Malchome's Mind on Gaming

Well my first summary post ran much longer in the first section than I estimated so I have now made this a multi part review. In this part I will focus on the new Looking for Group system. Also given that I started this post right after my part one and 2 weeks have passed it will be very different than what I was first picturing.

LFG System

I hope by now we all know what this system is or at least to what it references. Put simply it is a dynamic automatic group building tool that will match players across servers within a given battle group.

Is it good? Yes.

Is it great? Some would say, I put it somewhere between good and great.

Could it be better? Like all programs, yes.

The caveat with the last one, could it be better, is to do this additional metrics or parameters would be needed. Some of these metrics could come from the Battle.Net upgrade that is going on behind the scenes. When we can start to communicate with friends across realms and maybe even battle groups the social networking aspects of Battle.Net could be leveraged to refine the matching system.

Social Metrics

Currently mods like Elitist Group can do this a limited extent, however it is all client side and is limited. If new social metrics are included in the Battle.Net part of the client for use with the LFG system it opens up possibilities beyond the just queue and hope for the best. If we are able to rate people both for a personal rating and a global performance (thumbs up)/(thumbs down) on both the character/player/guild level it could lead to a better LFG experience overall. Additionally the system should also track how many times a player quits a dungeon half way through or gets vote kicked. However like the star rating system in Ebay there should be a way for a person to defend themselves from undo elitist idiots and the occasional ISP hiccup which is not the fault of Blizz or the player.

Actually I hope when the next full version of Battle.Net is released that it becomes a separate client than the WoW or Starcraft Client. That then has the ability to launch or call the other individual clients with a hand off of credentials so those of us that multi-box or may have a Startcraft and a WoW running at the same time don’t have to constantly re-authenticate each time we close the client.

Personal Metrics and Preferences

5-Mans and Raids

The ideas options I am going to list here are the ones that I think would be best to implement as they are impartial and are not directly abusable as some of the social networking system could. Performance recaps after each instance run. We all know how WoW Web Stats and other logging mechanisms work for raiding. Just extend this to 5 mans except where it is a client side action the recap information would be server side with summary information displayed to the client. The player specific performance summary would then be stored and compiled/updated daily and weekly like the pvp honor gains and kills.

• Deaths/Instance
• If not Tank Role # of times pulled Threat
• DPS in Combat
• DPS inside 5 second rule. So if not casting dps is not calculated.
• Damage Taken
• Total Damage Taken by Party
• Total Damage Healed by Character
• TPS
• % of Total Damage dealt by Party in Instance on KoS mobs not critters.
• # times went AFK
• # times went idle for more than 30 seconds.

I realize this is a lot of extra information and if something like this was ever implemented there would have to be a lot of considerations as to where to put and store the massive amount of data that is generated by WoW.

Additionally this should be extended to logs from raid IDs. Accessible when logged into the armory. Go to the character view the Raid IDs they are associated with and get a direct download CVS/XML or some other format. This will then remove the out of range issues that arise with current client side information gathering tools. This would also allow players to track who is using the IDs that they are associated, which would also help with some of the drama that has occurred with raid ID stealing in the past.

Training Quests – Rated Performance Quests

I thought of this concept when I was talking on Ventrilo with other members of Conspiracy .   We were discussing at the time the fail dps, tank, or healers that we sometimes encounter in groups. There needs to be a way to evaluate people that is not tied to gear or the groups of people they associate with. You can be pulled through almost any and all content if the people you are with have enough gear.

During the discussion we talked about the Argent Dailies, yes they got repetitive but they taught you how to joust. So for sake of brevity what we need are a series of repeatable quests that train and rate our ability performing different tasks related to the roles that we can perform. These quests would be repeatable and not just daily. They can be a good way to practice group mechanics while solo playing so you don’t have to rely on others to practice. Matticus made a post about things he learned about group healing while doing a quest.

On a separate note if we are going to continue to use vehicles in quests, dungeons and raids, we need a sandbox area where we can practice how to use the vehicle. NPCs to use other parts of a multiple seat vehicle would be useful if the other positions have something to do as well. The abilities of the practice vehicle need to be the same as the abilities of the ones we use when it matters. To do otherwise robs us of the ability to know what we are doing and are not just thrust into something and say do it. We play the game hopefully because we like playing our chosen class not some vehicle.

Oh the rating we gain from the quests would also need to show up based on our Battle.net account. So that even if we see the lvl 30 or freshly hit level cap n00b we can see if they are truly new or have done something on another character.

Now this system would be completely optional but giving more neutral metrics to use when evaluating people when we get randomly thrown together is always appreciated and really needed. Most the add-ons that do this for us now are resource hogs and contribute more to the Lag we all experience than most people realize.

Personal Preferences

This last one could be problematic but something needs to be implemented that allows us when we random queue to have a little more control over where we end up. In the simplest of implementations it would be that as long as more than 5 dungeons are selected it will count as a random for purposes of daily rewards and such. As a tank there are some dungeons that I just won’t tank. That really only leaves H-HoR but at least one of my tanks is getting to the point of being geared enough to get thrown into queue for it and I just don’t want to tank it. I don’t mind tanking any other instance but I completely despise that dungeon. There are only 2 ways that it is a viable dungeon. Either have good enough gear to survive it while “cheating” by hiding in a corner. Or to completely over gear it to the point that there is no reason to run the damn thing. I think that is my real problem with the dungeon. It is tuned such that the only time it is manageable is when you have such a level of gear that you don’t need anything out of it. It is tuned like the damn heroic instances in Burning Crusade. They were a waste of time and not worth the repair bill for the amount of time and frustration that came with running them.

Another metric that would add a nice dimension is if we can’t rule out what dungeons we want to have the possibility of running at least let us put a weighting rank on each dungeon.

Anyway I could get more in detail on these and take another month to write this post however I want to get these memes out there now and someday hopefully something in some game will come of it. Who knows someday if I ever get involved in working on or creating a game I will push for this type of freedom in similar systems.

Well patch 3.3 has come out and there was much rejoicing.  I will avoid discussing the Raid content.  I may be raiding it but it is not my main focus of this blog or even my usual goals so I will save comments on it for another day, most likely after the second wing opens in January.

Titanium Market

Essentially we need to add a generic level appropriate material that is gathered, so Mining nodes would become like Taconite or some similar material.  Then different fantasy rock compositions can have a chance to produce current ore in different quantities per stack of 5, like how other professions, prospect, mill etc.  For Alchemy I think we need to add a layer from herb -> (potion, elixir, flask).  Rather than use raw herbs it should be processed into powders and extracts, same with enchanting.  Actually Alchemy and Enchanting should become more closely related and cross feed into one another.  Actually come to think of it we already have rough, dense, solid stone coming form mining nodes.  If we convert everything to a stone type as the node rather than the mineral or elemental name that would be a good starting point.

I also think that enchanters should have an alternative process to create the special cloths.  Now I know most enchanters are tailors as well or at least use to be, so that may be overkill but we really need new alternative ways to balance out high end materials.  There should always be more than one way to obtain any crafting material.  Even if it is through an exchange vendor it will help to keep AH prices from getting to extreme.

So I have not posted in awhile.  There have been several reasons for this.  The two main reasons being a bit busy with work and not really getting around to post when at home, always more stuff to do in and out of game.  The other reason is that I really have just been waiting for patch 3.3 to hit.

Because I have been waiting for 3.3 and the joy of the new LFG tool to finally be able to get random groups when ever I have time I have mostly stopped playing my level 80s except when raiding.  I have farmed some more badges and stone keeper shards for my new time filler.  Leveling several new alts.  I am currently working on a Mage, Rogue and Druid.  The cool thing that is keeping most of the mind-numbing bordom at bay when leveling the umpteenth toon through the lower levels is now I am skipping large blocks of zones especially in the 14-20 segment.

The reason I am able to do this and doing this is that I can now get XP in the Battlegrounds.  I use to hate battlegrounds while leveling before because they always seemed to be a waste of time and then there were the twinks.  Now my Mage and Druid with 2 Heirloom pieces of gear are a quasi Twink but no where as bad as they use to be.  With the turn XP off feature all of the serious Twinks have been moved to their own little bracket.  This means that the battlegrounds are now full of people just wanting to play a game or few to either level through BGs or just to get a break from the normal quest grinds.  Before getting to one of the more serious points and improvements that needs to be made to Battlegrounds I have to say playing a Rogue with 2 Heirloom daggers enchanted with Life-stealing is fun as hell.

Bracket Restructure

As the section title directly above states Bracket Restructure is one of the main things that needs to be done now that we have XP in Battlegrounds.  All BGs need to run from X0-X9.  Let the level cap players always be in their own separate bracket.

The reason for this is the end result of several previous PvP changes.  Lissanna, a mutual friend and I got into an argument about this on Sunday over vent.  Because it is player behavior Lissanna is of the opinion that no blame can be placed on Blizzard.  Ok so what is the combination of issues that is causing a problem?   It is a mix of XP in BGs bringing players of All Levels into a BG instance and the level capped 80s only wanting 80s in their game using the AFK reporting tool to “kick” anyone of a significantly lower level out of the instance.  Because there are no repercussions for reporting someone AFK you can just do it to anyone for no particular reason.  This then causes the person to get the debuff and if they don’t do a certain action within a time frame they will be kicked and given the Deserter Debuff.  This occurred to our mutual friend in AV when they were killed and were running back to meet up with the group.  While they were dead they were reported and kicked while running back.  This type of crap can not be tolerated.  If a person is active and attempting to participate they deserve to be there unfortunately even if their performance sucks.

The report AFK tool has now become kick those that don’t agree with us and is now a device for griefing.  There needs to be a mechanism put in place that allows one to defend themselves from being wrongfully labeled.  Because there are legitimate reasons in battlegrounds to remain stationary to either defend or gather surveillance.    Especially if you are a Rogue or Druid since you can stealth and remain mostly hidden.

Yes as Lissanna pointed out this is a player behavior issue especially since the player base asked for such a system to be implemented.  However since we own nothing in the game it all belongs to Blizzard then they are also to blame.  The created the system and implemented it, and like many things they implement they don’t seem to stop and figure out all of the ways the system could and will be abused so that there are counter mechanisms in place to enforce better behavior or more fair play.  As in if you falsely report someone AFK then you are the one booted.  There should at least be a Query system to the player so that they can respond to their accusers directly.

Anyway I look forward to the PVP XP through level 70.  Afterward, looks like it will be impossible with the level cap Twinks behaving badly either because they don’t know better or are bored.  I suspect the later but ya never know.

I admit I don’t like seeing a non 80 in the BG when I run BGs on my 80s but I realize that the system allows them there and as long as they try I don’t have a problem with them being there.  I would prefer to see the level cap become it’s own bracket for just this reason.

What I mean by this is that with patch 3.3 I will be in a new position for myself that has not happened before.  Since the first patch after I started playing which was the introduction of the original Naxx, I have never had a level capped character with sufficient gear and in a guild where I can actually participate in the new tier of content.  With the Zul Aman patch I was close but the guild and gear were a little lacking.

It is just a new perspective for me so thought it was worth noting.  Since I don’t get over excited about purple pixels I really am just a hardcore casual.  As in I prefer to be an alt-o-holic and level toons because the positive feedback is faster than with raiding for weeks to get the one or 2 drops that one needs.  Anyway I fully plan on doing what I can for the guild I am in with my Priest on our raid nights.  At all other times I will either be grinding out the Random LFG on my other 80s and BG leveling the new alts.

Well I have been watching thread meters, mmo-champion and the Blizz Blue tracker on the forums reading over the QQ and quasi discussion about the balance of this ability.

Having tanked a little bit on all 4 classes, something like LoHs for Paladins need to be there as an “oh shit” button.

In my opinion how I would balance the ability would be the following.

• The base ability becomes 20% of health usable on yourself or another.
• Though a glyph you add 10% to the ability
• Talents
  • Protection
    • Change “touched by the light” such that the +10% crit heal is now +(5/10/15)% LoH healing on Self
  • Holy
    • Give similar effect to the touched by the light effect and maybe a mana boost or something extra to caster if cast on another target.

End result gives in the ballpark the following table.

You may ask why I favor Protection in this case? At 45% it is similar to what Warriors and Feral Druids get when you combine “Last Stand/Survival Inst” + the Rage based Regeneration ability and have it glyphed.  Paladin’s don’t have a Last Stand per se so just giving a flat out boost would be acceptable while still “nerfing” it from 100%.

I know in the end that balance testing would be needed if anything like this was implemented but at least IMO this seems like a good compromise to the issue.

The other issue that is a problem for Prot. Healing is that they just need to remove Spell Plate, but that fix which would finally put an end to the issue is too big to be dealt with in a non-Expansion content patch.