All Stories

Every story, article, column, piece, and so forth on World of Matticus ever published.

BETA: 10 Achievements that Will Make You Go WTF?

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So you’ve heard about the new Achievements in Wrath. They’re designed to help other players recognize you and your accomplishments. Many Achievements are easy to achieve such as winning a PvP match or doing 1000 quests in your time.

But a closer look at some of the other Achievements offered just make me cringe in what’s necessary to be able to accomplish them.

a-origHere is what my Achievements look like so far. I didn’t actually level to 80, but I did max out all of my non-crafting and gathering professions. I didn’t actually do 2000 quests either if you look at the updated statistics below.

The bar at the top shows how many Achievements you have. When you start playing Wrath from your 70 toon, expect to have around 20% of them complete. Actually, I might be wrong in this regard. Anyway, we’ll see when it goes live. I’m not sure how many Achievements most players will have.

I believe the number to the side of the Achievement name is the amount of points it’s worth. I’m not suite sure what those points will be used for.

Now, let’s find out more about our ridiculous and non-essential goals that we will do anyway for the sake of completion!

a5

City Defender

Ah the City Defender. You’re out late at night patrolling the streets of whatever Capital City you call your home. Usually, there aren’t that many assaults or sieges on capital cities unless you’re on a major PvP server. Not only that, but you have to physically land the killing blow? Or does it refer to just honorable kills? I have no idea. Any Horde want to ride into Stormwind on beta so I can take you out?

It’s re-DONK-ulous I tell you.

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To All the Squirrels I’ve Loved Before

I shoot them on sight. You know of my reaction to Murlocs. Critters are no less the same way. D.H.E.T.A. will hate me for it. But it’s the only way I can increase my place on the damage meters!

a8

My Sack is Gigantique

If the Achievement title doesn’t make you cringe slightly, then the cost to pick up one of these bad boys will. All you have to do is drop 1200G and you’ll get yourself 10 Achievement points. If you didn’t need bag space before, you won’t need it now.

a7

Well Read

Wow. Just wow. This is the scavenger hunt to end all scavenger hunts. The only book I really ever read was out in Scarlet Monastary about the crusades and all that against the Undead Scourge. 

Seriously, just look at all the reading you have to do. If you do plan on going for this, I salute you.

 

 

 

 

 a9

Master of Arms

I’m Holy. The only weapon skills I can max out are Staves, Maces, Wands, and Knives. I guess Unarmed can be thrown in there, too. Now if I can just find me a mob that won’t die  yet won’t hit hard enough to kill me.

a10 

That’s Gotta Hurt

Actually, this one isn’t so bad. You just need to make sure you’re standing in the right spot so you can sort of clip through the platform. The trick is to break the other team’s will so that they do spawn on the platform and stop trying to fight back so they can get out of there.

a1

We Had It All Along *cough*

Yes, we’ve all pull this off once. Some of the luckier ones managed to do it twice. But now that it’s in the game and winning by a margin of 10 actually matters, I bet it’s going to be one that not many players will be able to pull off easily.

a2 

Resilient Victory

Again, the problem is going to depend on the rest of your team. 500 resources is one hell of a handicap.This means pre made groups will have to sort of “throw the game” at the start before going full tilt later on.

a3 

The Alterac Blitz

No way. It takes 5 minutes to full capture a tower. By going straight down to Drek or Van and the time it takes to navigate the path and dodge Horde or Alliance forces, the timer will almost be over. If anyone has a serious thought or plan to do this, let’s hear it. The only way I can think of is to go straight to the General with both Warmasters up unless you can capture towers within 60 seconds. But even, that’s still a lot of time.

a4 

Damage Control

I’ve been able to accomplish this one myself with no problem. If you’re a Shaman, Chain Lightning as often as you can. If you’re a Priest, stay Holy and spam the heck out of everyone around you. Just make sure you hide and park yourself in a not-so-obvious spot.

Now that we’ve gone through some of the teeth grinding Achievements that can be done, I turn the hat over to you. What other nigh-impossible Achievements can you come up with? You’re free to use any aspect of Classic, TBC, or Wrath. What about Class specific Achievements? Is there any challenges that Priests or other individual healers can engage in?

World of Warcraft Meets Alltop – Where’s Matt?

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My favorite site to go to when I have nothing to do, nothing to play, or nothing to write about has just added a World of Warcraft section. Yes, as of today, worldofwarcraft.alltop.com is born!

So what exactly is Alltop?

The best way to think about it is as the “digital magazine rack” of the Internet. When I’m wandering around the mall, I’ll frequently pass by a book store and head in and skim the magazine section for any headlines or story that will catch my eye. Alltop works in much the same way except it’s not just limited to one topic.

My personal favourites:

gaming.alltop.com/
mac.alltop.com/
hockey.alltop.com/
blogging.alltop.com/
socialmedia.alltop.com/
design.alltop.com/
speaking.alltop.com/ (Presentation Zen and Slide:ology for sure)

And of course,

worldofwarcraft.alltop.com

Sadly, World of Matticus is not on there :(. But I’m glad to see a few familiar blogs like Out of Mana, Kinless’ Chronicles, Spicy Tuna, Resto4Life, Blessing of Kings, Mystic Chicanery, Honor’s Code, I Sheep Things and Eye for an Eye there at least!

(By the way Guy, if you’re reading this, the link to Blessing of Kings is pointed to his Blogger profile instead of his main blog)

The next time you’re looking for some WoW blogs to check out and Blog Azeroth has already been exhausted and you can’t find anything new on your usual hauntings, why not check out Alltop and see if there’s something you like?

The Five Forms of Failure

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Through the game of World of Warcraft, you will encounter frequent references involving the word fail. The usage has evolved to the point now where there are multiple types of fail which each have different meanings. As a gamer, it is now more important than ever to be able to distinguish between the various failings that people commit so that the you can make fun of them in an appropriate way.

You Fail

This type of fail is commonly directed to individuals. They commit an act that has made others around them wince. Although it is by no means the end of the world, at most, the effects will be a minor inconvenience to them and to others around them.

Examples: Hearthing back to Shattrath because they forgot gear or consumables.

Usage: WOW, you FAIL!

The Horrible Fail

An action that is a horrible fail is generally not considered far reaching or of any consequence. The fact that “you horribly fail” is attributed to a person’s skill at doing something (or more commonly, not doing something). For whatever reason, despite numerous attempts at coaching and teaching, the person is not able to step up to the level that is expected of them for the entire group to proceed.

Examples: Inability to click cubes, inability to run away from players when you are the “bomb”.

Usage: That pug group last night had some serious horrible fail going on.

The Massive Fail

Typically, the massive fail is directed at organizations instead of players. Perhaps the guild has worked on a boss for a massively long time. The massive fail is a representation of the leadership’s inability to accomplish anything meaningful. One way to tell if a Guild is massive fail is to observe their guild ad in the trade channel.

Starting Karazhan? Cool.
Have a Guild website? Perfect.
Ventrilo server? Nice.

But then they add something at the end along the likes of “we haz tabard!”

Honestly, is there nothing better to add to your ad then saying you have a tabard? That’s like my future fortune 500 company saying we’re experimenting exponential growth, 250% sales increase over the past 2 years, and that we have a logo!

But I digress.

Example: A revolving door guild that continuously attracts and loses players.

Usage: It’s a wonder how they got down Gruul with such massive fail going around.

The Failboat

Unlike the other fails, the failboat is an expression of a type of failure that has yet to occur. It’s described as a premonition or a feeling of foreshadowing. You don’t quite know what is going to happen, but you can’t shake the dread from your system.

Example: Having “that guy” in your raid, or noticing that you have a blue geared player in your Hyjal raid.

Usage: All aboard the failboat!

The Epic Fail

Lastly, but definitely in no way the least is the epic fail. Unfortunately, current society has thrown around the epic fail phrase for so long that they have forgotten the true nature and meaning of the epic fail! The epic fail is a form of failure where redemption is nigh impossible to achieve. An epic fail is a failure that only the most esteemed of failees can earn. The epic failure is of such failness that all matter moves away from them so as to not be associated.

And despite popular belief, not even the shields on the flagship of Admiral Ackbar can withstand the failpower of such magnitude.

Examples: A Warlock on a progression raid getting locked outside the doors of Illidrai council only to witness the 24 players within downing the boss while he gets a front row seat to the door of fail.

Usage: You’ll recognize it when you see it.

One Way to Piss Off a Blogger (Don’t Do It)

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commenting-fail

This comment is what prompted the comment policy I posted earlier. Allow me to illustrate the transgressions (Note: Click image to enlarge).

This is a screenshot from my dashboard showing the same comment posted in two different places. The title is a great way for a reader to know what they are getting into. In this case, the writer makes a case against raiding and wishes to publicize the post and attract feedback as well as traffic.

Unfortunately, a quick mouseover on which posts he comments on reveals that he pasted this on a short piece I did when I was dueling Wyn.

What on earth does a post on raiding have to do with a duel I had with Wyn?

Absolutely nothing!

Another point I want to address is the use of URL masking. Don’t get me wrong now, I love the service that TinyURL provides. Twitter followers will notice that I use them extensively when I tweet. However, this is mainly due to the 140 character restriction that Twitter has in place.

It’s not necessary to do that in a comment. Having a full length URL offers interested readers to at least know what they’re clicking on. For all we know, the masked link could lead to a merchant site or worse: A keylogging website.

On a completely different note, Blog Azeroth is a fairly tight knit community. So allow me to offer a word of advice for new bloggers. If you’re trying to break into the community, it’s generally a smart idea not to piss off bloggers on a grand scale. I’ve been told off the record that a significant number of bloggers have flagged the user’s comments above as spam. Some have even taken measures to block the IP address. I personally don’t care about sending this guy traffic. There’s no direct link here and only a few would even Google the clues I left open in the image. I have a feeling that most readers would go there once and then never return. The cost of traffic is outweighed by the hope that I can educate our younger bloggers on the proper practice of commenting and social interaction.

Although I wrote briefly before about the importance of reputation in WoW, that pales in comparison when you’re a blogger trying to establish yourself. Your reputation is dependant on the image you paint of yourself via comments and contents. Do not underestimate the social responsibilities that blogging brings. If you fail to recognize and respect this aspect of blogging, expect to crash and burn.

Matt’s Commenting Policy

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In the past week, I’ve seen a slight increase in the amount of comments I usually I get. You may not see them because either Wyn or I will shut them out. Then it struck me like a Chain Lightning. I should clarify my stance on comments on my blog so that people will know what will fly and what will not.

I know many readers tend to ignore comments on posts. Others like to immerse themselves in the post and any followup information after the fact for more gems of knowledge that would benefit them.

On the other side of the fence, there are bloggers who have a loose leash on the types of comments that they allow. I’m also aware of other prominent bloggers who tighten up their commenting to the point where a SWAT team would have to work just to even say something.

Now both perspectives have their merits and their disadvantages. Every blogger has their own standards and far be it from me to tell what other bloggers to do (hint: open it up). Some readers like to include a link or attach a text signature indicating who they are. Some allow cursing and others don’t.

So here’s what’s cool on Matt’s blog. Treat these as guidelines.

  1. Feel free to comment on anything – Commenting is a method for readers to communicate to the blogger and to other readers. A blog post that I write or that Wyn writes only serves as a conversation sparker. It’s up to the readers to decide if it’s something that’s worth their 2 cents. I don’t ever want anyone to not comment because they felt unwelcome. Any reader is welcome to comment on my blog. It makes no difference to me if you’ve just started playing WoW 3 hours ago on a Priest and you googled my page or if you’re a veteran Sunwell raider that has enough experience to give me pause. I say again, you are welcome to contribute regardless of your class, race, level, and whatnot.
  2. Irrelevant links will be deleted on sight – But this does not apply to all links. The bottom line on linking is that it’s the bread and butter way for other bloggers to gain exposure to other material on the blogosphere. I want to say for the record that I wholeheartedly encourage you to link to your posts in my comments on my blog. Seriously, how will I know if you’ve written something brilliant? I wish I had the time in the world to visit everyone’s blog and read what they write but I don’t. I rely on other bloggers and word of mouth. However, if your link is completely irrelevant to the post that I’ve written then I will toast it. If you do this repeatedly on multiple posts, then some more severe sanctions will take place.
  3. Relevant links are good – I want to see more –  Now, if you want to plug a post that you’ve written that has some relevance to a post that I’ve written, then by all means go ahead. I have no problems with anyone doing that. You should be proud of what you’re writing and I think I speak for everyone when I say multiple perspectives are always good. Blogging is a conversational tool. We write in response to what others write. Everyone wins because we all add to the discussion.
  4. Spam will get nuked – Any kind of enlargement services, or finance related things, or gambling, or WoW gold will get shot pretty fast. My spam filters are usually pretty good. If anything does make it through, it doesn’t stay up very long.
  5. Sigs are cool – I notice a fair number of you like to tag yourself at the bottom of a post with your character name, level and realm. Power to you guys! I can’t find fault in that in any way. I have a Commentluv plugin installed which links back to your latest blog post (if you have one)
  6. Attack the writing but not the writer – If you want to critique a post or correct myself or Wyn on a fact or a figure that we got wrong, by all means please do! It’s a similar philosophy in WoW where I will only attack a WoW player’s WoW playing ability. I will never attack the player personally. If I have a problem with you, it’s almost always technical related. Remember, I don’t have problems with WoW players. I have problems with the WoW playing. I’d like to see that same stance adopted here. It personally doesn’t bug me whenever someone says that “oh you’ve lost my respect Matt”. Who knows how many people I’ve annoyed and ticked off already. Don’t get me wrong, if for whatever reason I’ve lost your faith, I’d like to know why and to see if there’s anything I can do about it that wouldn’t jeopardize who am I as an individual or what this blog stands for. Simply put, I cannot change myself to make one person happy.
  7. But go easy on the guest posters – Guest posters are just that: Guests. These are individuals who wanted to try their hand at blogging and I’ve allowed them to do so here to change it up every once in a while. I have no problem with you disagreeing. Wyn, Syd and I often disagree with each other but we know how to communicate. Before you hit the post button, re-read what you write and see if it’s something you’re willing to say to someone face to face. You can express your opinions without coming across as a mean spirited ass.
  8. Some swearing – But easy on the F’s, okay? Self censorship encouraged.
Some last words

Remember that when you leave a comment, every letter, every word, and every thought you put down creates a lasting impression on the blogger and to their readers. What you comment on another person’s blog can easily make or break their reputation. They are a tribute to your ideals and your beliefs. Once they get painted negatively, it’s not easy to turn back. It’s simple to go from a positive light to a negative impression. But it is much more difficult to go from a hated blogger to a loved blogger.

Please do take the time to ensure that the comment you leave is a reflection of the individual that you are. Keep this in mind the next time you decide to comment on any blog not just my own.