Punkdudez » New Age of Online Gaming

Tribute to Michael Jackson, King of Pop: 1958 - 2009

June 26, 2009 Category: Tribute

Michael Jackson, the “Legend” and the “King of Pop,” died today on Thursday at 12:26PM (LA, US time) at his rented home at the age of 50. Jermaine Jackson has spoken to the media just yards away from where his brother Michael. He held a brief news conference in the auditorium of the UCLA Medical Center just minutes ago, and started by telling the journalists and photographers present, “This is hard. My brother, the legendary king of pop, Michael Jackson, passed away on Thursday, June 25, 2009 at 2:26 p.m” Jermaine told reporters at UCLA Medical Center. “It is believed he suffered cardiac arrest in his home. However, the cause of his death is unknown until the results of the autopsy are known.

“The personal physician who was with him at the time attempted to resuscitate my brother - as did paramedics who transported him to the hospital,” he continued. “Upon arriving at the hospital at approximately 1:14 p.m., a team of doctors, including emergency physicians and cardiologists, attempted to resuscitate him for a period of one hour and they were unsuccessful.

“Our family requests that the media please respect our privacy during this tough time,” he concluded. “May Allah be with you Michael, always.”

Jackson, who got his start fronting the family band The Jackson 5 at the tender age of eight before enjoying one of the most successful entertainment careers in history, often fell under intense public scrutiny for his personal life but created some of the most popular albums of all time and remained a pop culture fascination through his final years. He also helped popularize the music video genre, made extensive charitable contributions, worked with some of Hollywood’s leading directors, and acted in feature length films while leaving a lasting influence on modern dance, music, and culture.

Jackson ranked alongside Elvis Presley and the Beatles as the biggest pop sensations of all time. He united two of music’s biggest names when he was briefly married to Presley’s daughter, Lisa Marie, and Jackson’s death immediately evoked that of Presley himself, who died at age 42 in 1977.

I was playing World of Warcraft when i saw someone at Trade channel posted “MJ just died when we’re all playing WoW”. Peace be with you Michael Jackson and you will always be in our heart.

Age of Conan’s Update 5 goes live

June 25, 2009 Category: Age of Conan

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The fifth major update to Age of Conan,”Gangs of Tarantia“, has gone live! This update adds the Tarantia Commons District, a high level area with both single player and group dungeons, as well as a revamped RPG system. There are substantial system changes that have gone into effect in Update 5, which impact every class in Age of Conan, covering everything from itemization changes to feat trees, as well as abilities, spells, and combos. Plus Funcom has rolled out a complete overhaul of the gem crafting system and introduced new rewards tied in with guild cities. Any in-depth look at the sweeping changes made to Age of Conan with Update 5 is beyond the scope of this post, but are summarized in the patch notes.

Also, in the June letter from the game director, Craig Morrison explains how Gangs of Tarantia is the most significant update made to the game thus far. Morrison also drops some hints about the directions Funcom plans to take Age of Conan with future game updates. He writes that the next update to Age of Conan will focus on three main areas: improving guild gameplay; new high level content in the House of Crom; and more goals and objectives with Border Kingdom PvP.

Beyond the letter from the game director, Funcom has grouped together a ton of information related to Gangs of Tarantia and AoC in general, which can be found in Issue #23 of the Age of Conan newsletter. If you haven’t tried Age of Conan, do check out this awesome game, it’s really different and if you have an inactive account, honestly this is the time to get back and try the game!

T9 set bonuses and relics in 3.2

June 24, 2009 Category: World of Warcraft

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Tier 9 gear set bonuses have been learned from the ongoing process of data mining that is coming in patch 3.2 (confirming, by the way, that there will be a real tier of gear in the Crusader’s Coliseum raid). There is also information available on some new relics for the relic-bearing classes (Paladin, Druid, Shaman, and Death Knight).

Information after the break. Keep in mind some of these are certainly placeholders. The priest healing 4-piece, for instance, is strictly worse than the priest healing 2-piece Tier 8 bonus; there’s no way it would go live like this. Some of the bonuses don’t even make any sense, like the Warlock 4-piece. Datamined info is always suspect.

Set	2-piece bonus	4-piece bonus
Death Knight DPS	Your Blood Strike and Heart Strike abilities have a chance to grant you 180 additional strength for 15 sec.	Your Frost Fever and Blood Plague abiltiies now have a chance for their damage to be critical strikes.
Death Knight tank	Decreases the cooldown on your Dark Command ability by 2 sec.	Decreases the cooldown on your Unbreakable Armor, Vampiric Blood, and Bone Shield abilities by 20 sec.
Druid feral	Decreases the cooldown on your Growl ability by 2 sec and increases the duration of your Rake ability by 3 sec.	Increases the damage reduction granted by Barkskin by 10% and increases the critical strike chance of Rip and Ferocious Bite by 5%.
Druid balance	Your Moonfire ability now has a chance for its periodic damage to be critical strikes.	Increases the critical strike chance of your Starfire spell by 5%.
Druid resto	Increases the critical strike chance of your Nourish spell by 5%.	Your Rejuvenation ability now has a chance for its healing to be critical strikes.
Hunter	Reduces the focus cost of your pet’s abilities by 50%.	Increases the critical strike chance of your Steady Shot ability by 5%.
Mage	Increases the armor you gain from Ice Armor by 20%, the mana regeneration you gain from Mage Armor by 10%, and converts an additional 25% of your spirit into critical strike rating when Molten Armor is active.	Increases the critical strike chance of your Fireball, Frostbolt, Frostfire Bolt, and Arcane Blast spells by 5%.
Paladin tank	Decreases the cooldown on your Righteous Defense ability by 2 sec.	Decreases the cooldown on your Divine Protection ability by 30 sec.
Paladin DPS	Your Righteous Vengeance talent now has a chance for its damage to be critical strikes.	Increases the critical strike chance of your Judgements by 5%.
Paladin healing	Increases the duration of your Judgements by 10 sec.	Increases the critical strike chance of your Holy Light spell by 5%.
Priest DPS	Increases the duration of your Devouring Plague spell by 6.01 sec.	Increases the critical strike chance of your Mind Flay spell by 5%.
Priest healing	Decreases the cooldown on your Prayer of Mending spell by 2 sec.	Increases the critical strike chance of your Prayer of Healing spell by 5%.
Rogue	Your Rupture ability has a chance each time it deals damage to reduce the cost of your next ability by 40 energy.	Increases the critical strike chance of your Hemorrhage, Sinister Strike, Backstab, and Mutilate abilities by 5%.
Shaman enhancement	Decreases the cooldown on your Lava Lash ability by 2 sec.	Increases the critical strike chance of your Stormstrike ability by 5%.
Shaman resto	Increases the healing done by your Riptide spell by 20%.	Increases the critical strike chance of your Chain Heal spell by 5%.
Shaman elemental	Increases the duration of your Flame Shock spell by 6.01 sec.	Increases the damage done by your Lava Burst spell by 0.021 sec.
Warlock	Increases your pet’s critical strike chance with its abilities by 10%. (0 yd, cast: 0 seconds, val1: 10)	Increases the damage done by your Immolate, Corruption, and Unstable Affliction spells by 0.011 sec.
Warrior DPS	Berserker Stance grants an additional 2% critical strike chance, and Battle Stance grants an additional 6% armor penetration.	Increases the critical strike chance of your Slam and Execute abilities by 5%.
Warrior tank	Decreases the cooldown on your Intervene ability by 5 sec.	Decreases the cooldown on your Shield Block ability by 20 sec.

And here are the stats on the relics. I’m just glad to see another tanking idol for druids; I was afraid we’d be stuck with one per expansion again. Still unknown is how these relics will be attained; my guess is Emblems of Triumph (which drop from the new raid).

Druid
- Feral: While in Bear Form, your Lacerate and Swipe abilities have a chance to grant 200 dodge rating for 9 sec, and your Mangle and Shred abilities have a chance to grant 200 agility for 16 sec.
- Resto: Each time your Rejuvenation spell deals periodic healing, you have a chance to gain 234 spell power for 9 sec.
- Balance: Each time your Moonfire spell deals periodic damage, you have a chance to gain 200 critical strike rating for 12 sec.
Paladin
- Holy: Each time you use a Judgement, you have a chance to gain 234 spell power for 20 sec.
- Ret: Each time your Seal of Vengeance ability deals periodic damage, you have a chance to gain 200 strength for 16 sec.
- Prot: Each time you use your Hammer of The Righteous ability, you have a chance to gain 200 dodge rating for 18 sec.
Death Knight
- Tank: Each time you use your Rune Strike ability, you have a chance to gain 200 dodge rating for 20 sec.
- DPS: Each time you use your Obliterate or Scourge Strike ability, you have a chance to gain 200 strength for 20 sec.

Shaman
- Elemental: Each time you cast Lightning Bolt, you have a chance to gain 200 haste rating for 12 sec.
- Resto: Each time you cast Chain Heal, you have a chance to gain 234 spell power for 15 sec.
- Enancement Each time you use your Lava Lash ability, you have a chance to gain 200 attack power for 18 sec.

Online Cooking Games at Ecookinggames.com

June 22, 2009 Category: Other Games

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One of the best sites which provide free cooking games is ecookinggames.com. It’s pure excitement and fun, this site has tons of free cooking games. You will have fun and at the same time learn some good real life cooking recipes. If you’re a mom or if you have little kids wanting to have fun and learn about cooking, this is the best site i would recommend. It’s interactive and safe! Sometimes, it’s not just about fun, some of the cooking and food games at ecookinggames.com allows you to understand the nutrition contents of food. For instance, eating a lot of vegetable is good, and you might want to know what vitamins and minerals they have and which ones are beneficial and good for you.

In addition, there are also other games to be played like make-over games, fashion games and doll games. The best part is you can play them in 2 player mode. Play it with your friends, kids and family to add more punch to the fun. Here’s one of the game that we have tried and enjoyed, it’s called Sue: Leah’s Confrontation. Punkdudez would really recommend Ecookinggames.com and gave it a 4.5 out of 5.

New Raid Content in patch 3.2: Crusaders’ Coliseum

June 18, 2009 Category: World of Warcraft

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Some major details about the new Crusaders’ Coliseum, it’s a 5/10/25 man dungeon that will be released with Patch 3.2.

First of all, this will be the next tier of raiding. There was some prediction that this would be a vital tier of raiding, however that is not the case. The gear that will come out of the Crusaders’ Coliseum appears to be Tier 9.

Secondly, the encounters will be unlocked one per week until all five encounters are available. This mirrors very closely the way the Sunwell Plateau was handled back in Patch 2.4.

Finally, there will be a new “Crusaders’ Tribute” mechanic. The mechanic appears to track the number of times you attempt an encounter, and the fewer times it takes you to complete the encounter, the greater the loot will be for the final boss. A type of raid where you are going for the Tribute rewards will be called a “Tribute Run.”

The full details of the announcement after the break.

This is the official announcement:

In the next major content patch, the construction of the Crusaders’ Coliseum on the Argent Tournament grounds will be complete, and it will hold new challenges for players. We’d like to share some details on the new dungeon, which represents the next tier of content for the game, but keep in mind that this is still in development and subject to change. The Crusaders’ Coliseum will include:

New epic 10- and 25-player raid dungeon with five encounters, with each encounter being unlocked one week at a time
A more intuitive structure for harder encounters. This raid dungeon will have four different versions: 10-player, 25-player, 10-player Heroic, and 25-player Heroic, with each one using a separate lockout.
Introduction of the Crusaders’ Tribute! Each of the Heroic mode instances has a new tribute system that will limit players on the number of attempts they get in the Coliseum each week to present a greater challenge for the most battle-hardened heroes. Additional rewards can be earned depending on the number of attempts left in the tribute run each week when the final boss is defeated.
New 5-player dungeon with three encounters that will include Champion’s Seals as each one is defeated
New tier of armor and weapons that are modeled with Alliance- or Horde-specific theme

World of Warcraft Mountain Dew Game Fuel Commercial

June 16, 2009 Category: World of Warcraft

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Here’s the World of Warcraft themed Mountain Dew Game commercial, which you can watch here. Watch it a few times, actually. You may need it to fully comprehend what you’ve just watched.

In my opinion the commercial is cool and descent, two young chicks who are probably WoW gamers turned into two of the most popular classes in WoW; Nightelf and Orc. Watching the superb 3D animation makes you wanna grab a Mountain Dew and hop into WoW and kick someone’s ass on the opposite faction. Punkdudez gave this commercial ads a 4.5 out of 5.

Land of the Dead dated for June 16th

June 13, 2009 Category: Warhammer Online

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We finally have a date on the release of Warhammer Online’s brand new RvR zone, the Land of the Dead. Everyone make sure you are prepared for June 16th, because that’s the day when the Tomb Kings rise from the south.

Land of the Dead will include a brand new zone filled with public quests, traps, and some intense RvR combat as the sides of Order and Destruction fight over control of the entire zone. To mix things up, many of the new quests will feature elements that have more in common with action RPGs than with MMO mechanics such as positioning, and cooperation over straight number crunching exercises.

We got some great interviews and a first hand look at Land of the Dead during Games Day ‘09, plus we also are hosting a Tomb King Cartouche puzzle contest where you can win an exclusive in-game item for WAR!

Gear changes coming to WAR in patch 1.3

June 11, 2009 Category: Warhammer Online

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The New System (post 1.3)

The greatest thing about the concept of wards is that they allow you to progress through more difficult PvE content without granting insanely large stat bonuses that negatively impact RvR. Wards are simply a flag that determines whether or not an NPC hits you for 50% damage or 500% damage (not the exact numbers but they do well to illustrate the point). The various sets (and set bonuses) do grant players an advantage in RvR, but the difference from set to set is fairly miniscule (i.e., roughly a 5-8% stat/attribute increase per set).

To bring more diversity and flavour to WAR’s gear, Mythic will introduce a combination of three new features in 1.3. Disclaimer: These changes are currently on the Public Test Server and are subject to change.

Sigils

In simplest terms, sigils are like wards but don’t require that you actually wear the ward gear. You will now get a Tome of Knowledge unlock when obtaining a piece of ward gear and from that point forward you will receive the benefit of that ward even when you wear a completely different piece of gear.

One of the biggest complaints about the various PvE dungeons is that the drop rate for ward gear is too low due to the small group size and variety of classes in each realm (exactly a 1/12 chance). The new sigil system will partially address this issue as well. After killing the boss X times (number unknown atm), you will be guaranteed to unlock the ward/sigil. Those seeking the actual piece of set gear will still have to grind for it, but at least you’ll get the ward.

The sigil system means that it is now viable for you to equip your influence, PQ, or other rare drop gear in place of set gear and not have to worry about a lack of wards when raiding fortresses, cities, or a high rank instance (as long as you have the Tome unlock).

Vessels

Vessels are weapons that allow for much greater customization through the application of talismans and/or soul essences. The vessels we have seen so far on the Public Test Server work like this: Blue weapon has a competitive DPS rating, a single stat value, and two empty talisman slots (two-handers have three empty slots). Vessels are awarded as PQ loot, drops, and can be purchased with special tokens. There may be rarer purple vessels as well.

No longer are you forced to abide by WAR’s strange and inconsistent itemization. You can tailor your weapons to suit your playstyle, augmenting the various strengths and weaknesses you want for your character. Currently, it seems like vessels are only available as weapons. I think most casual gamers and min-maxers alike would agree: let’s see vessels reach out to armor and accessories and truly take advantage of the new sigil system.

Tokens

Land of the Dead tokens come in several forms; silver scarabs, golden scarabs, silver anhks, golden cartouches, and sacred masks. Tokens are gained from player kills, mob/boss kills, and PQ loot. The tokens are soulbound, which means you can’t trade them. Personally, I dislike this feature, but it seems the route MMOs are taking these days. “More grind for the grind god!”

Scarabs are used to buy more common items like blue vessel weapons, souls, and special crafting items. Anhks and cartouches will get you powerful accessories like rings, necklaces, cloaks, and belts. The masks can be traded for some pieces of Tyrant gear, which is on par stat-wise with Warlord gear found in cities. Word is that Tyrant gear does not grant wards or sigils though, so it won’t make Darkpromise, Invader, or Warlord gear obsolete.

Conclusion

As you can see, sigils will give players the benefits of a ward system, while increasing the diversity of gear in the game and not imbalancing RvR. Vessels and soul essences will offer even more weapon variety, giving players more customization options. The new tokens mean that even if you are extremely unlucky with drops in this PvE/RvR mega-zone, you’ll still be able to work toward something.

These are great improvements to WAR’s gear system. The next improvement I’d like Mythic to make would be some kind of token system or shift in the random loot mechanic in “old world dungeons” (e.g., city dungeons, Lost Vale, etc.).

Sigils allow you to get the wards from these dungeons eventually, but players going after the physical set pieces will still be subject to low and random drop rates. Would it be too difficult for them to add a token system to these dungeons? What about a mechanic where bosses only drop loot usable by classes that form the instance group? Nothing is worse than finally downing a boss and having him drop two pieces of gear that no-one in your group can use. Oh wait, I forgot… “More grind for the… ugh whatever.” Prove me wrong! Please?

World-first Val’anyr formed by Avant Garde

June 9, 2009 Category: World of Warcraft

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Ulduar-25 contains a legendary healer mace, called Val’anyr. To craft it, you have to gather 30 Fragments of Val’anyr, which drop from both normal and hard-mode 25-man Ulduar fights (though they always drop on hard-mode, and only have a chance to drop on normal). You then have to throw the combined collection of fragments at Yogg’Saron while fighting him when he uses the “Deafening Roar” ability, which he only uses on hard mode. After that, defeat Yogg, and Val’anyr is yours.

Well, someone has now completed all of the above steps: Snuggleme, a resto druid of Avant Garde on Kil’jaeden. Congratulations on what appears to be the world-first Val’anyr! We know exactly what it does already, but I’m still curious what it feels like to use it in a real raid - hopefully Snuggleme can give us some insight in weeks to come. Also congratulations to Impervious of Stormreaver, who collected their 30th Fragment last week on a hard-mode Yogg-Saron kill, and will be forming the hammer this week.

Ensidia gets world first 25-man Algalon kill

June 4, 2009 Category: World of Warcraft

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Just seven weeks after patch 3.1 brought Ulduar to the live servers, Ensidia has conquered it. They just made the world-first kill of the 25-man version of Algalon, the optional final boss that appears only after completing every other boss’s hard mode. Algalon only allows one hour per raid lockout period of attempts on him.

Ensidia got the world-first kill of 10-man Algalon a bit over two weeks ago. They say the 25-man version is “not an easy fight,” “highly gear dependent,” and “a significant difficulty increase over the 10 man version.” Apparently last week they got him to 4%, only 1% over the threshold to beat him (he gives up, like Mal’Ganis in Culling of Stratholme). That must be frustrating as heck.

Well, congratulations to Ensidia, once again! I wonder what they’ll be doing until patch 3.2 comes out.