Fussypants’ Guide to Spoilers and Spoiling

(Note: While this post talks about the act of spoiling and spoilers, there are no actual spoilers for Legion within)

It’s that time again.  Legion alpha has dropped, and with it, the trickle of Legion info has turned into a flood.  Spoilers are rampant and many people are making the decision to either avoid or embrace these tidbits.  The fires of war have been stoked once more, as the denizens of the internet prepare for battle.  Only through brutal and bloodthirsty combat will-

Hold on there, put down your pitchforks and torches.  Wipe off your warpaint, unstrap your armor, and just sit and listen for a second.  We don’t have to war over spoilers and spoiling, we just need a little common sense.

But first… What is a spoiler?

While this might change from person to person, a spoiler is generally any new information about Legion that has been gleaned after Blizzcon.  In other words, the datamining and news from the alpha are spoilers.  Spoilers can be anything from class changes to new model- pretty much anything at all coming in Legion that was not announced at Blizzcon.  Some people might include Blizzcon info in the off topic spoiler territory, but most consider Blizzcon news to be fair game for discussion, even in spoiler free zones.  But like all things, its probably a good idea to ask someone what they consider spoilers before you start discussing new Legion news.

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How to Avoid Spoiling

You’ve just read up on all the Legion changes and you can’t wait to discuss them with all your internet friends.  You’ve just gotta share your opinions with the web.  But before you post in that website comment section, your guild chat, or a group message, ask yourselves these questions:

What is the policy for spoilers?

Often times, chat groups like this will have a laid out spoiler policy, and you should probably follow that before posting.  If the policy isn’t clear or isn’t present, it’s always a good idea to ask before you post anything that could contain spoilers.  Many websites will have an unspoken but agreed upon policy of having a SPOILER WARNING before posting any new Legion info (and I would advise including this warning almost anywhere you post spoilers).  Some guilds will ask that you keep spoilers out of chat while others will be fine with any and all spoilers.  And there are plenty of group messages that create separate rooms just for spoilers. In the excitement of the moment, it can be difficult to remember but for the sake of the place you are posting it’s a valuable rule to follow.

Why should I follow the policy?

First and most obviously, you avoid fights.  Often times, people who have been diligently avoiding spoilers get pretty ticked when you spill the beans on them. But another effect is that is often overlooked is that it can accidentally exclude people.  Especially if you are spoiling in a semi-private channel, those who don’t want to see might start avoiding you or the group in general.  Nothing is worse than being forced out in an attempt to avoid spoilers in a group you thought wasn’t going to post them.  For the good of all, it’s best to have a clear and adhered to policy.

What about social media?

This might change from person to person, but I would generally say that spoilers are ok in a social media.  Post a little warning in advance and then spoil away! I will touch on this again later, but because of the connective quality of social media, it’s almost impossible to avoid spoilers and thus would be silly to try and censor them.

TL:DR

~Ask what is accepted before you post in a public forum
~Include a SPOILER WARNING unless you are in a spoiler specific channel
~People will like you more if you don’t spoil it for them
~Social Media is OK to post spoilers on

.How to Avoid Spoilers

You heard that Legion Alpha dropped and you’ve diligently avoided all of that news.  Every time you see that Legion logo, you close out of that window as fast as you can.  You’ve been avoiding all the major news sites and warning all of your friends that you do not want to see a single spoiler.  But you worry that you could be doing more.

What’s the best way to avoid spoilers?

The 100% guaranteed, will never fail you way to never spoiler yourself is to avoid the internet entirely until Legion drops. But really, this isn’t a viable option.  You have to be on the internet to go on the game.  And most people browse the internet for work or in their freetime.  So there’s gotta be a better way right?

In all honesty, the best way to avoid spoilers is to use common sense.  Don’t go to the websites that post spoiler news.  Don’t read the blogs or group messages that contain spoilers.  And don’t surf social media.  Or, if you’d rather not cut these things out of your life, learn to skim and skip quickly.  You can blame no one but yourself if you accidentally read a spoilerific comment on a website devoted to spoilers.  Learn to use restraint and you will probably make it to Legion almost entirely unspoiled.

Why no social media?

As I have said before, it’s almost impossible to avoid spoilers on platforms such as Twitter and Facebook. Because of the level of connection social media allows, it is so easy to stumble upon spoilers accidentally.  And especially with things like Twitter, a character limit makes it even harder to mask spoilers underneath a warning tag.  People are going to post spoilers and there is nothing that will stop them so you need to be proactive about avoiding it.

How should I react if/when I am spoiled?

I have never been an advocate for anger or foul language and I still maintain that even when you are spoiled new information, don’t lash out in frustration.  However, I do believe there are situations where its ok to be ticked off and express that (just please, stay civil!)

When its ok to be upset

• You are spoiled in a place you have previously cleared to be spoiler free- such as a group message or guild where the policy was strictly no spoilers
• Someone goes out of there way to spoil something for you

When its not ok to be upset

• You read a spoiler on a site where the policy is to post spoilers
• You go looking for spoilers
• You join a group with the full knowledge that there might be spoilers

 

I will be the first to admit, I hate being spoiled.  There once was a girl who ruined the end of a book for me and I still haven’t forgiven her.  However there are times when it is entirely your fault that you were spoiled.  Those who decide to avoid spoilers until Legion have made a conscious decision to alter their habits but they cannot and should not force others to change because of their personal decision.  Managing spoilers is an art of give and take, you can absolutely do it, it just takes a bit more effort.

TL:DR

~The best way to avoid spoilers is to avoid the internet entirely
~A good way to avoid spoilers is to avoid the places where spoilers could be
~Stay away from social media if you want to avoid all spoilers
~Its ok to be upset about being spoiled only if you are in a place where spoilers are not allowed
~Avoiding spoilers is a decision that changes your habits and no one elses
~Don’t expect others to change because of your decisions

I have been following these rules since Mists of Pandaria, and I have yet to be majorly spoiled on any of the big expansion news, so I think this is generally a good guideline to follow.  And yes, this blog will be spoiler free until Legion drops because I again will be avoiding them.  All you spoiler free folks can read here safely!

Really the best way to sum this all up is use common sense.  Treat others how you want to be treated but don’t force your decisions onto them. Nothing is worse than spilled beans.

An open letter to the Warcraft Developers

Dear Warcraft Developers,

I want to begin by saying I am eternally grateful for the love you put into the game.  You really put your heart and soul into the game, and it would not be the same without your dedication.  I understand also how difficult your job can be at times.  There are may times when you folks make decisions that some players don’t agree with, and unfortunately those people can respond in less than friendly ways. However, there are also times where people respond with constructive feedback, calmly and politely pointing out what they do not agree with.  These are the kind of people I’d like to emulate.

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As you have probably already guessed, I am writing this letter because I am unhappy about some proposed changes.  In particular, the Legion Preview of Mistweaver Monks.  That being said, I promise to you there will be no rioting or angry accusations in this letter.  I plan to explain the reasons for my unhappiness in order to offer another perspective to you.  Whether you decide to take my advice or not, I would still like to offer it up.

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The first and probably biggest argument that I have is the removal of Fistweaving.  No wait! Don’t run away now! Give me a second to explain! I will be the first to admit, Fistweaving in its current iteration is a little clunky.  Actually, a lot clunky.  Switching between stances and juggling healing abilities is a touch counter-intuitive at times.  But I would rather see the whole system overhauled rather than removed.

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In Legion, there seems to be a lot of stress on class fantasy and Fistweaving seems to fit the fantasy of mistweavers perfectly.  Martial arts is the bread and butter of the monk class and mixing healing with this is not only thematic, its fun.  A large reason why I initially rolled my monk (ha ha puns!… ok I’ll see myself out) was because of fistweaving.  Something about being a melee healer really appealed to me.  I agree that fistweaving would take a lot of tuning and tweaking but I very badly would like to see it happen. I think melee healing is a unique and highly rewarding experience and I am sad to see it go.

What will we be now? Herbalists??

If fistweaving cannot stay as a toolset available to all monks I understand, but I would petition that it live on as a talent choice.  Some sort of talent that changes all the monk abilities to deal damage at close range while also healing allies.  Or something like that, you would know best how to implement a thing like that.  I firmly believe that fistweaving is an important part of what makes a mistweaver and I hope that you can find a way to at least keep some aspects of it.

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The second element that I hope changes by the time Legion is released is the mechanic of Soothing Mists (and it’s interactions with other healing abilities).  While I again agree that it needs changes, the changes proposed don’t keep with the current theme.  In fact, unless I’m misinterpreting the post, it seems like Mistweavers are being homogenized.  Instead of channeling and instata-casting heals, Mistweavers now will cast their low cost low output heal and their high cost high output heal just like every other healing class.  I play a lot of healing classes and Mistweavers have always one of my favorite because their healing style is just so unique.  I love the channeled heal that allows me to instantly cast others.  I enjoy the extreme burst or the sustained throughput that mistweaving offers.  While I am not playing the proposed changes now, from what was written they just don’t seem like the same mistweaver I know and love.

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In the same vein, I also enjoy the ability to build my enveloping mists into a great and satisfying Uplift.  But as it currently stands, its a clunky transition from channeling soothing mists to casting enveloping mists and uplifts.  So what I would recommend is, instead of getting rid of casting other heals while channeling soothing mist, embrace that style.  Make everything instant cast or castable during the channel of soothing mist.  Just like fistweaving, soothing mist is another unique and very monk-like way of healing that I hope is embraced is the spirit of class fantasy.

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The last change I want to bring up is actually something I’m pleased as punch that you’ve added. And it’s this

Mastery: Gust of Mists
Your targeted heals also cause a gust of healing mists, instantly healing the target for a minor amount (increasing with Mastery from gear).

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THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART! No one ever ran through those pesky spheres and if there was movement in the fight my spheres would be left behind, unloved and forgotten.  You nailed it with this one!

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That just about wraps up this letter to you Warcraft Developers.  I hope I was able to clearly illustrate why I am unhappy with these changes and I do hope that you take some of what I wrote into consideration.  Until next time, stay awesome!

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-Fussypants, Career Healer

Blizzcon Part 2 – Yotaan Strikes Back

Earlier this week you read Fussypant’s take on Blizzcon’s info dump about Legion, and now it’s Yotaan’s turn to opine!

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Transmog Changes

Fussypants was really, really excited about this one.  It clearly is a great improvement over the current system.  Yotaan only mogs his helm and weapon, so for me, this is a minor excitement.   The interesting bit will be that it is shared across the entire account.  All the random items that I’ve kept for posterity will be in the new system.  Considering that Fussypants and I have played for years, I bet there are a ton of potential mogs.  How is it going to handle hundreds of different helms, weapons, chests, pants, gloves, bracers, and off-hands?  Frankly, it’ll probably be too overwhelming for me to use…

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Crafting Changes

Ahh, now this is interesting.  Crafting in Warlords, particularly leather working has been by far the most lackluster experience.  I had a lot more fun on all the other previous expacs crafting than in the current one.   It will great for Yotaan to make gear that is worthwhile and relevant and that he can actually use!  The UI changes are great too but I think the entire UI needs to be updated to modern gaming standards.

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Artifacts

Nooooooo!  Blizz got it wrong!  In my eight years of playing an elemental shaman, Yotaan (formerly Yotin) had never, ever, EVER, equipped a fist weapon.  A quick search of Wowhead reveals a grand total of 20 fist weapons with intellect, half of them from Warlords.  That 20 total in the entire game.  So, naturally, the Artifact weapon for elemental shaman is The Fist of Ra-Den, a pointy hand/claw thing.  Huh?   Now we knew the enhancement folks got Doomhammer, so that choice was out, but couldn’t the devs find something else?  Plus I think a shield and a fist weapon looks dorky….

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I hear that there are mixed reviews of some of the other Artifacts, such as shadow priest’s dagger, Xal’athath, Blade of the Black Empire, so maybe I shouldn’t complain.  Overall, I am excited about the Artifact system and “leveling” the weapon.  I am curious how it will affect PvP (more on that later) and what happens beyond this expansion.

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Questing Changes

This is a great improvement.  The game will no longer choose where you level, you get to pick the zone and level away.  If the quality of the story in Legion matches Warlords, then this will be the best leveling experience yet.  I think it will be more friendly for alts as well, as you can go back to your favorite bits as you level up the next time at any time.  The one point that has not been clarified is when you have 2 different level characters in one zone leveling together.  Obviously, Fussypants and Yotaan level together and, in the past we needed to be close in level for it to work.  Can we be significantly different now, say 101 and 107, and still level in the same zone on the same quest?  That would be cool.

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The Cinematic

Fussypants said it all.  And, most interestingly, the cinematic was more arresting than the movie trailer.

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Who’s Torby?

PvP Changes???

Where was the PvP discussion?  Was there any?  We do know that there not a new battleground and no world PvP zone in Legion.  Previously to Blizz, there was some discussion of having separate talents for PvP.  The announcement trailer did mention the new honor system.  There will be Honor Ranks that can reward prestige items.  Gear is less impactful in PvP.  There are a few other minor details that I found searching Wowhead but not much more.  Hopefully more info comes out during the Beta because these are major changes without much accompanying detail.

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Once again, Blizz is planning on changing a lot for the upcoming expac.  Like Fussypants, I cannot wait and I hope for an early, not late, 2016 release!

Blizzcon, and Transmog, and Trailers, Oh My!

It’s information overload! I was expecting information for sures (I mean, that’s what Blizzcon is for) but I wasn’t expecting this much! Taking the 5 changes I thought were the biggest, here’s my take of the news from Anaheim! Now with convenient hyperlinks so you know what I am discussing.

 

Transmog Changes
We are going to talk about this first because this is the most important change to come from Blizzcon.

…Alright, maybe not quite number one.  But its high up there.

I am so super stoked by this announcement, I actually squealed when I heard about it.  Transmog has become a very large part of the game for some players (and the reason to keep playing for others)  and I am glad that Blizzard has decided to revamp the whole system.  Learning the appearances will free up thousands of bag spaces over all my toons.  Having transmog sets linked to spec has been something I’ve been asking for for years.  And the ability to save sets in game is honestly amazing! I can’t wait for Legion to drop, if only for this!
Crafting Changes
And all the crafters of the realm doth sayeth ‘Finally!’

All kidding aside, I am excited by the changes that Blizzard has announced (and I know there will be more).  It sounds like they are really pushing to make crafting relevant and interesting again and are not tying it to one specific aspect of the game (cough cough garrisons).  The new UI they demo-ed was sorely needed and the “disenchanting” of other professions goods solves the problem of what to do with old profession stuff.  This change was badly needed and greatly appreciated!

I don’t even play my disc priest that much, but I may start to if only for this awesome looking staff!

Artifacts
I…. I have mixed feelings about this.  One on hand, I love the idea of having a weapon that you keep with you and get to augment and I really love the idea of a talent tree for the weapons.  But on the other hand, I worry that it might become a required and grindy activity after a while.  Also, I’m not a huge fan of being locked into one particular weapon type all expansion.  Especially considering a certain plate wearing healer I play is going to have to lug a lame book around with her all expansion.

I think if artifacts are going to work and stay relevant all expansion, Blizzard will need to make them upgradable through numerous channels so there is a choice on where to grind.  In addition, I vote that we should be able to transmog them into other types of weapons that our class can use.  While I love the staff that brewmasters get, I love duel wielding kegs as well.
Questing Changes
I’m tentatively optimistic about this change as well.  If everything really and truly scales then this will allow an amazing amount of leveling freedom. One possible downside I could see is that if we have to unlock the Pillar of Creation on each toon then doing every zone on 3+ alts could get grindy and redundant. If Blizzard plays it smart, they will allow for alternate ways to get that Pillar than questing so that while you need to go into every zone, you don’t have to do the same things every time.  I’m excited to play through this change as well!

The Trailer
Fussypants: The very first thing I thought of when the trailer first started up was ‘oh no, this is like the beginning of the Lich King trailer with the My Son business, has something happened to Varian or Anduin??’ which then turned in to ‘foreshadowing, foreshadowing, FORESHADOWING’ as the dialogue went on.  However as soon as the trailer really got going and the action started I began tuning out Varian’s dialogue.  I believe this is the first time we’ve gotten a CGI cinema with Varian and Sylvannas and I’ll be honest, I was drinking up the beautiful rendering of them.  Blizzard has once again delivered with a visual masterpiece.

At the part where Varian plunged into the water, I will admit I was genuinely worried we were about to lose him right there.  All that I could think of was how lame it was that a simple ship sinking took him out for good when he’s been through so much more, and how awesome the Fury Warrior artifacts were going to be. (In hind sight, I probably should have been more concerned about the fate of my supreme leader but I was more considering rolling a warrior to get his swords).

I will say, this trailer did not give me quite the chills that previous ones have, but it was still incredibly well done! Fantabulous fuel for the hype train!

I already cannot wait for Legion.  With all the quality of life changes, revamps, and new content promised, Legion is shaping up to be one heck of an expansion! All aboard the hype train!

Look for Yotaan’s responses in the next coming days…

Legion Hopes

With the impending Blizzcon, Yotaan and Fussypants talk about what they hope will be revealed on that big stage.

 

Yotaan: Blizzcon is next week. NEXT WEEK!!! Someday I would love to take Fussypants out of school and travel there to experience the full glory. Obviously, we are excited about any Wow news but the other games are awesome too. But, it’s hard to get tickets and Anaheim is far, far away. So, let’s speculate on possible Legion news.

In the first announcement, a trickle of news about Artifacts came out. More details would be awesome and in particular Yotaan doesn’t care about the weapon. It could be a mace, a dagger, or any 1-handed shaman weapon. The Artifact could be any of those. Assuming that the Artifact for elemental shamans are a weapon, the important bit needs to be the shield! I am hoping for great a variety of shield drops since there will not be any weapon drops. Betcha you didn’t expect that!

Most agree that one of the best parts of Warlords was the leveling. Both the Alliance and the Horde had great stories and different paths to take. I am hoping Legion is the same because leveling can be so fun. Intricate stories are wonderful to unravel. Having read the novels and many of the short stories, watching the lore unfold during questing has been a particular fave of mine. Supposedly the devs have been working on Legion for many months – let’s hope the questing is a big part of that work.

Fussypants and I have never played any of the WoW betas. I still don’t plan to play Legion’s, either, but I am hoping for beta news. If the beta is coming out soon(tm) then it means the release is soon too! Given the fact that we have gotten only one patch of significance in Warlords and there is not any plans for major patches for this expansion, I suspect there could be a major introductory patch for Legion. The moose mount is a hint of this. Let’s have a major intro-patch, a la Lich King! If the beta is soon, then the intro-patch is soon too. Moar content please!

 

 

Fussypants: Someone needs to bring a pair of pants with the words Fussypants written on them in sharpie to Blizzcon. And send me pictures of those pants at the con. Pretty please?

But anyways, on to what I hope to hear about! Obviously, I need to know about the Holy Paladin artifact. I won’t go so far as to say I’ll quit Holy Paladin-ing if the artifact isn’t a shield… but it’s on the table (tongue planted firmly in cheek). Honestly though, the suspense of finding that out is killing me! But really I want to see all of the artifacts.

I am also very curious which features from the expansion reveal will stay, which will change, which will be gone, and which new ones will appear. I expect there to be more info on demon hunters but I’m curious to see what new there will be. For example the promised updates to the transmog system needs to be revealed. My bank and void storage space is begging for that to be revealed. And more info on the class halls would be very welcome (especially from a particularly rowdy faction of rogues…). I’m curious as to what purpose class halls will have and how the artifacts will tie into gameplay. Hopefully Blizzcon will info dump on all of this!

Like Yotaan mentioned, I would also like a timeline the beta release. Not because I necessarily want to get in, but a timeline would mean that the expansion is a measurable amount of months away. I want that content as soon as possible!

With Warlords, we had the animated Lords of War videos and I would love to see those continued with Legion. They were both beautiful and chockfull of tantalizing lore and I hope that we get another batch of them. Or maybe even two! Those videos were great also because they didn’t require you purchase them (like the novels) since they are freely available on the internet. Keep ‘em coming!

On a non-Warcraft note, I do hope there is more info on Overwatch. I sadly haven’t gotten into the beta yet (*checks battlenet page again*) but I would love to hear more info about the characters, the design process and the path that Blizzard wants to take with the game. I don’t think I’m alone when I say that I wish there was a story campaign in the game. Maybe Blizzard will announce one at the con, we just don’t know yet! A girl can dream!

Overall, I’m just excited for all the info that will be coming these next couple of days. Go go hype train!

 

So what about you guys? What do you want to see at Blizzcon?