think any other class still needs to go to town for basic game play.
There are lots of potential solutions to this situation. I want the stable fixed so desperately as I move forward as a BM hunter that I would be thrilled to get any of them. We could:
- Simply be able to access the whole stable anywhere. OK, maybe not inside arenas.
- Gain a slot every 10 levels, which would at least get us to 10. 5 for each of your two chosen specs.
- Sacrifice a garrison spot to get some kind of "magical" stable.
- A huge quest. This is hunters' green fire.
- Rare companion pet who can access the stable remotely, kind of like the Argent Squire.
- A crafted (expensive) item that can access the stable. Engineering, perhaps?
- A stupid expensive mount that has a stable master on it. I'd pay 200k for that convenience.
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