14 Things to do to Prepare for Cataclysm

LEADING UP TO THE SHATTERING

1. Fill Your Quest Log

 
We have a 25-quest cap and you should take every opportunity to complete as many quests prior to Cataclysm as you can.  But, DO NOT turn them in.  Rather, leave them active in your log and wait until you can benefit from the EXPERIENCE POINTS they can yield.  The moment leveling to 85 is unlocked, turn them all in.  22,000 XP * 25 Quests = over 500,000 Experience!  That should be almost 10% of a level, basically for free!

2. Empty Your Bags

Aside from the dozen-or-so quest items you have to keep around, remove all of the clutter.  Here's a news flash for you: [Eternal Fire] or [Stupid Broad Sword off of Trash] isn't gonna mean JACK-CRAP in Cataclysm.  Send them all to a bank alt, and keep only your Hearthstone, consumables, a spare set of armor, and required quest items around.

3. Load Up on Consumables

Regardless of the fact that stats are being increased almost exponentially, you still will benefit from additional Attack Power or Spell Power.  So, I will be carrying: 20x [Flask of Choice], 40x [Potion of Choice], and 40x [Food of Choice].  Additionally, I will wait to purchase the new water, but I'll load up there, too.
 

4. Reformat Your Computer

WoW is not a resource hog, it's a 6 year old game.  However, it can be a resource hog if you want it to be.  Crank your settings to MAX for Cataclysm, because we are about to see Azeroth as never before!  The art and the scenery should be the greatest and most beautiful, and I, for one, want to see it all!  Therefore, I'll be clearing all the junk I've been accumulating over the last 6-months and committing nearly all the resources of my i5 Quad Core and ATI 5770 1GB processors to WoW!

5. Bookmark These Websites

Wowhead
Wowpedia
Max DPS
MMO-Champion

There are countless useful resource websites devoted to WoW, this is a list of a few of my favorites.  But make sure they are open in a browser and ready to go, once Cataclysm drops.  You'll need a quick point of reference, if you get stuck on a quest and the last thing you want to be doing is filling /1 with babble that no one will want to help you with.

6. Purchase the Expansion

Leave the comfort of your house? Psh!  Don't even worry about getting out of your chair.  Just purchase and begin the digital download directly from Blizzard! Click here

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THE DAY BEFORE

 

1.Set Your Hearthstone to Stormwind (or Orgrimmar)

Stormwind will be where you pick up the initial quest Into the Abyss, that will take you off on your leveling journey.  So be ready to do your business in Northrend and then quickly jump to Stormwind.  REMEMBER THE PORTALS TO MAJOR CITIES WILL BE REMOVED, so don't count on them the morning of Cata.

2. Park Your Main in Storm Peaks or Icecrown

Member all those quests you ground last month?  Turn 'em in the moment you log on, via flying tour of Northrend.  Then, jump to Dalaran to do your final bit of business, before experiencing Azeroth anew.

3. Download QuestHelper

from Curse

from Wow Interface


Save this for the DECEMBER 6th!  It will give the dev time to fit in any last-minute patches to the addon.

4. Get Some Sleep the Day Before

...and prepare for a sleepless day or two!




5. Clean Off Your Desk, Pop the Mt Dew in the Fridge, Stock Up on Frozen Pizza

Urinary Leg Bags from Amazon.com

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THE CATACLYSM ARRIVES!

 1. Turn in Those Quests

Cha-ching!  500,000+ XP incoming...

2. Choo Chooo!!! (train)

Train Professions - Check the link but I believe you will be able to train Illustrious Grand Master (525) in Dalaran, before you depart for questing

Train Archaeology Here  or  Here

Train Flight - Head to Krasus' Landing in Dalaran and pay 250g to learn flight in Azeroth

3. Begin the Journey

Depart for Stormwind and follow the questline that will lead you into Abyssal Maw!  And have fun exploring WoW's 3rd, and largest, expansion!!







Credits

Thanks to Wowhead and to Google Image Search.  And mostly, thanks to Project CWAL and their excellent guide: http://www.projectcwal.com/wow/cataclysm-alliance-starter-guide/#swprof

Fun fact: there are (12) mailboxes in Dalaran.

 

WTF

What The Fish??

I found this nutty gamepad from Splitfish, doing my research for my Gamepad Post.  Check it out here, it may be hard to actually find for sale, but it looks to be around $80-100.  May be a worthy investment, this thing (err... I mean, these things) look even more comfortable than a traditional gamepad.

WoW on a Gamepad

Playing World of Warcraft using a gamepad is a challenge, to say the least.  There are a unique set of obstacles we need to address because, WoW was designed around the mouse+keyboard.  Think back to the first time you played Halo on the X-box.  All those years of CS (Counterstrike) didn't do anything to help, did they?  Movement was clumsy and aiming was nearly impossible.

The first, and most obvious, obstacle to address is: you can't just plug a PS3 or 360 controller into a PC and expect it to do anything.  You need a interface that will allow you to bind each of the buttons to a key, or to a macro.  This is where Xpadder comes in handy.  After experimenting with several, I've found this application to be the most customizable.  To top it all off, it's very user-friendly!

There is a free version, but if you want the premium iteration, and updates, you can shell out $10.  And I'd encourage you do!  The free version is ever-so-slightly quirky and not bug-free.

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Sets

 

So L2 and R2 can be used to assign different "sets".  What this means, is that I can bind the A, B, X, Y (or whatever dumb shaped Sony uses) to THREE different spells.

For example...

[no modifier] A = Fireball
[hold L2] A = Fireblast
[hold R2] A = Blink

The possibilities are nearly endless!  That turns a basic 4-button controller into a powerful tool, capable of 28 different spells.  That's just about enough for any gamer!

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Benefits

• I can literally put WoW on my LCD TV, sit back on the couch, and game away
• ergonomically, I feel like it's far superior to hunching over a keyboard & mouse
• Keybindings are grouped in 4's, in a way that is easy to commit to memory, and quick to carry out

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Drawbacks

• Where to begin... I can't play my Healer, as the mouse cursor is slow and totally hard to control
• Movement is awkward, I struggle in PvP, especially with targeting and with turning
• No typing :(

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Conclusion

All things considered, I'm really happy with this solution.  It is simple and elegant, and most importantly, comfortable.  The huge drawback, and the thing that I can never get past, is that it is almost impossible to competitively game with this.  WoW just wasn't designed with a gamepad in mind =/

Still, I use this probably a couple times a month, especially when fishing, or when casually questing.

I am not what you would traditionally consider "disabled".  I don't sit in a wheelchair and, when we meet, my condition isn't immediately evident.

Rather, I suffer from an impinged disc in my back, that pinches against some nerve roots and causes chronic pain.  I deal with it, and I am still able to work and perform any normal activity, but it still is a disability, when it comes to gaming.

I am not able to use the traditional [Left-hand Mouse] + [Right-hand Keyboard] configuration of gameplay, as it causes me too much pain.  Over the last five + years, it has also costed me a lot of grief and money.  I REFUSE to quit gaming, though.

Instead, I have experimented and adapted my gameplay with a series of peripherals, re-mapping keys, additions to my desk, exercises, etc.  In this blog, we will explore my adventures as a "not-fully-able" gamer.  We'll laugh, we'll cry (salty, salty tears), and (most importantly): this will be a resource for gamers that suffer from any type of disability; a source of news, ideas, and encouragement.

Hang in there - you love gaming like I do, and together we'll make it work for us!

hiatus!

Just a note - I took a hiatus from blogging from July -> October of this year.


This came about, after realizing the sheer number of bloggers on my precise subject.  I read and enjoy 5-6 WoW blogs regularly and I needed a break, to find a new niche that I could blog from, without feeling as though I was copying others.

Enter: TRANQUIL RAIDER: a blog for disabled gamers.

I will discuss gaming for those who suffer from any type of disability that does not allow them to enjoy the traditional Mouse+Keyboard setup.

Alright, my arm is starting to tingle.  AFK!

It's all about MANA

I'm typing this as a raid, so run-on sentences ought to be excused.

I am crossing my fingers that, come Cata time, healing will be a game much more about mana management than time management.  I remember the days on the "FSR Shuffle" (when you would actually stop casting for, say, 30 secs at a time to regenerate mana) because... wait for it...  you didn't have bottomless pools of casting-juice!

Lemme break it down (LL Cool-J style, if I might).  There are two factors that make the healing game: time and mana.

Time is, the amount of time you are given to heal the incoming damage.  Too little time, and healing can become frantic and the raid will die because, welp there just weren't enough GCD's to get the job done.

Mana is the amount of resources you are allotted to get the job done.  If you could cast endlessly (think most of WoTLK raids), you would just cast your fastest/best heal all the time.  That's why Druids are Rejuv bots, Shammies are CH bots, and Discs are bubble bots.

How 'bout an example, Epicmedic (me)?

Say a 25-man raid has 6 healers.  Say we 6 have 30,000 DPS tat must be healed, with spike damage on tanks.  Assume the Pallies and Priests take care of the tanks and the Druids and Shammies toss their AoE's and HoT's and we can manage, with no mana issues.

Now say that same group only has 15,000 DPS to heal through.  Pretty boring, eh?  Not if mana is an issue.  See, if healing spells were more expensive, the Shammy would have to consider, may actually have to use his brain before throwing a Chain Heal on everyone that sneezes.

Oh, and bonus!  It's less stressful.  Healing can feel like a job - it's fucking stressful when anyone, for any reason, at any time, can go from 30,000 HP to DEAD in less than a GCD.  It makes my wrist hurt, too.

Now, for most of Wrath of the Lich King, time has been much more an issue than mana.  And Blizzard has stated repeatedly that they want to make healing more dynamic, more responsive, and require more thought, than just spamming whatever is your best spell over and over (and ovvverrr).

Here's to balance!