Should I Stay or Should I Go?

Hello internet,

It may come as a shock to some of you, but I have played on the same server since WoW vanilla. Every level of every character was earned on Andorhal server. I’ve had some great times on this server – from my first experience with a member of the Horde (a level 10 Dwarf Paladin melee swinging a Tauren in Kharanos because I didn’t know that a skull next to his name meant he could rofl-stomp me in a second) to getting my TLPD, this server has been good to me.

Sadly, Andorhal’s population has been in a steady decline since The Burning Crusade. At this point, trade channel is dead, Stormwind’s population has been reduced to a handful of people AFK at the auction house, and since my guild transferred last night, the Alliance is left without a single viable raiding guild.

People throw around the idea of transferring pretty often on a server as dead as mine. As evidenced by the server population dropping faster than the stock market, many people have decided that transferring was the only solution. The issue is that server transfers are part of a self-fulfilling prophecy on a low population server. When an entire guild full of players leaves a low-pop server it takes with it such a large segment of the population that the playing experience of those left behind is so drastically changed that they have no choice but to transfer, creating a vicious cycle.

As I was saying earlier, I’ve been on the same server for my entire WoW life – which is actually an embarrassingly long stretch of time. As such, I’ve always felt a special connection to my server; after all, it is MY server. People know me here; they greet me warmly (or coldly) when I stand at a mailbox, they laugh at my jokes when I troll in trade chat, and they complain about me on the opposing faction when I alt-hop to check the Horde AH. The point is: Andorhal is my home.

Sentimentality aside, I know that I’m not getting the full playing experience on my server, and with my guild leaving, I stand to lose a lot of friends. So, despite my hatred of Blizzard’s money-grab-transfers, I want to get some answers to some questions and share them with the rest of you so that we can make an informed decision about transferring.

New Territory-

The first thing I did was scout out the new high-pop server on an alt. Bleeding Hollow was my guild’s new server, so I ran a level 1 Human into Stormwind to take a look for myself. The first thing I noticed was a very active trade chat. People were not only selling things, but recruiting for ICC 25 runs (you may or may not know this, but I’m a sucker for running old content). Next, I made my way through throngs of players to the auction house (yes, throngs of players). The prices seemed fairly comparable, but the quantity was insane. On Andorhal’s auction house there was 1 epic blacksmithing pattern; on Bleeding Hollow there were about 20.

Round 1 goes to Bleeding Hollow. While the seething mass of players doesn’t have the same appeal as our close-knit server, the possibilities on a server with an active population are undeniable. And if I’m being honest, it made me nostalgic for the good old days on Andorhal.

FAQs-

My next plan was to scout out Blizzard’s website for some answers to common FAQs. I wanted to make sure I wouldn’t be losing items and stuff. Here are the answers to my biggest questions:

What if my character's name is already taken on the destination realm?

If your character’s name is already taken, you will be prompted to rename your character. Remember that your character name should follow our Naming Policy.

What is the gold limit to transfer?

The following gold limits apply to all characters. Characters above the limits on the following table are not eligible to transfer.

 

Can I transfer back?

A completed transfer cannot be reversed. If you want to move your character again, you may complete another character transfer three days after the last one completed.

What will transfer with my character?

• The contents of your character’s bags, bank, and void storage
• Your character’s currencies including gold, honor, justice, valor, and conquest
• Your character’s achievements and achievement points (including account-wide achievements)
• Your character’s hidden ratings (MMR, BG Rating, etc)

 What will not transfer with my character?

• Your character’s quest log will be cleared completely.
• Account-wide pets and mounts remain with the original Battle.net account.
• Character friends and ignore lists will be reset.
• User interface settings (macros, character-specific key bindings, etc...) will be reset.
• Guild affiliation does not transfer (unless you perform a Guild Master Realm Transfer).

Conclusion-

So, I haven’t finalized my decision yet… but I’d like to say that Andorhal has been one hell of a good place to hang out for the last several years. It will always hold a special place in my heart.

Server First Paladin?

Hello internet, how are you today?

Several months ago, shortly before the MoP expansion was released, I decided I wanted to be the first Paladin to reach level 90 on my server. Being an achievement-wh… err, enthusiast… the idea of getting an achievement that no other person on my server could get sounded like an awesome idea. The prestige, the fame, the night elf women… all would be mine if I could just be the first Paladin to reach level 90.

In preparation for my feat, I recruited a friend to level with me and scheduled a full week off of work. When MoP hit I was totally ready to hit the ground running and power through to level 90.

As soon as the server rolled over to 12:00am I dove right in, taking the hot air balloon from Stormwind all the way to the newly discover Pandaria. In the starting zone there was fierce competition for quest objectives, and the first few hours trudged on, waiting for respawns and getting annoyed with people.

Then, we started to pull away from the pack and we discovered new areas in the Jade Forest. I was excited by our questing pace, but when I looked at our XP progress I was wholly discouraged… we had only done about half a level in almost 6 hours… Feeling defeated (and exhausted), I made an executive decision that we should go to sleep and resume the next day.

I woke up refreshed about 12 hours later and we resumed our quest. At this point, a lot of players had already hit level 86, and some had even reached 87. Knowing how far behind we were, we forged ahead trying to make up ground. Unfortunately, MoP turned out to be the “grindiest of grinds” as my friend described it, and neither of us could stomach the questing experience much more. So, with much regret and annoyance, we gave up.

It was right around this time that I started to see server first profession achievements for some of the more annoying professions (alchemy, tailoring). But to my surprise, there were two or three achievements still lingering… including, server first blacksmith!

 

Newly invigorated, I smelted all of the ore I had collected while leveling and quickly churned out some green quality items. Unfortunately, my half-hearted ore collecting left me well short of my goal… so I turned to general chat for assistance.

10-15 thousand gold later, I had a few dozen stacks of ore and I started working the forge like a man possessed. But the stress and pressure proved to be worth it, when I became the server first zen master blacksmith.

So, while I wasn’t able to cement myself as the best Paladin on the server, I was able to claim my title as the best blacksmith on the server.

The Exciting Conclusion to the Most Annoying Ability in WoW Tournament!

Hello friends! It has been an exhilarating journey over the past few weeks examining all of the most annoying abilities in the World of Warcraft. I have covered every class in the game and decided the most annoying ability for each class.

With the release of Cataclysm looming, and new talents and abilities already live, it's time to wrap up this tournament. Apologies in advance for the length of this post, I'm going to grind out the entire final bracket and declare a winner!

Retrospect

To recap, the preliminary rounds featured some fierce competition for the right to be named the most annoying ability for each class. Death Grip edged out Chains of Ice to represent the Death Knight class. Typhoon blew away the competition and swirled into the final bracket as the Druid's most annoying ability. Scatter Shot hit the mark and earned the right to represent Hunters. Fear battled its way past Shadowfury to claim the title of most annoying Warlock ability. Ice Block easily slid into the final round for the Mage class. Divine Shield was favored by the Light in the Paladin bracket and advanced easily. Mind Control dominated the Priest bracket in a surprising outcome. Sap easily earned the spot for the Rogue class. Thunderstorm lit up the Shaman bracket, earning a spot in the final round. And lastly, Bladestorm demolished the competition to earn the chance to represent the Warrior class.

Mortal... Conflict! (Round One!)

The final bracket for the most annoying ability in WoW has some truly unique match-ups.

First, the DK ability Death Grip versus the Warlock ability Fear. We can all remember a time when we have been feared into a wall and gotten stuck, or were hovering innocently and out of nowhere a DK rips you to the ground. While Fear's place in this tournament is well-deserved, it ran into a difficult first round draw against Death Grip. Death Grip proves the more annoying ability and advances to round two.

The Shaman ability Thunderstorm squares off against the defensive cornerstone of the Mage class, Ice Block. Ice Block is a truly annoying ability when used in the right situation, but being blown off of the world by Thunderstorm is just too annoying to pass up in this first round, so Thunderstorm advances.

Thanks to lucky draws (and a desire to have a clean looking bracket), the Warrior ability Bladestorm and the Priest ability Mind Control advance to the Third round with byes.

Next, the Hunter ability Scattershot, while an annoying ability when dazed repeatedly on the battlefield, is easily defeated in the first round by Typhoon, the Druid knock-back attack. (If by now you haven't noticed... I hate Typhoon and Thunderstorm!)

In the last match of the first round, the perennially annoying ability Sap faces off against possibly the most polarizing ability in the game, Divine Shield. While Sap deserves honorable mention for the level of annoyance it provides, it drew a tough first round opponent, and unfortunately will not advance. Divine Shield advances!

Mortal... Conflict! (Round Two!)

The second round pits Death Grip against Thunderstorm. While hopefully by now my hatred of Thunderstorm is palpable... I cannot in good conscience allow Death Grip to fall this early in the tournament, it is simply too annoying. Death Grip advances to round three!

In a similar match-up, Divine Shield faces off against Typhoon. While Typhoon is a truly annoying ability, the hatred of Divine Shield by the majority of the gaming community is too much to deny. Divine Shield advances to round three!

Mortal... Conflict! (Round Three!)

The third round pits Death Grip against Bladestorm. While Bladestorm is an annoying ability, hated by the scores of players caught in its path... Death Grip easily advances to the final round based on the level of annoyance it offers.

The second match in the third round is between Mind Control and Divine Shield. Mind Control can be a very annoying ability, however it is very situational, and can be difficult to cast... So Divine Shield bubble hearths past it and into the final round.

Mortal... Conflict! (FINAL ROUND!)

And so it comes to this. After weeks of narrowing down all of the abilities in the game, we have two remaining vying for the title of the most annoying ability in WoW, Divine Shield and Death Grip.

This is honestly a difficult decision to make. Arguments can be made for both abilities, but in the end only one can be declared a winner. In this case I'm forced to go against my better judgements, and ultimately against the Light. In the most recent patch this ability received a huge nerf, so clearly the annoyance of the ability was too much. For its role as a life saver in the most one-sided scenarios, an escape method against overwhelming odds, and its place as one of the longest running jokes in one... Divine Shield overcomes Death Grip to be named The Most Annoying Ability in the World of Warcraft!

Thanks to anyone who followed this tournament from the beginning. I apologize for rushing the format, but as I stated with the expansion looming, the time was right to wrap things up.

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Paladin-Bias

The Most Annoying Abilities in WoW- March Madness Style: Part 5!

Well guys, new content and new abilities are upon us, so it is time to start wrapping up this tournament. Today I will discuss the five remaining classes and determine the most annoying abilities of each. We're about to spend entirely too much time discussing the annoying qualities of Paladins, Warlocks, Rogues, Death Knights, and Druids... so get comfortable, this is going to be a long one.

Because we have so much to cover, the format will be a little more condensed, so enjoy!

WARLOCK!

The first class we'll take a look at today will be the demonic caster class, Warlock. Warlocks have been a staple in RPG games for a long time. Commanding the shadows and undead or demon minions, Warlocks strike fear into their opponents with their dark abilities.

One of the key abilities of the class are their many different Fear attacks they can use to make an enemy flee, allowing them with plenty of time to apply numerous damage over time abilities. In addition Warlock's have a powerful ability to siphon life from an enemy. Shadowfury is a newer Warlock ability that allows them to AOE stun enemies. And Demonic Circle allows the class to teleport out of harm's way in the heat of battle.

While Warlock's have many annoying abilities, their Fear abilities are easily the most annoying because of their seemingly endless duration combined with the capacity to chain cast them. So without much of a contest, Fear advances as the most annoying Warlock ability.

DRUID!

The Druid class is one of the most versatile in the World of Warcraft, filling the roles of DPS, healer, or tank. Arguably Druids can be considered some of the best in the game at their roles, which has led to dissension from pure classes that believe hybrid classes like Druids should be slightly less effective at these roles to compensate for the additional skill sets.

As a class with three distinct roles there were many annoying abilities to choose from. But for today the competition is between the CC ability Cyclone, the knock back Typhoon, the CC ability Entangling Roots, and as a generic term covering several unique abilities we will consider Druid HoTs.

While HoTs are arguably one of the most overpowered mechanics in the game (resulting in resto-druid supremacy on numerous occasions) the title of most annoying ability grudgingly has to go to Typhoon. Getting blown across the map and taking a fall damage death one too many times is enough for me to move Typhoon into the final round.

DEATH KNIGHT!

Death Knights are the newcomers on the playground of WoW classes, being introduced in the WoTLK expansion. Death Knights are a plate armor class that utilizes dark abilities to negate magical damage done while filling the role of a tank, or to harness minions to fight alongside them as DPS.

DKs are known for having several annoying abilities, the four I chose for this bracket are the AoE slow Desecration, Chains of Ice, Death Grip, and the defensive ability Anti-Magic Zone. Honorable mention has to go to Army of the Dead, which was tough to leave off the list. However, the ghouls summoned by that spell are so weak I ultimately decided to pass on it.

In a landslide victory Death Grip is easily the most annoying Death Knight ability. Nothing is as frustrating as riding across a zone peacefully, or carrying that flag to your base- getting a few steps away from capturing it... and being yanked back across the map by a lagging DK. The ability is pure annoyance.

ROGUE!

Where to start. Rogues are easily one of the most annoying classes in this game. A stealthy assassin, rogues employ poisons, dirty fighting tactics, and lighting-fast attacks to undermine opponents and gain the upper-hand.

While Rogues have many annoying abilities, this bracket will focus on the defensive Cloak of Shadows, the CC ability Sap, Blind, and the escape ability Vanish.

As I said before, while rogues have MANY annoying abilities, this competition is awarding the title of most annoying Rogue ability to Sap, because we have all been in that situation where we're minding our own business and a rogue starts chain stunning us in the middle of our own city just to be a prick. Combine that with their stealth to remain unseen and you can easily waste several minutes in frustration because of this one ability.

PALADIN!

Appropriately enough for a blog called Paladin-Bias, we'll conclude the preliminary brackets by looking at the Paladin class. A holy warrior that uses the power of the Light to destroy his foes, and battle the dark forces.

The most annoying abilities for the class are the instant cast, massive heal Lay on Hands, the infamous bubble- Divine Shield, the stun Hammer of Justice, and the CC ability repentance.

In another landslide Divine Shield advances because it is easily one of the most hated abilities in the game by some players, so its choice as the most annoying Paladin ability was all but assured (although LoH has made some in-roads in the past).

After the fifth and final group of preliminary rounds the final tournament bracket has finally shaped up. There looks to be some stiff competition with perennial annoying abilities like Fear and Death Grip facing off.

Do you agree with my assessments? Hate my picks for the classes? Think I'm completely off the mark? Let me know in the comments what abilities didn't get enough love, or which got too much. And check out the previous entries in the competition to see how biased I can be!

And stay tuned for the introduction of the final rounds of the tournament to determine the most annoying ability in WoW.

It Has Begun!

Hello friend! And welcome to Paladin-Bias, yet another generic, gamer themed blog!

With Paladin-Bias you can expect: irregular updates, rambling blog rants, poorly drawn web comics, social commentary, kittens, misguided attempts at philandering, magic, sharks, and of course a healthy dose of paladin bias.

So get comfortable, because you just accepted an exceedingly painful chain quest. <3